Reviews with content warning for Homophobia - Boys Run the Riot, Volume 1

On the surface, this is a story about Ryo, a closeted transgender teen boy, and a new transfer student named Jin who decide to leave a mark on the world by starting their own online fashion brand. But really, this is a story about absolutely anyone who has ever felt like they don’t know how to be the person that society has decided they’re supposed to be. The way this series deals with its themes is pretty unexpected. Yes, this is Ryo’s story and his journey as a transgender boy from a traditional family trying to navigate school and life. But it’s also every bit as much about Jin and Itsuka and Jin’s friends and everyone who has ever felt like they don’t belong but don’t know how to do anything other than try to fit in. Volume one introduces some great characters and sets up Ryo and his friends’ journeys really well. I can already tell that this is shaping up to be a pretty damn emotional rollercoaster of a contemporary series and I’m so excited to find out where it all goes from here. We’re long overdue for these kinds of stories to get their dues in manga and I couldn’t be anticipating the next volume more. Also, the art style is phenomenal.

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tealbeankai's review against another edition

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challenging emotional inspiring fast-paced

Plot- or character-driven? Character
Strong character development? Yes
Loveable characters? Yes
Diverse cast of characters? It's complicated
Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

4.5

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wends_nblw's review

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emotional hopeful inspiring reflective medium-paced

Plot- or character-driven? Character
Strong character development? Yes
Loveable characters? Yes
Diverse cast of characters? Yes

3.25

finally finished the series. the first and second volume I loved, but after that, I found myself loving it much less. i wanted more of chika and mizuki , but just got more of tsubasa (who i disliked) .

i can't really relate to ryo's way of finding strength in his ideal self but i admire how he took everything in stride.

overall, it's a good series. i personally enjoyed the original oneshot much, much more.

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shinypurplepants's review

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Plot- or character-driven? Character
Strong character development? Yes
Loveable characters? Yes
Diverse cast of characters? Yes
Flaws of characters a main focus? No

4.75

Having finished the series I wanted to give a review of the whole story. It's only four volumes so if the premise sounds interesting to you, I highly highly recommend it!

Two high school boys, one a shy and closeted transman and the other a "thug" who was held back a year, join forces to start a clothing brand that reflects their own POV. The manga so far deals with becoming comfortable with yourself and also how we express ourselves around others, especially those whose ideas of ourselves conflict with our own self-perception. Although more serious in tone this beginning volume gave me a bit of Bakuman vibes.

While there has been a decent amount of bullying, none of it seems to be transphobic in nature which was a huge relief! Will definitely be checking out the rest of the series.

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pawprintedpages's review

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emotional funny fast-paced

Plot- or character-driven? Character
Strong character development? It's complicated
Loveable characters? Yes
Diverse cast of characters? No
Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

5.0

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