I haven't been reading Western manga for a while and Star Collector seemed interesting, since it's BL. Fynn is a bad boy skipping school and smoking and his girlfriend ends up ditching him for good. Fynn ends up meeting a guy called Niko, who loves to stargaze. They end up as friends first until they both feel more and then we have some drama of course before they realize what they feel for each other and want in life. Schönhammer and Backhausen actually pull the story quite well and it's coherent. Star Collector is one of the better ones and the rhythm is good too. Both Fynn and Niko have personas, although there are cliches and whatnot still. Your average BL stuff, I mean. In a way I kind of hoped the makers had avoided those cliches, since Western makers should be free of them, but apparently not. I really don't get the "he's so fascinating" thing in current BL. Who thinks like that even? The star theme was cute, but perhaps not really original either.

The art looks quite good and the facial expressions are great. Most of the time the story is just talking heads, but I do love the star gazing scenes and drawn skies. Art-wise this could be manga in many ways, so points for that. Perhaps I just wanted more time to pass int the comic and the guys to build their relationship better. It seems there will be continuation, which is good. Star Collector is interesting in many ways and proves that Western makers are closer to manga than ever before, in both good and bad.