Yamiiro no Aijin 1 and 2
BCB:
Rei runs away from his uncle's home and,
during the night, he meets a mysterious man that promises him they will meet
again the next time there will be a full moon. However, the kid is taken by the
police and sent to an orphanage asylum. 10 years later, he meets the mysterious
man again…
Yamiiro no Aijin or Dark Lover by Takakura
Tomoko is an ongoing yaoi series classified as a romantic drama. As
they say, first impressions are lasting, and my initial feelings were mixed.
Rei runs away from his uncle’s home and meets a stranger who promises to return
in ten years. The police catch Rei and take him to an orphanage and then, you
guessed it, a decade later the stranger reappears. At the same time a vampire
bites the priest who is in charge of the orphanage and then these vampire
hunters come out of nowhere (with no explanation) and they drive a stake into
the priest’s chest; a feeble attempt to kill him. Rei is in shock, of course,
and doesn’t understand what’s going on. He overhears a conversation between the
vampire hunters and discovers where the vampires may be hiding. Then he vows to
avenge the death of the priest and drives to the supposed secret hideout, where he meets, I
have to assume, the head vampire. Rei is a typical weak uke—big pretty eyes and
soft waves of blond hair. He confronts the vampire and is promptly seduced, to
put it politely.
The imagery seemed to lack somehow, like
the artist was holding back, no oomph. And the plot was blown in the first few
pages, depicted exactly as the back cover blurb stated, and I mean word for
word, which added to a monotonous cliché of a vampire falling for that one
special human that he refuses to kill. In my opinion the characters were flat, and I
can’t say that the dialogue was that wonderful either. But, once I read the
second book in the series, the old adage no longer applied. The story did show
signs of improvement; I’d caught a glimpse of potential in the second part that
wasn’t in the first. The author expanded the story by hinting at the characters
personal histories, which was perhaps an indicator that there might be significantly
more in the third book. And I hope there will be. Sex is great and almost a
prerequisite in yaoi as with all erotic literature, but there must be a reason
for it, just as each character must fulfill a purpose. As my editor told me: whatever
is in the book should move the story along and if it doesn’t then remove it.
For me, it doesn’t matter if the story
starts off slow or with an ambiguous edge or even a seemingly cliché plot provided
it evolves and goes somewhere that makes sense. If you’re into vampires or the
paranormal you might find this yaoi titillating. Dark Lover had a rocky start, and
it wasn’t the greatest yaoi I’ve read or the worst, but it had potential. 3
stars!
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