(no subject)
A couple of years ago I wandered into the manga section of a bookstore, where I happened upon what was to become my favorite series. It's called Hands Off! by Kasane Katsumoto, an 8 volume series (all of which are released in English) about psychic pretty boys. The art isn't the greatest, and the beginning...three or four volumes are pretty episodic, but the characters are amazingly endearing and the action scenes are done very well.
Kotarou Oohira is an overly pretty high school boy who has just transferred to Tokyo. He loves playing basketball, wants to be a bit more masculine (not to mention tall) and is stuck living with his obnoxious cousin, Tatsuki Oohira. Unfortunately for Kotarou, Tatsuki seems to hate him, and never gives him the time of day. So Kotarou makes friends with playboy Yuuto Urushiyama, and hijinks ensue. And by 'hijinks' I mean 'Kotarou getting constantly molested, for multiple reasons, one of which seems to be the fact that he amplifies psychic power'. Kotarou also has a hidden power of his own, but seeing as that isn't revealed until about Volume 5, I won't ruin it for anyone.
Tatsuki Oohira is your ordinary dark-haired-angsty-bishounen...on the surface. He and Kotarou used to be best friends when they were younger, until one day Tatsuki started seeing the past whenever he touched Kotarou. Horrible things too, like hangings, murder, death...he blamed it all on Kotarou, and came to hate him. However, deep down he still loves his cousin, and always goes to save him with his badass fighting skills. He's a complicated one, and super-angsty, but he's an immensely sympathetic character, unlike some other dark-haired-angsty-bishouned out there.
Yuuto Urushiyama is a playboy with the ability to see people auras-their feelings and such. He's the glue that keeps everyone together when things start to go wrong. He can be a bit of an ass sometimes, but he has a good heart and is determined to make sure that Tatsuki and Kotarou don't screw each other up. Sure, sometimes he gets a little touchy or goes a little over the top, but desperate times call for desperate measures, such as when there's a classmate determined to kill one of your friends.
Mio Yoshino is Kotarou's upperclassman girlfriend. She's cute, loyal, and strong, but not in a way that is ever annoying or 'HAI GUYZ, THIS GIRL IS SUPAH CULE!!11!'. She has immense emotional and mental strength, and helps support Kotarou when even Yuuto can't. Nobody gets away with hurting Kotarou when she's around, and the boy is absolutely devoted to her.
Karen needs no last name. She runs around taking pictures and stands on her own two feet. She resists Yuuto's persistent advances and is more aggressive than Mio. She becomes involved with the weirdness surrounding the Oohiras by accident, and pretty much every time she gets involved is because she is nosy and wants that perfect photograph. Karen is one of the first to notice that there is something special surrounding the boys.
Kazuma Koutari...oh boy, is he messed up. He gained post-cognitive powers from Tatsuki, and drove his mother to insanity. Since then, he has hated Tatsuki with a passion and is determined to destroy his life. Which he does incredibly well, causing a devastating accident and basicly driving himself (and, to some degree, Tatsuki) to insanity.
Well, those are the main players in this complicated game. The manga has plenty of instances of humor, but also some amazingly touching scenes between characters. The romances are sweet, and not played up, and the platonic love (although it dances so close to yaoi in some places) between Kotarou, Tatsuki, and Yuuto is amazingly sweet. Once events get rolling (which is when Kazuma turns up, in...the fifth volume, I think) then powers are upped and everything builds up to the mind blowing ending.
Interested? I hope so! The prequel, Don't Call Us Angels/Far From Angels, has apparently been licensed by TokyoPop as well, although I have no idea when it will be released.
Kotarou Oohira is an overly pretty high school boy who has just transferred to Tokyo. He loves playing basketball, wants to be a bit more masculine (not to mention tall) and is stuck living with his obnoxious cousin, Tatsuki Oohira. Unfortunately for Kotarou, Tatsuki seems to hate him, and never gives him the time of day. So Kotarou makes friends with playboy Yuuto Urushiyama, and hijinks ensue. And by 'hijinks' I mean 'Kotarou getting constantly molested, for multiple reasons, one of which seems to be the fact that he amplifies psychic power'. Kotarou also has a hidden power of his own, but seeing as that isn't revealed until about Volume 5, I won't ruin it for anyone.
Tatsuki Oohira is your ordinary dark-haired-angsty-bishounen...on the surface. He and Kotarou used to be best friends when they were younger, until one day Tatsuki started seeing the past whenever he touched Kotarou. Horrible things too, like hangings, murder, death...he blamed it all on Kotarou, and came to hate him. However, deep down he still loves his cousin, and always goes to save him with his badass fighting skills. He's a complicated one, and super-angsty, but he's an immensely sympathetic character, unlike some other dark-haired-angsty-bishouned out there.
Yuuto Urushiyama is a playboy with the ability to see people auras-their feelings and such. He's the glue that keeps everyone together when things start to go wrong. He can be a bit of an ass sometimes, but he has a good heart and is determined to make sure that Tatsuki and Kotarou don't screw each other up. Sure, sometimes he gets a little touchy or goes a little over the top, but desperate times call for desperate measures, such as when there's a classmate determined to kill one of your friends.
Mio Yoshino is Kotarou's upperclassman girlfriend. She's cute, loyal, and strong, but not in a way that is ever annoying or 'HAI GUYZ, THIS GIRL IS SUPAH CULE!!11!'. She has immense emotional and mental strength, and helps support Kotarou when even Yuuto can't. Nobody gets away with hurting Kotarou when she's around, and the boy is absolutely devoted to her.
Karen needs no last name. She runs around taking pictures and stands on her own two feet. She resists Yuuto's persistent advances and is more aggressive than Mio. She becomes involved with the weirdness surrounding the Oohiras by accident, and pretty much every time she gets involved is because she is nosy and wants that perfect photograph. Karen is one of the first to notice that there is something special surrounding the boys.
Kazuma Koutari...oh boy, is he messed up. He gained post-cognitive powers from Tatsuki, and drove his mother to insanity. Since then, he has hated Tatsuki with a passion and is determined to destroy his life. Which he does incredibly well, causing a devastating accident and basicly driving himself (and, to some degree, Tatsuki) to insanity.
Well, those are the main players in this complicated game. The manga has plenty of instances of humor, but also some amazingly touching scenes between characters. The romances are sweet, and not played up, and the platonic love (although it dances so close to yaoi in some places) between Kotarou, Tatsuki, and Yuuto is amazingly sweet. Once events get rolling (which is when Kazuma turns up, in...the fifth volume, I think) then powers are upped and everything builds up to the mind blowing ending.
Interested? I hope so! The prequel, Don't Call Us Angels/Far From Angels, has apparently been licensed by TokyoPop as well, although I have no idea when it will be released.