A Love Song for the Miserable

by Yukimura

Akida is truly miserable. After three years, he's been reunited with Nao, who has succeeded as a patisserie and is now a formindable rival at Akida's department store. In the past, Akida's cold anger turned into love. But Nao doesn't know that...

• Format: Paperback
• Language: English
• ISBN: 1569707189
• ISBN13: 9781569707180
• Release Date: June 2008
• Publisher: Digital Manga Publishing
• Length: 200 Pages
• Weight: 0.60 lbs.
• Dimensions: 0.6" x 6.1" x 8.2"
• Age Range: 18 years and up
• Grade Range: Postsecondary and higher

Customer Reviews

I would give it 4.5 stars if I could but...

Yukimura is quickly becoming a favorite mangaka. I love the way the characters are drawn, though admittedly sometimes their faces are out of proportion. In other words their eyes are too far up their head, aka "short forehead syndrome". But it's a small flaw and easy to overlook. It's a very enjoyable drawing style overall and well done with good proportions. The men are gangly but not overly feminine, always a bonus. I don't think Love Song has the best art I've seen from Yukimura but it's still pretty good. The story is also pretty good. I had mixed emotions about the story running through the entire book. On one hand, I prefer the longer story and the pacing. On the other hand, I do enjoy getting a short and sweet (or sometimes short and hot) story at the end of my book. It adds a bit of punch. Decide for yourself on that one. A Love Song For The Miserable is the sweet/angsty story of Asada the businessman. One night he gets drunk, ends up in a bush, and is rescued by Nao a sweet young would-be baker. The miserable Asada forms a friendly partnership with Nao and ends up taste testing all of his newest sweets. Before he knows it, Asada is in love and Nao announces that he's leaving to study in France for three years. What is a miserable guy to do? Why, make himself even more miserable by alienating the man he loves. Because, Asada reasons, Nao would surely reject or even hate him if he were to find out. It's supposed to be a clean break but this is a romance so of course they'll meet again. What follows is a sweet, believable buildup of love as the two men realize that they have feelings for each other. I did miss some of the humor that Yukimura tends to inject into stories. Love Song had some funny moments but they were a bit sparse compared to other books I've read. Considering the subject though, I guess it makes sense. Funny or not, the story was still pretty sweet and entertaining and I'm glad I bought it. Yukimura has a knack for making unsympathetic characters seem interesting and charming. Because honestly, in the wrong hands I think Asada could have been a lot less likeable. Yukimura deserves to get more translations. I'm holding out hope that Rush (a high school tough guy romance) and Tennen & Gokuraku Mahoutsukai (businessman and wizard romantic comedy) will be translated soon. I highly recommend them. Especially the latter.

Inexplicably charming - a favorite

Akida, a rising department-store executive, falls for cute patisserie Nao (but doesn't realize it until too late), and is terribly hurt when Nao goes off to France to train. The title is dead-on: Akida is, in fact, pretty damn miserable for most of the book. The position in events planning he fought so hard to get is being cut and he's going to be transferred to another department, and Nao (who was, in turn, terribly hurt by Akida's reaction) won't even speak to him when he gets back. The event planning department's last task is arranging the store's annual food fair; Akida decides that he must have the now-famous Nao's pastries for the event, and he's determined to persuade Nao to agree. I love this book to pieces for reasons I cannot adequately explain. It's your basic "guy meets guy, guy loses guy, guy spends 150 pages being insecure and weepy about it, guy gets guy back" plot, but Yukimura's spare, angular art; gangly shy guys with their wide, expressive mouths; gentle emotive writing; and sweet romance (once they patch everything up) make it a standout. As a plus, everyone's a bona-fide grownup with a real job and a real life, and there's no bad behavior (aside from a couple of counts of "hurtful things said under the influence of a broken heart"); the uke-in-pursuit-of-seme plot also makes a nice change. The book doesn't really rate the "explicit content" warning; the one sex scene at the very end is entirely nonexplicit and mainly an excuse for adorably shmoopy dialogue. It's still an entirely enjoyable read.

A convincing romance.

The artwork is not the best. But I enjoy the 2 characters and their evolving love. I like the sensitive and insecure Asada, a workholic who tries so hard to succeed. The much younger Nao, a pastry connoisseur, is equally likable. Misunderstandings, Asaka's fear of rejection and Nao's naivety keep the lovers apart for 3 years. When they meet again, it is fun to read of their slow acknowledgement and acceptance. Once Nao understands his own feelings, there is no turning back for this seme. A strange title but Asada is a pretty miserable character but he has my full sympathy. And Nao's declaration of love with his delicious creation is sweet.