Tea for Two

Madoka Tokumaru is an exceptionally clumsy, careless guy who would rather be practicing his "Ultimate Fight Club" moves than kneeling quietly in a traditional Japanese tea ceremony, but when Madoka breaks one of his sister's treasured possessions, she forces him to sign up with their school's tea ceremony club to learn a little class. Club president Kazuma Hasune volunteers to take on Madoka's education personally - his family is famous for their tea ceremony, after all, and Hasune possesses all of the grace and refinement that Madoka could ever dream of. Different as night and day, Hasune and Madoka each find something to admire in the other and actually become friends, though that mutual admiration develops into something surprising for them both.

Tea for Two by Yaya Sakuragi was published as Koi Cha no Osaho in Japanese, and comes to English production courtesy of BLU Manga. Characterized by a library of story-driven yaoi manga such as Love Mode and Junjo Romantica, BLU seems like a perfect fit for Tea for Two. Refreshingly, Hasnue and Madoka don't fall immediately into bed with each other, but neither does seme Hasune lure or force Madoka into a physical relationship. Their love is realized in steps and stages: first as an uneasy partnership, then as a strengthening friendship, and only after some time and a few false starts do they develop into a real sexual and even sort of romantic relationship. This slow development seems to be the hallmark of Tea for Two and what makes it so endearing and lovable. The reader is really allowed to get to know the characters as they are, not as typical yaoi manga stereotypes, but as real characters with strengths and weaknesses, wants and fears. Enthusiastic and loyal, Madoka is clearly the go-getter type that the reader is meant to empathize with, full of faults but willing to admit to them and do better. Hasune seems like a typical cool seme at first, but the reader gets to know him as Madoka does, and comes to learn that his perfect exterior hides problems, fears and weaknesses of his own. Possibly the best part of their relationship is that it's completely a two-way street, as Madoka falls for Hasune just as hard as Hasune cares for Madoka, and both of them learn something from the other.

Sakuragi-sensei's artistic style is a bit odd at first, somewhere between "yaoi bishounen" and "shounen fighting hero." The facial expressions that Madoka pulls are pure comedy, while Hasune's lip curls and eyebrow quirks convey a lot of emotion with just a short glance. It's that talent with faces that really shines in Sakuragi's artwork and do much more for the storytelling than the narrative alone. Once the sex scenes finally crop up, they are short and simple and far from explicit, though maybe later volumes of this four-volume series will give us a little more eye candy. Hasune is so gorgeous in his traditional kimono, I just can't wait to see him naked!

Tea for Two proves to be another strong BLU Manga title for those readers who like a little more than an everyday romance story in their yaoi manga. There is more to these characters than just their romantic relationship, which makes for an all-around better romantic story. An interesting cast of side characters promises to make future volumes just as much fun, if not more. Tea for Two serves up a solid "main course" in a shelf full of "snacks" - who knew that simple tea could be so satisfying?