A great continuation of this series I've noticed that a lot of people don't like the "Jazz" manga. To be honest, I don't understand why.
The art is not your usual style with big eyed cute bishies but that's what drew me to this manga at first. The style is rather distinctive, the males are truly males and not girls in disguise.
And the characters are rather appealing too. There is Naoki, an impulsive, sometimes childish, sometimes harsh student. His lover is the man who used to be his doctor. Narusawa is older than Naoki. He is lonely and mostly sad man who doesn't have anybody. Until Naoki literally chases him down. They are the complete opposites and they need each other more than the air for breathing.
The second volume of this manga is set mostly in the US where Narusawa works temporarily and Naoki studies at the U. Because of a misunderstanding something terrible happens between them. I've noticed that a lot of people are not able to overcome the violent scene between Naoki and Narusawa but I think it portrays their characters excellently. Naoki doesn't think of the consequences of his actions and Narusawa on the other hand is desperately trying not to lose Naoki so he is willing to forgive him literally everything. It shows how possessive Naoki is and how dependent Narusawa became on him.
I know that the aforementioned scene is not pretty. But it happens more often than we would like to. But manga readers don't usually want to see this reality. They want to see a world full of pretty people doing pretty things. I admire the authors that they were willing to take the risk and put something like that in their manga.
I will definitely buy the next book because this is a great series. Four stars out of five definitely.
this series is taking a strange turn I loved Jazz 1. There was true love, there were lots of emotions, and after I closed the book I had a smile on my face.
This one... not so much. I hated how the relationship developed (if you could call it development, I guess a better word is devolved, as... well, I do not want to give away spoilers.)
I hated the angstiness in this book, and it went WAY over the top with a very graphic sex scene that shouldn't have been there in the first place.
The book ends with a cliffhanger, and I therefor may be tempted to pick up book 3, but that probably will be it for Jazz.
Interesting continuation of the Jazz series. Phew! If you thought the forced romantic situation in the first installment of Jazz was uncomfortable, just wait for volume 2.
Naoki and Narusawa have been lovingly reunited in America and live there together happily for the remainder of Narusawa's time there. Christmas rolls around and Narusawa wants to get Naoki a gift, so he asks his friends at work for some tips. This results in a very jealous and insecure Naoki who comes to believe that Narusawa is cheating on him, and he literally forces to older man into violent sex about it (bleeding and everything). It's a pretty heavy scene, and the reader is left wondering why Narusawa would accept this treatment and still love the younger man. Love can sometimes be a very strange thing. Both men eventually return to Japan, but a rift has formed between them because of Naoki's guilt associated with what he did to Narusawa. The two have to work through this issue. Volume 2 ends with a cliffhanger as Naoki is rushed to the hospital and Narusawa is left with the task of dealing with the younger man's family.
If you liked volume 1, volume 2 picks the story up very well, and holds the reader's attention and interest very well. If the nature of Naoki and Narusawa's relationship made you uncomfortable in volume 1, I would not recommend continuing the series, because it gets heavier.
Anything Goes Trivia
Trevor
Megaton Man
