Title: Candy
Author/Manga-ka: Satomi Sugita
Distributor: Oakla Publishing
For Purchase: Akadot
Price: Normally 12.95
Series Number: None/Anthology
Country of Origin: Japan
Tooru is a young man who never fit in as a child, and thankfully has the confident Takara at his side. Sadly, the two boys were ripped apart, and two years later, are under the same roof once again. Too bad Takara’s no longer the sweet and protective man Tooru knew as a child-he’s become a punk, and Tooru no longer knows what to do.
Included in this manga are four one-shots.
Art: Alright, every yaoi fan girl that I know NEEDS good art in order to even get to the plot. Sugita-san has done a wonderful job. Sugita-san’s artwork is very crisp and clean, and literally is candy for the eyes. Her use of tones are beautiful, and each page is a little delight! Rating: 8.5/10
Story line: Looking at all of the story lines Sugita-san utilized in this manga, there are a few areas where I sighed and shook my head, wondering what on earth she were thinking when making this comic. Full of over the top drama and “WTF is this” moments, I was pleased with what I was reading; but I kept questioning myself as to why I was reading it. It’s good for yaoi fan girls who enjoy/thrive off of drama and quasi-hilarious situations, but not for a fan who really wants something from the sweet tree. Rating: 7/10
The “Squee” Factor: I love myself a “squee” when I read yaoi; and not a single “squee” erupted from me while reading this manga. The characters are a BIT one (maybe two) dimensional, and the melodrama slightly takes away from the “squees”. It was a bit shallow for my tastes, but, to each her (or his) own! Rating: 4.5/10
The Cover: One of the best things an artist can do is draw readers with a flashy cover. I loved it when I pulled it off the shelves to check the age rating (because I am known to look at the age rating before anything else a lot), and couldn’t put down the fun colored title text and graphically intense background. Overall, I liked this cover; “like” being the keyword. Rating: 3.5/5
-- Final Grade: 67%: D+ Below Average --
After Thoughts: I’m standing by the grade I’ve given this manga. It’s a cute manga, I’ll give it that. I just couldn’t take the overdose of melodrama and shallow characters mixed with awkwardly placed sex. If you like a fun, medium-length read, pick up Candy and enjoy the cute boys.
