Hanaotoshi

Reviewed by Nora Jemison

Author: Minami [Something in kanji I can't read]
Published by: Shobunkan
Individual stories published in: Egoist kans 5 & 6, Ciel (March & July, 1997). Compiled into a single volume.

I confess: I don't know half of what's going on in this volume. It's full of kanji without furigana, and since I can recognize and understand all of about five kanji out of the 3,000 or so that exist, I've managed to understand just enough of the dialogue to completely confuse myself, for the most part. So please take this review with several grains of salt.

However, while I can't give much of a synopsis of the stories, I can at least give you the basics. Hanaotoshi is an anthology of stories set in a fantasy version of medieval (pre-Meiji era; I can barely remember American history, much less Japanese) Japan. They range from the tender to the tragic, and provide a nice glimpse into the Japanese idea of romance. The men of Hanaotoshi are warriors and artisans and in some cases even demons (or both), struggling against terrible odds or against their lovers and sometimes even against themselves, all for an opportunity to be with the person they desire. Even if only for a moment.

The clash between pathos and pride is the theme of all of the stories. In the title tale, rival warrior clans send forth their greatest champions to battle---not with weapons or swords but with sex. And so when Nagura, the most talented and handsome son of his clan, meets his challenger in battle, the resulting, er, action, gets very intense indeed. Naturally he falls in love and is defeated, and then must face his lover in a second duel in order to recover his lost honor. It remains to be seen, at the end, who has won the challenge.

Another example is "Kusabira," the third story in the anthology, in which a young rogue named Angurumara with a taste for beautiful things meets the lovely, aloof healer/herbalist Kagerou. Kagerou cannot touch others; the poisonous fungi he uses in his healing has imbued his body with a dangerous level of toxins, to the point that even his kiss can kill. Over the years he's resigned himself to his situation and has suppressed his emotions so that he can endure the constant isolation. Angurumara, unable to resist such a challenge and temptation, has other plans. And yes, before you ask, they made some lovely jade dildoes back in the old days. And paintbrushes, and ropes, oh, and hair...

Before you dismiss this as pointless sex, however, I should warn you that all of the stories of Hanaotoshi have a moral, of sorts. In the case of "Kusabira," the reader gets to see the consequences of breaking down the barriers of emotion and propriety. Whereas a Westerner like me might consider this a logical and desirable conclusion, it's a Japanese story all the way, with Japanese themes. Playing with the heart, like trying to have sex without touching, is playing with fire---it is inevitable that someone will get burned.

Implicit in this, of course, is that the angst factor is high in Hanaotoshi. So's the quality of the art. While the character designs don't always show the greatest variety in the world---the protagonists are all beautiful because they all have the same facial features---the mangaka makes excellent use of design, patterning, expression, and shade variations. They've all got the same face, but it's hard to care about that after a while, because their outfits and settings are beautiful and unique enough to distract any reader. Don't be put off by the seizure-inducing cover art. This artist works best in black and white, and it's worth it to look past the cover.

As for the sex, Hanaotoshi is one of the few yaoi manga I've read (okay, so I haven't read many) which focuses on eroticism rather than explicitness. Not that it's not explicit; we get treated to a close-up glimpse of an anus being penetrated by both a penis and a finger at the same time, among other treats. But by eroticism I mean that more time is devoted to the depiction of beauty and pleasure than to close-up shots of projectile bodily fluids (of which there are blessedly few). In "Kusabira," for example, intercourse between the lovers never takes place, or at least not in the traditional manner. Yet we can see that Angurumara derives just as much (if not more) enjoyment from observing Kagerou's pleasure as he would from just tossing the pretty healer over the nearest futon. These are stories of romance and romanticism, not mere sex.

Angst. Beauty. Pathos. Eros. Strap-on oral dildoes.

Check it out!