Product Description: A sudden confession from his best friend Kazushi, on top of an intense kiss! Kazushi gets all the attention at college for his perfect looks - but Haru can't bring himself to see him as more than a friend. Kazushi doesn't give up too easily, though. He steals Haru's lips every chance he can get. How will Haru ward off his advances?
Could be worse! I give five stars to stuff I think is a MUST HAVE, worth re-reading and keeping long term, four stars to stuff worth getting after you have filled in your five star stuff. "Three stars", while not necessarily worth the cash, is worth a look.
KISSING is a fairly generic yaoi not quite worth the time I spent reading it in the bookstore. It's not horrible. It won't scar you for life. The characters are overage and the sex is actually consensual. But the characters have little individuality, and the relationship is not romantic.
To start with, I didn't like the friendship; I thought Haru's more aggressive friend treated him like a pet, and tended to demean him in subtle ways that Haru never was able to effectively counter. The romance is conducted along the same lines. I thought the IDEA here - that trying to romance someone AND preserve a friendship at the same time can lead to all sorts of mixed signals - was a very good one. But it is never credibly executed, and culminates in an utterly idiotic "I'll prove I love you by forcing myself on you" psychotic break on the part of Haru's friend. This lasts, thankfully, only four seconds, but that is quite long enough to trash what little plausibility the character or relationship had at that point.
And then there is the ending. Maybe it's just me, but I don't think a guy who hears "I love you" for the first time and then instantly pounces for sex "before you change your mind" to be exactly a catch. I felt Haru had sold himself short, and ought to have held out not only for a better lover, but a better friend as well. (The guy with the specs was cool.)
By yaoi standards, Haru could have done worse, and so could the reader. But if you don't like "happy endings" which make you feel sorry for the hero, I'd give NOT SO BAD or TIME LAG a try first.
Lovely! Kissing is a lovely surprise. The journey from childhood friendship to lovers is well explored and filled with tender, sweet and warm moments. Both young men are very likable and they contrast one another beautifully. We have the more mature and confident Kazushi declaring his love quite early in the story. From there onwards, the story is told from the confused Haru's point of view as he struggles with his feelings for Kazushi (best friend or lover) and in the process learning more about his childhood friend. The plot seems predictable but it is handled with flair and a sensitivity which works well with the sentimental side of us BL/Yaoi lovers. Kissing is more BL but of course there is some soft Yaoi towards the end. And the artwork is gorgeous and better than the same artist's effort in Passion Vol 1 & 2. This is a great addition to my collection.
Sweet & Sensitive Shonen-ai "Kissing" is a real treat for shonen-ai lovers. Teiko Sasaki delivers three dimensional characters in this sweet tale of friendship and love. The story centers on two college students (which is a nice change from the usual high school students) - Kazushi & Haru - who have been close friends since they were young. While Haru is sexy and confident, Kazushi is cute and quiet. Their friendship was secure until one day Haru asks the popular Kazushi why he never goes on a date with a girl. When Kazushi declares that he is in love with Haru, their friendship suddenly falters as Haru does not share the same feelings. You would expect the story from here to be predictable ... and to a certain degree it is. However, the story is told and narrated so sensitively, that it does not matter. The art is illustrated by Shoko Takaku from "Passion" and is even better than that series. The characters are attractive and look normal - no female or macho looking male leads here. This is one shonen-ai that I can find no fault in. Perfect.
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