The main story was slow paced (with hardly any yaoi "action"), but I still really enjoyed it. The art is wonderful, and I liked how the mangaka The plot wasn't really anything new (tough yakuza, quiet tea ceremony guy - opposites attract kind of thing), but it had a gentle flow to it that kept me interested.

I also really liked the story with the 2 uni students. I'm a sucker for a Cinderella story, and this kind of felt like that type of scenario. Glasses guy was basically like a stalker, but it was cute how

I think this mangaka's got great potential and it would be nice to see some more stuff.

... Last updated on November 14th, 2009, 10:50pm

This sure is an amazing manga, I cried a lot... the story is beautiful and the drawings are excelent, too bad there's only one original manga from this mangaka, I was looking for her works when I finished reading Ake Nure Goyou ni Furu Yuki wa~ story one is really beautiful, but I liked "cry for the sun" too, really touching and so sad... too bad is just a one-shot ._.
anyways, the manga is excelent <3

... Last updated on August 2nd, 2009, 10:28am

All the stories in this collection are haunting and poetic. There's a lot of metaphoric depth in the imagery and words, and there's a lot of deep psycholgoical exploration. I applaud the translator and editor for capturing the poetry and psychology.

And the art! My god. The art. Breath taking. (The graphic editor made some great aesthetic choices.)

My only complaint? This is Hori Tomoki's only English title!

... Last updated on October 31st, 2011, 1:26pm

OH MY GOD THE FIRST STORY WAS SO GOOD. I went straight to chapter 6 cause I was so into it. I'm a sucker for reunions so I ended up crying a bit. Ah, love is really, far more beautiful than anything else. If you're a hopeless romantic when it comes to yaoi then this is definitely a read. I won't get into further details cause I don't want to spoil anything. The summary pretty much explains it. Except, the "Japanese traditions and the underworld", the story didn't really focus much on that. It pretty much revolved around the two of them and their feelings.

The 2nd story was ahh, BEAUTIFUL! Too beautiful for words! Some say, only shounen-ai can pull such a story...well here's where they're wrong. I fell in love with every word, their dialogue, solilquy. I think this has to be one of my favorite one-shots.

Last story killed this manga. T.T I hated it. I hate such plots. It breaks your heart and it makes you angry... angry at both characters! I know in other people's eyes this story was probably "aww", "bittersweet", "doesnt matter since it's a happy ending" but for me it was mostly "wtf", "don't forgive him!". I'm so mad. This completely ruined my adoration for the mangaka. So she can write such annoying characters too. T.T

My raiting excludes the last story.

... Last updated on April 23rd, 2011, 7:46pm

But I'm not sure how to feel about it. It reads more poetic (as someone previously has mentioned)--and it isn't really realistic, but it's the kind of suspended dreamy kind of thing. It's a more effeminate man+regular man kind of pairing up with each of the stories, but I really really like how the stories are told. Stuff isn't half-assed. But seriously, the main story really does steal the show away, the artwork is superb by sheer fact that all the lines are really gorgeous, and the pacing is really good.

I only read the chapters associated with the first story (chapters 1, 2, 3, and 6) and they were amazing. I never write reviews, and I'm shocked that I'm writing one right now. But this manga is so beautiful. I heard the other stories weren't nearly as great so I didn't even bother reading them because I didn't want my image of this story to be tainted by other stories. Maybe I'll go back and read the other ones later. But the main story is really great. I feel like this is one of the rare yaoi mangas that doesn't care that much about sex, and it's more about feelings and love and it's just really natural and realistic and so REALISTICALLY emotional, not overdone or sentimental or melodramatic or sappy at all. I highly recommend it.

A lot of this was pretty cheese, I must admit. It didn't really do it for me. Yukihiro was sometimes over-emotional to a point where it made me sit back and go "uh?". Chapter five was also quite stupid and made little sense from a realistic physiological standpoint. It just annoyed me the whole way through. I did, however, enjoy chapter four.
The art was gorgeous sometimes, but not entirely cohesive. For example in the main story, Kazuma is beautifully illustrated with a very realistic look, where as Yukihiro has those excessively big eyes and looks quite ridiculous next to him. Certainly not the worst thing I've ever read, but I probably wouldn't read it again.

What's a poetry in these stories.. If you look for the action - don't even bother.. There is something else which makes the stories beautiful, unique and worth reading.. And the art is so amazing - you can almost 'feel' all emotions on protagonists faces. Even though, while reading your heart might be fulfiled with sadness, but when you finish the story it leaves you with your heart warm and happy that you didn't miss this one.

While I've been reading lot's of mangas I'm always satisfied when I find the one with such kind of poetry as this one has.

... Last updated on October 21st, 2010, 8:20am

The artwork is beautiful but the stories are even more beautiful. I really like how this series focuses more on the intensity of emotions than on the sex. Each of these stories has its own touching moments, and I almost teared up while reading some of them. It's definitely worth reading.

... Last updated on September 23rd, 2009, 2:11am

The art is insanely beautiful. At times it reminded me of a more gentle INARIYA Fusanosuke, who is a personal favourite of mine. If it were not for the art, I don't suppose I would be rating this so highly.

Granted, the main story is by far the most satisfying one. Though the dialogue is a little disjointed at times, the characters are endearing. Their motivation is not altogether clear, but their story comes into a heartwarming close nonetheless. Much is left unexplained, of course. This is not a conventional romance. It can still be quite enjoyable if one happens to be in the right mood.

At First Sight didn't make much of an impact on me, mainly because the plot was really average and I couldn't connect with the characters in any sense.

Crying for the Sun was melancholy but very beautiful. It's a shame there is only one chapter of it. The unusual storyline had a lot of potential in my opinion, and I liked Ethan, the little kid. Still, it is what it is. Overall enjoyable and promising, but far from completion.

I'll be sure to return to this artist again, that's certain.

... Last updated on February 21st, 2015, 10:05am