Only Serious About You Vol. 1
A sweet and sincere yaoi romance

Oosawa doesn’t have time to think about love or marriage. He works full-time at a restaurant and is also a single parent taking care of a kindergarten-aged daughter. His wife walked out on him and Oosawa’s top priority is making sure his daughter Chizu is okay.

At the restaurant, Yoshi is a regular costumer and seems to be nothing more than a flirtatious Lothario. He keeps hitting on Oosawa, no matter how many times Oosawa insists he’s not gay (riiight).  

Yoshi becomes a much more serious character after Oosawa gets a phone call from Chizu’s daycare telling him that she’s sick. Yoshi not only transports the two of them to the doctor (so that carless Oosawa doesn’t have to bike there), but he offers to let them stay in his apartment. His apartment is right by the restaurant, so it’ll be easy for Oosawa to hop back and forth, both checking on his daughter periodically and getting his work done.

Oosawa is bewildered but touched by all this help. Before long he catches Chizu’s illness, and now Yoshi is taking care of father and daughter. Now and then his flirtatious side returns, but mostly he’s nothing but helpful. As the book develops, we get to see another side of his man, including his insecurities. He says he’s lonely in his big apartment and would like it if Oosawa and Chizu stay for good. 

But new problems are on the horizon. Oosawa’s ex-wife returns and wants full custody of Chizu. By this time readers have seen what a dedicated father Oosawa is and are sure to be on his side. However, the volume ends before the custody situation is figured out, so you have to read the sequel… and if you’re like me, you’ll want to read it.

I really liked Only Serious About You. The story is simple but solid. It’s purely a relationship story; not the kind of yaoi where two men fall in love “just because” and then go immediately to bed. Oosawa, Yoshi, and Chizu are endearing, thoroughly likable personalities. There are a few generic moments that pop up (like Yoshi’s sad past or Oosawa’s silly insistence that he’s not gay). But that’s nothing compared to all the good moments of this manga. It’s not fast-paced, and yet it has no problem sucking the reader in. By the end of the volume I was immersed in the story and I want to know what will happen to these characters. 

Publisher: Digital Manga
Story & Art: Asou Kai