New York New York

Its a very heart warming story. I really enjoyed reading it. I actually cried at the end.
Its about the story of a police man hiding his real self as a gay from all his colleagues, friends and family, and a very vulnerable but kind-hearted guy with a dark past. I remember reading how many times Kain Walker told his meeting with Mel Fredericks is a destiny.
I really thought nothing much about this story but it turned out very good. I really recommend this story. I love it!

First things first, if you do not like BL or aren't even interested in it or perhaps have not given it a chance, don't let this turn you away!!! If you're in for one of those dramatic, psychological trips then this is for you. A big trigger warning to those who are affected by some minor gore, self-mutilation, bigotry and sexual/phsyical abuse though.

I read a lot of BL/Yaoi manga, and by far this one was incredibly touching and realistic to me. It's quite rare to find a realistic Yaoi that covers a lot of the true struggles of being a homosexual. What's interesting about this one is that they decided to take the setting to an American state, New York. As a youth, I often find it difficult to get into manga that are made in the 90s, and it starts of incredibly cheesy. However, once you get past that the story just takes you in full blast and you're left wanting to read more, and more.

CHARACTERS: 8
ART: 9
The characters are incredibly varied and it may be easy to find the main guy (Kain Walker) to be incredibly rude and unrelatable. However, to truly accept him you have to have an open mind and to realize that the setting is in 90s New York, and this guy is a cop that is going through a whole lot of internal struggle. Aside from the main character, the supporting characters are still very much dynamic and go through their own development alongside the main characters'.

The art can be a little difficult to adjust because it IS again, a manga from the 90s. However, looking at it objectively, the details put in to this manga are freaking out of this world. It is like you're in New York, it is like you're running up along the east coast of America. The manga-ka does an exceptional job in adding a lot of emotion in to their work even through the background details.

STORY: 10/10
Alright, without spoiling too much, this story covers a lot of the culture that is going on in New York at the time: STDs, the new and upcoming rights of homosexuals and transsexuals, crimes and murders, dysfunctional families (and seemingly functional ones but aren't so perfect after all) and a whole lot of psychological stuff.

All in all, I've only read a handful of BL that covers the lives of gay couples in such a raw way. [SPOILER sort of] I especially do like how the story covers their whole life from their meet-up to the end, oh man I honestly have only read around three BL that do this and cover it spectacularly [SPOILER end]

Highly recommended to those who wish to read some manga who are in for a novel type of set-up. Most certainly the story's development is something you do not want to miss :)

Well, I just finished bingeing this manga, and I would have to say this is one of the best yaoi/shounen ai manga I have ever read.

Story (9):

Most yaoi manga I have read are pretty cliched when it comes to the story. If you take the basic premise, it's not that original. But original stories are hard to write and I think this one grabs the reader's attention by the way it tells the story. It may be a love at first sight kind of thing, but there's so much more to this story. It brings up many issues in the gay community, HIV/AIDS, cheating, abuse, acceptance, etc. etc. Neither was I alive during the period of American history where people were blatantly less tolerant of gays nor do I identify with the LGBT community, but this story shows a lot about that side of life and those who accept and those who do not and I'm glad I got to see some form of it even if it's not super accurate.

This story did have a lot of drama in it and sometimes I felt it was too much and I often went, "Oh my god, really?", so that's why I didn't give a 10, but overall, it was nicely done.

Art (6):

I typically stay away from this kind of art, especially in yaoi manga since I just don't like it that much. I was able to get past it most of the time and read the story. There were times where it wasn't that nice or it looked weird, but the story made up for it. Overall, this art style is not my cup of tea, so 6.

Character (8):

The characters were overall very strong in this story and I love the couple (although there were multiple times where I was so mad at Kain and wanted to punch him. Dear god he was aggravating, but overtime it got better). Mel is just so sweet and I love him dearly for being able to be the kind of person he was despite all the shit he'd been through. The side characters were good and memorable too, and I appreciated that a lot. There's a lot of stories where no one else but the two main characters are relevant.

Enjoyment (10):

I thoroughly enjoyed this story despite the high amounts of drama and Kain being an ass (seriously) and I cried a couple times. I read it quite fast since it was fast paced and kept me on my toes. I think I'd read it again at some point. I loved how the story didn't just end after they got together (Is that a spoiler? It's a yaoi, come on guys, what do you expect?) and went through their whole life.

So overall 9 for this one. It's not perfect and the art could be better, but I just loved this story so much. New York New York is definitely a favorite of mine now and I'm so glad I found it! Would recommend!

Personally this is my favorite shounen ai manga ever. I mean it ties so much In One story. Honestly I can't really put it into words very well. Cause no matter how I write it , it doesn't put it to Justice. I think my favorite this about this manga is the loyalty, love, and forgiveness between Mel and Kain. They never gave up on each other even when it was painful and looked hopeless. They kept going. The author did a beautiful job with this story. I seriously can't praise this manga enough. If you haven't read this story I highly Recommend you do. I think you will be touched with the story about Kain and Mel like I was. Read it. This story is amazing.

This has got to be one of the most realistic manga's I have ever read.

I am not very much of a yaoi fan at all, but I am quite the fan of FAKE. I found this on the recommendations list and I thought, why not? Man am I glad I took a look.

This story is vividly realistic. It shows powerful insight on the life of struggling gays and really proves the authors knowledge on the subject. It makes a strong connection to the reader and really makes you feel compassion for their struggles. It covers cheating, rape, death, HIV/AIDS, coming out, and so much more. The past that is given to Mel is deep and really grabs the reader.

Describing the characters is a bit difficult. Although I think the main romance is a very...well childish, it develops into a relationship the readers will be hooked on. It's steamy, jealous, passionate, sweet, intense, and full of the drama we all love to see!

All in all, I highly recommend this story! Especially if you yourself are a struggling gay or can relate!

I wasn't expecting much when I started this manga but it ended up surprising me. It tells the story of two men falling in love in New York. One is a cop and the other is a vulnerable young man with a troubled past. They face a lot of difficulties throughout the whole story that made me want to cry. Overall it was very touching and quite enjoyable.

Honestly, I'm surprised New York New York doesn't have a higher viewership. It's a solidly good realistic-type bl manga, but being quite old (published in 1994) and having an art style that can get some getting used to probably causes its under-the-radar status.

It is an enjoyable story that is easy to read and has a happy ending, despite the difficulties along the way, especially so in the beginning where Kain acts like a super bitch. This is where he gets his title of a "very unlikeable main character" but he changes significantly towards the ending for the better.

The story has its fair share of angst and sweet moments, but never gets too emotional. For some reason, I didn't feel very emtionally connected to the couple's relationship. There is a bit of distance between the characters and the reader. Despite that, I still enjoyed reading it because of these points:

1. The story followed through the time they met to their old age and death, something I really enjoy reading in bl manga.

2. The realistic style it had; it covered issues from prejudice against gays, the difficult process of getting the parents' blessings, the fear of coming out as a homosexual, child adoption and gay parenting, etc.

3. The 'love at first sight' encounter and the pure love Kain and Mel had for each other was pleasant to read about.

Overall, it's a good title to pick up if you're in the mood for a more realistic bl story. The art can be iffy to some, I wouldn't say I really liked it (in fact it turned me off the first time I tried reading it, I only completed the manga on my second try) but it's not bad; just different from what most readers are used to.

Initially I intended to abandon this manga because of my first impression of the characters during the first few chapters being that they(Mel and Kain) seemed too flat and I grew gradually indifferent towards Kain's impulsive and irrational character. HOWEVER, as I gave it more patience and understanding Ragawa has somehow showed time and again the blissful feeling of having someone beside you through the rough times. The journey of Kain and Mel's romance is a thrilling story in which they endeavor through tragedy and despair in the big city of New York. This manga also deals with the struggle with same-sex relationships as well as the hardships with coming out to your family and friends. Even as the couple face many challenges in their relationship, the concept of love being unbound is brought up again over and over. The characters are definitely dynamic and the storyline and dialogue are realistic like none other. New York New York has enlightened me about other types of manga; how not every relationship is pure at the start and even certain things like infidelity are repetitive in relationships. This is a must read and I will regard this as my favorite manga so far.

I really like this manga. It's really good, exploring the hardships homosexuals (mainly.gays) face. Yet, it was very sweet, bitter.

I really love Mel.I don't usually like most of the ukes in Shounen-ai/yaoi mangas. Sometimes, I found him a bit too forgiving and bit unrealistic as how kind hearted he was. On the other side, I kind of disliked Kain until the end of the manga. He was cheating on Mel.

The art is a bit ugly. But I got used to it.