Alone in my King's Harem

Alone in My King's Harem is a lovely compilation of seven short stories. The artwork is simplistic but enchanting with some of the most bizarrely beautiful characters I've ever seen. Being both sweet and sad in places, this is an excellent read for anyone who is simply looking for melancholy romance with a happy ending. In may cases though, they're your typical effeminate uke and stoic seme stories so keep that in mind if you prefer more masculine uke characters.

The first story is the title piece, featuring a young king of a small kingdom and one of his few concubines named Hanabishi. It begins with Hanabishi's first night with the king where the young man is captivated by the beautiful looking sugar cubes when asked to chose a gift from the king's room. Given all the sugar cubes in the palace, Hanabishi savors each and every one as the kingdom and his king begin to change around him, leaving him forgotten and overlooked. This story is especially captivating and reads like a fable, making your heart ache for Hanabishi as well as rejoice with him.

There isn't much that can be said for "Night Circus" as it is an especially short story (eight pages, front and back) that revolves around a twist of perception. It is cute though.

"The Sea Bed of Night" is probably my favorite of the tales in this manga. It is about a prince named Guidneed and his attendant/guard Lullus. The Prince is traveling to the Dulced Ficus, circus by day and brothel by night, in place of his father the King. It's no ordinary brothel though. Visitors are shown a dream for their night there and it is to be Prince Guidneed's pleasure to experience such a dream. Here we meet the most peculiar of creatures, human in some ways and animal in others. As his prince is to be entertained that night, Lullus waits for him and is visited by enchanting women who can see through his dutiful nature to his hidden feelings for Guidneed. With their help, he may be able to have his dream this night as well.

"The Adventure of a Canary" features such an effeminate uke that it is hard for me to consider it yaoi. Canary's character design is unique to say the least and the artist seems to have an affinity for big hair. The story is about a singer named Canary who is kept locked in a tower by his owner when not performing at the night club. He meets Juno, a regular at the club, as he tries to escape again. After a brief moment together evading his pursuers though, Canary is taken back to the tower. It's too late for him to ever be satisfied with that life though as he has fallen in love with Juno and cries out for him in his lonely world of seclusion, hoping to escape or be rescued. This I would consider to be worst of the bunch though it may appeal to some.

The last two stories, "Mature Flesh" and "Moist Flesh", are about two high schooler, student council president Okabe and Hidaka, a popular student rumored to have sex with anyone who asks him to. One day, Okabe, glasses wearing reclusive, decides to ask Hidaka to sleep with him. And from there we realize why the manga is labeled for explicit content. Like all the other stories, this isn't just about sex though. There's some hidden motives and feelings beneath the surface that you'll have to read to discover.

Overall, this manga offers more good than bad. I would recommend at least borrowing the book from a friend and reading "Alone in my King's Harem" and "The Sea Bed of Night". If you're like me though and enjoy having a copy to look through at your leasure, look for this title released by DMP/Juné.