~~ three (very different) yaoi mangas about work.

Half the time I feel like ranting because I hate everyone-- no surprise if you've read this lj for any length of time. But then I remember I'm not really in fandom. I still have my con report to write up and want to go to more, and I still love HP, but it's not... online HP fandom and online fandom in general just makes me want to rant 80% of the time in practice and only squee 20% of the time. Either I feel like everyone's too critical or everyone's too blindly adoring of things that aren't that great-- there's rarely any happy middle. I try to remember the last time I enjoyed a fanfic of any kind and honestly can't remember at all. Doujinshi seem better to me these days, and doujin are mostly stupid, especially the Heero/Duo ones.

Anyway, I've been reading lots and lots of yaoi and lots and lots of fantasy books (Diana Wynne Jones-- yaye magic! Simon R Green and his crazy ideas! Kat Richardson and her Seattle-based urban fantasies! hee!) I should just review them and go 'lalala YOU DON'T EXIST lalala' to everything else. Yes. That will be my philosophy from now on. \o/ If I rant about anything to do with fandom ever again, or even participate in a debate, just slap me, and good riddance to bad rubbish. :D


- Hero Heel by Makoto Tateno -
    I really like everything by this mangaka, from awesome, tight one-shots like 'Warui Yume' (downloadable here to give you a taste) to the licensed stuff out right now like 'Hero Heel' (which you could order from Amazon.com here, though you may or may not find it in yshare if you really want to read the complete 3 volumes ;)... heh).
    ( Review 1. )

~~

- Secret Diplomacy of a Minister Excellency - Youka Nitta -
    It seems rather embarrassing to be going on about Youka Nitta's work 'cause 'Haru wo Daiteita' is so... it's like Viewfinder in that it's embarrassing and sort of feels sad to admit I like it, but... they're popular for a reason. Though both with 'Viewfinder' and 'Haru wo', the mangakas' most popular works are my least favorite of theirs and seem the most shallow/stupid to me. Maybe I'm just bitter, but then I read another fangirl squeeing about how she wants to have Asami's babies and I remember how I'm right after all. :D

You can download the first chapter (first released as a one-shot) here for a taste, and the rest can be found here after joining db_scanlations. One volume is currently complete.
    ( Review 2. )

~~

- Konbini - Keiko Konno
    Keiko Konno is one of my all-time favorite mangakas; she has a super-light touch, has adorable boyish characters, and never writes over-the-top angst while remaining touching and emotionally intense. Basically it's worth reading everything she's ever done, but Konbini fits my theme :P

At the moment, only three chapters are out scanlated by Memory for You (here), but the story's episodic by chapter, so you they all kind of stand alone. Plus it's adorable. And it's my review, so I can do whatever I want. So there.
    ( Review 3. )