I never read any Novels before, maybe i thought it's too much text.. and i don't know how I came across this one, moreover I started with the Sequel Side Story "Summer Vacation", I didn't got a real connection to the characters but got curious enough for the Main-Story. After a slow start I couldn't stop anymore, it felt so unfair. Only shortly before this Story I watched a YouTube Video about Japans Justice System and how people get interrogated in the first 72 hours. It really gave me a better understanding why the Douno's Life went this Direction. In between the Story had again a really slow Part with "The Fragile Swindler", surprisingly finishing in a great Climax. For me the Translator's Words where the boat on which I smoothly hovered the Hako-no-Naka-River.
When I ended up with rereading the "Summer Vacation" Chapter it had an completely different impact and left me heart wrenched.

I'm glad to have read this serious and realistic Story of betrayal, envy, fate and love.

Although, the first part of the story felt a bit clunky sometimes, this novel is really a stand out. The different layers of the story were well thought out (like The Fragile Swindler). The characterization of the MC was endearing (especially seeing how Kei's natural curiousity changes slightly as he matures).

The last three side stories are what really touched my heart. I was crying big time during the last side story. I truly fell in love with this complete storyline. The last time I felt so invested in a couple's life was when I read "Under the Table and Dreaming" by hollycomb.

The major downside to this story was how penetrative sex was depicted in the main story. However, the second side story made up for this.

Overall, this is something I will definitely re-read in the future. Big props to the translator as well!

... Last updated on October 20th, 2016, 7:28am

Konohara Narise just has her way of tugging at your heartstrings. As a fan of her works, I thought that the Cold series was her very best, but I have to think again after reading this one. This story gives off a similar vibe, with its themes of loneliness and desperate love. It's a very thorough, arc-based story that takes you through the tumultuous lives of the two main characters.

As for disturbing content, it certainly is no worse than the Cold series:


It's a well fleshed-out story that leaves little unanswered, however
Beautifully written and translated. A must-read for BL enthusiasts.

Loved this, especially the ending. I think the translator did a remarkable job on the translation. If I hadn't known it was translated I probably would have never guessed, and normally it is quite easy to tell. Concerning the content, really great story, it has a lot of elements that completely set it apart from the yaoi genre. I have to say there were a few things that stopped it from being a "masterpiece" for me: a few times I did feel like the novel had a soap opera like feel to it, like events were put together just to emotionally manipulate readers, not for any real substance. I also somewhat wondered about the moral compass of the story, I don't think the story really endorsed , but it didn't pass much judgment for it either. I had to suspend my belief a tad to really believe Kitagawa as a character and understand Douno's motives but in the end the storytelling is really great that it's easy to do. Also the narration in Nao's short story was wonderful, it really captured Nao's perspective taking his age into consideration and I appreciated that. All in all, wonderful story and definitely a notch better than most yaoi.

... Last updated on June 3rd, 2014, 12:05am

As an advocate of books or literature in general - I love this because it's Yaoi and in it's novel form and the fact that it's a BL novel makes it all the more wonderful to read.

I salute the translator for his work; carefully chosen words and very good ones at that.

It is depressing (starting with Prison) but it's reality - these things happen.

... Last updated on May 12th, 2014, 10:53am

This novel is one of the rare few that I would dare to call a masterpiece. When an author makes you feel something with just mere words, you know that the author is incredibly skilled. Konohara Narise showed me the perfect example of that feeling.

I loved the story. It was full of emotion and had a realistic aura to it. I was hooked through the whole plot, and there was not a minute I felt either bored or discouraged from finishing it. I want to warn potential readers that this is not your avarege fluff. This novel is dark and tragic, and takes you more into the dark corners of the world.



Strongly Recommended.

EDIT: I forgot to say what an amazing translation this novel had. The person/people who translated this has clearly put a lot of work to make it happen. Thank you!

... Last updated on March 17th, 2014, 1:33pm

This is my first BL novel and I was honestly expecting to give up half way. But somehow the characters, despite their odd and bizarre actions and decisions were able to keep me intrigued. I blazed through it in one sitting and was often at times creeped out by Kitagawa's actions during the prison arc. But even then, this had everything. the characters were great, scenarios were interesting (though sometimes a little cliche (BUT THAT'S OK!)), and the protagonists were pretty relatable given their situation. Technically it is a happy ending, it felt extremely bittersweet. However it was also very moving (the human interactions) and a lot more realistic than most other BL works. And they handled the *spoilers* child scenario a lot better than any other work. I mean, it wasnt just the typical cute oblivious child who loved their dads immediately. *spoilers* Thanks to this, it opened my eyes to a new medium for a genre that I love so much.

... Last updated on January 26th, 2014, 8:03am

Usually, I try to stay away from things considered "drama", "psychological", etc., because I don't like feeling upset and cheerless after reading a depressing story... but surprisingly, this didn't make me feel that way. Don't get me wrong, it had its depressing bits, and was really well-fleshed out, with injustice and tragedy playing a pretty prevalent role, but it just didn't give me the "I'm going to sit in bed and feel sad" sort of feeling. Which is good. Somehow it manages to make me sympathize with the characters and feel angry at the way things go without actually making me feel bad. Somehow, the story always manages to convey that there's an end to all the tragedy coming; who knows, maybe I'm just delusional and going off about random things, but my point is that this novel is grungy and realistic without being depression-inducing. (That's often a complaint I have with "realism"- it's often over-the-top depressing, which in my opinion is just as bad as writing about a perfect world or perfect people).
I think it might be how the characters are portrayed. Kitagawa is one weird, weird, somewhat creepy guy, and Douno wouldn't normally be a character I liked. Somehow, though, the author manages to balance, with perfect timing, cons about them with something that makes me sympathize with them or root for them, or just plain like them. So I actually ended up really loving both Kitagawa and Douno, although they both made mistakes I would usually not be able to forgive. T
There's just this air to the story that's addictive- you want to keep reading for that happy ending, and it doesn't disappoint. I will definitely be looking forward to the short stories coming out- and definitely props to the translator; it read smoothly and beautifully; there wasn't a single hitch that I noticed.

... Last updated on August 8th, 2013, 8:13pm

I wasn't expecting much when I first started since the summary didn't capture my attention. But, I decided to give the series a chance since the translator did a great job on translating the No.6 novels. As a result, "In the Box" is now one of the few BL stories I enjoy (as most BL stories are clichéd imo) and I eagerly await for a new chapter every Sunday. I like that the characters are more or less fleshed out realistically with their pros and cons. I also like that some situations (such as Oe's situation in the "The Fragile Swindler" part of the book) parallels with real life situations.

Just a heads up, this story can be quite depressing.