Title: Rensou
Genre: Boys’ Love, Drama, Historical
Artist: Yusura Ai
Publisher: Otome’s Way (JP), DMG (US)
Original Release Date: December 27, 2013
Free Preview: >>HERE<<
If you read to escape the mundane routine of day-to-day life, to be swept away in a well-told and engaging narrative, to get tangled up in the theatrical drama of personality, then Rensou was written for you. Set in the Edo period of Japan, Rensou takes its readers way back into a historically surreal period and deep into an imaginative storyline filled with Kabuki theater, romance, and smut galore.
Rensou follows the rather tragic story of Soumaru, a boy of 15 who lost his family in an accident and now has to make it on his own doing small street performances. When a traveling Kabuki troupe visits his village, Soumaru decides to sneak in to find out details about his missing brother since Soutaru is Soumaru’s only remaining kin. Soumaru gets caught, however, and decides to join the troupe to perfect his acting ability after he becomes enthralled with one of the troupe’s main actors, Koinosuke.
History is often re-imagined with a softer, more fantastical eye than with a harsh, realistic one. That still holds true for Rensou; however, there is a small splash of realism blended into the otherwise romantic and ethereal storyline, and it’s that little biting edge of drama and tragedy that really sets Rensou apart from similar stories, Boys’ Love or no. Without it, Rensou would be too fluffy, flat, and boring, and with too much of it, the story would be equally unrealistic and unappealing because of its extreme melodrama. But Rensou seems to get the dosage just right and we are all the better for it. And it’s not just the realism of Rensou’s plot, but its structure and general flow of events. Sure, Soumaru is the main character of the story if you read the blurb on the back cover, but Rensou is more about how the characters are unexpectedly intertwined, their secrets, and their pasts. Events seem to unfold in a purposeful, carefully constructed manner so that the deeper one goes into the story, the more complex and emotionally distraught the story becomes.
It’s rare that I can genuinely find good things to write about most mainstream manga, and especially in a genre that is overripe with cliches like Boys’ Love, but Rensou completely won me over. Perhaps my only real criticism is the brevity of the volume (63 pages) and its sudden ending. I want more! For anyone who has enjoyed reading Water for Elephants or Memoirs of a Geisha, Rensou exists as a similar sneak peek into the world of Kabuki theater, a mystifying and fantastical performance art on its own, but the inevitable drama of the theater setting is toned down and takes a backseat to the internal drama of the actors’ lives, their unique struggles in a hierarchical based society, and the day-to-day routines of being part of a traveling troupe. While Rensou may not be 100% historically accurate, it does shed a rather interesting hue of light on a traditionally captivating and misunderstood form of art, and the story and characters it presents to its audience is both believable and engaging.
While the artwork may be lacking, Rensou more than makes up for aesthetics in its storytelling and atmosphere. Readers will quickly be drawn into the deep desires of its main characters, Soumaru and Koinosuke, and their intricate past (and future). Yusura does her audience huge favors by providing creative storytelling, well-rounded characters, and a love story both sweet and smutty. For those who are veterans to the BL genre or those who may be a little curious about what this genre has to offer, Rensou definitely does no wrong.
