Neko^³s story ^÷ Avis ^÷ was well done, though the artwork seemed a bit rough at times ^÷ which is more than likely due to the fact it used line shading and I^³ve become so used to the Japanese dot shading. The two male characters ^÷ Richard and David ^÷ were developed just enough to give you a feel for what yaoi treats are to come, without actually going so far as to attempt to write up all of who they are in a few short lines. The reluctant seme ^÷ ^²I^³m not gay! How dare you think I^³m gay!^Œ ^÷ coupled with the angst-filled uke in what is promising to be a very hate-love-hate relationship. Oh yes, this story has a slight violence/rape warning. Individual interpretations may find the next-day scene to be offensive, so know right away: this is NOT a love-love story. The hapless uke has some serious abuse hang-ups. If you^³re fine with that, then I^³m sure you^³ll be fine with the story. My only wish ^÷ sign of the true yaoi fan ^÷ is for the noisome female creature to fall off of some nice, high precipice somewhere in the very, very near future. Although, I do believe this is the first demanding bitch I^³ve found in a manga. Kudos!

Pluto^³s one-shot story ^÷ Addictions ^÷ has a more professional look and feel to it (ah my happy dot shading is back!) and who could complain about a story in which the protagonist is known only as ^‹The Whore^³? It has a rather Ai no Kusabi feel to it, and the Whore certainly looks like Riki. If Riki got along with everyone in the building that is. I was rather disappointed at the end. The introduction of Byron hints at what could be an interesting story and relationship (if not between the two then with someone else later on), but since Pluto^³s intro said ^‹a one-shotter^³ I was a tad upset. It really looks like something that could be continued into a very good series, and I certainly wouldn^³t be adverse to reading more.

And now Sparks^³ story Jinen Legacy. This was, by far, my favorite in the anthology, and it didn^³t even have my beloved dot shading but instead the wild and messy line shading I usually find so sloppy! Consider this... If Jack the Pumpkin King had decided to steal J-Rock instead of Christmas, Tim Burton had hired Neil Gaiman to write the script, and Malice Mizer^³s K–zi was called in as the make-up and costuming consultant, you might get something like this. If something of the above turns you off totally, then you probably wouldn^³t like this story. Seeing as how I adore all of the above, I squealed happily at the artwork inserts and the doujinshi. And CHEERS to the girl who draws graphic yaoi! ^^ There aren^³t enough anywhere. Which brings up a warning: if you cannot live without glowing cones, DO NOT read this story. ^^ My only complaint for the entire thing was the musculature. Buff is good in moderation, but damn I love my pretty petite bishounen! The psychotic-J-Rocker-demon-from-a-Tim-Burton-movie Nikui-baby more than made up for it though! ^^ Not to mention Sparks^³ great spoof at the end. ^^

And as for Sonya^³s guest appearance; I apologize, but I am not a fantasy role-player. I^³m not even a fantasy fan really. The artwork was very good (but I don^³t really know elven all that well), and I was VERY impressed by her ability to draw the animals that were in the story. Many mangaka can^³t do those if their lives depended on it, so it was very nice to see someone who could! And her chibis were so damn adorable! But as for the story, I shall kindly step down from the commenting circle since I am quite simply nowhere near the fandom for this genre. It did look nice though. ^^

All in all, this was a good anthology. There were excellent stories, lots of yaoi, some very good artwork, and of course the psychotic-J-Rocker-demon-from-a-Tim-Burton-movie Nikui-baby. ^^ Why no... I don^³t have a favorite at all... Where did you get that idea? The only story that could possibly be a turn off to people is Sparks^³ (which I so adored, but then I^³m a Pagan Goth and this was right up my alley), so if you thought that sounded just your taste then I HIGHLY recommend this anthology. If the idea of a psychotic-J-Rocker-demon-from-a-Tim-Burton-movie makes you want to run to your local mall and drag some poor hapless Goth kid out of the local Hot Topic, then you probably should look for a different anthology. ^^

The first story presented is Avis by neko m. It is about an apathetic young whore named David who manages to get himself into trouble by going home with a customer that takes out his issues on David. With his fists. David then wakes up to find himself patched up and taken care of by a regal looking woman who tells him to stay until he is healed. A woman who seems to have some sort of relation with the customer that put David in that condition. A woman who seems to want to teach the customer, Richard, a lesson. There is just enough here for you to get a glimpse of what the characters are like, and where it might be going, though, there is still more than enough unanswered questions for the story to go somewhere completely unexpected.

The second story in the anthology is a one-shot by pluto, called Addiction. I admit that I^³ve read this story before when it was first written as a fic, and the stark darkness of it had impressed me then. Seeing it drawn out in pluto^³s beautifully dramatic style was a real treat. This story also deals with a whore, a whore who has no name and is subject to the whims of one corporations employees. The entire reason for the whore^³s existence is to keep the stress-levels of those employees down in the theory that stress-free workers are better workers. Then, the whore meets Byron, who offers him a chance to learn how to read and write, and more importantly, a /name/. The whore, out of confusion and distrust, rejects Byron^³s offer. The last panel where the words and the figure of the whore are drawn in white on a black background, is a nice visual of the utter hopelessness of the whore^³s existence.

Then, there is Jinan Legacy by Sparks. When I first saw this story, I was struck by the difference in art-style between this artist and the previous two. While with the previous two you could see the strong influence of Japanese anime and manga in the character design, Sparks takes that familiarity and tweaks it just a bit until there is a new, highly-distinctive style all her own. To me, it seems like a fusion of anime and Neil Gaiman^³s The Sandman series. Sparks uses the contrast between black and white to draw a rather dramatic story about a mysterious young man, Nikui, and his search for his people, the Jin. He goes to see some sort of reader, who instead of telling him about the Jin as he wants, tells him about love, and his connection with another character, Shiro. When Nikui refuses to listen to the reader, the reader reveals what the popular thinking of the people was of the Jin; that they were evil demons and had been wiped out. Nikui, in a rage, destroys the reader with his flame and leaves, unsatisfied at the answer, believing that the Jin were not in fact, evil. The next part of the story involves Shiro, the young man that the reader said was the key to Nikui^³s past and future. You are allowed more glimpses in the relationship between Nikui and Shiro, and the pain and betrayal that are a part of them both. This intense two-part introduction of Sparks^³ story was very powerful, and immediately addicting.

After the seriousness and dark themes of the first three stories, Game Ace, Sonya St.Germain^³s light-hearted a romp through the sword-and-sorcery world of a virtual reality game, was a welcome breath of brevity. It starts out rather cliched, a beautiful lone traveller being attacked by ruffians, and then rescued by a mysterious, sword-wielding stranger. But then, it takes a quick turn to the left when you realize that the mysterious sword-wielding stranger believes himself to be in a VR game. The two panels that show the reaction of the beautiful lone traveller as the mysterious sword-wielding stranger disappears from sight is simply too adorable for words, and must be seen to understand.

You are also treated to a series of omakes by the different artists presented in this anthology, and each one is an incredibly amusing twist to their stories. Neko M and Pluto fuse their two stories so that David and the whore get a chance to meet. They decide to trade places, each thinking he^³d gotten the better end of the deal. They soon find that they are wrong. Sparks reveals a dementedly light-hearted side to herself, and her ^²Fun with Some Guy Named Dan (but he prefers ^‹Raven^³)^Œ, really needs to be read to understand. Just make sure you^³re not drinking anything while you do. The characters of Sonya^³s Game Ace find themselves dressed as Weiss Kreuz characters in an attempt to catch Sonya^³s attention back to her own series. We even get to find out what some of the character^³s names are. The beautiful lone traveller from her story is Keikai, who turns out to be a beautiful young male elf. The mysterious sword-wielding stranger is Ace. And there^³s a new fox-like character named, Yame, that we haven^³t been introduced to yet. I agree with Keikai, Sonya really needs to work on more of Game Ace.