Love on the Horizon Volume 2 Review
I feel so greedy… wanting to be his first for everything… Yu thinking about Nagi
Arts university students Nagi Kitagawa and Yu Yamasaki have been going out together for half a year. They’re still in the early stages of their relationship and as shy Nagi has never dated anyone before, Yu has been deliberately taking things slowly, not wanting to initiate anything on the sexual side until Nagi fully understands what’s involved. But when Yu’s birthday comes around, Nagi is determined to give him a very special present.
A trip home to Nagi’s home (a traditional inn) leads to Nagi introducing Yu to his family as his boyfriend and Yu’s family make him welcome (even though little brother Wataru needs some convincing). Then Nagi’s twentieth birthday comes along and – now officially an adult, he can drink alcohol! Although overhearing when Yu greets an ex-girlfriend at a restaurant makes him uneasy as he remembers that Yu (a year older) is more experienced than he is.
As the academic year comes to an end, though, Nagi’s lease will need to be renewed – but Yu is a third year and will soon be graduating. Nagi doesn’t know how to broach the subject as he can’t assume that they’ll be able to stay together once Yu’s graduated. And Yu is – understandably – preoccupied with his final-year exhibition. Does this mean their relationship will have to come to an end?
This final volume contains not only Volume 2 of Love on the Horizon but also three extra stories and the digital extras, clocking in at a generous (and weighty) 384 pages (with four attractive colour pages at the end too)! And this day-to-day slice-of-life tale of two likable young men and their relationship makes for a pleasant read that you can dip in and out of, especially as the extras are self-contained short stories. First-time mangaka Machi Yamashita’s art-style is also pleasant to look at (as noted before, a little reminiscent of Minta Suzumaru – Golden Sparkle, Takara’s Treasure – but that’s a good role model to emulate) and not over-complicated.
However, I found myself wishing for something more. The sexual scenes are tastefully drawn and feel earned; Yu, the more experienced of the two, shows admirable self-restraint, not pushing Nagi to go further with the physical side until he’s ready to do so. Nagi is shown as surprisingly (in these days of the Internet) naïve and unaware when it comes to knowing how two men have sex and we follow him doing research online and then trying to reconcile what he’s read with the actual situation he’s in with Yu. As this manga is rated Older Teen, nothing too explicit is shown and as everything that takes place is consensual, there’s nothing to raise concerns. If anything, it’s all a little too nice – a little more drama wouldn’t have gone amiss as although we sympathize with Nagi’s worries for the future, Yu seems to be the ideal boyfriend and we never really fear that he’ll walk away. On the other hand, for readers looking for a feelgood story, it’s an ideal choice. Nagi’s family are very supportive too, another plus point for a Boys’ Love story set in present-day Japan.
The translation for Kodansha is again by Leo McDonagh, ably backed up by Nicole Roderick’s lettering; both work well to convey Yu and Nagi’s story to the reader. There are six generous pages of illustrated translation notes, as well as an afterword from the mangaka.
In its own quiet way, Love on the Horizon makes a pleasing addition to the Boys’ Love stories like The White and the Blue Between Us and Nagisa Furuya’s My Summer of You (both from Kodansha) that don’t rely on too much angst or melodrama to catch readers’ attentions but offer a soothing, optimistic portrait of a nascent relationship.
Our review copy from Kodansha was supplied by Diamond Book Distributors UK.
