I was a bit disappointed with this manga. The story felt very disjointed and the relationship progression didn't feel natural. There should also be a content warning in the description as there were a few very graphic scenes.

Edako Mofumofu’s There Are Things I Can’t Tell You is a good boy love graphic novel with nice art and a simple but heartfelt storyline. I liked this moving book but I wish the plot and characters were less generic and more memorable.

Kasumi and Kyousuke have been best friends since elementary school. The two are vastly different in personality: Kasumi is quiet and shy while Kyousuke is popular and outgoing. However, as they transition from school days to adulthood, the two must navigate their changing relationship and come to terms with things that they struggle to express out loud.

The realistic plot is well-paced with ample angst, painful miscommunication, and sweet fluffy moments. It is very painful but authentically moving to watch Kyousuke and Kasumi struggle with their sexualities, various societal expectations, and romantic feelings for each other. I really enjoyed their complicated and angsty but ultimately sweet relationship. I also like the satisfying and lovely ending. I really think it fits the characters and their story. I also like the soft and expressive art. Kyousuke and Kasumi are nicely and distinctly rendered as both adults and children.

However, I do think the overall plot is a bit generic. I’ve seen this same storyline many times before and Mofumofu doesn’t really offer anything new or memorable. I also wish the story was a little less repetitive and had some more action. Furthermore, the storytelling is disjointed at times with jarring transitions. Sometimes, I had trouble differentiating between flashbacks and the current timeline. I also had trouble figuring out who was speaking.

Kyousuke and Kasumi are interestingly flawed and authentic characters. Their backstories, especially in relation to their families and how they deal with their sexualities, are realistic and poignant. However, I wish that they were a little more unique and memorable. I feel like I’ve seen very similar characters in many other stories. I also wish Kasumi’s character was a little more developed because I feel like I know much less about him in comparison with Kyousuke. I also wish the book had spent less time on Kyousuke’s daily worklife.

There Are Things I Can’t Tell You is a solid and poignant graphic novel. I liked this moving and realistic book but I really wish the characters and plot were more unique. Edako Mofumofu is promising and I will definitely check out more of their work.




🗣️ 🗣️ 🗣️ ½ out of 5 speaking emojis!

There Are Things I Can't Tell You is a story about two childhood friends who spend a lot of time together, but each are harboring a crush on the other. Kasumi is quiet, awkward and clumsy but due to popular Kyousuke's friendship, they grow and blossom together.

I really appreciated how this novel presented internalized homophobia as a barrier to the relationship. Growing up, Kyousuke had heard how being gay was wrong, and so he took that in and tried to stay on what felt like the "right" path to him, which included being heterosexual. Kasumi also had to get over childhood trauma of feeling unloved and unwanted. This novel really addressed these topics, which isn't something I've seen a lot of in queer manga and would like to see more of in the future. I wish it would have gone into a bit more depth and unpacked it a bit more, basically had the main characters sit down and have a talk about it, I think that would have shown growth in both the characters and their relationship.

Overall, this manga was considerate, sexy, and full of heart. I'm happy I read it and will be looking out for more by this author!

“I love him. I love him. But...but I can’t”

This story is a quick stroll through A relationship built on years of mutual pining. In an afternoon, you can read through years of misunderstandings despite a deeply close friendship. It features two best friends who desperately in love, though each is convinced that their adoration is unrequited.

Full of adorable domesticity and maddening miscommunication, this love story is a perfect look into a messy but devoted friendship that becomes something more.

Warnings for internalized homophobia and homophobic parental figures.

I am thankful to NetGalley and the publisher for letting me read this!

I was excited to read this yaoi manga as it's been a few months since I last read one and this didn't disappoint. The themes of mental illness, abuse and homophobia act as conflict and are well represented. Seeing Kasumi and Kyousuke deal with the changes in their relationship was endearing and at times sad. This does have sexual content, so I wouldn't recommend this for children. All in all this was a cute and quick read.

Arc copy provided by NetGalley for honest review.

I really enjoyed this manga. I was looking for a manga to read on NetGalley and I was immediately attracted to this one. The cover is just so pretty. I like how the story was about internalised homophobia as it changes from the usual. The characters were quite loveable and very well drawn. I loved the graphism. This kind of love story is really my favourite as they loved each other from a long time ago and finally met again when they were more ready to act. It was really nice to see how they evolved and how their opinion of homosexual romance evolved too.
The story could have been even better if we had seen more about Kasumi’s problem and life and not just about Kyousuke. A little more depth would have been appreciated.

<i>Thank you to Diamond Book Distributors for providing me with an eARC of this graphic novel via NetGalley in exchange for an honest review.</i>

4.5 stars

My heaaarrttttt!!! I am not crying; you're crying 😭😭😭

This poignant love story between Kyousuke and Kasumi will leave you wading in a puddle of your own tears. It is tender and sweet with the happiest of endings. Beware that the are some sexually graphic scenes, but it is all consensual and beautifully done. A great little standalone romance with amazing art!

I saw this manga on Netgalley and immediately requested it.
The cover art looked beautiful and the title definitely sounded intriguing.

I really loved the fact that this manga takes you on such a journey with so much emotional twists and turns as you figure out how the characters (Kasumi and Kyousuke) grew up, what issues they are dealing with and how you also get to see both sides of the story, how they view each other and, even though the manga is surprisingly short also shows how to they grow towards each other and the complications of falling in love with one another when life and all of their struggles get in the way.

Oh and the MUTUAL PINING, it was so good! I loved the fact that they were both already adults as well, since a lot of the LGBT+ mangas that I’ve read are about high schoolers, so this was quite refreshing. I also loved the fact that we got to see Kyousuke at work, I mean I loved to read about his designs. There were also a lot of mental health struggles that I could relate to.

One thing that I do have to point out is that sometimes the shift between flashback and present was a bit blurry. So I sometimes had to go back and reread, because it wasn’t always clear to see where on the timeline I was.
However it didn’t bother me enough to put the book down

Overall it’s a cute and angsty LGBT+ manga with heavy themes about childhood friends turning into lovers all the while learning to love and letting themselves be loved.

This manga has been great! I just wanted to get started a bit and maybe finish in the next couple days, but it was so good I couldn't stop reading.
The story is intriguing, very angsty, but also has just the right amount of fluff so that it doesn't get to overwhelming. The characters are well fleshed out and the romance takes a good time to develop. I'm only not giving it five stars, cause miscommunication isn't really a trope I enjoy and there is loads of that in here.
I'm still totally gonna buy a copy of this one for my collection and would recommend it to anyone who's interested in these types of manga.
The art is also beautiful and works well with the story. Just overall a great manga.

"There Are Things I Can't Tell You" tells the story of Kasumi and Kyousuke, who have been friends since their school years. They lost contact for a while, but then, some years later, meet again and rekindle their friendship. And now are very close, Kyousuke caring for the loveless relationship Kasumi is in, and Kasumi also caring for his friend's job and feelings.

This book is a love story, a beautiful one, that doesn't hide that love is what we are looking for here, but more than love, how people express their feelings about it, how we can help others about it or what is needed to understand what other people want, even if they can't put their feelings into words. It is a romance book but without the many pointless side quests many of these books or comics use to have. It is well grounded, with nice touches of humor but not of the over-the-top kind, and with clearly and nicely depicted backgrounds and motivations for its characters. There is too much drama for my taste, though, probably trying to stretch the story a little bit.

The characters are a bit stereotypical, the shy one, and the strong, charming one, but Mofumofu does a great job in making the reader empathize with them. From the very beginning we will start to care about their feelings, about their failures, and to desire that their lives are happy and fulfilling.

The art is also beautiful. Mofumofu has created not particularly original but greatly drawn, and very expressive, characters which helps in bringing their feelings, fears and desires to the reader. But it is not only the humans, everything is of good quality. It should be noted that it is a little bit too graphic in a couple of moments.

Sweet and poignant. Totally worth it.

This was a cute, angst filled, friends to lovers romance and I enjoyed it. The only thing I didn't enjoy was the sex scenes because they were a little too graphic for my tastes.

2.75/5 stars Overall it was fine. I'm a sucker for an LGBTQ+ relationship, but if it was heterosexual I really wouldn't have liked it. It's pretty boring and I'm not a fan of the black and white art style. I'm not used to Manga, so if that's what it's usually like then never mind, but I just found it very lack luster.

Manga is admittedly my least read genre. Maybe a handful including this one over the course how many years I've been reading. There Are Things I Can't Tell You< was short compared to my usual novel length fiction books but oh my bookness it was amazing.

Kasumi and Kyousuke have been friends since elementary school, the story goes back and forth with flashbacks to tell their story. There's a lot of internalized homophobia, a lot of abuse from parents and the mentality of "I must stay away from him for his own good" which I hate with a passion but in this case, it stems from years of being bullied and abused... this was angsty AF.

"If I’m going to share my life with anyone… I wish I could be with someone who really loves me."

The images were just beautiful, so much that it genuinely made me wonder why I don't read of this, they were just stunning down to the details, amazing work!

This was a cute manga, very angsty and full of mutual pining and miscommunication. I feel like the story flowed strangely for me because there's so many flashbacks interspersed and at times I felt like the characters would shift so quickly in their emotions and things weren't making sense in the middle. Overall it was a cute read about two flawed, angsty dudes and their journey towards each other but it didn't wow me like I was hoping it would.

3.5 Stars - The story itself isn't something necessarily new to manga (Yaoi especially), but Yaoi fans will embrace this wholeheartedly as it tugs at the heartstrings and carefully paced to provide the greatest impact possible. Also the artwork is absolutely beautiful!

There are Things I Can’t tell you, was a quick read, that features the story of Kasumi and Kyousuke- both friends since childhood and both deeply in love with each other.
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While I wasn’t a fan of the missed communication- seriously these guys would have saved themselves YEARS of pain if they JUST TALKED- honestly men! I truthfully enjoyed everything else about this manga. The artwork was INCREDIBLE. All the details in the panel, it was wonderful. I loved both of the main characters, I appreciated their flaws and I love that Kasumi is bisexual. In such a short amount of the time the author manages to craft a love story that developed for years, and explores both internalised homophobia and mental illness.
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There are Things I Can’t tell you will definitely break your heart but the beautiful ending will put it back together. I loved this and I highly recommend.

This manga was so adorable! It was the story of two best friends who fell in love with each other and didn't want the other to know. It showed how love can make someone stronger or a coward when it comes to facing it. Recommend this manga to everyone!!

This is my first Boys Love manga/graphic novel, and I must say, I really liked it. Kasumi and Kyousuke are two Japanese men who met in grade school. Kasumi comes from a home of loneliness and neglect, and he's withdrawn as a result. Kyousuke is a popular and active kid whose excellence in drawing and design is denigrated by his father, an accomplished graphic designer. They both have wounds, and each is glad to make the acquaintance of the other in school.

Once they graduate they drift apart, however. Kasumi doesn't know why, and it leads him into unsatisfactory relationships. Kyousuke was a child when he recognized his unnatural attraction to men, and he's long since internalized his father's homophobia. He doesn't want to ruin Kasumi's life by latching onto him like a pervert, so he pulls back, thinking it will set Kasumi up for finding the "right" (heterosexual) path. Learning his absence has hurt Kasumi is a big turning point for Kyousuke--and amends are made.

The art was evocative and approachable with little touches of body humor. It's was realistic, not representational, and the sexytimes were not shy. I had no trouble feeling in the moment with these characters, whether the scenes were mundane or intimate. Kasumi is the dark-haired one in glasses, and Kyousuke has light hair. Their opposite looks mirror their opposite temperment, with Kasumi hiding behind his hair and glasses, while Kyousuke is only satisfied when he's winning attention. He works hard for the right kind of attention, and Kasumi idolizes him, loves him, because Kyousuke was the only person in his life who really cared if he lived or died.

Their struggles as a couple are dramatically rendered, and adequately resolved. At least between them. I didn't see any public acknowledgement of their love, but that may be normal and excepted both culturally and within this format.

There Are Things I Can't Tell You by Edako Mofumofu is currently scheduled for release on July 21 2020. Kasumi and Kyousuke are polar opposites when it comes to personality. Kasumi is reserved, soft-spoken and shy; Kyousuke is energetic and has always been popular among their peers. As the saying goes though, opposites have a tendency to attract, and these two have been fast friends since elementary school. To Kasumi, Kyousuke has always been a hero to look up to, someone who supports him and saves him from the bullies. But now, school is over; their relationship suddenly becomes a lot less simple to describe. Facing the world - and one another - as adults, both men find there are things they struggle to say out loud, even to each other.

There Are Things I Can't Tell You is a friends to more romance in manga format. I found the slow reveal of each character's feelings, and the way they struggle with their own self esteem and attraction to each other is very well done. I also liked the secondary characters and the way the story unfolded. Kasumi is shy, clumsy, and down on himself for the most part. Kyousuke seems to be outgoing and confident, but he is just as insecure as everyone else- he just hides it behind trying harder to be perfect and staying on what he thinks is the right path. Finding their happy ever after is hard, and most of the obstacles are their own perceptions of happiness and their ideas about societal views of right and wrong. The artwork is very well done, and adds emotion and detail to the story. I will warn readers that this is a romance and there are some sex scenes, which could get awkward if you are reading in public or have someone sneaking peeks at what you are reading. The illustrated format makes them a bit more obvious, so just be aware.

This book looked super cute and the cover is gorgeous. The cover drew me in and then the fact that the main romance was LGBTQ+ representative hooked me. Sadly, the love for this book ended at the cover. Cons: The characters were unrealistically paired in my opinion, the intimate scenes were very graphic and unrealistic when trying to picture the noises, the ideal is outdated which I think counters the LGBTQ+ representation and there was entirely too much back and forth and unnecessary drama that could have been avoided with some communication and honesty. Pros: The art was simple but nice though I would have preferred more color. The book read quick, though and I did like the determination that one character showed. I also appreciate that there wasn't a "fluffy", unrealistic ending; meaning he didn't get everything he wanted in both career and love. I don't think I would reread this graphic novel.