MJ Review: World's End

[Eric]

Title: World’s End
Mangaka: Eiki Eiki
Originally Serialized in: Dear+ (Shinshokan)
Genre: Yaoi
Licensed by: DMP
Price: $12.95/US

Continuing where she left off after Dear Myself, Eiki Eiki picks up the story of Hirofumi and Daigo. Four years after they started living together, Daigo is becoming more and more possessive of Hirofumi, to the point where he doesn’t want Hirofumi to leave the house at all, for fear he won’t return. Faced with the prospect of being a kept man, what will Hirofumi do? This volume also includes a story set during Hirofumi’s missing years and two extra stories, “Kiss on a Honeymoon,” the sequel to Eiki’s manga Kiss of Destiny, and “Papa’s 18.”

Hirofumi and Daigo’s story is hard to read with cynicism. I have trouble losing myself in their story because I keep wondering why the ever-present Dr. Haruhiko has never sent Daigo for psychological counselling. His obsessive need for Hirofumi should come across as romantic, but instead seems creepy and possessive. Hirofumi’s recurring decision to stay with Daigo makes less and less sense each time and I found myself wondering why his family sanctioned such a match.

This is an older example of Eiki’s work, so her art has hints of its current sleekness, but hasn’t quite reached that point. She, along with friend and collaborator Taishi Zaou, is known for expressive eyes and they are in full view in this volume. She has not yet, however, gained the knack of making her boys look completely like boys, so Hirofumi especially looks very feminine.

World’s End is a sequel to Dear Myself and doesn’t make much sense without it. The problem is that the humor, which served to lighten the angst of Dear Myself , is completely missing in this volume. On top of that, the choice of bonus stories is odd. “Kiss on a Honeymoon” can be read by itself and can still be followed, but it’s flat, something I’m assuming it wouldn’t be if I had read Kiss of Destiny. “Papa’s 18” is a pointless little series of three tales about a 20-year-old man whose mother decides to remarry. His new stepfather is only 18. It seems like Eiki couldn’t decide if this was to be a comedy or a boys’ love. The characters are so one-dimensional that I found I didn’t care about them at all.

Overall, this book is only really for devout Eiki Eiki fans. If you loved Dear Myself you might be interested in this volume, but you won’t be missing anything by skipping it. Personally, I’d hold out for the next volume of The Art of Loving for angsty power struggles, hope that Train Train gets released in the US if I want comedy, or Color if I want yaoi.

Reviewer: Snow Wildsmith
Proofer: Eduardo Menendez
Editor: Lissa Pattillo