I really really REALLY cannot stand it in yaoi manga when

... Last updated on October 4th, 2012, 7:07pm

I agree that it is nice to have the downer at the start rather than the end, it sort of feels like the rest are there to cheer you up, non?

Anyways in order:

1: Not great, not awful, and despite going for that emotional hit, just didn't get there. I think it may be because it is a one shot, but I can see where they were going. A so-so start.

2: I liked this one better, cute story, I would love to have a back story on this family though, oh well. Haru looks adorable trying to pull his shirt down to cover his bottom.

3: I'll never really get the rape into love, but it makes more sense here since Suguru already liked him. I don't get the 'glasses disguise you' or 'hide that you are good looking' part. I see that a lot. Again a cute ending, but... not anything out of the ordinary.

4: Meh, a sort of boring story with some really over used plot devices. Also 'I didn't even realize you were gay.' Wow, how could did you not pick up on that after that outfit on page 4?

5-6: Again rape turns into a happy couple, cute enough though.

Overall: Not really fantastic, but it was a book of (mostly) cute stories. I enjoyed the art a lot, and it's nice to see normal sized dicks not HOLY CRAP HUGE PENISES FOR EVERYONE that is in most manga. I liked also the detail in the glasses, nose pieces and all. The little SD pages between chapters were cute too.

For this manga i am giving it a 9.

The art is adorable, not too cute (where many of the ukes are too feminine or looks like a girl).

I enjoy the fact that it was an oneshot collection, although the first oneshot could be made into a series, since the readers are left with a lingering feeling of incompletion.

But still, a really really enjoyable manga, for me at least. I enjoy all part and shots of the manga and plan to keep an eye out for this mangaka.

The first oneshot was short, but it was exquisite and yearningful. I agree with voraciouszest, the fact that this shot seem out of place with the manga theme really stand out, but i disagree when it comes to the plot. I think the mangaka's attempt for this oneshot to be sad and touching did not fail as voraciouszest made it seem. And the fact why this sad shot was at the beginning of the manga and not the end? Well, i rather read the sad and then the happy any time (reading happy and touching shots, just to get to the last oneshot that ends in misery? No way, not for me baby).

Thanks to AF for scanlating this gorgeous manga for the fans!

ngl, I did get that angsty-ass emotional hit in the first one lolll. I liked that tragic ending, actually. (but lbr they'll probably still get entangled again lmao) (poor wife though... it should've happened before they made it official. pining at weddings is one of my fav tropes. it's true, BL treats women awfully. good thing it's fiction and no actual women were hurt for my satisfaction mwahaha 😛)

will leave the rest for later.

p.s.: pro-tip, you can pretty much guarantee anything attractive fascinate ever does is hot garbage. I'm just thankful they didn't force their colouring on us this time.

... Last updated on August 24th, 2022, 11:39am

I can't even get angry at this anymore. Just, sad, sad, and more sadness.
I honestly want to rate this a 10. No kidding, that’s what I actually want to rate this because the stories break my heart, and keep me on the brink of hope. The reason that I won’t is because of how Humiliation and Shame are used in ways that I find abusive, within the story, and rude to the readers, especially women and LGBT+ people. And, they all touch upon such important topics, to see them being dealt in this why ... just no. Please stop.

Ok, but pretty much all of these suck. The fourth story is alright and the art is ok, but basically she draws two faces so it's kinda boring. But I do like the line [spoiler] "If you let me see you looking so cute like this I will not stop until we do it all the way, even if you're crying and don't want it." [spoiler] LOLZ, JK *facepalm* The only thing left to say is megane, megane, megane, megane!!

... Last updated on November 10th, 2014, 10:59am

I don't know why but good art works always have bad storylines. It's like a nightmare. As I was fascinated by the art, I couldn't even concentrate on the stories. They're so bad and poor that I don't know what I should say. The stories seems jumbled up and there's no clear plot at all. Not to mention that the first story sucks. I don't even know what exactly is going and then bam! that's the ending. As expected from a book with oneshots. *shakes head*

Hate the first story. The others are o.k. but often have a lingering feeling of incompletion.
Like the art. I've seen better, but I've also seen much worse in this style.

Yuushitetsusen no Koi (or Barbed Wire Love) is a volume of one-shots by Anan Yukako. The stories loosely revolve around the theme of friendships evolving into something more.
This was my first time reading any of Anan's work. Though this is not her first manga, this is her first to be fully scanlated into English. To that end, I was a little disappointed. I feel I would have been a little more generous had it been one of her earlier attempts, but because this is one of her newest pieces of work, there is really very little excuse for the flaws you'll find in Yuushitetsusen no Koi.
The title one-shot, Barbed Wire Love, is the story of Heiji and his high school sempai and ex-lover, Kou. We join the story on Kou's wedding day. The story isn't so bad but there are two flaws that make it a little hard to enjoy.
The first flaw is that the mangaka has attempted to squish all the complicated feelings, both past and present, of a troublesome and far-from-over love affair into a oneshot. Needless to say, there is no real ending because of this.
The second flaw lies in the fact that the title oneshot has been included in the volume as the very first chapter, and really does a good job of ruining the mood for the following stories. I won't reveal what happens, but I can say that Barbed Wire Love seems like an extra (and unrelated chapter) that has mysteriously found its way from the end of the book to the beginning. The rest of the stories seem to be much more related to one another than the title story.

The following stories all involve a common theme; friendships that turn into romantic relationships. They also have a megane theme, or glasses theme for those of you who aren't otaku. The rest of the volume flows nicely. The stories are begun and completed in their chapters and still manage to get their point across.
As for Anan's artistic style, I don't have too many complaints. She manages to create some very hot sex scenes and keeps her characters aesthetically pleasing. My only disappointment is that the majority (not all) of her characters tend to look almost exactly the same. At one point, reading the second chapter, I had to keep on looking back at chapter one to see if some of the characters were included in the story.
Yuushitetsusen no Koi is nice. It's impossible to claim any deeper lesson will be learnt here. The stories are short, the characters are given little time to develop and the sex tends to take over the story a little too much. However, anyone with experience in Yaoi will already know that this is the true nature of the one-shot. You really can't walk into a volume full of one-shots expecting to gain an experience similar to reading a volume dedicated wholly to one story.
You'll enjoy this work if you want a quick read, some cute boys and some hot sex.

... Last updated on February 7th, 2009, 7:29pm