There's an almost poignant quality to Fake Fur. Keyword: almost. Although keeping in line with Yamagata Satomi's exceptional way of mixing physical contact with personal isolation, Fake Fur feels weak compared to her other works. That is not to say that Fake Fur is not a worthwhile read. On the contrary, it's a good place to start reading her work just so you'll be able to watch how her style matures with the characters. Going back to the almost poignancy of this work, it's all still very sweet. The characters still have depth and personality because the danger of most yaoi works is for the coupleto be some generic people. Yamagata Satomi actually handles the story well. It portrays the feeling of first love with enough distance so it's effective and not silly or too saccharine.

Written and illustrated beautifully, Fake Fur is a good introduction to Yamagata Satomi's style. The piece which decides if she's your cup of tea or not.