Haru wo Daiteita (Embracing Love) by Youka Nitta

This isn't a real review, or is it? I just happened to see it while I was going thru my scanlations and I remembered two one-shots that I loved. And my regret that I only got 2 out of the 5(?) volumes that were released by BeBeautiful...
I do have anime, Embracing Love: Cherished Spring

and I'm waiting for amazon to get Winter Cicada, or maybe I'll get it from Rightstuf, since they have it and I plan on ordering some manga from there soon...

this made me cry ;.;

The artbook, Kiss of Fire, is so sexy. And the extra manga in it is so cute!

Kiss of Fire front

Kiss of Fire Back and letter

I thought it had free stationery, but it was a letter. I'm not sure if it was something about their wedding or it was Katou's letter to Iwaki regarding this book. Like a dedication of sorts. I think... As you can see I bought it 2006, and my memory just doesn't want to work anymore :( there is a translation of the letter inside the book.

Damn.... I haven't seen it since I transferred rooms! NOOOOOOOOOOOOOOO! >.<

*slaps self*

Anyway... back to Haru wo and my favorite extras (one-shots)... for now...

It's not like I don't like the main story of Haru wo or that I don't like the other one-shots. I du! A LOT! But these two seem to pop into my mind when I see the Haru wo scanlation folder.

One is The Plunderer. It's about Iwaki and Katou spending the holidays over at Iwaki's house. Iwaki's brother and his family are there and so is his father. 

Iwaki's brother doesn't like Katou, for obvious reasons, but seems to be dealing with their relationship in his own way.... 

The story begins with Iwaki's brother saying goodbye to Iwaki, 'cause they're going over to his in-law's place to show off his baby daughter, Hina, who looks a lot like Iwaki! Iwaki then enters a room where Katou is looking at pictures of Iwaki as a child.This then goes to Iwaki and Katou discussing how Katou 'stole' Iwaki from his brother. Which then leads to them doing it... WHILE THE BROTHER WAS STILL IN THE HOUSE! WAAAAAAAAAAAHAHAHAHAHA! 

*clears throat* 

Anyway... Katou wants copies of the pictures, so Iwaki suggests that he photocopies them in color, since the negatives were missing. And so, as Katou heads off to have the pictures copied, he runs into Iwaki's brother! Who sees the albums and takes them with him! And we are left with Katou crying hahahahaha! 

the page before the yummy smutt >D

The other one... Kato's Delicious Praise.

This finds the two lovers trying to get Iwaki to gain weight. He had to lose it for a movie he did. And that's basically it o.o

There is smutt of course. When I first read it I thought there wasn't going to be any 'cause Katou didn't want to do it, 'cause it'd cause Iwaki to burn more calories, which they were trying to avoid... but then Iwaki would have none of that hehehehe. In the end he did gain a little weight.

Now this is one feast I can really sink my teeth into

I really love Haru wo. Anyone who likes yaoi would love Haru wo.

Their relationship is really amazing. At first they're two AV actors trying out for a role in a gay movie, then they act together in a series developed after the movie. You can see them developing as actors and as a couple in the manga. The smutt is really really sexy....

And I liked what they did with Winter Cicada. A story within their story. The behind the scenes peek into what went into creating Winter Cicada. From the fire and having one of the actors hurt to not having enough money to continue the production. Of course, the production continued, thanks to the couple they met in America ;)

The only quibble I have is that some of the characters look alike. And I do get confused easily... 

Youka Nitta had trouble a while back when she was caught copying fashion ads and incorporating some of her characters in them as the main couple in the ad. One company didn't really mind, they even thought that it was an honor of sorts (not sure if it was Diesel). I guess the others didn't like it :( This led to the end of the series ;.;

I know it was wrong, but there were other mangaka doing worse things and they hide behind their famous parents and not get punished!!! But I digress...

 It's not like she was stealing the stories from these ads, they were just art inserts. It's understandable since Iwaki and Katou are also models. And so are some of the other characters in Youka Nitta's work.

I wish someone else would license this in english again. All 14 volumes... I'd buy all of them immediately, and not wait for them to go on sale... like I do some other titles... hehehe ^.^;;

Okay... that's it... it's almost 2 am and my bed is calling to me...