Reviews in Brief: Modoru Motoni's Dog Style, Vol. 1

Teru Chiaki is a stray dog. At least, that's what Miki Terayama calls him when they meet at the abandoned building Miki, unknown to Teru, has also made his secret refuge.

They need a refuge. These are not "nice" kids. In fact, they are delinquents, or at least trouble-making hard guys. Teru hangs out with the younger Kashiwa brother, Miki with the older. They are periodically pursued by a bunch of punks from another school (the younger Kashiwa's fault): Teru, though not particularly large, proves himself to be a mean customer.

And they have sex. In the beginning, they tell each other right up front, "I don't think I like you," but they keep coming together, even though each is in love with his "best friend," whichever Kashiwa that happens to be. And, for Miki at least, the sex is lousy: Teru is well-endowed but not very sensitive to his partner's needs, while Teru is experienced -- after all, he does it for a living -- but somehow keeps winding up on the receiving end.

This one demands close attention, which is amply rewarded. Motoni has captured what she calls "teenage angst" -- the posing and posturing, the tough-guy facades, the moments of introspection, the emotional turmoil, the rebellion -- almost perfectly. The passages in which Teru and Miki run from the toughs are not only about flight but also about the need to be free, to leave behind all constraints, and about the sheer joy of running, while the secret refuge -- well, we all needed a place that was our own. The image of the stray dog is apt: Teru and Miki circle each other, snarling and snapping, but they need to run together. The narration (a common feature in yaoi, in which one character or another will provide commentary around the main narrative) builds another dimension that snaps the whole story very close to the realm of poetry.

Motoni's visual style is beautifully suited to the story: detailed but clean, almost spare, with a sensual line that retains great clarity. Teru and Miki, with their Billy Idol pouts and cocky attitudes and barely disguised vulnerabilities, all of which Motoni has caught visually, are protagonists a cut above the usual cute boys of yaoi.

This is the first volume of what promises to be one of the best yaoi series out there: rough, tender, hard-edged, sympathetic. And please note: despite the connotations in English, the "dog style" of the title doesn't refer to how they do it, but to how they relate to their world: a pair of stray dogs.

It's published by Kitty Press, and I think I picked it up at Borders. There are, however, a number of online sources with better prices.

Update: Since I wrote this, I've read it again -- like most manga collections, it's a quick read -- and I am even more impressed. Motoni has these guys down pat -- they really come to life. Top rating for this one.