Review: FALSE MEMORIES

Once again, it's time for another month of cleaning out my giant box of BL books BL reviews!  I want to start things on a good note, so let's take a look at one of the better offerings from SuBLime.

FALSE MEMORIES (Ikasama Memory), by Isaku Natsume.  First published in 2012, and first published in North America in 2013.

PLOT:

Nakano is a representative for Bandai Randai's toy line, and while he's known for being surly and distance he gets good results.  His life is disrupted when a meeting with some new contractors includes his former high-school friend Tsuda.  The two were once closer than close, but their friendship fell apart after a failed attempt at sex.  Tsuda is ready to reconnect, but Nakano is still hurting from what he sees as a betrayal.  Can these two sort out their feelings without ruining their professional relationship?

STORY:

False Memories is just a wonderful little BL series.  Natsume takes great care with her leads and their emotions.  The dynamic between these two is compellingly dysfunctional without becoming overwrought or unrealistic.

What makes this whole story work is how much time and effort Natsume puts into defining Tsuda and Nakano as characters.  The two of them are legitimately compelling and their personalities contrast one another nicely.  Tsuda is a happy-go-lucky, casual sort of guy, an extrovert who lives to make others happy but also thinks avoidance is the best approach for complicated emotional situations.  Nakano in contrast is an introvert who tends to repress his feelings, avoid confrontation, and nurse his grudges like a fine scotch.  It's a combination of personalities that allows conflict to grow naturally between them and gives them both emotional stakes that have to be overcome.

The chapters alternate between Tsuda and Nakano's viewpoints, allowing the reader to understand  their mindsets and tease out the truth of the fateful encounter between these two 10 years ago.  This approach helps to give deeper emotional context to Nakano's stubborn refusal to address Tsuda's overtures and their collective history together.  It's a complication that feels organic to Nakano's character, which is a nice change from the far more artificial, rom-com-style ones that tend to be the norm in BL.  These two don't fall into one another's arms simply because the plot demands it, but because they both have to work at repairing their relationship.  That's the stuff of good romance, and that's what makes False Memories so very good.

ART:

Natsume's art avoids a lot of the stiffness and stylistic excess that tends to come with BL.  While their mouth tend to be a bit flappy, the character designs here are simple and attractive.  She also draws some wonderful expressions of shock, all of which come from Nakano.  There isn't a lot of smut outside of the fateful teenage encounter, but she really manages to sell visually how awkward their first time while toning down the graphicness through some well-placed limbs and panel angles. 

RATING:


False Memories is a gem, a BL series that manages to make the most of its time to build both character and genuine emotional stakes between its leading couple.  Don't hesitate to pick this one up for yourself. 

This series is published by SuBLime.  This series is complete in Japan with 2 volumes available.  Both volumes were published and are currently in print.