This volume is a story collection, with the Finder series forming the core. The title story, the following entry, "Fixer," and the final story, "In the Heat of the Night," all center on a young freelance photographer, Akihito Takabana, who gets his first big scoop -- and manages to run afoul of the crime lord Asami. Takabana is conflicted about the whole thing -- Asami is not the tenderest of lovers, but for some reason, Akihito keeps coming back for more.
The next two stories, "Love Lesson," about a first-year high-schooler who runs afoul of the student council president, and "Plants in Love," about two track stars who discover that their fathers are romantically involved, are pretty much throw-aways. The stories are thin, somewhat contrived, and mostly an excuse for sex scenes.
The remaining story, "Risky Society," about a group of "gifted" young men who work as a special ops force for the government, is somewhat more substantial and deserves to be continued. In fact, I found this one the most appealing story of the group, probably because it's the one with the most "story."
The saving grace here is Yamane's drawing, which is lush, rich, and full-bodied. Almost sounds like a good wine, doesn't it? She does have a definite character "type," although she does show some variation -- once again, mostly apparent in "Risky Society." Layouts are fairly pedestrian, and sex scenes are, as usual, quite explicit.
Yamane can come up with some good, tight, absorbing stories, although this is not a prime example. The "Finder" stories are fairly predictable, and the two "inside" stories are pretty much as I mentioned -- excuses for sex scenes. It will be interesting to see if she manages to salvage "Finder," although in my own opinion, "Risky Society" has a lot more potential.
From Juné.
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