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He supported themall that time though and never contacted his sons.Only after their mother died did he have the boyscome to his mansion. I loved the cover illustration. A story of growing love between a young man andhis father's henchman. There Akira meets Hyougami,in the employ of Akira's father and it is then,that he gets used by the man.Hyougami did not count on falling for Akira, buthe did find the proud young man very attractive.Akira kept his heart pure from the darkness aroundhim and persevered, eventually finding out thathis father had really cared for him.A manga of powerful images and writing. The sexual scenes are intense and Akira suffers, but ultimately hedoes prove that a pure heart will always triumph. Akira sells his body toprotect his younger brother from harm. In theprocess he comes to love the man who used him.His father apparently had abandoned him, his little brother and his mother.It is later revealed that he had been ordered byAkira's mother to stay away.
Its not the usual sort of blackmail where someone did something "wrong " and the other person knows it. Though how one can fall in love with your blackmailer is beyond me.
It was cute. I give this 3 stars, Five stars goes to the bonus story.
Endless Rain title story deals, in essence, one man's revenge. The ending to the story is contrived and it seems the author wanted a feel good ending.
There were several graphic non-explicit scenes. He blackmails the company's president's son in to sleeping with him.
This blackmail involves how the younger brother, who is blind, is treated (going to a school for music), and a hospital being closed and the employees being fired, amongst other things.
Endless Rain is one engrossing read. And I enjoy the brothers' close relationship which is sweet and touching.But the sudden change in atmosphere towards the wrap-up of the story is not convincing. The characters may not be that likable but they are interesting. As for Akira, he could come across frustrating at times but he is your typical innocent uke with a soft heart.
That said, Endless Rain is absorbing, fast paced and after a lot of lighter, sweet and romantic stuff, this angst filled and more complex Yaoi is a good change. I like the somewhat dark and unhappy tone of the story and it would have been better if this is kept till the end. The results are inconsistencies in the characters (especially the ruthless father and Hyougami), and the plot which becomes somewhat a little disjointed. Like the artwork and metaphor title too. Maybe this is just me. There is an angst filled plot here with depth.
However, it is as if the mangaka suddenly decides she has gone too far in her bleak treatment of her characters and tries to rectify it with a "nice" ending. The short story on 2 very close childhood friends, in which one suffers from a heart ailment, is romantic and very sweet and both uke and seme here are complete opposites of the ones in Endless Rain.A fine addition to my collection. You either like or dislike Hyougami, the complex, cold and forceful seme, with his secret agenda. The most likable characters are Nao, Akira's little brother, and his assigned faithful caretaker (even if this is a minor role).
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