I did not finish this book because there was explicit sex in the title and I was only previewing to see if it was appropriate for my YA library. While some BL, or boys love, titles are appropriate for teens I don't think visually depicting sex on the page is necessary. This looks cute from the title and what I read but the physical relationship between the main characters moved really fast and the scene I mentioned happens in the first twenty pages of the title.

What a charming sweet story ! I loved it ! Actually I didn't know it was a second volume but it didn't affect my reading. Those two where so lovely and handsome ! I cried at the end too !

Once again, this was such a cute manga! I love how we get a look at Rui and Yuujirou’s life leading up to graduation, how they pick their careers, and life after uni. This manga packs in a lengthier timeline than the previous volume and I wish there was a bit more content in between their main life events, but I think this volume tied things up nicely. I recently realized that I don’t think there will be a third volume which is so sad because I want more of this couple! They definitely experience a lot of emotional rollercoasters in this volume, but I’m happy with how everything turns out. There’s also some side relationships that seemed to be forming, so I thought it would make for great content in future volumes, but I guess Yusen is leaving the story as an open-ended duology. Either way, I highly recommend this!

An interesting take on what comes after 'happily ever after' in a society that is not accepting all types of love.

There is just something about a romance about an already established relationship that just makes everything so much hotter! Yuurijo, a short and traditionally masculine man, and Rui, a tall man with a more femine persona, already know where they stand when it comes to their relationship. And this surety leads to some very… very hot moments.

But the story takes it a step further, by adding the complexity of finishing high school and deciding what they want to do with their future studies.

I won’t spoil anything but I adore how they both really consider what it means to stay together or to take the chance and be separate for a while. Their honesty and their conflicts made me all the more attached to these characters.

I will definitely be looking forward to reading more from this author!


*I received an eARC from TOKYOPOP, LOVE x LOVE & NetGalley in exchange for my honest review*

This was such a cute manga, I loved the art style and just how quick of a read it was. The dialog was refreshing and easily drew me in

Story: This story was cute, wholesome and we still got drama. I would set this a high average for my usual yaoi reads. Even though it has many tropes that you kinda know from most yaoi it combined them in a way that you really follow this couple's relationship growing and adapting to becoming an adult and the change of graduating highschool, deciding on university and job live. I even would have liked if this would have been a series fleshing out the story even more. At the moment it is a bit of a puzzle jumping through different times of their life, though it is mainly set in their last year of hishschool. I think the feelings conveyed are great and for me it worked out.
4.5/5

Art: The art is really cute. Though the scans quality wasn't that good and for some smaller parts I am not sure what was written. Also it irritated me that the couple always wore the same outfit at the same time, when Rui wore I Tshirt, jeans and a shirt over it, Yuujiro wore the same just with other colours. Doing that once would have been cute but it irritated me it was nearly always, especially considering that Rui's interest was design I think there could have been a bit more focus on the clothing. But I still like the fluffy drawing style as it underlined the wholesome parts of this relationship.
4/5

Dekoboko Bittersweet Days is a sequel to Dekoboko Sugar Days, but any readers who are interested in this volume don’t necessarily need to read the first one — Bittersweet Days does a great job at the beginning of recapping Rui and Yuujirou’s journey from childhood friends to boyfriends.

My one complaint about the original volume was a lack of tension in the plot, but (as it’s name would suggest), Bittersweet Days fixes this problem, including the perfect amount of angst and relationship hurdles for Rui and Yuujirou to overcome. Overall, I would recommend Bittersweet Days for anyone who wants a quick, romantic ‘friends to lovers’ read, complete with a satisfying conclusion.

This issue certainly got quite a bit steamier than the last. This volume picks up in the boys' last year of high school. College, and the prospect of living far away from each other, becomes a major source of conflict in their relationship. Great conclusion to this little short manga duology. The characters showed great development, the romance was just as sweet as the first volume, and the story is very emotional. The pacing in the beginning was a little odd. I found that the transition between scenes was pretty abrupt to the point I thought I was missing a few pages, but it smoothed out in the end. Solid series. Highly recommended.

This graphic novel features two sweet boys in love figuring out life together. I love the tall, sweet honey meets short, feisty athlete ascetic. Plus, I’m always a sucker for a friends to lovers trope. The art is beautiful and brings out the joy and lightness in this slice of life story, even when conflict happens.

It's a continuation of Deko-boko Sugar Days. We get to see how Yuujirou and Rui's relationship has progressed and some struggles that arise for them to work through.
These two are adorable together and they both are thinking of futures where the other can depend on them. Rui has plans that are unexpected and Yuujirou tries his best to tell Rui he supports him, but inside he is struggling.
I do enjoy the flashbacks of their childhood and the fact Yuujirou thought no one in his family knew about his relationship with Rui (although we get hits that his brother knew before he comes out and says he knew).

I haven't read the first of the manga before, but the story was well summed at the beginning so it was easy for me to follow the story.
I really liked the two main characters and their interaction, it was real and relatable without any exaggeration (even when things didn't go as they planned). It was a cute story to read in an hour and I liked both the idea and the ending.

Even if I will do it backward, I think I will still read the first volume, because I liked the story a lot. I would recommend this manga to anyone who wants something easy, engaging and focused manly on the relationship and romantic interaction!

This was a (bitter)sweet sequel to the first volume. The two lovers face a lot of big issues in this volume, and it was heartbreaking to watch them try to figure out life, especially after high school, together. Both characters are just so sweet to each other and I think this is a wonderful representation of a M/M relationship. I loved the Friends-To-Lovers trope in this one and the sweet ending.
This volume spanned quite a few years in the characters lives, and at times was difficult to figure out where in the timeline everything was taking place, as we get flashbacks to when the characters were younger, but also the manga speeds through years over just a few pages.
Other than that I did enjoy this, and it seemed this was the last volume in the series.

When I initially received this ARC, I was expecting a soft and sweet BL manga about childhood friends turned lovers. While I definitely got that, I don’t want anyone to think that that is necessarily a bad thing. Yes, Dekoboko Bittersweet Days is predictable, but it is predictable in that warm and cozy, familiar way like sipping tea from your favourite mug or slipping on a pair of well worn socks. This manga was enjoyable, but not revolutionary, and I am okay with that.
First and foremost, I want to address the fact that Bittersweet Days is a sequel. Now, I did not know this when I picked it up, nor did I know it as I was reading it. I found out afterward, when I was adding it to my Goodreads. So, clearly this book can be read as a standalone if you don’t feel like reading the first, Dekoboko Sugar Days. However, because I have only read the second volume, I do not know if the things I like about it are recurrent themes, or if they are specific only to this book—though I highly doubt it.
My favourite thing about Bittersweet Days is just how slice of life it is. I love a good slice of life manga. The biggest obstacle in this story is Yuujirou and Rui actually admitting to their friends and family that they are in a homosexual relationship with each other. I honestly don’t need anymore drama than that. I thought the level of pining and angst was just right for a nice light afternoon read, and I would very much recommend it if you’re a BL fan looking for something short and sweet, or if you’re a fan of the Hiroki/Nowaki storyline in Junjou Romantica. I know I’ll probably be picking up the first book soon, if only to see what I missed initially.

Sequels to stories that already have an established happily-ever-after are tricky. The author needs to build upon the original happy ending without destroying it, but there also needs to be believable new tension to the romance. I am pleased to report that <i>Dekoboko Bittersweet Days</i> does a lovely job with this, incorporating realistic relationship problems while still allowing us to believe, even in the worst moments, that Yuujirou and Rui will be able to find happiness together. Since the first volume took place in high school, this means that Atsuko Yusen has a built-in easy way to throw a hurdle in their path: college. With graduation looming, Rui and Yuujirou have to reconcile their different career dreams with their mutual desire to stay together, and this gives Rui a much-needed chance to prove that he's more than just the sweet boy who follows Yuujirou's lead. The both have to grow up, in other words, and while that does give us a couple of very difficult chapters, it really is worth it in the end - especially since one of their worries, coming out to their families, turns out not to be such a terrible thing after all.

I didn't think it was possible to follow up the first book so well. I'm glad to be proven wrong.

Un dolcissimo manga BL, dove ci troviamo lanciati direttamente nella storia d'amore di questi due ragazzi del liceo (ho scoperto solo mentre scrivo la recensione che questo è il volume 2 del manga). Non ci vengono narrati quindi tutti i drammi tipici di questi manga pre fidanzamento, ma ogni capitolo è inframmezzato a dei flashback della loro infanzia (che ho trovato dannatamente CUTE!). Non mancherà però comunque il dramma che ogni storia d'amore che si rispetti deve attraversare. Infatti i due protagonisti dovranno affrontare le difficoltà della relazione a distanza e le insicurezze che a quell'età son completamente normali. Ma per fortuna avremo un fantastico Happy ending!

L'ho trovato davvero ben disegnato, narrato in maniera ottima. Forse ho trovato uno dei protagonisti, Rui, il gigante biondo per capirci, decisamente troppo femminile e infantile. Sopratutto questo suo lato non mi è piaciuto. Non riesco minimamente a immaginarmi un ragazzo maggiorenne che si comporta in quel modo purtroppo...

Spero comunque di leggere altre opere dell'autore.

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A sweet BL manga, where we find ourselves thrown directly into the love story of these two high school kids (I only found out while writing the review that this is volume 2 of the manga). So we are not told all the typical dramas of pre-engagement in this manga, but between each chapter there are flashbacks from their childhood (which I found damn CUTE!). However, the drama that every self-respecting love story must go through will not be missing. In fact, the two protagonists will have to face the difficulties of the long-distance relationship and the insecurities that at that age are completely normal. But luckily we will have a fantastic Happy ending!

I found it really well designed, very well narrated. But I found one of the protagonists, Rui, the blond giant, definitely too feminine and childish. I especially didn't like this side of him. I can't imagine an adult boy acting that way unfortunately ...

However, I hope to read other works by the author.

Dekoboko Sugar Days was one of my favorite BL manga of 2020, and I’ve been anxiously awaiting the second one-shot from mangaka Atsuko Yusen following Rui and Yuujirou. Dekoboko Bittersweet Days is the sequel manga that takes readers into Rui and Yuujirou’s relationship as they learn to deal with the uncertainty of the future and coming out to their families. The manga is published and localized in English by TOKYOPOP via their LOVE x LOVE collection that focuses on publishing queer manga romances. The one-shot is edited by Lena Atanassova, translated by Christine Dashiell, and features a cover and logo design by Sol DeLeo.

In Dekoboko Bittersweet Days, Rui and Yuujirou are officially a couple. Though they were little more than best friends at first, the confusion over their true feelings for one another smoldered until they confessed in Dekoboko Sugar Days. Now every day passes with such overwhelming sweetness that Yuujirou can’t believe it’s real. But as high school comes to a close, and the two have to think about their lives afterward, plan for college, and tackle the moment of coming out to their families, the sweetness turns bitter. We see Rui and Yuujirou young and in love for the first half of the one-shot. They’re walking home together, supporting each other, and of course, having sex. But in the second half, their romance is tested when Rui confesses that he wants to study abroad for college, crushing all the plans that Yuujirou had made for the two of them.

One thing to appreciate about the one-shot is that it’s accessible to new readers and has enough sweetness to keep its wholesome core while exploring the importance of communication and the trouble that comes with entering the adult world after high school.

But the strongest part of Dekoboko Bittersweet Days is that sometimes the answer to keeping a healthy relationship is supporting your partner, even if that means you have to live without them for a little while. In romances, we often see the character who is leaving be stopped at the airport, taken in their partner’s arms, and change their mind— nonrefundable plane tickets be damned. But in Dekoboko Bittersweet Days, that isn’t the case. Working through your problems isn’t always completing caving; it’s about understanding that the healthy choice is sometimes the difficult one. Despite Yuujirou finally revealing how much he wants him to stay, Rui’s resolve isn’t shaken. Instead, the proof that Yuujirou cares and loves him is all that Rui needs to take the plunge. Not just for their future life together, but for himself.

I have no gripes with the love story in Dekoboko Bittersweet Days. Once again, Yusen explores young love and friendship in a way that doesn’t mask any of the characters’ emotions beneath niceties. While Rui attempts to talk with Yuujirou and make a plan, Yuujirou is too stubborn and sad to even think about time apart from Rui. The stubbornness and fear we see in the story work to round out a romance because they’re never always sweet all the time. Additionally, seeing the two come out to their families and have support from their mothers is an adorable nod to the childhood flashbacks we get across one-shots that show how devastated Yuujirou is that he can’t marry.

With Dekoboko Bittersweet Days, Yusen makes me want to stay with Rui and Yuujirou as their romance matures and life throws curveballs. I hope we get to see these two grow with each other in the future.

Dekoboko Bittersweet Days is available wherever books are sold March 22, 2022.

Thank you to NetGalley and Tokyopop for a free ARC in exchange for a review.

I loved this volume. This volume ended up being the resolution to the story I didn't know I needed. I love how the author decided to continue their story even though they confessed in the previous volume. To be honest sometimes all you get is til the confession and then that's it. I love how she incorporated a little bit of the HEA here. Let's be honest, Happy Ever Afters also include some conflicts/difficult situations for the couple. That's just real life. The author did a magnificent job of depicting this. I will definitely be purchasing the physical copies of this series.


#DekobokoBittersweetDays #NetGalley

Rating: 3.88 leaves out of 5
-Characters: 3.5/5
-Cover: 5/5
-Story: 3.5/5
-Writing: 3.5/5
Genre: SoL/Romance
Type: Manga
Worth?: Yeah

First want to thank Netgalley and the publisher for letting me read this in exchange for an honest review! Do you like fluffy romance? This is the manga for you. It was cute and light. Not really much drama or anything. So basically if you like cotton candy and marshmallow vibes in your manga this is it. I am not the biggest fan but I didn't hate it and I didn't super love it either. Glad I read it but wouldn't read it again kinda thing.

This was a sweet read but I think this is part of a series that I was not aware of. The beginning caught you up with the two main characters to where they were currently at in their relationship which was slightly jarring since I thought this was a volume 1 type scenario. As such, I missed all of the goodness that is the beginning of the relationship.

However, even though I felt a bit behind, the two main characters and their real world main conflict of pursuing your dreams even if that means, leaving everything behind or on hold until you are done was really good. I felt bad for the two main characters but I of course knew they would make it through ok. It was a really sweet story that I would recommend.