By est em
Deux Press, 192 pp.
Rating: 18+ (Mature)

The short stories collected in Seduce Me After the Show are a melancholy lot. There’s the title story, featuring a dancer grieving for his mother and an actor who realizes he’s acting even when the camera isn’t running, one about a painter who finds inspiration in a gallery owner, a story of a young fan who spurs an aging rocker to play again, a pair of stories about two young men who might lose their home now that its owner has passed away, and a story about a man returning to Kyoto after a long absence. Some of them are not even yaoi, but all have the same wistful, slightly ambiguous quality.

Right up until I read the last story, I thought my favorite tale would end up being the title story about the dancer and the actor. It’s wonderfully told, with an ending I adore even as I wish there were more to read about these two. The final story has a similar feel. Keiji has come back to Kyoto to attend a festival and, while there, asks about an old friend of his. Gradually, the details of their parting are revealed and, I swear, the final page makes me sniffly.

I really like the art—the use of screentone and backgrounds is minimal, resulting in a largely black and white style. Some of the character designs are quite original, too. Theo, the dancer, looks more like Severus Snape than he does a typical manga character. One of the couples includes a guy in his fifties, which is practically unheard of in this genre. Lastly, I appreciate that est em takes the “artistically suggestive” route with the pair of love scenes; depicting things in exacting detail would detract from the emotional element.

Usually, I don’t notice things like paper or print quality, but the production values from Deux are good enough to attract my notice. The translated dialogue seems natural and though I had trouble a couple of times working out exactly what Theo meant, I think that’s just a facet of his character. There was one fairly glaring grammatical error, though. “You’re work has really matured.” Ugh.

Seduce Me After the Show is a character-driven collection featuring grown-up men dealing with their feelings for each other. There’s no blushing or glomping here, and though the stories may be short, they’re also original, thoughtful, and memorable. If you buy one yaoi title this year, buy this one. There’s another by est em due in December, though, so maybe make it two.

Seduce Me After the Show is available now. This is an expanded version of Michelle’s original review at Soliloquy in Blue.