You know when I don't update it means I've got nothing to say, so hence the lack of posts. However over the weekend I read something and decided to give it a review:

HoneyDew Syndrome

Honeydew Syndrome is a Shonen-Ai comic made by a couple of Americans. It's about a bunch boys at a high school that are trying to figure out their own lives and relationships and shows 3 different couples (or potential couples) and how they got together/stay together.

First off, the art is extremely gorgeous. It's the kind of art that after looking at I cry over how lousy my stuff is, and then work like hell to improve it. The line work is lovely, the minimal use of tone is really affective and all the characters are really well fleshed out visually. Only once did I really get confused as to who is who. The layout of the pages was always very smooth, and was so compelling that I read the whole thing in a couple of hours, even after my mom yelling at me to go and eat something.

The first third of the series is nearly perfect as it follows don't-call-me-emo Metis and the athletic Josh. Metis enjoys other people's misery and unintentionally laughs when Josh's girlfriend dumps him and Josh replies by punching Metis. Through a bit of bad luck, they get assigned together for an English project. So Metis half spends his time worrying that Josh will try to kill him again, and the other getting annoyed at Josh for not remembering who he is. After a little while the two finally start to get along, and Josh begins to ask a lot about Metis's friend Charles. Metis assumes Josh likes Charles and agrees to bring the boy to a party. After an incident at the party and a confrontation the next day, Metis learns the jock likes him and not his friend.

The next part follows Jay, one of Metis's other friends and his crush on Charles, Metis's best friend. While a different approach and not ending quite as happily, that isn't my problem with it. The story starts to branch out too much, Metis is barely seen and a whole bunch of characters who didn't appear before the end of the Metis story start to come into prominence, which leads into the third part about Erik and Samuel, friends of Jay. The third part is definitely the weakest, as it focuses on a somewhat unclear story, but not the characters the story is about. Erik and Samuel are barely characterized or developed, pretty much only known for their quirks (Samuel is apparently narcoleptic...or something). Metis and the other male characters are pretty much non-existent, so their fate is kind of unknown. While the individual arcs are kind of independent, I would have liked to have seen all the stories tied together. The series ends abruptly, when I read the last page I was shocked it was the ending. The series works like three distinct stories, rather than once story. There are also some plot points that are never cleared up. A bookcase falls on Metis when Josh calls, and we never learn why. Sometimes the dialog would be unclear as well, with thought bubbles that would build up to some point, but then never finish off either in dialog or another scene.

The first two parts work well together, though the Metis story is easily the best. The third part was confusing, unclear and I didn't feel remotely attached the characters. The series was way too short and ending abrupt and unsatisfactory. And with the gorgeous art, and in some places great dialog and well done scenes, it's a real shame. I still recommend checking it out because some parts of it are so good, but over all I have to give this series a C+