Manga-ka: Takashi Kanzaki
Publisher: 801Media
Rating: Mature (18+)
Release Date: December 2008

Synopsis: “Ryou is helping out at his father’s modeling agency. But, his classmate and rising rookie model at the agency, Kazuto, is openly antagonistic to Ryou’s older brother, a very charismatic model. Kazuto finally corners Ryou and demands that he looks at him only! After a passionate kiss, he promises that crossing him will incur punishment! Kazuto may be an arrogant boy who does nothing but give orders, but Ryou is undone by his forceful and dominating approach!”

His Arrogance is the story of Ryou, a cute teenage boy who helps handle the affairs of his father’s modeling agency. Naturally, this brings him into contact with a lot of handsome young men, including the ambitious new model Kazuto. Kazuto goes after everything he wants with a disarming arrogance, whether it’s a modeling job or Ryou’s affections. But before Kazuto can have Ryou all to himself he has to deal with Ryou’s hero-worship of his older brother, top model Tomohito.

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Manga-ka: Kaori Monchi
Publisher: 801Media
Rating: Mature (18+)
Released: March 2009

Synopsis: “A present needs a running mate – and just like that, Kokusai appoints Chiga to be his vice-president! How did a slowpoke upperclassman like Kokusai win an election, anyway?! Sure he does seem to have an almost uncanny ability to attract stalkers, peeping toms and other degenerates, but Kokusai’s so helpless he can barely take care of himself, let alone a student body. It quickly becomes clear that Chiga’s major vice-president duty will be to keep Kokusai out of harm’s way, but is he up to the task? Furthermore, will all the time they have to spend together in student government cause Chiga himself to fall under Kokusai’s spell?”

Kokusai, soft-spoken and hardworking, is student-council president and he chooses the more stoic, keep-to-himself, Chiga as his vice-president. Far from only having their schoolwork to worry about however, Chiga and Kokusai must first overcome the irresistible allure of Kokusai to gropers on the train, perverts and stalkers.

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Manga-ka: Yuki Shimizu
Publisher: 801Media
Rating: Mature (18+)
Released: February 2009

Synopsis: “Left destitute and alone after the death of his beloved grandmother, Raizou Shichikawa accepts an offer to live at the palatial Mitou home in return for his services as housekeeper – but there’s something very strange about the Mitou family. Odd pairings exist within these walls, and the occupants’ behaviour seems beyond Raizou’s understanding. Raizou does take a liking to his ill-mannered roommate, Kon, however, and his interest leads him to discover the truth: the people he works for aren’t exactly human!”

As a fan of Yuki Shimizu’s Love Mode (recently released by BLU), I was excited to hear news that 801Media had licensed another of her series. Eager for more of the character-driven drama that I’d enjoyed in her work previously, Ze naturally become a book high on my list of to-reads. Not only does Ze showcase Yuki Shimizu taking another go at a story hefty with characters, but she also takes a slightly different turn with the addition of supernatural elements.

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Manga-ka: Mio Tennohji
Publisher: 801Media
Rating: Mature (18+)
Released: October 2008

Synopsis: “Handsome Himeshiro will go out with anyone who asks, male or female. But when shy and timid Touru Onozuka makes his confession, Himeshiro decides to see just how far Touru is willing to go to win his love. He sets up various tasks and trials that Touru must complete to prove himself. Will Touru get fed up with all the weird conditions and humiliating acts, or will Himeshiro finally get serious? Mio Tennohji takes you on a journey of unrequited love, misunderstandings, and happy endings in this collection of heart-warming stories.”

If you’ve read one Mio Tennohji book, you’ve read them all. In recent months this has become a fact that I’ve all too clearly come to realize as 801Media continues to put out various titles by the boys’ love manga-ka. The various stories in this book aren’t anymore memorable than her others and they all stick to the considerably small range of plotlines that the artist seems comfortable with.

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Manga-ka: Tokiya Shimazaki
Publisher: 801Media
Rating: Mature (18+)
Released: July 2008

Synopsis: “When a little fun between the sheets gets a bit too rough, Mizuki ends up breaking Azuma’s glasses. Azuma has an incurable eye disease and his glasses need to be made to exact specifications. Mizuki, being the compassionate uke that he is, tries to make Azuma as comfortable as possible until his glasses are fixed. Of course, Azuma’s most comfortable between Mizuki’s legs with Mizuki flat on his back!! And what is the name of that incurable eye disease, anyway?”

It’s more of the same shenanigans here in volume five of Love is Like A Hurricane. The stories remain pretty episodic, continuing to offer lots of weird and funny situations from the kinky to the cute (and all sex-filled for your entertainment of course). In this volume, the opening chapter takes readers back a couple years in the school life of its characters while the rest of book continues with Mizuki and Azuma sex-capades, including sunburns, tutors and sex in a shrine.

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Manga-ka: Hinako Takanaga
Publisher: 801Media
Rating: Mature (18+)
Released: May 2008

Synopsis:
“Father Mauro lived a peaceful life in a small town ministering to his community. That is, until he found a wounded demon (?) in the bushes of the church garden. While Raoul looks like a demon, complete with horns and a tail, he doesn’t act like the typical demon. Playful? Yes! Mischievous? Yes! Outright evil? Well… that depends on the definition. Does seducing men of the cloth count as evil – especially if they like it?”

Father Mauro is a kind-hearted priest living in a quaint little town. One day he finds an injured man named Raoul in the garden of his church, and despite the suspicious horns and tail the stranger has, Father Mauro takes him in to nurse back to health. Back on his feet in no time, Raoul is a very friendly individual who has no idea about whether or not he’s a demon. But, what he does know, and makes no secret of, is how much he likes the priest who saved him.

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Manga-ka: Uki Ogasawara
Publisher: 801Media
Rating: Mature (18+)
Released: December 2008

Synopsis: “Gerun Fortress – a coastal stronghold along the Mediterranean Sea. Here, two-hundred Monastic Knights make their final stand against a league of 20,000 Middle Eastern soldiers led by General Jamal Jan. Called “beardless” by some, “shameless” by others, Jamal soon seizes the castle and its acting commander, Prince Leonard de Limbourg. The general’s ideas of how to subjugate the enemy do not conform to the typical rules of warfare, however. In quick order, Prince Leonard finds himself stripped naked and forced to perform in front of his own men. Leonard’s humiliation does not end there; now the general’s captive slave, he is brought back to a strange land and presented before His Majesty the Sultan. Will Jamal’s deviant attentions lead to certain punishment for both he and Prince Leonard?”

A battle of thousands versus mere hundreds leaves the commander, Prince Leonard, looking for a way out that won’t leave the castle stained with the blood of his men. In exchange for their safety, he surrenders himself to the enemies General, Jamal Jan. Forced to engage with Jamal in front of the soldiers present there, Leonard is humiliated, then whisked away to Jamal’s home as a prize of war, one that not only spells obvious troubles for him, but possibly for his captor as well.

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Manga-ka: Tokiya Shimazaki
Publisher: 801Media
Rating: Mature (18+)
Released: March 2008

Synopsis: “Mizuki really wasn’t expecting the cool and reserved class representative, Azuma, to suddenly declare his love for him, yet now they’re an official couple. But Mizuki and Azuma aren’t the only happy couple. Izumi & Akira sneak off to the student council room for a quickie every chance they get! Stormy winds are coming for ours two loveable ukes. With the school festival quickly approaching, their respective semes aren’t getting the tender, loving care that they require…”

It’s more of what readers’ve come to expect from Tokiya Shimazaki as the semes of the story just cannot get enough loving from their respective bottoms. An old friend of Mizuki returns for a visit while fellow classmates prepare for the upcoming student festival. It’s haunted houses, late night bush tumbling and more Izumi & Akira page-time in this fourth volume of Love Is Like A Hurricane.

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Manga-ka: Aco Oumi
Publisher: 801Media
Rating: Mature (18+)
Released: March 2008

Synopsis: “Somehow over the summer, Yamaguchi ended up going out with his best friend, Takagiri. But now that they’re together, something’s really been bothering Yamaguchi; why does Takagiri love him so much? It is his shaggy hair that begs to be petted? His often stubborn personality? Or the way he blushes when lavished with Takagiri’s umm… affection!?”

Yamaguchi and Takagiri are best friends and over the summer they’ve started to date. While Takagiri is very open about his affections, and desires, Yamaguchi has trouble expressing his feelings, or accepting Takagiri’s.

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Manga-ka: Ayano Yamane
Publisher: 801Media
Rating: Mature (18+)
Released: May 2008

Synopsis: “Celebrating his marriage to the daughter of a rival yakuza clan, the hot-tempered under boss Ranmaru Ohmi soon attracts the passengers attention as much for starting fistfights as he does wearing a kimono wherever he goes. Enter Alberto Valentiano, a handsome Italian stud with a taste for all things Japanese – and a few secrets. Instantly smitten by the passionate Ranmaru, Al uses all his European charm to conquer the object of his desire.”

Ranmaru has just been wed to the daughter of a rival yazuka clan but he seems less than enthusiastic over the prospects of it. Instead he runs about the cruise ship they wed on, getting into fistfights and stirring up attention with his refusal to wear anything but his traditional kimono. It doesn’t take long for him to catch the eye of Alberto, an Italian with a love for the Japanese. It doesn’t take long for the suave, and drink buying, man to whisk Ranmaru into his bed for some ‘cultural exchange’.

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Manga-ka: Mio Tennohji
Publisher: 801Media
Rating: Mature (18+)
Released: March 2007

Synopsis: “Even though Azumas “spectacle fetish” is infamous, guys are out of the question, and Sorachi is definitely way out of the question – hes too serious for him to even carry on a decent conversation with. One day, however, Azuma finds Sorachi asleep without his glasses, and can’t help himself from kissing him! Glasses may be the thing that attracts Azuma to Sorachi… or is it?”

Azuma has a fetish for people wearing glasses. It’s considered common knowledge in his class how his loves and lays were all with cute girls with spectacles. However, Azuma suddenly finds himself attracted to his fellow male classmate, Sorachi, causing him to wonder if questioning his sexuality is worth his fetish (especially when the object of his attraction seems to hate him). It doesn’t take much imagination to realize where things are going and soon the two are hopelessly in love with each other, cueing all the usual dramatics. This is the title story of the small collection and takes up just over half of the book.

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Manga-ka: Ashika Sakura
Publisher: 801Media
Rating: Mature (18+)
Released: October 2007

Synopsis: “Seiji-kun is a novice manga artist. A long time fan of the works of Sono-san, a famous manga-ka, he’s surprised to learn that Sono-san is a guy! A chance meeting leads to a night in bed and Seiji-kun becomes completely addicted to the body of the incredibly beautiful Sono-san. Is this love or is Seiji-kun taking his admiration for Sono’s work just a little too far?”

Few veteran yaoi fans haven’t heard of the popular Sensitive Pornograph: a collection of steamy short stories that spawned the equally popular OVA of the same name. With six stories spanning about 180 pages, 801Media brings Ashika Sakura’s hit to English shores.

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Manga-ka: Fumi Yoshinaga
Publisher: 801Media
Rating: Mature (18+)
Released: July 2007

Synopsis: “An (apparently) frivolous Tohdou and an (overly) serious Tamiya. They continue to collide and have finally become lovers around graduation. This is their life afterwards. The long awaited second volume is here with never before release material. And Tohdou’s younger brother (seme) makes a guest appearance.”

Taking place seven years after the end of the first book, volume two continues to follow the ever-evolving relationship of Tohdou and Tamiya. Both continue their work diligently which often means they don’t get to see eachother as much as they’d like… or as much as Tohdou would like anyway. Tamiya continues to act a bit cold and reserved. Combined with his growing independence through things such as cooking and cleaning, and apparent little interest in sex, Tohdou begins to fear that he’ll have nothing left to offer his lover.

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