The Two Lions – Review of Boy's Love by Nagisa Furuya

The Two Lions it's a story about how it comes about an unexpected love, on the difficulty of accepting it due to the legacies of one's society, a pleasant slice of life that encourages you not to lie to yourself, to follow your own will. A story set at university, the title is a play on words and is linked to the names of the two characters, because they both contain the word “lion”: Junpei Shishido (the kanji shishidepending on how it is written, means lion) and Leo Onizuka. Despite this coincidence, however, the two university students could not be more different. The former is bright and sunny, while the latter is grumpy and lonely.

Nagisa Furuya approaches the world of comics by creating a series of self-produced works inspired by Gintama. In 2014 he began his career as a mangaka in the publishing house Ichijinsha publishing Number Call in the magazine Gateau. The following year will be the turn of All About Ocean Bluebut the real success came in 2017 with Kimi wa natsu no naka (You are in the blue summer)also winner of the first prize in the “Book Cover” category ai Chil Chil BL Awards 2018 and from which a second volume will then be elaborated, Kimi to natsu no naka (The blue summer and you). Among his other works Hoshi Dake ga Shitteru (2016) e Futari no Lion (2017).

His tender and adolescent stories have won over thousands of readers. In this manga, however, we see her playing in a different setting than usual, that is the University. Love and feelings are described and represented in a more mature and conscious way by a very delicate and elegant line.

The story

Shortly after starting university. Junpei, a sunny and friendly boy, meets the shady Leo. Junpei immediately feels like he knows him, which is why, attracted by his mysterious character, he begins to make friends with us. Junpei will soon discover that Leo attended the same high school as him and was feared by everyone, secret leader of the school. Junpei, however, does not stop at prejudice and decides to involve the boy who, to escape from the days spent in solitude at high school, decided to attend a university far from home to try to make new acquaintances.

This is therefore the cause of Leo's abrupt and silent character, a character that will be destined to open up in the face of Junpei's cheerfulness. Our protagonists thus begin to frequent each other assiduously and Junpei understands that, Despite his reputation as a bad boy, Leo is a very charming guy, with many funny and mysterious sides. An example? He is a real ace in the kitchen, with great talent in preparing desserts. As if that wasn't enough, he is full of interests (he has a real passion for rock music) and loves kittens! What began as an innocent friendship could then turn out to be something much more intense…

The elegant trait of the author

At first glance the comic appears extremely balanced and readable, the skilful use of grays gives the line a luminous elegance and a very impactful simplicity. The character designs are a lot clear and distinguishable while not being particularly complex. The strong use of close ups in the directorial department allows emotions to emerge with great impact. Another very important aspect is the representation of faces and facial expressions, the mangaka is not a virtuoso but the expressions that it can represent they contribute a lot to the emotional narrativedefinitely a great strong point.

The paneling is typical of the shojo genrewith numerous crossings and pages with few panels (often overlayed on urban landscape backgrounds), this gives the story a broad scope and an atmosphere of peace. The mangaka's skilled mastery pushes you to linger, to observe, to breathe. The dialogue scenes themselves are interspersed with very expressive moments of silence.

Themes

The main theme, being a romanceis definitely the one of the human relationships. Or rather, how human relationships can make us grow and tell us more about ourselves. The protagonists, especially Junpei, they will come to explore the boundaries of friendship until it leads to something much more intensedeeper, something that both initially struggle to call love.

The difficulty of understanding oneself is at the center of the story, a difficulty overcome only by the impulse that love generates, a difficulty that also comes from the outside, from a society incapable of fully accepting homosexuality. The volume therefore represents a journey to discover one's own impulses, one's desires.

The dyadic relationship that is established between the two “lions”, with diametrically opposed characters and perhaps for this very reason, attracted to each other, is therefore important. Furthermore, Leo, with his shady past, becomes the spokesperson for perhaps the most beautiful message of the manga: that is, that kindness should arise from strength, those who are not capable of doing so will be destined to continually overwhelm others to assert their own position. Being strong and kind is therefore one of the many teachings that the author wants to give us.

The Star Comics edition

The volume is a paperback with dust jacket, the cover it recalls exactly that of the original Japanese edition, the light pastel colors evoke an atmosphere of peace and tranquility. The volume has no editorials and has a color illustration on the front page from which it emerges a very clean and delicate coloringperfectly in line with the author's design.

The adaptation is very clear and free of obscure points. The notes sector, although scarce, goes to explain exhaustively all the elements that are specific to Japanese culture, together with the signs and signs of the premises in the backgrounds and settings. Finally, the layout also refers to the original one without leaving borders on the sides of the page, allowing the cartoons to reach the edge of the page giving the narrative with a wide emotional scope.

Who do we recommend The Two Lions to?

The Two Lions it's an excellent boy's love that tells a lot. We recommend the volume to all lovers of romance genres, especially to those who adore stories of love in the bud, that space made of insecurities and misunderstandings that are resolved only when it is understood that the desire is reciprocated.