The Spring 2024 Manga Guide

The Yearning Fox Lies in Wait

What's It About? 

The year is 1920, the 9th year of the Taisho Period. Lifelong philomath Kiyo Fukasaku is ecstatic when he's admitted into the Imperial University, and can't wait to begin his new life in the nation's capital... until he gets lost and already finds himself on hard times on his first day in the big city. Luckily, he runs into Ozaki, an eccentric, seemingly well-off man who invites Kiyo to stay in his mansion after he learns about his financial troubles. But there's more to the handsome stranger than meets the eye. It turns out that Ozaki is a fox spirit who has some sort of connection to Kiyo's grandfather, Seishirou, and he invites Kiyo to live with him as a way to repay Seishirou's kindness. But just what kind of relationship did Ozaki and Seishirou have, and what does it mean for Ozaki and Kiyo?

The Yearning Fox Lies in Wait has a story and art by Nmura. English translation by Leo McDonagh. This volume is lettered and retouched by Jennifer Skarupa. Published by Kodansha Comics (May 14, 2024).

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Is It Worth Reading?

Lauren Orsini
Rating:

In romance, how big of an age gap is too big? Would you go out with a guy who, oh, I don't know, hung out with your grandfather? That's just what Kiyo does in The Yearning Fox Lies in Wait. In this love story set in the Taisho era, he enters an unusual living situation with the (much) older man that blossoms into a romance made tense by the obvious difference between the two characters' ages, status, and power.

A wide-eyed college student in the big city for the first time, Kiyo gets lost attempting to navigate the Imperial Capital of Tokyo. After he wanders suspiciously around a mansion for a while, its resident, a striking man named Ozaki, comes outside to see what the problem is. But when Kiyo introduces himself to the stranger, unusual surname and all, Ozaki abruptly offers for Kiyo to forget about finding his shabby student housing and share the estate with him instead! If you guessed that this wish fulfillment comes with a catch, you've got good instincts. It turns out that Ozaki isn't just any old rich guy; he's an ancient fox spirit who recognizes Kiyo's last name because he was acquainted with his grandfather.

Kiyo figures out what's going on pretty quickly, and from there, it becomes a 'Beauty and the Beast' type of story. Kiyo plays the role of Belle, young and full of energy, determined to pull his weight by cleaning up the mansion between his studies. Ozaki, with his ears and tails and claws is, of course, the Beast. His grouchy attitude and surprisingly jealous nature lead him to pull away from Kiyo's ray of sunshine to avoid getting hurt again by the latest generation of Kiyo's family. You know how the story ends, but the allusions that Ozaki is pursuing Kiyo after once pursuing Kiyo's grandfather never sat well with me. The book remains PG throughout, but the unsettling implication remains. Since this is historical fiction, one wonders if there will be a sequel about Ozaki carrying on with yet another generation of Kiyo's family in modern times.

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Rebecca Silverman
Rating:

If there's one thing I always appreciate, it's when creators do their historical research. The Yearning Fox Lies in Wait is, in this sense, an excellent historical romance –taking place between 1920 and 1922, you can track the years that pass by the references made in the text, such as Kiyo starting school in September in 1920 (it shifted to April soon after) to a reference of a motorcycle race in 1922. And yes, we can all be glad that the story ends in 1922 and hope that Kiyo and Ozaki moved out of Tokyo before the Great Kanto Earthquake in 1923.

Historical nerdery aside, this is a very sweet story with just the right touch of sadness. Kiyo and Ozaki meet more or less by chance when Kiyo gets lost outside Ozaki's house after coming to Tokyo for university. Still, Ozaki immediately recognizes him as the grandson of the man he loved forty-odd years ago. Lest you think that Ozaki is a creepy old guy, he's a kitsune with four tails, and he's been mourning the death of Seishiro for a long time. Was he in love with Seishiro? That's up for debate; he certainly loved the other man, but he also can't remember taking it particularly hard when Seishiro met and married Kiyo's grandmother, whereas when he thinks Kiyo has found a young woman, he panics. It takes Ozaki most of the volume to recognize his feelings for what they are and realize that they aren't a betrayal of Seishiro, which Kiyo is keen for him to figure out as well.

Maybe it's because Kiyo is younger and from a different generation that he has an easier time admitting his emotions. No matter where in the world you are, the 1920s were significantly different from the 1880s, and that will mean a change in attitudes along with everything else. But Kiyo also recognizes that Ozaki's afraid. His grandfather died much younger than anyone expected, and that scarred Ozaki, who was made horribly aware of the difference between a human and a kitsune's lifespan. It's up to Kiyo to remind him that time has been moving forward while he's been trapped in his own heart and that what killed Seishiro can currently be cured. Their relationship represents moving forward on more than one level, and that's an important component of the story.

Unlike some of the other single-volume BL titles in the Guide, this one works at its present length. Middle sections could have been extended and developed more, but it still feels like a complete story. It's a nice book with some fluffy fox tails and ears, perfect for a rainy spring day.