RePlay is a slow burn slice-of-life story of two high school boys who turn from friends into lovers while on the cusp of making decisions about life now that they are becoming adults. The artwork is clean, well done, and easy to follow.

Story: Serious Ritsu and easy-going Yuta have been friends since elementary school. The two paired up due to Yuta's love of pitching in baseball and needing a catcher. Now, about to graduate from high school, they have tough decisions to make. Ritsu knows he doesn't want to go further with the baseball and studies hard to get into a good university. Yuta, meanwhile, is starting to realize that pursuing baseball will mean he will have to go to a different school than Ritsu - something he's not ready to do. As they plan their future, but begin to recognize that everything they really want is already right in front of them - and they can make it happen together.

The relationship dynamics are nice here - consensual (for once) and with consideration of what a relationship would mean for the big picture of both their lives. They do take most of the book to figure it out but the ending does make sense for both of them in light of each's goals.

The story is very slow and most of it is figuring out that their friendship might be more - and being unsure of whether to take it further. There is no melodrama or big moments - just slice-of-life understated storytelling. The baseball aspects aren't really touched upon much since the focus is on each of the two main characters (though mostly through Yuta's POV).

In all, it was a bit slow for me and I can't say that I believed either character to be real. Perhaps the best way to describe this completed story line is that it is a lot of little teases leading up to the finale of finally taking the relationship physical. Reviewed from an advance reader copy provided by the publisher.

*4.5 stars

This was such an adorable story! I absolutely loved it!
The artwork was lovely and I love the trust and openness between these two characters. I especially liked that neither of them questioned their sexuality like characters in BL manga do sometimes.
I strongly recommend it!

I am often apprehensive when I read BL manga as it often overuses specific tropes that I find unsettling. Thankfully, this manga blew me away by how well the characters were developed and the fact that there was open and honest communication between two boys. Yes, there were certain tropes, but the relationship was developed in a way that is very realistic and relatable. I loved this manga and highly recommend it.

Thanks to Netgalley and the publisher I was able to read this book in exchange for an honest review.
***
Replay is a fluffy BL manga that follows Yuuta and Ritsu who have been playing baseball together since they were kids but nearing the all important exams that’ll decide their futures are retired from the sport to focus. With baseball no longer keeping them together Yuuta worries that there won’t be enough to keep him in Ritsu’s life. The story takes a slow meander through Yuuta struggling with himself and his decisions for his future and what he wants with Ritsu in his life. Cute and fluffy.
Best part of this book was the artwork. Very beautiful and flowy looking.

RePlay surprised me positively! I'm a huge fan of BL and sports combined and RePlay did this amazingly well. Yuuta and Ritsu have been playing baseball since kids, but the upcoming university entrance exams mean they need to retire the team. Yuuta has hard time giving up baseball and his relationship with Ritsu and find a new way to be friends now that baseball doesn't keep them together anymore. Tsukahara manages to turn this inner turmoil interesting as it is very grownup pondering and realistic. Not only this, but soon Yuuta learns that Ritsu has feelings for him and it seems so normal and hard at the same time. What changes and how, the new ways seem unexplored and scary even, but realistic once again. The approach works and how mundane this manga is too is so extremely refreshing. The boys' relationship grows in a normal way and takes its time, which warmed my heart.

The art looks wonderful and airy too. The movement and expressions are nicely done, which is rare in BL. The sport is the center of the story, which I loved a lot. The sex scenes are well done too and not overboard. As I said, this is very nicely done for the reason that it's slow and so real in many ways (which is rare in BL) and makes this one of the best stories for it. Thus I highly recommend this if you're fed up with yaoi hands.

This was a sweet B/B manga. I enjoyed the relationship and slow burn romance. Really liked the main characters and their long withstanding relationship. Although a common B/B romance troupe with childhood friends becoming lovers their last year of high school, going into college, this one still managed to entice me and make me care. A good read for any B/B fangirl/ boy/ nonbinary.

This felt like a slow starter. I wasn't sure I'd get into it much through the first chapter, but overall I actually really liked it! It was a very sweet, gentle story - a great way to pass an hour of reading. I liked both characters. The story was generic but I still enjoyed it but the art was the best way. It's such pretty artwork and I'd totally read it again just for the art again.
Overall, a nice, easy read with sweet characters and beautiful artwork.

Yaoi Manga in exchange for a honest review.

Replay is about a beautiful story between two inseparables best friend. From the begining we know than one of them have feelings for the other boy and we can feel the pain coming.

It's a short manga, perfect for a sunday afternom or a sunny day in the summer's vacation. Yaoi fans will love it.

One of my favorite things about this story was the author's style. The drawing is very soft and cute, and the color pages are amazing. She teels this story in a beautiful way and that's the reason about how confortable is reading it.

I can imagine real persons living this story, and that is uncomon in a yaoi manga.

4 of 5 stars.

Review in spanish.

Manga recibido en NetGalley a cambio de una reseña honesta.

Replay nos cuenta la historia de dos amigos inseparables. Van a clases juntos, juegan béisbol en el mismo equipo escolar, van al mismo campamento y hasta incluso les dicen que son un matrimonio y ellos mismos se llaman así. Desde el principio sabemos que uno de ellos está enamorado del otro y sospechamos que vamos a sufrir un poco.
Es un manga corto, de pocas páginas e ideal para empezar y terminar en una tarde de verano.
Una de las cosas que más me gustó de este manga es lo hermoso del estilo de la autora, la forma e la que dibuja el cabello, las facciones de los personajes y la organización de las viñetas ayudan un montón a sentir lo fluida que es la historia.

Siento que la historia podía suceder, a diferencia de lo irreal que me parecen muchos otros mangas. Sentí empatía con los personajes y en un par de momentos me derretí de la ternura que sentía por culpa de estos chicos.

En resumen, me pareció precioso.

A warm and heartfelt story of a developing relationship with a focus on the struggles of coming of age and communication, told through beautiful art. Altogether a lovely volume.

*An ARC was provided by Diamond Book Distributors/Tokyopop via NetGalley in exchange for a review.*

4.5/5

RePlay is a manga written by Saki Tsukahara. The story tells about Ritsu and Yuta, two boys who are friends since childhood. Both of them play baseball but with the entrance exams for university they retire and they seem to be getting further and further away. What to do then?

Have Yuta to focus on exams or try to discover what Ritsu is hiding him?

I love "friends-to-lovers" relationships and I think that it's weel written in this manga. The realization of the feeling, the jealousy, the fear of being alone, the grow up and start a new life... all of this is here, in this pages.
The passage from high school to university (aka: "real world") can be a scary thing, but with the right person beside "you" everything seems possible.

I like that the story develop in a "R18" manga only at the end of the story, but it's not too much explicit . The art style is one of my favorite: it is delicate and detailed.

Surely this BL manga is recommend for who is a fan of sports and story about lasting friendship.

Saki Tsukahara's Replay is about Yuta and Ritsu, two young men who grew up playing baseball together. They were inseparable until they both quit the sport and they started drifting apart. Yuta is now tested: Would he choose to play baseball or to reach out to his best friend and try to get into the same university as Ritsu?

So swoon-worthy! I haven't read manga for years before this, and Replay makes me want to get back to reading plenty of them.

I adore Yuta and Ritsu's relationship and how it blossomed into something more and beyond baseball, from confusing feelings beneath the surface to college choices. Although this was just one volume, their story was well and neatly developed. Nothing is needed to improve it, in my opinion, but it's so good that I need more of this couple!

I highly recommend this to anyone who enjoys young adult and/or new adult romance.

A lovely friends to lovers story.

Yuuta and Ritsu have played high school baseball together for many years. They are like an old married couple but change is coming. Ritsu wants to go to college and start afresh without playing baseball. Yuuta wants them to keep playing and keep being friends. Ritsu agrees with some of that and wants the two of them to go to the same university but he doesn't realise that his childhood friend is in love with him.

Two young men have to make the transition from boys to men without losing their love along the way and while facing down the challenges of exams and pressures along the way.

This is a lovely and gentle romantic story with good artwork too.

Copy provided in exchange for an unbiased review.

I actually really liked this! It's a surprisingly gentle friends-to-lovers story with very beautiful, delicate art -- a bit of a jealousy plotline but both characters acknowledge that they were being irrational, which is a nice touch. The baseball element isn't as prominent as I was expecting; it's more a story about the transition away from baseball into the "real" world (i.e. entrance exams and college) and redefining their relationship accordingly. Things stay PG-rated until almost the end, at which point the plot takes a definite turn for Mature Readers Only, but everything remains fully consensual! (I wish that I didn't feel the need to point that out, but the BL market being what it is...) Definitely a winner among the BL manga I've read in the past year or so.

This is the first time I read a gay sports book featuring baseball which seems odd considering the story opportunities and how well it worked here. I love the use of marriage as a metaphor for the battery, especially as it is used to enhance the couples relationship. There were definite coming-of-age elements that I thought would appeal to an older teen audience, and while there was sex it wasnt so graphic as to put many people off. Fun stuff.

I went into this feeling pretty ho-hum. I’m not a big sports manga person and baseball is my least favorite so I was like at least there are some hottie manga boys for me to fawn over.

AND FAWN OVER DID I.

This is a one shot and the chapters are innings. Cute!!

The characters are ex teammates at school and one is not as school oriented as the other. To get into a good college they must study hard as their future together literally depends on it.

This manga does not shy away from their feelings from one another and the end...oh, the end is breathtaking. in so many ways.

This was a short and sweet yaoi and I’m glad I had a chance to read it.

Thanks very much to the publisher and Netgalley for my ARC.

First of all, I want to say that this was outside of my comfort zone and therefore I was unsure how I would enjoy it.

I had a hard time to get into the story I just felt like I missed some of the information that were included in this graphic novel.

I would recomend this for people that enjoy the themes that are included in this book however it wasn't my cup of tea.

I've received an e-ARC by publisher through Netgalley in exchange for honest review

"I Thought... Things would never change. Until now. Something precious to me is changing."

Yuta's friend Ritsu has been drifting away lately. He's no longer interested in playing baseball since the last time they played together. He's shoving Yuta away and it's all making poor Yuta all the more confused to what is happening. Yuta tries to find the source to Ritsu avoiding not only him but their favorite sports, the reason they became friends in the first place.

Replay is pretty interesting Yaoi Manga. It tackles something pretty mundane, baseball, the relationship and friendship of two friends and the uncertain future that awaits them. One wants to move foreword and wants the other to join him while the other one wants things to stay as they were before. Saki Tsukahara written and drawn such a cute story full of emotions that truly will hit you as you flip these pages.

I highly recommend you give it a try :D

RePlay by Saki Tsukahara is a standalone yaoi/BL manga, that's being published in February 2020 by Tokyopop. It's focused on two ex-baseball high school players who share more than their passion for this sport. Tsukahara's art style is pretty unique and pleasant to look at. Compared to other yaois out there, this one is not only focused on relationship itself, but also on boys' future, their fears and their passion for the sport. I'm not a big fan of sport manga myself but I liked the way author's woven love for baseball into the story.

Yuuta still feels lingering for the baseball and can't believe it's really over. The only one who can truly understand him is Ritsu. Ritsu seems to be over that though and only looks towards the future in university. Both of them slowly realize love for baseball is not the only thing they share. Progress of their relationship is pretty slow (for my taste), but it doesn't mean it was bad. I was a little bit of confused about it halfway through though. As for the sex scenes, nothing graphic and only in the end.

You like sports and BL? Check RePlay out. It's more than that!

The story follows two students who grown up playing baseball together. Catcher is Mashiro Ritsu, and the pitcher is Mizuhara Yuuta. Both have been friends since many years. But if the exams and university comes near and they have to focus on studying. I liked the story, the artwork and the characters very much.

**I was provided an electronic ARC by the publisher through NetGalley in exchange for honest review.**


Replay by Saki Tsukahara is a manga-style graphic novel that follows two high school students who have grown up playing baseball together. Catcher, Mashiro Ritsu, and pitcher, Mizuhara Yuuta, have been best friends since third grade and have come upon college entrance exam time. As such, the thing that has held them together, baseball, has gone away and they have to focus on what college they would like to get into along with feelings potentially growing stronger than friendship.

This comes across as a standalone graphic novel, which does give you a limited amount of time to get to know the characters and gives Tsukahara a limited amount of time to develop plot. That being said, I very much enjoyed the artwork and the story, and felt that it came to a good resolution.

I would definitely recommend this graphic novel to anyone who is a fan of yaoi sports manga.