#saezuru shopping

[pink-heart-jam]

10 must-read Yakuza BL

Yakuza stories have been my jam for many years now, and some of the most iconic BLs I’ve read in the past decade and a half are within this genre. Exquisite art style, adult romance, complex plots, smoking hot tattoos, high stakes! I love everything about this unique combo that makes it so hard to replicate. Any other hardcore fans around? Come and spread the love for these gems!

Acid Town by Kyugo (M)

In a city where the law has been rendered non-existent, Yuki and his best friend Tetsu break into the offices of the Seidoukai in a desperate attempt to finance his ailing brother's hospital bills. They ultimately fail but not without sparking the interest of the mob's young leader, Kazutaka Hyodo, who offers Yuki a deal he can't refuse.

Afterglow by Wagase wagimoko (E)

Higuchi Seitaka was on his way to becoming an elite cardiovascular surgeon after graduating from medical school. Yet, just before getting his specialty qualification, he was sent off to a remote rural town in Kyushu. Feeling dejected by what he sees as his sudden demotion, Higuchi spends his evenings drowning his sorrows, until one night, yakuza "Tenjun" rescues him.

Bi No Isu | Kobi no Kyoujin by ike reibun (E)

Kabu and Nirasawa have a troubled relationship, to say the least. Harsh yakuza lifestyle, torture, and violent sex are everyday occurrences for the volatile couple.

Canis series by Zakk (M)

Satoru has gotten himself into a bit of a pickle. He’s a successful hatter and has planned a big event for his store’s third anniversary, but he’s short on staff and his remaining employees are threatening mutiny is he can’t find a temporary worker by tomorrow. Luckily, he practically trips over Ryou, a young man who’s in need of a place to crash.

Jealousy by Scarlet Beriko (E)

A yakuza head finds himself ensnared in the unwavering attentions of a sometimes impetuous but always cunning schemer. If being yakuza doesn’t get him killed, his new lover just might!

Musunde, Hodoite, Kiss wo Shite by Emi Mitsuki (M)

Itabashi, who runs a tailor shop in a downtown shopping district, reunites with his classmate from middle school, Adachi, in the worst possible way. Adachi is now part of the yakuza, and he's here to run Itabashi out of his shop and redevelop the entire area.

NightS & Sequel by Yoneda Kou (E)

A yakuza comes to request the services of an specialized transporter that takes care of delicate and illegal merchandise. It seems this transporter is quite picky about his clients, however he gets interested in this transaction and in the mysterious man that is negotiating it.

Nights Before Night by Kazuki Natsume (E)

It's been a long time since Haru, owner of the gay escort service "Rain," left his yakuza days behind. But when the Ichijo clan says he's the only civilian they can trust to hide the clan head's troublemaking son Yukitaka, there seems to be no choice for him but to follow suit.

Saezuru Tori wa Habatakanai by Yoneda Kou (E)

The masochistic, lewd and beautiful yakuza Yashiro and his silent, clumsy, impotent subordinate, Doumeki. This is the story of a man who has never known happiness and of a man who is reborn by getting to know him.

Syunrai to Mitsu by Retsujyo (E)

Yuen was abandoned by his parents and taken to an orphanage. His only support was Yan, who was like an older brother. Yan also cherished Yuen like his younger brother, but one night, a cruel incident that separates them occurs.

[trashexplorer]

BLCD Review: Saezuru 7

Title: Saezuru Tori wa Habatakanai 7 (囀る鳥は羽ばたかない 7)

Author/Artist: Yoneda Kou

Shop: CD + Manga

Release Date: 2021/07/28

Cast:

Hatano Wataru + Shingaki Tarusuke

Okitsu Kazuyuki

Masuda Toshiki

Ookawa Tooru

Ueda Yuuji

Satou Takuya

Miyake Kenta

Ito Kentarou

Nara Tooru

Synopsis: Adaptation of the 7th volume of the series.

Review Proper

I'm not sure what's gonna end first: the series or my fucking life.

As much as I love Saezuru, it's gone on for so long that it's starting to get old literally and figuratively. You know, I wouldn't even be mad if Yoneda Kou ended the series by killing Yashiro off in 6. 7 is still well-written to a point and the BLCD did deserve to rank second AGAIN in chil-chil 2022, but I'm not sure about the future of this series (it wasn't nominated in 2023 tho which is one of the few good things about 2023's).

I say a lot of things, but I'm still invested in vol. 7 & 8.

I don't know who I'm jealous of, BUT THAT SHOULD BE ME! This scene is in vol 8, not 7, but I wanted to include it anyway.

I do agree that Saezuru portrayal of the whole yakuza deal is the realest 'cause happy endings over there are quite rare, but this isn't a novel that comes out in one go. Doesn't help that June is ass. I've heard from several friends who've read the latest releases that it feels like it's lost its way and that just makes me sad. I'm still hopeful tho.🤧

As I've already stated, this placed second in 2022's awards. I mean, it's Saezuru. Frontier doesn't spare a penny for it lmao. All the major characters are voiced, and they managed to bring the A-listers back again. Sometimes, I forget that Saezuru is actually based on a manga whenever I listen to the BLCDs 'cause the production is just that good.

Shingaki slayed as usual. I've said this many times before, but no matter how bad or how well he does in another role, he will always be Yashiro. I just came from Tsunaida and we're in the middle of a Rei event in Nu:carnival, so I would expect myself to adjust to Yashiro, but I didn't need any of that lmao. Yashiro is truly Shingaki's magnum opus. I'm not at all surprised that he placed 3rd best seiyuu for Yashiro. Deserved.

Speaking of Nu:carnival, I will forever be obsessed with Yashiro's relationship with the other characters aside from Doumeki. Nanahara's voiced by my one true love, Okitsu, but like Yashiro, I love him for his character and not his voice. It is nice having the other veterans in here with him, too. The slut trio is complete with Daddy Complex SatoTaku, Boss Ass Chaser Okitsu, and Damel in Distress Shingaki. #BLESS I want Kamiya to end up with Nanahara.

I haven't heard Wacchan in years HAHAHAHAHA. His Doumeki is still amazing as always. My issues with the story aside, I'm really looking forward to his "break" in vol. 8. EEEEEEE

Special mention to my Ryuuzaki and Miyake Kenta who made their comebacks here too. I missed him so much! LMAO

The BLCD is pretty accurate to the... magazine at least, but June does sell the translated tanko (fortunately). Like the previous installments, reading the manga while listening to the BLCD was so smooth because it was so accurate. Now 7 does end in a cliffhanger, so I don't really advise listening to it if you still don't have 8. But if cliffhangers aren't an issue for you, then break a leg!

[nendoshinkai]

20 Days Until Christmas - Saezuru Style

I had to work late today, so Yashiro and Doumeki did a little shopping and stopped for some espresso by the fire.

[twitteringnerdsneverfly]

The only Saezuru merch I saw in the BL section of the anime shop in Japan. And who tf have they paired Y with?! Is that Kageyama??? The dudes got specs. Where is Doumeki? 😭

[bowldeepfannish]

For all the Shadow lovers don't miss this chance at @nightanddaysk8zine​ 's book and merch, including a fantastic fic by @discokonomi​ about a key moment for Shadow's persona - and the companion fanart I was lucky&honoured to make ❤

The first stretch goal has been unlocked too and there is more merch goodness in store! 

Shop at hiromihigazine.bigcartel.com :D

[domeyashiro]

Hi, you said the digital version of the latest ihr HertZ will be available around August 17th or so. Can you please tell me how can I find it? Is it in the site bs-garden? I'm from Brazil and nobody is shipping the ihr Hertz to my country so I have no access to the maganize at all because even the Kindle version seems unavailable for me at Amazon. Sorry for bothering. I'm going nuts here!

Hi, I'm sorry you're having trouble purchasing the magazine from your country. If physical stores like ComiComi Studio, or Horinlovebooks (the current ihr Hertz issue is sold out on both sites unfortunately) don't ship to Brazil at the moment, which is likely because of the pandemic, and Amazon isn't an option either, you could try ebook stores that accept PayPal and/or Apple Pay like:

Cmoa

Bookwalker Japan

or Renta Japan (not the English site)

You can usually buy the latest three issues of the magazine before they become unavailable. Once purchased they will stay in your library without time limit though.

Please comment if you know other ways to legally purchase the ihr Hertz magazine from outside Japan. Especially if you're also from Brazil and know what works best.

The ebook of the current issue with chapter 45 will come out on August 20th.

I also saw someone left a bad review on Amazon Japan because there wasn't a postcard in their magazine. You need to order from ComiComi if you want a postcard of the cover. They're an exclusive ComiComi extra, so you never get them with Amazon orders.

[chemdoodles]

Washi tapes & Sticker sets in my shop!

[blueyogurt]

Its been a while since I had a huge haul 😌

Saezuru popup shop goods arrived ~ ✨🕊🦅

[airisu7425]

December-January shopping - Part 1

God, I should have not waited for things to pile up this much but life was hectic at the end of the year and still is... I had to separate the goodies posts into 3 parts: 1/ paper based (manga, dj, artbook, calendars etc.), 2/ figures (nendoroids, gacha etc.) and 3/ merchandise, misc.

In this batch I had many Japanese manga after a long hiatus - my first (and last) honto.jp order using Buyee and a manga+dj order from Toranoana using BIJ’s forwarding service. I will not order from Honto.jp anymore - they don’t really have good programs and rarely any extras. On the other hand, Toranoana has many extra goodies for free and their point system is really good.

The English BL publishing market is really active nowadays - good for us! Too bad with the lack of paper, sometimes it is really hard (and expensive) to get a title. My favorite imprint atm is definitely KUMA - they print on gorgeous white paper and have dust covers, so they keep the original format. I hope they will get more and more titles licenced and released. Getting the new Saezuru tori volumes from Juné is always stressful, I really wish the license went to another, more trustworthy and reliable company...

Since I couldn’t order from honto.jp for a while, a few BL artbooks got released and I needed to have them. It was a good decision, all 4 look stunning. And all of them came with goodies (clearfile and/or postcards).

Along with the final title of Boku no Omawari-san, you could buy a case that can hold all 3 volumes. Most titles are new volumes of the series I follow: Given, Caste Heaven, Coyote etc. 

As for dj, just the usual: YOI, SK8, Promare, Bnha, JJK.

Almost forgot: 3 new calendar for 2022. The usual HQ!! one (so happy they still make them even though the manga and the anime is over), the usual SnK one and a Nyanko sensei one (love the pastel colors this year, so soft and cute).

Last but not least, a beautiful gold foil shikishi of Tian Guan Ci Fu / Heaven official’s blessing, I bought from amiami.

[aishiterusaezuru]

Happy 2022!

Speculative Break: Doumeki and Yashiro in Singapore

I wish the inhabitants of our Saezuru world and fellow Saezurites a year marked by respect, solid emotional states, good health and responsible connection.

In this new solar year, I keep seeing Doumeki and Yashiro enjoying time a little bit away from home. I imagined them in a place like Singapore— slick, embedded in nature and just far away enough for Yashiro to explore who he could have been outside of the Yakuza fold. I can see D getting to enjoy watching Yashiro flex his charm without survival in mind and D not having to protect or be possessive of Y. Both of them could take a break from the pasts that forged them.

It’s just far enough, lush enough, enthralling enough to be a reset they could thrive from. Yashiro would probably complain a little about the humidity or make a droll, but fitting quip about the political situation there. Just to provide a lump in the leaven of the experience. We know Yashiro needs cracks in his happiness to test it for genuineness.

Maybe we discover that Doumeki has an fortified palate and a surprising love of truly peppery Indian food. I could see him convincing Yashiro to go to one of the island’s temples where D un-ironically prays for Yashiro’s well being. Y would study the temple carvings and Doumeki’s face when D’s eyes are closed in thought.

Maybe Yashiro drags D on a high priced shopping spree for Doumeki’s caveat of a movie afterwards. Time to reclaim awful memories right? Spoiler: Yashiro falls asleep on D’s shoulder again. Maybe Yashiro sets up a day at the zoo because he think D would enjoy it, but we find that Y finds it relaxing to be around animals in a natural adjacent setting. He learns (but doesn’t admit / doesn’t hide it either) that he finds certain animals endearing in their earnestness. While Y was ruminating, D alerts the staff to a little lost wallaby outside of his habitat.

Maybe we see them end up at a cool beach with permanent hammocks which they find by happy accident a few days before their return. Somehow, Doumeki produces swim trunks and sunscreen for both of them. Yashiro let’s him have the rouse as long as D gets them a double hammock.

I first thought about this Yashiro X Doumeki trip since Divali 2021 (Hindu New Year) . It feels fitting that these guys get a respite in a new place when they can have the space to get back to each other again.

Take care and be safe people!

[kiriharaakira]

Firstly I want to thank you for your translations I do appreciate it and all the effort you put when you focus on some point in Saezuru. I have a question, it might be silly but there is one thing that often comes to my mind and it is the 39 th chapter when Doumeki and his collegue (I don't remember his name) goes to the Pet shop . I can see here that once Doumeki stepped in the store he opens his eyes. It seems like he realized something and unless he is a wizard I don't believe he understood there was Yashiro before him, also because when the guy who works there said "are you guys after kido too?" Doumeki replied "too: are there others?" I guess then that D was not aware about other people being after him nor any chance about Yashiro's "visit".

So in your opinion why in that moment Doumeki looked like he realized something and stopped suddenly ?

Thank you in advance for your answer!!

In CP 41, Doumeki told Yashiro "I knew it (Yashiro was looking for Kido) yesterday when I was in the Pet Shop." From this we can tell. Doumeki showed shocking expression here was because he knew Yashiro was here. And from the Owner's question he learned Yashiro was also looking for Kido.

But why? Why did he know Yashiro was there before ?

Was it because of the trashed Pet Shop ? No. Doumeki was completely calm there. His sights were cold as always.

Let's look at the scene closely.

Doumeki was shock at the Pet Shop's entrance, which means he knew Yashiro was there BEFORE he entered the Pet Shop. He quickly calm himself down when he entered the Pet Shop. Just like he quickly calm himself down when Yashiro turned and "looked" at him after he asked "So you still remember me. Kachina." in CP 41.

So Yashiro had done something at the entrance for Doumeki to notice his presence, so Doumeki showed such shocking expression, and called Chestnut for information after he left the Pet Shop.

So what did Yashiro do at the Pet Shop's entrance before he enter?

He smoked.

Doumeki noticed Yashiro's presence not because he saw or heard anything, but he smelled something.

Doumeki smelled Yashiro's cigarette, and learned that Yashiro was here before he reached this place.

Now that's something we all missed.

Thanks 紫殇迹沫 for this unexpected answer.

[saezuru-another-tampopo]

I want this tin badge too… All these new goods, which went out of sale within 20-120minutes on the first day of their release last month at Yokohama Loft pop up store, will be officially on sale soon on the internet shop below, but the on sale date hasn’t been announced yet. Also, I am not sure if this manufacturer will ship overseas, because it has never seem to have done that so far before.

https://event.amnibus.com/saezuru-loft/

#twitteringbirdsneverfly #saezurutoriwahabatakanai

[nanashinohime]

Here are some updates regarding the goods (and their prices) for the Saezuru Tori wa Habatakanai and Tower Records collab/pop up store (tax is not included on the price):

1. Acrylic Stand (2 designs: Yashiro and Doumeki) -1200 yen each

2. Badge (2 designs) -550 yen each

3. Clear file/folder set - 800 yen

4.Pouch- 2500 yen

5. Eco bag- 1500 yen

6. Shot glass (2 designs)- 1200 yen each

7. Red and White Wine Set -5000 yen (only available on Tower Record’s online shop)

8. Wall scroll (2 designs) 30,000 yen each (needs reservation. You can pre-order in the collab shop)

9. A3 複製原画/ A3 Artwork (5 design) 22,000 yen each (needs reservation. You can pre-order in the collab shop)

Details regarding the collab/pop-up shop:

-Period: October 19 until November 14

-Location: Tower Records (Sapporo Pivot store, Ikeburo, Shinjuku, Kawasaki, Machida, Urawa, Nagoya Kinsetsu Passe store, Umeda NU Chayamachi and Kyoto branches only)

-You can buy the goods on Tower Record’s online shop (pre-order starts on October 4 at 2pm JPN time)

[domeyashiro]

Saezuru 7 Extras

The store exclusive extras for Saezuru volume 7 finally got announced with pictures!

Animate (upper right corner): 4-page leaflet (with both regular edition + special edition)

ComiComi (below): 4-page leaflet (with both regular + special edition)

Toranoana (bottom right): A4 clearfile (both regular + special edition)

Horinlovebooks (upper left corner): 1 of 5 monochrome trading cards (randomly with both regular + special edition)

Kinokuniya (below): illustration card with printed signature and message from Sensei (both regular + special edition)

Some bookstores + all ebook stores (bottom left corner): 1-page manga paper (regular edition only!)

*The ComiComi and Animate leaflets aren’t the same.

*The 1-page manga paper definitely comes with orders from ComiComi and Horinlovebooks, as well as in-store purchases at most Animates. Purchases at the Animate Online Store might be excluded, but I’ll update you on this when my orders arrive.

*If you order from Toranoana you need to put the clearfile in your basket manually. There’s a link if you scroll down their product page.

*If you order from Animate or Toranoana you probably need to use a proxy service like Tenso.

*It looks like you can still order the special edition at most stores.

Happy shopping!

[chemdoodles]

Uhm I like making stickers.... (etsy!)

[airisu7425]

November shopping - part 2

Yeah, I know - I know, too much... But just look at it - many of the goods were released back in March and April and I just got them. I can only use 2 pages of the Saezuru Tori calendar! >_<

Anyway, still heavy on merch (I stick to the no Japanese manga/doujinshi rule until SAL is back) - and mainly Kimetsu no Yaiba. But it was so great to see old series like Slayers and Inuyasha getting merch again! When I got into anime, I did not buy goodies for years (I know, strange), so I did not really own anything related to the first animes I loved - until now. XD Promare and Pokémon are frequent residents in my shopping carts, just like Boku no Hero Academia. Speaking of BnHA - I never really saw the charm of the Pita! series, but this was just too cute to pass.

BL goodies are rare, and when merch is released from one of my fav title, a fangirl has special urges... Hence the 5 Hidoku shinaide keychains. XD

Nyanko-sensei merch is being released relentlessly - when I pre-ordered these textile face masks back in spring, I thought that by the time they come out in September, I won’t even need it. Guess who was wrong? So they are handy now, can’t wait to try them out. :3 Speaking of Nyanko-sensei - I could not resist to buy the schedule book - it looks gorgeous again and I think I won’t use it yet again (don’t have the heart to ruin it with my not so neat handwriting...>_<)

The nendo sets you can see were mainly bought because lately many sports anime use those painting tropes and since I have 2 bodies but I had no clothes yet, they seemed to be the perfect start. I think AoKaga will be the first one that get the chance to shine. XD

I also got a few used merch: yet anther Kaworu (love the base), a Natori Shuuichi (will have to get Natsume as well) one and a tiny sailor Haruka. I also bought a few anime CDs, drama CDs. Fun fact: I was pretty much in love with Sakuya of Kaikan Phrase back when it aired...

Last but not least: the final volume of the fantastic BL webcomic, Starfighter has arrived! Sad to see the boys go, but happy that the series is completed.

tbc in December...