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美少年探偵団 #1-2
Pretty Boy Detective Club Manga Omnibus, Vol. 1
Aesthete, Epicure, Adonis, Orator, Artiste—
Who’s your pretty boy?
A mysterious group known as the Pretty Boy Detective Club is rumored to solve (and perhaps cause) most of the trouble at Yubiwa Academy—in a strictly unofficial, undercover, uncommercial capacity, of course. In order to find a star she glimpsed ten years ago, second-year Mayumi Dojima enlists the Pretty Boy’s aid, and gets much more than she bargained for! When they run up against a shadowy organization called the Twenties, stargazing is suddenly the least of their worries. Mayumi’s entire future is in jeopardy, and the Pretty Boy Detective Club must race to solve the Mystery of the Dark Star before time runs out!
Who’s your pretty boy?
A mysterious group known as the Pretty Boy Detective Club is rumored to solve (and perhaps cause) most of the trouble at Yubiwa Academy—in a strictly unofficial, undercover, uncommercial capacity, of course. In order to find a star she glimpsed ten years ago, second-year Mayumi Dojima enlists the Pretty Boy’s aid, and gets much more than she bargained for! When they run up against a shadowy organization called the Twenties, stargazing is suddenly the least of their worries. Mayumi’s entire future is in jeopardy, and the Pretty Boy Detective Club must race to solve the Mystery of the Dark Star before time runs out!
324 pages, Paperback
First published July 20, 2021
11 people are currently reading
165 people want to read
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Displaying 1 - 30 of 54 reviews
March 5, 2023
A mediocre manga stuffed with meaningless fluff and enough delusional characters to take what was clearly supposed to be fun and turn it into something entirely off-putting.
I don’t think I’d ever seen so many one dimensional characters before having read this and what was even sadder was that their lack of personalities was intentional. They were all there to tick boxes: this is the quiet, brooding one, this is the one that cooks, this is the one... with nice legs?! I wouldn’t have taken it so seriously if it wasn’t presented so seriously. The club even had rules but they were so obvious they were redundant: you must be a boy, you must be a detective, you must be pretty. I must’ve thrown up and passed out, I don’t remember what came next, it was that strange an experience.
The mystery started out alright but the conclusion was not even halfway believable and the leaps and bounds in logic that they had to make to reach it was so extensive that they must’ve jumped straight off a cliff. The only remotely good quality of this manga was the art but as I’ve said enough times to make me blue in the face, good art is not enough of a redeemable quality!
I don’t think I’d ever seen so many one dimensional characters before having read this and what was even sadder was that their lack of personalities was intentional. They were all there to tick boxes: this is the quiet, brooding one, this is the one that cooks, this is the one... with nice legs?! I wouldn’t have taken it so seriously if it wasn’t presented so seriously. The club even had rules but they were so obvious they were redundant: you must be a boy, you must be a detective, you must be pretty. I must’ve thrown up and passed out, I don’t remember what came next, it was that strange an experience.
The mystery started out alright but the conclusion was not even halfway believable and the leaps and bounds in logic that they had to make to reach it was so extensive that they must’ve jumped straight off a cliff. The only remotely good quality of this manga was the art but as I’ve said enough times to make me blue in the face, good art is not enough of a redeemable quality!
September 1, 2023
This felt so boring and pointless 😅
It also feels like I wasted $20
It also feels like I wasted $20
August 27, 2021
the cool thing about PBDC is the anime, novels, and manga are all different. yes, it's the same story, but different perspectives and art really change the way the story comes across and the characterization/relationships involved.
this art is INCREDIBLE (as is the anime - but so not the same) and I can't say enough how much I love it. Oda captures Doji's confusion and awkwardness perfectly.
this art is INCREDIBLE (as is the anime - but so not the same) and I can't say enough how much I love it. Oda captures Doji's confusion and awkwardness perfectly.
January 30, 2022
Adorably, silly, and full of himbos. My kind of dumb.
December 9, 2023
I'm so glad I borrowed this from the library because what even was that 💀
Like ??? I don't want to hear the phrase "pretty boy" ever again please thank you
I'm going to flip through the second omnibus volume just because I've already borrowed it, but I don't have high hopes 🥲 It's just all very superficial.. and the characters lack any sort of personality! They're entirely one dimensional..
Rating: 1.5/5
Like ??? I don't want to hear the phrase "pretty boy" ever again please thank you
I'm going to flip through the second omnibus volume just because I've already borrowed it, but I don't have high hopes 🥲 It's just all very superficial.. and the characters lack any sort of personality! They're entirely one dimensional..
Rating: 1.5/5
April 8, 2022
This truly felt like Ouran High School Host Club but on acid. And not really in a good way.
2.5 rounded down.
2.5 rounded down.
May 28, 2022
I didn't really enjoy this one.
July 19, 2022
More like 3.5. I did enjoy this, though some of it was pretty ridiculous LOL
May 6, 2024
Couldn’t even like this ironically… why are they fucking 14?????
August 1, 2023
Review of omnibuses 1-2, 3.5 stars
A fun, silly romp of outrageous levels for its ~11-14-year-old protagonists, I came to the manga after watching the PBDC anime, which colored my views and was, I think, the right decision. The anime, having the freedom in a different medium to portray how absolutely bonkers the (even in-universe) concept of the PBDC is (plus the excellent voice acting), meant I had that in mind as I read.
The comparisons to Ouran High School Host Club are apt, as would any to CLAMP School Detectives: both series that feature ridiculously rich students at a private school using their fortunes for ridiculous, though entertaining, reasons (and in the case of the latter, similarly solving mysteries). But where Ouran was a more straightforward school/life comedy with (thus far) greater character development and CSD was more earnest, PBDC focuses almost completely on the cases, and less on the characters' personal lives. And those cases are bonkers.
Shadowy organizations, conspiracies and possibly even international repercussions come up in connection to the cases, which the club takes on not based on merit, but whether the club president can find the beauty in them. The breadth and depth of the club members' expertise, along with an apparently-unlimited supply of money, allows for a variety of approaches and responses that are not anywhere in the realm of realistic, but is highly entertaining.
Compared to the anime, you get a bit more depth, and more of Mayumi's asides and characters' little comments here that add humor, but I think the two mediums are best viewed as two pieces of a whole.
A fun, silly romp of outrageous levels for its ~11-14-year-old protagonists, I came to the manga after watching the PBDC anime, which colored my views and was, I think, the right decision. The anime, having the freedom in a different medium to portray how absolutely bonkers the (even in-universe) concept of the PBDC is (plus the excellent voice acting), meant I had that in mind as I read.
The comparisons to Ouran High School Host Club are apt, as would any to CLAMP School Detectives: both series that feature ridiculously rich students at a private school using their fortunes for ridiculous, though entertaining, reasons (and in the case of the latter, similarly solving mysteries). But where Ouran was a more straightforward school/life comedy with (thus far) greater character development and CSD was more earnest, PBDC focuses almost completely on the cases, and less on the characters' personal lives. And those cases are bonkers.
Shadowy organizations, conspiracies and possibly even international repercussions come up in connection to the cases, which the club takes on not based on merit, but whether the club president can find the beauty in them. The breadth and depth of the club members' expertise, along with an apparently-unlimited supply of money, allows for a variety of approaches and responses that are not anywhere in the realm of realistic, but is highly entertaining.
Compared to the anime, you get a bit more depth, and more of Mayumi's asides and characters' little comments here that add humor, but I think the two mediums are best viewed as two pieces of a whole.
October 7, 2022
So, I'm giving this manga a 4/5 star due to the lack of story. I enjoyed the characters and the silliness of the President, and the club! However, I felt the story was maybe not thoroughly thought about? In my opinion, I just felt it was content to read and cute but there was some confusion and chaos throughout the story that I couldn't understand as the reader lol >~< Overall though, still a great book to read ^,^
September 6, 2021
It's like Ouran but better! Can't wait for more!
June 27, 2023
Ouran highschool host club ripoff med pedobait karaktärer 🍅💥🍅💥
January 17, 2022
It is incredibly difficult to explain how I feel about this manga. To start, I don't like it and I don't intend to read more of it. And as a note, there will be mild spoilers in this review.
The manga feels extremely similar to Ouran High School Host Club, to the point that it feels directly inspired by it. But unfortunately where Ouran had a charm that allowed it to become a classic, this manga is simply uncomfortable. To start, the characters are not in high school--they are in middle school, with one of them (spoilers) being in elementary school. This means that these characters range from 10 years old to 14 years old. I cannot tell what demographic this manga is supposed to be aimed towards. These characters are drawn to be beautiful and almost *sexy*, which is rather disgusting when you remember their ages. Is this meant for a middle-school audience? Then why are they drawn in a sexual manner? Is this meant for a high school or young adult audience? Then why are they *children?* It makes the entire experience very uncomfortable to read.
On top of that, the story is extremely outlandish. Ouran itself already has an outlandish story to it with how the rich high schoolers would participate in ridiculous shenanigans, but it never felt quite out of the realm of possibility. When wild things began happening, it was after the characters were more established and the level of immersion had been created. With this manga, the characters were already doing outlandish things, getting involved in literal government conspiracies that is already out of the realm of acceptable possibility and these characters are even younger than the aforementioned Ouran cast!
I also cannot comprehend the point of how this manga will proceed. Mangas like these are typically made as a backdrop to a harem schtick. Is there supposed to be a harem schtick in this manga with the characters so young and one of them being in elementary school? On top of that, circling briefly back to the inspiration from Ouran, in the end the main character cuts her hair and chooses to join this detective agency for boys despite being a girl, much like how Haruhi joined the host club despite being a girl.
Overall it feels like there was inspiration taken without understanding why it was so beloved. I know that this manga was taken originally from a novel of a similar name. So I cannot say if the problems started originally with the novel or if it is exclusively with the manga. But regardless, in a vacuum, this novel is very scattered and can't seem to find its own proper identity.
I am giving this manga 2 stars rather than 1 after my harsh critique because A) the art is very nice and that alone make at least one aspect of it enoyable and B) while I hated a lot of elements of the story, it was, unfortunately, told in a nice cohesive manner. So while I cannot say that I *hate* this manga, I would strongly urge against picking it up for a read.
The manga feels extremely similar to Ouran High School Host Club, to the point that it feels directly inspired by it. But unfortunately where Ouran had a charm that allowed it to become a classic, this manga is simply uncomfortable. To start, the characters are not in high school--they are in middle school, with one of them (spoilers) being in elementary school. This means that these characters range from 10 years old to 14 years old. I cannot tell what demographic this manga is supposed to be aimed towards. These characters are drawn to be beautiful and almost *sexy*, which is rather disgusting when you remember their ages. Is this meant for a middle-school audience? Then why are they drawn in a sexual manner? Is this meant for a high school or young adult audience? Then why are they *children?* It makes the entire experience very uncomfortable to read.
On top of that, the story is extremely outlandish. Ouran itself already has an outlandish story to it with how the rich high schoolers would participate in ridiculous shenanigans, but it never felt quite out of the realm of possibility. When wild things began happening, it was after the characters were more established and the level of immersion had been created. With this manga, the characters were already doing outlandish things, getting involved in literal government conspiracies that is already out of the realm of acceptable possibility and these characters are even younger than the aforementioned Ouran cast!
I also cannot comprehend the point of how this manga will proceed. Mangas like these are typically made as a backdrop to a harem schtick. Is there supposed to be a harem schtick in this manga with the characters so young and one of them being in elementary school? On top of that, circling briefly back to the inspiration from Ouran, in the end the main character cuts her hair and chooses to join this detective agency for boys despite being a girl, much like how Haruhi joined the host club despite being a girl.
Overall it feels like there was inspiration taken without understanding why it was so beloved. I know that this manga was taken originally from a novel of a similar name. So I cannot say if the problems started originally with the novel or if it is exclusively with the manga. But regardless, in a vacuum, this novel is very scattered and can't seem to find its own proper identity.
I am giving this manga 2 stars rather than 1 after my harsh critique because A) the art is very nice and that alone make at least one aspect of it enoyable and B) while I hated a lot of elements of the story, it was, unfortunately, told in a nice cohesive manner. So while I cannot say that I *hate* this manga, I would strongly urge against picking it up for a read.
September 30, 2023
I love everything about this book from the in-depth plot to the diverse cast of characters. A girl follows her dream of being an astronaut, but she finds out not all is as it seems. When she's in danger, she takes on the help of the Pretty Boy Detective Club, and with them, she finds her true calling. Become a member of the Pretty Boy Detective Club! I love how each of the boys has a specific skill set, but it isn't dark or murderous, which is beneficial to one so young with their life ahead of them. One thing I didn't know I'd like was the expansion of gender roles in the development of this book. Boys can be feminine without being gay. Girls can have boyish qualities and still be girly. Boys can dress up like girls and still maintain a level of masculinity in a really weird but cool way. I didn't think I'd like this book as much as I did, and now I'm dying for an anime show based on this manga!
April 8, 2025
"Weird" feels too strong a word for this story, but it works. Pretty Boys Detective Club isn't weird in the wildly outlandish sense where every page has something strange on it. It's weird because it begins with a young girl wanting to find the star she saw ten years ago and it ends in a government conspiracy.
Every chapter a new element is thrown into the story (see: government conspiracy). Sometimes these elements have foreshadowing and sometimes they do not, and when they don't have foreshadowing it creates a huge sense of disconnect from the rest of the story. It feels like the writer is just trying to shock you with another "twist."
With a few changes, you could get a decent story out of this, but as is, it's a bit of a mess.
Every chapter a new element is thrown into the story (see: government conspiracy). Sometimes these elements have foreshadowing and sometimes they do not, and when they don't have foreshadowing it creates a huge sense of disconnect from the rest of the story. It feels like the writer is just trying to shock you with another "twist."
With a few changes, you could get a decent story out of this, but as is, it's a bit of a mess.
June 2, 2022
Grabbed this randomly from the library, I'd never heard of it. Ouran High School Host Club meets CLAMP School Detectives with a slightly dark and complicated conspiracy twist that made it a ridiculous yet intriguing read. The children are elementary/middle school yet look and act like young adults, and the story took a very adult turn that included kidnapping and death threats, but the read was still able to maintain the lighter feel of young boys at play and concluded on a (albeit unbelievable) high note. Although the complicated twist to the story was not a pleasant surprise, at the end I'm now intrigued enough to try another volume in the series.
March 3, 2023
This is not the sort of manga I would normally pick up, but I thought a friend might enjoy it and so wanted to read it so that we could chat about it. Funnily enough it reminded me of Ouran Highschool Host Club, which I loved. Sadly though this one just didn't quite work for me.
I liked the beginning and honestly even liked the idea of the protagonist giving up on her dream after ten years to pursue something more practical and realistic. I think for me it went downhill when it introduced the illegal activities, kidnapping and mainly that the protagonist can see other wavelengths of light with her special eyes. I guess I was hoping for it to remain more of a slice of life style story and so was disappointed when it went a bit sci-fi.
The characters were fun, and I liked the trope-y pretty boys. The artwork is really nice, so that was pleasant to see.
Overall this was just an okay read and I don't plan on continuing with the series.
I liked the beginning and honestly even liked the idea of the protagonist giving up on her dream after ten years to pursue something more practical and realistic. I think for me it went downhill when it introduced the illegal activities, kidnapping and mainly that the protagonist can see other wavelengths of light with her special eyes. I guess I was hoping for it to remain more of a slice of life style story and so was disappointed when it went a bit sci-fi.
The characters were fun, and I liked the trope-y pretty boys. The artwork is really nice, so that was pleasant to see.
Overall this was just an okay read and I don't plan on continuing with the series.
January 8, 2024
What in the world did I just read
I picked this up from the library with no knowledge of the novels or anime. At first I quickly realized this wasn't going to be for me, but then I realized all of the tropes and jokes made it clear this work does not take itself seriously whatsoever. There were a few moments I genuinely laughed out loud. I had a great time and for anyone else who grew up with things like Ouran HS Host Club in the background, you're going to get a kick out of this.
3.5/5 stars, rounded down for this review.
I picked this up from the library with no knowledge of the novels or anime. At first I quickly realized this wasn't going to be for me, but then I realized all of the tropes and jokes made it clear this work does not take itself seriously whatsoever. There were a few moments I genuinely laughed out loud. I had a great time and for anyone else who grew up with things like Ouran HS Host Club in the background, you're going to get a kick out of this.
3.5/5 stars, rounded down for this review.
May 24, 2024
The creator of the famous and influential Monogatari series and Medaka Box delivers yet again. It's playful, fun, enjoyable, has great characters, and an intriguing plot. It doesn't seem like we will be getting more manga adaptations for this unfortunately, with volume 2 being released in 2021 (3 yrs ago) but I'd give V.2 and/or the light novel (which has around 12 volumes published) a shot just because it's rly nice.
From the 1st vol only: 7.8/10
From the 1st vol only: 7.8/10
June 23, 2025
Read more graphic novel reviews at The Graphic Library.
Mayumi had been searching for a mysterious star she saw when she was four years old, and her obsession had fueled her dream to become an astronaut. But years of dead ends and nagging from her parents have caused her to all but give up her dream, something she’s decided to do on the day of her fourteenth birthday. The day before is when she fatefully meets the president of the Pretty Boy Detective Club, a group of dreamily beautiful young men with unique talents who agree to take up the case to help find her missing star. All of them get swept up in something much larger than an astronomy conundrum, and Mayumi comes to accept several things about herself that she had mostly spurned until that point.
Overall, this is a very fluffy, fun story where the magic and cleverness of youth will most likely win out in the most dangerous of situations, and everyone will feel good at the end of the day. There is a bit of an air of Sherlock Holmes-esque cleverness to figuring out the mystery, where several of the boys draw conclusions that the audience couldn't possibly have followed until it was all pointed out, but that's part of the charm. The five main boy characters, having a rule to embrace their boyish nature, are whimsical and rakish at times. Expect everything be visually appealing and drawn perfectly, especially the abundance of beautiful male characters running about, but this definitely more of a dessert story than anything to expect any sort of substance from.
Sara's Rating: 7/10
Suitability Level: Grades 7-12
Mayumi had been searching for a mysterious star she saw when she was four years old, and her obsession had fueled her dream to become an astronaut. But years of dead ends and nagging from her parents have caused her to all but give up her dream, something she’s decided to do on the day of her fourteenth birthday. The day before is when she fatefully meets the president of the Pretty Boy Detective Club, a group of dreamily beautiful young men with unique talents who agree to take up the case to help find her missing star. All of them get swept up in something much larger than an astronomy conundrum, and Mayumi comes to accept several things about herself that she had mostly spurned until that point.
Overall, this is a very fluffy, fun story where the magic and cleverness of youth will most likely win out in the most dangerous of situations, and everyone will feel good at the end of the day. There is a bit of an air of Sherlock Holmes-esque cleverness to figuring out the mystery, where several of the boys draw conclusions that the audience couldn't possibly have followed until it was all pointed out, but that's part of the charm. The five main boy characters, having a rule to embrace their boyish nature, are whimsical and rakish at times. Expect everything be visually appealing and drawn perfectly, especially the abundance of beautiful male characters running about, but this definitely more of a dessert story than anything to expect any sort of substance from.
Sara's Rating: 7/10
Suitability Level: Grades 7-12
November 21, 2021
Of course, the comparisons to Ouran HS Host Club are inevitable, but this is far sillier, talkier, but unfortunately not as charming. The epithets corresponding to the members do describe them, but I think they're kind of ridiculous and took me out of my interest in the plot pretty early on.
May 20, 2022
. . . the pacing felt very uneven -- didn't realize that this was an adaptation of a novel. Might try the novel, it might work a little better. This had some comedic moments, but overall was not for me.
May 29, 2022
The art is gorgeous and the panels are well paced. The story is beyond wild, and the supposed ages of the main characters makes the premise even more unreal
Not a bad read by any means, but a story and premise I could see working better in anime or light novel format
Not a bad read by any means, but a story and premise I could see working better in anime or light novel format
June 27, 2023
This book was super long, not much happened, the plot and premise was weird (the main character secretly has x-ray vision????), but the art style was impressive and the story was queer-coded so it gets 2 stars.
June 8, 2024
4 ⭐️
I'll never understand 16 year old boys looking like 25 year old MEN (maybe im too old for school mangas lmao) BUT I loved how this gave off ouran high school host club vibes! I loved that anime when I was a teen, this manga was very fun and easy to read.
I'll never understand 16 year old boys looking like 25 year old MEN (maybe im too old for school mangas lmao) BUT I loved how this gave off ouran high school host club vibes! I loved that anime when I was a teen, this manga was very fun and easy to read.
August 23, 2021
Definitely 4 for it's ridiculousness. If you want fun, this one's for you.
August 26, 2021
The book was written very well, characters were very pretty. They were also very greatly made! I'm glad a read this book. I would write more but there would be spoilers.
September 14, 2021
Over-the-top, silly, fun read. I loved the art and the mystery/detective aspect was perfectly juxtaposed with the great messages about friendship. I'll be waiting for the next volume!
November 7, 2021
Really cute and sweet. Reminds me of Ouran but more entertaining. Can’t wait for volume 2 to come out.
Displaying 1 - 30 of 54 reviews