You Will Drown in Love by Hinako Takanaga

I’m not the best person to review yaoi for yaoi fans because while I’ve read a few volumes here and there, I often find the sexual politics of the genre a little off-putting. You Will Drown In Love has attractive art and a decent amount of character development even though the main characters end up in somewhat stereotyped roles.

Jinnai is the assistant manager of a fabric store which caters to wealthy clients buying expensive fabrics for kimonos. Suddenly the owner’s son Reiichiro is appointed as store manager. Jinnai is dismayed that he has to report to someone younger than him who has never worked in the store before. The only place where Reiichiro seems comfortable is when he’s on the archery range refining his skills. Reiichiro displays few people skills when dealing with customers, and Jinnai finds himself unwillingly taking his new manager under his wing. Soon Jinnai and Reiichiro are spending time together outside work, and as they get to know each other better a romantic relationship develops.

I appreciated the time spent on character development and the detailed setting of the fabric store, which allowed Takanaga to draw plenty of attractive men in kimonos. Jinnai learns about Reiichiro’s family and past love before he begins to make his moves. Jinnai is the aggressor in the relationship and the sex scenes, while not overly explicit, still show a case of “No means Yes.” Takanaga’s art is definitely among the best I’ve seen in yaoi, so I bet fans of the genre will enjoy this volume.

It looks like this is part of a linked series, with You Will Fall in Love also dealing with some of the characters in this volume. I think You Will Drown In Love stands on its own, I didn’t feel like I was missing anything essential by not reading the earlier volume.

Review copy provided by Tokyopop.