1999 Shanghai by Mizushiro Setona

     1999 Shanghai written and drawn by Mizushiro Setona is a Romeo and Juliet romance set in Shanghai between two men from different mafia groups. The lovers meet on the "feast of the seventh night" within a ceasefire zone where Dawu, a drug lord's son and a member of the Xianglongi group meets and becomes attracted to Xiaoxue, the number one assassin of the Toulon group. They part ways and do not meet again until a mafia fight, where their identities are revealed to one another. The initail attraction is a little fast for my personal tastes since neither men's sexualities were revealed however the story spans four volumes long and creates a dynamic between two believable characters that readers are able to empathize with. The story resonates around themes such as what diversifies an enemy from a lover, the meaning of loyalty and brotherhood, and the symbolization of rain as the new symbolization of night that was often used within Shakespeare's famous romantic tragedy. These themes make this manga appear more as a literary work rather than a simple comic book by how they work together to portray a story similar to Romeo and Juliet, but at the same time quite different. The ending is what truly sets this story apart from Shakespeare in which many readers can find satisfying for those of you irritated by the idiocy Romeo portrays when he assumes that Juliet is dead and simply drinks poison right before she opens her eyes. Thankfully, Mizushiro creates her own ending to a story that is driven by mafia characters.
     In one way the theme rain is used within the story quite similarly that Shakespear uses night, is that when the lovers meet and embrace within 1999 Shanghai, for the most part, it is raining outside. Rain is usually seen as a depressant like night is used for criminal actions, yet rain can also shield people from view and push strangers to hide in a place to protect themselves from the weather. I don't waqnt to reveal too much of the story, yet, rain works almost as a character to push Xiaoxue and Dawu together. Other themes mentioned will not be elaborated on for fear of ruining too much of the story, but those of you whom have read the story who want to discuss may email me or comment on the post.
     As a review negative components must be mentioned ande the only negatives that I havc at the time are that some of the characters were not given much time to grow and therefore if they were killed I felt nothing. Some of the action drawn was a little confusing, however I thought the art was unique compared to most that I have seen. I also thought that the attraction was too quick for men whose sexual preferences were never mentioned, which was before mentioned, however the growth of the relationship makes up for that. I thought this manga was brilliant and I would advise many who enjoy yaoi to read it. I feel like it is a book I would definantly re-read. I give it a 8.9/10