Ryo has never identified with the girl’s body he was born into, but street fashion helps him feel more like his true self. A chance encounter with a classmate leads to a business opportunity, a partnership, and support from an unexpected quarter..

Boys Run the Riot is an encouraging, inspiring story of friendship, identity, finding your passions, and learning to live without shame.

Thank you netgalley for providing me with an eARC!!

This manga/book follows trans boy Ryoko Watari, he’s not out to the world yet, and clearly struggles with other peoples views of him while also being scared what others will think of him.

As the story goes on, Ryoko meets Jin Sato. Together they start a new clothing brand. Ryoko is the designer for the clothes, while Jin takes care of the marketing for their brand. They might not fit in the ‘cool groups’ at school, but they don’t let that define them, and on the way they make some good friends.

I really loved to read this, the art style is beautiful and the story is interesting enough to want to keep reading it. It also plays in a realistic world, which makes me feel more in contact with the thoughts of the characters and the characters themselves.

I’m excited to see how this will continue in the next volume, and to see if Ryoko will get the courage together to really be himself around everyone.

"Boys Run the Riot" is the first manga in a series and follows Ryo who is a trans guy, and Jin who was moved back a year and thus ended up in the same class as Ryo. Ryo and Jin become friends and decide to start a fashion brand together. Their classmates look down on them as the weirdos but together they move past it choosing to be who they are instead of who society wants them to be. This manga was wonderful! It captures the struggles of being an outcast, no matter the gender identity. As a trans guy myself I appreciate the representation in "Boys Run the Riot" and I found it accurate without going too deep trying to explain what it means to be trans. Recommending this to everyone who felt like an outcast in high school and everyone who enjoys stories about unexpected friendships and choosing to be yourself when being yourself isn't socially accepted. Overall a wonder story and I can't wait for the second installment!

i've to say, i'm impressed. I've never read any manga related to transgender people. This was my manga featuring a transgender main character.

I loved the trio. They were factual.
Ryo has all the thing that a fine character needs. And on top of that a friend like Jin sato was Cherry on top. i loved his character. He was so cool and okay with the situation. He didn't care what gender Ryo is, he only cared about what he feels. He supported him.

i'm completely invested and excited to see the growth of them in next volume.

A great manga about fashion and Lgbt+ worries in teens. I love how to stay is playing out and the characters are all interesting

Thank you to Netgalley, Keito Gaku and Kodansha Comics for approving this eARC in exchange for an honest review.

I requested this one as it sounded so friggen cute. Also because one of my favourite tiktokers gave a raving review of this manga.

This was definitely a fun and easy read, which is exactly the kind of read I needed. Although, I didn't really get the 'cute' aspect I was hoping to get.

I found it the pacing a little fast. I feel like I didn't really get to know Ryo before Jin was introduced and all of a sudden they were friends designing clothes together. It also felt like characters were thrown very suddenly into the story without an introduction.

Thanks to Kodansha comics and NetGalley for giving me an eARC in exchange for an honest review!!

I absolutely loved this!
The story follows a young trans boy Ryoko Watari who we see heavily struggle with his identity mainly about the world's perception of him. It illustrated the struggles trans folk have to go through so well, even in the small details someone might not even think about.
The Ryo meets our second protagonist, Jin Sato. Honestly, I teared up at one of their early interactions, I just loved a lot of how things were handled in this volume.

The two boys heavily bond over their relationships with fashion respectively, and with Jin's recommendation, they decide to start a fashion brand and sell their clothes online, and I cannot wait to see them started! I have to go read the rest of the series Asap, and I recommend you to do as well :D

What an excellent first volume. It's a great depiction of how difficult it can be to be a young trans person with lots of restrictions on your gender expression, and how finding your passion can help you find freedom. Totally looking forward to the next volume of Ryo and Jin's story.

Boys Run The Riot

Volume 1 builds the relationship of three characters, especially Ryo. It tells a story not only about Ryo being transgender but being able to accept yourself and what you like. Jin is steortyped as scary and a deliquent and we don't know too much about him yet-hopefully in the coming chapters we get his story too; Ryo is a transgender but slowly learning it's ok and not run from how people might see her; and then we have Itsuka who loves photography but no one seems to take him seriously and his "friends" basically degrades what he likes to photograph. So far these three come together to start a fashion brand.

Honestly, I really like how the reader can find a connection throughout volume 1, as we all probably had/have a point where we don't show everyone certain sides of ourselves. This is definitely a series I would like to continue reading.

Its's very simple.. I loved it. There's nothing new about following high school students in Japan who wants life to be more than boring routines. However, this manga hit so many new and refreshing topics that I was engaged the entire time and sad when it ended.

The characters are quite loveable - especially our main character, Ryo, who perfectly portrayed the struggles of being born in the wrong skin and not knowing how to fix it. It was also amazing to see supportive people around Ryo, like Jin, who didn't care about gender or tradition (especially in Asian culture where appearance and reputation is so important)..

I had a lot of fun following their young entrepreneurial dream - which was a perfect "excuse" to break free of the daily boredom and grow a solid bond. I would love to continue this story for sure!

The way this series deals with its themes is pretty unexpected. Yes, this is Ryo’s story and his journey as a transgender boy from a traditional family trying to navigate school and life. But it’s also every bit as much about Jin and Itsuka and Jin’s friends and everyone who has ever felt like they don’t belong but don’t know how to do anything other than try to fit in.

Volume one introduces some great characters and sets up Ryo and his friends’ journeys really well. I can already tell that this is shaping up to be a pretty damn emotional rollercoaster of a contemporary series and I’m so excited to find out where it all goes from here.

This Manga was such a refreshing one which had queer characters and quirky ones who don't fit in the society designated box. The doubts, the fear and the want of a young queer person to fit in was captured beautifully.

I really liked this manga! This follows a transgender high schooler named Ryo, who is struggling both with his identify and how he fits in with society, He meets an older student in school, Jin, and after an encounter with him in a clothing store Jin invites him to start a brand with him,

Ryo uses clothing as a way to express his gender identify and feel comfortable, and I really enjoyed this aspect of it and how important clothing was to Ryo and how his interest in clothing and artistic expression led to this new brand with Jin being a good fit for Ryo.

There were some side characters in a scene at the end and it looks like they’re going to be focused on more in future volumes, so I’m interested to find out more about them when I read more in the series!

The author of the manga is trans, and there was also a short interview with him at the end of the volume where he talked a little bit about how he used his own experiences to write this manga,

rating: 4/5 stars

I'm excited to support this because I've never read a manga by a trans mangaka before. It's great that that it's getting easier and easier to find representation in modern media. I can't speak for how good the representation in this is since I'm not transgendered but what I can say is this was engaging and heartfelt. More please.

This was my first ever Manga. I requested it on a whim and was not disappointed with the story at all. I loved the friendship that grew between Ryuu and Jin. It felt authentic. The way these two boys were able to lean on one another and just be themselves was so wonderful. Having a trans MC in my first Manga se the bar pretty high. I am excited to read more and hope that more will be translated in this series.

I absolutely loved this MM romance.

Such a great book with a solid storyline and great characters.

I eagerly look forward to reading more from this author.

A definite recommend!

Trans mc and trans mangaka??? Sign me up!!

The story follows Ryuu, a closeted trans teenager, who is struggling with dysphoria. The only time he feels at ease is when he's wearing his favorite clothes. While out shopping, he bumps into Jin, a kid from school who looks like your typical bully. Ryuu fears that he's going to get outed but it turns out that Jin wants to start a streetwear brand with him! This manga was an absolutely refreshing read and I found myself relating a lot to Ryuu. The characters are such good bros and seeing them work together to overcome their struggles is so rewarding. If you're looking for some relatable trans rep, then this book is definitely for you!! :)

Thank you NetGalley and Kodansha Comics for a copy of this book in exchange for an honest review!

This is definitely a very special manga and I'm interested in continuing this series, it just took me a while to get into the story and I haven't yet really connected to any of the characters. I'm also not super interested in the fashion brand part of the story, but overall it is something I haven't read about before and if one is really interested in that kind of story line, this manga will be perfect. I do suggest checking it out anyway though, just cause I never really read another manga that deals with life as a transexual person like this.

High schooler Ryuu knows he's transgender. But he doesn't have anyone to confide in about the confusion he feels. He can't tell his best friend, who he's secretly got a crush on, and he can't tell his mom, who's constantly asking why Ryuu is always dressing like a boy. He certainly can't tell Jin, the new transfer student who looks like just another bully. The only time Ryuu feels at ease is when he's wearing his favorite clothes. Then, and only then, the world melts away, and he can be his true self. One day, while out shopping, Ryuu sees an unexpected sight: Jin. The kid who looked so tough in class is shopping for the same clothes that Ryuu loves. And Jin offers Ryuu a proposal: to start their own brand and create apparel to help everyone feel comfortable in their skin. At last, Ryuu has someone he can open up to--and the journey ahead might finally give him a way to express himself to everyone else.

Really, in one way I understand why they would focus on the transgender aspect in terms of trying to sell it as that has more marketability in some ways… a manga about teens creating a clothing brand honestly doesn't sound that interesting in the slightest. If it hadn't been for all the buzz I've been hearing about this one, I likely wouldn't have been that interested in that plot description.

Sometimes, being yourself is hard and it helps to have a person or a group of friends who have your back. Not to tell you who you are, but to stand with you when you decide to stand for yourself. I think that’s a strong message that is very well portrayed in this book.

The interview with the author at the end provided such a helpful insight. I really appreciated it. The message that this book wanted to convey was loud and clear.

Overall, Boys Run the Riot was an absolute read. I was very grateful to have an early access of this empowering manga. I am very looking forward to the next volume.

This manga is a very heartfelt story ❤️

I felt that the focus of the story is more general than what is advertised. It revolves around the theme of breaking out of the societally prescribed molds, in however small or large a way is applicable to various characters in the story.

It has the power to resonate with many readers, outside the audience of transgender people too.

The characters are massively likable too, and I very quickly became invested in learning how their stories turn out.

Thank you for the review copy!