Boys Next Door Reviews

Rating: ♦♦♦♦

I can’t not like this series. Sure, some of the volumes drag a bit, but the series always manages to turn around to show off the crack that it is. Misaki is always endearing–even when he’s playing the protesting uke-boy. Usami is always wonderfully odd and loving without being creepy. It’s really something that I look forward to.

It’s been a year since Usami and Misaki got together and they’ve settled into a comfortable routine. Things seem to be going swimmingly for the couple until Takahiro shows up and causes Misaki to worry that Usami’s feelings are going to go back to his old flame. Then, throw in a female cousin who’s insisting on Usami’s hand in marriage and things get very strange.

Misaki’s caught in the middle and doesn’t know where to go or who to trust. As always, he seems to be the only character in the series who can manage to keep a cool head. And, when Misaki’s calm and collected in comparison to the other characters, you know things are slightly insane. Misaki’s inate charm and sweetness serve him well as he manages to get himself out of some sticky situations, but all the charm and sweetness in the world can’t convince him of Usami’s feelings.

This series is just far too much fun. It doesn’t take too much brain power to read, the art is always good and it’s just fun. I’m not looking for hidden meanings or anything like that. I can just read this series and enjoy it for being random insanity.

With the amount of manga I read, and especially with the amount of crappy manga I read, something like Junjo Romantica is a breath of fresh air. It’s not one of the series that reaffirms my love of the genre, but it is one that reminds me of why I keep reading and reviewing.

This entry was posted on Wednesday, May 27th, 2009 at 5:58 am and is filed under ♦♦♦♦, Junjo Romantica, Nakamura, Shungiku. You can follow any responses to this entry through the RSS 2.0 feed. You can leave a response, or trackback from your own site.