Only Serious About You Volume 1 (Yaoi) [Paperback]

Oosawa and Yoshioka have known each other for some time, but Yoshioka's flighty nature gets on Oosawa's nerves. Yoshioka is constantly bringing in new boyfriends to the restaurant Oosawa works at, yet still manages to find time to flirt with Oosawa, a single father with no time of his own to date or even meet new people. However, when Chizu, Oosawa's young daughter, falls ill, the reluctant man finds himself at his wit's end. Thankfully, Yoshioka is there to help out.

Despite Oosawa's protests, he finds himself depending on the man he once thought flighty and unreliable. And despite himself, he may just be falling for Yoshioka...

"Only Serious About You" is a two-volume manga about finding love in the most unexpected places. In this first volume, we are introduced to the two main characters, Oosawa and Yoshioka, and Oosawa's young daughter, Chizu. Oosawa is a single father who works hard to support his daughter, and Yoshioka is a flirty patron of the restaurant Oosawa works at.

This manga is a simple story about two lonely men who come to care for each other and form a family. If you're familiar at all with the yaoi genre, you may be expecting weeping ukes and dominating semes; this is not the manga you're looking for. Despite featuring a straight-man-turned-gay, there is no "forcing the issue" on the reluctant uke; in fact, this volume contains nothing more than a kiss.

The slower pace of the story, however, works quite well here. The reader finds themselves experiencing the feelings that grow between Yoshioka and Oosawa as they happen. While many popular yaoi stories feature "sex turning into love," this story is more "affection turning into love." While this is nothing new, and there are definitely cliches used in the execution, the artist manages to tell the story with a deft hand and keeps it interesting.

And may I just say, Chizu is adorable. Many times a child in a yaoi manga can feel superfluous or can just be annoying, but in this case Chizu is really the glue that brings these two together.

The art in this manga is also quite appealing. There were some panels scattered throughout where I thought faces looked a little odd, but overall I enjoyed the artist's work.

If you're looking for an enjoyable yaoi manga with character development and family bonding, a little bit of fluff, a touch of drama, and a lot of good feelings, "Only Serious About You" is a great bet. For hardcore yaoi lovers, however, this one will likely not appeal, as this first volume is almost entirely chaste.

The is a series of soft yaoi but strong story mangas. The art work is beautiful the story well told. I really really liked the deep story and the events through the manga. Chiharu is endearing and adorable. The plot surrounds a single father, trying to care for his kindergarten daughter, while maintaining a full work regime.
Its a difficult struggle that leaves little time for social outings or entertainment. His absolute devotion to his tyke is realistically portrayed. The stigma that single Dad's still receive today is well illustrated thru neighbors worries that a "dad" simply cant do the best by his child alone.
The introduction of his gay customer that becomes a friend, and slowly, his love is amazingly tender and touching. While I would have enjoyed more sex between the couple [ cuz they are just to darn cute together ] I realize that it was "right" to demonstrate the progression as it was and the hesitation.
This series is well worth the read , for the gentle love, romance and the care and reaction of his daughter . Its a winner and I LOVED IT!

Oosawa is a single father and Yoshioka is a rather loose man who can't stay away from the restaurant where Oosawa works. Oosawa doesn't have too high an opinion of the other man due to the fact he seems to change partners with the frequency most people change underwear. Plus, Yoshioka makes passes at Oosawa every chance he gets. Yet, a situation occurs in which Oosawa has no one to turn to for help. In steps Yoshioka, and Oosawa learns there is more to the man that meets the eye. It is an endearing, touching tale about two adult men who have been searching for something more in their lives and begin to find it in each other.

"Only Serious About You" unfolds at a gentle, steady pace over the two volumes. The first volume sets up the story and gives us a thorough introduction to the main characters, including Oosawa's young daughter (one of the best child characters ever put into a BL manga - she really sparkles in volume 2). It also ends by starting the conflict at the heart of the second volume Only Serious About You Volume 2 (Yaoi). It is always a pleasure to read a BL story featuring mature males who don't get all rapey or all weepy at the drop of a hat. This series has none of that. Oosawa is strong and knows his own mind well. Yoshioka is mischievous and flirtatious, but not aggressive. I really love his character here, which is ironic because I couldn't stand him in his first appearance. Yes, this is a spin-off of another manga that has not been brought over yet. One I didn't care for at all, which is why I was so astonished at how much I enjoyed this series. It is nothing like the original that spawned it.

As noted by another reviewer, no man-lovin' in this volume. Get to the second volume and you have several instances of it. From an art standpoint, Asou Kai's style is very pleasing to the eye. Her lines are strong and bold. No light, airy sketching here.

Appealing, touching, with humor and a dash of angst mixed in, "Only Serious About You" is a series all BL collectors should have on their shelves.