(Araiso Private High School Student Council) Executive Committee

Author: Minekura Kazuya
Imprint: Chara Comics
Publisher: Tokuma Shoten
ISBN: 4-19-960108-2

Reviewed by Jeanne

A word about the title first, because the title throws a lot of people. They take one look at it and go off and read 'Just' instead in despair. Think they've picked up the Chinese translation by mistake. Call it 'that one with the long name.' Whatever. FWIW, it's shiritsu (private) Araiso (the school's name) koutou gakkou (secondary school, usually shortened to koukou- 'high') seitoukai (student council) shikkoubu (executive committee.) Executive committee of the Student Council of Araiso Private Secondary School. Called 'executive cttee' for convenience, though IMHO it could be called goon squad without doing too much violence to the settei.

So much for the title. Now for the genealogy. (Just call this the Cliff's Notes to Minekura's works.) Deep breath. According to the afterword in this volume, Minekura was drawing a different, 'hardboiled' story when for reasons unstated she decided to use its main characters in a light-hearted high school series. Which was picked up by Chara and appeared professionally long before the bleak original, Wild Adapter. I believe she was drawing both ExecCttee and Wild Adapter as doujinshis, which is where Minekura tries stories on for size. (And going by the art style, the later stories in this volume are the earlier ones in her career. Thay have that doujinshi-style look.) The EC Kubota and Tokitoh, she says, are completely different people from the Wild Adapter ones, which sort of answers the question of whether WA is a prequel or sequel to ExecCttee. In fact, it appears to be neither. So there's no dark reason, as per Wild Adapter, for Tokitoh to be wearing that glove on his right hand. It's just a fashion statement.

But on to the plot. Genki female transfer student Katsuragi finds two guys ijimeing a third, interferes, and is told the guys are members of the executive committee, permitted by school regulation to halt and punish all wrong-doing on the spot. So if they find some guy messing up the change rooms, as now, they kick him a little to show him the error of his ways. Shortly thereafter Katsuragi sees a gang of thugs extorting money from two guys on threat of distributing blackmail photos, and beating the older one up when he refuses. She rushes off to the (poker-playing, cigarette-smoking, *in* uniform, *on* school property) EC and is met with indifference. "Can't stand people who always need someone else to save them", says feisty Gojou-clone Tokitoh. "Time those two learned a lesson," opines cool Hakkai-clone Kubota. Katsuragi in fury goes off herself to confront the blackmailers- while in her wake someone from the Photo club drops off an envelope at the EC's room. ("Put a lot of work into this. You'll pay my club fees for next year?") Katsuragi has thrown herself into the middle of the bullying and stopped the victims from handing over their money. And is about to be pounded by a thug when our guys appear, showering a stack of photos that show the thugs at various embarrassing moments. An exchange of negatives is effected. "Actually we've already plastered the photos around the school," Kubota says. "People learn by experience, you know. Oh- and this is for you," handing Katsuragi an EC armband. "We're a member short. 'Knowledge, strength, moral character'- you meet the requirements." The blackmail photos show the two blackmailed guys locked in a passionate kiss. "We were an all-boys' school until last year. There's lots of this around."

That's the size of most of the stories in this volume 1- short separate vignettes about our rough-and-ready and quite gorgeous heroes, the most unlikely of best friends. It's also about the size of the BL content in ExecCttee, which is a typical Chara work in that respect. Light, slightly frivolous, nothing specific. When you have okama appearing in a strip it's almost a guarantee of non-seriousness. Yes, Tokitoh has feelings about Kubota, but what we see is kept at the level of decent boyish friendship sort-of. (Kubota is one of those still-waters characters, and his feelings about Tokitoh are a matter of speculation.) Call it tease tease if you like- and the infuriated Katsuragi does call it that, as virtually every story starts with Kubota and Tokitoh in a suggestive position. The taller Kubota presses the shorter Tokitoh against the wall, grasps his wrists and murmurs 'Just this once- give in to me just once'- and lend me your history notes. Gaze deep into my eyes- deep, deep- yes definitely, that's a rotten tooth in the back of your mouth, better get some aspirin from the nurse.

It may be silly, but it does have its own indefinable Minekuran charm. I still hesitate to call what she does Unresolved Sexual Tension, because there are hints in both the dialogue and the art style, if you want them, that the sexual tension *is* being resolved. We just aren't getting to see it. This puts the series into the category of 'less is more' and 'seen yaoi is hot but that unseen is hotter.' Using one's imagination with characters drawn as seductively as Minekura's guys is a very satisfying exercise. "Anyone you particularly want to spend Christmas Eve with?" Tokitoh asks Kubota one Christmas Eve after the exec party. (Christmas Eve in Japan is what New Year's is here- gotta have a date time.) "You'll do for now," Kubota answers. And how do they then spend Christmas Eve, one wonders, after doing the plot-related rescuing the lost kid they find in the streets? Go back to Kubota's place probably and---

Well, for rather more of the same, and slightly more explicit, go check out Exec Cttee 2.