Gokudou Kyun Koi / 極道きゅん戀　(1) : Manga Review and Thoughts

If you know me, you’ll know that i’m a sucker for a dangerous male lead. When it comes to manga, two of my favourite sub-genres are yankee romance, and yakuza romance, both of which just so happen to almost always feature dangerous male leads~.

Looking for something a little different to read about? Why not look at my review about a yandere romance? You can check it out here!

Information About the Manga

Who wrote Gokudou Kyun Koi?

The original light novel was written by Kusano Rai.

The manga adaptation is being done by Matsushita Risa. You can see their instagram here!

How many volumes are out?

There are currently 2 volumes of the manga out, and 1 light novel.

Where can I buy it?

You can buy volume one of the manga here.

You can buy the light novel here!

What genre? What are the vibes?

Yakuza romance
Romance author X yakuza boss
Two very separate worlds colliding
Finding motivation – pushing through ruts to get to your potential

First Impressions

This was a much sweeter story than I thought it was going to be! Honestly, I had thought this would have more Yakuza Fiance vibes, but I could not be more wrong. The ML, though in the yakuza, is an incredibly sweet character. It was really fun watching his personality flip flop between boss-mode when talking with his underlings, to romance-fan when talking with the author.

I also really enjoyed the authors story, as she feels like a very fleshed out character. Watching her struggle with the difficulties of writing unpopular stories was very moving, and it made me really root for her in her new project! Watching her survey the yakuza underlings was so entertaining, and her passion for writing really came through.

What’s it about?

Oyamada is a very famous author. Or at least, she was. After writing a few stories that flopped one after the other, she has become known as a has-been. Just when she was about to give up, she received a call from her publisher, informing her that she was hand picked to write the plot for a new yakuza movie to be shot next year.

She’s never written a yakuza story before, and she really isn’t familiar with the world of yakuza. To clear her head, she decides to go to the gym, where she runs into Mr. turtleneck.

It turns out Mr. Turtleneck is actually the head of a yakuza faction, and after her saves Oyamada from an assault one day, they become acquainted.

Once he learns that she is the Oyamada, he begins gushing about how much he loves her stories. It turns out that he’s a huge fan of all of her stories, and has no problem helping her gather information about the yakuza for her story.

As she learns about about the yakuza, and Mr. Turtleneck himself, Oyamada slowly grows more and more interested in his world.

My Favourites

The shift from romance to drama back to romance that happens throughout the volume.
The female lead – I love how she is clearly trying to break through her struggles.
Mr. Turtleneck – I liked how he talked about how he wanted yakuza to be seen as more realistic – no fighting and wars, but more business-focused.

My Least-Favourites

Some of the yakuza drama scenes felt a little bit boring to me.
I do wish there was more drama at some points.

Art Peak

Quick Story Checks!

Is the plot compelling and coherent?

Yes! I did enjoy that both main characters had their own stories to follow in addition to their romance together. While I was never confused, I did find bits and pieces of the yakuza side a little bit slow.

Are the protagonists well-developed and relatable?

While I’m not sure how relatable Mr. Turtleneck is, I do think he is well-developed! I loved watching him talk about his interest in romance dramas, and his unique way of complimenting Oyamada’s writing was very sweet.

I found Oyamada to be a much more relatable character, she’s dealing with struggles than many deal with. Though there are a few times throughout the story that I wish she would stand up for herself a little bit more, that doesn’t make her any less relatable.

Are the side characters interesting and well-used?

While there are a few side characters, they didn’t really appear enough for me to form an opinion on them.

I will say that I was really not a fan of Oyamada’s publishing agent.

Maddies Manga