Kagirinaku-series written by Kifu Kaname and illustrated by Asou Umi

The Kagirinaku-series, written by Kifu Kaname and illustrated by Asou Umi, is made up of three books: Kagirinaku game ni chikai honki (seriousness exceedingly close to a game), Kagirinaku migatte na aijou (exceedingly selfish love), and Kagirinaku fukou ni chikai koufuku (happiness exceedingly close to unhappiness). It is about Hori Keiichi, an ordinary salaryman, who is pursued by the new employee he is training, Takasuga Kazumasa. Takasuga is very persistent, and Hori ends up giving in. Then there's a twist...

I was not very impressed with the lifeless writing. The characters are completely two-dimensional and mostly unappealing, and they only degenerate as the series goes on. Why did I keep reading? I can't quite put my finger on it, but I did notice a vague resemblance to Kimi wo hanasanai, which I had posted about a while back. It didn't have that stunningly cynical flair that I had found compelling about the other work, but it had certain features that distinguished it from the typical BL novel (badly executed, admittedly).Then I realized that this series is by the same author, which explains the similarities. :P It almost pains me to say it, but "Kimi wo hanasanai" is actually more believable as well as much better written. The author has improved, but considering that she started off so low it's hard to go anywhere but up.

In any case, what really struck me about this novel is its portrayal of women. Usually women are not (or just barely) around in BL novels. Several women are given decent face-time in this series, and many other women are referred to. It consistently shows women in the worst light, portraying them as two-faced manipulative deceptive sluts at worst, or just plain (pathetic) sluts at best.

( not so much a summary as spoiler-filled babbling )

( selected pics )

I don't think I've used so much crude language in a post before. I couldn't help it, putting things nicely didn't fit with this series. :P