REVIEW: Our Kingdom (manga, vol. 2) by Naduki Koujima, translated by Sachiko Sato

Our Kingdom is a contemporary-set BL manga. I bought this particular volume used.

Review:

Akira and Rei are now a couple, although Akira still seems to think Rei's frequent kisses are more due to his being half-foreign than anything. There's still no indication that the adults around them realize what's going on between them, or maybe they just don't care.

Yuji, Akira's father's younger brother, arrives at the beginning of this volume and immediately takes to Akira, much to Rei's annoyance. Akira understandably wants to spend time with his uncle, and Rei is massively jealous. When Yuji has a chance to spend some time alone with Akira, he offers to take Akira home with him, thereby leaving Rei the sole Takatou family heir. Akira refuses - although he firmly believes that Rei will (and should) be chosen to take over the family name, all he wants is to be together with Rei.

Later in the volume, there's more drama as Raoul makes another appearance and Akira starts to doubt Rei's feelings, wondering if he's only around because Akira reminds him of Akira's father.

REVIEW: Our Kingdom (manga, vol. 1) by Naduki Koujima, translated by Sachiko Sato

Our Kingdom is a contemporary-set BL manga. I bought this particular volume new in order to fill in some blanks I had from getting a couple of the volumes used. I now regret this.

Review:

After his parents died in a car accident 5 years ago, Akira Nonaka was raised by his grandmother. However, she, too, has now died, and it's at her funeral that he learns that his father's family name used to be Takatou and that he isn't the only member of his family left. He agrees to go see them and learns that the Takatou family is rich and influential. 

His grandmother on his father's side declares that he and Rei, the cousin he never knew he had, are now the Takatou family heirs. Akira wants no part of this and attempts to go home but is stopped by Rei, who for some reason badly wants him to stay. Akira reluctantly agrees and finds himself swamped in tutoring sessions designed to help him not be an embarrassment to the Takatou family. As if that weren't enough, Rei's behavior is bewildering - he's weirdly physically affectionate, and Akira wonders if this is just how foreigners act (Rei is half Japanese). He couldn't possibly be serious, after all.