It's such a pity that there are so few comments here. I guess most readers, after reading this manga, were in lack of words. They cannot describe, or reason how they were so profoundly moved and impressed by the manga.
I bet those who haven't read the manga also think the same thing. On the surface, there seems to be nothing special about it, no steamy sex scenes, no handsome guys, no beautiful art, no melodramatic plot. So why does it receive such an impressive rating?
I have read hundreds, may be thousands of BL manga, and I can confirm that Hydra is truly a gem in the Yaoi, maybe manga world. It is realistic: the author didn't attempt to idealize the characters, they appear more human than most characters in manga nowadays. They're so real that you can imagine them existing in real life, being a part of your life!
Her characters are not perfect. They have flaws, like any of us do. Ryuu, the seme, is not intelligent, nor rich, nor powerful like the all famous Asami of Viewfinder. In fact, he can be just any ordinary man you see out there, if it wasn't for his love towards Hitomi.
Hitomi is not beautiful. He doesn't have sparkling humongous eyes that may have taken up half of his face like those of girls or other ukes; he has a man's body frame. He is not a woman and he certainly doesn't look like one. He is not the typical stereotyped uke that you expect.
The plot itself is also not over the top. It doesn't involve love at first sight, and there was not any death, nor cancer, nor memory lost nor anything that you may find in Korean melodrama.
Nevertheless, all of these compound into a masterpiece. The striking quality of the manga is how it makes the love story so realistic, and yet doesn't turn it into something uneventful and tedious. It enables the readers to empathize with the characters instead of idolizing them. I cannot recount the number of times I have cried for the protagonists after rereading the manga over and over again.
I understand that the manga may seem dull and boring for those who have only read a few titles. Don't be quick to dismiss the yaoi's success, please continue to read up some more BL novels, and return to read this manga when you've grown tired of them. That will be when you realize the ingenuity of Miyamoto Kano in crafting this manga.
For those who are hooked, please don't hesitate to read her other works. I recommend Rules and Not/Love which are enjoyable and poignant at the same time.

... Last updated on November 23rd, 2016, 7:28am

This is definitely a favorite, however I don't like to read it too much. I find it somewhat depressing, with everything that goes down. I especially have a hard time reading the end, because after everything shouldn't Ryuu and Hitomi have ended up together!?!?! It is clear that they love each other and I can only hope that Miyamoto Sensei will be kind enough to continue their story one day and tell us whether or not they do end up together or not!?!?!

without said, miyamoto kano is definitely one of the better yaoi artists out there. You can easily tell that she puts a lot of thoughts and effort into her characters, each of them (both major and minor) is very distinctive, memorable and 3 dimensional, even the guys who can be considered an 'antagonist'. Her storytelling is utterly realistic, and just simply, the slap u in the face, hit u in the heart kind... Hydra, out of all, is actually the most angst-stricken one. No matter which couple or character u root for, the story will just rip u apart, just to sew u up and then rip u apart again... nonetheless, it is still quite a perfect romance manga, much closer to reality than many others that are out there
Of course, another great thing about this story, which makes me prefer it over the rules series, is the bonds and friendship between the characters, which stand strong until the end despite their conflicting feelings towards each other...
I didn't give this story a 10 simply due to my personal bias - even though I like my stories angsty and relatively realistic, the reason I read in the first place is to be entertained and at many points in Hydra, I did have to force myself to keep on reading to see how it will turn out instead of enjoying the flow of the story, because the drama does get quite tedious and the drawing, although good, lacks that compelling draw - of course, many might disagree with me on this

I think that's something people enjoyed and I certainly enjoyed that aspect. This manga seems to actually use common sense and doesn't throw insane settings, characters etc. in there, things that happen make sense, they're in there because of a reason instead of just to enhance the drama or something. It's the struggle between friendship and love, and really my personal belief is at the person you love should also be a close friend to you, but sometimes the transition between friend to love is hard and it's even harder to go from love to friend. I wouldn't say it was amazing or a tearjerker but it's extremely likeable because it doesn't have much of the annoying stereotypes other yaoi/romance have, everything about the story likely isn't original in real life but it is certainly original in yaoi, it's a really nice break from the shallowness of many romance stories.

To be honest, I got really pissed at Hitomi. Not just a little pissed, but really, REALLY pissed. But I just want to say, Hydra made me become very involved with all the characters and situations. Now whether or not I enjoyed this, I'll have to contemplate on for a while. Overall, I can't even tell what type of read it was for me yet.

i truly love this manga.... i've read some of sensei's works and most are really human-like....

i really wanted to see more of Ryuu x Hitomi; which i was looking forward to. too bad there's no continuation of their relationship (i think??) ** if there is, i will love to to read it.... will, more like I HAVE TO READ IT!! now i'm in the process of reading the "Rules" series... ^^ i can't wait!!!

Well, truth to be told I loved it. I even liked Satou, though she didn't appear for most of the middle section...I loved how the characters continue to struggle and overcome their problems (I'm not "S", in case you're wondering. Rephrase: I love how the characters develop). I love their relations, too. I kind of felt bad for another character that had little to do with their love problems: Itou. I liked how he kind of changed throughout...-ish. I have to say, the side characters (Hikaru's mom and sister) were enjoyable (and hilarious) as well. Overall I love it very much. I kind of like how Hikaru stepped to the side at the end. Though I regularly like the "Happily ever ending" type of ending (that's all fluffy and warm and...Well yah.), I liked this one too...It was so sweet. I'm always kind of sad after reading this mangaka's works. Whether I want more or because of it's impression on me, I don't know, but most probably the latter. I wholeheartedly recommend it, it's that good. Unless you function a little differently than me...Well you don't have a thing for these types of stories...Ahaha.

To be honest, I didn't think it would be a good read but it really was. It starts off pretty rocky though but it'll be sure to deliver. There's a huge skip in some chapters which will make some people go, "What the...since when did that happen..." but I soon ignored it.

To me, this story is a bit close to real life in what people go through in relationships.

As for the artwork, I was surprised to see the mangaka's older way of drawing before looking at the year it was published. It starts to smooth into her signature style.

To end this, if you're up for a rollercoaster ride and a good story, yaoi or not, I recommend this since it's one of her strong works.

... Last updated on October 28th, 2010, 8:41pm

FINALLY it's completed, sadly it's over. I feel so damn happy and sad at the same moment I almost can't take it. Miyamoto-sensei always can make me feel this way, especially with the characters of Rules and Hydra. They have something inside them, that reminds me of myself. Thank you really much for creating that story, Miyamoto-sensei, and Happy Birthday!

more than 10 points

*blows nose* Good! So frigging good! I'm crying as I write this because I am so sad that it is over! One of the best yaoi mangas I've ever read. It's got a wonderful plot and very likable characters. I'm just glad I'll be able to see more of them when I read Rules. This mangaka has gained my utmost respect.