Comic Anthology Canna vol. 04

Okay I’m finally getting this done! Sorry it took so insanely long. I just have no drive lately since winter is coming and it’s so cold out. Better to lay in bed all day doing nothing. But I’ve finally finished reading this volume of Canna, and once again it’s quite fabulous I can assure you.

Usual warning for R-18 content applies.

First off it starts with a color page by Okadaya Tetsuzou, which is quite lovely. Her latest chapter has some nice relationship development as Nozomu convinces Mani to revisit his routes and it’s exactly what Mani needs to feel alive again.

Then is Hirama Mitsunaga’s debut in Canna with a cute childhood friends school life story. Kei and Acchan have been together forever and Acchan likes it that way, but it’s time to move on when Kei suddenly says he’ll try hard with the person he likes—a female senpai, Sagawa. Acchan tries his best to be a good friend and goes out of his way to set them up and move away from Kei to make room for Sagawa but what if Kei just comes and ruins his plans, successfully making all the suffering Acchan is enduring not even worthwhile?

Third story is Hanamori Mito’s debut, which is the story I was most excited about for this volume. Hanamori Mito has a really lovely art style with beautiful faces and skinny, long bodies. It’s pretty much exactly my type. Plus, the story is about cats! The only thing I love more than BL manga. Anyway, the plot is that Lumiel just moved into an apartment with his owner and on the first day he sees a beautiful black cat sitting on the balcony. He tries to talk to the cat, but it snubs him. Later on while sitting on the balcony himself he spots the cat again—who again will not speak to him. But at least he learns the cat’s name, Jubea, from the cats owner. After this he’s finally able to get closer to Jubea and he finds that Jubea’s personality isn’t as bad as it originally seemed; in fact, perhaps he’s quite cute!

The fourth story is Yukue Moegi’s continuation of her story from volume two and just follows the not-quite-love-love relationship between the two businessmen. Their life together is filled with lack of communication and unsure feelings, but this time it’s up to Tamachi to reassure Fukagawa that he’s trying hard to allow their relationship to work.

Then another story that was exciting for me because it’s super cute and a continuation from a story I loved in the first issue of Canna by Aoi You. This story is instead from Wakaba’s point of view and we get to see just how much he actually adores Seiji. Every day, to keep their friendship going, Wakaba’s cousin Chishiro makes Seiji a bento which in turn leads to Seiji saying that he’d love to date someone who can cook. Wakaba has never cooked before in his life but wants to try his best for Seiji, so he tells Chishiro that he’ll be making lunch—which turns out terrible (to the point where Aoi You censors the bento in the panels) and makes Seiji feel sick. Not knowing that Wakaba made it, Seiji wonders why the bento is so bad, causing Wakaba’s heart to break. But it ends well with Seiji saving poor, timid Wakaba from some thugs and finishing off the bento—though he’s mysteriously absent from school the next day.

After that is Minazuki Akira’s story about a death god. While unfortunate and dangerous events start happening around Souichirou that put his life at risk, he starts mysteriously encountering a pretty young man who stays with him and cures his pain. But why is it that only Souichirou can see this man? And what significance does he suddenly have in Souichirou’s life?

Next is a fairly short (just six pages) story by Kousaka Akiho about two salaryman lovers meeting between jobs. That’s really pretty much all there is to it, but it was a cute story nonetheless.

Coga Mayumi’s story Hibi Kirakira follows that. This time it’s a cute story about a Tomoaki who gets up during his college break to help a small group of neighborhood kids do morning exercises. However, he notices another young man watching out his apartment window and fears that this man might be some pedophile creeping on the young girl who comes to morning practice every day. However, when the young man shows up on a day where all of the children are absent, Tomoaki finds that perhaps he’s not a creepy pedophile after all but instead just lonely

Marei Kengo’s continuation of her vampire story from the previous volume is after that. This story is from Tasuke’s point of view and we learn that he is from a line of vampires but his human body is currently on the verge of death. He seeks comfort in Akawo’s attention to take his mind off his impending death, but Akawo isn’t about to just let him go without a fight.

Next is Sunae Hata’s continuation of Neko no Me no Horoscope. This chapter follows the unsure development of Keiichi and Yoshihiro’s relationship after Keiichi becomes unsure of himself due to jealousy over how Yoshihiro treats his beloved sister Mitsuki. His sister complex comes out big time when he starts worrying that he’s no longer be “number one” for anyone once Mitsuki gets a boyfriend. But luckily Yoshihiro is there to reassure him that he’s at least Yoshihiro’s most important person—even if Yoshihiro didn’t show it properly from the start.

Following that is Umematsu Machie’s story of an established couple having a fight. Kazushi decides that he wants to break up with Kitamura, but ends up stuck with him in the same restaurant due to a huge rainstorm. But this allows them to work out their problems and in the end they exchange rings. Well. One is a ring, and the other is some twisted straw trash. A very sweet story, I think.

Then is a story by Maruco. Not gonna lie, I didn’t read it very closely since Maruco’s art isn’t really my type at all. But it seems to be about two cousins meeting again after growing up and some potential feelings developing between them.

Finally, after the novel section, is a new oneshot by Manako. Yagami finally moved out of his parent’s house to his own apartment and is enjoying all the freedom—not having to share the TV, being able to bathe when he wants, sleeping when he wants, everything is fabulous. Except he can’t actually sleep at night, because his neighbor stays up all night long making men scream in pleasure so loud that it goes through the walls. But at least Hagami still has one other joy in life: the beautiful, dainty senpai from work, Ichimiya. Ichimiya is male but everything Hagami could ask for. After seeing the hands of his neighbor by accident one day he’s reminded of Ichimiya’s own small hands and eventually his imagination gets the best of him and he starts masturbating to the sounds that come through his walls at night while imagining Ichimiya’s body and face. He feels guilty for dirtying Ichimiya’s innocence this way, but then perhaps Ichimiya isn’t the sweet and innocent thing that Yagami thinks he is—no, perhaps he’s more of a man-eating beast than anything else.

ANYWAY, that’s it for this volume. I already have volume five in hand but I won’t make any promises as to when I’m going to finish that one. orz;; I also have a Cab review to work on, and also want to talk about drap a bit when I have more time.

For the next volume you can look forward to the third chapter of Kojima Lalako’s story, the last chapter of Okadaya Tetsuzou, as well as more Hanamori Mito, Coga Mayu, Kashio, Monzen Yayohi, etc.