c-mxian

[c-mxian]

Sorry to bother you again, I don't know how many people are interested in the Day Times of Shangri la, I just want to know what they are talking to in...ah I don't remember which day time, but they are in the beach, Phi with a robe y Apollo with his normal clothes,.I just want to know what they are talking about. Thanks.

It’s fine! I get confused with the order of the Day TIme chapters too. I think the one you’re referring to is Daytime 4, which is included in volume 2. I can’t guarantee when I’ll get the summaries for the other Daytime chapters out, but I have plans to work on them...hopefully soon.

[c-mxian]

Shangri La no Tori Ch 13

Phi is thinking about the sight of Apollo with another bird from earlier. Even though Apollo is straight, he seemed to be getting along fine with that bird. He wishes he didn’t see them together. He’s the one that trained Apollo, but it seems Apollo can be kind to anyone as long as it’s his job. Then again, it’s not like a straight guy like Apollo would have a reason to do that with a guy otherwise. Phi thinks back to the way Apollo gently caressed the bird from earlier and starts biting his thumb.

Marco walks by two birds and overhears one of them talking about Apollo. The bird is complaining about how Apollo’s guard is so high; he was able to go as far as undoing Apollo’s zipper. He looks for Apollo and finds him looking exhausted. It seems today was another tough day at work for him. He wonders why he can’t do the job as well as when he was with Phi. Marco tries to comfort him and they head off to eat with the others.

During dinner, Apollo tells the others that he thinks it might be impossible for him after all to do those things with a guy. Sheth wonders why he feels this way now since he seemed to be doing fine with Phi. Didn’t Phi train him to get used to it? That’s what Apollo intended, but although he had to kill his emotions the first time he was with Phi, he gradually got used to the touch of a man’s body. However, he doesn’t understand why it hasn’t been working out with the other birds no matter how hard he tries. Marco tells him that the bird he worked with yesterday was very happy with him and wants to work with him again. Apollo is relieved to hear so. He doesn’t have anything against gay men, but he just can’t seem to get himself to do anything sexual with another man. One of the studs (forgot his name) wonders why that is since the bird he was with should be more his type than Phi, who can be considered “beautiful”, but not necessarily in a feminine way. It could be that Apollo holds special feelings for Phi since he was his first. They suggest Apollo talk it over with the owner. Apollo says he will after he returns from the mainland.

Apollo is thinking about Phi in his room. Phi hasn’t come over ever since the night they spent together. He wonders if Phi is sleeping properly and what happened to his stalker. They haven’t run into each other lately. He wonders if Phi will still come to him when he needs someone to talk to.

On the mainland, Apollo meets up with Douglas to discuss details of Apollo’s divorce mediation settlement. Douglas says it would be more sensible for Apollo’s wife to agree to the divorce. If she’s trying this hard to hold on to their marriage, she shouldn’t have cheated on Apollo in the first place. Apollo recalls the conversation he had with Phi where Phi asked him why he can’t forgive his wife even though she was only playing around with the other guy. Apollo wonders why she gave into that temptation? Douglas thinks the change from being a career woman to becoming a housewife must have taken its toll on her. He asks Apollo if he doesn’t plan on making up with his wife and Apollo says he will not make up with her. Of course, not being able to forgive that kind of act is one reason, but the main one is because they have hurt each other too much. If he had listened to her at that time and didn’t act on his emotions, they probably would’ve been able to make up. However, the feelings he has already lost for her will never return. He can no longer imagine a future with her anymore.

Outside, Apollo and Douglas talk for a bit. Douglas asks Apollo about his job and whether Phi is doing well. Apollo tells him that they haven’t come across each other for a few days now. He thinks to himself that they won’t come into contact with each other as long as Phi doesn’t request him as a stud. Douglas notices Apollo looks down and wonders if Apollo has fallen for Phi. Apollo retorts that he’s straight, but Douglas says Phi is very beautiful. It’s because Douglas says these things that his wife thinks he’s bi. Anyways, there are strict rules that they have to follow at Shangri La. Douglas laughs and says rules exist to be broken. Before they head off to eat, Apollo asks about a classmate from college who became a police officer named John Collins and whether Douglas knows his contact information; he has a request.

Apollo is greeted by Marco when he returns to the island. Before heading to the cafeteria, he stops at the main hall  since the manager told him to show his face as soon as he returns. He came back right when Shangri La opened its business to customers. He walks past the crowd and sees Phi surrounded by multiple men. He is about to run over until he sees the smile on Phi’s face after one of the men comes on his face. Apollo walks out, looking very shocked as he recalls Phi’s expression from earlier.

This chapter was published in Canna 77. You can buy the digital version of the chapter on renta, cmoa, and ebookjapan.

[c-mxian]

Hi there ☺️. Thanks so much for the summaries of shangri la. Are you still going to summarize the newest chapter that came out. Please and thanks 🙏🏾

Yes, I will! Once I find some spare time to work on it (hopefully sometime next week). 

[c-mxian]

Hiii! Thank you for the updates on Shangri la no Tori! But I have a question, are you going to translate Day Time 3 and 4? Because I saw you only translated 5, 6 and 7.

Oops! I totally forgot about Day Time 3 and 4 and only translated 5, 6, and 7 because those would be difficult for many overseas readers to get. Day Time 3 is an original episode included in the “first-run limited edition” of the drama CD and I actually haven’t listened to it yet, but I can translate it along with Day Time 4, included in the second volume, if more people are interested.

[c-mxian]

Shangri La no Tori Ch 12

Apollo dreams of himself in a jungle, walking along a shallow river similar to one he has seen in Costa Rica. He knows which way he should go, but he feels the end is out of sight. He loses sight of his companion, whose hand he realizes he was holding on to, and is at a loss at what to do as the warmth in his fingers begins to fade away. He has to get out of the jungle before it gets dark, but  he doesn’t consider moving ahead by himself. It’s because the end seems too far out of reach if he were to do so. Apollo wakes up.

Phi swims and thinks of the night before. He can’t believe Apollo touched him properly, even kissing him even though he has always been against it. Phi didn’t expect to come that fast and thinks about how guilty Apollo must be feeling.

Apollo is sitting with Marco and Sheth who ask him why he slept in the common room last night. Apollo asks them about the penalties when a stud and a bird break any of the three rules at Shangri La. They tell him that both the stud and the bird will have to take a break from work for the time being and receive a salary cut. In addition, they will not be allowed to work together anymore. However, if the bird is found to have fallen in love with the stud, then he will be driven out of Shangri La immediately.

Apollo is walking while thinking to himself how it’ll be difficult to work since the penalties will apply to both he and Phi. He expected only himself to get penalized. No one would find out if they kept silent about what happened, but that means they would be betraying the owner’s trust in them. Apollo sighs and wonders what has gotten into him. He should’ve just comforted Phi verbally and stayed by his side until he fell asleep. But he recalls Phi’s face and questions what he should’ve done. He couldn’t abandon Phi after being pleaded like that (refer to chapter 11).

Phi calls out to Apollo. He says Apollo wasn’t by his side when he woke up. If Apollo saw his sleeping face, he would’ve ended up thinking about many useless things like repenting for the rule they broke last night, right? He starts telling Apollo not to say anything to the owner when the person himself appears. The owner tells Apollo that he should be used to his job as a stud now and can stop working exclusively with Phi. He wants Apollo to start working with the other birds starting from today since they’ve been bugging him every day to work with Apollo. Both Phi and Apollo look shocked when they hear this and Apollo hesitantly accepts the owner’s proposal. The owner tells him to show his face in the waiting room later and walks off.

Phi tells Apollo he’s quite the popular one and wishes him good luck before he walks off. Apollo thinks to himself that his current work relationship with Phi would come to an end someday. Starting from today, he’ll be with a different bird and Phi with a different stud…

Apollo is hoarded by a group of birdies when he arrives at the waiting room. They’re fighting over who gets to work with him. Phi walks by them and asks Will to be his stud. They walk past Apollo and the other birdies, Apollo making eye contact with Phi and staring after them. One guy tells Phi he looks unimpressed at the situation and Phi says he’s just wondering if Apollo will be okay. The guy says Phi probably finds Apollo boring now since he’ll be shared with everyone else. It finally dawns on Phi that Apollo won’t be only his anymore.

The next day, Phi walks by a bird talking about how wonderful working with Apollo was yesterday. Apollo is very gentle and kind, giving off the vibe of a lover rather than a stud. Phi looks displeased and gives his tray of food to Patrick and walks off. He recalls everything the bird said earlier about Apollo. He walks by a bunch of studs prepping their birds until he finally sees Apollo with another bird. The sight shocks him so much that he walks off while biting his thumb.

My heart really aches for Phi, but I think this is the progress they both need to realize how much they mean to each other. One thing I find reassuring is that even when Apollo was surrounded by all the birds, the only one he was looking at was Phi. 

This chapter was published in Canna 76. You can buy the digital version of the chapter on renta, cmoa, and ebookjapan. Chapter 13 will be published in Canna 77, which will go on sale at the end of April. 

[c-mxian]

Heey thank you so much for the summaries 😊 will you also do a summary of chapter 12 ?

Yes, I will! I’m just a bit busy at the moment.

[c-mxian]

Shangri La no Tori Limited Edition Extras: Day time 5, 6, 7

Day time 5

It’s evening and Apollo has just come back from a dinner where he had to entertain a guest who works in the IT field per the owner’s request. Apollo is wearing a suit and Marco comments that he looks really cool, like he’s used to wearing suits. Apollo says that it’s been awhile since he’s worn a suit. Phi just stares in awe.

While Phi and Apollo are walking back to their rooms, Phi asks if Apollo brought the suit with him to Shangri La. Apollo says that the owner bought it for him despite his refusal to let someone buy him such an expensive suit. Phi laughs and says that the owner must really like Apollo. Apollo starts taking off his suit jacket and comments that the owner refused to deduct the amount for the suit  from his salary so he’s going to try to pay him back in cash tomorrow instead. Phi takes Apollo’s suit jacket and puts it away for him. He says Apollo can just see the suit as a work expense and let the matter be. 

Apollo stares silently as Phi puts away the suit jacket. 

“Hm?”

“O-oh, thanks. I’m going to take a shower and go to bed…”

“Did you wear a suit every day on the mainland?”

“Well, not something expensive like this…”

“Did you always wear a three-piece?”

“No, I rarely...Wait, what are you doing?”

“Helping you change.”

“It’s fine. I can do it myself.”

“I said I’ll help you. If you’re tired, I can also help you with many other things ❤.”

“I’m afraid I’ll have to refuse.”

“Really? I’m turned on though.”

“Why?!”

“Who knows...Might be because of the suit~”

Phi comments what it would be like to take off the three-piece one by one. 

“It’s fine...I can do it myself later.”

“Don’t move. Did you do the necktie yourself?”

“...of course.”

Phi wonders if Apollo had a woman do his necktie for him on the mainland. As she’s tying his tie for him, Apollo would gaze at her face from above and think how pretty her eyelashes are and get closer before he realizes he’s already kissed her.

While Phi is undoing Apollo’s tie, Apollo gazes at Phi’s face and thinks it feels strange for him to be taken care of by Phi instead this time. Phi looks up and their eyes meet. They stare at each other in silence until Apollo, who is confused, breaks the silence. Phi asks if Apollo wants to kiss and Apollo, stammering, says no.

Day time 6

Apollo is taking a walk and finds Phi stretching by the sea. He comments that Phi is very flexible and asks if he’s doing yoga. Phi says it’s just something he learned by watching others and that he only does it when he feels like it. Apollo watches as Phi continues his exercise.

“Have you ever held a woman with a flexible body before?”

“Huh?”

“The ones from the city don’t exercise much and aren’t very flexible, right?”

Apollo thinks to himself that he’s never had a partner that left an impression on him when it came to their flexibility.

“Why are you asking this?”

“Well, I was thinking that instead of choosing your partners based on how big their chest is or how slim their legs are, you should try sleeping with someone with a flexible body.”

“Can you not assume how I choose my partners?”

“Someone with a body as flexible as mine could do it in almost any position.”

Phi goes on to explain the different kinds of sex and positions he’s capable of doing and asks what kind of position Apollo likes the most. If Apollo prefers the missionary position, then he can go all the way inside Phi (he explains this part very detailedly). Phi says he can do anything Apollo wants if he were his partner. Apollo seems to be at a loss for words.

“What an erotic face. You just imagined having sex with me, didn’t you?”

“No, I didn’t.”

“What a liar. You totally came inside me in your mind.”

“No, I didn’t. There’s absolutely no way I did.”

Day time 7

While Phi is walking in town with two cups in his hands, he is stopped by two women who want to know if there’s a delicious oyster bar nearby. Phi gives them directions, but they want him to guide them directly there instead. Phi says he can’t since his boyfriend is waiting for him. 

He meets up with Apollo, who has been waiting for him, and hands him one of the cups. Phi says they should go get some kebap at a vendor nearby. While they’re walking, Phi comments how Apollo doesn’t get hit on since he’s not the flashy type.

“It’s more believable when I make the ‘I’m waiting for my boyfriend excuse’.”

“You were hit on again?!”

“When I’m with Marco, that line doesn’t work at all.”

“Why?”

“If I walk on the beach with him, we just look like two guys who are looking to hit on other people.”

“I...think I get what you mean.”

“Marco also loves women so he just goes along with it.”

Apollo thinks to himself that it’s not surprising for Phi to be hit on since he has a pretty face and is stylish, but he can’t seem to imagine Phi with a female companion. 

They reach the kebap vendor and Apollo tells Phi to wait while he waits in line. While Apollo is in line, he notices a man hitting on Phi. The man is insistent even though Phi says he’s waiting for his boyfriend. Apollo calls Phi over and Phi hugs him. Apollo puts his arm around Phi’s waist, which surprises Phi, and says he’ll go along with the act. Phi caresses Apollo’s butt and says this is also an act. Apollo flinches and tells Phi he’s putting his hands in a strange spot.

[c-mxian]

Shangri La no Tori Drama CD Limited Edition Booklet: Interview with Zariya

Please tell us how you started working on The Birds of Shangri La (Shangri La no Tori).

At first, the plan was to release it as a one shot under a different publisher, but things didn't quite work out (my manuscript ended up getting rejected at one point). I still really wanted to work on this story and Purantan contacted me just around that time. I remember showing the person in charge at first what kind of story I wanted to create and receiving their approval right then. That’s how the story eventually came to life.

I intended for the story and setting to be darker at first, with a somewhat “SM chic” vibe to it, but it’s completely different from the actual story now though of course (laughs). I initially planned to wrap the story up as a one shot, but I realized it would be necessary to do a serialization in order to better tell the story.

 Which elements remained the same in the initial draft and the story now?

The dynamic between the two main characters: a prostitute uke and a seme who takes care of him. I wanted to illustrate a situation where the seme is in charge of taking care of and arousing the prostitute uke only to have to pass him onto a customer in the end! As they grow closer, the uke would end up wanting to be held by the seme and not his customers. I thought the story would become very sad that way. On a lighter note, I really love it when a quiet and reserved seme gets troubled by a more active and straightforward uke. It’s the kind of combination I like the most and I’m able to draw that out as freely as I want in The Birds of Shangri La.

 Please share with us the scenes or lines that left the deepest impression on you in volume 1 of The Birds of Shangri La.

The last scene from chapter one. There are three rules that cannot be broken at Shangri La (“Do not let the birds come”, “Do not have intercourse, “Do not fall in love”), but I didn’t intend to include the last one at first. As I was working on the plot, I felt like something was missing with just the first two rules so I added the third one.

For this scene, I imagined a beautiful world accentuated with the scenery of the sea and sunset and a tone that marks this scene as the start of the actual story. With a lovely setting like this, I felt the romantic mood would be completely lost if I was too pragmatic with my choice in words for the dialogue. Although the story takes place in a brothel, I envisioned it to be one about pure love so I felt the inclusion of the third rule was necessary. I’m quite satisfied with the ambience even though I was supposed to reveal the rule later (laughs).

Despite being a last addition, the third rule is the most important one. I was able to portray what kind of story Shangri La would be from that point on and the readers were able to get an idea of that as well. The inclusion of the rule, “Don’t fall in love”, also adds a very nice lingering ambience to the story so I’m glad I included it. It’s definitely a line that leaves a very deep impression.

 The combination of your beautiful illustrations and balance of emotional language is one of the key elements that always leaves readers highly anticipating the next chapter. Please tell us how you came up with the characters in Shangri La no Tori.

 First off, I came up with the characterizations for Phi and Apollo at the same time since I already had a clear idea that the story would revolve around the relationship between a prostitute and the person who takes care of him. Next is the owner who is a very important character in the story, so important I’d even consider him the third main character. After that is Douglas, Apollo’s lawyer. He’s an essential character who is able to read Apollo, a man of few words. Contrastingly, I then created Carna as a companion who is able to speak on behalf of Phi. Phi may not be as reticent as Apollo, but he does not say much about the things that matter about himself.

 Please share with us anything about the other characters in the story as well.

I have so many things I want to share! As a manga artist, I don’t have many opportunities to talk with other people so I’m really happy for this opportunity.

When I come up with a character, I first consider what kind of role they will play in the story. I created Marco as the character who would help guide Apollo through Shangri La, a place unlike any he has ever been to. Marco is somewhat like a link between the world Apollo has known before and the new one he has stepped into.

Then there’s Sheth who I created because I wanted to have a character who had a vibe most similar to that of a stud. I wondered whether I should’ve made him more playful, but I felt it would be more appropriate to make his personality more relaxed and professional-like since Shangri La is a place akin to that of a high class salon. When he talks with Apollo, you can tell he’s just a normal guy and not loose as many may think. He’s a professional who takes his job seriously.

Carna may be a prostitute, but he is the bravest character in the story. In contrast to his small stature, his mentality is strong. I imagined him to be like a brother to Phi, someone who understands Phi well and stays by his side when he is not emotionally stable.

 So the recording just finished up a moment ago. What are your thoughts after listening to it in the booth?

The impression I always had of Shangri La no Tori when I drew the story is that it constantly carries a calm tone with little variation in intonation. When I listened to the recording, the balance was so nice and the mood livelier than I thought. Many of the scenes with Phi and Apollo are adult scenes, but there are also scenes like where Patrick and the other birds are livelily having a good time. While everyone is enjoying their peaceful daily life, the mood suddenly becomes tense when Phi loses his temper and starts acting violently. It was refreshing to see how a slight change in the sound can shift the tension of a scene and add emotional variety to the story. Since the story takes place in the southern region of the world, I was afraid it would be too laid-back and eventually become dull, but I guess I didn’t have to worry about this!

 What did you think of the characters’ voices?

I’m really thankful because the cast is absolutely amazing. Mr. Nakashima, the voice actor for Phi, is really amazing at expressing the various different sides of Phi: his sexy and mischievous side, his innocent and naïve side, as well as the side of him when he loses his temper. It really felt like Phi was alive.

As for Mr. Matsuoka, he did a wonderful job in portraying Apollo’s open-minded side. As a top, Apollo hasn’t quite “bloomed” yet and his potential is still hidden. Mr. Matsuoka added a wonderful layer of sexiness to that aspect of Apollo. When Apollo first arrives at Shangri La, he is taken aback by this completely new world he has stepped into, but he is able to get a hold of himself and stand ready for what’s to come. I could really feel how broad-minded and deep of a person he was and am really excited to see how the changes he will go through will be portrayed.

Aside from Phi and Apollo, the owner, Marco, Douglas, Raymond, and everyone else…the rest of the cast was absolutely amazing! I would love to share my thoughts on each individual character, but I’ll have to leave that for another time as there is a limited number of pages for this booklet. I have already shared my thoughts on twitter though so please check them out!

Each of the cast members’ voices fit each character so well, but I was really touched that even without clearly expressing their characters through their lines, they really gave life to the characters with their acting. There are certain things I can’t fully portray in the manga so I was really happy to see all those nuances come to life in the drama CD.

 Aside from the love scenes, there are many scenes of everyday life too.

In a BL, the two main characters’ relationship is the most important thing, but depicting Shangri La as “a place with a pleasant atmosphere” was also equally important to me. Shangri La is a “paradise” where only those who have been chosen by its respectable owner can enter. Even though Shangri La is a brothel, it’s a place where one can heal both their mind and heart, as Raymond has said. I was very satisfied with how the drama CD cast was able to portray Shangri La.

 What were your impressions when you heard the drama CD itself?

Out of all my works, I have always thought that The Birds of Shangri La would be the most difficult one to turn into a drama CD due to the lack of dialogue in many scenes. I added in some lines because I was concerned certain things wouldn’t get across without any dialogue.

Despite my initial concerns, it was fun to think of the sound effects and background sounds as a kind of music. When drawing the manga, I could only portray the sounds of the sea and the leaves rustling in the southern region with sound effects (sfx) even though I could picture them clearly in my head. All these sounds come to life in the drama CD. After realizing how big of an effect these sounds have, I regretted not thinking out the interior of the rooms and the miscellaneous things in them more thoroughly. For example, the sound of shell decorations dangling by a window whenever the wind flows can add an extra layer to the atmosphere of a scene.

I can say the same for the music as well. In the beginning when Marco comes to pick Apollo from the port, I imagined reggae music playing in the background, but I could only indicate this with a music note symbol. Shangri La already has a feeling of otherworldliness to it. If I added Gamelan music, I felt the setting would become disconnected from reality so I requested reggae music instead for the drama CD. The drama CD brings Shangri La to life in a way that illustrations and words can’t. I hope you can enjoy the differences between listening to the drama CD and reading the manga.

 Lastly, please give the readers of this special booklet a final message!

To be honest, I was very concerned about the lack of an H scene between Phi and Apollo in the first volume and whether the readers who look forward to this scene would find the drama CD lacking. As I listened to the recording, I started feeling differently. Aside from Phi and Apollo, the characters living in Shangri La and the region surrounding it all give life to the drama CD and the cast did a wonderful job at realistically depicting the lives of these characters. Even if Phi and Apollo don’t go all the way, I think many people will be able to enjoy this drama CD. I hope everyone will treasure the various characters that appear along the way while experiencing both pain and joy as Phi and Apollo’s feelings for each other begin to bloom. I will try my best to create a story that will not disappoint you so I hope you can follow me until the end!

Thank you very much!

[c-mxian]

Shangri La no Tori Ch 11

Phi and Apollo are in Apollo’s room. Apollo is looking over the pictures Phi received on his phone, thinking to himself they look like phishing emails. He asks Phi if he recognizes the man that got away in the last chapter. Phi doesn’t respond so Apollo reaches for his hand and says that he wants Phi to tell him everything that happened. Phi hesitates, but starts retelling the time when he sold his body on the streets to survive. At that time, he had a companion, Hassan, who he worked together with to earn money. Phi would sell his body and Hassan would swindle people out of their money. However, Hassan began to change and start seeing Phi’s body as a more convenient means to earn money versus the risk behind robbing others himself. Phi eventually felt that he was just like an object that Hassan used for his own monetary desires, no different from how his father treated him. 

Around the time when “the cleaners”, a group that went around "cleaning” people off the streets, were in the area, Phi was running around trying to find Hassan. He finds Hassan in the middle of intercourse with a woman in a ruined building. Phi is angry because he was beaten up by three customers who also tried to do other things to him before he ran away. Hassan was nowhere to be found even though he was supposed to be waiting downstairs for Phi. Hassan makes the excuse that he got diarrhea and had to go back, but Phi easily sees through this as Hassan has made the excuse many times before. Hassan says it’s fine as long as they just make sure things go well the next time and pushes Phi out the door.

Phi says he doesn’t remember much of what happened afterwards, but it is clear that Phi and Hassan got into a violent brawl which eventually led to Phi accidentally pushing Hassan off the building. Phi never had the time to confirm if Hassan was dead because he was still in the middle of fleeing from “the cleaners”. Although Phi says he has always considered Hassan to be dead, Apollo can sense that Phi is considering the possibility that he might be alive instead. Apollo asks if the owner knows about this and gets up to report to the owner after Phi shakes his head. Phi is against the idea, saying that it’s his responsibility and has nothing to do with Shangri La. Apollo disagrees because they can’t be sure that the person they chased is just a mere stalker. Phi screams for Apollo not to say anything because he doesn’t want to be hated by the owner. Apollo tries to convince Phi, but it is no use as Phi is even more emotionally unstable than before. He realizes that Phi doesn’t want to lose Shangri La, the only place he can call his “home”, and suggests they talk about the matter tomorrow instead. Apollo then gets a call about Phi and reports that Phi is in his room, but will be taking a break from work for the rest of the evening. Phi grabs the phone and tells the other person on the line that he’ll be heading to the floor and to have any customers that came for him wait in the meantime. Apollo urges Phi to rest for the day since he is not mentally stable at the moment. Phi refuses and says he’d rather go to work than do nothing so Apollo should go ahead and prep him. Apollo is still unrelenting so Phi pulls him down onto the bed.

“I don’t want to be alone right now.”

“...Then you can sleep here tonight.”

“You’ll sleep together with me?”

“Yeah.”

“Then have sex with me.”

“...I can’t do that.”

“Just once...treat me like you would treat a lover. It’s fine even if you don’t put it in or make me come. I don’t care even if you stop in the middle. I just want you to touch me in a more...honest way, not like all the times you’ve prepped me before. If you do this, I won’t go to the hall today and listen to what you say...so please? Just once, touch me like a lover would.”

Apollo hesitates for a bit, but he eventually gets up to turn off the lights. After taking off his shirt, he gets on top of Phi and kisses him on his neck, arms, and chest while touching him sensually in various areas before fingering him. Phi is really feeling it and urges Apollo to go harder. In the midst of this, they eventually start kissing (oh my god). As they are kissing, Phi starts to feel it even more and ejaculates. Apollo is shocked and stands up. He just broke one of the rules at Shangri La that forbids studs to make the birds come. Phi sees Apollo’s shocked expression and gets up. The chapter ends with Phi telling Apollo that they should just keep what happened a secret between the two of them. 

What a cliffhanger to end on. The mystery continues to unfold as we find out that Hassan’s death has not actually been confirmed. We also get to see more of how much Apollo cares for Phi as he was willing to do something quite of character to comfort him. The last scene shows Apollo being shocked at breaking one of Shangri La’s rules, but I get the feeling that he might be more shocked at how he eventually lost control of himself (them kissing is one example). I’m excited for how the story will develop from here, but I don’t think the next chapter will be out for a few more months because Zariya started working on Coyote again (the next chapter should be out in the December issue of Daria). 

As mentioned in my previous post, this chapter, volume two, and the BLCD for volume 1 were all released simultaneously on October 28th. Please consider checking the links below if you are interested in purchasing any of these.

Shangri La no Tori Volume 2, Chapter 6 (Chapter 11): renta

Shangri La no Tori Volume 2: animate, amazon

Shangri La no Tori BLCD: animate (limited edition), animate (regular edition)

[c-mxian]

Shangri La no Tori Ch 10

Jean is talking with a friend, Ashfaq, who tells him the details of the regular public safety commission meeting that was held the other day. It seems the attendees were divided on their opinions on what is presumably related to the operation of Shangri La (or sex establishments in the area in general). Ashfaq assures Jean that there are still many people on his side since everyone knows that Jean’s business adheres to the regional business regulations. It appears that the local municipality has been sending a large amount of money every year. Ashfaq feels they don’t need to go that far in order to crush minor hindrances. Jean thanks Ashfaq for his help. Ashfaq says that with the recent tighter restrictions on how sex establishments can operate, there are people who are using this as an opportunity to crack down on the business of buying and selling sex within the region. Jean responds that he has nothing to say to others about the morality of this business since everyone has their own opinion on the matter. He adds that it’s good their contribution to the local economy is somewhat valued. Ashfaq responds that the negotiations Jean made in advance has helped with the matter, but indicates that since the need for stricter regulations hasn’t been regarded of high importance, the people pushing for these restrictions are trying to dig up anything shady they can find at Shangri La. He cautions Jean to clean up anything that may bring trouble later on. Jean assures that his business is as clean as can be, but Ashfaq wonders whether he can be sure about that when it comes to his birds. Whether they are clean or not under Jean’s management, there may be someone with a “dirty” past among the flock.

Skip to the next scene with Apollo and Carna. Carna hands Apollo a book, Psychology to Learn From Habits, and tells him to return it in the same condition. Carna asks Apollo why he wants to borrow such a book; it’s a book that Marco returned without having finished it. Apollo responds that there’s something he’s concerned about. Carna speculates it’s about Phi and comments that it’s probably Apollo’s fault that Phi has been mentally unstable, advising Apollo to not get too involved since he’s going to eventually leave one way or the other. Apollo says he understands and that he’ll be careful. As Apollo leaves, Carna also tells him to be careful on the way back, implying that he’ll be hit on by many guys along the way (which happens right as Apollo is seen walking by himself).

After Apollo returns to his room, he skims through the psychology book Carna gave him, looking for a page on the psychology behind biting one’s nails. He stops at a page that details the habit of biting one’s nails as a sign of dealing with stress and anxiety. It can be said that biting one’s nails and touching one’s lips are ways to ease the stress and anxiety.

The scene shifts to Phi sitting in his room, biting his nails. He goes through the two photos he received from his presumed stalker and as he is about to delete one of them (the one he received in chapter five), he recalls a memory from when he was a child: A boy is pushed by someone from a great height and the person looking down at the scene of the boy’s unconscious body from that great height is Phi. The scene is very similar to the photos Phi has received. He becomes uneasy and decides to step out into town for a walk. At the front gate, he is stopped by one of the workers, who stops him and tells him it’s not safe for him to go into town alone. Right at that moment, a truck stops in front of the entrance. The driver snaps pictures of Phi and immediately drives away. Phi is shocked and runs after the truck. 

Afterwards, Apollo walks out and sees two workers talking. The worker that was talking to Phi before he ran off is trying to get someone to cover for him so he can go after Phi. When he sees Apollo, he is relieved and tells him what happened earlier. Upon hearing this, Apollo says he will go after Phi.

Apollo drives into town to look for Phi. He keeps a lookout for Phi, thinking to himself that Phi can’t have gone too far if he has been running. Eventually, he overhears a man yelling about a person who has pushed him out of the way without even a word of apology. Apollo sees a person running down an alley in the distance recognizes that it is Phi and pursues him. He eventually catches up to Phi, who tells him to go around the other way so they can corner the person who took photos of him. However, the pursuit proves to be quite difficult as they are running down a bunch of backstreets. Eventually, they lose sight of the man and try to trace him back to where he parked his vehicle, but it is nowhere to be seen. The chapter ends with Apollo suggesting they go home.

So we’re left wondering who this stalker could be and whether he has anything to do with Phi’s past. There’s also the question of whether Hassan is the person from Phi’s memory and if he is, is he the one that Phi was referring to when he said he may have killed someone in chapter two? There are many questions to be answered. One thing we know for sure is that Apollo does care a lot about Phi, more than he may think.

The next chapter will be the last chapter to be included in the second volume. Volume 2, Canna 74, and the BLCD for Volume 1 will all be released on October 28th. Volume 2 and the BLCD will each come with a limited edition extra and if you buy both simultaneously, you will receive another extra chapter (so a total of three chapters!). If you are interested, please check out the Animate page for the limited editions of Volume 2 and the BLCD. More information can be found here. In the meantime, you can buy the individual chapters on cmoa, ebookjapan, and renta. This chapter is currently only available on renta.

[c-mxian]

Shangri La no Tori Ch 9

Phi receives a message on his phone. It’s a photo of the lower half of a man’s body (with clothes on) on the ground. Phi seems surprised to see this photo and continues to stare at his phone until Apollo calls him so they can leave to get something to eat.

 They drive around the island with the other guys from Shangri La and hang out at the beach. Apollo is reading a newspaper by himself until Phi appears from behind and asks him what he’s reading. The article that Apollo is reading is about the IT industry (“Speculations of the IT Industry 20 Years From Now, What Lies Ahead of a Market Expansion Is the Lack of Human Resources and Ideas”). Phi says he doesn’t understand a thing and asks Apollo why he’s reading something like this even though they came all the way out to the beach. There’s an article Apollo wanted to read, but Phi snatches the newspaper away from him and tries to drag him away from his seat. The others see this and join in the fun.

 Meanwhile, Marco notices a car in the distance that belongs to the owner of Shangri La. The owner, Jean, is in the car with another man. He receives a call from Patrick, who tries to bring his attention to where the guys are on the beach.

The man accompanying Jean is a man named Lloyd. The others already seem to know him except Apollo. Jean introduces Lloyd to Apollo. He also invites them all to join him and Lloyd for lobster.

 While they are at the restaurant, Apollo glances over at Lloyd, whose eyes eventually meet his. Lloyd asks Apollo how he’s doing at Shangri La and comments that Jean is a troublesome man for making a straight man be a stud (foreplay man). Jean retorts that Apollo is a special intellectual beauty that he found so he treats him with the utmost consideration.

 Apollo asks Marco, who is sitting next to him, about Lloyd. Marco tells him that Jean and Lloyd are a couple who have been together for over 20 years. Apollo is surprised and recalls hearing that same-sex relationships don’t last as long as heterosexual relationships. Marco agrees that what Apollo heard is not entirely wrong, but comments that he feels people in society are slowly starting to be more accepting of same-sex relationships and that just looking at Jean and Lloyd can make one become envious. Apollo agrees as he stares at the sight of the two.

 Skip to the next scene where Phi is in the middle of servicing two customers, Raymond and Donny (I’m just going to go with this romanization). Carna isn’t there so Phi is playing with Donny’s hole to make up for Carna’s absence. Donny is feeling it and Phi tells Raymond that he should use Donny’s hole since it’s already being prepared. Raymond says that he would feel too bad for Donny so he won’t, adding that the reason the reason he came all the way to Shangri La and paid so much money is to see Phi. Finally, it’s Raymond’s turn with Phi. While they are doing it, Raymond tells Phi that Phi’s body is like an addictive; if Phi were to leave Shangri La, he wouldn’t know what to do. Phi assures him that he won’t go anywhere since Shangri La is his home.

 Apollo is waiting for Phi in their living quarters. After Phi returns, Apollo helps him wash up, dry his hair, and put his clothes on. Afterwards, they say their goodbyes and part for the night. Apollo stares at Phi’s retreating figure and thinks back to what happened yesterday. Phi might seem fine on the outside, but Apollo can tell that something bad that happened in the past with Hassan (the name Phi mentioned in the last chapter when he was telling Apollo about his past) is probably still haunting him. He recalls Phi’s words “I might have killed someone” (from chapter 2).

 It’s morning and Apollo is reading a book while Phi is still sound asleep and hugging onto him. Apollo thinks to himself that Phi probably snuck into his room sometime early in the morning and wonders what is going on with Phi since it seems that Phi can’t seem to sleep alone. Apollo strokes Phi’s hair and face, thinking that Phi’s sleeping face is very innocent. Phi finally opens his eyes and Apollo apologizes if he woke up him up. Phi tells Apollo to continue stroking his hair. Apollo eventually asks Phi if something happened, noticing that Phi is biting his thumb again. Phi evades the question and tells Apollo that whenever he sneaks into Apollo’s bed, Apollo would open his eyes for a brief instant and embrace him by becoming his arm pillow and then go right back to sleep. Apollo is at a loss for words. Phi teases that Apollo must have gotten this habit from sleeping with a woman on the same bed and that he’s such a sweetheart.

 (I’m going to type out the following dialogue for this scene because it’s a very important conversation that’s kind of hard to just summarize.)

 “When did you get married?”

 “Why do you want to know?”

 “Last time, I shared my story with you, right? Now it’s your turn.”

 “...We got married 6 years ago.”

 “How did you two meet? How did you two break up?”

 “...You’re very blunt. I hate to break it to you, but none of it is interesting.”

 “It’s fine even if it’s boring. I just want to know more about you.”

 “...I worked as a salesman at an electronics corporation. There was an employee there I often ran into. We dated for two years and got married soon after. One day, I went back home in the afternoon to retrieve some important documents I left there. In the living room, there was a man’s jacket that didn’t belong to me… You can imagine the rest, right?”

 “Ah I see. So you beat him up and got charged with inflicting bodily injury.”

 “Ever since that day, we would continue arguing and hurting each other with our words. There were many things I didn’t need to say that I ended up saying. She also said many horrible things. The argument would end whenever I found myself at a loss for words. This would continue every day for many months… Eventually, even though she had been someone special to me, I came to lose the feelings I once had for her. So I took off my wedding ring. Even when we were to sign the divorce papers, she still refused to do so.”

 “Why do you want to get a divorce?”

 “Huh?”

 “I mean, your wife only slept with him, right? He probably means nothing to her since she’s refusing to get a divorce, right? You seem to really place a huge importance on sex. You don’t like it when the other person sleeps with another guy?”

 “I...can’t think the same way as you. I was betrayed by her…”

 “It’s betrayal because you’re fine with just one person?”

 “...Of course. I mean, isn’t that how it is?”

 Phi thinks back to what Douglas (Apollo’s friend who visited him in an earlier chapter) told him before: Apollo is exhausted and escaping from reality. It’s like...a big hole has opened in his heart.

 Phi touches Apollo’s chest, where his heart is located, and says, “...there’s no one here right now, right? Losing someone important to you so that a big hole opens in your heart… But here, it means that there’s room for another person now, doesn’t it?”

Apollo is at a loss for words. The two of them continue to stare at each other until Apollo breaks the silence, saying he’s going to go wash his face.

 The chapter ends with Apollo thinking to himself while washing his face.

I will try to finish the summary for chapter 10 before the release of chapter 11 in Canna 74 and the second volume on October 28th. You can buy the currently released chapters on cmoa, ebookjapan and renta.

[c-mxian]

Shangri La no Tori Ch 8

Apollo and Phi are at a bar and Apollo notices two men at another table staring at Phi. He wonders whether they might be the troublesome customers from the past that someone at Shangri La mentioned in a previous chapter. These men look away when they meet Apollo’s eyes.

Apollo asks Phi if something like the last time he beat up a customer happened today. Phi responds that he was just feeling out of it and comments that Apollo seems to be worrying about him. Apollo says that he can’t read Phi. Phi then starts telling Apollo about his past.

Phi only lived with his father who made him sell his body for money before he was even 10 years old and used that money to buy alcohol. There was a point in time where his father didn’t come home for weeks so Phi was eventually kicked out of his home and had to live on the streets with other children like him. They had to resort to stealing, blackmailing, and selling their bodies to survive. It was a terrible environment to be in, but Phi felt it was okay since he had his friends by his side. However, there was a group in cahoots with the police who went around killing people they considered to be “dirty” off the streets, people like Phi and his friends. One day, Phi and his friends were targeted. While Phi and some of his friends were able to get away, Phi hints that most of his friends didn’t make it. Phi pauses after he mentions a person named Hassan. Phi stays quiet so Apollo tries to catch his attention, but gets interrupted by the sound of the people in the bar.

Phi continues on to talk about how the owner of Shangri La picked him up from the streets and saved him. He thought the owner was after his body at first so he intended to use his body to show his gratitude, but the owner refused him. When he finally understood what kind of place Shangri La was, he took customers without telling anyone and tried to pay the owner back with the tips he received. However, the owner sat him down and gave him a talk on what a 13 year-old can and can’t do. Since he never had the chance to go to school, he didn’t understand much of what the owner tried to tell him, but he recalls being told to rest since he probably has many scars and must be tired. Apollo says he was also told the same thing when he first came to Shangri La.

They eventually get ready to leave the bar. While Apollo is paying the bill, Phi walks out of the bar alone first. He hears sounds and keeps looking back, thinking someone may be taking pictures of him, but can’t see anyone around. Apollo comes out of the bar and they leave together. Once they reach their living quarters, they part ways and Phi starts seeing a vision of someone holding a cigarette. Phi calls out to Apollo and asks if they can stay together for the night. Apollo reaches his hand out to Phi. 

After Apollo finishes showering, he notices his change of clothes are gone and finds out that it was Phi who took them. Phi says it feels better to sleep naked. Apollo is against the idea and they bicker for a bit, but Apollo eventually ends up going to bed with Phi who cuddles him. Apollo initially is still wearing his towel, but Phi takes it off as it’s damp and uncomfortable to sleep with. Apollo starts to become conscious of the sensation of Phi’s skin and wonders if this is how a man’s skin is supposed to feel like (it’s implied that the sensation is a nice one). Phi notices Apollo being conscious of his and tells him there’s no difference (from that of a woman’s) and starts to ride on top of Apollo. Apollo eventually pushes him down and begs him to be a good boy and go to sleep. Phi scoffs, but hugs Apollo from behind and falls asleep.

At the end of the chapter, we can see a new message on Phi’s phone. The message is probably from his stalker.

This chapter was released in the Canna Vol. 71. You can buy the digital version of the chapter on cmoa, ebookjapan and renta.