Indeed Honjou Rie's style! So good!
The story is great! Well... not that amazing, but really really well work! Very nice! I love all the story and the characters! Very well!

Better than some of her other works, but pretty average by normal yaoi standards. I liked how the "future" she made-up had basis on traditional Japanese brothels of the past, but overall it could have used more detailed world-building. In fact I think she comes off as slightly lazy, because she uses the olden-day aesthetic only to make it more interesting and pretty but switches to a modern-day setting when it becomes convenient during some scenes rather than trying to fuse the two.

The final story (not set after WW3) was actually my favorite. I think she's more cut-out for portraying simple budding romance stories like that; when she attempts to delve into the deeper aspect of things it's not exactly successful.

The thing that distracts me the most is her art -- most of her characters look similar and their expressions never fully convey the depth of emotion I expect. But it's better than some of her other works, so probably worth a read if you're thinking of trying her out.

... Last updated on April 7th, 2012, 10:21am

...ultimately, that potential was unrealized. There were tantalizing hints of a fascinating world, but they were never fleshed out. Neither were the characters. They were pretty, sure, but I just didn't care that much, and I couldn't see how any kind of relationship actually developed between the two main characters. Then she brings in a potential rival, only to kill him off quickly. Overall, it was disappointing.

once again, this didn't reach me. there was loads of potential in ginchou's story; i really liked the bit where he tosses his pipe into the river, but there wasn't enough of it to make me care -- why did those two get together? i didn't feel the love. i also think that honjou wanted to write a story about the "floating world" without doing a lot of research, so she decided to set it in some random future after WWIII instead, without doing any actual world building for that future. i didn't buy it for a second, and felt annoyed at her for being so lazy. i actually LIKE floating world stories, and kimono? hell yeah, but not here. the second story had even less going for it; i already don't remember it anymore.

the last story didn't fit with the mood the first story set, and that made it all feel very disjointed, and i am probably giving it too little credit. do yourself a favour and do NOT read the entire thing at once. the art is as always very pretty. alas i admit, i am bored by her sex scenes at this point; they're all so much alike. 5.5 because of the art; the stories are no better than average.

... Last updated on January 8th, 2011, 8:46pm

When I got to the 3rd story I was like "yes! modern world!" It was quite ironic since the first 2 stories were based after the world ward 3 yet the scenes looked like Japan during the world war 2 era. I wish the mangaka just made it modern. I don't mind the kimono but even the "outside world" felt so ancient. There really wasn't much depth with the first 2 stories. The first one felt really quick..and Ginchou's feelings somewhat didnt feel believable even though he ended up quiting and they ended up together. If they made it his POV instead..I think it would've satisfied me much more. The 2nd story just left me with a question mark. It was like a 3 page one-shot XD But the art was beautiful.

Now, with the 3rd story. "Oh. My. Gosh. How. Cute. Was. It?!?!" I mean the way Asamine acts was just SO CUTE and untypical~!! In the back of my mind I kept going "way to go dude!" His facade in the beginning was perfect. I mean, teasing ? if I were the one he had a crush on I wouldn't know... ANYWAY.. I hate to say it but it didnt really leave a huge impact on me. Especially the way it ended (>.>) so my raitings a little low

... Last updated on December 16th, 2010, 7:22pm

This story happens in an imaginary future after the 3rd World War. A lot of people are broke and the red light district grows prosper once more. Ginchou is the number one tenant at one of the biggest houses in the red district, the Heavenly Jade Pavillion. He just hired a new "protector", a servant to attend his everyday necessities. Most of stories of this mangas covers this plot. I don't know why the last story is completely different about some high schoolers, I would prefer more stories about the Heavenly Jade Pavillion.
I really loved this manga, the characters are so interesting, I just think it should be longer. The story suddenly ends and it's too bad that they were not better developed. Even so I really enjoyed I wish there were more mangas like this one.

... Last updated on October 11th, 2009, 6:28pm

I can't say that i love this manga, i do like it but it doesn't feels like it's completed. I want to prolong the dtory between Yagarasu and Fumiaki and also Toen and the old guy *forgot his name*.
The second story is cute tho... But still... It's a cliffhanger to me...

Hmm, while I generally like this author, I wouldn't say this is one of her best.

With in the first couple of pages you can tell exactly where how the main relationship is going to end, and while cute, it isn't exactly riveting. Then there are the side characters, who seem quite interesting ,but some appear only once and are never heard from again, while a few appear at a later time and get at least some closure. I honestly think this story could have really benefited from a few more chapters, perhaps where the Blue Sky Love story was. While I like that story better, it could have been published somewhere else. I would love to read more about how things go for Harasaki and Touen, or even what happens after the abrupt end of the bonus story.

On the plus side, Ginchou looks stellar in his glasses, and there are plenty of kimonos to go around. I do wonder about the timeline in this though. So it's set after a hypothetical WWIII, non? It looks like a more historical setting in terms of technology, dress, and atmosphere, but since 1945 was the year the war ended and I can't imagine that the next war started immediately afterwards, so I sort of wonder how historical this is. On the first page there are two female prostitutes, wearing generally what one could expect to find them in today, while the only panel that shows a car, and only the front end at that, is clearly drawn with a hood and grill style that was popular during the 20s, somewhat in the 30s and almost completely out of production by WWII.

I really liked this. I like the progression with the main couple, the art, and the character designs in general. There was more plot than I expected given the general plot line and I found myself really liking several of the characters. I went into it not knowing much about the story and was pleasantly surprised by my feelings by the end. It's been awhile since I read it so unfortunately I can't give more specifics but I marked it as one of my favorites. I do have to say though that I haven't read a ton of Honjou Rie yet so I don't know how it compares to her other manga.

I found it hard to pay attention to this. I know scanlators like to do the same old mangaka, but every story by every mangaka isn't worth translating. Not to say this is bad, but it just did not hold my interest.