Butterflies, Flowers 5
Posted: May 18, 2011 Filed under: Butterflies Flowers Leave a comment »Yuki Yoshihara – Viz – 2010 – 8 volumes
I haven’t read this in a long time, which is a mystery. It makes me laugh so hard every time I read it, and Masayuki is quickly becoming one of my favorite characters of all time.
This volume pretty much seals this series’ reputation forever in my mind. I do love romances between older couples like this, and I can safely say that this is the first romance comic I’ve read where the couple has to deal with… erectile dysfunction. Masayuki, with his love of sex and penchant for hilarious dialogue, is the perfect target for such an affliction. And Kuze doesn’t help him much, since she’s clueless about what this means to Masayuki and says all the wrong things to him. Masayuki cries several times.
That’s the gist of the book, but really, it’s Masayuki being himself more than the stuff that’s going on that makes me love this series. He makes me smile on every page. He’s so insistent on what he wants for Kuze, but at the same time dotes on her and takes care of her in every way. He’s the ideal Harlequin husband in the worst way, but with a foul mouth. And that’s okay, because Masayuki pulls it off.
His attentiveness to Kuze begins to wear on her when she starts to think that Masayuki’s dysfunction is related to the fact that their relationship is more master/servant than it is lovers. She tries to break Masayuki of some of his servant habits, but treating her like a princess is something he’s fond of. Things get childish on both sides, but not in a bad way, and we find out that Masayuki cries and laments when Kuze holds out on him for treating her like his master… but he can’t stop himself. It’s just so… him, I guess. Distinctive.
And no matter what Yuki Yoshihara says at the end about reader reactions, his dysfunction in this volume doesn’t make Masayuki any less cool.
