Released by Seven Seas
Slugline: The showdown between yaoi and yuri should be more exciting than this.
Aoi House in Love continues the story of Aoi House, and should be considered as part of that larger story than a new series. Basically the folks from Aoi House go to a con, has a friendly competition of Uri House (a house of yuri fans, rather than fans of Uri Geller) and goes into a cosplay challenge with some The Melancholy of Haruhi Suzumiya fans. I really wanted to give this volume a gentleman's 3 stars, but after going back and forth on it, I just couldn't. A harder decision than you think because I know that people from Seven Seas read this blog, but too many things come up and drop out of the story with minimal explanations, the weird relationship between Alex, Elle and Morgan just doesn't feel real, and the reality TV angle that keeps on being tossed into the mix relies on the boy's cluelessness rather than the reader's cleverness to remain hidden. It also suffers in comparison to Dramacon, another manga set at a convention, whose less complicated and even sparse style makes Aoi House in Love seem messy and uncontrolled, an unfair but inevitable comparision. Many of the same concerns I had with Aoi House vol. 2 still hold true here also so that this is now more a title for people who just love harem comedies or need to see what happens . I believe the next volume is the final one, so here's hoping that they can wrap it up as well as they began it.
Oh, just to make a me a total meanie, the color 4-panel comics in the back just didn't seem that funny.
Aoi House in Love, vol. 1 is also available from Right Stuf, Intl., an online retailer specializing in anime and manga.
-Ferdinand
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