Ever since taking in the wounded boy he found on his doorstep, nice guy Atsushi Ikeda has been emotionally involved with Riya Narukawa, a high school student and genius violinist who suffers from multiple personality disorder brought on by childhood abuse. One personality, called White, is in love with a cruel upperclassman while the other, dubbed Black, is attached to Atsushi. In this final volume, Riya’s mental distress escalates and it looks like one of his personalities will vanish forever.
Il Gatto Sul G. is a rarity among boys’ love manga—it has a substantive plot, with twists and everything! It’s got other positive qualities, as well. Unlike some BL, Riya’s mental illness is never used as a springboard for hilarity; he actually spends most of his time miserable and confused. And although the White personality’s relationship with Kousaka, an abusive guy who nearly breaks one of Riya’s fingers in an effort to keep him from seeing Atsushi, is disturbing, it’s made clear that Kousaka’s behavior is neither acceptable nor sexy. Lastly, the art is attractive, having evolved quite a lot from the first volume, with a markedly good grasp of body language.
My complaints are actually few. Some parts of the second half of the volume, featuring many panels of a weeping Riya, grow repetitive. They do, however, lead up to one particularly nice surprise which, in turn, leads to an unexpected and rather awesome ending.
Review copy provided by the publisher. Review originally published at Manga Recon.
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