Wild Rock

Emba on the 1st Edition Japanese cover.

***Wild Rock*** (ワイルド・ロック) is the first published yaoi manga by Takashima. It began serialization in 2001 in Biblos' *BE-BOY GOLD* magazine and was volumized in 2002 at its conclusion. It was released in English by Blu Manga in 2006. When Libre acquired Biblos' licensing agreements, they re-released the volume in 2007 as a Libre Edition, which featured an extra story and a new cover.

## Plot Summary

The story is divided into three parts.

The first part (the main story) follows Yuuen, the second son of the Forest Tribe Chief, Yuni. As a male, he's expected to hunt but he's terrible at it. Yuni decides that since he's more of a hindrance than a help, he should be tasked with trying to distract Emba, the Lakeside Chief's heir and their best hunter who they have a rivalry with.

The second part is subtitled **Innocent Lies** and is a prequel; following Yuni and the Lakeside Chief, Salem, when they were Yuuen and Emba's ages.

The third part is subtitled **Child Rock** and is a sequel; following a day in Emba and Yuuen's life as they care for Nava, their nephew. A bonus squeal titled **Child Rock Returns** was included in the 2007 Libre Edition of the volume and featured a slightly older, talking Nava.

## Characters

* Yuuen - The Second Son of the Forest Tribe Chief
* Emba - The Son of the Lakeside Tribe Chief
* Yuni - The Chief of the Forest Tribe
* Salem - The Chief of the Lakeside Tribe
* Yuuli - The First Son and Heir to the Forest Tribe, Brother to Yuuen
* Ani - The Daughter of the Lakeside Tribe Chief, Sister to Emba
* Nava - The Son of Yuuli & Ani, Emba and Yuuen's Nephew

## Publication History

*Wild Rock* was first serialized in Biblos' *BE-BOY GOLD* magazine in October 2001. The **Innocent Lies'**story was published next in*b-BOY Zips*' 29th issue which came out November 2001. The subsequent **Wild Rock** Chapters 2 and 3 were also in *BE-BOY GOLD* in the February 2002 and April 2002 issues. It was then published as a single volume in April 2002, which included **Child Rock**, a gag ending, and an Afterword.

In March 2004, an "Interview" between Emba and Yuuen titled **Welcome to Our SWEET HOME**was published in the standalone volume for Inu mo Arukeba. It was later published in Biblos' *b-BOY Zips*' 35th issue in September 2004.

In 2006, Biblos and its parent company filed for bankruptcy and Libre Publishing took over all the licenses for the former company. Libre published a re-release Special Edition (Libre Edition) with a new cover and the additional bonus story **Child Rock Returns**.

In 2006, it was released by Blu Manga, a division of TokyoPop, in the US with the original cover and **Child Rock Returns** was not included.

### Other Versions

It was also published in the following languages:

* Chinese by Sharp Point Press in 2004 under the title "曠野柔情" (lit. Wilderness Tenderness).
* French by Taifu Comics in 2009; The Libre Edition.
* German by Carlsen Manga in 2005. The Libre Edition was published in 2016.
* Italian by Kappa Edizioni in 2004.
* Polish by Saisha in 2005.
* Spanish by Ediciones La Cúpula in 2006.
* Thai by GEN-Y in 2012; The Libre Edition.

## Drama CD

A drama CD was produced by Movic Corporation's BE×BOY CD Collection label in November 2002.

The CD follows the exact plot of the manga, but the events are told in chronological order, starting with **Innocent Lies**, then the main story, and ending with **Child Rock**. But **Returns** was not included since it had yet to be published.

### Cast

* Fukuyama Jun as Yuuen
* Morikawa Toshiyuki as Emba
* Yamaguchi Kappei as Yuni (Younger)
* Miki Shinichirou as Salem (Young)
* Inoue Kazuhiko as Yuni (Older)
* Kousugi Juurouta as Salem (Older)
* Takahashi Hiroki as Yuuli
* Kaida Yuuko as Ani
* Kawasaki Eriko as Nava

## Trivia

* The sequel story **Child Rock** was the only issue not in the *b-Boy Zips* magazine.
* A clear file (folder) was available for purchase.
* Yuuen's brother Yuuli ends up married to Emba's sister Ani, who gives birth to Nava. This is the best possible outcome for both Yuuen and Emba because their tribes are no longer warring with each other, Yuuli was heir to the Forest Tribe anyway, and Emba was heir to the Lakeside Tribe.
* The alligator that attacks Yuuen is a deinosuchus.
* The idea for the story came when Takashima was asked to write something for a "Historical Special" of *b-Boy Zips*. It was actually going to be a gag-comedy at first, where characters would be classified in society where their "package" size indicated strength, or determine strength by breaking bones with their butt muscles. She speculates that if this idea was kept, it may have been called "Wild Mambo."
* Her favorites scenes to draw were when Yuni and Salem parted in Innocent Lies and where Emba and Yuuen make the oath. She wanted Yuni and Salem o be together but knew they couldn't for the story's sake.
* In the Omake (Extra), Emba is eaten by the tiger he originally saves Yuuen from. Takashima said this is immediately what she thought of when they asked her to include something for the volume.

## Gallery

First Edition VolumeSecond Edition CoverDrama CDb-Boy Zips Nov 2001 IssueChinese Edition by Sharp Point PressEnglish Edition by Blu MangaFrench Edition by Taifu ComicsFirst German Edition by Carlsen MangaSecond German Edition by Carlsen MangaItalian Edition by Kappa EdizioniPolish Edition by SaishaSpanish Edition by Ediciones La CúpulaThai Edition by Gen-Y
## References

1. ↑ 1.0 1.1 https://web.archive.org/web/20070927173504/http://www.blumanga.com/series\_detail.php?page=0&series=wildrock
2. ↑ 2.0 2.1 https://libre-inc.co.jp/catalog/detail.php?product\_id=11499
3. ↑ 3.0 3.1 3.2 Takashima, Kazusa. "Credits" Libre Publishing, Wild Rock, 2007, pg ?.
4. ↑ https://web.archive.org/web/20090430101352/http://www.publishersweekly.com/article/CA6428918.html
5. ↑ https://share.readmoo.com/book/825090
6. ↑ https://web.archive.org/web/20090311025042/http://taifu-comics.com/s67/Wild\_Rock.html
7. ↑ https://www.manga-news.com/index.php/serie/Wild-Rock
8. ↑ https://web.archive.org/web/20160320174806/https://www.comicexpress.de/item.php/standard32353/manga/manga-einzelb%c3%a4nde/wild-rock
9. ↑ http://www.agm-magazin.de/anime-manga/review-wild-rock
10. ↑ http://www.kappaedizioni.com/kappa-edizioni-shonen-ai-boys-love-yaoi-wild-rock-c50110000000.php
11. ↑ https://www.unilibro.it/libro/takashima-kazusa-de-giovanni-m-cur-/wild-rock/9788874710423
12. ↑ http://lubimyczytac.pl/ksiazka/89893/wild-rock
13. ↑ https://web.archive.org/web/20061108224515/http://www.lacupula.com/web/articulo.do?idArt=859
14. ↑ https://www.phanpha.com/item/wild-rock-%E0%B9%84%E0%B8%A7%E0%B8%A5%E0%B8%94%E0%B9%8C%E0%B8%A3%E0%B9%87%E0%B8%AD%E0%B8%84-%E0%B9%80%E0%B8%A5%E0%B9%88%E0%B8%A1%E0%B9%80%E0%B8%94%E0%B8%B5%E0%B8%A2%E0%B8%A7%E0%B8%88%E0%B8%9A
15. ↑ 15.0 15.1 http://www.cdjapan.co.jp/product/MACY-2203
16. ↑ https://shop.libre-inc.co.jp/shop/commodity/00000000/MACY-2203/
17. ↑ 17.0 17.1 17.2 17.3 Takashima, Kazusa. "Afterword" Blu Manga, Wild Rock, TokyoPop, 2006, pg 175.
18. ↑ Takashima, Kazusa. "Bare-All Interview" Blu Manga, Man's Best Friend, 2006, pg 156.
19. ↑ Takashima, Kazusa. "Bare-All Interview" Blu Manga, Man's Best Friend, 2006, pg 158.