jukebox_csi (![[personal profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/silk/identity/user.png)
jukebox_csi) wrote2007-07-26 10:22 pm
jukebox_csi) wrote2007-07-26 10:22 pm
Entry tags:
Review Corner: Thunderbolt Boys Excite
This one hasn't been posted at BOBOF yet, but I thought I'd go ahead and put it here.
Title: Thunderbolt Boys Excite
Mangaka: Asami Tojo
Publisher: Media Blasters
From the back cover of volume 1: There has been a scandal. Kodaka and Ritsu's faces have been plastered all over the tabloids, so their modeling agency thinks it's a good idea to send them somewhere while things cool down. Someplace far away, out in the wilderness. Just the two of them...and Ritsu's hot tutor...maybe they can learn a thing or two from someone with a little...experience?
Even though I had read some less than stellar comments and reviews on various forums regarding the presentation and confusing plot, I decided to give this series a chance. Perhaps the primary reason that I wanted to like the series so much is because I enjoyed the prequel Denkou Sekka Boys. Thunderbolt Boys Excite (T.B.E. for short, also known as Chouhatsu - Denkou Sekka Boys) is the sequel to the original three volume series. I'm unclear as to why Media Blasters did not license the first series, though I suspect it may have something to do with the lack of explicit sexual scenes and the fact that the characters/story initially takes place in high school. With that thought in mind, I could understand why some people might have found the plot in T.B.E. to be rather confusing, since it is a continuation from the first series. I purchased both volumes simultaneously, though my second volume came in long before the first. After patiently waiting for the first volume to arrive, I was finally able to sit down with the plan to read both books back-to-back. I was greatly disappointed. Not only was the story
as confusing as others had mentioned, despite having read the prequel, but it was riddled with mistakes.
T.B.E. follows two couples through the world of fashion modeling. The primary focus of both series is on Ritsu Yasaka, a beautiful and wealthy successor to the Yasaka conglomerate, and the pretty, yet moronic and clumsy Natsui Kodaka. Volume one of T.B.E. picks up where the initial series ended, with Kodaka and Ritsu having been caught on camera sharing an intimate embrace. As both are up-and-coming models in training, not to mention Ritsu's position as heir to the group, the agency to which they are contracted decides to send them to camp until the publicity over the leaked pictures blows over. Once in camp, angst ensues as Kodaka continually questions Ritsu's love for him. His lack of self-confidence and constant doubts of their relationship, coupled with his general naivete, throughout both volumes is over the top to the point of annoying. I found myself rolling my eyes regularly and echoing Ritsu's
sentiment of "here we go again". Throw in a few bad situations with outsiders determined to split the couple, as well as the best friend and his sullen lover who also get caught up in a potential gang rape scenario, and it makes for quite a crazy ride before we finally see if Ritsu and Kodaka consummate their relationship. The story itself seems like one long, drawn out PWP (short for plot-what-plot) in that there really is no plot. But, there is a lot of sex and the book dutifully earns it's 'Mature - Adult Only' ratings.
The books themselves are a mess. Volume one in particular has all kinds of flaws - pages cut so sharp that some bubbles have only part of the words, repeating pages, missing pages, pages out of place. There are also quite a few grammatical mistakes within the book. Some cringe worthy examples of poor quality control and proofing include:
"This isn't the time to realx, Natsui."
"I wonder what Ritsu sees in this simply boy..."
"Why are you looking at?"
"I have to finish the as homework..."
It almost seems like the books were rushed to print in an attempt to release them to the consumer as soon as possible. Or, maybe Media Blasters simply did not wish to spend any time on proofing and quality control. Perhaps the worst flaw in volume one is the now infamous missing pages. Rather than offer to exchange the books with a 'second printing' with corrected pages, they simply chose to make the missing pages available at the back of volume two, with the instructions to place them over-top pages 40 and 51 in the first volume. This, of course, would entail tearing the pages out of the second book to tape or glue into the first book - a fact that causes my expression to contort into something akin to horror.
In general, I probably would not recommend someone waste their money on this title if they were looking for a quality story with depth. But, if you are simply looking for a lot of sex and fluids in your boy love, or need to find resolution after spending time with the first series, and you don't mind the presentation mistakes, then this just may be the one for you.
Title: Thunderbolt Boys Excite
Mangaka: Asami Tojo
Publisher: Media Blasters
From the back cover of volume 1: There has been a scandal. Kodaka and Ritsu's faces have been plastered all over the tabloids, so their modeling agency thinks it's a good idea to send them somewhere while things cool down. Someplace far away, out in the wilderness. Just the two of them...and Ritsu's hot tutor...maybe they can learn a thing or two from someone with a little...experience?
Even though I had read some less than stellar comments and reviews on various forums regarding the presentation and confusing plot, I decided to give this series a chance. Perhaps the primary reason that I wanted to like the series so much is because I enjoyed the prequel Denkou Sekka Boys. Thunderbolt Boys Excite (T.B.E. for short, also known as Chouhatsu - Denkou Sekka Boys) is the sequel to the original three volume series. I'm unclear as to why Media Blasters did not license the first series, though I suspect it may have something to do with the lack of explicit sexual scenes and the fact that the characters/story initially takes place in high school. With that thought in mind, I could understand why some people might have found the plot in T.B.E. to be rather confusing, since it is a continuation from the first series. I purchased both volumes simultaneously, though my second volume came in long before the first. After patiently waiting for the first volume to arrive, I was finally able to sit down with the plan to read both books back-to-back. I was greatly disappointed. Not only was the story
as confusing as others had mentioned, despite having read the prequel, but it was riddled with mistakes.
T.B.E. follows two couples through the world of fashion modeling. The primary focus of both series is on Ritsu Yasaka, a beautiful and wealthy successor to the Yasaka conglomerate, and the pretty, yet moronic and clumsy Natsui Kodaka. Volume one of T.B.E. picks up where the initial series ended, with Kodaka and Ritsu having been caught on camera sharing an intimate embrace. As both are up-and-coming models in training, not to mention Ritsu's position as heir to the group, the agency to which they are contracted decides to send them to camp until the publicity over the leaked pictures blows over. Once in camp, angst ensues as Kodaka continually questions Ritsu's love for him. His lack of self-confidence and constant doubts of their relationship, coupled with his general naivete, throughout both volumes is over the top to the point of annoying. I found myself rolling my eyes regularly and echoing Ritsu's
sentiment of "here we go again". Throw in a few bad situations with outsiders determined to split the couple, as well as the best friend and his sullen lover who also get caught up in a potential gang rape scenario, and it makes for quite a crazy ride before we finally see if Ritsu and Kodaka consummate their relationship. The story itself seems like one long, drawn out PWP (short for plot-what-plot) in that there really is no plot. But, there is a lot of sex and the book dutifully earns it's 'Mature - Adult Only' ratings.
The books themselves are a mess. Volume one in particular has all kinds of flaws - pages cut so sharp that some bubbles have only part of the words, repeating pages, missing pages, pages out of place. There are also quite a few grammatical mistakes within the book. Some cringe worthy examples of poor quality control and proofing include:
"This isn't the time to realx, Natsui."
"I wonder what Ritsu sees in this simply boy..."
"Why are you looking at?"
"I have to finish the as homework..."
It almost seems like the books were rushed to print in an attempt to release them to the consumer as soon as possible. Or, maybe Media Blasters simply did not wish to spend any time on proofing and quality control. Perhaps the worst flaw in volume one is the now infamous missing pages. Rather than offer to exchange the books with a 'second printing' with corrected pages, they simply chose to make the missing pages available at the back of volume two, with the instructions to place them over-top pages 40 and 51 in the first volume. This, of course, would entail tearing the pages out of the second book to tape or glue into the first book - a fact that causes my expression to contort into something akin to horror.
In general, I probably would not recommend someone waste their money on this title if they were looking for a quality story with depth. But, if you are simply looking for a lot of sex and fluids in your boy love, or need to find resolution after spending time with the first series, and you don't mind the presentation mistakes, then this just may be the one for you.