Yakuza Lover, Vol. 1

恋と弾丸 [Koi to Dangan] #1

by Nozomi Mino

When feisty college student Yuri is attacked at a party, she’s saved by Toshiomi Oya, the underboss of a yakuza syndicate. Despite her obvious attraction to him, she convinces herself that she’s not in the market for a bad boy type. But when they meet again, she finds herself irresistibly drawn to him—kicking off a steamy and dangerous love affair that threatens to consume her, body and soul.

After the atack at the party, Yuri goes to see Oya to thank him for saving her and as much as she hates to admit it, she can't deny there's an attraction. However, when tragedy strikes, Yuri attempts to turn her back on Oya and his dangerous lifestyle for good—but will the allure prove too great to resist?

Genres: Manga, Romance, Josei, Contemporary, Graphic Novels, Adult, Contemporary Romance

200 pages, Paperback

First published February 26, 2019

Reviews

[mina reads™️ · Rating 3 out of 5]

This is sort of an insta-lovey mess but I had fun. Yuri is cool if a bit silly and Oya is sexy so volume two here I come 😁

[Aisling Zena · Rating 4 out of 5]

4 stars

I blame Disney+. It's their fault I went down the manga rabbit hole again. I resisted for a long time to go down that route once more. I love them but I'm picky and impatient. These traits don't go well when you live in the edge of the Med. But things have changed since the last time I got obsessed with manga (Tomu Ohmi specifically). There's even a handy app now! Tapas! I now have another reason to be glued on my phone. At this rate I'll never get anything done.



Anyway, back to the book at hand. I watched Yakuza Lover in Disney+, loved it, realised it was based on a manga and here I am! I loved the tv show and the manga. It was the cheesiest, sweetest, makes you smile incessantly, series I've watched/read. And it was a serious breath of fresh air as well. A Yakuza underboss, boss and syndicate whose creed is to harm no women, no matter what. I just enjoyed it so much and I really hope it continues in both formats.

I don't know what else to say really. If you don't watch, read, you're missing out especially if you like cheese and marshmallows(meaning it's sweet, soft and squishy).



P.S. As I was in a rush writing this I forgot to specify that the incessant smiling was because of the utterly adorable relationship between Yuri and Oya. A big Yakuza underboss being vulnerable and sweet and loving Yuri because of her strong nature but completely badass when she is threatened.

[Bookishrealm · Rating 3 out of 5]

Honestly, this isn’t a favorite. It’s not that I won’t complete the series but I think that this wasn’t exactly what I expected and I wanted to like it more than what I did. She’s a little too naive for me as a heroine, but we’ll see where the rest of the series goes.

[Dani · Rating 4 out of 5]

3.5-3.75 stars
My journey of mafia romances has brought me to this 😌

Mafia, manga, the Yakuza... This was fun. Loved that:
- He spoils her constantly. And the private jet!!!
- Their interactions were cute (albeit quite insta-lovey, but I don't mind it too much in this format)

The design of the male character Oya threw me of a bit, since he looked hot in some scenes but then he looked like a typical anime MC in others when his hairstyle covers half his face, shows only one eye (NOOOOO the bane of my existence) and those ugly glasses. Wasn't a fan of that and he didn't look like an underboss to me lmao.

Like the author prefaced, there were some silly moments but this was passionate. Well said.
I'll pick up the second volume when I'm in need of a palate cleanser, or something to help me with a reading slump (like right now 😭)

[Rod Brown · Rating 2 out of 5]

"Yuri, when I saw you standing outside . . . my heart was struck by Cupid's arrow."

My but this cheese is thick.

"With the way I live . . . I don't have time to wait for the 'right' moment."

And deep.

"Yuri . . . let's get even hotter . . . and make love like it's our last night together."

"I'll call you again . . . if I'm still alive."

Sooooooo deep.

"Oya. I'm ready to be your lover now."

"You need to know that I've always been a very possessive man. Once I grab hold of something, I never let go."

Cheese all the way down.

"It took every bit of my willpower not to act on my impulses. I wanted to give you a choice. But . . . I can't hold myself back anymore. Let me make love to you."

"If this is what he wants . . . then I'll do it. I'll do anything for him. Because this time . . could be our last time."

If only I had the appetite for it.

Laughably bad. But maybe deliberately so? Which isn't as funny, eh?

[readerleah☆ﾐ · Rating 1 out of 5]

i need everyone to know that when this man leaves he says ‘if i call you it means i’m still alive’ every. time. he also buys her earrings and says ‘this means that even your pierced ears belong to me’
this is the last time i take book recs from tik tok

[Dani(elle) · Rating 3 out of 5]

Thin on plot but lots of steamy sex. And, given DCs recent Batman revelations, I believe it is important to say Oya is no hero ;)

My one complaint is there is something about the art bugs me but I can't put my finger on what. I will think on it.

EDIT: as someone pointed out in the comments, the art issue is one of tonal dissonance. It's very cutesy, kinda old school shojo style art, making our main look pretty young then a few pages you get on page sex. It's a little off putting.

[Shae · Rating 5 out of 5]

I AM ENTIRELY OBSESSED WITH THIS SERIES!! I adore the direction of the series, and this series is SMUTTY TO THE HILLS AND I AM THRIVING BECAUSE OF IT! I was excited when I heard about the release, but I am truly a long time fangirl for this series after this first volume.

If you would like my more in depth feelings about this title, please check out this review vlog! https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=-6vAl...

[Geoff · Rating 2 out of 5]

Not the book for me. The falling in love/lust at first sight, the off power dynamics, the sitcom plot, and the cardboard characters make this something less sexy than icky. I'm sure this has an audience but it's not the book for me.

**Thanks to the artist, publisher, and NetGalley for a free copy in exchange for an honest review.

[Kathreadsall · Rating 5 out of 5]

This Yakuza(japanese mafia) romance was so good!
⠀
Loved Yuri and Oya! Yuri is a bit insecure, but I love her honesty and temper! She will not put up with random guys hitting on her and I love her for it!
⠀
Oya is her Yakuza lover, and this manga has a good amount of smut, so keep that in mind. It's definitely insta love, but I like how they talk and go on dates and seem to really enjoy each other. I also loved the art so much! It captured their characters well.
⠀
Excited for the next volume!

[Sol · Rating 2 out of 5]

"He's so dangerous... people try to kill him... and yet, despite all of that... I'm still here."

This seriously, seriously sucked so bad. I enjoyed myself.

It was pure female fantasy slop that I can get behind. Yuri is saved by a terrifying bad-boy yakuza who is also a sweet doe-eyed gentleman who will do whatever she says or wants. He's sexy, he's cool, he's dangerous, he's cute, he's dominant, he's submissive, he's charming, he's terrifying, he's sweet, he's mysterious. Whatever you want!
Despite knowing literally nothing about each other's pasts, families, personalities, or anything, they vow to love each other forever and ever, amen, and get freaky crazy-style after only meeting twice for about five minutes at a time. It's so incredibly stupid and self-indulgent that I ended up having kind of a fun time. I found both protagonists somewhat charming and cute, even though this story is rushed to high hell, and both written and drawn as if the mangaka had her eyes closed the whole time. It's trash, and yet sometimes, I don't mind trash.

(Though I will speculate that maybe the only reason I found this even slightly enjoyable is because it basically throws stock tropes at your face without adding anything to them. These two basically have nothing else going on about them besides the cookie-cutter molds they've popped out from, but I guess if the cookie tastes good, it doesn't really matter?)

I will say, there's a scene that stood out to me where Oya, the dangerous yakuza lover in question, gives Yuri earrings that were made out of the bullet that he got shot in the head with. I thought that was crazy. This is followed by an exchange where Yuri bows with her head low, saying, "Oya... I promise you that I'll remain by your side until your dying day." And Oya responds:

"Yuri... I want to make all your wishes come true. No matter what they may be. That's how we treat women who have vowed to stay by our sides despite the lives we lead. I swear to love you... until my body is no more."

And I gotta say... it's a shame that such an exchange is hidden in a book this trashy, because I thought it was quite effective and romantic. If these two were actually well-written characters in a well-written story, that might have even moved me to tears. Alas, these two are only cardboard cutouts whose only basic purpose is to have sex with each other, so the meaning is a bit lost, but I still enjoyed that nugget of writing.

Probably won't continue this, but jury's still out. I feel very sated from this forbidden romance-drama trope since I finished Midnight Secretary, Vol. 01 and Firefly Wedding, Vol. 1-- indulging too much in this type of story is really exhausting. But I can't say I hate it or anything.

[asiya | アセヤ (free palestine)]

Sammy recommended this one to me, since we're both fellow dark romance girlies and manga girlies. 🌟

[Kayla · Rating 4 out of 5]

I have been looking for a manga romance focused on adults and I finally found one! This one is rated mature and I can see why. There were some spicy scenes here and I was all for it. If you are a fan of Coffee and Vanilla, then give this a try. Can't wait for volume 2!

[sil ♡ the book voyagers · Rating 4 out of 5]

I've wanted to read it as soon as I heard about it. Now that my love for mafia romances is as big as the world, I truly wanted to read this because it sounded perfect for me. PLUS THIS IS KINDA SMUTTY? *eye emoji*

A few things that might intrigued you to read this:
- Our yakuza boss hero is SO IN LOVE WITH HER. He's literally so sweet and constantly smiles and can't seem to stop doing the heart eyes emoji face, only for her
- HE SPOILS HER ROTTEN $$$$ yes baby get that
- She's so cute and fierce and I love her personality so much!
- As I said, it's smutty and they get hot and heavy (although not that graphic in some areas so no worries if you were wondering if E V E R Y T H I N G shows lmao)

I'm really excited to continue reading this manga. I wonder when will the second volume release because the ending to this one????!!! It looks like fun things are gonna happen next.

[Julie · Rating 3 out of 5]

This was like a typical trashy romance in manga form lol. Some of the lines were cringey and the romance moved extremely quickly. They were passionately yelling I love you within the first half of the book. The sex scenes were pretty spicy though and it did have a lot of cute moments that I liked. The art style is hit or miss for me. Some panels I really like and some I don’t. I also hate the panels when the teeth are fully detailed. I’m normally a huge fan drawn teeth, (Yuto Sano draws great teeth) but just like the way every individual tooth is drawn is a bit unsettling to me idk how to explain it. I just don’t like it.

The romance doesn’t feel new, but I like it enough and I’m interested in picking up the next volume.

[Dana · Rating 4 out of 5]

This review will be for the whole series; read at your own risk.

Read 5 volumes

Okay, I loved it. The spice is nice and the moments are really cute. It’s extremely fast paced (they say I love you halfway through the first volume) so it doesn’t feel entirely authentic, but I still really liked it.

Boyfriend rated it a 3.5/5 because it felt rushed and disjointed and needed more buildup. But it was cute, somewhat humorous, and he liked reading it together 😂

Edit 6/21/22: I haven't updated this review at all? Oops? I like this series as a sorta spicy, sorta fluffy story. It's not too deep, it's not too bad, it's not too good. Obviously I like it enough to purchase the 5 volumes, but volume 5 was more plot than spice so I was sorta... disappointed? LOL

[Emi · Rating 2 out of 5]

Está bien, peeeeeero no me acaba de convencer. ES demasiado "rosa" para mí. Los protas, tampoco sé, la chica me parece demasiado tonta, vale que tiene golpes de genio, pero lo de ponerse en plan gatito... y él, sí da mucho miedo, pero ni idea de porqué, le gusta mucho la chica, eso sí que queda clarísimo. Ya que el tío es un jefe de la yakuza, me ha faltado ver esa parte, solo con la parte romántica se me queda en una historia demasiado plana para mi gusto.

[RachelReadsandSings · Rating 5 out of 5]

This was basically a Jessa Kane novella in manga form and I loved every second of it 🤣 Very over the top and instalust/lovey, but so much fun.

I love that Oya is sweet and just wants to spoil Yuri while Yuri actually has a backbone (that’s pretty uncommon in mafia romances) and doesn’t take anyone’s bullshit lol. Can’t wait to read volume 2 asap!

[Scout Steinmiller · Rating 5 out of 5]

It was very trashy, but I still loved it

[Jenn (The Book Refuge) · Rating 4 out of 5]

I don't quite know how to rate these yet, but this was fun, wild, and I want to read more. So it was a win over all.

4 stars
2 on the spice scale

[The Tunita · Rating 2 out of 5]

Too insta-love for me, and there doesn't seem to be anything of substance within the story to keep me interested.

FMC is supposed to be 20 but acts way younger, and the overall dialogue reads a tad too juvenile for me.

[Hannah · Rating 3 out of 5]

This story is very silly but I think I will probably still eat it up.

[Rebecca · Rating 3 out of 5]

Reading Yakuza Lover is a combination of the thrills of reading a slightly cringey romance novel and watching your friend make a terrible relationship decision. If that sounds like your idea of fun, welcome! Because this really is the best of both of those scenarios. The story follows Yuri, a twenty-year-old university student in search of a boyfriend. She makes the mistake of going to a party at a random stranger's house, where she gets lost trying to leave and ends up in a room hosting a shady drug deal. She's busy defending herself and her friend when Mr. Oya walks in and saves the day. The problem? Oya's the underboss of a Yakuza family, which doesn't stop he and Yuri from falling in...something. The book tries very hard to sell it as love, but honestly, it's looking more like lust from where I'm standing.

From that point, Yakuza Lover embarks on a torrid narrative of a potentially doomed love between a yakuza man and a young woman who is purportedly smarter than this. It's filled with sex (this is Viz's most explicit josei release to date, even counting those two Tomu Ohmi series), truly embarrassing dialogue, and a dude getting his eyeball shot out. It's absolutely the sort of book meant to be read under the covers with a flashlight while giggling like a ninny, and while I can't call it an objectively good book, I can say that I had a lot of fun reading it, and at the end of the day, that's probably all that matters.

[Readingmanga · Rating 1 out of 5]

Wtf is this bulshit?
“I don’t want to be in danger anymore. My family and my life are important to me” … and then in the next few minutes “This may be our last and only night…let’s get weird together by having s*x.”
I’m really speechless.

[Dianna ☾midnight reads☽ · Rating 2 out of 5]

I picked up this manga series because of the live-action adaptation. Both the manga and show can be ridiculous and cringey at times, but I think I prefer the show more. However, both of them feature cardboard-one dimension characters and I can't see any development in either of the protagonists.

[Mark · Rating 3 out of 5]

Yuri gets in way over her head at a party and draws the eye of Oya, a handsome yakuza. Sparks fly and soon the flames of passion are ignited (are they ever!). It’s all rather a lot and Yuri probably knows what she’s getting in to, but she doesn’t seem to particularly care…

Well, if you like your ‘bad boy’ romances and like them hot and steamy, breakout the dumplings because this thing could cook a pork bun. It’s flagrantly up front about what it is. In fact, it’s honestly a positive how incredibly blatant it is about what it wants to be.

Yuri’s not exactly the most traditionally charming heroine, but I like her anyway - she’s brash and outspoken and just wants to be loved for who she is, which proves to be a harder sell than you might expect for an attractive college student. Still, she takes no guff, but she goes wholly weak in the knees for Oya.

Phew, this book loves its sex and it shows. The author says up front that they wanted a passionate story and these two are all over one another. If you thought you’d never see a shot of a dress with the throb sound effect on it, think again… (some of the humour in this book is, really, truly bizarre).

And it does these sequences well. I’m not going to slag a book for doing what it was designed to do with aplomb and this thing absolutely nails (uh, sorry) its portrayal of rampaging hormones. The sequences with the missed phone call and the one with the impromptu laundry day are enough to give one the vapours.

This reads a lot like any classic gangster story, where the innocent girl gets mixed up with the guy on the wrong side of the law. It’s utterly unhealthy; he’s possessive and she is very happy to be possessed, as well, but at least they match that way…

At first Yuri is shrinking back from the danger, but that lasts roughly a New York minute before she’s too overcome by her desires to stay away. And hey, all respect to the story for just going for it. This isn’t the typical shojo story and it’s a nice change of pace to see a pair of adults enjoying a healthy sex life (in an admittedly unhealthy relationship) between the gunfire and external threats.

I mean, I’m not giving this too much of a glowing review because it wholly glamourizes a violent yakuza lifestyle and makes a meal out of how much trouble Yuri is throwing herself into just because she’s absolutely crazy for Oya and such - plus there’s definitely an undercurrent of danger from Oya himself that I am leery of. It is junk food reading and that’s totally okay.

That said, 3.5 stars. As incredibly torrid escapism I can’t say I wasn’t impressed with the way this book went about its business and it was certainly a different type of romance than typical Shojo Beat entries and that makes it worth a look on its own.

[Knigoqdec · Rating 2 out of 5]

Покрай намаленията на манги из разни сайтове, реших и аз да се пробвам с ето това нещо. В крайна сметка струваше едва ли не стотинки (5 лева в съвремието направо е нищо :D). Стана ми любопитно защо пък е толкова популярно, понеже си има някаква фенбаза...
Ами... не схванах особено популярността му. Това си е чисто и просто заглавие от жанра "хентай за жени". Ако не вярвате, че има такъв, е, сега го научавате. Мислех, че се разпространява предимно в аниме вид, но е логично да има и такива манги, просто виждам за първи път.
История почти няма, само, ъм... сексуален нагон, така да се каже. Артът на героинята в 95% от случаите е покъртителен заради тези очи, извадени от 80-тарско заглавие, но уж в "подновен стил". Давам му две звезди, понеже ми беше забавно да си представям Оя озвучен от Хосоян, преди да се сетя, че Хосоян сигурно ще умре от срам на горещите като за него сцени хахахах.
А и трябваше да завърша някак Гуудрийдс предизвикателството и да спя спокойна :D

П.П. Между другото, от кой знае колко време вярвах, че това всъщност е GL заради корицата... Щеше да е по-интересно :D

[Vanessa · Rating 2 out of 5]

What you expect from this manga is in the title. It is the story told from Yuri, a young woman who speaks her mind, isn't afraid to throw hands, and is tired of the dating pool of guys who have no class. Yuri is completely okay with not having a boyfriend, until she has a run in Oya who is classy and a complete gentleman to her, however, he is a mafia boss.

It should be noted that this is mostly smutty romance with a bit of plot, and if that's what you're looking for then this is it. There are a fair number of mostly nude sex scenes but it is not graphic. If you're looking for high literature, this isn't it, but it was fun for what it is.

Yuri falls pretty hard head over heels for Oya, and he (never knowing when he might be killed) has no scruples about pursuing Yuri-though he does give her several chances to change her mind in the beginning. Oya seems to have a possessive personality (not surprising), not quite yandere, but maybe that changes as the series progresses.

This book has an audience, but I am not part of that audience.

[Estrella · Rating 4 out of 5]

Maybe if I haven't already watch the first episode of the Japanese drama I would have given just 3 stars because the plot is quite crazy and odd, but... I've watch the first two episodes of the Drama and gosh!!! I love it soo much!
When I found out that there was a manga I was ecstatic! The relationship between Yuri and Oya-san (a yakuza underboss) is soo cheesy (I know) but it is soo funny too. I'm addicted to the series

[Cecille · Rating 4 out of 5]

Yes hahaha YES GIMME THAT MELODRAMATIC STEAMY CHEESE

The romance is pretty shallow and the plot improbable, but it is just constantly fires on all of its trashy, dirty cylinders right from the conclusion of the first chapter. The earnestness it approaches its story with is delightful and genuinely funny; this is my favorite flavor of trashy fiction.