So, I had some doubts about this new project but I've now finished reading the first episode and I'm happy to have those put to rest! First of all, it turns out this is not a school life story with a supernatural twist, so for those of you who were worried, rest assured that it's more complicated and mature than that. The guys are all grown up with grown up problems. The supernatural elements, contrary to what you might think, didn't make the story seem juvenile either. I thought they were weaved into the plot really tastefully. It was so interesting! >.< Looks like another great universe by Yoshihara! She really is one of the better BL authors.

The manga & novel thing works surprisingly seamlessly and you get the best of both worlds. No need for excessive verbal descriptions in the manga and you get a very good idea of the visual aspects of the story in the novel parts from the illustrations. The art is excellent!

I was a little worried about the quality of the English language release with the time pressure of doing it simultaneously with the Japanese release and seeing as this is SuBLime's first light novel project. I worried for nothing though. I don't mean to put down DMP – I own all the volumes of AnK after all – but if I'm gonna be completely brutally honest, the quality of the English version is so much better in Into Illusion.

And for people looking for plot over smut, looks like there's much plot to be had in this one! I felt like by the time it ended, it had barely just gotten started! Not that there isn't a lot of material per episode, there's just a lot of ground to cover. Can't wait for the next installment!

So far, I really enjoy where this is going! Mystery and intrigue. Only bromance at this stage but I love all the characters – Kouki and Takumi were cute – and was that a hot antagonist(?) there at the end!♡

... Last updated on April 30th, 2013, 12:10pm

It didn't start off that well to be honest, but it's really picked up speed by the later episodes. The episodes are really small though, they're about 80 pages. Which wouldn't be so bad if it was all text, but it's half manga and that just makes reading everything faster. So I read all 3 episodes in a little over 3 hours, when it takes me about 3-4 hours to read 1 volume of a regular length light novel. As a result, you end up paying more in total for about the same length in entertainment.

Plus the episodes have a not insignificant amount of recap, which further eat into the actual new plot elements. Which isn't too bad in the grand scheme of things, but I was rather disappointed. I thought 3 episodes into the story would be enough to get a feel for the plot progression, but instead I feel like the story's just begun. I felt that people should be warned of that. It's better to wait for several more episodes to come out, because it looks like the author is just getting started. If 3 episodes equal 1 light novel, then 6 or 9 more episodes should get the plot rolling.

As for the plot itself, like streetwalker said there's more bromance than BL right now. It all has a very mysterious feel to it, and quite a few foreign concepts to grasp. I've got the basics down in the 3 episodes, (ie. the names and personalities of the main characters, their motivations, and some understanding of the supporting casts etc.) but I really can't tell where it's heading.

Another thing that's notable is the art. It's very pretty, and suits the atmosphere of this story. You don't feel much of a jump between novel and manga, so the plot flows nicely in between.

Also, Yoshihara Rieko has finally gotten over her fetish of making every eligible male fall for her main characters( As seen in Ai no Kusabi and Genwaku no Kodou). Now she has everyone hate them. Which is more fun in a way, but not so fun when you have to read so many recaps of it. That's it for now.

... Last updated on July 20th, 2016, 1:21pm