Manga Review: Don't Be Cruel, Volume 1 & 2, Yonezou Nekota

Rating (Out of 5): ~3.5

Publisher: SuBLime (VIZ Media)

Release Date: June 14, 2016

Volumes: 6+

Spoilers?: No.

Buy it here: Amazon. Barnes and Noble. Book Depository. RightStuf.

Volume: 3&4.

Goodreads Synopsis:

Playboy Maya catches studious Nemugasa cheating on a test, and to ensure his silence Maya blackmails Nemugasa into doing whatever he wants. Twice a week Nemugasa must go to Maya's room for some steamy action, but as dense and oblivious as Nemugasa is, he fails to notice Maya’s true feelings for him. With college entrance exams around the corner, Nemugasa must focus on his studies, but Maya won’t stop distracting him, causing him to finally snap! Can a relationship built on harassment ever be more?

Review:

I was intrigued by this series when it first came out, but didn't pick it up until just now. I didn't even know what it was about, but the artwork looked good. I'm really glad I finally picked it up, though. Once I started the volume, I just breezed through it, and it was over much too soon.

Nemugasa is on a scholarship, and he cheats on a test in order to keep it. Maya sees it and blackmails him. Nemugasa goes along with it, but all he sees of their relationship is that he's being used, even as it grows into friendship.

Normally I wouldn't like these kinds of plotlines, but their relationship quickly grows into a friendship, even if Nemugasa doesn't realize it. Plus, given how obvious it is that Maya has feelings for him, and how much of a teddy bear Maya really is, it's hard not to like him.

Nemugasa goes along with it for the most part, and he's actually the harder one to like in their relationship. He's worried more about studying and school than he is Maya's feelings, and he pushes him around quite a bit. In the second volume, he finally sees Maya's and his own true feelings.

This series is quite fun. There are a lot of sexy times, and they are quite hot. But there's also a good mix of humor, and the development is really nice. I liked most of the characters pretty early on, and the art is pretty inside.

I really can't wait to get the next one.