Yellow is a four-volume yaoi

Yaoi

In careful Japanese enunciation, all three vowels are pronounced separately, for a three-mora word, . The English equivalent is . also known as Boys' Love, is a Japanese popular term for female-oriented fictional media that focus on homoerotic or homoromantic male relationships, usually created by...

 manga

Manga

Manga is the Japanese word for "comics" and consists of comics and print cartoons . In the West, the term "manga" has been appropriated to refer specifically to comics created in Japan, or by Japanese authors, in the Japanese language and conforming to the style developed in Japan in the late 19th...

 by Makoto Tateno

Makoto Tateno

, who also uses the penname Shinjuku Tango, is a Japanese manga artist who made her debut in 1986. Tateno regards her influences as being Go Nagai and Osamu Tezuka. Two of her best known works are Yellow and Happy Boys...

, published in English

English language

English is a West Germanic language that arose in the Anglo-Saxon kingdoms of England and spread into what was to become south-east Scotland under the influence of the Anglian medieval kingdom of Northumbria...

 by Digital Manga Publishing

Digital Manga Publishing

Digital Manga is a company that licenses and releases, in English, Japanese anime, manga, and related merchandise. The company has several subdivisions: Digital Manga Publishing, which publishes Japanese manga, novels and instructional and illustration books in North America with multiple imprints,...

. It tells the story of two elite drug "snatchers" (couriers), Taki and Goh, mainly about the love and adventures they share together.

This manga does not involve a seme-uke relationship that is commonly present in and/or attributed to the genre of yaoi

Yaoi

In careful Japanese enunciation, all three vowels are pronounced separately, for a three-mora word, . The English equivalent is . also known as Boys' Love, is a Japanese popular term for female-oriented fictional media that focus on homoerotic or homoromantic male relationships, usually created by...

. Instead, both males are represented as equals in terms of power and physical appearance. Taki is actually presented as decidedly heterosexual

Heterosexuality

Heterosexuality is romantic or sexual attraction or behavior between members of the opposite sex or gender. As a sexual orientation, heterosexuality refers to "an enduring pattern of or disposition to experience sexual, affectional, physical or romantic attractions to persons of the opposite sex";...

 while Goh is a homosexual

Homosexuality

Homosexuality is romantic or sexual attraction or behavior between members of the same sex or gender. As a sexual orientation, homosexuality refers to "an enduring pattern of or disposition to experience sexual, affectional, or romantic attractions" primarily or exclusively to people of the same...

. In the sexual aspect of the manga, it mainly focuses on Goh's insistent advances on Taki, and Taki's subsequent reluctance.

The title "Yellow" means to represent their relationship and their job because of the colors of a traffic light: green means go, red means stop, and yellow is a warning of risk. The manga itself is a blend of adventure, romance, and high tension.

Characters

Goh: Drug snatcher extraordinaire, has a bad habit of falling for his partners.

Taki: Goh's latest partner. He has a past that may catch up to him.

Reception

The couple has been described as a "will they, won't they" couple. The art has been criticised as a little raw, but the story has more to it than the characters' relationship. It has been described as "FAKE by any other name." Julie Rosato felt the beginning "had potential", and enjoyed the character designs of the leads. Rosato enjoyed the broader scope of the third volume, but felt the ending was too pat.