Ranked #2058

Boys on the Run (Manga)

Run, Forest, RUN! I’m sure most of you still remember that epic film Tom Hanks starred in. Not that there’s any actual relation to this manga and that movie aside from their similarity of having quite an avid runner for the lead role. Although I personally doubt it, who knows, perhaps “Forest Gump” did inspire Kengo Hanazawa in writing this piece? At any rate, I just wanted to ask a simple question, really:

Why (do you) run?

A. for survival/defensive purposes; to escape from harm’s way
B. to impress someone (via competition/sports or staying fit)
C. because it’s your talent/profession; your one and only saving grace
D. because you’re in a hurry/running late for your MAL-related endeavors/responsibilities ;p

Well, I’m sure there’s a variety of other specific reasons/answers for each one of us. As far as the protagonist of the story is concerned however, and as one would expect from the title, he runs for pretty much every single reason I’ve listed except for the last one, that is.

Having considered the title, you might think it strange to refer to someone in his mid-20s as a boy, let alone in plural form (‘boys’), but make no mistake, BOTR is most definitely about that guy—your typical, average loser who just can’t seem to act his age, and whose simple dream in life is to get laid, and with a good enough looking chick to boot, if possible. So basically, there you have the story’s premise in what seems to be an office-romance setting. Or at least that’s how it was in the beginning.

To avoid confusion, let me just clarify that contrary to its genre labels or ‘tags’, this series is neither romantic nor sports-centric in reality. To be exact, it’s an adult drama which delves a bit into boxing merely as a theme and a means for the protagonist to grow and find himself, find love, and ultimately find something of which, other than himself, that is worth standing up and fighting for.

To reiterate/summarize, BOTR tells the tale of a 26 year old man-child who has a run-first (both literally and figuratively), ask-questions later mentality of dealing with his issues/problems. He runs and runs and runs—away from all sorts of danger and confrontation the series/author has to offer with reckless abandon. “Love” being his primary reason for doing so, apparently, as he’s proven time and again how much he truly loves himself—at one point, even going as far as to leave a romantic-interest behind just to save face or rather, to save himself from further embarrassment after having been beaten into a bloody mess in front of her.

And while he even picked a (meaningless) fight with someone and took up some basic boxing to give himself a fighting chance, at one point, he never truly did stop from his ‘marathon’. He simply kept at it until he eventually ran into a familiar face—his “manic pixie dream girl”, or however else you may want to put it. Since then, which is quite surprisingly true enough, still more of the same running for dear life, only with a much clearer and more productive purpose of doing so, such as taking boxing/training more seriously, if nothing more than to get the girl’s attention. Like they say, change never happens overnight, and especially with regards to people.

Blah blah blah blah blah, if I said anymore, I might as well just tell you the whole story. Not that I mind, mind you. Only that would practically defeat the entire purpose of my writing this ‘review’. Anyway, if I have a snowball’s chance in hell of selling this manga to those who have yet to even glance at its editorial-cartoon-like (cover) art, the story may not be any prettier or more glamorous than its synopsis initially suggests, but if you’re someone who’s into gritty, unsentimental, off-color humor, and most importantly realism—as in realistic characters who actually resemble true to life people with real human qualities, appearances, and issues; living in a world that just don’t give a damn on whatsoever they do and whatsoever fate may befall them—I wholeheartedly recommend "Boys on the Run" to you.

Oh and before I forget—read at your own risk! This manga may or may not contain “NTR”. Consider yourself warned! ;p read more