Just as it looks – to Yuujirou, at least – as if he and Rui are set fair, ready to take their next step into the future together, Rui goes quiet on him when he suggests living together. “I wanted you to know first,” Rui says, eventually breaking his silence. “I’m going to France for school.” Rui’s French grandmother, a designer, has invited him to study in Paris – and he’s determined to go. But it’s going to be four long years apart – and Yuujirou takes the news badly, while doing his best to reassure Rui that he’ll support him in his decision. And then, to rub salt in the wound, when the two families join up over an impromptu meal out at Christmas, the topic of girlfriends comes up, prompting an uncharacteristic outburst from Yuuijirou who is still hurting from what he can’t help but see as Rui abandoning him. “Maybe it’d be better for everyone,” Yuujirou says as he walks away from Rui, “if we just pretended like there was never anything between us.”

The boys are in their final year of high school and in general they are quite clear eyed on the choices they need to make. Unlike other Yaoi manga, this one really hit the "this could happen in real-life" button. Rui and Yuujirou are faced with a lot of uncertainty as the end of their senior year looms closer. You have Yuujirou who is planning out his and Rui's next steps, never wanting to part from him. Yet, you have Rui looking into a few dreams of his own. A slow-burn love story between a diminutive, athletic teen and his towering, kind-hearted best friend as they journey the slightly bitter road to adulthood towards sweeter days.they're old enough you know they can handle themselves all on their own. They basically grew up to become such remarkable adults and you can really see how much potential the story goes as you read it. I am so in love with these characters and this story is just one of the most heartwarming and poignant ones I've read. It makes me so happy my heart feels so full right now.

Dekoboko Sugar Days was one of my favorite BL manga of 2020, and I’ve been anxiously awaiting the second one-shot from mangaka Atsuko Yusen following Rui and Yuujirou. Dekoboko Bittersweet Daysis the sequel manga that takes readers into Rui and Yuujirou’s relationship as they learn to deal with the uncertainty of the future and coming out to their families. The manga is published and localized in English by TOKYOPOP via their LOVE x LOVE collection that focuses on publishing queer manga romances. The one-shot is edited by Lena Atanassova, translated by Christine Dashiell, and features a cover and logo design by Sol DeLeo.

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This is doubly important because Yuujirou, used to thinking of himself as the more manly figure, is already planning their post-high school domestic bliss. He's always been there for Rui, and he sees their adult lives as merely an extension of what they've done thus far – they'll move to a prefecture with common-law partnerships, fill out the paperwork, and keep going as they have before. He doesn't even consider that Rui might have other plans, and when he finds out, he's hurt that, in essence, Rui has a different goal than he does. That Rui might want to get that partnership certificate later, after they have careers, doesn't quite register with Yuujirou; he instead simply sees it as a betrayal, and in some ways that shows just how much more mature Rui is despite Yuujirou being the one thinking about their domestic future. With that being said, the art continues to be exceptionally cute, carrying the manga through its duller periods. It’s still an enjoyable read overall, but “Bittersweet Days” just doesn’t reach the same heights as the original.

He is together with Rui Hanamine 186cm long, creative, half French, domestic and with a lot of housekeeping skills. Tall bottom representing one could say, which is good in a genre where height almost always is used as a signifier to one’s character role. The translation for Tokyopop’s LOVE x LOVE list is by Christine Dashiell who, as always, delivers a readable version that flows really well. As with Gorou Kanbe, the editorial team at Tokyopop have brought us another attractive BL mangaka, whose manga are well worth reading for the positive approach to same-sex relationships and the lively, sympathetic way the story is told. COVER Corporation Announces hololive English VTuber Gawr Gura Collaboration with Sendai Umino-Mori AquariumAnd: Then again, it might be impossible to afford a stand alone house right away, which, definitely combined with the wish of a cooking island and a garden seems a realistic take on things (the Tokyo housing market, am I right 😂). I was approved for the arc months ago and ended up taking too long to get around reading it. I'm slightly mad at myself for that. Because this manga was so cute! The characters were fleshed out nicely and they were so adorable. I loved how frequently and patiently they communicated with each other. And we all know communication makes a romance perfect, right? 😁 So, of course, I loved Rui and Yuujirou. The humor was wonderful too. One thing to appreciate about the one-shot is that it’s accessible to new readers and has enough sweetness to keep its wholesome core while exploring the importance of communication and the trouble that comes with entering the adult world after high school. The first half of the manga consists of some really cute scenarios, while also presenting Yuujirou and Rui’s hopes and anxieties about how their relationship will progress in the future. This is a very promising setup that I was excited to see the narrative explore, but it ended up falling rather flat.

Yuujiro for instance says: It’s already pretty incredible to make enough to live your life without any restrictions kind of fawning over the glitter of middle class financial stability. With Dekoboko Bittersweet Days, Yusen makes me want to stay with Rui and Yuujirou as their romance matures and life throws curveballs. I hope we get to see these two grow with each other in the future. I absolutely loved the story from the start. It’s a very sweet story about best friends who have always known they were meant for each other. While I missed out on watching them confess their feelings and discover they feel the same way, I did get to see them in love and living their best lives. I also got to see them hit their first big struggle in their relationship, but I won’t mention if that’s resolved because that would be spoilers! This volume focuses all on "high-school sweethearts" and how they can sustain a relationship after high school as well as follow their own dreams. While Rui and Yuujirou have their separate dreams, they also have dreams of them carving out a life with each other.Aina The End Releases New Single 'Diana,' Studio Live Performance Video Featuring Anime Theme Songs Also Released Dekoboko Bittersweet Days is even better than the first part of the series! It's not common actually, so this surprised me positively. Yuujirou and Rui were childhood friends, but they actually got together already in the first part and now in this second they need to think about the future. High school is over soon and the boys need to think about where to study and it's not necessarily the same place, the same country even. I really loved the realism and how nothing is a real obstacle if you fight for what you love. The slow burn romance and real feelings get through easily and all in all, the manga is heartwarming and melancholic too. Growing up is never easy. The first volume Deko-Boko Sugar Days delivered a charming, feel-good story of the blossoming love between two childhood friends, enlivened by many cute chibi panels and amusing expressions. But in this second volume, mangaka Atsuko Yusen brings her two main characters face-to-face with the reality of leaving school and taking their first steps into the adult world. ‘Bittersweet’ is an apt adjective to describe what happens. Many high-school relationships crumble and fall apart under such stresses and although readers will be rooting for this partnership to endure the extra pressures put on them by society for being in a same-sex relationship, let alone being separated by many thousands of miles for four long years, it’s by no means a foregone conclusion that they won’t drift apart. Praise, therefore to Atsuko Yusen for not shying away from depicting the feelings of abandonment that Yuujirou undergoes when his dreams for the future are so rudely shattered. He wants to wish Rui well as he embarks on his chosen career path but can’t reconcile those altruistic feelings with the pain he’s experiencing at being abandoned.