The main story of this volume – about half the book – follows Ayumu, who grew up apart from his identical twin Atsushi. If, like me, that sentence makes you perk up thinking twincest is on the way, let me let you down gently right now: no dice. Atsushi has just died, and Ayumu has moved in with their mother and decided to take on as much of Atsushi’s identity as possible…even though he himself is really more of a trouble-making male hooker type than a goodie-two-shoes studious type. But Ayumu’s act is almost immediately seen through by his classmate Kirishima, whose nonchalant attitude ticks Ayumu off; cue their inevitable pairing.

Following this story is a case of long-lost childhood friends, one of whom has become a bitter and violent terror at his high school, which he blames on the other…then there’s the melancholy story of a reporter who gets a little too personally involved with his subject, the foster son of a famous artist. The final tale is a short horror piece, about a man who settles in a gloomy swamp area after the death of his wife.

The book’s title is a play on the game Othello, which has pieces that are white on one side and black on the other. In case the potential symbolism is lost on the reader, June makes sure to point it out in the blurb on the back: “tales both light and dark are neatly balanced in this book. Now, fancy a game of Othello?”

But in spite of that, I think the book leans decidedly more towards the dark than the light. Although the main tale ends reasonably contentedly, Ayumu has not exactly led a happy, cheerful life – he’s a bit screwy in the head and there’s very good reason for it. The childhood friends story is just kind of wacky; it was so over the top that I felt like it was supposed to be funny, but it really wasn’t especially…but it’s the only story in this volume that I would call “light.”



But the final two tales are definitely downright gloomy. Now, I don’t mean that as a bad thing, but if you’re looking for something sweet and fluffy to read in the park on a summer day, this isn’t it – I’d recommend this for more of a dark and stormy night kinda reading.

When I pay attention to it, the art is really quite nice, although nothing about it especially stands out. The pacing of the stories is well done, however, with the exception of the second tale, and possibly the fourth (which is awfully close to too short). The final story is also the only omake in the volume, except for some brief commentary by the author.

All in all, I’d call it a good purchase for someone who wants something a bit on the dark/emo side – but it might be a bit too much drama for some people, especially if they’re not in the right mood for it.

Mangaka: Hasumi Toui
Publisher: Juné Manga (Upcoming Releases | YaoiWiki Entry)
MSRP: $12.95
Censorship: N/A
Warnings: Sturm and drang and angst and gloom...
Disclosure: This was a free review copy, courtesy of Juné Manga.