THE TYRANT FALLS IN LOVE MANGA REVIEW

Authors: Hinako Takanaga Type: Manga series Rating: R Genre: Comedy, Romance, Yaoi/Shounen-ai Status: publishing ~~ SCORE: B+ I'll start this review with a short synopsis The student Tetsuhiro Morinaga is secretly in love with his sempai who's recently working on the doctorate and of course doesn't know anything about his kohai's heartache. After Soichi almost gets raped by his assisting professor, his hate towards homosexuals becomes even greater than it was since his younger brother flew off to America with another guy and so he takes everything out on Morinaga. One evening Soichi visits Morinaga and they get drunk. But accidentally the sempai swallows a love-potion, that Morinaga got from his friend. One thing leads to another and they end up sleeping together. The morning after that incident Soichi is really pissed at Morinaga, who afterward disappears for 2 weeks. During that time Soichi goes every day to his friend's apartment in order to talk to him, but Morinaga is never at home. The sempai can't denies his growing feelings for the student anymore, but when he catches Morinaga packing his stuff, with the intention to move out, he holds him back in the a very rode way, too stubborn to admit that he's worried or talk about emotions. Soichi agrees to share a bed with Morinaga every now and then, in order to make him stay at the university and to gain more time for himself to brood over his feelings. And so a story full of suspense and love-twists around this crazy couple strikes up a journey into the unknown. ~~~~ The basic idea of 'The Tyrant Falls in Love' is very catchy and unique. The title itself indicates a contrasting story concept and straightforwardly discloses the rough but humorous theme of the manga. Though as events take on their course, the whole plot gains a deeper meaning and becomes a lot more emotional. One eventful chapter follows another and the constantly dynamic pace makes it hard to get bored while reading. Another rare thing about Tyrant is, that it actually shows how difficult it is growing up and being a homosexual, especially when the family turns their back on you, which is pictured very convincingly in later chapters as we're introduced to Mori's past. But no matter how angsty the story gets, there is always a bit of humor involved, making the ensemble more appealing. Takanaga's main characters do not exactly fit into the standard scheme of usual boy's love characters, which makes another aspect of this manga a lot more exciting and clingy. The role of the seme is rather affectionate and introverted, quite the contrary to the aggressive, untamed and bullying uke. Such unwontedness in the yaoi genre is either rare or unconvincingly impersonated. Those role assignation in 'The Tyrant Who Falls in Love' however work out pretty naturally. It's nearly impossible not to grow fond of Mori and Soichi, because with each continuing volume you get to know more and more facets of their personalities and eventually they get under your skin. The art style is good enough. Nothing too special or innovative about it, even though the mangaka did a good job expressing all the sparkling emotions... especially when it comes to those romantic scenes and the parts where they fight. As for the enjoyment. Well I had my fun with it. Actually lots of it. You suffer and cheer through all ups and downs along with those two trippy lovebirds. It reads well and you get hooked almost instantly. So if you're a fan of boy's love this series should be the next on your to-read list.