Despite my usual tendency to read rom-coms and psychological horror, I must say I enjoyed this manga a lot. Let me sell you on it.

Description

Boys Run The Riot -the title being the same in both english and japanese serializations- is a manga released by the mangaka Keito Gaku in 2020. The story goes as follows:

Ryo Watari is a teenage girl who feels like a boy and yet he can't tell anyone. Not his friends, not his family, not even the teachers. The only way Ryo manages to express himself is through graffiti and especially fashion. It's only once he meets Jin, a transfer student from his school, in a clothes shop that Ryo finds someone to share his passion with. Jin asks Ryo to start a fashion brand with him, and the story can truly begin.

One of the biggest selling points of this manga is definitely the artstyle, which is a mostly realistic one, especially when it comes to characters, accompanied by backgrounds which almost feel like real pictures with filters.

The other obvious quality of this manga are the characters and their designs. Each main character is thought out in depth when it comes to their feelings and motivations, which is particularly obvious in Ryo, but, this being a fashion manga, their design has not been neglected either.

This is a pretty short manga with 37 actual chapters divided in 4 consecutive volumes.

Thoughts

Let me start by saying that I really enjoyed this series and its message. Don't get confused by the Drama tag as this isn't, in my opinion, a particularly sad story. Much more than making you cry, it makes you reflect and cheer as it goes on.

I initially bought the first volume off of the artstyle alone, and was even a little discouraged by its size. Despite all the volumes being fairly thick, though, I've blazed through them in a matter of a couple of days, even going as far as reading two in a single day (which is rare for me).

The panels are beautiful, and I especially enjoyed the ones revolving around graffiti, since they were raw and realistic (as well as masterfully crafted). My favourite panel is definitely the one depicting Ryo's first graffiti we get to see. If you've read the manga then you know what I mean. If you haven't, I highly suggest to at least get that far.

I only have one (sort of) actual complaint for this manga, and that is

All in all, this Boys Run The Riot was an amazing ride, and I'm glad I chose to buy it, even if I initially only did it for the artstyle. I do not regret my choice one bit, and neither will you hopefully. I'm giving this series a respectful 9/10, since giving it any less would be impossible for me, placing this as one of my highest rated manga.