Yasuko Aoike starts off the series in a way that reminds me a little more of Patalliro!. Sometimes it's silly and over the top. She established three characters at the beginning in volume one who aren't too interesting.
She even seems to agree since she ditches those characters later and they never return to the story again.

That isn't to say the first volume is bad. Even though there are some scenes that are too goofy (such as the agent from Interpol and sometimes drawing legs as if they run like Sonic the Hedgehog) it's still a good read and trust me, it's worth sticking it out.
Dorian and Klaus both have very strong, opposing personalities and their fighting is amazing.
I never thought I'd love a character like Klaus so much. In reality it would be impossible to endure him for more than five minutes, but he quickly became my favorite character in the series.

If you read it and are bored by the first three characters introduced but enjoy Dorian or Klaus don't worry because they're the ones who end up carrying the rest of the series. ( )

From Eroica With Love is about a flamboyantly gay art thief and a straight laced German intelligence officer who continually cross paths, forming initially a dislike but eventual grudging respect and even (at least on Eroica's part, and I imagine eventually/assumably more under the surface for the major) fondness that leads to moments of something much like friendship. The plots/art heist situations in it are silly and far-fetched, but that's not really the point. The point (after some weaker opening chapters to acquaint them with one another) is to see some fun bickering and bantering and butting heads between the major and Eroica.

This manga is an older one, though, and doesn't have the more measured, cinematic feel of a lot of manga of today. The dialogue is always to the point in whatever it is trying to get across, zipping by without much room for expressing anything other than plot, the occasional heavy-handedly delivered bit of characterization, or a mildly humorous line. I don't exactly mean to call this a flaw of the manga, as it's a style I've seen in most all older manga I've tried, but I simply cannot connect with it, be entertained by it, or even comment on other strengths or weaknesses of the writing as it just overwhelms everything else in my perception. It's sort of worked decently for me before with more plotty manga, but for one like this that's pretty much running on the charm of its characters, such simple, fast, almost clipped-feeling dialogue and scenes can't really develop people or relationships enough to catch my interest.

Take out all the gay jokes and I'd say this would, with the silliness and simplicity, pass easily for a child's cartoon. Still, despite my lack of interest overall, I did find myself looking a little bit forward to scenes with Eroica and the major interacting. Sometimes one can't help but have a little fun watching such a relationship (though I wouldn't say it's sexy or has UST, as I don't find one flamboyantly gay character throwing himself at the other and the other being (convincingly) entirely disinterested to be UST and more just...humor. but that might be personal opinion), even if it may have held my attention better and for further volumes if it had been a bit more creative and less basic with its expression of their interations. ( )

From Eroica with Love is an incredible series that starts horribly. I would almost encourage people to skip the first volume so that the experience isn't ruined for them.

The story starts out with three personality-deprived teens with, for some reason, psychic powers. One of the three is a gorgeous and brilliant young man. He quickly catches the attention of the flamboyantly gay, aristocratic thief Eroica (aka Dorian Red, Earl of Gloria)He is kidnapped and slightly molested. Enter strong, severe and serious German NATO officer "Iron" Klaus Von Dem Eberbach (Aoike's grasp of Western naming traditions leaves something to be desired...). The boy is saved, Eroica escapes and blessedly the three psychics are never seen again.

Aoike must have realized that she hit gold with Eroica and Iron Klaus. She dropped the original protagonists and I couldn't be happier. The constant bickering and sexual tension between the two men is a pleasure to read. Their over-the-top personalities also never fail to make me chuckle. Add to this exciting and occasionally ridiculous cold war spy missions and heists (that always seem to overlap) and you have the recipe for a series that is still going strong almost 30 years after the first chapter was published.

The out-dated art style and equally outdated fashion might turn some people off at first but it grows on you. I have watched Aoike's art develop and refine itself and I can now perfectly understand how Klaus can make Eroica's heart flutter. ( )

Wonderfully silly, blatantly romantic, and very, very pretty.

I'd heard a lot of people saying that volume one of this classic manga isn't as good as the others, because the main dynamic doesn't get established until well into it; but, while the initial adventures aren't quite in the same vein as the later ones, they're still quite good.

Although, Klaus! &heart; &heart; Nothing can convey the pure awesome that is Klaus except actually seeing him on the page. ( )

I first encountered "From Eroica With Love" in a fan-produced English translation published in fanzine format some years back. I was bowled over by the series, which I can only describe as a wonderfully loopy and self-aware micky-take of its own genre. I was delighted to hear that CMX have taken on the job of providing an official English translation for the series. They've done a very nice job of it, with excellent reproduction of the original artwork, and what I'm told is a faithful translation from the original Japanese text.

This first volume serves mainly to introduce the various characters, but it contains some very entertaining stories. It isn't quite typical of the series as a whole, as it initially appears that three superpowered teenagers are amongst the main characters. In fact, they exist mostly to introduce Dorian Red Gloria, Earl of Gloria. He's a very, very wealthy aristocrat who collects beautiful things, and his hobby is stealing art treasures. He's also very beautiful himself, very, very queer, very, very flamboyant, and has an entourage of equally beautiful and gay young men.

The three teenagers disappear by the end of volume 1 and never return, which is good because they're a lot less interesting than the other primary ongoing character, who doesn't appear until part way through the book. Major Klaus Heinz von dem Eberbach is also a wealthy aristocrat. However, if he's queer, he's so far back in the closet he's in danger of running into a lamppost, he's a top Nato agent, he has no sense of humour, and he has no time for degenerates. Pity his path keeps crossing with Dorian, who is all the things he despises. Unfortunately for Klaus, Dorian is also brave, clever, resourceful, and a number of other things he admires and didn't expect to find in a degenerate. The feeling's mutual - Klaus is a good many things that Dorian despises, but he's brave, clever, resourceful... and decidedly pretty...

However loopy the plots may get, they're believable while you're reading them, and there's some fine and very funny story-telling. The characters are flawed but always sympathetic. The art is utterly gorgeous. The first story in this book is a bit tedious in places, but it's the setup story and worth going through so that you have the background. Even if you're not really into the "pretty young men" genre of manga, this one's worth a look. ( )