Only The Ring Finger Knows [and the readers!]

Hello Reader;

For my first review and confession, I have chosen a high school story of romance that was actually the first real Yaoi I ever bought...Sorta. I was at my first ever Anime convention, a convention in Edmonton called Animethon! This was in my highschool days before I'd ever heard of Yaoi...but I knew I was gay. One of my female friends who had gone to the convention as well informed me of "a special type" of manga that I might be interested in. Naturally, I scoured the dealers room, table to table looking and searching...and finally my friend and I found exactly 2,[Less than three but more than one] Yaoi mangas for sale at a corner booth. She picked up "Only the Ring Finger Knows" published by DMP and written/drawn by Satoru Kannagi and Hotaru Odagiri. I picked up "Desire" also published by DMP and written/drawn by Maki Kazumi and Yukine Honami.

Naturally we both excitedly read the backs of the manga, young and naive about the genre and wondering "why is this book wrapped in plastic?" I noticed the "Explicit Content" Sticker on mine, and being a teenage boy...well...I ran for the cashier. MY friend [We will call her CS] CS and I went to our hotel room with our days purchases and agreed to each read our Yaoi and then exchange to read each others. Ironically, it would turn out that I adored the one she bought...and she adored the one I purchased....so we just never switched back. [Though I did by a second copy of Desire at a later convention to complete my collection.]



Only The Ring Finger Knows

Only The Ring Finger knows is a complicated love story between two high school aged boys. It follows the protagonist "Wataru Fujii" as he lives his daily average and lack luster life, and the antagonist "Yuichi Kazuki" honor student and school idol, loved by all and talented at most everything. The main plot element that ties our story and our character together is a fad of "ring wearing" that has swept the high schools and declares your relationship status to the world. [Oh how rough life must have been before Facebook right?]

To wear matching rings with another person on the right hand ring person was a signifigant declaration of "Best Friends" To wear a solo ring on the middle finger of the right hand declared "Single" To wear a solo ring on the middle finger of the left hand meant "Single, but In love" and to wear matching rings on the left hand ring finger meant "We are seeing each other."

The Inciting Incident:

We learn that Wataru has a cherished ring, a silver band that he wears on his middle finger and is very attached too. As the story unfolds we learn of the rings signifigance and how it has become important to him. Near the begining of the story, Wataru is in the bathroom washing his face after a long night of drinking with his love sick friend. In order to protect the ring from the water he took it off and put it on the side of the sink. While splashing his face with water he inadvertently splashes a stranger who came in after him. He apologizes embarrassedly and the stranger kindly dismisses it, instead offering a hankerchief so Wataru can wipe his sopping face. I like how the author portrays this moment, because even as two strangers are meeting, Wataru notes the smell of fresh soap, and you can see that even though he doesn't know the boy who offered it...they will have something special between them.

In a flash Wataru recognizes the tall and handsome upper classman as being Yuichi, the most popular guy in school who is known for being gentle and kind with everyone he meets. Flustered and embarrassed he tries to gather his composure before the school idol only to have his assumptions about Yuichi's personality smashed into bits. Yuichi is rude and insulting, and goes out of his way to make Wataru feel badly about the situation. It reveals a side of Yuichi even Wataru is surprised to see and no one would ever believe unless they saw it for himself. This fated interaction sets a spiral and a pattern in the exchanges Wataru and Yuichi will have for the remainder of the manga.

Rising Action:

After Wataru has returned to class he notices his ring doesn't fit like it used too, and is certain that his fingers must have gotten fatter. Its at this point that Yuichi comes to Watarus class with an explanation. As unlikely as it is, Wataru and Yuichi have the SAME RING?! A Pair that was unintended!? Yuichi re-exchanges rings with Wataru, again in a less than polite way and explaining that they got switched at the sink.

As the story progresses, we find Yuichi and Wataru entering situations in which they are forced to interact. Wataru agrees to bring a gift to Yuichi from someone in his sisters class. Wataru worries about Yuichi after he suddenly abandons a winning basketball game for no reason. They meet in the library alone when Wataru can't reach a book on one of the high shelves. Each time Yuichi is cruel and rude, putting Wataru down and worming his way into watarus thoughts. Unknowing at first, Wataru is slowly falling in Love with the Yuichi, a sucker for punishment it seems...but stubborn and wanting to be treated better by the class idol.

In one of the many exchanges, Wataru tries to explain to Yuichi why his ring is so important to him. Originally Wataru bought the ring on a whim and it didn't mean much to him, but after losing it unexpectedly and becoming reunited with it surprisingly a week later, it became extremely important to him. Wataru justifies this change of heart with an expression. "Wouldn't you be happy if you got something you already gave up on?" Though Yuichi admits he can appreciate Wataru's attachemnt, he is also unwilling to part with his ring...as it was given to him by a friend and was a treasured object. They decide to go on having matched rings [even though neither of them is happy about it.]

To add to the conflict, rumors start flying about Wataru actually having a crush on Yuichi and thats why they have matching rings! This startles and scares Wataru into creating a rumor that Yuichi was dating his sister, in order to divert suspicion as to why Wataru and Yuichi had been interacting so much lately. It works, but soon girls from all over are approaching Wataru to ask if the rumor is true! This seems to bother Wataru even more, as he meets more and more girls who seem enchanted by Yuichi's incredible attraction. At last, on the day of Yuichi's birthday and after a lot of confusion and soul searching Wataru descides that the only way to figure out what he feels is to confront Yuichi about why he treats him so poorly.

In a park near Yuichi's house, Wataru overhears a conversation between Yuichi and a pretty girl [We learn later is his cousin] talking about how she gave Yuichi's ring to him. [The same one that Matches Wataru's.] Seeing them laughing and smiling Wataru finally realises that he has been jealous all this time, and that he was in love with Yuichi for reasons he couldn't understand. Distraught and hurt by the realisation, Wataru gives away his precious ring in an effort to diffuse the pain he felt, not wanting the visual reminder of his ill-fated first love. He gifts the ring to a little girl in the park and tries his best to get over the situation, not wanting to have to face rejection, and resigning himself to heartache.

Climax:

Fortunatly for us Yaoi fans, Fate has other ideas as Yuichi storms into Watarus classroom the following day Angry and passionately enraged. He grabs Wataru and drags him out into the hall, declaring that he was "Pissed off and might do something awful to Wataru if he didn't follow." Wataru is scared by this angry side of yuichi, but is still torn by his love for him and soon finds himself alone on the roof with Yuichi. It turns out Yuichis birthday party was ruined by a storm of girls who all came to confront Yuichi about the rumor of him dating Watarus younger sister! [Remember it was Wataru that started this rumor!] Yuichi demands an explanation from Wataru who is still battling his feeling internally. The result is shocking![You'll have to read it to find out!!]

We see a side of Wataru and a side of Yuichi that we as readers don't understand but it stirs our hearts. The scene is beautiful and genuine, and the emotions leap off the page and make it difficult not to tear up. You can empathize with Wataru, who is dealing with unrequited love...and you can also feel for Yuichi, who is also going through something though its hard to figure out what. We start to get an inkling that maybe the reason Wataru is treated differently than other people is that Yuichi actually harbors special feelings for him as well!?

The Explanation and Confession:

A week has gone by and Wataru is a shell of his former self. Hes not eating properly, and his ring finger aches with loss. He is moody and grey, and spends most of his time at home. Wataru's sister worries about him and decides to take them shopping for her birthday present, hoping that going out will get Wataru out of his funk. While shopping, they enter a custom jewelry store, which is owned and operated by none other than the woman Wataru saw with Yuichi on the day of his birthday! Wataru is surprised to see her, but it seems she also recognizes him and confronts him! She asks if Wataru and Yuichi are friends because she is worried about Yuichi [her cousin] who has been depressed and unhappy for over a week! [Just like Wataru] Wataru's sister being a sharp girl puts 2 and 2 together and gets 4, and works with Yuichis cousin to awaken Watarus feelings for Yuichi again! Yuichis cousin explains that Yuichi had always been living for expectations, which isn't much of a life at all if you aren't doing it for yourself. We learn that Yuichis life has been hard, and somewhat lonely...and we also learn that Yuichi personally requested a ring that would match Wataru's which his cousin crafted for him.

Learning that Yuichi had his ring "Specifically made" to match the ring of the person he loved, Wataru starts to wonder if Yuichi had been in love with him since the begining?! Wataru rushes to see Yuichi! he had to know the truth about the rings and about Yuichi's feelings.

In a heartfelt meeting in the park...[the same park Wataru first recognized his feelings in] the boys finally exchange their feelings...Wataru learning of Yuichi's heart and his feelings and how they developed. [You'll have to read the story to find out why!] They embrace and have now finally found love, though it took so long and was so hard on both of them. Finally at the end of it all, when our hearts as readers are in full bloom and beating fast like Wataru's would be after running so far, we learn that Yuichi has recovered Watarus ring. The ring Wataru gave away to a stranger, had been recovered and rescued by his new partner in Love. It's a beautiful thing in literature when a moment can give you goosebumps, and it reminds even the coldest/heart broken person that love is powerful. I read this story when Im hurting...and it makes the pain fade.

Maybe I too will get to have matching rings with a boy someday.

Only the Ring Finger Knows.....Right?



-Cole Winters.

Confessions of a Yaoi Collector.

Introduction, Inspiration, and another word begining in "I"

Hello Readers;

Some of you might actually have an interest in the content I intend to share, others may not. I ask in advance that any comments you might leave should be positive and constructive, to help make my blog a positive place.

I'm Gay. Yes thats right, I am gay and living in Canada. I turn 23 this year and [as uncool as it sounds] I love anime & manga. I watched a movie recently called "Julie & Julia" and it was about writing a blog and how it could change your life...and I started thinking...It's too bad I don't have anything to write about.

Thats where I was mistaken! I have a huge amount of manga and anime and I never really enjoyed being a member of websites/forums that have to do with my collection. There was a lack of maturity on those webpages and a lot of Yaoi fans are girls so I didn't fit in. So in true Blog spirit I intend to read one of my many Yaoi Manga's every day/second day and write a short review of it on this blog.

I will include some plot and character information [SPOILER ALERT!?] and how the story made me feel! After all, thats why we do anything right? Reading/Playing Games, It's all just escaping to a place of adventure/excitement/romance. Perhaps, This blog will be a new escape for me...and for any of you out there.