Love Water by Venio Tachibana

Love Water Reviews

• 
  Mary

  **might contain spoilers**
  
  This is a sweet and tender romance novel set in a historical time. The writing and illustrations evoked a very gentle emotion in me as I read and it was only enhanced by the innocence of Misao's and Towa's feelings for each other.
  
  Misao works in a brothel, due to circumstances-he has no choice but to work off a debt in order to gain his freedom. Because of his upbringing he has learned to hide his true self and finds ways to earn a little extra money by flirting mildly with patrons without using his body. There's this feeling of dispassion in him until he meets Towa.
  
  Without realizing why Misao opens up to Towa, who is there for someone else and has a certain naivete about the inner workings of a brothel. Towa, a businessman, is honest and straightforward; because of Misao's initial approach and assistance in understanding the rules and culture of the Tea House seeks his companionship.
  
  This story was a delight to read. The basic history of the brothels was detailed enough to understand but doesn't cloud over the plot-it brought to mind Memoirs of a Geisha. The characters are well written and likeable-even the annoying Katsuragi. I was happy to read in the postscript that there might be another story linked to this one in the future.
  
  
• 
  Mati

  Manga and novel are two different things. If story works for manga, it would not work for novel. Misao, our hero of the soapy opera with no point, was servant in the brothel with debt bigger then earth. He met one customer fell in love had a lot of thoughts about the subject to be fucked at the end by mr very rich and perfect. Misao was given to the Mr. Perfect and went to the happy gay land with his lover.
  
• 
  Kanwarpal Singh

  In the intricately mannered world of an Osaka brothel in Meiji-era Japan, Misao, a beautiful male servant, can only dream of a time when he can earn enough money to pay his debt to the brothel and escape his servitude. Into his small, stifling world comes Masaomi Towa, the handsome and wealthy heir to a corporation and a newcomer to the rules of the pleasure district. Masaomi’s sincerity and kindness penetrate through Misao’s practiced cynicism, and Misao finds his heart captured by love for the first time. But Masaomi has come calling to meet with. He is self respecting person as he didn't take money from Masaomi to bail himself from servitude and want to do something on his own, he is such a wonderful person that everyone is happy with him. Finally its over and finally he is founded as the past of him came to light and he knows who he was and this manga is a beautiful japanese story.
• 
  Jeffrey Powanda

  I recently read an article about Japanese light novels, inexpensive books that originated in the 1970s and targeted adolescents (high school and middle school students). Although I'm not the intended audience for such books, I decided to give one a try.
  
  This book is one of the few Japanese light novels that my library offers in ebook format, so I downloaded it to my Kindle. It's a yaoi novel, which means it features a romance between two males and is primarily targeted toward a female audience. The word "yaoi" is an acronym for "Yama Nashi, Ochi Nashi, Imi Nashi," which means no climax, no resolution, no meaning.
  
  Love Water is a love story set in Meiji-era Japan between a brothel servant and a handsome corporate heir. Most of the action occurs at the Oumi Tea House, which is located in the pleasure district. It's a short book that contains a prologue, five chapters, and an epilogue. The book is listed at 200 pages, but it felt about half as long.
  
  It’s a light read, so expect no serious discussion of societal issues, such as economic inequality, the exploitation of sex workers, and the mistreatment of homosexuals in Meiji-era Japan. Problems? What problems?
  
  So how did I enjoy it? Well, it's kinda silly. The English translation is sometimes elegant, sometimes confusing. The characters are continuously emoting: smiling, trembling, crying, sighing, sweating, gasping. The sex scenes are short, restrained, and unprovocative. The half dozen illustrations are exquisitely drawn, featuring incomparably beautiful male figures in kimonos and western dress.
  
  Silly, sure, but darned if I didn't find myself falling under the spell of this short novel, delighting in its heightened emotion. It's not particularly memorable, but it's a pleasant trifle, a two-hour escape, a well-packaged candy bar.
  
  Would I read another yaoi light novel? Sure. No judging.
• 
  bubble butt book lover

  While the book did have it’s undeniable charms, and the concept was almost cute at first. Overall, it was extremely poorly executed. On top of that, the complete lack of attention and care within the writing just made the whole book even worse. Do these characters even have deeper thoughts and emotions beyond just the surface level shit that you know how to describe? They don’t? And it ruins the whole book and makes it seem unrealistic, on top of the whole weird portrayal of sex work that this book has going on, I can’t say I’m surprised, but I will say that I’m disappointed.
• 
  Ais

  I always forget how much I love Japanese novels. There's something light and beautiful about the way they are written; a lyrical quality that manages to be confined to minimal words. I haven't had the opportunity to read many BL Japanese novels but the ones I have read have been by different authors and all give me that same feel.
  
  I decided to mark the wording I liked in this book so I could go back to it later to use as inspiration, but in the end the book was littered with so many sticky notes that I'm not sure I'll be able to pull out the words I wanted from the words that surrounded them.
  
  This is a surprisingly gentle story about a boy raised in a brothel, the life he's never let himself imagine, and the life he's always lived. I liked the main character because he was harsh where needed, showing that he didn't let the life control him, even as other times he was constrained by his position.
  
  I ran across this book because I love the author (Venio Tachibana) for having written Seven Days, which is one of my favorite BL manga series of all time. I decided to look into what else she had done and found this. I'm very happy I bought it. If anything, I only wish more of her stuff was in English so I could buy more of it.
  
  I don't have an in depth review of this because for whatever reason, these Japanese novels tend to leave me in a light mood that disallows my otherwise natural inclination to dissect what it is I liked and disliked about a book. Instead, I'm always left feeling conversely happy and sad, in a way that lets me exist without having to think in those scant moments before reality draws me back.
• 
  Jeanne 'Divinae'

  This was a decent book. It wasn't super on my edge of my seat, but it wasn't a waste of my time either. It revolves a brothel. Misao is a male servant. He has lived there for a long as he can remember. Everyone thinks he is very handsome. Misao is a kindhearted young man. He has friends in the brothel where he lives. He is slowly trying to save money so he can buy is freedom. Then one day he sets his eyes on a customer named Masaomi Towa. He is a wealthy and captures Misao's attention right away. Masaomi notices Misao also. Just when things seem to be going well, Misao is reminded Masaomi has come to see the very popular Ukigumo. Why is Masaomi paying attention to Misao, giving his false hopes when he has Ukigumo. What is really going on between Ukigumo and Masaomi?
• 
  Erika

  I finished this novel in one sitting, I just couldn't put it down! Beautiful in so many ways... the illustrations are gorgeous and the depiction of old Japanese customs gives you a sense of solemnity. Great pace and nice character development, even though it's a short story. Just the right amount of romance and sadness to keep you sighing and swooning at the turn of every page.
• 
  Paola

  It has passed some time since I was captivated by a book in such way. It was beautiful in so many ways; the story was heart-broking, the illustrations breath-taken and the characters were so realistic and easy-loving, specially Katsuragi who I find very interesting.
  
  Venio Tachibana surely has talent and knows how to captivated peoples hearts with her exquisite love stories.
• 
  Anna

  Very Interesting read. Very in-depth and there was a plot turn at the end that I 100% did not expect at all. The plot itself was very confusing for me as it was for Misao.
• 
  Queen

  There’s a certain undeniable charm in romances set in brothels. The forbidden love that will grant salvation to the caged bird is such an appealing concept that we can see it in countless stories. Boy’s Love is not an exception to this dark version of a fairy tale, whether in modern or historical settings. Read more on
  The Red Queen