Hypergenius (ISBN4-8322-8071-6)
MINAMI Megumu
Hanaoto Comics

-Reviewed by Jeanne Johnson

   Minami Megumu's Hanaotoshi (see review) must rank as an instant
classic. It's a definite high point in Japanese yaoi. Alas, on the evidence of these two volumes, it seems to have been a high point for its author as well. One must note, however, that all but two of the stories collected here predate the Arabian Nights (Japanese nights?) fantasies of Hanaotoshi, so maybe we can expect more of that erotic divine silliness from her in future.

    As well, all the stories are set more or less here and now, rather than in the fantastic historic Japan Megumu created for Hanaotoshi. Tortoise shell dildoes and avenging courtesans aren't found among the ordinary schoolboys of the present day, though there are certain recurring themes common to all the books: a certain lowlevel fascination with the fatal woman and a wholly Japanese fondness for one guy tying the other guy to things like posts and headboards, not always for erotic purposes.

    'Hypergenius' contains three stories, all of them more or less about some minor psychological trauma. Megumu likes to plunge her readers into the action without explanation as to who and where and when, unlike those mangaka who start stories with 'My name is Suzuki Tarou. While my parents are away I'm staying with my cousin Akira.' Megumu's indirect style, while subtle and sophisticated, is also very confusing for non-native readers. 'To the Sea' starts with two young men meeting for the first time, and one almost immediately deciding he wants to go home. I was theorizing that maybe he was a guest renting a room for the summer or a student getting summer tutoring, but in fact, as the story unfolds, he indeed turns out to be a guy staying with his long-haired blond cousin while both sets of parents are away. This and that happens-including the blond cousin (surprise, surprise) tying him up to stop him escaping- but the real emotional point of the story is an event in the past that only comes out at the end. I surprised myself by being a little annoyed at the unexplained switching around going on with the seme/uke roles. Maybe I'm turning Japanese after all.

    'I'm Not Your Mama' starts with two guys fighting, having agreed that the winner can do as he pleases with the loser. Ahah, I thought- prime Megumu territory. Well, no. We never quite get there. The story seems to be occupied with the dark boy's possession of hair-growing tonic and his complex about having no pubic hair. How this ties in with his having no mother and looking after his two younger brothers, I'm not sure. And the guy he's fighting turns out to be from another school, in one of those
inter-school feuds that seem to run rampant in manga, at least. Both stories gave me the impression of a writer trying a new narrative style that she hasn't quite mastered yet, but that could be the fault of my Japanese.

   The long two-parter title story is- well, it's-- well, I think it's probably a doujinshi of the author's that she decided to publish professionally. As far as I can make out, it happens in a school where the Student Council Cooking Rep/ Resident witch is having a feud with the Student Council Morals and Manners Rep/Resident bishounen over the quality of her cooking, with interference from the gods in the shrine back of the school, and possibly some rivalry for the affections of the Student Council Head. I think that's it. To be honest, I stopped reading partway through when the Student Council Morals and Manners rep introduces a new proposal to prevent immoral conduct amongst the coed student body- to wit, half the guys will dress as girls, which then gives us an opportunity to see the guys' tushes in frilly underwear. Maybe the story is a riot if you can make your way through the Japanese. To me, it was much too much 'Never explain, never apologize', to make no mention of By the Numbers.

Go to Part 2: White Rose Review