So Corsair revolves around fantasy/pirates/Middle Kingdom type setting. I was able to
overlook issues and enjoy the simple storyline. It’s not meant to be realistic setting about pirates. It’s not a true historical manga.

The main story revolves around Canale and Ayace. I actually felt sad for Canale and understood his guilt. I didn’t strike me as weak, he had been abused so he was not as dominant. Ayace felt like the right person to kind of get him out of that mindset. Yes, they communicated through sex but that was the point.

I truly, truly, cannot understand why this manga is so well liked. I have some speculations:
1. The setting: Pirates and stuff aren't my preferred setting but I guess to other people it is? Still, that's absolutely not why I gave this a 1. Anyway, I feel that the author did basic research to just find out what Oriental tropes can be used and left it at that. There is absolutely no depth to anything here at all. This author can definitely learn something from Otoyomegatari or Vinland Saga.
2. Art: This again I will have to give to the mangaka. The art isn't half bad. But really, its not beautiful enough for so many people to be going gaga over it.
3.Action? Well, yes, it was action packed. And there was no shortage of .
4. Everything isn't about sex. Yeah, okay. Let me just stop you there. I am not even going to get into this.

There are may more things more but I am tired, and hungry, and I would rather not waste anymore of my time on this.
Also, I read the whole thing before commenting, so it's not like I am randomly hating on this.

... Last updated on January 4th, 2017, 8:38am

This manga left me feeling both love and hate. The plot can be very intricate at times, but at other points, it really lets go and becomes cliched and uninteresting. I liked Canale's character, though I wish there was more character development from him rather than leaving his fate up to the people he's around at the moment.

Ayace on the other hand has had almost no character development. I had really been expecting his back-story to come into play at some point or other - why is he so loyal to the pirates, how did he come to be picked up by them, what does he even think about other than pirate life and Canale? Because his character wasn't explored, I felt he was left too flat for a character who could be extremely interesting.

And probably the bitterness I feel the most towards this story is that I feel it should be considered a 'tragedy'. There is so much sadness, pain and death in the story, including the fact that the main character is basically suicidal the entire time, that it left me with such a defeated feeling. I dislike reading tragedies. This one was close enough to really ruin my mood.

Great story, but it could've explored character growth - even of the antagonist - MUCH more. I would've liked to see what these characters could've accomplished if they'd been allowed to grow out of the character moulds the author started with.

Also, there were quite a number of weaknesses to the plot, politics, and world creation that took me out of the enjoyment of the story a bit. Not a major thing, but it happened enough times to warrant a mention here.

This manga has a love-hate relationship with its readers lol....

Anywho, not wanting to confuse future comment readers, I'll get this straight.

This manga deals with uncertain issues that will leave some of you questioning but at the same time makes you go, "Oooo....ok." It has good artwork and the plot is a bit dark but understandable. Again, it will leave you questioning. To enjoy it, you either have to believe the logic or simply ignore the questions in your head.

Personally, I quite enjoyed it because I accept this manga's logic pfft! It is according to your taste whether you will enjoy it or not! No graphic rape scenes though which is why this is good for newly made fujoshis or for the curious ones. The plot is forgivable and the ending is good enough to leave you satisfied~

My rating is based on artwork and the feel it left me after I was done reading it.

... Last updated on October 13th, 2013, 9:58pm

@ shirosaki173 I agree with their review. The plot was very well laid out. Canale dealt with his life the best he could with his upbringing, which wasn't that great. Throughout this whole story, he doesn't believe he was/is worthy of being loved by anyone. Even though he didn't believe he deserved it, he wanted to try to help others when he could. Perhaps to try to make up for his sins, though I'd like to think it was because of he was as a person. He kept thinking the best end for him was his own death, only not by his own hands. Watching the relationship between Canale and Ayace grow was worth while. I would recommend this story.

I made a new account just to comment on this series. It's quite good compared to others- it stands even without the sex. The sex here is not just for the characters to have fun. A way to put it is that this is a story about pirates that involves sex, NOT a story about sex that involves pirates.

Compared to other yaoi mangas' this one deserves a top rating for the fact that the plot isn't paper-thin. Mangas like Viewfinder are eye-candy with sex playing no particular part in plot development. I enjoyed the fact that the plot in this story is plausible and believable. One way to judge whether it is a stable plot is to remove the sex scenes and see whether the plot still makes sense. It works for this story.

A lot of people have commented that Canale cries too much. But Canale doesn't really cry all the time- he puts on a perpetually mournful face, yes. I think that it has a very good point- to emphasize that Canale is a weak, unstable character. You WANT to hate him because he's so weak. I think it's a great way to show how a character can be flawed. He's not supposed to be a brave character who's happy despite his sorrows- all his past sins have broken him into a depressed, deeply unhappy person unable to find solace in his lonely life. His relationship with Ayace builds a foundation for him to heal himself and his wounds.

Another reason I enjoyed this manga is because I found that it draws many parallels with another manga I loved, Tsubasa Reservoir Chronicles. Canale is somewhat like Fai and Ayace like Kurogane. Canale and Fai are both haunted by tragic pasts, i.e.

In other words, Corsair is almost an X-rated and much shorter version of Tsubasa, minus Syaoran and Sakura.

Because this series is short, there is not much development to other characters but there is enough to make the story good. Aura is obviously not someone to step on while her twin is the eager young lad who is willing to accept the guidance of his elders. The villains of the story have enough backstory to make their motivations and ambitions plausible. The story is however mostly centered on Canale and his reluctantly growing love for Ayace, as well as his guilt for his past.

Whew, long review! Warnings for this story: some may consider it dubcon. Some may consider Canale to be a very weepy moody character. I think it's just right for a few hours of entertainment. It's not great literature, but it's a good little read.

... Last updated on June 20th, 2013, 9:24am

This is amazing. I don't unrest and why everyone complains about how much of a cry baby uke is. The story is touching and a lot have happened to the uke so it's obvious.
The plot starts off amazing. It gets you hooked right from the very start. There's a lot of mystery going on. You wanna know more about what have happened before and you wanna see how the characters will end up. There's a couple of twists in it too.
Overall: the art is amazingly beautiful.
The story is really good and keeps you on the edge of your seat.
Great character development.

Read it. It's a great read

I really like Ayace's character and looks!
I really feel for poor Canale... his life was terable... and his parents.... so cruel... his brother was just sick... and I think Canale had no choice in the matter to kill him... so sad... yet so... so... sad... @_@

I was fooled by many possitive comments to read this SHOUJO manga. It was an absolute waste of time.
I'm not fond of Canale's character at all and Im not just talking about the Sesaam's assasin. He strikes me as a weak WOMAN who always cries and needs protection all the time. Seriously, the author just tried to make this yaoi more melodramatic than it should be. Hes supposed to be strong in sword fighting but he got raped so many time and his resistance is almost nonexisted.
Sesaam is a super nice guy to the point of being dumb, he loves him so its OK for Canale to kill him and forget about him to love someone else. Then he said Canale is his child now. What wrong with him? He also looks overly feminine, just 2nd place to Canale.
The art is too pretty that it looks like shoujo ai.
And the pirate never do pirate jobs, just have sex and play with swords, no adventurous feelings whatsoever.
The plot is rather boring. There is so many cliche moments. The rest of the character is not well developed.I do not have any feeling from reading this at all. And Im not a heartless person, I read many yaoi that full with emotions, sadder and more meaningful than this. Many shorter yaoi that actually makes me cry and remember. This is not it.
And whatever u guy are thinking about him acting blind or not. Please dont overlook this just because you like the manga. If you actually pay attention to the details, he knows who the person is without that person speaking first. And whenever he hears a sound, he turns and LOOK at it. I feel like the author used his blindness as a poor attempt to make his past sadder and completely forgot about this in the whole series. I totally forgot that hes blind until they remind me at the end. Idk how a blind person supposed to act but I read many other manga that portrays a blind person, I can actually feel he's blind by his behaviors. I have to say this manga failed miserably. Using a disability to get sympathy is a big task. If the author couldnt do this theme, better not do it at all since its really a delicate matter.

... Last updated on March 8th, 2013, 12:22pm

Okay, so I have to admit this manga didn't do much for me at the beginning couple of chapters with all the names and places jumbled around every where, especially when they're not that typical/normal to be easily remembered right away at first. Thus I found it even a bit too boring to get through to the main events.

However once I had passed all that the series pleasantly surprised me with the progression and I have to say it didn't disappoint at all. And piracy isn't even my usual cup of tea, let me tell you that! The settings, the designs, the plot premises are all what I normally consider too dull for my taste (well sorry if I offended anyone but it's my personal opinion) yet somehow the manga still managed to win me over with the flow in story-telling and execution. The art is I guess somewhat eye-candy to normal standards - though it's not my absolute favourite type of art, everything still nicely fits into places to produce a great result overall.

I guess what I'm trying to conclude here is that this definitely isn't the type of manga filled with guys in hot steamy actions, so if you're looking for those materials it's better not to waste your time here. Nonetheless with some time to spare you should absolutely check this manga out and I believe it will not leave you bad aftertaste. Fulfilling? Maybe, maybe not. But definitely not dull I can guarantee that.