The Dangers in my Heart, Vol. 1

僕の心のヤバイやつ [Boku no Kokoro no Yabai Yatsu] #1

by Norio Sakurai, Alessandro Colombo (Translator)

Kyotaro Ichikawa, un introverso in preda a un tornado di fantasie adolescenziali, passa le giornate a immaginare sogghignando come sarebbe assassinare Anna Yamada, la ragazza più bella della scuola. Il contrasto tra la bellezza di lei e i suoi strani comportamenti, però, inizia a fare breccia nell’ “oscuro” cuore di Kyotaro. La sua adolescenza sta per diventare più movimentata…

Genres: Manga, Romance, Slice Of Life, Humor, Comedy, Fiction, Manga Romance

192 pages, Paperback

First published January 1, 2018

About the author

桜井のりお (Sakurai Norio).

Reviews

[Cee · Rating 3 out of 5]

His need to kill vanished so quickly. There are a lot of sex jokes, especially for them being in Junior High.

[Rereader · Rating 4 out of 5]

I have mixed feelings about this volume, but overall I feel like this is a pretty solid start to the series.

I'm not gonna lie, the chuunibyou trope is one of my least favorites mostly because the chuunibyou in question is so over the top dramatic, so I was hesitant going into this knowing the main character fits this trope. And while Ichikawa is super cringe a lot of the time, I like how he's not drowning in his delusions as much as other chuunibyou tend to be. He also has a lot of down to earth moments, specifically with Yamada and her friend Kobayashi, and those moments show him for what he is-an awkward yet fairly nice person. His violent fantasies make me a bit uncomfortable, but it's clear that these are fantasies and he wouldn't bring them into reality.

Yamada is a quirky, insecure, and interesting character and a girl after my own heart with the amount of snacking she does. Her awkwardness is pretty endearing and I like the banter and relationship she has with her friends. I also like how her friends don't tolerate the perverted bullshit their male classmates try with them and how protective they are of Yamada.

At first I was put off by the amount of sex talk and perversion present, but then I had to remind myself that this cast of horny teenagers. Of course they're going to behave this way, their hormones are running rampant and they're going to act on those hormones. It doesn't make what they do okay and the series clearly shows that, but it's realistic. Yes, the bluntness can be jarring considering how tame a lot of manga tends to present sex talk, but I actually appreciate Sakurai for not shying away from it. Teenagers would be discussing sex this way and trying to pull stunts like the boys do, and it would be this realistically cringey.

Overall, this was a solid first volume and I'm looking forward to more. I'm curious to see how the romance will progress and how Ichikawa and Yamada will grow as people.

[❀ Tina ❀ · Rating 3 out of 5]

3,5*

[Mark · Rating 3 out of 5]

Ichikawa and Yamada couldn’t be more different. Yamada is popular, beautiful, a model, and desired by all. Ichikawa is a loner with some serious issues. Thrown together in the hellscape that is school, these two weirdos might be on the way to finding out that love can blossom in the strangest places… between the strangest of people…

Some good ideas and a really unpalatable cast leave me kind of at sea with how to tackle this book. On the one hand, the parts of this that work really work, but the parts that don’t really don’t. Kids do dumb things and act like crap and this book’s steering straight into that skid.

Let me say, I think this is one of the most realistic depictions of middle (high?) school I have ever seen, which means that reading it as an adult can be positively excruciating. Between girls being petty and clique-y and guys being idiots about girls and sex and masturbating, there’s a lot here that I don’t miss.

And Ichikawa, portraying himself as a total edgelord with murderous fantasies about his classmates hits a sour note right from the start. Maybe it’s me being sensitive, but he seems like the type of guy who should be in serious therapy and not roaming free.

Which, I acknowledge, is kind of the point. He’s arguably more detestable than when we first meet the lead in Real Girl, which is saying something, and the book obviously moves to soften him up but he’s still not exactly playing with a full deck and some of the treatment of a larger classmate had me fuming (it’s not just him).

Then again, as things progress, the book does get better. I’m hoping this will track the way Nagatoro did, where a rather miserable first volume lead to something special. The ingredients are all there.

And Yamada’s really interesting too. You might think she’s got it all together, but she clearly has some massive insecurities about herself and feels like a bit of a stress eater, or a food monster, not to mention a very, very sensitive side.

As much as the first storyline starts out really iffy, the turn it takes as Ichikawa comes to Yamada’s rescue when he sees her taking something innocuous to heart and the way she returns the favour (Ichikawa ends up meaning very well but his plans are often very, very dumb) is quite sweet.

This book has some pretty funny moments that also make me hopeful - Yamada’s friend’s name happens to abbreviate as ‘Moe’ and you can best bet that that is super deliberate. There’s also a fun genre swap to 4-koma that’s very amusing, featuring Yamada’s “boyfriend” who has the most ingenious method of fending off ‘how did you hurt yourself?’ questions that I’ve ever seen.

And once he gets a bit of the edges filed off, Ichikawa becomes something close to likeable. He’s constantly trying to do Yamada a solid, but too much time stuck with his dark thoughts means that his solutions are often incredibly cringe. At other times, his desire bumps up against his common sense and his desire wins every time - nobody has ever tried to get a cup that badly before.

Even the idiot kid in their class who’s that one guy you knew who discovered what sex was and then became incredibly vocal about it becomes somewhat tolerable as the book makes sure to give him some well-earned comeuppance.

So, yes, on the one hand, parts of this book are hard to take. Then again, you have two disparate people bonding over an 80-year-old map of their town and this kind of bizarre romance is definitely what this book is better at and what will end up dragging me back for another go.

2.5 stars and much as I don’t know that I should be rounding up, this is a problematic book at times, I will because I’m definitely coming back for a second volume in hopes it does better and because I can recognize potential within its excesses.

[Lost in Book Land · Rating 5 out of 5]

Hello Again!

It’s officially about to be snowy season where I live (we will be getting snow this week) and while I know it is still technically fall, I am beyond excited for some snow. Over the past week or so thinking about the cold weather has put me in a big reading mood. I tend to grab a great blanket and cozy up on the couch with a nice stack of books. Over the past week, I decided I wanted to read more of my manga including new manga series (or new to me) that I had on my shelf. I pulled a semi-large stack from the shelf and brought them to my favorite reading spot. Without, further ado, let’s jump into my first read!

SPOILERS AHEAD

Yamada is a semi-popular girl in school, she is a model and has lots of friends at school. While Ichikawa is kind of on the outside of the class social scene. They are thrown together due to being in the same class in school but they are polar opposites. However, Ichikawa notices Yamada very very quickly. At first, Ichikawa feels very unpleasant things towards Yamada but they slowly become good friends and maybe they could be more someday?

I picked this manga up very randomly when I was looking for something new to read. The store I picked it up from only had the first issue. So I decided if I enjoyed the series I would order the rest online or go back and see if they ever got them in. I did recently go back to see if they had any more volumes and they did not, but after a quick Google, I found them online and have ordered a few more volumes. (So yes, I did very very much enjoy this first volume). This first volume really hooked me from the start of the story. It has two very interesting main characters (one who is kind of unaware of the other at first) and so far it seems like it could shape up to be a really fun romance in the making (hopefully). While I wait for the next two volumes to arrive, let me know what you have been reading!

Goodreads Rating: 5 Stars

[Robert Pierson · Rating 3 out of 5]

To be honest not bad but not really great the artworks decent I do like the dynamic of the characters and it shows how sometimes awkwardness and people at the bottom of the social ladder get out their angst and problems so I think Ichikawa It’s for the most part a pretty good guy he just feels uncomfortable and that’s why he draws the way he does I think I might continue with the rest of the series I’m not really sure though.

[Laura · Rating 3 out of 5]

This was ok but I didn't find it very funny. It's better than some series I've read recently with similar premises/dynamics but it wasn't anything more than average.

[Kristine Diebold · Rating 5 out of 5]

This Manga was hilarious. Great coming of age story.

[Rebecca · Rating 4 out of 5]

3.5 rounded up for so perfectly capturing the inanity that is middle school. And the cat scene.

[Luis Soto · Rating 3 out of 5]

3.5⭐️
This volume is very foundational to the rest of the story, but not necessarily in a bad way.
Some hits, some misses, but good comedy and chapter quality overall.
Art and characters feel at a very early stage, compared to whats left to the story and even when compared to volumen 2.
If not convinced by this volume but like the story concept, would highly recommend to continue to the next volume.

[Ilsa༄⸼۪❀ · Rating 4 out of 5]

I'M IN LOVE!! they're the cutest thing ever 😭💞

[DoctorFeddy · Rating 2 out of 5]

Kyotaro Ichikawa è un ragazzo di bassa statura e molto introverso, il suo sguardo è rivolto ad una persona in particolare, Anna Yamada in sua compagna di classe che provoca nel ragazzo fantasie omicide, ma in realtà il ragazzo ha un debole per la ragazza, che invece non se ne accorge siccome lei nonostante la bellezza, e l'altezza molto pronunciata per la sua età, come carattere è molto ingenuo. Il ragazzo tenta in tutti i modi evitare per evitare che gli ormoni impazziti d'adolescenza scelgono per lui ma inconsciamente segue ogni sua massa, provando anche gelosia per chi si avvicina a lei però che sia del sesso opposta ( maschi per la precisione). Il manga e una classica commedia romantica scolastica dove i sentimenti iniziali di lui che rasenta il “pazzo omicida” si trasformano in amore adolescenziale, il protagonista è uno spasso con i suoi modi di fare, e le fa talmente plateali che tutti si girano per dire “ ma cosa?!”. La protagonista femminile e un'ingenuotta ma sino ad un certo punto, a volte si fa vedere come la più ingenua delle ragazze, per poi fare facce strane quando ragazzi più grandi ci provano con lei o si fanno battute inerenti al sesso o alle proporzioni dei genitali femminili o semplicemente sporche. Il volume mi ha intrattenuto abbastanza anche se per adesso il coinvolgimento tra i protagonisti è molto scarno perché si limitano ad interazioni da compagni di classe e poi le scuole giapponesi sono piene di studenti e capita ( come in Italia alle superiori) che nonostante siano nella stessa classe non conosci tutti i tuoi compagni di classe ma sei il classico “uno in un mucchio”, e sembra che l'inconscio lentamente li sta facendo avvicinare, ma non siamo ancora ad un livello accettabile da interesse nonostante le scene tenere ci sono anche in questo volume. Per adesso ha il mio interesse ma non è ancora un interesse morboso, ma una lettura carina che faccio per rilassarmi.



VOTO: 6.5/10

[Sarah Giffen · Rating 4 out of 5]

I love this series so much, it's so cute. The main character, Ichikawa, starts off as an edge lord... but the kind you know many (or yourself) were. Yamda is a pure hearted airhead.
I like Ichikawa. He's a weird goth kid, but more he kind who is more part of the background to the rest of his classmates. He prefers it that way, though, and likes being off on his own; he never worries about how he doesn't fit in and wants to be part of the crowd.
He gradually learns what his weird edge lord idea of "I want to kill Yamada" was something completely different. Because she takes a weird habit of eating in the library, where Ichikawa likes to hang out, he learns more about what kind of person she is. At the end of this volume, Ichikawa has an epiphany that throws him through a loop.

[Ben Nealis · Rating 1 out of 5]

I can't recall the last time I genuinely couldn't stand a manga. From the beyond crude humor to the honestly unpleasant art style I disliked every aspect of this book. Not once did I find myself laughing and several times I considered not finishing it entirely.

[Enairolf · Rating 4 out of 5]

J’ai ce manga qui traîne dans ma PAL depuis un bon moment maintenant. En plus, j’avais plusieurs tomes, je suis même à jour au niveau de sa sortie d’ailleurs. Je me suis dis qu’il était quand même temps de découvrir cette histoire! En plus le résumé annonce une histoire prometteuse mais surtout plutôt drôle! Je viens donc de dévorer le premier tome et j’ai beaucoup aimé ma lecture en tout cas! C’était chouette, j’ai passé un excellent moment, j’ai beaucoup ri et c’est le principal!

Dans ce premier tome, pour passer le temps, Kyôtarô Ichikawa, élève de deuxième année de collège au caractère réservé, fantasme sur le meurtre de sa camarade de classe Anna Yamada, la fille la plus jolie et la plus populaire de l’école. Cependant il est de plus en plus troublé à mesure qu’il découvre la personnalité de la jeune fille, en décalage complet avec son image… Kyôtarô sent des changements s’opérer en lui, calmement, mais irrémédiablement…!

Déjà j’adore le côté wtf du début de l’histoire. Ichikawa, un élève assez solitaire fantasme sur le meurtre de la fille la plus jolie et populaire de l’école, sa camarade de classe Yamada. Déjà je trouve ça très drôle parce qu’il y a un vrai côté bizarre à la situation. Enfin je veux dire qui fantasme sur un meurtre? Mais de toute façon il le dit lui même, c’est un garçon dérangé, au moins il le reconnaît c’est une bonne chose haha. Mais de fil en aiguilles, il va découvrir qui est vraiment Yamada, si elle a une image de fille parfaite, avec des airs parfois hautains, sûre d’elle et j’en passe, sa personnalité en réalité n’a clairement rien à voir! Et de la découvrir telle qu’elle est vraiment va beaucoup perturber Ichikawa.. J’ai adoré Yamada, elle m’a beaucoup fait rire, j’adore sa personnalité, elle pense surtout à ses bonbons et ses gâteaux, c’est une des choses les plus importantes pour elle d’ailleurs. Plus j’avançais dans ma lecture et plus Ichikawa apprenait à la connaître, et ce parfois malgré lui. Je suis impatiente de découvrir la suite de l’histoire pour voir comment la relation entre les deux va évoluer, je suis certaine qu’ils vont finir par devenir très amis!

Ce manga c’est surtout un enchaînement de mise en situation. Il y a, certes, l’histoire en fil rouge mais au final c’est un chapitre une situation, un passage à l’infirmerie, une partie de basket, un moment sur la route de l’école etc. C’est une histoire plutôt drôle, très agréable à lire, qui m’a beaucoup fait rire à certains moments. Les personnages sont vraiment intéressants et j’ai déjà hâte de me plonger dans le second tome, chose que je vais faire de suite!J’ai ce manga qui traîne dans ma PAL depuis un bon moment maintenant. En plus, j’avais plusieurs tomes, je suis même à jour au niveau de sa sortie d’ailleurs. Je me suis dis qu’il était quand même temps de découvrir cette histoire! En plus le résumé annonce une histoire prometteuse mais surtout plutôt drôle! Je viens donc de dévorer le premier tome et j’ai beaucoup aimé ma lecture en tout cas! C’était chouette, j’ai passé un excellent moment, j’ai beaucoup ri et c’est le principal!

Dans ce premier tome, pour passer le temps, Kyôtarô Ichikawa, élève de deuxième année de collège au caractère réservé, fantasme sur le meurtre de sa camarade de classe Anna Yamada, la fille la plus jolie et la plus populaire de l’école. Cependant il est de plus en plus troublé à mesure qu’il découvre la personnalité de la jeune fille, en décalage complet avec son image… Kyôtarô sent des changements s’opérer en lui, calmement, mais irrémédiablement…!

Déjà j’adore le côté wtf du début de l’histoire. Ichikawa, un élève assez solitaire fantasme sur le meurtre de la fille la plus jolie et populaire de l’école, sa camarade de classe Yamada. Déjà je trouve ça très drôle parce qu’il y a un vrai côté bizarre à la situation. Enfin je veux dire qui fantasme sur un meurtre? Mais de toute façon il le dit lui même, c’est un garçon dérangé, au moins il le reconnaît c’est une bonne chose haha. Mais de fil en aiguilles, il va découvrir qui est vraiment Yamada, si elle a une image de fille parfaite, avec des airs parfois hautains, sûre d’elle et j’en passe, sa personnalité en réalité n’a clairement rien à voir! Et de la découvrir telle qu’elle est vraiment va beaucoup perturber Ichikawa.. J’ai adoré Yamada, elle m’a beaucoup fait rire, j’adore sa personnalité, elle pense surtout à ses bonbons et ses gâteaux, c’est une des choses les plus importantes pour elle d’ailleurs. Plus j’avançais dans ma lecture et plus Ichikawa apprenait à la connaître, et ce parfois malgré lui. Je suis impatiente de découvrir la suite de l’histoire pour voir comment la relation entre les deux va évoluer, je suis certaine qu’ils vont finir par devenir très amis!

Ce manga c’est surtout un enchaînement de mise en situation. Il y a, certes, l’histoire en fil rouge mais au final c’est un chapitre une situation, un passage à l’infirmerie, une partie de basket, un moment sur la route de l’école etc. C’est une histoire plutôt drôle, très agréable à lire, qui m’a beaucoup fait rire à certains moments. Les personnages sont vraiment intéressants et j’ai déjà hâte de me plonger dans le second tome, chose que je vais faire de suite!

[Chiara · Rating 4 out of 5]

COMMENTO PERSONALE: Ho scoperto davvero casualmente questa storia e devo ammettere di averla trovata geniale anche se a essere del tutto onesta non mi ha convinta a pieno. Le immagini non sono come le classiche ma sono per certi versi un pochettino più “spigolosi” rispetto a quello che leggo abitualmente ma il tratto devo ammettere che non mi dispiaccia. Ma di che cosa parla a tutti gli effetti questa storia? Come è possibile carpire dalla trama questo ragazzo fa dei pensieri oscuri e contorti: infatti ha un pensiero costante sia sulla morte che come potersi sbarazzare delle persone che lo circondano. Ma non viene spiegato il motivo e devo ammettere che questo mi sia dispiaciuto. Lui vede in lei un ottimo cadavere e cerca di capire. Ma li fa piuttosto strano anche il fatto di cominciare a provare qualche cosa per lei che vada al di là di una semplice conoscenza. Quando le si avvicina è praticamente tutto febbricitante e non riesce neppure a guardarla e a osservarla. Ma fa di tutto per poterle stare vicino anche se lei non se ne accorge oppure effettivamente potrebbe far finta di non accorgersene. Anche lei oserei definirla come personaggio alquanto suigeneris: fa da modella ma mangia davvero parecchio e ha degli atteggiamenti piuttosto particolari. Ma credo che anche lei rimanga colpita e  penso che anche lei sotto sotto provi qualcosa per il nostro protagonista. Anche se non gli ho dato effettivamente il punteggio pieno non vedo l’ora personalmente di andare avanti.

[Doc · Rating 4 out of 5]

To harm or not to harm

Who hasn't had some dark fantasies at some point or another? Especially when we were/are still young and exploring our identities while fighting the urge of our hormones. This story is about a boy named Kyoutarou Ichikawa who is fairly low on the social hierarchy of school society and as such has some rather dark thoughts but he is also kind and protective of those he cares for as he discovers when an act of kindness leads to a sort of kinship with one of the most popular girls in school named Anna Yamada. Of course being shy makes approaching her difficult at best and her own unique personality sometimes makes it even harder. What is a horny boy to do when he can't express himself?

This series feels like it has potential with the two main characters not only have a sort of chemistry (though it is a subtle affection) but also have interesting quirks and a cast of characters to showcase said quirks and inner thoughts to make this a fun series so far. If you are curious to see what dangers lurk in the hearts of the characters within this book I would suggest giving this book a chance and perhaps you will find yourself charmed by their little world. :)

[MangaAndPudding · Rating 2 out of 5]

Boże jakie to było głupie...
Manga nie jest tragiczna, jednak nie jest też dobra. Czarne chmury opowiadają historię Ichikawy, chociaż opowiada to dużo powiedziane bo manga ma format wielu nie powiązanych scenek, ale wracając do Ichikawy, jest to postać dziwna, gimbus psychopata marzący o masowym m*rdzie, i on na przestrzeni stron zakochuje się w koleżance z klasy, Yamadzie najładniejszej dziewczynie w szkole, i to tyle całość treści to ciągle powtarzane te 3 same żarty.
I szczerze to nie wiem, sięgnąłem po tą mangę z dużymi oczekiwaniami, w końcu hype był ogromny, a końcowo nie spełniła żadnych.
Anyway nie żałuję, było to chociaż ciekawe doświadczenie ale raczej nie będę kontynuował zakupu przyszłych tomów, jednak zamierzam spróbować jeszcze anime przed ostatecznym skreśleniem serii.

[Kim · Rating 4 out of 5]

I started reading the manga because I loved the way this series was portrayed in anime form. I highly recommend the anime, as I think it brings some life into the journey of Ichikawa and Yamada. I will admit the first volume of the manga is not my favourite and could be a bit smoother in how the two characters come together, but I think it's very fitting in a way for children in middle school in the sense that it feels awkward. It's refreshing to come back to the beginning of the series to see just how far Yamada and Ichikawa developed in their relationship and their characters in general.

[Snail]

Not finishing this… every time I try to read this series, I find the premise really off-putting.

I think a character talking about murder in, say, the Addams Family can be funny, but in the context of this manga it feels far too potentially real to actually be funny. If it’s meant to be creepy, then I guess the writing is doing its job, but… I get the sense this series is meant to be a romcom?

I tried reading part of volume 9 too as a test, but… I don’t think I enjoy the tone or characters by then, either. Not for me!

[Bentgaidin · Rating 4 out of 5]

'The Dangers in My Heart' is a comedy middle-school romance featuring a young boy who's a bit of a loner, and thinks of himself as a dark brooding dangerous person because that's how a lack of emotional education gets you sometimes. In actuality, he's got a crush on a popular girl, instincts to protect people, and an awkward inability to come out and talk to people. It's pretty cute, and enjoyable for anyone who can look back and fondly reminisce about being that unaware.

[Sequoia Cron · Rating 4 out of 5]

A solid start to a different kind of romance. I love how different the characters are from most shoujo manga. You have a murderous male character who thinks something is wrong with his mind and a tall, beautiful, and unexpected friend who he develops a crush on. I started with the anime first on Hi-Dive, and I loved it, so I decided to read the manga while I wait for new episodes. I definitely like this one, and I'll be picking up Volume 2 soon.

[Felicia · Rating 2 out of 5]

2,5 stars
Deals with a boy with social problems. The homicidal mania is only present in the first two pages. There is no interaction between the characters. He seems more like a stalker and a helpful little dog. She eats a lot on the side. Is she hiding an eating disorder? The incipit attracted me, but now I'm doubtful to continue reading. Everything I assumed would make me stop, but I read something deeper in it that makes me want to buy the next volumes.

[Greg Sheppard · Rating 5 out of 5]

Review for series - after finishing Insomniacs After School and being blown away by it as one of the most powerful and impactful teen romance stories I have ever read I wanted more so moved onto the next one I'd been highly recommended.

This is nothing like Insomniacs After School. It's a comedy, it's very light hearted. But it's just brilliant.

It made my heart fill to bursting with joy and adorableness and devoured the whole series.

[Donte McNeal · Rating 4 out of 5]

I love romance stories and this is pretty sweet, despite the dark mental cutaways that seem to plague the main character. Yamada is cute, nice and hilarious. What more can you ask for? I'm interested to see where this one goes. It looks like this will be pretty sweet from what I've heard of it, so I'll for sure stick around.

[Thomas Maluck · Rating 2 out of 5]

The initial premise sounds interesting and makes for an alright first chapter, but it never fleshes out over the rest of the book. Boy is an edgelord who has a crush on a classmate. The classmate likes snacking and is objectified. The personalities and humor are paper thin, and that's coming from someone who enjoys Way of the Househusband.

[Linda]

I bailed at about 3/4 of the way through as life's too short for books I'm not enjoying. Your millage may vary but this one just wasn't for me & I'm usually a fan of the oddball/off-the wall manga but this one was just too weird.
It came up under a similar to... list and nothing I'd read on that list was anything like this.

[James DeSantis · Rating 4 out of 5]

Psycho teenager looks at me and wants to kill them to bring him joy. But that plot point is soon dropped to a boy who's in a very horny class with a lot of horny teenagers dealing with the horny life and a gigantic girl. So all wins?

Overall fun, cute, and charming even if we were a little dicey at first.

[Zelawola · Rating 5 out of 5]

This is, no joking, the best student romance manga i've seen, totally in love with it.

You can tell it's a she mangaka because plot is so realistic and sensitive (you always can tell in all the manga industry, btw). But mind the silly teenagers, they're quite realistic in their puberty.

If you're good with all this, you completely are gonna love it ❤️

[Sheepy · Rating 4 out of 5]

Quite an interesting start to a series, a rom-com with a dark side is the right caption on the back of the volume. So far I like the flow and it's quite funny in moments, looking forward to reading more.