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Sudou has certain vulnerabilities and issues, but he also has a life, and it is his positive side that attracts Hirokawa's interest. To the extent that you have opposite views, finding enjoyable titles in this lineup might be a bit difficult. Sudou's past traumas are nicely human-sized -- the ordinary life experiences which do cause lasting hurt in real people -- rather than some extreme horror story.The love scenes are completely consensual and mutual - nothing even remotely borderline. If you want a decent story into the bargain, even more so. He is nurturing without being infantilizing, generous instead of needy, vulnerable without being a sap. This occasionally obscures the meaning temporarily ("Are you feeling numb." turns out to mean "Are you cold.") but sometimes obliterates it altogether, which means I had to settle for merely getting the gist of the conversation. Konno does cut corners with some panels, but clear care is taken with others, and the faces are really expressive.
The workplace setting and supporting characters are unusually well-realized for the genre, but could have used further development. It does have a few flaws - mostly the translation, which strikes me as hasty and overly literal. Konno admits that she doesn't know much about the work that these characters do, which was obvious. Another big plus is that STAR tells the whole story in chronological order, from beginning to end, in one thick volume, with no filler side stories.
While DMP June's "Yaoi" lineup is supposed to be romance and/or erotica, the values underlying much of their output seems to be as follows: Sex is filthy and degrading; Those who feel desire or inspire passion in others are "asking for it"; Love excuses abuse, and cruelty is synonymous with virility. I appreciated the more masculine build of the characters, and Hirokawa's trace of beard: But this goes deeper than appearance. Hirokawa ACTS like a man, with warm strength instead of cheap aggression. He does not "set out to seduce" Sudou but to befriend him, and falls for him in the process. The simple guy-meets-guy plot has an underlying complexity. STAR does have the usual fixed-sex-role cliché, with Sudou sulking about being "the girl", but this is never used to justify demeaning treatment, and the relationship ends up feeling the opposite of emasculating.The supporting cast includes women and straight guys, with a nice sense of simmering tensions and rivalries at the office, and camaraderie among Sudou's bandmates. STAR is my reward for not giving up on DMP -- not only an exception, but actually something of a antidote to the mental trauma of slogging through some of their other titles. This allows -- for once -- real surrender and intimacy, and results in an unusual emotional and erotic intensity.
Everything important, however, STAR gets right. I for one really loved the artwork. The sexual content is among the strongest I have come across in an M rated comic, yet its inclusion seems organic, and important to the progress of the relationship.
w/ one of the main characters' beard which is very unusual for yaoi and much appreciated, and there are also more sex scenes than the average yaoi. konno's art in general is bolder than most other yaoi books (somewhat similar to yugi yamada's work), with heavy lines and a more rugged feel overall. i hadn't realized this was by the same mangaka as words of devotion. as for the story, honestly it's rather hard to follow and there are a lot of gaps in the character development, but on the second read you'll be able to enjoy the story much more. the art is similar to words of devotion, but as the features an older cast the artwork is even more focused and intense, which may not appeal to the average reader. i enjoyed it though, esp. despite the sometimes awkward writing konno still manages to conjure up some interesting emotions, and if you can accept that the writing isn't perfect and if you're looking for some less-standard yaoi artwork this is def. one worth checking out.
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