A Foreign Love Affair by Ayano Yamane

異国色恋浪漫譚 by: やまねあやの

A Foreign Love Affair by: Ayano Yamane

Rated:  18+

Price:  $15.95

801 Media - BL/Romance/Drama

Review May Contain Spoilers

Yay, it’s been a while since there’s been a new 801 Media release.  Once again, we have a beautifully packaged book, with a striking dust jacket and a full color illustration featuring characters from “The Love Guide,” a bonus short included in the volume.  The cover is quite lovely, with Ranmaru dressed in a provocatively disheveled kimono and fundoshi, and the dashing Al in his crisp uniform.  Ah, all that eye candy.

“A Foreign Love Affair” finds our hot-tempered hero, Ranmaru, on a cruise ship in the Mediterranean, newly married to Kaoru.  Their’s is an arranged marriage, and neither party is especially thrilled with the nuptials.  Kaoru has been forced to marry a younger man, which grinds on her nerves, and Ranmaru, the third underboss of a yakuza family, isn’t any happier with the union.  The two fight during their first moments alone as man and wife, and Ranmaru finds himself thrown out of their stateroom.  Bummer, dude!  It’s supposed to be your honeymoon!

Into the picture steps Al, a handsome, drool worthy stranger intoxicated by all things Japanese.  Before Ranmaru realizes what’s in store for him, he and Al share a passionate moment in Al’s cabin.  It’s only while they are disembarking that Ranmaru learns that Al is the captain of the ship!  Wow! Seems that Ranmaru received a little extra hospitality from the captain!

The characters in “A Foreign Love Affair” are fun and keep up a snappy stream of dialog.  Ranmaru, with his insistence on dressing in his kimono, seems a little old-fashioned, and his attraction to another male just sets him off in a tail spin.  He’s not the brightest bulb on the Christmas tree, but that doesn’t stop Al from becoming smitten with the temperamental young man.  When the two are together, fireworks explode, and when they are apart, Ranmaru always manages to get himself into one scrape after another.  Good thing that Al is unflappable and able to rush to Ranmaru’s aid.

The secondary characters, Kauro and Gondoh, bring more comedic relief to the cast.  Kauro is bitter about having to marry the younger Ranmaru, but nothing sets her teeth on edge quite like being referred to as “Big Sis.”  To her, the words might as well be “Old Hag,” they get her that upset.  She and Ranmaru have nothing in common, other than the ability to hurl insults at each other.   Gondoh is Ranmaru’s rival from childhood, and he’s in love with Kaoru.  Yet another battle lost to Ranmura, the lucky groom!  Gondoh turned out to be a very likeable character, helping to save Ranmaru from the huge mess he’s managed to fall into.

I loved the fast pacing and the heated exchanges between Ranmaru and Al, but thought the rescue subplot was more than a little ridiculous.  It did give Al a wonderful opportunity to arrive on the scene like a debonair secret agent, descending from a helicopter to save his beloved.  The illustrations are gorgeous and allowed me to ignore some of the more outlandish story elements.

Also included was the much tamer “The Love Guide,” about a matchmaker and a reluctant bachelor.  Takaoka, the hopeless bachelor, is a scientist more at home with his lab rats than with people.  Serizawa is his earnest matchmaker, and the young man is determined to find the perfect match for his client.  Does it matter if Serizawa ends up being his perfect match?  Cute story with habitually escaping rats - who could resist?

Grade: B

This review was written by Julie for the MangaCast. Please drop by the Manga Maniac Cafe and check out the menu.  There’s always tasty reviews on display!

Review copy provided by 801 Media