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This is not for the squeamish, the easily frightened, or those looking for a light manga to read. It is dark and often brutal. The complexity of the plot had me wondering if I should be taking notes, and I actually did end up writing down some details, like the protagonist's personalities, to keep track. That said - if you like both psychological horror and violence, this fits the bill well.

Something needs to be said about the nature of the crimes. These are not straightforward homicides. They are grotesque and morbidly fascinating. Oftentimes the victims are tortured in the most creative ways before being killed. ... There's something bordering on erotic about some of these killings, as well, and that can be even more disturbing to the reader. If you want to venture to the dark side, though....

The story has its bloodshed, but also its moments of slow building unease, and it's highly psychological. The personalities of detective Amamiya are locked somewhere inside his mind, triggered by unknown sights and sounds. It gives a lingering feeling that something bad could happen at any moment. The art balances the mood superbly. Amamiya's expressions are subtle but effective. You can see the horror on his face as he learns what exactly his alternate personalities have done, as he can feel one approaching. You can also learn to tell, just through expressions, when he's switched to a much more dangerous version of himself. The fear that builds then is palpable.

Besides the mastery of expressions, the art is notable for leaving the characters recognisably Japanese. It's certainly all professional and clean, with highly detailed backgrounds and excruciatingly rendered corpses. I'm not an expert on comic styles, but if I'm using the right terms, there's an abundance of high contrast noir influence to be found. I appreciate it for the depth it adds. At the same time, the number of pages that have no screentones, and are therefore simply high contrast black and white, are a bit harsh.

Character - definitely very complex. It takes a while for the personalities to become apparent, but that's a rather endearing quality for me, as I'm very tired of mangas that have such flat characters that you know them right away. This isn't one of those. It makes it all the more rewarding when you discover a new clue to the true character of someone. Also, the criminals are very interesting. I love seeing psychotic minds at work, and this gives me the perfect window to it. Expressions, dialog, actions and movement, they bring you face to face with the essence of insanity. Seeing it made my breath catch more than once, and I was left staring at a page pondering what I had seen too many times to count.

There are some traits, beyond the obvious violence, that would make this manga unenjoyable to some. Mainly, it's very dry. By that I mean - very minimal comedy, no comic relief characters or clueless sidekicks, mostly a dark and technical atmosphere. It's also an involved read, no mindless sitting by and watching things happen. You need to sit down and read it like you would a serious novel.

But if you do decide to go ahead and read it, despite the dryness, despite the crimes depicted... you are in for a treat.

First off, I loved the character interactions. Hot yaoi scenes presented directly next to laugh-out-loud comedic moment. A carefree, joking atmosphere Ukes that are tall, well muscled, and have signs of hair on their bodies, a short, pretty boy seme - combinations that are practically unheard of in most yaoi. It was refreshing to see. Also, despite the explicit nature of the manga, there are definitely sweet moments between the characters, especially during the story of Shino and Josh.

I like the art, though it's not outstanding. If I had to categorise it, I'd say it leans to the intricate side of shounen-style, rather than shoujo ... like many shounen-ai stories. Screentones and backgrounds are used well, though faces are usually fairly simple, with minimal shadow. Realistic anatomy is where the mangaka really succeeds. The characters aren't overly muscled, but you can certainly tell they're men, and it makes the sex scenes all the more impressive. And let me say, they're damn hot to start with - the pacing, the expressions, the scenarios.

The story concept itself is entertaining. Like most one-volume yaoi, that's not exactly the focus. However, it's something I had never seen before. The fact that the main character is far from perfect in bed is a rather entertaining change from the norm in mangas. And his struggle coming to terms with his seme/uke orientation at least adds a good dash of conflict to it.

Be aware that this is not a very relationship-based yaoi. Most of it is sex minus romantic feeling - it is based around a group making adult videos, after all. But it isn't composed entirely of smut. As I mentioned, it has a definite comedy element and entertaining characters. Overall I was very impressed, and I'll probably be rereading it.

It's smutty, violent, and pretty much pointless. But I liked it. Don't read this manga expecting to see some romantic couple overcoming the odds in a tricky situation. The semes are assholes and the ukes are idiots, it's as simple as that. And that's even with two completely unconnected stories making up Bi no Isu. Different plots, but the cruelness remains in both.

But here are some things that are good about it:
-Men who look like men, albeit not macho men, in the first half. Some even have facial hair and tattoos.
-Really hot interactions between characters, if you're okay with rough sex.
-First yaoi I've read that ... opened with a yakuza (Japanese mafia) torture scene. Certainly caught my attention.
-Interesting character dynamics, in that they're completely screwy. How will the semes next abuse their partners? Will they both survive it? How much blood and/or screaming will ensue? And why are the ukes so hopelessly in love?

If there was actual plot outside of the relationships, I missed it. The second story (chapters 4 & 5) wasn't as good as the first, in my opinion. Too much psychological trauma involved. But if you like watching messed up relationships with lots of sex and abuse, this might suit you well.

Tarot Cafe is a rather charming manhwa. The main selling point for me is the abundance of sympathetic characters. Pamela, the tarot reader, has a long and fascinating past. She genuinely cares for all of her clients, regardless of the challenges presented to her personally. The clients themselves are engaging and easy to become attached to as you learn their stories, and some of the tales are genuinely heartwarming. The settings are also gorgeous, everywhere from centuries old Turkey to modern London, mystical forests, and the very depths of hell.

The plot itself is a little lackluster. Although individual elements of the past are enthralling (enough ... so that I was willing to excuse plot issues), when it all gets pieced together something is lost. Also, for the first volume, or even two, the primary focus is not on the plot, but on individual clients that have no apparent relationship to each other. On one hand, it makes a nice little collection of one-shot deals to read at your leisure. On the other, it seems both fragmented and slightly frustrating when searching for a real story beneath it all.

Adding to the frustration is the art. Yes, it's lush and detailed, and both beautiful and grotesque scenes are rendered well. But the character faces fall into only three categories: most noticeably, generic sultry bishies. The only feature I could rely on to tell the male characters apart was their hair. Unfortunately, that's a major flaw in my book.

Still, don't let that scare you away from it. It's still very enjoyable overall. It has drama, mystery, comedy, and a bit of horror. Good characters, pretty (if impractical) art, plot twists galore, fun side stories, lots of demons, and a cute uke werewolf. A bonus - you learn some tarot as you read.