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Dash!
Akimoto entered the judo club because he was a huge fan of Saitoh. But all that was waiting for him was a daily life being an errand boy. Things liven up when Akimoto finds out that Saitoh has a deep, deep secret?! Don't miss this charming volume of pure love between a cute boy and an ideal man, and of a devilish cousin's anguish at the mercy of a beauty.
213 pages, Paperback
First published August 12, 2006
6 people are currently reading
137 people want to read
About the author
Isaku Natsume
58 books194 followersIsaku Natsume (native name: 夏目イサク) is a Japanese author of Boys' Love manga.
Aside from the manga published with publishing companies, she also runs two Dōjin circles: 139 and Chekera.
List of all her works (detailed) : http://infbot.cocolog-nifty.com/blog/...
Associated names :
チェケラ
チェケラ!
夏目維朔
139
Cheke-Rara
Aside from the manga published with publishing companies, she also runs two Dōjin circles: 139 and Chekera.
List of all her works (detailed) : http://infbot.cocolog-nifty.com/blog/...
Associated names :
チェケラ
チェケラ!
夏目維朔
139
Cheke-Rara
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Displaying 1 - 19 of 19 reviews
February 21, 2014
I am doing a review for this just so other people, like me, who get confused by how many stories will be in a single, 200-ish page volume and are hesitant to get it because they worry they won't get much of a story out of the managa because it could have like 8 stories and then you wouldn't get to know the characters.
So to be clear, there are 2 equal length stories in this volume which means you do get to know the characters, so YAY! Both have sports in them but the second story is more focused on the reluctance of one character and the change in the second character whereas the first story has a lot to do with Judo practise. The first story still has the love aspect in it, don't get confused because of my poor wording ability. It's just the sport is mentioned a fair bit in the book as it happens to be both of their passions. Still, it was good and I'm kind of glum that I hummed and ahhhed over it for so long since it really was quite good.
Now you know what I didn't know so I hope I helped make deciding to buy this book easier. Oh! I almost forgot! There is also a little bonus story that gives you the benefit of seeing what happens a little later in the first story. Not too far mind you, just a little bit further on =)
So to be clear, there are 2 equal length stories in this volume which means you do get to know the characters, so YAY! Both have sports in them but the second story is more focused on the reluctance of one character and the change in the second character whereas the first story has a lot to do with Judo practise. The first story still has the love aspect in it, don't get confused because of my poor wording ability. It's just the sport is mentioned a fair bit in the book as it happens to be both of their passions. Still, it was good and I'm kind of glum that I hummed and ahhhed over it for so long since it really was quite good.
Now you know what I didn't know so I hope I helped make deciding to buy this book easier. Oh! I almost forgot! There is also a little bonus story that gives you the benefit of seeing what happens a little later in the first story. Not too far mind you, just a little bit further on =)
November 21, 2018
We have 2 stories with 2 different couples here. The first one is far better than the second one but is OK. Really cute characters!
3.5*
3.5*
June 23, 2021
CW: Age Gap, Cousins, Abandoned teens, Homophobia, Distant Family Members, Sex trafficking
I wasn't expecting to love this as much as I did. Isaku Natsume is one of my favorite mangaka, the care they take in writing stories is so well done. I'm not usually one for the cousins trope, but this one was good and well written.
This is actually two stories: The first is about two boys in the Judo club that meet and form a relationship. One of them is injured, and it follows the two exploring their relationship and boundaries. It was adorable.
The second story follows two cousins, one is three years older than the other. The older cousin ends up housing the other when their parents have an argument. This story tugged at my heartstrings in the best way, and I wasn't expecting that. I recommend this story, it's worth your time.
I wasn't expecting to love this as much as I did. Isaku Natsume is one of my favorite mangaka, the care they take in writing stories is so well done. I'm not usually one for the cousins trope, but this one was good and well written.
This is actually two stories: The first is about two boys in the Judo club that meet and form a relationship. One of them is injured, and it follows the two exploring their relationship and boundaries. It was adorable.
The second story follows two cousins, one is three years older than the other. The older cousin ends up housing the other when their parents have an argument. This story tugged at my heartstrings in the best way, and I wasn't expecting that. I recommend this story, it's worth your time.
February 11, 2020
En este manga nos presentan 2 historias diferentes. El arte está bien ya que el dibujo me gustó bastante. Lo que no me llegó a convencer fue la trama en las 2 historias, pues se dejaron muchas cosas inconclusas que a mí parecer era parte esencial para entender mejor a los protagonistas.
July 20, 2021
I suspect that if this had been one of my first manga, I would've liked it a lot more. Unfortunately for Dash!, there are a lot of beautiful, satisfying, thoughtfully constructed books out there that left this one feeling flat and underdeveloped in comparison.
It's composed of two separate stories, splitting the book in half. Couple 1 has three chapters, followed by three for Couple 2, with a bonus chapter about the first couple.
Dash! and the cover art is for that first section, about a guy who comes to a school specifically to spar and drool after his extraordinary judo senpai, Saitou. There are some interesting elements; Akimoto is initially disappointed because Saitou rarely comes to practice and doesn't demonstrate any of the exceptional ability that he'd shown in previous tournaments. Saitou uses Akimoto as an errand boy and generally presents himself as arrogant, lazy, and disagreeable. Of course, there's always more to the story, and it turns out that Saitou was badly injured in an unspecified accident that left him with temporary paralysis of one side - which he's slowly working through, determined to get back to the sport he loves.
This could've been a fascinating setup, but it really isn't. We don't actually get to see much of Saitou's recovery, or to hear more than a brief blip of his side of the story - a quick spill of feelings that's supposed to make it seem like he and Akimoto have A Special Connection. In truth, the better couple here would've been Saitou and his childhood friend (and judo team captain) Oka. Akimoto...isn't particularly interesting, and other than his hero worship turning into accidental lustful thoughts, it's not even entirely clear why he likes Saitou.
Their relationship also suffers from the "I guess I'll be sorta gay, but only reluctantly for one person" trope; while anything that happens between them is explicitly consensual, it doesn't really seem like Saitou actually cares about Akimoto. I get more of an impression of him being depressed, at loose ends with his slow recovery, and wanting someone to care about him and to see him as special. So if Akimoto is going to show that kind of devotion, even if it veers into the uncomfortably physical, Saitou might as well take him up on the offer.
There's nothing really objectionable about this story, but it just isn't developed in any significant or memorable ways. Although we're seeing the story from Akimoto's POV, I feel no attachment to him and don't particularly feel like he deserves Saitou's love; he just hounds his senpai and gets upset that Saitou doesn't immediately fall for him and seems more comfortable and affectionate with Oka - his longtime friend.
While they talk about a "forever" type of relationship, this definitely doesn't feel like one that will last after Saitou graduates, goes to college, and gets back into judo. Akimoto needs to channel his obsessions elsewhere and focus on his own life for a while, but there's no space for that kind of internal exploration.
The second storyline is more interesting and pulled this book up from 2 stars. Here we have Taka-chan, a college student whose cousin, Yoshirou, unexpectedly comes to stay with him. They'd had a bond when they were kids - Yoshirou had adored him, and when Taka-chan's family moved away, he promised that he would still "always be on Yoshirou's side." While Taka-chan grew up and mostly forgot about his cousin, Yoshirou kept those words close to his heart and used them to motivate himself through a deeply lonely adolescence.
Some of the tropes from the first story carry over - I'm not sure how often high school or college aged guys kiss each other just as a joke or to mess with each other, but apparently this is something Natsume is really into, because it happens frequently. It seems like an easy way to get physical encounters on the page without actually dealing with the emotional upheaval that comes from confessions.
There is more of that in the Taka-chan/Yoshirou storyline, at least. While it remains unclear throughout how Taka-chan actually feels about his cousin - and whether he's straight - Yoshirou himself is a pretty interesting and definitely bisexual character. There's some gritty, sad stuff about how he took care of himself after his parents went overseas and essentially abandoned him, and his promiscuity and attachment issues make a lot of sense once we get to see more of his story.
One negative blip was Taka-chan deciding that Yoshirou's ex-boyfriend was "actually a good guy" because he said a few sad things after beating up Yoshirou in front of him. But that relationship isn't the focus of this story, and everything between Taka-chan and Yoshirou is pretty sweet and genuinely affectionate. It closes out on a fairly open note; the potential was much stronger here, and I wish this entire volume had been devoted to exploring their relationship.
That makes me a little hopeful for the other Natsume series that I'm going to try out...I was expecting to get a good sense from this volume of whether or not I'd love that one, but it's difficult to tell. Maybe with more room to explore the characters, those sparks of potential will have room to flare into something much more beautiful.
I'm also hoping that books from a better publisher will improve the experience; I hadn't realized that this one wasn't from SuBLime, but from something called "Digital Manga Publishing." The quality of both the paper and the translation seems lower - there are "it's" and "its" mistakes in the default "here's how to read manga" text at the back of the book, "senpai" was spelled "sempai," and I'm really wondering if some of the emotional depth in these stories was lost in a subpar translation.
It's composed of two separate stories, splitting the book in half. Couple 1 has three chapters, followed by three for Couple 2, with a bonus chapter about the first couple.
Dash! and the cover art is for that first section, about a guy who comes to a school specifically to spar and drool after his extraordinary judo senpai, Saitou. There are some interesting elements; Akimoto is initially disappointed because Saitou rarely comes to practice and doesn't demonstrate any of the exceptional ability that he'd shown in previous tournaments. Saitou uses Akimoto as an errand boy and generally presents himself as arrogant, lazy, and disagreeable. Of course, there's always more to the story, and it turns out that Saitou was badly injured in an unspecified accident that left him with temporary paralysis of one side - which he's slowly working through, determined to get back to the sport he loves.
This could've been a fascinating setup, but it really isn't. We don't actually get to see much of Saitou's recovery, or to hear more than a brief blip of his side of the story - a quick spill of feelings that's supposed to make it seem like he and Akimoto have A Special Connection. In truth, the better couple here would've been Saitou and his childhood friend (and judo team captain) Oka. Akimoto...isn't particularly interesting, and other than his hero worship turning into accidental lustful thoughts, it's not even entirely clear why he likes Saitou.
Their relationship also suffers from the "I guess I'll be sorta gay, but only reluctantly for one person" trope; while anything that happens between them is explicitly consensual, it doesn't really seem like Saitou actually cares about Akimoto. I get more of an impression of him being depressed, at loose ends with his slow recovery, and wanting someone to care about him and to see him as special. So if Akimoto is going to show that kind of devotion, even if it veers into the uncomfortably physical, Saitou might as well take him up on the offer.
There's nothing really objectionable about this story, but it just isn't developed in any significant or memorable ways. Although we're seeing the story from Akimoto's POV, I feel no attachment to him and don't particularly feel like he deserves Saitou's love; he just hounds his senpai and gets upset that Saitou doesn't immediately fall for him and seems more comfortable and affectionate with Oka - his longtime friend.
While they talk about a "forever" type of relationship, this definitely doesn't feel like one that will last after Saitou graduates, goes to college, and gets back into judo. Akimoto needs to channel his obsessions elsewhere and focus on his own life for a while, but there's no space for that kind of internal exploration.
The second storyline is more interesting and pulled this book up from 2 stars. Here we have Taka-chan, a college student whose cousin, Yoshirou, unexpectedly comes to stay with him. They'd had a bond when they were kids - Yoshirou had adored him, and when Taka-chan's family moved away, he promised that he would still "always be on Yoshirou's side." While Taka-chan grew up and mostly forgot about his cousin, Yoshirou kept those words close to his heart and used them to motivate himself through a deeply lonely adolescence.
Some of the tropes from the first story carry over - I'm not sure how often high school or college aged guys kiss each other just as a joke or to mess with each other, but apparently this is something Natsume is really into, because it happens frequently. It seems like an easy way to get physical encounters on the page without actually dealing with the emotional upheaval that comes from confessions.
There is more of that in the Taka-chan/Yoshirou storyline, at least. While it remains unclear throughout how Taka-chan actually feels about his cousin - and whether he's straight - Yoshirou himself is a pretty interesting and definitely bisexual character. There's some gritty, sad stuff about how he took care of himself after his parents went overseas and essentially abandoned him, and his promiscuity and attachment issues make a lot of sense once we get to see more of his story.
One negative blip was Taka-chan deciding that Yoshirou's ex-boyfriend was "actually a good guy" because he said a few sad things after beating up Yoshirou in front of him. But that relationship isn't the focus of this story, and everything between Taka-chan and Yoshirou is pretty sweet and genuinely affectionate. It closes out on a fairly open note; the potential was much stronger here, and I wish this entire volume had been devoted to exploring their relationship.
That makes me a little hopeful for the other Natsume series that I'm going to try out...I was expecting to get a good sense from this volume of whether or not I'd love that one, but it's difficult to tell. Maybe with more room to explore the characters, those sparks of potential will have room to flare into something much more beautiful.
I'm also hoping that books from a better publisher will improve the experience; I hadn't realized that this one wasn't from SuBLime, but from something called "Digital Manga Publishing." The quality of both the paper and the translation seems lower - there are "it's" and "its" mistakes in the default "here's how to read manga" text at the back of the book, "senpai" was spelled "sempai," and I'm really wondering if some of the emotional depth in these stories was lost in a subpar translation.
September 24, 2020
Wish the first story was expanded like I'm not keen on the others tbh..
September 26, 2017
3.5 stars
October 6, 2021
Ha sido un manga que me ha entretenido bastante, aunque ha sido muy corto. Se divide en dos historias con personajes distintos, al igual que sus historias de amor. Me hubiera gustado conocer más profundamente a cada uno de los protagonistas.
La primera historia trata sobre Akimoto, un chico que decide estudiar en una escuela sólo por el hecho de que allí está estudiando Saito, un chico por el que tiene una gran admiración desde que lo vio en un campeonato de Judo. Cuando lo conoce al fin se da cuenta de que no es tal y como él pensaba.
La segunda historia gira alrededor de Taka, un chico que vuelve a tener contacto con su primo Yoshiro después de 10 años sin saber nada de él. Yoshiro le pide a Taka vivir con él una temporada, ya que tiene problemas en su casa, y este acepta. Desde ese momento Taka descubre que Yoshiro ya no es el niño que él recordaba.
Me he quedado con ganas de saber más sobre el desenlace de ambas historias, ya que creo que había mucho que explotar y tienen un final que te deja como al principio. No llegas a cogerle cariño a los personajes, ya que la historia es demasiado corta. A pesar de esto, me ha entretenido y lo he leído en nada. Está bien para pasar el rato y leer algo fresco y ligero.
La primera historia trata sobre Akimoto, un chico que decide estudiar en una escuela sólo por el hecho de que allí está estudiando Saito, un chico por el que tiene una gran admiración desde que lo vio en un campeonato de Judo. Cuando lo conoce al fin se da cuenta de que no es tal y como él pensaba.
La segunda historia gira alrededor de Taka, un chico que vuelve a tener contacto con su primo Yoshiro después de 10 años sin saber nada de él. Yoshiro le pide a Taka vivir con él una temporada, ya que tiene problemas en su casa, y este acepta. Desde ese momento Taka descubre que Yoshiro ya no es el niño que él recordaba.
Me he quedado con ganas de saber más sobre el desenlace de ambas historias, ya que creo que había mucho que explotar y tienen un final que te deja como al principio. No llegas a cogerle cariño a los personajes, ya que la historia es demasiado corta. A pesar de esto, me ha entretenido y lo he leído en nada. Está bien para pasar el rato y leer algo fresco y ligero.
March 17, 2023
Buenas buenas, hello there!
Para empezar, tengo que decir que soy bastante fan de esta autora, pero el problema que tiene, es que todos sus personajes son muy parecidos, al igual que sus tramas. De todas formas, son parejas disfrutables y muy cutes, por lo que uno tiene ganas de leerlas.
En cuanto a esta historia, es muy plain. La verdad es que no pasa mucho y tampoco se toma mucho tiempo para desarrollarla, se resuelve todo muy rápido. Se entiende, porque son mangas con ese objetivo. La pareja es adorable y el seme es muy relateable jajajaj No voy a dejar de reírme por el hecho de que los japoneses hacen cosas muy políticamente incorrectas jajajaja por eso los queremos! Extraño este tipo de historias jajajajaj cuando no se puede contener porque le quiere saltar al senpai jajajaj si soy!
En fin, es un clásico del yaoi y todas las fujoshis deberían haberlo leído! Lo recomiendo para pasar el rato!
Para empezar, tengo que decir que soy bastante fan de esta autora, pero el problema que tiene, es que todos sus personajes son muy parecidos, al igual que sus tramas. De todas formas, son parejas disfrutables y muy cutes, por lo que uno tiene ganas de leerlas.
En cuanto a esta historia, es muy plain. La verdad es que no pasa mucho y tampoco se toma mucho tiempo para desarrollarla, se resuelve todo muy rápido. Se entiende, porque son mangas con ese objetivo. La pareja es adorable y el seme es muy relateable jajajaj No voy a dejar de reírme por el hecho de que los japoneses hacen cosas muy políticamente incorrectas jajajaja por eso los queremos! Extraño este tipo de historias jajajajaj cuando no se puede contener porque le quiere saltar al senpai jajajaj si soy!
En fin, es un clásico del yaoi y todas las fujoshis deberían haberlo leído! Lo recomiendo para pasar el rato!
June 21, 2021
I love the way Natsume does expressions. I really enjoy their art style. It kind of has that old school yaoi look, but pretty? Idk I really like it.
This was a little weird, but it did have moments I liked. Not really on the same level as Candy Color Paradox, but cute. I don’t know just the story progression was a bit odd, but that’s probably because they’re short so not much time to build everything up. I liked it though.
This was a little weird, but it did have moments I liked. Not really on the same level as Candy Color Paradox, but cute. I don’t know just the story progression was a bit odd, but that’s probably because they’re short so not much time to build everything up. I liked it though.
October 29, 2024
i tend to be biased towards natsume isaku cause i love the way she draws characters but bruhhhh. first story has interesting characters especially saitou but it just ends right when it was about to get better (after the whole "ok fine im homosexual" shit as seen in many BL of the time period) cause she wanted to use the entire second half of the volume for a separate couple consisting of two cousin fuckers that i have zero interest in. oh well i guess
May 7, 2024
idk why the second couple had to be cousins, if you turn them into childhood friends you get the same story 😬 but despite that (and some other fun lil yaoi tropes) I still had a fun nostalgic time with this manga, and the artstyle too! kinda wanna pick up the author's newer works now to see how much she's improved
June 25, 2021
3.5 out of 5
I loved the first story! The couple is just too cute together. I also love Natsume's distinctive art style. The only reason this didn't get a higher rating is because the second story was between cousins. It was pretty tame and had cute moments but still made me uncomfortable.
I loved the first story! The couple is just too cute together. I also love Natsume's distinctive art style. The only reason this didn't get a higher rating is because the second story was between cousins. It was pretty tame and had cute moments but still made me uncomfortable.
October 20, 2021
Both stories in this volume were cute though the story Dash I felt was better. I think I would have enjoyed more of the backstory to Dash over a second story.
November 16, 2021
I like the manga but digital version is bad
The story is great but the quality of the digital version is awful and certainly not worth the money I paid for it.
The story is great but the quality of the digital version is awful and certainly not worth the money I paid for it.
December 13, 2022
i read this earlier this year but forget to mark it cuz im a dummy. but i didn’t like the main story (it was meh) or the side story at all (cousin incest i believe?? ….yeah)
October 22, 2022
since this was one of my favourite mangas from when i was 12, this year i bought a japanese copy and reread it and fuck i didn't like it as much as i remembered ahbdjebfbfbdb i'd probably give it a lower rating if i read it for the first time, but i still liked the first story and the nostalgia still gets me so anyways 🤩.
April 15, 2015
I really loved the first couple, and is mostly for them that i give 5 stars. I also liked the 2nd couple, but to think that the uke has so much experience i didnt like it so much, but anyway both are good stories.
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June 27, 2016
4.5stars
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