This has to be the 3rd or 4th time I've read this title and it's still really good. Amazing character development, ability to breath life into a typical cliched plot setting(the "piano element" has been vastly overused by many manga), etc. just makes this a story you couldn't and shouldn't miss.

It's a bit of a pity that her art is a little off in terms of perspective and that the character's bodies have problems with their "joints", though from her recent manga... it seems it's improved somewhat in that sense. This is a mangaka you gotta watch out for... her art and plot may not be the typical "pretty boy" stuff but it sure beats the hell out of plenty of BL titles.

Update: I noticed that quite a few people didn't like or understand the amnesia part but hmm, here's my take on it, given my slightly funky knowledge about memory loss.

... Last updated on July 16th, 2008, 1:41pm

Okay, I liked how it started and was drawn in right away, despite a few things that I really didn't like, it was altogether pretty fun! I like that the yakuza is so mysterious and the protagonist's feeling of wanting to be with him but being afraid of the whole criminal thing! Though, the plot could be much deeper and meaningful, it's still not bad... I'd say it's somewhere in the middle.
I also like that it's not all straightforward gay! It actually takes a while before anything comes up and a lot of it stays blurry.
I enjoy how everything unfolded slowly at a good pace...
What I'm not sure about is how it ended. I don't mind what happened in the end, but I wish there were at least another chapter or something to show more of how their lives progressed - I'd like to see if they got back together for real, if he ever got his memories back or what, because the way it is now, it felt very unsatisfying to me, like all the progress the characters made together are for nothing now.

The scanlation is hideous! Every second word is spelled wrong, the text is all over the place and there's generally a ton of mistakes in the simplest stuff. A bad and not flowing translation really takes some fun away BUT since groups do this for free, you can't expect a perfect job either.
At least the 3rd volume's translation is fine.

Well I'd recommend this to anybody who's into yakuza yaoi and people who look for something dark to read. If you look for cheesy romance and monogamous true love then it's not for you.

**Spoiler**

I rarely find a book that I can't put down. This manga was one of those stories that I couldn't stop reading. And in the end that is what made the last volume that much more disappointing - because I WAS caught up in it.

Although the art wasn't my lust-after preference, I did like that the men were all drawn masculine and cleanly. It was a nice change of pace from the feminine shoujo-style bishies. The most amazing art work was the tattoo work on F's back. The expressions on the characters faces' in a few scenes were captured well.

The story was exceptional. I really wanted to know what was going to happen to piece this broken man (F) back together. I wanted to know more about him. He was like the philosophy of wabi-sabi: where he will become more beautiful because he has been broken. I thought K was the one who was going to help him.

Gah. The ending was completely a cop out for such a previously well-developed story. The characters all made wonderfully touching decisions and shouting-at-them bad decisions, but all believable and likable. Then comes this ending that is so 'out-there' that it was only 1 degree better than the ending of the Forever Knight TV show. (And none has made me rage like that one.)

Another thing missing was the angsty and then touching sex that should have happened between K and F. At the end, the reader doesn't even know if F. has moved beyond simple friendly recognition of K. to something deeper like love and perhaps a carnal desire or 300.

It had such promise! *Off crying in a dark corner but occasionally comforting myself by replaying the awesome scenes in my mind*

[edit by mod, do not ask for files]
(Since the mangaka's fav stories are Heart of Thomas and Poem of Wind and Trees, it would have been better if lessons learned from those endings were applied.)

Kudos to Volyund for attempting to share her/his love of this story and mangaka's work by scanlating for all to be able to read in English. It wasn't a perfect job, but it was so incredible that she/he did this out of passion. Thank you!

... Last updated on May 28th, 2008, 3:16am

people keep saying that her art is rough around the edges, or that it would be great if she could draw. i want to take issue with that -- her art isn't rough around the edges, it's just very spare. if you look at her characters' positions they're always perfectly natural; their proportions are correct, and the perspective isn't off. she is a vastly better artist than most IMO. i know that in a genre that goes very much for the pretty her style is not going to be valued as much as say, minase masara's, and i don't fault people for preferring the pretty; heck, i like the pretty myself. i just wish people wouldn't mistake conscious style choices for lack of ability. her art is very observant, and while it's not detailed, it hones in unerringly on important elements of her stories -- and her stories are original and interesting. this is my favourite yakuza story in all of yaoi, and after miyamoto kano she is probably the mangaka whose releases i most look forward to these days.

i must say.. it's such a good story that i read it all in one sitting... the beginning's believable, and moving.. it draws you into the story, the feelings and the pain of the characters really well... however as the story draws to a close... it becomes a little blurry about what happened... i'd prefer a more conclusive ending though...

I'm so glad there was a little more of this series, even a strange, disjointed-dream extra. Frankly, I loved the whole thing, and I don't think it could have ended any other way if both of the main characters were expected to achieve any sense of normalcy or a happy ending, and I'm glad they did. I've never cried so much reading manga before, and I almost never cry while reading. It's really rare to see such believable characters that go through so much heartache and hardship and make your heart hurt right along with them; it really makes you feel like they earned their happy ending. As for the artwork, I absolutely adore it. I find it comparable to Akimi Yoshida's work Banana Fish. It's very clean, with dynamic expressions, excellent proportions, and sparse in terms of "pretty-fying" people, but that's exactly what makes it so good and believable. I really loved Negai Kanae Temae, and thank you volyund for your excellent translation.

... Last updated on August 17th, 2007, 12:49am

the only thing I hate is Yuusuke. He's not mature enough and made worst choices. I just want to slaughter him.
The ending doesn't say much, it's like no one knows what the future will be. It's not bad for an ending, it's realistic. I want to read more, of course

frow what i feel and i think about this manga is when i felt like boring to read yaoi anymore, i found this manga. first time i read it, i immediately thought that this manga was sooo good to read. i don't really like pshyco-yaoi manga, because it makes me feel depressed. and yea, it made me depressed but it has good story and that's why if you REALLY read it, the story will flow nicely, and you WON'T mind with the artwork at all (because the artwork is kinda simple for me). from the previous comment, i read that this manga (maybe the mangaka) less attention of the psych thing, hmm.. i'm not the expert of it, but i agree with her because the good mangaka is the one who must think about all aspects in her/his manga. but again, if you're just ordinary person who read this manga, you won't feel annoyed with it. that's why i give this manga 8.7

Some comments here seem to somehow miss the ending of this manga, which is a shame because the mangaka has made it quite clear already. Anyway try and read it, it's interesting to say the least.

this was sooo good! the angst was perfect! it had me on the edge of my seat! i was on a emotional rollorcoaster the whole time! a good one though. anybody who needs a good drama that really pulls you in should definately check this out!