My Only King (Yaoi)

by Lily Hoshino

Book Overview

In the land of magic, a new king is being crowned. However, a mishap during the ceremonial rite causes the royal crest to be accidentally attached to a normal human, Kazuomi. To protect the crest from any villains who may be after it, Mewt -- the cute and brave sorcerer -- is dispatched to the human world. There, Mewt must live disguised as a girl, and as "she" and Kazuomi live under one roof together, the two begin to find themselves attracted to...

• Format: Paperback
• Language: English
• ISBN: 1569709114
• ISBN13: 9781569709115
• Release Date: April 2006
• Publisher: Digital Manga Publishing
• Length: 168 Pages
• Weight: 0.53 lbs.
• Dimensions: 0.6" x 6.1" x 8.3"
• Age Range: 16 years and up
• Grade Range: Grade 11 and higher

Customer Reviews

Very interesting, but uke is too girly!

I really got into the main story of this when I read it. It was an interesting fantasy story. I generally like the art, but I think that the uke this mangaka draws is way too feminine - like bishoujo feminine, as opposed to bishounen. No evidence of masculinity at all in her uke. So that was a bad thing for me, but if you like that sort of thing, or you just don't care as long as it's yaoi, then by all means give it a try. The stories are fluffy, sweet, romance stories that should suit the BL-lover.

Surprisingly fun

I picked up "My Only King" on a whim - it's the first time I've actually bought a shounen-ai collection, as typically I just read them online, being a very picky reader. Surprisingly, I wasn't disappointed by my purchase. Hoshino's art does run to the very feminine side (to which a previous reviewer rather strenuously objected), but as I tend to enjoy androgynous characters, I loved her ethereal, long-haired uke boys. (Who were, I might add, present in only two out of five stories anyway.) Realistic? Absolutely not. But fun - yes. They inject an additional note of fantasy into Hoshino's soft, sweet romances. (Yup, no graphic stories here, just a couple of gentle kisses and some brief halves-of-bedroom-scenes.) With the exception of the title story, the stories were brief, often vignette-like, much like the sparse, smooth artwork. Though not short on dialogue, much is still left unsaid, relying more on subtext and the reader's imagination to fill in mood and emotional undercurrents. This is often my favorite style of one-shot, as it creates a melancholy feel and leaves you with a sense of possibility for the characters' futures, rather like a subtle cliffhanger. "My Only King" - Essentially a yaoi version of the 'magical girlfriend' variety of manga (Chobits, Oh My Goddess!, WISH, and so forth), in which an attractive, exotic alien/supernatural being/etc. bursts into the life of a beleaguered but good-hearted human boy. In this case, apprentice sorcerer Mewt is sent to protect Kazuomi, a mortal to whom the royal crest of Mewt's land has been mistakenly transferred. The plot is of course nothing special, but I was hooked by the cute character design. "Twinkle Twinkle Horoscope" - A more realistic school story; playfully taking the advice of a horoscope book, recently-dumped Masuzawa takes up with (male, of course) classmate Yabana. I was suprised by the relative emotional maturity towards the end, as shounen-ai stories are often lacking in realistic emotional development. "The Ghost in the Bath" - A businessman has his first real talk with the lonely and suprisingly tangible ghost who takes up residence in his bathtub. "Mixed Chocolate" - A continuation of two of Hoshino's other stories, featuring a brief, tender love-moment between two romantically involved classmates. "The King and Rune" - This story had the most amateur art; I suspect it was drawn much earlier than the others, as its spiky inking and misplaced features are far from the delicate linework of the other stories. However, it also has what I found to be the most intriguing plot. In a twisted fairy-tale land, a king sells orphans for profit - all except two who cannot be sold, a gentle albino girl named Emma and the titular Rune, a rebellious young boy. Not only does the story create an intriguing relationship, it is also possibly the first shounen-ai story I've ever read to involve a female character who is as central and engaging (or nearly so) as the male characters. All in all,

Ignore the bashing

I don't usually review, but I had to with this. One of the previous commentors (the "dedicated" yaoi fan) was incredibly harsh in her comments on this book, and Lily Hoshino in general. Alone in my king's harem is intended to be a light, shounen-ai work, just as Super Double (another Lily Hoshino work) is. Bokudake's a bit more graphic, but not too. In general, Lily's sci fi works tend to be a bit softer. But do NOT judge her works based on 2 manga. Her career comprises a lot more than that, and a lot of those works are much more graphic (almost disturbingly so). Anyway, Lily Hoshino tends to be more creative than others, and is currently a leading manga artist in Japan. Her art work is included in the rising stars of manga works, and I definately encourage buying this particular manga. I mean no insult other reviewers, but one must understand that yaoi is a wide and varied genre, and just because you don't like your uke exceedingly pretty, it's no reason to bash it and deprive others of a great reading experience.

nice and delicate...

Lily Hoshino has a very soft, delicate, and detailed drawing style. Now if anyone has seen any of her art, then her mangas might look like shota. Her semes are always masculine looking, while her ukes are typically younger looking and wear more feminine clothing. Of course I don't agree with the review posted before me, because that is complete bashing. I suggest that before you buy any manga from an unknown (to you) artist, that you look online for scans or scanlations of that manga or one from that artist. Her stories are simple and short and appeal much to the fantasy crowd, but her stories aren't so out there that one can't relate. Basically, her art is mostly soft and delicate (the style of drawing, not the stories, though it does apply somewhat) if you can't already tell from the cover.