No Touching At All

どうしても触れたくない / Doushite mo furetakunai series

by Kou Yoneda

On his very first day at a brand-new job, shy Shima is trapped in the elevator with a hungover mess of a guy…who turns out to be his boss! Togawa’s prickly exterior definitely puts the rookie recruit on-edge, but it doesn’t take long before Shima’s every waking thought is invaded by his overbearing yet totally thoughtful superior. Will Shima put aside a history of disappointment in order to take a chance on a complicated relationship?

Genres: Manga, Yaoi, Romance, M M Romance, LGBT, Comics, Graphic Novels

232 pages, Paperback

First published September 1, 2008

About the author

Yoneda Kou (ヨネダコウ) made her manga debut in 2009 with Doushitemo Furetakunai (No Touching at All), which became an instant critical and commercial success. She followed up with Saezuru Tori wa Habatakanai (Twittering Birds Never Fly) and has also published doujinshi (independent comics) under the circle names "Raw" and "NITRO Koutetsu". A Capricorn with an A blood type, she likes sushi, inexpensive chocolate, and foreign drama series.

Reviews

[daph pink ♡ · Rating 3 out of 5]

I am fragile right now , don't touch me!
This was sad , really really sad !
Though I didn't like the storyline much but it still made me cry!
I told you I am sucker for m-m romance !
And there is a movie too!!!!

[Xing · Rating 5 out of 5]

Edit 4/19/14: THERE WILL BE A MOVIE?!

Decided to do a review of this after my fifth reread. :D

Doushitemo Furetakunai (translation: No touching at all/I don’t want to touch) remains as my favorite comic by Yoneda Kou and is definitely one of my favorite M/M comics of all time. The story centers around Shima Toshiaki, the new employee of the systems section department of some undisclosed company, and his relationship with the section chief Togawa. Shima is an introverted gay man who just got over an ugly relationship with a closeted man from his previous company. Togawa is the polar opposite: loud, carefree, and very social in his dealings with others. He’s also straight as a pole and has plans of eventually having his own family.

While the plot itself may not win most original gay-for-you story of the century, especially to veterans of M/M fiction, I believe the execution of it was done well. However, it was the artistic style and characters that make DF shine among the stagnant waters of M/M comics (which is pretty much porn-without-plot it seems). Yoneda Kou has a very subtle, yet poignant quality to her style that is reminiscent of some writing styles of M/M authors I very much admire and appreciate. I feel like I have to take the time to appreciate not only the quality of the actual drawings itself, but her execution of the story from one panel to the next. I call it her “art prose” (now I’m just making up words!). She doesn’t really focus on the sex between her characters – it’s there, but subtle and tactfully done.

I do want to warn readers that there IS a published, translated version of DF titled “No Touching At All.” It can be found on major retailers for digital download (i.e. Amazon and eManga) for purchase. I really hate to say this, but I will be blunt: the official translations for this story sucks, and not in the way that turns me on either. There are moments when conversations don’t make sense. That wouldn’t have bothered me so much since this only occurs occasionally. However, it carried over to the more intimate situations as well where the moment felt ruined because of badly done translations. After I bought the digital ebook version, I switched back to rereading the fan-translated material after about halfway through and started enjoying it again. Not only that, but the digital quality of the published version leaves much to be desired (I was reading the PDF I bought from eManga on my iPad 2, and wasn’t impressed). So my recommendation: read the fan-translated version of DF online. It is well done, understandable, and devoid of bad grammar and misspellings. You can read it online on any major “manga” hosting sites such as Mangafox. Here’s a direct here

[Reading_ Tamishly · Rating 5 out of 5]

Listen Hollywood. If you want to know what a perfect and an accurate book to movie adaptation is, learn from this.

I am a bit shocked as to how accurate the movie adaptation is.

Perfection. I want to speak Spanish now.

[Sheziss · Rating 3 out of 5]

At first it was innocuous, and I found it boring. That's why I was actually surprised when my feelz were shaken. I was close to tears in certain scenes. I truly did not expect such raw emotion to comef from these cartoons with a full blast. I was wrong.



*****

Read in Manga Rock.

Volumes in the series:

[Aleksandra · Rating 1 out of 5]

By this point, I have to admit that I like only specific manga genres and this one isn't one of them. The romance is the main focus of the story and it features 1)invasion of privacy, 2) muffled consent, 3) gay character hates himself for being gay and his lovers admits that he's straight but find the gay character cute? also the straight calls him a wife at some point?
I am not here for this mess. I can't believe I bothered to finish it.

[Mayu · Rating 4 out of 5]

6'5/10



¿Y que mas puedo deciros de El laberinto de los sentimientos? Que me ha gustado esta historia agridulce de amor aunque habría agradecido mas ternura; que he llorado y se me ha roto un poquito el corazón con ella; que me he encariñado con los protagonistas; que ha sido pura electricidad cada toque y cada mirada y cada encuentro de esta pareja; que he sido golosa con las escenas de sexo y aunque hubiera querido que fueran más detalladas y explicitas me han gustado igualmente; que me ha robado el corazón esos besos, esos abrazos espontáneos, que en esos momentos he adorado las ilustraciones de Kou Yoneda ♥.



RESEÑA COMPLETA EN:

http://mayuamoraprimeravista.blogspot...


¡Película basada en este manga ♥!



http://mayuamoraprimeravista.blogspot...

[Silvia · Rating 3 out of 5]

3,5 stars (I think?)

It took me a while to get accustomed to the characters, but then I really enjoyed them and started caring about them.
Shima reminded me so much of Neil Josten (AFTG) for some reason, but with a very different backstory.

What confuses me about this series is how sexuality is handled. I don't know if it's a matter of the Japanese culture handling it differently than we do in the Western media (please enlighten my ignorant ass if you know more than I do about this), but as far as I understood, in this manga Togawa is never called anything but "straight" even though he enjoys sex with another man and even falls in love with him, and that confuses me. He should at least be called bisexual, shouldn't he? It's not even a matter of "no labels" because there's plenty of times where Shima is openly called gay. Idk.

[Bine · Rating 4 out of 5]

Eine wirklich schöne und berührende Boys Love Geschichte, die nur mit angedeuteten Sexszenen auskommt und dafür die Charaktere mit einer tiefen und Glaubwürdigen Geschichte ausstattet. Ich mochte wirklich beide Charaktere sehr gerne, vielleicht Togawa, den aktiven Part, nämlich Shimas Chef am meisten. Er zeigt, dass man stark und cool sein kann und gleichzeitig Gefühle zeigen kann. Shima hat mir größtenteils sehr leid getan und ich konnte extrem gut mit ihm mitfühlen, da er mit realistischen Problemen, die aus seiner vorigen Beziehung herrühren, zu kämpfen hat. Besonders gut hat mir gefallen, dass der Manga auch durchaus realistische Probleme von Homosexuellen in der Gesellschaft (v.a. am Arbeitsplatz) thematisiert, die in den meisten Boys Love Manga schlichtweg ausradiert werden. Auf jeden Fall ein sehr toller Einzelband mit viel Gefühl, der mich sogar zu Tränen rühren konnte. Nicht ganz zu 5 Sternen hat es gereicht, da der Manga doch sehr ruhig und fast ein bisschen deprimierend ist. Ein wenig mehr Humor hätte dem ganzen gut getan!
Trotzdem ein sehr toller Manga, der auch schön gezeichnet ist. Von daher werde ich die Mangaka im Auge behalten.

[Cristina · Rating 4 out of 5]

This is the first BL I read by Kou Yoneda and I've found it engaging and very well developed.

The story follows the tentative relationship that blossoms between co-workers Shima and Togawa and focuses on the ways the two characters negotiate their new emotions for each other with their difficult past.

Although for very different reasons, both Shima and Togawa are scarred characters but their reactions to their painful memories couldn't be more different - if Shima is shy and reserved, Togawa is rowdy and overbearing and pushes his way into his colleague's life with little regard for the protective wall that Shima has built up around him.

Apparently following the traditional Yaoi pattern of the outgoing seme pursuing the more taciturn and unsocial uke , No Touching At All also breaks this mould by giving Togawa an extra veneer of endearing uncertainty and providing Shima towards the end of the story with a more assertive attitude.

One aspect that left me a bit perplexed but that is, again, a rather common trope in BL stories is how Togawa is depicted from the beginning as being a straight guy who just happens to find himself deeply in love with another man. On the one hand, this aspect in yaoi manga responds to the romantic ideal of 'love conquers all' but I find it somewhat problematic in its dealing with sexual identity and gender norms.

The office life is the book is depicted in a lively and funny manner, with a good eye for details and with a number of interesting secondary characters, especially Ryo Onoda who's the main character in Yoneda's Even So, I Will Love You Tenderly.

The drawings are very evocative, although probably this is not my absolute favourite style. I really love Rihito Takarai's works, for instance, and they're visually very different from this, but there's a beautiful sense of urgency in the way Yoneda's characters are depicted, their emotions so honest and raw and showing on their facial expressions and hunched-up body postures.

This is a tender and raw story, slowly burning its way to the reader and leaving behind a trail of lingering feelings.

It's well worth reading it.

[Chiara · Rating 4 out of 5]

This was CUTE. I love ships where one half of the couple is reserved and quiet and the other person is rowdy and loud. It hits me right in the heart.

[Trix · Rating 5 out of 5]

I really really love this manga. I love the art and the story and the characters.

I love how unsure and doubtful Shima is. I love how bold and brave Togawa is. And they just go so well together.

I will often re-read this!

[Kynthos-the-Archer (Kyn) · Rating 3 out of 5]

Cried a little towards the end. Art wise this isn't my cuppa tea but storyline isn't shabby. A bitter sweet romance filled with doubts and unhappy past. 

I was actually bored at the beginning, luckily the pace picks up somewhere in the middle and then the best part was towards the end. At least the courtship was kinda fun to read. Togawa was pushy in his pursuit of Shima. On the other hand Shima who was still recovering from a bad breakup was shying away from Togawa's attention. He is determined to stay away from straight guys at all cost. Straight as a rod Togawa was exactly the kind of guys Shima vowed to steer clear off. 

I did find Togawa's sudden sexual interest towards Shima a little difficult to understand even if he has just discovered his attraction to guys and that he is bisexual. The lack of self doubt on his part made me question the plotline. Perhaps Togawa's transition to a bi wasn't tackled well.

[Yue · Rating 4 out of 5]

WOW, a really sweet yaoi. The art is also beautiful, very real, no chibis here. And the story... so touching. Shima is a cute, kind of emo uke. He is shy, very introvert, all due his past and a lost love (a man that was a coward, who denied his sexuality, and by doing that, denied his love for Shima and ruined his reputation). Shima's trauma made him reluctant to fall in love again.

Enter boss Togawa, a man-next-door, who is kind, a smoker, and very attracted to Shima. Before they even know, they fell in love. And that is why I considered this manga very real. Togawa is the seme; all his life he was straight. He meets Shima and immediately feels protective of him. There is no hot sex... only tender sex IMO. And what I liked so much about Togawa is that he gave up his dream of becoming a father because he loved Shima so much.

Best scenes:

- when they are on the train and Shima gets a call from his ex-lover and Togawa pick up the call and tells the guy to leave his boyfriend alone! or else, he (Togawa) is going to kick his ass, basically.
- when Togawa goes for the first time to Shima's apartment and spend the night there, in the same bed, only hugging him.

Sweet yaoi.

[Rosa · Rating 3 out of 5]

Cute! The art and the story is cute. I liked better the secondary cast than the main couple, but... Like Kabakura would say: "It's a shojo" and I'm here for that XD.

[Janice Benson · Rating 4 out of 5]

“To fall in love and to commit yourself to love means you should make your loved one the one thing you cherish the most.”



This manga gives me the feels. The story is so heartbreakingly wonderful in different ways. The story itself is so simple, but when you near the end, it hits you out of nowhere. The feels is real. You might think that this is your simple cutesy romantic kind of story, well you get the romantic part right, but this isn’t cutesy at all. In fact, I cried most of the time whilst reading this. There were some cute moments where I chuckled and might’ve blushed, but 90% of the time, if I wasn’t crying, I was crying deep inside.

I like the chemistry between both characters. Togawa is like the fun and lively one, while Shima is the silent and stubborn one. Even though that chemistry seems very cliché, I still can’t get enough of them. I also liked Onada’s character, and I cannot wait to read his story.

Overall, the story is great. If you like to read something heartbreakingly wonderful, give this one a go!


Plot – 8/10
Characters – 7/10
Writing – 8/10
Design – 9/10
Overall Impression – 8/10

Average – 4.0 stars
Translation – I like this book

[Gage Lively · Rating 4 out of 5]

I read this one early on in my Yaoi exploration and I’ve read so much Yaoi since, I had forgotten it. I’m glad Maiko-Chan reminded me of how good it is. I re-read it a couple nights ago, but this is the first moment I’ve had a chance to review.

Both couples really got me in the feels! I ached to hear about Shima’s bullying at his old job. The gradual pull Togawa felt seemed organic and pretty natural (for Yaoi. Expecting total realism from Yaoi is like criticizing a cowboy book because it has horses😜).

I love the way the shut down Shima gradually opens up. And especially how Togawa threatens the ex-boyfriend who made Shima so miserable at work that he had to move to a new company.

Onondaga and Deguchi’s story was enjoyable, too. I understood Onoda’s jealousy after Deguchi tells him he’s been sleeping with other people. Deguchi confesses and Onoda asks for time. I think it was reasonable to expect the party who confesses might “wait” for a while before sleeping with someone else, but it wasn’t a dealbreaker, because they aren’t actually together. (I can’t stand cheating. If there’s cheating in a romance I will not only DNF, but if there’s a physical copy probably burn or shred it!)

I loved the quiet Onoda and he seems like a good match for the outgoing Deguchi.

I will no doubt re-read this a third time at some point!

[Mary · Rating 5 out of 5]

Shima, starting at a new job, begins an affair with his boss; both caught in an unexpected attraction. But Shima is an extremely shy man who is carrying the emotional scars from a previous relationship that ended badly and cost him his job, so he fears his liasion with Togawa is going to have the same consequences.

A sudden transfer for Togawa causes Shima to distance himself in order to avoid the heartbreak and the inevitable breakup he believes is soon to come. When he fully realizes Togawa's absence, Shima must take the chance and put his heart on the line or risk losing Togawa forever.

Some parts of the dialogue seemed distorted or disjointed and didn't make sense, but for the most part (and since I'd already read it online several times) DMP did a good job on this. I'm just hoping that that this isn't the only title of hers they licence, since I love Yoneda-sensei's work; Kanjou Spectrum is an all time favorite! :)

[Chocobox · Rating 5 out of 5]

Shima (gay man with angsty past) falls for Togawa (straight man with angsty past). For me, this had the PERFECT ratio of angst to comedy. I just love how Togawa's playfulness breaks through the walls Shima has built around himself. (The scene on the train, when Shima's ex calls is pure LOVE.) I do find the breakup painful, but I think it's worth it for the emotional payoff at the end. Also, I love love LOVE the art; the characters aren't especially muscley or masculine, but they still look like MEN and not girls without breasts. Also the Onoda extra at the end = LOVE! (Onoda was named the best side character of the year in このBLがやばい！, and deservedly so.) He's so adorable, and I love how he genuinely wants to help the main characters and doesn't take the friend who's all "you'd be happier with me!" role. ...Uh, so, in short, this manga = LOVE.

[Priscilla · Rating 2 out of 5]

Well I might be the black sheep because I've read nothing but great reviews about this one-shot, and it wasn't what I expected it to be. The title made me believe there would be like tension / forbidden love / "no touching" involved, and the tension is resolved in 30 pages and sex happens right away. Plus the characters weren't very fleshed-out and I felt like I observed them from a distance, and I ended up not being invested in their story. So all in all, this yaoi was a bit disappointing...

[Chelsea 🏳️‍🌈 · Rating 4 out of 5]

Honestly, I thought I was moved less by this story than Twittering Birds but holy shit, when the climax of this story happened (Togawa telling Shima about you know what) I actually cried. It was startling. Yoneda is truly fantastic at creating these characters that you get attached to and their hurt becomes your hurt. I honestly didn't expect to be that moved by Shima's pain but here I was crying.

Ah, I prefer Twittering Birds but this one is fantastic as well. There aren't any themes in here to warn about so if you're looking to get into Yaoi manga, this is a fairly simple plot with maybe two or three sex scenes? And none of them are super graphic.

Definitely a recommend. Also, apparently there was a film?

[connie · Rating 4 out of 5]

[This is a joint review of No Touching At All and its spin off, Even So, I Will Love You Tenderly]

Of the 'older' manga I've read that focus on the relationships between two men- I've certainly read older, but these came out in a decade that features more problematic content, which is why I'm referring to it as older- these two are definitely in the 'recommend' pile.

Other than the beautiful names for the volumes and the artwork being a lot prettier than expected, with distinctive character designs, I really enjoyed the developing relationships and the conversations had about workplace homophobia and ostracization in Japan, although that wasn't the main focus. I found the main characters were well developed and the feelings in the relationships had a lot of depth and made the story feel grounded in reality.

They do include some questionable attitudes towards identification of sexuality-- two characters in both volumes are probably bisexual or on that spectrum, but are referred to as straight more than once for liking women and only the man they enter the relationship with. It's complicated, but nothing in either volumes ever feels targeted or hateful, just lacking education on the nuances of sexuality, and I can only hope the mangaka has grown and has more of an understanding on sexuality now. I also found that placement of speech bubbles made it difficult to decipher who was talking at points.

[Goge (BARRONS) le Moning Maniac, · Rating 5 out of 5]

That was so good!!! I LOVED Deguchi and Onoda!!! Shima and his boss were nice too but damn!! Onoda's story was so good! And his "Whew" on page 42 was hot. Sexy, fine, hot. RAWR! I want some of that. I'm jealous... This story from Onoda's viewpoint, was sweet. Incredibly sweet, bittersweet, tender, loving, and so good. Definitely, I'll reread their story:))) Onoda and Deguchi made me happy and I got that warm soft feeling inside for them because their love was just so genuine and sweet and ect ect ect. I like it:) *smiles smiles smiles* X)))

Oh yes, the artwork was beautiful. !!! And I loved the blacks and whites :)

P.s. So I stopped crying but then I thought about the last pages again and said outloud "That was so good.." and tears came out of my eyes again. It was so damn good. Ahhh! Love it! I need to find more reads from this author:')))

Hello again! So I was looking for the book "Tadayoedo Shizumazu, Saredo Naki mo Sezu" by Yoneda sensei but I couldn't find it on Goodreads... I cried. Gods you are LETHAL Yoneda sensei!!! LETHAL!! Cry like crazy, hurt like hell, love like it's all you can do. That's what I feel when I read your books. It hurts. You're bloody brilliant. Commends to you.

[D. Fox · Rating 5 out of 5]

" I figured life was all about the things you can't have " .

Yoneda Kou is one of my all time favorite authors in general and this is another of her great stories.
She somehow always manages to turn at first glance a very usual story into a heart- squeezing one, I love it.

[Sophie · Rating 5 out of 5]

I will never, ever get sick of this manga. I love it so much. <3 Every time I read it I fall for it more. *clutches it to chest*

[Leila ✨ · Rating 4 out of 5]

Este manga fue puro angst y pocas cosas me gustan tanto como sufrir

3.75 de 5 estrellas.

[agustina · Rating 3 out of 5]

me sorprendió lo conmovedor que fue

[Cat · Rating 4 out of 5]

I'm a fan of Yoneda-sensei's artwork because it's very emotionally charged and characters are recognizable from each other easily. The only downside to the artwork IMO are the backgrounds. A lot of white, grey, and black panels are used and actual items in the background are very spare. The story isn't anything really original but the drama is intense and you really feel for the pair as long as you like heavy drama and the typical uke and seme pairing.

Rating: R
Artwork: B
Originality: C
Plot: C

(my ratings are based on personal preferences and by comparing the title against others i've read.)

[Joy · Rating 4 out of 5]

Yaoi manga about an office romance between quiet Shima and loud Togawa. This could have hit lots of badwrongdonotwant buttons, but it doesn't; the focus is definitely on the characters and the relationships, and the sex scenes are in service of that. There's a nice balance between the writing and art--I love the character's body language, the evocation of office cubicle culture (the name badges on lanyards, heh), and the use of humor to undercut the angst. Best scene ever: Togawa answering Shima's cellphone for him.

Good stuff. Would love to see more work by this mangaka licensed.

[Natsroshan · Rating 5 out of 5]

Togawa... *sighs*
This manga is so beautifuly drawn! The dialogues are so beautifully written. I was captivated.
Yaoi fans => don't miss this one.

[Emma Sea · Rating 5 out of 5]

One of my favourite yaoi. A lovely blend of sweet and bitter.