Khi còn nhỏ, cậu bé Yuujirou Matsukaze đã hứa với chính bản thân sẽ bảo vệ Rui Hanamine - cậu bạn với gương mặt dễ thương và vóc người nhỏ nhắn.
Khi trở thành học sinh trung học, Yuujirou vẫn nhớ lời hứa năm nào của bản thân - và cậu đã có tình cảm đơn phương với Rui. Tuy nhiên, khi trưởng thành, cậu bạn Rui vẫn là gương mặt đáng yêu đó, nhưng vẻ ngoài của Rui đã thay đổi.
Thú thật là lần đầu có một quyển manga vừa đáng yêu, hài hước mà lại khiến mình muốn khóc thét lên như này. Nó khiến mình nhớ đến việc mình từng thích một cậu bạn, và giờ đây người bạn đó cao chưa đến 1m7, còn mình thì cao 1m8 :')))
Dekoboko Sugar Daysmang đến một câu chuyện tình cảm oái oăm mà mình nghĩ bất kỳ ai cũng dễ cười, dễ thấu hiểu. Yuujirou dành tình yêu cho Rui, nhìn những biểu hiện của Yuujirou trước những hành vi dễ thương của Rui đáng yêu chết đi đượccccc!!! Nhưng chính Yuujirou lại tự ti vì chiều cao giữa cậu ấy với Rui - điều mình có thể đồng cảm với Yuujirou, bởi ai cũng muốn mình cao lớn hơn để che chở cho người mình yêu.
Và dĩ nhiên, điều mình thích hơn là ngoài POV của Yuujirou, tác giả còn xen kẽ POV của Rui. Để người đọc hiểu được suy nghĩ của Rui - về cái nhìn của cậu ấy dành cho Yuujirou. Cái cách mà Rui lúc nào cũng suy nghĩ thái quá, mặc cảm với "tình yêu" dành cho Yuujirou cũng dễ thương và khiến mình đồng cảm nữa.
Nếu bạn thích một câu chuyện tình yêu dễ thương, hài hước, không drama thì đây là một sự lựa chọn TUYỆT VỜI! Dù cái cách câu chuyện diễn ra dễ dàng và nhẹ nhàng nhưng mình thích nó.
Tuyến nhân vật phụ không mấy nổi bật, nhưng họ là một phần tạo nên sự hài hước và động viên cho nhân vật chính. Và điều mình RẤT RẤT THÍCH nhé, đó là cách tác giả thể hiện sự "ham muốn" và tò mò trong tình yêu của hai nhân vật chính - nó không hề phản cảm mà còn hài hước, đáng yêu.
Một câu chuyện tình yêu vượt qua mặc định về giới tính lẫn ngoại hình, vừa dễ đọc và khiến mình thoải mái.
I received this manga from Netgalley in exchange of an honest review.
I was already in love with the cover and the blurb, but HOLY wow this book was adorable and the shipping level is way over 9000.
Meet Rui and Yuujirou. Two guys who are clearly in love, but both don't know the other loves them back. Yep. It is that kind of story and I was just giggling and eagerly waiting for them to discover that their love/like was mutual. Sure, at times it was a bit frustrating and I just wanted to reach in the manga to grab both of them and push them together (you know, how kids used to push dolls together to have them kiss?). Especially since Yuujirou is trying to ignore his feelings (because he thinks that Rui has no interest in him) and doing that by pushing away Rui. You can imagine that there are some arguments and some confusion, especially Rui doesn't get it. He just wants to be close to Yuujirou. And then when Yuujirou has a girl who is interested in him the confusion and the frustration just grows. Yep. It is getting fun!
I had a big big laugh at their friends/classmates reactions when they confessed to them about the love, without mentioning the name. These people instantly knew who they were talking about. Yeah, guys, you weren't being sneaky about it, everyone was already wondering when you guys would just get to it. Get dating.
I am happy we also saw conversations between our MCs and their friends. Well, Rui's friend also has an interest in him but Rui is totally oblivious. :P
The confession scene? A bit cliché, but I was also laughing my butt of at how silly it was. And swooning at how cute and fluffy it was.
And after that a new chapter begins in Rui and Yuujirou's life. Their relationship and the tons of sex they have. Teehee, yep. I loved that they didn't rush it, but instead took it easy. Or maybe it was more that no matter what both of them tried things got in between.
I love the fact that Yuujirou and Rui had such a big length difference. Rui is 186 and Yuujirou is 165. That so reminds me of me and my husband. I am 166 and he is 199. So I could well understand how Yuujirou felt when he saw his cute, oh so cute, childhood friend who he had a crush on tower over him. :P I gave up on trying to gain length as my growth stopped when I was around 15/16, but Yuujirou is drinking all the milk just to hope for a few centimetres more (won't work buddy, won't work).
The art. OMG guys, I just flailing about the art, it is fabulous and gorgeous. I love the character designs and then later on when they get together and have sex, oh wow! It is just so shiny. I definitely need to check out what this mangaka has done other than this manga because I want more.
I want to talk more about this book, but I think everyone knows that I totally LOVED this book! I would highly recommend it if you are looking for a cute, fluffy and funny read with likeable characters, tons of shipping, and hot scenes.
This is so pure and heartwarming! It's raining moe!
I love it when Rui smiles! He's so freaking adorable! And that FLOWER HAIR CLIP looks freaking good on him! Gah! I'm losing my mind, this is really sugary sweet yes, and at times angsty because of pining! But that's exactly the title, it isn't lying and is executed very well! BUT TOO MUCH FLUFF! AND THAT'S TOTALLY MY JAM! Seriously, mother, I've been sqealing like a pig here!
But the thing that I liked the most is how these two characters are childhood friends and since then had feelings for each other! I mean the connection! THAT IS MY FREAKING HOLIDAY TREAT TOO!
An eARC was provided by Diamond Book Distributors/Tokyopop via NetGalley in exchange for a review. Pub Date: 18 Feb 2020
Do you enjoy reading about a good mutual pining between two friends? If you do, Deko-boko Sugar Days would be the perfect light read for you!
Yuujirou Matsukaze has been close friends with Rui Hanamine since the two of them were little. He's s been Rui's protector since the beginning. How will he deal with his growing feelings for Rui who is now much taller for him to protect?
I love that the couple settled their issues through honesty and vulnerability. Their friends were also very supportive, pushing them towards each other. Communication is the key, always!
Another thing I love the most about this book is its lack of the traditional yaoi's dub-con elements. It also promoted proper preparation and safe sex, unlike some yaoi manga I've read years ago. They didn't just shove the D up the A.
Another volume of this manga would be lovely, but this is perfect on its own. Definitely worth reading!
I cannot emphasis how goddamn cute this book was. These two childhood friends have basically been in love their entire lives and are only now realizing it and trying to navigate it in the very awkward way that teens do. Hilarious and adorable and wow this was so so much fun!
I don't know how to articulate what I expected, but I do know this manga only delivered a small portion of it, hidden beneath a bunch of stuff I didn't particularly like. Since I don't really know how to properly collect my thoughts here, I'm just going to make lists. I like lists; they're easier than proper paragraphs.
The Plot
The main plot is the budding romance between a short (5'4" / 165cm) guy named Yuujirou and his tall (6' / 186cm) friend, Rui. It started when Yuujirou saved young Rui from a storm drain he'd fallen into and bloomed into a childhood crush when Yuujirou mistook the then-tiny Rui - who wore a barrette in his hair - for a girl. Yuujirou thought the crush died once he discovered the truth, but Rui's been stuck to him like glue ever since... and grown considerably taller and more masculine as he aged, despite still having a very soft and somewhat effeminate personality. (You see where this is going. I see where this is going. Nobody is surprised.) Now highschoolers, the duo clearly have feelings for each other, but - to quote a panel from the (translated) manga: "both of them [are] astoundingly oblivious."
The journey from friends to boyfriends to lovers is the plot, though far more time is spent as oblivious idiots than partners and things get very rushed once the inevitable relationship happens. Other than ridiculous conflict spawned from lack of communication, there isn't much substance to the plot other than watching these two fools bumble their way through to finding a relationship. I don't necessarily mind that, but I'm just saying: I'm out of plot to describe, here. It's mostly just about the friendship and relationship journey.
Things I Liked
Grumpy & Sunshine - Rui is a sweet guy who wears his heart on his sleeve and acts a bit immature. Yuujirou is a standoffish and brash guy who has a heart of gold beneath all the bravado and often lashes out because he doesn't know how to handle having strong emotions. Opposites attract and whatnot.
Friends to Lovers - I love this trope. I enjoy the automatic chemistry it comes with and the sweetness often found in these kind of relationships.
Realizing Sexuality - I like exploration of characters coming to the realization that maybe what society led them to think is the default doesn't fit their actual interests.
Acceptance - I love a good, realistic story about the perils of navigating a world full of homophobia (because I relate), but I also sometimes just desperately crave something fluffy and saccharine where the people in the main characters' lives are happy for and accepting of them. This contains the latter, and that's exactly what I was in the mood for at the time, so it worked out well. (This isn't a spoiler; whether they'd be accepted isn't really a concern in the plot.)
Gentle Giant - I am a bit of a sucker for the trope of big (in this case tall) guys who aren't particularly athletic and who are into softer things like fashionable accessories and cooking. Rui fits this trope perfectly and I adored that.
Things I Felt Neutral About
Art Style - While there's plenty of detail in the sexualized panels, most of the art in other portions is rushed and lazy and makes the characters look either far too young or, quite often, like they're only vaguely humanoid. I wasn't expecting a masterpiece and I've come to grudgingly accept the abundance of chibi stuff in manga, though, so I shrugged it off.
The Sex - There were some really strange things like a lowkey sweat fetish and random boners (which, okay, is probably realistic). I also kept waiting for the smut... and then felt very lukewarm about it when it arrived. By then, the characters had been so juvenile in behaviour and art style that there was an edge of tonal dissonance when finally they reached that point. It was kind of steamy, albeit with some cringe-worthy dialogue, and overall not awful. I actually kind of liked that it wasn't the most perfect thing and there were insecurities involved. But also, it just felt so strangely out of place by time it arrived. And nowhere near as steamy as I'd have wanted.
Things I Disliked
Nonsensical Dramatics - I know, I know; it's as much a part of manga as it is a part of soap operas, but I just didn't like how the dramatics were handled here. We get absurdity like Yuujirou slamming his fists against a wall while walking to school with Rui, lamenting the crush he's keeping secret. It's just way too melodramatic and ridiculous, especially when these moments get addressed directly by other characters. Ick.
Fourth Wall Breaking - I only slightly tolerate when Deadpool does this. I don't like fourth wall breaks in general, and they're especially ridiculous here in that the story narration gets addressed as actually spoken aloud and then someone gets scolded for breaking the fourth wall. I am very much not a fan of this.
Repetitive Plot Beats - They are clearly in love and jealous of each other's potential other partners and desperate to be together. They are both clearly lusting after one another. There are clear self-esteem issues and communication issues. And these things just keep coming up over and over and over and... It isn't fresh and gets annoying quickly.
Silliness - I don't know how to articulate this, but the best way I can figure is to say that the whole "Rui fell in a storm gutter" thing is a recurring trope and treated as something constantly flashed back to as well. There's just far too much ridiculousness here. (Paradoxically, I got a few good giggles out of the random animal placements, especially when their pets have a "are you kidding us?!" moment over their obliviousness of the mutual crush.) I like a little fluff and a little silliness, but it was amped to eleven in this and I needed it to be toned down a lot for me to truly enjoy the story.
Overall Opinion
Yuujirou and Rui make for a cute couple, but the journey to get there was too littered in things I can't stand. I wanted more spice, but when I got it I was underwhelmed and conflicted by the rest of the manga's tone. This one didn't work for me, and I'm aware some of my gripes are probably unfair due to how common the tropes are, but hey this is about my personal reading experience and for me this just wasn't particularly enjoyable.
Yuujirou rescued Rui from a childhood scrape, and they've been friends ever since. Also, Yuujirou has nursed a crush all the way into high school... and is dismayed that cute, kind-hearted Rui grew a whole head taller than him! It's extremely obvious that the feelings are returned, but it takes a couple chapters for these two to get their shit together and confess. Silly and sweet.
A pretty cute manga with childhood friends to lovers trope. I thought Yuujirou and Rui were a great match, personality and temper-wise.
I wasn't a fan of this becoming an explicit manga at the end, but that's just personal preference (they're only like 16-17). I will try to get my hands on vol 2.
3,5 stars. The plot was okay... The art was definitely what drew me into this story. The characters all look so beautiful!
I was gonna buy the physical copy of this and then read it, but it has spicy stuff so I can't buy it because I live with my dad who is very homophobic... So I decided it was best to read it online. But now I don't know if I even wanna buy the physical copy because i didn't enjoy it that much.
This was cute - I'm always a sucker for mutual pining and childhood-friends-to-lovers!
To be honest, I mostly went into this because the couple gave me Iwaizumi/Oikawa from Haikyuu vibes (though Rui is much more wholesome than Oikawa). I ended up enjoying this quite a bit. I wasn't prepared for the smut, though. As an adult, I was a bit uncomfortable when reading about teenagers having sex. It's funny how age puts things into perspective.
I also think I would've liked to see more of the mutual pining. I needed a bit more tension.
Overall, I enjoyed the story, but I think I would've liked it even more if they were a bit older (in university, maybe?).
I've received an e-ARC by publisher through Netgalley in exchange for honest review.
Dekoboko Sugar Days by Atsuko Yusen is a standalone BL/yaoi manga, that's being published by Tokyopop in February 2020. I was lucky enough to have a chance to read in advance. I regret nothing. BL is one of my most favorite genre of manga in general because it has everything I like - romance, relationships in general, sex and hot men. Perfect! (Being fujoshi really helps with this, ehm...).
Dekoboko tells the story about two childhood friends who have crush on each other but never confessed to each other. Yuujirou had a height complex since he was a kid. His crush Rui is over six feet tall that certainly doesn't help. Out of all the yaoi I've read recently, Sugar Days were definitely my most favorite. I am a sucker for childhood friends trope and I just loved the way Atsuko Yusen made their relationship. Sure, it might've been a little bit of cliché, but I couldn't stop grinning. It was too cute.
Most of the story focuses on the relationship itself and on the slow path to confessing. It was my most favorite part of the whole story - I was rooting for both of them equeally. Everything's wrapped in a really nice art - author's artstyle is very clean and pleasant to look at. We get a little bit of sex scenes in the end - but that's just bonus and nothing too graphic!
Recommending to everyone looking for a cute BL romcom. My rating is maybe a little bit subjective, but whatevs!
Reread 3/28/22 I've missed these boys so much!!! I'm rereading before starting book 2, which by the way I didn't even know was a thing until about a month before its release! I'm bumping the rating up to 5 stars because this was even cuter the second time around.
Original Review 5/31/21 This story is adorable. It features Yuujirou Matsukaze and his love interest Rui Hanamine. Yuujirou used to be Rui's "knight in shining armor" when they were younger but by high school Rui towers over Yuujirou at 6' to his 5'4". This, along with the fact that Rui manages to keep his adorably cute features and personality, leaves Yuujirou both flustered and frustrated whenever he's around.
Rui still loves being around "Yuyu" and doesn't understand why he's been acting different toward him. When he hears rumors that Yuujirou has a girlfriend he's surprised by how upset he is.
This story was way cuter than it had any right to be. I can't exactly put my finger on what makes it so charming (since the childhood friends to lovers trope has been used in BL ad nauseum) but there's definitely something here that makes it stand out among the rest. 4 stars
Rui is tall, energetic, sweet, and prone to fretting. Yuujirou is athletic, short, and has a complex about his height. The two high schoolers have been friends since they were children. Rui had fallen into a gutter and Yuujirou rescued him. At the time, Yuujirou thought Rui was a very cute girl...and fell instantly in love. Even after he found out that Rui was actually a boy, he couldn't shake his feelings, and it's getting harder and harder to hide them. What Yuujirou doesn't know is that Rui is starting to realize that his feelings of deep admiration for his friend might actually be love.
I hate myself a little for giving Tokyopop any of my money. I'm still bitter about the licenses they left in limbo and series that went unfinished after the company imploded. But this looked really cute, so I ignored my bitter feelings and bought it.
And it was cute, for the most part. The first half was devoted to Yuujirou and Rui's mutual pining. In the second half, they'd finally admitted how they felt about each other but were still feeling their way around being boyfriends in addition to childhood friends. And FYI, unlike a lot of one-shots, the entire volume is devoted to this one couple - no spinoff bonus stories at the end, and no unrelated older works by the same author. I appreciated that, although I wouldn't have said no to a bonus story devoted to Takenaka, the sad stud doomed to unrequited love.
My favorite part of the volume was the first half. I love mutual pining. I love the anticipation of the moment the characters finally realize that the person they love loves them back. This volume gave me a good deal of that, and it was fun.
Yuujirou's efforts to push Rui away were a little annoying, but understandable (poor Yuujirou and his embarrassing and inconvenient boners). I was more annoyed by the introduction of the freshman girl who had a crush on Yuujirou - Yuujirou didn't seem like the kind of guy who'd try out a relationship he wasn't into, even in an effort to hide his feelings for Rui, and it irked me that the girl didn't even get to have a name or a face (her eyes were always obscured by her hair).
Yuujirou was more aware of his feelings than Rui, so Rui's part of the story was more about him examining his admiration for Yuujirou and realizing what his friend meant to him. He was a complete sweetheart. Also, it was just a little thing, but I got a kick out of the visual gag involving his cat. Every time Rui was on his bed, fretting about Yuujirou, his cat came by to step on his face.
The second half of the volume was where dating and sex came in. The dating was fun - Yuujirou and Rui were two adorable dorks who were interested in sex but too used to going out as friends to know how to move things along. They eventually figured things out, though, and that's where my feelings about the story got a little iffier.
On the plus side, they were both 100% on board with sex - no rapey tinge, although there was one instance of accidental voyeurism (if there really are love hotel rooms like that, then eww). On the minus side, after a whole volume of adorable awkwardness on both their parts, Yuujirou suddenly became the sexy and perfect seme to Rui's blushing uke. Considering that their sex education seemed to be a bit shaky (it sure looked like the sex advice book Rui bought was intended for women, or possibly heterosexual couples) and that they were both high school students having sex for the first time ever, I'd have expected some awkwardness.
Now for the artwork. I mostly liked it. Characters' facial expressions were great, but it bugged me a little that Yuujirou and Rui's face shapes and body types were somewhat inconsistent. I occasionally mistook Takenaka for Yuujirou, and Rui had weird moments when he suddenly looked more buff. As far as the explicitness level goes, yes, there's on-page sex, but any potentially objectionable body parts were obscured. Fairly tame, despite the "Mature, Ages 18+" rating on the back. (Side note: manga ratings drive me nuts and aren't very helpful. I have one that's rated 16+ that's way more explicit than this.)
Anyway, despite my complaints I still enjoyed this overall and even reread the first three quarters or so a couple times. It's one of those rare one-shots that I think was exactly as long as it needed to be.
Extras:
Two full-color illustrations (on matte paper rather than the usual glossy) and a brief afterword by the author, with a cute illustration of Yuujirou, Rui, and a cat.
4/5 March 3rd, 2021 - reread ------------------------------------------------------------------------------ 4/5
This was one of the most cutest, lovely, squeal worthy manga's I have read in awhile. Not saying that I haven't read other squeal worthy BL mangas but this one was just perfect. First of all I would like to thank the author for creating a CONSENSUAL relationship! I have noticed the biggest theme in BL manga's to be something along the lines of "rape to romance" which I think is not a good representation for gay relationships. So Thank You Yusen for creating such a cute consensual relationship that had my heart swooning.
I just loved the dynamic of Rui and Yuujirou - I think that it was super cute how they had a height difference and the main plot was kind of around that. I love the mini angst we are given and ugh I couldn't stop squealing when Rui was being such a cutey. There is literally nothing to complain about when it comes to the romance.
I also LOVED the art work. I think it was stunning and simplistic. Lately my manga's have been so in detail that this was a nice break. It was also a nice break because it was a single volume and didn't have to get invested into a bunch of characters.
My only nit-pick thing was that I don't like how this was a gay stereo-typed relationship where there was a "feminine" partner and a "masculine" partner. These are very noticeable traits in both the characters, with Yuu being the sporty jock and Rui being the "cutey" princess like boy. I mean it was adorable but I find it frustrating that when it comes to gay relationships people assume that there is a feminine and masculine side. Yes, some people carry these personality traits naturally but it's not specific to gay relationships. I feel like authors use this stereotype to make gay relationships look like a "typical" hetero relationship so straight people can recognize who the "guy" is and who the "girl" is.
So silly.
Anyways, this was so cute and definitely gave me the pick me up I needed with such a hellish week...and helped with my awful reading slump.
Vor einer Weil las ich Unsere Gemeinsamen Tage derselben Mangaka und war nicht wirklich angetan. Dennoch wollte ich Deko Boko eine Chance geben, da sich dieser im englischen Raum großer Beliebtheit erfreut.
Darin begleiten Lesende die Sandkastenfreunde Yurijo und Rui, mitsamt ihren Gedanken und Gefühlen füreinander. Ich finde es immer schön, in beide Köpfe der Protagonisten zu gucken. Zudem ist es hier ausgewogen, sodass ich mich in beide Parteien hineinversetzen kann.
Der Fokus der Handlung liegt hierbei vollständig auf dem Couple. Die Nebencharaktere dienen eher dem Fluss der Geschichte. Wobei ich sagen muss, dass ich Yujiros Kumpel und sein Art großartig finde. Die Handlung hingegen ist eher ruhig und beschränkt sich vorwiegend auf Sequenzen des Miteinanders oder auf Gespräche mit Klassenkameraden. Wodurch es manchmal episodisch wirkt.
Insgesamt musste ich viel lachen, fand die beiden wirklich zuckersüß und habe das Lesen genossen. Kurzum, sie haben mein Herz erwärmt. Was ich mir allerdings für Band 2 wünschen würde, wären noch ein paar zusätzliche Charakterzüge für die Protagonisten. Denn Yujiro ist bisher einfach der typische Tsundere und Rui der niedliche, leicht aufgedrehte Sonnenschein.
Grafisch ist der Manga recht einfach gehalten, das betrifft vor allem die Hintergründe. Daran störe ich mich allerdings überhaupt nicht, auch wenn ich detailreichere Zeichenstile favorisiere.
This is such a cute manga about Yuujirou, a tough guy who has a very girly best friend (Rui), who happens to be taller than him! It gives him what I would call "small dog syndrome" if he were a dog, and he gets all barky about it. Poor Yuujirou. It doesn't help that he has a crush on his adorable (and tall) bestie, either.
Don't be fooled by the adorable art style - this BL manga is super steamy so be prepared for this-book-should-be-shrink-wrapped-in-plastic levels of heat! I was expecting this to be a little more of rom-com and was expecting more of a slow burn and build to Yuujirou and Rui's relationship, but they actually get there remarkably quickly. This reads a little more on the erotica side of romance, but the way they stumble in the beginning and then come together and learn about ... certain things... together is really great. I felt really bad for Rui's friend, though! Poor guy.
An ARC of this book was provided by the publisher via NetGalley for review. All opinions are unbiased and my own.
This is a fairly cute BL manga about two childhood friends who fall in love. If you like the grumpy but soft on the inside and clumsy cute guys then this will fit that appetite.
The "spice" in this one is minimal, but the romance is fairly slow burn and really sweet to read. It's both a love at first sight and a coming of age/coming out story.
This is such a lovely friends to lovers story with great artwork. I enjoyed reading this. It is a great mix of love and humour with well developed characters. If you enjoy manga you will definitely enjoy this one.
Copy provided via Netgalley in exchange for an unbiased review.
Mal ein BL, der im Schulbereich spielt, der mir mal weider gefällt. Er ist sehr süß und hübsch gezeichnet, besonders nice ist das der Seme SEHR viel kleiner ist als der Uke, und beide sind unglaublich schlecht mit kommunikation :D was sehr witzig ist. Generell ist der ganze Manga sehr soft und lieb gestaltet, die Chibis sind süß und die Missverständnisse auch sehr lustig.