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Ganbare! Nakamura-kun!!
Go For It, Nakamura!
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Ganbare! Nakamura-kun!!

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Alternative Titles

Japanese: ガンバレ！中村くん!!

Information

Type: Manga

Volumes: 1

Chapters: 11

Status: Finished

Published: Dec 27, 2014 to Aug 27, 2016

Genre: Boys Love

Theme: School

Serialization: Opera

Authors: Syundei (Story & Art)

Statistics

Score: 7.85¹ (scored by 14,776 users)

¹ indicates a weighted score.

Ranked: #1122²

² based on the top manga page. Please note that 'R18+' titles are excluded.

Popularity: #620

Members: 29,233

Favorites: 886

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Reviews

Filtered Results: 17 / 19

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Sep 28, 2017

wungy

Recommended

An absolute favorite. Like, this is everything I could have ever wanted. A cute, funny, and most of all, sfw manga about a shy gay boy trying to become friends with his crush, drawn in a classic 80's art style. Speaking as a gay boy who loves classic manga, this is an absolute blessing. It feels nice to read something that doesn't feel fetishized, for once. I can relate to both Nakamura AND Hirose in a number of the situations, the girl characters don't just exist to be annoying, and I was smiling the whole way through! I'm always sure to tell my friends about ...

Aug 23, 2016

iorime

Recommended

Preliminary (6/11 chp)

Ganbare! Nakamura-kun!! is a very funny slice of life manga centred on an awkward gay high school boy and his crush. Unlike most of the shounen ai and yaoi genres, this manga is completely drama free so far; which is a welcome thing- the same stories can be told in the same way only so many times.

The premise of the story is one that a lot of LGBTQ people could identify with from growing up in high school; the titular closeted protagonist tries to get closer to his crush. Unfortunately, Nakamura's shy and not able to muster up the courage to have a real conversation ...

Nov 2, 2018

isahbellah

Recommended

This was such a sweet and short read. Ganbare Nakamura-kun! is about Nakamura's pursuit for Hirose's friendship, of all things!!! He's in love with him, of course, and he fantasizes about them together, but he doesn't jump straight into a possible relationship between the two. He first and foremost wants to be his friend.

Hirose is a really sweet guy, I could definitely see why Nakamura loves him so much. It was really fun for him to be all like "SENPAI PLEASE NOTICE ME" and when Hirose finally did, he'd lose his shit lol

One of the most appealing things about this manga is that most BL ...

Nov 18, 2021

skylucario

Not Recommended

TL;DR: What with the push among some for BL manga to be “wholesome” and “relatable”, I think it’s hilarious that Ganbare Nakamura-kun is one of the poster children. This manga could be considered insidious—it masquerades as a cute, silly story about a guy who loves his classmate, but if you squint, you can easily reveal the author’s fetishes. If you’re uncomfortable with some of the less savory BL tropes, be wary of the sequel. This is relatively tame; the sequel is worse. I doubt that the events of that story are a misunderstanding or a setup for criticism of that trope because of what I’ve ... seen in the author’s other work. Overall, I think the uproar in favor of this work as one that is a “great step forward” for LGBT+ manga is misguided; from my perspective, it’s just more of the same old stuff I hate and would like for authors to move on from.

The rest of this review will contain minor spoilers.

As for my problems with this manga outside of that: I found Nakamura kind of annoying and just downright weird. I’m not really rooting for him, though the author most certainly wants me to. The humor was the wrong kind of ridiculous for me, and that’s coming from someone who has a flair for the bombastic. Like, it wasn’t believable, which is fine, but it wasn’t even interesting. I couldn’t take any part of the story seriously because of it, but the more serious parts are not all that riveting or groundbreaking to begin with. For some, the themes might be a breath of fresh air, but I’ve read so many works with LGBT+ themes that this one felt dated and stale.

To clarify what I alluded to in my introduction, a student is mistaken to be in a weird situation with a teacher for “haha funnies”. However, it was not funny at all because it was like, “why would THIS be what you’d jump to”, and it made me feel suspicious of the author. I tracked down their other works and I found…more teacher/student stuff, but worse. I am fine with reading about morally questionable topics as long as they are treated with sensitivity; there are shown to be consequences for the negative actions (and the author shows awareness that it was messed up); and/or the execution is thought-provoking or interesting. Ganbare Nakamura-kun isn’t that for me. While nothing actually happens, it comes off like adult/minor teacher-student relationships have been normalised and fantasised about by the author; after all, it is clearly a BL trope they like. It doesn’t do much to critique the trope, merely playing it off for laughs and to shed light on Nakamura’s extreme anxiety. That is why it irks me that people think this manga is one of the pinnacles of “wholesomeness”. You’re allowed to like stuff that isn’t 100% sanitary anyway, but it’s also ridiculous to blindly promote something as “wholesome” just because you loved parts of it so much you didn’t notice that something was off. If the “wholesome” medal is meant to protect younger readers, then be extremely careful with what you choose to bestow it upon.

Anyway, there’s no actual romance, so I don’t feel inclined to call it much of a BL. If you are chill with that and just want to read about a guy with a crush, this will be fine for you. If you don’t have a thick stomach and don’t want the positive connection you made with this book ruined for you, you probably shouldn’t read the sequel.

Overall, I do think there should be more queer stories about “a guy with a crush”, as they can be relatable for many readers (just DEFINITELY not me). However, I’d prefer for them to be thoughtful, well-intentioned, and actually funny. IMO, there is much better BL (and otherwise) out there if you feel like looking for it.

Apr 12, 2020

Nebby524

Recommended

I enjoyed everything about this manga. From the nostalgic art stile to the funny moments with the characters. A lot of situations are relatable because of how stressful getting close to your crush can be. I also love how it is 100% wholesome, It is hard to find a BL that isn't sexual so it is good so find something like this. It is short but sweet and if you happen to come across it I would definitely recommend getting it. This book is a hidden gem for all manga fans. But if you are not in to wholesomeness then you are better of reading ...

Mar 16, 2018

tamagotcha

Recommended

Hirose really went naka Okuto's mura if u no what i'm sayin ;)

Jokes aside, this was a really nice work. The jokes were all fresh and new, and they legitimately made me laugh out loud. Although it was a bit frustrating not seeing Okuto's feelings be conveyed properly, that's only to be expected, since gay relationships can be pretty tough to begin, not knowing the other party's orientation. Nonetheless, the resolution was very nice, and gave us some hints at a possible mutual interest. Let's just hope the mangaka continues her amazing work!

(Also, this series made me realize how much I really like old 80's ...

Jun 20, 2019

Angelo_McGee

Recommended

Hi guys.

It was so much fun to read this manga! His art is that nostalgic manga style of the time, and I loved it! Just wonderful. Not only that, as the protagonist and the situations in which they find themselves are extremely funny. On the other hand, the other characters are not very authentic. The boy Nakamura is passionate about is that popular type that appeals to everyone, and I think that cliché is already outdated. But okay, I had a lot of fun with the story. Especially since most yaois are dramatic without a hint of comedy. I do not understand why. In both ...

Apr 11, 2023

Bvnni1

Recommended

This manga is great and I 100% recommend however I do have a question involving the character sheets, it says Hirose is 15 and his birthday is March 2nd, and Nakamura is 16 and his birthday is October 24th. How is Nakamura older than Hirose? March comes first so shouldn’t Hirose be older? Did Nakamura repeat a grade or something? Sorry I just found it confusing since March comes before October and since they are in the same grade and all the ages don’t make sense 😅 though this information has nothing to do with the story and the story overall is amazing! Like I ...

Oct 19, 2022

DigiCat

Recommended

Ok, my first BL... which i only bought 'cause the MC has a pet octopus!
As you can see the way to my wallet is cute animals

So cute little Icchan the octopus got me fixated with wanting to pick up this manga, and not gonna lie, given that this was an obvious impulse purchase... of a freaking romance manga (genre i have 0.00001% interest in), aside from the cutesy colorful cover and awesome artstyle i wasn't expecting much else from this but "sappy highschool romance"

Well, as you can see by the bright blue "Recommended" tag up top, i was very very wrong
This was not highschool thru ...

Mar 18, 2021

miyawalki

Recommended

Eu acabei descobrindo está obra por meio de covers/fanarts no twitter e... Amei! Muito bom, sério! Superou todas as minhas expectativas.

Achei a história muito envolvente e acabei por me identificar diversas vezes com os personagens (que são muito interessantes por sinal) e, consequentemente, me apegar muito neles (apesar deles soarem esquisitinhos em algumas partes eu realmente gostei deles!). É uma mistura de ''queria tanto ser amiga deles'' e ''MAS SOU EU ALI'', principalmente em relação a ''obsessão'' do personagem principal com polvos... eu ri TANTO! Todos os personagens são extremamente engraçados, cada um do seu jeitinho.

Em relação ao casal principal, eu realmente gostei da ...

Nov 23, 2020

saltedsnail

Recommended

This was super heartwarming and constantly had me grinning or laughing at my desk. I usually dont enjoy slice of life genres since it doesn't stick to one consistent thing, but I'll have to say I enjoyed this one. The comedy in the manga was great, and it had me laughing in the middle of the night. The art was super cute and is the main reason I started reading this manga. The characters introduced were sort of bland but I didn't really mind the generic characters. The only thing bad about it is that it ended super quickly. I wish we could've seen more ...

Dec 15, 2021

EyebrowScar

Recommended

I have to agree with all the positive points, people have already written: the retro artstyle is amazing, the comedy is great and the overall feel is amazing. It's a unique manga that I am glad exists.

HOWEVER: I really don't appreciate the pupil/teacher shipping in this manga, even if it is played for laughs. This sadly only gets worse in the sequel, and then it starts feeling creepy. You can just FEEL that the author would ship an underage pupil with an adult man in any other circumstance, and they have indeed done so in their other works. Explicitly. Full on porn. And I am ...

Jul 3, 2022

Miss__Manga__

Recommended

Story - 7
Cute and sweet
Art - 8
Love the retro vibe
Character - 8
Probably the strength of the manga - interesting, fun, dynamic characters with their own charm
Enjoyment - 9
I'd happily reread it over again
Overall - 8

...

Mar 16, 2024

Leme-Le

Recommended

Perfect for new fans of romance and BL, perfect for the old fans too! If you're starting now with BL, this is a great start!

"Ganbare! Nakamura-kun!!" caught my attention because of the memes and fan arts that I saw, and I loved the art style. As a BL fan who has seen every type of toxic and weird story, this manga is such a relief.

The art style is so nice and cute, so you're constantly stopping to appreciate it. The history is nice, clear, and comfy, and it definitely made me feel so many emotions reading it. The characters are kinda of cliché, but in ...

Apr 24, 2022

Vaugesky

Recommended

I actually really enjoyed this manga. Ganbare! Nakamura-kun!!! is a very soft and light hearted manga about a boy who is trying to confess his feelings toward his crush but cant because he is too shy.

This manga stands out from many other Bls. This manga is a lot more innocent, and cute while others are a bit more sexualized. This manga is also not fetishized! This makes this manga a lot more enjoyable to read.

The art is also a thing I want to talk about. I love how the artist drew this manga in a more of an 80s style. It makes this manga feel ...

Feb 24, 2021

todorokist

Recommended

Well, I read this manga a long time ago but I will write something about it.

It has a love story as pure and tender as can be, there is no toxicity in between like other stories and that is appreciated. The main character is very awkward in front of love but he tries to leave his shyness aside to be able to talk to the boy he likes, I feel identified with him.

If you have time, read this wonderful manga, you won't regret it.

— Spanish —

Bueno, este manga lo leí hace mucho tiempo atrás pero escribiré algo sobre esto.

Tiene una historia de ...

Apr 15, 2020

QIAO_LIN

Recommended

ill keep it brief, not a full review really.

absolutely god tier BL manga.

beautiful art, genuinely stunning at times. Character design is great strikes a balance not many manga/anime do, no "lets add stupid, annoying, needless features to this characters face/silhouette" in this manga. Layout/structure of panels is great, something so many mangaka suck at.

while not screamingly hilarious, its funny... like genuinely funny. a lot of manga hit and miss with humour, not necessarily because the jokes are bad but because there is certainly limitation to manga as a medium, as there is with any medium, that usually prevent manga from getting more than a ...