It is definitely not great, but it is not as bad as everybody makes it.
It is an unrealistic, sometimes absurd manga that follows every possoble cliche ever.
So, is there a reason to be reading it?
Yup, it is VERY entertaining. From face-palming at how stupid the uke can be, to cheering him on, to squealing whenever 5 people fight for the love of a character.
It is really fun! It can be sooo fulfilling, too! Nothing is better than good ol' unrequited love, to exaggerated love triangles, to the frustration of stalling the romance longer and longer.
This is definitely bad, but it is sooo bad that is sooo good!
It is 100% fictional, and sooo silly to the point that none of this can ever happen, but the minute you stop comparing it to real life, you will start to enjoy it.
Just like with those over-the-top shounens that have nothing but overused phrases, and those sappy romance stories that can never happen in real life.

So, in the end, this can't even be compared to even one average manga, but it is still charming and good enough to make me read it.

Although the manga had flaws and if you know how many times I wish for this to progress, I think counting by the finger isn't enough.
For some people they think that this manga had dragged for too long but for me, this is way better than seeing your favorite manga come to an end.

This series is not perfect but it is the only manga that I've come to loved so dearly.
No matter what bad things people say about this manga, it cannot change the fact that it has become something very precious to me and I will surely love this manga till the end of time.

... Last updated on November 5th, 2016, 5:06am

it feels as if I'm reading a shoujo manga. Almost every guys in this fall for Misaki, it's totally harem. Moreover, all the ukes has personality of shoujo heroines, which is really annoying. There're many cute and funny moments which I love though that's why I don't hate it.

Oh man, this thing is terrible. I was never too fond of the botox lip thing in the anime but I thought I could look past that for a chance at a series with more than 3vol, I was so wrong wow. There's a scene with Usagi draped over Misaki and his hands are larger than Misaki's entire torso, like the fingers have to be at least a foot long what even. How is this a serious work? It comes off as more of a parody than a legit attempt at gay romance. I'm not even going to get into the PLOT! jfc 14 y/o me had really low standards. If you MUST read this mess please do yourself a favour and start where the anime leaves off, the early volumes are a nightmare.

... Last updated on July 15th, 2015, 5:32pm

♥♥♥OMG!!! I LUV IT!!!ONE!!!! ITS MAH FAVOURITEH YAOI!!!ONE!!ELEVEN!! DIS IS SSOOO KUTE N KAWAIII ^^ ♥♥♥♥♥♥ No, no, no, please stop. Now serioulsly:

How the FUCK these series became so popular?! It must be a sick miracle.

There are so many yaoi mangas, which have almost the same plot or even characters. But, for some reason, they aren't popular. Can you please tell me how the fuck it works?! "JR is the best yaoi evah ^^", "I ♥ JR", "This is soo cute and moving " <--When I see comments like this, I just don't know what to do. Laugh or cry. Really, I'm losing my faith in humanity. I mean, come on, people! There are so much better BL mangas than THIS. Tell me: is there any sensible reason, WHY Shungiku Nakamura works are ALWAYS on 1st, 2nd or 3rd place? Or at least in "Top 10"?

Now, something about this shi- ahem, I mean series. I've tried to watch the anime and read the manga, but to no avail. The art in the manga is just AWFUL. Generally, I don't care about the art in the manga, but...this is the worst case. This art makes me want to puke! I can't look at it! I mean: on the semes the same face is used all the time (the same with ukes). But, it's not the end! Those faces are incredibly curve! They're so creepy! And it all looks like sketches of amateur! Even my 7-year-old sister can draw better! Alright...I really wish, that only the art was bad...but no! The plot sucks too! It's all so simple, unoriginal, boring and stupid! The jokes are sooo funny, that they make me fall asleep (I enjoy slicing a bread better). As mentioned earlier: there're a lot of mangas, which have alomost the same plot and they aren't popular. Hey, hey! And you know what? The art and plot are NOTHING compared to...the CHARACTERS. The main couple...ohh...Misaki and Usagi, if you could only know, how I hate you. Misaki: you're freakin' tsundere, who can't confess his feelings (if you have some) to Usagi for 18 volumes. 18. And you, Usagi: you aren't any better! You're fucking rapist, who have the same face expression all the time (which is also creepy)! Your relationship is based on the rape! And I'm wondering: why the fuck Misaki is still with Usagi?! If I were him, I would just run away. Oh, wait. You've got Stockholm Syndrome, haven't you? And if I could say something about the other couples...I didn't care about them. They're probably as stupid as M&U *cough, cough*.

I also completely agree with lololo008. There exist so much mangas (and mangakas), which deserve the same popularity as JR. The perfect examples are: "New York New York" written by Marimo Ragawa (a beatiful yaoi manga, serioulsly, go and read it), "Gravitation" written by Maki Murakami (it's shounen-ai, but had an excellent humor and it's MUCH better than JR) and "Rules" written by Kano Miyamato. Listen, Shungiku-sensei: your art is BAD, your characters are BAD and your manga is BAD.You would improve your art, this will be better for all of us (I know, that you'll never actually read this, lol). I'm sorry for my sincerity, JR fans, but it's all true. I think that some of you will just hate on me. But I don't care. Not every fujoshi (yes, I'm one) must like JR. DEAL WITH IT.

I want to write more about it, but I'm gettin' tired, ya know. So, bye for now. Thanks for your attention

... Last updated on March 14th, 2015, 6:34am

The crazy thing for me is I never really watched/read Yaoi but as a general anime/manga fan, I have seen aspects of Yuri, Yaoi, and so on floating around the web so it was not news to me. And I am familiar with with various types of romance/smut too. But now, even though I have heard of Junjou Romantica when it came out in 2008, I never really started reading till this year n-n; Usagi x Misaki is my fave pairing. I guess even though Misaki's acceptance of the relationship is kinda drawn out long, I like that because it shows some realism. Every person has their own way of developing understanding of them selves and their involvement with a partner. I like that while Usagi is kinda forceful, he accepts Misaki for every little step he takes and who he is. And I like how Usagi has what it takes to read between Misaki's lines and in his own way, Misaki does the same. I guess I admire how this couple finds a way to work with each other even though its not perfect and not everything is communicated at first.

I attempted this several times back when only Junjou Romantica was published in volume 1. It was a real struggle to get past the first two chapters. I dropped and reread a few times.

I now only read for Junjou Egoist.

For some reason I prefer the art in Sekaiichi Hatsukoi better?

Usagi is so perfect. I like his smile (Glad that sensei is drawing him smiling more). I can feel that love is warming his heart and he couldn't smile if it wasn't Misaki.
But like the title, i need more Hiro-san. For some reason, i think Hiroki is one of the sexiest uke i've ever seen in Yaoi (i have a long list for that). Nowaki and Hiroki, the way their love developes, the way they solve their problems,... are making my heart warm.

To summarize: I watched the anime first and it was my first yaoi (I had no idea what yaoi even was...until someone pushed someone else down 0.0). Following that, I started reading the manga.

I also have JR to thank for my now yaoi obsession.

Oh, and, just quickly: I ONLY read Junjou Romantica. I skip the other stories and I don't personally like them.

In the beginning I didn't like the art, at all. I also found the drama drawn out and repetitive: Misaki takes chapters to realise he loves Usagi. Usagi gets jealous over everyone and everything. Misaki tries to be the peace keeper between everyone. Misaki denies everything. Sex in nearly every chapter. People-wedges between Usagi and Misaki over and over again. Miskai turns every gay man straight and everyone wants a piece of Misaki...

But even so, I am still reading this and still rate it super high. Why? god knows. In the end, it's entertaining and it still has a great romance hidden in their....somewhere.

When I first read this I thought it was alright. Not as good as it was cracked up to be, but readable, like a 7/10... But now, its just gone on for way too long, it just needs to be over already... Not only is the main plot simple and predictable but its also a recurring cycle. It's basically the same plot over and over again... It's simply gone on for too long, unless the mangaka decides to change it up a bit, i suggest her to just end the story altogether, because this needs not to be dragged on any further...

Do I recommend this manga? For the first several volumes, go for it. For all 17 volumes, not at all. I do suggest checking out Hybrid Child, Yokozawa Takafumi no Baai novels, and even Sekaiichi Hatsukoi (which I think is also overrated but still enjoyable 9/10), all by this same mangaka.

Edit: Just going through her manga and thought, Junjou Mistake was pretty enjoyable too, so if you want to check that out, go for it. You'd probably like it

... Last updated on May 31st, 2014, 2:14am