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Awkward Silence #6
不器用なサイレント(6) 初回限定版
「……!!! ……。………………」受験シーズンを迎え、美大に挑んだ遠野。ところが、合格圏内のはずの私大は不合格で!? 国内最難関の美大に合格して、田宮と一緒に大学生になれるのか!? そして卒業後の同棲計画はどうなる…？ ずっとラブラブな恋は、ラストまで目が離せない!! 10年後を描いたスペシャル番外編＆加賀見＆ゆうちゃんのコミックス描き下ろしもあり☆ 初回限定小冊子も完全収録して、電子限定カバーで登場！
200 pages, Paperback
First published February 13, 2018
About the author
Hinako Takanaga
76 books329 followersTakanaga Hinako (高永ひなこ) is a Japanese author of Boys' Love manga.
She has also provided illustrations for several BL light novels by other authors, including The Guilty by Katsura Izumi. Her first manga story, 合格祈願 (Goukaku kigan, Prayers for a passing grade?), was published by Hanamaru Comics in 1997; it was later reworked as the first chapter of Challengers. Most of her works have been translated into foreign languages. She was a guest at YaoiCon 2007, invited by Juné, the US publishers of her popular series Little Butterfly.
When not making Boys' Love manga, she spends her time collecting Wallace & Gromit merchandise and playing Final Fantasy. Takanaga doesn’t like beer and people who are ignorant.
She comments that her biggest influence on her art and writing-style was KOUGA Yun, a famous shoujo manga artist whose works she read as a teenager.
She has also provided illustrations for several BL light novels by other authors, including The Guilty by Katsura Izumi. Her first manga story, 合格祈願 (Goukaku kigan, Prayers for a passing grade?), was published by Hanamaru Comics in 1997; it was later reworked as the first chapter of Challengers. Most of her works have been translated into foreign languages. She was a guest at YaoiCon 2007, invited by Juné, the US publishers of her popular series Little Butterfly.
When not making Boys' Love manga, she spends her time collecting Wallace & Gromit merchandise and playing Final Fantasy. Takanaga doesn’t like beer and people who are ignorant.
She comments that her biggest influence on her art and writing-style was KOUGA Yun, a famous shoujo manga artist whose works she read as a teenager.
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September 25, 2017
Written in 2017
4.5 stars.
Volume 6 is the last volume of this series and it was nearly perfect, just (once again) Kagami and Yuji are the ones who spoiled it for me.
Satoru and Keigo both have secured a place at a university and are now looking for their first apartment which isn't easy because of the criteria they've set for their new place and because of Satoru's parents. But in the end, all is well and we even get a look at their future together .
All in all, this volume wraps up the series pretty nicely. I really enjoyed Satoru and Keigo's relationship even though it was often on the back burner. It was nevertheless a sweet story and very nice to have a serious couple with two guys who are devoted to each other and support each other.
One last thing: Satoru's chibi version was always so cute and adorable and I'm glad the author decided to keep him (she states in the afterword that she only planned for him to be temporary).
Afterthought: I think we never got to know Keigo's parents, don't we. He mentions them once or twice but that's it.
4.5 stars.
Volume 6 is the last volume of this series and it was nearly perfect, just (once again) Kagami and Yuji are the ones who spoiled it for me.
Satoru and Keigo both have secured a place at a university and are now looking for their first apartment which isn't easy because of the criteria they've set for their new place and because of Satoru's parents. But in the end, all is well and we even get a look at their future together .
All in all, this volume wraps up the series pretty nicely. I really enjoyed Satoru and Keigo's relationship even though it was often on the back burner. It was nevertheless a sweet story and very nice to have a serious couple with two guys who are devoted to each other and support each other.
One last thing: Satoru's chibi version was always so cute and adorable and I'm glad the author decided to keep him (she states in the afterword that she only planned for him to be temporary).
Afterthought: I think we never got to know Keigo's parents, don't we. He mentions them once or twice but that's it.
September 12, 2018
A great ending to this series. Highly recommend if you like Junjo Romantica
August 8, 2021
Delightful. I'm so glad I stuck with this series, because the final volume made it absolutely worth it.
We start out with a tiny bit of drama...realistically, Satoru does not get into the two private art schools he'd taken entrance exams for. He's distraught and trying to figure out what else he can do: his options are to go with a local (general) university that has art programs but limited resources, or to try for a better university that will take him far away from Tamiya. Neither option is great, but Satoru can't handle the idea of a separation, even if it's temporary. Fortunately, Tamiya yet again displays his wonderful ability to communicate and talks Satoru down from his panic.
He still has his public university's entrance exam...and while they typically "only accept geniuses," there's no reason to worry yet. If he calms down and doesn't overwork and overstress himself before this entrance exam, he might do better. And if he fails the first time, there's always the next year, then the next: his life and his dreams won't be over if he misses out on his first try.
It's really wonderful advice (from the pen of an artist whose author note talks about defying the odds to succeed), and it's effective. Perhaps unrealistically but perfectly in line with this story's needs, Satoru does get accepted to his third school, and while they're celebrating, they come to the next big step...moving in together.
The summary on the back of the book says "their plans of living together after graduation," which I was kind of assuming meant "after university," but to my delighted surprise, it comes much earlier. Since Tamiya will be on his university's baseball team, he explains that he'll have a lot of early and late practices, and it'll make sense for him to live closer to campus - so he'll be getting an apartment. He asks Satoru to help him choose, and it turns out that's because he wants Satoru to live with him.
The next obstacle is overcoming the objections of Satoru's family (Tamiya's family still, weirdly, makes no appearance). While they support their son's relationship, Satoru's dad has some reasonable issues with this major life change. As he points out, the primary difference between "cohabitation" and "marriage" is the legal paperwork that two men aren't allowed to fill out and file together, which means that his 18 year old son is sort of technically getting married before he can afford to support himself.
He does come around on the matter - after some fairly dramatic arguments from his wife, who worries about losing her son if they put up too many obstacles at this point in his life - and sets up a few ground rules. They need to hold down part-time jobs so they can pay for some of their own living expenses, visit home regularly, and give their parents keys so they can come by and visit (and bring food). Relieved, Satoru and Tamiya agree, and they start apartment-hunting in earnest.
Which leads to the funniest scene of the entire series. I literally laughed out loud so hard I had to set my book down for a while...gosh, I wish the entire series had been like this volume.
As you might expect, it's not easy to find an apartment that meets everything two 18 year olds in love, with limited finances, and with different universities and career paths, might want. Yu very helpfully warns them about safety issues, decrepit buildings, and "stigmatized properties," which means someone died in them - and might still be haunting the place. This brings back some memories of the ghost stories in Volume 2, and perhaps predictably, Tamiya isn't concerned at all, but Satoru starts worrying and imagining (?) things when they find a property that seems too good to be true.
The scene where Tamiya leaps forward to punch a ghost in the face was one of the funniest things I've ever seen in a manga, and that alone made the entire series worthwhile. Fortunately, it turns out to just be a depressed, broke musician who used his old key to come back to the apartment where he used to live with his girlfriend, but for some unaccountable reason, Tamiya and Satoru still aren't super eager to live there.
I was briefly a little worried with how pushy Kagami was being about the two of them moving into his family mansion, with its many extra rooms - but the story fortunately didn't go in that direction, and Tamiya and Satoru stuck it out and found their dream apartment.
I loved the scenes of them moving in together and starting off a new life. And I was blown away by the absolute sweetness of Tamiya pulling out a marriage certificate that they can't file, but can still fill out and keep as their promise to each other. I've seen a fair amount of proposals on the page, but that one was really special.
Yu and Kagami aren't half bad in this volume, either. There's a wonderful flash forward to ten years in the future, with all of them in established careers, and quite happy lives. Satoru has a little sister now, and while he's not able to fully support himself as an artist just yet, he's getting there. Tamiya is holding down a decent-paying job with a company that has an industrial baseball team - so while he can't make a living from his passion, he does still get to pursue it. It's such a lovely, balanced, hopeful view of the future. And perhaps best of all...for their tenth "anniversary" - of the proposal, and moving in together - Tamiya buys them matching rings with tiny jewel chips in the bands.
Kagami, of course, is intensely jealous, because as a politician, he's not able to make his relationship public. Yu, who's serving as his secretary, is still living with his mother and has been refusing Kagami's offers for both of them to live with him. (This makes me sad...I really wish we could've seen more of Yu's mother. I think she would like Kagami a lot, honestly.) Kagami's envy boils over when he sees the rings - although he understands Yu's argument that an unmarried politician can't wear something like that without becoming the center of way too much gossip.
Yu's solution with a tie pin and matching cufflinks - something that's meaningful to the two of them but won't look like anything to outside parties - is so deeply romantic and so different from Satoru's and Tamiya's relationship. I really like where these two ended up a decade down the line, and maybe I'll have to revisit their high school romance and be a little more patient with their growing pains.
It's so nice to see all of them happy together in the future, and to be a part of a world, for a little while, where stories like that seem possible.
We start out with a tiny bit of drama...realistically, Satoru does not get into the two private art schools he'd taken entrance exams for. He's distraught and trying to figure out what else he can do: his options are to go with a local (general) university that has art programs but limited resources, or to try for a better university that will take him far away from Tamiya. Neither option is great, but Satoru can't handle the idea of a separation, even if it's temporary. Fortunately, Tamiya yet again displays his wonderful ability to communicate and talks Satoru down from his panic.
He still has his public university's entrance exam...and while they typically "only accept geniuses," there's no reason to worry yet. If he calms down and doesn't overwork and overstress himself before this entrance exam, he might do better. And if he fails the first time, there's always the next year, then the next: his life and his dreams won't be over if he misses out on his first try.
It's really wonderful advice (from the pen of an artist whose author note talks about defying the odds to succeed), and it's effective. Perhaps unrealistically but perfectly in line with this story's needs, Satoru does get accepted to his third school, and while they're celebrating, they come to the next big step...moving in together.
The summary on the back of the book says "their plans of living together after graduation," which I was kind of assuming meant "after university," but to my delighted surprise, it comes much earlier. Since Tamiya will be on his university's baseball team, he explains that he'll have a lot of early and late practices, and it'll make sense for him to live closer to campus - so he'll be getting an apartment. He asks Satoru to help him choose, and it turns out that's because he wants Satoru to live with him.
The next obstacle is overcoming the objections of Satoru's family (Tamiya's family still, weirdly, makes no appearance). While they support their son's relationship, Satoru's dad has some reasonable issues with this major life change. As he points out, the primary difference between "cohabitation" and "marriage" is the legal paperwork that two men aren't allowed to fill out and file together, which means that his 18 year old son is sort of technically getting married before he can afford to support himself.
He does come around on the matter - after some fairly dramatic arguments from his wife, who worries about losing her son if they put up too many obstacles at this point in his life - and sets up a few ground rules. They need to hold down part-time jobs so they can pay for some of their own living expenses, visit home regularly, and give their parents keys so they can come by and visit (and bring food). Relieved, Satoru and Tamiya agree, and they start apartment-hunting in earnest.
Which leads to the funniest scene of the entire series. I literally laughed out loud so hard I had to set my book down for a while...gosh, I wish the entire series had been like this volume.
As you might expect, it's not easy to find an apartment that meets everything two 18 year olds in love, with limited finances, and with different universities and career paths, might want. Yu very helpfully warns them about safety issues, decrepit buildings, and "stigmatized properties," which means someone died in them - and might still be haunting the place. This brings back some memories of the ghost stories in Volume 2, and perhaps predictably, Tamiya isn't concerned at all, but Satoru starts worrying and imagining (?) things when they find a property that seems too good to be true.
The scene where Tamiya leaps forward to punch a ghost in the face was one of the funniest things I've ever seen in a manga, and that alone made the entire series worthwhile. Fortunately, it turns out to just be a depressed, broke musician who used his old key to come back to the apartment where he used to live with his girlfriend, but for some unaccountable reason, Tamiya and Satoru still aren't super eager to live there.
I was briefly a little worried with how pushy Kagami was being about the two of them moving into his family mansion, with its many extra rooms - but the story fortunately didn't go in that direction, and Tamiya and Satoru stuck it out and found their dream apartment.
I loved the scenes of them moving in together and starting off a new life. And I was blown away by the absolute sweetness of Tamiya pulling out a marriage certificate that they can't file, but can still fill out and keep as their promise to each other. I've seen a fair amount of proposals on the page, but that one was really special.
Yu and Kagami aren't half bad in this volume, either. There's a wonderful flash forward to ten years in the future, with all of them in established careers, and quite happy lives. Satoru has a little sister now, and while he's not able to fully support himself as an artist just yet, he's getting there. Tamiya is holding down a decent-paying job with a company that has an industrial baseball team - so while he can't make a living from his passion, he does still get to pursue it. It's such a lovely, balanced, hopeful view of the future. And perhaps best of all...for their tenth "anniversary" - of the proposal, and moving in together - Tamiya buys them matching rings with tiny jewel chips in the bands.
Kagami, of course, is intensely jealous, because as a politician, he's not able to make his relationship public. Yu, who's serving as his secretary, is still living with his mother and has been refusing Kagami's offers for both of them to live with him. (This makes me sad...I really wish we could've seen more of Yu's mother. I think she would like Kagami a lot, honestly.) Kagami's envy boils over when he sees the rings - although he understands Yu's argument that an unmarried politician can't wear something like that without becoming the center of way too much gossip.
Yu's solution with a tie pin and matching cufflinks - something that's meaningful to the two of them but won't look like anything to outside parties - is so deeply romantic and so different from Satoru's and Tamiya's relationship. I really like where these two ended up a decade down the line, and maybe I'll have to revisit their high school romance and be a little more patient with their growing pains.
It's so nice to see all of them happy together in the future, and to be a part of a world, for a little while, where stories like that seem possible.
August 27, 2020
if you've wanted to try out boys love genre but have a limit with explicit content then this is start for you. Awkward Silence is the purest yaoi I've read in a good long while. Keigo and Satoru main relationship focus is a wholesome one to follow. Right at the beginning the two confess their feelings and enter into a relationship. Keigo and Satoru affections for one another creates such a beautiful relationship to follow, following the pair's 'first' experiences and all the way to choosing their college paths.
The explicit content contents is very mild, you don't see any private parts everything is kept very tame. Doesn't mean some scenes aren't steamy. A secondary couple focus comes half way through related to Satoru's childhood friend and member of student council. It's cute and adding a humorous addition to the groups chemistry whenever together. But Keigo and Satoru will be your focus. Something I loved a lot was Satoru's mum she was such supportive mother especially when finding out Satoru was dating Keigo. She gets best mum award.
Such a thoroughly enjoyable boys loves manga that is perfect palette cleanser for those heavy dialogue reads! So glad to have it in my manga collection!
The explicit content contents is very mild, you don't see any private parts everything is kept very tame. Doesn't mean some scenes aren't steamy. A secondary couple focus comes half way through related to Satoru's childhood friend and member of student council. It's cute and adding a humorous addition to the groups chemistry whenever together. But Keigo and Satoru will be your focus. Something I loved a lot was Satoru's mum she was such supportive mother especially when finding out Satoru was dating Keigo. She gets best mum award.
Such a thoroughly enjoyable boys loves manga that is perfect palette cleanser for those heavy dialogue reads! So glad to have it in my manga collection!
June 24, 2021
Tamiya, the outgoing baseball player, and Satoru, the introverted artist, are present again in this final volume and trying to be together. Thanks to Tamiya’s kindly thoughtfulness, Satoru is able to muster up courage to get into another school after being rejected from his first two choices.
This manga is about the sweet side of boy/boy love as it slowly ripens into a long-term relationship. We watch knowingly the frustrating hunt for a studio apartment they can share while mom frets and dad frowns over the potential seriousness of their arrangements.
The sex isn’t all that constant but then it doesn’t need to be. The author has given us a convincing portrayal of opposites attracting, complementing each other and happily lasting over time.
This manga is about the sweet side of boy/boy love as it slowly ripens into a long-term relationship. We watch knowingly the frustrating hunt for a studio apartment they can share while mom frets and dad frowns over the potential seriousness of their arrangements.
The sex isn’t all that constant but then it doesn’t need to be. The author has given us a convincing portrayal of opposites attracting, complementing each other and happily lasting over time.
July 26, 2020
Mi sento magnanima e arrotondo per eccesso, per premiare questa bellissima serie yaoi! Di gran lunga la migliore che abbia letto in tutti questi anni.
Mi sono piaciute le relazioni dei quattro ragazzi, che sono molto più sane e naturali di tanti altri manga. Anche le avventure che vivono sembrano molto naturali, la stessa cosa che potrebbe accadere a qualunque giovane coppia che deve andare a cercare un appartamento insieme.
Menzione speciale per la mamma di Tono che è uno dei personaggi secondari più riusciti tra tutti quelli apparsi nei manga che ho letto negli ultimi vent'anni.
Mi sono piaciute le relazioni dei quattro ragazzi, che sono molto più sane e naturali di tanti altri manga. Anche le avventure che vivono sembrano molto naturali, la stessa cosa che potrebbe accadere a qualunque giovane coppia che deve andare a cercare un appartamento insieme.
Menzione speciale per la mamma di Tono che è uno dei personaggi secondari più riusciti tra tutti quelli apparsi nei manga che ho letto negli ultimi vent'anni.
December 21, 2025
And they all lived happily ever after. In this final volume Satoru & Keigo move in together and we get a fun section where they are flat-hunting and think one they like is haunted. The final sections of this time skip 10 years and we look at Satoru & Keigo/Yu and Kagami ten years from now. This one has the hottest love scenes in the series and is a fitting end to what has been a sweet yaoi series, light on plot and angst but very character driven.
If you like things like Heartstopper I think you'll really like this one.
If you like things like Heartstopper I think you'll really like this one.
May 29, 2022
Aw, the series ended on such a cute note! I loved my time with Tamiya and Tono. Even the side couple Kagame and Sagara had such a lovely happy ending.
I kept chuckling at Tono's parents reactions to him wanting to move in with Tamiya. What I really enjoyed about the end of the series is that we got a 10-year time jump to see the couples still thriving and loving each other well into adulthood. I wish we could have gotten more of their college romance, but this'll do.
I kept chuckling at Tono's parents reactions to him wanting to move in with Tamiya. What I really enjoyed about the end of the series is that we got a 10-year time jump to see the couples still thriving and loving each other well into adulthood. I wish we could have gotten more of their college romance, but this'll do.
May 29, 2025
Per my tradition, writing a review for the whole series now that I'm done. This is a very sweet series and I actually didn't mind most of the conflict as it was quickly resolved and there weren't the questionable consent so common in BL from this era. Takanaga has stunning art as usual and lovable characters with humor and drama in equal parts. If you want to follow a sweet and spicy high-school romance this is a must read.
May 7, 2018
This series is ridiculous but incredibly sweet, and I loved the way all the loose ends got tied up. (Spoiler alert: Tono and Tamiya are gonna live happily ever after!) The art is gorgeous as always -- I enjoy all of Takanaga-sensei's work but I do think she surpassed herself with Awkward Silence art-wise.
August 16, 2025
Bon, c'est la package du BL japonais lycéen de cette époque, ni plus, ni moins donc je vais pas en faire une critique sérieuse (version tome 6) car ce serait bien trop redondant :
Bon, dans l'ensemble, c'était quand-même. C'est gentil, naïf, niais, tout ce qu'on veut mais ça trouve certainement son public. Il faut juste pas en attendre davantage.
Bon, dans l'ensemble, c'était quand-même. C'est gentil, naïf, niais, tout ce qu'on veut mais ça trouve certainement son public. Il faut juste pas en attendre davantage.
This entire review has been hidden because of spoilers.
February 22, 2018
A VERY cute end to the series. It leaves you wishing for just one more volume, but also wrapped up nicely and on a high note. Would definitely recommend for anyone who wants a cute romance manga, BL or non.
June 12, 2019
Happy endings abound! The fast-forward ending was a nice touch to assure us the happiness lasts and all loose ends were tied up. And I didn’t always *love* Kagami & Yu, but the tie pin/cufflink scene was A+.
February 6, 2024
A really enjoyable BL manga!
The two couples' stories in this series are cute and endearing - no real angst, no conflicts. It was a fun, relaxing read. I recommend Takanaga's stories.
The two couples' stories in this series are cute and endearing - no real angst, no conflicts. It was a fun, relaxing read. I recommend Takanaga's stories.
February 16, 2018
I loved this book. It was an amazing finish for the series. I highly recommend it. 5/5
September 4, 2020
The ending is super sweet and a lovely conclusion to the series!
September 5, 2020
This review is for the Italian edition.
July 18, 2021
3.5 stars.
December 25, 2017
Süßes Ende zu der Reihe, da unser Pärchen sowohl zusammen zieht als auch später sozusagen verheiratet lebt. Hatte gar nicht erwartet, dass da noch ein Band kommt!
June 19, 2021
This was a perfect ending for a series that I've been following since it was first released in English. Everything wrapped up perfectly, with a nice epilogue that brought me to tears. I'm going to miss Satoru and Keigo, but I will revisit this one again. Definitely a new favorite series of mine.
Displaying 1 - 20 of 20 reviews