During a Takemiya discussion in a homo thread, an anon made an excellent post, after which I had to read Takemiya's Hensoukyoku (変奏曲, Variation).
"Don't read if you don't want spoilers!" is what I want to say, but I'm making this post for noting things down for myself and giving spoilers anyway, so go ahead or leave.
I'd like to thank anon once again for exactly knowing how to get me interested in a title. I hope we cross paths again.
I'm a basic newcomer old shoujo fan and I have only read part of Kazeki from the original, so I was pretty optimistic going into Hensoukyoku. Well, it was harder to read than I thought it would be. In particular, I wanted to kill myself every time Bob (aka "this guy") opened his mouth. Maybe that's because I was trying to translate things in my mind while reading it, which I shouldn't have done. Assuming that my linguistic skills would be enough to translate Takemiya is ridiculous.
I like volume 1's cover so much that I eventually want to buy this edition. By the way, a strange thing I noticed about Takemiya's works: Not all of them are available on regular e-book sites. I wanted to buy the digital editon because it'll be some time before I can import something from Japan, but it was on sale only on EBJ, and EBJ doesn't even let baka gaijins like me to register to their site. So your only chance is to ask someone who already has an account there, or go physical. We are being forced into piracy here, Japan.
But what's it about? You have this Austrian child prodigy, Wolfgang Richter, and this Spanish rebellious violinist boy, Eduardo Soltie. Their love for music brings them together, and we accompany them on their journey for about 20 years in 3 (in the bunkoban version, 2) volumes. While the two has the BL attraction towards each other, but to me, it felt like theirs bordered on bromance as Eduardo is very much in love with Anette, Wolfie's sister, and constantly busy being gay with Bob, and Wolfie marries his childhood friend before anything goes anywhere between those two and dies (of course, he has his own obligatory Bob phase). I expected to see a tragic love story between Wolf and Ed just looking at the random images from the manga, but was denied. But forget them, and just remember this: Every boy in this story wants Bob.
If you are a male under the age of 20 and you can resist the charms of this man, congratulations. You probably have some sort of disease, because this man is a walking bishounen magnet.
"Please, don't say anything to my mother." - Yes Nino, if I was your mother, I wouldn't want to know that the guy who boned my dead brother and my cheating, failure-of-a-father husband also boned my precious son. Poor Anette.
The story is not a conventionally constructed one. We know right from the beginning Wolf died young, and with each chapter, we are presented with a different part of his life. Especially the first chapters can be overwhelming because of this narrative choice, because most relations are established from the get-go, we get no classic character introductions. Personally, I had a hard time processing how the Spanish Revolutionary movement fit in this story and why we suddenly got a cholera epidemic. But as you read on, all the pieces get together and you see the whole picture. Some of the same events are told through different characters' POV throughout the story, a technique I like a lot. If I had to choose, I'd say "Andalusian Love Song" is the most important part of the story. It had the most amount of Wolf, and feels like a "main story" the most while the others (especially the ones in vol. 2) have this "side story" feeling. They are so much fun to read though. I liked Rimbaud to Verlaine no you ni in particular which was about Bob being salty about the newlywed Ed hitting on every girl in Paris.
godiwishthatboywasme.jpg
Speaking of parts, based on the digital edition, they are:
Volume 1
1974: Virentz Monogatari (ヴィレンツ物語-Virentz Story) - This chapter is scanlated by Golden Roze Scans, and is the only part available in English to readers.
1976: Hensoukyoku (変奏曲-Variation)
1976: Andalusia Koiuta (アンダルシア恋歌-Andalusian Love Song)
1975: Tsubakiyakata no San Akunin (椿館の三悪人-Three Enfants Terribles of the Camellia Mansion)
1977: Rimbaud to Verlaine no you ni (ランボーとヴェルレーヌのように-Like Rimbaud and Verlaine)
At times, it felt like Takemiya crammed a 10-volume long story into 3, and the timeskip kind of feels out of place, now that I think about it. But hey, don't think I'm complaining, we've got lots of bishounen and 70s melodrama thanks to this manga being what it is. Although I would have liked more tears and angst in my drama, I still very much enjoyed reading Hensoukyoku. Here are the examples of the content I want to see in my manga:
-"I will never forgive you if you die." - I wish all kabedons were sad like this one. Also yanderEduardo is precious. Wolf is preciousness itself <3
-"If you are going to die anyway, die in my arms!" - Okay ngl, this really pulled at my heartstrings. I'm a sucker for this kind of drama. Also I must mention that Takemiya didn't give Wolf the "mysterious shoujo heart disease", commonly known as "SHINZOUBYOU", but an actual heart disease that fit his situation. He had tetralogy of Fallot. I asked a doctor friend what this condition was, and she said the exact same things the doctor in the manga said. It made everything extra sad.
Takemiya did a nice job in writing her characters into the existing world, and I can't believe I'm not reading a fictitious story. This is Wikipedia-level knowledge, but seeing how Takemiya drew this manga based on Masuyama Norie's (who later wrote Kazeki's spin-off novel, Kami no Kohitsuji) experiences as a music student, this makes sense. My only gripe is that, although the story is taking place in the 1960s and 1970s, things almost felt a little bit 19th century to me at times. But that's 70s shoujo for you, Europe was the fairytale land at the time and no one wants to see the modern world in there.
"Can I stay over tonight?" - It was almost unsettling how much Ed reminded me of Gilbert (and sometimes Marion). But then again, mon pauvre Gilbert didn't get to live until his age ;_;
Once my brain recovers from reading this, I hope to read another Takemiya BL I have my eyes on.
"The sun had not yet risen when she saw the Prince's palace. As she climbed his splendid marble staircase, the moon was shining clear. The little mermaid swallowed the bitter, fiery draught, and it was as if a two-edged sword struck through her frail body. She swooned away, and lay there as if she were dead. When the sun rose over the sea she awoke and felt a flash of pain, but directly in front of her stood the handsome young Prince, gazing at her with his coal-black eyes..."
"...The Prince asked who she was, and how she came to be there. Her deep blue eyes looked at him tenderly but very sadly, for she could not speak. Then he took her hand and led her into his palace. Every footstep felt as if she were walking on the blades and points of sharp knives, just as the witch had foretold, but she gladly endured it. She moved as lightly as a bubble as she walked beside the Prince. He and all who saw her marveled at the grace of her gliding walk."
🌟 A Cry for Help: My Family’s Struggle to Survive in Gaza 🌟
Hello, my name is Areej Kassab. I’m a 27-year-old English teacher and writer from Gaza, and I’m reaching out to you with a heavy heart and a desperate plea for support. My family and I are enduring unimaginable hardships as relentless bombings devastate our home and our dreams.
We are a family of 15—10 adults and 5 children. Every day is a battle for survival. Food is scarce, humanitarian aid is not reaching us, and my little nieces and nephews go to bed hungry. Among them is my sister, who is deaf, and another sister who has a newborn baby. They, too, are suffering in this crisis, and I’m doing everything I can to protect and provide for them.
💔 A Life in Ruins
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✨ My Plea for Your Support ✨
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