RePlay

by Saki Tsukahara

Yuuta and Ritsu have been childhood friends and part of the same baseball club for years, but after being defeated in a local tournament over the summer, the two decide to quit the club and begin studying for the same university. Still, Yuuta finds himself unable to give up his lingering attachment to baseball. The one person who can truly understand him is Ritsu. But there's something Yuuta himself doesn't understand... Does he think of Ritsu as his partner in the way that a teammate would, or is the affection between them something stronger?

Genres: Manga, Romance, LGBT, Yaoi, Sports, Queer, Contemporary

192 pages, Paperback

First published January 1, 2018

Reviews

[moonlight ☾ [semi-hiatus]]

4.5 stars ☆

THIS WAS SO FREAKING CUTE!! 😭🥰

[sil ♡ the book voyagers · Rating 5 out of 5]

Oh this cute, fun childhood friends to lovers romance manga made my day! I highly recommend it if you're looking for a one-volume love story. It features the childhood friends to lovers trope, baseball, SO MUCH PINING, and a cute romance.

It does get a little bit steamy towards the end tho, just to let you know.

[hope · Rating 3 out of 5]

they were cute but i was so bored 😭

[Chesca (thecrownedpages) · Rating 5 out of 5]

An ARC was provided by Diamond Book Distributors/Tokyopop via NetGalley in exchange for a review.
Pub Date: 04 Feb 2020

Saki Tsukahara's Replay is about Yuta and Ritsu, two young men who grew up playing baseball together. They were inseparable until they both quit the sport and they started drifting apart. Yuta is now tested: Would he choose to play baseball or to reach out to his best friend and try to get into the same university as Ritsu?

So swoon-worthy! I haven't read manga for years before this, and Replay makes me want to get back to reading plenty of them.

I adore Yuta and Ritsu's relationship and how it blossomed into something more and beyond baseball, from confusing feelings beneath the surface to college choices. Although this was just one volume, their story was well and neatly developed. Nothing is needed to improve it, in my opinion, but it's so good that I need more of this couple!

I highly recommend this to anyone who enjoys young adult and/or new adult romance.

[Rod Brown · Rating 3 out of 5]

A cute little done-in-one romance between a high school pitcher and his catcher. Mizuhara, the pitcher, is a little dumb and oblivious and scattered, while Mashino is quietly dominating and knows what he wants. Their inevitable spiral of their interactions put a little smile on my face.

[Cristina · Rating 4 out of 5]

Very sweet and tender manga focusing on two school friends who have to renegotiate their relationship after stopping to play baseball in high school.

Lovely characters and very nice art.

[Keiko, the manga enthusiast ♒︎ · Rating 4 out of 5]

From here on out, it’ll be completely new territory.

This is still beautiful albeit with a few dull moments now—the last inning is still my favorite part.

Review no. 1 • December 29, 2023

This is so beautiful, I just can't! I'm teary-eyed here!!

This story has long been dusted on my shelf, buried by other stories I'm anticipating to read. Had I known this was this beautiful, I would have cracked it open as fast as I could. The art style? Beautiful—I mean divine. It was an eye candy that I swore Saki Tsukahara have golden hands to have painted such gorgeous artwork. That is how beautiful it is. And the plot, I'm a sucker for childhood friends. The past, baseball—their game, what it symbolizes in their life, their friendship, starting anew without baseball that built their relationship, the longing stare, the angst—I swear to G, my mouth couldn't stop smiling and crying at the same time. I just love them so much. WHY DIDN'T I READ IT SOONER?

[Chelsea 🏳️‍🌈 · Rating 4 out of 5]

This was really cute! Yuta was a really cute character and this is a cute little friends to lovers romance.

Yuta and Ritsu are in their final year of high school and working hard to get into the same university. Well, Ritsu was working hard, Yuta was still trying to relive his baseball glory days. I think this is a cute romance where baseball was the thing that tied them together from the time they were in 3rd grade. As the story progresses, Yuta realizes he cared more about keeping the magic between him and Ritsu, not just baseball itself.

So, it's a recommend from me if you like friends to lovers romances. It's a little spicy towards the end.

[Reading_ Tamishly · Rating 5 out of 5]

Why isn’t anybody making an adaptation of this manga 😭

[Vendea · Rating 4 out of 5]

I've received an e-ARC by publisher through Netgalley in exchange for honest review.

RePlay by Saki Tsukahara is a standalone yaoi/BL manga, that's being published in February 2020 by Tokyopop. It's focused on two ex-baseball high school players who share more than their passion for this sport. Tsukahara's art style is pretty unique and pleasant to look at. Compared to other yaois out there, this one is not only focused on relationship itself, but also on boys' future, their fears and their passion for the sport. I'm not a big fan of sport manga myself but I liked the way author's woven love for baseball into the story.

Yuuta still feels lingering for the baseball and can't believe it's really over. The only one who can truly understand him is Ritsu. Ritsu seems to be over that though and only looks towards the future in university. Both of them slowly realize love for baseball is not the only thing they share. Progress of their relationship is pretty slow (for my taste), but it doesn't mean it was bad. I was a little bit of confused about it halfway through though. As for the sex scenes, nothing graphic and only in the end.

You like sports and BL? Check RePlay out. It's more than that!

4/5*

[小さな N (.❛ ᴗ ❛.)⊃ [_|_] ♡ · Rating 3 out of 5]

3.5 stars

02.2020:

It's pretty much what's in the blurb.

Ritsu is done with baseball and wants to lead a normal collage-life after their exams. Yuuta who still wants to play with him is hurt because he doesn't understand why Ritsu became so cold towards him. He also has to figure out if he really wants to pursue baseball seriously without Ritsu in the future.
Yuuta and Ritsu's relationship starts in the second half of the story and develops a bit slower than is normal for a one volume manga, but I liked that. Ritsu wants Yuuta to focus on his future, to study for his exams and to figure out what he wants when it comes to baseball. He doesn't want to do things halfways so he wants to wait with taking their relationship further. I liked that when they talk about having sex, Ritsu says he will restrain himself which he actually does. Beforehand he kisses Yuuta unexpectedly and forcefully, though.

[Readingmanga · Rating 4 out of 5]

Beautiful friendship, beautiful relationship and beautiful art style. 🫶🏻

[Meagan (FranticVampireReads) · Rating 5 out of 5]

This was so good! It took a minute to get into it, but once I was hooked I couldn’t put it down. I loved how much humor was infused through this. And I loved the way that Ritsu and Yuta cared so deeply for each other that even their friends called them an old married couple. I loved that Ritsu was the one to admit his feelings first and that Yuta realized he had maybe also been a little in love with Ritsu the whole time. Honestly I could read a whole other book following them in their college life and beyond. Especially after that bonus chapter! They just looked so in love and like they were having the best of college life and the sport that brought them together. Replay is getting a five out of five stars!

[Rebecca · Rating 4 out of 5]

This is all kinds of sweet. It's a low-stakes romance - we really are never in doubt about the couple - but seeing things work out for them is heartening nonetheless. Tokyopop may have a patchy history (to put it mildly), but they've been doing a great job with their BL choices since their return to the English-language market.

[Xantababy · Rating 5 out of 5]

One of the best oneshots I’ve read. It’s actually quite long for a oneshot.

[S a n d r a · Rating 4 out of 5]

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Cuando vi este título entre las ofertas de NetGalley, no lo dudé: llevaba un tiempo con Tsukahara en mi punto de mira. ¡Me encanta su arte! Tiene una forma de dibujar preciosa, y para mí el arte es una parte tan importante como la historia en sí.

Este título es muy dulce, la primera parte es muy blandita, no contiene escenas explícitas y se centra en presentarnos a los protagonistas y el desarrollo de su historia. Primero conocemos a Yuta, nuestro protagonista principal que, a punto de graduarse del instituto, ha terminado con su etapa en el club deportivo y se ha despedido del Beisbol. Por otro lado tenemos a Ritsu, su mejor amigo, quien también pertenecía al equipo. Tras finalizar las actividades deportivas, Ritsu se ha vuelto extrañamente distante con Yuta, no tiene tiempo para dedicarle y está totalmente centrado en los exámenes de acceso a la universidad. Yuta no comprende su actitud y comienzan a darse una serie de circunstancias y malentendidos que van llevando su relación a un nuevo punto.

La trama como tal es muy sencillita, la autora pretende con esta historia explorar cómo evoluciona la relación de dos chicos que llevan siendo como uña y carne más de diez años y que, por una serie de circunstancias, pasan por un cambio trascendental en la dinámica de su relación. Los celos, el miedo a perder lo que tienen al pasar del instituto a la universidad y dejar el beisbol atrás, los obliga a plantearse lo que de verdad quieren el uno del otro.

Este es uno de esos títulos que presentan una relación 100% sana, sin demasiadas vueltas argumentales y dramones excesivos... No, no es un manga que te cambie la vida, pero sí lo que quieres es un BL bonito no solo artísticamente hablando (porque es innegable que el dibujo es precioso) sino también argumentalmente, esta es una opción perfecta para vosotros.

Al investigar el título en bakaupdates he visto que es un tomo único y que no tiene spinoffs de ninguna clase, lo que en parte me apena porque dos de los personajes secundarios, Satoshi y Shima, son un amor y me encantaría tener una historia sobre ellos. Mantengo la esperanza de que ocurra en un futuro, ya que este título fue publicado originalmente en 2018, lo que deja tiempo a la mangaka para escribir algo sobre ellos.

[Gladis · Rating 4 out of 5]

4.5 כוכבים

יוטה וריצו הם חברי ילדות שמשחקים בייסבול יחד מאז שהיו ילדים, אבל כאשר מגיע שלב שבו הם צריכים לפרוש מנבחרת התיכון כדי ללמוד למבחני הקבלה באוניברסיטה

שניהם רוצים להתקבל לאותה אוניברסיטה ויוטה מוצא את עצמו חצוי בין הרצון להמשיך לשחק בייסבול לבין הצורך ללמוד לבחני הקבלה ואם זה לא מספיק ריצו שתמיד הבין ותמך בו מגיש מרוחק והקשר ביניהם לא כמו שהיה

יוטה שואל את עצמו שאלות בקשר לבייסבול ובקשר לריצו והוא מנסה להבין מה הם התחושות שהוא מרגיש, חיבה חברית או משהו חזק יותר?

סיפור חברי ילדות לאוהבים מקסים, היחסים ביניהם חמודים והם ממש כמו זוג נשוי והיה מרגש לראות את הגילויים שלהם על עצמם ועל מערכת היחסים שלהם בעתיד ובנוסף היו כמה רגעים לוהטים בסוף המנגה שממש הוסיפו

[august · Rating 5 out of 5]

The ARC of this manga was provided by the publisher via NetGalley in exchange for an honest review.

This is was so amazing oh gosh. Usually these have some kind of homophobia in them but this was great from the start!!! Both of the characters were so so cute and they'd been pining after each other :') And I love sports romance so much!!! I definitely recommend this one!

[Ray Flores · Rating 4 out of 5]

Two guys who have been playing baseball since they were kids fall for each other, but they have trouble understanding their own feelings ‘cause growing up means to change and they might not be willing to do so if that means falling apart from each other.

Fortunately, they find their common ground and start a sweet and beautiful relationship. In a few words this was a coming-to-age, friends-to-lovers kind of story.

The art is beautiful and it’s the main reason I’m leveling this up to a 4/5.

[Amy · Rating 4 out of 5]

So cute! Finally a BL that's sweet, consensual, non-problematic and straightforward without a third act breakup or too much miscommunication. I loved the childhood best friends to lovers trope, and both characters are so adorable together!

4/5 🌟

[kerri leo · Rating 3 out of 5]

This was really sweet and the art is gorgeous. My only complaint is the character of Ritsu could’ve been a bit more developed but overall super cute read.

[luna · Rating 4 out of 5]

Yaaaaaa! Why is it too short??? I wanna read more TT but the art is perfect 👍🏻 I love it until yaoi part, still good

[Leila ✨ · Rating 4 out of 5]

¿A Ritsu? Absolutamente toda.

4 de 5 estrellas.

[thea ♡ · Rating 4 out of 5]

irl recommended and i adore!

[Jessica · Rating 4 out of 5]

A really cute friends-to-lovers story!

[sato.mi.a · Rating 4 out of 5]

4.5⭐️
дуже дуже мила манга 🥺❤️‍🩹

[Michelle Easton · Rating 5 out of 5]

I’ve said it once and I’ll say it again. High school friends to lovers is one of my favorite tropes of all time.

Yuuta and Ritsu are so adorable together, and their journey to finding themselves in each other is beautiful. High school baseball was finally made interesting for me.

[Curious Madra · Rating 4 out of 5]

Very cute Yaoi with two baseball Bois 🥰

[April Snow · Rating 5 out of 5]

10/10 would recommend reading this on the floor at a barnes and noble

[Sparkling Lemonade · Rating 4 out of 5]

Chinese title: Replay 新的開始

This one has 神率 of 37.3% on Chil-Chil.
4⭐️

I really like Tsukahara Saki sensei’s shoujo manga drawing style, all her characters look very beautiful. However I have to admit storytelling is not her strong suit… Replay was released at the same time as Blue Note, the art and plot have improved compared to her earlier works Powder Snow Melancholy and Escape Drop.

What you get here is a pure and sweet best friends to lovers story, a simple plot without drama. The pace can be a bit slow for first half of the book, I appreciate there’s no sex scenes until the last chapter.

The seme 真篠 律 (catcher) and uke 水原 悠太 (pitcher) are in their last year of high school, they’ve been baseball partners for 10 years, since they first met in 3rd grade when the big boys didn’t want to play with them. These two are best friends and the classmates all call them a married couple, the seme is the wife and the uke is the husband. They’ve now completed the playoff season, the team lost at the district finals, so the boys have retired and switched to study mode for university entrance exams.

The seme has been distancing himself away from the uke, he’s declining the uke’s invites and told the uke to play less and study more. The seme’s a lot smarter than the uke so he could go to better university but he’s aiming for S University because that’s where the uke wants to go.

The coach 古谷 invited the boys to help out at summer training camp for the younger students. The seme is jealous of the coach’s friendly interactions with the uke. as he’s mature and has a car, the uke is always excited about taking a ride with him.

The uke wonders if the seme is hiding something from him, the other boys guessed that seme might have found a girlfriend. The uke got distracted and his face got hit by soccer during gym class, so the coach helped to treat his nosebleed. When the seme rushed over to the medical room, the uke just took off the sports top that he borrowed from the seme that got blood strains, the seme urged him to quickly put on school uniform or he’d get cold.

One day, the uke went over to the seme’s home to study together before their cram school, while the seme’s mom left to drink tea at uke’s home. The uke jokingly asked if the seme wanted to eat dinner first or eat him first. The seme said they are only a married couple when playing baseball, now they are just friends. The uke said he wants to be together even if they don’t play baseball anymore…

The next day, the uke and the coach were in the car on the way to shopping for the training camp, they drove passed the seme and an older girl walking close to S University entrance… The coach introduced uke to his friend 嶋, a professional catcher who’s retired and now teaching at N University. The catcher has watched the uke in action previously and praised his throw, said he can recommend uke to N University if he still wants to play baseball.

The uke was lying in bed and looking at the university flyer and a childhood photo of the two boys, he thought about what baseball meant to him and that seme is the driving force for his performance. The seme came over to uke’s room to check on him and saw his red eyes… The uke bursted out the room and said he will divorce the seme and find a new wife at N University so seme can go off with the girlfriend.

The seme later came to uke’s home and picked him up in a car, he’s been secretly taking driving lessons and just got his temporary license, his mom sat at the back of the car while seme gave uke a ride in the neighborhood. The seme wanted to keep it a surprise for uke’s birthday, the girl was from the driving center.

At the baseball training camp, the two boys had complicated feelings training with others, as they are the perfect partners in pitching and catching. The seme taught a younger student how to catch uke’s throw, he also watched the professional catcher 嶋 in the field. The seme offered to cut uke’s fringe, he told the uke to go to N University and he will meet good catchers even if it’s not him…

Uke got scared at night and couldn’t sleep because of the wind and trees outside. Then it started raining so the boys rushed out to cover up the bases because there’s a match tomorrow. The uke told the seme that he’d give up the recommendation for N University and stop playing baseball. The two got super soaked and took off the wet clothes, the seme confessed to the uke, kissed and hugged him. The relationship between the two boys have been reset.

The boys started dating but their interactions haven’t changed much, other than kissed a few times occasionally. The uke’s frustrated with studying and his test marks are below the requirement to get into S University… For uke’s birthday the seme drove him to library to pick up study material and brought a cake to eat at home. The seme told the uke to focus on studying and don’t get distracted, he will patiently wait until after the exams to do more things with the uke.

Fortunately the boys were able to get into S University, the seme already moved out of home and got permission from uke’s mom to live together. The uke’s amazed by the beautiful river view outside and thanks the seme for doing the flat hunting by himself. The two boys finally hit a home run and it’s happily ever after~