Theirs
was a miraculous and fateful first encounter! In a trance, Takashiro
Tsuda gazed at the artwork that shared the same title as the work he
had created. The title "Color," and the artist: Sakae
Fujiwara. This coincidence was the driving force that led the men to
inevitably meet, but what bond, if any, will the artists share?
(Source: Goodreads)
Ah,
Eiki Eiki and Taishi Zaou: two great tastes that go good together.
English language manga readers know Eiki Eiki as the manga-ka behind
Dear Myself and Princess Princess (also an anime) while Taishi Zaou
is known as the manga-ka behind Green Light and The Day of
Revolution. When they come together in one work, we get Color, a tour
de force of romance, humor, and drama packed into one volume. Do me a
favor and get it now.
Okay,
that's probably not enough reason for most to pick up a manga. Let me
explain why Color hits all the right notes. It's about two young men
drawn to each other by fate - or hitsuzen, if you prefer, XXXHOLiC
fans - and falling into a deep friendship that blooms into an even
deeper love. It's about digging within oneself to realize what one's
true dreams and aspirations are and finding that person that
completes the color palette inside you. It's about humans being human
and making mistakes and pushing and pulling against each other to
find their happy ending.
It's
also incredibly cute.
I love Sakae and Takashiro together and I love that their classmates
ultimately support their relationship, which probably puts Color into
that genre of yaoi fiction where everyone is cool with the LGBT
community and don't have an issue with queer folks. Plus, Takashiro
Tsuda is totally adorable. Long hair and glasses and trendy coat and
scarf combos for the win!
Not
only is Color cute, it brings the drama. Both Takashiro and Sakae
have their issues and it takes them a while to realize they don't
have to tackle them alone, but I found that incredibly realistic.
Plus, they also have a realistic take on their own relationship: they
don't automatically assume they will stay together forever, but they
know they'll cherish the love they have for what time they do have.
I'm also glad that Eiki and Zaou didn't gloss over the issue that gay
men in Japan aren't exactly swimming in civil rights i.e. same-sex
marriage.
Plus,
there's totally awkward first time sexy times and it's great! No one
is an expert, there are lots of weird questions being asked, and best
of all there's no question on consent - it's clear that both men want
to have sex and respect the other person's desires to do so. Can we
send this enthusiastic consent story to other yaoi manga-ka, pretty
please? Also, there's a really funny joke that skewers the seme/uke
dynamics, and I'm always here for a manga that makes fun of yaoi's
near religious reverence for keeping couples in top and bottom roles.
I
really really
enjoyed reading Color. I'm so glad I picked this volume up on a whim
when I saw it at the store; it was totally worth the price of
admission. When two of my favorite manga-ka come together in one
work, the end result is fantastic. I'd recommend Color to any fan of
yaoi manga who don't feel like committing to a whole series but still
want to be fully entertained.
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