Follow the life of Ryo a boy with a secret. Then one day he was asked to start a brand company by Jin. Ryo accepts the offer after thinking about it long and hard. After a while Ryo found he could really be himself with Jin. So he explained his story to Jin and why he kept it a secret. Ryo is a transgender boy who had to his who he really was. But once Jin walking into his life he didnt have to hide who he truly was anymore. This book is so good and I highly recomment it to everyone. Its a Yaoi & LGBTQ+ Manga and features a Trangender charactor looking to be able to finally not have to hide his true self. it will definitely put a smile on your face. Be on the look out at the end of June for my June wrap up where I will gush about everything I loved about this manga.

I was very intrigued by this manga and while I enjoyed it, I don't think I will pick up future volumes as it took a heavy focus on the fashion aspect while I much preferred the gender role challenges and seeing the main character come to accept himself and feel more comfortable in his own skin.

Ryuu is transgender but cannot confide in anyone as to how he really feels. His mom always moans about him dressing 'like a boy' and he still has to wear the girl uniform at school which makes him really uncomfortable and causes body dysmorphia. He is secretly crushing on his best friend and struggling with trying to fit in. Then Jin starts, a new transfer student who looks like yet another bully. Then one day while out shopping, Ryuu unexpectedly bumps into Jin buying his favourite brand. Then Jin offers Ryuu a proposal: to start a clothing brand of their own to promote everyone feeling comfortable in their own skin. Ryuu is hesitant at first but eventually caves and what seems like a daunting prospect turns into the best idea yet and helps Ryuu feel more like himself than he ever has.

*Thank you to Netgalley and the publisher for providing access to this book in exchange for an honest review.*

At first I was afraid this book was going to be a really painful read about a trans kid that doesn’t get to be himself and then gets bullied, but I was happily mistaken! When Ryo explains to Jin that he’s trans, Jin is supportive. While there is some bullying, Ryo and his friends stand together. I really enjoyed the relationship building and the way these characters learn to find their own voice. Can’t wait to read the next one! I just requested my local library to purchase a copy.

I would say this one is worth a read if only for the great insight it gives into the hardships faced by transgender individuals while they're trying to figure out their feelings and how they're going to live by them. The fact that it's written by a transgender man makes it an even better own-voice read.
However, it's also incredibly inspiring. The things that Ryuu faces on a daily basis are heartbreaking and I love Gaku for going all-in when depicting them. And the way that his life opens up after Jin shows him that life is better when you don't worry about being the nail that sticks out is a great message for younger and older readers alike. They go for what they want and don't worry about what others think. At least that's the path Ryuu is embarking on as the volume ends.
I'm also interested in seeing how the fashion line they create takes off and learning more about all the characters. I was really pulled in with Boys Run the Riot and I look forward to reading more.

Many happy thanks to NetGalley and Kodansha Comics for the early read!

As a trans person that also happens to be into arts, I was very excited to get my hands on 'Boys Run The Riot'. And it did not disappoint.

This first volume is a good first installment to the series. We meet Ryo, a transgender, closeted boy that uses fashion to evades from the way he looks, and from being perceived as a girl. He meets Jin, a "bad boy" looking guy, who asks him to create a fashion brand with him. I already love their chemistry and personalities. Jin is a very open-minded, gentle guy that accepts Ryo without batting an eye. The latter, when comfortable, becomes a swearing, dumb adolescent boy, it seems. The two share a common goal of expressing themselves freely and without any shame through their fashion brand. They also meet various, very passionate characters on their way, such as Itsuka, a boy that lives for his photographies.

Boys Run The Riot is, in that first volume, already showing how great of a piece it's gonna be. It's in the same fashion as 'Blue Period', a manga about fine arts that already made its name. It's a manga about expressing yourself, it's about doing a middle finger to society's norms that weighs most of us down. It's about creation, freedom, all that with LGBTI representation by an actual trans author.
I definitely cannot wait to see what the series has in store for us !

A really cool story with super awesome characters and great trans representation. The fashion aspect was fascinating and I loved the friendship that developed between the two MCs. Super awesome book to read! #NetGalley #BoysRunTheRiot1

This is a story about three guys that want to dream and escape reality. We have a main character that is an inspiration: a guy that is repeating a year and wants to create a clothing brand. So, in order to achieve this, he starts a friendship with a trans guy that loves art and is really good at it, and a shy cis guy that wants to become a photographer.

The main plot is how they use their brand to grow up as men and become free. It’s really inspiring how their friendship becomes a way to feel accepted. This is mostly a story about self acceptance and friendship, but also is about dreams and how they can save you.

Thanks to NetGalley and the publisher for the chance to read this book in exchange for an honest review! I honestly loved this so much, I’ll recommend this to all my friends (awesome way of starting Prime Month also!)

OMG OMG OMG!!!!
I got soooo excited when my request for this manga on Netgalley got accepted and I was not disappointed after finishing it.
In Boys Run The Riot, we meet Ryo, a lonely trans boy that doesn't have anybody who he can confide in. Until the new transfer student, Jin Sato, finds him in a clothes store and asks Ryo to start a clothing brand with him, marking the beginning of their friendship.
I loved every second of this reading. Really. I was so excited at the beginning (which usually disappoints me but it definitely didn't happen here), every page made me more and more curious about what was going to happen and I didn't even realize I was getting close to the end until I finished it (and then I got really sad because I NEED more of these boys).
The only thing I feel the need of poiting out is that I wish we had more about the characters' background, especially Jin because I can't quite figure him outb yet, but that wasn't a problem at all during the reading and I believe we will see more of their backgrounds on the next volumes.
Ryo, Jin and Itsuka are such amazing characters and I can't' wait to know more of them, and I totally gonna keep an eye out for the second volume.
Thanks Netgalley and Kondansha Comics for providing me an arc in exchange for an honest review.

Thank you so much to Kodansha Comics and NetGalley for providing me with an e-ARC; it is greatly appreciated.

The first three panels of this story are breathtaking ! I cannot imagine how gorgeous this book would be in full color. I thought this started out absolutely fantastic, but then the story itself moved along too quickly. There were some very interesting issues brought up in the first chapter that I wish had been explored a bit more.

Our main character, Ryo, is a transgender teen that is afraid of standing out from their peers. He reiterates a few times that "the nail that sticks out gets the hammer." Because of this he is flustered easily, awkward in social situations, doesn't have many friends, and just stays quiet. However, when a new kid joins the class, Jin, that all changes.

What I found interesting was how right away Ryo was judging Jin based on how he looks. I was really hoping this was going to be brought up to the character himself, but it never is. I think it would have been really interesting for Ryo to analyze why he is quick to judge, when that is what he tries to avoid others doing to him. Ryo's personality change also happens seemingly overnight. He goes from shy and awkward to speaking up and asserting himself. Character development is always great, but it just seemed too out of nowhere to be as impactful as it could have been. Basically I wish the friendship between Ryo and Jin had been developed more slowly, so we could get more insight into the characters themselves.

The representation is obviously great. We not only have a transgender character, but a genderqueer character is introduced at the end of this volume as well. That was a nice surprise for me, and I'm looking forward to seeing where the story takes these characters, and if we'll see more representation along the way.

This manga was really good! I know I don’t understand a ton about Japanese culture but in America there is still a stigma towards being “weird” or different and I like the idea of this book being about being proud of who you are. That being said I do not think being trans makes you “weird”. I enjoyed this manga a ton, I just wish the message about trans people was different.

Boys Run the Riot has a beautiful art style along with a truly amazing storyline. Our main protagonist Ryo, is a trans boy, living in a world that will never understand who he truly is. He finds solace with his new friends Jin and Itsuka as they attempt to make inroads into the world of street fashion. I think this is probably the first own voices LGBTQIA+ rep that I've seen in manga. I'm also excited to learn more about Tsubasa, the genderqueer character that makes an appearance in the final chapter.
All in all, I'm so glad I picked up this manga and I can't wait to read Volume 2 when it releases!

I struggled a bit with this book and that's largely due to the fact that things seem to happen really fast in terms of 'friendships'. I feel like the supporting characters were largely there as props, their relationships to one another felt forced and awkward. The trans narrative itself was fine, definitely part of a different cultural perspective that does resonate across cultures as well. The art was nice though I felt that some of the graffiti used didn't vibe with the style of the rest of the book and looked out of place.

Hello, this is my new favorite manga. I was so pumped from the beginning because it's by an openly transgender mangaka, and sure enough it delivers a realistically tough but still heartwarmingly hopeful queer/trans coming-of-age story. It features a trans boy navigating a world that's hostile to existence, but it provides solace as Jin and Itsuka join him in the weirdo squad. These three teen misfits come together as a team to make their dreams a reality and express their authentic selves, which is basically my favorite trope. Even as there are people who will disdain and bully those who are different, there are also those who are willing to open their minds to people. I love the teacher character Hinata-sensei for her supportive and sensitive way of interacting with the students. I'm also excited to see more of Tsubasa, the genderqueer character who's introduced toward the end. Can't wait for volume 2 to be released! :)

Thank you to Kodansha Comics and Netgalley for providing me an E-ARC of the book in exchange for an honest review.

I think I'll really enjoy this series. It's difficult to find ownvoices LGBTQ+ representation in manga but Keito Gaku's writing looks promising.

I loved the main character Ryuu and his interactions with everyone else, though many of them are fraught with tension. Even the concept feels unique, using clothes and art to help Ryuu express himself is a smart idea. Highly recommend!

Boys Run the Riot is such a refreshing read, and I couldn't stop reading.

We follow a transgender teen boy who is having a hard time with his gender Identity, and who he can trust. As a teen who was held back a year comes into his life, he discovers that there are people that will be there for you. They both find an escape in their new design/fashion brand, and hit a few bumps along the way.

This story is very important, and comes from the author's own personal life. This was a great start to my reading for Pride Month, and I will be buying this as soon as I can.

Thank you Netgalley & the publisher for sending me an ARC,

4.5 stars

Ahhhhh I love Ryo and Jin!! Ryo's struggle of trying to figure out how to show people they are a boy and finally getting to express how they're feeling to Jin was such a moving moment. Jin accepting Ryo and wanting to understand how Ryo feels made me want to hug them both. I love how they compliment each other in their friendship and partnership for the brand. I'm excited to see how it all works out and future designs Ryo comes up with. I can't wait for vol 2!

** ARC provided by NetGalley for an honest review **

!!!!!!!! Absolutely unique, and highly recommended, although the art style is not my personal cup of tea. (It's very good art, to be clear, that is a completely taste-based assessment.) Transmasc characters in manga are vanishingly rare, and I genuinely can't think of any other transcmasc creators at all, so I hope that this series will end up on library shelves across the country for that reason alone, but so far it's also a really endearing friendship narrative and I'm interested to see where the fashion component goes! The interview with the author at the end of the volume is great, don't skip it.

Muchas gracias Netgalley por el envío de una copia avanzada a cambio de una reseña honesta.

"Boys Run the Riot" es un manga realmente atrapante con una premisa súper interesante. La idea de que el protagonista sea un chico trans me parece única y también, muy inclusiva e importante para los lectores de mangas que disfrutan lecturas LGBT pero nunca han leído un manga con un personaje trans.

Me encanta la manera en la cual se introdujeron a los personajes, especialmente al otro chico protagonista, pues es como el complemento ideal y cómico a un manga que trata temas como la discriminación o la ansiedad social.

La trama se va desarrollando de manera gradual hasta llegar a lo que sería la idea central y de manera injusta, ¡se termina el volumen!

¡Estoy ansiosa por seguir leyendo los siguientes volúmenes! Es una lectura súper recomendada.

This is such a fantastic manga volume and I’m really excited to read the rest of the series. I hope more manga is published from queer creators. Full review to come

It’s hard being transgender in Japan.

Just as Ryo who is struggling to be himself when everyone around him thinks he’s weird or out of place. He’s the nail that sticks up, and in Japan, the nail that sticks up gets hammered down.

But things start to change when Jin, a cool older student, is forced to repeat a year. At first Ryo thinks Jin will be like everyone else, but Jin sees him and more... accepts him. Jin thinks that Ryo is cool, has good taste, and is the perfect person to form a clothing brand with him.

Huh... I guess boys really do run the riot. Hmm... that sounds like a pretty cool brand name. ~_^

--

Boys Run the Riot is an #OwnVoices manga written by a transgender mangaka that has honestly one of the best representations of what LBGTQIA+ life is like in Japan.

It’s also got some of the most gorgeous and amazing art I’ve ever seen in manga. The character design is so well done. But even more than that the sheer amount of detail and thought put into every panel is honestly stellar. The very first panel setting the scene in a subway station is so incredibly accurate that you can actually pinpoint which subway station it is from the details.

The whole manga is like this. Not necessarily in color... but the artwork is so beautiful.. so in depth and filled with so much meaning. It’s on par with the art that was in Spider-man Into the Spider-verse... There’s an absolutely beautiful piece of graffiti that Ryo does that quite frankly brought tears to my eyes.

Like it’s so, so very good.

I mean, just look at the cover. All of the art inside is like that, just in black and white. The way the clothing is rendered. The graffiti on the walls. The shift in clothing depending on what’s in the background. It’s honestly amazing art.

And that matters.

But what matters more is the beauty and relatability of Ryo. Ryo feels real. He feels true. He’s got flaws and foibles but he’s also lovable and caring and has an inner-resilience that makes me want to give him a hug and tell him he’s valid. But I don’t need to, because he’s got an amazing ally and friend in Jin. I feel that all of us need a Jin in our lives. A friend who wants to be with us because they think we’re cool and want us to live our best lives. A friend who will accept us for who we are. A friend who will call us out on our B.S. A friend who wants you to be honest with them because they’ll be honest with you. A friend who will forgive you when you mess up.

Seriously we need a Jin.

What Jin and Ryo have is a true bromance... not a romance. Ryo has a crush on his other friend, Chika, who is a little weird herself but she owns it. I appreciated the realities that some teachers will care about their students while others will not. It was nice to see that represented.

This manga also really hits what it’s like to be transgender in a fairly sexist society. Because, let’s face it... Japan is pretty darn sexist... worse than the United States. Whereas in the states it’s okay to have friends of all genders, it’s less okay in Japan. Especially as teens. It’s hard to be a transgender teen anywhere. It’s hard to be transgender in Japan .And that struggle is really well represented here. Even if it can be hard to read at times. There are some other content warnings that people should be aware of: CW: Transphobia, Homophobia, Sexism, Misogyny. Gender Dysphoria, physical violence (teacher on student), bullying. I also really appreciated the author interview at the back of the manga. The fact that the cover was created specifically for the English release is kind of cool to know. BTW read the liner notes at the end. Seriously. Read the liner notes. There’s some really great information there. A+ for the publisher for doing this.

This manga is stellar. Magnificent. More people need to know about it.

Seriously... read this.

Five Stars

I received an ARC of this manga via NetGalley