.. this was... THE BEST yaoi have ever read. It has surpassed all the hundreds of yaoi I’ve ever read and has reached number one by miles. Truly a masterpiece. This has everything I’m looking for in a (romance) story. The drama, the dark moments, the fluff. The themes are balanced and well done.
One aspect I love is that though the uke and seme both have dark pasts (especially seme-san), they are able to look forward. They each accept that there is nothing they can do to change the past, so they resolve to look to the future instead. A future with each other, one where they are both happy.
Another thing is how they are so reliant and in love with each other. Both are each other’s greatest weakness, but also each other’s greatest strength. I love that the seme only has eyes for the uke and has been gentle towards him ever since their first meeting. He has never once forced anything on him, always asks for consent first, and never allows anyone to lay a finger on him.
As for the uke. Damn. I really like him. I never thought I’d meet an uke who is so understanding and loving. Despite knowing the seme’s past and line of work, he stays with him through thick and thin. It is exactly this that has become the seme’s salvation. What I love most about this uke is that (unlike other stupid ass ukes in almost every yaoi (and many shounen ai) ever) he makes decisions that count for both of them’s happiness. He doesn’t selfishly leave the seme for reasons like “he’d be better without me” or “this is for the best”, ignoring the seme’s feelings and hurting the seme in the process. He properly things everything through, and also faces the seme fully and without reserve. He always manages to ease the seme’s insecurities.
I am honestly happy that the uke has not once left the seme. Just like that president lady said, he is indeed seme-san’s greatest weakness. But seeing that he is also the seme’s greatest strength, he doesn’t let outside influences affect his judgment, and properly sticks up for the seme at all times. If he had left the seme, I feel like that would have been it, and seme-san really would have broken down once and for all; his mental state would have taken a hard hit, and I’m not sure he’d be able to recover easily, if even at all.
This story was wrapped up quite nicely. I can’t even begin to describe all the things I like about this. Well. I like everything about it. That last line in the ending (before the special chapters) was a nice, poetic touch: “to me, you are like ‘a thousand cranes’”. How brilliant of the author to tie in the title like that, so beautifully.
Sigh. I could write a ten or so pages on the brilliance and magnificence of this story, but amma stop here (or maybe if I think of something else, I’ll add it in).
Mangaka-san, good job. You are an amazing writer, keep up the good work~
A Thousand Cranes