Shimizu Yuki (Ze & Love Mode)
This mangaka seriously snuck under my radar. Ze is apparently pretty popular with a decent sized fan base, but I have managed to completely ignore it till a month or two ago. I've definitely seen the Ze fanbook mentioned because various mangaka's I like have been featured in it, but of course I didn't bother reading it. Also the combination of it being licensed, many volumes, and thus not wanting to start something I couldn't finish, I must of glanced over it many times, never committing it to memory.
Well thank god, for whatever reason I can't even recall, I tried it. Ze manages to satisfy everything a yaoi fan is looking for in a series without being redundant like Sekaiichi. The characters are great, the stories are compelling, and there is a lot of smut. I read Love Mode too (had to get past the dated art style in the beginning) because I needed more of Shimizu-sensei. Really liked that too, but mostly for the main couple.
It's funny how Ze and Love Mode did the same thing with multiple couples, but Ze managed to have all them be compelling and interesting, but I didn't particularly care for any of the other couples in LM. There was a decent amount of Reiji and Naoya though, and I liked them enough to say it out weighed the other stuff. Funny how both Ze and LM also start with a couple that doesn't get much face time later on.
I have to say, Moriya and Ryuusei are my favorite from Shimizu-sensei. I can't really describe why I'm so attracted to them as a couple. Maybe it's because Ryuusei is such a un-stereotypical uke. He's really brazen and uncouth but still kind at heart. Plus he's a riot in the extras, always dicking around and getting punished by Genma. I cannot get enough of them. Thank god for the extras.
I also really like Reiji and Naoya. Probably my second favorite. They got a lot of story and development in LM, and I ended up falling in love with them. Naoya does really act like a cat. Ukes being likened to cats is a really overused trope in yaoi, but I actually thought it fit Naoya really well.
Well thank god, for whatever reason I can't even recall, I tried it. Ze manages to satisfy everything a yaoi fan is looking for in a series without being redundant like Sekaiichi. The characters are great, the stories are compelling, and there is a lot of smut. I read Love Mode too (had to get past the dated art style in the beginning) because I needed more of Shimizu-sensei. Really liked that too, but mostly for the main couple.
It's funny how Ze and Love Mode did the same thing with multiple couples, but Ze managed to have all them be compelling and interesting, but I didn't particularly care for any of the other couples in LM. There was a decent amount of Reiji and Naoya though, and I liked them enough to say it out weighed the other stuff. Funny how both Ze and LM also start with a couple that doesn't get much face time later on.
I have to say, Moriya and Ryuusei are my favorite from Shimizu-sensei. I can't really describe why I'm so attracted to them as a couple. Maybe it's because Ryuusei is such a un-stereotypical uke. He's really brazen and uncouth but still kind at heart. Plus he's a riot in the extras, always dicking around and getting punished by Genma. I cannot get enough of them. Thank god for the extras.
I also really like Reiji and Naoya. Probably my second favorite. They got a lot of story and development in LM, and I ended up falling in love with them. Naoya does really act like a cat. Ukes being likened to cats is a really overused trope in yaoi, but I actually thought it fit Naoya really well.