I've always loved stories set in the Shouwa period, be it any genre. There's a certain charm to the unique atmosphere and people of this era that never fails to evoke all sorts of nostalgic sentiments in me. Combine that with a story appropriate for the period and with characters well written and developed, and voila, you're guaranteed for a success. This is making me sorely reminisce about Shouwa Genroku Rakugo Shinjuu, but I'm getting off track now. All I want to conclude is: do not hesitate to pick up Ginza Neon Paradise because you won't be left disappointed. It's just so beautiful that I don't want to ruin it with my clumsy words; you have to experience it for yourself.

At first I didn't expect much of this, but it turned out to be beautiful! A romantic wartime story that makes you gush and swoon with yearning. At times it can feel a bit... stereotypical heteronormative yaoi, but the characters are well-developed enough not to fall into shallow seme/uke archetype. The character development is satisfying, and the female character is depicted well and not as some typical ~obstacle between the couple. One of the select few BL titles that I keep re-reading because it's so beautiful.

I was so deep into the story that I wouldn't notice even a shooting tank. So interesting, so damn good. The story has a really strong plot. It was created with great lifelikeness and what's important here - all the historical facts are correct. Mangaka did a good job studying all about life in the post war Tokio. The characters are likeable, well... at first maybe not all of them but there's growth of characters and many things change. There's a lot of drama and turning points, even the supporting characters were created with care and attention.

I couldn't guess what will be the end of the story (usually it's easy to guess in the middle of the 1st chapter). I like the tension between main characters, their hard work and honesty. The kinky sex is also a big asset of this yaoi. If I had to complain I'd say that the art sometimes gets messy, just out of the blue. In general the art is very pretty, I love their eyes and face expressions, thanks to that they look alive, not like waxworks wearing the same face through the whole story. The whole thing is very realistic and very interesting. It's the best yaoi I've read this month.

It was a great joy to read Ginza Neon Paradise so I highly recommend it. If you like historical or lifelike stories you'll love it for sure!

It's a good read but presented to be more dramatic than it was. The characters are pretty bland and forgetable but the lightheartedness and feeling of freedom by the end made the story worth the time it took to read it.

It was good. A very nice slice of life yaoi. It was sweet and calming to read. I liked the characters and saw a lot of growth in the two and wanted to read more. I did feel like the mangaka didnt know where she wanted to go with the storyline a couple of times but it still worked out. I felt like it couldve been longer, but i didnt dislike the ending.

...though maybe not in the BL genre. Basically, Ginza Neon Paradise follows an extremely typical "wartime love story" formula that has been used in countless straight romances. Now, logically speaking this shouldn't be an issue, since they're both guys and so the behaviour of the guy in the traditionally female role as well as the way the guy in the male role treats/interacts with him would be different. But let's be honest: how many yaoi manga manage to treat the uke like a real man or portray any difference in the seme's behaviour compared to that of the man in a straight relationship? The answer is "very few," and while the art may fool you into believing otherwise, this manga cannot be included among those few.

The uke behaves/talks/thinks exactly like a girl would in that kind of situation; the seme behaves/talks/thinks exactly like the guy in a straight romance. Their everyday conversations and interactions were also completely het-coded, which to me is actually more disturbing than when they behave that way in bed. It's boring, and robs the plot of any originality. I've read this same story -- only handled much better -- in romance novels. Why should I re-read it here?

I typically wouldn't have commented on a manga like Ginza (because it's in no way awful by yaoi standards), but after seeing the overly favourable comments and ratings, I couldn't resist the urge to provide a bit more balance.

... Last updated on April 4th, 2017, 2:13pm

Wartime, historic japan, not a common trope! There’s drama, bitterness and romance! Love beats all! If you love someone you love their flaws? Maybe, maybe not.. but who cares, if you have eyes for each other, you will learn to slowly be better for the one you cherish, love and respect! For the love of plot, it’s one book that you wouldn’t regret reading, drawing may not suit everyone’s style, but if you can get past the drawings, you will surely learn to love this! For those to comment on uke being a stereotype, bottom, I guess you shouldn’t even start reading BL/Yaoi, sensei have done many different characters in her other books, just because this isn’t your type of uke, doesn’t mean it’s not a painstaking effort that sensei put in. For those who didn’t purchase book copy, sensei did explain why she create the character this way. It’s because she wishes to try drawing different characters personality..

... Last updated on November 17th, 2023, 9:46am

Extreme historical inaccuracy and the usual complete dismissal of the existence of Japanese war crimes aside ("for the sake of our country" my ass lmao)...
This was lovely.
I have complaints, of course. Such as the bottom blushes/cries so often it's typical of an "uke" archetype and that's really.... gah. Oh, and the "I'm the man of the house" was so heteronormative I gagged.
Coming from someone who typically doesn't like childhood friend dynamics though, their relationship was /lovely/. The dialogue is lovely, the story was lovely. Very beautiful, and utterly romantic. Will buy; would reread again.

... Last updated on November 24th, 2016, 7:49am