#{ ANYWAYS he’s like one of the earliest prototypes lmao }

[leondxs]

leo essentially being one of the first ‘vampires’ created and being known as the father of vampires to some since he is one of the earliest known ‘vampire’

[depressedoverdrawings]

I’ve read In the Sunroom, Keiko Takemiya’s earliest shounen-ai, released in 1970, fifty years ago. Half a century. Thinking about it makes my head spin. I'd heard it was supposed to be some sort of proto-Kazeki, but I didn’t expect the main character to be Serge. I mean, literally Serge, he’s a roma boy called “Serge Battour”, but in this version his mom’s a fortune teller, he doesn’t seem to have any noble blood in him, and he seems considerably younger. He was already adorable then, of course. Spoilers ahead, by the way. If you’re in a position to read this post you probably have already read In the Sunroom, and even if you haven’t, you probably know how Keiko Takemiya likes to end her stories. But still, I’d rather be on the safe side. Anyway, if you haven’t read it already, go read it, it’s pretty short. If you can’t find it, send me a message, I’ll help you out. Anyway, let me tell ya, Serge is not lucky when it comes to falling in love, is he? The subject of his painful affections this time is Étoile Rael, a proto-Gilbert who takes the role of the pale boy before him. He sports slightly shorter hair, the power of imagination, and a fixation on taking his clothes off. He’s got some similarities to Gilbert other than his near-identical looks, sharing that carefree gracefulness that Gilbert often displays when he’s not otherwise occupied going through horrible trauma, and also showing some social manipulation craftiness. He displays both when he pretends to be having an anaemic attack during class, both saving Serge from bullying at school (from the teacher, no less), and allowing them (and his little sister) to leave class early and spend the rest of the school day happily playing around in puddles. He’s also got many differences, though. This particular pale boy is sweet and affectionate with Serge up-front, there’s no antagonism from him. The drama in their relationship comes from Serge’s fear and lack of understanding regarding Étoile’s affection, and his own growing feelings for Étoile (a concept given its deserved attention in Kazeki). Meanwhile, Étoile’s faces the pain of seemingly unrequited love. He’s even got a seemingly healthy family (his mom seems pretty cold and distant though), having a little sister, Angel, who he at first has a happy relationship with. He slowly becomes distant from her as he falls for Serge, though, trying to push her away from them, seeing her as a rival. It gets a bit ridiculous when he doesn’t even care about her falling into freezing-cold water, being solely worried about Serge, who jumped in after to save her. Jesus Christ dude, I know you want Serge, he’s perfect and pure and literally the best boy and all, but she’s your little kid sister, come on. Ironically, this behaviour spooks Serge, and, together with Serge’s internal conflicts, drives him away, causing a falling out between them. Sunroom Serge is as sweet as Kazeki Serge however, and never stops caring about Étoile. He spends three days in a row moping around in The Sunroom, waiting for Étoile to show up, and then rushes to his bedroom as soon as he hears from Angel that the boy is seriously sick. Étoile dies. Of course he does. Not from sickness though, but from suicide. Maybe Serge’s desperate, teary invasion of his sickbed wasn’t enough to convince him that Serge fully reciprocated his feelings, even if he didn’t realize it at the moment. Maybe he reached the conclusion that a relationship with Serge would never work out? Or perhaps it was a rash decision, made in the midst of an emotional storm of pain and sadness. Regardless of why, he gives in to despair, and decides to kill himself, stabbing himself with a knife held in his loved one’s hand, in a death as trauma-inducing as it is intimate. And it is very intimate. There are many interesting concepts and deviations from Kazeki in this manga. For instance, the bullied kid here is Serge, in an inversion from Kazeki (actually Kazeki is an inversion from this but I digress). It follows a simpler, more obvious choice of bullied kid, as the persecution born from racism doesn’t require as much set-up to work, as she's only got around 50 pages to work with, instead of 17 freaking volumes. As such, this element isn’t given much depth or material, though I find it understandable. While Étoile considers himself a weirdo and an outcast (due to internalized homophobia, I’d guess), the manga doesn’t actually display him facing any social rejection, other than maybe the fact that his only friend is his little sister. Sunroom Serge, on the other hand, is relentlessly mocked by all, and so lonely, that once he makes a friend (Étoile), he runs around the town like a maniac, shouting to everyone about how happy he is. Aww. Regardless, it’s clear that Étoile, fittingly for proto-Gilbert, carries some sort of internal turmoil with him, even if it’s left vague and unexplored. But while analysing this manga and comparing it to Kazeki is fun, my favourite thing about it is, by far, is the concept of The Sunroom itself. When you’re a kid, having your own secret hideout, having that little place no one knows but you (and your cherished inner circle), it’s one of the coolest feelings ever. It certainly was, for me. At school, my friends and I “had” a couple of wonderful little nooks which we called our own, during recess. At home, I sat on the floor of a tiny little storeroom (if you could even call it that) that I’d make cosy with pillows and covers, and stayed hours reading comics, and later, books. It was so dusty, I always left the place sneezing. And it was great. And finally, in the nearby park, I “had” a little corner behind some of the park buildings, which beautifully faced the wooded hillside of the beginning of the little forest inside the park. Back then, I had no idea what “aesthetics” meant, or consciously understood beauty. And yet, the quiet natural grace of the place entranced me anyway. And it was exactly that strange feeling of loving that place in a way I didn’t understand that made me so connected to it. And here, the feeling of having your own secret hideout is so gorgeously, sincerely depicted! The Sunroom was doubly abandoned: First, it was abandoned along with the rest of the house. Then, it was abandoned in how Étoile’s parents didn’t care or even know about it, after buying the mansion. But then, the kids claimed the lonely old Sunroom for themselves, and gave it new purpose, turning it into their own little kingdom, playing, rearranging tables, messing around, unleashing that wild, unlimited imagination of childhood, that primal cosmic force, turning that dusty old room into a tiny little door to perfection, for a little while. In Sunroom Serge’s own words: Next, this place becomes a forest of fairies. With its bookshelves and aged desks... And the sunlight pouring down on us... This old, unused sunroom... Where the magic is cast endlessly. This manga didn’t make me wail like Kazeki, but it did make me tear up, right here. Anyway, In the Sunroom truly is a prototype of Kaze to Ki no Uta, in that it has similar plot beats, and character and relationship concepts. It has Serge, it has external conflict with society, it has internal conflict with one’s own mind, it has a tragic relationship that ends with the death of the pale boy; it even begins with a poem by Serge, declaring his love for his dead lover. Kaze to Ki no Uta seems, to me, like the logical end result of Keiko Takemiya taking the concepts present in In the Sunroom, and giving them eight years of dedication, working on them with masterful skill and true passion, allowing those concepts to reach their full, devastating potential. It’s awesome to see the seeds of what comes to be. Oh yeah, In the Sunroom also holds the honour of having the first ever male/male kiss in manga! Fifty years ago! Fifty years. Jesus. Anyway, In the Sunroom is bretty gud, would recommend, 8.8/10, not enough tragedy random stuff: - someone who can write should write a goofy fic about gil and étoile fighting over Serge - it’s really cool to see the improvement of her architectural drawings in kazeki - not that they’re ugly here, they’re not, but still, the change is impressive - serge nearly has a heart attack when he merely thinks of étoile naked, get a grip dude - ”étoile” means “star”, adorable