Loved it! It was definatly tragic in general, but the ending felt so complete. Normally in tragic mangas or animes, mostly, its either one them wich dies, and thats really sad, knowing that the other lover is left all alone. But this felt really complete and the way the ending was structured was really touching and sweet. *this is for the 1st manga 'boys next door', I thought the 2nd one was kinda sad...but dat was really nice to

All in all.. it was an awsome manga!

... Last updated on April 19th, 2009, 3:39am

-Boys Next Door
Left and impression on me. One of those stories that are happy and sad at the same time. This story represents to me that it's always darker before the dawn, and knowing that makes me content with the ending. It really was a nice ending.

-Other two stories
Looking through the reviews I noticed that most people did not put a rate because they did not want to classify this piece as bad,even though, it really is. Although the first story was really nice it DOES NOT compensate for the other two . The last two pieces really did anger me, because they threw off such a nice,in lack of a better word, balance.

-Devil Inside
What i did not like about this story is how everything played out. I was sort of feeling it until the girl showed up. Then it just went downhill...I mean realllyyy downhill. I didn't like how Nick just lived his life after knowing he killed his best friend. -.-' WTF?

-When a Heart Breaks
Hated It! This whole story was just a big turn off for me. Not because it wasn't a BL, but because it was just pitiful. This story confused me to no end and I found it hard to sit through. The whole time I was reading it was a WTF? moment. Just no.

-Advice- I wrote this review to warn you. If I were you...jut read the first story.

Shounen Zanzou : Not really as touching or as profound as the comments would have you believe, but original enough to set itself apart from other BL, even so many years after it was written. crazyboutcute complained about how "illogical" the characters are, which is pretty puzzling: as is obvious from their backstories, both Lawrence and Adrian are emotionally unstable and Adrian suffers from a psychological condition while, to Lawrence, abusive relationships are the norm. Not every pairing in this world is sweet, logical, or even morally correct, after all. And I didn't feel that Kaori Yuki was trying to glorify their behaviour, so the twisted love affair became what it was supposed to be: a well-executed plot device and not a failed attempt at some kind of moral lesson or pity-play. 7.0/10

Devil Inside : I glimpsed the ghosts of some interesting ideas here and there in the plot, but the writing, characterisation, and overall execution were simply too awful: artificial emotions, "love conquers all" played to blatant extremes, the characters' utter lack of mental trauma despite the terrible experiences they went through, a deficit of consequences from the villain's actions... 2.5/10

When a Heart Beats : The premise wasn't bad, and I liked how the male MC but the romance was too contrived and plays right into the "if a guy helps a girl out when she's down she'll automatically fall in love with him" trope. I could have forgiven that if this story were written by a male mangaka or before, say, the '90's, but as neither case applies here and the plot isn't interesting enough to earn many points on its own: 4.5/10

... Last updated on July 13th, 2015, 6:35pm

Of all the psychological manga I have ever read, this by far is the best. For such a short story, Boys next door completely presented two very interesting characters and had a very interesting plot. I tend to stay away from tragedies, but I highly recommend this to anyone looking for a short, great story with unconventional conflicts and characters.

... Last updated on December 28th, 2009, 5:30pm

A typical Kaori Yuki work. It's extremely touching and will definitely make you cry. Even if you aren't a shounen-ai fan, be sure to give this short story a try!!

Boys Next Door was absolutely amazing. It was so touching and sad. The characters were really intricate and the art was fantastic. The part where Lawr was in the crowd carrying all those balloons made me tear up.

For the first story only:
This was the first BL manga I ever read. It left quite the impression on me, as I still remember it vividly even after all these years.
This is a dark oneshot, even darker than Yuki Kaoru's regular fare. But bittersweet all the same...

... Last updated on December 5th, 2012, 7:51pm

This was amazing. It has a confusing start, they're just telling a big story of the final deaths. the art was nice. I don't really like Horror Killing stories but this is something i can read over and still cry in the end. The will to be set free and together with each other is very strong to a point death is the only way to be happy together. Yes, as i type this review i am in tears because it was just touching how much people struggle. i give this a complete 10/10!

I read the story of Adrian and Lawrence 4 or 6 years ago, I don't really remember much....their story is dark, psychological and romantic in the urban bleak sense. I didn't appreciate the 2nd story, which is why I didn't read the last story. but if the first story were to stand alone, I'd give it a 10. but since I didn't read the whole story I decided not to rate it.