You’re All Mine Tonight Review

Kanzaki, a businessman, has just returned to Japan after spending five years working in Malaysia. Before he left, he was briefly in a passionate relationship with a young male sex worker called Nagi – but he’s never been able to forget him. He even still wears a ring Nagi gave him. Back at the main office, he meets a new member of his team called Nagisa Futagami and realizes that he’s one and the same as his old love, even if his hair is no longer blond. But when they’re alone and Kanzaki reaches out, Futagami reacts angrily and defensively, saying, “If you tell anyone… about my past… I’ll make you pay for it!” Devastated by this rejection, Kanzaki finds himself realizing: It’s like I’ve been left alone in the past…all by myself.

Kanzaki is not one to give up so easily – and manages to encourage Futagami to talk a little about what led him to give up sex work and become a salaryman. He even gives him back his ring. But their conversation is interrupted when Futagami gets a personal call; it’s Aoi, the man he’s living with, who’s come to collect him. Kanzaki realizes that Futagami has moved on and shakes his hand, telling him, “I’ll continue to support you as your boss.”

However, from the moment Futagami touches Kanzaki, vivid memories of their physical relationship return which he’s been suppressing all the time they were apart. Now he can’t think about anything else. But then one of their colleagues suggests a ‘get-to-Know-You’ meeting for the two of them and, with the subtext of scoping out restaurants for Kanzaki’s ‘welcome back’ party, they visit several places. Kanzaki drinks too much but although he’s a good-tempered drunk, when Futagami tries to help him to catch the right train home, he loses all his inhibitions and hugs Futagami tightly. Alarm bells ringing, Futagami pushes him away – and as Kanzaki loses his balance and falls over, Aoi arrives. Things look as if they could turn violent but Futagami restrains Aoi and they go off together, leaving Kanzaki ruefully reflecting, Just as I finally got to see him smile… Have all Kanzaki’s hopes been finally dashed?

The term ‘Boys’ Love’ can still conjure up the image of teenagers in love and, indeed, some of the most popular and accessible titles currently available in translation are just that: Sasaki and Miyano; I Cannot Reach You; Go For It, Nakamura! etc. etc. However, some readers prefer to read about adult relationships and Takiba is a mangaka who is especially skilled at creating memorable BL stories with mature protagonists (also worthy of mention here are Dayoo, Niyama and Mamita).

You’re All Mine Tonight (2019) is the second Boys’ Love one-shot to be released by Kodansha USA and is an earlier work than Light of My Life (it was her third to be published in Japan). It’s not quite as successful in the way the story unfolds as the later work, although her art is already very accomplished and striking. It has the intensity of a piece of chamber music, focusing on the two main characters, contrasting their steamy relationship five years ago with the awkward, deeply painful situation of their present day.

Takiba is good at portraying the complexity of adult relationships both psychologically and in the bedroom; You’re All Mine Tonight earns its Mature rating and Parental Advisory with some uncensored and realistic sex scenes.

Translation for Kodansha’s trade paperback edition (which does the drawings full justice) is by Kevin Steinbach with lettering by Dietrich Premier. There are two attractive colour pages at the front (for some reason, my copy has them twice!) and there are bonus comics at the end as well as a side story ‘The Best Boyfriend’. If you are a fan of relationship dramas involving older protagonists, then you’ll definitely want to pick up this bitter-sweet BL manga which captures the pains and pleasures of looking for love later in life.

Our review copy from Kodansha was supplied by Diamond Book Distributors UK.