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Jazz
Jazz
Naoki's illness haunts him like a curse until he meets the one person who gives him a vibrant life. Like a slow jazz refrain, thoughts of his beloved float through every waking moment. But can he make his caretaker's heart sing back? A wounded soul never fully recovers...will Naoki suffer the painful blow of unrequited love?
200 pages, Paperback
First published December 13, 2005
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Displaying 1 - 18 of 18 reviews
October 7, 2025
I have a hard time with romances that deal with one person forcing the other to be in the relationship. While there is a matter of interpretation to this particular narrative the dominance is still present in Jazz. Don't get me wrong, it's not the notion of one partner being dominant and the other submissive; it's when one person always gets their way without question, with only passive acquiescence. This doesn't feel romantic to me. It also left me with rather an ambiguous attitude to the two characters. Their motivations seemed less clear because everything seemed coerced in order to get to this particular relationship. I guess that also left me rather frustrated.
On the other hand the art in this volume is very nice. It doesn't feel rushed like some other manga. Although the particular style is not my favorite, I do appreciate that each page looks like a completed page. So that saved the book from being lost in the miasma of the character's depression.
So this wasn't exactly my kind of story, but I can see how it might appeal to some people.
On the other hand the art in this volume is very nice. It doesn't feel rushed like some other manga. Although the particular style is not my favorite, I do appreciate that each page looks like a completed page. So that saved the book from being lost in the miasma of the character's depression.
So this wasn't exactly my kind of story, but I can see how it might appeal to some people.
December 6, 2011
I thought this was an extremely sweet story even if the doc pretended he didn't like what Naoki did to him. Obviously he cared for Naoki if he was willing to see him so often!
May 13, 2013
I really wish I could find more yaoi that didn't include rape as a main theme (feel free to suggest some). Naoki is a sickly young man who falls for his doctor (who is young but not as young as Naoki who is barely college age). Figuring he could never get the doctor, Naoki drugs the man's drink and forces himself on the doctor. I love you. The rape me I love you trope has never worked for me. More than that I find it a dangerous idea and the argument 'it's just fiction' doesn't wash for me either.
The rest of the story is about whether or not he gets the doctor to love him but I couldn't care less.
The rest of the story is about whether or not he gets the doctor to love him but I couldn't care less.
This entire review has been hidden because of spoilers.
June 30, 2012
I honestly don't know why almost all yaoi books depict the same character archetypes. If I wanted to read about an unhealthy relationship, I'd search for it in fanfiction.
June 5, 2019
I am so over rape as a symbol of love in stories.
August 13, 2025
When I bought this manga twenty years ago, I remember really enjoying it. Now I do have to marvel at what I was thinking! A weak, needy doctor and his barely-of-age psychopath stalker of a "lover". Yikes. The drawings are pretty, though.
January 17, 2018
Booooring.
February 25, 2022
It was okay.
I can't say that I really liked it or that it was amazing because I had some issues with it. A male doctor named Narusawa takes on a male patient named Naoki. Naoki has asthma, and somehow, the doctor's mere action of removing his overbearing mother from the surgery/docs office makes Naoki trust him, and Narusawa finds out that his patient is love with him. The doctor finds himself at his patients studio apartment where the announcement of love is made. Then, basically consensual, yet forced sexual intercourse takes place. It sends the doctor on a mental journey to sort out his feelings towards Naoki, who eventually moves to Tokyo. Narusawa receives an invite from his patient, accepts it, and find himself in a relationship.
The relationship itself is a bit confusing. Naoki's approach to making Narusawa his boyfriend is a bit clingy, and a bit worrisome. 'Love me! Love me! Never leave;' that kind of thing. I'm a big believer that if a relationship is forced, it cannot ever turn into love, unless the person you're forcing confuses your desperate persuasion attempts for true love, and is a complete idiot. That's not exactly what happens, but sort of. The comics' talk and thought bubbles seem to try to lead the reader into thinking that the patient has fallen madly in love with his doctor (and it's not clear if the doctor is still his, or his former), but the wording came off to me as the patient found someone to stand up to his mother, appreciated it and the fact that someone seemed to care (in his perception), and fell hard.
Not completely horrible. However, I was a bit surprised and disappointed by the sex scenes. The patient likes to give it rough, while the doctor says no. It's unclear if the doctor is playing hard to get or is saying no because he seriously does NOT want Naoki. Found three in this series at a store and only read the description (as I always do. I detest spoilers), so I had no idea that this was in fact a borderline x-rated Yaoi. I'm willing to read the sequel just to see how it keeps going for two reasons: The characters do seem to have a connection of some kind, and I'd like to see what that connection is; the other reason is because this wasn't basically a porno.
2 out of 5 stars.
Edit: 2-24-2022. Upon reflection, this series makes gay/bi males look bad, so I'm reducing my rating for books 1 and 3, making them have the same rating as book 2.
I can't say that I really liked it or that it was amazing because I had some issues with it. A male doctor named Narusawa takes on a male patient named Naoki. Naoki has asthma, and somehow, the doctor's mere action of removing his overbearing mother from the surgery/docs office makes Naoki trust him, and Narusawa finds out that his patient is love with him. The doctor finds himself at his patients studio apartment where the announcement of love is made. Then, basically consensual, yet forced sexual intercourse takes place. It sends the doctor on a mental journey to sort out his feelings towards Naoki, who eventually moves to Tokyo. Narusawa receives an invite from his patient, accepts it, and find himself in a relationship.
The relationship itself is a bit confusing. Naoki's approach to making Narusawa his boyfriend is a bit clingy, and a bit worrisome. 'Love me! Love me! Never leave;' that kind of thing. I'm a big believer that if a relationship is forced, it cannot ever turn into love, unless the person you're forcing confuses your desperate persuasion attempts for true love, and is a complete idiot. That's not exactly what happens, but sort of. The comics' talk and thought bubbles seem to try to lead the reader into thinking that the patient has fallen madly in love with his doctor (and it's not clear if the doctor is still his, or his former), but the wording came off to me as the patient found someone to stand up to his mother, appreciated it and the fact that someone seemed to care (in his perception), and fell hard.
Not completely horrible. However, I was a bit surprised and disappointed by the sex scenes. The patient likes to give it rough, while the doctor says no. It's unclear if the doctor is playing hard to get or is saying no because he seriously does NOT want Naoki. Found three in this series at a store and only read the description (as I always do. I detest spoilers), so I had no idea that this was in fact a borderline x-rated Yaoi. I'm willing to read the sequel just to see how it keeps going for two reasons: The characters do seem to have a connection of some kind, and I'd like to see what that connection is; the other reason is because this wasn't basically a porno.
2 out of 5 stars.
Edit: 2-24-2022. Upon reflection, this series makes gay/bi males look bad, so I'm reducing my rating for books 1 and 3, making them have the same rating as book 2.
June 8, 2014
A bittersweet story, Jazz tells a tale of submission and obsession. Naoki, still at High School, suffers from a chronic illness which takes him to hospital periodically. In one of his crisis he is treated by Dr. Narusawa. Naoki is so impressed by him that he decides to change doctors and continue his treatment with Dr. Narusawa. When the year term ends and threatened by separation and the chance of not seeing his doctor again, Naoki drugs and rapes Narusawa. Afterwards, and despite Koichi’s unwillingness, Naoki insists on continuing seeing him. Koichi agrees to his blackmail, fearing the unpredictable young man’s reaction if he refuses to continue their relationship.
This is a typical yaoi story. There is a strong character imposing his will to a weaker one. Naoki and Koichi feel love in very different ways. Naoki wants to completely control the life of his lover, while Koichi thinks he is not worthy or able of loving. Of course, there is the matter of the rape which may be disturbing, but I think its meaning has more to do with forcing the unwilling character to assume his real nature and wishes than with sexual dominance. Though it may hurt sensibilities that might be expecting differently. All in all, I quite enjoyed this story, and I am intrigued enough to continue reading.
This is a typical yaoi story. There is a strong character imposing his will to a weaker one. Naoki and Koichi feel love in very different ways. Naoki wants to completely control the life of his lover, while Koichi thinks he is not worthy or able of loving. Of course, there is the matter of the rape which may be disturbing, but I think its meaning has more to do with forcing the unwilling character to assume his real nature and wishes than with sexual dominance. Though it may hurt sensibilities that might be expecting differently. All in all, I quite enjoyed this story, and I am intrigued enough to continue reading.
December 29, 2015
10/01/12: 3 stars.
05/09/14 3 stars. The quality was good, DMP makes high-quality books. I especially like the oversize format, it's more fun to read and easier to understand what's going on, and I always feel like they put more effort into their writing and art. It's not just some cheap crap glued together for mass consumption. In this particular book the main characters are in a creepily unhealthy relationship though, even compared to other yaoi, so it's not really a relaxing or cute read.
05/09/14 3 stars. The quality was good, DMP makes high-quality books. I especially like the oversize format, it's more fun to read and easier to understand what's going on, and I always feel like they put more effort into their writing and art. It's not just some cheap crap glued together for mass consumption. In this particular book the main characters are in a creepily unhealthy relationship though, even compared to other yaoi, so it's not really a relaxing or cute read.
Read
September 10, 2016Found these in the library, but am extremely disappointed in the series and will not be finishing after this one.
THERE IS NO FREAKING PLOT. (and the porn ain't good either) The thing is, if you're going to write a "story" like this, you really need one or the other. It wasn't particularly steamy, I didn't particularly like either of the characters, there was no real story... no thanks.
Not entertaining at all, which made me so sad.
THERE IS NO FREAKING PLOT. (and the porn ain't good either) The thing is, if you're going to write a "story" like this, you really need one or the other. It wasn't particularly steamy, I didn't particularly like either of the characters, there was no real story... no thanks.
Not entertaining at all, which made me so sad.
March 2, 2008
Another manga I had high hopes for but it was hard for me to find anything close to love between the two characters. There was obsession and abuse which is not uncommon for yaoi manga but for me it was a turn off.
November 20, 2011
Bland story. Horrific artwork. Way too much non-con. As another reviewer noted, it was hard to see how these two characters could be in love or happy together with one treating the other with so much blatant disrespect and abuse.
January 17, 2016
Reading this the second or third time around, I found I didn't like it as much. The plot situation is very unrealistic, but I suppose that's what usually happens in these kinds of blatent yaoi mangas...
January 7, 2010
It was fairly romantic but overly twisted. Hard to sit through, and yet I HAD to know what happened!
October 4, 2012
This was one of the first yaoi manga I ever read. I was scarred, I tell you, scarred!
Read
January 2, 20230/5 horrible
October 9, 2025
Um...
Displaying 1 - 18 of 18 reviews