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絶対彼氏 [Zettai Kareshi] #6
Absolute Boyfriend, Vol. 6
Riiko has chosen her one true boyfriend, but she finds her life changing quickly after her decision. Will Riiko and her boyfriend have their happily-ever-after?
191 pages, Paperback
First published February 25, 2005
21 people are currently reading
912 people want to read
About the author
Yuu Watase
362 books1,166 followersYuu Watase (渡瀬悠宇) is a Japanese shoujo manga-ka. She is known for her works Fushigi Yūgi, Alice 19th, Ceres: The Celestial Legend, Fushigi Yūgi Genbu Kaiden and Absolute Boyfriend. She likes all music, except heavy metal and old traditional music.
She received the Shogakukan Manga Award for shōjo for Ceres, Celestial Legend in 1997. Since writing her debut short story "Pajama de Ojama" ("An Intrusion in Pajamas"), Watase has created more than 80 compiled volumes of short stories and continuing series. Because of her frequent use of beautiful male characters in her works, she is widely regarded in circles[which?] as a bishōnen manga artist.[citation needed] In October 2008, Watase began her first shōnen serialization, Arata: The Legend in Weekly Shōnen Sunday.
Her name is romanized as "Yû Watase" in earlier printings of Viz Media's publications of Fushigi Yūgi, Alice 19th, and Ceres, The Celestial Legend, while in Viz Media's Fushigi Yūgi Genbu Kaiden and Absolute Boyfriend her name is romanized as "Yuu Watase". In Chuang Yi's English-language versions of Fushigi Yugi (spelled without a macron or circumflex), her name is romanized as "Yu Watase".
She received the Shogakukan Manga Award for shōjo for Ceres, Celestial Legend in 1997. Since writing her debut short story "Pajama de Ojama" ("An Intrusion in Pajamas"), Watase has created more than 80 compiled volumes of short stories and continuing series. Because of her frequent use of beautiful male characters in her works, she is widely regarded in circles[which?] as a bishōnen manga artist.[citation needed] In October 2008, Watase began her first shōnen serialization, Arata: The Legend in Weekly Shōnen Sunday.
Her name is romanized as "Yû Watase" in earlier printings of Viz Media's publications of Fushigi Yūgi, Alice 19th, and Ceres, The Celestial Legend, while in Viz Media's Fushigi Yūgi Genbu Kaiden and Absolute Boyfriend her name is romanized as "Yuu Watase". In Chuang Yi's English-language versions of Fushigi Yugi (spelled without a macron or circumflex), her name is romanized as "Yu Watase".
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Displaying 1 - 30 of 244 reviews
May 5, 2012
I must say, I LOVE this series over all, but this last volume was a bit disappointing. Not only because the majority of the volume is 2 other bonus stories (which were okay I'll probably put my thoughts about them at the end of this review) but because the ending wasn't as good as I'd hoped. I admit, I did love Night even if he was a robot and wanted them to end up together. Seriously, this series was already sci-fi enough, so I kind of wanted for him to magically turn human or something when they did it. But no, he had to die. =.=
And onto Soshi, I feel so BAD for the poor guy! I mean, he loves this chick (Riiko) all of his freaking life and then loses her to a robot. Watase obviously couldn't choose between Night and Soshi, so she (in a way) made Riiko get both. However, if I was Soshi, I would NOT want to be her rebound or whatever. If you think about it, he's still her number two and that is just hurtful. Why would you want to be with someone who chose you second, only because her first choice died?!
Anyway, bottom line, this volume was NOT as pleasing as the others were. Ending could have been much better.
On to the bonus stories~
I WON'T LET YOU BE A STAR- It's okay. Very predictable. The "love" happens so fast and in such a short amount of time that it's ridiculous and unrealistic. Overall, I give this one two stars.
AROMATIC- LOVED IT! It was super cute, and had a pretty good story line. The love was more realistic since she obviously knew him from before the beginning of the story, and he has that sniffing ability to see what the match for people are. Really cute, and I know I've already said that, but it is just so FREAKING CUTE I WANNA THROW UP RAINBOWS AND TAPDANCE ON PUPPIES!
... Ahem.. Anyway, Aromatic gets four stars from me~
And onto Soshi, I feel so BAD for the poor guy! I mean, he loves this chick (Riiko) all of his freaking life and then loses her to a robot. Watase obviously couldn't choose between Night and Soshi, so she (in a way) made Riiko get both. However, if I was Soshi, I would NOT want to be her rebound or whatever. If you think about it, he's still her number two and that is just hurtful. Why would you want to be with someone who chose you second, only because her first choice died?!
Anyway, bottom line, this volume was NOT as pleasing as the others were. Ending could have been much better.
On to the bonus stories~
I WON'T LET YOU BE A STAR- It's okay. Very predictable. The "love" happens so fast and in such a short amount of time that it's ridiculous and unrealistic. Overall, I give this one two stars.
AROMATIC- LOVED IT! It was super cute, and had a pretty good story line. The love was more realistic since she obviously knew him from before the beginning of the story, and he has that sniffing ability to see what the match for people are. Really cute, and I know I've already said that, but it is just so FREAKING CUTE I WANNA THROW UP RAINBOWS AND TAPDANCE ON PUPPIES!
... Ahem.. Anyway, Aromatic gets four stars from me~
August 17, 2019
I haven’t read either of the two short stories yet but that ending ripped out my heart and made me cry like a bitch!! Ah, I am a mess right now!
Seriously, I STILL haven't come to terms with the ending (and this is a week after I finished the series)! I feel like all the love and happiness I had in volume 5 has now been snatched away from me...
Why did Night have to die???!!! I mean he was PERFECT for Riiko and even his last dying act was so selfless!!! *cries for eternity*
I'm not really sure what I think about Riiko ending up with Soshi in the end...I mean Night was her first choice and she declared her love for him to Soshi so it's like she's with her second choice now which is pretty awkward for both of them :/ Hmmmm...
I am going to rewrite the ending in my head and have Riiko end up with Night (who is still alive!) or perhaps...maybe Night should just end up with me? :)
This entire review has been hidden because of spoilers.
December 3, 2012
Read this during my undergrad years, i remember bawling my heart out at the ending of this manga! Took me so long to recover! Haha. Yuu Watase's pieces are almost always tearjerkers and i love her for it! Her Fushigi Yuugi series is my absolute favorite! :)
December 14, 2019
Awwwww it's overrrr haha Was a great series! Definitely one of my fav manga's!
April 1, 2022
THAT WAS SO UNNECESSARY LMAO
February 6, 2019
3.5 stars
Honestly I wanted more from this. Literally more! Only 1/2 this entire book is the Absolute Boyfriend story. Thats right everyone, about 100 pages left. They could have included in in the last one. Just 2 chapters! The rest was an completely panels and other random stories. Grrr!! This should have been 1/2 price then for only half a book that looks like more than it is. I don't mind the little 20 page or so stories that often go with many but this is way too much.
The end itself is so sad. I was not a fan in many ways yet also poetic in others. Worth finishing. Soshi and Night finally grow up a bit. Well, Soshi tried in the past but Night impressed me in a big way. Yet also disappointed me in an equally bad way. But the last page of the story was perfect.
Bonus material: the art was decent but simplified down from the standard art of the series. THe stories I found boring and pointless. No real beginning or end, they are just there as filler to get this up to the page mark expected for a manga volume it seems.
Honestly I wanted more from this. Literally more! Only 1/2 this entire book is the Absolute Boyfriend story. Thats right everyone, about 100 pages left. They could have included in in the last one. Just 2 chapters! The rest was an completely panels and other random stories. Grrr!! This should have been 1/2 price then for only half a book that looks like more than it is. I don't mind the little 20 page or so stories that often go with many but this is way too much.
The end itself is so sad. I was not a fan in many ways yet also poetic in others. Worth finishing. Soshi and Night finally grow up a bit. Well, Soshi tried in the past but Night impressed me in a big way. Yet also disappointed me in an equally bad way. But the last page of the story was perfect.
Bonus material: the art was decent but simplified down from the standard art of the series. THe stories I found boring and pointless. No real beginning or end, they are just there as filler to get this up to the page mark expected for a manga volume it seems.
September 20, 2019
I actually really liked this story, right up until the end. The constant fighting as the company keeps trying to get Night back and the sequelae of his subsequent injuries felt like the same plot point done over and over. His convenient death for no apparent reason ("he's broken! He can be fixed! No he can't! Yes he can! He fixed himself! Oh, injured again! Wait, she boinked him back to health! Nope, dead!") other than to clear the way for Soshi wasn't all that convincing to me, and his plan to let Riiko just come back and find him dead with no advance warning seemed cruel rather than thoughtful.
It really seemed like Watase ran out of plot for this and just terminated it and him abruptly, leaving half of the book for unrelated stories. Meh.
It really seemed like Watase ran out of plot for this and just terminated it and him abruptly, leaving half of the book for unrelated stories. Meh.
This entire review has been hidden because of spoilers.
July 14, 2021
And they lived happily ever after...
except Soshi who could never quite forget that he came second to a doll and would never have been called on again if android dolls lived forever. Anyway. The series was fine, it was cute and funny and fine. The ending was fine. It was all just fine. Honestly I thought the two little short stories at the end were more interesting then this last volume but I digress. 3 junked boyfriend models out of 5 obsessed sad boys with glasses.
except Soshi who could never quite forget that he came second to a doll and would never have been called on again if android dolls lived forever. Anyway. The series was fine, it was cute and funny and fine. The ending was fine. It was all just fine. Honestly I thought the two little short stories at the end were more interesting then this last volume but I digress. 3 junked boyfriend models out of 5 obsessed sad boys with glasses.
January 19, 2024
This ending has to be a cruel joke, I had to watch all these horrible events happen hoping that things would work out just for Night to basically die and be taken back to Kronos Heaven what bullshit is that… the mini stories inside on the volume were better than the ending of this story.
This entire review has been hidden because of spoilers.
April 23, 2024
This ending felt rushed, and I still don't really know how I feel about it. Overall, this is a fun shojo romance series with lots of drama. Some things didn't age well, but it still gave me a good chuckle.
September 11, 2022
At least 4 stars for quality. I really enjoyed most of the series but didn't like the way it turned out in this volume.
November 10, 2022
I really like this series although I think I like the J-drama a bit more because Riiko is a bit older and we get to see more of her and Night‘s interactions together than we do in the manga. I can’t believe this series actually managed to make me ship a robot (“figure”) and a human together. Although there’s no competition because I never really liked Soshi. I find robots super creepy, but Night is just the sweetest ever. This volume was so short though, I can’t believe most of it was just made up of bonus content completely unrelated to the manga… ugh. The bonus stories were alright. I loved the going away party in this volume so much.
January 3, 2020
I finally finished this series! I am so happy that I finished it. Now I don't have to think about this series anymore. I'm really quite sad that I didn't like this series as much as I was hoping too. By allowing myself to have expectations of the book, they severely disappoint me when I don't end up liking them. I do want to say that I do think that I did enjoy the Absolute Boyfriend aspect of this book. I say that because only half of the volume was Absolute Boyfriend. The other half were two short story chapters on different things which had no relation to Absolute Boyfriend. I didn't like having that in this volume. I thought that the stories were okay but I would have much rather preferred having chapters from people within the series. If the short stories were whole mangas, I probably wouldn't have been interested in them though.
In terms of this book ending the series... I didn't like the result. I really didn't like the ending of it because it felt like the result was chosen for Riiko and not the other way round. It wasn't that Riiko chose her future herself. I disliked that, but I also felt that it was an incredibly sad ending for a series that never had a serious moment in it. It felt like it was a complete tonal shift. The ending did make me cry so I recognise that I must have cared about the characters enough to cry at the end, but I felt like after reading a series like this, I should feel happy rather than sad. I would say that it is meant to be more of a bitter sweet ending but I felt like it was just a sad ending.
Overall, I wouldn't recommend this series, and I will unhaul the books soon. I might end up watching the K-drama (as the main reason why I wanted to read the series is because I wanted to see the source material of the live action adaption), but I feel like the manga has put me off it too much.
In terms of this book ending the series... I didn't like the result. I really didn't like the ending of it because it felt like the result was chosen for Riiko and not the other way round. It wasn't that Riiko chose her future herself. I disliked that, but I also felt that it was an incredibly sad ending for a series that never had a serious moment in it. It felt like it was a complete tonal shift. The ending did make me cry so I recognise that I must have cared about the characters enough to cry at the end, but I felt like after reading a series like this, I should feel happy rather than sad. I would say that it is meant to be more of a bitter sweet ending but I felt like it was just a sad ending.
Overall, I wouldn't recommend this series, and I will unhaul the books soon. I might end up watching the K-drama (as the main reason why I wanted to read the series is because I wanted to see the source material of the live action adaption), but I feel like the manga has put me off it too much.
October 3, 2012
Niiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiight. :'(
OMG this is soooo saaaad. Even though I like Soshi more than Night I cried so much in the end -- starting the last chapter actually. Because I'm already anticipating that Night will shut down. T_T
This will definitely make you cry. But anyway I really like the story.. it's so cute and funny. I love this!.. the first manga I read. ;)
September 16, 2016
This volume starts off with Chapter 30.5: Warm and Pretty Lies.
I'll write more when my editing mode hits.
Happy Readings!
Fly my Pretties! Fly!
I'll write more when my editing mode hits.
Happy Readings!
Fly my Pretties! Fly!
October 6, 2016
Ugh the ending of this KILLED ME!
October 20, 2017
Welcome to another installment of "Ale Reviews Manga"! (WARNING: Spoilers ahead! Read at your own risk!)
~Basic Stats~
Number of Volumes: 6
Number of Chapters: 33
Began: August 18, 2017
Completed: September 8, 2017
Overall Review of Absolute Boyfriend:
I honestly thought that I would finish Absolute Boyfriend way before Love★Com(considering that it is a much shorter series), but because of my immense detestation towards reading manga online, I chose to wait for the hard copy volumes to be delivered to my lovely local library. But here we are, my second completed manga series!
While Absolute Boyfriend started out as pretty light-hearted and campy, I was surprised that there was some actual depth to this series. I mean, for some odd reason I was actually rooting for Night, essentially a sex robot, to win the heart of the main female lead (not that she was much of a prize, no offense). But I guess that is just a testament to the mangaka's (look who's using fancy terminology now) ability to create a robot character who had a deeper level of self-awareness and emotional capability than some humans do (though I kept asking myself if this how robots will one day take over and we'd all of a sudden be finding ourselves in a Terminator- type situation).
I mean, I ain't hating on Soushi, the second male lead, necessarily. Can you imagine having to compete against a robot to win the heart of the one you love ? But I personally felt he didn't quite tug on the heartstrings as much as Night did.
I also will say that while you could predict how this series would end, I was kind of surprised by the journey there in the final stretch of the series. But I would definitely say it packed more of an emotional punch that way. But with saying that, this series definitely had its ups and downs (I found Volume 4 to be a particular low). But overall, I found Absolute Boyfriend to be cute, funny, well-drawn, and heartwarming. I would recommend it to people who enjoy comedy, sexy A.I., and high school romance.
With that, this officially concludes this installment of "Ale Reviews Manga"!
My official rating for the entire series:
/5 (technically 3.75/5)
~Basic Stats~
Number of Volumes: 6
Number of Chapters: 33
Began: August 18, 2017
Completed: September 8, 2017
Overall Review of Absolute Boyfriend:
I honestly thought that I would finish Absolute Boyfriend way before Love★Com(considering that it is a much shorter series), but because of my immense detestation towards reading manga online, I chose to wait for the hard copy volumes to be delivered to my lovely local library. But here we are, my second completed manga series!
While Absolute Boyfriend started out as pretty light-hearted and campy, I was surprised that there was some actual depth to this series. I mean, for some odd reason I was actually rooting for Night, essentially a sex robot, to win the heart of the main female lead (not that she was much of a prize, no offense). But I guess that is just a testament to the mangaka's (look who's using fancy terminology now) ability to create a robot character who had a deeper level of self-awareness and emotional capability than some humans do (though I kept asking myself if this how robots will one day take over and we'd all of a sudden be finding ourselves in a Terminator- type situation).
I mean, I ain't hating on Soushi, the second male lead, necessarily. Can you imagine having to compete against a robot to win the heart of the one you love ? But I personally felt he didn't quite tug on the heartstrings as much as Night did.
I also will say that while you could predict how this series would end, I was kind of surprised by the journey there in the final stretch of the series. But I would definitely say it packed more of an emotional punch that way. But with saying that, this series definitely had its ups and downs (I found Volume 4 to be a particular low). But overall, I found Absolute Boyfriend to be cute, funny, well-drawn, and heartwarming. I would recommend it to people who enjoy comedy, sexy A.I., and high school romance.
With that, this officially concludes this installment of "Ale Reviews Manga"!
My official rating for the entire series:
/5 (technically 3.75/5)
July 27, 2017
Awe well she ended up with who she needed to be with :)
It was super short, and the bonus story... was really out of place and confused the hell out of me.
It was super short, and the bonus story... was really out of place and confused the hell out of me.
December 7, 2019
3,5 stars
April 23, 2013
This was a wonderful ending to an exciting series. Night and Soushi finally reached an agreement, through their mutual love for Riiko, that they would both take care of her, no matter what. Sadly, even though Riiko finally made love to Night and became his "complete and true" lover, Night still knew that his days were numbered. Night knew that he must leave Riiko completely in Soushi's hands after his demise, and he was finally confident in said choice.
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Soushi has gone away to live in Spain with photographer father, but he returns when he gets the note from Night asking him to be there for and to take care of Riiko. It's been 6 months since Night's demise, and since Riiko has seen Soushi, so she is surprised at Soushi's return. But, when Soushi reads her Night's note, she realizes that Night is watching over her, even after his "death".
---------------
Reading this reminded me just how much I cried over the ending of the J-drama. The J-drama was alot more emotional for me than the manga, but I loved both versions. If you have not seen the "Zettai Kareshi" J-drama, I highly recommend it. I must say that I did find myself comparing certain parts of the manga to how it was handled in the J-drama, though. So, it's probably best to read the manga BEFORE watching it.
------------------------
Also, we are presented with 2 bonus stories as well. The stories really don't have anything to do with ZK/AB, but they are fun to read.
The first story is about an exorcist, who is hired by her Uncle to banish some spirits from the gym of an all-boys school (of which he is the principal). But, she is more worried about a guy that she keeps seeing on the train, who she has fallen in love with. Turns out the guy she "loves" is a living soul among the spirits. She helps the guys decorate the gym (and fulfills a few of their other wishes), and they move on. Tsubasa, the one she loves, comes back and kisses her. Tsubasa accepts her request to be her boyfriend. Everyone is happy in the end.
The second story is about a high school guy that can "listen" to (read: smell) human pheromones. He uses his ability to set people up...for the "small" fee of 3000 yen each. But, he cannot find himself a girl of his own. He keeps being drawn to the sweet-smelling librarian, but we find out that's because she's selling drugs and that addicting smell surrounds her. But, he finally finds his match in a nerdy girl with no smell, Hatsune, who he does everything he can for to keep her safe from harm. We learn in the end, via his older brother, that his Grandma had been the same when his Grandpa chose her as well. Maybe, someday, Kabuki will set his older brother up as well.
--------
Soushi has gone away to live in Spain with photographer father, but he returns when he gets the note from Night asking him to be there for and to take care of Riiko. It's been 6 months since Night's demise, and since Riiko has seen Soushi, so she is surprised at Soushi's return. But, when Soushi reads her Night's note, she realizes that Night is watching over her, even after his "death".
---------------
Reading this reminded me just how much I cried over the ending of the J-drama. The J-drama was alot more emotional for me than the manga, but I loved both versions. If you have not seen the "Zettai Kareshi" J-drama, I highly recommend it. I must say that I did find myself comparing certain parts of the manga to how it was handled in the J-drama, though. So, it's probably best to read the manga BEFORE watching it.
------------------------
Also, we are presented with 2 bonus stories as well. The stories really don't have anything to do with ZK/AB, but they are fun to read.
The first story is about an exorcist, who is hired by her Uncle to banish some spirits from the gym of an all-boys school (of which he is the principal). But, she is more worried about a guy that she keeps seeing on the train, who she has fallen in love with. Turns out the guy she "loves" is a living soul among the spirits. She helps the guys decorate the gym (and fulfills a few of their other wishes), and they move on. Tsubasa, the one she loves, comes back and kisses her. Tsubasa accepts her request to be her boyfriend. Everyone is happy in the end.
The second story is about a high school guy that can "listen" to (read: smell) human pheromones. He uses his ability to set people up...for the "small" fee of 3000 yen each. But, he cannot find himself a girl of his own. He keeps being drawn to the sweet-smelling librarian, but we find out that's because she's selling drugs and that addicting smell surrounds her. But, he finally finds his match in a nerdy girl with no smell, Hatsune, who he does everything he can for to keep her safe from harm. We learn in the end, via his older brother, that his Grandma had been the same when his Grandpa chose her as well. Maybe, someday, Kabuki will set his older brother up as well.
May 5, 2009
this book blew. so much, that i refused to buy it. i was so excited about how it was going to end, even though i was disappointed that riiko ended up with night. but, i could have over looked my favorite love match (riiko and soshi) not being the way the story went if book 6 was better. sex doesn't and shouldn't solve all of the adversities life throws at you. so, riiko and night have sex, and look, everything is solved. night no longer has malfunctions, they no longer owe money, everyone accepts them together...
nope, there are no longer any issues. i think i just had another mental barf from recalling this.
nope, there are no longer any issues. i think i just had another mental barf from recalling this.
This entire review has been hidden because of spoilers.
May 5, 2024
Girl orders robot, robot is hot, girl and robot fall in love. They are cute. Plot is non-existent really; it's just "look at the unnecessary drama between the lovers-to-be!" So, yeah, it should've just been entirely wholesome. Maybe I should lower the rating. Eh, it was decent enough, so I guess this rating can stay.
July 4, 2025
Full 6-volume series review
Shy high schooler Riko, down because she can't get a boyfriend, fills out what she thinks is a joke—an online order form for a lover figurine...only to have what appears to be a [very attractive] body get delivered via courier to her house. Turns out the lover figurine is very real. What's more, Riko's on the hook for [a gazillion yen or some such amount], unless she can let the robot boyfriend gather "data" and keep his inhumanity a secret from everyone else. Hijinks ensue.
I picked this up as part of my ongoing quest to finish series that ran in the Shojo Beat magazine (RIP), forgetting that Absolute Boyfriend was, in fact, fully serialized there, so I have read it before. Ah well, that tells you how memorable it is as a whole.
There is, unsurprisingly, a lot of what I would call gender nonsense going on. There's the gendered expectation among Riko and her friends about needing boyfriends, and how girls should act both in general and specifically around boys, and what they should do with boyfriends, or who they shouldn't talk to. Guys get their own gender nonsense, though like the girls' version it'll be familiar to anyone capable of reading this. Guys should be strong and protect their girlfriends, etcetera etcetera.
This is neither unusual (in American culture as well as Japanese, and specifically shoujo manga) nor more prevalent here than elsewhere, but its presence dulls more interesting aspects of the series.
There are many threads here: Night, the lover figurine, is literally Riko's ideal—and a robot, but as the series goes on, there are signs that he might be more than his programming; Riko (and Night) need to keep Night's robot-y existence a secret from everyone, lest Riko be on the hook for WAY too much money and risk losing Night; the company that made Night is more than just mysterious, they may be either from somewhere not quite of this world, or perhaps using powers with otherworldly origins; Riko's neighbor and childhood friend (and secretly-hot-without-glasses boy) may be nursing a crush. All of these things can overlap, causing Riko and Night to deal not just with normal school social life problems, but much bigger ones.
The problem is that all these interesting aspects mainly revolve around the main storylines of: 1) Riko thinks (and ultimately decides) she does truly love Night, 2) maybe falling in love with a robot isn't the best or mentally healthiest thing to do? or is it?, 3) Riko is in a bad social situation or being sexually harassed, oh no, and 4) Will Riko Have Sex With Night Finally?
I'm not kidding, there is a whole thing about sex (it will basically bond Night to her permanently so no coding/hacking can make him forget her, which is otherwise a danger). Night himself, the perfect lover, would love to get Riko in bed, but takes no for an answer without problem (because he is so nice and so perfect), but the reader may get hung up on questions like "actually how and why does that work," "like I know this is a thing people believe but positioning sex as this One Biggest Thing You Can Do that means you love each other forever is weird, right?," "how could this company design something for people who want little to no sex but want the rest of the partner intimacy?," and "why are you selling [admittedly incredibly considerate] sex toys to minors? Just feels weird, guys."
I did enjoy reading (amidst all the things I kept questioning), and I definitely enjoyed it more when I read it the first time, AKA when I was in the target audience age range. So this isn't a bad series, particularly when I think it telegraphs its tone and intentions fairly well from the beginning (title, cover, description, etc.); I can forgive a lot when a story doesn't pretend to be something it's not.
The ending
Altogether, a nice and easily-digestible series that will work as long as you're OK with very gendered dating roles and high school dramatic emotions.
Shy high schooler Riko, down because she can't get a boyfriend, fills out what she thinks is a joke—an online order form for a lover figurine...only to have what appears to be a [very attractive] body get delivered via courier to her house. Turns out the lover figurine is very real. What's more, Riko's on the hook for [a gazillion yen or some such amount], unless she can let the robot boyfriend gather "data" and keep his inhumanity a secret from everyone else. Hijinks ensue.
I picked this up as part of my ongoing quest to finish series that ran in the Shojo Beat magazine (RIP), forgetting that Absolute Boyfriend was, in fact, fully serialized there, so I have read it before. Ah well, that tells you how memorable it is as a whole.
There is, unsurprisingly, a lot of what I would call gender nonsense going on. There's the gendered expectation among Riko and her friends about needing boyfriends, and how girls should act both in general and specifically around boys, and what they should do with boyfriends, or who they shouldn't talk to. Guys get their own gender nonsense, though like the girls' version it'll be familiar to anyone capable of reading this. Guys should be strong and protect their girlfriends, etcetera etcetera.
This is neither unusual (in American culture as well as Japanese, and specifically shoujo manga) nor more prevalent here than elsewhere, but its presence dulls more interesting aspects of the series.
There are many threads here: Night, the lover figurine, is literally Riko's ideal—and a robot, but as the series goes on, there are signs that he might be more than his programming; Riko (and Night) need to keep Night's robot-y existence a secret from everyone, lest Riko be on the hook for WAY too much money and risk losing Night; the company that made Night is more than just mysterious, they may be either from somewhere not quite of this world, or perhaps using powers with otherworldly origins; Riko's neighbor and childhood friend (and secretly-hot-without-glasses boy) may be nursing a crush. All of these things can overlap, causing Riko and Night to deal not just with normal school social life problems, but much bigger ones.
The problem is that all these interesting aspects mainly revolve around the main storylines of: 1) Riko thinks (and ultimately decides) she does truly love Night, 2) maybe falling in love with a robot isn't the best or mentally healthiest thing to do? or is it?, 3) Riko is in a bad social situation or being sexually harassed, oh no, and 4) Will Riko Have Sex With Night Finally?
I'm not kidding, there is a whole thing about sex (it will basically bond Night to her permanently so no coding/hacking can make him forget her, which is otherwise a danger). Night himself, the perfect lover, would love to get Riko in bed, but takes no for an answer without problem (because he is so nice and so perfect), but the reader may get hung up on questions like "actually how and why does that work," "like I know this is a thing people believe but positioning sex as this One Biggest Thing You Can Do that means you love each other forever is weird, right?," "how could this company design something for people who want little to no sex but want the rest of the partner intimacy?," and "why are you selling [admittedly incredibly considerate] sex toys to minors? Just feels weird, guys."
I did enjoy reading (amidst all the things I kept questioning), and I definitely enjoyed it more when I read it the first time, AKA when I was in the target audience age range. So this isn't a bad series, particularly when I think it telegraphs its tone and intentions fairly well from the beginning (title, cover, description, etc.); I can forgive a lot when a story doesn't pretend to be something it's not.
The ending
Altogether, a nice and easily-digestible series that will work as long as you're OK with very gendered dating roles and high school dramatic emotions.
January 18, 2016
The bittersweet conclusion to Riiko's love story proves thoroughly satisfying! Plus, two bonus one-shot stories are included, "Aromatic" and "I Won't Let You Be a Star!"
November 30, 2015
3.25
& 3 stars for the bonus stories.
Manga series review coming soon...
& 3 stars for the bonus stories.
Manga series review coming soon...
November 15, 2025
Review for complete series
I am really sad and surprised that I didn't enjoy Watase's Absolute Boyfriend more than I did. I love her art and have enjoyed other works by her. I've seen this series being criticised for the love triangle and, let's be honest, most people seem to hate love triangles on principal whereas I always believe it depends on how it's written. Absolute Boyfriend is definitely the bad type of love triangle.
I was pretty optimistic after volume one: I wouldn't call this a vastly original story, having robot-like love interests in manga is far from rare. Our main character Riiko's motivations of getting a boyfriend - just any boyfriend by the sound of things - come across a bit shallow but the story is light-hearted enough and there's lots of humour in store once Night, the boyfriend tailored to her taste, arrives. There were various routes this story could have taken and I will at least give it credit for having a more original ending than most of its kind. That still doesn't mean it is satisfying, though.
The biggest issue truly is the love triangle. Hard as I may try, I struggled to like Riiko and that's always a bad sign for a main character. She is so incredibly indecisive which truly makes her look shallow. Besides Night, who is programmed to adore her, there's also Soushi, her childhood friend. These two are constantly vying with each other over Riiko's affection, a common sight in shoujo manga, yet the fact that Riiko sways from one to the other is annoying to say the least. I can understand if she would feel confused about her feelings, flattered or infatuated with Soushi, but she literally insists on loving both which ultimately looks like she doesn't genuinely love either. A romance story is a little lost on me if I can't find a reason to root for the couple. It is equally hard to root for a couple if I think Riiko doesn't deserve either of these love interests. I also don't understand why Soushi likes her so much. Yes, they are childhood friends so clearly they have a bond. But given how Riiko behaves, I'd say he has more than enough reason to drop the whole messy business.
Getting back to my original point, it is rare that I truly dislike a love triangle. I consider them a pretty common and realistic aspect of love and romance and as long as the characters in question aren't totally indecisive, I'm ok with it. But my opinion remains that Riiko doesn't deserve either and that just sets a bad premise for me to enjoy a manga series. The plot itself became more jumpy and choppy as it went on, it definitely declined in quality with each volume. I do still think that it starts off strong and has beautiful art, but it's not enough for me to want to hold on to or recommend this series.
April 12, 2024
What can one really say about a manga where a high school girl is sold an experimental sex doll android that she falls in love with and is blackmailed into 'letting it obtain data'? The premise is surreal and fun, and the first few volumes are entertaining, but honestly, this series starts to lose its lustre pretty damn quick and boarders on cliched absurd using popular gimmicks and tropes to keep going. At six volumes, I expected a more cohesive story to tell, not frivolous whimsy plots mixed in with some iffy stuff for a teen girl who wants a boyfriend for superficial reasons.
There is a story there between our heroine and her neighbour who has long had a crush on her and this could have been a far more interesting series looking at fantasy relationships with a sex android vs a real relationship with a real person, and seeing the heroine come to realize that real love and relationships are not perfect and do take work. Instead of well...what we got. Of course her android boyfriend is going to be superior to the real thing, she programmed him that way. Another route, which I think the story was trying to do and executed poorly, is an android gaining sentience and falling in love and what implications that would entail for that relationship going forward into a future. Truthfully, that story was far too complex to be done with a teen girl's first love, and I think that's why this book ended as bizarrely as it did.
I remember reading this when it came out back in the day, and while my feelings were the same back then as they are now, the series does remain one I remember fondly, at least for the premise, which is interesting, and not for the actual story we got. I'd still recommend reading it for that.
There is a story there between our heroine and her neighbour who has long had a crush on her and this could have been a far more interesting series looking at fantasy relationships with a sex android vs a real relationship with a real person, and seeing the heroine come to realize that real love and relationships are not perfect and do take work. Instead of well...what we got. Of course her android boyfriend is going to be superior to the real thing, she programmed him that way. Another route, which I think the story was trying to do and executed poorly, is an android gaining sentience and falling in love and what implications that would entail for that relationship going forward into a future. Truthfully, that story was far too complex to be done with a teen girl's first love, and I think that's why this book ended as bizarrely as it did.
I remember reading this when it came out back in the day, and while my feelings were the same back then as they are now, the series does remain one I remember fondly, at least for the premise, which is interesting, and not for the actual story we got. I'd still recommend reading it for that.
March 8, 2018
This final volume managed to surprise me - so not the ending I was expecting. I must say I was also a bit disappointed, not least of all because it's only half a volume - the rest is all bonus stories. Soshi moves away. Riiko settles with Night who then dies and she ends up back with Soshi whom Night sends for just before he dies. Huh. I feel a bit bad for Soshi it's like he's the second choice which sucks when he's adored Riiko all along.
I must say the whole series I've been torn just like our heroine, unable to choose between Soshi and Night - Although if I did have to call it it would be Soshi just for the glasses - so hot. And I guess Riiko does get to end up with both of them but I dunno having Night die and Soshi come back just seems a bit of a cop out.
The two bonus romances are sweet but just pale compared to the emotional roller-coaster we've just been on with Absolute Boyfriend.
I must say the whole series I've been torn just like our heroine, unable to choose between Soshi and Night - Although if I did have to call it it would be Soshi just for the glasses - so hot. And I guess Riiko does get to end up with both of them but I dunno having Night die and Soshi come back just seems a bit of a cop out.
The two bonus romances are sweet but just pale compared to the emotional roller-coaster we've just been on with Absolute Boyfriend.
This entire review has been hidden because of spoilers.
January 31, 2017
I enjoyed this book but I have to admit that the conclusion disappointed me a little. I loved what Night did for Riiko at the end but I was sad that I don't really know how I feel about that whole part.
Also the fact that there were two seemingly unrelated stories in the book so really the ending part of Absolute Boyfriend could have fit into the previous volume.. I didn't really read the two stories but I probably will at another time. I still love this series and I'm glad that I just kind of expected a bit more to this conclusion.
Also the fact that there were two seemingly unrelated stories in the book so really the ending part of Absolute Boyfriend could have fit into the previous volume.. I didn't really read the two stories but I probably will at another time. I still love this series and I'm glad that I just kind of expected a bit more to this conclusion.
May 7, 2019
This was sadly disappointing. I don't know if I expected too much with how much I loved the rest of the series. Maybe the break I had between reading volumes 5 and 6 effecting how I liked this one. But either way this kind of let me down. To start with it was so incredibly short. I didn't realize only a small faction of the volume was the actual last volume and the rest was two different short stories. It made it feel so fast. It started fine but then it felt like everything happened all at once and then just ended. Also disappointed with how it ended. Too much build up for it to just go a completely different direction.
The 2 short stories are probably the main reason this is getting 3 stars and not 2. First story was cute but a little too fast with pacing. The second story on the other hand I really enjoyed and kind of wish it was a full series. Cute, weird, and just entertaining.
The 2 short stories are probably the main reason this is getting 3 stars and not 2. First story was cute but a little too fast with pacing. The second story on the other hand I really enjoyed and kind of wish it was a full series. Cute, weird, and just entertaining.
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