While perhaps not for those who like their yaoi to be sweet and pleasing, J no Subete is a dark and challenging read.
For a start, this is an amazingly well researched piece. Sometimes, I found myself forgetting that I was reading a manga from the extensive American pop culture references and knowledge. I found myself learning about the fifties, and from what I can tell, the setting of this manga was historically accurate and the American ambience of this work actually added to the quality, rather than being an annoying extra.
J's traumatic past is not brushed under the carpet, and the effects of this are clear to see, with the protaganist's strange and sexual behaviour. This manga could almost be taken as a scathing critique of all that is wrong with the yaoi industry: J's incestuous relationship with his father is not 'played for laughs' or viewed as normal and the characters who take advantage of J are not portrayed sympathetically. Rightfully so.
The character of Rita was also an enjoyable addition to this manga, in my opinion. She is probably the most understandable and likeable characters in the book, she denies the woman-in-yaoi stereotype and in a way I found myself wishing that she could be with J, although it was obviously not going to happen.
In summary, J no Subete is an epic of a manga, devoted to its characters and their backstories throughout. Nakamura truly writes a masterclass in intelligent yaoi, leaving the genres shallower counterparts in the dust.

Barairo no Hoo no Koro was completed AFTER J no Subete, (as in publication, not scanlations) as a means to explain Andrew and Paul's relationship. But, since the scanlations of Barairo no Hoo no Koro were done before this one, I would recommend to read first this one and later that one, or you'll be lead to believe there's some hope/root for PaulxAndrew and that will get in the way of reading this work and fully enjoying it.
Also, for the commenter below, this manga is called All about J for a reason.

The reason I love this work is the reason I love most of Nakarmua Asumiko's dark works over her fluff works (not to say I don't like them, but her dark works are just more satisfying for me as a reader), she does not laugh off a serious situation. In BL it's common to gloss over or make funny an issue that should be taken with more severity. For instance in J no Subete, J is a cross dresser and perhaps Trans. He isn't a cross-dresser because he is envious of woman, he isn't a cross-dresser because he needs to be comedic relief in the series, it's because this is the form in which he can express himself best and may relate to the issue of being trans here (it is mentions in the manga but in a lot more caustic tone by the people around J). As for the incestuous relationship between J and his father, she is perhaps addressing the carefree tone of incest in BL (like Papa to Kiss in the Dark). It is not always something to gloss over; it is sometimes a severe crime on a child who does not realize the seriousness of the situation. I say that the child dose not acknowledge because in J no Subete, we as the reader are supposed to know that the situation is far from loving, but J in the first volume dose not view it in such light. In volume 2 J seems to acknowledge the situation in a different light, how ever.

I do believe she is taking these approaches with purpose because of other BL points she's made in her dark works, like in Double Mint. Double Mint has the kind of BL trope of one partner continually chasing the other regardless of how badly they're treated. But instead of laughing off the situation at the end where the two have finally gotten a hold of being together and one of the two still exhibit spurts of aggression, we have an example where the manga itself acknowledges the dysfunctional of the relationship and although the two characters do end up together, as the audience, we are aware of the dissatisfaction and abuse. We are aware of the serious repercussions of this relationship.

With all of this said, manga is something that is, for some, a way to enjoy a suspension of disbelief that is kinder then reality. Confronting these issues with such a serious tone maybe off putting and conflict with what some likes in manga and are seeking. I enjoy the confrontation and the respect that Nakamura Asumiko brings to these tropes and to the genre in general, but to each there own.

-A

I totally agree with Sora348, you have to START with "J no Subete" first, because Barairo is a flashback story that will disturb you when reading J no Subete since it's about different couple.
Seriously I'm also one of the victim here, I cried in the end of J no Subete because I support different pairing T_T, It wasn't a happy ending for me at all.
hwaa~ He's my most fav character in this manga
And about the story, yes it is a HEAVY reading material, I mean for your mind and emotion, so prepare yourself first. Wether I like it or not, I'm not too sure my self, the story was good, but too depressing for me, and there's the thing with the pairing too, soooo disappointed, so sad. So please once again read J no Subete FIRST

... Last updated on July 25th, 2013, 10:54am

I admire this manga first of all, for how the story is executing a certain idea in a dark and refreshing way. Now, I'm not the one to go for drama stories as dark as this one, but the way the story is told makes me appreciate not just the idea and the plot but as well as how good the author is when it comes to telling the story. I also appreciate the type of character this author fleshes out and focuses on all throughout the story.

After all, it IS All About J....

Second mention the fact that -as freyakoala said- it breaks away stereotypes. It probably starts off with the idea that this manga stars a transexual who's not as happy, silly, confused or love-life-less as all those mangas I've read tend to portray. The rest of the stereotype breaking comes as you read your way through the volumes. I'm not gonna spoil it for you.

There are SO many things I want to say about this manga but I'm sure your attention span stopped in the first paragraph of my review. I'll end by saying I'm gonna stick to it until I come to read this manga's bitter end!
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This manga... GOD. I still stick to what I've said! The ending just made it better!

... Last updated on April 15th, 2015, 8:02am

This is a cleverly told story about the emotional ups and downs in the life of someone who apparently is a transsexual woman (there are other characters who labeled her that way when it's not as obvious as it seems).

Those seeking the usual topics of yaoi or shounen-ai's emotionally pink approaches are wrong with this manga, skillfully linked to the style of good ol' American movies. And this is perhaps the most amazing detail from a Japanese author: Nakamura Asumiko achieved a credible approach to American culture of mid-20th century, from pop culture.
To all this we can add a precious aesthetic style and get a really front-line work.
Delightful.

... Last updated on March 19th, 2016, 12:52am

I really enjoyed all of the stories connected to this piece. It came off as deep, sentimental, and moving without the unnecessary comic relief. I feel that not every story has to be (or should be) cute or loveable in BL. It can be dark, angsty, poignant, and "real" like this was.

I liked this mangaka's storytelling, even if I wasn't that impressed with the art (Though, in some shots, "She-J" looked amazing). My only gripe was the Paul/Andrew relationship.

But I'm sure that's how the mangaka intended it since this is an angst-driven work.

... Last updated on October 26th, 2012, 6:48am

Nakamura Asumiko has a knack for weaving dark tales and this is one of them. It's emotional and twisted and most importantly, deep. I have quite enjoyed it, though I admit the last couple chapters of volume two really made me feel for J and Rita.

It's just Nakamura-sensei doing what she does best.

This one is totally awesome, because it's very sad and if you don't like angst, you shouldn't read it at all. Really.

But in my opinion, you still have better try to read Barairo no Hoo no Koro first then move to this. It's not like it'll make more sense, but you can have a fuller image about J.

Such a beautiful story. Although it has a dark, angsty theme for the most part, I absolutely recommend this. I really enjoyed how Nakamura unraveled the story and the scars, the pain, and how J slowly releases himself from those painful memories. I can tell Nakamura really put effort and love into J's character, looks and personality. I think that really got me to love the character as well. I really loved the playfulness of J. As a reader, I related to Rita a lot and how she found J so compelling. J is a strange character, he's very mysterious and relatable, yet not relatable at the same time? Anyways, this was such an enjoyable read from the start to end. I really focused on the story, which I think was not too complicated nor too simple. The story was very organized in my opinion, the ending was perfect.