It's bad enough that high school student Fujino's mind keeps drifting to what fine and lovely hands his tutor/fellow student Takie has, rather than concentrating upon what he is supposed to be learning from him, but suddenly every time that Takie touches him in any way, Fujino feels an electric charge run through his body, one which seems to emanate from Takie's hands! A solicitous Takie attempts to take Fujino to see the school nurse, but the boy refuses, claiming he is not sick, and he finds it disturbing that the more he thinks about Takie's hands, the more turned on he gets!

Deciding to run a comparison test, Fujino requests classmate Ohta hug him, and when he does, he not only discovers that Ohta's hug does nothing for him, but he has managed to stir a strange reaction from Takie, which almost resembles jealousy! How can Fujino maintain his friendship with Takie while keeping his distance from him, and if he gets too close, will he conversely lose his friendship forever? This is the basis of the first story of Taishi Zaou's Electric Hands.

Highlights

Electric Hands is only the first story in this collection of short yaoi stories. The second, Brothers Battle, concerns a classmate of Fujino and Takie – his name is Tomoharu, and he has been especially vocal in protestations against the large number of homos at their school, particularly disturbed if the two boys display what he considers to be signs of affection in public. And now we learn why!

Tomoharu and his mother have had a rough time of it ever since his dad passed away when the boy was nine, but things are looking up ever since his mother married the CEO of the company she works for, and they are to go to live with him. Tomoharu is excited to meet his new little brother, twelve year old Aki, and hopes that they can all be one happy family.

Things are going well for everyone at the first family dinner, when it turns out that the CEO has a second son, Yuki, who barges in on them, in order to meet the new members of his family, and asks Tomoharu if he is a homo, which question rather rattles the boy! Not exactly a good foot to get off a new relationship on! Back at home, Yuki hangs around Tomoharu in his room, and the latter is rather surprised when he begins to nibble on his ear!

Fleeing, he runs to Aki, and the young boy confides to him how hard he has had it, how glad he is that Tomoharu is in his life – and then proceeds to hit on him as well! Why does Tomoharu find himself kissing Aki back? And what will happen when the brothers discover that they both have the same goal – Tomoharu? The next story is Love Play. Takami has been raised by a single mother, and life hasn't always been easy, so he helps her as much as he can. One day when they are shopping, they run into the son of his mother's boss, twelve year old Kairi, and she asks him to join them, even though Takami is made uncomfortable by the way the boy stares at him.

Kairi then asks that Takami become his tutor, and the money is too good to pass up, but Kairi soon makes it clear that knowledge is not his goal – Takami is! And he won't stop trying to attain him! In the last tale in the book, Don't Speak and Seduce With Your Eyes, Fujishima has the odd sensation when he is at track that someone is staring at him, and he decides that it is the new guy in school, Takashi Tsuruga. Fujishima decides to take the bull by the horns so he confronts Tsuruga and learns that it is true, he has been staring at him because he admires him!

When Tsurugua confesses to having feelings for him, Fujishima doesn't know what to think or do, since they are both guys, but he can't seem to get away from the strength of Tsuruga's gaze – like tentacles, his eyes seem to be drawing him in! He tells Tsuruga that he is too small for him, and if he ever gets to be taller than him, then Tsuruga can have certain parts of his body. Well, nature has a way of running its course, so what is he going to do now?

Overall

Normally, I am not a fan of short story collections because they are often too short to convey much in the way of story or character development, just barely allowing you time to get your feet wet before they are done. That is not the case here, as she really has only four stories, and devotes a couple of chapters to each, so that you do get a chance to know the characters, and to become interested in them.

That being said, the plots for Brothers Battle and Love Play are very similar, and I was confused at first, thinking I was reading the same story almost, but finally figured out my error. The mangaka admits to that herself in a self-insert between the stories entitled mid-point rant. I often skip these sorts of things, but I read this one, and although self-deprecating, which I find typical of Japanese artists, it is interesting, and sheds some light on her work, giving some insight into her personally as well. I also have to warn that two of these stories are actually shota, which is short for shotacon, from the phrase Shōtarō complex, which has to do with the depiction of prepubescent boys in a suggestive or erotic manner.

Personally, I see nothing sexy in a twelve year old boy, and neither do I see them being as erotically charged as the stories depict. Seriously, they barely have hormones. But I think it is a stylized thing, not to be taken too analytically, and not meant for explicit purposes for the most part, generally falling into the oh how cute category. However, if shota makes you uncomfortable, then perhaps this isn't the book for you. Not everyone that enjoys yaoi necessarily enjoys shota. And of course shota can be found outside of yaoi as well, in such series as Loveless and Ouran High School Host Club. Tashi Zaou deals with the subject tastefully, but she does confess in her notes to having an attraction to brotherly incest and twincest, so you might want to take that into account when you read her work, in case that isn't your cup of tea.

ComicsOnline gives Electric HandsElectric Hands 4 out of 5 seductive eyes.