Siira Gou's Secret Moon, illustrated by Sato Tomoe, is my first yaoi novel. It's a form I've more or less avoided because a major part of the appeal for me of yaoi is the drawing. Nevertheless, this one looked interesting, and they're not as pricey as the full-blown manga, so I picked it up.
Akihiro Sanders Tomoe, a half-British grandson of a Japanese viscount, has returned to Japan after a number of years living abroad. This is necessity as much as choice: Tomoe is a vampire, although not a full-blooded one, and periodically needs to adopt a new life. This time, he's returned as his own grandson.
His life is not uncomplicated, although he's quite wealthy: he is by necessity somewhat reclusive, and doesn't go out during the day -- again, by necessity. He is not immortal, although he has a good hundred years left in him -- his conversion was the best that could be managed after he was shot by a spurned lover. And he cannot drink the blood of men, only women -- although he is not partial to women in any other way. He subsists on a mixture of blood and juice provided by a close friend. He also owns a host club, which he largely leaves to the manager, Minamikawa, who is, surprisingly enough, honest -- but then, Tomoe is a good boss.
One night while out he runs across a young man being harassed by some con artists in the slums. Tomoe finally steps into the ensuing brawl -- although the young man seems to be holding his own, knives are being drawn. After demolishing their attackers, Tomoe offers the young man, who introduces himself as Taichi Yamagami, a lift and winds up taking him home. Newly arrived from a remote mountain village that has been flooded out by a new dam, Taichi was looking for an acquaintance with a job for him.
Taichi's life also has its complications: by day he is a quiet, almost diffident young man with a penchant for books. As the moon waxes, however, he becomes more and more aggressive at night -- he proves himself to be a passionate and demanding lover, which suits Tomoe perfectly. And Taichi may not be exactly human: there are rumors of "gypsies" in the mountains descended from the mountain gods who take the form of wolves. And then Tomoe discovers that he can drink Taichi's blood without becoming ill.
This one turned out to be more engaging than I had expected. The story of the two men learning to love each other is handled very well, woven into the unfolding mystery of Taichi's origins, and Tomoe's attempts to guard him against those who would take advantage of his naivete. One of the most interesting and refreshing parts of this is that it's about two men who are both quite able to take care of themselves. Their conflicts arise not from those taking advantage of weakness, but from deciding who is going to care for whom.
Sato Tomoe's illustrations are clean and elegant -- in some pictures, Taichi reminds me of Ranmaru from A Foreign Love Affair -- and I would love to see this one get a full graphic treatment: the story is strong enough, and the images eye-catching enough, that I think it would make an exceptionally fine manga.
From Juné.
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