かんしゃく玉のラブソング

by Minta Suzumaru

受験生の和晃は、幼なじみの猛生のことが大好きだ。
性格もルックスも良く、なんでも出来る人気者で、とにかく女の子にモテる猛生ーー
その姿をずっとそばで見てきた和晃は、自分の恋心を伝える気もなく、一番の友達でさえいられたらいいと思っていた……のに!
ある日突然「オレ、男もいけっかも」と猛生が言い出して?!
ベランダ越しに行き交う平穏な日常には戻れない!
完全無欠な男前✕虚弱で一途なこじらせ男子
近すぎる距離感が甘くもどかしい、幼なじみラブv

Genres: Manga, Romance, Yaoi, Boys Love, Queer, Friends To Lovers, Comics

200 pages, Kindle Edition

First published February 25, 2022

About the author

Minta Suzumaru (鈴丸みんた) is a Japanese mangaka.

Reviews

[rory (jess' version) · Rating 4 out of 5]

i'm dying because of so much fluff !!

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

THE ART!!!!

And I was sold, though, that Take-chan already loved Wakou from the start of the series. Those eyes, those looks... I swear. But you gotta love the angst!! Minta Suzumaru never disappoints! And I'm so happy to see a glimpse of Ao and Shingo's after story! Love it!!

[Peppa · Rating 4 out of 5]

This was best-friends-to-lovers and honestly, it was good!!
It had that perfect mix of sweetness and soft, heart-squeezing warmth, but also hit with just enough angst and frustration to keep things emotionally satisfying. I actually really got where the doubt came from, especially on the uke’s side. He never expected his feelings to be returned and he wasn’t even planning on confessing, so of course he was guarded.

What I really loved though was how the seme’s feelings weren’t just instant or conveniently mutual, it was a slow build, a quiet shift. And when he did start pursuing the uke, it wasn’t because he felt sorry for him, but because it was him. That made the whole thing feel even more sincere and earned. It’s that kind of gradual emotional shift that really hits. Beautiful and soft in all the right ways.

I definitely liked this side story more than the main story.

⭐️3,5

[Jessi ❤️ H. Vojsk [if villain, why hot?] · Rating 5 out of 5]

So, so cute!
The art is so pretty.
I already read another story from this author and artist and I loved it!

[Julie · Rating 3 out of 5]

*Reread 9/4/2022*
Futekiya came through fast af with the English translation! So happy :') Bumping my rating to a 3.5.

READ ON FUTEKIYA

Okay way off on Manaka's name lmfao. Idk how to read. I think I enjoyed this a little more the second time, but my previous review still stands. This is really cute and fun plus I always love spin offs especially when the other couple makes an appearance. I love Minta's art and works. This one just didn't hit me the way I would like.

*Original Review 7/21/2022*
Not my favorite of Minta's works, but still pretty cute. This is a spinoff to Cupid is Struck by Lightning and it follows Takeo and his childhood friend Wako, who's in love with him.

I did like seeing Takeo again after he caused a little bit of a commotion in Cupid. I also like that Takeo's decision to consider dating guys was most likely inspired by Ao and Shingo. The relationship was cute and Minta's artwork is great as usual. This is a pretty typical childhood friend story. There's nothing about it that jumps out at me to make me really love it, but it was still good. Also, the friend is so so cute!! I love him. His name is 愛叶 which I think is said Aiba? I'm not sure but anyway he's adorable and funny and I really liked what he added to the story. The way he protected Wako when he was too nervous to be around Takeo was so great :') Love them. Plus love that Ao and Shingo popped up for a bit. Shingo is so adorable.

I'm going to need Futekiya to translate this so I can read it properly. My Japanese reading comprehension is so fucking low it's still so difficult for me to fully understand things. I hate it. I just want to be able to read easily :(

[Nix Buttons · Rating 4 out of 5]

Sequel to Cupid ni rakurai and Cupid ni rakurai - tsuigeki. Lovely sweet story about two high school boys.

[chess · Rating 2 out of 5]

minta never misses con lo stile ma tutto il resto… pg odiato dalla saga principale and he did not get any better, specie con l’altro protagonista che è veramente insopportabile; bello il cameo dei bimbi della main saga tho!

[Mr No · Rating 4 out of 5]

3.5

[Natali · Rating 3 out of 5]

3.8
Fue lindo definitivamente. Pero pudo haber tenido más potencial y eso es lo que me duele TT.

[Valita · Rating 4 out of 5]

Esto fue simplemente tierno

[Imanewreader ✨ · Rating 3 out of 5]

sequel to Cupid ni Rakurai

this was cuuuuute !!
a lot of groveling, a lot of avoiding the obvious and being stubborn. but still cute. drawing helps a lot.

[K · Rating 4 out of 5]

Definitely the best part of the Cupid series.

Shingo and Ao show up briefly near the end and once in the extras, with Shingo being ultra sunny and cheery and ready to befriend everybody. He actually didn't seem super in character to me, since that whole taking care of people thing was special to his relationship with Ao - him bringing a bunch of warm clothing items to wrap up Wakou was a bit odd. After all, his cupid role wasn't really about him helping people; he got food and payment for it.

Their appearance really just reiterated how much stronger and more unique the storyline between Wakou and Takeo was. This might be 5 stars for me whenever it gets a print license; it's close right now, and I think my only hesitation is that I could've used a tiny bit more from Takeo's point of view as he fell in love with Wakou. (Wish this one had gotten two volumes instead of Cupid. The glimpse of them in college together, and living together, was fantastic but it would've been nice to see more.)

Also would've liked to see a bit more of Wakou interacting with other people - which you don't have a ton of space for in a single volume. But it would've made the differences in his relationship with Takeo more clear. In his background appearances in Cupid, Wakou seemed very cool and collected (how the underclassmen saw him), whereas he's actually very emotional and volatile when he's with someone he's comfortable with - like Takeo.

Since we see him largely with Takeo, and dealing with the changes in their feelings towards each other, he spends a lot of time crying, blushing, shouting, shoving Takeo away, etc - which is all very much part of his charm and things Takeo enjoys about him. But I do miss a little of the cool class president vibe he'd been giving off. (Even though it's strongly implied that Takeo is actually smarter/better in school than his glasses-wearing, nerdy-looking best friend, and it's Wakou who has to study super hard to make sure they can get into the same university.)

I love both characters, though, and the whole setup.

Takeo and Wakou's families are neighbors, so the two of them have literally grown up together. They weren't always super close; the flashback when they were kids shows Takeo leaving a sickly Wakou to hang out with the other boys, who did the very typical boy thing of going "ooooh gross he's sick, I don't want to be around him." I was surprised Takeo didn't leap in to defend him, but it's actually important that Wakou was the one who stood up for himself. He's physically not strong, but he's stubborn and intense and brave and loud when it counts, and Takeo has admired those things about him since they were young.

He has always wanted to take care of Wakou, though, taking on a protector role since shortly after that point. He'd obsess over whether Wakou was bundled up thoroughly, make sure he wasn't out too much in cold weather, ask him if he was taking his medicine, then come through Wakou's window, climb into his bed, and hold his hand until they fell asleep together - always an innocent friendship thing for him, if not for Wakou.

Because Wakou has been in love with his charismatic, beautiful best friend for a very long time.

And he had also entirely given up on any idea that Takeo might ever like him back in that way. Because Takeo was very straight, very popular, and pretty much always attached to a new girlfriend - there was a line of them always waiting to ask him out. Clearly none of them lasted long or were very serious, and Wakou knew that at this stage in their lives, their friendship was more important to Takeo than any girl, and he could keep leaning hard on the time they had left together.

He's prepared for when that changes - for when he'll be the best man at Takeo's wedding and then he'll have to let him go. Because their friendship would have to change once Takeo formed a family and started having kids, etc...it's not like he could keep crawling into Wakou's bed to hold his hand.

Everything is fine, and Wakou's had years to get used to it...until Takeo abruptly announces one day that he might be okay with dating guys, too. And this Wakou absolutely cannot stand.

I love that we plunge straight into it from here; the natural progression would be for Takeo to gradually figure out that he's maybe into guys, and he's maybe into Wakou, who's been by his side all this time...but instead, Wakou explodes and says everything he's thinking. He makes a list of all the eligible girls at their school, tells Takeo to date any woman he wants but NOT a man, and then - when Takeo accuses him of being intolerant - shouts that he's been in love with Takeo for years, actually.

This was all so good and so painful. It makes a lot of sense; if you're gay and in love with your straight best friend, him not loving you back doesn't mean there's anything wrong with you. It's just physically impossible; he's not built that way. But if Takeo is into guys and still doesn't want to date Wakou? That's horrible. It's the worst kind of heartache.

The progress from here is a little surprising, but very Suzumaru. Takeo hasn't been harboring secret feelings for Wakou. He doesn't have a jolt of realization during the confession that maybe all these friendship feelings were romantic all along. He chases Wakou down and tells him quite clearly that he's not romantically in love with him.

Yet.

But Wakou is the most important person in his life, and if it comes down to choosing between Wakou and someone else, he will always choose Wakou. So if Wakou doesn't want him to date other people...Takeo genuinely doesn't want to anymore, either. It takes the joy out of it if he's hurting his best friend. So he wants to date Wakou, and work towards falling in love with him.

I think this might not be a lot of people's cup of tea: where's the passion! In Cupid, the two of them threw themselves at each other right away, no hesitation, only chemistry! (Which was part of my issue with those books.) But I find this route to love very intriguing. It's similar to how arranged marriages can be some of the most lasting relationships, because you aren't relying solely on attraction and chemistry to get you through rough patches; you start everything with a super solid foundation and a commitment that you can always come back to even if the passion fades as you age.

Wakou struggles with it, because he is afraid that Takeo won't ever actually love him back, and that all of this is going to end in heartbreak for him anyway. What happens when Takeo meets someone he actually falls in love with? Won't he resent Wakou for tying him down in a relationship where he isn't happy or fulfilled? Because he has been in love with Takeo for so long, he can't wrap his mind around the idea that you can fall in love with someone at different speeds and at different points in your life, even if you've already known them for a long time.

Takeo is super thoughtful and mature, though - much like he was in Cupid - and he approaches it all matter-of-factly. Wakou is way more of an impulsive, emotional person, whereas Takeo takes his time to study and learn and adapt his behavior. He takes it slow, learning Wakou in a new way, and paying attention to all the things he'd missed before.

Was Wakou his type? Who knows. Takeo thinks he has a nice face and obviously really like his personality, and he's opened his mind to the idea of expanding his horizons so he can find love anywhere, regardless of gender.

I absolutely disagree, by the way, with the popular fan opinion that he was ever interested in Ao. It frustrates me that people harp on this so much, because it's something that absolutely would've come up in all his conversations with Wakou, when Wakou was anxiously trying to figure out why Takeo was suddenly okay with the idea of being with another guy.

There's no indication that Takeo was ever attracted in the slightest to Ao - zero chemistry there for sure, and no interest on either side - but seeing the relationship between Ao and Shingo definitely did make him realize that it's possible to find happiness outside of the traditional paths. That's the part that got him thinking, and wondering if he'd be alright dating a guy...which didn't seem that distasteful, so why close off a possibility in the future?

Takeo never really had a type - he dated beautiful, smart girls because those are the ones who asked him out, and if you have your pick of everyone, of course you'd go with the stereotypical best of the best. But he never stayed with any of them for long, and he'd never found anyone he felt like he could devote himself to fully. At that point, he probably just figured he was still young, and he'd meet someone eventually, so he wasn't worrying about it.

But as he tells his friends, it makes sense to open up that pool of possibilities even more. He might fall in that kind of permanent love with a woman. But it doesn't have to be a woman, so if he automatically rules out all the men, he might miss something special.

That's what he's saying, and that's the part that Wakou couldn't really hear...that the whole point was Takeo being open to new possibilities, which included expanding the relationship with Wakou, once he knew that was one of the possibilities he'd been closed off to before.

Wakou's insecurity was realistic, and Takeo's increasing frustration with it was, too. He's so busy trying to protect himself that he's not listening to or trusting Takeo, which is hurting both of them.

I appreciate their communication, and how Takeo is so attentive to Wakou while also going after what he wants. They have a great dynamic that really does feel like it's solid enough to last the way they both want it to.

I love how Suzumaru takes these non-traditional paths to love and fills them with all the right amount of heartache and joy. That's why this one speaks to me a lot more than the pretty traditional storyline behind Cupid.

[Hira Chaudhary · Rating 5 out of 5]

I loved this so dang much! I diiiied over Wakou and Takeo and the fact that Wakou always had a crush on Takeo and suddenly Takeo is showing up saying he might like guys as well as girls and Wakou can't hide his feelings anymore because he had resigned himself to the fact that he would one day have to be the best man at Takeo's wedding to a woman, but he can't deal with being the best man to Takeo marrying a man when that man could be him.

These two were just so cute and I loved how sweet Takeo was with Wakou when he realized the truth and how the two of them started dating and how shy Wakou was because he didn't know what to do with the fact that his forever crush was actually dating him. I loved Takeo and how he made sure Wakou knew how he felt and how he never pushed for more than Wakou was willing to give.

I died over Wakou realizing someone must have made Takeo realize he liked guys and how he called Takeo's other friends and that whole thing. I loved those two guys dating and how cute they were.

I adored Nakana and his friendship with Wakou and Takeo and how he wasn't phased by Takeo coming out or the two of them dating. I loved how he was there for them both. He was such a cutie and a sweetie.

This was a really cute manga, and I loved these two to no end <3

[Cassie Renais · Rating 3 out of 5]

This was a cute, but mildly frustrating childhood friends to lovers high school romance. The main characters are both engaging, but Wakou is an emotional mess and Takeo feels like he doesn't have much of a personality other than being 'cool'. Still, the development of their relationship feels realistic, with all its ups and downs and inconsistencies. I'm not really sure why they're in love with each other; I feel like we get told about their closeness a lot more than we see the reasons for it.

Overall, sweet and cute, with an unusual plot for friends to lovers which keeps it interesting. Shout out to the third friend in their group who is an absolute cutie and unsung hero.

[Lily Ackerman · Rating 4 out of 5]

4.5/5

Fue realmente lindo de principio a fin.

La dinámica entre los protagonistas me gustó muchísimo, además de que el arte de Suzumaru hace que todo sea mucho más lindo.

Sin dudas fue bastante agradable conocer más sobre estos personajes que fueron presentados con anterioridad en Cupid Ni Rakurai, además de que los cameos de Shingo y Ao fueron muy dulces.

En conclusión puedo decir que la historia es bastante disfrutable y entretenida, por lo que podría recomendarla abiertamente sin problema.

[Felix The Pirate Cat · Rating 3 out of 5]

Ganz nett, lässt jedoch durchaus das Funkensprühen und die emotionale Entwicklung auf der Strecke. Da hätte ich mir gern mehr Feingefühl in der Umsetzung der Story gewünscht.

Ansonsten sind die beiden Protagonisten zwar sympathisch, stehen aber beide mächtig auf dem Schlauch und keiner kann so wirklich zu seinen Gefühlen stehen. Was ich wirklich sehr schade finde. Ich hätte mir gern mehr gemeinsame, romantischere Szenen gewünscht. Doch das bleibt vollkommen außen vor.

In der Geschichte steckt mehr Potential als genutzt wurde. Sehr schade.

[⋆ ࣪˖ ִֶָ sel ་༘࿐ · Rating 3 out of 5]

Kind of felt icky with the way how Takeo "also like" Wakou. It felt a bit off and left a bitter taste in my mouth. Maybe it's the way of storytelling? I don't know. I certainly get why Wakou has feelings of doubt, LOL. But okay, as long as he's happy. It felt forced or something but alright, I'll take it since it's cute (especially Wakou). I mean you can genuinely care for a friend without equating it to romantic feelings. I won't say anything more.

[Aleja Uribe · Rating 4 out of 5]

Me gustó ver a estos personajes secundarios de Cupido enamorado. Su historia es bonita, sí, tienen su momento de drama y confusión, inseguridades y eso, pero es normal, ya que son amigos de infancia, así que pensar en un cambio de 180° en la relación pues te saca de tu zona de confort, pero ellos harán el intento y bueno, ayuda mucho que la mangaka sea Minta Suzumaru, ella logra plasmar muy bien todos los sentimientos de sus personajes, lo hace creíble.

[Ester · Rating 4 out of 5]

Tomo único muy cuqui como todo lo que hace Minta. Me ha gustado bastante este spinoff del Cupido ya que Takeo es un cielo y Wako es monísimo. Una lectura muy amena y perfecta cuando no hay ganas de leer nada con drama o con tramas más complejas.

[may · Rating 5 out of 5]

You did well in expressing yourself, love / “as long as we’re happy with ourselves, we don’t have to care about the rest” / this needed to be done forcefully for once / healing time with a cat? I’m Wako / super cute light reading

[Ares · Rating 3 out of 5]

It was so cute and fluffy. I just cannot stand every BL needing to have smut. There was a lot of back-and-forth, and I wasn't in on the angst and their communication. The drawings and character design were really good, which is a huge plus.

[Becky · Rating 4 out of 5]

This was a cute read, childhood friends to lovers is one of my favorite tropes. I did find Wako a bit annoying at times but also relatable. The manga was good for a spinoff series but I can’t say I enjoyed it as much as Shino and Ao’s story.

[Shawnie Nicole · Rating 4 out of 5]

So cute…
But a lot of going in circles with the uke

[Yani · Rating 4 out of 5]

Estuvo lindo pero sentí que perdimos "tiempo" con tanta inseguridad del uke ;( Igual me gustaron como pareja uwu

[新新 Xin-Xin · Rating 3 out of 5]

落雷丘比特沒有電子書所以結了這本，猛生的故事其實慎吾和蒼生也有戲份，鈴丸みんた的高中生小情侶就是可愛

[Nayli · Rating 4 out of 5]

3.5// Amo el childhood friends to lovers y a la autora, pero no me convenció al 100%

[MariewithWings · Rating 3 out of 5]

3.5 Stars!

[Mary Glz · Rating 4 out of 5]

cuando termine el manga de Cupid pense que tuviera su historia y siento que le falto algo jeje pero me alegro que tuviera su amorcito

[Karoline · Rating 3 out of 5]

3.4⭐

[Karen Reyes · Rating 4 out of 5]

4.5