Kiss All the Boys

The name of Shiuko Kano is synonymous with sexy, rough-and-tumble guys and steamy, explicit yaoi scenes (Play Boy Blues, I'm Not Your Steppin' Stone), but not always top-notch interesting plots (Affair). For the first volume of her three-volume series Kiss All the Boys, published by Deux Press, Kano-sensei dials back the steamy sex scenes while setting up interesting, fully-realized characters and a promising plot. Adding in a dash of comedy for flavor, Kiss All the Boys becomes that rarity in the world of yaoi manga: a strong, well-told story that just so happens to feature sexy yaoi scenes.

The hero of Kiss All the Boys is 32-year-old hentai manga artist Tetsuo, who fancies himself quite a Don Juan with the ladies. He even has a teenage son from some indiscretion in his past. As the manga opens, though, we learn the sad fact of a strange little yaoi trope: Tetsuo is suddenly completely impotent! He's lost his girlfriend and his self-confidence, but gained temporary custody of Haruka, his 15-year-old son. Much to Tetsuo's surprise, he stumbles across Haruka's collection of gay magazine and comes to the shocking conclusion that his son -- his loudmouthed, interrupting, annoying, opinionated son -- is gay! Of course, that's nothing compared to what happens when Tetsuo decides to revive his impotence by going to an adult theater and runs into sweet and simple Momoyama, who sees the world -- and Tetsuo! -- through incredibly rose-colored glasses.

Tetsuo's only consolation is his best friend, and Haruka's uncle, Michiro, who also serves as his manga editor. Michiro has no patience for Tetsuo's flailing, but is a mentor to Haruka. Despite this, Tetsuo doesn't seem to understand that Michiro is gay too, which seems to be just what Michiro prefers. Rounding out the cast is poor naïve and silent Tamaki, Haruka's school friend and number one crush. Even though Tetsuo tries to help Tamaki out and explain some of the facts of life to him, Tetsuo naturally stumbles through it and winds up screwing up his trust with Tamaki, too.

So, with all of these guys surrounding Tetsuo, his hopes of staying straight are practically zero. But who will he end up with? Will Momoyama wear Tetsuo down with his innocent affections? Maybe Michiro will confess and seduce him? Or maybe Tamaki is really the man for Tetsuo after all? One of the great things about Kiss All the Boys is that it's not clear who the ultimate love interest for Tetsuo really is. Kano-sensei sets up interesting relationships between all of the characters, leaving lots of room for possibility open. The most interesting, though, is the love-hate relationship between Tetsuo and Haruka, who definitely are not a loving father and son. The two of them have a hard time getting along, probably because they are so alike, but even as immature as he is, Tetsuo realizes the need to be a real father to Haruka. Their relationship actually shows some promise for future volumes as more than just a comedic plot device.

Of course, since it's a Shiuko Kano manga, we are treated to a few very pretty sex scenes, though almost all of them have a comedy twist due to Momoyama's innocent enthusiasm and his total ignorance of Tetsuo's dislike of his intentions. In one hilarious scene, Tetsuo is actually so drunk that he seems to think that male Momoyama is actually a succession of his ex-girlfriends! For someone who proclaims his heterosexuality so vociferously, Tetsuo certainly does wind up having a lot of gay sex!

While Deux's presentation is fairly bare-bones, their printing is clear and high-quality on nice paper, and their translations don't contain obvious typos, mistakes or out-of-place Americanisms. Deux steps back their stamp on the book and lets the art and story speak for themselves, which is an excellent strategy when it comes to a talented mangaka like Shiuko Kano. Kiss All the Boys is a fun and sexy start to what promises to be a strong three-volume series. Finding out who Tetsuo ends up with will keep me buying the next volumes with great anticipation!