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(More customer reviews)In case you were wondering, yes, Hero Heel will be a multi-volume series, as glaringly evident in the sadistic cliffhanger Tateno throws at us at the end of the volume. However, when we will see the next volume is in question. Hero Heel was published only last year in Japan, so the fact that we received it so quickly here, as wonderful as that is, only means that we now have to wait for the subsequent volumes to be released there before we will see them ourselves.
Anyway, this Yaoi series is Makoto Tateno's follow-up to her widely popular (and one of my favorite) series, Yellow. This is evident in the character and panel designs, as well as in her unique style of arranging dialogue and thoughts. This is essentially where the similarities end, though. Minami (the Taki of Hero Heel) is quite different from the uke character in Tateno's previous work. He comes to terms with his attraction to Sawada (the Goh of Hero Heel) much more quickly, and is actually the one who pursues the relationship. Sawada for his part is a colder customer, and while he is equally as open about his sexuality as his Yellow predecessor, he is not nearly as charismatic (so far, anyway).
If you haven't read Yellow and have no clue what I am talking about, not to worry. These two series have nothing to do with each other aside from having the same author (though I wouldn't complain about seeing any of the Yellow cast show up in this series; like maybe Kazuki, the actor from volume 2? *nudge nudge?*). Hero Heel is about a young actor, Minami Masaki, who on a whim auditions for a role in a super hero TV series, and suprisingly for him, gets cast as the lead. His co-star, Sawada Kazuomi, is an experienced actor who sees right through Minami's apathy about the role and works to bring out Minami's talent as an actor, however coldly he goes about it. Minami is subesequently drawn ever closer to Sawada, despite the fact that he has never been attracted to a man before. The writing is a testament to Tateno's skill in creating serious emotional tension with not only action sequences and dialogue, but also self-reflection of the main character.
My complaints are few. First, there is the presentation of Minami's playboy image. This is not drawn out at all, only sort of thrown in at the end to explain his coming to terms with his feelings about love and sex up to this point. It could have been done better, and I hope Tateno has plans to flesh this aspect of the character out in future volumes. Second, is the repetition of character designs. For those familiar with Yellow, the character designs are very much the same, and while I like the style very much (the way Tateno draws eyes is simply gorgeous), Sawada and Minami look basically like Goh and Taki with different hairstyles. It is also difficult in parts to distinguish some of the characters from each other. The two supporting actors who are introduced later in the volume look very similar to Sawada and Minami themselves, and if you aren't paying attention to what is going on you might get lost as to who is who.
My last complaint is in the very rushed feel of Minami's feelings towards Sawada. Sawada makes the claim first that Minami is attracted to him and Minami of course denies it, but even when Minami realizes it is true, we are left without a satisfactory explaination as to how it came to be. His feelings are explained towards the end satisfactorily, but throughout most of the volume we are left in the dark about how Minami is really feeling. It isn't until he goes out for drinks with some other cast members and suddenly realizes his feelings and rushes to see Sawada that we get any real information, and even then it is sort of out of nowhere.
In a way, after being made to wait so long in Yellow for some kind of resolution to the relationship between the main characters, having it happen so quickly in this series is refreshing, but neither man really has time to come to terms with what is happening between them before it gets out of hand. Then again, this aspect adds a certain element of realism and tension in itself, and leads up to the emotional climax of the volume very well. The writing really shines in the last pages of this volume. After Minami desperately acts out his desires for Sawada his emotional breakdown is refreshingly responsible and realistic. Neither man is incredibly likable at the beginning of the story, and while neither character does anything to make us "love" them as people, we can see bits and pieces of their humanity in the mistakes they make and the ways in which they treat each other. Since this is Tateno we are talking about we can only assume things will be resolved in future volumes. The reasons for Sawada's cold attitude towards Minami are forthcoming and Minami's growth as an actor and human being are already seeded in volume 1.
The temptation is there to compare this series to Nitta's Embracing Love series, but really, aside from the fact that both stories are about actors, there is really no comparison. If you liked Tateno's style in Yellow I guarantee you will like Hero Heel, though. If you are new to Tateno's work, I would still recommend this series (as well as Yellow). If you are new to Yaoi as a genre, this title has some graphic images towards the end, but Tateno's style is more romantic and less physical than others, though you do get a very good idea about what is going on, so in a way it might be a decent way to introduce you to it. In all, I definitely recommend this title.
Click Here to see more reviews about: Hero Heel Volume 1 (Yaoi) (v. 1)
Minami is a young actor who has been cast as the main character of a super-hero TV program. Although he takes the job half heartedly, thinking of it as a mere children's show, he's soon taken by the talent of his costar, Sawada. One day, Minami stumbles upon Sawada kissing a man! Deeply confused, he's unable to hide his growing attraction for him. A hero's love is always filled with trials!
Click here for more information about Hero Heel Volume 1 (Yaoi) (v. 1)
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