Don't Be Cruel, Vol. 01-02: 2-in-1 Edition, Vol. 1

by Yonezou Nekota

Playboy Maya catches studious Nemugasa cheating on a test, and to ensure his silence Maya blackmails Nemugasa into doing whatever he wants. Twice a week Nemugasa must go to Maya's room for some steamy action, but as dense and oblivious as Nemugasa is, he fails to notice Maya’s true feelings for him. With college entrance exams around the corner, Nemugasa must focus on his studies, but Maya won’t stop distracting him, causing him to finally snap! Can a relationship built on harassment ever be more?

Genres: Manga, Yaoi, Romance, Contemporary, LGBT, Adult, Graphic Novels

308 pages, Paperback

Published June 14, 2016

About the author

Yonezou Nekota (ねこ田米蔵) is a Japanese mangaka.
Also publishes dōjinshi in the circle Komeya (米屋).

For dōjinshi works and magazines, please see the Japanese language profile.


Associated names:
山田･D･米蔵
山田D米蔵
米屋
貓田米藏
Komeya
NEKOTA Yonezoh
YAMADA D Yonezoh
YAMADA D. Yonezoh

*Note* Book records based on scanlations are not allowed on GR due to the illegal nature of scanlations.

Reviews

[Darien · Rating 5 out of 5]

Swoon bitch, just SWOON.


MAYA is the love of my life in manga form and I don’t care 🤷🏽‍♀️

[Angela · Rating 4 out of 5]

Ok, let's keep it real.

This was graphic (which, I know, I should have KNOWN cause like...it was wrapped in plastic when I bought it from the store... like DUUUUUHHH, Angela) I'm an adult though, and I hope you're an adult too, so "graphic" ain't really a problem for me.

The beginning had me shaking my head. Closing the book and rechecking the blurb. Re-opening the book. Eyes wide. Scanning the scandalous pages. Closing it again. And so on.

I was this close.



THAT FREAKING CLOSE.

To just saying...



It kind of challenged my morals and beliefs and was teetering on the edge of nonconsensual sex. Which I just don't do.



But guys.

GUYS!

I freaking ended up enjoying this and although I'm still shaking my head a little and not entirely convinced this is right for me, I want to continue. I NEED to continue this story. I just do.

Honestly, when you get past the beginning and the wrong-ness that it is (again, it really challenged my beliefs and was almost at DNF) it got SO good. SO good. And fluffy. And heartwarming.

If you're into boy-love smuttiness then this is probably for you.

[Online Eccentric Librarian · Rating 1 out of 5]

More reviews (and no fluff) on the blog http://surrealtalvi.wordpress.com/

As much as I have enjoyed Viz's fantastic SUBlime line of books, this one hit a sour note for me right from the beginning. I'm not now nor will ever be a fan of this type of premise for a romance; and even then, the 'romance' itself is tepid at best. Both characters were pretty hard to like or even want to follow/cheer. The story meanders and the usual romance tropes are thrown in haphazardly (rivals, big misunderstanding, inability to communicate, etc.). The whole thing lacked conviction for me.

Story: Rich and bored, Maya sees an opportunity to take advantage of his scholarship-dependent school mate. Entrapping him with a cheating scandal, Maya forces Nemugasa to be his sexual toy or risk being expelled from the prestigious school. For Maya, it starts out as a game but soon becomes serious. For Nemugasa, it's a chore at first but soon he comes to enjoy it.

So, right off the bat, the description of the story should give an idea of why this story just doesn't work. I get the 'Stockholm Syndrome' thing - but not like this. The whole premise is abhorrent - and why should we really like a character that would do that to another? Maya is emotionally distant and stunted (not to mention rude) throughout. Thoroughly unlikable.

As well, Nemugasa takes it always (in more ways than one) and never seems to be emotionally injured by it at all. Instead, we're supposed to believe he begins to like it because, hey, Maya lets him study with him after each rude demand for immediate one-sided satisfaction. Nemugasa honestly was a bore.

I could go on but I think most people can get the idea if this story is for them or not. I just didn't find much to recommend it. Reviewed from an advance reader copy provided by the publisher.

[Julie · Rating 2 out of 5]

This was frustrating to say the least. Maya was toxic and unlikable and Nemugasa was super clueless and dumb. They didn't get cute until the veryyy end. The back and forth arguments were kind of annoying. Maya was so overbearing and rude and when Nemugasa finally stands up for himself and gets a little attitude back it gets flipped around and everything is his fault. Sure he's clueless and is all we're just friends right? But the fact that it got flipped like Nemugasa was the one using Maya for sex was so stupid. Maya literally blackmailed him into doing it?? I don't know, I've liked my fair share of toxic relationships and characters, but this just didn't do it for me. There wasn't anything redeeming about their relationship. And it was just bad and annoying.

[Rebecca · Rating 2 out of 5]

I'd give this more a 2 1/2 stars - the first volume was full of all of the yaoi tropes I like least (most the non-con stuff), while the second became an actual story with characters instead of genre tropes.


Full review eventually appearing on ANN.

[Sef · Rating 1 out of 5]

Content warning: sexual assault and coercion.
This story is about a man who is blackmailed into having sex. That's it. There is severe emotional abuse throughout, as well as graphic depictions of rape. I would NOT recommend this series. I had to stop reading it.

[Ekene · Rating 1 out of 5]

On paper, the idea sounded like it could be a nice story. However, quickly 10 pages in, certain things went on that I didn't like. And those certain unlikable things continued on and on that even towards the end, when things were getting sweet between them, I still didn't like. For example, how the relationship started-actually arrangement is much better word, which left a horrible taste in my mouth. I just couldn't.

[Patty · Rating 4 out of 5]

Me only a couple pages in:


This has been on my radar for awhile but I wanted a physical copy, sadly my store didn’t have any so I bought this online directly from SuBLime. And let me just say, Don’t Be Cruel has my attention.

[Vivian Lu · Rating 4 out of 5]

3.5/5

[Rainy-Night-Reads · Rating 3 out of 5]

3.5 stars

[Dathúil · Rating 4 out of 5]

When it started it was all sex and I wondered what kind of book it would be. Eventually it evened out a bit and more plot was introduced and I liked that it was going somewhere. The excess sex lead to a plot forming ...it had a purpose.

[Ifrah · Rating 4 out of 5]

Read: 9/10? Volumes

I can’t believe this whole series was available at my public library in the graphic novel section. Ignoring the fact that lots of young people could get their hands on this very explicit series, I’m glad I could read the physical copies. It’s really a different experience reading physical manga.

This is your typical old-school BL manga that follows non-consensual tropes like blackmail and rape. Negumasa is a scholarship student who cheats on his exam so he can keep his grades up but ends up getting caught by the class delinquent and player, Maya who then blackmails him into having sex with him. In true BL fashion though, Negumasa ends up kind of liking it and seeing Maya as more than just a bully?? I know it doesn’t make any sense and it’s incredibly wrong, but I was enjoying myself after the first volume and was looking forward to the development of their “relationship”.

The story moved really quickly after that. With the conclusion of volume one, it’s clear that Maya has feelings for Negumasa and he’s basically falling into that trope of bullying the person he likes as an expression of his feelings but taken to the extreme. By the end of volume two Negumasa has realised that he has feelings for Maya and they officially become lovers. At this point, I was wondering what the rest of the story was going to be about considering this is ongoing at ten volumes and there are three extra volumes of side stories.

I can see why this series is so popular. It has a lot of character development for the two main characters not just in their relationship, but themselves as individuals. For example, in volume 3 Maya realises that he actually wants to try to get into college instead of working right after graduating like he initially thought. He’s really behind though so he ends up studying a lot which allows him to finally understand Negumasa’s feelings towards school so he apologises which I thought showed so much growth on his part. We also see Negumasa showing more initiative with sex and voicing his feelings more when he’s feeling lonely. The manga also talked about coming out to parents and being disowned or kicked out as was the case for Maya. He had supports in place so he wasn’t homeless, but I was glad it was addressed. Of course, there’s also the sex which I definitely enjoyed reading too. I liked that the author experimented with crossdressing, butler roleplay, handcuffs, among other kinky things. I also liked that Negumasa was often the one to suggest this stuff despite looking like he’s very naive and innocent.

The manga actually also addressed the blackmail and rape from the first volume. One of Negumasa’s best friends, Okina was almost sexually assaulted by a guy and when he recounted the story, Maya felt incredibly guilty and upset as he realized that he had in fact sexually assaulted Negumasa. He wasn’t able to have an erection after because of how terrible he felt and he also apologised. Of course, it doesn’t make up for the fact that it happened, but the fact that the manga had actually referred to it as sexual assault in the first place and not just pretended it didn’t happen as often is the case in BL manga totally shocked me.

My main issues with this series was the fact that almost all the conflict stemmed from jealousy on both sides and all the side characters were toxic. In the beginning, Maya honestly really scared me with how jealous and aggressive he got, but he improved quite a bit in the latter half. The only problem then was that Negumasa was starting to feel more insecure in the relationship because he thought Maya not being jealous was him losing interest, and then he started to get jealous… After a while it started to get annoying because they’d been together for so long.

Now I’m usually way more into the side couple than the main couple when I read BL, but wow I hated almost every single one of them. I really didn’t like the dynamic between Akira and Shimakawa. It’s elaborated more in the side story volume how they got together, which I won’t be reading, but there are definitely strong non-con vibes. Akira also just made me really sad because clearly he knows that he’s gay, but he doesn’t think that he could ever openly live his life with someone he loves. Jutta was hella annoying and honestly the fact that he went for someone that Akira dated in the past who was also his teacher Mr. Sanada… The juxtaposition between happy-go-lucky Jutta and super predatory Jutta in their one scene together was freaky. I hated how Mr. Sanada smiled after like “Guess they really are brothers haha”. Please Mr. Sanada, find someone better to be with!!

Okina is the only one side character worth respecting. I love that he knew exactly what he wanted in a boyfriend and was willing to go after it. At the same time I loved that the guy he ended up with, Kutani, was totally not his type and yet they were so cute together. It just goes to show that sometimes you never know how well you’re going to mesh with someone. Unfortunately they got together off-page which was disappointing… I really wanted to see more of them, but I guess because they don’t have any real conflict and it would have been pure fluff, the mangaka might have thought it wouldn’t be interesting. In general, Okina is also just such a good friend to Negumasa and I’m so glad he’s there for him.

Overall, I enjoyed this way more than I thought I would. However, as happens with longer running BL manga, it definitely started to lose steam in the later half and I found myself losing interest. That’s also partly my fault because I took a break for a couple of months after volume 7 when I should have just kept going with the last 2 volumes I had. That being said, I don’t think I’ll read volume 10 when it comes out because honestly the story could end right now and it would be satisfying enough for me. In terms of rating, the first half was better than the second half so it averages out to 4 stars for the whole series for me.

Random favourite tidbits:
- Maya wanting to be a librarian because he reads so many smutty novels
- Negumasa talking antiderivative equations as dirty talk while they were having sex and Maya angrily proclaiming, “What if I get a boner during the exam?!?!”
- Maya getting unknowingly jealous of himself when Negumasa told him he wanted to get a job so he could buy nicer clothes
- Negumasa getting Maya a gift card for a bookstore for his birthday. I just love Maya being this person that loves reading!
- Maya’s baby photos! He was such a cute little baby.
- Maya asks Negumasa for a sexy photo and he just sends him a super close-up of one of his nipples. Truly no one is out here as oblivious as Negumasa.

[Christina (Christina's Book Corner) · Rating 5 out of 5]

June 22-June 23

Playboy Maya catches studious Nemugasa cheating on a test, and to ensure his silence Maya blackmails Nemugasa into doing whatever he wants. Twice a week Nemugasa must go to Maya's room for some steamy action, but as dense and oblivious as Nemugasa is, he fails to notice Maya’s true feelings for him. With college entrance exams around the corner, Nemugasa must focus on his studies, but Maya won’t stop distracting him, causing him to finally snap! Can a relationship built on harassment ever be more?

Review- Maya catches Numugasa cheating on a test and blackmails him into sex . Nemugasa is annoyed by Maya cause he's always bothering him but goes to his house and Maya 's cousin tutors both of them and his cousin tricks Numugasa into this club but Maya shows up and takes him with him . They both start to fall for each other so it's not just sex but Maya pushes Nemugasa away . Nemugasa becomes friends with Maya's cousins brother and him and Maya don't get along cause he always takes things from Maya and Maya tells Nemugasa to stay away from him . After Nemugasa and Maya stop talking cause Nemugasa tells Maya he's ruining his life . Maya stops talking to him and then Nemugasa starts to miss him . Nemugasa ends up going to Maya's house but he was fooling around with some girl and Nemugasa likes Maya and they start dating I really enjoyed this manga .

[Jessica · Rating 5 out of 5]

I AM HERE FOR IT.

It's adult yaoi at it's finest (LOTSA SEX!!!!!!!) and I AM HERE FOR ALL *coughTHESEXcough* ALL OUR CHARACTERS. There's a TEENY TINY---actually it gets more of a plot as it goes (which isn't really saying much, but it's saying a lot because a lot of adult yaoi IS NOTHING BUT THE SEX!!!!!) and it's the trope of the cold-hearted (i forget the terms) with the person that's really warm and open o.O It has a term an official one. I am going to buy this in paperback to re-read it. <3

[Matthew White Ellis · Rating 1 out of 5]

The subject matter was not dealt with maturely. The manga uncritically depicts sexual exploitation and engages in rape fantasies in a way that’s stupidly tone deaf. It would be an understatement to say that this wasn’t for me.

[小さな N (.❛ ᴗ ❛.)⊃ [_|_] ♡ · Rating 1 out of 5]

very heavy non-con, victim blaming, and hypocrisy. The following volumes get better. The problem of the rapes is brought up in a later volume. It's not resolved perfectly in my opinion but it's more than we get most of the time and I can now enjoy the series as a whole.

[kuristina- tabreez · Rating 4 out of 5]

Much like what another reviewer said on here about this book, when I first started it, it took me several tries and I was tempted to drop it forever at least once. The beginning had me feeling very uncomfortable because of my morals and beliefs, but now after reading through this entire omnibus of the first two volumes, I realize now that it was just very good writing.
This story is NOT about sexual harassment, rape, or blackmail, though that is how it all starts. This is about two boys who would ordinarily never cross paths, falling in love with each other, and not knowing how to express it in a way that will get across to the other without harming their own pride and image. It's endearing too, that despite how it all started and despite it being probably one of the only things they have in common, their love for each other is built more than just on sex. Though, this IS pretty graphic, so we get to see why they fall in love so quickly from the sex. It isn't just about pleasure for Nemugasa, it's also about how sweet and gentle Maya is, about how much he wants to trust him and he does exactly that, in everything. It's why ever misunderstanding can hurt him so much.
As for Maya, I think he genuinely doesn't know what it is he likes about Nemugasa-- he just does. And seeing Nemugasa feel pleasure and get all messed up from him only drives him crazier for the boy.
I honestly really love how this manga depicts love. I also really like Maya's character design (even though I know it'll change halfway through the series). I do genuinely care for all of these characters, and honestly, Nemugasa's and Maya's struggles with their dynamics have opened my eyes a little bit to my own flaws in a relationship. I don't balance anything right at all, and my partner's feelings almost never come first. For me, it's typically always my work (career-wise type of work, not my part-time job, necessarily, unless I'm on a shift) that comes first, and that's why my newer relationships fail.
But anywho, it took them two entire volumes/one omnibus volume, but the two are finally dating and I couldn't be happier for them. I am genuinely excited to see where they take their relationship from here as well.
Oh, oh, somewhat unrelated, but in the author's notes, she mentions how the first volume's cover made it hard for people to purchase her book in the store, so she attempted to make the second volume's cover a lot more cutesy. I'm chuckling to myself about this all because I realized while reading this that SuBLime used the cutesy cover for the omnibus, and the first volume's cover is hiding inside as the first (and only) color page. I'm sure this decision helped their sales. I bought this manga new from a bookstore myself, and I probably wouldn't have been able to look the cashier in the face if the cover was the same as the first volume's. Ohh... That's also probably partly why the author, in more of her notes, seemed to expect that a lot of people hadn't read the first volume. Haha.
Well, back to the story itself. I also like Akira, or at least I think I do, I'm certainly intrigued by him and I look his looks and mannerisms. I'd love to see more of his story, so I'm happy that he has a one-shot manga (an entire volume!). But from what I've heard from things he himself as well as Jutta say, his story is going to be very heart breaking and twisted... It'll be the dark story of this series, poor man, though it seems he blames himself somewhat, I wonder if that's warranted or if he's just still reeling from the trauma. Oh, speaking of his story, I hope that means we'd see more Jutta too, because I actually sort of like him as well.
Well, anyway, I sold my paperback copy of this on my online store, but I'll more than likely repurchase it digitally straight from SuBLime themselves. Gotta condense my physical collection but nobody ever said anything about condensing my very small, budding digital collection.
I really do think I genuinely love these two. They're no Takano and Ritsu as of right now in my heart, but I think they might burrow a place there as time goes on. Especially if they continue to teach me to write the wrongs of my own shortcomings.

[K · Rating 4 out of 5]

I'd been skipping this one for a while because I didn't like the summary; being blackmailed into a sexual relationship isn't exactly in my list of favorite themes. But based on recommendations from others who'd read the full series, I finally sat down to give it a try. And it's not bad.

The beginning is definitely...very heavy on the noncon, and I'm not a huge fan of Maya's attitude a good percentage of the way through. He's controlling, obsessive, and demands that Nemugasa do whatever he wants, whenever he wants. But Nemugasa - despite spending a lot of time crying for various reasons - is actually way less of a pushover than you'd expect. He's incredibly stubborn and strong-willed, and when he absolutely does not want to spend time with Maya (because he'd rather be studying), he doesn't. And that's what drives Maya crazy, leading to a lot of his anxiety about Nemugasa not answering his texts, etc.

None of that excuses what Maya did early on, or how bad their communication was until pretty much the final pages of this double volume, but they're an oddly well-matched pair once the story hits its stride. Nemugasa is intensely studious but not actually all that honest...while he only cheats once on his midterms, leading to the blackmail, he also lies to his teacher once it's been officially reported (not by Maya, although he assumes the betrayal came from that direction). I was honestly kind of expecting Nemugasa to confess and apologize once he got caught, but he didn't consider that for a second or show any guilt over the lie. He just marched over to confront Maya, hit him twice, and end their relationship.

Because for Nemugasa, it actually did become an odd sort of relationship even before the blackmail became a non-issue. He liked spending time with Maya. He even liked having sex with Maya, although he didn't acknowledge or even really realize this until that part stopped. He liked Maya, and he didn't feel particularly victimized by their dynamic.

There are definitely parts I didn't like, and sections where Maya rushed into sex when I would've preferred talking, but I did appreciate the development through volume 2, where Maya stepped back in their relationship and let Nemugasa do all the chasing. It puts them on a lot more even footing now, and their communication did improve a ton once Nemugasa started expressing what he wanted.

I hope there's more of that in the many volumes left to go. I also like Maya's cousins, although that one weird blip with Akira drugging Nemugasa at the bar was completely unnecessary and almost seemed out of character for him? It feels like some of their personalities were a bit wobbly at the start, but will hopefully get ironed out more as the story continues.

[Heather · Rating 4 out of 5]

Very basic...nothing new here. It's every yaoi you've read before...but the angst is so good! I picked this book up because I saw a scanned page in an online yaoi group and thought it looked amazing.

Initially, the book disappointed me. Well, I'd say 2/3 of it was disappointing. I only kept reading because I'd bought all three books in the Don't Be Cruel series. As the synopsis indicates, the characters' relationship begins as nonconsensual. I don't like that at all and I found it hard to stomach at first. It was only after the attacker realized how he was abusing his victim that I began to like the book. The last third was really good and I found myself reading faster, unable to put it down.

The characters really aren't physically attractive (probably some of the worst hair I've seen in a manga) but I enjoyed their personalities. I will say they were very cliche, however: you have the overprotective, jealous, dominant seme, and the fragile, weak, crybaby uke.

The plotline was also filled with cliches: seme forces himself on uke, uke starts to like it, seme is jealous of anyone who ever talks to the uke, seme finally realizes he's been selfish and breaks things off, uke panics because seme is ignoring him, uke finally confesses his feelings, seme is relieved and they get back together. It doesn't get any more basic than that.

In the end, I wound up loving the book. Why? Because in spite of its ugly (to me) characters and its extremely cliche premise, it is a really long book and every page of it drips with angst. And angst is my bad habit.

In sum: I was a little ashamed to review this book because of how disturbing I find nonconsensual relationships between manga characters...but I couldn't help enjoying it overall because of the hyper angst factor.

[Molli B. · Rating 4 out of 5]

This story is exceptionally problematic—major consent issues from the go and the guys are in high school (I think???? I'm not entirely sure about the Japanese school system), which I know some people won't like. The consent issues are sort of dealt with*, but it's a good idea to know this isn't a sweet little romance when you go into it. Like, the blurb says "blackmails Nemugasa into doing whatever he wants" and it's very clearly labeled "explicit content," so it's not like the author is covering it up!

I like the artist's style, the way she draws faces and hands and HAIR. She's great at hair. I read another author/artist say that hair was super difficult, but with this artist, it looks like the easiest thing in the world. I want to run my hands through it all.

When I started this, I had no idea the series is several volumes, but I like it enough to keep going. I think she did a good job with the relationship angst in the later half of the book, and that's one of my things. At the end of this, we start to see some growth in the relationship, and I am hoping that it'll continue. And I'm curious about whether Maya can pull off suddenly caring about school. :)

* They're not really dealt with in the sense that the guys were like OH HEY THIS WAS BAD OF YOU/ME TO DO. I'M REALLY SORRY/I FORGIVE YOU FOR MAKING VERY BAD CHOICES AND NOT JUST ASKING ME ON A DATE LIKE A NORMAL PERSON/EMOTIONALLY MATURE TEENAGER LIKE YOU ARE CERTAINLY NOT. But the relationship DOES become entirely consensual.

[frau.meln · Rating 5 out of 5]

Aufmachung

Die Charaktere sind sehr detailliert gezeichnet. Markant sind die langen, schmalen Gesichtsformen. Sie entsprechen gar nicht meinem typischen pretty guy Geschmack, aber man beginnt sie im Lauf der Zeit dennoch immer schöner zu finden.

Der Erzählstil ist krass, weil er sich verschiedene Dynamiken zunutze macht und damit einiges an Spannung aufbaut.



Charaktere

Maya ist faul und vom Typ eher Playboy. Kommunikation ist nicht gerade seine Stärke. Außerdem ist er befehlshaberisch und launisch.

Nemugasa ist ein absoluter Musterschüler und Lernen hat oberste Priorität für ihn. In Bezug auf soziale Kontakte ist er eher unbeholfen bzw. desinteressiert.



Fazit

Well... Der Anfang war, wie sage ich das am Besten? Schockierend? Harsch? Anders als man das üblicherweise kennt?

Aber ich dachte mir, wenn so viele eine Empfehlung aussprechen, dann muss da auch was dran und das tat es auch. Denn mehr und mehr bekam man einen Einblick in die Gefühlswelten der Charaktere. Genauso baute sich die Story drum herum auf. Mit dem Struggle, den Teenager nun einmal haben. Ich habe so mitgefühlt, mitgefiebert und war heartbroken. Manchmal war die Anspannung kaum auszuhalten.

Diese ersten beiden Bände waren hervorragend und ich bin mir ziemlich sicher, dass sich das kleine Vermögen für die englischen Bände auszahlen wird.

[Lou (Lou and Life) · Rating 4 out of 5]

If you read the blurb of this novel, then you know that it is going to be problematic from the start. The playboy Maya, blackmails fellow student, Nemugasa, into a sexual relationship. But I think that if you can accept the fact that a book is problematic, and see the reasons why it is, then you can enjoy the unproblematic parts of the story. And I did. If you disregard the blackmail, it is a cute story. I also like how the story evolves. How the relationship goes from a physical one, to one where both characters want to be with each other and respect each other's wishes. They just had to start off at the completely wrong place.

With this volume bind up, it leaves me feeling as if it could be a standalone novel, so I do wonder where the rest of the series will go. I hope that the story continues to be interesting and won't go down hill.

Would I recommend this book? Ummm.... This is hard because it doesn't show a healthy relationship (at least in the beginning), and perpetuates the negative aspects of yaoi mangas, but if you are a person that can put things aside and forgive characters, then maybe this manga is for you. I do also want to mention that this manga probably has the most graphic artwork.

[L Ann · Rating 4 out of 5]

People either really like Maya and Nemugasa's relationship or hate it, describing Maya as toxic and Nemugasa as clueless. Personally, I didn't think their relationship was that bad... though, it definitely was far from perfect. The way it started wasn't ideal, but, obviously, Nemugasa wasn't bothered enough by its dynamic to try to change it. Once Akira told his teacher what happened with the midterms there really wasn't any reason to continue sleeping with Maya, but he chose to do so and it probably had to do with the free tutoring that came along with it.

I also didn't think Maya was as bad some made him out to be. Yes, he was loud and sometimes came off as selfish or dismissive but Nemugasa was no better. Even if Maya didn't expressly say it, Nemugasa should have picked up on the obvious signs that Maya was in love with him. He said that he considered Maya to be a friend but if that's true Nemugasa turned out to be a terrible friend. It felt so cathartic when Maya went off on him about it because he said everything I was already thinking. Then, after all of that Nemugasa started crying causing Maya to agree to try being his friend. People like to dump on Maya for "using" Nemugasa, but, if anything, they were using each other.

In the end Nemugasa figures out that he is in love with Maya and Maya accepts his confession almost immediately. Personally, I would have made him wait a few days before taking him back but that's just me. I'm glad they worked through their issues and I'm ready to see how their relationship changes now that they are an actual couple.♡.

[Geoff · Rating 3 out of 5]

My Recommendation: I did enjoy the book, it definitely wasn't something I should read on public transportation. I actually did start it and then when it got to the more explicit parts I had to put it back in my bag. And even with all of my reservations about it, I did pick up Don't Be Cruel (#3 & #4) to see where the story goes now that it's actually and clearly defined as consensual. There seem to be quite a few in the series, but this is the last one our local library has.

My Response: Similar to  Tableau Numéro 20 , I found this on Grace's Books Without Any Pictures. This one, however, is much more sexually explicit than the other. It jumps in pretty quick with hands down pants and what is basically a rape scene within the first 20-30 pages.

I'm not sure how much I liked it because of this change and the subject matter. If I'm honest, I think I prefer the non-explicit sexual tension and love that was portrayed in Tableau Numéro 20 versus this explicit blackmail. I was honestly surprised the library had this after I started reading it. It was in the general "Graphic Novels" section and not teen, so maybe that's how they don't get in too much trouble?

Click here to continue reading on my book blog the Oddness of Moving Things.

[Michelle · Rating 5 out of 5]

Yonezou Nekota is one of the best magaka writing YAOI comics and doujinshi ever. That being said, I've finally begun collecting her official English release of the "Hidoku Shinai de" series. The first two volumes are in one giant book, and has several full color covers including the famous first one with Nemu in his underpants, which was super racy for anyone to be reading in 2007 when the series first premiered. For those unfamiliar with the series, yes, it does start out with non-consensual sex when Maya decides to blackmail Nemu because he knows he has cheated on his midterms test. If tales involving rape or the subsequent development of a love relationship due to said rape are disturbing to you, pass this series by. If you can see it for a story of a tsundere boy falling in love with a clueless boy and the beginning of their tumultuous relationship, with tons of angst and sexy times, then this is the tale for you. Highly recommend this edition. Large and affordable.

[Fairydemonprincess · Rating 1 out of 5]

There were definitely other means to bring them together, there was absolutely no need for Maya to blackmail and then SA him at all. Legit he could have just offered free tutoring from the get go. And any time after that they have sex, Nemu doesn’t even want to.

They only get into a relationship because Nemu got so use to the noise that he started feeling lonely without it, even if it wasn’t the healthiest. Also almost certain they are underage, they could have 100% been in university or smth.

I don’t like yaoi where SA is just used as a plot point to bring the two love interests together, and it’s soooo normalised too that people are so blindsided by the ending that they forget what happened in the beginning because of his “redemption arc”.

In later volumes, the SA is addressed and they kinda just brush over it and establish that it’s in the past and that they love each other now…that’s cool but how about we remove the SA in the first place so that we don’t have to do that…

[Mariah · Rating 4 out of 5]

listen. take my review for this one with a grain of salt.
the nostalgia is speaking louder than my common sense.

this is one of the most memorable yaoi manga I read as a tween. I remember loving these two and rereading the angstier parts of Vol. 1 & 2 so many times I could practically recite them by heart because they just hurt so good. I also love both Nemugasa and Maya individually and their chemistry, add in the beautiful art style and the absolute banging (heh) steam and it's easy to see why this is such a heavy hitter for me still.

I honestly cannot begin to tell you how I would feel about by how this manga starts if my first encounter with it had been in 2025. I've long learned to fill in the gaps and give the benefit of the doubt in the yaoi genre and this isn't anywhere close to being the hardest pill to swallow with the problematic situations you're likely to find in the early to mid 2000s titles, but it's still not the best example of proper consent.

[Kat · Rating 3 out of 5]

3 out of 5 stars

While I absolutely adore this series to death, and when I saw it in stores, I knew I just had to have it However, there is a reason I'm only giving it 3 stars, and I'm being generous by doing so.

While Maya and Nemu's relationship has morphed into absolute fluffy goodness in later volumes, and Maya is like a god among men in illustrated form, there is no getting around the fact that he blackmailed Nemu into having sex with him. THAT IS NEVER OKAY!!! Yes, this is BL, and as someone who has read a lot of BL, I know there are tropes that saturate the genre, but this is one that sucks. If someone says no, back off!

I know, in the future in this series, this fact is addressed. Something I was very happy about, but still, NO!

This is why Don't Be Cruel only gets 3 stars.

[Linda Jaejoong · Rating 5 out of 5]

Der Manga hat mich von der ersten Seite an in seinen Bann gezogen. Maya und Nemugasa sind ein so niedliches Pärchen. Maya war zum Anfang ein richtiger Arsch und ich stand vollkommen hinter Nemugasa, aber später hat Maya mir leid getan und ich habe gehofft, dass die beiden ihre Schwierigkeiten überwinden können.

Es gab auch ein paar Nebenfiguren von denen ich hoffe, dass sie auch in den nächsten Teilen auftauchen werden. Die Handlung strotzt nur so vor Emotionen und man wusste manchmal gar nicht, was man zuerst fühlen soll.

Der Zeichenstil des Manga ist super schön und die Bilder sind super niedlich und sehr detailliert. Ich hatte viel Spaß beim lesen und habe viel gelacht. Ich kann den Manga nur wärmstens weiter empfehlen. Ein absolutes Muss für jeden, der nichts gegen das Genre MxM hat. Ich freue mich schon auf die nächsten beiden Bände!!

[bow down to our ace king victor vale · Rating 2 out of 5]

1.8!

this might be the first time im seeing the word ‘urethra’ in a spicy scene lol.

ok so….lmao. what a start geez. (heavy noncon :/)

and yo that’s so embarrassing that he caught him cheating !! 😭😭😭 the second hand embarrassment i had. also, their entire relationship so far is …….yeahhh. (immature and uncommunicative, tho i heard it gets better in upcoming volumes) additionally, the pacing is also off (w/the time span in which they knew and got closer to each other + w/ the exams and such…like how many exams are there???)

and im literally so angry abt their stupid fight AJSJSHD why is maya the one forgiving him?? when it was his fault to begin with?? and now he’s the victim???!huUHHHH 😫😫 AND NEMU!! HAVE SOME WILL PLS I BEG. they’re both kinda stupid istg.

i cant stop reading tho which ig says something. despite my frustrations, it’s pretty entertaining ^^.