In a quirky, fantastical-historical Japan, Yamada is a policeman who considers himself a missionary of good citizenship. He gets so bogged down with helping ladies carry home their groceries, that he forgets his real police duties, like solving murder cases. So when he meets Shiro, a young man who lives like a slob, can't cook, and hates to wear clothes, he quickly takes the guy under his wing. First order of business? Get the guy to put on some underwear.
I'll get it out of the way now in case it's an issue for anyone: it's scanlated by a group that does
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"borderline BL." It has nothing in it where you can say "See, these males are romantically attracted to each other." In fact, our male leads are obviously interested in women. But there's lots of eye candy in there for those yaoi fans who like to make inferences out of everything.
What's most notable on the surface about this series, is that it's so….stylish. Everything about it carries a very distinctive and unique stylishness. I almost feel ashamed to say this, but it's dripping in sexiness. The main characters, and even lots of the side ones, are amazingly hot-looking. And they show a lot of skin. When the summary says it "will have you swooning at its sexiness and leave you more addicted than opium!" they weren't kidding.
But, ahem, lets move on to more worthy topics of discussion.
The storyline plays out as a series of police cases that Yamada comes across. Some crime or incident happens, and Shiro usually ends up helping solve the case. Along the way, we get lots of drama and action, and occasional mild horror, and a little comedy. Despite the genre, there are a lot of female characters. And there are quite a lot of good ones, and they are all drawn well, and have good depth. I have to say this, because it seems so many BL/borderline BL series have poorly done and annoying females.
The art is very unique. It's like a light sketch that was then richly inked. You won't see any of those bishies with cookie-cutter faces drawn from mostly straight lines. And it's not mostly white space like you see in most for-girls manga. This is organic art, sketchy, yet fluid and full of curves. And the guys actually have muscles. They don't have blank chests and arms. There's actual accentuations on the bodies, and they look like they really have ribs. The only beef I have with the anatomy, is that some of the characters (two in particular) have incredible gymnastic abilities, and yet are practically toothpick thin. And Shiro's waist is more of a girl's than a guy's. Can a male seriously jut his hips out like that? But then, this is manga…
The story setting is fascinating. It's a fantastical, quirky, historical setting, perhaps 100 years ago. The town is mostly traditional, with police who wear western uniforms. And then there are the ninja-wannabes who don all kinds of fantastic gear which gives the fighters a slightly sci-fi look. (The setting sort of reminded me of "Mononoke," with it's richly decorated quirkiness.) Shiro is a paper craftsman (or rather, paper artist) who makes umbrellas and all sorts of fantastical things. We tromp over curved bridges, and past tumble-down buildings stacked into the city's hillsides. Even the panels help convey this quirky mood, since lots of them have curved or circular edges.
The characters are fairly good, though the series has only had a few chapters released (yet those chapters are pretty long). We have Yamada and Shiro, who play out their tensions. There's the staff on the police force, which includes Yamada's "blood brother." There is our bad guy of sorts, Botan. And there's the many interesting characters of all ages who show up in the police cases, and contribute a lot of the story's drama.
Shiro is probably the most interesting character so far. Despite all of Yamada's training, he'd still love to fling off all his clothes, and prance about town. Or laze about. Shiro is like a big cat. He does what he wants when he wants with little regard for what others expect of him. And he can flop down on the ground wherever he happens be, and stretch and squirm around, since his back and limbs are so flexible. And Shiro is always revealing something unexpected (in more than one way....). And we get a glimpse of his suitably tragic past.
Yamada of course is a straightforward guy, and pretty ordinary except for his intense passion to do good. But he'll even risk his life for it, and is quite strong in his own right. He likes to have fun, and occasionally takes revenge on Shiro when he's been a bad boy. He has a great fondness for cats, which may help explain his interest in Shiro.
Botan is our nemesis character. Even though he seems like a danger to Shiro, Shiro still feels pity for him. Although we don't know all the connections between them, we know that they were acquaintances in the past. It will be interesting to see what exactly their complicated relationship was. Botan is one of our ninjas, and his getup is quite interesting. He wears various braces to hold several sets of knives, and an arm-guard which can conceal a stabbing knife and a gun. Whew. Steam-punk enthusiasts might be particularly interested in the designs.
This story is ideal for female readers who like a sexy story with a slightly mature atmosphere. There's some mildly horrific things related to the crimes that we come across, but it's nothing too much for an older teen. The drama is engaging. And it's not all about young people. There's lots of older people in the story too, giving it a nice dimensionality. The setting is fascinating and rich, and has lots to look forward to. And lots of hot guys…and their hip thrusts.
 Alternative TitlesJapanese: 艶漢 More titlesInformationType: Manga
Volumes: Unknown
Chapters: Unknown
Status: Publishing
Published: Jul 14, 2007 to ?
Genre:
Action
Theme:
Historical
Demographic:
Shoujo
Serialization:
Wings Authors:
Nao, Tsukiji (Story & Art) Statistics Ranked: #6902 2 based on the top manga page. Please note that 'R18+' titles are excluded. Popularity: #2074
Members: 10,323
Favorites: 418 Resources | Reviews
Filtered Results: 7 / 7
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Apr 2, 2011
In a quirky, fantastical-historical Japan, Yamada is a policeman who considers himself a missionary of good citizenship. He gets so bogged down with helping ladies carry home their groceries, that he forgets his real police duties, like solving murder cases. So when he meets Shiro, a young man who lives like a slob, can't cook, and hates to wear clothes, he quickly takes the guy under his wing. First order of business? Get the guy to put on some underwear.
I'll get it out of the way now in case it's an issue for anyone: it's scanlated by a group that does ... 
Mar 5, 2015
This is a manga that will have you checking for updates constantly. For the art, characters, and story.
Story: So far it seems to be episodic with an over arcing plot line following the adventures (and pasts) of an umbrella salesman named Shiro and a policeman named Kojiro, in a place that seems reminiscent of Meiji era Japan. I say seems because the only way I can really describe the setting is steampunk, Japan-style. The author also seems to love huge plot twists, and pulls them off in a way that makes it actually believable, which is quite fun. Though there is a main ... 
Feb 17, 2015
Story: Set in a historical period of time which follows the concept of human to human interaction and differences made on the basis of class, creed, religion and socio-politics. Showcasing the lighter and the darker aspects of human behaviour, certainly a fine take on it. Packed with utter hilarity, sarcasm, borderline jokes and bromance as the 'cherry on top', now someone who is intolerant to the romanticization of guy to guy, this will not be your cup of tea, because it's filled with it, but don't get the wrong idea of this being a shounen-ai because it isn't. The highlighting of comical aspects in a
...
Dec 28, 2013
I'm compelled to say that this manga's saving grace is its art, but that makes it seem like the story is the pits when that's not really the case. Plot-wise, it is not a total yawn fest, but it's not anything spectacular. It seems to encapsulate a sort of slice-of-life feel, where the main characters go on mystery-solving adventures and meet a hodgepodge of different characters, each with their own story. And it is distinctively shoujo.
What elevates this manga is its beautiful, beautiful art. This is one of those mangas worth reading JUST for the art. Ok I think I have repeated that point enough ... 
Jun 25, 2017
If you like beautiful artwork, pretty guys, comedy, action & bloodshed. Latch on to this series like a rabid dog. The artwork is completely gorgeous - the centerfolds & covers blow me away every time.
Along with glorious eye candy, the story & content is very interesting. It goes over things like caste systems, mental illness, brutality, sexuality & much more. This is also one of the first series I've read where male characters who are very feminine are actual total bad asses. They not only have strength & skill in things such as fighting - but also are able to control people emotionally to ... 
Mar 24, 2014
It's one of the those manga that is just so twistedly beautiful.
Story (8) - the author loves to dabble in the insane, sensual, and gorgeous. Makes you wonder what kind of person could write such a thing. It's not your typical shoujo cause it borders shounen-ai but it's not exactly yaoi either, though it has fan service. Still, it's written very well with a lot of interesting themes with small plots revolving around a bigger plot. It can also be complex at times which is nice to see. Art (9) - Just. Plain. Gorgeous. It's enchanting and intricate. When the author uses colour, the ... 
Dec 29, 2018
I feel quite conflicted about this manga. Having dropped it in the middle of reading and coming back later, I do have to say it draws you in. I could talk about the story, but there are others that do that, so i see no point. Rather i will tell you how i see it.
The art is beautiful. The backgrounds are usually the stars of the pages, followed closely by the costume design. I, myself, rather enjoyed one of the main character’s androgynous design, but the other main one had a somewhat plain look. I guess it goes well with their role in ... |
