I put off reading this one for so long because of the yaoi tag, what a mistake that was! This story was simply beautiful. It started off a little rushed I felt, I almost dropped it because I hate the whole "love at first sight" idea. Their relationship escalated so quickly, and Kain was the worst boyfriend, but their arguments always seemed to be over in an instant, I felt it was a little unrealstic.

Don't get me wrong, some people, especially those with abandonment issues like Mel, would be so forgiving, so it wasn't that they were out of character, but more that the problem would appear, blow-up, and be resolved within a few short pages. It made it hard to connect with the characters. Stick with it though, because it gets better, much better.

The main reason I love this manga so much is that it deals with actual serious problems, such as AIDs, homophobia, the struggle to come-out, child abuse, and the dangers of police work in a realistic way. This isn't your typically happy yaoi world where everyone is either gay or supports gays (except the evil woman who tries to split apart the main couple), this isn't a world where people fall in love with rapists or bounce back from a traumatic ordeal just because they were told "I love you".

In short, its realism is what makes it so damn good and you end up falling in love with Kain and Mel yourselves. I especially like the epilogue, but I must warn you not to read it in a public place. I don't usually cry at manga, but the epilogue of this had tears streaming down my face. It was a perfect ending.

This review is kind of all over the place, sorry. It's 4am, so I can't think straight. I'll edit it when I'm more awake. All you really need to know is that this is a must-read. Point were detracted for the speedy start. I think this manga would have benefitted from an extra volume to build up the relationship a bit more.

... Last updated on October 19th, 2012, 11:51am

Even though it's kind of old, this is still one of my favorites. It's a very serious story, focusing mainly on the characters and the development of their relationship. The story development overall is great. I'm only in chapter 4, but I've already cried several times for Mel. <3 If you're looking for something serious rather than smutty, this is a good choice. I can't wait to read the rest. (Unfortunately, I recently heard that the group scanlating this has closed, so hopefully someday another group will be interested in the project or it will be licensed in English! I would definitely buy this series if that were the case! ^_^)

... Last updated on September 6th, 2008, 9:55pm

I can't even begin to count how many times i put off reading this because of the outdated art. Which a mistake I make often and regret later because I realize what I've been missing. I downloaded this manga 4 months ago. I started reading it this morning, I finished it in 4 hours, I simply couldnt leave it before I was finished.

Having an outdated art wasnt the only reason I put off reading it. I hate Action mangas, Drama puts me to sleep, Psychological messes with my head and dont even get me started on Tragedy. So as you can see the only thing that had me going for this was the YAOI part and the high rating. Which is funny because this manga now is in my top 3. And mind you when I say 3, I mean the top 3 from the over 1500 mangas I've read! YES I READ A LOT OF MANGA!

So, I can't really explain how good this manga is. You just have to see for yourself! It's one of those mangas that make you think {mangaupdates} should have an 11/10 rating reserved for it. Trust me, even if you hate every single genre this manga falls under, HELL even if you hate yaoi, u will LOVE this manga.

STOP! dont ignore my comment, go download it or buy it or whatever u wanna do and start reading it, it's worth every second you spend on it

... Last updated on November 14th, 2011, 2:03pm

I'm reading Yaoi for some time (3 years) I've always overlooked these series on purpose. When I finally read it I was stunned. How could I not love this. The story is awesome and the characters are lovable (well first I hated Kain a bit, he was a selfish ass). Even though it's not too graphical, like most Yaoi manga it's definitely worth reading (unlike some of the graphical ones).Well I've read it was published in german so I will buy one defintely.
Like the one before I must say the last chapter reminded me a bit of Complex by Ringo Manda. My eyes were watering regardless.

... Last updated on January 28th, 2010, 5:21pm

This series is really wonderful. Forget about the art on the cover, it doesn't convey the love and detail with which the artist drew this story. It's an old style but beautiful nontheless. The story is just...wow...It just describes deep and unique love between to people and their imperfections and the hardships they have to go through. The love is so stong that you start to ponder if you got the right boyfriend...ehem. It is truly beautiful and made me cry pretty often, something which only Complex, Lovers and Souls and Let Dai achieved so far. The end reminds me a bit of Complex' ending. If you love a serious story which captures you emotionally this is one for you.
And I am so glad that NYNY has been published in Germany. It hasn't been published in English yet.

The first part of the manga is certainly realistic, but the time this was written, 1995, shows through. The seme is a passive aggressive asshole half the time, and the uke is one of the 90s emo boys who has gone through every trauma there is. Still the scenes about coming out and homophobia are much more real than you typical see in BL. The series takes a major nosedive though when it enters this long serial killer arc that takes up over half the story. What a waste of time. The very last chapter is weird, doing this overview of the last 50 years of the seme's life in so many pages. Still, it's a nice ending. The story was a landmark at the time, but it would have been better told without the middle section. And it's not quite the perfect story everyone makes it out to be.

For the user who gave this a 1, how the heck can´t this be a masterpiece? This Manga deals with the problems and difficulties gay couple face in society, and it also brings us readers a REALISTIC view on how a gay relationship actually can look like. If you didn´t read through the manga then you´ve really missed out on something original and very rare in the yaoi-genre.

I personally loved the characters, Kain was not likeable in the beginning because the author choose to portray him as an egostical player. But as you read furthur, you could see that Kain really loved Mel from all his heart and cared about him alot. I also liked that the author choose to focus on such serious topics as societys view on homosexuality ( Well this Manga is rather old, if you compare the year 1995 to 2012 there is a huge diffrence on how homosexuals are viewed, I think they´re alot more accepted now) and HIV. Because of such realistic topics, you could really sympathize with the characters and feel sad for the tragic events they had to be put through.

When it considers the art....well it sure is old, but you get used to it. It isn´t that bad, but it isn´t either that good. Also, if you like your average fluff or smut this isn´t for you. There is no vivid sexscenes and this isn´t something fluffy. The story is rather tragic and full of emotion, haven´t cried this much since I read the Manga complex.

Either way, Read it. Or miss out on something amazing.

... Last updated on July 8th, 2012, 4:08pm

This manga was so awesome and dramatic that it made me cry so hard.The story so beautiful,characters are beautiful...I loved the art style,especially those expressive eyes,they say so much to you about how characters feel...Loved it to the end

I actually don't really like yaoi, mainly because of the tropes it goes through and has the "uke" falling for the "seme" whom happens to be a rapist but he loves him anyway, completely unrealistic. But I liked this one. It steers away from many of the tropes this genre typically has, I would not recomend it to those who prefer these types of tropes and like tons of smut, because there is not a whole lot of it. It deals with tons of issues such as HIV and AIDS, Homophobia, Cheating, Adoption, Marriage, Kidnapping, Dangers on the Police Force, and the trope that there always has to be a "man and a woman" in any relalionship even if it's same-sex. I don't really like yaoi but I liked this one. The only reason I'm giving this a 9.5 is because the ending went by WAY too fast.

I need to first get this out the way because this one situation in the first couple of chapters shaped my views to the very end...



That aside, I agree most with Doki's review. The approach to homosexual and homophobia was more realistic and refreshing than most other BL stories. The beginning of the story seems a bit "typical" and it was hard for me to like the characters, but it gets much better as it continues on. Nearing the end I found myself so wrapped up in Kain and Mel's lives that it almost felt like I was part of their family. I really enjoyed the ending and cried many tears, both happy and sad.

Oh and the art! I loved it honestly, being dated and all. I've read manga's drawn 2006+ that had didn't have art as nice as NYNY, so that's not an issue.

Because of the approach this manga takes on homosexuality, it's deserving of a 10, but because of what I mentioned in the spoiler section and the typical beginning I am giving it 9.5.

Edit: Well after I was finished reading, the last couple of pages of Kain and Mel's story just kept replaying in my mind, sometimes even making me teary eyed. Only manga's to have that effect on me are in my top 3. This is worth a full 10.

... Last updated on December 26th, 2011, 6:12am