365 Days of Manga, Day 191: L’Etoile Solitaire

L’ETOILE SOLITAIRE • Yuno Ogami • DMP (2007) • 1 volume • Yaoi • 18+ (nudity, sex)
Micah Remmington, a handsome Japanese-American hotel tycoon, comes to Japan to finalize the takeover of the Kurahashi hotel chain. When he stops in a bar, “L’Etoile Solitaire,” he randomly runs into Yuuki Kurahashi, the sensitive, insecure young heir of the Kurahashi family business, and soon, their business rivalry turns to love. A so-called “JOEL” (Japanese Original English-Language) manga created by Ogami specifically for DMP, L’Etoile Solitaire reads like a un-fleshed-out outline of a Boy’s Love manga. Ogami is incapable of coming up with any twists, turns, distinguishing marks or personal touches that might make the story less than completely predictable. Yuuki is passive and self-pitying, and Micah, as self-assured and competent as Yuuki is weak, is equally two-dimensional. The art is stiff, with noseless faces and glassy eyes. Given the interesting possibilities that could have come from this kind of international production, it’s a particularly weak effort.

Today’s winner is Jonathan T. of Tennessee. Congratulations, Jonathan!

This picture was provided by Carl Sanchez, one of the previous 365 Days of Manga winners. Thanks, Carl! I’ll send you some more manga ASAP, although at the moment all my stuff is in boxes since I’m moving between apartments (yes, again!). Regular manga shipments will resume next week.
In the meantime, if you have a big manga collection of your own, and a scanner, maybe you could help me out with my Project on Censorship in Manga? Click on the link for details!