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Strobe in the Dark

Arata, a member of the photography club, and Shotaro, a member of the basketball club, are childhood friends. The photos of Shotaro that Arata takes are very popular with girls. While Shotaro continues to turn down confessions almost every day, Arata continues to hide his own feelings for Shotaro. Then one day, Shotaro tells Arata that there's someone he likes... and their lifelong friendship changes forever.

246 pages, Paperback

First published November 30, 2013

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About the author

Nojiko Hayakawa

17 books54 followers

Associated names : topica

Name (in native language) : ハヤカワノジコ

Yfrog: @tpc_net

Pixiv: #1326231

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5 stars
101 (31%)
4 stars
103 (32%)
3 stars
86 (26%)
2 stars
27 (8%)
1 star
4 (1%)
Displaying 1 - 30 of 54 reviews
Profile Image for MaDoReader.
1,359 reviews169 followers
April 10, 2017
De todos los que le he leído a Hayakawa Nojiko, es el que más me gusta, creo que entiendo su estilo mucho mejor ahora. Ojalá lo publiquen en español.
Profile Image for Nyx.
181 reviews6 followers
April 15, 2025
This was really adorable
Profile Image for Keiko the manga enthusiast ♒︎.
1,418 reviews204 followers
December 21, 2021
When I first saw that camera/developing pictures metaphor, I was already sold. I love metaphors! Anyway, I love this so much, I had a hard time finishing it because I don't want it to end. I like Shoutarou's child-like insecurities as much I like Arata's keeping-calm jealousies. It just makes me laugh at how natural and human nature it is. Sure brings me back. I love them so much, I wish there's another volume tho, is there? I'd really like to see Hase and Sawa's relationship progress.
Profile Image for Aleksandra.
1,578 reviews
May 1, 2018
3.5 stars

Cute romance manga about two teens who are childhood friends, they have feelings for each other. Sakaki Arata is a photographer and Miyamoto Shoutarou is basketball player in their high school. Both of the boys are awkward and endearing. I liked their interactions, they are a lot of miscommunication, misstep and flustered teens.

I love the arc of Arata dealing with his internalized homophobia, I love the cheerfulness and earnestness of Shoutarou, he always speaks his mind and that makes Arata a blushing mess 24/7.
I like that they talk about anti-lgbtq+ environment in their country but they choose to stay together because they make each other happy.

Special shoutout to Hase, this little shit and big fox was hilarious and very supportive. Sawa was a bit difficult but I feel like he's been going through his own internalized things.

The story is realistic in terms of characters' actions and thoughts.

Although I grew bored by the end, I think it could've been shorter. Also while I appreciate the unusual panel composition, sometimes it was very hard to get what's happening. I often didn't get what the actual dialog are, what internal thoughts are, because word bubbles are all over the place.

All in all, this is a lovely m/m romance manga with no explicit content and lots of cuteness.
1,740 reviews64 followers
June 11, 2026
I'd initially thought I was going to really like this, but the story could never quite figure out what it wanted to be.

It's odd that this was originally published in Japan in 2024, because it feels like such a throwback BL in its treatment of homophobia. But even that isn't very consistent.

Arata has been in love with his childhood friend and neighbor, Shotaro, for years. He's fully aware that he's gay - beyond this particular crush, he's romantically and physically interested in guys, which makes him "not normal." He's very, very stuck on the "normal" label, and it all seems entirely tied to a bullying incident he'd witnessed at school a few years earlier, when another gay classmate was being harassed by guys who found that guy's whole existence "gross." Which means that if Arata ever showed his true self, the same thing would happen to him.

Granted, yes, even one incident like that can really scare you into locking the closet behind you. And even if the world as a whole - and Japanese society - are becoming more aware and accepting of queer people, there are definitely still plenty of obstacles and intolerance and hate. But Arata doesn't really...experience any of that? It's not like his family or Shotaro's big chaotic household are ever shown to care about "abnormal" behavior. And the people at school don't seem that fazed by it, either.

But Arata simply cannot let go of his obsession with not being "normal," to the extent where it just started to feel like a frustrating loop after a while. Even after his friends were fine with it! Even after Shotaro made big confessions and turned out to be way more interested in the physical side of things than Arata had thought. After a while, the only one being homophobic was kind of Arata himself.

Which he does kind of admit, that he's always the one getting in his own way. His hot and cold behavior got tiring after a while, though. Yes, I get that he's worried Shotaro will fall out of love with him eventually and move on to someone else. Sure, he's worried about holding hands in public and being touchy-feely at school, and he doesn't really know what two guys are actually supposed to do with their body parts when they're alone. (He started looking into it and gave up, which...honestly seems unrealistic, considering how easily you can find those kinds of details with a couple keystrokes. Again: this felt like it was set in some pre-internet age or something.)

And then when they do get together, it's mostly just rinse and repeat of Arata freaking out, Shotaro confirming he loves him, Arata talking to other people and Shotaro getting wildly jealous in a kind of unsettling way that's meant to be funny but really doesn't come across that way.

Shotaro in general never consolidated into a real character for me. He's goofy and airheaded and good-natured but also kind of creepily possessive? He's So Pure he thinks all people do is hold hands when they date, but he's also the one who keeps pushing for him and Arata to spend the night together and do a whole lot more. He's completely oblivious about their friend Sawa avoiding them after they reveal they're dating, but he always notices lots of little details in other situations.

Like I said, this just didn't feel like a fully thought out storyline. I didn't feel like I really got to know the characters.

And then we abruptly switch partway through to a half-hearted storyline about their two friends possibly forming their own connection. But that...didn't work at all. It had some interesting potential that made no sense with how the two of them were introduced, and then it fizzled out to nothing.

If it does get a second volume that's about them, I just don't think I'll be interested enough to keep going. It's not a bad book, but it never really found its footing.
Profile Image for Sophie.
2,703 reviews121 followers
December 26, 2013
Even though I really loved what I'd read by Hayakawa Nojiko before, I'd hesitated buying this because I kinda was sick of high school stories. But I ended up buying it after all because one of them is in the basketball club and anyway, I am so happy I did because this was really good. I love Hayakawa-sensei's art and the way she uses the panels, and the story itself captures their youth and cluelessness and love perfectly. Very well done, and funny and heartwarming rather than serious and heartbreaking.
Profile Image for Daesy.
2,512 reviews7 followers
August 8, 2018
This manga was really cute. Sweet young couples falling in love for the first time. BUT WHERE IS THE SMUT!!!!! 5 stars.
Profile Image for D.
530 reviews20 followers
July 26, 2021
I've read a few chapters of Endou-kun, so I've always been intrigued by Hayakawa Nojiko's work. The way she makes her panels bleed into each other sometimes when the characters are deep in thought lends a lot to the stream of consciousness vibe and I haven't really seen anything like this before. There's a certain messiness to her stories where she shows us snapshots that's important to the story but doesn't dwell too much on the details, so we get the thoughts and emotions but it might be confusing if you're reading too quickly. Because I'm reading this in a language I'm not fluent in, I do have to read very slowly and I think that helps.

「くらやみにストロボ」 plays a lot with light and darkness (hey, that's the title, lmao). There's the photography metaphor (if you let light inside the dark room, the film won't come out perfectly) that stands for possibly ruining a friendship by admitting to romantic feelings. Then there's also a more general miscommunication, being kept in the dark and having to explain things towards the end. The latter half isn't as tight as the first half, imo, but I'm a sucker for awkward first loves, so I'm not complaining.
Profile Image for Paula (lovebookscl).
484 reviews180 followers
September 2, 2026
3.5 ⭐ Friends to lovers. Cute

Me gustó que aunque es una lectura corta y sencilla, igual toca temas más profundos sobre las relaciones 🏳️‍🌈, el miedo a lo que pueden decir otros. Además lo que significa pasar de amigos a novios, el miedo a que todo cambie.

Debo decir que la composición de diálogos y dibujos fue un poco extraña y a momentos me costaba leer el manga, afectó la fluidez.

Me hubiera encantado saber más de los personajes secundarios (los amigos de los protas)
Profile Image for Zuzia.
118 reviews
June 19, 2024
No takie nijakie trochę, zero przeszkód tylko od razu omg ale się kochamy, dupy nie urywa
Profile Image for Marta.
195 reviews
August 13, 2026
Súper adorable, they are both so cute and funny.
Profile Image for Mariana.
68 reviews2 followers
December 23, 2022
Primeiro mangá BL que leio e achei a coisa mais fofa!! Uma pena ser tão curto, queria que tivesse uns 10 volumes, eu seria muito mais feliz
Profile Image for Milagros Guevara Bernabé.
549 reviews4 followers
March 2, 2023
Rating: ⭐ (1.0)

Opinión:

Hubo algunos aspectos que realmente no me dejaron disfrutar de la lectura y uno de ellos fueron los excesivos globos de texto.

Yammering Blah Blah Blah GIF by The Internet

Supongo que al tratarse de una historia sobre "aceptar quién eres y quién te gusta", en conjunto con las típicas aventuras de escuela, llámese primeras confesiones, drama, etc., eran el escenario perfecto para desarrollar una buena trama de historia romántica.

raking marge simpson GIF

Sin embargo, éste no supo aprovecharlo, ya que desde el momento en el que Miyamoto se confiesa, el personaje de Arata termina yéndose de lleno a pique (así como la trama). No solo porque se mostraba reacio con sus sentimientos, sino que llegaba a hartar con sus infinitas divagaciones mentales de sí pero no.

Celebrity gif. Looking stressed, we zoom in on Issa Rae as calculations float around her face.

Eso sí, hubo momentos bastante emotivos como la primera vez que se toman de la mano, o cuando Miya le pide a Arata que escuche su corazón, pero esas escenas terminaron arruinadas por el exceso de texto que le metía el autor. Siento que una imagen vale más que mil palabras y si sabes graficar cómo se sienten tus personajes, no es necesarios que lo detalles explícitamente en mil y un globos de texto.

Mtv Mtc GIF by MTV’s Lindsay Lohan’s Beach Club
Profile Image for katzuyas.
130 reviews
April 22, 2024
this is absolutely adorable and I kept grinning like crazy while reading it, such a great pick me up story! 🙌🙌

arata is so deeply anxious about other people’s perception that he tries to keep everything he feels bottled up, ignoring something amazing just because he’s afraid of losing it, but I love how relentless and casual miyamoto is about his love. he’s pushy, but in such a chill way that I honestly admire it. they’re such a fun couple to cheer for!

the fact that this story is about high school love and that it treats it like something so completely normal is such a wonderful thing 🙏 I think it’s kind of a sign of changing times and I think more and more teens these days see the world like this too - that love is just love, and there’s no need to make a big fuss about it. it’s so different from what I and many older adults grew up with, and I absolutely love it 🥰

4 stars ⭐️ for an incredibly fun, comfort read
This entire review has been hidden because of spoilers.
Profile Image for Jinko.
189 reviews
August 18, 2024
El dibujo es precioso y además las parejas (principal y secundaria) son muy lindas y están muy bien desarrolladas.

Es un manga que relata demasiado bien lo que sentimos las personas que nos sentimos atraídas al género opuesto al estar en una relación por primera vez, o que simplemente nos guste alguien por primera vez. Tener ese sentimiento horrible de que todos te están mirando, todos te están juzgando, esa sensación de que tú eres el raro y el que está haciendo algo mal por el simple hecho de amar a alguien, es de verdad muy horrible no aceptarse a uno mismo. Me sentí re identificada así que me encantó. Además de que las dos parejas están super bien desarrolladas, aunque me hubiera gustado que mostrar más del avance de la segunda pero weno, a encontrar el extra nomás 😔.
This entire review has been hidden because of spoilers.
Profile Image for Rachael.
204 reviews
July 10, 2026
This one was really good. Super sweet.

I love Hayakawa’s art style. I liked that Arata had a lot of time to progress through his fear, internalized homophobia, self loathing and being overly concerned with what other thought about him and the relationship he secretly wanted. It was a process and the story didn’t feel too slow to me or rushed either.

I really liked that the two friend characters, Sawa and Hase, got their brief side story. It was good. I liked how chill Hase was about everything. When he was teasing/flirting with Sawa he reminded me of a Cheshire Cat.

Hopefully more of Hayakawa’s work gets translated into English.
Profile Image for Pauline (Kiriiti's Blog).
958 reviews4 followers
October 24, 2020
Bref, « Une lumière dans la pénombre » est un Yaoï plaisant. J’ai aimé le coup de crayon de la mangaka, la sensibilité des personnages principaux et le thème de la photographie qui est très bien exploité. J’ai cependant été moins charmée par l’histoire. Certains points qui faisaient l’originalité de ce mangas ne m’ont pas paru suffisamment détaillés et les chapitres sur les amis de nos héros empiétaient trop sur l’intrigue principale. C’était bien et je lirai d’autres œuvres de Nojiko Hayakawa mais ça aurait pu être beaucoup mieux.
Profile Image for Luis Fe Domínguez.
400 reviews5 followers
August 7, 2022
Digamos que, tiene una trama honesta de lo que en verdad pasa cuando decides exponerte ante los demás. Vergüenza, dudas, miedos y negación. Es parecido a la realidad y quizás, uno de los trabajos más honesto del manga Yaoi, porque simplemente, suceden cosas que todos nos preguntamos cuando suceden. Esa negación a tomarse de las manos en público, evitar las caricias, contárselo a la familia, pensar en que lo que estás haciendo está mal, darse chance, tener celos, dudar de la veracidad, llorar, frustrarse. Esa es la realidad a la que se pasa cuando aún lo lo tienes tan claro y se agradece.
Profile Image for Katerine.
403 reviews15 followers
September 17, 2023
¡Qué preciosidad!

La historia de estos dos amigos que se enamoran es super dulce y tierna. Arata es un chico que teme ser acosado, además finge ser más frío y poner distancia, pero no puede evitar corresponder a su amigo. Por otra parte, Shoutarou es un sensible y llorón que decide ir directo al grano.

Ambos me hicieron reír mucho, en especial en esa confusión con Sawa.

Y... ¿Cómo así que se desarrolla otra historia a la par y no cierra aquí? Necesito investigar sobre ello para saber cómo termina.

En definitiva, me encantó y, si puedo, leeré mucho más de la autora.
Profile Image for Bee.
4 reviews
August 20, 2026
Mir hat er sehr gefallen. Die einzigen Mängel, die ich benennen kann, wäre, dass es einwenig schnell ging und man hätte mehr story einbringen können, damit sind Hintergrundgeschichten oder Schulsituationen außerhalb der Basketball AG und Foto AG gemeint. Aber das ist verständlich, da es lediglich nur ein Manga ist und keine Manga Serie. Mir gefiel die Charakterentwicklung sehr. Außerdem finde ich die Andeutung, dass man sich nicht für seine Gefühle schämen muss, großartig. Als Mangaserie hätte ich mir diese Geschichte auf jedenfall auch geholt.
Profile Image for J E R S O N.
743 reviews7 followers
February 5, 2023
Uno de los mangas áquileo más cercano a la realidad que leí hasta el momento. El fotógrafo y el deportista con voces y personalidades muy distintas. Expone sobre la sexualidad y el rechazo queer dentro de la sociedad niponesa pero con un final feliz. Hasta hay una subtrama con uno de los amigos del protagonista.

Con un gran guión coming of age, distinto, humorístico pero realista. Y sin caer en la fetichizacion sexual.
Profile Image for Go Go.
18 reviews
August 21, 2026
3.5
ฉันว่ามันสนุกดี แต่รสมันมีปัญหากะเรื่องเล้กเรื่องน้อยบ่อยมาก บางทีก้ไม่เข้าใจปม งงใจ ให้ยกตัวอย่างก้พระเอกอะดุเปิดเผยเรื่องที่รักกะนายเอก แต่มันมีอยู่ฉากนึงที่เหนคนเลยปล่อยมือ ละก้ไม่จับมือต่อด้วยตอนคนไม่มา ฉันเรยงงกะพระเอกว่ามันตะแสดงออกยังไง ละรสหลังๆไม่รุ้คิดเองป่าวแต่นิสัยพระเอกหรือการวางตัวมันดูเปลี่ยนไป อาจจะเพราะพอสมหวังแล้วเรยขึ้หึงขึ้น? ก้ดัสมเหตุสมผลอยุ่... คือฉันอาจจะอ่านไม่เก้ตนะยิ่งอ่านเป้นอิ้งด้วย
Profile Image for Legosi.
397 reviews2 followers
September 25, 2025
Vamos voltar juntos pra casa?

Primeiramente amei essa autora. Ela conseguiu registrar muito bem todos os sentimentos frenéticos da adolescência associados a ser uma pessoa lgbt e se apaixonar por alguém do mesmo sexo. O traço é lindo e aborda temas maravilhosos e não tem casal tóxico que só sabe transar a todo instante pra segurar a narrativa.
Profile Image for T.J..
663 reviews16 followers
July 5, 2026
This was a really sweet manga about two childhood friends, now in high school, who confess their feelings for each other and the ripples this creates inside and with their friends. Despite the dark cover image, it's a pretty wholesome story. I like the sketchy art style though at times it's hard to figure out what is happening. Lots of pages so you get your money's worth. I'd read it again.
Profile Image for Ash.
81 reviews
August 11, 2026
I liked it so much, it was cute and relatable. Some moments with shotaro was a little upsetting cause why was he always jealousy over nothing ka but I relate it to arata
because of how he acts in a relationship and hase because of his teasing and books preference. Over all it was such a good reads and enjoyed all the
Profile Image for Zian B..
2,356 reviews34 followers
November 16, 2019
It was cute and heartwarming to see how Arata and Miyamoto interact with each other. Especially when the other was feeling down or worried about something. I didn’t give it a 4 star review though because it was missing something, I can’t pinpoint what though.
Profile Image for Supernova.
94 reviews
October 1, 2022
4/5
Naprawdę dobra manga bl, miłość między bohaterami nie jest zrobiona na siłę, przyjemnie się czyta, jest tam nawet fabuła ( a to rzadkość w mangach bl ).
W końcu manga z ładną okładką i fajną treścią.
Jestem zadowolona
Profile Image for Jimena Gómez.
376 reviews38 followers
March 27, 2019
I love it! ❤❤❤ All of the stars for it!!!⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐
This was such a cute and charming story! I loved the artistic style and all of the characters!
I love Arata and Miyamoto, they're so cute❤❤❤
Displaying 1 - 30 of 54 reviews