In this metafictional series on yaoi and the publishing industry, Tomonori Ozawa gets a job at his first choice of publishing firms. But it's as an editor for Rose Boy: Boys Love Magazine of Revolution
. His first assignment is with temperamental artist Sakurako Kakyoin, who insists on being called “Sensei” and needs serious motivation to make his deadlines. But what motivates Kakyoin is fantasizing about his boyish new editor, Ozawa. Part dissertation on manga technique, part breathless sexual harassment fantasy, this is the ultimate refinement of the yaoi subgenre—yaoi about the making of yaoi. The parts in which Higashizato explains how manga is made—the structure of the editorial board, which fonts are best used for which scenes—is intriguing and well illustrated. (And leads to some truly surreal ideas like a love scene too strong for conventional fonts.) Higashizato's layouts are somewhat chaotic, making it difficult to track the flow of the story between the sweaty sex scenes, and his frequent use of chibi figures makes it difficult to separate the fantasy sequences from those occurring in “real life.” But both hardcore yaoi fans and would-be manga artists should enjoy the insider story. (June)
