"The Imperial Army’s Love Academy" was very disappointing.  In keeping with Mizukami’s general style, this is a very smutty piece of hard shota, set within an historical context.  All of this is well and good if that’s what you’re looking for, and Mizukami is a champion at it.  Where Love Academy breaks down, however, is its attempt to have a plot.  What we have here is a threadbare framework of what attempts to be story, character, and relationships, attempting to support a porno, by an artist who is very good at the porno thing. 

The arc of the “romance” at work here is definitely cringeworthy, and this is by yaoi standards.  Unhealthy relationships are nothing new, unexpected, or even necessarily objectionable in our genre, but this one really takes the cake.  We watch an adult, Onizuka, not only prey relentlessly on a child in a sexual sense, but also break him down on a personal, petty level.  The child, Yamato, becomes more and more isolated until rather abruptly coming to “love” Onizuka.  Handled more competently this could make for an interesting psychological story, but it’s all played totally genuine and without nuance, so the resulting relationship seems tacked on, absurd, and boring.  In addition, it’s a bit offensive the way Yamato’s pain seems to dry up suddenly along with the last of his personal boundaries and the self respect he has doggedly clung to throughout the story.  Again, I realize this is nothing at all unusual, but in the case of Love Academy, this trope is especially poorly handled. 

Love Academy essentially opens with our hero Yamato, an underdeveloped teenager, being raped by his adult superior officer in a pitch black room.  This is the first of several highly explicit and well rendered sex scenes, which are hot despite censorship.  This is where Mizukami Sensei really shines; In the depiction of young boys being brutalized.  Their style is very unique and quite lovely, one can tell Mizukami’s work immediately.  The characters have interesting features, though there is one mustache that needs to be killed with fire, and if you look at some crowd scenes everyone’s identical.  This is not the only time Mizukami has used a vaguely period military setting. The world building in this book is generally unsuccessful, though the uniforms are very nicely rendered, as are the human forms in general, and the toning is great.  Visually this is a very good work.

Overall I can’t recommend The Imperial Army’s Love Academy.  Yaoi fans have high levels of patience for ridiculous relationships and terrible plots, but in the case of this book the “story” is actually bad enough to negate the good things about it.

Review By: Dot Ringo

With Juné Manga's upcoming "yabara" kickstarter project, winter anime hits like "Yuri on Ice," and psychological online manga like "Killing Stalking," the definition of "yaoi" has become much more of a grey area.

At its core, yaoi is defined as romantic relationships between two male characters. These stories are predominantly made by women for women. Beginning in the 70s, the boys love genre would depict "bishounen," or pretty boys, having platonic relationships with one another (what some would consider "shounen ai" today). These would progress into more explicit contents in fan made doujinshi, slowly becoming regularized in the manga form as well. 

For many years yaoi was not considered "gay manga" as it did not depict homosexual relationships in realistic ways. Intending it to be a fantasy, mangakas would create overly dramatic plot lines, features, and content that would never be found in the real world. These fantasies appealed and catered to the female aesthetic and desires much more than males, thus male readers grew to have a distaste, and even offense, for the genre.

"Bara" was created as the male counterpart to yaoi, made by males for males. Instead of having feminine features, these men are extremely muscular and hairy. Exchanging less plot for more sexual fantasy, the contents are mostly explicit. 

In more recent years, the blending of the two genres has been occurring more and more. Moving away from stereotyped plots like dubious consent or overly feminized men, modern changes such as this have started to resonate with both fujoshi fans and the LGBTQ community. Many authors are now exchanging these known yaoi tropes into more realistic human relationships with plots such as traumatic pasts and less social taboo. Works by artists such as Sakira, who draws very muscular bara men with plenty of sexual content, have grabbed the attention of both sets of fans for her ability of comedic storytelling and unique art style. 

With modern streaming and subscription services, the ability to watch and read online with same day releases has caused anime and manga fans alike to flock to these digital sources. The blending of cultures and fans has caused both positive and negative effects for the yaoi, LGBTQ, and general otaku communities.

Last season's hit anime "Yuri on Ice" caused a rift with these communities and sparked debate on what the definition of yaoi truly is and where does one draw the line. Modernizing the yaoi genre and getting rid of social stigmas can cause people to argue "is it yaoi?" or "is it just a relationship that happens to be homosexual?" Some have come to define modern yaoi that if the relationship between the two males is the main plot source for the story, then yes it is a yaoi. If there are much larger plot points and two characters happen to be homosexual, then it is just a subplot romance, thus not a yaoi.

It has truly become a definition in the eyes of each personal reader. Where someone draws the line may vastly vary to someone else based on their upbring, lifestyle, or even just their personal taste. The best part about having an expanding grey area are the debates themselves, if done in healthy open minded settings. Talking about issues and social awareness can be massively helpful and healthy when done under the right circumstances. Now while this is not always done in the most positive ways, as most any disagreement can lend itself to, the community itself still encourages everyone to be as respectful and open minded to any and all. 

Whether you spell it yaoi, yai, yoai, or simply yaoi, the big question is: where do yaoi comics go from here? With an ever expanding yet smaller world, there are thousands of plots, artists, and genres to choose from. Whether you enjoy the beautiful bishounen, muscular baras, or even a blend of both, chances are there is a story out there just for you. 

Brothers Kei and Shinobu are both part of their school’s swim team. One day, while pining after his brother, Shinobu is approached by the team’s star swimmer, Kuji, and sent for a wild ride. Kuji uses Shinobu’s body in any way he pleases anytime and anywhere. Shinobu has had enough, but allows his torment to continue in order to protect his brother.

As Shinobu and Kuji start to become close, Kei reveals his own love for Kuji along with another startling surprise. Meanwhile, a new student enters the swim team and begins to form a bond with Kei. Can this new swimmer replace Kuji in Kei’s heart or will the love triangle continue?

"The Imperial Army's Love Academy" tells the story of Yamato's journey through military school during World War II. The story starts out very silly with Yamato soon becoming the prey of captain Onizuka's uniform fetish. Like many of Mizukami's works, the beginning storyline is highly sexualized and comedic. As the story progresses, however, it begins to have deeper character developments and an actual romance. The reader is left with a genuine feeling of love felt between the two main characters.

If a historical, smutty romance is your thing, then this is the title for you!

What's better than the gift of yaoi? (◞ꈍ∇ꈍ)◞⋆**✚⃞ྉ Spread the holiday cheer with some long awaited Juné manga restocks. These BL classics will go fast so be sure to grab a copy for you and a friend!

Apple and Honey

Castle Mango

Yorozu lives at Castle Mango, a "love hotel" where couples pay for a few hours to themselves. But his quiet life is violated when Togame arrives to shoot an adult film! Soon Yorozu's being "mistaken" for an actor, having his pants suddenly removed and watching his little brother get hit on. Togame eventually agrees to stay away from Yorozu's brother, but there's a catch - and it's not something Yorozu's going to like!

No Touching At All

 Does the Flower Blossom? Volume 2

When Sakurai's small world is taken over by a strange and otherworldly young painter, he can't tell if the fascination is mutual. Will a man with a battered heart welcome a mysterious new friend with open arms? Does the Flower Blossom? mixes curious attraction and feisty friendship to create a picture-perfect tale! Can two men with wildly different histories put their pasts aside and grow in the light of new love?

S: Afterglow Volume 4

At the end of S volume 3, detective Masaki Shiiba was last seen running away from the hospital room of his injured S, Keigo Munechika. Now, Shiiba has turned in his resignation, bought a gun of his own, and is bent on only one mission—to kill Takanari Godou. He vows to get the truth from Godou, even if he has to throw away his morals and life to do it. But can he do it? Can he shoot another person and commit cold-blooded murder for revenge?