Because I'm a Boy!

Watanabe Asia is best known for her perverted S&M scenes, especially for her careful and sexy depictions of Japanese rope bondage. The English release of Because I'm a Boy!, a collection of her hardcore short stories, should be an exciting and dangerous look at the many perverted varieties of bondage and domination relationships. Unfortunately, instead it's a rather bland collection of unmemorable characters and underdeveloped relationships, with only a couple of interesting bright spots.

Because I'm a Boy! contains eight short stories, only two of which are related. The title story, which is described on the back of the book, is only a few pages long. Little uke Yoh loves his best friend Tomoki, who is in training to become a Shinto priest. Yoh looks just like his twin sister Kana, and bemoans the fact that he was born a boy, because that means he can't be with Tomoki. Of course, this isn't true, and the two wind up together after Tomoki catches Yoh pleasuring himself in the bath. After the sex scene, the story pretty much ends, and none of those themes are really carried through the rest of the book.

The second story, "Shape of Love," is a bit more interesting, involving young Hikaru who lives with and is in love with his deceased mother's boyfriend, Toji. Other stories in the book involve music students, a school doctor and a biology teacher, a crush separated in age by 18 years, and a pair of artists who express their love on canvas. However, none of these stories stand out in particular, and none are more interesting or more sexy than any other. The worst of it all is that Watanabe-sensei's ukes are almost one hundred percent tiny, girly, blushy, and weepy. Even the ukes who get angry and fight back end up blushing and crying by the end of the story. Perhaps if tearful, girly uke boys are your cup of tea, then these stories might be more interesting, but even crybaby cuties can get old after so much repetition.

The only two related stories in the book, "Ropes of Love" and "Candy and Whip," are really the only parts that really stand out. Nen is an aspiring dom (a professional who dominates others in S&M games) who practices his art on his cute little boyfriend, Kiri. While Kiri constantly argues that he doesn't want the ropes, whips and dress-up outfits that Nen pushes him into, in reality he seems to enjoy every second of it. The second story, "Candy and Whip," briefly explores which of the two really got them started down their perverted road. The bondage, roleplaying and domination between Nen and Kiri is a lot of fun, and really sets these two stories apart from the others in the book.

Fans of Watanabe Asia's style will likely enjoy Because I'm a Boy!, but these early stories don't quite go as far into bondage and domination as Watanabe-sensei is known for. The result is an only mildly spicy collection of short tales without much to reccommend them. Because I'm a Boy has its interesting moments, but ultimately has little to hold the reader's prolonged interest.