Zettai Kareshi.

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Alternative Titles

Synonyms: I Won't Let You Become a Star!, Ohoshisama ni wa Sasemasen!, Aromatic Boy, Shounen Aromatic

Japanese: 絶対彼氏。

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Information

Type: Manga

Volumes: 6

Chapters: 35

Status: Finished

Published: May 20, 2003 to Oct 5, 2004

Genres: Comedy, Drama, Romance, Sci-Fi

Theme: School

Demographic: Shoujo

Serialization: Sho-Comi

Authors: Watase, Yuu (Story & Art)

Statistics

Score: 7.69¹ (scored by 21,564 users)

¹ indicates a weighted score.

Ranked: #1659²

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

Popularity: #410

Members: 37,041

Favorites: 1,501

Resources

Wikipedia

7.69

Ranked #1659Popularity #410Members 37,041

MangaSho-ComiWatase, Yuu (Story & Art)

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Volumes: /6

Chapters: /35

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Synopsis

High school student Riiko Izawa has gone through a series of unrequited crushes. Each time she works up the courage to confess to a boy, he rejects her on the spot. After yet another rejection, Riiko becomes dejected and takes a walk through a nearby park. There, she discovers a lost phone and returns it to its owner.

The owner of the phone, Gaku Namikiri, is bizarre, to say the least. A traveling salesman, he pesters Riiko to accept one of his company's products as a reward. She tells him, sarcastically, that what she wants most of all is a boyfriend. Unfazed, he directs her to visit a website advertising "lover figures," which she assumes to be dolls. Despite her skepticism about the company's integrity, the face of the "Nightly Series 01" model enchants Riiko, and she registers for a three-day free trial. She is shocked when a life-sized naked boy is actually delivered to her the next day!

Riiko follows instructions to activate the very realistic robot with a kiss, and for the next three days, Night Tenjou is the best boyfriend she could ask for. However, Gaku reappears to inform her that she missed the deadline to cancel the free trial, and now she owes one hundred million yen. Alternatively, she can decide to keep Night and act as a beta tester so that the company can collect data in order to improve their future products. What choice does Riiko have? She is broke, and what's more, she has already begun to fall for the artificially intelligent Night...

[Written by MAL Rewrite]

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Background

Released in North America under the title Absolute Boyfriend, Zettai Kareshi. has spawned several live-action adaptations. A Japanese drama series, Zettai Kareshi: Kanzen Muketsu no Koibito Robot, aired in 2008; a Taiwanese drama series, Jue Dui Darling, aired in 2012; and most recently a South Korean drama series, My Absolute Boyfriend , aired in 2019.

More characters
Characters

Tenjou, Night

Main

Asamoto, Soushi

Main

Izawa, Riiko

Main

Namikiri, Gaku

Supporting

Shirasaki, Toshiki

Supporting

Asamoto, Masaki

Supporting

Shirasaki, Yuki

Supporting

Muyai

Supporting

Ito, Mika

Supporting

Nurse

Supporting

More reviewsReviews

Mar 10, 2009

ishitagupta

Recommended

I have been a Fushigi Yuugi otaku since the past 9 years now, so when I finally got around to checking out Watase's other works, Zettai obviously stood out for its more swoony description and the unbeatable bishi artwork. You'll be hard pressed to find a dreamier android boytoy than Night Tenjou! Or a more thoughtful one. Though that's not all Zettai boasts of...

You obviously know that a girl unwittingly orders herself an android-like boyfriend online, but what arrives is nothing robotic or even human. Superhuman maybe! He's charming and makes her weak in the knees but obviously, just when a couple has found happiness, ... the boy next door (literally) has to suddenly confess his undying love for the heroine. Grr. Trials and tribulations ensue, though not all of them are of the hackneyed kind. Some situations like sticking together in a couple's spa despite running naked and protecting your boyfriend's chastity by climbing up a balcony are pretty darn novel! It's not something you stop crying for even after the fifth or sixth read and that's really saying something about a 6 volume manga!

Art wise, I see similarities in how Night and Tamahome and other Watase bishies are drawn, it's almost identical, but I guess dashing knights in shining armors always end up looking equally swoon-worthy! The few action sequences, combat or otherwise are done masterfully, with each character's motion and style being unique. Riico is drawn well enough but what really stands out in this manga is her and everyone else's chibi expressions! Really, the range of facials these SD characters are capable of puts us lowly humans to shame! Each page is littered with plenty of them, and you can especially look forward to Gaku being his eccentric self, chibi and otherwise with plenty of smart ass dialogues and odd angles to his eyebrows which induce the giggles only too easily.

Each character is thoroughly invested in, they aren't just cardboard cut outs of ideal boy, naive love starved ingénue, and infatuated boy next door.
I adored how Night was portrayed as this naive but besotted lover figure that is hopelessly devoted to making Riiko happy and is still learning the ropes... Though maybe he goes a bit far sometimes like when he asks Soshi if he knows what Riico's sensitive spots are! However, his quixotic view of his undying feelings for Riico despite his physical limitations fully exonerates him of any slights he may have made along the way. Little things he does like remake a broken bracelet and offer his own services to help make money which he's not supposedly programmed to do, make him an endearing character.
I'm not a huge Soshi fan, so I can't appreciate him as well, but the fellow had his moments. He was always coming to Riico's rescue when he could, and was forever on the lookout for semi-vulnerable moments where he'd entrance Riico with his personal understated charm. He was depicted realistically, as being shy and hiding his feelings at first with incessant teasing but only realizing their true depth when his position as No.1 Comforter was threatened.
Of course Riico is the lead in so many ways. Though she appears to simply be looking for a (read any living, breathing, capable of physical intimacy) boyfriend, she shows a lot of moral restraint throughout the story as well as moments of unprecedented maturity and personal sacrifice whenever Night's safety is in question. Sure she's clumsy and mediocre and prone to jealousy and insecurity, but really, which 16 year old isn't? She's just a character we're supposed to relate to, so it's expected of her to have tangible flaws.

Secondary characters lend the most flair to this manga, and Gaku tops that list hands down! His cheeky delivery of in-your-face dialogues along with outrageously lurid suggestions regarding Riico’s virginity makes him a most likeable candidate for comedic relief. Then there's Riico's new friend who brings her own back story into the plot. Clever little side characters like Riico and Soshi's boss at the restaurant assure you that the manga is not taking your sense of humor for granted and surely wants to titillate your palette right through the end.

Hmm, most importantly of course, being that it's shoujo, there are plenty and I mean PLENTY of those almost intimate moments that make your heart scream ba thump ba thump. There's enough fan service courtesy Night to keep you up at night cursing Riico's great fortune and drooling at his physique at the same time. And there are also some heart wrenching scenes with both Night and Soshi to make you lose your train of though for just an instant and simply stare into the character's (magnificently drawn) faces!

I think you should definitely give this a read. The plotline becomes less trite and predictable after the first three chapters, and you're sucked into this beautiful realm where the only ideal in a bishie's existence is to be the best boyfriend possible at all costs! Personally I feel the ending is a little abrupt and unfinished somehow, but not something that makes you regret reading Zettai. If Watase were to come out with a sequel or related work even after some years, I know I would be an instant fan.

While shorter than Fushigi Yuugi, Zettai Kareshi invokes the same passionate responses in readers that FY possibly did. You fall in love with characters and their weaknesses and strengths, you cheer for a couple to stay together and feel oddly anxious when they face obstacles (So much so that you want to jump into the panel and rip apart the occasional villains and just force Night on Riico!). I think Yuu Watase is very skilled at making you really become a part of her fascinating world like this. You want to vicariously live Riico's life here and once you start the manga, I'm pretty sure you won't have the control to put it down without devouring it whole!

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Apr 28, 2008

bitsypookums24

Mixed Feelings

I'm a huge Yuu Watase fan, but her latest story didn't capture my attention as some of her other works. Her art as always is gorgeous and I could totally relate to Reiko, moreso than any of her other heroines. But after the first two volumes, the story got kinda...old. It just started to drag on. I guess because I always like the guy the heroine doesn't choose (except in FY and A19), but I've enjoyed her other series despite my disappointment ; D. For a fun and cute summer read, I would definetly recommend and anyone who is a Watase fan will enjoy, but ...

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Dec 31, 2007

lolipopgi

Recommended

As it's been said before, Zettai Kareshi, or Absolute Boyfriend, is a tale of the main character falling in love with an android. Though it may seem strange, as you continue to read, you grow to love the characters as they are all original and unique in their own way. (I, personally, am in love with Soshi).
Fantastic art (Yuu Watase is the author of Fushigi Yugi and "Ceres") and amazing choice of panels and story layout - though some bits grow very far-fetched - as it includes humorous and beautifully crafted scenes for all to see!
Perfect ending, in my opinion. The story, overall, makes the ...

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Chapter 33-35 shy_402 - Feb 16, 2009	4 replies	by lyn- »» Mar 8, 2022 11:49 AM
Anyone else cry at the end? (possible spoilers) AyaSeiran - Oct 6, 2009	42 replies	by lyn- »» Mar 8, 2022 11:46 AM
Poll: Zettai Kareshi Chapter 18 Discussion Sarrora - Jun 16, 2010	2 replies	by azenobio »» Nov 10, 2021 7:55 AM
Poll: Zettai Kareshi Chapter 16 Discussion Stark700 - Jul 20, 2012	1 replies	by azenobio »» Nov 10, 2021 7:12 AM
Poll: Zettai Kareshi Chapter 1 Discussion Stark700 - Jul 18, 2012	1 replies	by azenobio »» Nov 7, 2021 5:38 AM

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