Title: Going to Hell
Author: TSUZUKI Shun
My Evaluation: C (Good)
Though I usually avoid “BL (Boy’s Love)” comics, I ran across this title in the very category, simply because it was digitally offered free for a limited period of time by the publisher. And guess what? I was rather moved by the story, in spite of the clumsy art far from flamboyance and the fact that almost all characters were gay. It is because Going to Hell deals with the serious love between two actors who are both very talented in different style. Their love is unseparatable with the sincere respect to each other’s talent, and the respect is after all gender-free.
Some homosexual expression is included but it is modest and minimal.
Story:
Kaura met Kuzuu when he was acting a small role for a TV drama. Attracted by Kuzuu’s natural performance and his air of a star to the manner born, Kaura asked him to practice acting together. When Kaura thought they became good friends, Kuzuu came on to him. Kaura, who had no homosexual tendency — at least so he had thought — until then, could not resist somehow.
Briefly after the incident, Kuzuu’s past life was revealed in tabroids, and he disappeared, seemingly abandoning his acting career.
A year later or so, Kaura learnt that Kuzuu had got a leading role in an independent film in Holywood and that the movie was making a surprising success. Kaura flew to the States on impulse, realizing his special feeling to Kuzuu, but his passion priority was on seeing Kuzuu acting in the movie, than seeing Kuzuu himself privately.
The more enchanted by Kuzuu’s brilliant talent, the more seriously Kaura absorbed himself to acting in order to catch up with Kuzuu. But in reality, Kuzuu was also enchanted strongly by Kaura’s subdued performance and by Kaura’s character…
Data: 1995-99, published by Okura Shuppan.
