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Nobuyuki Fukumoto simply cannot help himself and I simply can not help myself but to laugh about it. Even in this short, sentimental and quite melancholic story of a son reminiscing on his late father's 'humanity', his penchant for gambling and integrating it in his works still shines vibrantly through perhaps one of the oldest and simplest form of 'deciding on things'-- and nope, it's not rock, paper, scissors but rather-- a 50-50 coin toss/flip!

"Heads or tails?"

I'd say 'heads' and I'd tell you what the dilemma or 'gamble' was all about. Otherwise, you'd better read "Hoshi Furu Yoru ni" to find that out ... for yourselves. So here goes...

*flips a coin*

...
...
...

Would you look at that! I guess I'd have to leave it up to you guys to figure just what it is you'd want to do, after all. ;p

Run, Forest, RUN! I’m sure most of you still remember that epic film Tom Hanks starred in. Not that there’s any actual relation to this manga and that movie aside from their similarity of having quite an avid runner for the lead role. Although I personally doubt it, who knows, perhaps “Forest Gump” did inspire Kengo Hanazawa in writing this piece? At any rate, I just wanted to ask a simple question, really:

Why (do you) run?

A. for survival/defensive purposes; to escape from harm’s way
B. to impress someone (via competition/sports or staying fit)
C. because it’s your talent/profession; your one and ... only saving grace
D. because you’re in a hurry/running late for your MAL-related endeavors/responsibilities ;p

Well, I’m sure there’s a variety of other specific reasons/answers for each one of us. As far as the protagonist of the story is concerned however, and as one would expect from the title, he runs for pretty much every single reason I’ve listed except for the last one, that is.

Having considered the title, you might think it strange to refer to someone in his mid-20s as a boy, let alone in plural form (‘boys’), but make no mistake, BOTR is most definitely about that guy—your typical, average loser who just can’t seem to act his age, and whose simple dream in life is to get laid, and with a good enough looking chick to boot, if possible. So basically, there you have the story’s premise in what seems to be an office-romance setting. Or at least that’s how it was in the beginning.

To avoid confusion, let me just clarify that contrary to its genre labels or ‘tags’, this series is neither romantic nor sports-centric in reality. To be exact, it’s an adult drama which delves a bit into boxing merely as a theme and a means for the protagonist to grow and find himself, find love, and ultimately find something of which, other than himself, that is worth standing up and fighting for.

To reiterate/summarize, BOTR tells the tale of a 26 year old man-child who has a run-first (both literally and figuratively), ask-questions later mentality of dealing with his issues/problems. He runs and runs and runs—away from all sorts of danger and confrontation the series/author has to offer with reckless abandon. “Love” being his primary reason for doing so, apparently, as he’s proven time and again how much he truly loves himself—at one point, even going as far as to leave a romantic-interest behind just to save face or rather, to save himself from further embarrassment after having been beaten into a bloody mess in front of her.

And while he even picked a (meaningless) fight with someone and took up some basic boxing to give himself a fighting chance, at one point, he never truly did stop from his ‘marathon’. He simply kept at it until he eventually ran into a familiar face—his “manic pixie dream girl”, or however else you may want to put it. Since then, which is quite surprisingly true enough, still more of the same running for dear life, only with a much clearer and more productive purpose of doing so, such as taking boxing/training more seriously, if nothing more than to get the girl’s attention. Like they say, change never happens overnight, and especially with regards to people.

Blah blah blah blah blah, if I said anymore, I might as well just tell you the whole story. Not that I mind, mind you. Only that would practically defeat the entire purpose of my writing this ‘review’. Anyway, if I have a snowball’s chance in hell of selling this manga to those who have yet to even glance at its editorial-cartoon-like (cover) art, the story may not be any prettier or more glamorous than its synopsis initially suggests, but if you’re someone who’s into gritty, unsentimental, off-color humor, and most importantly realism—as in realistic characters who actually resemble true to life people with real human qualities, appearances, and issues; living in a world that just don’t give a damn on whatsoever they do and whatsoever fate may befall them—I wholeheartedly recommend "Boys on the Run" to you.

Oh and before I forget—read at your own risk! This manga may or may not contain “NTR”. Consider yourself warned! ;p

To think that for once, this series arch-nemesis would actually agree on something...

All in all, this oneshot collaboration may be nothing more than an advertisement promoting Kubota-sensei’s still ongoing serialization “Tentai Senshi Sunred”, as well as Double-S’s and Hiroshi Takashige’s popular ongoing colab-series, “Shi ga Futari wo Wakatsu Made”.

That said, instead of 'spoiling' this short, fifteen-page work any further to those who has yet to read it, I’d rather just go along with its purpose and try my hand at urging whoever’s reading this (‘review’) to not only read this oneshot, but to give the two other titles I’ve mentioned (above) at least ... ‘one shot’ before concluding/deciding whether or not to agree with me on the ‘awesomeness’ of these people(’s)/works.

What do you get when you put an overly competent individual together with an alien, a kappa, a star (no pun intended), a nun, a critic, a klutz, and all sorts of mental ward escapees (eccentrics) under the bridge?

a.) You get a nonsensical /slash/ somewhat enlightening escapade.
b.) You get a manga abbreviated as AUTB to read later.
c.) You get to profit.
d.) You get nothing whatsoever.

If your answer is A; keep it up, you’re reading from right-to-left just fine.
If your answer is B; OMG! What have you been reading all this time?
If its C; you must be Hikaru Nakamura. Sign (here) please.
If its D; ... not even a giggle? Keep reading below.

When Hikaru Nakamura first conceived the characters she would later on use for the series we now know as AUTB, the story was very much a mystery to everybody; the mangaka—herself—included. In a sense, even it would be an understatement to say that this series is so random it is just laughable. There’s probably no greater praise one could say about a gag manga which primary intent is to amuse its readers and evoke laughter; if only this series was just any typical, mindless fun kind of manga. And apparently so for this slice of life, gag series involving nutcases, every bit of random senselessness actually makes perfect sense.

Regarding its genre, the situational jokes may be decent, clichéd variations, at best. It may or may not make you laugh at times. But that is not to say humor isn’t the strong suit of the series, of course. Anyhow, human-connection is the central theme that bridges the gap between comicality and sincerity; the linchpin which makes this s-o-l, gag-oriented series work wonders. Take the first [i]romantic[/i] encounter between the two main characters for instance; how absurdly realistic they’re depicted, such as two strangers becoming lovers without so much as a proper introduction. It’s all too familiar it’s ridiculous. Sure, it never happens in actuality—not with the ultimate soteriophobe and his abalienated savior—but sure it does; rushing into a relationship for all the wrong, selfish reasons. Oh, the hilarity! You don’t even begin to imagine the gravity—how serious it truly was: way more than it seemed.

Speaking of romance, don’t confuse it as part of some running joke. It may seem that way at first, but considering it rooted from the obligatory act of repaying a life-worth debt, it was, in fact, implanted that way to grow (perhaps even last a lifetime). And that’s the gist of it.

In hindsight, whoever really knew or even knows what love is!? When two very desperate individual came knocking at each other’s doors, subconsciously seeking it; not knowing precisely what they were looking for, all there ever was for them to find were each other. And while I wouldn’t be so preposterous as to say they’ve already found what they’ve been looking for all along, they definitely gained something invaluable.

At any rate, before jumping to conclusions concerning the plot or lack thereof—this is the part where the protagonist casually shows up, meets the heroine, and sets everything into motion. Call it plot device, serendipity, or whatever. He became the one constant (joke that is) in this series that’s ever so full of (characters with mental) inconsistencies. Quite satirical, if not clever to say the least, that he turned into a walking contradiction the same moment the rest has remained true to those irregularities—from the get-go. With that said, the real question really shouldn’t be about whether or not AUTB have a static or progressive plot; rather whether everyone is actually who they seem to be—insane, delusional whacks—or not. Who or what, so to speak, really is crazy?

At the end of the day however, it all comes down to two storylines which have been entwined yet, time and again, still unravels. The first half being Kou Ichinomiya’s side of the story as it tells about his new found life under the bridge as the resident voice of reason—Recruit, aka Riku(ruuto) for short. Meeting all sorts of lunatics all the while being pulled-in and constantly subjected to everyone’s compulsions; his world turned upside down—realizing that there’s more to life than adhering to the norms and expectations of others, and ultimately coming to terms with his past.

The focus then shifts to the other, better half—the resident Venusian and Riku’s savior-turned-lover, Nino-san. To say Nino is a mystery is an understatement. She’s weird, she’s nuts, and she knows astronomy like the back of her hand. She has the uncanny ability to read people’s signals or any other for that matter. She can remain underwater for extended periods of time without any oxygen tanks. What is she?

To clarify, nobody is doing a terrible impersonation of "The Riddler" here. I’m posing a more than valid enough question to sum up this write up for the time being. There’s actually more to that question where it came from, but that will have to do for now, so as not to spoil much of anything for anyone.


"A uncommon review for a uncommon manga series."