Reviews in Brief: Hyouta Fujiyama's Tale of the Waning Moon

I got a heads up on this one from Yaoi Rose, which is a site I highly recommend for those interested in yaoi/BL manga. Rose provides some good insights, although she's coming from a very different place in her reviews than you'll find here.

On to the Tale of the Waning Moon.

Ryuka's sweetheart has been stolen by a millionaire from the next village. As seems to be the norm in Japan, he goes out to drown his sorrows, then makes his way to the top of the Wishing Hill, where, it is said, if you wish to the night, your wish will be granted. Ryuka wishes for someone who will love him truly and steadfastly. His words reach the ears of Ixto, the spirit of the Waning Moon, who appears with a handful of the Cards of Fate, each depicting someone who can love Ryuka truly. Ryuka's only problem is that they are all men, and he rejects them all. Ixto, who seems to be the default position here, then has his way with Ryuka and tells him that he will be the man's true love, but Ryuka's heart must follow his body. And so Ryuka begins his journey in the company of one of Ixto's helpers, the moon-cat Coon.

Right up front, the story is pretty thin, episodic and not very deep, but entertaining enough. As it happens, as his journey progresses, Ryuka meets each of the men portrayed in the Cards of Fate, and manages to escape them all (although that sometimes requires Ixto's help). And of course, as the story progresses, Ryuka finds his thoughts turning more and more to Ixto. It's worth noting, however, that it's a sharp departure from Fujiyama's usual contemporary school-boy romance, and although it lacks the edge of other works, it's still engaging.

The drawing is Fujiyama in top form. This is a recent work, originally published in 2008, and shows Fujiyama's mastery of the medium. My one complaint is that Yen Press, the publisher, produces books in a smaller format than Juné, which has released most of Fujiyama's work in English, and the images have been compressed to fit, which leads to some crowding on the page. (In point of fact, I just reread Sunflower last night, and the difference is noticeable.) Sex scenes display Fujiyama's usual reticence.

The highlights in characterization are the two moon-cats, Coon and Cymric, who echo earlier characters in Fujiyama's works, especially Coon, who strongly recalls Kawahara from Sunflower, not that there would be any mistaking them: Coon and Cymric are both kemonomimi characters, and quite charming. In general, visual characterizations, while still firmly within Fujiyama's basic character design, show a great deal of variation, and she's moved into showing older characters, as well.

All told, it's not up to Fujiyama's usual standard, but that is still pretty high. Yen Press is an imprint of the Hachette Book Group.