Boys Run the Riot
Volume One
Keito Gaku
25th May 2021
This one is a bit difficult, oddly, for me to review. I personally identify as nonbinary, trans-masc, so my identification is not the same as Ryo's, but reading a manga with a main character who is trans was definitely something I was interested in. And this was a bit of a mixed bag for me.
For starters, I personally didn't really like the art style. I loved Ryo's graffiti artwork, but otherwise I just found that it wasn't a style that I particularly gelled with - no harm done there, just not necessarily my thing.
After that, we get to the storyline. I thought Ryo talking about his experience was quite relatable, even if it's not exactly the same as mine, I found similarities that made me identify with Ryo a little more. However, it just never quite felt like me, so it was hard to know how I felt in general. I'm also not someone overly interested in fashion, so that kind of was somewhat uninteresting for me.
Finally, and this is just something that I really dislike, Ryo accused someone of being 'a waste of balls' and similar things like that, and I just hated that. I hate that kind of slur - if someone isn't brave, then they lack male genitalia? Why do we have to define people by what genitalia they have? Obviously something that I don't like, so I just couldn't get on with that kind of behaviour.
Anyway, overall I thought the general message was good about fighting for your dreams, and I liked the basic acceptance of Ryo by Jin, as well as the sheer fact that the main character is a trans man, but this one just didn't do it for me. I may still read book two, but I would recommend this more for people interested in fashion I think, as it just didn't quite jive for me.
6/10 sweet sweet tshirts.
{I received a review copy of this book from NetGalley in exchange for an honest review. All thoughts and feelings are my own.}
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