Akihiko odwiedza rodzinny dom swojego zmarłego ojca, wiedziony chęcią poznania prawdy o klątwie ciążącej nad męską częścią jego rodziny. Klątwę, która nie wróży mu długiego i szczęśliwego życia... Pewnej nocy ze zdumieniem odkrywa, że przeniósł się w czasie o ponad sto lat aż do okresu Edo, gdzie spotyka Eitaro, który podobnie jak Akihiko bada naturę klątwy. Przeszłość i zaczynają się przeplatać, gdy mężczyźni łączą swe siły by odkryć rodzinną tajemnicę.
Akihiko has a slightly peculiar family problem: all the male descendants of Odagawa family end up dead awfully early in life. Being a 27 year old, Akihiko knows he will be next unless he can break the said curse that already lasts centuries.
As he goes back to his family state on the countryside, things gets weird. His family seems to hold way more secrets than a regular one and those are far more deadly. Along with his cousin, Akihiko is hell bent in understanding why does his family members always turn up dead so early.
Things turn downward crazy when a lapse of time allows Akihiko to go back a hundred years, to the Meiji Era. There, he meets Eitaro, a young man that is also trying to understand the curse and break it.
Will the forces of past and present be able to change the Odagawas’ future?
The Analysis Just remembering that those were my impressions and opinion as a reader :)
This title was very different from the yaoi titles that I usually read and I loved the change of scenario. Being a mystery / time travelling /paranormal series, Sleeping Moon had a heavy art style and an eerie feeling about it all the time. It was like you needed to look over your shoulder as you read it, haha! As much as I found it all interesting, I didn’t like the loose ends on the series finale or the shallow way that the characters’ relationships were built. For those small things, I declare Sleeping Moon a proud 4 stars title :)
The narrative follows Akihiko mainly, but we also see the story from Eitaro and Ren’s points of view. The pace is fast and, sometimes, a bit confusing, as the characters mention several people and stories from the past that neither Akihiko, Eitaro or Ren care to explain to the reader. I think Miyamoto-sensei wanted to increase the mystery aura of the story, but it didn’t really work for me, haha!
The plot is complex and well executed. The mystery and paranormal elements are awesome and there are several funny moments to break the intensity of the story and its drama. The only reservation I’ve got is how Miyamoto-sensei build the amorous relationships on this title. As much as Akihiko says how deep his feelings for Eitaro are or how much he enjoys Ren’s advances, I didn’t feel it. It was like she just threw an amorous triangle there to have one and totally forgot to invest on this during the plot. There are a few sensual scenes (nothing very explicit) and that’s all. You don’t feel the love :(
The characters were very well constructed and intriguing. I really liked Akihiko as a main character, as he was humble despite his accomplishments. He also wasn’t perfectly beautiful, just handsome in a regular kind of way what and I could feel that his life was real. All character’s emotions that weren’t love were pretty real, haha!
The art was cool and gorgeous, a different type from the ones that I usually swoon for.
Overall, Sleeping Moon it’s an interesting and seat grabbing title, ideal for people that don’t really care about romance, haha!
Thanks for reading my review! Oh, and thanks to Samantha for the lovely recommendation <3
The Sakaki family is cursed -- every man dies young. But who cursed them, when, why? And most importantly, how can the curse be broken? Akihiko visits his ancestral homestead for the first time since childhood, hoping for answers, but discovers a puzzling absence of information. As if the topic were being deliberately concealed...
This story was my first by Kano Miyamoto. It was a really great story! It had a good amount of everything. There was paranormal, time traveling, humor, and boys love.
When I initially read the summary, I thought it was going to be a direct Yaoi. However, I was very wrong! There was more 'things that go bump in the night' than smut. I did not mind this! I just found it really funny how I stumbled upon this story by mistake.
The story surrounds two cousins trying to solve the mysterious curse that has surrounded the males in their families for centuries. The ability to time travel by one the two cousins, allows him to meet his ancestor. This ancestor in turn helps to solve the mystery as well. As they close in on solving the mystery, things start to worsen at the home. The two cousins develop a incestuous relationship with one another through this whole issue.
Overall, it's a really interesting story! When you think you might know what's going on, a curve ball is thrown at you! There is a certain leeriness to the entire story, but the fact that it has a mixture of many elements is what makes it so great, including the humor.
Warning: if you are not a fan of incest, you really shouldn't read this. However, the relationship is not the main plot, just keep that in mind.
I really enjoyed this, I will be checking out more from Kano Miyamoto!
Not for the Faint of Heart - Sleeping Moon Vol 1 Review
So we came across this in the book store the other day and it stood out from the other options mainly because it has something of a speculative element in the quasi-time travel and supernatural aspects in the story. And for that it is interesting, and does present something of a mystery as Akihiko must figure out a family curse that threatens to kill him young. At the same time, though, this book seems a bit light in the romance department, as there is only a bit of kissing and little else in this volume. Still, I think that it's worth reading and am hoping that there's more to come to keep this moving along.
Again, though, I was a bit disappointed with the lack of steam in this volume. There is something of a love triangle going on between Akihito and both his cousin and his relative from the past. Both look identical except the hair and it does make for some interesting drama as the two characters sort-of vying for Akihiko's affections are very different. There is nothing really naughty about this volume, though, and certainly nothing worthy of it being wrapped in plastic. So, again, disappointing.
But the story is interesting and a bit strange. There is a sort of mystery horror aspect here as demons and curses mingle with time travel. It's a little odd that Akihiko is apparently unaware of his attraction to men, and professes to be straight. I don't like the whole "converted" model some of the yaoi take, though, so I'm not really all that sure about this. Still, at least he isn't raped others that have been in that situation. It does make his relationship with both his cousin and ancestor rather odd, because his cousin is so outward with his affection and the ancestor also seems to be quite closeted.
Still, the volume shows some promise and enough mystery to keep my interest, and there's really nothing about the volume that was objectionable. It's a bit slow to start, but I do hope that the steam increases considerably in later volumes. It's enough that I do want to read the next book, though, so that seems praise enough, and enough for a 6.5/10.
Kano Miyamoto can do no wrong in my eyes. This is one of her many series that I read while in high school and, returning to it, it's every inch as engrossing as it was in the past. Her artwork is a favorite of mine, and her characters always have really interesting dynamics. Plus, I love the way she writes her women - like normal people, you know? - but also interesting parts of the story, the way few yaoi manga does - or anything "m/m romance" - for some reason.
The story was an interesting one and an interesting idea, but I just didn't care about any of the characters. A few times, I thought something subtle was happening because of the artwork, but...nothing ended up happening. Was I mistaken? Did the artist's pen slip?
This mangaka is better know for her Hydra series, but this is better in my opinion.
Using elements of SciFi, horror and fantasy, it blends them in a very interesting story.
The family is cursed, and the eldest males all die before 35, so the current eldest and protagonist, is searching for a way to dispel the curse.
Because he’s having nightmares related to his old family house, he returns to the countryside to try to unveil the mystery. That’s when he starts time slipping, and goes to the past, as he works with one of his ancestors in the past, and his cousin in the present, to figure out why they’re cursed, what happened, and why there’s a mist-clad kimono person stalking them and promising them they’re next to die.
I super love when BL introduces rare genres, and this is a really interesting mystery, you’ll be left in suspense till the end!
This is a really interest start to this series. I am actually left with a lot more questions than I thought possible. I am also intrigued as to which was the romance will go. Onwards to the next volume!
Sebenarnya aku agak menghindari karya Miyamoto-sensei yg (entah kenapa kok) populer bgt di kalangan fujoshi. Terutama setelah aku coba2 baca salah satu karyanya 2-3 tahun lalu, yg isinya parah abis, kaya buatan mangaka yg totally newbie deh. Hancur pokoknya. Kualitas gambarnya sih ga parah2 amat dan plot cerita cukup menarik, cuma alur plotnya ga mengalir, disjointed, misalnya adegan siang jadi malam itu terasa aneh, monoton, tdk kreatif dan dipaksakan. Latar gambar seperti gambar panorama dan gedung pun itu2 saja modelnya, terkesan copy paste abis, cobalah gambar gedung itu ga melulu gedungnya dari perspektif yg sama, masa dari samping kanan terusss, dan apa harus pake gambar gedung itu terus buat kasi tau reader kalo si A lagi di situ, kan bisa langsung gambar A lagi di dpn lobi gedung atau interior gedung itu. Intinya tiap beberapa halaman itu selalu ada gambar yg kesannya copy paste pake photoshop, dan lagi mangaka ini sepertinya ga suka pake tone atau ga paham cara pakenya dlm komik, jadi hitam putih ya elah, serasa baca komik newbie yg ga tau teknik bikin manga deh pokoknya. Kan kesannya jadi keliatan mangaka itu entah malas, atau entah ga mahir gambar atau ga jago bikin plot flow atau si mangaka mungkin lagi keabisan waktu dan kesannya jadi tdk profesional. Pokoknya aku setengah mati dah kelarin 1 chapter itu saking monotonnya luar biasa sekali. Sampe ga sanggup nge-rate bukunya. Ujung2nya aku malah jadi bertanya2 : apa kerjanya si editor?? Apa ga di-edit sama sekali? Kalo uda edit, kok bisa separah itu skill editornya? Atau memang ga punya editor? Atau itu hasil karya yg last minute baru diserahkan, alias asal jadi pokoknya deadline uda kecapai? Herannyaaa, banyak pula fujoshi yg blg bagus. Bukan standarku tinggi atau apa ya, org yg sudah biasa baca komik pasti bisa ngeh kalo ada yg aneh bgt.
Oke, pokoknya seperti itulah kesan pertamaku pada karya Miyamoto-sensei. Dan itu bikin aku ogah baca karya dia yg lain meskipun ada judulnya yg populer bgt kaya Rules. Menurutku, Miyamoto-sensei ini mirip2 sama Tateno Makoto-sensei yg karya BL-nya juga bikin aku bete dan bikin aku heran kenapa fujoshi ngefans bgt sama karya2nya Tateno-sensei itu. Populernya itu sampe diterbitin segitu byknya komiknya dia di luar negri. Ada 1 tmn fujoshi-ku yg juga sependapat dgnku soal karya Tateno-sensei. Dia bilang kalo dia juga ga paham di mana kelebihan karya Tateno-sensei itu, lol.
Anyway, jadi karena Sleeping Moon/Nemureru Tsuki ini cuma 2 vol dan plotnya kayanya menarik, aku coba baca dan untunglah semua kekurangan yg kusebutin di atas tadi sudah tdk ada. Intinya jadi enak deh bacanya, ga kaku lagi perpindahan adegannya, dan perspektif latar juga sudah oke. Tapi blm bisa kasi 4 stars krn biarpun plotnya menarik tapi merasa lumayan aja. Romance juga kurang chemistry-nya. Tiba2 saja Ren jadi begitu tertarik pada Akihiko, imo it's out of nowhere. Dan oh ya, bagi yg ga suka komik hantu, mending jangan baca krn hantu wanita berkimono-nya lumayan ngeri. Pas pula aku bacanya tengah malam gini, lol. *takut cerita hantu juga sebenarnya :p*
Apparently it's "boys love done differently" month in Germany - after EMA and "Dein Weg in mein Herz" Carlsen is promoting this one with a similar slogan. Well done, German publishers, well done. Took you long enough.
In all honesty, I could have given this four stars. I did like that it has a plot, and the ghost/time travel story is very intriguing. However, the two characters in the present - or rather their relationship - really lacked chemistry for me, and really, I am so over the "Oh come on you know you want it" trope. There are enough examples where *that* is done differently as well.
The art is very pretty, as expected from Kano Miyamoto, and overall it's well done. I may review my rating depending how the series develops, but while I found it interesting so far I couldn't really connect to it emotionally.
(I read an advance copy, it should be out by the end of this month, though.)
I don't have much to say about this book and it's not because I didn't enjoy it or nothing happened. It's because I'm not sure about my feelings on it.
This is a yaoi manga, almost shounan ai, but not exactly. This story is a time travel and a secret curse story with what seems like a love triangle mixed in. To be honest, this is one of those rare times where I don't have much of a guess of what could happen next. Which is good. I hope that the secret of the curse is not something stupid and cliche like, anything to do with a jealous lover. It happened with Queen Baryl in Sailor Moon, and many other stories and it's a way too obvious, common, underwhelming, and stupid reason for doing terrible things.
I need volume 2 now.
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Viz ruins everything they touch Overall the story is good. One I'd like to continue. It's got time travel and ESP and curses and pretty awesome for a BL manga.However ViZ's touch on this ruins most of it, with their goofy "dubbing" of the SFX, basically making this a "dub only affair", the replacing of if the vertical lines with "~~~~" is just bizarre and the final one that fucks things up is that... this was rated M for "Explicit Content" however there is none in this book. It might be different for the rest in the series BUT, none in this book which reeks of "same sex relationship are alway 'explicit' and must be hidden away from the eyes of non-adults" which is fucked up. This is what takes the score down so much is ViZ's fuckery. They ruin everything they touch.
I'm a huge fan of Kano-sensei, and this story is among her best. The artwork is simply lovely in Kano's quasi-realistic, beautifully detailed style (the full-cover color and insert especially so.) And the story is compelling--the "family curse" trope is uniquely treated. Characters are realistic and intriguing. BL elements are well integrated into the story, and are subtle and mild (kissing, gentle touches, and some grappling) in this volume, although the rating implies there will be more explicit action in the future.
If you have any interest in BL and skilled writing in both characterization and plot, pick this one up, and you'll be waiting eagerly for volume 2 along with me.
This is my first Yaoi manga and an awesome introduction to the genre. There were two story threads in this. The main being the boys trying to find how to break the curse over the family house, and then the love interest that creates between them. I found their love for each other very sweet and quite romantic. The main story kept me sucked in, wanting it to never end. Great characters, great storyline. But ADULT ONLY. NOT FOR KIDS!!
I really enjoyed the mystery in this story, and fortunately there was not much of the stuff I hate about yaoi. There is so much about this genre of manga that I don't get. I totally hate the "I'm not gay, but I'm not going to pound your face in for kissing me and then kill you for sexually assaulting me, because, hey, I'm a nice guy and just can't say no." Ew.
Much funnier than the cover and the synopsis suggested. Akihiko's reactions to anything supernatural were hilarious. And I thought Ren would be the aloof one so the way he suddenly became so clingy surprised me. I wonder why the change of heart. Was it, as Akihiko suspected, just because they were in the same boat? Or was it something more?
I expected this book to have elusions to boy love, but was surprised by its blatant yaoi theme. The supernatural traveling through time element seemed pretty cool and I was interested in the characters. I would definitely like to read more, though I hope the supernatural plot isn't secondary to the yaoi, because I think the two play very nicely off one another.
A very nicely drawn manga with a interesting plot. There's just kissing in this volume but it really helps to drive the characters. They all have clear motivation and are in a situation I've never read about before so that's good. Again the artwork is really beautiful. I'm excited to order the next volume!
Despite the warning on the cover, there wasn't really explicit content. More PG for that matter? Interesting concept but don't think I'll read any more of it since it wasn't really told in a gripping manner.
I found myself very much caught up in this story. It's a short series, only two volumes, but so far it's a good read. I love the way they handled the travelling back and forth, as well the 'curse'. Definitely a new fave.
Awesome story, intricate plot, with ghosts, kitsunes, ancient curses... and love between boys, of course. As always, Miyamoto Kano's characters are always so full of life! So real! Of course, she has to leave us always with that bittersweet taste, and I also love her for that.
Okay, so, this yaoi wasn’t as bad as most of the yaoi I’ve read. The story is interesting, I guess, and the concept was what got me interested in the first place, so, so far so good, I suppose. I don’t know what to feel about the characters right now. We’ll see.