|| Utsukushii Otoko ||

6 volumes
BL, Sci-Fi, Drama, Angst
Publisher: Chara Comics
ISBN: 4199600310, 4199600477, 4199600663, 4199600825, 4199601104, 4199601325
Mangaka: TAKAGUCHI Satosumi

Other manga on this site by TAKAGUCHI Satosumi: Kreuz, PINK, Shoubu wa Ji no... Un darou? SEVEN

Note: I'm classifying this series as BL because it is published by Chara Comics. But I've only seen hints so far. Take that as you will.

Plot:
Welcome to the future. In tried-and-true sci-fi fashion, the date is given in a time system that we have no reference for, so I can't tell you how far into the future we are beyond saying that it is S.E. 156. Thirty years before our story begins, an ace space pilot by the name of M2 Rimstein was put into an experimental cold sleep until such time as he would be needed.

That time is now. He is unfrozen and put in command of the Dance Mania unit of three superb pilots, though two are rookies: Stellasta von Argyll, Malloy Chihaya, and Cloud Neelsen. Accelerated training commences, and new ships and gadgets are brought out so that they will have victory over their enemy.

Unfortunately, things go awry fairly soon when M2 is captured and brain-washed by a planet which sends him out to fight for the enemy. Malloy at first refuses to fight his commander, and then does so with the conviction that he can bring him home to the Great Carrier.

Bringing him home may be easy, but regaining his mind?

What I Thought:
I realized about half-way through the first page that this series would be trouble for me. I had never read a Japanese sci-fi comic before, and I didn't know any of the terminology. I still don't know much, so I'm only about halfway through volume 2.

With that said, I'm enjoying the read. M2 is intruiging. When he first woke from cold-sleep he always seemed to be walking slightly in another plane of existence (this was definitely a boy with his head in the clouds). I could see a psychologist racking in the dollars for the problems this work-obsessed boy had. I got the sense that Malloy was starting to break through his shell, and then the brain-washing happened. It drove me nuts!

I'm not too fond of the whole detour the series seems to have made into this planet and M2's brain-washing, which is another reason I've set the series aside for awhile. I'll update the page when/if I finish it.