Uragiri wa Boku no Namae wo Shitteiru

Uragiri wa Boku no Namae wo Shitteiru is a funny and actually closer to shoujo rather than shounen-ai manga. Would I recommend to read it? Definitely, I love it. But if you are doing it because you expect Luka and Yuki to kiss, forget it. At least for now.

Uraboku manga covers two arcs so far: the first is the one on the anime (even though the meeting with Reiga, Elegy, Cadenza and Luze was quite different if you compare both versions) and the beginning of the second arc. (If you are confused to why an ongoing manga doesn't have much more 5 years after its anime, view note on the end of the review)

If you are here because you want to pick up after the anime, as I said on the last paragraph: the meeting with the bad guys is different (even in terms of personality traits, which is going to make you confused if you don't read the manga completely). I'd advice reading the manga on its whole to understand what is going on but if you don't want to, I can tell you the second arc starts on chapters 36/37.

I really love Odagiri Hotaru's art (even though there's a little problem with her artstyle: the limitation on character designs. For example: Hotsuma and Sairi look simillar and Yuki and Senshirou [without glasses] look the same). This fact alone may make you confused about who's talking sometimes. But her art is stunning and makes up anything.

The story has a few problems: I'm not sure whether it is a plothole or something Odagiri planned to explain later, however there are some things, mostly about Luka, that are really confusing if you're playing attention while reading the manga. Despite those small details, it is a good story indeed.

I am glad because there is some character development on this manga. In fact, Yuki (the main character) changes everybody around him a little. I believe the character with the less development is, in fact, the character you expected (and he claims) to have the most. (You'll understand who I mean if you read it)

The manga has several funny moments, for example, when dr. Fujihara is told that he needs to treat Luka and he smiles wide, cleans his table in 3 seconds and tells Luka to get his clothes off on the spot (and gladly, that was on the anime as well). The manga has many moments like that.

Sumary: Uraboku is a really good manga and I'd definetly recommend it.

Note: The manga has currently 54 chapters, however the manga isn't published in Japan for over a year (it used to come out near-regularly until 2012, then two chapters came out in 2013 and there were no chapters being released in 2014, nor it is known how many [if any] will be released this year). This is going on because, apparently, the mangaka has been having issues regarding her hands (and on a volume she explains it's something she always had), that's why Uraboku is like this. So if you want to read Uraboku, mind that it stops halfway.

I read it since 1-2 years ago, and still drawn on it ^.^ It's very good story I can said. You can feel excitment, happiness, cheerfulness, and even touching. Sou da yo! It happened to me when i read vol 4 (the scene Yuki found out the real Kanata), I cried for good. Yuki, kawaiso~ >< Even u can feel sorry for the main protagonist hiks :(

Why most people said its genre is shounen-ai? yes I admit I got the manga from yaoi site, but from my point of view, it had less 'shonen-ai' scene. More like shoujo-manga type I might said. Main plot is about reincarnation of the heroes, including 2 main charas. In previous life, they were normal lovers; handsome akuma & beautiful woman. But in the present life, the woman reincarnated as bishounen and doesn't remember about his previous life... while the man still the same and still fate & loves his love. Well maybe that is the main reason. A little tragic, but i personally hope Yuki will regain his memories bout Luca *ahahah i actually like this kind of genre too. Gomen ne

EDIT: Just like i pressume, the story's plot's getting better. They even add some new outstanding characters that looks like have some connections with Yuki's past life he can't remember...sme member of Luca's family and another new Zweilts guardian. Bravo! I can't wait to read the new chapter hehee

To add onto the already existing reviews, you honestly cannot go wrong with this story. You fall in love with all the characters, my FAVORITE being Tachibana & Sodom. :3 I would not put this one aside even with the shounen-ai tag. This is more comrade-ship type, similar to 07 Ghost. No yaoi/boy love at all. I mean sure the dialogue may imply it, but I didn't get that vibe what-so-ever. The art is amazing, the story progresses so smoothly though I did have some confusion more towards the last volume as to how it suddenly developed midway, the characters are so fun, & more!! It's just a phenomenal story. Due to health issues sadly, our mangaka has left it as an open-ended story that is to be continued at a later time when it's right :) so I pray for her safe recovery! I enjoy all the extras & the mangaka notes & fan corners in the manga xD. I highly encourage yall to get the hard copy in case ya wanna send a letter to our mangaka via a library.

I loved the manga I just had to buy the full set.

The manga had a good plotline happening. It's different from your typical action thriller mangas where this story is connected to past lives while also trying to move forward in their current life. I loved the characters, almost all the characters introduced have their own backstory while some are still left in mystery. I loved the relationships these characters have with each other and that they are paired together. I don't even care that there are male-male relationships. It's not yaoi but more like shounen-ai. You just squeal at every little interaction. You can see how much the characters love each other and how far they would go for each other so a strong friendship bond can be mistaken as love.

I am disappointed that the manga ended earlier than it should be. I felt like the manga could have continued for like 5 more volumes. But it can't be helped when all this much work for such a great manga takes a lot of toil for the author. She did take a long hiatus and managed to make a comeback to finish this manga the best she can instead of just leaving it incomplete indefinitely.

In saying that, I kind of felt disappointed how some characters arc never got developed because it only got interesting just as the manga ended. While some characters did have an interesting and unexpected development, it just never had the chance to be explored but the abrupt ending. Again, I'm not going to blame the poor author who had to battle her illness while trying to finish this manga so she could focus on getting better.

The ending was left ambiguous with more questions than answers. A cliffhanger really. I was really looking forward to learning more about Luka's back story with his former master and I actually thought the guy was going to make an appearance. This is only possible if the author had the capability to continue further than the ending we got.

I'm more sad than disappointed about the ending but I also respect the author's decision to bring it to an end. She's been very ill for a long time and tried to battle it while working on the manga at the same time but it just got worse for her. She went on a really long hiatus and probably thought she can't do this to her readers any longer and thought it was best to bring it to an end - maybe not the best ending we all hope for - but it's better than leaving it incomplete forever.
Overall, I give this manga a 9 out of 10 because I did enjoy it. I loved the story. I loved the art and I loved the characters. I gave it an extra point for her efforts to complete during a difficult time. It's not a 10 out of 10 because of the ending.

I do recommend this if you don't mind an ambiguous ending. It's ambiguous but it's not a bad ending.

The way you end a story can either make it or break it. The Betrayal Knows My Name? It broke it. Well... kind of?
Now, hear me out or rather let me break it down to you. The plot of the story isn't really anything special. You probably read something like this already, but i nonetheless enjoyed it. The art style is also quite the standard for it's genre and the era the manga started in. I liked some of the character's designs, and some I disliked (ahem, Luka, looking at you - tho 12 y/o me would probably droll over you), but the art itself really is nicely drawn.
Now, what I liked most were the characters themselves. They feel fleshed-out and they do have quite a lot of character development. While it sometimes feels a bit crowded with all the new people entering the story, i feel like the author managed to strike an overall pleasing balance.
Aaaand then we get to the ending. To my understanding, the author took a long hiatus before finishing the manga and I gotta give them kudos to that - it's tough going back to finish something you no longer have the energy to do. And I'm glad they came back, the story didn't just drop in the middle of an extremely important scene or something like that, but it really does end abruptly - there is no way around that fact.
This is sadly something that i absolutely hate. Maybe not hate, dislike would be a bit better. I don't hate that the author didn't get to finish the whole plot/manga, but an unfinished story just leaves this empty feeling behind - "What happened then? Do they live? Was the betrayal real? Did they lie? What happened to the cycle? What the actual frickity frick?"
The series would be a solid 8 or even 9 if it weren't like for the ending. Because I don't think i would have read the story, if i had known it would end like this. I almost gave it a 6 even, but i would be lying if i said i did not enjoy the story still.
My advice? If you're not bothered too much by an unfinished story, do it - read the manga. It really is great. But if you can't handle not knowing (like i do), maybe look for an another one.
(p.s. - just saw the MAL genres for this manga and i'm sorry to disappoint, but there is no shounen ai)

Demons! Dragons! Swords! Reincarnation! Supernatural abilities! Mystery! Gorgeous characters! What's not to love?

It's always baffled me how this manga seems so vastly overlooked, but I suppose the severe decline in updates over the past few years hasn't helped. And then there are people who go "ew, hints of homosexuality, ew," and, like, your loss for being so immature that you still care about the genders of people who love each other. The relationships here are beautiful and deep, whether they are platonic or romantic.

The story begins with the young boy Yuki, who's living in an orphanage and trying his best to not be a burden to anyone--which proves difficult as some curious supernatural abilities of his get harder and harder to hide. And then he's introduced to the Zweilt, who claim to also have supernatural abilities and the means to help him control his. Turns out the Zweilt, along with Yuki, are all reincarnated soldiers in a centuries-long war against a mysterious figure called Reiga and the demons he summons to Earth. And while the other Zweilt remember their past lives, Yuki seems to have lost all memories of the demons, his comrades, and a man called Zess who seems determined to protect Yuki.

To say much more about the characters or the story would give away too much. But watching the story unfold and slowly introduce the puzzle pieces of why Yuki lost his memories, what past lives were like for the Zweilt, and why Reiga wants to destroy humanity is a tortuous yet delicious treat. Tortuous because it is rather slow--and more painfully slow due to the mangaka's long, frequent hiatuses. But I love the mystery of it.

There's a rather large cast of characters, each of them with distinct and well-rounded personalities, some that complement each other, some that clash. There are really interesting dynamics between all the members of the Zweilt: some are like family, some are like lovers, and some are like enemies, but there is still mystery surrounding why these characters don't necessarily get along. It's actually really refreshing to have some animosity; usually large casts are depicted as all being bffs, but it's more realistic to include some tension and recognize that a large group of people who are thrown together are not necessarily all going to get along.

The general plot does move very slowly, but there's usually some new hint introduced frequently enough to keep you hooked. And there are many more storylines threaded throughout to help give you the full scope of Zweilt abilities and relationships, their roles in the real world and the demon world, and to just give you some humor amidst all the drama. (And I LOVE the humor of this mangaka--there's more than you'd initially expect from such a dark story, but it never feels out of place and it's so genuinely hilarious and adorable.)

It's a pity the mangaka has health issues (it's hard to get news, but I believe she has some hand troubles?) so updates are few and far between, but this manga absolutely deserves more love and attention. Great characters with amazing dynamics, beautiful art, a really unique and intriguing plot, and a lot of bad*ss supernatural elements. If that doesn't sound appealing to you......well, that's a shame......but if it does, don't pass this one over!