By Hashida Yukari
Published by Digital Manga Publishing
Rating: 18+

In feudal Japan, Konosuke was the lord of the manor and Kageya was his faithful page and lover. When the castle goes up in flames, the two make a vow that, no matter what, they will meet again in another life. In the present, they meet again. This time Konosuke is in the body of a high school boy whose family is dead and fortune lost, and the only person he has in the world is Kageya, his attendant.

I had read a plot summary of this several months back and was torn since a plot like this could go either way. While embarrassingly romantic stories can come of lovers meeting back up over time (i.e. The Devil’s Trill), the silly gags that come from culture shock in the modern world aren’t usually to my liking. Thankfully, Kabuki is more the former than the latter, and the culture shock is more of a negative, frustrating block for Konosuke than it is something for the reader to laugh at.

Kabuki also does a good job of juggling the past and the present, as well as the lives of both Konosuke and Kageya. For their souls to have entered their present bodies, the souls in the present had to “die” first, so both enter their bodies suddenly after being in major accidents. Kageya reaches the present years before Konosuke, and is older than him in body as well. The longer, more involved chapters all take place in the present, but there are many, many flashbacks to feudal Japan. The contrast is most striking in Konosuke, who went from being a powerful, older, and in-charge lord in the past to a confused teenager getting pushed around by Kageya in the present. The last chapter in both books focuses entirely on Kageya and his life in the present before Konosuke’s soul arrived.

It’s romantic stuff, and it does a good job with all its talk of “destined lovers.” Kageya and Konosuke are a genuinely romantic couple, and their grief at having died together in the past makes their love in the present that much more desperate and romantic. Kageya is emotionally remote, and a very Yoshinaga-like character, never revealing what he thinks and constantly going for the awkward, knowing pauses when having to deal with emotional situations with Konosuke. Kageya is also very aware of his position, as the one in the couple that has his bearings in the present times, he needs to “re-establish” the family of his fallen lord and keep them apart until Konosuke grows a bit older so as not to cause a scandal. Conversely, Konosuke is very passionate and needy, constantly seeking support from Kageya and not getting it. He’s all the more frustrated after being such a strong character in the past, as well.

The chapters do have some ongoing plot (the education of Konosuke, a few ongoing characters and situations), but they are largely one-shots dealing with topics like Konosuke’s life in the present before his “soul” returned, a chapter each for characters romantically interested in both Konosuke and Kageya, chapters dealing with family members and other relations in the present… things like that. All are fairly decent stories, but some may grow tired of the fact that most of it comes down to Konosuke whining for Kageya. Those looking for more spice might be initially disappointed by the fact that Kageya is true to his word, but there is plenty of romantic innuendo, and since this is a yaoi, the inevitable comes, and is even more touching since they had to wait for it.

This is a solid series with likable, romantic characters and interesting stories to go along with them. It veered far enough away from standard yaoi formulas to more than keep my interest through two volumes straight, and while the plot isn’t going anywhere concrete right now, I’d be more than happy to pick up future volumes.

Volumes one and two of Kabuki are available now.

Review copies provided by the publisher.