This was a cute manga that I read in one sitting! I wasn't expecting too much from it and it lived up to that expectation. We follow two couples here, but the first couple is the one that we follow the most. It's a romance between two high schoolers who are the opposite, but they are lonely in a way. The main character, Nijou, is known to be the popular kid at school, and being the class president, he has to take care of all of the students. He gets asked to do a lot of things by teachers and students, and that starts to pressure him. The story starts when a teacher asks him to check up on a student that has been absent from the start of the semester and that's how the two MCs meet. It's not love at first sight and I liked it for that. The love interest has been staying home after finding out that his dad has been in debt with loaners and he doesn't go to school anymore since then. The two start talking and caring for each other. That is how the story goes and it's interesting to see how their relationship grows from there. They go from acquaintances to friends and eventually something more by the end. This was a cute story to follow and I would love to read on with a second volume if there is one in the future!

Glass Syndrome by Eiko Ariki is a graphic novel currently scheduled for release on August 10 2021. Class president Nijou is a talented athlete, popular honor student... and a total people-pleaser who can't stop living up to others' smothering expectations of him. When his teacher asks him to check on Toomi, a classmate who's stopped coming to school, that chance meeting leads to an unexpected connection that neither young man expects. Toomi sees right through his diligent facade, and Nijou can't forget the cool comfort of Toomi's undemanding touch. But when Nijou discovers the reason behind Toomi's frequent absences — that he's been working as an online cam "girl" — he doesn't know how to react. How can he bring up what he knows? And how will it change their relationship?

Glass Syndrome is a nice romance, with a second story included in the volume. I thought it was well done in terms of story, text, and art. I felt for Nijou and Toomi as they face their individual struggles. I kind of wanted a bit more oft hem actually figuring the relationship thing out- it felt more like they just decided that they would be together without ever saying anything. Then the switch to the second romance confused me for a bit- I knew they were different people from the first couple but could not figure out how everyone related only to decide that it was a completely unrelated story. It was also good in its way, but was short. I think I would have liked it more if I could have connected the two stories and the main story was expanded on a bit more. However, I did enjoy the read and think it is a quick, fun read.

This was very sweet and the artwork was impressive, but it didn't have anything that made it stand out against the many other similar mangas out there. But hey, if you love this kind of read then it is still very enjoyable

Sadly I couldn't follow the story, due to how received onto Kindle. The pages were cut in half and much of the dialogue split in two, with odd gaps in between.

Impossible to read the dialogue or see the images fully, despite trying a couple of times and adjusting kindle in attempts to read properly it didn't work.

I won't post review elsewhere as i didn't actually get the chance to read or capture story, but I hope to in the future pick up as it does sound interesting and art looked great from parts able to see.

This manga has two stories interspersed. The first story, and titular story is Glass Syndrome.

“Toomi’s hand is like glass. It’s cold to the touch and it feels wonderful.”

Nijou, is the perfect student, perfect class leader, perfect sportsman but is silently being crushed under the weight of it all, the need to please everyone and the burden of their expectations. He’s alone in a hell of his own making.

On the other hand, Toomi, is living in a hell of his gambling-addicted father’s making. Abandoned, with no safe habour to turn to in the storm his life has become, after weighing his options, he decides to support himself by being a cam-girl. A secret he guards closely. A secret that forms a boundary between the regular, average lives of his classmates and his.

“For some reason, when I’m with Toomi, it’s crazy how easy it is to breathe.”

Two lonely hearts are placed on a collision course. Toomi sees through all of Nijou’s pretense and Nijou is someone who came to Toomi when he was at his lowest.

This is no happy, high school boys falling for each other fluff, this is angst and pain and a life that seems too real. Beautifully written and with a lovey-dovey epilogue that soothes and satisfies after all the angst of the main story.

Similar Figures of Love

It starts with the familiar refrain of an unrequited love, BL manga style.

“I’m in love right now, and it’s a love I can’t tell anyone about.”

Kasumi is in love with his childhood friend Chichiro. It’s a fruitless love as his friend is just that, a friend, who is straight and has a crush of his own. Kasumi tries to distance himself from what was once sweet, that has now turned bitter and painful so he takes up varied and contrasting activities to his friend. Anything for a bit of distance.

It is while attempting to play a piano in a hidden away room, Saiki comes in and in the next breath confesses. He has fallen in love with the figure Kasumi makes while staring at his unrequited love from the second floor balcony, a study in painful longing.

Saiki just wants to be close to Kasumi, so they strike a deal. Kasumi gets a talented pianist to teach him the ropes and Saiki gets to be beside him.

“How can you stay so calm when suffering the same thing?”

A sweet, short on unrequited love.

In the end, I really liked both stories with the theme of the fragility and loneliness held within the human heart. The art was pleasing to the eye and the way the tears were drawn was beautiful. A truly angsty read, prefect for a moody, rainy afternoon spent curled up on the couch.

I’d definitely recommend this and I can definitely see myself reading this again!

I received this manga from Netgalley in exchange of an honest review.

Unfortunately the way this book came through as a file did not work on the device I was using - it was sideways and it was broken up in strange ways. It's likely this is just a result of the device I was using though. I'm certainly curious enough about the story to investigate when it is out in physical form.

I would like to thank TokyoPop and NetGalley for the review copy. Opinions expressed in this review are completely my own.

This manga was actually composed of two stories: the first one is Glass Syndrome, and the other one is Similar Figures of Love.

Glass Syndrome followed Nijou who lived his life pleasing others in order to be accepted. Because of these high expectations, he felt pressured and suffocated most of the time, to the point he was losing his real self. When he met Toomi, he felt at ease and calm whenever they were together. This story touched some heavy themes, and it would have been better if the author dove a little deeper into these serious issues. It had a lot of angst, but there were also adorable moments.

Similar Figures of Love is about Kasumi, a college student who was in love with his best friend and roommate. He had this unrequited love for so long, but he didn't want to confess lest he lost their friendship. He somewhat found comfort learning the piano with an upperclassmen, Saiki, who claimed he was in love with him. This story was lighter compared to the first one, and it was a little bit fast for my taste. Maybe because it was only a short story, but overall, I also liked it since I was a sucker for unrequited love trope.

Both the stories were enjoyable and I liked the art style. I liked how it conveyed a message that love and feelings evolved and changed.

3.5/5 stars!

4/5 stars!

Nijou is a people-pleaser that is secretly overwhelmed while Toomi is an abandoned lonely boy who is paying off his father's gambling debts by performing drag at an adult cam website. The two met when Nijou was asked by a teacher to see if Toomi is alright since the absent boy hasn't been in school for a while. Also included in this book is a short story featuring a boy with an unrequited crush.

This is a nice and entertaining manga. I enjoyed both stories, especially the main one. I liked both boys and how they started falling in love with each other. I did wanted more details for certain parts, but that's a personal preference of mine. The short story was also nice, though it also needed some more details for my own preference. Overall, an enjoyable read.

**Thanks to the publisher and NetGalley for the review copy. All opinions and thoughts in the review are my own.**

A fairly standard yaoi manga experience but enjoyable, and the art is very nice to look at. It by no means stands out above the many, many stories in the genre but is serviceable at best.

This is a small collection of two stories, and their sequels, about finding romance where you least expect it.

Story one: Glass Syndrome, is about a young man (Nijou) that lives his life feeling he must please others in order to be accepted in the world. From that, he's lost a sense of who he actually is and if he ever knew.
Because of this high expectation, he finds himself feeling responsible for another student (Toomi) that has started to slack off and stopped going to school.

Through their meeting, they find a bond that neither one knew they needed. Towards the end of the book is a short "sequel" of them as adults and where they're at, which was a bit of fluff, but adorable nonetheless.

Story two: Similar Figures of Love, is about a college student (Kasumi) who's in love with his best friend. He's been in love with him, but has decided he won't say anything. He doesn't want to lose the friendship and doesn't want to interfere with what he sees as a budding relationship with someone else.

Instead he takes on an additional hobby of learning the piano, with an upperclassmen (Saiki) torturing him. Who claims he's in love with Kasumi.

This story is about realizing things can change, because your focus changes. Love and feelings evolve, especially when they are replicated versus unrequired love.

This story also has an additional sequel at the end.. which didn't make much sense to me.

Personally I liked Glass Syndrome (story one) and the sequel. Similar Figures of Love (and sequel) just seemed to be oddly paced and placed as a second story. It's about half the length, or less, and moves to a conclusion quite suddenly.

I didn't hate this manga, just seems a bit messy.. but love will do that to you, huh?

** Thank you to TOKYOPOP and NetGalley for an ARC in exchange for an honest review. **

A pretty standard Yaoi - polar opposites find love and comfort in one another, one is the class president, one has a troubled home life and is forced to become an adult quickly. I think where this failed for me was it would have been better as a series (or at least a duo) rather than a one-shot. There is A LOT to unpack here, especially Toomi's story and everything happened much too quickly. The story itself has a lot of potential to be absolutely lovely, but felt stilted because the narrative was cut too short. That said, that won't completely alienate readers (myself included) and those looking for a fluffier one-shot manga will enjoy it.

As a kid, Tales from the Crypt was my favorite comic book. I have, in recent years, begun exploring the world of modern comics and graphic novels. There is so much to like. Glass Syndrome, courtesy of Netgalley, is my latest read. I truly enjoyed the book.

Nijou is that guy that everyone wanted to be in school. If you could not be him, then you at least wanted to be his friend, somehow to enjoy his orbit. Toomi is the guy that everyone picks on. He is bullied including physical violence. When Toomi stops coming to class, one of the teachers asks Nijou to check on him. Nijou being that perfect guy does it without hesitation. The two are a revelation to each other, like an undiscovered species existing right alongside their own. I enjoyed learning about Nijou and Toomi. I especially enjoyed watching them I am looking forward to reading more titles in the series.

This title includes:
Glass Syndrome
Similar Figures of Love
Glass Syndrome {Sequel}
Similar Figures of Love {Sequel}

From some of there other commenters, I'm gathering that this is their first time reading a manga especially a BL manga because it's usually not just one story. Neither of the stories were groundbreaking, they had iffy elements but this along the lines of most BLs that I've read.

I'll start this review by saying that I am fairly new to reading manga. I know that some of my difficulties with enjoying this story are because of that. Distinguishing dialogue from thought, following the flow of the panels, etc. Overall, I enjoyed the premise of Glass Syndrome, but felt that it could have been executed a bit better. The conflict mentioned in the description - that Toomi is secretly acting as a cam girl - hardly seems to be a conflict at all in the story. I would have liked to see more development of the characters (their backstory, their other relationships, discussion of the fact that they are interested in another man). This is was cute, but not very satisfying. I probably wouldn't re-read.

There was a lot I liked about Glass Syndrome: the art, the characters, the story. However, it felt like just as I was really getting into it, it ended. I would have liked more resolution for the characters and more time for them to work through their own issues as well as their relationship. There is a short epilogue at the end that gives a peek at what happens next for them, as well as a side story about completely different characters. To be honest I'm not sure why the side story was included? I thought this manga was all about the two mains - Nijou and Toomi - so I was thrown off by the abrupt ending to their story and the start of short story about two different guys. In the end this manga wasn't that memorable for me. Not bad, but it could have been better.

I couldn’t follow this story in the least. Part of it was the format in which it downloaded on my kindle. All the comic strips were cut off funny and made it impossible to read fully read the dialogue or see the images. There were also these weird blank pages through out and maybe adds. I reread the first half and still couldn’t get the idea of the story. I feel badly rating it poorly because I’m not sure what the story is even about based on what I read. Would definitely give it another chance just maybe not an ebook. I have gotten into graphic novels thanks to Heartstopper and Bloom. I won’t be posting this review anywhere as it seems unfair.

I really enjoyed this story and I would follow it if they had more volumes. The flow is a little choppy but overall still a great read.
The only qualms I had with this book is that it's two different stories in the same book. I didn't even know that the second book (Similar Figures of Love) was included. Also the flow seemed a bit choppy, mainly while transitioning scenes.
I would love to read more and learn more about our characters lives together, and just expand more on the story.

Lovely story, Nijou and Toomi really saw right through the barriers they build around each other. I wished to seen more of them though, thought the manga only showed the beggining of their story,

Glass Syndrome is a collection of two BL stories where the first story is of Toomi and Nijou. Nijou is a people pleaser and can't say no and Toomi have abandonment issues. So, when both of them meet each other the story starts.
This manga was okay. I didn't like it very much since the relationship didn't look very natural and also not much time was given for the development of characters and plot.

Second story is about Kasumi who is in one sided love with his bestfriend, later to realise that he loves his senior. This one was out of my understanding. It was super short and I thought that the book had some error so it started some random story.

Overall, an okay read

This was a nice read but it was nothing fantastic either. Indeed, I felt like I had already read this story before. We have one character who wants to please everyone and cannot say no and the other who is more rebellious and has his problems too. What bothered me is that I felt like their relationship started way too easily and was kind of rushed. Moreover, it was quite short as there is a bonus story at the end (that I didn’t fully get to be honest). If it had more development, I think I would have liked it better. Overall, it’s a cute story but not one that I will remember.
I recommend it if you want to start read shonen-ai or if you’re looking for a simple one.
2.5/5