Fake Fur

It's not often you come across a BL work that you can call unique, but Satomi Yamagata's Fake Fur is just that.

First thing that you notice when opening this book is that it doesn't look like any typical manga. Although it starts with a typical BL scene with school boys, the look and feel of Yamagata's artwork, although still employing big eyes and occasional chibis, resembles much more European than Japanese style. Her lines are short and delicate, her boys realistic and breathtakingly beautiful, and the richness and the sensitivity of the faces, bodies and poses is completely stunning.

But it's not just the art that sets Fake Fur apart from rest of the competition. Although the story does start up as something that looks like a cliched BL story where a boy, Yamashita, falls in love with his best friend, Kubo - but by half-way the story has turned into a touching coming-of-age story that ends up being something completely different to what the reader expects. In the book 17-year old Yamashita has slowly come to realize that he's gay, and although he should be concentrating on studying he can only think about kissing someone, and especially his best friend Kubo. Kubo however has been accepted to study in a school in another city, and the boys have a short time before they must part ways - so Yamashita opens up to his friend.

The pacing of the the story seems slow in the beginning, and a lot of time is dedicated to Yamashita's thoughts and inner dialogue. This however gives you time to look at the gorgeous art and get to know the main character, and just when you give up that maybe this manga is going to more about the story and the characters than hot sex - that's the point when you're rewarded with beautiful sizzling sex scenes that stun you with their realism and raw emotion.

I'm not usually fond of Juné's bigger size publications, but for once the slightly bigger size is preferable as it will actually do the artwork justice. Otherwise the book is standard June issue: sounds effects have been translated but no honorifics have been kept, and the paper is the standard thick paper that they always use (my copy had ink bleeding in couple of pages). The main part of the book is Yamashita's story, but there is short final chapter with side characters Reni and Maki that includes some of the best sex scenes in the book, including some slightly kinkier (but still consensual) scenes. There is also a one-page afterword from Yamagata in the back which is always nice to see.

There is nothing ordinary about Fake Fur. It's so rare to read something like this that takes it's time with character development, doesn't take the easy way out, and doesn't spare emotions but without being angsty. And on the emotional level this story works so well because it feels much less like fantasy and much more like real life than an average BL manga, and Yamagata's writing is on par and comparable with josei mangakas like Ai Yazawa, Kiriko Nananan and Yayoi Ogawa. A superb gem, highly recommended.