Here I was, wondering what my second post for this month would be, and then Yakuza Lover fell onto my lap (figuratively). As most of you may know by now, I do not read Shoujo manga. I am a cynical hopeless romantic…and I do not want to read about love (*hides my romance novels*). But, Yakuza Lover peaked an interest in me. I can’t believe how quick the fangirl in me jumped out, when Viz tweeted the second volume release of this title. It’s actually sickening, how quick I opened the amazon app to buy the DIGITAL version of the volume. I don’t even have the patience to wait and go buy the print from the store! The good thing to come out of this, is you guys get pictures this time! I was so excited to read, that I literally forgot that I had to read the volume from right to left. The Shonen jump app would be disappointed in me right now.
What Happened?
Oya and Yuri are still on vacation in Shanghai. In the last volume, the couple are interrupted by a Russian mafia, but Oya handles it. Since the incident, Oya has called more of his men to look after him and Yuri. The two go on an outing and end up in a steamy make-out session, that causes a waitress to accidently spill wine on Yuri. As Yuri is getting herself cleaned up, she is drugged and kidnapped. Semilio, a Russian vor (that means boss), has an unconscious Yuri in his arms. He takes her back to his casino where he dresses her up, and claims she will be his lover. Any man’s name that leaves Yuri’s mouth, Semilio will kill. So Yuri does her best not to call out Oya’s name. While in Semilio’s company, the man tries to force himself onto Yuri, but she fights back, despite being scared. Oya then manages to come to the rescue at the most convenient time, even bringing alcohol for Semilio. The two men go back and forth over Yuri, until Semilio decides he no longer wants Yuri and tells them to leave. Oya sends Yuri back to the villa, and ends up punishing Semilio for kidnapping her. Yuri doesn’t want to go back but does so reluctantly, fighting off Oya’s henchmen in the process. She spends the night worrying over Oya’s safety. At one point, she even comes to grip that he is for sure dead, and does her best to get a handle on her emotions. Oya does eventually come back the next morning. Yuri is angry that Oya put her through so many emotions. She berates him, in front of his men, which he doesn’t like, and takes her somewhere private. They make up and then they uhhh *make up* and that’s the end! There’s a special chapter that regards their physical relationship and little naïve me cant tell if its their first time together or not, so I’ll just let you guys figure that one out.
What do we think?
I’m noticing a common theme with Yuri always being in trouble and Oya coming to the rescue. This isn’t super odd since the man is a Yakuza boss, but it’s getting a tad bit repetitive for my liking. There were also far more physical scenes in this volume as well which I’m not upset with (yawls cant get those panels sorryyyy). This was the first instance in which Yuri was actually mad at Oya, however I don’t consider this a real fight because it was one-sided. Oya has a soft spot for women so I doubt there will ever be a time in which he is actually mad at Yuri, but I can still hope. What can I say? I’m chaotic. They’re still in the honeymoon phase if you ask me, even despite all the trouble they’ve ran into. Just how far are they both going to take this? Yes I’m thinking way far ahead to marriage and little crotch goblins, if the two can survive outside forces. I think they’re adorable together, but realistically will it actually last? Oya lives a very dangerous life, and honestly it can’t be too good for Yuri to always be worried about his health. It almost seems as if she cares about his life more than he does most of the time. For now, my hope is that we can get a little more depth to their relationship. Between the sex and the danger, I need a little more to their story. Personally, I can’t really pinpoint a central plot or problem in this story. Unless the plot is just a college girl dating a crime boss, and us looking at the situations she’s facing because she’s with him. I still enjoyed reading the volume however. Up until now, I’ve only ever read romance novels by American women, so it’s very interesting to read this manga and see the similar aspects despite it being 90 percent pictures. Definitely will patiently await volume 3! Until next post!
