The Heart of Thomas

The Heart of Thomas is one of the earliest Boys Love manga (its creator, Moto Hagio, is a contemporary and friend of Keiko Takemiya, together with whom she is known as a pioneer of the genre). The story starts with a letter from the eponymous Thomas to the young man he loves, confessing his feelings and the desire to have a place in his beloved's heart. Juli, to whom the letter was addressed, appears to be indifferent to it all. However, his world was shaken further by New Transfer Student Eric, a boy with looks identical to Thomas. The two clash with each other almost immediately and many hidden problems are revealed.

Originally a Japan-only manga, The Heart of Thomas has an English-language release in the works scheduled for an August 2012 release. The manga will be translated by Matt Thorn, a veteran translator who has written several articles on boys-love manga.

The Heart of Thomas presents examples of:

 * Beneath the Mask: Juli appears to be a model student and son. However, he has problems connecting to other people.
 * Brilliant but Lazy: Oscar.
 * Dark and Troubled Past: Juli. Oscar has his share of this too.
 * Fish Out of Water: Eric at first since he has never been to a boarding school.
 * Identical Stranger: Eric to Thomas.
 * The Messiah: Thomas.
 * New Transfer Student: Eric. With the catch of having looks similar to Thomas, the newly dead boy.
 * One-Gender School: with all its connotations
 * Posthumous Character: Thomas, who committed suicide at the beginning of the story.