Punch Up! by Kano Shiuko

Rating: 8
Sublime 2012 - Libre 2006
4 volumes
Translation: Adrienne Beck

I put off reading this series for a long time because I've read some Kano Shiuko before and I'm familiar with her MO: muscular guys having hot sex with not a lot else happening; smutty but shallow. The first volume of Punch Up begins in much the same vein, man meets man and soon enough they hook up and have hot sex. The story charges ahead with no attempt at subtlety and no need to engage the brain. I was set for the habitual superficial smutfest when on nearing the end of the volume I realised I was enjoying this Kano title more than usual. Bring on volume two and it keeps getting better. By the middle of the volume I'm in full-on gush mode. This is by a mile the best I've ever read from Kano Shiuko, a must-read for all fans of smut (that would be everyone?) and for anyone who likes sweet loving relationships because this couple is one of the sweetest I've seen in ages.

Maki is a successful architect, a playboy with a taste for manly muscular men. Kouta is a young construction worker with a quick temper which, when triggered, unleashes a foul mouth and fast fists. The story begins with Kouta in the middle of an argument with a colleague. Maki, who is the architect on the building project, rushes to intervene and promptly catches a punch face-on from Kouta. Kouta apologises but ends up arguing with Maki as well with the result that neither man has a good impression of the other. It is then that Maki spots his lost cat on site and finds out that it was Kouta who found and took care of it, and even got evicted from his apartment which doesn't allow pets. Maki agrees to let Kouta stay at his place for a while and so the two grudgingly begin living together.

Punch Up is a spin-off of an earlier series by Kano called Play Boy Blues (PBB). I've not read PBB but found that, plot-wise, it wasn't a problem, the story reads fine as a standalone manga. The only problem was that many of the side characters in Punch Up were originally from PBB and the mangaka assumes the reader already knows them and does very little by way of introduction or characterisation, so initially they're rather confusing to keep track of. Fortunately, the series revolves entirely around the main couple and the PBB characters don't intrude too much.

Maki and Kouta get together rather too hurriedly in the first chapter and a series of clumsily contrived incidents occur in the volume so that the more they learn about the other the more they like. Plot development has never been a strong point for Kano and it's no different in this series. What is a revelation is that in spite of the awkward plot devices Kano manages to create two very likeable characters and it's enjoyable to watch them fall for each other.

Maki is a funny character. He's a horndog with a roving eye and poor Kouta is constantly troubled by Maki's perviness and dubious of his ability to stay faithful. Often, a scene will be building up to a touching moment, only for the mood to shatter with a silly pervy remark from Maki, but this is behaviour typical of him that keeps you grinning through much of the story. Kouta is the more serious of the pair. He talks tough but is riddled with insecurities. He has a history of bad relationships with men and has pretty much given up on love. Maki has to earn Kouta's trust bit by bit and it's wonderful to watch their love grow. Maki discovers the joy of having someone special in his life after years of empty casual affairs but the real delight is in seeing Kouta open up and allow himself to be happy.

Most of volume two is like the couple's honeymoon period and is a smorgasbord of sweetness. The two are an idiotic lovey-dovey couple and I pretty much squeed my way through the whole volume. In the latter half we are introduced to the character of Yuya, Kouta's first love whom he bumps into having not seen him in years. Yuya's appearance marks the end of the honeymoon and the beginning of troubling times. Kouta's first experience of love was a traumatic one as we are shown in a beautifully written bittersweet chapter at the end of volume two. The tone of the story turns more sombre and angsty from this point on and never does it hit the sweet highs of the second volume. Midway through volume three an awful cliché of a plot device is thrown in and again I'm rudely reminded of Kano-sensei's weakness at plotting. It takes the rest of the series to resolve this story line and it's a frustrating read in parts but at this point I'm so heavily invested in this adorable couple that there's no question of not seeing it through.

I haven't mentioned the cats yet but they are a bonus cute factor though really, Kouta is the cutest thing with no competition! After a stumbling start the story really takes off and hits such glorious heights it reminds me of why I love BL manga in the first place. The weaker latter two volumes prevent this series from becoming a true great for me but it's still a series I'd heartily recommend to any fujoshi.