#Atsuko Yusen

[mangarinspanels]

Subarashii Kiseki ni Yasashii Kimi to| Ch. 01

[littlemissinkdrinker]

Dekobokko Sugar Days by Atsuko Yusen

Cute fluffy slice of life manga! A nice break from all my other reads. I really enjoyed reading about these childhood friends finally getting together and the short extra was hilarious. Overall, a short, cute read.

Read : Jan 6th, 2023

Rating : 4 Stars

[duckprintspress]

I'm starting to feel like how long my read lists are is revealing dangerous things about my psychological state, lmao. So yeah. still reading my body weight in manga and graphic novels. Sorry not sorry? Apparently, I read a whopping 66 books last month; four of them were novels. As usual, most of the graphic novels are from my local library, and most of the manga is from Libby. During March, I read:

Yona of the Dawn vol. 10 and 11 by Mizuho Kusanagi

Go with the Flow by Lily Williams and Karen Schneemann

The Summer With You: The Sequel by Nagisa Furuya

Mashle: Magic and Muscles vol. 1 by Hajime Komoto

Hitorijime My Hero vol. 5 to 8 by Memeco Arii

Stars of Chaos: Sha Po Lang vol. 5 by priest

Haikyu!! vol. 23 by Haruichi Furudate

Jujutsu Kaisen vol. 4 and 5 by Gege Akutami

I Hear the Sunspot by Yuki Fumino

The Missing Piece by Kun Yi Wei Lou

Spy x Family vol. 5 and 6 by Tatsuya Endo

I Hear the Sunspot: Theory of Happiness by Yuki Fumino

The Less Than Epic Adventures of TJ and Amal: Omnibus by E. K. Weaver

Go For It Again, Nakamura! by Syundei

How to Be a Werewolf vol. 1 by Shawn Lenore

Demon Slayer: Kimetsu no Yaiba vol. 13 and 14 by Koyoharu Gotouge

Dekoboko Sugar Days by Atsuko Yusen

Witch Hat Atelier vol. 1 by Kamome Shirahama

Cherry Magic! Thirty Years of Virginity Can Make You a Wizard?! vol. 5 to 8 by Yuu Toyota

Koimonogatari: Love Stories vol. 1 by Tohru Tagura

The Way of the Househusband vol. 1 and 2 by Kousuke Oono

Solo Leveling vol. 7 to 14 by Chugong

Bury Your Gays by Chuck Tingle

I Hear the Sunspot: Limit vol. 1 to 3 by Yuki Fumino

The Salt in the Sea by J. D. Rivers

Acid Town vol. 1 by Kyuugou

The Glass Scientists vol. 1 and 2 by S. H. Cotugno

Loved Circus by Nemui Asada

Snow Fairy by Tomo Serizawa

Bingo Love by Tee Franklin

I'm Looking for Serious Love! by Shoko Rakuta

Dekoboko Bittersweet Days by Atsuko Yusen

Dekoboko Sugar Days extras vol. 1 and 2 by Atsuko Yusen

Tristan and Lancelot: A Tale of Two Knights by James Persichetti

I Felt Myself Slipping by Ray Nadine

Global Examination vol. 1 by Mu Su Li

I Hear the Sunspot: Four Seasons vol. 1 and 2 by Yuki Fumino

Send Them a Farewell Gift for the Lost Time by Cocomi

A Complicated Omega's Second Love by Kichi Uekawa

Yagi the Bookshop Goat by Fumi Furukawa

A Kiss that Stains the Innocence by Emu Soutome

My Beautiful Man vol. 1 by Yuu Nagira

White Liar by Tomo Serizawa

[bunbunreading]

Deko-Boko Sugar Days and

Deko-Boko Bittersweet Days

Deko-Boko Sugar Days and Deko-Boko Bittersweet Days

By  Atsuko Yusen

Deko-Boko Sugar Days and Bittersweet Days is a great best-friends to lovers Bl romance manga. It touches on the complicated feelings of being in love and the uncertainty of reciprocation of your feelings. In the second book it is more about distance and the very complicated emotions when deciding what you are doing with your future, as well as the feelings of being left behind by the person you love. It has a happy ending and some e-book shorts to go along with the main story.

[lgbtqmanga]

New Releases Mar. 22, 2022

Breasts Are My Favorite Things in the World! vol. 5 by Wakame Konbu

As Chiaki’s interest in Hana grows beyond her bountiful chest, the two’s relationship attracts the attention of Akira, Chiaki’s cousin and mentor in all things bosom-related. But while Akira professes to be a true boobmaster, her dirty secret is that she’s a breast virgin who’s never touched another pair! As she desperately seeks to discover how her student managed what she could not, Chiaki tries to keep her rival aficionado from coming into contact with Hana!

Catch These Hands! vol. 1 by murata

One day, Takebe, a former delinquent trying to leave that part of her past behind for good, runs into her high-school rival, Soramori. The two fight for the first time in years, and thanks to being desperately out of practice, Takebe loses-leaving her no choice but to accept Soramori’s request to start dating her…?!

Dekoboko Bittersweet Days by Atsuko Yusen

Tiny and adorable when they first met, Rui – still just as adorable – now looms over his boyfriend, Yuujirou. Though they were little more than best friends at first, the confusion over their true feelings for one another smoldered until they confessed. Now every day passes with such overwhelming sweetness it’s all they can do not to ask themselves, “am I allowed to be this happy?” The final high school judo contest, the last summer of their high school careers, and beyond… the thought of his future with Rui makes Yuujirou’s heart flutter. 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.

GUNBURED × SISTERS vol. 1 by Wataru Mitogawa

From the artist behind the Gargantia on the Verdurous Planet manga! A vampire and a warrior nun’s fates are bound by blood and perhaps love in this action-packed series.

In a decaying gothic city, warrior nun Dorothy is tasked with hunting and slaughtering supernatural creatures. A member of the elite Crimson Sisters, she seeks to eradicate all vampires. But one fateful night, she encounters the fanged and beautiful Maria, wounded and desperate for care. Dorothy offers the half-vampire one chance at survival: become my pet.

Harem Marriage vol. 15 by NON (digital only)

After agonizing over the decision, Yuzu chooses to give birth to her unborn child as a member of the Date family, much to Koharu and Ryunosuke's delight. But then Joe, her spurned lover, makes a disturbing move in the middle of the night... The Date harem has a host of challenges to overcome if they're to take their family unit to the next level!

The Night Beyond the Tricornered Window vol. 10 by Tomoko Yamashita (digital only)

When Hiyakawa is imprisoned with the Professor, Mikado enlists the rest of the group, doing everything in his power to rescue him. When Mikado finally encounters the Professor, he’s forced to confront who the man really is. After overcoming a strong attack, Mikado is able to reach Hiyakawa, allowing him to speak to him from the depths of his soul. Read on for the thrilling conclusion of The Night Beyond the Tricornered Window!

[anotherone-yikes]

Subarashi Kiseki ni Yasashii Kimi to by Yusen Atsuko

[tanenigiri]

Review #20: Dekoboko Bittersweet Days

Japanese title: 凸凹シュガーデイズ（もう一回！）(Dekoboko Sugar Days [Mou Ikkai!])

Story and art: Atsuko Yusen

English publisher: Tokyopop

Number of volumes: 2 (complete)

Ending the sugar high.

(This review contains story spoilers.)

I was going into this volume a bit nervous, since while I liked Dekoboko Sugar Days for how it mixed its over-the-top humor with the simple earnestness of its love story, it didn’t really tackle any “heavy” conflicts per se. The heaviest conflict it dealt with - Yuujirou’s height complex - wasn’t really treated with the same depth that other manga in this project would’ve. This isn’t a knock on the manga at all though - it was still a fascinating character study, and I admired how the story was able to present an in-depth plot while maintaining its humorous tone.

So when I realized that Dekoboko Bittersweet Days was gonna deal with a much less sugary plot, I was curious about how the story was going to tackle something that’s outside its comfort zone. And true enough, there’s a pretty gradual shift in tone as this volume progresses, its humor becoming a lot more muted and its emotional core taking center stage.

But that doesn’t mean it’s a completely different vibe. In fact, the first two chapters fit in pretty neatly with what you’d expect from the series, as they mostly serve as extensions of certain plot points in the first volume. Now on their final year of high school, Rui convinces Yuujirou that he is a lot more popular with the ladies than he thinks, which leads to a jealous Rui and a bold declaration of love from Yuujirou. Takenaka reprises his role as the friend looking out for Rui when the four of them - Umino being the fourth person - go on a beach trip, but the main couple is able to get away from him and get some intimate alone time. I appreciate how the four of them do end up becoming a friend group after all this even if Yuujirou and Takenaka still get on each other’s nerves. (I kinda wish they had more scenes together, but I do think that it would’ve ruined the flow of the story if they did.)

It’s all pretty familiar territory in these first two chapters, but you do get a sense that it’s building up to something. There are quite a lot of scenes in the early chapters that talk about their future, which is pretty expected as they're on their final year of high school. But we get hit with the big reveal in Chapter 3, when Rui tells Yuujirou that he plans on going to college in France. At this point, the story begins to ramp up that shift in tone I mentioned above, and it goes through the subsequent scenes with very little humor. As a fan of more emotional stories I obviously don’t mind this change, but I can see how it could throw off those who picked up the series for its comedy.

In any case, Yuujirou chooses not to vocalize his reservations about the decision and says that he supports it, even if Rui himself notices that his boyfriend doesn’t. Admirably, Rui initiates a conversation about this with Yuujirou soon after the reveal, where he tells him that Rui wants to pursue studies abroad so that he can come back as a better boyfriend to Yuujirou, bringing up the times in the past where he’s always seen to depend on his “hero.” I found this really mature in Rui’s part, but Yuujirou’s hesitance to fully accept it already tells me where they’re going with this.

True enough, their resolve is put to the test during Christmas, when both Yuujirou’s and Rui’s families unexpectedly share a dinner together. Naturally, it led to a discussion about the two leads’ love lives, and since neither of them are ready to tell their families about their relationship, both of them say that they’re single. With their parents talking about future grandkids and Rui possibly meeting someone special while he’s in France, it suddenly brings Yuujirou to say a bombshell of a line - he agrees with his family that the two of them should start thinking about getting girlfriends. Yuujirou and Rui’s conversation after this goes about as well as you’d expect - even if Rui promises that Yuujirou’s the only one for him despite his family’s wishes, his boyfriend counters it with his decision to leave him for four years.

It's easy to call Yuujirou out for what he does here, and while he is a bit frustrating, it's also easy to see where he's coming from. He's harbored his feelings for Rui all his life, and until very recently, Yuujirou's been told that a future with Rui was impossible. Finding out that Rui reciprocated his feelings was definitely more than Yuujirou could've asked for, but he's subsequently hit with the realization that their future is still uncertain despite this. Getting a reality check from their families was a tough blow, but I definitely think that Rui's decision to study abroad was already what put him over the edge - why was Rui throwing away a possible future that they both worked hard to achieve?

It fast forwards to their graduation day and the day of Rui’s flight in the next chapter, and it’s revealed that Yuujirou hasn’t talked with Rui all this time, but he’s already come to regret everything that he mentioned in Christmas. True to his actions earlier, Rui actually made the effort to try and talk to Yuujirou about this the day after Christmas, but Yuujirou didn’t budge. It takes another message from Rui - which simply informs him about his flight that day - for Yuujirou to crack. And after some encouragement from his older brother, Yuichiro, the two of them head to the airport so that Yuujirou could finally talk to Rui and convince him to stay. Rui once again demonstrates his maturity about the situation and tells him that he can’t do that, but he nonetheless thanks Yuujirou for being honest and reassures him that they’ll have their forever once he comes back. (This scene also shows their respective families inadvertently finding out about the relationship, though they thankfully seem supportive of it.)

This whole sequence is really sweet, and I can’t mention enough how I found Rui’s character to be really well-done throughout it, but there’s a part of me that wished that we got more of the in-between rather than just these key moments. There would’ve definitely been some issues brought up in the three months between Christmas and Rui’s flight, even if they were dealing with it separately. The first volume had that whole scene where Yuujirou and Rui were talking to Umino and Takenaka respectively about their crushes, and part of me hoped that we had something like that here, especially since they were shown to be a close friend group earlier in the story. (Yeah, Takenaka had that Christmas scene with Yuujirou, but it was more just Yuujirou venting out rather than Takenaka giving him advice.)

And I had the same sentiment going into the main story’s final chapter, which also sees a time skip between Rui’s departure and arrival. Long distance relationships are no joke, and I feel like this could’ve used a few more pages of them being lonely about each other’s absence or adjusting to their new reality for four years. What we got was still nice though - I particularly liked how the story went out of its way to establish that Yuujirou and Rui’s friends know that they have a boyfriend, as it shows just how much they’ve matured about their views on the relationship even if they’re halfway across the world. And, of course, the reunion was done really sweetly, and the bonus chapters giving us a glimpse of their life together was nice to see too. Both Yuujirou and Rui have finally laid the foundation of their future together, and they know that there's only good times ahead.

I mentioned being nervous about how the story will handle its themes earlier, and I think I got a mixed bag out of it. While there were definitely serious moments that this volume did really well - the conversations that Rui initiated, the scene between Yuichiro and Yuujirou, even Takenaka and Yuujirou’s Christmas scene - I felt like it was holding itself back with the time skips and the off-screen character development. I think the story could've been more enjoyable if it took its time with some of these plot beats and emotions.

But even with these misgivings, I’m still impressed that Dekoboko Bittersweet Days managed to tackle a heavier plot without losing its charm. Despite the wildly different tone for half of the story, I still felt the same light-heartedness that made the first volume such a good read. The sugar might have lost its sweetness, but it’s a delicious confection all the same.

Random thoughts I couldn’t fit elsewhere:

This volume makes the very, very smart decision of exploring Umino and Takenaka’s friendship, and how it seems like there’s more to it than that. There’s a not-so-subtle nod we get about it during the beach scene, but a bonus chapter taking place during Christmas seals the deal. Takenaka is seen to be dejected after comforting both Rui and Yuujirou - though it’s mentioned that he also has family issues - and Umino immediately picks up on this and asks if he wants to spend Christmas with his family. Takenaka initially rejects the offer, saying that he doesn’t want his pity, but Umino insists, saying that he has an “ulterior motive” for inviting him. I was already well-fed by this reveal, but then the graduation scene shows them heading for what looks like a date, and I am now waiting for a spin-off, thank you very much.

With the plot taking a more serious turn, most of the humor comes from the people around Yuujirou and Rui. While Umino and Takenaka have their scenes, probably the biggest source of this humor is Yuichiro, Yuujirou’s older brother. I mentioned him a bit above, but he has apparently been pursuing An, Rui’s older sister, which becomes the source of a lot of the more light-hearted panels in the last few chapters. But his standout scene is when he’s convincing Yuujirou to go to the airport and try to convince Rui to stay, as that’s when it’s revealed that he’s known about the main pair’s relationship for quite some time. I wish that they dwelled on this topic a bit more, but I do know that it would've been weird to do so considering what was happening at the time. I will say that it's nice that Yuichiro was immediately supportive of it though, and while part of that might be for his selfish reasons - Yuujirou getting together with Rui would give him a better chance with An - I do think that he realizes how genuinely happy Yuujirou is with Rui.

Yuujirou’s height complex takes a backseat for much of this volume, but it does come back again in the final chapter, though not in the way I expected - he has a final growth spurt in him that brings him much closer to Rui’s height, though not enough to surpass him. I quite like how this only comes up in such a minor way, though, as it does show that Yuujirou had become less insecure about his height. But at the same time, it would’ve been unrealistic if it was dropped altogether, so I’m glad it was alluded to.

Thanks for reading! You can read my review of Dekoboko Sugar Days here. While I have comments about the execution, the plot of Dekoboko Bittersweet Days was really nice to read, as it felt like a great way to further the developments of Yuujirou and Rui both individually and as a couple. And to see them weather these challenges and come out of them closer to each other is really nice.

[ultimateunlucky]

[palabasa]

Deko-boko Sugar Days by Atsuko Yusen

been going down a spiral and therefore binge reading once again. was very tempted to pass this over (i'm sick to death of the oversaturation of high school settings for gay manga) but the cover art was so good it drew me in. and it was a banger!! good art with a simple, straightforward romance between childhood friends that was still very endearing. a good light read

[quirkycatsfatstacks]

Manga Monday: Dekoboko Bittersweet Days

Manga Monday: Dekoboko Bittersweet Days

Series: Dekoboko Bittersweet Days #2Author/Artist: Atsuko YusenPublisher: LOVExLOVEReleased: March 22, 2022Received: NetGalley Dekoboko Bittersweet Days is the second novel in the Dekoboko Sugar Days series, and it is such a happy and fun series. If you’re looking for a quick escape into a world of romance and humor, this is the series for you. What happens when two friends who have known each…

[toixxx-ace]

Ahhhhh so glad I got this in the mail!

[bunbunreading]

This Wonderful Season With You

By Atsuko Yusen

Nerd and Jock fall in love after the jock joins the school computer club somewhat unwillingly. It is a very cute BL HS romance, and they are very sweet to each other. It has some of the common tropes you find in romance, miscommunication and misunderstandings. I really love the art style of this manga.

[anotherone-yikes]

[tanenigiri]

Review #6: Dekoboko Sugar Days

Japanese title: 凸凹シュガーデイズ (Dekoboko Sugar Days)

Story and art: Atsuko Yusen

English publisher: Tokyopop

Number of volumes: 2 (complete)

A sweet story with some surprisingly salty characterization.

(This review contains story spoilers.)

It’s pretty obvious considering all the series I’ve covered so far (and the ones I have lined up), but I’m very much drawn to quiet stories with heavy internal conflicts. Instead of big action sequences or impressive displays of magical abilities, I’m a huge sucker for well-done emotional breakdowns, conversations of both the heartbreaking and heartwarming kind, and those scenes where all that’s happening physically is a stare or a hug, but you know there are a lot of things left unsaid between the two characters. Even if it gets to the point where the scenes start to resemble each other, I still eat those stories up like candy.

So it was funny going into Dekoboko Sugar Days and suddenly getting none of that emotional gut-punch - or, at least, very little. Granted, I did expect this to be a lot more light-hearted when I read the title and the blurb, but I still went for it since it seemed like a cute story to the tune of Sasaki and Miyano, and if I’m lucky I could get an Our Dining Table out of it. After all, “dekoboko” roughly translates to “bumpiness” or “unevenness,” so I figured with a term like that in the title, there has to be more to the story than meets the eye.

But I’m getting ahead of myself. This story follows high school students Yuujirou and Rui, who pretty much share the typical grumpy kid + cinnamon roll childhood friends dynamic except for one noteworthy distinction - Yuujirou’s height is 165 cm (a bit below 5’5”), while Rui’s is 186 cm (a bit above 6’1”). We very quickly find out that this is a point of insecurity for Yuujirou, both in general and in the specific context of Rui, as an incident in their childhood placed Yuujirou as Rui’s “protector” in both of their eyes - and Rui as a crush in Yuujirou’s.

Naturally, I found myself drawn to Yuujirou’s internal conflict, as it’s one of those types of insecurities that seem superficial at face value but can affect a person quite heavily. But after reading the story, I realized that I became more fascinated not with how this affected Yuujirou on a personal level - though it was still interesting to see that side of his character play out - but how the story presented it and dealt with it. Since this story is a lot more light-hearted than the plots I’m used to, I was surprised to see that even if this insecurity was something weighing heavily in Yuujirou’s mind, Dekoboko Sugar Days still treated it with the same humor and carefree vibe that carries throughout the whole manga.

At first, I found it a bit of a waste - there’s a lot that the story can do with Yuujirou’s height complex, and there’s so much potential for those emotionally heavy scenes that feed my soul. But after rereading it, I do think that the story made the best call in treating it the way it did. Not only was it able to present a pretty serious topic without breaking its humorous vibe, but it also became a good way to highlight that this issue is, at the end of the day, much bigger in Yuujirou’s mind than it actually is.

And the story points this out pretty early on - Yuujirou’s close friend and classmate, Umino, remarks that Yuujirou would have an easy time getting together with a girl if he wanted to, and Chapter 2 confirms this with Yuujirou impressing a bunch of girls while he’s in judo training. I also found it interesting that the story chose to withhold the whole judo captain detail until this point when the perspective shifts to Rui’s, as it once again highlights that Yuujirou’s height complex is making him think much too lowly on himself when he actually has a lot going for him.

This is also when we begin to find out that Yuujirou’s feelings aren’t as one-sided as he believes, though Rui does need some external forces to help him realize it. True to his musings that Yuujirou is a lot more popular with the ladies than what his protector thinks of himself, Rui finds out from his own close friend and classmate, Takenaka, that Yuujirou is beginning to spend more time with a first-year girl. There’s a really interesting tidbit in this part of the story where Rui acknowledges Yuujirou’s height complex, saying that his protector looks much better with the girl as she is shorter than Yuujirou. Me being me, I wish the story explored this a bit more, but I’m already happy with how Rui recognizes that his protector’s insecurities are serious - a stark contrast to how Umino laughs it off (though with good intentions).

The story eventually leads to a funny sequence where the main pair simultaneously admit to themselves, and subsequently to their respective classmates, that they’re in love with the other. I found how the manga initially presents this as vertical halves of the same page with intersecting thought bubbles a really great stylistic choice, and part of me hoped that it would’ve continued for longer, though I guess the novelty would’ve faded if it ran for more than a dozen pages. It eventually culminates in a heartfelt confession, though it’s of course injected with the story’s over-the-top humor.

While there’s a part of the “over-the-top”-ness of the story that I can do without - the physical gags, for one - I do think that, overall, it adds to the unique charm of Dekoboko Sugar Days. It might not seem like it’s taking its characters seriously, but at several times in the story, that’s exactly what it calls for - looking at the situation through a mostly humorous lens. The fact that it still delivers a heartwarming story along the way is a testament to how it can balance all these ingredients quite nicely.

Random thoughts I couldn’t fit elsewhere:

I should mention that Takenaka does have a crush on Rui, and while I thought this was gonna go down a love triangle route, he does recognize how much Rui cares for Yuujirou, and it’s even implied that he’s the one who gives Rui the confidence to confess to Yuujirou. I like how the story didn’t end up with the two fighting over Rui, and of course, it’s made better when Umino gets in the picture (which I will absolutely talk about when I get around to reviewing the sequel).

Speaking of which, Umino hands down has the best lines in the story. Not only does he get a pretty funny and honestly quite insightful meta joke at the start, but he also reads Yuujirou like a book near the end. It’s nice how he really has Yuujirou’s - and later on Takenaka’s - backs, and Yuujirou should really consider himself lucky for having such an open-minded and observant friend.

The bits leading up to the story’s more graphic scenes in the end show some interesting hints of insecurity and awkwardness between the main couple as well. It’s to be expected, of course, as neither Yuujirou nor Rui are shown to have experience with any kind of relationship prior to this, but once again the story tackles these insecurities with an interesting mix of hilarity and sincerity that’s nice to see. I also found it hilarious that the bonus chapter dealt with the completely opposite problem of what the final chapter deals with.

(Also this is one of the best pieces of afterword art I’ve seen. 10/10.)

Thanks for reading! I found Dekoboko Sugar Days to be a nice change of pace to all the other manga I’ve read so far, and while I still find myself liking the emotionally heavy stories more, it’s good to read something that’s set to make you laugh instead of cry once in a while. I do have a review lined up for its sequel later in the month, and from its English title alone - Dekoboko Bittersweet Days - it’s not gonna be as saccharine as this one.

[ultimateunlucky]