Happiness Recommended by Himawari Souya

Rating: 5
Juné 2008 - Houbunsha 2003
1 volume
Translation: Melanie Schoen

I liked Himawari Souya's Right Here, Right Now that
Juné put out in 2011 so I thought I'd check out this earlier title of hers but although happiness is recommended I'm not entirely sure it's delivered, for the reader, at least. 

Yukiharu's grandfather has died and left him orphaned and alone in the world, until he learns that his parents didn't die in a car crash when he was little, as he was told by his grandfather, but that they are still living and he also has six brothers he's never met. It turns out that when he was young his grandfather thought his parents too irresponsible to raise Yukiharu and took him away. It appears that the parents haven't improved a jot because when Yukiharu goes to meet his family, the parents have done a runner and left the brothers to fend for themselves. Flat broke, his brothers don't appreciate gaining another mouth to feed and Yukiharu worries about fitting in with his new family. On top of that there's the strange neighbour, Makoto, who calls him 'Haru-chan', says Haru-chan has always been his favourite, and hugs him at every given opportunity.

Happiness Recommended is a light romantic comedy that can't decide whether it wants to be a family drama story or a romance (a point that the mangaka admits in the afterword). On the whole it veers more toward the family drama and makes a rather half-hearted attempt at the romance. I like Himawari's relaxed flowing narrative but the story doesn't quite have the chops to make it interesting enough as a stand-alone family drama. There are too many characters, not enough time developing all those characters, and though a few of them showed signs of life there just weren't enough chapters to do them justice. You get the sense that Himawari bit off more than she could chew with this set-up. I might've scored the manga higher if she'd made up for it with the romance but that side of the story ends in a decidedly unsatisfying manner. As if there isn't enough going on, there's a secondary romantic couple, the 2nd brother x Makoto's twin (gah, too much confusion when they all look alike), whose story threatens to steal the show but, frustratingly, is only teased at. 

It's an enjoyable enough read but it doesn't leave you with a feeling of fulfilment because there was too much that went unexplored both in the familial and romantic relationships. This is a volume destined for the 'one-off read' pile, methinks. I still like Himawari's writing a lot and though the story was a tad too thin here it hasn't put me off from reading more of her work in the future. If you've never read any of her work before I'd recommend finding a copy of Right Here, Right Now and leaving Happiness Recommended for some time when there's a lull in your BL-buying schedule.

My BL Bedroom's Half-arsed 801 MMF

Over at one of my favourite blogs, Otaku Champloo, host Khursten is holding a yaoi fest 801 MMF, with fujojos (not sure what that is but sounds fun) submitting articles and favourites lists. This got me thinking about how I could celebrate all the yaoi goodness that Japan has gifted us with over the years. I could do a favourites list? Nah, too hard to decide on. An A-Z of BL manga! Way too ambitious. An insightful article on some aspect of yaoi? Hampered by lack of insight. So instead, here's an unorganised random little award ceremony of sorts to celebrate the best (and weirdest) of yaoi!

Yummiest BL manga: Yummy in a literal sense and the hands down winner is Antique Bakery by Yoshinaga Fumi, not strictly BL, until you count the pornorific doujinshi that follow the main series... Every time I read this beloved series I get uncontrollable cravings for French cakes and must fight the urge to jump on a plane to Paris (my bank balance can be counted on to restrain me).

Most alcohol consumed in a manga: Close the Last Door by Yamada Yugi. I haven't totted up alcoholic units but man they get through a lot of booze in this series, they might have washboard stomachs now but it's gonna be beer bellies for them in a few years time. Has there been a BL character with a beer belly?

Character most in gay denial: There are many contenders for this title but I think it's got to go to Tatsumi of The Tyrant Falls in Love by Takanaga Hinako. Accept it already, Souichi, Morinaga's screwed up your body past the point of no return.

Richest BL character: BL is full of dreamy billionaires who inevitably end up with poor guys who don't care about the money (so give me the money) and the richest of them are probably the Arabian princes that BL mangakas seem so fond of, so I'll give this one to Sakurai Shushushu's The Desert Prince who spends $100 million (paid in gold bars) on an antique piece of stone to woo his uke.

Poorest BL character: Of the multitudes of poor BL guys drowning in debt, one of the most pathetic has to be Ayase from Okane ga Nai by Shinozaki Hitoyo and Kousaka Tohru, forced to repay his debt by traditional BL means i.e. with his body; a worthy winner of this most unwanted of awards.

Most fucked-up character: I like to keep my head in happy places so I tend not to go for gloomy drama but a couple of manga that have stuck in my mind for being seriously fucked up are Aniya Yuiji's Men of Tattoos, the entire cast of which is disturbed, among them a slutty and violent police officer and an ex-con out to inflict revenge by infecting his partner with AIDS, and secondly, Motoni Modoru's Shiikugakari Rika, where the high school's power hierarchy is based entirely on rape. They get to be joint ensemble winners in this category.

Weirdest premise: Love Pistols by Kotobuki Tarako is one of my all-time favourite manga so I must give it the award for its weird-ass premise of humans that are not evolved from apes but from other animal types like dogs or bears or even mermaids, and who have the ability to mentally superimpose their animal form on their physical body, I think...I'm still not sure how the animal manifestation thing works after years of rereading. It's crazy and funny and I must take this opportunity to give it a plug and tell everyone to read it, if you haven't already.

Cutest Pet in BL manga: I adore the pets-cum-lovers in Ogura Muku's Sentimental Garden Lover - not bestiality, the pets are cats that can transform into humans. The humans in chibi form are super-duper cute too.

Blindest love for a pet: goes to Kano Shiuko's Bull to Arukeba... in which an uncontrollable bull terrier dog humps every dog it meets in the park, bites bums and generally causes a lot of trouble for his besotted owner, who then has to compensate with sex, cos this is BL.

Biggest hands in BL: There are many strange anatomic proportions in BL manga but Nakamura Shungiku's Junjou Romantica gets its own special prize for its seme characters having freakishly huge hands that span an uke's entire torso.

Strongest cock in BL: I wanted to do a 'biggest cock' category but I can't remember which manga the one I'm thinking of appears in, however, in my, ahem, research, I came across the strongest cock! Another award for Sakurai Shushushu, in Vibrator Company an uke almost gets crushed by falling weights in the gym but the seme covers him in time and even lifts a weight off the uke with the power of his erection...tada!

Vibrator Company can win a whole host of awards by itself like biggest dildo, oddest company building (shaped like a dildo), most dildos featured in a manga, and so on, you get the picture...

Strangest superhero powers: In Shimada Hisami's Desert Moon, the protagonist can transform into a superhero...by drinking semen. Cos this is BL. So the poor guy has to stalk back alleys and give random men blowjobs in order to transform into a defender of justice.

Sexiest dancing in BL: goes to the stars of Inoue Satou's gorgeously alluring 10 Dance, ball room dancing has never been so sexy. For adult sophisticated sexy, this is the manga to read.

Most astonishing thing to happen during sex: ...overly vigorous thrusting results in the seme's body breaking in half and his innards spilling out...luckily he's a zombie who can put his body back together in Naono Bohra's short story Naive Gespent, and though his uke is at first understandably freaked out, he's soon able to welcome back the lover who came back from the dead for him.

Teacher I most want to have detention with: The seme teacher from Ougi Yuzuha's Abiru Junjou, just cos he's delish.

School dorm I most want to infiltrate: I think it's got to be Bell Liberty Academy from Spray's Gakuen Heaven! One of my first BL games, the manga were good adaptations too, I love all those boys to bits.

Right, time to stop or this list will go on forever...