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3.46 AVERAGE
3.46 AVERAGE
Honestly, this isn’t a favorite. It’s not that I won’t complete the series but I think that this wasn’t exactly what I expected and I wanted to like it more than what I did. She’s a little too naive for me as a heroine, but we’ll see where the rest of the series goes.
Yakuza + 20 year old girl = Shojo manga with smut. This volume ends on a cliffhanger and I am no where near curious where it goes. Not for me.
3.5☆
This was a bit too fast-paced and insta-love for my liking. Yuri is a fun character with her balance/split of both ditsy-ness and boldness. She comes off as likable and quirky. Oya is not my top book boyfriend, but I do still enjoy a mafia boss who likes to spoil his girl. I really enjoy that Oya isn't spoiling her as a tactic to keep her or make her stay.
I loved the couples' interactions, and I'm hoping for a more in depth story line in the coming volumes. Will be continuing to volume 2.
This was a bit too fast-paced and insta-love for my liking. Yuri is a fun character with her balance/split of both ditsy-ness and boldness. She comes off as likable and quirky. Oya is not my top book boyfriend, but I do still enjoy a mafia boss who likes to spoil his girl. I really enjoy that Oya isn't spoiling her as a tactic to keep her or make her stay.
I loved the couples' interactions, and I'm hoping for a more in depth story line in the coming volumes. Will be continuing to volume 2.
As will all my manga reviews, this is an overview of the entire 12 volume series and may contain some spoilers as a result.
Yazuka Lover (恋と弾丸 [Koi to Dangen] "Love and Bullets") is what I'd call a pure wish-fulfillment erotic romance: it disregards a lot of realism to create an idolized fantasy where there's danger, passion, and drama, but ultimately the two leads have a surprisingly fluffy, sugary sweet, loving relationship alongside their mind-blowing love making and dramatic brushes with danger in the crime-ridden underbelly of the world.
All drawn in a very pretty style that captures the atmosphere of the characters and story very well.
The male lead, Toshiomi, is a yazuka boss (Japanese mafia, essentially) who is dangerous and sexy and not to be trifled with because he's capable of extreme violence... but he also is principled, mannered, and capable of being a respectful, ardently devoted partner.
It’s really nailing the head on encapsulating the needs of a romance within the confines of a sexual fantasy. I'm impressed.
Yuri, too, is just… absolutely gushing with declarations of love and displays of affection, trying her best to be a supportive, loving partner who stands on equal footing, and because Toshiomi legitimately treats her very respectfully and sweetly, her reactions to him feel authentic. You can understand why Yuri would fall in love with him despite knowing who he is and what he does.
It was actually kind of refreshing to see Toshiomi portrayed as someone actually happy to be with the girl he claims to love and see him be capable of and willing to treat her very well. He happily goes on silly dates with her, indulges her desire to spend time with him, and never belittles her or insults her. He doesn't treat her like a child to manage and he keeps a good handle on himself. Even in the moments where he got rough or "lost control" he didn't cross a line and made amends for the slip up.
The author really threw out all ideas of making him cool, aloof, abusive, and struggling with his emotions for the sake of adding to the “darkness of his character or trying to make him seem more "alpha" in manners. In fact, Toshiomi does actually behave like a mature, sophisticated older man—we aren’t just told that he is, his behavior supports it—which is a far cry from a lot of “mafia” leads who act menacing but are mostly just angry or angst-filled and can’t do anything but shout out commands and use violenc. Toshiomi is menacing without raising his voice or abusing his girlfriend.
Really, that's kind of the story's appeal: that Toshiomi is this seductive, dangerous man that is feared around the world... but he smiles warmly when his girlfriend embraces him while they're on a cute date and tells her how important and precious she is as they enjoy cuddling in the afterglow of sex and they just genuinely like being together.
It makes you feel like Yuri being with him isn't that bad of a thing, that him being yazuka isn't that bad of a thing.
Of course, glamorizing and romanticizing the yazuka, or any organized crime for that matter, comes with a particular territory—real-world individuals who are part of these organizations are rarely misunderstood anti-heroes awaiting their redemption arc who only kill wicked men and draw the line at things like hurting women and children. They generally are responsible for some really awful shit like manufacturing drugs and sex trafficking, but this series doesn't really dive that deeply into the world of the yazuka, so I suppose it serves well enough as a general setting and flavoring for what is otherwise lots of pretty erotica as the leads declare everlasting devotion to one another at the peak of their climaxes across page after page.
There isn't much of a plot to this series; it's mainly a lot of romantic or sexual scenes after a scenario where Yuri has to contend with the reality of Toshiomi's dangerous life as a yazuka boss and how she endeavors to be capable of being at his side, all while he happily lavishes her with gifts and attention and mind-blowing passionate love making, living as if each second with her was his last. The most plot we get is basically just a few things popping up here and there to cause a little conflict in their relationship for some tension or action or drama.
It's more so a character driven narrative with well-drawn erotica. The story is mostly just "two people in love working through the obstacles in their way, whether it's something as silly as a little jealousy or as extreme as a family member trying to murder them" and it does it well; I knew going in that this wouldn't be some layered crime drama, and I didn't want it to be.
It's a mostly fluffy fantasy with pretty art and erotica that's rooted in deep passion, devotion, and mutual understanding. It's all very consenting and respectful and well done. There are a lot of side chapters thrown in to offer additional perspective on various incidents throughout the story (like Toshiomi's feelings before Yuri came to return his coat), making the series more like 60 chapters than 45. I appreciated the effort the creator put into the series.
Yazuka Lover (恋と弾丸 [Koi to Dangen] "Love and Bullets") is what I'd call a pure wish-fulfillment erotic romance: it disregards a lot of realism to create an idolized fantasy where there's danger, passion, and drama, but ultimately the two leads have a surprisingly fluffy, sugary sweet, loving relationship alongside their mind-blowing love making and dramatic brushes with danger in the crime-ridden underbelly of the world.
All drawn in a very pretty style that captures the atmosphere of the characters and story very well.
The male lead, Toshiomi, is a yazuka boss (Japanese mafia, essentially) who is dangerous and sexy and not to be trifled with because he's capable of extreme violence... but he also is principled, mannered, and capable of being a respectful, ardently devoted partner.
It’s really nailing the head on encapsulating the needs of a romance within the confines of a sexual fantasy. I'm impressed.
Yuri, too, is just… absolutely gushing with declarations of love and displays of affection, trying her best to be a supportive, loving partner who stands on equal footing, and because Toshiomi legitimately treats her very respectfully and sweetly, her reactions to him feel authentic. You can understand why Yuri would fall in love with him despite knowing who he is and what he does.
It was actually kind of refreshing to see Toshiomi portrayed as someone actually happy to be with the girl he claims to love and see him be capable of and willing to treat her very well. He happily goes on silly dates with her, indulges her desire to spend time with him, and never belittles her or insults her. He doesn't treat her like a child to manage and he keeps a good handle on himself. Even in the moments where he got rough or "lost control" he didn't cross a line and made amends for the slip up.
The author really threw out all ideas of making him cool, aloof, abusive, and struggling with his emotions for the sake of adding to the “darkness of his character or trying to make him seem more "alpha" in manners. In fact, Toshiomi does actually behave like a mature, sophisticated older man—we aren’t just told that he is, his behavior supports it—which is a far cry from a lot of “mafia” leads who act menacing but are mostly just angry or angst-filled and can’t do anything but shout out commands and use violenc. Toshiomi is menacing without raising his voice or abusing his girlfriend.
Really, that's kind of the story's appeal: that Toshiomi is this seductive, dangerous man that is feared around the world... but he smiles warmly when his girlfriend embraces him while they're on a cute date and tells her how important and precious she is as they enjoy cuddling in the afterglow of sex and they just genuinely like being together.
It makes you feel like Yuri being with him isn't that bad of a thing, that him being yazuka isn't that bad of a thing.
Of course, glamorizing and romanticizing the yazuka, or any organized crime for that matter, comes with a particular territory—real-world individuals who are part of these organizations are rarely misunderstood anti-heroes awaiting their redemption arc who only kill wicked men and draw the line at things like hurting women and children. They generally are responsible for some really awful shit like manufacturing drugs and sex trafficking, but this series doesn't really dive that deeply into the world of the yazuka, so I suppose it serves well enough as a general setting and flavoring for what is otherwise lots of pretty erotica as the leads declare everlasting devotion to one another at the peak of their climaxes across page after page.
There isn't much of a plot to this series; it's mainly a lot of romantic or sexual scenes after a scenario where Yuri has to contend with the reality of Toshiomi's dangerous life as a yazuka boss and how she endeavors to be capable of being at his side, all while he happily lavishes her with gifts and attention and mind-blowing passionate love making, living as if each second with her was his last. The most plot we get is basically just a few things popping up here and there to cause a little conflict in their relationship for some tension or action or drama.
It's more so a character driven narrative with well-drawn erotica. The story is mostly just "two people in love working through the obstacles in their way, whether it's something as silly as a little jealousy or as extreme as a family member trying to murder them" and it does it well; I knew going in that this wouldn't be some layered crime drama, and I didn't want it to be.
It's a mostly fluffy fantasy with pretty art and erotica that's rooted in deep passion, devotion, and mutual understanding. It's all very consenting and respectful and well done. There are a lot of side chapters thrown in to offer additional perspective on various incidents throughout the story (like Toshiomi's feelings before Yuri came to return his coat), making the series more like 60 chapters than 45. I appreciated the effort the creator put into the series.
3.25 stars
Interesting premise. Excited to continue on.
Interesting premise. Excited to continue on.
I picked this up on a whim and let's just say it was a questionable decision because honestly, this was uhm.. wasn't for me.
What mostly put me off from this was the insta-love. Even though I have read my fair share of manga where one of the protagonists, usually the guy, is already in love with the girl for no inexplicable reason, this for some reason just was a lot less digestible.
What mostly put me off from this was the insta-love. Even though I have read my fair share of manga where one of the protagonists, usually the guy, is already in love with the girl for no inexplicable reason, this for some reason just was a lot less digestible.
adventurous
dark
funny
fast-paced
The biggest disappointment ever. The author had the had the perfect trope with the mafia/Yakuza/bad boy thing going on but nooooo. Instead of getting a dark romance we get sone bullshit instant love trope.
The gold mine that this could've been. A mafia boss who is intimidating to everyone but soft for the love interest/main character could've been developed so well if the author took the time to actually BUILD THE ROMANCE. The fact that they "love" each other after two meetings is such a waste.
Go read Midnight Poppy Land on Webtoon for a gorgeous tattooed man that's a part of the mafia who actually has a personality and shows his true soft and caring nature to the cutest heroine if you want a better version of whatever this horrible thing was.
Such a disappointment! I'd give this one star, but the second star is for how good looking Oya is and his tattoos.
The gold mine that this could've been. A mafia boss who is intimidating to everyone but soft for the love interest/main character could've been developed so well if the author took the time to actually BUILD THE ROMANCE. The fact that they "love" each other after two meetings is such a waste.
Go read Midnight Poppy Land on Webtoon for a gorgeous tattooed man that's a part of the mafia who actually has a personality and shows his true soft and caring nature to the cutest heroine if you want a better version of whatever this horrible thing was.
Such a disappointment! I'd give this one star, but the second star is for how good looking Oya is and his tattoos.
The start of a cute romance manga series! I enjoyed this one. :)