Only the Ring Finger Knows:
The Left Hand Dreams of Him
The Ring Finger Falls Silent

It was not my intent to buy a book about the lovely couple of Wataru Fujii and Yuichi Kazuki, let alone two. I'm already the owner of Only the Ringer Finger Knows manga and thought that was the end of that tale. Imagine my surprise when I saw there's more! Thus, I decided to jump on in and read of the further adventures of this couple.

For both volumes, I'm happy to say, it at least translates well (mostly) and makes sense. I don't know if Japanese have a different style to writing their novels or the translators are taking massive liberties, but most novels I've seen translated related to manga projects have really read oddly to me. The most glaring example of this being the Vampire Hunter D series, of which I adore the film. It read so strangely that I stopped collecting the series after two novels.

Happily, this seems to have avoided the sounding odd syndrome. Unfortunately, the same can't be said for the proofreading of these tomes. It's hard to tell who's speaking during longish conversations with no tags. There's also no divides for some scene changes, so I at times I thought to myself "Wait, where are we?" Random misused words also don't help my reading experience. It's alone, not along.

C'mon people. If you're that hard up for proofreading at June, why not hire ME! I'll work really cheap!

Ahem. But if you're not interesting in technical flaws, what about the meat of the story? This part, I give all thumbs up. The concept of the books is an interesting one: after the loving couple get together, what next? Rarely have I seen stories based on the adventures of two people struggling to make a relationship work. And struggle these two do.

In these volumes, Yuichi is already in college and has his own place. His beloved Wataru, a year behind, is working on his last year of high school and still lives with his parents, but steals time away to be with Yuichi when he can. Constrained by this are the constant threat of exams (on Wataru's side) and social/job concerns (on Yuichi's side).

Volume 2, which should have been subtitled with something that doesn't sound like a porn title or a bad joke, has two adventures. One adventure deals with Wataru's insecurities as Yuichi has social experiences that often don't include him and the introduction of a character called Masanobu who figures prominently in both novels. The second adventure is a vacation for our two lovebirds with a few bumps and the return of Masanobu, who seems to have a hidden agenda in trying to break apart the couple.

In Volume 3, Masanobu ramps that campaign up a notch with help from another prominent character that you'll have to find out for yourself in two more adventures! No really, I would seriously spoil if I gave you any more info.

The two main characters grow and change in the novels. Wataru often feels insecure about his younger status and has some decision making skills to be desired. Yes, you, too, will yell at your book at some of the choices Wataru makes in dealing with his relationships with the people around him. There is such a thing as being too nice, dear Wataru. But still, as he stumbles about in the wake of his choices, even he knows when he's grievously erred and strives to make amends.

Yuichi is a bit of an ass, at times. He likes taking the piss out of Wataru for no reason. But it's never to the point of deliberately embarrassing or hurting Wataru's feelings. He's the realist of the couple, planning ahead for their future and even forgoing his own needs to make sure Wataru concentrates on getting good grades to get into college.

Separately, these characters would be fine, but the real draw of both these novels is how they both work together. And work these two do, to keep their relationship healthy when one or both stumble or when outside forces try to pry them apart. There's also a bittersweet taste of realism to the stories in Volume 3, where Wataru angsts about having to hide the relationship from his parents and Yuichi worries about the future for them both.

As these stories are mostly about relationships, there's no "plot, what plot?" here. But those looking for some loving contact between these two will not be disappointed. It's never terribly explicit, focusing on feelings more than a play by play of what's going where. Volume 3 has some word choices related to one of the love scenes that I question, but other than that, it's lovely and delicious. The few pictures in both novels are lovely, especially the last one in Volume 3.

Get these books. Technical aspects aside, you will not be disappointed to read about the adventures of this couple. Evilly enough, in the author's afterward, he hints there's more to come. Gaaaaah! Must wait... forever... for more... adventures...