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'Seven' centres around Mitsuha, a writer who travels around leading a simple, commitment free life, and Nana, a quiet younger guy, with a troubled past. Overall, I really love this manga. At the same time, something about the story is also very moving and absorbing.
Not a lot happens in terms of plot. There isn't anything explicit in this, but if you don't mind that, it's definitely worth picking up. The story begins when Mitsuha visits a friend who owns a bar and ends up staying with Nana, who is an employee there.
As in Momoko Tenzen's other series, the artwork is lovely and the story is very well developed. We just slowly find out more about Nana's past and watch the developing relationship between him and Mitsuha. In terms of tone, this is a pretty serious read.
(The volume also includes another story, which is also a solid read). It's really grown on me over time- I definitely recommend it.
I really liked the art: it's tender and gentle, just as the cover shows. He got picked up by a dubious middle-age bar owner. Overall, this is by far my favorite book from this manga-ka. The owner eventually dies of some brain disease and the boy goes on living, though he's obviously deeply traumatized (he cannot sleep alone, etc). But the story is so beautifully flawless that even if you like more "hardcore" yaoi (but still like a good story once in a while), I highly recommend it. However, if you're really into only "hard" yaoi no-matter-what, then you might be disappointed. It's a beautiful romantic story, somewhat sad at times, but overall happy and satisfying. Nothing is shown, more of a subtle hint there and there.
I wish there would be some continuation / second volume on them, as the story does feel a bit unfinished (or maybe I just liked it so much, that I want more). Not much is shown or said, but the way I read it: there's a hint that the bar owner molested the boy while that one was really young. Despite dark pasts of the characters, the book ends on a positive note. There are two couples in the book. Yaoi content (i.e., the presence of explicit sex scenes) is low (it's rated 16+), but it's there (passionate kissing, hugging, etc, and the rest (though it's not really shown) one can easily guess). There's much more going on after that (obviously, there will be "true love found" in this story:)), but I don't want to give too many plot spoilers.
Some readers found this story "confusing", but to me it certainly wasn't. The uke in the central couple is a boy of high-school age (looks like 17-18 years old or so), an orphan who suffered fire and then amnesia while he was about 12-years old. The second couple is closely related to the first. Overall, it's an outstanding "boys-love" classic.
While I did find the artwork quite lovely, I do not recommend this story unless you're into dubious consent and incest. I kind of felt like I was reading a novel where every second page had been ripped out- yea, I could generally make out the story, but it felt choppy and wasn't terribly pleasant to read. In all honesty, this story confused the heck out of me. and, um, yeah. This story also featured a few things I am just not comfortable with- a minor (15 years old) having sex with someone in his twenties (erm, statutory rape, much). and at times somewhat dubious consent- there was also a sidestory that featured incest, which is apparently quite common in yaoi. Definitely not for me.
When Mitsuha returns, he realizes that he can't go on without finding the courage to admit that he needs someone else.The center story, "Within Plain Sight," concerns two brothers, one of whom is adopted. Momoko Tenzen's Seven (Yaoi) is two stories, the title story, which is told in two parts, and a related story in between.Nana has only the memories of his life since he was twelve, when he was taken in by a store owner who was both kind and cruel; that has been Nana's life since then, kindness, unthinking cruelty, and being used. They realize that not only do they love each other as more than brothers, but that each draws strength from the other.I found both stories, especially the first part of "Seven," to be subtle and poetic and remarkably strong, several steps beyond the typical romantic yaoi plotlines. Mitsuha, a vagabond and writer, wanders into his life and offers him something more: kindness, yes, but also genuine concern, and hope. In the second part of the story, the shoe is on the other foot: Mitsuha leaves Nana to explore an island while he goes off to take care of some business; Nana learns the joy of working in the sun, the warmth of human companionship -- he learns to laugh. The drawing is in perfect keeping with this, spare, elegant, and expressive, with a sketchy quality that brings a spontaneous feeling to the images. This is one of the best yaoi I've read, on all counts.
Seven had all the good elements there, but it couldn't get me emotionally and I didn't care what really happened. This story seemed perfect for me in the summary, but unfortunately, I didn't like it. In a way, it disappointed me.Although, this one seemed to be better as a re-read. I normally love types like Nana, but I was never really moved by these characters. I felt like it could have done so much with this concept, but it kind of fell short. The first time I read it, I really disliked it, but the second time it was okay. So maybe it just has to grow on me.
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