Aujourd'hui et demain, nous sommes une famille - Tome 01

by Hakase

「“助けて”と言われると断れない性分で――」

孤島出身の“なぐる”と、東京生まれ東京育ちの“平尾”、そして二人の最愛の息子である“とわ”は男三人アパートで暮らしている。
平尾は家事ととわのお守りを担当し、なぐるは沖縄料理店に今日も出勤していく。

とわがまだ生まれる前の話、なぐるは暴走族のヘッドで、仲間を守るために喧嘩三昧の日々を送っていた。
その強さと優しさで慕われる一方、身を削るような生き方に周りはいつも心配が尽きなかった。
事情を知らない平尾はバイト先のカフェでなぐるを見かけ、一目惚れした勢いで求婚。
暴走族を辞めさせるため、そして恋を成就させるために、奔走するのだった――。

【描き下ろしあり】

Genres: Manga, Yaoi, Romance, LGBT, Contemporary, Boys Love, Graphic Novels

192 pages, Paperback

First published February 15, 2023

Reviews

[Ben Howard]

This was v cute and loved the art work! While there were some parts that were a bit confusing and another part that I didn't like, they weren't enough to put a damper on my enjoyment.

[alex :)]

this started off sooo good but the random time jumps were very annoying. one minute we’re in the present and then randomly we’re in the past with no warning :/

[Phu]

Ngay từ mở đầu mình cảm thấy đây là một câu chuyện dễ thương. Sự ngây ngô, hiếu kỳ và nghịch ngợm của cậu nhóc Towa rất đáng yêu. Quyển này có yếu tố LGBT parents, cặp đôi Herapi và Narugu sống cùng cậu nhóc Towa, và họ là một gia đình. Có nhiều khoảnh khắc nhẹ nhàng, lãng mạn và hài hước, mình cũng thích cách mọi người xung quanh đối xử với gia đình họ rất tử tế, cậu nhóc Towa cũng không thắc mắc hay bị ảnh hưởng sự tiêu cực nào - điều đó rất đẹp đối với một đứa trẻ.

Mình cũng thích nét vẽ của tác giả, nó thật sự đẹp, chi tiết. Ngay cả cơ thể cũng được vẽ rất đẹp.

Mình rất thích yếu tố về gia đình LGBT và nét vẽ của quyển này, nhưng thực sự mà nói mình không thích cách khai thác của tác giả. Chap 1 mở đầu rất ổn, nhưng sau đó mọi thứ diễn ra rất khó chịu về việc quá khứ của Naguru thế nào, làm sao mà Naguru quen biết với Herapi, mọi thứ chỉ khiến mình gượng và chẳng thấy thỏa đáng. Có ai mới gặp một người nào đó lần đầu rồi nói "Xin hãy kết hôn với tôi" không? :0 Càng đi sâu vào quá khứ của cặp đôi mình chẳng thấy hứng thú, vì nó được khai thác rất nông, mình sau đó cũng không thấy muốn biết thêm. Bên cạnh đó, câu chuyện về nỗi niềm của Naguru lại không rõ ràng, việc Naguri xuất thân từ đảo biển, đến Tokyo cảm thấy cô đơn thì liên quan thế nào? Cách tác giả liên kết câu chuyện của Naguru để tạo ra lý do lập gia đình cùng Herapi quá yếu. Đến cuối mọi thứ nhường lại cho cảnh H, và mình nghĩ có thể tập 2 sẽ giải đáp về thân phận của nhóc Towa.

[Julie]

This was so incredibly cute. I can't believe none of Hakase's works have been picked up in English?? This follows a small blended family. It's honestly super wholesome with the mildest of angst regarding Naguru's motorcycle gang. It's just two boyfriends living a calm life and raising their son together. I keep waiting for something traumatic to pop up because it's too wholesome, but so far it's been pretty calm. It could change in book 2 though.

The story is a little confusing because you don't know where tf Towa came from. At first I was like okay this is omegaverse? Because when you first meet Naguru he's wearing a choker so I thought it was like a collar like they do in omegaverse. Towa kind of looks like Hirao too so I was like okay wholesome family content. Then I was like okay not omegaverse so Naguru got this kid from somewhere and Hirao loves Naguru and helps him take care of his son. Naguru also seemed to have a run in with someone from his past who could've been a woman so I was like oh maybe they had a moment and he ended up taking the kid? But THEN there's a scene where Hirao shows up at Naguru's door with a child and he doesn't know what to do because he won't stop crying so Towa is Hirao's which makes sense because he looks more like him, but like when did he get a kid?? So in conclusion I have no fucking clue where Towa came from and I'm hoping we find out in the second book. I'm expecting him to be like a Hirao's brother or nephew or something like that.

Anyway this story was super fucking cute with the right amount of smut. I'm still waiting for something sad to pop up, but so far it's just been wholesome fluff and I enjoyed it.

[Sol]

Award for "Manga I Least Expected to be Uncensored (TM)" goes to...

Thet art in this is so fabulous and gorgeous, but the way the plot was paced just wasn't it for me. All the questions I *wanted* to be answered, were stepped over and ignored, and that kind of irritates me. And the way we jumped back and forth in time was kind of confusing and hard to follow for me; I wanted something a little bit more straightforward from this. I guess you could say that I didn't really "get" this one because it felt a bit like we were all over the place -- it also kind of felt like the mangaka knew all of the questions we'd have and chose to outright ignore them in favor of other details, which I didn't like.

I think it also just reminded me of & made me miss the family from Dysfunctional Family Theory Vol. 1, too. I really love coparenting yaoi but this one wasn't my favorite.

[⭐️]

OH I LOVE THIS!!!!! THIS MADE ME FEEL WARM AND GOOEY!!! ohhh my gosh i can see that it’s also the first volume so im so excited to learn more about them!! Defs one of my fave mangas this year!!! The story jumps around a lot but u can tell what was the past via Hirao’s fringe length hahaha

[Faith]

Aw, this is so cute. I love reading BLs about family/found family. I like how they’re already together when the story starts too. Ya don’t see that too often!

[Mina ☾]

Wow. This was super duper extra cute. The couple... The baby... The family... Damn I'm hooked!

[Em]

Love, love, love this. Unbearably sweet. I have a huge soft spot for BL about family, especially ones like this. I need 10 more volumes of domestic bliss STAT

[Cassandra]

2.5 I would read more only if the library get it. The story telling was hard for me to follow. There were a lot of time jumps that confused me as they appeared out of nowhere where I feel like.

Basic strait laced dude and biker gang dude fall for each other and biker gang won’t give up life of delinquency. But does eventually to have happy family life.

[ℂ ✧]

Una història de found family molt entranyable, però misteriosa alhora amb fils sense resoldre, però que ho compensa per la sensació de plenitud de 3 personatges que encaixen a la perfecció. De les criatures més adorables que he vist mai en un BL ❤️❤️❤️

[Rebecca]

This was beautiful. Romantic, warm, and life affirming with gorgeous art that communicates so much with even just light and shading. There are a few unanswered questions that necessitate a sequel, but overall this could stand alone. I highly recommend it!

[vee ⋆˚꩜｡]

this manga makes me disgustingly sob with snot dribbling down my face every time bro. never Not cried with every reread. i come back to read this every time i need a pick me up or good cry. such a beautiful story about love, change, and family that genuinely changed my entire perspective on life.

(spoilers ahead) hot take but naguru is one of the best, most perfectly written characters in all of manga. the dichotomy between his childhood in okinawa, with nature and community being so integral to his lifestyle, to his years in tokyo mirroing the isolation, disconnection, and loneliness he feels as an okinawan in japan! being furthered by his mind finding comfort in the reminders of his childhood he finds throughout japan!!! like the sky, the sound of the ocean, and baby powder. his relationship with the people around him being one build on respect, on care, but not a deep connection; that he loves everyone, truly, but still feels so alone in it all to the point that he craves any semblance of company, that he can't eat by himself. before herapi and towa, though he appears strong and assured by all the people around him, him and his closest friends know that he is truly at his weakness.

and then herapi comes into his life, and suddenly he's slowly reintroduced to a secure, slow sort of relationship. he's allowed to be comfortable, let his guard down, without judgement and it scares him. because he doesn't know how to accept it anymore!!!!! he skates around it, pushes back, fights until he thinks he truly loses herapi -- and then herapi comes back!! AND HE LETS HIM INNNN!!!!

naguru is the truest, most honest (but, also, optimistic) depiction of loneliness i've ever read. there is so much care in the way his story unfolds, both in the present-day scenes and flashbacks, and ESPECIALLY in the ways they interweve! there are so many layers of meaning that you can only understand through the comparison and contrast of past/present, and i think a lot of low-rated reviews fail to recognise that hakase is asking their readers to reflect on this dichotomy!! naguru of the past informs naguru of the present!!!! you cannot understand him right now and the journey he's taken if you don't account for his past!!

such a beautiful story. truly, i could rave about it forever. every scene, every line of dialogue, every symbol and motif is so purposefully chosen to showcase the love that naguru and herapi have for themselves, each other and their family. i suppose the last thing i will share to cap off this review is my favourite line from the manga, which also so happens to be one of my favourite lines in all literature: "i was born to meet you."

please, if there's one manga you ever give a chance, let it be this one!! it is truly beyond worth it.

[Peppa]

this manga is just so beautiful 🥹

The tenderness is honestly palpable. The way they love each other is portrayed so gorgeously, it really feels like we're being allowed to sneak a peek into their private little world.

And the art the art is so gorgeous!! The paneling, the different line and shading styles, all those tiny decorations and sparkles... it all feels like a dream. Maybe it's just me, but everything feels so floaty and fuzzy.

[Laura]

The present day stuff was very cute but oh my god the pacing for the flashbacks was such a mess.😭 And I genuinely wish the sex scenes had been cut and replaced with some actual relationship development because my god the instalove was so bad.😭

[Cassiereads]

Very cute and had some really tender moments but the time skips were a bit jarring and didnt flow very well with the story. While I loved the charcters and their interactions it felt like a lot of details were just...missing.

[Davina]

This book ripped my heart out, warmed it up and gently placed it back into my chest. My heart and soul just melted from the sweetness of this volume. Im excited for volume 2 😭😭😭

[Bettina]

4.5 ⭐️ It was wholesome, but not. It was weird, but very cute. I'm intrigued, and looking forward to find out more about this found-family.

[Imanewreader ✨]

slice of life of a gay couple with a child ?

sign me up !
that was so cute !!

[K]

I'll have to think more about this one. If it wasn't a continuing series, I'd rate it pretty low, because the story really didn't make much sense. No idea yet if the second volume will resolve any of that?

The structure itself is really jarring. We start in the present, with Naguru (former biker delinquent, current restaurant chef) and Herapi (formerly rich? college student?) raising a precocious 3 year old, Towa. Through a series of disjointed flashbacks, we discover that Herapi had been working in a cafe when Naguru's biker gang walked in, and he pretty much fell in love at first sight.

I didn't understand the "shaft" joke - maybe a Japanese pun that wasn't translated/localized well? I assume Naguru was ordering an actual item, which Herapi misunderstood as a come on, but Herapi asking a complete stranger to marry him felt really out of nowhere. Naguru went along with it for a while, seemingly just in casual interest, with Herapi being a lot more hooked on him.

Their relationship fractured after a while because Herapi was worried about Naguru sliding more and more towards a yakuza path, even winding up in jail after attacking a police officer to protect one of his gang members. Naguru absolutely refuses to leave the gang - his Tokyo family - and tells Herapi he'll have to beat him in a fight if he wants him to stop.

So Herapi takes a hiatus from school, much to his family's dismay if they'd found out, in order to train as a boxer so he can fight Naguru. ? But then when the day comes, he tells Naguru he loves him too much to hurt him, and Naguru says "that's what I love about you" and then punches him in the face and leaves him for good.

Until Herapi suddenly shows up at Naguru's front door with a mysterious baby, Towa, who isn't his but whom he's suddenly, inexplicably, taking care of. (This felt like omegaverse for a while, but they're all very clear that neither Naguru nor Herapi gave birth to Towa and that it isn't a thing.)

The worst part, honestly, is that Naguru looks at baby Towa and decides, okay yes, this is the life I want, and agrees to quit the gang, work in his former gang friend's restaurant (that childhood friend had already left the gang without him), and live with Herapi. Which...makes it seem like he loves Towa and having a child more than he actually loves Herapi himself.

I do like the art, and their family of three is very adorable. Herapi and Naguru also have really good chemistry. But something about the story just feels a little off. I can't decide if a second volume is likely to fix it or just frustrate me more, so I'll have to think about whether I want to keep my preorder. I'm not sure the second volume has actually even been written yet.

[Camille Crak]

Je ne savais pas à quoi m'attendre et finalement j'ai beaucoup apprécié l'histoire et les personnages que j'ai trouvé atypique !

[Abigail]

this is a very cute and simple read. the detail isn't too much so its a quick read. I like the characters and I really like the art too. not the best thing ive read but I did enjoy it :)

[Hemm]

J’adore l’histoire! J’aime le mélange de vie de famille avec les rappels des souvenirs de leur première rencontre, l’époque où Naguru faisait parti d’un gang de motards un peu voyous. J’aime la personnalité opposé des deux protagonistes et aussi le mystère autour de l’enfant qu’ils ont accueilli comme le leur. J’ai vraiment hâte à la suite.

J’ai mis 4 étoiles parceque je trouvais l’histoire un peu saccadé par moment. Mais rien de fou à faire ne pas apprécier l’histoire

[Orion]

y'a rien
on passe très vite au récit de la rencontre des deux adultes qui prend genre la moitié du bouquin, on a presque aucun moment de vie "famille" et la relation entre les deux gars et leur fils est vraiment vide (vu qu'il y a rien pour la montrer et l'approfondir !!!)
si on s'attends à une tranche de vie familiale d'un couple homoparental et leur enfant, c'est pas du tout vers ce manga qu'il faut se tourner

[Paula (lovebookscl)]

Quedé con más preguntas que respuestas.

¿de donde se robaron ese bebé? jajajaja

Es un manga interesante, porque juega con el misterio de contarte la historia de esta familia, moviendose constantemente entre el pasado y el presente. Y la cosa es... siempre te deja con una duda sobre el pasado y supongo que eso se irá mostrando en un siguiente tomo.

Espero que la siguiente parte salga en un futuro cercano.

[Not Very Extroverted]

*Added note: I expected this to be Omegaverse, but finding out it's actually 'Found Family' is really sweet♡

I'm really loving all the characters and the love they have for one another.

I would say that it feels a bit jumbled sometimes. There's a combination of flashbacks and present-time chapters, but the way they are placed throughout this volume made the pacing feel a bit off.

Even so! I already know I'll be picking up volume 2, just cause of this cute found family of 3♡

[ru]

this was so sweet and cute and evoked so many different emotions in me and I'm so sad we might never see more of them and have answers about the characters because it's been on hiatus for years 💔

either way it's not a bad standalone volume, it just leaves you with questions about details. it's still a really wonderful read, especially if you love found family

(will write a better review later)

[Kat]

I unfortunately did not end up liking this. some parts were SUPER cute, mostly the parts with Towa and then with Gakki's family. but the middle to end began to get really confusing, the art was a bit too sketchy and unclear, and the time jumps/flashbacks came at weird times. I also really didn't like Naguru hitting Hirao. this series is just not for me!!

[untamedwhimsy]

Super cute!! Towa was adorable and I loved the main characters relationship.

Only negative was that the story line was a bit confusing as the flashbacks came at random times but it was interesting and cute once I understood.

Excited to find out where Towa comes from and to see more of them being a family

[-moonprismpower-]

I did not like the flipping back and forth from the present to the past. And sometimes, it was even further in the past than the last flashback. Or forward. Very confusing. The story itself was fine. I liked how much Herapi adored Naguru from the start. And little Towa was cute! But that still wasn’t enough for me. I probably won’t revisit this series in the future.