The Yaoi Review » Est Em

NEW RELEASE: Est Em’s Equus Available at Yaoi Club!

Jennifer LeBlanc AKA Asami's Girl — Thu, 09 Jun 2011 05:12:32 +0000

Est Em's gorgeous new boys' love title Equus is now available for purchase at Yaoi Club ! Since so many people wanted to get a hold of this beauty I asked DMP if they could get some copies for us to purchase and they graciously did. Thank you, DMP! If you are not familiar with this title, I posted a bunch of pictures of the cover and inside contents here (the cover is gorgeous with shiny gold detailing). There aren't many copies so act fast before they sell out. I can't promise they will get more in.

UPDATE: I wasn't kidding! The copies that came in were purchased as I was typing this but I did confirm with Yaoi Club that you can still special order a copy, which takes 2 to 3 weeks to come in.

~Jennifer LeBlanc

YAOI NEWS: New Est Em Title & Pics of Equus

Jennifer LeBlanc AKA Asami's Girl — Wed, 25 May 2011 05:35:09 +0000

In April Est Em had posted about her recent release Equus with this gorgeous cover. It sounded like it wasn't releasing until August but I think the translation was just bad as it appears it has since been released. I've been perusing the internet and was able to scrounge up some additional pictures of this lovely title if you're curious about how two centaurs would, uh… make love.

The following pictures are from the same person although I do not know her name. She runs a WordPress site called I Am Fujoshi and also has a Tumblr of the same name. Enjoy!

I inquired with Akadot if it would be possible to special order this one from Japan and they are looking into it. If you are interested, comment below and I will make sure to get you the information if we can.

In other Est Em news, ANN is reporting that Sensei will be launching a new manga series called Golondrina in the June 25th issue of Shogakukan's Monthly Ikki magazine. It sounds very similar to Red Blinds the Foolish as the story is set in Spain and revolves around a matador. I sent a tweet to Sensei and she has confirmed that this is NOT a boys' love title as one of the main characters is a girl.

EDIT: It's now available for special order at Yaoi Club ! Takes 2 to 3 weeks to come in.

~Jennifer LeBlanc

YAOI INTEREST: Equus Cover by Est Em

Jennifer LeBlanc AKA Asami's Girl — Mon, 11 Apr 2011 00:19:19 +0000

Est Em posted on twitter a link to her cover of Equus, which was posted on Comic Natalie. If the translation of her tweet is correct, it appears Equus is to be released August 25th but other translations say something different so take it for what it is. Either way, it's a gorgeous cover and I'd love to see what's inside.

I'm 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 equally as awesome). Hopefully we can get our hands on Equus here in English someday.

~Jennifer LeBlanc

YAOI MANGA REVIEW: Seduce Me After The Show

Jennifer LeBlanc AKA Asami's Girl — Tue, 06 Jan 2009 02:46:43 +0000

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-

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