Kei x Yaku Bound by Law Vol. 1 | ARC BL Manga Review

Opposite sides of the law flirt with danger–and each other–in a tangled web of political intrigue that is fraught with deception and secrets. A suspenseful mystery sure to get the heart racing in more ways than one, perfect for fans of No. 6 and Banana Fish!

Ichiro, an agent with the Tokyo Metropolitan Public Security Bureau, receives orders to make contact with and closely surveil Shiro, a yakuza hotshot whose bed partners include a considerable amount of influential male politicians. The mission takes an unexpected turn when they realize they’ve both been pursuing the same cold case: the disappearance of Rion Nakaba, Ichiro’s senior and Shiro’s sister. Determined to uncover the truth, the two secretly team up under the guise of lovers to try and pick up her trail..

Amazon | Bookshop.org

This one was featured in my May BL Releases post, and I also added it to my Mafia/Yakuza BL Manga/Manhwa Available in Paperback post. Kei x Yaku was released on May 14, 2024.

Spoiler Free

I went into this one semi-blind, not really knowing what to expect. Honestly, after the first few scenes/panels, I thought I wasn’t going to like it. I really didn’t want to deal with the stereotypical undercover cop x yakuza non-con betrayal manga with very little plot. Thankfully, this wasn’t that, and I think we will get a decent story.

I found the humor bland, except for the interactions between Kai and Yaku, which I really enjoyed. The little bonus comics are super cute. The art is good, and the characters are interesting enough. The pace is quite fast and honestly could have been slowed down a bit. It felt quite short—sometimes it’s hard to tell with digital copies, but this felt like half a volume. Maybe because they added so many bonus comics, it was harder to fit more chapters; it only had three. While a lot happened, I finished the first volume feeling a bit unsatisfied—not with the actual story, but because it felt like I didn’t get a whole volume.

However, this is a digital ARC copy, and if I were to add the physical book to my collection, I would absolutely love that it includes the bonus chapters. After all, physical copies of manga/manhwa, at least for me, are like little, more expensive trophies for completing the digital copy.

This was a bit tricky to rate because there really wasn’t much to rate. I feel like I need to read the entirety of the series or at least the first 2-3 volumes to give an accurate rating and review. However, I was intrigued and could easily be convinced to keep up with this manga.

For me, this comes down to print quality. I realized, while walking through the Barnes & Noble manga section, that not all manga are printed equally. For example, I bought the first two copies of Happy Crappy Life even though I’m not the biggest fan because the printed copies were so well done—they even had sleeves. I will gladly pay a little extra for nicely printed manga because, as I mentioned earlier, they’re my little trophies, so I want them to look good.

It’s worth mentioning that, despite the humor, there are quite a few darker scenes, and I’d assume more are to come, so keep that in mind.