Kiss After - Miyamoto Kano

Art:

Exactly like the prequel, Kiss.

Story:

The story follows directly after the events in Kiss. Sakai goes to Ryuu’s house to confess his feelings.

Characters:

Utsumi Ryuu - A Japanese boy haunted by his past. He speaks in Kansai accent because he originally came from Osaka.

Sakai - Ryuu's classmate in his new school. He harbors feelings for Ryuu.

Review:

Like Kiss, it is also too short with just 12 pages including the title page. That said, nothing much happened but there’s a brief non-explicit smut in it and it also gives the readers a better view of Ryuu and Sakai’s relationship.

Kiss - Miyamoto Kano

Art:

Again, the usual. Fairly good but the characters are not exactly the bishie type.

Story:

Following the chronological order of the Rules universe, this story follows sometime after the events in Ocean's Cage, Sky's Door. Ryuu got himself a friend in his new school named Sakai and the story features what happened when Ryuu told him that he had to transfer schools again.

Characters:

Utsumi Ryuu - A Japanese boy haunted by his past. He speaks in Kansai accent because he originally came from Osaka.

Compared to the Ryuu from Ocean's Cage, Sky's Door, the Ryuu here is undeniably more mature and even if he still has the quiet aura around him, his character seemed a lot stronger.

Sakai - Ryuu's classmate in his new school. He harbors feelings for Ryuu.

Review:

It's too short, spanning for just 15 pages including the title page and the author's notes. It's good to have a glimpse of Ryuu's life though shortly before he meets Hitomi and Hikaru.

Ocean's Cage, Sky's Door (Please - Chapter 5) - Miyamoto Kano

Art:

The usual. If you're familiar with Miyamoto Kano's works, it shouldn't be hard to identify that this story is hers. The characters aren't exactly the bishie type but still, the art is fairly good in my opinion.

Story:

It serves as an introduction to the Rules universe. Ryuu was sixteen and just transferred to a new school and later on met an older American guy named Stefan. They got along after meeting near the beach through Stefan's dog. Ryuu then started coming over to Stefan's house and it isn't hard to figure that Stefan's interested in him. The story progresses with Ryuu struggling with his past and his developing relationship with Stefan.

Characters:

Ryuu - A sixteen year-old Japanese boy haunted by something that happened a year ago. He speaks in Kansai accent because he originally came from Osaka.

Stefan - A retired American homosexual soldier who developed an interest in Ryuu after seeing him several times near the beach. He owns a friendly dog named Lad.

Review:

This contains spoilers. You've been warned.

Uhm.. I'm writing this after reading it the second time. I read it a long time ago and I'm not really sure if I read it before the other stories in Rules.

Anyway, it was good. It gives me the feeling I always have when reading Miyamoto Kano's works. Idk.. Reading her works makes me feel like I'm really reading someone's life story. I mean, unlike some yaoi mangas where everything is fluffy and all or just smutty.. I like the bitter sweet feeling I get whenever I read her works.

Okay, back to the story (I'm so sorry for spazzing about her. This is the first story I'm reviewing for her so yeah.. forgive me. XD). There wasn't really special about their meeting. It was even kinda cliché, I guess. But the angst in the story is good. There was a brief not-so-graphic smut and the end was kinda sad since they had to go on their separate ways. Honestly though, I really don't think their relationship would've worked out even if Ryuu decided to go with Stefan in America. He's too young. And it wasn't like the only thing that was bothering him was what people were saying whenever they found out about what he did. It was more of him feeling guilty for having killed someone so running away wouldn't have done any good for him. Well, maybe it would've if their relationship was strong enough but.. as I said, he's too young for that kind of love in my opinion. I like how the story included some family aspect. I kinda adore Ryuu's relationship with his dad. It wasn't perfect but you know they really care for each other.