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Samejima-Kun & Sasahara-Kun
Samejima and Sasahara are friends. They go to college together, they're in the same year, and they even work at the same place! But when Samejima confesses his feelings run deeper, their relationship explodes in passion... and irritation! Sasahara tries to ignore Samejima, and he tells him to wake up - he tries to accept him, and Samejima plays hard to get. It's enough to drive a man crazy, in more way than one!
200 pages, Paperback
First published January 1, 2011
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Displaying 1 - 20 of 20 reviews
May 17, 2014
Not For the Faint of Heart - Samejima-Kun and Sasahara-Kun Review
So I picked this up more based on the description than the cover, because that cover doesn't do the book justice at all. First off, it gives entirely the wrong idea of which guy is into the other at first, and it also just makes them seem kind of creepy. Fear not, the interior art I found much more appealing, and this is a book that I found so adorable. It is cute. It is so cute. I can hardly describe the cuteness of this book, where two friends becomes more than friends. It's pretty great. And it's not something I'm normally drawn to, because it's very much slice of life, but it has some great humor and characters and I liked it.
It's a completely trigger-free book as well, having no issues of consent, really. If anything, both guys are rather afraid of things happening, and when things finally get good and hot it's after so many false starts and close calls that there is no question that they both want it. It helps that they both say they want it, too, that it's something that they discuss and deal with like something close to adults. It's just nice to see that in any sort of relationship manga, and so it's a definite point in the book's favor.
The artwork is also great. The guys are both fun characters, the one very clean and obsessive and yet with such feelings. The other one is a slob and a bit of a slacker, but he's more outgoing, more emotional, and it's him in the end that takes things to the next level. It's an interesting dynamic, and one that I haven't really seen before, and it is cute. Both guys are just clueless at times and it makes for many smiles and chuckles. And while some of the secondary characters sort of blend together, and look a little similar, I think I was only confused once or twice who was who, and that had probably more to do with a weird hiccup in the story around the second or third chapter where time seems to jump backwards a little.
The sex is kind of strange in this manga, because it doesn't really happen for a while, at least not fully. It's...well, there's a lot of fooling around, which is nice, but things don't really steam up until the very end, and even then everyone doesn't exactly get a turn. Still, the art is great during the sex and the guys are adorable throughout. So that's something, and I thought everything was well done with the relationship and the pacing. And in the end that's what I like to see, that there is a good relationship, good characters, and consensual sex. For all that I'm giving it an 8/10.
So I picked this up more based on the description than the cover, because that cover doesn't do the book justice at all. First off, it gives entirely the wrong idea of which guy is into the other at first, and it also just makes them seem kind of creepy. Fear not, the interior art I found much more appealing, and this is a book that I found so adorable. It is cute. It is so cute. I can hardly describe the cuteness of this book, where two friends becomes more than friends. It's pretty great. And it's not something I'm normally drawn to, because it's very much slice of life, but it has some great humor and characters and I liked it.
It's a completely trigger-free book as well, having no issues of consent, really. If anything, both guys are rather afraid of things happening, and when things finally get good and hot it's after so many false starts and close calls that there is no question that they both want it. It helps that they both say they want it, too, that it's something that they discuss and deal with like something close to adults. It's just nice to see that in any sort of relationship manga, and so it's a definite point in the book's favor.
The artwork is also great. The guys are both fun characters, the one very clean and obsessive and yet with such feelings. The other one is a slob and a bit of a slacker, but he's more outgoing, more emotional, and it's him in the end that takes things to the next level. It's an interesting dynamic, and one that I haven't really seen before, and it is cute. Both guys are just clueless at times and it makes for many smiles and chuckles. And while some of the secondary characters sort of blend together, and look a little similar, I think I was only confused once or twice who was who, and that had probably more to do with a weird hiccup in the story around the second or third chapter where time seems to jump backwards a little.
The sex is kind of strange in this manga, because it doesn't really happen for a while, at least not fully. It's...well, there's a lot of fooling around, which is nice, but things don't really steam up until the very end, and even then everyone doesn't exactly get a turn. Still, the art is great during the sex and the guys are adorable throughout. So that's something, and I thought everything was well done with the relationship and the pacing. And in the end that's what I like to see, that there is a good relationship, good characters, and consensual sex. For all that I'm giving it an 8/10.
March 31, 2015
A really enjoyable story about two friends who slowly become lovers. Unlike with "Dear Green", there's a heavy emphasis on the comedy, and there's a lot of bickering. But the artist did a great job capturing the awkwardness that arises when a relationship changes. There also were no clearly defined uke and seme roles, which I always like. The art, though, wasn't that great, but considering that the story was so much fun I didn't mind that so much.
I've been going to and fro wondering whether I should order this or not, and now I'm glad I did. Well worth its money!
I've been going to and fro wondering whether I should order this or not, and now I'm glad I did. Well worth its money!
June 1, 2018
...a fun read. 4.5/5 ⭐️
May 5, 2016
I'm very, very picky with my Yaoi these days. I'm not satisfied with typical storylines, shoddy plot and mediocre art. Sex can get me to read something, but it won't get me to buy it. I need substance, heart and endearing quirks. I need something that pulls me into the story and the characters and has me rooting for them from the start. I need to care.
I got all of that with Samejima-kun & Sasahara-kun, gosh, did I ever.
The story itself doesn't sound very interesting; Samejima and Sasahara work at the same part-time job and attend the same college. They're relatively close friends and enjoy each other's company, until the day Samejima tells Sasahara he likes him--and that's where this story takes off. Unlike the typical stories that implement this trope, Samejima-kun & Sasahara-kun bring an element of clumsy, ridiculous realism that is so rare in Japanese Yaoi. The world isn't against them, there's no one trying to interfere in their relationship (on the contrary friends seem to find their fumbling quite entertaining), there's no easily-resolvable misunderstandings that prevent the two characters from getting together (in fact, Sasahara refuses to indulge in Samejima's assumptions and actively refuses to take responsibility for those regarding himself). They're just two guys trying to figure out who-likes-who and what to do now that the cat's out of the bag. Samejima clearly doesn't expect Sasahara to reciprocate and Sasahara clearly doesn't want their friendship to end. It gets increasingly adorable from there.
They're both males, horny, impulsive, and prone to saying the wrong thing at the right time, but they work their way through their issues, their concerns, their attractions in realistic, absolutely lovely ways. Samejima never believes Sasahara will return his feelings but can't stop himself (though he makes a great effort). Sasahara can't believe Samejima actually likes him, but both slowly warms to the idea and begins to provoke Samejima out of curiosity--both to Samejima and his own preferences. They fumble their way into a relationship despite Samejima's second-guessing and Sasahara's disbelief, and create a functioning, adorable relationship that reflects actual, realistic relationships. That's what I adore in slice-of-life stories like this, and rarely ever see. It has heart and realism and you can feel how Samejima doesn't want to ruin what they have but he cares for Sasahara so much, and Sasahara doesn't see how it could work, but begins to consider and then seek out Samejima's responses. It's absolutely lovely to see that tug of war and neither are blown out of proportion. When the two characters finally get together and have sex (and let's be honest here, we're all waiting for it) it's honestly the most adorable, clumsy yet hot scene I've read in a long time.
Honestly, if you're looking for a sweet, realistic, endearing and non-heartbreaking slice-of-life yaoi, this is it. The art good, the story lovely and sex delightful. Samejima and Sasahara are going to worm their way into your heart and it's going to be a grand time for you.
One last thing! This isn't necessarily a spoiler, but the two characters actively discuss switching top/bottom positions. While this may not seem important or even very heavily emphasized within the story, I adore the fact it's mentioned at all, and that the characters are so candid about their opinions. There isn't any traditional seme/uke talk (which, to be honest, I'm rather sick of seeing in yaoi anyway) and it just works with this books. I really do love this story and recommend everyone pick it up if they like/want a slice-of-life like this one.
I got all of that with Samejima-kun & Sasahara-kun, gosh, did I ever.
The story itself doesn't sound very interesting; Samejima and Sasahara work at the same part-time job and attend the same college. They're relatively close friends and enjoy each other's company, until the day Samejima tells Sasahara he likes him--and that's where this story takes off. Unlike the typical stories that implement this trope, Samejima-kun & Sasahara-kun bring an element of clumsy, ridiculous realism that is so rare in Japanese Yaoi. The world isn't against them, there's no one trying to interfere in their relationship (on the contrary friends seem to find their fumbling quite entertaining), there's no easily-resolvable misunderstandings that prevent the two characters from getting together (in fact, Sasahara refuses to indulge in Samejima's assumptions and actively refuses to take responsibility for those regarding himself). They're just two guys trying to figure out who-likes-who and what to do now that the cat's out of the bag. Samejima clearly doesn't expect Sasahara to reciprocate and Sasahara clearly doesn't want their friendship to end. It gets increasingly adorable from there.
They're both males, horny, impulsive, and prone to saying the wrong thing at the right time, but they work their way through their issues, their concerns, their attractions in realistic, absolutely lovely ways. Samejima never believes Sasahara will return his feelings but can't stop himself (though he makes a great effort). Sasahara can't believe Samejima actually likes him, but both slowly warms to the idea and begins to provoke Samejima out of curiosity--both to Samejima and his own preferences. They fumble their way into a relationship despite Samejima's second-guessing and Sasahara's disbelief, and create a functioning, adorable relationship that reflects actual, realistic relationships. That's what I adore in slice-of-life stories like this, and rarely ever see. It has heart and realism and you can feel how Samejima doesn't want to ruin what they have but he cares for Sasahara so much, and Sasahara doesn't see how it could work, but begins to consider and then seek out Samejima's responses. It's absolutely lovely to see that tug of war and neither are blown out of proportion. When the two characters finally get together and have sex (and let's be honest here, we're all waiting for it) it's honestly the most adorable, clumsy yet hot scene I've read in a long time.
Honestly, if you're looking for a sweet, realistic, endearing and non-heartbreaking slice-of-life yaoi, this is it. The art good, the story lovely and sex delightful. Samejima and Sasahara are going to worm their way into your heart and it's going to be a grand time for you.
One last thing! This isn't necessarily a spoiler, but the two characters actively discuss switching top/bottom positions. While this may not seem important or even very heavily emphasized within the story, I adore the fact it's mentioned at all, and that the characters are so candid about their opinions. There isn't any traditional seme/uke talk (which, to be honest, I'm rather sick of seeing in yaoi anyway) and it just works with this books. I really do love this story and recommend everyone pick it up if they like/want a slice-of-life like this one.
April 24, 2022
This was fun. Samejima and Sasahara are coworkers and university classmates who rapidly become the kinds of friends who hang out after work and crash at...well, not each other's places, since Sasahara still lives with his parents and younger brother, while Samejima has an apartment of his own. (His family is never mentioned, so he probably went away to school.) The point is, they get along really well, and have a really comfortable, natural dynamic.
Things get disrupted when Samejima blurts out during one of their convenience store shifts that he's in love with Sasahara. Sasahara, thinking it has to be a joke, replies, "What? That's disgusting." And that's where this story starts - with Samejima desperately trying to pull away before he gets hurt worse, and Sasahara stubbornly refusing to let the confession actually change anything about their friendship. So what if he's never thought about dating a guy before? He doesn't hate the idea, and if it means he gets to still sleep over at Samejima's house, where everything just feels right, then...well, he'll see what happens.
There's a lot of fun humor and a very masculine energy to their interactions that makes this feel kinda different from other manga I've read. They actually do seem like two horny, kinda bone-headed college guys who could fall into a relationship like this without having any real idea what they're doing.
Samejima does drop the typical BL line - "you're the only guy I've ever been attracted to" - but we subsequently find out that he's a virgin who hasn't dated anyone, male or female, partly because he has an extremely strong sense of smell that's sensitive to things like body odors. That could read a little weirdly in one of the later scenes, but it actually works with his overall personality - he's fairly OCD and is germaphobic, unwilling to share utensils or food with anyone...except Sasahara. He was drawn to Sasahara over time, and gradually worked up the courage to confess to him...but without expecting anything to actually come from it.
Which means that once Sasahara finally starts testing things out and deciding that he might like to try a relationship with Samejima, they get into even bigger, more awkward messes, because Samejima wasn't actually ready for his feelings to be returned.
There's a ton of hilariously awkward fumbling as they try to figure things out together and actually become as comfortable as lovers as they are as friends. It's taking a while to get there, which is fun to see unfold; you can't realistically always jump from 0 to 60, so I like the fact that they continue to mess up a lot along the way. The important part is that no matter how much they argue, or how weird they feel about moving to various stages of the relationship, they keep communicating with each other and refusing to let go of their friendship.
This is just a really fun, energetic, affectionate story with vibrant, heartfelt dialogue. There isn't a huge amount of depth to the characters, but I did like all the scenes with their coworkers and classmates, where we got to explore more sides of their personalities. (I wouldn't have minded seeing more of Sasahara's brother.) And I liked how much the two of them genuinely cared about each other, and how hard they both worked to understand each other. The scene with Sasahara's first "I love you" was adorable, and happened in exactly the kind of ridiculous, messy scenario that made sense for the two of them.
Is it a perfect story? No. But I definitely enjoyed it.
Things get disrupted when Samejima blurts out during one of their convenience store shifts that he's in love with Sasahara. Sasahara, thinking it has to be a joke, replies, "What? That's disgusting." And that's where this story starts - with Samejima desperately trying to pull away before he gets hurt worse, and Sasahara stubbornly refusing to let the confession actually change anything about their friendship. So what if he's never thought about dating a guy before? He doesn't hate the idea, and if it means he gets to still sleep over at Samejima's house, where everything just feels right, then...well, he'll see what happens.
There's a lot of fun humor and a very masculine energy to their interactions that makes this feel kinda different from other manga I've read. They actually do seem like two horny, kinda bone-headed college guys who could fall into a relationship like this without having any real idea what they're doing.
Samejima does drop the typical BL line - "you're the only guy I've ever been attracted to" - but we subsequently find out that he's a virgin who hasn't dated anyone, male or female, partly because he has an extremely strong sense of smell that's sensitive to things like body odors. That could read a little weirdly in one of the later scenes, but it actually works with his overall personality - he's fairly OCD and is germaphobic, unwilling to share utensils or food with anyone...except Sasahara. He was drawn to Sasahara over time, and gradually worked up the courage to confess to him...but without expecting anything to actually come from it.
Which means that once Sasahara finally starts testing things out and deciding that he might like to try a relationship with Samejima, they get into even bigger, more awkward messes, because Samejima wasn't actually ready for his feelings to be returned.
There's a ton of hilariously awkward fumbling as they try to figure things out together and actually become as comfortable as lovers as they are as friends. It's taking a while to get there, which is fun to see unfold; you can't realistically always jump from 0 to 60, so I like the fact that they continue to mess up a lot along the way. The important part is that no matter how much they argue, or how weird they feel about moving to various stages of the relationship, they keep communicating with each other and refusing to let go of their friendship.
This is just a really fun, energetic, affectionate story with vibrant, heartfelt dialogue. There isn't a huge amount of depth to the characters, but I did like all the scenes with their coworkers and classmates, where we got to explore more sides of their personalities. (I wouldn't have minded seeing more of Sasahara's brother.) And I liked how much the two of them genuinely cared about each other, and how hard they both worked to understand each other. The scene with Sasahara's first "I love you" was adorable, and happened in exactly the kind of ridiculous, messy scenario that made sense for the two of them.
Is it a perfect story? No. But I definitely enjoyed it.
January 27, 2019
This is my FAVORITE yaoi comic ever. I read it online over and over and over again and happened to find it at long last at a Half Price Books. Even though it was exorbitantly priced, I bought it because I wasnt going to let it get away from me. The story emphasizes the awkward uncertainty of falling in love; particularly falling in love with a friend. Their fumbling relationship reads beautifully real to me.
June 20, 2019
full video review here
A cute story more of the comedy than for romantic plot. Sometimes the art came off busy and I wished there was more character development between the two MCs
A cute story more of the comedy than for romantic plot. Sometimes the art came off busy and I wished there was more character development between the two MCs
May 25, 2025
I grabbed this because for some reason it was really expensive?? Uhm it was ok. Different but overall the two guys irritated me lol. I like the naive dynamic - but there was just something about the two of them that left me frustrated. It’s definitely silly and has that “not all relationships have to be overly romantic and serious” which I respect - but I didn’t like it THAT much. Take that as you will :3
June 14, 2019
Una pareja que me ha dado mucha gracia 😂😂
January 13, 2020
Son demasiado tontos. Los quiero mucho.
October 3, 2018
Why do BL manga always have to have such shady consent?? It's super annoying and gross.
July 28, 2017
So I picked this up because the summary seemed to be promising me an idiots in love story and those are one of my favourite types of romances. Happily that is exactly what I received. :D What an incredibly awkward pair of human beings. So much conversation and step backs and awkward interactions of awkwardness. It was GR8. I didn't even skip the sex scenes, that's how much I liked their dynamic.* 3.5 stars
*(see the thing about yaoi is it is full of extremely gross relationship tropes that always seem to be expressed to the highest zenith of grossness whenever the couple gets to fucking. 'Consent? What is that, scenes where at least one person is repeatedly saying no is sexy' – the thesis statement of 80% of all yaoi ever. Experience has thus led me to rapidly start skipping pages as soon as it looks like the clothes are coming off)
*(see the thing about yaoi is it is full of extremely gross relationship tropes that always seem to be expressed to the highest zenith of grossness whenever the couple gets to fucking. 'Consent? What is that, scenes where at least one person is repeatedly saying no is sexy' – the thesis statement of 80% of all yaoi ever. Experience has thus led me to rapidly start skipping pages as soon as it looks like the clothes are coming off)
July 31, 2012
I very rarely buy BL manga I haven't read before because so much of it is so terrible, but the synopsis of this one sounded really promising so I took the plunge -- and it really delivered! The characters are likable and actually fairly realistic (I have to give the translator props for their natural-sounding dialogue as well) and it just isn't your typical brooding-seme-and-weeping-uke dynamic at all. Seeing the two main characters awkwardly work their way toward a relationship is heartwarming, hilarious, and ultimately incredibly satisfying.
December 11, 2014
Totally hilarious! Often the transition from friends to lovers are made to look so easy in most books. This was NOT like that at all! Samejima-Kun and Sasahara-Kun was a story where forsaking friendship for the pleasure of passion isn't all it's cracked up to be.
February 1, 2017
The very definition of bacouple aka idiot couple. Friends to lovers and switching roles (don't ask...)
June 19, 2015
I love Koshino's stories! Others may bitch about her artwork, but I love it! The art completely fits in with the characters and the stories they're portrayed in.
January 7, 2017
Man, this has the best/hottest handjob in the history of BL mangas. Just saying.
May 31, 2012
One of the few yaois that is really sweet yet shows.... A lot!
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January 7, 2016
THIS IS SO AWKWARD AND WEIRD ILUVIT.
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