This is a romance about two friends pining for each other over the long haul. It features mutual pining, super angst energy, and a dash of internalized homophobia keeping the two from consumating their obvious love for one another. If you're into those things, this is definitely the manga for you. The art is also a pleasant soft style.

It’s rare to find translated standalone BL manga, so I’m super happy that I was able to read There Are Things I Can’t Tell You. This is a story about two childhood friends that are in love, but have to go though a very deep evolution before being able to be together. The story touches many hard topics (there’s a content warning list at the end of this review!) and can be a little bit shocking with the big amount of internalized homophobia the characters have, but it does it best to show that this thoughts are the product of growing up in conservative, masochist, and abusive families and NOT the truth. Following these two idiots fall in love, come to terms with the fact that being in love with someone of your same gender isn’t wrong, and getting together was extremely satisfying.
The art style of the mangaka is just gorgeous. Sometimes it felt like I could stare at some of the pages forever.

This is an adult romance and there are some explicit scenes, so keep that in mind if you’re not comfortable with them.

CW: cheating, parental emotional abuse, parental verbal abuse, internalized homophobia, homophobic comments

[ 4.5/5 ]
Kyosuke and Kasumi have been friends since childhood but they couldn’t be more different: one is the golden boy, extroverted, confident in himself and good at pretty much everything; and the other is more introverted and kind wary of people’s intentions. Thus, even as friends, they complement each other.

You have to be aware that in Japan, being queer is almost a crime, so a lot of folks have internalized homophobia, and are not as open as we are in the west. Normally, it’s hard for them to accept the fact that they are not straight. With that being said, they both have feelings for each other but they can’t confess what they truly feel ‘cause then their friendship would end.

I think their background stories are important in this manga because I know what it’s like to question everything about yourself (and sometimes hating yourself in the process), wondering what’s different from being right or wrong, and ultimately, be capable of just being you, without care for what other people may think.

This author has a beautiful art style and it really shows the drama when needed to. The expressions give you the best context and the length (normally a manga volume goes from 150-200 pages) helps building the story of these two characters that deserve nothing but the best.

I strongly recommend this manga since it is a stand-alone and for those who are wondering, they do have their HEA, but frist Kyosuke and Kasumi will have to go through a lot in order to understand that they’re better when they’re together, when they let themselves be loved.

‘There Are Things I Can’t Tell You” is a beautiful story that deals with difficult themes.

Although Kyousuke and Kasumi are polar opposites, they’re childhood friends that have been close pretty much from the moment they met. ‘There Are Things I Can’t Tell You’ does a good job of showing us their personalities right from the start. Kasumi is klutzy and reserved while Kyousuke is detail-oriented and sociable.

Opposites attract is one of my favorite tropes and it was interesting to see how the one suspected to have particular characteristics belonged to the other. I loved how both characters have their own issues they’re dealing with outside of the other. Kasumi is dealing with his feelings of isolation and an affair. Kyousuke is dealing with stress from his job as well as internalized homophobia. They’re not pretty issues but they’re real issues.

While it was nice to see these characters come to terms with themselves, ultimately it was unsurprising. The story itself is nothing new or groundbreaking but the characters are good and the art style is solid.

This had such a charming story.

It's a one-shot, so the quick pacing used made sense. The story was laid out in a logical way that worked with the characters. I'm glad they showed the character have weaknesses that worked with their personalities. The art is enjoyable and easy on the eyes. The location of the flashbacks were kind of confusing, but otherwise it was pretty good!

ARC was provided by NetGalley and Tokyopop in exchange for an honest review.

This review is being published after the release date (July 21st, 2020)

Content/Trigger Warnings: Adultery, cheating, memories of parental emotional and verbal abuse, parental neglect, internalized homophobia, homophobic comments, abandonment

“And then, like tumbling down a hill… I fell in love with Kasumi.”

I loved this so, so much! You hear me talk about manga so much and I can honestly say this is a new favorite. I love how there’s so many important topics mentioned throughout this book and these two boys, these two cinnamon roll boys are so precious! I just really enjoyed this manga so much and I’m low-key hoping we see more.

Kyousuke Shiina is a talented and ambitious graphic designer who’s secretly in love with him childhood friend. When this perfectionist of a hard worker isn’t pulling all nighters at his office with his team, he’s whipping up delicious food in the kitchen or spending every moment with Katsumi.

Katsumi Amemiya is the polar opposite of Kyousuke; quiet and shy, klutzy to a fault, and disorganized like a whirlwind just flew through (not even joking, those rooms are pure chaos). Katsumi has been friends with Kyousuke ever since grade school, when Katsumi had no friends, nothing to live for, and by some miracle, crossed paths during after school hours and a wishing tree.

“If I’m going to share my life with anyone… I wish I could be with someone who really loves me.”

I loved both of these characters so much. Thanks to a very dear friend of mine, I’ve fallen in love with the grumpy-sunshine love trope and that’s exactly what this relationship is. Katsumi is always feeling the weight of abandonment and lonliness, always in the darkness that his life has given him. While Kyousuke tries to always forge ahead with charisma and determination, always trying to make everyone happy and smiling at what he does. Though these two may be opposites of each other, they balance each other’s personalities so well and work beautifully together. We also have the friends to lovers arc with these two and I loved it so much especially due to some of the time gaps.

With all of this being said, Kyousuke grew up in a household that was very homophobic. Due to the way his father continuously says how wrong it is for someone to be gay or how it’s “gross” leads to Kyousuke internalizing that homophobia against himself. Kyousuke ends up grappling with some deep feelings and grapples with the thought that he’s leading Katsumi down the “wrong path”. So he tries to avoid leading Katsumi on as much as possible. On the opposite side of things, Katsumi has always been open about his love for Kyousuke since the beginning. After Katsumi confessed his love to Kysousuke in the past, Katsumi has no reason to believe his charming best friend could ever find a reason to love him back.

“Maybe the love I’m feeling… doesn’t even begin to describe it.”

I was fully wrapped up in my feelings. I ended up crying during the entire ending of this book and my heart broke repeatedly for these two cinnamon rolls. When they’re together, they just ignite in the most precious way and they deserve all the love. This was a story line that I loved and I appreciate so much. This addresses how there countries out there that still don’t accept anyone who is lgbtq+ openly and how the homophobia is laced all throughout society (even in the homes you grow up in). There’s also an underlying topic of adultery that isn’t often discussed and how media can sometimes encourage that kind of behavior in relationships. I also appreciate that the topic was handled with a woman being the adulterer when far too often we see men being the ones who commit adultery in literature or films. And I have to talk about the fact that Katsumi is bisexual character! I live for books that have bisexual representation in them especially when it feels like literature often forgets about bisexuality and pansexuality (sometimes).

I also want to take a moment to remind anyone who decides to pick this manga up, that this is an adult romance. Yes, there are explicit scenes between both the characters. If this is something you’re not comfortable with this or you’re not sure how to feel, I recommend picking up a different manga. And if you’re someone who is comfortable with graphic yet brief depictions of sex, I definitely recommend this manga! Those scenes were a solid ten out of ten!

“But just seeing him and shooting the breeze and laughing together… That’d be enough for me.”

Overall, I loved this. I sobbed, I died a little inside, and then I was cheering. The story line moved at a solid pace and it was hard not to get wrapped up in the story. I mean, I had to pause my reading to remind myself to hydrate because I was so eager to find out what would happen. And as I mentioned, this book has some great topics and this book also shows that those who feel they’re too broken to find love, can find love. I truly enjoyed this and I think many other manga readers will enjoy this book. A soft reminder, this is an adult romance and there are explicit scenes. But I can’t recommend this manga enough and I’m eager to see more work from Edako Mofumofu.

The quotes above were taken from an ARC and are subject to change upon publication.

Yo, this was way more graphic than I expected from a manga. The story itself was sweet, and these two tragic idiots were adorable. It was a very quick read, but an enjoyable one all the same

Excellent standalone BL manga with two great main characters with excellent chemistry! That art was gorgeous and the story was well-paced and did well interspersing backstory and dual perspectives within the main storyline. I found the main character Kyouske relatable in how he keeps his personal life in check with a rigid right versus wrong path kind of mindset; it was cathartic to watch him dismantle that uncompromising, fear-based kind of thinking. Kasumi, our other love interest, was also compelling, I love how strong and resilient he revealed himself to be despite first being introduced as a messy, emotionally fragile type of character. The ending was very satisfying and I would have loved more little extras with these two, but the way it left off was perfect as well.

Well this was heartbreaking. I mean, not actually. It has a happy ending. But the whole thing was just. My heart. When one person thinks the best way for the other to be happy is for them not to be together? Be ready to do some book flinging, some frustrated flailing, some "oh, my heart" gestures. But it was also super sweet and angsty and beautifully drawn. So there's that.

CW for internalized homophobia, emotionally abusive parents, sex on the page, undiagnosed depression(?), adultery

Thanks to Netgalley for a digital copy and their new app, which makes it so much easier to read.

Ok, so disclaimer but I thought when I got it from Netgalley that is was a teen title - however there are some pretty graphic sex scenes in this one, so it's definitely an adult one.
Other than the unexpected doinking, it was a really sad, sweet beautiful story about two boys trying to figure out their feelings for each other in a society that is very much behind the times when it comes to acceptance of the LGBT community. Because of this, the two men (they are adults, fresh out of college) go through so much hell trying to reconcile the fact that their childhood friendship is so much more... and it doesn't help that one of them is trying to recover from a very traumatic childhood and some serious depression - two more things that are simply not acceptable to discuss in Japanese society.

This was a pretty cute graphic novel. I enjoyed the characters a lot, and enjoyed it so much I didn't put it down until I finished it. There's some trigger warning for this in terms of internalized homophobia. Ultimately I'm happy with how the characters got together and worked things out.

There Are Things I can't Tell You is a standalone BL manga that focuses on relationship of Kyousuke and Kasumi, who know each other since high school. It's also my first manga from Edako Mofumofu. I love trying new BL stories and this one had interesting premise.

First of all, I'd like to talk about art. I must say I was pretty pleasantly surprised, because it was very neat, clean and pleasant to look at. Just the way I love my mangas. Storywise, it's another story and I am little bit hesitant about rating. We follow MCs's journey through present when they are both adults and their relationship is still on the friendzone basis. Kyousuke is also trying his hardest to excel at his work which messes up his free time he could spend with Kasumi. Another problem is that they are both completely different personality wise. Author shows us a lot of flashbacks going back to high school to let us get to know them better.

Is it best BL out there? No. But it definitely stands out. Eventhough I was not fan of some stuff that both Kyousuke and Kasumi did, I admit it was pretty realisticly portrayed and I felt for the characters. There are some red flags you should be aware of though, such as very self-destructive behaviour, depression, cheating on significant other and many others. It's definitely worth checking though.

A heartfelt BL manga featuring men in their 20's who have been secretly pining for each other their entire lives. An emotionally satisfying story that doesn't shy away from adult content (graphic scenes, homophobia, emotional and physical abuse). The artwork is simply gorgeous, which more than makes up for the fact that the dialog is sometimes a bit clunky.

At first I thought this was going to be the quintessential story about unrequited love between childhood friends. But things were not as they seemed and were much more complicated.

Kyousuke and Kasumi both wanted each other happy but they lived in the deeply Conservative Japanese society and thought the best way to deal with it was well... not dealing with it.

Needless to say, this led to quite some angst and heartache along the way. BUT! As we all know, the heart & soul wants what it wants. No matter the time, distance, or impediments that come along the way.

I've always loved Japanese style of comics and this was no different. The art was beautifully rendered and had some sexy panels which added to the adult feel of the manga. The story was also very well written and tugged at my heartstrings all through out.

The only issue I had was that it ended. I needed more of their cuteness after they finally got their act together and were all "loved up" and had the manga had 50 more pages, I wouldn't have minded one bit! :D

Thank you to the publisher and to Netgalley for the advance copy of this book!

AWWWW... This book was very cute and I really enjoyed it. The art was very easily read and easy to follow. The plot and storyline in the book gave me what I was looking for. I highly recommend this author. I loved the writing. I will be looking for other works in the future from this author.

There Are Things I Can't Tell You is not the typical high school boys-love romance that you often see in manga, but instead featuring young men who are struggling with their sexual identity in the face a homophobic, judgemental society and scared to admit their feelings for each other in fear of losing someone important to them.

Kyousuke is a kind, hardworking graphic designer with big ambitions and he has been in love with Kasumi since forever but he's worried about him and believes he can't share his true feelings because he can't make Kasumi happy. Meanwhile, Kasumi is having an affair with a married woman but his heart isn't truly into it and he's unhappy. .

It was somehow and adorable yet bittersweet story, touching on more mature content as well, and I really enjoyed reading it! 3.5 stars rounded up to 4!

This manga, was a soft “will they, won’t they...already?”

Disclaimer: This book was provided to me by #Netgalley for an honest review. Thoughts on this book are my own.

WARNING: This BL novel is rated Mature. Touching on depression, graphic nudity, and homophobia.

There Are Things I Can’t Tell You is a one-shot manga by Edako Mofumofu. Recently translated by TokyoPop (yes, that one). Fun fact, Mofumofu roughly translates to english as “soft fluffy”. If you’re an old school fan of this BL author, you probably read a few steamer fan translated tales. (insert eyebrow wiggle)

The story follows two best friends navigating adulthood while secretly pining for the other. Mix in some personal trauma and melodrama. You get the recipe for a classic Male/Male romance (slight improvement to the Yaoi hands). Kyousuke has internalized homophobia. He’s also an Illustrator for a company. Kasumi struggles with depressive episodes brought on by childhood trauma. He’s attending (what I assume) graduate school while having an affair with a married woman.

While some readers will quickly dismiss this title for another fluffy BL, I can appreciate Mofumofu’s ability to reflect the realities of modern Japan. Mental health and same sex marriage is still a hushed topic.

That aside, I was pleasantly surprised by the short, graphic hookups later. See, I warned you again and Mofumofu still delivers. The conversation afterwards was a knee jerker. But keep reading!

The flashbacks may confuse some at first. The dialogue is very flat in some places, but the inner monologues were moving.

While we do see some character’s present day, I wanted to see more of a day in Kasumi’s life. Outside of adultery duties and breakdowns. But, I would not change that conversation in the park for anything.

If you’re looking for a BL riddled with angst and emotional hangups, this is the book for you.

Available in most major eBook sellers in english translation by TokyoPop.

There are Things I Can’t Tell You by Edaku Mofumofu, Trans. by Christine Dashiell

It’s an ok and quite of a quick read. But the dialogue was not great and I really needed that to appreciate this story more. Quite cliche and predictable at times, could be due to translation? I will never know. Also, a big pet peeve of mine when reading such books with young characters is the quite annoying and, most of the times unneccessary, miscommunication scenes just to be build up some drama. There are other ways to do that. Please, no more.

Trigger Warnings: Adultery, Familial Abuse, Unhealthy Romantic Relationships, Explicit Sex Scenes, Depression

I got a free e-ARC from Netgalley in exchange for an honest review.

Sexy, sweet and angsty. Typical friends to lovers but it hits the spot and I found it enjoyable. Thanks to Netgalley for providing me with this ARC in exchange for an honest review.

I gave this book a 2 star review. While I enjoyed the plot - two boys meet and become best friends, they end up having some romantic feelings for one another, etc. However, I felt super confused half the time with the flashbacks and the real time being so interwoven that’s I couldn’t tell them apart.

Spoiler?

The sex scenes also took me completely by surprise in the book. I don’t mind them at all in any form (manga, novel, etc), but they definitely came out of nowhere. I would be willing to give the author another shot with another series however.