Recipe: LOVE RECIPE

The only thing worse than a bad BL romance is a bad BL romance that ruins an otherwise good concept for a manga.

LOVE RECIPE, by Kirico Higashizato.  First published in 2005 and first published in North America in 2007.

PLOT:

Tomonori Ozawa was hoping to get the journalist job of his dreams, but instead he's working as an editor at a BL magazine.  His duties force him to cross paths with the magazine's most successful mangaka, Sakurako Kakyoin.  It turns out that Kakyoin is a man using a female pen-name, one who is drawn to Ozawa's innate adorableness and determined to turn their professional relationship into a very personal one.  Will Kakyoin ever get the message across to his oblivious editor?  Will Ozawa ever feel comfortable with the world of gay romance?

Review: PURI PURI

 Valentine's Day may be past, but that's not going to stop me from trashing on some poorly conceived harem manga.

PURI PURI, by Chiako Taro.  First published in 2005 and first published in North America in 2007.

PLOT:

Shocked by the scandalously sloppy looks and behavior of his students, the principal of the all-girls Saint Sophia's divinity school decides that the best solution is stricter surveillance and to make the school co-ed.  That's how Masato Kamioda became the school's first male student, hoping to use this opportunity to study for the priesthood like his foster father.  Following in that holy path will be more challenging than Masato anticipated, as when he's not being threatened with expulsion by the student council he's being tempted by the soft, squishy, panty-clad bodies of his fellow students.  In particular, the body of sweet, motherly Ayako might be the biggest temptation of them all.

Review: WITH THE SHEIKH IN HIS HAREM

 It's Bad Romance Month once again at the Test Drive, and we're taking a spin once again through Kodansha's digital shojo offerings and fishing out yet another dud.  

WITH THE SHIEKH IN HIS HAREM (Shiekh-sama to Harem de), by Rin Miasa.  First published in 2018 and first published in North America in 2021.

PLOT:

Just a few weeks ago, Sanagi was just another Japanese teen girl.  Sure, she had to work a bunch of menial part-time jobs and save every yen to keep her family financially afloat, but aside from that she was fine.  Then she managed to talk a weird rich blond boy out of jumping off the roof at one of her jobs, and that boy turned out to be a prince from a far-away land who wants to reward her with marriage!  With her family in dire straights, Sanagi has no choice but to accept his offer.  Now she's being whisked off to the sun-baked land of Armadia where she'll be surrounded by luxury and intrigue.