Sublime 2013 - Shinshokan 2012
1+ volumes
Translation: Adrienne Beck
I want to read volume two already! Natsume Isaku pops out consistently good manga one after another and False Memories does not disappoint.
Nakano and Tsuda were good friends in high school until one night of lust changed everything. After ten years out of touch, the two are reunited through work and though this necessitates a good working relationship, Nakano finds it hard to forget the past.
Without being particularly exciting, Natsume Isaku is a mangaka whose work I look forward to reading every time. Not avant garde but not clichéd, she's an all-round good writer who occupies a sort of happy middle-ground in BL manga with very readable, enjoyable stories that you can pretty much rely on for happy endings. She has a penchant for writing nice-guy characters, I find it to be the common trait that runs through her leading men, whatever their personalities; you won't find too many arseholes screwing people over in her stories (of the figurative sense, literal types are duly represented), her guys tend to be thoughtful and considerate, and so her stories consequently unfold at a measured pace with careful consideration of the characters' feelings.
False Memories is all about coming to terms with feelings, old and new. All too many of us have regrets in our past but how many have the chance to rectify old mistakes? Nakano and Tsuda are given that second chance, to clear up past misunderstandings, re-examine those emotions of yesteryear with the benefit of hindsight and maturity, and, as will no doubt be the case as the series continues, eventually be able to put the past behind them and start afresh. It's a predictable enough plot but these guys are so likeable that I want to see them get their happy ending. Each chapter's point of view alternates between Nakano and Tsuda so that the reader can understand both characters, though it's Nakano who gets the major portion of our sympathy. He's the one who got his heart broken all those years ago and is now desperately trying to protect himself from being hurt again. First we have to wait for Tsuda to wake up, smell the coffee and realise that he's gay!
The first volume ends on an intriguing cliffhanger where Nakano runs off with Tsuda's colleague (they both work in toy manufacturing companies), a slovenly otaku who bides his time as a minor character for the bulk of the volume until the last chapter when he transforms into a bishie, with the aid of some hair gel, a shave, and a suit. I'm already hoping this side character will get his own spin-off series!
