Demographic Josei Volumes 1 | Published April 2004 | |
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English publisher Digital Manga Publishing Similar The Tyrant Falls in Love, Maiden Rose, Hey - Class President!, No Money, Embracing Love | ||
A Foreign Love Affair (Japanese: 異国色恋浪漫譚, Hepburn: Ikoku Irokoi Romantan) is a Japanese manga series written and illustrated by Ayano Yamane. The manga is licensed in North America by Digital Manga Publishing, which released the first volume in March 2008, and in Germany by Tokyopop. It was adapted into a two-episode OVA in 2007.
Contents
Plot
A Foreign Love Affair is about Ranmaru, the son of a yakuza mob. He marries yakuza daughter Kaoru on an Italian cruise ship. Because they are Japanese, they are the center of attention on the boat. On their wedding night, the couple fight, and Kaoru kicks him out of their room. Ranmaru goes to the boat's bar and fights with some yakuza. He is assisted by Alberto, an Italian man who happens to be fluent in Japanese. To show his gratitude, Ranmaru invites Alberto to have a drink with him, which leads to the two of them having sex. The next morning, Ranmaru finds out that Alberto is the ship's captain.
Reception
Patricia Beard, writing for Mania Entertainment, found Alberto's capture of Ranmaru "sexy and funny", appreciating Yamane's attention to detail in the art. Beard noted there wasn't much character development, but regarded this as being symptomatic of the romantic comedy genre of A Foreign Love Affair. Rachel Bentham, writing for Active Anime, enjoyed the sexy character designs. Leroy Douresseaux, writing for Comic Book Bin described A Foreign Love Affair as "a bawdy comedy ... with intermittent scenes of torrid sex." A reader's poll for About.com for the best yaoi of 2008 ranked A Foreign Love Affair first. Deb Aoki speculated that its popularity could be due to its setting, the characters, and Yamane's character designs and "knack for drawing very hot guys in sizzling situations".
