YAOI REVIEW: Close the Last Door! V1

“Nagai is just your typical office guy… except that he’s had a secret crush on his coworker Saitou for ages. But with Saitou’s massive wedding just around the corner, Nagai realizes that it’s finally time to retire his illicit desire for the adorable young man. However, sly Honda has a few teasing tricks up his own sleeve… and once the beer starts flowing, there’s no telling where the night will end! Is this love triangle destined to tumble, or will it evolve into the most tantalizing tryst ever?

In the buttoned-up world of business, you have to find a few ways to let off steam! The men of Close the Last Door! are definitely open to a range of relaxing options… as long as a few drinks, wandering hands and rumpled sheets are involved. It’s all flirtatious fun and games until someone gets their feelings hurt. Who will play the game to win, and who will crack under the pressure of passion?”

Plot/Readability:

This is a classic ‘gay for you’ story as not one of our characters in this love triangle is gay. It’s mentioned more than once that they are men, they don’t like other men, they just like who they like. It also takes A LOT of beer for the action to happen throughout. That being said, there really is a great story here and this has been one of my all time favorites.

To further clarify the above synopsis, our three main characters are Nagai, Saitou and Honda. Nagai is indeed in love with his coworker Saitou, but they have in fact known each other since college. Saitou is now getting married to his fiancée Remi, who happens to be Honda’s coworker and former love interest. It’s at the actual wedding that Nagai and Honda meet, each soothing their wounded hearts at the bar. You could say the rest is history, but then you’d be wrong. It wouldn’t be a love triangle without another person and that’s where Saitou comes in, or back in so to speak.

Character Development:

I really love these three characters as each is very different from the other and as the story develops we start to see the layers of their personality peel away. Nagai struggles with his feelings for his best friend yet isn’t so blinded by his love that he isn’t open to Honda’s advances. Honda comes off as the comforting playboy yet he can’t seem to leave Nagai alone. Saitou is initially portrayed as the clueless friend who is not aware of his friend’s feelings but is this really the case? The dynamics between these three as their relationships with each other develop makes this a very interesting story. It is one where you find yourself second guessing just who should wind up with whom.

Sexual Content:

The sexual content is varied including kissing, mutual masturbation, oral sex and one full sex scene. There isn’t tremendous detail and the scenes are not long but there’s something about how Yugi Yamada paces them that makes them so nice. I love how she will devote eight panels to one kiss alone. There’s something so sensual in a well drawn kiss that will make me forgive a title for not being overly explicit.

Illustrations:

Yugi Yamada is not an extremely detailed mangaka from the works I’ve seen. Her illustrations are not very detailed or refined and they tend to be rather simplistic. I think where she excels in this particular story is in the pacing of her panels as well as the humorous facial expressions she uses. Without them, this would not have been nearly as funny as it actually is.

Also, Yugi Yamada has a very distinct style so once you’ve seen one of her works, it is very easy to recognize her other works and that is something I really appreciate.

Final Thoughts:

I’ve had my copy of Close the Last Door! for a few years and I would definitely consider it a boys’ love classic. The chemistry between the three points of this love triangle makes this story worth a read in my book.

Plot/Readability: A-
Character Development: A-
Sexual Content: B+
Illustrations: B

Overall Grade: B+