Reviews in Brief: Shiuko Kano's Yakuza in Love

Yakuza in Love by Shiuko Tano is finally complete -- all three volumes are now out, and it's pretty good. It's also a little unusual.

Aoi Ichimura is a rapidly rising star in the Flower Gang: he saved the Don from a hit man. No one knows that he did it by accident: he was trying to save a baby bird that the boss was about to step on. In reality, he's completely inept, terrified of guns, and his reputation comes mostly from the intimidating scar on his face from a childhood accident in which his parents were killed. He's assigned as apprentice/bodyguard/houseboy to underboss Yuji Sakiya, who has a reputation as a real tough piece of work and has just been released from prison. Aoi is struck by Sakiya's gentle eyes, while Sakiya is bemused by the fact that Aoi has the same name as his late wife, who was killed protecting him from a hit. They are, of course, drawn to each other.


The organization is moving in directions that neither Sakiya nor Aoi like -- pornography, human trafficking, and the like. It doesn't help that the Don, grandson of the late Godfather who favored Sakiya, has the hots for Aoi. When Aoi's fellow apprentice Junki is kidnapped, things come to a head: Sakiya receives a videotape of Junki being tortured and gang-raped, and his fellow underboss, Junki's mentor Chihiro, loses it: he's long loved Junki but was too tied into his role as a ladies' man to admit it.

Kano does something here that I've not really seen very much in other yaoi, portraying not only the physical relationship between Sakiya and Aoi, but also a deep spiritual bond, which evidences itself through both men's observance of the memory of Sakiya's wife: she has a shrine in Sakiya's house, and Aoi promises her that he will protect Sakiya and care for him. This ties in with an element of dominance and submission: although there is no overt S&M in the story, when Sakiya discovers the Don's interest in Aoi and questions Aoi's loyalty, Aoi reassures him by saying simply "I belong to you." And he does: he is completely devoted to his lover. Remarkably, the love scenes between Sakiya and Aoi are few, but extraordinarily sensual and intense.

The first volume is largely set-up; volumes two and three are action-packed, as they say, and fairly good page-turners. Kano's style is denser than a lot of manga, but still intelligible and clean. Characters are, for the most part, less androgynous than in most yaoi: big, blocky bodies and strong-featured, masculine faces mark this one. I should point out that I'm not crazy for the covers: they strike me as being prettied up and overcolored, and don't really give an accurate idea of the quality of the interior graphics. Volume three ends with a series of parodies and sidebars, including an alternate ending.

This one's from Deux Press.