Alright now I’ve finally found have some Yaoi to present that is worthy of reading.  It’s actually pretty different from a lot of Yaoi that I’ve seen especially since it doesn’t really play on the “lovey dovey” romance element but revolves more around a one shot creation story. Although 9^th Sleep has been out for some time I think Makoto Tateno needs a shout out for this one.  9^th Sleep as mentioned before isn’t your typical Yaoi but still has Tateno’s brilliant touch of scifi/fantasy with angelic looking boys and as usual Tateno nails the illustrations, she’s in her element with this genre. The world has been reborn and with it a new king is awakened, sorta. He’s mostly trying to avoid battling his older brother and becoming king of the heavens. It’s actually a cyclic fate that the brothers must battle for the king’s soul and the loser will sleep till a new heir is ready to fight; so can’t really blame the guy for trying to dodge that mess, seems like a grim fate. Well this tradition kind of makes the beginning of the story repetitive after the third birth but hang in there; it comes full circle with a heartwarming ending. Back to the creation theme, Tateno throws in some biblical references such as a virgin giving birth to a new king and God’s garden but also takes on a new twist with the brothers battling to become the new god.

So taking a step back here, this is what I did like: the fantasy like artwork, alternate creation story, and compassionate ending. What I didn’t like was the repetition of births I think that could have been summed up in a small scene not half the book. I do think it’s worth a read and a good start if you’re interested in getting into Tateno’s work but I think it’s more of a “borrow” kind of story.

Score: 3/5

Author/ Artist: Makoto Tateno Publisher: June Manga Price: $12.95 Available on eManga