Manga Review: Love in Limbo, Volume 2, by Haji

Rating (Out of 5): ~3.5

Publisher: SuBLime (VIZ Media)

Release Date: August 2019

Volumes: 2.

Spoilers?: No.

Buy it here: Amazon. Barnes and Noble Book Depository. RightStuf.

Volume: 1.

Goodreads Synopsis:

A poignant story of love and atonement in the afterworld.

Calen, the new reaper in Limbo, develops feelings for his purehearted caretaker, Makoto. But can love flourish in a place where even existence can be fleeting?

New reaper Calen has spent many a peaceful day with his friend and lover Makoto, protecting the people of Limbo. But one day, the time for Makoto’s father, Seishin, to be reincarnated comes. With him gone, the power sustaining Makoto—who is nothing more than an animated clay doll—will cease to exist. With his precious love’s dissolution looming, will Calen find a solution or be forced to watch as his lover returns to dust?

Review:

Calen and Makoto are settling in comfortably together, despite knowing the potential future ending, up until they're given a due date. This forces Calen to go on an adventure, on a mission to find the solution for Makoto's problem.

This reveals an interesting issue that the underworld has been ignoring/hiding, and that Calen gets to help with in the future. It's an interesting solution for Makoto, too; it's a bit odd but makes sense.

Aside from the serious matters in this volume, it was still a lot of fun. The characters are fun, including the side characters. I like the chemistry between our main couple, and there's some nice steamy scenes mixed in, as well. This was a really nice little series, with a nice ending, not rushed at all. Just sweet and steamy, with a nice afterlife plot thrown in.

Manga Review: Love in Limbo, Volume 1, by Haji

Rating (Out of 5): ~3.5

Publisher: SuBLime (VIZ Media)

Release Date: May 2019

Volumes: 2.

Spoilers?: No.

Buy it here: Amazon. Barnes and Noble. Book Depository. RightStuf.

Volume: 2.

Goodreads Synopsis:

A poignant story of love and atonement in the afterworld.

Calen, the new reaper in Limbo, develops feelings for his purehearted caretaker, Makoto. But can love flourish in a place where even existence can be fleeting?

Calen, who has no memory beyond being a soldier, begins his new life in Limbo with a caretaker named Makoto. To atone for his sins, Calen has been given the powers of a reaper and tasked with guiding and protecting the souls of the dead. As he works together with the purehearted Makoto, Calen begins to develop feelings for him. But will those feelings change once he learns Makoto's true nature?

Review:

I picked this one up pretty impulsively, as I wanted a good yaoi series to read. And I'm really glad I did. These series can be such hit-or-miss, it's hard to tell sometimes.

Calen, after losing the memory of his past life, ends up in the afterlife and is tasked as the reaper. Having no idea what sins he's paying for or how to do his new job, he meets sweet Makoto and the people living in limbo. Makoto is his caretaker, and has clear admiration for Calen from the get-go.

Makoto is a real happy-go-lucky sweetheart, and definitely my favorite character so far. His father is also in limbo with them, and I really enjoyed their relationship. It was also a nice dynamic to see, having Calen and Makoto's father get along and argue, especially when Calen and Makoto start their romance.

The romance itself is also real good. Calen is slower on the uptake, and he would have reasons to be hesitant and push Makoto away to save his own feelings, so I like that he doesn't do that. He decides to be with him to spite it all, to take what he can while he has the chance. It's nice to see Makoto so happy, too, as he clearly admires and likes Calen. The steamy parts are pretty good, too.

This was a really good first volume, and I'm looking forward to seeing what happens next between these two, even if it is just drama.