Embracing Love Vol. 5by Sheena McNeilReviews may contain information that could be considered 'spoilers'. Readers should proceed at their own risk. Publisher
Credits Grade: 8 Asano has almost ruined Iwaki and Katou's relationship in order to further his own place in the limelight. Katou never trusted him, but Asano still believes him to be innocent. The thing that saves them is their trust in one another. The second half of this volume is a samurai love story.I love that Youka Nitta is not afraid to draw unusual shots, vantage points, and scenes during the sex scenes. One that stands out in my mind is towards the end (of the EL story line) in the last sex scene, she draws the shudder after the climax when they are collapsing ... from behind while they were doggy-style. The way Iwaki's legs are sprawled and the way Katou is angled above him is just magnificent and a striking reality. Every detail of the body language and facial expressions are given special care during the love-making scenes (Nitta-san knows her readers so well!) that it's fluid and beautiful and passionate and intense! - all at the right moments. One of the most powerful scenes that her art really heightens is when Iwaki gets sick after Katou says he's so pissed off he doesn't want to see him. The pain is so immense my own stomach churned with Iwaki's and it's easy to image the chest pang that accompanied it - just from the way she drew his reaction. The second half of this volume is "Winter Cicadas" - it's a samurai love story (yes it really is, unlike another BeBeautiful title I've reviewed) that takes place before Embracing Love. Nitta-san doesn't say specifically but there is a strong implication that it is a story of Iwaki and Katou in a previous life (and that in EL they are the reincarnated forms of these samurai - there's even an Asano-character). Kusaka and Akidzuki are in different clans but become lovers for a night before Kusaka leaves for England (Akidzuki had been tutoring him in English). He returns at the end of a war and rescues Akidzuki though he was committing sepuku and did not want saving - he must live in secret as his side lost in the battle. When they are discovered there is only one way out and Kusaka curses the time they were born in, hoping to be reunited in a more accepting time. The shot of their sex scene when Akidzuki has had one leg amputated below the knee is a bit disturbing to me, but like I said I admire Nitta-san for drawing unusual things like that. There's also a nice interview with Youka Nitta in the beginning of this volume. With her beautiful art and powerful storyline, she has created a yaoi series that fans of the genre can really embrace. Written: April 30, 2007
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