The Sky Over My Spectacles

It's been a long wait for The Sky Over My Spectacles, originally licensed by Digital Manga Publishing's Juné imprint, and handed off to the 18-and-over-only sister imprint 801 Media after Juné deemed it too adult for their image. Was it worth the wait? Spectacles is definitely an entertaining read, and a much better fit for 801 Media than for its sister imprint.

The spectacles in Spectacles are more than just a cute plot device, they're a metaphor for the devices the characters use to hide their true selves. High-school senior Azuma is known throughout his class for only being attracted to girls who wear glasses. As the book opens, we learn that instead of girls, Azuma has lately been watching his male classmate, the bespectacled, brainy Sorachi. Of course, he's never been attracted to a guy before, but Sorachi is just Azuma's type. It seems like the two don't get along at first, but naturally, it's all just a misunderstanding. Where would BL manga be without silly misunderstandings that lead to beautiful first kisses, after all?

Azuma and Sorachi start seeing each other secretly, but Sorachi has a secret: he doesn't really need his glasses. In fact, he only bought fake glasses so Azuma would notice him! Sorachi becomes consumed with guilt for tricking Azuma, wondering if Azuma only likes him because of his spectacle fetish. The glasses can be seen as a metaphor for the same-sex romantic feelings that the two boys have, feelings that always leave them wondering if it's only physical appearances that draw them together, or something more.

Most BL high school stories follow a typical pattern, from early misunderstandings to the final consummation of total sexual penetration, and in this regard, Spectacles is no exception. In between the typical beginning and ending, though, the boys' physical relationship takes a couple of fun little deviations. For one thing, Azuma and Sorachi's first physical experience is in a love hotel, a very uncommon location for high school boys to end up at! At the love hotel, passions run high, but this scene doesn't follow the usual formulas. The boys touching, licking and rubbing is beautifully innocent and shamefully sexy all at once. The aesthetic of pretty teenage guys exploring each others' bodies is rarely this pretty or this sexy, and the detail in the drawings of anatomy ends up just as satisfying as full-blown sex.

Spectacles also contains three other stories of different love confessions, but only one involves high school boys. In the other two stories about adult gay men, a private investigator pursues a pretty but aloof cafe employee. Then, in the last story, the P.I.'s secretary confesses his love to a childhood friend. All of the stories are fun and cute, but are much too short to equal the engaging story of "The Sky Over My Spectacles."

801 Media establishes its standards with this, one of its very first publications. The Japanese tankoubon size is a nice change from Juné's oversize volumes, and the tight-fitting dust jackets are much nicer. While there is a color illustration in the front of the book, it's nothing particularly special. Much more entertaining are the short four-panel comics in the back of the book that show quick, funny situations with the "Spectacles" characters. The brief Free Talk comic from Tenohji-sensei is cute as well. I always like seeing these little extras in English volumes. It just feels more like the original manga must have felt.

Boys' Love manga is full of high school first love stories, so a title like Spectacles really needs to stand out to distinguish itself. The "glasses fetish" angle is cute and different, setting this story apart, but it isn't quite enough to make this a stand-out story. With a strong storyline and clean art, the only failing of Spectacles is being too much like its competition. But for fans of high school stories, The Sky Over My Spectacles is a bit of a spicier twist on the typical, innocent stories of boys in love.