Thank you to NetGalley and the publishers for this ARC.

Hooks you from the very beginning. Cannot wait to read more.

Summary:

Ichiro is a dedicated member of the Tokyo Metropolitan Security Bureau. As such, he’s always been good at taking orders…even if those orders mean ignoring the obvious and not following through on a cause close to his heart.

That is, until he gets a new assignment. He’s been tasked with getting close to an infamous Yakuza, Shiro. It just so happens that Shiro and Ichiro’s goals coincide, putting these unlikely two together.

Review:

If you’re looking for a quirky murder/mystery manga with forced proximity, Kei X Yaku: Bound By Law Vol. 1 is the read for you! But seriously, this manga surprised me again and again, and I have to read the rest of the series.

The setup is pretty solid: an agent is sent undercover to romance a Yakuza member; only things aren’t what they seem. The two have reason to work together but must keep up the pretense.

In other words, it’s a classic forced proximity trope with a few twists. The overall vibe makes the whole story more enjoyable, and I’ll be curious to see where their story leads. I also really want to know more about the case of missing a person, so I’m invested at multiple levels.

Highlights:
Yaoi Manga
Officer x Yakuza
Forced Proximity

Trigger Warnings:
Missing Person

Will I continue the series? Yes!

The start surprised me positively and I'm already very impressed with the series.

Ichiro, who acts as an undercover investigator, is supposed to ensnare the gangster Shiro in order to get valuable information out of him. But Shiro quickly sees through the game. Nevertheless, both pursue the same goal: to find Rion. So they decide to get together and make those around them believe they are a couple.

The combination of detective story and action promises to be a breath of fresh air for the BL scene, and I'm excited to see what else awaits us.

The series currently has 11 volumes and I hope this doesn't diminish the quality of the story.

In addition, the drawing style is really appealing; It's worth buying for that alone! :>

Thank you to Netgalley and the publishers!

This was so good! It had so many things I love it: yakuza x detective dynamic, fake dating, a murder mystery with cute light moments in between. I really love the dynamic between Ichiro and Shiro. I’m obsessed and looking forward to the next volume.

This is an excellent manga with a gripping story and great graphics. A gangster and an undercover policeman team up in order to find the policeman’s missing colleague who also happens to be the gangster’s sister. Sparks fly between them as they work together to solve this mystery.

The story draws you in from the beginning, and the characters are well developed and charismatic. There is a mystery, conspiracy and cover-up, and the push and pull of a possible romance. All these elements combine to make a great read and a series that looks as if it will be worth following.

Copy provided via Netgalley in exchange for an unbiased review.

This was a captivating book with excellent visuals. They bring back the intrigue right at the end, making you itch for the next book in the series. Very smart!
While I loved the contrasting personalities of the characters and their corresponding chibi-versions, I don't see an outburst of romance between Kei and Yaku but I think a slow burn romance filled with a lot of sexual tension, maybe even sex before love, fits the mood of this story perfectly.

I want to thank NETGALLEY for being able let me read this.

This was really good I love the concept of two people trying to find out what happen to the person they love without anyone knowing they both trying to get revenge for her murder. Faking a relationship to get more information and also making people beileve is one thing. Knowing that Kei and Yaku will doing thing to get information is the realest thing I have seen ever. I do love the character development between Kei and Yaku how they both hate each other ans wants nothing do with one another. But find out what happen to Rion.

The two main characters are amusing, their dynamic is fun. I really like the mystery/crime storyline mixed with the funnier moments. I feel like it could potentially get very dark. This was a good first volume, it left me intrigued for the rest of the story.

Forbidden romance
LGBTQIA (BL)
Enemies to Lovers
Sneaking around
Action packed
Incredible Art

This was such a fun and captivating read right from the get go

My only “issue” is that I would have liked it to be a little slower paced and we just jumped right into action

Kei x Yaku: Bound by Law
-yakuza, crime, mystery, bl?
-volume 2 recently released July 16
-volume 3 releases September 10

It’s been about a month or so since this series has been sitting on my TBR list and I honestly have no idea why I waited so long to read it. I enjoy the bickering between the two and although right now it doesn’t feel like it is a BL, I can see later on though there could be some developments in their relationship. You have an orphan who was willing to join yakuza and use himself to get the information he needs; then you have a subordinate who continues to stick his nose into a case that you can sense they are trying to cover up. We have two different personalities with a common goal. As the series progresses, we slowly get more information about the case, individuals they are investigating, and more of who the two characters are as people. If you like mystery/crime and enemies to lovers (?? not really sure how you would describe their beginning relationship), you would probably enjoy this. I will give a warning that there is some violence that occurs (nothing graphic though).

Three years ago a strange video was released of individuals beating a woman; however, it was taken down just as quick. This case was called the “Joker Case” and there have been no leads on what has happened to the woman or where she is at.
Kunishita, her subordinate, has not given up on finding her, but due to his interest in the case he has been reassigned. His new case is to go undercover and get close to Shiro Hanabusa-who has had “relationships” with several politicians. Kunishita is to learn what Hanabusa’s motives are with these individuals, as he is a higher ranking yakuza member. When Kunishita makes his move to get close to Hanabusa his honey trap is discovered immediately. However, after putting a tracker on Hanabusa he learns they have a common interest. Now they have set up a ruse, so they can continue their investigations in the “Joker Case”.

Being a romance reader, I couldn't wait to get my hands on this book. It really intrigued me from the get go, the forbidden romance, hidden romance, enemies to lovers. Yes please. Plus I love the cover!
I had no idea what to expect going into the story, but I did enjoy it.
We get thrown straight into the action. I think I would have liked a bit of a build up to their interactions and more depth.
However as overall story I enjoyed it and would definitely read more books in the series to see where the relationship between the two main characters goes!
Thank you Netgalley and publishers for the advanced copy!

Kei X Yaku is a short mystery/action BL involving yakuza politics. The way the main characters come from opposing forces, but agree to be allies interested me. Unfortunately, the book quickly devolves into many of the tropes and emotional beats as other books in the plethora BL yakuza subgenre. This is a nice one off volume to fill a half hour, but not a series I feel drawn to reading.

Another short read. This manga is was definitely a very fun. The right amount of violence enemies to lovers type story, if you like crime mysteries with political and level of for violence for size of the story was amazing. And the art style itself love can definitely see if there being an anime the level of detail sometimes it really keeps the story moving. My favorite quote it kind of really shows the dynamic of their relationship and the whole story goes and it’s just a fun little scene was. “You ate my protein bar.And it was chocolate flavor too…I should arrest you for theft” from the first page, it sucks you in very fast moving.

Thank you to Netgalley for a copy for an honest review.

I really enjoyed reading this and will be picking up a copy as soon it releases. 💕
It was well written and I really enjoyed my time reading it.

Rating 4 Stars ⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️

Intriguing premise - a woman is missing, presumed dead, and the yakuza lieutenant who was her brother and the (naive) police officer who was mentored by her pretend to be a couple in order to investigate what happened to her. But there's not much in this first volume beyond the set up of the premise. The art is sparse (except for weird details, like the one guy's back tattoo or the inhabitants of the dog cafe where they meet), so much so that I mostly knew what happened by reading the dialogue. The characterization is similarly minimal. For example, most of what we know about the missing woman is that she liked a particular brand of beer.

Great idea, but strung-out execution.

This is my first foray into Yoshie Kaoruhara’s work and I really enjoyed my time! I really liked the graphic style and I am excited to see where this series takes us next!

Two men, inexplicably drawn by a woman, and they try desperately to find her for different reasons….

The tension is amazing!!! I hope the second volume comes out soon because what do you mean it ends here??? What do you meaaaaaaaannnn??

3.5 stars.

A promising but a bit shaky start to a series. I am intrigued to see where the story goes from here and get to know these characters more and how they grow closer.

I can never get enough of yakuza vs undercover cop stories, so the more merrier. Having a long, multi-volume BL like this is also rare, which is why Kei x Yaku went on my wish list the moment it was announced.

I'm happy to say this was a good, and fun first volume that laid the foundation for an intriguing story to come. The volume went by so quickly and I was completely taken by surprised when it just ended. I hoped to read more. I wouldn't say the story is exceptionally new or unique, but I like the fact that Ichiro and Shiro find out each other's real identities fairly quickly. This opens up the story to go in a different direction than the cat-and-mouse dynamic that I was expecting. I'm sure there are still secrets abound and betrayals to be had, but I'm glad we will be watching a tentative partnership rather than two people constantly sussing each other out, and trying to catch the other on the backfoot.

Romance-wise there's very little development just yet, but there's so much promise of what's to come. I'm excited to see Ichiro and Shiro become closer as they delve into the rabbit hole of Rion's disappearance and the world of shady politicians, corrupt law enforcement (you can't tell me Ichiro's boss isn't sus as hell). So happy there's a new BL series to follow. <3

I liked the fake romance idea and how this was used, but the pace was so fast, with not enough development, so I couldn't connect with the characters as much as I wished. Both of them are intriguing, and I have a suspicion of where things are going, but I would still like to read the second volume when it comes out.