Even though Akiko Hatsu is a purely shoujo writer, and mentions of m/m couples are rare in her manga, I think her work will be of interest to many readers of Aestheticism. The beauty and delicacy of her paintings are obvious, but even though her manga may seem to be devoid of any obvious m/m couplings, I think readers of her works will agree with me when I say that her style is the spiritual kindred of the many shounen-ai manga of the 70's.
Her short stories, often with a supernatural twist, are about the pain and sacrifices of love and passion. A young girl falls in love with her half-brother, and is caught in her own web of deceit. A demon princess living in the tower places her trust in a samurai whose loyalties lies elsewhere. A younger brother attending his old brother's funeral finds that his death hides a tangled web of unrequitted love and revenge.
If you enjoy the shorts stories of Poe and other Victorian writers, you will not be disappointed by her stories.
Most of her works are published by Kodakawa Shoten under the Asuka DX imprint. They are serialized in Mystery DX magazine. A title to try is Youreiya no Aruji, (ISBN 4-04-852482-8).
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