Lovers in the Night
© N/A

Mania Grade: B
Story and Art: Fumi Yoshinaga
Publisher: Blu
Rating: Mature
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"Lovers in the Night"

Fumi Yoshinaga is renowned for the quality of her yaoi titles, so it's a mystery why she'd curse Lovers in the Night with a name worthy of a paperback on a drug store shelf. Self-parody is a possibility; Lovers in the Night offers any excuse for its two protagonists to get it on, and is amusingly unapologetic about its easy couplings. 

Set in Revolutionary France, Lovers in the Night follows the turbulent relationship between a spoiled young aristocrat named Antoine and his Chinese-French butler, Claude. Antoine is primarily interested in maintaining his comfortable, rich lifestyle with plenty of food and sex. Claude attempts to curb his master's spoiled nature with unorthodox acts of discipline until a near-death experience reminds them both of what they mean to each other.  

Yoshinaga favours certain themes and characteristics, which is why Lovers in the Night shares ties with another one of her popular titles, Gerard and Jacques. The former is a one-shot manga, whereas Gerard and Jacques is a series. As a result, it seems less emphasis was put into developing Claude and Antoine as characters. Their simplicity is not really a deterrent; the magna is meant to be a showcase of their sexual exploits, and there's plenty of that.  

To be fair, neither does Yoshinaga write Claude and Antoine as two hollow sex dolls. The last few chapters of Lovers in the Night explores their motivations and emotions more thoroughly, and one plot involving a silver fox-skin coat is especially revealing. 

Yoshinaga's character art is sketched lovingly, but her backgrounds remain disappointingly sparse. The manga features the co-existence of upper French society and peasantry, but its artwork reveals little conflict or static. A little more artistic effort could add a lot of energy to the sex and romance. 

Diverse conflict would be a welcome change as well. The back cover of Lovers in the Night speaks of a "forbidden love" between a low-class butler and his noble-born charge, but nobody in the manga actually comes forth and "forbids" the relationship. It's never actually implied whether the extended cast accepts the love between Claude and Antoine, is in denial, or is simply oblivious of it. There is some indication the nobles are uncomfortable with Claude's mixed ancestry, but the tension fades early. 

Yaoi lovers searching for a fix probably won't find too much to object to. Lovers in the Night is still a high-quality title, as far as the genre goes. It retails for $9.99.