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
(9.5)
Dining Divas!
yousuke
02/09/11 13:01
DINING BAR AKIRA VOL:1
REVIEWED BY: SANDRA SCHOLES OF ACTIVE ANIME
Just as Cheers was about a bar, this Boy's Love offering revolves around a fast food bar where all kinds of folk come to eat and eight work there, some full others part time. Two guys, Akira Koji the boss of the establishment and his assistant, younger guy Torihara takes some time off one night and confesses to his boss about his sexuality. Torihara knows he is gay and always has been (no change there) while Akira is known as a definate ladies man.
Working in the same place all the time and seeing each other stressed out can take its toll on them, so when they get time out to chat, Torihara thinks it's time they should go out for a drink somewhere nice and get to know each other better. Akira is up for it, but was surprised someone as young as him was even interested in him in the first place. Not only that the very sight of him stirrs up feelings he's never had for a man before.
The story has plenty to show off, the characters range in age from; Maki the owner, Mitsumoto, Matsuki, Ebikawa, Torihara, Goto, and Okuda. With all these characters to choose from there is no room for a dull day or a boring one for that. Tomoko's style is noticeable by its lack of backgrounds in many scenes - leaving the interpretation of the scenes up to the reader even though there is no doubt how funny this new title is from the first few pages.
IN SUMMARY: A comedy only Tomoko could make it in her own rich way. DBA is a wonderful peek into an original story with characters so believable you could imagine having the diner in your area. This is truly a feast of a yaoi manga!
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.
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