I love Natsume Isaku's mangas. Her works rank in my all time favorites, like kiraboshi dial and dash!. That said, this manga was super sweet and cute, but I think it lacked some depth. The story was.... meandering. I guess I can't fully explain my feelings about it other than it simply didn't feel as though it went anywhere. It was still super nice, and the art was great as usual. The secondary story was also sweet. Perhaps all the characters in this were just so "tsundere" and like, prickly or saying no even though they're thinking yes. I just never got to a point where everyone was being straight up honest about things. Hm. Idk.

I am really worried about how this story starts that why when we get a bit of the past history b/w the two I am really happy but still concerned.
Over all, very much Natsume-sensei style; a light, fluffy, beautiful read.

I usually came across mangas that have the same art and i'll always thought that "ohh! I knew this art style!" I never knew who is the author of every manga that i've read but i always remember the art styles that i liked the most and this is the secon art stule that i like! Banzai! This series is good but sometimes i think i've accidentally skipped some chapters because it's too fast. Anyways i really like it it is so funny and heartwarming, i like the way the seme gets jealous it's hilarious! I really like the end so sweet!
Uke: it seems your life only revolves in me
Seme: you only realized?

Kyahhhhh! So sweet love them!

This manga is fun, has very likable characters and a cute but shallow plot.
It's hard to put a deep and meaningful and detailed plot into a one or two volume manga so I don't think we need to expect to find gems everywhere.
This is just one of those smile-when-you-read-it mangas that feel good and might even make you laugh!
I really enjoyed the characters as they were both interesting and while they had some typical issues like jealously and such, there wasn't overly much drama or tears or painful/forced sex scenes.
Beside the plot being rather shallow, I also found it worth mentioning that they just move into a relationship very fast. They sort of just both change all the sudden and are in love, even though they knew each other for 2 years at the company and didn't like each other much, no, Shimano even said he hated Kurokawa.
Natsume Isaku is great at funny and sweet love stories and I adore her art style and there's no complaints at all on that matter. She draws not as detailed as big names such as Yamane Ayano but her anatomy and such is perfect and she's the only mangaka that can make me go "awwww honey!" with every panel and every face a character makes, lol!
I really liked the way it ended and how that topic was right picked up in the 2nd volume of the manga.

If you don't it that they both just slide into it, without mention of sexual orientation or much of a "I like him I guess but cannot say it" phase then you might like this. I'd recommend it to anyone looking for a very light and comedic read!

No heartless, bastard seme. No stuck up, annoying duke. The characterization in this series is just right, and the love can be felt between the characters simply without any dramatic event

I love how this author can actually write different characters! I read a couple other stories of hers, and I never get her characters mixed up (that's unusual).

I also love her art and how she uses it to convey thoughts and emotions so well. Not everyone (or many artists) can pull that off.

The plot is fun, too. Nothing I haven't seen before, but she does it so well that is really doesn't matter.

I'm also a huge fan of her couples because the top isn't crazy and controlling and the bottom isn't afraid of sex or hugely insecure. They're both just people, and not totally unreasonable ones.

Definitely recommend reading what they have translated of this so far.

[reviewed as of v02 ch05] i am always missing the sort of depth in natsume's stories that would make them absolute favourites, but i still like them and think they're a cut above the cliched typical BL story with its hackneyed plots and cardboard cutout characters. as others have said, they stand out as much for what they don't do, which is a breath of fresh air in itself. i especially enjoy the more natural flow of her stories because i get worn out by BL melodrama. while the characters are not realistic in the sense that, say, miyamoto kano's characters are realistic, they have that special kind of fiction-truth to them that allows me to take them seriously. i wasn't bored, and i didn't miss the plot because i like slice of life stories which rarely have any plot.

though i've gotta say, her sex isn't hot, alas. now, that doesn't make me rate a BL story lower, and i am fine without any sex whatsoever if the story is good. but if there is sex, i prefer it to be erotic.

when i talk about missing depth, it is the sort of detail that, for example, instead of just telling us that there are socioeconomic differences between the main characters, would use those to be part of the story and possible complications, instead of the much more superficial omiai trope. natsume stops short of serious psychological insight, which keeps me from rating her work among the very top manga. but i would most definitely recommend this to other readers; it's a pleasant and amusing read.

... Last updated on March 24th, 2011, 10:15pm

Lally's comment below pretty much sums up my feelings for this manga. One thing I especially enjoy about Natsume's works, Doushiyoumo and her others, is that the emotions and interactions between characters all feel very natural, and very real. Maybe not to the extent of some others, as Natsume does seem to somewhat rely on the archetypal tropes of yaoi manga and doesn't quite break away from the stereotypes to be 100% original, but her works are far better than most I have seen. Her characters are strong and independent, intelligent and witty, and most importantly, believable. She takes an office setting and instead of focusing solely on the romance aspect of an office affair, expertly works in aspects of office life into her story. Most manga I've seen set in an office seems much more interested in dressing the men in suits and possibly throwing in illicit sex here and there, bringing in the 'work' part of the 'office life' only when someone gets transferred in order to create a rift between the characters. In Doushiyoumo, the work plays an important role in the characters' lives, instead of just being thrown in there as an after thought.

Long story short (and please dismiss any incoherent rambling, long day at work): Doushiyoumo Nai Karedo is a must read, listed above are my reasons why. This manga is my ideal idea of an office romance. However, I definitely recommend you picking this up and forming your own opinions.

... Last updated on May 19th, 2009, 8:59pm

Although I think brid's points about the plot of the manga are certainly valid, I would be saddened if it put any yaoi fan off reading this. I'll admit that nothing 'major' happens, but I think if you're looking for plot here then you're missing the point. Doushiyoumo Nai Keredo is the exploration of a very sweet and uncontrived relationship. It has a maturity, humour and realness that is not often found in yaoi. The characters are extremely loveable - not because they're cute or hot, but because they're believable. Sure, you'll find lots of other yaoi about how two guys get together, but what sets Doushiyoumo apart is the skill with which Natsume-sensei writes the story. There are no gushing confessions of undying love, no grand seme-to-the-rescue situations, no watery-eyed excessively-screentoned sex scenes. All there is is this very sweet, natural love story.

This series has a lot of positives to it: Each character is a distinct personality with his/her own endearing qualities. Additionally, both leads come off as rather normal males, instead of the usual broad caricatures of uke and seme stereotypes that we normally see. And especially important, there isn't the kind of trashy drama--rape, contrived misunderstandings, etc.--in this manga that we've all come to expect from yaoi.

But for all the good that this series has, I hesitate to recommend it because it offers very little in terms of a plot. The first chapter is the standard "how they got together" and then, after that? The second chapter pushes the relationship a tiny bit forward as a result of some very minor jealousy over how the seme treats his coworkers, and the third chapter offers, essentially, more of the same. (The short fourth and final chapter acts as a prequel.) So while I liked the manga, I also got a little bored with it. There's only so much relationship stuff I can take without the benefit of a larger plot to provide some coherency to the manga. As I was reading, I felt like I was waiting for a "so what?" that never came: The manga presented us with two men who were very different personality types and from very different backgrounds, but so what? Other than being used as an excuse for their different personality quirks, it didn't actually matter to the development of the story that they had such radically different socioeconomic backgrounds. Without much of a purpose to the overall plot (other than getting the two guys to commit to one another), I find myself uninterested in reading the second volume as I can't see what else of interest or meaning could possibly be left to say about this couple.

... Last updated on August 21st, 2008, 2:32am