JUNJO ROMANTICA Volume 1: (Yaoi): v. 1 Paperback – 17 Oct. 2006

This is a must read for any yaoi or manga reader! The series is based on maleXmale relationships with interesting storylines that make you laugh and maybe a little tear in your eye!The first couple that appears is junjou romantica couple misaki and usami(aka usagi) misaki's reactions will definetly make you wet yourself as he experiences his first gay relationship with our oh so cool and calm minded usagi.Misaki is a economics student who reluctantly becomes usagi's eye of affection.Usagi san is a well known and award winning novelist who does yaoi books on the side which he includes details of his love affairs and fantasies with misaki.Of course poor misaki goes mental about it and it takes him time to figure his feelings for usagi but there are some interesting moments of course that make you wet yourself.Our second couple the junjou egoist couple nowaki and hiroki(hiro-san). Hiro-san is heart broken as he is in love with his childhood friend usagi-san. He suddenly bumps into nowaki who wants to be tutored by hiro-san but actually has fallen in love with him.Nowaki is a optimistic sweety that just wants to make hiro-san smile again.These two go through alot and get stronger from it but there are moments.....enough if you want the juice of it read the series, some of the moments with hiro-san and nowaki make you either want to cry or laugh your heart out.Our third couple the junjou terrorist couple has a smaller yet cute part of the series. Shinobu is a young man who suddenly falls in love with myagi a literature professor who tries to.... well tell shinobu hes not interested. Well shinobu thinks its destiny and is very persistent so please read and you will find out the whole story. Like the other couples these two will make you laugh till your ears pop.Well hope I havent ruined your reading pleasure but you wont know the whole and proper story till you read it and trust me this series is worth the money, there is even an anime out but its still to be realeased on DVD as its only just finnished being aired on Japanese TV.All three couples are interlinked with different charcters so it all adds to one big storyline. Please read the books, I have the first 5 volumes so far and its awesome!

If you're really into your yaoi manga/anime, you can't go wrong with this. The series tells the tales of three boy x boy couples (Junjo Romantica, Junjo Egoist and Junjo Terrorist) and the rollercoaster ride of a time they all seem to have. Volume 1 introduces the first two couples (Misaki + Usagi and Hiro + Nowaki). Both stories have a great mix of comedy and romance and those lovey dovey bits we all adore :3. I do give this 5 stars but if I was to be really picky...I'm not a fan of the artwork, but the story soon draws you away from this. A must have (though do note that this is aimed at an older audience).

Came much early than expected, plus the book was in perfect condition, really do enjoy reading, if this stuff is your thing then its a must!

This is the first of a range of the Junjo anime books, I've bought for my daughter, who's a fan of anime.Have bought several others in the range, especially Junjo Romantica.

The title literally translates as Pure Romance, so that gives a rather big clue what the book is going to be about. A look at the cover readily tells you that this is no sweet shojou manga, however. Yep, it has two guys on the cover. So, this is definitely going to be either shonen-ai (like Gravitation), or yaoi. Well, let me tell you, sweet it may be, and it may focus a lot on the interpersonal relationships, but this is no shonen ai. If you blush easily, this is NOT the book for you, as trousers and pants go flying, and hands do more than roam. Not that this is porn by a long shot. No, the sex scenes are actually important to the plot. Or rather, I should say plots, as the book contains two parallel stories.The main story is Junjou Romantica. High school student Misaki is a sweet but not very academically capable student who is in his last year of high school. This means he is at crunch time, as this is the year that focuses on preparing and taking exams that not only help them graduate from high school successfully, but ones that are for entry into the universities they wish to try for. Misaki lives with his older brother, who is 10 years older than himself. Their parents died rushing home one evening in the rain, in a hurry to bring back gifts that Misaki had asked for from their trip. Needless to say, Misaki has some feelings of deep seated, albeit irrational, guilt over this, and it affects how he interacts with others as he afraid of causing more tragedy or upset from being "demanding". Misaki's brother had been accepted into a certain university, and gave it up, choosing instead to take care of the small Misaki, so Misaki really wants to make it up to him by attending this same university. Big brother Akihiko simply adores little brother Misaki, so when he comes home with mock exams scores that barely scrape the bottom of the proverbial barrel, he turns to his best friend, Usami, asking for help.Usami is ideal for tutoring Misaki, he thinks. He thinks of Usami as kind hearted as well as brilliant. An award winning novelist who speaks English like a native, and who always got only the top marks in school and university, Usami is surely the family friend who will understand Misaki and be able to impart some knowledge into his cute little head! Unfortunately, the Usami that Akihiko knows is not the entire story, as Misaki discovers in the first few pages. For one thing, he is scary when awoken, and he likes to sleep in. Enough so that he gave Misaki the code to open the door to his five bedroomed penthouse. After all, Misaki will be living with him while he studies, so that every spare moment can be spent cramming information into Misaki's otherwise empty head. This is where it goes from bad to worse. For Misaki enters, finds two stacks of books from Usami's publisher, and discovers a secret. Usami not only writes those award winning novels, but boy's love novels as well under a pen name. And upon the table is a stack of boy's love novels entitled "The Romance of the Student Council Room". And the characters of the book are named Akihiko and... cue a major temper tantrum that entails Misaki storming to the upstairs and flinging open a door. He finds a room filled with children's toys, and a very, very evil Usami who decides to make him pay for waking him up, and for the words that come flying out of the very unfortunate Misaki's mouth. Not the most promising start between a couple, yet one that very much hints at the almost sitcom nature of this manga.The second story in the book is really an introduction to the Junjou Egoist plotline. Just as Usami is outed as to having feelings of unrequited love for Misaki's elder brother Akihiko, main character Hiroki suffers from a broken heart due to a mistake he has made while trying to salve his own unrequited love for Usami. Yes, THAT Usami. Taking place earlier than the story in Romantica, Egoist shows us a snapshot of Usami in university and the impact he has had on Hiroki. Poor down in the dumps Hiroki actually breaks down in tears in a public park, where he is noticed by Nowaki. Nowaki's name means typhoon, and boy is it apt. He literally blows generally sharp tongued Hiroki's defences away, while Nowaki himself is forced to address his own insecurities in order to try to be a "perfect fit" for the man he now loves. Misunderstandings ensue, and plenty of giggles and head shaking to be had here as well, though nowhere as humorous as Romantica. For while Romantica's Usami (nicknamed Usagi or Rabbit, strangely enough) is larger than life, Hiroki and Nowaki actually closely resemble people you might actually know in real life. It makes a nice counterpoint, and also makes Usami more believable. He becomes that rich out there eccentric guy that nearly everyone knows one of (or at least has heard of), and saves him from becoming a strange caricature of a human being.Both stories are endearing in their own way, and I found myself really cheering for the couples to succeed. I loved the fact that the each character was fully fleshed out, though not quite in full, so that we get to know more of the inner workings of each character as they themselves discover new things about each other. The plot lines move solidly along the paths of the development of each couple's actual relationship take as well as that of personal growth, making this a highly enjoyable read. Being adult relationships, yes, sex is involved, and being a graphic novel, one does get an eye full. It is all tastefully done however, and veers well away from the hentai end of the market. Think of it as an adult rom com in book form as opposed to being on the big or small screen, and the shock value quickly wears off. Perfect for a light bit of reading, but being yaoi, best kept out of reach of children.

I arrived in perfect condition

L'histoire est toujours aussi tenante

For those of you that are new to the yaoi manga genre, you should be aware that this particular genre of manga has only recently started to be widely translated and published in America; maybe for about the past 10 years - that is not very long ago considering that some of the original manga and anime series were making it over here as early as the 70's. That said, this series, first published in America in 2006, is one of the older yaoi releases that was available at the time.Over the years the Junjo Romantica Series has spawned several books (I think we're headed upwards of #13 at this point) and now has its own drama TV series. So as you can see, things have gone well.The first book has two sets of couples. The main couple revolves around Misaki and Usami (Usagi to his lover and friends = silly Japanese nick-name). Their relationship starts off with a not-so-welcome bang and slowly but surely develops into one of longing and unexpected affection. Don't be fooled though, this series wouldn't have been around for so long if Misaki (the Uke in denial) just caved in and took all the loving that Usagi (a true Seme in every way) had to give...Misaki puts up a good fight (or pretends to) and keeps you laughing at his attempts to convince himself that he's not gay; he just happens to have feeling for and enjoys sex with another man...heh.The second couple in the first few books (1-4 maybe?) is centered around two characters who exist and interact in the same world as Misaki and Usagi. The Uke, Hiroki (Hiro-san to his lover) is older and was childhood friends with Usagi-san. (For those that are familiar with yaoi plot set-ups...childhood friendship is almost always an indicator of potential one-sided love). The Seme, Nowaki, discovers Hiroki crying over his lost love one day and falls for him at first sight...despite being several years younger then Hiro-san Nowaki peruses his interests with the single mindedness of a true Seme (even though he is uneducated and less experienced) and eventually wins over the once frosty heart of Hiroki with his natural warmth and devotion. As this series progresses more characters and couples are added (all within the world of the original main characters), and I have found that I learn to love each pairing for their own reasons.Despite the 'over the top' lifestyle that Usagi has, most of the other characters are down to earth and have to deal with real world problems in their relationships. Nakamura sensei does a very good job of delivering lively and expressive characters. Her plot line for the first book was neither too serious nor was it overly humorous; I'd say it was just perfect for an introductory book to a longer series. As the books progress so does the plot and character development. Although I will say that she is a VERY funny artist and this is reflected in her chibi panels; you'll laugh for sure at some of Misaki's more dramatic reactions - I call them 'angry cat' moments. At the same time some of her panels are done with such grace and maturity that I found myself almost crying along with the characters in the book; the true mark of a good artist.Overall her art is not flowery or 'pretty' in a conventional way, but I enjoy it and have found that over time it has simply become the Nakamura Sensei style that I appreciate in her books. In the earlier books her sex scenes aren't very graphic (nothing you couldn't read on the bus or at the park) but she gets more 'adult themes' oriented in some of the more recently published books. Never fear though...the sexiness is still in the first book and despite not being very graphic it is indeed very mature and smokey! In my opinion she more than makes up for it with her plots and how deeply she can take the reader into the world of the book. As this series progresses you may find that these characters and their relationships really grow on you until you find yourself wanting them to be happy as if they were real people; and that, to me, is the best kind of story. Whether you consider yourself a veteran yaoi collector or are only starting to get into the genre I would urge you to add all of these books (in order...so that you understand all of the progress that's made) to your collection.

Encore un tome intéressant et assez prise de tête pour Misaki qui ne demande qu'une chose, qu'on lui fiche la paix! L'histoire des romantiques continue sa progression en douceur mais on sent qu'on se rapproche d'un nouvel arc.

Thanks replaces my missing volume what was stolen.... Darn ppl! Thanks alot