By Eu
I was procrastinating as always when I came across Kitazawa Kyou’s Houkago no Love Call. I’m not familiar with the mangaka and was surprised to see that I’ve already encountered one of his/her work before, namely Koishite Daddy. From there, I’ve tried reading other titles and that’s how I started with Dolce.
Dolce is about a restaurant that is about to turn into a “bishies restaurant” much to Usami’s chagrin. Usami is the main chef of the restaurant and he wants to quit now that his beloved restaurant will be reformed. The owner made a deal with him; in order for him to resign, he first has to train his boss’ son. The problem is, said son is such a flirt and also make passes to Usami.
The characters are eye-candy, I swear I could stare at them all day. Komiya (the manwhore) is the most charming of them all~ www. He is a charmer who has set his eyes on Usami. I love it when he looks so broken and gets teary-eyed. Aww that face *U*…. this sounded wrong pfft.
The problem here is, Komiya’s character isn’t totally developed. Not only him. Actually all of them. There is so much potential for all of them that isn’t shown. There’s even this another character who suddenly has the hots for Usami. Like, woah wait where did it come from. If it’s just some kind of internal conflict, there could have been other things than suddenly liking another character. ^^;;
Speaking of potential, overall, this manga has a lot of unused potential. I’m going to get spoilery here but I figure that it is best to mention it. The rape part here is taken seriously…well mildly serious. I’m glad that Usami is furious about it and even throw some punches to Komiya. He dislikes it a lot yet he forgives him too easily and early. It’s like, Kitazawa Kyou tries to squeeze the love story in a matter of 3 (or 4?) chapters. No wonder, everything feels rushed. Even the I-feel-like-I-like-you-but-I’m-not-sure-so-lets-make-out scene.
Other than that, I assure you that you’ll enjoy the art as much as I do. I just really wish that there’s more of the pairing especially Komiya/Usami…no I just want more sexy Komiya www.