Kaitai is a science-fiction-ish BL story of bio-engineered humans, sinister policemen and moody scientists with mysterious pasts.

Set in a depressing, fictitious London from somewhere in the near future, this manga is representative of Ishihara's earlier, non-yaoi works; rough, sketchy artwork accompanied by an interesting plot the likes of which is rarely seen in the shounen-ai demographic.

Katsuomi and Tsurugi are the much admired, widely-idolized model students of their respective kendo dojos. As their competitive personalities and contrasting fighting styles clash more and more frequently, Katsuomi finds himself irresistibly attracted to the arrogant, graceful Tsurugi. Yet he hesitates to pursue his desires, fearing that doing so would give his foe the upper hand in competition.
Tsurugi also remains torn between reciprocating Katsuomi's feelings and maintaining his prideful position as an evenly-matched opponent.

Soon, however, the two boys find themselves forced to make a choice when they begin to realize that Tsurugi's younger brother has fallen for Katsuomi...

Rebellious misfit Fujieda Kei hates everything about his life: the elite private school he was forced to attend, his unreliable "friends" and the annoying cellphone which is always buzzing with calls from people who want to ask him for favours as the school's bad boy.

Quiet, studious, and admired by students and teachers alike, Sakuraba Atsushi appears to be his polar opposite in every way.

Since they obviously have nothing in common, they'd never even spoken to each other before despite being classmates. But all of this changes one day when Fujieda's classroom prank goes wrong; Sakuraba lets his unemotional demeanour slip for a moment as he taunts Fujieda and his vagrant lifestyle. Faced with Sakuraba's true personality, Fujieda is gripped by an emotion he's never experienced before...


There are two unrelated extra stories in the second volume:

1) Kan no Naka no Watashi no Kedamono (My Caged Beast) -- A twisted story taking place within the tight security of a yakuza base.

2) Indigo Blue -- Kouga and Shiba don't quite fit into the ordered Japanese system, so they leave the country; we pick up on them again four years later in Mexico City. One final dirty job, and they'll have enough cash on hand to retire to a Caribbean island with indigo blue skies...

This story in set in the Taisho era (1912-1926) of Japan.

Two years after the famous author Uro vanished, his last manuscript is found at the house of competing author Otogai, who seems obsessed with (or is it possessed by?) his supposedly-dead rival.

By a strange turn of events, three acquaintances; an illustrator, an editor and a stage performer, end up investigating Otogai's odd behaviour. They discover that the writer's garden appears to be haunted by a mysterious camellia bush...and camellia was Uro's favourite flower.

Note: Watashi no Kakurega e Douzo contains a story, Dancing in the Snow, which also features Minami, Ideizumi and Kuzuha. All these stories about the trio are also gathered in the first volume of Rere Shuushuutan, which then continues with new stories about their involvement in various supernatural mysteries.

Note: With the exception of the fifth one-shot, the other stories listed below have little to no BL content.

- Venez Chez Moi
An interwoven set of mini-chapters that blend seamlessly together, enabling the reader to catch a brief glimpse of the lives of men with many and varied personalities and circumstances.

- World Market
An author earns a living writing mediocre stories with morally questionable content, drawing inspiration from the eclectic mix of people who surround him...and learns that he may be more talented than he imagined.

- Dancing in the Snow
A supernatural story featuring Minami, Ideizumi and Kuzuha from So wa Reirei no Yuki ni Mai.

(Note: All the oneshots featuring this trio are gathered in the first volume of Rere Shuushuutan, which then continues with new stories about their involvement in various supernatural mysteries)

- Inhale and Exhale
Two artistic rivals whose devotion to their work has caused their relationships with the outside world to crumble, unexpectedly find themselves united in a common goal when one falls ill.

- Overflowing Swimming Pool
A short sequel to one of the author's previous yaoi works, Afuresou na Pool. As a stand-alone, this chapter makes little sense - so read only if you're familiar with the original series.

Iriya Tetsuo was the nice, quiet kid that everybody knows. Until well-meant prodding on the part of Hanada Satoshi made him choose the 'easy' way out. He purposely failed the entrance exam to a good school, and picked fights so that he wouldn't have to be around Hanada anymore.

The last thing he expected or wanted was for strong-willed Kizu Ryouji to show any interest in him. The sparks fly between the two, while Iriya's best friend Kasuga Ryouta watches jealously...

Charisma is a multi-perspective story following several different characters. The central character is Archer, whose childhood was rather messed up due to the influence of his mentally unstable family members. His father Ed is afflicted with bipolar disorder, while older half-brother Murphy is autistic.

The story follows Archer as he works with Deano to infiltrate a drug cartel that has a long-standing enmity with his gang. Along the way he meets Ken, who's also infiltrating the cartel (for the police). What follows is a multitude of conflicts between different gangs, members of the same gang, and seemingly random people.

The chapters in the first volume are not in chronological order; the story begins with Archer being released from prison, then goes back to the past and how everything began.

NOTE: Cover image is from volume 3 of the 2001 edition.

Etsushi Fuwa is your typical playboy high-school student. He dates several different girls at once, usually spends his nights in clubs or bars, and often seduces rich older women into giving him money in return for his...services.

Aimlessly drifting through life with nothing to care about and no-one to call a real friend, he happens upon fellow second-year Sou Kusanagi, who is well-known for being both a 'spunky midget' and a rabid fan of motorcycle racing. Something about this ambitious kid with his bright, confident eyes and never-say-die attitude intrigues Fuwa. Figuring he can always quit whenever he feels like it, he pretends to know all about motorcycles and asks to be Kusanagi's partner for an upcoming two-person racing event.