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Lion Hearts
A sweet Boys’ Love story about young love and how it can withstand the test of time.
As children, Shishimaru and Leo were inseparable. Shi-chan was so infatuated with Leo that he proposed to him! But as the years went by, they grew up and parted ways--until ten years later, when the two reunite. Have their feelings remained or have they been apart for too long?
From the creator of Our Dining Table!
As children, Shishimaru and Leo were inseparable. Shi-chan was so infatuated with Leo that he proposed to him! But as the years went by, they grew up and parted ways--until ten years later, when the two reunite. Have their feelings remained or have they been apart for too long?
From the creator of Our Dining Table!
346 pages, Paperback
Published July 22, 2025
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Displaying 1 - 30 of 69 reviews
July 28, 2025
4.5 stars. With breathtaking art and the kind of story that is tailor-made for me, Lion Hearts reminded me of just how much I love gay childhood best friends to lovers romance in any and every form: especially manga.
June 26, 2026
BOOK SO GOOD, I DON'T KNOW IF I WANT TO CONTINUE LIVING OR JUST END MYSELF!
March 9, 2025
Touching, realistic, and evocative—the power of words, symbols, and beautiful art style weaved into a bl masterpiece. Mita Ori did it again! (her Our Dining Table is one of my holy scriptures of boy’s love stories.)
Lion Hearts is a profound story of a decade-old love treasured and lost due to societal expectations and how enduring together can beat through the odds, internal conflicts, and discriminations.
Lion Hearts is a profound story of a decade-old love treasured and lost due to societal expectations and how enduring together can beat through the odds, internal conflicts, and discriminations.
October 19, 2025
SO ADORABLE 😭 These two were so sweet and I loved every second! Not only was this touching but it was so realistic. It touched on important subjects and was executed perfectly. This mangaka never lets me down!
September 22, 2025
The ultimate example of that tweet that’s like “gay rep be like ‘kyaaaaaah!!! i like a boy but… im a boy >////<?!?!’.” But still very sweet and a nice and pleasant plane read.
March 2, 2026
all the time i was reading this i was screaming and crying i loved it soooooo so much!!!!! last time i felt like this was when i was reading heartstopper
January 2, 2025
Mega urocza manga! Pokazuje jak być lwem i nie oddawać swojej miłości mimo przeciwności 💜
April 25, 2026
Leo and Shishi have been close friends since childhood. They even talked about getting married upon growing up, but parents told them they can't, two boys just don't do that. And so, they grew up still the closest of friends but still bottling up what lies underneath.
Childhood friends to lovers isn't a favourite trope of mine but this was one of the sweetest standalone manga I've read. Granted, it's page count comes closer to 2-3 volumes so it doesn't have the content constraints many single volumes have. I really enjoyed the symbolism in this one around the dandelions and the main character's name both meaning lion. Shishi seemed to have a lot more underlying fear than Leo but it would seem a lot of it had to do with who they grew up with. Which is not to say that Shishi's family is unkind, they were actually more prominent than Leo's and are definitely not bad people.
I thought it was nicely done how both Leo and Shishi, once the initial hurdle was over come, were very open and caring with each other. They do still face difficulties and I suspect this volume would have been less engaging had that not been the case. It was a nice balance between a wholesome read, character development and heavier topics. The art was also very cute and I enjoyed how the narrative sometimes jumped back to their childhood days.
January 19, 2026
Chinese title: 獅子之心
This has 神率 of 75.7% on Chil-Chil.
4.5 ⭐️
A pure, tender, heartwarming story about two boys growing up, quite realistic and relatable actually. Blonde curly hair 礼央 and black straight hair 獅子丸, they became each other’s lion since they were lil kids. Both broke down and cried a few times in the story and obtained strength when they are together.
The boys only progressed to hugging, kissing and holding hands so I don’t know who’s the seme/uke. In the bonus booklet (2 pages) they’ve progressed to university and decided to swap their high school uniforms and posed for photo.
They both had crush on the other person for years and would still meet up after school everyday although they went on to different high schools… 獅子丸 chose to suppress it because his mom once said boy can only marry girl, he is also afraid of the society’s perception about homosexuality so he ran away when his female classmates found out… Whereas 礼央 chose to confront it because he doesn’t want to continue growing up just as friends, he was able to enjoy dating and happiness until he got hurt, then had to disappear and move away to the countryside, attended school via distant learning…
There’s also a female classmate who is lesbian and is supportive of the boys relationship, also an ex-art teacher who is gay with a boyfriend severely sick in the hospital. I hope the world can become more LGBTQ friendly~
This has 神率 of 75.7% on Chil-Chil.
4.5 ⭐️
A pure, tender, heartwarming story about two boys growing up, quite realistic and relatable actually. Blonde curly hair 礼央 and black straight hair 獅子丸, they became each other’s lion since they were lil kids. Both broke down and cried a few times in the story and obtained strength when they are together.
The boys only progressed to hugging, kissing and holding hands so I don’t know who’s the seme/uke. In the bonus booklet (2 pages) they’ve progressed to university and decided to swap their high school uniforms and posed for photo.
They both had crush on the other person for years and would still meet up after school everyday although they went on to different high schools… 獅子丸 chose to suppress it because his mom once said boy can only marry girl, he is also afraid of the society’s perception about homosexuality so he ran away when his female classmates found out… Whereas 礼央 chose to confront it because he doesn’t want to continue growing up just as friends, he was able to enjoy dating and happiness until he got hurt, then had to disappear and move away to the countryside, attended school via distant learning…
There’s also a female classmate who is lesbian and is supportive of the boys relationship, also an ex-art teacher who is gay with a boyfriend severely sick in the hospital. I hope the world can become more LGBTQ friendly~
April 14, 2026
Not as good as Our Dining Table but still sweet! Her art hits the same. No one draws cute kids like Mita Ori!
June 9, 2026
Why is the blurb straight up wrong? I thought this is going to be a second chance romance where they meet again when they're adults, but that's clearly not the case. Regardless, the story is sweet and Shishimaru's struggle with insecurities feels realistic. Also impressed by how the mangaka is able to convey their respective personalities so well.
September 4, 2025
More of a 3.5 star rating;
I really like how sweet and wholesome this story was despite the tense moments. You could tell that both characters really loved each other despite some communication issues. I also found the side/minor characters to be likable so that was pleasantly surprising.
I really like how sweet and wholesome this story was despite the tense moments. You could tell that both characters really loved each other despite some communication issues. I also found the side/minor characters to be likable so that was pleasantly surprising.
May 19, 2026
This is so beautifully written and realistic. This tugged at my heartstrings so many times and I even cried. It tackles internalized homophobia and it shows the characters dealing with their own doubts and emotions. I found it very realistic in the way that the world around us is so judgmental and we often let the opinions of complete strangers dictate our decisions and emotions.
I loved this so so much. It’s truly one of the best manga I’ve read in a while. I found my heart dropping and I felt myself reading faster and faster because I needed the conflict to be over and for them to be happy. I was even worried they may not get that happy ending. The relief I felt at the end took a weight off my shoulders that I didn’t realize had been there since the conflict. And there are allies in here that I think fit the story perfectly. The couple at the end was so sweet and I think they were a great addition to the conclusion.
I absolutely recommend this and I’ll be back to read it again at a later time.
I loved this so so much. It’s truly one of the best manga I’ve read in a while. I found my heart dropping and I felt myself reading faster and faster because I needed the conflict to be over and for them to be happy. I was even worried they may not get that happy ending. The relief I felt at the end took a weight off my shoulders that I didn’t realize had been there since the conflict. And there are allies in here that I think fit the story perfectly. The couple at the end was so sweet and I think they were a great addition to the conclusion.
I absolutely recommend this and I’ll be back to read it again at a later time.
July 27, 2025
I remember reading a partially translated version of this manga years ago and absolutely loving it. I was so happy when I saw that Seven Seas did an official translation so I could finally finish this story. I thought this was a very cute story and I liked the artwork. A large part of the story focuses on Shi-chan's internalized homophobia. I thought this was overall done well, but I wish the story would have gone a little deeper with it and had him confront more of these issues. However, the story was more about Shi-chan learning to trust and rely on Leo rather than him actually overcoming his fears.
May 4, 2026
„Lion Heart” Ori Mity to bardzo delikatna i klimatyczna historia. Lekka, wzruszająca, z pięknymi ilustracjami i przyjemnym posmakiem po lekturze. Czyta się szybko, ale zostawia ciepłe emocje. Zabrakło mi trochę większej głębi i rozbudowania fabuły, dlatego nie 5, ale ogólnie to bardzo dobra książka
August 25, 2025
Mita Ori writes such beautiful stories…
September 23, 2025
Mita Ori never disappoints! So sweet! So cute!
October 24, 2025
ôi truyện chua chua ngọt ngọt như mối tình đầu đúng nghĩa luôn, cảm giác như được đọc lại Rift phiên bản trong sáng ấy🥹
November 3, 2025
Very sweet.
November 8, 2025
Adorável. E as notas da autora apenas contribui para deixar tudo mais doce.
December 31, 2025
This was just so wholesome!
June 10, 2026
4,5 stars. So cute 😍
Read
October 4, 2025A sharp turn from what I've been reading—needed something cute and nice, which this one-shot certainly provides. But, no surprise, this queer romance is overflowing with trope after unending trope, with a corny-as-hell conceit. Very lame. But cute boys. Still almost cried. (almost)
December 31, 2025
*Original Review 11/5/2020*
This author knows how to write the freaking cutest BL. I can't seem to find a chapter 6 anywhere so I'm marking it as complete for now, but I hope I can finish it soon. It was just about to get into the drama!
*Reread and actually finished 7/24/25*
Honestly crazy I marked this as read after chapter 5 because that was barely the halfway point. I'm sure past me thought that chapter 6 was going to be the last one. Current me would never mark a book I didn't fully finish as complete though.
God this was so sweet and painful and I loved it so much. I was a little frustrated with how they both ran away, but running away was a huge part of the messaging of the story. So many moments almost made me cry. I wish there was more of a talk with the mom about what she said and how it deeply affected Shi-chan. I thought the moment they did have was sweet, but it would've been nice to have more. This was a comforting read and I really enjoyed it.
This author knows how to write the freaking cutest BL. I can't seem to find a chapter 6 anywhere so I'm marking it as complete for now, but I hope I can finish it soon. It was just about to get into the drama!
*Reread and actually finished 7/24/25*
Honestly crazy I marked this as read after chapter 5 because that was barely the halfway point. I'm sure past me thought that chapter 6 was going to be the last one. Current me would never mark a book I didn't fully finish as complete though.
God this was so sweet and painful and I loved it so much. I was a little frustrated with how they both ran away, but running away was a huge part of the messaging of the story. So many moments almost made me cry. I wish there was more of a talk with the mom about what she said and how it deeply affected Shi-chan. I thought the moment they did have was sweet, but it would've been nice to have more. This was a comforting read and I really enjoyed it.
October 25, 2025
This was a cute story, but unfortunately I think my expectations were a bit high - I loved their previous work, Our Dining Table, so very much that I think it would be inevitable that I would expect too much from their follow up work.
I enjoyed the art, the flow of the relationship, and a flawed main character, and
I did enjoy this story, but I was waiting for something a bit more (completely on me for that) and it ruined the read a little for me.
I enjoyed the art, the flow of the relationship, and a flawed main character, and
I did enjoy this story, but I was waiting for something a bit more (completely on me for that) and it ruined the read a little for me.
Read
March 10, 2025That's definitely not my type of books, so I was reading manga for my first and probably last time. I dont wanna rate it, cause I dont know even how. Is such a different than my books with words only. I really like the drawings, but the plot is too fast, I didnt even start to getting attached to a characters.
January 22, 2026
Ok, but meh
The vibe is slow, sweet, and innocent. The artwork was good and I didn’t spot any places where I couldn’t tell who was talking or translation errors. However, I felt like the story was kind of “Meh”.
If there was another volume, I wouldn’t buy it. And I doubt I’ll re-read this.
The vibe is slow, sweet, and innocent. The artwork was good and I didn’t spot any places where I couldn’t tell who was talking or translation errors. However, I felt like the story was kind of “Meh”.
If there was another volume, I wouldn’t buy it. And I doubt I’ll re-read this.
September 6, 2021
¿Es en serio? ¿Me van a dejar con tanta intriga?. No puedo. Simplemente no puedo. Estaba tan linda la historia y ni que decir de los personajes. No creo que duerma tranquila después de ese final.
Displaying 1 - 30 of 69 reviews