ナンバーコール [Number Call]

by Nagisa Furuya, 古矢渚

八方塞がりのあと、末広がり。小さい頃から現在に至るまでエイトについて回る〝8〟の縁は、〝ハチ〟というあだ名を持つ同級生、八田智也を引き寄せた。挨拶だったり、他愛のない一言二言だったり、ハチとの何気ない日常の積み重ねは、エイトの気持ちに変化をもたらしはじめる。友だちという線引きの先、この想いに名前をつけるなら、それは、きっと――。新鋭・古矢渚のファーストコミックス！青春をひた走るDKのきらめく恋、詰め込みました。

Genres: Manga, Romance, LGBT, Young Adult, Queer, Contemporary, Boys Love

178 pages, Paperback

First published October 15, 2014

About the author

Nagisa FURUYA (古矢渚, Furuya Nagisa) is a Japanese mangaka.

See 渚 for her doujinshi works under circle PLUG.

Reviews

[daph pink ♡ · Rating 3 out of 5]

I've read two of her stories and enjoyed how she plays with the sweetness of the characters. Her artistic ability has always been exceptional. This one was very sweet, brief, and enjoyable to read. I wouldn't say this is her best work, but it should be noted that this was her first manga, and she did an excellent job with it.

[Brooke · Rating 3 out of 5]

⭐️ 3 stars ⭐️

«And here I always thought I’d never learn to like my name. But, maybe… it’s not actually as bad as I think.»

Cute high school friends to lovers.
The characters give off black cat vs golden retriever which added to the cuteness and art style.
Too short to be more than a 3, though.

I received a free copy of this book from NetGalley, and am leaving this honest review voluntarily.

[Dilushani Jayalath · Rating 3 out of 5]

Sweet and cute high school story. That’s it. The mangaka always gives sweet stories and she didn’t disappoint.

[Jan Agaton · Rating 3 out of 5]

so cute ♡

[aria ✧ · Rating 3 out of 5]

I'll be in your care from now on.

The story follows Tachibana Akito and Hatta Tomoya and their coincidental yet fated meeting. Akito has had the nickname 'Eighto' since he was young and Hatta is better known as 'Hachi'. Both nicknames meaning 8.

I don't know if it's me reading while tired but the dialogue felt a bit clunky. It was still a sweet short story that I enjoyed.

[cyd⭐️ · Rating 4 out of 5]

i was at the library the other day, and i saw this book, it looks so familiar and i KNEW that i’ve read this before but goodreads says the opposite..
i remember today that i have my list (yes, an actual physical list 😭) of books i read in 2024 and look through it and FIND IT! so here i am reviewing it more than a year later 😭😭

i remember actually really enjoying this manga, the story, the characters and the romance was all top tier! wishing this was a series because i think there definitely wasn’t enough of these characters!!

(4/5)⭐️📝

[vicky ꨄ︎ · Rating 3 out of 5]

This is a cute story about falling in love in high school, while it was very enjoyable I feel like there wasn’t enough to it.

The storyline of this story is quite interesting with the names Eito and Hachi having similarity to the number 8 and their names. It’s a very interesting concept but it feels like something was missing. The character gives off black cat vs golden retriever vibes.

The only time we got to see the character interacting was when they were either walking home from school or in school there wasn’t any interactions beyond that which I feel like could’ve added more to the story.

I did get confused with who is who since some of the side characters look so similar to the main characters that it got confusing at times.

Thanks to NetGalley and the publisher for this arc in exchange for an honest review.

[Keiko, the manga enthusiast ♒︎ · Rating 5 out of 5]

Oh, my God!!!!! Nagisa Furuya at her beeeeest! This is indeed my favorite! Gosh, I love that last panel from the manga. The Infinity man show they both love when fhey were young, is also like a strong connection between them, esp. no one relates to it, you say, and that affinity for number 8—I'm crying! I'm a sucker for destiny. IT'S DESTINY, RIGHT? RIGHT??? YOU ARE NOT ALLOWED TO SAY IT ISN'T BECAUSE IT IS. I KNOW IT IS. Ah, destiny. I'm really jealous right now.

I LOVE THIS SO SO MUCH. IT IS MY FAVORITE AMONG ALL HER WORKS.

Also, so much gay paniiiiiiiic for Akito it's soooo hilarious! Gosh, I love this so so so much!!!

It's just so perfect.

Too perfect for me.

Until next time, Nagisa Furuya.

Amaze me, once again! I'm hoping for more.

See you again!

[Just a tiny mochiiiii · Rating 5 out of 5]

This was sensei's first manga, but she has nailed it. The number joke was played right! I loved all the characters and their illustrations. I loved the 'infinity' man and 8 thing mentioned at the end. This was a fresh and an all new story. Great idea, senpai!👍❤

[Shae · Rating 4 out of 5]

This one was fairly cute. The names being based around the number 8 was a fun way to get the characters to initially react. I had a decent time with this one. For me, it doesn't have the staying power in my mind like some other series, but it's a great intro to queer manga title.

[Lucy Tonks (the invisible life of a reader) · Rating 4 out of 5]

This was so cute!! I'm honestly giggling like an idiot right now because of how much i liked it. In all honestly this just like any other boys' love manga but that's what made me really like it. That's exactly what I wanted right now. I really liked the two main characters, but they were so OBLIVIOUS. How can someone be so oblivious?

One thing I would like to point out that I didn't really like was how the characters looked a bit to similar to eachother. Sometimes I genuinly couldn't distinguish the main characters from the side characters. They all looked too alike!

[Rebecca · Rating 3 out of 5]

Nagisa Furuya may write basically the same story in most of her books, but it's a good story. Her slow burn BL romances are, in my opinion, second to none, using body language and gentle emotions rather than kisses to tell the tale. This is her first book, and it's not as good as what comes later, but it's still a cozy, sweet romance that makes you smile.

[mydarlingreads · Rating 3 out of 5]

I can already tell I'll love this work. This author has such a distinct style that I immediately fall in love with and cherish all her characters as soon as I meet them.
It was short and such a worthy slow burn.

[Jana · Rating 3 out of 5]

Number Call is a short and cute story about falling in love during high school, and while it was an enjoyable read, I'm afraid I can't say it has to offer more than that.

The premise of the story is definitely interesting and unique and what made me want to read it, but something was definitely missing. Eito and Hachi indeed had chemistry and had some wholesome moments, but I think it lacked originality, despite the unique theme with number 8 and their names. It follows the usual route of every other high school romance, which is in no shape or form bad, but it added nothing new or exciting to it.

Some depth from the story was lacking as well. While we got to see our characters interact in school and on their way home, we didn't get to see much of them beyond that. Also, we got to know some of their personality traits, but not enough to actually understand them. That was especially visible during the "conflict", which didn't make a lot of sense and wasn't needed in my opinion.

However, I think most of these have to do with the fact that this was mangaka's debut, and I'm surely going to give her more recent work a try.

Thank you NetGalley and Kodansha Comics for a free e-ARC in exchange for an honest review.

[Cassie Sanders · Rating 3 out of 5]

Thank you to NetGalley and the publisher for a digital ARC of this title. I ended up buying it for myself because I thought I'd appreciate it more in paperback.

I have been diving into the world of manga and manhwa slowly over the past year.

I have to say, this is probably my least favorite. I see that it was originally published in 2014, and was a debut from an artist that has had other, more successful titles. It feels like this maybe was published more as a cash grab than based on its merit.

There isn't much content and sometimes it was hard for me to differentiate characters. The two MMCs both have friends at school that look like the leads, and sometimes, I had to flip back and forth to determine who was who.

I think the humor or references to the number 8 were kind of lost in translation. In the summary, it says the MMC is named Eighto, but in the manga, it's Eito - so it legitimately took me looking toward the end to connect that his name sounds like the number 8. I'm not bad at putting two and two together, so the fact that I had to dig tells me that something was either lost or underdeveloped in the original material.

All in all, it was a sweet boy meets boy high school romance. I was whelmed, but a younger reader might really enjoy this.

[Deseray · Rating 3 out of 5]

Thank you to NetGalley and Kodansha Comics for the review copy in exchange for an honest review.

If you are looking for a Black Cat x Golden Retriever pairing, with some high school friends-to-lovers trope sprinkled in the mix, look no further! Number Call has what you are looking for.

Number Call tells the story of how two young boys in high school are brought together by the number 8. Eighto Tachibana has always been the victim of numerous jokes about his name, due to it sounding similar to "eight", and for that, has always hated his name. That is until he meets a fellow schoolmate named Tomoya Hatta, whose nickname is "Hachi", which is Japanese for the number 8. Their chance encounter brings them together and their similar nicknames, keep them together. As time together starts to unfold, they realize they may connect a little more than what can be attributed to their names.

This was super short and sweet. While it's too short and surface level for me to rate any higher than a 3, I still had a great time reading it and it was a good read in between other novels. I can see myself picking up more works by this author, especially given how beautiful their art style is.

[nush ❀ · Rating 2 out of 5]

— 2.5 ⚝

thank you to kodansha comics and netgalley for an e-arc of this manga. all thoughts are my own and not influenced in any way.

this was a sweet romance between two high school students. but since this was the mangaka's first ever manga, it read super amateur-ish. i was also having a hard time distinguishing between the side characters and the main characters because they all looked the same to me 😭

i didn't enjoy this as much as i would have liked to. it was a sweet story but not my favourite. super low angst, same high school BL tropes and not much nuance. but it is her first manga so its not bad considering.

[Sarxian (meirinasoe) · Rating 5 out of 5]

I like this book because I find the storyline very unique yet relatable. For instance, the connection to someone whose name is like a number strikes me as particularly intriguing. At the same time, I couldn’t help but notice the queer allegory. Hachi feeling safe and familiar with Eito because "they share the same name" reminds me of how queer people find solace in each other's company, especially in a world that can feel alienating.

Thanks to Netgalley and the publisher for providing me with a complimentary copy to read and review!

[kass · Rating 3 out of 5]

2.5 stars

this was a really cute comic for what it was! the plot wasn't very interesting and i thought that the whole thing with their names was pretty low stakes but it was still a really sweet and short story.

i would have liked to see the world better developed and learn more about both of the characters' lives outside of their interactions with each other. i think basing the whole thing off of their names wasn't the best choice because it wasn't very interesting. but the drawings were so lovely and i had a fun time!

thank you to netgalley for an arc in exchange for an honest review

[V.ya · Rating 3 out of 5]

Eito never liked how people always made fun of his name, that is, until a certain someone he met changed his mind.

This is a simple school-life story and there is nothing more to it. I also found the characters too similarly drawn and indistinguishable from one another. This is the first work of Nagisa Furuya, and it shows.

Thank you Netgalley & Kodansha Comics for the arc copy in exchange for an honest review.

[Rebecca · Rating 4 out of 5]

3.5 stars rounded up

This is a very sweet manga about a friendship that blossoms into a first love. The leads are cute together, and their journey from friends to more felt genuine with a little bit of angst thrown in. The art was good, even if some of the characters looked a little too similar. Overall I’d say it’s definitely worth a read.

[Drakoulis · Rating 4 out of 5]

Sweet and cute high school first love slow burn manga!

Hachi and Eito having names which are no.8 puns for everyone was an adorable way to meet!

Thank you NetGalley and Kodansha Comics for the ARC!

[Melissa · Rating 4 out of 5]

How cute was this??????? I loved this so much!!
I actually love reading manga's, but I don't do it often - which is a shame.
It's impressive that I could be invested this quickly in a short story.

Definitely recommend if you like a slow burn story and friends-to-lovers.

[Scientist's Reading World | Hugo Lapa · Rating 5 out of 5]

THIS WAS SO CUTE! They are both such cinnamon roles trying to navigate their feelings, and that end, wahhhhhh, I loved it so much. It was such an easy and fast read. I totally recommend this one!

[Ben Wright · Rating 4 out of 5]

Thank you Netgalley for providing me a copy for an honest review.

This was cute ! I really adored the art style, and just how well the facial expressions were done, especially our two leads. Tomoya and Tachibana also had this great chemistry and I loved their burgeoning friendship, although I did find the volume a little fast paced. That being said I found that Tachibana especially kept me reading more, and overall I had a really nice time with it. I'd definitely say check it out if you enjoy a nice little slow burn cute HS story.

[crybby · Rating 4 out of 5]

This is such a cute, sweet and simple high school romance about two boys who are drawn to each other because of their names - it’s also a great introduction into queer manga if you aren’t sure where to start! I have read several of Nagisa Furuya’s later works which are all equally wonderful and am so glad I picked this one up as well, as they are becoming a favorite author of mine.


(Thank you NetGalley and Kodansha Comics for the advance e-reader copy in exchange for an honest review)

[suvi · Rating 4 out of 5]

We follow Tachibana Akito and Hatta Tomoya or the "eight men" as both of their nicknames mean 8. I need to preface this review by saying that I am a huge NANA fan, that manga quite literally shaped me as a person. So, I am just a bit obsessed with people who are named after numbers, and these two are not an expectation to that rule.

I really liked both Eighto and Hachi. I found them very fun but also relatable. We don't really get to see a lot of the side characters, and that can often feel like there are only two characters in the story. This didn't feel like it though.

Overall, the story is really sweet and fun. And it is also a really fast read. It made me feel rather nostalgic to my own high school days - even though I did hate my time there. It is one of those stories that makes me wish my time in high school truly was like in the stories I read.

The art style is very simple but also really beautiful and expressive. I highly recommend this one!

Thank you NetGalley and Kodansha Comics for the ARC!

[anzhelika ୨ৎ · Rating 2 out of 5]

⋆ ˚｡⋆୨୧˚ 2.5 stars ˚୨୧⋆｡˚ ⋆

"if i could change one thing... i wish we could've met earlier."

this was fast paced, almost as every graphic novel is. it follows the story of two boys bonding over their similar / unique names. i found that there was no plot in this book and it was difficult to tell the characters apart. nothing special, and probably not for me.

˗ˋˏ ୨୧ thank you to NetGalley and Nagisa Furuya for the digital arc in exchange for an honest review! ୨୧ ˎˊ˗

[Hailey · Rating 4 out of 5]

Thank you to Netgalley and Kodansha for a copy of this Manga in exchange for an honest review.

This manga felt like a warm hug of YA BL cuteness and I adored reading the story of Eito and Hacchi and their link due to the number 8.

The artwork is gorgeous and the story is a little slowburn but it was nice to see the way the characters interacted and realised their feelings, it was good to have the manga split into dual POV.

I would definitely love to read more from this Author after reading this sweet story.

[Jess | jadecanread · Rating 3 out of 5]

This was such a cute, quick read!

I thought the premise was quite sweet, characters quaint, and the art was gorgeous. I would've liked to see more development in the friendship or a glimpse into their relationship in the future, but I still enjoyed it as it was!