In Tomoko Yamashita's Dining Bar Akira, romantic passions battle with cool logic behind kitchen doors. There's always drama when you're trying to run a busy bar and restaurant. Akira Koji, the manager, is stuck in the middle of it all, trying to keep his cool. Then he gets a late night confession from one of his employees. Not only that, it's a very attractive male employee a full six years younger than him, 26-year-old Torihara. Akira has never considered a homosexual relationship before, but things start to change when he can't get the young man out of his head. Will the two of them be able to remain professional when things start to get serious?
(c) 2007 Tomoko Yamashita. All rights reserved. Online transmission rights for English language version authorized by Tokyo Mangasha through Nihon Manga Gakuin.
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reviews Avg. rating
(9.6)
Not what I expected
slraines
01/08/10 23:57
It's not that I expected anything in particular, but rather that I didn't expect a plot like many other BL stories since everyone's been rating this so highly. It was toward the realistic end of the spectrum, but it was still basically the standard BL story of Gay Boy Meets Straight Boy and Converts Him. I did like the inclusion of several side characters, but honestly they weren't that distinctive to me. I felt that the storytelling was a bit murky as well. It felt like a first novel. Still, the art was very nice and evocative.
The main story was interesting and different, but the translation throughout was confusing to me. The last part of the main story I hardly understood at all. I can see why some people would like to see more...maybe if it made more sense it would seem more complete? The side stories were good. The last one was very short but very funny.
Don't think the main story needs a sequel as I think stories like this are a perfect reflection of how life is, with the way the future is left uncertain and that there are problems left unresolved. Most of Yamashita's stuff are not meant to have a conclusive ending. Besides, I think "Dining Bar Akira" ended on a fairly positive note and tied things up more nicely than Foggy Scene or some of sensei's other works like Illumination. Overall, "Dining Bar Akira" was an enjoyable and amusing read but despite how realistic and relatable the characters are, I've started lossing interest in them for some reason near the end.
Please do a sequel, sensei!I really loved the main story in "Dining Bar Akira"(as well as the side stories), but I want more! I agree with Yukitherat. Tomoko Yamashita's stories always leave me with the feeling that they're never quite finished. It's hard to describe, but it's not a bad feeling, not a feeling that things have been left out or anything. It's more a sense that the ending is out there, and we just need to be patient. Or that the ending is something the reader has to come up with for themselves. I would love to see more of this mangaka on Net Comics.
I love this mangaka, but her stories always leave me feeling somewhat incomplete, like the ending is still to come, even when the story has ended. I wonder will she do another volume? It seems like she has a lot of material with all the other characters. Regardless, I loved this, and thought the mini oneshot was really cute and funny, too short though.
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