Synopsis
Shiraishi Shoutarou, a novelist, just learnt that his young and honest editor-in-charge, Osanai Masumi, would marry his precious daughter. But his daughter went missing right before the wedding!
So now, Shoutarou is living under the same roof with the man who was supposed to be his son-in-law...
(Source: MU)
The summary of this manga kind of threw me off. The fiance of the runaway bride comes to live with the father of said bride? And since this is a yaoi and there were only two male characters mentioned, we can all guess exactly what is going to happen between those two. Is it wrong to think it'd be kind of cringe-worthy if the guy slept with both daughter AND father? Well, don't let that get to you, because this manga is definitely worth reading. The story is actually pretty simple and, if not always predictable, is never really surprising (though there is a related genreunexpectedly incorporated into this manga that made me smile). So I think what makes this manga stand out is it's art and characters. And the art is just beautiful.
This is the first time I've read one of Itsuki sensei's works, so in the beginning I wasn't really used to her style. I think what got to me the most was that the text bubbles aren't bubbles! They're squares! SQUARES! It was so weird in the beginning, but by chapter three I got used to it and completely forgot about the weird text bubbles. The people are also very pretty. Too pretty, maybe? I don't think I've ever seen men that pretty. I mean, the only thing that made Masumi (the fiance) look slightly manly was his height and maybe the haircut. Maybe. But I think that if the mangaka had said Shoutarou (the father) was a woman, I wouldn't have wondered about it. I mean, he isn't one of those stereotypically girly yaoi guys, but he's definitely got this feminine delicate look to him. Not that I am saying that was bad, the characters were fun to look at. And I liked how she sort of added wrinkles to Shoutarou's face (though he doesn't look like any middle aged man I know).
As for the characters' personalities, they made me wonder if such calm, peaceful and serene people actually exist in real life (I know those were all synonyms, but the characters were so far from anything like tantrums or anger or whatever that I felt like I needed to put some emphasis on it). Still, they were likable, particularly Risaki (the daughter). I enjoyed her character; she seemed sweet and probably the most real person out of all the characters. I also liked Masumi. But as for Shoutarou, well, I am not sure there's much more to him except for being an eye candy. I mean, he wasn't annoying or anything, but except for "calm" (and its synonyms), I can't think of any other adjective to describe him with.
All in all, I recommend this manga. I think the premise is unusual, and age gaps sans pedophilia are always fun. :D
