It’s finally cooled down a bit here in Tokyo, and the Christmas decorations lining all the shopping centers and Mariah Carey blaring from every store’s loudspeaker do a wonderful job of reminding me of the upcoming holiday season.
…But maybe you’re the type of person who wishes the holiday cheer could hold off for a bit longer, and prefers to savor the time between Spooky Season and the lively-but-potentially-exhausting year-end festivities. In which case, Japan’s got you covered!
As we briefly touched upon in our Yaoi Day post, Japan has lots of “special” days throughout the year, based on wordplay that’s possible with the Japanese pronunciation of a given date — and November 29th is one of these days! In Japanese, 1-1-2-9 can be pronounced いいにく (ii-ni-ku), which is a homonym for 良い肉 (also pronounced iiniku), which means “good meat.” As such, 11/29 has been designated “Good Meat Day” in Japan.
Unfortunately, as far as special days in Japan go, Good Meat Day isn’t really that big of a deal — beyond some meat vendors having special offers, or meat lovers treating themselves to a delicious, protein-rich meal .
However, here at RentaBLog, we like to spice things up and take every opportunity to celebrate different aspects of Boys’ Love — and thus, I decided that on this day, we’d give the spotlight over to the beefy guys of BL, who make our hearts pound with their rippling muscles — the buffer, the better!
Hope you’ve saved room for a feast, because meat is on the menu tonight!!
This title was one I was fortunate enough to encounter when I first started working at Renta!, and I’m glad I did! The art is flat-out gorgeous, for starters. Omoinakaba tends to draw her men extremely fit, and I am very much on board with this choice! This one has left a strong impression on me, and I am excited to share my thoughts with you.
Enter Tokio, an unassuming bellhop at an upscale Tokyo hotel. One day, he and his coworkers get a sudden briefing from their boss about the arrival of a rich oil tycoon, Azam. While Tokio is contemplating the somewhat bizarre instructions on how none of the staff are allowed to be alone with him in closed spaces, Azam and Tokio meet by chance at the hotel’s entrance, where Azam abruptly declares that Tokio will be his “bride!”
The story has a light-hearted and humorous introduction but goes dark very quickly. A warning that it contains scenes of sexual abuse against a child and attempted murder and is not for the faint of heart.
As the story progresses, you discover that Tokio and Azam knew each other as children. Tokio spent part of his youth in an unnamed Middle Eastern country due to his father’s job, where he met and got to know Azam. The scenes with them as children are plain adorable and its heart-breaking as darker events are revealed. Many years have passed, and while Azam clearly remembers their brief time together and is eager to reunite, Tokio has forgotten, causing more tension between them.
One thing I like about Omoinakaba’s works are that her ukes are very much power bottoms, power capital P. You’d think meek looking Tokio would be bottoming here, but it’s the brusque, aloof Azam taking it up the bum! He’s no pushover in bed, though he shies away from kissing early on. Tokio’s no cold fish in bed, either! He’s eager to please and have Azam moaning and writhing in pleasure.
Whereas I generally prefer the softer, fluffier side of BL, this story is just the perfect mix of gorgeous art, humor, drama, intrigue, eroticism and the complications of human emotions. It’s not as simple and clean as “childhood friends reunited as lovers, a few hijinks, happily ever after.” There’s a reason why Azam is so eager to reconnect with Tokio, and why Tokio forgot about their time together (and it’s not because he got amnesia from a head injury). This delves into the more twisted parts of relationships, though the two have very strong chemistry and it’s a delight whenever they’re on the page together.
More eagle-eyed readers might pick up on some quirks, such as Azam’s headdress being slightly off from a traditional ghutra and Azam being drawn holding glasses of champagne. While the story never flat-out states where Azam is from, it’s implied to be Saudi Arabia, due to the style of clothes he wears and his status as an oil tycoon. I chalk it up to typical perceived depictions of Middle Eastern countries in Japanese media and it does not detract from the story. If you’re looking for some BL that tosses most common tropes out the window, look no further! Give this one a try! It’s short but will have you glued to your screen til the end!
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rentaBLog 