Tell me about it...

[Noon]

I cannot say I am a big fan of the series but I am definitely getting it. I still have the first three volumes that have been published by Be Beautiful and I am glad that DMP got the license for it. I totally love Asami and Akihito. They are just so sexy together.

Please let the license be the beginning of more great licenses.

[lore]

Yes, Noon, there certainly seems to be something about the buzz around the series that is compelling me to get it. Yamane's beautiful art style is hard to resist!

Kizuna, Tyrant, Viewfinder...all major license rescues. I feel like we have an embarrassment of riches already, but I'll take more any time. ~_^

[sunflower33]

This by necessity contains some general spoilers about the characters...

There's been mention of the plot, but no mention of the characters, which are the driving force behind my love for the series. One of the things I love about the book is that it can be read on a couple of levels, though IMO if you only read the surface you're missing out on a lot. On the surface, cold harsh businessman / organize crime boss Asami rapes cameraman Takaba into submission time and again, and finally decides he can't live without the fiery little uke. Great sex, pretty boys, fun action.

But really the story has a lot more to it than that. Part of that is evident from the novelization that Libre produced of the first chapter. It provides insight into what happened between Asami and Takaba that set off their attraction for one another - and there was attraction both ways. Another part comes in with the background relationship between Asami and Feilong seven years before Asami and Takaba meet. This story is told in volume two, and is the heart of what follows.

These three characters change each other every time they meet, and the changes are often subtle, erupting at a point that may surprise if one hasn't been reading carefully. Because in this story, much of the characterization, especially of Asami, is shown by what he does, not what he says. His speech and sex are weapons, and not often true indications of what he's thinking and feeling emotionally. His eyes, and his actions when no one is watching, those tell what's really going on inside.

What we find is that Asami and Feilong were changed in the past by those initial events that brought them together, and became very hard and cruel. Then Takaba comes into their lives and his presence lets them find something of their old selves within, though as Asami says at one point early on, not without a lot of pain. Much of this is told in the subtext of the story, but can be seen from the clues Yamane leaves.

What we find in the end is that the surface story really isn't what's been happening at all. Asami isn't in control; in fact, he's lost it, and Takaba is the center of his actions. (I hope the translator captures a vital part of Naked Truth 18 where Asami admits this - it's easily missed, but is critical to understanding what has been happening with him.) Asami spends the series watching Takaba, shaping and urging his responses, waiting for the moment that finally comes at the end of Naked Truth. It's an amazing piece of writing, and it's why so many people love this series with such passion. Well, OK, that and Asami is a freaking sex god. XD

I hope people can look past the rough beginnings - rough in that the first volume lacks cohesion, and rough in the sex portrayed in it - and give the series a further chance to understand why fans love it so.

[Rakashun]

Erudite as always, Ms. Sunflower.

I'm in total agreement that it's the characters that have me hooked on this series. I'll read anything Yamane-sensei creates because her artwork is so astonishingly beautiful, but nothing has grabbed me like the Viewfinder saga. Even from the beginning, in just that single first chapter, there was so much going on with these two people, Asami and Akahito, implied and suggested in all sorts of ways. If you go back and read the first 2-3 chapters, and then read everything from Aki's rescue onward, it's amazing to see how much all the major players have grown, or at least confronted their demons in some way. And so much more that can be done with them - I don't believe she has come close to the end of ways to tell their stories.

To have the entire series in English (with a good translation) on my shelf is such a wish fulfillment. Can't wait to get the first volume!

[Senyoru-Chan]

To tell the truth, I liked the characters in the oneshots more than the main story characters. But I'm still gonna keep buying the series. xD Since there was only 2 chapters in the first volume I don't really know what's gonna happen so it might just get better and better.

( I love that guy "Rei". Cold, mysterious but saves his kindness only for the important moments~ Yeah I like those guys, and the clingy ones. Plus he's "blonde". )