Some manga may falter or be stuffed with filler in middling volumes, but Breath volume two keeps the series going strong. If you liked the first volume, this one’s a definite must buy. The plot and artwork remain consistent with the series style and the ending will have you salivating for volume three.
If you’re buying the American version, unfortunately you’ll have to deal with a little censorship. A couple pages have been entirely removed and replaced with a here’s what happened that we couldn’t show note at the back of the volume, which makes for an unnecessarily constrained and confusing reading experience. Setting that aside, however….
Yanagi and Arata’s “why are we being so nice to each other even though we’re in this uncomfortable forced master-slave relationship” tug of war, dominates the beginning, and since that’s pretty much just more of what the prior volume already went through, it’s not hugely exciting, although it does keep a nice layer of doubled motives for both the main characters constantly in the spotlight. However, when Arata’s twin Ten enters the picture things get stirred up and there’s all that conflict you were craving. Turns out Ten, in addition to being blessed with the looks of a god and a chipper attitude, is intensely defensive of his brother, wedging himself forcibly between the brother and Yanagi. All that easygoing attitude Ten displays conceals… well, we’re not sure yet, but there’s something going on with him there and it’s brooding and grim. We also get an additional tangential plot concerning a new chap from Yanagai’s past who will be introducing further complications to the protagonists’ landscape. Their private little secret is leaked and while we don’t see the full ramifications of that in this volume, it’s enough to tease you that there’s a storm a ‘brewin’. From multiple angles, even.
Of course, since this IS yaoi, after all, you probably want to know if the sex scenes are any good. Fortunately, the uncensored elements (sigh…
are just as much fun as the first volume, and we get a little shakeup in the lovemaking roster too, not sticking with just the big two characters. Some might consider one of them too brief, but the other’s longevity makes up for it.
Breath 2′s sure to satisfy anyone who liked the first one, or any fans of the genre in general who like a little conflict and drama with their hot yaoi spice.
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