Spring Fever

Review Date: 2007 November 13 14:36

Reviewed by: Azure

Released by: Aurora Publishing

Publishing Country: USA

Author: Yugi Yamada

Age Rating: 18+

Page Count: 192

ISBN-13: 978193449603

ISBN-10: 1934496030

Summary

Yusuke gets crushes on literally anyone and everyone falling in love at the drop of a hat. He returns home after being rejected by an older woman when he runs into Takami, a single quiet single father; it’s love at first sight

Review

Spring Fever has the dubious honour of being the first yaoi manga I've ever read, so regular readers of the genre will have to forgive any criticism or points that seem widely obvious. Broadly speaking the art style matches many shoujo hallmarks, lines are smooth and flowing. The lead men in the story have classic bishonen looks, tone is used moderately throughout.

The story opens with Yusuke walking home after being dumped by yet another woman, this time a mature woman who runs the local bar. He meets Takami and his son who are looking for their new home, It turns out Takami's new home was his grandmother's is right next to Yusuke's whom he knew as a kid. Yusuke is immediately smitten with Takami.

Yusuke has a history of falling in love easily, with women young and old. The fact that he's fallen in love with a guy this time causes him to panic but it doesn't stop him acting on his impulses. Takami on the other hand is extremely reserved, he hasn't had custody of his son Yu long since he split with Yu's mother who has now died. Takami's problem is that he's far too passive, and doesn't put up fights when he should.

The set up of this manga makes it extremely obvious where things are going to end up. If you have one very aggressive character and one very passive one there's little room for drama between the two. Instead attempts are made at spicing things up with the introduction of Masaaki, Takami's brother in law another aggressive character whom Yusuke (as the aggressive guy) has to fend off.

The plot is thin and designed for one thing to get Takami and Yusuke in bed as quickly as possible. That isn't to say there aren't some funny moments, the idea of a character that will fall in love with anyone is funny and could have easily been played out longer. Masaaki and Takami's relationship might have been more interesting if the unstoppable power of fan service didn't stand in the way, of the obstacles tossed in their path. The ending is also extremely jarring and not really fully explained, reversing the outcome in just a few pages.

The book also includes stand alone story called "Wild man blues" which follows two boys as they meet again for the first time in years. Naoki made an approach on Ayu who ran a mile, as the two meet they find themselves regretting how they acted in the past. Once again one is pretty aggressive, whilst the other is reluctant.

Rating: 6/10