El Diabro

Author: Megumu Minami
Imprint: Generous
Publisher: Outou Shobou
ISBN: 4-87183-956-6

Reviewed by Jeanne

There are two kinds of Minami Megumu stories- the Hanaotoshi kind and the other ones. This is a collection of the other ones. No tortoiseshell dildoes in graded sizes here. Sorry. Madcap comedy with a little sex thrown in is more the style.

Semispoilers for the stories below.

Innocent Erendira sorry Hikaru (shining) comes to the dark and dangerous country of America to study. But he's careful, because he knows how dangerous the United States is. When his classmate Diabro invites him over to visit, he knows he's safe. Diabro (and I'm sorry, that's how Minami romajis it so I'm not allowed to stick the l back in) is a nicely spoken gentlemanly type who lives in a nice apartment in a good part of town and has not one but three locks on the door. Of course, in short order we have the drugs in the fruit juice, Hikaru with his hands bound pushed up against a wall, and Diabro saying 'If you will flaunt your bum at me in those thin silk trousers what do you expect to happen?' But innocent Hikaru says 'Why take me by force when it's better for both of us if I give?' thereby flummoxing Diabro completely. 'You're saying you love me?!' 'Of course.' Innocence triumphant. The two become lovers.

Innocence continues to triumph through the next three stories, where among other things Hikaru's half-brother Kagerou (shimmer) shows up, with definitely unbrotherly intentions towards Hikaru. And then Hikaru really does meet some bad guys who hold him for ransom. Diabro and Kagerou combine forces and locate Hikaru with the help of a genius computer hacker friend of Diabro's, Miguel. Miguel looks, as the occasional cool and kakkou ii character is wont to do, like the young Servis, which is enough to pique my interest. But Kagerou recognizes him as the heir to a billionaire South American family- so howcum Diabro talks to him as if he were a subordinate? Who is Diabro anyway?

We must wait to find out, because the remaining three stories concern themselves with other things, all wild and crazy in the non-Hanaotoshi Minami fashion. We have the university student who takes a part time job as a babysitter-- to a moody and eccentric teenager who doesn't want to be bothered with people. We have a school story with the classic school theme- rape the head of the student council until the genki lower classman comes to rescue him. Ah but! we're raping him because he's a psychic, you see, like his mother, who can only prophecy in the middle of sex with a strong young man and rapist wants a few tips for the stock market or something and so... And then we're with these two friends who've got a job transporting dangerous substances and are driving a shipment of cocaine to the police when a beautiful motorist attracts the attention of one of them and the other, not liking the way she looks at his friend, takes off with the drugs except that they aren't drugs and she isn't a hapless motorist and... Yeah. Like that.

It's not Hanaotoshi, so what sex there is is pretty straight sex, if you follow. Nicely drawn and all. What took my eye was the interest Minami shows, especially in the Diabro stories, with the characters' clothes. Right out of the glossy mags, these guys. It's true a fascination with clothes and hair is typical of Minami, but in her other works- well, I get distracted by those brandy chocolates up the ass and those dildoes carved into the saddle horn and kind of fail to notice them.