Don't Be Cruel: Akira Takanashi's Story

酷くしないで / Hidoku shinaide

by Yonezou Nekota

A Don’t Be Cruel spin-off story featuring Maya’s cousin Akira and his love affair with playboy med student Shimagawa!
In this Don’t Be Cruel spin-off story, Maya’s cousin Akira Takanashi is burned by love. To cope, he requires that his adult comfort come with no strings attached. But his lover, med student and notorious playboy Shimagawa, has other ideas.
Polite and proper college student Akira Takanashi has a secret. Back in high school, he fell deeply in love with his teacher but was spurned. Now, whenever the pain of his heartbreak gets to be too much, he finds comfort in the arms of med student and notorious playboy Shimagawa—very adult comfort. Shimagawa would gladly go out with him, but Akira’s past heartbreak means he insists on keeping things strictly physical—that is, until his obsessed younger brother Jutta arrives to disrupt this comfortable routine!

Genres: Manga, Yaoi, Romance, LGBT, Adult, M M Romance, Boys Love

200 pages, Paperback

First published December 10, 2014

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

[Lucy Westenra · Rating 3 out of 5]

La historia promete pero me he quedao un poco con cara de póquer, sobre todo por lo de Jutta. A destacar el novio de Akira que groarrllllllll xD

[Sushi (寿司) · Rating 5 out of 5]

L'ho preso per caso. Pensavo fosse un volume unico poi quando a casa ho letto meglio il titolo ho visto che era lo spin off di "Trattami con dolcezza". Come avrete capito non ho ancora letto la serie principale. Intendo farlo ma aspetterò che finisca in Giappoland e poi qui.
Quanto hai disegni sono stupendi così come ho apprezzato le pagine a colori. La storia ho impiegato un po' a ingranare per i charas, colpa mia che non ho la principale, ma poi l'ho adorata.

[MaDoReader · Rating 4 out of 5]

Amo a Akira y Naoya, y me encanta la dinámica que se traen, aunque lo de Jutta me ha hecho torcer un poco el morro.

[Estrella Inglés · Rating 5 out of 5]

4.9 por culpa de Jutta. Uf qué asco de crío.

Llevo posponiendo leer la historia de Akira años. Me costó mucho engancharme a Hidoku Shinaide (un beso para Nekota por arreglar todo lo que estaba mal en el manga y evolucionarlo a algo tan bonito), así que me costaba leer este porque ni la historia ni Akira me llamaban tanto. Pero hace unos meses me hice atracón de la historia principal y como seguía sin interesarme este pues lo dejé y me lo he tenido que comprar en físico para leerlo al fin. Y no me arrepiento de nada.

Creo que es uno de los bls más maduros que he leído hasta la fecha (menos Jutta wtf tío). Me ha encantando Akira y todo el conflicto interno que tienen los protas. Me ha gustado mucho también que hubiera escenas del manga principal desde otra perspectiva. Es que es impresionante la evolución de los protagonistas de verdad esta mujer escribe genial.

No puedo ser parcial con Nekota, todo lo que hace me gusta y estoy deseando que los traigan a España porque aunque suelen ser historias bastantes explícitas (aunque parece que para eso ya no hay tanto problema), las tramas y los personajes son una maravilla.

[Rekki Rekki · Rating 4 out of 5]

Shimagawa is so attractive *-*

[Ada · Rating 2 out of 5]

The only character I liked was Akira...

This story had way too many tropes crammed into 1 volume and I disliked most of them.

I'm a bit bummed because I was interested in seeing Akira going from an intens puppy love to actually being in love. That wasn't what I got at all.

[Anna C · Rating 5 out of 5]

Akhirnyaaaaa, kesampaian juga baca semua chapter dalam buku ini. Ada hasilnya bersabar menunggu versi English sebelum melahap yg versi Chinese. Tapi sayangnya terjemahan English tdk begitu bagus dan banyak yg interpretasinya salah dan melenceng. Ketahuan setelah baca yg versi Chinese. Ada bagian yg diucapkan Akira kok malah jadi diucapkan Jutta. Dan ada juga kalimat Akira yg salah diterjemahin maksudnya dan buntutnya bikin bingung apa maksudnya. Padahal maksud dari kalimat Akira itu sebenarnya sweet and adorable bgt, bikin aku tambah gemasss sama uke yg satu ini kalo dia lagi blushing, hihihihi.

Dan omong2, aku lebih suka pasangan Akira x Naoya ketimbang Maya x Nemu. Apalagi Akira ini uke yg tsundere juga, hahaha. Suka banget pas dia lagi blushing krn dengar pillow talk-nya Naoya, hihihi.

[Gabriela González · Rating 5 out of 5]

Akira's history is better than "treat me gently please" Akira has an interesting personality and his relationship with Shimakawa has evolved

[Chica Nutella 💖 · Rating 5 out of 5]

La personalidad de Akira es cambiante, pero muy en el fondo es un Uke demasiado UKE xD
Me gusta su historia.

[Aimee · Rating 5 out of 5]

amazing!

[frau.meln · Rating 5 out of 5]

Aufmachung

Nekotas Zeichenstil hat mich ehrlich gestanden nicht von Beginn an begeistert. Mittlerweile bin ich darin aber echt verliebt. Markant sind die schmalen, spitz zulaufenden Gesichter. Außerdem sind die Charaktere stets wunderbar detailreich gezeichnet.



Charaktere

Akira zeigt ungern seine verletzliche Seite, zu groß ist seine Furch wieder leiden zu müssen. Daher ist es schön in dieser Story endlich mal hinter seine Fassade zu blicken.

Naoya studiert Medizin, ist begehrt und stets die Ruhe selbst. Er hat eine beneidenswerte Geduld und ein gutes Herz.



Fazit

Bevor ich seine Story gelesen habe, war mir unklar, was ich über Akira denken soll. Doch mit diesem Spin-off kann man seine Gefühlswelt wirklich hervorragend nachvollziehen und dadurch beginnt man auch einiges an seinem Verhalten zu verstehen.

Doch nicht nur das, die gesamte Story ist einfach wunderschön und herzerwärmend. Meiner Meinung nach, weiß die Mangaka einfach wie man Geschichten erzählt. Auch, wenn wahrscheinlich nichts mehr an die Story von Maya und Nemu (Don't be cruel) herankommen wird.

[Marianne · Rating 5 out of 5]

Yes! My favorite side character finally gets his own, much deserved book.

The complex Akira is so much more than Maya's cousin/tutor/gorgeous, smiling, yet emotionally distant, hunk.

Here, we get to meet the hot, sexy medical student, Naoya, who is Akira's friend with benefits. Naoya has been nursing a secret love for Akira, but he doesn't dare confess because Akira always acts cold and indifferent, but is in reality heartbroken from his first love who jilted his advances. (Shame on you, sensei!)

Through flashbacks to Akira's highschool days we finally discover why he's cold to the handsome guy he's currently booty calling.

An extra plus was the appearance of Jutta; Akira's younger brother. His disturbing obsession with his Akira's and Maya's love interest always make for an entertaining read. I like the little bastard! ;-)

The art is so preeeeetty, the sex scenes are nice and graphic. The only downer is dreaded, horrible, downright EVIL censored light sabers. (Japanese censorship: F... you!)

My favorite manga in the series by far!

[Michelle · Rating 3 out of 5]

Akira's story is not as cute as the main storyline. You can see hints of the darkness he displayed in the first volume of the Don't be Cruel series. Seeing his high school romance with a teacher dissolve in front of your eyes, and then seeing his younger brother moving in to steal said love interest all while making taboo incestual plays for Akira makes you realize that Jutta has some serious problems and the story is not even about him. Shimakawa is the college love interest, and while in love and having a sexual relationship with Akira for the last three years, he is also very aware that Akira is not ready to be loved by him. The tale has some frustrating edges and some slippery slope plot devices that threaten to let the darkness run amuck through the story. The conflict resolution is not entirely stratifying either as Akira is just not a cute character like Nemugasa is, and Shimakawa is not as doofily apparent in his love as Maya is for Nemugasa. Little bit of smut with some more of the graphic sex at the end of the story. A+ art as always.

[Ester · Rating 5 out of 5]

Ha sido una maravilla leer en papel y con traducción buena este manga. Tenía muchísimas ganas de poder disfrutar del spin off de Akira en papel, tener su historia en mis manos ya que es mi personaje favorito de Hidoku shinaide. No me ha defraudado para nada. La pareja Akira-Naoya es mi favorita, mucho más que Maya-Nemu (aunque los amo con locura) y saber más de ellos y todo lo que hay detrás de los sucesos en el tomo 4 con la historia de Jutta... (Maldito psicópata. Pero quiero que Nekota más haga si historia también). Lo mejor es que en la historia principal seguiremos disfrutando de Akira y Naoya. Además de en los dojins.

[Katherine · Rating 4 out of 5]

My very first BL manga that I finally get to own and it involves one of my many favorite pairings. For this series I prefer these 2 couple than the main ones with the reason that they are more mature in terms of relationship and age than the main couple. I'm so glad that I bought it. Really like their story and wish the author could publish more about them but at the same time kinda not want to because I want to prevent any unnecessary drama just to make enough material for a new volume. But anyways gonna keep supporting this couple and the author :)

[Lina · Rating 5 out of 5]

Well, if you’ve read the main story you know most of this story. It’s a bit fleshed out but nothing new really. It’s nice with the focus on Akira though. I would advise that you read at least the first 5 or so volumes before you read this. (I’ve read all 9 and that might be why the whole story is told. Not sure if it is up to the point when this was written. It is supposed to be in between vol 5 and 6) Anyway, it’s a Don’t Be Cruel manga so obviously I’ll give it five stars because I love that universe.

[Julie · Rating 3 out of 5]

Okay so this was a little difficult to jump into without reading the rest of the series. I was a bit lost about some of the things I clearly missed having stopped at book four? I picked up this one because I'm way more interested in Akira and Jutta's storyline than anything else. Everything about them is so toxic, but it's just so much more interesting to read than the main story (imo). I didn't know too much about Akira and Shimagawa, but I liked reading about them. I want another spin off on Jutta though. What a trash can.

[Maisie Dickson · Rating 4 out of 5]

I have never read the main story to the series but that did not negatively affect my enjoyment of the story.

it was a sweet somewhat deep exploration of the effects of heartbreak and how a "first love" can be sweet but sometimes bring out obsessive and toxic behaviours. I love the main pair and the casualness of their relationship even though its evident that they pair both want more.

the art style was nice to look at and very expressive.

[Alicia Gourdine · Rating 5 out of 5]

Loved Akira's Story...

I really loved this story it shows you how Akira and Naoya came together. How his brother Jutta played a part in causing havoc in Akira's life with his games and manipulation , how insecure he became after his heartbreak and how what was supposed to be a one time thing turned into so much more. I loved it! I truly did not want this story to end there's still so much more to tell I hope Yonezou Nekota considers doing another part to these to.

[Robin Sinn · Rating 5 out of 5]

In this volume we have Akira's back story. We learn about his first love and lover. The hurt from this first relationship and how it shaped his feelings towards love are shown through the beautiful art style of Yonezou Nekota. All hope is not lost for this fragile man ......... he meets a new love who will pull out the sex in sexy ...............

[Debbra Benjamin · Rating 4 out of 5]

Whoa that's a surprise

Read a lot of reviews about this one so I was not sure...but thought what the heck. It really was not what I expected...I liked it. The thing is you find yourself wondering what the story line really is...ok it's manga so what's the big deal. In the end it's fine

[Criss Smith · Rating 5 out of 5]

A quick and easy read. I was a bit confused at first and thought I had maybe gotten a second book in a series or something, and there were a few times I was confused on who was who but I did overall like the story.

[Gustavo deVilliers · Rating 5 out of 5]

I loved it soooo much
It even made me cry before the end
Really recommend this manga,especially if u read Dont be cruel

[Karissa · Rating 4 out of 5]

I enjoyed this one even though I hadn't read the series it spinned off from. I'll have to put those on my list too.

[Srisurang · Rating 5 out of 5]

ซีรีส์นี้ยิ่งอ่านยิ่งชอบ

[˗ˏˋ s u n ˎˊ˗ · Rating 4 out of 5]

[4]

[Dathúil · Rating 3 out of 5]

I kept reading it even though I was confused by who was who ...maybe I missed something. The only part I followed was the part with the teacher which was quite risqué.

[Yuri Hana · Rating 5 out of 5]

Engaging and unique

I loved reading this. It is cute, and adds a unique perspective to a dynamic you see in the original.

[~RMG · Rating 2 out of 5]

2.5 stars

[Aki Ryuichi · Rating 3 out of 5]

3.5
Me gusta mucho Akira y Naoya... Pero lo de Jutta me ha dejado un poco desubicada 🤔