YAOI REVIEW: Maiden Rose Volume 1

In honor of this year's YaoiCon guest, Fusanosuke Inariya.

Maiden Rose ~ Fusanosuke Inariya

June Manga ~ 200 pages

Quick Synopsis:

“Taki Reizen is an honorable young aristocrat caught between his call to duty and a forbidden love. Claus von Wolfstadt is the proud Saxon who becomes Taki’s knight in a war against his own people… and his secret lover! Will these two passionate men lay down their weapons once they’re off the battlefield, or will they push the very limits of their sacred alliance?”

Plot/Readability:

What can I say? We actually have a plot to go with our sex. Maiden Rose is a love story wrapped in a war story tied with a beautiful ribbon of BDSM. Lord Taki met Saxon Claus von Wolfstadt ten years earlier in Taki’s home country and as fate would have it they were destined to meet again, this time in the grasp of war. Claus’s feelings for Taki run so deep he gives up his country, his citizenship and his family to move to Taki’s homeland (and enemy territory) to be his knight. Although Taki is in charge on the battlefield, it is Claus who is in charge behind closed doors.

Character Development:

Taki is extremely proud throughout the story and takes his duty as Lord and Commander of his troops very seriously. It’s this proud exterior that makes the humiliation he suffers during their sexual exploits that much sweeter. Claus, on the other hand, will kneel before and kiss the hand of his master for all to see, which makes him highly disliked by the aides-de-camp. To see how he transforms from a devoted servant smitten with his master to the sadistic lover who takes pleasure in breaking him is really something to see.

Sexual Content:

Which takes us right into the sexual content. Yowza! Plenty of hardcore, graphic sex with a BDSM flavor. If you’re looking for sweet, romantic sex scenes this isn’t the book for you. The sex is hard and at times quite violent but it’s never something Taki doesn’t want. There’s no “I’ll rape you now and you’ll love me later”, although if you do not understand the intricacies of BDSM, you may not see it that way. I have read reviews that mention this title being full of non-con sex, and that simply isn’t the case. Taki knows what he wants and this masochistic little uke gets it from Claus. In total there are three sex scenes and they are quite long so there is a good balance of sex and storyline.

Illustrations:

The character design for Maiden Rose is not typical. Although our feisty uke is delicate, our seme dwarfs him in comparison. Claus is quite large, very muscular (if you like buff men, you’ll LOVE Claus!) and has the biggest hands I’ve ever seen on a yaoi character. He doesn’t have the pointy chin we’re accustomed to seeing. Instead it’s very square and his face is quite chiseled, all features of his Saxon heritage. Personally, I like his design. It really emphasizes the size difference between the two and adds to the sadistic nature of the sex scenes. As for the quality of the illustrations themselves, Fusanosuke Inariya does a very good job with all of the battle scenes and gives us a believable look into what war at that time would have looked like. If I had one complaint it would be more about Taki and how some of his illustrations from certain views could have used more work.

Final Thoughts:

I think Maiden Rose is a great example of what The Yaoi Review was built for. It’s hard yaoi, it’s explicit and the story is a balance of beauty, intensity and a love that knows no bounds.

Plot/Readability: A

Character Development: A

Sexual Content: A

Illustrations: A-

Overall Grade: A

Buy now!

~Jennifer LeBlanc

10 Comments

yblees March 31, 2011 at 11:10 PM

*Cheers*
Great review. I take it you are now a fan of this mangaka?
From memory, volume 2 has no smex to speak off, but it’s still mind-blowingly good!

[Reply to this comment]
Jennifer LeBlanc AKA Asami's Girl Reply:
March 31st, 2011 at 11:17 PM
Oh, thank you! I’ve had volume 1 and 2 for awhile. I’ve just been lazy about getting them reviewed. Once I heard she was coming to YaoiCon I thought now would be a good time to get them reviewed. I’ll have volume 2 up next week.

[Reply to this comment]
StrangenessAbounds April 1, 2011 at 6:02 AM

Hey there! I LOVE this series to death; however, I hear a number of complaints about the “non-con/dub-con” nature of the sex. How do you tell the difference between “non-con/dub-con” and a game of BDSM, in the case of Maiden Rose and other manga?

Thanks!

[Reply to this comment]
Jennifer LeBlanc AKA Asami's Girl Reply:
April 1st, 2011 at 11:12 PM
I think the biggest difference is the fact that Taki in most of the scenes never fights Claus and he’s clearly getting off on the sex the way it is. He let’s Claus demean him even though he is his superior. And I wouldn’t call it a game of BDSM, it’s a lifestyle for most involved.

[Reply to this comment]
StrangenessAbounds Reply:
April 5th, 2011 at 2:29 PM
I guess I’m getting hung up on the scene in the first volume in which K(C)laus basically screws Taki until Taki bleeds and passes out. Is it what Taki says that lets the audience know that this is a BDSM lifestyle they’ve taken accepted, or is it something K(C)laus says?

I don’t mean to be a pest, I’m just very interested in the psychology behind the sex in Maiden Rose.

[Reply to this comment]
Jennifer LeBlanc AKA Asami's Girl Reply:
April 11th, 2011 at 12:22 AM
I wouldn’t call this a by the rules relationship of BDSM where there is use of a safeword to stop the sex act if it becomes too much for the submissive or to state their willingness to go on. There are definitely BDSM undertones to Klaus and Taki’s relationship and in that particular scene, Klaus did take it further than he should have yet Taki never reprimands him for it. So again, if Taki really wanted him to stop, I think he could have. I think in this instance, Taki was dealing with his own stubbornness in that he did not want to give in and submit to Klaus. It can be complicated to understand.

[Reply to this comment]
Jb April 1, 2011 at 5:43 PM

I thought June did a great job on it and I was glad to see them bring it over. I hope they will continue with the remainder of the volumes.

[Reply to this comment]
Jennifer LeBlanc AKA Asami's Girl Reply:
April 1st, 2011 at 11:07 PM
Well, it would be great if they could release another volume before she comes to YaoiCon.

[Reply to this comment]
Tara April 5, 2011 at 6:47 AM

Interesting review. Maybe now that you’ve explained the whole BDSM angle, maybe when I re-read it, I’ll understand it more and try not to think it’s non-conish! LOL.

[Reply to this comment]
YAOI MANGA REVIEW: Maiden Rose Volume 2 « The Yaoi Review April 15, 2011 at 8:03 PM

[...] final shot is fired.” Plot/Readability: For as much as I loved volume one (I gave it an “A”), I really feel volume two falls flat. The plot is convoluted, and the reasons for this mysterious [...]