By Taishi Zaou (aka Mikiyo Tsuda)
Digital Manga Publishing, 191 pp.
Rating: 16+ (Young Adult)

In this collection of loosely related short stories, we meet four couples with two stories each. The first is a pair of boys that realize their feelings for one another after one admits to having a major hand fetish. The second “pair” involves a classmate of the first two boys who must deal with his two stepbrothers fighting over him at home. A very similar situation appears between a slightly different couple in the next story, and Zaou apologizes for the copy. The final couple, whose stories are slightly more steamy than the others, comes together after one seduces the other simply by staring.

This is interesting as a look at Mikiyo Tsuda’s very early work, but she herself admits the stories are rather boring and suit her very specific tastes in boys’ love (apparently her favorite types of stories are brother stories, twincest, and couples with huge age differences). I do not share her interests, and since the stories are little more than one-dimensional characters walking through basic yaoi situations, there isn’t much for me to like here. Even the hand fetish couple at the beginning, as much as I liked the gimmick and the jokes surrounding it, doesn’t work very well due to weak storytelling and a lack of chemistry between the pair.

In its defense, this volume is more a comedy than a romance, so the romance is very tame. The steamiest parts are some kisses in dark panels that look like they lead elsewhere, an implied sex scene or two that is skipped over and not discussed, and some sex discussed between the final pair of the volume. As a warning, there is some light shota in this volume, but it’s nearly impossible to take seriously since it features an oddly persistent twelve-year-old-boy unsuccessfully vying for his new stepbrother, in direct competition with his own older brother. The story acknowledges how ridiculous that is, and doesn’t even try to make the pairs successful.

The later stories that copy the same formula (sans the brother relationship and with a boy who doesn’t look or act his age) are slightly more serious. They are still comedic: the mood remains light and little more than a kiss is ever shown (though more is implied). In both cases, there’s a four-year age gap in the couple (and one year separating the slightly older brother from the stepbrother being antagonized). I was still shocked and saddened to see that particular sub-genre represented in this volume since it’s not something I ever wanted to read.

The one thing Zaou does well is throw in variations on the dominant character types, and she occasionally mentions that she wanted the stories to play out a bit differently, which sometimes would have made for funnier results. The best part of the volume, and one of the reasons I continually read Zaou/Tsuda’s work, are her very entertaining side strips and commentary scattered throughout the volume. Her insight is always both funny and interesting. This time, it not only sheds light on the stories, but also goes into some detail about her early career. The only reason this book got a C- was because these commentaries informed the stories and made them just a bit more interesting.

Overall, I would say even most yaoi fans could give this a pass, but if the story types sound interesting and you’re easy to please, it might be worth a look. Otherwise, unless you really love seeing Tsuda’s author commentary, you’ll probably want to stay away.

Electric Hands is available now.

Review copy provided by the publisher.