Gakuen Heaven Nakajima 

For those of you who enjoyed Gakuen Heaven Boys Love Scramble, You Higuri's manga based upon the PC game of the same name which was originally released by the company Spray, you now have the next book in the manga series, Gakuen Heaven Nakajima, which takes place once again in the mythical all boys' school of Bell Liberty, set on its own little man-made island.  But do not make the mistake of thinking that it is a sequel, or you'll be confused from the outset.  For while it contains the continuing saga of mysterious transfer student Keita Itou, whose entrance in the school has triggered a flurry of interest from a number of his fellow students and is the impetus for the MVP competition in the first book, this volume actually takes place in a parallel universe, with a different main pairing.  This time around, Keita's love interest is the maddeningly aloof and mysterious Hideaki Nakajima, vice-president of the Student Council.

Highlights 

As the story begins, Keita and Hideaki (Hide for short) are in the throes of a rather passionate physical relationship.  However, Keita feels that his lover is not treating him well – he only tells him what he deems necessary to be known, which isn't a great deal, leaving Keita feeling unworthy of him, and valueless.  Keita spends a great deal of his time hanging around the Student Council room, where Hide and Tetsuya Niwa (Student Council President and Keita's love interest in the first book) work hard to promote the interests of the students of the school, and the many clubs which the school houses.  It dismays Keita that Nakajima has made no move to make him a legitemate member of the Council, despite the things he does for him there.   Keita begins to hear talk around the school from other students that is derogatory toward Hide, and while he defends him heatedly, the seeds of doubt are planted.  Enter Asano, a former member of the Student Council, and the plot thickens.  There are obviously issues between Asano and Nakajima, but the latter refuses to explain anything, once again, to Keita.  Things go from bad to worse, as Keita is led to discover some rather unsavory goings on involving his lover and the Student Council, involving bribes and wrongdoings.  Can he hold on to the integrity of his love, and should he?  

 Overall

Once I got past the pairing change (which confused me until I read the author's note at the end of the book), I sat back, relaxed and enjoyed the ride.  I found Keita to be a bit more mature than in the first book, which was a relief from his too frequent need to bawl at the drop of a hat.  The relationship between he and Nakajima is deeply sensual, and more true to life than some one might find within the pages of a yaoi manga, although truth be told, I prefer my protagonists to be on a  more equal footing, rather than favoring the waif faced uke often found, particularly in stories which take place in schools.  That being said, I did come to enjoy this pairing, and the sex scenes are gratifying and well done.  The other characters whom we came to know and love from the first book are here as well, including that most excellent cat, the Emperor,  but most of it centers around Keita and Nakajima.  The artwork is as excellent as ever, and You Higuri weaves an interesting tale of love and trust, and learning to listen to one's heart rather than other people's words.  On an aside, I find it interesting that the initials of the school – BL – can also be seen to stand for Boys Love, a rather fitting tribute to the genre.  I am not sure what is planned for this series, but my curiousity has been piqued at what might come next.  The parallel universe is a clever way of exploring other options without destroying the integrity of the whole.

Comics Online gives Gakuen Heaven Nakajima 4.5 out of 5 school cheers!