Passion Volume 1 (Passion Vol 1)

Rating:
Summary: FireDrake's Opinion
Review: Hi there! I hope this helps you if you are looking for BL manga of the Shonen-Ai or YAOI variety.

Storyline: **
Artwork: **
"Steamy" scenes: 2 non-explicit, and 2 or 3 kisses.
Nudity: Bare minimum - partially dressed or top half only
Did it keep my interest: Barely

Hikaru is a student who has a crush on his teacher, Mr. Shima. This led him to do something stupid, which he then has to make up for to Mr. Shima. The feel of the story is angsty, with Hikaru pining after Mr. Shima. Mr. Shima encourages Hikaru to study dilligently, and encourages Hikaru to approach him, but he still keeps Hikaru at arm's length. Add in an old flame of Mr. Shima's who wants him back...

If you're interested in student/teacher relationships and shonen-ai and are not fussy, then I believe this might be of some interest to you. The story seems a little contrived, with only one point of difference to the usual student/teacher romance story, and was not sufficiently original enough to sustain my interest. The artwork is quite plain and has the bare minimum of detail. The content is fairly tame, despite the promising looking statement of "Parental Explicit Content Advisory" sign on the cover!

Having said that, I still want to know how it all ends, but I'm certainly not on the edge of my seat waiting for the next installment.



Rating:
Summary: enjoyable tryst, if not the bees knees
Review: I enjoyed this manga, but presently it's strong point seems to be iilicit nature of the tryst, since there's a student making the moves.

Not that there are not YAOI with students making the moves, but the teacher maintains emotional control in the situation rather than become a complete WAAH WAAH uke as usually happens. Well, actually, it still might happen.

The twist with the lover coming back promises some serious angst, but there is already a lot of angst involved on behalf of the student.

It's like every drop of kindness from the teacher is water to a man dying of thirst (yes... cliche). Still, it's cute and I enjoyed the student making the moves, even if the teacher is so nonchalant it hurts.

This has like NO funny moments, and is seriously focused on the kid getting him some emotional attachment (he's already getting the sex, yeh). If you like that sort, it's pretty entertaining.

Rating:
Summary: Sexy AND sweet
Review: I just finished reading this manga and I would definetly reccomend it to any yaoi fan.

The art style is beautiful (A little reminiscent of Mars), and the storyline doesn't lack anything either. It's a twist on the normal pattern for stories with a teacher and student.

It's got enough sappy parts, but not so much that you'll grow weary of it, and it has enough steamy scenes, but not too much to make one timid. I'd say this is the best manga I've read in a long time, and I can't wait for the second one to come out X3

Rating:
Summary: only for hardcore yaoi collectors
Review: the only reason i gave this book 2 stars is because gay themed manga novels are still hard to find. despite it's recent burst of popularity in the states yaoi is still pretty inaccessible. there's only a handful of titles in circulation. if there was a wider variety to choose from i still would have bought "Passion" but only because i'm a huge fan of the genre and a closet obsessive compulsive who has to collect everything of a specific genre.
the story definitely has a plot but the characters and the reasons they do what they do are never explained. also the choices they make are incomprehensible and uninteresting. at least in gravitation theres a comedic undertone to everything so the story can get by with a little fluffiness here and there. thats also the problem here, with passion your not sure what the story is supposed to be, between the odd way everyone behaves "let's pretend to be lovers till the end of term" to the ongoing flashbacks of unrequieted romance between the teachers the story tries to be too many things all at once and fails on all counts. also if your looking for good adult material this is NOT the book for you. when i gave up on the plot (by page 10) i thought "okay at least i'll see some cute manga boys gettin nakies" but the most you see is a couple of torso shots.
if you want some good adult material i highly recommend "Golden Cain" aside from a very good story it's sex scenes are pretty hardcore. and if your more interested in poignant romance that resonates, pick up "only the Ring Finger Knows". if your after light cute and funny go with gravitation. of course as i i said earlier if your a diehard yaoi fan you wouldn't want your collection to be without this title. if nothing else the art is beautiful as manga usually is.

Rating:
Summary: What can I say?
Review: While I'm no stranger to yaoi, being a fan fiction writer of the massively growing genre myself, I am merely the possessor of a meager collection of manga with a review to offer. There's a reason for the leniency behind my rating. There is a second volume that has yet to be released, and therefore, I wish to be quite wary of my current judgment--need I say more. It is indeed a lenient grade by my standards of critique. But oh the ambiguity that lurks in this here volume. There are still giant question marks hovering over my head as to the motivation behind Shima's nonchalant behavior. I can't quite comprehend his reason for being opposed to the ministrations of his former lover, while on the other hand allowing himself to be taken by the student enamored of him. Is he testing the waters of a potential long-term relationship with the boy? Uhh, I dunno. 'Come when I say, do what I want until I decide whether to fall in love with you or toss you like trash' is the complex this teacher seems to temporarily be playing with or chronically laden with. Never mind the trouble they could get into--all is well with the world as lust and secrecy prevail. Heh. Shima has a grand idea, 'let's play lovers, hm? Shall I be uke to your seme?' It is puzzling, that whole set up I just mentioned, but angst, suspense, and confusion must love to kill us in volume one only to appease our curiosity in volume two. I really hope that's the case! Seems to me Shima has the upper hand emotionally--Hikaru is wrapped like a boa constrictor around his little finger, and yet, he's dominated sexually. Ahh, the joys of being uke. I hope the next volume contains Hikaru getting a little more adventurous in his advances and choice of *ahem* positions--but that's just me! I don't care much for Amamiya, I'd truly rather see the student and teacher hook up. They're way too intelligent not to be soul mates (note my sarcasm). Anyway, besides Shima's keen sense of smell and Hikaru's blatant infatuation, I'd say this manga isn't bad--volume two will hopefully clarify a few things gnawing at my brain. The artwork is tolerable for me. I rather like it. Sometimes eyes or facial lines are too sharp elsewhere, but this is simple and not flung at me too thickly. Not too much 'chibi' style artwork floating around here either. I've got enough in 'Gravitation' and 'Eerie Queerie' to deal with--both very good mangas, by the way. I'll hang around for the finale to 'Passion'--who gets who? I have no idea! Some people just don't know what they want, and despite age, who says we grow out of immaturity and indecision completely, hm? Oh well, I'll stick around. I recommend this manga providing the upcoming volume is worth my hasty pre-order!