Scandalous Seiryo University

Scandalous Seiryo University by Kazuto Tatsukawa is not, oddly enough, set in a university at all. The uniforms, student council and class divisions clearly tip off that Seiryo is actually a high school; some of the characters even refer to "Seiryo High" in the text of the first volume, though this oversight is corrected in the second volume. Chances are that Kitty Press chose this little white mistranslation to smooth over the truth of high school students having hot gay sex in this pleasantly smutty manga. If calling this high school a "university" is all it takes to keep Seiryo stocked in American stores, it is a small price to pay for such an enjoyably dirty book.

Seiryo "University" students live in fear of the student council president, Yuichi Hajitsume, a tyrannical dictator of a president who sees nothing wrong with beating, raping and extorting students who make him angry or get in his way. Hajitsume is fresh from taking advantage of his latest conquest when he literally runs into Tsuyoshi Misonoi, a new student at Seiryo. Misonoi doesn't take kindly to Hajitsume rudely bumping into him and running off, and gives the President a piece of his mind. Only after Hajitsume has apologized - to the shock of their classmates cowering in fear - does Misonoi learn about Hajitsume's position and reputation. Misonoi's straightforward honesty and refusal to judge Hajitsume based on hearsay intrigues the dictatorial President, and the two strike up an uneasy friendship. Much to Misonoi's surprise, but not to the reader's, Hajitsume is quickly hitting on him, kissing him, and undressing him. What does surprise the reader is Hajitsume's sunny willingness to be the uke of the relationship - whatever it takes to get into Misonoi's pants!

At this point, some predictable plot tries to get in the way - is Misonoi sure of his feelings, does he really care about Hajitsume or is it just sex - but all of that isn't very important. The sex and the comedy are the stars of Seiryo, sparking chuckles as easily as lighting sparks between the main characters. Misonoi and Hajitsume are both incredibly straightforward people, tending to blurt out whatever is on their minds, which leads to some terribly entertaining "pillow talk" that's anything but soft and fluffy. (e.g. "You want my cock up your asshole? Are you sure?" How… sweet.) Hajitsume may be the instigator and the seme in attitude, but Misonoi clearly loves screwing the President any which way he can, and is far from a weak and angst-ridden uke. Both guys are completely forthright and frank, each in their own way, making them the perfect passionate couple. Sparks seem to linger right under the surface at all times, and the reader never knows if they will explode into a fight or into passionate sex.

The first book of the three-volume Seiryo series devotes only half of the book to the Seiryo characters, and rounds out the volume with two related short stories and a final story unrelated to anything else in the book. The first two stories, "A Way to Get Closer to You" and "So Close, Yet So Far Away," focus on Naoto, a girly-looking guy who frequently gets mistaken for his best friend Atsushi's girlfriend. The two friends share a very loving and playful friendship that seems just on the verge of falling into love. When Naoto witnesses something shocking about Atsushi, it tips the balance. "A Way to Get Closer to You" sets up their warm relationship, while "So Close, Yet So Far Away" shows the two as a couple dealing with Naoto's interfering older brother and a surprising family secret. Naoto and Atsushi are definitely a sweeter couple than the boys from Seiryo, and their sex scenes are just as titillating, but they are the warm fuzzy balance to Misonoi and Hajitsume's dangerously exciting sparks. Reading both sets of stories one after the other create an truly satisfying overall experience with the book.

Fun, sexy and easy on the eyes, Scandalous Seiryo University is neither too predictable to enjoy nor too wild to follow, striking a great balance between comedy, sex and sweetness. Kazuto Tatsukawa's characters are pretty without turning wimpy or wispy, and better yet, all enjoy sex and passion with a lusty fervor. It's a wonderful thing to see in yaoi manga: a hot handful of guys who just can't wait to to take their clothes off. Seiryo continues for two more volumes, so stick around to see what kind of sparks fly.