First thing you should know about Legal Drug, is that there aren't many of them. Currently being published in English by Tokyopop, there are only three volumes available. With CLAMP working full time on it's weekly Tsubasa: Reservoir Chronicle and the less often but twice as intricate xxxHOLIC, there isn't much time for it's third running series. Add that to the fact that the magazine it was being serialized in Japan was canceled, and you've got a bit of delay. But never fear--Ageha Ohkawa, director of CLAMP, has stated that they will definitely be continuing the story. So either go out and read all three and wait, like me, or start stretching it out, because you'll definitely be stuck in a state of anticipation for awhile.

Legal Drug is the story of Kazahaya Kudo, a pretty twink boy with long blonde bangs and a penchant for visions. After being rescued from the cold by the patrons of a local pharmacy, he finds himself entrenched in a secret detective agency that uses his talents for their work.

Did I mention that the agency is run by a slightly twisted and blatantly sexual gay couple that seem to enjoy employing young pretty boys a little too much? And that Kudo finds himself working with the tall, dark, and ruggedly handsome Rikuo, a direct contrast to Kudo? Yes, this story is ripe with gay undertones and innuendo. In fact, it carries many of the tropes of "yaoi" storylines, with the thin, pretty, excitable and slightly submissive boy being paired up with the quiet, stoic, atheletic and overly dominant type. Which, if you don't mind stereotypes, can be pretty enjoyable.

Yes, it is slightly similar to the aforementioned xxxHOLiC, with a younger guy working for a well-informed and twisted shop owner, and elements of the supernatural, but the look and feel of this series is very different. While xxxHOLiC is almost set up on intricate posed stages, with each panel carefully designed and intricately carried out, Legal Drug is smooth and airy. Often there are no panels at all, and characters features are delicately and beautifully rendered. There's a feeling of mystery, tenderness and sexual tension throughout by the usage of fades, bright lighting and subtle shading. Men are drawn in that typically shojo style, all limbs and elongated torso, but it works well with the mood of the series.

With the third volume taking place in all male high school with some very cute couples (one boy in glasses is particularly adorable), you can definitely say that this is a gay friendly manga. But then again, the cultural view of this sort of thing is very different compared to America--yaoi is incredibly popular with the modern teenage girl set. Thank the manga gods for that, because watching the relationship build between Rikuo and Kudo is charming, amusing, and endlessly suspenseful. I give it my whole hearted and piratical approval.