Manga Monday: Totally Captivated

Totally Captivated (Volumes 1-3)
Hajin Yoo

Totally Captivated is a yaoi manhwa about college student Ewon, who's forced to work for the mafia as an errand boy, including some unpleasant duties such as collecting money from clients.  He's put into this position, without pay, thanks to an ex-boyfriend he cheated on, who is now the lover of the local mafia boss, the handsome man Mookyul, who can be very cruel and bites people when he's drunk.  Despite the unsavory qualities of his new position, Ewon manages to fit in quite nicely, making fast friends with most of the mafia, who admire his cooking and cleaning abilities.  It becomes apparent before long that they would be lost without him.  Mookyul begins to notice Ewon as well, and makes constant passes at him, despite his protests.  Totally Captivated is a fun title, full of amusing characters and some pretty tense, and violent, action scenes.  But it's really the romance that works the best in any yaoi manga, and that certainly holds true here.  Ewon and Mookyul's mutual attraction, despite their reservations, is perfectly played out with a mix of flirtatiousness and cluelessness that frustrates the both of them.  It can also get pretty hot and heavy in the sex scenes, but it's pretty tame compared to a lot of titles out there, focusing mostly on suggestion and the blossoming romance.  The art is well drawn overall, but it does have its problems, particularly with a few action scenes that are nearly impossible to follow.  Panel arrangements can be a little clumsy at times as well, and hardly intuitive.  But the tense relationship of the main characters and the charming story make this an overall pretty riveting yaoi read.