michi speaks: beast & feast

Hey yeah, minna! Today's exactly a year after the last entry (or should I say, the latest entry we have) that Hime-chama made for Dangerous Minds. Gomen minna-san, for taking a long time to get back on this realm of our esteemed BL Admin. We, the contributors here, had been living the moment and all the days were spent for reaching our dreams, caring for others and soon living with a one true love (hear yea a wedding bell). Not me, by the way. One of the contributors will soon be tying a knot with her Prince.

If you read the header that says 'michi speaks:', then your guess is right. It is now time to take a day off from my client tasks and just digging in for BL story once again. Our great Admin has not summon us yet, so I must pay her a visit and to check how she's doing lately. While I'm at it, here's a latest manga review from one of my fave mangaka, Akira Norikazu.


Mangaka: Akira Norikazu
Status: Complete (1 Volume)
Genres: Action, Comedy, Drama, Romance, Yaoi

Description:

While investigating a murder case, Detective Hishinuma Kazuha is reunited with mobster, Hyoudou Itsuki. During their junior high school days, their relationship was like oil and water; Kazuha minded his own business and Hyoudou was emotionally attached.

Hyoudou is at a bargaining point as he approaches Kazuha: he'll divulge important information about the case in exchange for Kazuha's body. Kazuha refuses such an unfathomable request, but Hyoudou, the unrestrained beast, takes control...

These two interwoven men and their superb, wild, beast-like love!

- mangaupdates.com


My Take:

I truly enjoy reading detective stories and 'Beast & Feast' happens to have but not entirely focused that way. The reason I picked this one is because the description says so and my mind goes in wanderlust for mysteries that are to be unfolded in this story. I often imagined that detectives has the coolest job on earth, not typical for one's bread and butter but the thrill of the moment. Most of the time, I get to wonder how a single piece of evidence could actually lead to a bigger picture on what conspires the event. Deduction is the key for it and the art (and science) behind it is not a simple subject you will learn through academics.

But speaking of deduction, this is what truly lacks on the story, for my fondness for investigative plot was not satisfied. Akira Norikazu, the mangaka, was a bit safe not to push further on the plot for the murder case she came up for 'Beast & Feast'. When reading the first chapter, here we thought the case handled by the First Division Detective Hishinuma Kazuha was a lost cause after it leads them to their 3rd or 4th victim, still not having identified their murder suspect. However, his old high school classmate, Hyoudou Itsuki, suddenly has the answer. In order for the detective to obtain the information, Kazuha has to give his body to Itsuki as an exchange. And after reading, I was wishing for more plots for the murder case but while I was in the middle of the story, I forgot all about it and just been grinning most the time for the smut stuff.

Exactly the point of this manga was to entertain the female audiences about the beast wanting to "eat up" his prey, not in the survivor of the fists sense, if you get what I mean. Think of the green thoughts here, fellow readers! Joking aside and in fact, I do enjoy the whole volume though the detective stuff was lacking. I have great respect for the detectives, the courageous men and women in uniform. So I just have to set aside the profession and see the characters Hishinuma Kazuha and Hyoudou Itsuki in their most human emotions towards their journey to the thorny path of detective-and-yakuza life.

It's a joy to read, I tell you. I even appreciate that part of the story where the main characters were confessing their feelings for each other, you'll see the whole panel filled with flowers that are blooming and their faces where blushing. This signifies a climactic approach that their relationship has become stronger than the first time they met after 10 years. It will leave you smiling, or in my case, insanely grinning.