Y’know, I should just stop making promises about when this yaoi challenge is going to wrap up. But, I do expect to have more time to read manga this upcoming week, so maybe it’ll happen sooner that I think? I suppose the key thing is to remember that this is a casual manga blog and that I’m just coming off a long hiatus.
Kizuna volume 4 by Kazuma Kodaka
You know how last volume I said I was really tired of the main characters getting pulled into yakuza shenanigans? (Aside from Masa, since it’s his job to be involved in yakuza shenanigans.) Well, this volume is blissfully free of that kind of drama! Instead, the focus shifts to Kai and his rocky relationship with Masa for most of the omnibus.
After Kei recovers from his wounds, his father shows up and offers him and Ranmaru a free trip to a Kyoto onsen inn as thanks. Of course, Kai butts in when he hears Masa is going.
While Kei and Ranmaru endeavor to get it on, Kai and Masa try to understand the nature of their love for each other and how to best navigate the tempest. Unfortunately, Kai has a flash back to the time he was raped when he and Masa try to have sex. This prompts Masa to leave early, further complicating things between them. Interestingly enough, though it makes Kai realize the terribleness of what he had done to Ranmaru before and apologize for raping him. Luckily for Kai, Ranmaru doesn’t even consider it rape.
During all this, Ranmaru does decide to take up kendo again and Kai immediately asks to have a match with him, one of his lifetime goals. This brings us to the next part of the volume which is pretty much all about the two training for the match, then the actual match itself. The result is that Ranmaru feels empowered again and Kai feels like he’s chased his inner demons away so he can be with Masa.
This was a great volume. I honestly wasn’t bothered at all by the relatively drama-free plots, it was more than made up for by the intense character-building that Kodaka did here. It was actually something of a relief to get to see Kai and Masa worked out, and it was nice to see Kei and Ranmaru have lots of sexy fun like a normal couple would. It was also awesome to see Ranmaru get a lot of screen time, since he tended to be ignored at times beforehand. Finally, it was a nice surprise not to have to deal with rape for one volume.
The art went back to the standards of volume 2, which makes me wonder if Kazuma Kodaka just decided to re-draw select volumes way after the fact. I do prefer this style, I just don’t understand why the quality of the art varies from volume to volume.