Crimson Spell, Vol. 1

by Ayano Yamane

Book Overview

A cursed prince turns into a raging demon whose lust can only be calmed by the skillful hands of one powerful sorcerer! Prince Vald is struck by a curse that turns him into a demon! He seeks out a powerful sorcerer named Halvir to help break the curse, and the two go on an epic journey full of danger--and lust--in search of clues to break the young prince's curse! Upon wielding an ancient sword that has been passed down through his royal family for...

• Format: Paperback
• Language: English
• ISBN: 1421564211
• ISBN13: 9781421564210
• Release Date: December 2013
• Publisher: Sublime
• Length: 170 Pages
• Weight: 0.35 lbs.
• Dimensions: 0.7" x 5.0" x 7.1"

Customer Reviews

I pat myself on the back for this purchase

This was my first yaoi purchase pretty much ever, so I was a little nervous about what I was getting. Was it hardcore and no plot or softcore with a heavy plot? I was pleasantly surprised to find a nice balance between the two when I opened the cover of "Crimson Spell." Ayano Yamane has a gift when it comes to drawing gorgeous men, especially so in the case of Prince Vald (earlier versions print his name as "Bald," but I believe this has since been corrected) and Halvir the wizard, or Havi, for short. The plot is simplistic at first, deepening as the two men find themselves growing closer and closer, though not ithe way one expects. Prince Vald's curse forces him to turn into a monster, and the beast is only appeased through bloodshed or, you guessed it, sexual gratification (because this wouldn't be a yaoi otherwise Everything ties in with a quest to find a cure for Vald's curse, including conquering a dragon, taking in an animal spirirt, fighting bandits, and even being captured by an entire army of semi-wizards! The story leaves off with a cliffhanger, but it was so awesome, I have no problems waiting for a sequel. Now, the artwork itself is absolutely stunning, and I still can't get over how well Ayano Yamane illustrates hands and facial expressions (among other things, heh heh). Clearly this is an author who takes pride in what she does, and handles anatomy as professionally as possible. Of course, let it be known that the sex scenes are pretty hadcore, as well as uncensored. That's right, uncensored. This turns some people on more than others. For those of you who could care less about the sex, I refer you to the cute plot and side adventures. All in all, this is the perfect addition to any yaoi fan's collection. Easily one of the best purchases I ever made. I hope every one who purchases this yaoi enjoys it as much as I did.

Beautiful, Surprising and Hot

This is definitely one Yaoi title worth owning! The story is about beautiful Prince Vald (in my version it IS Vald and not Bald, someone must have clued them in that Bald was an uncomplementary name)who gets cursed and seeks out Havi a sorcerer to rid him of the demon which takes over his body each nite as he sleeps. Havi agrees, and unbeknownst to Vald, Havi drains the demon of energy by having sex with him in the demon state. A relationship between the normal Prince Vald and Havi eventually grows, which provides more depth to the story. Let's cut to the chase here. Upon opening the book, the first person you get to see is Prince Vald, who is SO beautiful (and manly) that you go "wow." At this point I know it will not matter too much about whoever else might show up in the book, after watching Prince Vald fell demons, I am quite sure I could happily watch this guy hump a tree. Then we meet sorcerer Havi who is easily as impressive. Refreshingly there is no soft simpering uke. Both characters are strong. There is almost no lead up to the first sex scene, you turn the page, and Havi has an unbelievably hot demon form of Vald, (complete with the sexiest tiger stripes I have ever seen)tied down and goes right to it. It shocks you at the very least with just how unexpected and how hot it is. The storyline can be a bit contrived, but I'm an intelligent woman an frankly it was wonderful. This is a keeper!

Very hot, beautiful and promising

The adventures of the occasionally transforming Prince Baldrigr who becomes a sexy demon which the magician, Havi can't resist, though they embark on a quest together to cure him of his curse. Add in the cute little helper, Rulka, a bunny-like familiar along for the ride who can also transform into a lascivious young man, and you have a winner: humour, adventure, magic and blood galore. The artwork is some of the best and most consistent I've seen, the storyline is very believable, entertaining and stronger than most of the fantasy genre of yaoi graphic novels without the unnecessarily confusing or purposely convoluted add-in's a lot of them have. A number of stories in one volume all interconnected, so you get lots of bang for your bucks. Definitely, definitely purchase this book if you are into 'hard' yaoi, it's exquisite in it's way, a wonderful edition to this theme, and I wouldn't part with this at all, and will be on the look out for next in the series. The only drawback I saw in this english edition was from the publisher's end, in that a number of the pages along the side were 'cut off', meaning words and artwork partially chopped.

Awesome Yaoi!

I was already a huge fan of Ayano Yamane's Finder series when I heard that this was getting an English release. I was a little skeptical that it wouldn't hold up to the quality of Finder. Thankfully, it was as good if not better! Yamane's art is exquisite, as always, but the storyline is even more developed than the first volume of Finder. Prince Bald has been cursed by his crimson sword to turn into a beast at night. He journey's to the magician Havi, renowned for breaking curses. Havi demands Bald accompany him on a journey to locate magical artifacts as payment for breaking the curse. But, Havi never counted on Bald's "beast" being so sexy and lusty! There is a lot of hot, explicit sex and the plot has a lot of action also. The rabbit "familiar" is a nice touch, and has the potential to add more humor in subsequent volumes. I'm fortunate enough to have both volumes in Japanese (though I have to rely on scanlation), and still I can hardly wait for the next volume in English. A wonderful hard yaoi title; highy recommended!

A "Must-Have"!

This fantasy Yaoi from this renown mangaka is a must-have. Her artwork is superb as I have a wonderful time admiring her marvelous drawings of demons, horses, magical creatures, swords clashes, magical battles, the hairstyle and costumes. And of course her men are simply gorgeous. The plot is fast paced, imaginative, engaging and the sex hot. Bald, the accursed prince, is the pure and courageous uke while Havi, the sexy and brooding magician, is the devious seme. When Bald turns into a demon, this couple is sizzling hot and most luscious. And I like the slowly evolving love between magician and prince as Havi's lust turns into love. Add in one very cute flying rabbit, who is able to assume a pretty youth form at will, we are in for one enjoyable read as we follow this threesome's encounters and adventures. There are humorous moments too, expressed by some lively caricatures or chibis. As for the bonus short erotica at the end, Yaoi Press should learn from this mangaka the art of drawing tentacles sex! My only complaint is the book size is slightly smaller than the usual Japanese tankoubon. Maybe this is the same size as the Japanese version but it is a pity when the beautiful artwork is restrained somewhat by the page size. Looking forward to Vol 2 which was released in Japan in March.