Simply wow, this totally blew me away.
This was very...captivating. It's hard not to see why. The love between Sen and Sword was just so emotional and deep. I felt like I was on an emotional rollercoaster just reading about them. And it's not just the hot bed scenes. The dialogue was equally amazing. Both characters were witty and funny at the same time. There's no stupid naive uke, and they both had a very strong appealing personality.


What's more, it seems so REAL. There was no soap operas, and while this love is so extreme, the way it was played out made it believable. Like these characters actually existed in grand hotel.
Simply but, I loved this. There was so many parts it was so EXCITING and GRIPPING that I had to step back, and rethink the whole situation and what's going on.
It's a definite must-read!!

... Last updated on June 16th, 2011, 11:22pm

It was good!

Good thing I stuck to this manga. At first I was hesitant to read it but I read the comments here and when I did read it, there were plenty of times when I wanted to stop because it was not my style. At all. I kept reading the comments and thinking, "Ok, I'll read more." And I'm glad I read more. It was very good! The sex, although there's plenty of it, didn't take away anything from the plot.

This is an amazing story. The plot was amazing and it was in my opinion very realistic.

Everything is very graphic and it actually brings out your emotional attachments quickly. I like that the story was 'real' so to say. Things didn't feel fake and impossible like many BL stories. Nothing that happened I thought 'give me a effen break, like that would happen.' (well except with Walter and his immate who I can't remember his name.)

Now saying all of that I do believe the charracters were a little flat but that could be caused becuase everything fast paced but it works. I do believe the 'romance' aspect of it was really good but I never believe rape will become love. This one wasn't as bad becuase he said he didn't fall in love because of the rape so to say....but it added to it....other than that I think this is a great read

Well, i read this quite a while ago but i thought i should comment on it now
It was one of the BEST yaoi manga i have read...
Although there was lots of violence and rape :s
I still enjoyed it lots and lots.
There was romance which i loved
A must read

There were a few times that I got queasy reading this manga and I had no idea why. It only hit me after I finished reading it for the third time. It's too romantic. Saying it now, it sounds stupid, but bear with me for a sec.

The characters were unexpectedly flat. I would have liked to know them more, especially Sen. I saw a Sen in love with Sword, and a Sen angsting a little over his past, but that's it. It would have been nice to see more sides to him (since he WAS the protagonist) but there wasn't much more because the entire story revolved around the romance--even the rape scenes contributed to just the romance. Which explained my little bouts of nausea. It was just too emotional. It was like watching a love-sick couple babytalk each other. So sweet, it HURTS. This is why I can't understand the people that say there's not enough love in this manga...were they really reading it? Underneath the sex, Sen and Sword acted like love-sick teenagers. It was almost funny how prematurely awkward they were in some situations, especially Sword when he got jealous over Sen! There was no doubt that the romance in this manga was beautiful, but it would have been better if there had been other elements to support it. I understand the mangaka probably wanted to emphasize how their love took over their lives, but it would have been more effective if we saw something other than the romance to contrast it first. These guys were in PRISON for pete's sake. There must have been something they thought about except sex/love/who's screwing who.

For the sizzling love between our two main guys, I give this manga a solid 8 points. This is THE love story to read.

... Last updated on July 29th, 2010, 6:11am

A very edgy manga with two arrogant leads. Not one single character in this manga can be considered weaker than the other, they all are fiery and edgy. No lengthy self-reflection too. It's hard-hitting, fast-paced and the men are awesome! Just the right combination of excitement, passion, jealousy, violence, love and lust! You won't be able to stop reading, if only for the art, which is exquisite! The politics and plot is the icing, and the main cake is the love story, but the icing is too crazy to ignore. Re-read it several times, it gets better every time. Two thumbs up!

... Last updated on June 14th, 2010, 8:26am

Ｏ(≧∇≦)ＯI really don't know what to say about this magan, I couldn't stop reading it, now that I'm done, I'm really sad（；_・）, Under Grand Hotel started off slow and didn't really speed up until the 2nd Chapter for me. I don't really enjoy manga that just have sex scene after sex scene but after a few mins of reading i stop noticing it, and i must agree that the first chapter was more rap than loveﾎﾟｯ(*ﾟ.ﾟ)(ﾟ.ﾟ*)ﾎ ﾟｯ...I still love the out come of the story.


....Ps. I love the fact that there a African American and a Japanese guy in this story ....This is the first manga I've read like that and i hope to god it wont be the last. :')

... Last updated on March 12th, 2010, 10:31am

i keep reading from above comments that the first vol. was "so violent" but it's jail! not a spa but jail! i loved how it started off violent and cold and morphed into something as warm as a love story in jail can be. it was awesome! the sex was hot, the love was sweet, the twist and betrayals were unpredictable and had you on the edge of your seat. it was unlike any other manga i have read, and im so glad i read it. but if you have a soft palet then let it go, but if you can handle it a little crueler and rougher then i say read it ASAP!

I almost stoped reading, because the first volume is so violent and meaningless. I deslike stories with no consensual sex, but I kept reading and afterward all became better. Most times everything is unrealistic and shallow, yes, but the plot is so different for the most yaoi mangas that is great. And I liked the main characters. The end is predictable, like almost all yaoi, but was well developed. This mangaka aways does great smut mangas with a likewise good plot, enjoyable reading.

in short: uncensored, shocking at times, unpredictable, unrealistic, but a very fun read.
i really enjoyed it. it's not intended to portray a realistic image of prison, nor is a dramatic love story. it contains a lot of shallow sex scenes, while at times holding real important conversations.
i think this manga is famous for its rawness and the somewhat originality of its setting. it might not be the 'deep' piece of work you read, but it's really entertaining.

Pao