YAOI MANGA REVIEW: Seduce Me After The Show

I’ll be honest; I hemmed and hawed when it came to this title. At first I was all gung-ho but upon finding out there wasn’t a lot of graphic sex, I decided to pass. Then I started to hear some good things about it and started to reconsider. Obviously, I changed my mind, hence my review.

This book surprised me in a lot of ways. The stories are different… way different from your typical yaoi. If I had to sum up this book in a few words it would be that it is a grown up version of boys’ love. The stories are mature, the writing minimalistic and what isn’t said is where the story is really at. The author’s illustrations are drawn in what I would call a spontaneous sketchy way that works for her characters and allows them to emote in a way very seldom seen. There are seven stories or chapters in this volume but some are with the same characters so there are really five distinct stories. I won’t go into detail about each since they are pretty short but to give you an idea of the types of characters included, they range from an actor/dancer couple, a painter and gallery owner, fellow rock musicians and a set of twins. Not all of the stories are actually boys’ love. The twins story is very interesting and different but I don’t feel their feelings towards one another are anything beyond two siblings alone in the world. Plus, there is a twist to that story so I recommend rereading it once you finished as it makes more sense once you’ve read the ending.

As I said earlier, the stories and couples are different from your traditional BL fare. The author doesn’t shy away from reality when designing her characters or the real situations they could face in life. The emotions are real and as a reader, it is nice to feel them along side the character. The book cover is boldly done in red, black and white and fits with the inside illustrations, which are also boldly done with minimal use of mid-tones. As far as sex is concerned, there is only one sex scene but it was well done and fit in nicely with the story and the characters. Translation was good and the speech bubbles were clear and easy to follow. If you’re hesitant to grab this title but have access to physical copies at your local book store, grab it and take a flip through. It’s not often we get something so original that is also interesting at the same time (even without the sex).

Character Design = A+ (for originality & emotion)

Plot = A-

Book Design/Illustrations = A- (different but it works)

Sex = B+ (minimal but nice)

Translation = A

Overall Grade = A-

Buy Now!

1 Comment

The Yaoi Review :: YAOI INTEREST: Equus Cover by Est Em :: http://theyaoireview.com April 10, 2011 at 4:19 PM

[...] a big fan of Est Em and loved the few titles we've had released here in the states, Seduce me After the Show, Red Blinds the Foolish and Age Called Blue (neither of which I have reviewed but are [...]