Thoughts on "The Turquoise Morning" and Boys' Love Manga

The Boys' Love (BL) genre is full of stereotypes that BL manga artists generally adhere to as they create often times less than average manga, but with the rise of authors such as Hidaka Shoko, Yamashita Tomoko, and Takarai Rihito, what I see is not only a rise in the quality of the works but also a departure from the conventions of the BL genre. I would like to talk about one short story in particular called "The Turquoise Morning," from Yamashita Tomoko's collection of short BL stories "Bara no Hitomi wa Bakudan."

"The Turquoise Morning" is a story about a photographer, Jed Knox, reminiscing about his time with the man he loved after heraing about his death. Jed was sent to the Middle East to document civilian soldiers through photographs, and while there he met and befriended Sabah, the leader of one of the soldier groups. The piece is told poetically in both visuals and words, with brief snapshots of their time together interluded with Jed's thoughts and feelings and their dialogue, all which clearly depicts the fondness they held for each other. The black backdrop, which is common for scenes depicting flashbacks in manga, also helps set the painfully nostalgic and depressing mood of the piece. Jed's yearning and unrequited love are clear from his thoughts and the way the memories are portrayed, and Sabah's love for Jed is clear as well, although it is perhaps not the same as Jed's love. The seriousness and tenderness with which the piece is told provokes one's thoughts and feelings, and by the end of the piece you will want to read it again to fully grasp what the author is trying to convey.

Yamashita Tomoko is part of what I consider to be a "new wave" of BL authors that seem to be adding a new layer of depth the the BL genre through their storytelling techniques and willingness to break from convention. What I love about this work is that her characters have a depth and substance to their feelings and thoughts that is, perhaps not realistic, but certainly plausible to any person, man or woman, in that character's given situation. Too often BL uses the fact that the two characters are men as an excuse for sex and fickle worries about dating because oh my gosh, they are both men!!! But I think one of the true and largely unused strengths of BL is in portraying a romantic relationship between equals full of not only love but respect for one another, and "The Turquoise Morning" is one story which, although short and brief, grasps upon this beautiful notion.

The rest of Yamashita's collection, although strong, is not nearly as insightful; most of them are light-hearted, fun, and unique in their own way, but "The Turquoise Morning" was definitely the most powerful of them all. Unfortunately, this manga has not been brought over to America yet, but you can buy the Japanese language version here and find more information about the manga here!