MJ Review: Camera Camera Camera Volumes One and Two

[Eric]

Title: Camera Camera Camera
Volume: 1, 2
Mangaka: Kazura Matsumoto
Originally Serialized in: (Shinshokan)
Genre: Boys' Love
Licensed by: DMP
Price: $12.95/US

Akira loves his stepbrother, Satoru, really loves him, but he’s managed to keep that fact a secret from everyone. That is until he meets a goofy photographer named Kaoru who seems to know everything about Akira. Now Akira can’t get away from Kaoru and his proclamations of love and, to make everything worse, a devious girl is blatantly trying to steal away his darling Satoru. Toss in a teenage model who looks like he’s ten, but has more experience than virginal Akira, and a mysterious woman from Kaoru’s past and Akira might just decide that becoming an adult is more trouble than it’s worth!

The two volumes of Camera Camera Camera aren’t breakouts of innovation in yaoi writing or art, but they are sweet examples of why the genre is popular. Matsumoto’s characters are engaging, especially Akira. He’s a very typical boy, but his struggles with his feelings - part lust and part hero worship - for his stepbrother are realistically portrayed. Satoru is mostly just a focus for Akira’s affections at first, but his character is fleshed out more completely in volume two. The other characters are also more complete by the end of the second volume, though some to a lesser degree than others, depending upon their necessity to the story.

Kaoru is the only one who remains something of an enigma and his early declarations of love for Akira come across as more of a yaoi plot device than real emotion. Glimpses of his deeper thoughts come through toward the end of the series. The emotions between him and Akira, and their story, connect in a way that completes what was started at the beginning of volume one. This makes the first few pages of volume one a little confusing at first, so my suggestion is to read both together.

Matsumoto’s art is a nice fit for this lightly angst-filled, but mostly humorous, story. She deftly inserts the needed pratfalls and comedic chibis and keeps the pacing right for a humor story. This is definitely a boys’ love title, not a more graphic yaoi, so those readers looking for smutty sex scenes will be disappointed. Other than one glimpse of naked-boy-butt, there isn’t anything overly explicit in the drawings (though the humor does occasionally revolve around sexual topics). That doesn’t mean that Matsumoto neglects the sensual elements. There is one drawing of just a pair of feet that is very romantic and stands well in place of a more detailed sex scene.

I read both volumes twice and enjoyed them both times. If you’re looking for a lighter, sweeter romance that doesn’t take a lot of concentration or effort, but is still enjoyable and well-done, I strongly recommend Matsumoto’s boys’ love duo.

Reviewer: Snow Wildsmith
Proofer: Eric Turner
Editor: Lissa Pattillo