Absolute Boyfriend, Vol. 5

絶対彼氏 [Zettai Kareshi] #5

by Yuu Watase

A miniature version of Night has returned to Riiko while his full-size body gets repaired--but now Soshi has decided to move in with them! Can a mini Night prove to Riiko that his love is just as real as Soshi's?

Genres: Manga, Romance, Graphic Novels, Shojo, Young Adult, Comics, Science Fiction

192 pages, Paperback

First published January 29, 2008

About the author

Yuu 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".

Reviews

[Leah · Rating 4 out of 5]

Aw poor cute lil' Night i stuck in mini form while trying to be Rikko's forever boyfriend. Night is getting all types of wonky bugs in him and really needs to be repaired. Things finally get wrapped up into who wins Rikko's heart

[Lauren · Rating 5 out of 5]

This volume contains Riiko's confession (finally) and I am sooooooooooooooooooo happy with the result! <3

There are some really hilarious scenes in this issue - I especially love mini Night - he is the most adorable thing in the world!!! I also found the whole nurse figure and Soshi skits HILARIOUS!

Absolute Boyfriend is fantastic fluffy shojo fun which doesn't take itself too seriously. The artwork is wonderful and the twists and turns throughout keep me hooked! A must read for any shojo manga fan!

[Diane ϟ [ Lestrange ] · Rating 3 out of 5]

Night, despite his miniature size, is causing all kinds of havoc for Riiko. He insists on going to school with her, and then keeps interfering with her activities. While trying to help her with clean up duty, he’s almost discovered by Miyabe. Keeping him hidden is getting to be a real pain, and Riiko’s not sure she can keep him a secret for much longer.

Well, I have to admit that it’s not really the story that keeps me coming back for more Absolute Boyfriend. Though it’s a fairly entertaining series, with the substance of a dust flake, it’s really Yuu Watase’s dreamy art that keeps me coming back for more. Riiko is so wishy-washy, she doesn’t even try to take advantage of having a dishy figure like Night around. The constant will they or won’t they have sex is even more grating in this series, because there’s no question about how devoted Night is to Riiko. So what if he’s not a person – he’s so cute and he exists only to make her happy.

We finally get a quick peek inside Kronos Heaven, where the top brass are all kids! The higher up the company ladder, the younger they are. The president is a baby, and his best contribution to meetings is “ga, ga!” though it appears that he did employ an interpreter to convey his demands. These few panels reminded me of company meetings at my place of employment – my superiors may not look so young, but they certainly act like juveniles.

With Night on the fritz, things start looking bleak for Riiko. She’s already stressing over who she really loves, as Soshi gave her an ultimatum and she must choose between him and Night. Now, it looks like they might be unable to repair Night! It wasn’t really fair of Soshi to be so demanding, considering he wasn’t exactly up front with his feelings until after Night appeared on the scene. To add to her woes, Kronos Heaven wants the the defective Night back, and they’ll stop at nothing to steal him away from Riiko.

Absolute Boyfriend is like peanut brittle. All those empty calories seem like such a waste, but I can’t stop myself from devouring every last bit. All those pages – why did I keep turning them?

[BeckyisBookish · Rating 3 out of 5]

See this was the perfect set up for a thruple. It's so dumb how they always force a choice in these stories, like one of them is an android type doll, there's really no room for jealousy and any other lousy feelings they could work into the story but no, no you can only pick one. The doll or glasses Mcgee. Anyway this series is a solid 3-3.5. It's cute, kinda fun but I won't cry when it's over. 3 android boyfriends out of 5 childhood crushes.

[L. J. · Rating 3 out of 5]

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.

[Kathleen · Rating 4 out of 5]

Pocket-sized Night manages to attract more attention than he did while full-sized, and is more obviously suspicious! After regaining his body, he must fight off his own company to stay by Riiko's side, even though he's not well. Humor breaks up the tense moments well.

[Reader17 Der · Rating 5 out of 5]

I enjoyed this volume little NIght I loved him. In this volume they are going to try and take Night away since he is still not fixed properly and Riiko has to chose between Night and Soshi.

[Samantha wickedshizuku Tolleson · Rating 4 out of 5]

This volume starts off with Chapter 25:Itsy-Bitsy Boyfriend.

I'll write more when my editing mode hits.
Happy Readings!
Fly my Pretties! Fly!

[Dylan · Rating 3 out of 5]

Mini Night was a cute addition to this series. The love triangle isn't my favorite, I think I like Soshi more than Night personally.

[✨Sky✨ ♏ · Rating 3 out of 5]

3,5 stars

[Kayla Lodge · Rating 2 out of 5]

I was loving this series now I am over it. Good thing there is only one volume left because if there was more I would definitely be DNFing it.

[Jamie · Rating 5 out of 5]

I love mini Night!! He is too cute! And super protective, more so than usual. At first I was not sure what I thought of Satori. Now I want to know her better. This has some very deep possible insight to her character but with only 1 book left in the series and her being a minor character I wonder if we will ever see her character fully develop. It is so very sad how Kronos handles everything. Such a cold, calculation company they are. Interesting changes for Gaku. And the new nurse scares me! So much happens in this volume! Crazy fast pace!!

[The Book Dragon · Rating 3 out of 5]

Night is under repair and currently in a 12 cm figurine. He's freaking adorable!
Soshi's still trying to win Riiko who can't seem to make up her mind.

And this is the volume where everything goes from A.I. to what the heck is going on? Now you're just making stuff up as you go. WHY?!

This series has 6 volumes.

[Kat · Rating 5 out of 5]

I just have to say Knight is absolutely adorable when he shrunk! ^_^ Even more so than he usually is.

[Christine · Rating 4 out of 5]

She finally made a decision! That deserves an extra star, don't you think?

[Amy Bunker · Rating 5 out of 5]

best manga ever

[Rocio Reads · Rating 4 out of 5]

God i love this books sooo much

[Michelle · Rating 5 out of 5]

ASDFGHJKLZXCVBNM AHH. I'M HAPPY BUT I'M ALSO SAD AND OH GOD WHAT WILL HAPPEN WITH NIGHT AND SOSHI??!!

[amandra · Rating 4 out of 5]

She needs to end up with Soshi

[Bibliothecat · Rating 2 out of 5]

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.

[Lou (Lou and Life) · Rating 3 out of 5]

I picked up this book because I wanted to get this series over and done with and unhaul them because I am starting to like this series less and less. The good thing is that this volume was not as bad as the last volume. It was still problematic, but it was easy to get through and partially enjoyable. However, I would still no recommend this series because of it's problematic nature with consent that's constantly an issue within the series. It's probably an issue in every single book in this series. Sure it is fun and easy to read, some of the time, but the enjoyment that I get out of this series is not enough to outweigh how problematic I find it to be. I'm only carrying on with the series so I know what happens, and then I won't think about it again.

[Nichole Rose · Rating 5 out of 5]

So I am enjoying the story as a whole. my only problem is Soshi. Hes a creepy possessive guy who thinks its okay to just insert himself into Riikos life and say, okay even though you have a boyfriend im gonna make u choose between me and him because i love you and you should love a human, not a robot. Like...excuse me, what? she was happy with Night and then all of a sudden he has a right to destroy her happiness by making her 'choose'? She chose Night before you got in the damn picture what the hell! Lol

[Matt · Rating 4 out of 5]

With this volume, the story has gotten back on track with a pleasant blend of wacky science fiction mixed in with some thoughtful romantic moments. Storylines like Mini-Night bring back some lightheartedness. While the interactions with Kronos Heaven are, on a surface-level, more over-the-top silliness, there is some interesting commentary on the idea of sentient robots being owned by a corporation. From a romantic angle, Riiko begins to make decisions with consequences, and by the end of the volume, the main characters have all grown in satisfying ways.

[Christy · Rating 3 out of 5]

3.5 stars my least favorite so far night is still little he still figuring but then the company tells her that they can’t fix them anymore so she’s very sad. They took away the figurine. She says to please fix them, but they told her they can’t knight escapes even though he’s broken and he goes back to her but they try to take him back. That’s when she realizes that she’s in love with the night, and she tells Soshee really really enjoyed. It was OK. It wasn’t funny it was more like dramatic because of everything that’s happening. Looking forward to the last one.

[Kris Mariela · Rating 5 out of 5]

Night as a figurine is so cute and funny💖

Satori borrowing Little Night was interesting. She’s dealing with so much pain and self-esteem issues because of her scars and it made me smile when he cheered her up and advised her to look at things differently.

Riiko is willing to let go of Night just to save him. Aww, that’s so sweet💕

Whoa! That nurse figure was intense😫

Wah! Riiko finally chose between Night and Soshi.💖

Omg omg omg, Night destroyed the ring😱

Oh no, there’s another version of Night🥲

Wow, Riiko and Night forever💕 Even Soshi supports them🔥

[Harumichi Mizuki · Rating 3 out of 5]

Aku bingung. Emangnya perusahaan secanggih Kronos Heaven (yang bahkan ternyata berasal dari masa depan) nggak punya mekanisme buat mindahin memori Night ke tubuh robot yang baru? Mereka bahkan bisa bikin Night versi mini yang kepribadiannya ngeplek sama Night yang lama, loh. Berarti memorinya dikopas, kan? Kenapa enggak melakukannya ke tubuh yang baru? Ribet amat.

Tapi karena Night mini sangat imut dan cintanya dengan Riiko sangat mengharukan, bintangnya kutambahi jadi tiga. Lagipula humor-humor konyolnya masih sangat menghibur.

[Ceejay · Rating 5 out of 5]

This fantsatic, must read rom/com manga from Yuu Watase continues in volume five. This is an important collection, not just beause Night is so small he can in fit in a tea cup. Not just because there might be two Nights.Not just because "the company" sends a female android to bond with Night. No. This an important volume because Riiko Izawa finally chooses between Shosi and Night. And her choice is.......

[Amber · Rating 5 out of 5]

Posting the same review for Volumes 2 through 5 since I read them back to back.

This series is so much fun! Every volume just gets better and better. The characters are adorable and just entertaining to watch deal with everything going on in their lives. Every time I finished a volume I immediately picked up the next one as fast as I could. I'm still missing the last volume but as soon as I find it I will pick it up. Great read for this month.

[Nadina · Rating 4 out of 5]

I thought this world was a little more sci-fi than the fantasy style plot twist that just happened in this volume, but it was great.
I have mixed thoughts on how this may end. Mixed thoughts on how I want it to end. It seems like it has the potential to be both sad and happy at the same time.
I can't believe there is only one volume left, and yet it feels appropriate for there to be just one episode left.

[-moonprismpower- · Rating 3 out of 5]

Riiko’s made her choice finally. Although, I don’t agree with it. Yuu Watase loves to make me love the 2nd lead and then break my motherf*ckin heart.... sigh....

This whole story, I’ve felt like Riiko was leading Soshi on. But also, Soshi wasn’t trying hard enough???

Blah.

But it looks like everyone is going to leave the lovebirds alone now?