Shout Out Loud!

No sexy naked men. No passionate declarations of love. No love scenes dripping with sweat, not even one glowing cone of light. Yet Shout Out Loud! is still one of the most interesting, satisfying yaoi stories licensed to date. Shout Out Loud! doesn't need to titillate, because the story is what drives the manga and what makes it such a great read.

Hisae Shino is a popular anime voice actor, but still cute and baby-faced at 33 years old. Quite unexpectedly, his long-lost son, 17-year-old Nakaya, turns up on his doorstep one day and announces he's going to live with Shino now. Loving and earnest, Shino decides that, in order to support Nakaya and give him a happy home, he'll take any voice acting job he can get. Shino ends up being cast as the uke in countless Boys' Love drama CDs. Nakaya isn't too happy about his dad's roles, but Shino doesn't want him to hold his feelings inside. Shino's motto is, "When you need to shout, you shout out loud!"

While Shino and Nakaya are learning to be father and son, Shino is also learning about the world of BL drama CDs, and the drama behind the microphones. After a successful pairing CD, Shino finds himself frequently working with super-cool Koizumi Tenryu, who definitely wants more than just a co-worker relationship with Shino... and he isn't even the only one! Shino proves pretty popular among the BL voice actors, but his main focus is always on what's best for Nakaya.

The developing relationship between father and son is the meat of this adorable manga. The yaoi themes are light, on the side, in the background, threaded constantly through the story of developing relationships both between Nakaya and the father he never knew, and Shino and the new world of BL voice acting he's growing into. Shino is quite innocent (despite having become a father at 16!) and very, very sweet, providing a solid center for the story to revolve around. Though surrounded by "cool" types like Tenryu and his own son, Shino's natural poise and honestly help soften the men around him, and they in turn help Shino's confidence in his acting abilities mature.

Artist Satosumi Takaguchi's art is cute though lacking in detail, but all of her characters are distinct and have a lot of personality. Each character has a unique look that personifies their character: sweet Shino is short and cute, rebellious Nakaya wears his hair long and has a turned-down mouth, and self-confident Tenryu wears fashionable glasses and slicks back his longish hair. The art may not be very detailed, but it is thoughtful and well-planned, and only enhances the strength of the story.

The first volume of Shout Out Loud! just barely qualifies as a BL manga, but the potential for several different romances for Shino are set up, leaving the reader eagerly anticipating what later volumes will bring. Shout Out Loud! is what all BL manga series strive to be: a great story with a solid plot with themes of male attraction and romance woven expertly between.