Love Pistols #1 - It's a jungle out there!
Oops! A little bit late with my post, but hopefully the boss won't mind too much. It's still the weekend, after all! Hope every one is having an awesome Memorial Day! If it's not celebrated in your neck of the woods, then I hope you're having a wonderful Monday! Here's a quick look at a title that's just chockfull of critters! Doing some pretty bizarre critter things...
SEX PISTOLS # 1by: 寿たらこ
Love Pistols #1 by Tarako Kotobuki
Rated: Mature 18+
Price: 9.99
Blu - Yaoi/Fantasy/Romance
Review May Contain Spoilers
After an accident, the world takes a strange turn for Norio Tsuburaya. He suddenly finds himself drowning in the romantic attentions of almost everyone around him! His locker is overflowing with love letters, from both male and female admirers, and plant loving Kumakashi treats him with tender loving care. Worse still, some people look like animals, and Norio is starting to question his sanity. Then a heart-pounding encounter with Kunimasa Madarame in a public restroom sends Norio into a frenzy. He soon learns that he's a "Missing Link," a rare sub-species of zooman. Highly sought after for their powerful sexual appeal and high fertility, Norio's life just isn't going to ever be the same. How can he get all of these animals off his back?
This book is notable for an attempt at, if not exactly world building, then culture building. A little clumsily presented, there are two types of humans - Ape Man and Zooman. Seventy percent of the population are Ape Men, or normal humans. They evolved from primates, have a high fertility rate, they can't see zoomen. Cross-breeding between Ape Men and Zoomen only rarely produce a zooman, as their true soul denies the soul of zoomen, and thus puts it into a dormant state. Norio is a premium, or a Missing Link. An Ape Man, he suddenly awakened to his true zooman soul. He's tossed into this strange world of zoomanity without fully understanding what the heck is going on as the result of a scooter accident. Now zoomen are crawling out of the woodwork to get a bite of him, and he spends most of the book in a state of wide-eyed disbelief. Despite having cat-blood, he mostly resembles a deer.
Kunimasa is a heavyweight, a powerful zooman who's true soul is that of a jaguar. Heavyweights have a harder time leaving descendants, so they seek out weaker class zoomen to bear their children. After learning about Norio, he's determined that he's the one to bear his child. The offspring of Missing Links take on many traits of the monkeys, making Norio a highly prized baby-making machine. If only male pregnancy were the norm in real life!
During Kunimasa and Norio's messy first encounter, Kunimasa lays claim to his quarry and sets the tone for their relationship. Unfortunately. In hyper-macho seme fashion, Kunimasa treats Norio like dirt, and Norio, the weak, trembling uke, finds himself falling head over heels for his aggressive pursuer. Can't we have a little bit of tenderness and romance with our yaoi? This started to remind me of a 70's Harlequin, where the worse the guy treated the heroine, the more she longed for his powerful embrace.
Kunimasa's older brother, Yonekuni, is another rough and tumble character who moves from a supporting role into the spotlight later in the book. Yonekuni hates men, and he's not shy about decking any guy that annoys him or gets too close to him. He's Norio's zoomanity teacher, but he can only tolerate the younger man's presence if he dresses in girl's clothes. Enter Shiro Fujiwara; he's been in love with Yonekuni since they were in the 7th grade together. It's like a dream come true when Yonekuni approaches him and asks if Shiro wants to be his friend. Well, his fake friend, so that Yonekuni will have another male to chat with during class. I'm not sure why a man-hater like him needs to talk to another guy with so many woman clamoring for his attention, but, anyhoo....
Shiro keeps his affection for Yonekuni a secret, afraid of losing the little comradery that the two share. For his part, Yonekuni seems to view Shiro like an inanimate object, something to keep around to make life a little more convenient. He suddenly starts having dreams of two of them locked in passionate embraces, and it's Yonekuni's worst nightmare come true! What is wrong with him? Why is he dreaming about the two of them getting all hot and heavy?
The background of Love Pistols is what makes this an interesting book. The characters are all very one-dimensional and somewhat unappealing. Norio cries and sputters worse than a girl, and the Madarame brothers are both rough and almost cruel. Maybe it's the complete lack of convincing emotion that the characters exude that made this a less than satisfying read. I hope that in the next volume there's a little more emotional involvement to recommend to the reader.
There are some amusing difficulties that our leads have yet to overcome, like Norio turning into a strange looking little cat every time he's aroused. Besides getting a face full of fur, this obviously leaves both writhing with frustration. Yonekuni's erotic dreams of nerdy Shiro have thrown him into a complete tailspin. Why are his dreams plagued with these visions?Shiro, the cardboard cut out image of a nice guy, is probably the most likeable character in the book. Hopefully his dreams will come true in a future installment...
If you're headed to the beach or going to be sitting poolside, this is a good companion to pack in your beach bag. While enjoying the fresh air, you, too, can ponder the world of zoomanity.
Grade: B-
This review was written by Julie for the MangaCast. Please drop by the Manga Maniac Cafe and check out the menu. There's always tasty reviews on display!