Jul 18, 2016
This is the first time I write a review and since it will be the first one for this manga, it won't be that easy to me! So please bare with me!
So Wakabaryou de, Kimi to is actually a manga featuring 3 short stories about several characters in an all-boys school. Honestly, I have to say that I'm not such a big fan of BL. The reason why I picked up this manga, was because I really liked the cover. It didn't take me too long to figure out this was shonen ai, though (on a side note: on mal it's tagged as yaoi, which
...
feels kind of tricky, imo, since there's little to no nsfw in this series).
Apparently this manga, was Sakumoto Ayu's first one and I think she did a good job. The story wasn't extremely unique or memorable, but she still managed to give us some decent relation-development in such a short time.
One thing I really appreciate about WDKT is that I felt it sort of 'broke free' from the stereotypical yaoi stories. Seme hunting after uke, uke denies he's gay untill he gets semi-harassed at one point. This manga (especially the first story about Higuchi and Hidaka) is more easy-going, less dramatic and slow. Since these are short stories, there wasn't many time for character-development, yet Sakumoto was able to pull off some more realistic and better written characters than some other BL artists. After reading many one-shot manga, I came to the conclusion that sometimes, explaining a simple plot in a short story without giving off the feeling it's rushed, is harder than coming up with a complex plot if you can take all your time to explore your story.
Another positive thing about the core of the stories, was that I didn't feel like the 3 stories were repetitive. Sometimes (especially in yuri and yaoi with a high school setting), you get the feeling you get the same love-story several times, just with different characters. 'Everyone happens to be gay and fall in love with each other, preferably their roommate, at the same moment.' In WDKT we get two room-mates who knew each other for a while already (also props to the logic of Hidaka, it's nothing special, yet rare to see in BL), a transfer-student and his new room-mate and an alumnus and student, that start off as friends with benefits. None of the characters feel like a carbon-copy of another one (unless you count Shima's ex, who looks a lot like Hidaka tbh).
I can repeat this a thousand times: Don't expect something special. After all they are still short stories. Every couple gets one or two chapters to develop their relationship. Which isn't a lot. Yet, for a short story, this was really well done.
I don't think I will remember this manga for long, but I do believe it's enjoyable to read if you're bored and feel like reading something light-hearted (again, there's little to no nsfw).
At last but not least, shout-out to the beautiful art. I know you shouldn't judge a book, cough, manga by it's cover, but it's surely more enjoyable when you look at pretty drawings.
Reviewer’s Rating: 7
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