About Love (Yaoi) Paperback – February 7, 2012

I actually wasn't pleased about this yaoi. The story took WAY too long and there were random misunderstandings and not speaking for a month because of courage...It just wasn't my cup of tea and I couldn't believe I paid $12 for it.PlotA wedding planner falls for a former client when he sends an anniversary gift. The client leads him on that his marriage is a happy one. There are a lot of misunderstandings and I didn't click with the characters. I'm sure some people with disagree with me, and the one positive thing I found was that it was a one shot with a long build up and I haven't read many of those. If you like the ultra shy man (like spends a month without speaking to the one he likes because of a disagreement) and a snail like romance you will enjoy this, for those of you on the fence borrow it from a friend or library before making the $ commitment.

I've been eyeing this book since last year, about one or two months after it came out. I read the summary and instantly knew that it was the kind of yaoi manga that I would be into.Asaka, a wedding coordinator, loves his job and has always remembered the first couple that he ever organized a wedding for, the Sasagawas, as the perfect couple. They were his first job, and even though he wasn't satisfied with his mistakes in planning their wedding, they were kind, good-natured people. Years later, Asaka meets Mr. Sasagawa again by chance, and is glad to find that he is still married. They find friendship in each other.As the story developed, more on Mr. Sasagawa is revealed. He is kind, and even though he has the appearance of a steady guy, he is very reckless and emotionally fragile. (There's a revelation that I won't go into because of spoilers, but it's foreshadowed nicely in the beginning chapter.)It has a nicely done story line. I like the premise, and I enjoy how the characters grow closer together and struggles in dealing with their changing relationship. Character building is solid.I've seen many reviews saying that the art is not much to fawn over, and they're right. The art is very simple, and I didn't like it at first, to be honest. It's very ordinary, but goes with the atmosphere of the manga. I find it fitting that Osaka and Sasagawa are just ordinary working men, not particularly good looking or attract many romantic prospects (like many romance manga like to do).It's a manga that needs to be read slowly. There are manga that you would read because it's dramatic and wild and has love triangles and explicit sex. This is not the manga. It's about ordinary, everyday people falling in love.

Hmmm. What to say about this book?! Art: not the most florid, but it did match the tone of the story. Story: slow to build up and then a little anticlimactic, but feels very real in a way. It took a second reading to really get into this book but I do appreciate it. Don't expect explicit sex scenes here, it is more of an emotionally charged book.Disliked: the cheating from one of the guys. His character is so weak! So yeah, that happens. He's unlikeable but relatable. While the other stands up for what he wants and is true to himself. You should give this title a shot. I don't regret I did.

Centered on wedding planner Asaka and his unusual relationship with his first client, About Love is a BL manga that contains multiple levels of conflict, complexity and character development. The story is well-plotted and includes dramatic revelations that genuinely surprise but are rooted in the layered and very real emotional repression and conflicted desires of these characters. Unlike many other yaoi, the characters here are deeply flawed. They can be vindictive, clumsy, selfish and unattractive in their attempts to love one and other or express that love. And the causes of their connections and disconnections can be layered and/or subtle (and frustrating). One of this manga's greatest strengths is its ability to get the reader emotionally invested in its characters and story.Also unlike many other yaoi, real issues pertinent to the gay community are tackled (gay marriage, marrying to stay in the closet, starting a family as a gay person, etc). Most of the story, however, focuses on the development of the central characters' relationship, their deepening bond, but we can see these characters have lives outside of this relationship, which is deftly mirrored in the challenges Asaka encounters in his job (wedding planning). The only reason I think people complain about this story being "slow" is because it doesn't focus on sex or romance, but rather, on the complex relationship at its center and the development of conflict and theme.The only let-down for me in this manga was its abrupt and unsatisfying ending. Otherwise, it is a stellar graphic BL manga- and perhaps more proof that a writer-artist duo can often result in better developed plot and characters in yaoi.

I'm late to the party on this title, and I can only say that with the deepest regret. With its complicated characters and slow-building romance, About Love is absolutely my type of BL. Mangaka Narise Konohara weaves an unlikely love story between two seemingly unremarkable characters--a fresh-faced newlywed and the insecure young wedding planner who discovers the truth behind his smile--and she does it with the utmost subtlety and care. From its expressive, melancholy cover to the very last page, About Love is thoughtful, moody, and stunningly poignant. The only downside is that this title is not yet available digitally, but if any recent BL title is worth the shelf space, this is it. Highly recommended.: [...] Read more

Nice

Wanted to read this for awhile, and it didn't disappoint! Loved the couple, loved the different topics that come up within Sasagawa's marriage.. It was a great read! Glad to have it in my collection at last!

It was lovely to read. I liked the relationship development they both had. I recommend reading it.

The story is dragged on at some parts, and it progresses very slowly. But that makes it distincts from other manga, and I kinda like it. It's neither excellent nor completely boring, just a good enough read. The characters are not likeable but pretty realistic.