This was a really cute friends to lovers bl that felt all the right amounts of cuddly with bits of frustration thrown in. For example, Ao, and Ryota have been best friends and inseparable since there were little. They were neighbors, their rooms were right next to each other and they went to the same school. Not only that once they’re in college they decided to move in together like deadass inseparable. however all things change when Ao wakes up to hi best friends getting ready to kiss him, which by the way it didn’t really seem like he was going to kiss him more like he woke up and he was touching his lips with his fingers, but anyway, so Ryo is like my bad but I’ve been I’m love with your for a pretty hot minute. Which cool cool I can see the seeds of their eventual relationship being planted. So the story continues and and Ao is trying to figure things out but is like hey dude like we can try this out but like I’m still figuring shit out frfr and they go shopping and poor little Ao doesn’t realize it’s a date until their back home and Ryo was like so how did you like hanging out, like I wanted this to be a date, and Ao’s like oh that’s what this was, yea it was cool. Then comes the part that lowkey frustrated me. So they have these neighbors who’s a couple and they’ve lowkey been giving them advice about being in a relationship cause Ao doesn’t really understand LGBTQ relations or at least two men dating…. And Ryo is so in love that he also needs some advice and so Ao sees Ryo giving one of the neighbors a gift for helping him talk about some things and Ao gets jealous and is like “I don’t get you anymore, why can’t you talk to me about stuff how come it’s so secretive now a day, like I thought you were supposed to love me.” I wish I was kidding but he really does say that. And Ryo is trying to explain things but Ao doesn’t want to hear it. And like I get your confused about your feelings but never once did Ryo to force you to be in a relationship with him nor did he things from you, he’s been really straightforward with what he wants and has giving you enough space to figure out if you want the same things he does. Miscommunication in a story is one of my biggest Icks in life and like I know it happens sometimes but to push someone away when their trying to explain themselves is like ugh but whatever so they have this fight and it get resolved I’m not going to go into detail but it’s cool and Ao realizes everything he’s been feeling form being jealous to wanted to do things that make Ryo happy is him being in love with Ryo just as much as Ryo loves him and yes it’s a really sweet story all in all just something’s make me mad but as long as as it gets resolved I feel happy again. I can’t wait to continue this series when the other volumes come out. 🏳️🌈
Kann aus besten Freunden tatsächlich die große Liebe werden?
Wenn man vor einer großen Auswahl an interessanten Mangas steht, ist die Entscheidung, welche man denn mitnimmt, immer sehr schwer. Bei einem meiner letzten Shopping-Tour in einem Buchladen bin ich über diesen BL-Manga gestolpert und hatte ihn spontan gekauft. Und ich habe den Kauf auch nicht bereut.
Mir gefällt es, wenn Kindheitsfreunde den Weg zueinanderfinden und gemeinsam ihr Leben bestreiten. Dabei können diverse Gefühle eine Rolle spielen. Hier ist es die Liebe, die die beiden Protagonisten Aoi und Ryota miteinander verbindet – und nicht nur reine Freundschaft.
Die Entwicklung von Freundschaft zu Liebe und Beziehung wird hier sehr sanft und zart dargestellt, auch wenn es gegen Ende hin eine kleine emotionale Explosion gibt. Aber das ist verständlich, denn beide haben mehr oder mit minder mit ihren Gefühlen zu kämpfen, was verständlich ist. Denn man erkennt schließlich nicht jeden Tag, dass man tiefere Gefühle für seinen besten Freund hat. 😉
Ich mochte die beiden Protagonisten ganz gerne, da sie sehr unterschiedlich waren. Aoi ist eher jemand, der freundlich ist, offen und gern auf andere zugeht. Während Ryota eher das Gegenteil ist. Er ist eher introvertiert und hält sich gern zurück. Er ist sich allerdings schon länger seiner Gefühle für seinen besten Freund bewusst, hält sich aber der Freundschaft willen zurück. Bis zu einem verhängnisvollen Abend.
Was mir ebenfalls gefallen hat, waren die Zeichnungen. Sie waren sehr schön, klar und die Panels gut strukturiert. Der Story zu folgen, war also absolut kein Problem. Die Storyline wurde auch recht einfach gehalten, was ebenfalls zeigte, dass die Geschichte der beiden gut durchdacht ist. Was mich allerdings wirklich störte, waren die vielen Rechtschreibfehler. Ich bin sowas von einem Verlag – gerade einem groß wie dem Egmont Manga Verlag – überhaupt nicht gewohnt. Und es hat mich richtig gefuchst. Ganz ehrlich, wenn man schon 8,00 € für einen Manga bezahlt, kann man auch erwarten, dass die Rechtschreibung stimmt, und vor allem die Namen der Protagonisten richtig geschrieben sind. Ständig wurde aus Aoi Ao. Es ist zum Verzweifeln. Deswegen ziehe ich hier einen Stern ab. Das ist schlechte Qualität, wo sich ein Verlag echt den Ruf mit ruinieren kann.
Und auch wenn mir die Geschichte gut gefallen hat, so hat mir doch das emotionale i-Tüpfelchen gefehlt. Ich kann bisher nicht genau benennen, was es genau war, aber irgendwie haben mir romantisch angehauchte Szenen zwischen den Protagonisten gefehlt. Da gab es für mich kein Knistern der Gefühle, sondern der Versuch die Beziehung über sexuelle Erfahrung zu verkaufen. Weswegen man gleich zum nächsten Kritikpunkt kommt: die Zensur. Die ist grausig. Gewisse Details werden mit Strichen/Balken teilweise überdeckt. Das hätte man in der zeichnerischen Umsetzung besser gestalten können, ohne dass Verlage mit derartigen unkreativen Zensuren agieren müssen.
Ansonsten ein sehr schöner Auftakt zu einer kleinen BL-Reihe, die zeichnerisch wie emotional Potential hat. Leider vieles davon ungenutzt. Ich bin dennoch gespannt, ob sich die Mangaka noch steigern kann. Gern werde ich sicher noch andere Mangas von ihr lesen.
WAAAAAAA esa confesión fue de las más intensas que he leído en este año 😭 Me encanta cómo de verdad se nota que son amigos de la infancia y que esa línea tan fina que tenían estaba ahí todo el tiempo. NECESITO MAAAAAAAAAAS.
Aoi (llamado mayormente Ao) es un estudiante universitario que ha empezado su convivencia con su mejor amigo Ryôta, también universitario, para no tener que madrugar y estar muchas horas en el transporte público para ir de casa a la uni y de la uni a casa. Como es muy malo para despertarse, Ao siempre debe está detrás de Ryôta para que se levante por las mañanas y poder llegar a clase a tiempo, puesto que ambos van a la misma universidad y a los mismos cursos. Es decir: desde el jardín de infancia, ambos no se han separado, estando siempre en los mismos colegios y hasta en las mismas clases.
Aunque sus amigos se burlan de ellos por ser tan pegajosos, y hasta por tener la misma foto de perfil en la app de mensajes, a Ao no le importa, ya que Ryôta es la persona más importante para él. Pero todo da un giro inesperado cuando, después de masturbarse y de quedarse dormido en su habitación, Ryôta llega a casa y se lo encuentra semidesnudo. Sin poder contener lo que siente por Ao, comienza a tocarle la piel desnuda, los pezones... Despertándose, Ao no entiende qué está pasando y por qué Ryôta lo ha tocado de esa forma. Es entones cuando Ryôta se sincera y le confiesa que le quiere y que deseaba tocarlo desesperadamente.
"Oye, ¿quieres que lo probemos? Hacerlo entre chicos."
Sin poder quitarse de la cabeza lo sucedido, sin acabar de entender por qué Ryôta quería tocarlo, Ao se cruza con sus vecinos Juri y Kô, los cuales los invitan a cenar para hablar con ellos y estrechar su relación dentro del mismo bloque de pisos. Para Ao es un shock saber que esos dos chicos son pareja, ya que muchas veces los ha escuchado tener sexo y siempre había imaginado que Juri era una chica y no un chico. Esto hace que Ao entienda lo que quería decirle Ryôta y que se disculpe con él por no haberse dado cuenta de los sentimientos de su mejor amigo por su persona. Pero las cosas no acabarán aquí, ya que Ao le propondrá probar a tener sexo. Esto no solamente complicará más la relación y la convivencia de ambos, sino que hará que Ao deba reflexionar sobre sus propios sentimientos y que deba afrontar en qué sentido es Ryôta importante para él. ¿Será que no es simplemente su amigo de la infancia?
Eine süße Geschichte über die Sandkastenfreunde Aoi & Ryota, die schon ihr ganzes Leben miteinander verbracht haben und sich während ihrer gemeinsamen Zeit an der Uni ineinander verlieben. Die Handlung ist wirklich herzallerliebst und sehr humorvoll, ich liebe eine gute „friends to lovers“ Story. Der schöne Zeichenstil ist ein weiterer Pluspunkt und trifft genau meinen Geschmack. Ich wollte vorm Schlafengehen eigentlich nur kurz reinlesen und hatte das Buch dann in kürzester Zeit inhaliert. Toller Read, freue mich schon auf Band 2!
Not really treading new ground, but it was enjoyable.
Ryota and Aoi have been best friends for essentially their entire lives. Ryota has been in love with Aoi for the majority of that time, but without realizing what that meant until at some point in high school. After all, when he's had those feelings for his whole life, how is he supposed to know how to define them - or to understand that it's different from the "friendship" everyone else assumes?
I didn't love that a BL story had a couple of smutty het scenes, but one was pretty pivotal for Ryota's realization. He...was kind of a jerk, actually...after Aoi lost his virginity to one of his girlfriends, Ryota started up a pattern of accepting whatever girl asked him out, then breaking up with her as soon as Aoi broke up with his girlfriend. That way they'd always be dating someone at the same time, but Ryota would go back to Aoi the moment he was free again.
There's the pretty strong implication that Ryota was also sleeping with all of these girls while imagining Aoi, which, again, makes him a gigantic jerk. He rationalizes it by saying that it was "obvious" he only had eyes for Aoi, so it's these girls' fault for only pursuing him because of his good looks, not because they actually liked anything about him as a person.
That's...I mean, sure. You still didn't have to date or sleep with any of them. But I'm not going to knock off more stars just because I don't approve of his past actions. It's decent storytelling for these characters.
Aoi, while completely oblivious about Ryota's stronger feelings for him, has kind of always felt the same way, just with even less of an understanding of what it means. Most of his girlfriends had ended up breaking up with him because he always prioritized Ryota over them. Why shouldn't he? Ryota was his best friend and the most important person in his life, which he never thought should have to change just because he was dating a girl.
He's also extremely touchy-feeling with Ryota, brags to their friends about what a catch he is, and spends a non-platonic amount of time thinking about Ryota's long eyelashes and beautiful face.
Partway through college - in their third year - he suggests that he and Ryota should get an apartment together, closer to college, so they stop being late to their morning classes. This of course makes things more difficult for Ryota, who's actively struggling with his attraction to Aoi, and doing his best to pretend he's fine with things staying Just Friends forever.
Aoi, meanwhile, is actively startled to find that their next door neighbors are a gay couple around their age - ones who've been together for 3 years and are very open about their relationship. Between that and Ryota finally confessing to him, he has to suddenly come to terms with the idea that his feelings for his best friend might not be entirely "friendly."
I liked that while they did kind of jump into the physical side of things, there was a lot of consideration for each other mixed in. Ryota continued to hold himself back, not wanting to do anything until he knew if Aoi was okay with it...really okay with it, not just using Ryota's sexuality as an experiment.
And Aoi understood that he had to give Ryota an answer that wouldn't hurt him any more than it needed to...a yes couldn't be something that was playing with his feelings, and a no had to be something he was certain he really wouldn't ever want.
The ending is fairly solid in this volume, but the continuation should add some depth to their relationship. I did like the couple next door, too, and appreciated that while there were little spurts of jealousy, there weren't any weird dynamics between the two couples, with any of them actually hitting on the others. Kou and Juri are an interesting juxtaposition to Ryota and Aoi: although they've known each other for a way shorter time, they've dated for longer and are much more in tune with their sexuality and all the things Ryota and Aoi are just starting to fumble through.
Hi, my favourite trope is friends to lovers... so of course I was going to pick this one up based on the title alone...
Not only is the premise right up my alley, but the art is gorgeous and the story was surprisingly super touching? A few moments in this series, I was a bit worried about consent (given that consent tends to take a backseat in a lot of BL) but this story went to lengths to have the characters discuss consent before, during and also after they were intimate, which I really appreciated.
I also was really happy to see the story explore the opinions of their friends and family after they told them of their relationship, and also how life can change with graduation and new jobs, etc - it just felt like it was a grounded and realistic story, compared to some of the more fantastical BL I've read. Overall, I had such a great time reading this story and will definitely be revisiting Ao and Ryou whenever I need a quick pick-me-up.
Aoi and Ryota have always been together since they were children and even now in college and living together. The last thing Aoi expected was to realize Ryota really does love him, more than just as best friends. It seems obvious to those on the outside how close the two are, though only the couple next door actually calls it correctly, not that Aoi is aware of it himself at that stage. Things are more than a little awkward and confusing, but it's clear these two really are close and mean the world to each other. It sets a hopeful stage for the next planned volumes for them to continue to grow and discover together.
This entire review has been hidden because of spoilers.
Me ha ENCANTADO!!! . Ao y Ryôta son amigos de la infancia que viven juntos cerca de su uni. Una noche, Ryôta ve a Ao dormido medio desnudo y siente el impulso de tocarlo. Ao despierta y Ryôta le confiesa que está enamorado de él y le desea.
La relación de Ao y Ryôta es tan bonita. Y la consideración de Ryôta??? AN Momose ha hecho una persona amable y que se preocupa tanto por la persona que ama, por darle su espacio, buscando siempre su consentimiento... Para que luego digan que el BL sólo es fetichismo. Pues no tiene por qué. Este manga pasa a ser mi favorito de sensei.
Es ist süß gezeichnet ja, aber irgendwie auch nichts besonderes. Dafür dass das Main Thema "Kindheitsfreunde" ist, wird das Thema leider direkt im ersten Band komplett abgehandelt und man ist auch sofort zusammen.
Dazu kommt der typische Trope, das man sofort fremd geht, wenn man jemand anderes Schwulen trifft *augenroll* die beiden haben nämlich ein schwules Päärchen als Nachbarn, und beide reden jeweils mit einem der anderen aus diesem Paar. UND NATÜRLICH denken direkt beide "OMG BESTIMMT HAT DER WAS MIT DEM" oder so. Urgh. Also ja, mittelmaß.
This was sweet and cute, but it's not breaking new ground. The childhood friends to lovers trope is tried and true, and this one stands because it's got great art and it gives a realistic timeline for these two figuring their feelings out and all the messiness that involves. The main characters have personalities, but they're not that deep. There's also a super cute side couple who help facilitate this turbulent time and serve as role models.
Overall, I enjoyed this, but I doubt I'll remember anything about it in two weeks time.
ugh this was so perfect!!!!!! the childhood friends to lovers trio was done so well - the pining, the jealousy, just *chefs kiss*. aoi and ryota have a super healthy communication style, and it’s refreshing to see characters be so open with each other….and to have their first time not be picture perfect!! like duh they would need some time to adjust!!
also, the art here is GORGEOUS beyond compare, I haven’t loved a style as much since meguru hinohara. definitely want more from this mangaka!!!
This entire review has been hidden because of spoilers.
me encantan los friends to lovers, aunque siento que la trama fue muy apresurada, pero igual entendible si solo tiene tres tomos:] la "epifanía" de aoi fue como muy rápida, me habría gustado que se craneara un poco más sus sentimientos, pero fue todo super rápido, igual no me quejo, sirve para cuando quieres leer un fastburn JAJSK muy bueno la verdad y y y amé la relación de kou y juri, muy empalagosos y tiernitos esos dos
Such a good manga! It can totally be a stand alone. The plot is friend to lovers and they are really cute together. In the main pairing, the couple are kind of the same size and mentally the same. They are both so sweet and soft. Is it a hard buy? Probably not but it is very cute. The next book might be the reason.
While this had a lot of hallmarks of the romances I enjoy, and I can't say I didn't enjoy reading it overall, I definitely wish that there was more of a do us on the romance than on the physical. It honestly felt more like Aoi was being pushed into a relationship than he was realizing he was in love- he needed a minute to thing and he genuinely never got one... I think I was just expecting something a little softer than what it was.
Sentí muchas maripositas, uno de los clichés que amo son friends to lovers y este es el perfecto cliché, amigos de toda la vida que sin querer los dos se gustaban y ninguno lo decía o lo aceptaba. Tiene muchos clichés como el chico serio y el otro extrovertido.
C'était si mignon ! Une lecture sans prise de tête en compagnie d'un childhood to lovers. La relation évolue doucement et sûrement. C'est vraiment bien fait et dans la douceur. J'ai hâte de lire le tome deux ! 🧸
Very cute, kinda basic concept but done very well. Love the art. Wish there was more character interactions, you don't really know them too well outside of the relationship development