Servant & Lord

Art: 4Plot: 2½Characters: 3Total rating: 3One-shots are always hard to write and can be very hit or miss, in my opinion. Trying to squeeze an engaging plot, interesting character development, and make the story memorable into 200-odd pages is a feat in itself, and I understand why it might be difficult for manga artists in particular. Still, I expected a bit more “oomph” from a TokyoPop title, and instead I got a “meh, it's okay” feeling out of it. The story isn't particularly engaging, and the characters don't have much depth to them, but I guess that's because of the format of a one-shot instead of a series. For those wondering, this is a very light BL (this is not a yaoi manga, contrary to what the tags on this site say) that focuses more on Christian's obsession infatuation with Daniel, and his need to defy his dad all the time. The story starts with Chris as a child and his meeting with a teenage Dan, and follows their growth as friends, then servant and master, and finally as lovers (by then, Chris is 18 and Dan is 26). Personally, I liked Dan just a little bit more because he was the mature and level-headed one whereas Chris was often petty and childish.The art is definitely pretty. I don't know how to describe it exactly, but Dan and Chris' “empty” pale eyes were especially interesting in terms of the art. Weirdly enough, this style reminded me of Yuu Watase, particularly in [b:Ayashi no Ceres 01 6881912 Ayashi no Ceres 01 Yuu Watase https://i.gr-assets.com/images/S/compressed.photo.goodreads.com/books/1327880486l/6881912.SY75.jpg 1034786] (maybe it's because of the stringy, spaghetti hair?).All in all, it wasn't a bad manga by any means; it just didn't grab my attention all that much.