Color

by Eiki Eiki, Taishi Zaou (Illustrator)

Takashiro Tsuda est en dernière année de collège lorsqu'il expose sa toile dans la galerie de son ami Tono. A la surprise de Takashiro, une autre personne, Sakae Fujiwara, a aussi intitulé sa toile ""Color"", utilisant des couleurs exceptionnellement similaires.Persuadé d’avoir sous ses yeux l’œuvre de son âme sœur, Takashiro tombe immédiatement amoureux de Sakae Fujiwara sans l'avoir jamais rencontrée, et fait part à Tono de son vœu d'en savoir plus sur elle.Une romance orchestrée par le destin, quasi miraculeuse. Une rencontre qui semble inévitable, tout comme leur coup de foudre… comme s’ils s’étaient toujours cherchés…Et quelle n’est pas sa surprise de découvrir qu’ils passent le même concours d’entrée à une école d’art à Tokyo ! Et lorsque, le jour de la rentrée, il découvre la véritable identité de Sakae, le jeune homme tombe des nues… Car au lieu de la femme idéale, Sakae Fujiwara est… un homme ! C’est le début d’une amitié fusionnelle qui va peu à peu faire place à une idylle naissante…

Genres: Manga, Yaoi, Romance, Boys Love, Graphic Novels, Comics, Queer

228 pages, Kindle Edition

First published October 1, 2006

About the author

Japanese: 影木栄貴

Her real name is Eiko Naitou.

EIKI Eiki is a friend of ZAOU Taishi (TSUDA Mikiyo). She has published several solo manga, numerous yaoi doujinshi and one collaboration manga with Taishi Zaou. Eiki Eiki and Taishi Zaou go by the circle name Kodomo Keibitai and publish alone as well as with Zaougumi under the name Kozouya.

EIKI Eiki is the older sister of DAIGO (Daigo Naitou), the vocalist of J-rock band BREAKERZ, and her grandfather was the former prime minister (Mr. Takeshita) of Japan. One of her assistants was the very talented male yaoi artist UZUKI Jun.

Reviews

[Julie]

DNF @ p. 36

I've tried to read this a few times and just can't seem to get through it. I bought this back when I first started collecting bl manga and would just buy anything my used book store had. I honestly didn't get far enough to have any sort of opinion. I will say that a thing I hate and I've noticed it in a lot of older bl is that they italicize a random word in every other speech bubble and it's so distracting. Why?? It's so unnecessary.

[Toviel · Rating 5 out of 5]

I usually hate yaoi and yuri because it's generally written for a straight audience that doesn't actually understand lgbtq+ relationships, and the genres are usually a host to a number of uncomfortable clichés. When I first picked up Color, my expectations were low--but I ended up blown away by the characters and their romance.

Unlike many other titles, Color focuses on the emotional side of falling in love and growing up. As someone who is gay, I ended up relating a lot to the characters and their experiences (especially the awkward first kiss!) According to the authors, the story was a semi-autobiographical account about how their own friendship began, just placed in a yaoi setting. I completely buy that, as the story feels like it was written with genuine heart.

I can see why some yaoi fans don't like it--it's not very explicit and only lasts a single volume. However, that's probably why it works so well: the short length makes it essential to cut out the pointless crap that infests the BL genre, and maintain a steady pace that continuously advances the two lead character's relationship.

I love that the tone of the story is lighthearted, even when the story turns serious. The authors, as mentioned above, are clearly having fun with the story, especially in the third act, and they frequently wink at the audience when the few yaoi clichés that turn up in the story appear. To top it all off, the art is beautiful and fitting for a story about two artists falling in love.

[Daesy · Rating 4 out of 5]

**grammar**

The story was simple but cute and i loved the main couple. Two sweet and innocent guys meet in high-school. Each of them had made a painting and fate wanted, they both were similar. They dont know that the guy they were searching for, is now the one sitting near them. When they find out they start becoming friends, but soon we see that their feelings change into love. They experience together all, from their first kiss, till their first time, changing also the roles, and i found this really cute. In the end of the book, we see their thoughts and we read that maybe one day they will not be together anymore, but that they will forever remember that one painting they made together (2 years after they become a couple).
I wanna think and I am sure of this, that they will be together also in the future, but reading these words, made me a bit sad, and only for this i give 4.5 stars and not the max.

[Sophie · Rating 4 out of 5]

"Color" is a really well done story about first love. The two main characters are both artists who, at an exhibition, see each other's pictures and are surprised to see that there is another person who seems to be almost exactly the same. The two of them meet and then gradually fall in love and face some challenges. There are a few things that aren't exactly perfect (if there were half-stars, it'd be a 3.5), but overall it's a lovely story that somehow gets better knowing it was inspired by the artists' own stories (sans the Boys, or, well, Girls Love).

[Blak Rayne · Rating 3 out of 5]

Can't say it's a favourite. Unfortunately, the plot is predictable and the characters are non-descript. Basically, this manga is a humdrum read.

[Chris · Rating 2 out of 5]

It was ok but also wasn’t.

[endeavoursofvic · Rating 4 out of 5]

3.5*

[Sarah · Rating 5 out of 5]

Ah, Eiki Eiki and Taishi Zaou: two great tastes that go good together. English language manga readers know Eiki Eiki as the manga-ka behind Dear Myself and Princess Princess (also an anime) while Taishi Zaou is known as the manga-ka behind Green Light and The Day of Revolution. When they come together in one work, we get Color, a tour de force of romance, humor, and drama packed into one volume. Do me a favor and get it now.

You can read my full review of the yaoi manga COLOR at my manga review blog, Nagareboshi Reviews: http://nagareboshi-reviews.blogspot.com/

[Sarah]

Sweet and cute yaoi manga -- a tender look at first love with some non-explicit sexuality. This one is interesting because it is a collaboration and each artist drew one of the main characters. But even with two authors and stules, they still managed to tell a story that was sweet and somewhat realistic. Good for yaoi fans who want more plot then porn.

[Amy · Rating 5 out of 5]

I really enjoyed this. Only took about an hour to an hour and a half to read it. Had really good flow, so I didn't get tripped up on what was happening. I love the drawing style, which was one of the things that attracted me to this in the first place. Relatively simple plot, but I didn't mind at all.

[Rici · Rating 4 out of 5]

Ich mag es sehr gerne, das hier die Entwicklung der beiden Charaktere im Vordergrund steht, und nicht deren sexuelle Beziehung, wie es sonst gerne bei Boys Love gehandhabt wird. Man weiß einfach das beide füreinander bestimmt sind, auch wenn sie Schwierigkeiten überwinden müssen; sie wachsen daran nur.

[Beck · Rating 3 out of 5]

A fairly sweet story with a cute background/origin from its playful authors. Probably 3.5 stars.

The 16+ rating is about right on this one; it feels YA, but the sex is explicit enough that I wouldn't tend to suggest it for younger teens.

[scarlettraces · Rating 4 out of 5]

(3.5)

[Sylvie · Rating 4 out of 5]

Super cute little yaoi manga. The characters are complete dweebs and mostly act like realistic teenagers. The last chapter - after a timeskip of two years - bored me a little, hence a star less.

[Maya · Rating 2 out of 5]

Meh...

[Maiko-chan [|] · Rating 3 out of 5]

3.5stars