Hitorijime Boyriend

ひとりじめマイヒーロー [Hitorijime My Hero] #0

by Memeco Arii

HITORIJIME BOYFRIEND

Genres: Manga, Yaoi, Romance, LGBT, Boys Love, Comics, Queer

200 pages, Paperback

First published November 1, 2010

About the author

Memeco Arii (Arii Memeko ありいめめこ) is a Japanese manga artist.

Other associated names:
有井メメコ
ARII Memeko

Reviews

[MaDoReader · Rating 2 out of 5]

Prefiero el anime como de aquí a Lima, Hasekura aquí no me gusta un pelo, tiene un comportamiento que me ha puesto un poco los pelos de punta. Además es "muy yaoi", y esa fase ya la he pasado xD

Cuando vi el primer episodio pensé que que el manga iba por el estilo, pero para nada, es mucho más explícito pero no por ello mejor :/

[k · Rating 2 out of 5]

It's ok... I started this manga because I watched the anime based off of it a few days ago and since it's airing I thought I might as well read ahead. I think it's like your average yaoi but good art and the storyboard layout looks pretty nice. Still like your typical yaoi, one big guy and one small guy ( lol ). I didn't really like it that much because the couple's relationship is kinda toxic and non-consensual ( yes, it includes rape... just think of Misaki & Usagi from JR and you'll get the idea ). It's almost as if they're trying to normalize these types of relationships. The characters are pretty annoying and the story is so average, really it follows a lot of cliches. If you're looking for a good story, don't read this because you will be confused as it jumps back and forth. I can't see anything good in the story or characters, but I just liked the visuals.

I think it's good if you wanna fantasize over the two dudes but really... their intelligence is kind of funny, I mean what guy can't figure out if someone likes him when they literally kiss him and make moves on him? The ending didn't really feel like an ending either, this was barely memorable and something I would read to kill time.

[Keiko, the manga enthusiast ♒︎ · Rating 3 out of 5]

I was actually saving this for last because I thought it was a spin-off of Hitorijime My Hero. Turned out, it was the other way around.

This is quite a content, my eyes are bulging from start to finish. I didn't expect it to be like this! What happened to Asaya? Lol, it was supposed to be a breather for me because I'm kinda nervous to continue with Hitorijime My Hero vol. 6, and thought maybe the standalone one will make me forget things, but now I feel even more disheartened to continue my hero. Augh, maybe tomorrow.

I mean, this is actually pretty cute without Asaya being so obsessed and overstepping bounds. I mean, I like him so much, but seeing this volume made me super pissed off. This is crazy. No wonder, he thought “loving someone is hell.” I should have known right there that he has a loose screw lol. I still ship them though. I just want to pretend that this volume doesn't actually exist.

I'll still give 3 stars because there are cute moments that I did enjoy and I love the ending, lol.

[Dylan · Rating 3 out of 5]

CW: Dubious Consent, Manipulation

This volume is one I have very mixed thoughts on. We follow Kensuke and Hasekura, and their backstory leading up to Hitorijime My Hero. They were childhood friends who had a falling out in middle school and come back to be together in high school. Hasekura gives Kensuke an ultimatum "Either you let me make love to you, or we end our friendship again. What's it gonna be?"
I wanted to like this more, and I understand that in Japan it's not easy for people to show that they feel pleasure from making love. It's a cultural difference, and I won't fault it for that. The manipulation aspect is the part that didn't work for me. Hasekura has never been a character I've liked. I think Kensuke is adorable, though. I also love the artwork, it is beautiful! I just wish I liked this more, it may just not be for me.

[Irene ➰ · Rating 1 out of 5]

1/5

The first half is so cringe and awkward wtf?
I was seriously thinking to drop it half way through but then I started to feel like the story was getting slightly better so I finished it.

And yes, it does get "better" after the first half even if it's still pretty gringe and heavy.
I honestly don't think of words like cute or pretty for this because no, it doesn't deserve those type of words. BL's can be sooooo much more than this.

Read it purely for its hype around the bookshops, I'm thinking twice now if it's the case to start its spin-off that I got the first volumes of (for half the price thank god lol)... We will see...

[Rin · Rating 2 out of 5]

This was... Really bad.

It's the prequel to Hitorijime My Hero (which I really enjoy) and honestly that series is so much better. I know that My Hero has a lot of problematic elements, since it's an age gap relationship, but this one was worse. This one has some serious non-con issues that are brushed off or laughed at. Also the art developed a lot better (this was written first) and it was rough looking at this.

Overall, I think the mangaka improved and this isn't worth going back to, even if you love the rest of their work.

[Claudia · Rating 1 out of 5]

Me he enterado a mitad del tomo que esta historia era sobre la pareja secundaria de hitorijime my hero. Bastante lenta yo, el título de este es casi igual.

La historia no me ha gustado nada. Los personajes se me han hecho super odiosos y eso que tan solo son unas paginitas. Sus personalidades se hacen insufribles, y los pensamientos de ambos, quería dejar de leer. Todo era súper caótico y me costaba entenderlo.

Sorry, pensaba que me iba a encantar y me ha desilusionado muchísimo.

[Paola Sánchez · Rating 1 out of 5]

I started reading this because of the recently released anime based on this manga and its spin-off, but there are actually a lot of non-consensual things happening here, borderline rape. Even if I like to consume homo-erotica and stuff, this is a no-go for me.

[prachi · Rating 3 out of 5]

3.79 stars

[Flor ):) · Rating 2 out of 5]

Había visto videos de esta pareja y se veía muy linda pero definitivamente no fue lo que me dieron en él manga, con esto comprobamos que el “yaoi” como tal no es para mi

[Fabio · Rating 2 out of 5]

Inizia davvero malissimo con cose davvero al limite del non-con e della violenza... ma poi nella seconda metà si redime un po’ e diventa più leggero, con anche personaggi che si assumono un po’ di responsabilità delle loro azioni. Sinceramente la prima parte è davvero molto awkward... ma la seconda metà è davvero carina. Ergo 3 stelline, e sono abbastanza generoso. Personaggi secondari più interessanti dei principali.

EDIT: ripensandoci due stelline perché la prima parte è inexcusable.

[Nix Buttons · Rating 2 out of 5]

Either the translation is really bad or much of the talk doesn't make any sense. Besides that it is a stereotypical story, one of many of the like.

[K · Rating 3 out of 5]

Reread: May 12, 2024

It's funny how much things change over time. I've loved the Hitorijime My Hero anime for years, but have steered clear of the manga because I was so unhappy with my initial experience with it. Then, in one of my I Feel Like Making Bad Decisions And Buying Lots Of Books During A Sale sprees, I grabbed a whole bunch of the HMH volumes, figuring if nothing else, I really like the cover art.

Now I'm getting around to reading them, because I also made another bad decision later on, preordering the special edition boxed set because it's supposed to come with some extras...and before that box ships, I should probably figure out if I'm just pouring a lot of money into a manga series I still don't like in this format.

We'll see with the main series. I remember being much more strongly negative about this prequel, though - Ken and Hasekura were never my favorite part of the anime either - so it's possibly a good sign that I really didn't have as many issues with it this time around.

Yeah, I don't love how much Hasekura strongarms Kensuke into a romantic relationship. He definitely jumps way more into the physical side of things in the manga than was shown in the anime - and there's stuff in the anime that helps to pad it out, like that cute scene in the woods, some more bits of them walking home from school together, and Hasekura showering and regretting the ultimatum and the way he'd treated Kensuke.

But overall, I guess I've read enough BL now that I'm less bothered, in context, by some of the things that happen. So we'll see. There's a certain amount that you have to gather from contextual clues, unspoken things, and the genre as a whole, to understand where Hasekura is coming from, and that Ken actually has a pretty decent head on his shoulders. He's definitely being overwhelmed by Hasekura and is confused about the sudden (to him) shift from friendship to romantic love, but he's not actually against any of it. He just really needed Hasekura to slow down and chill for a while so he could figure out what he's feeling.

And by the end, he does. I liked that they're working on understanding each other better, with Hasekura recognizing that his jealousy and possessiveness isn't very healthy - and that, in fact, Ken's bright, friendly personality and outgoing nature is part of what he likes so much about him. He doesn't actually want Ken to be isolated from all his other friends. He just has too many big feelings and a lot of desperate, scared loneliness that's being misplaced into clinging too hard to the person he's afraid he'll lose again.

Once Ken understands that better, he's able to tell Hasekura that he's keeping his friends, actually, and that he does love lots of different people. But you can cherish a lot of people while also making one specific person The Most Special, and that's Hasekura to him. Always has been; he just didn't pick up on that as easily as Hasekura did, because he has more experience caring about more people all the time, so it didn't click why losing Hasekura had been different and so devastating.

So yeah, there's still stuff that definitely isn't perfect in this volume, but like Kensuke, I took some time to expand my experience (with BL) a bit more, and to develop a new appreciation for the story that's actually being told.

I love Setagawa, too. I absolutely adore him in the anime, and I love how much of a grumpy but kind delinquent he is in this volume. He's really the grownup among his friends, even considering himself Ken's "dad" in the way that he cares and worries about him. I'm really, really hoping that he retains that personality, without letting Kousuke run all over him, when he's the center of his own series.

I don't know if I missed this on my first read - because while I'd owned Volume 1 of HMH, I'd just quickly read Hitorijime Boyfriend online - but I also liked Kousuke pulling Hasekura aside to tell him that he's perfectly fine with his little brother dating whoever he likes...as long as it's truly Ken's choice. I've never been a fan of the shovel talk, and this wasn't that. It was the mature older brother making sure that Hasekura isn't pushing Ken into things he's not ready for and doesn't truly want. Basically just saying: talk about your relationship and don't just shove things on someone who isn't ready for it.

They do eventually get there, but it was a very fair warning at the time, and it did seem to help Hasekura back off a little, letting Ken work on coming to him with his own feelings, instead of being drowned in Hasekura's.

So yeah! Much more positive experience this time. Now let's see how I like Setagawa and Kousuke's love story in manga form.

Original review: January 26, 2019

1.5 stars maybe? This is a tough one. I turned to this after Hitorijime My Hero Vol. 1, hoping that it would fill in some of the gaps I was missing, since the anime combines these two mangas into its storyline. The anime does follow the general story pretty closely, but again, a lot of the elements that I liked about the anime weren't present in the manga (such as its heavy focus on relationship development, understanding and discussing difficult dynamics, and openly addressing characters' initial bad decisions and less desirable actions).

By the end of this book, the relationship felt very, very unbalanced still, since it was missing all the important communication that the anime was careful to include. Plus the background material that I was hoping for - the development of Setagawa's and Kousuke's relationship - wasn't really here, either. It makes the massively abrupt transition at the beginning of Hitorijime My Hero make even less sense.

It's weird to have books this bad turn into a story that great on the screen, but sometimes that happens. Honestly, that's what happens with a lot of YA (think of stories like Hunger Games or even Harry Potter), so I guess it makes sense for that to be the case with some manga, too.

[Jesica Sabrina Canto · Rating 2 out of 5]

Bueno, lo primero a mencionar es que leí el manga luego de ver el anime (los primeros 3 capítulos de Hitorijime my hiro, que en el manga es la secuela de este). Me gustó mucho más el anime.
Normalmente, cuando leo manga y veo el anime no suelo encontrar grandes diferencias, pero en este caso hay varias significativas. El anime elimina las dos escenas sexuales (de juegos sexuales) presentes en el manga, pero explica la historia de un modo mejor, además de agregar escenas del pasado que dejan ver mejor el vínculo de los personajes.
La verdad que creo que, si hubiera leído el manga sin ver el anime, no me hubiera gustado o no hubiera comprendido la historia por completo.

[Marc D. ✨ · Rating 2 out of 5]

2.5/5 estrellas.

Me llevó cuatro meses leer este manga, CUATRO. Y es que no me atrapaba, tampoco le encontraba nada interesante ni un ritmo bueno.

Todo es muy forzado y manipulado todo el tiempo, que generalmente no me molesta en lo sexual en un BL porque el mercado es así, pero ya cuando intentan forzar una relación es... complicado para mí. Es difícil que me guste.

No va a ser un manga memorable, o quizá sí por lo malo.

[Michelle Easton · Rating 4 out of 5]

It was really cute to see this relationship start, but I’m glad the main store is about the others.

[Jamsey · Rating 4 out of 5]

So cute I love BL but I was kind of rooting for Setagawa hehehe

[Ashleigh · Rating 1 out of 5]

1 Star

Ohhhhh man. I did not like this at all. I only read this because I want to read the spin off series and honestly, I wish I hadn’t wasted my time. The MC was kind of whiny and stupid and his “love interest” was a giant pos. A lot of things he did made me feel uncomfortable and just overall he was shitty.

[Moony Black · Rating 2 out of 5]

Realmente no me gustó, no tuvo los feelings que esperaba, además de que me aburrió la mayor parte y fue muy predecible :( quería que me gustara la verdad pero no fue así

[Marianna Rainolter · Rating 4 out of 5]

Recensione scritta per il sito Nerd Pool e che trovate qui sotto e al seguente link: https://www.nerdpool.it/2020/12/21/hi...


Hitorijime Boyfriend è prequel di Hitorijime My Hero. Questo titolo è stato pubblicato prima da Memeco Arii e infatti racconta la storia di Kensuke e Hasekura, come si sono innamorati e si sono messi insieme, come vediamo proprio in Hitorijime Boyfriend dove sono Masahiro e Kosuke ad essere co-protagonisti. Quei lettori che leggendo il primo volume di Hitorijime My Hero hanno sentito che mancasse qualcosa, leggendo questo volume unico prequel troveranno risposta a molte loro domande…

Per Kensuke Ooshiba è iniziato il primo anno di liceo e si trova davanti una inattesa sorpresa. Il suo amico d’infanzia Hasekura Asaya è nella sua stessa classe. I due, grandi amici alle elementari, hanno avuto un litigio e subito dopo Hasekura si è trasferito. Ma adesso il destino li ha riuniti provocando qualche dubbio per Ken. Vuole tornare ad essergli amico, recuperare quel rapporto ma non so come approcciarsi. Sarà Hasekura a farsi avanti ma in maniera inattesa. Lo ricatterà dicendo che devono chiuderla o essere ben più che amici…

Ken è indeciso su cosa rispondere e come comportarsi. Vorrebbe essere amico di Hasekura come quando erano piccoli, ma l’altro ragazzo non sembra intenzionato ad esserlo. Anzi si spinge oltre mettendo in difficoltà Ken. Quest’ultimo si sente imbarazzato, ma anche arrabbiato per questo comportamento, e poi c’è la difficoltà di capire cosa gli dice il cuore... Non sarà facile trovare una risposta, ma grazie anche all’aiuto più o meno diretto di suo fratello Kosuke e del suo amico Masahiro, Ken riuscirà a capire la differenza tra friend e boyfriend…

Un volume nel quale si nota una certa insicurezza sia nella storia che nel disegno un po’ acerbo, anche se questo non toglie la simpatia e il divertimento che provoca. Vediamo anzi come la storia si evolva, il disegno e il design dei personaggi diventi sempre più definito e sul finale ritroviamo i personaggi che abbiamo conosciuto in Hitorijime My Hero. Si crea una sorta di continuità tra le due storie che non si trova in altre serie che presentano una simile struttura di sequel e prequel. Anzi le differenza non tanto di stile quanto del carattere e della caratterizzazione dei personaggi piace e mostra una bella evoluzione di tutti quanti.

Partiamo velocemente da Masahiro e Kosuke. Il primo mostra il suo lato più ribelle e non il timido ragazzo un po’ casalingo e indeciso della serie di Hitorijime My Hero. Kosuke invece si dimostra un fratello maggiore protettivo per il quale non importa la decisione che prenderà il fratellino quanto che lui sia felice. Il legame tra i due è molto lieve anche se vediamo appunto il rispetto che Masahiro prova per Kosuke e che lui ha a cuore il ragazzo. Capiamo che l’autrice abbia voluto approfondire anche la loro storia dopo essersi dedicata bene a Kensuke e Hasekura.

I due sono un po’ agli opposti. Ken è ingenuo e spensierato, anche se meno di Hitorijime My Hero. Qui è più serio e riflessivo, non capisce i rapporti soprattutto quelli amorosi e si interroga molto. La sua prima reazione alle parole e comportamenti di Hasekura è quello di imbarazzarsi – e un po’ arrabbiarsi perché queste cose non si fanno!

Dall’altra Hasekura è brusco, non si risparmia a prenderlo in giro e farlo arrossire ma i suoi sentimenti sono sinceri. Con le altre persone è un po’ glaciale e freddo, ma con Ken a suo modo si scioglie e mostra lati inediti del suo carattere, anche inediti per lo stesso Ken che non lo vede da tempo. I due quindi dovranno imparare a conoscersi nuovamente, cresciuti e cambiati, e con questi nuovi e a volte incomprensibili sentimenti che provano uno per l’altro e che non riescono ad esprimere facilmente.

Hitorijime Boyfriend è la storia di come questi due ragazzi si incontrano di nuovo e lo fanno in un periodo, quello dell’adolescenza dove tutto non può essere come quando erano bambini. Il tema della sessualità è presente e ci sono dei momenti un po’ piccantini ma mai espliciti. Sono piuttosto legati alla scoperta di loro stessi anche da un punto di vista fisico e non solo psicologico. I sentimenti però sono al centro di tutta la storia con i dubbi, le insicurezze e le incomprensioni che troviamo in tante storie d’amore.

Momenti classici, forse un po’ clichè, ma che emozionano sempre. Ed è questo che rende il volume davvero piacevole e bello, imperdibile sia se avete già letto e incontrato questi personaggi in Hitorijime My Hero sia se li volete conoscere proprio con questo volume. Siamo sicuri che non vi deluderanno e anzi vorrete leggerne ancora e ancora…

[Lari · Rating 1 out of 5]

bueno a verrr, ya tengo idea de que no me va a gustar xq creo que no tengo mucho feeling con los tomos únicos pero bueno, a intentar
—————————————
bueno as always me decepcionó jsjsjs FUE MALÍSIMO

1
-uHH ES POSESIVO/CELOSO, MG
-ok el rubio es hasekura y el de pelo oscuro es kensuke ohshiba
-las pibas lo re presionaban jsjsjs
-ay parece un solcito el rubio
-CJAU EL RUBIO SE LO IBA A CHAPAR Y JUSTO LLEGÓ EL AMIGO DE KEN A INTERRUMPIR LAPUU
-cjau hasekura se puso celoso de setagawa(el amigo teñido)
-AY DIOS EL RUBIO ES RE POSESIVO AAAA ME ENCANTA
-YA HUBO CHAPE Y HASTA LE QUISO DESABROCHAR EL CINTURÓN CJAU
-ah oki lo dejó todo bobo
-“here’s the deal, either you let me make love to you or we end up our friendship again” oki el menos manipulador, me encanta

2

-y empieza el misunderstanding aaaa piensa que tiene una novia, seguro es la hermana o una prima o qcyo
-ah bueno no duró mucho el misunderstanding
-bueno mentira medio que sigue
-es la hermana supuestamente
-buenoo se resolvió ese conflicto
-“what I want is you, only you”
-omg el hermano del prota llamó al amigo teñido???

3

-omg el hermano va a trabajar como maestro en su escuela nooo
-ay lo amo al hermano, se preocupa por que todo sea con consentimiento lo tkm
-amo lo posesivo/celoso pero el prota acaba de ser muy claro y dijo que no quiere así que A VER SI EMPEZÁS A SER UN POCO MÁS CABALLERO Y MENOS VIOLÍN??
-“I’m sorry I lied to you. You know, I never considered you a friend, Kensuke” a ver papito, y si sos más directo y decís que siempre te interesó en el sentido romántico?? por dios

4

-bueno pasaron muchas cosas y en los 3 días que faltó el rubio por estar enfermo el amigui teñido le dijo al prota que él siempre se asustaba y no hacía las cosas y qcyo entonces después de estar muy preocupado el prota va a ir a ver al rubio violinista xq le preocupa no volver a verlo
-bueno el rubio por lo menos admite que le dijo algo horrible a kensuke(si se refiere solo a eso de que no lo consideraba un amigo lo voy a matar)
-we y ahora le dice que se vaya aaaa rubio vueltero andate alv
-me hincha un toque los huevos que el prota lit se haya tirado al piso llorando y diciendo que no se banca más esta situación de no estar con él etc y que ahora el rubio ‘lo perdone’
Todo hubiera sido más fácil si con los huevos que tuvo para decirle ‘cojemos o dejo de ser tu amigo’ y todas esas veces que lo encaró para hacer cosas le decía de una que él siempre lo extrañó y que quería ser el novio o salir con él aaaaa why use all that boldness to be a creep when he could have confessed instead??
-“I won’t share any of you. Not even a single heartbeat”
-finalmente le dijo que lo ama aaaa finalmente papito

5

-ay bueno es muy lindo como novio
-“I wish I was that popsicle. It doesn’t have to do anything to get kensuke to eat it” jsjsjsj
-me cago en la puta igual che, ahora si lo respeta??
-keee por qué se siente culpable?? seguro que no está hablando de su etapa de violín
-🤨🤨🤨el rubio posta que está mal de la cabeza jsjsjs
-mmm me parece que hay algo entre el hermano del prota y el mejor amigui, ya lo sospeché a penas apareció el hermano
-cjau fueron a la casa y directo al cuarto mientras todos los amigos estaban en la cocina/comedor
-no les cabe una

THEIR FUTURE

-otra vez con sus actitudes de violín dioss
-ah bueno al final le hizo un skincare y lo bañó y lo masajeó(? un spa básicamente

[Kirsty · Rating 2 out of 5]

So I adore the series Hitorijime My Hero, so I was intrigued to read the manga it was spun off from (Hitorijime Boyfriend was written 2 years before My Hero)

This focuses on Kensuke and Hasekura.

Started with some trepidation because of suspected dubious consent / non-con content. And can confirm there is some present in this volume so many may wish to skip it.

It was dealt with in a strangely, light feel? Struggled to understand what Kensuke was doing/feeling most of the time. As confused as he himself seemed. I think he forgave Hasekura much too quickly and easily. It was... Odd, reading it.

Whole thing was a bit odd to be honest. Especially since there were character changes compared to My Hero.
Hasekura is pretty much the same character to be fair.
Kousuke is the same too as far can see for a side character in this manga.
Kensuke seems drawn looking slightly older? And seemed... slightly more mature? In this than in My Hero. Not by much but he definitely seems more happy go lucky and child like in My Hero than in Boyfriend.
Masahiro is the one that surprised me the most as changed a lot when comparing the two yaoi's. Appeared a lot more cold, cynical, composed, rather than his more emotional expressive worried state that we get to know in My Hero. Its quite a shift in character between the two series.

The art skill/style is a bit different, art seems.. sharper, rougher to the eye, to the smoother lines known in My Hero.

(I know I am comparing it a lot to My Hero but its really hard not too)

I really wanted to like this more... I like the artist, I like the characters (though admittedly a lot more in... yeah you guessed it... My Hero), I didn't like the non-con in this, I'm confused with how Kensuke acts, its interesting to see how Memeko Arii developed her art style in the two years between the series, the differences in the characters, I like seeing those developments and growths and changes that were made, its both intriguing and fascinating in that respect, but I don't like how this pairing started so...
Conflicted is how I would describe my feelings on this manga. It's interesting for what it is but... Yeah...

Definitely prefer the dynamic between Kensuke and Hasekura in My Hero.
And speaking of which, I think I may well start rereading Hitorijime My Hero back from the beginning and appreciate the changes, characters and story more.

[TerryAnn Greco · Rating 5 out of 5]

The manga for this story was originally published in 2010, but it wasn't released in English until 2021, eleven years later. The anime adaptation of "Hitorijime My Hero" incorporated this manga into its storyline.

Kensuke "Kenny" Ohshiba is a fun-loving and upbeat guy in high school. Very adorable and protective to his biological and found family members. He’s been friends with Asaya Hasekura since they were kids, but he has no idea that Asaya has a crush on him.

Asaya Hasekura is a chill and good-looking teen who's had a crush on Kensuke since they were kids. After having to move away for a while, he comes back and starts trying to win Kensuke's heart.

Their story dives into the messiness of a childhood promise they couldn’t keep and Hasekura’s jealousy, but eventually, they come clean about their feelings and start dating.

My favorite part of this story is how Kenny goes from, "No way, what do you mean we either sleep together or we can't be friends? There's no way two guys can do that," to, "Okay, so we’re together now, right?" Seems like Asaya really had to push you into it, huh, Kenny?

Kenny is the little brother of Kousuke and best friend and classmate of Masahiro who is his brother's former sidekick turned partner. Asaya's older sister Ayaka and her husband Tsunehito grew up with Kou in high school.

Seriously Kenny is adorable and Asaya is as cool and collected as they come.

[Lina · Rating 3 out of 5]

It's really a 2.5 but I'm gonna round it up to a 3 because I feel like being nice today.

I love Hitorijime My Hero. There are a lot of reasons why but one is because Kousuke is taking care of Setagawa. He listens to him, doesn’t give him ultimatums, doesn’t do the whole guilt trip spiel, is very loving and waits for Setagawa. Gives him time. Sure he fucks up but he’s human. There is no inhuman fuck ups. Not like in Hitorijime Boyfriend.

I don’t like Hasekura. I have issues with him in HMH but they got a lot bigger after I read HB. This manga is riddled with the typical yaoi tropes. The noncon/rape. The mental abuse. The ultimatum. The uke saying no. He’s actually saying no as in "I’m not wanting", not as in “no I don’t want but yes I do when I’m halfway into the sex” kind of way. The respect isn’t there. And then the jealousy. There is nothing redeeming at all about Hasekura. And tbh, does Kensuke really seem like he loves Hasekura at the end? I don’t think so. This manga sucks for as many reasons as the other one rocks. I don’t like it. But I needed it because my collection wouldn’t be complete if I didn’t have it. I will probably never read it again and I will probably never like Hasekura very much.

The art is fine though.

[Andrea Ambroso · Rating 4 out of 5]

La storia è stata molto particolare: due amici di infanzia si rincontrano dopo anni, con alle spalle un cessato rapporto di amicizia, quando uno dei due si vuole scusare per come sono andate le cose, l’altro lo bacia !?! Ovviamente tutto verrà chiarito durante il racconto e i sentimenti dei personaggi analizzati ampiamente. Mi ha straniato l’inizio particolare ma poi la narrazione è stata lineare e semplice.
I disegni sono molto belli e il tratto è pulito, tante caricature con intervalli comici, è stato piacevole e scorrevole leggere la storia. Lo consiglio per chi vuole una lettura veloce (volume unico) e senza impegno. Per chi vuole una serie più lunga consiglio invece lo spin-off incentrato su altri personaggi che fanno però parte dello stesso universo e che si conoscono nel volume unico.

[ℂ ✧ · Rating 3 out of 5]

Vaaale, ara ho entenc! Aquesta és la preqüela de Hitorijime My Hero, Vol. 1 que se centra en la parella de secundaris (els dos amics d'infància) i que per això a l'anime tenen tant de protagonisme al principi!!! Trobo que van més forts que a la sèrie, perquè no es fa menció al sexe i està tot molt descafeïnat, i crec que és dels pocs casos que l'anime m'agrada més que el manga. Està bé, però hi ha certes actituds tòxiques que no m'agraden tot i que com a mínim és una relació entre igual i sense abús de poder if you know what I mean... ^^'

[Calista · Rating 1 out of 5]

This author enjoys the taboo subjects. This series has a teacher student relationship. This story is before all that somehow and this one is about rape basically. It doesn't go all the way, but one student in the Japanese high school story is forcing another student. It's really not fun. I will say that by the end of the story, the raper has figured out that's not the way one behaves, mostly, but he still does stuff that's pushy. They work out their relationship. I guess kids do have to learn how to be in relationship and this is part of it, but it wasn't fun to read.

This is like a prequel, I say skip this one if you are reading the series.

I found this difficult and confusing to follow the narrative.

[Sequoia Cron · Rating 3 out of 5]

This was okay. It's a prequel to the Hitorijime My Hero manga, and it's about how two childhood friends become lovers.

While I like a good backstory, I think this one was a bit of a miss. I think the anime handled their story a lot better than me reading this. Hase is pretty forceful towards Ken when trying to 'convey' his feelings, and while the anime does show a little bit of this forceful side, it's more prominent in the manga. It made me wonder why Ken actually decided to be Hase's boyfriend in the end...

I do like the anime, so if you're not interested in reading the manga, you might like the anime's take of this prequel.

[applepip_books Micaela · Rating 4 out of 5]

Si bien estoy en contra en algunas actitudes que tiene Hasekura, se nota un poco que después de hablar con el hermano de Ken empieza a cambiar un poco, no es tan como era antes, como que se relaja un poco, se nota que Hase es un poco (muy) impulsivo. Al final se nota mejoría, cambiaron para bien (que es lo importante). Kensuke es adorable, me gusta el personaje. En lo personal me gustó el final. En la vida real, fuera de la ficción, si alguien tiene las actitudes que tiene Hasekura yo le dejo de hablar y me distancio, que vaya a terapia.

[Caitlan Meyer · Rating 4 out of 5]

I’ve already read this once online after I had read about half of the series not realizing there was a story that lead to the huge series that’s being made. I love the annoying back and forth of ken not catching on to anything and the way he is drawn next to hasekura is always amusing. Yes their relationship definitely can be seen as problematic but I still love them. I’m so glad this finally came out to but so I can put it with the rest of the series.