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テンカウント #1
Ten count, Vol. 1
«Quando sono con Kurose… Mi sembra di essere un po' più normale.»Shirotani, un segretario che soffre di misofobia, dopo l'incontro fortuito con la psicologo Kurose, decid di iniziare un percorso per vincere la propria patologia. Durante la terapia, che prevede il compimento di dieci azioni per lui intollerabili, Shirotani si accorge pian piano di essere attratto dal suo terapista…
Uno psicologo scostante, un segretario misofobo e una delicata terapia d'amore...
174 pages, Paperback
First published March 29, 2014
250 people are currently reading
5680 people want to read
About the author
Rihito Takarai
47 books688 followersRihito TAKARAI (宝井 理人) is a Japanese manga artist.
Takara is also known for her dōjinshi circle called Giga Traper.
Associated Names:
* Rihito Takarai
* ริฮิโตะ ทาคาราอิ (Thai Profile)
Takara is also known for her dōjinshi circle called Giga Traper.
Associated Names:
* Rihito Takarai
* ริฮิโตะ ทาคาราอิ (Thai Profile)
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Displaying 1 - 30 of 725 reviews
June 29, 2025
Ten Count –An Anecdote of Boundaries, Bruises and Breakthroughs...
Okay, I just finished it in one shot. Let’s be clear: Ten Count isn’t your sunshine-and-roses manga. It’s heavy, raw, obsessive, and quietly cruel at times.It’s one of those stories where you find yourself reading straight through without even realizing how much time’s passed. It’s a story that puts mental illness under a microscope and dares you not to look away.I read Ten Count in one sitting, and I’m still processing it.
This is the kind of manga where the romance isn’t between two people—it’s between one man and his intrusive thoughts, and another man walking the ethical tightrope to reach him.Ten Count is a psychological boys’ love manga that dives deep into the complexities of mental health, intimacy, and human connection.
The plot follows Tadaomi Shirotani, a corporate secretary with obsessive-compulsive disorder, specifically germophobia and touch aversion. Enter Kurose, a clinical psychotherapist who offers to help him with his compulsions using exposure therapy. What starts as a treatment plan begins to blur… fast.
We watch as boundaries erode. Comfort zones are dismantled. The line between care and obsession? Let’s just say it’s a grey area, and the manga doesn’t pretend otherwise.
⚠️ Yes, it gets messy. Yes, the power dynamics are uncomfortable. But isn’t that the point?
This manga isn’t about healing in the traditional sense. It’s about survival, surrender, and self-exposure..
The psychological prison of needing control
This isn’t cutesy “I like clean stuff” OCD. It’s the raw, embarrassing, isolating version. The one people like me don’t talk about out loud.
📍Shirotani
Listen, I’ve never seen myself in a character like this. I’m not just talking about surface-level “OCD representation.” I’m talking about:
-Avoiding touch like it’s radioactive.
-Not sitting where someone else sat.
-Being terrified of doorknobs, Public objects.
-Reliving one awkward moment till I want to erase my existence.
-Obsessing over thoughts so intrusive they feel like crimes.
Shirotani’s pain isn’t pretty. It’s suffocating. And that’s what makes him real to me. I didn’t just read him—I was him.
✧──────✧
📍Kurose
Controversial take? I don’t know how I feel about him. He’s calm, composed, and oh-so-clinical… until he isn’t. There's a strange magnetism there—one that flirts with ethics, especially for a therapist. His intentions? Murky. His methods? Unorthodox at best.
But he’s not the villain. He’s a catalyst. He forces Shirotani to confront himself, not fix himself.
Is he healthy? Not really.
Is he fascinating? Absolutely.
🩸 Trigger Warnings:
-OCD, trauma..
-Power imbalance in therapist-patient dynamics
-Consent blur, emotional coercion
Intrusive thoughts
-Touch aversion, psychological triggers
-Trauma, shame, and self-hate
🪶 Final thoughts:
It’s not perfect. The power dynamics can be murky. But for once, someone wrote a character with OCD that hits..Not for everyone. But for people like me? It’s a slap in the soul.
Ten Count doesn't romanticize OCD.
It just lets us be human.
Okay, I just finished it in one shot. Let’s be clear: Ten Count isn’t your sunshine-and-roses manga. It’s heavy, raw, obsessive, and quietly cruel at times.It’s one of those stories where you find yourself reading straight through without even realizing how much time’s passed. It’s a story that puts mental illness under a microscope and dares you not to look away.I read Ten Count in one sitting, and I’m still processing it.
This is the kind of manga where the romance isn’t between two people—it’s between one man and his intrusive thoughts, and another man walking the ethical tightrope to reach him.Ten Count is a psychological boys’ love manga that dives deep into the complexities of mental health, intimacy, and human connection.
The plot follows Tadaomi Shirotani, a corporate secretary with obsessive-compulsive disorder, specifically germophobia and touch aversion. Enter Kurose, a clinical psychotherapist who offers to help him with his compulsions using exposure therapy. What starts as a treatment plan begins to blur… fast.
We watch as boundaries erode. Comfort zones are dismantled. The line between care and obsession? Let’s just say it’s a grey area, and the manga doesn’t pretend otherwise.
⚠️ Yes, it gets messy. Yes, the power dynamics are uncomfortable. But isn’t that the point?
This manga isn’t about healing in the traditional sense. It’s about survival, surrender, and self-exposure..
The psychological prison of needing control
This isn’t cutesy “I like clean stuff” OCD. It’s the raw, embarrassing, isolating version. The one people like me don’t talk about out loud.
📍Shirotani
Listen, I’ve never seen myself in a character like this. I’m not just talking about surface-level “OCD representation.” I’m talking about:
-Avoiding touch like it’s radioactive.
-Not sitting where someone else sat.
-Being terrified of doorknobs, Public objects.
-Reliving one awkward moment till I want to erase my existence.
-Obsessing over thoughts so intrusive they feel like crimes.
Shirotani’s pain isn’t pretty. It’s suffocating. And that’s what makes him real to me. I didn’t just read him—I was him.
✧──────✧
📍Kurose
Controversial take? I don’t know how I feel about him. He’s calm, composed, and oh-so-clinical… until he isn’t. There's a strange magnetism there—one that flirts with ethics, especially for a therapist. His intentions? Murky. His methods? Unorthodox at best.
But he’s not the villain. He’s a catalyst. He forces Shirotani to confront himself, not fix himself.
Is he healthy? Not really.
Is he fascinating? Absolutely.
🩸 Trigger Warnings:
-OCD, trauma..
-Power imbalance in therapist-patient dynamics
-Consent blur, emotional coercion
Intrusive thoughts
-Touch aversion, psychological triggers
-Trauma, shame, and self-hate
🪶 Final thoughts:
It’s not perfect. The power dynamics can be murky. But for once, someone wrote a character with OCD that hits..Not for everyone. But for people like me? It’s a slap in the soul.
Ten Count doesn't romanticize OCD.
It just lets us be human.
July 3, 2022
The beginning had some nice vibes, and even though the characters didn't make it seem they were incredibly fleshed out (Looking at you Shirotani, one chapter he's indifferent the other he can't maintain eye contact without crumbling into a blushing mess.), the story seemed better than most. Shirotani's gripe with germs made the bland story catch a semblance of some type of conflict.
Speaking of art style , its detailed, fine and delicate , i will appreciate the author for that!
hope the story turns out to be good!
Speaking of art style , its detailed, fine and delicate , i will appreciate the author for that!
hope the story turns out to be good!
May 22, 2022
Vol. 1 ★★★★★
Vol. 2 ★★★☆☆
That was absolutely incredible. If it tells you anything, upon finishing this manga, I immediately ordered volume 2 because I needed to continue the series as soon as possible! The art is stunning, the story is intriguing, the characters are immensely lovable. The main character, Shirotani, has OCD and is terrified of germs. The representation was something I was a little nervous of when I picked the book up, but there was no need for my caution because it's executed beautifully.
Not only does Shirotani display a ton of very legitimate and real compulsions that a lot of people with OCD will relate to (*quietly raises hand* mine doesn't manifest in the same exact ways, but I related big time to the thoughts and concerns he has), but I also love the fact that he is in no way "cured" by the time he spends with his love interest; in fact, he makes most of the progress without his counselor, Kurose, even being present! Note here: I should mention, however, that if you have a problem with immersion/exposure therapy methods being utilized in mental health, this won't be the series for you!
On top of everything else, the chemistry between Shirotani and Kurose is so clear and sweet from the beginning, and I loved how, when other minor characters noticed the tension, they were all so accepting and even incredibly encouraging. All in all, it was a great read and I can't wait for volume 2 to arrive in the mail!
✨ Representation: Shirotani is queer and has OCD; Kurose is queer; all characters are Japanese
✨ Content warnings for:
———
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November 14, 2018
The first time I read this manga, I was reading another shounen-ai story which is more engrossing and oh-so beautiful (I'll be re-reading that series again and posting a review some time in the coming months), so I easily put this down since it's only a casual read, especially when I reached at least ten chapters or so and I found the sudden shift into the sex a bit jarring and admittedly quite offensive.
This is still an ongoing work, mind you, so I'm careful not to have a very definitive opinion about the narrative just yet although I must say that this has a very promising premise and it might have been a more compelling, emotionally mature read if it was published as a josei work and not simply a yaoi material.
Sadly, the intended purpose for this manga was for some sexy times to commence, and therein lies the problem because I get the sense that author Takarai-sensei must really want to expand on the inner conflict her protagonist is struggling with but since this is published as a yaoi, she had to comply to the demands of editors to put some sexy stuff already because who wants to read about believable character development dealing with a phobia anyway?
Well, as it turns out, I do. Upon my second reading this week, I think that it's worth noting that Takarai eventually got to the point in this manga where she has provided readers with a very intriguing backstory that personally made me hope that she can recitify the unpleasant situation that his two leads got caught up in because of the early (and dubiously consented) sexual scenarios that happened between them. But I'm getting ahead of myself. There is a reason why I still re-read this work and that's because I want to give my insights on the direction of the writing and the portrayal of the characters' struggles concerning his phobia. I'm not sure I can recommend it just yet, however. Hopefully the author will publish more installments and that the story would improve along the way. I actually do want it to because I am intrigued with the conflict.
THE PLOT: A man in his thirties suffers with acute mysophobia (a fear of dirt and filth) and meets a therapist from a mental health clinic who volunteered to help him with his crippling affliction. The therapist puts him under what is known as 'exposure therapy'. To do so, the therapist had the mysophobe write down his Top 10 list of the things he is not comfortable doing and brings him the most anxiety; with 1 being the lowest and 10 being the highest. Item 10 was left blank, and this is where the patient's trauma stems from which we will later find out more as the story progresses.
[CLICK FOR LARGER IMAGES]
An attraction develops between them which stemmed from said mysophobe's dependence on the therapist (also known as transference), and said therapist also begins to reciprocate the patient's feelings (also known as countertransference) because these things tend to happen in psychotheraphy. This manga examines the complexities of such a circumstance but also fails to address as of yet the serious repercussions of such an unhealthy relationship.
THE CHARACTERS: Shirotani is the mysophobe and Kurose is his therapist, a much younger man who has questionable ethics. From the very beginning, we see Shirotani has to wear gloves to counter his fear of touching dirty things, and he also obsessively washes his hands to the point that his skin is badly scarring and peeling in some place. He meets Kurose during a chance encounter, and the latter offered his services as a therapist. Things were going well for a while because Kurose seems dedicated to help Shirotani to overcome his phobia little by little, and he was patient enough to stay by his side even when Shirotani once broke down in the middle of a public transit because of a panic attack after being sneezed upon by accident. I thought Shirotani's characterization is well-written. I can sympathize with his struggle, and I'm also curious about the flashbacks from his past when he was a child which later on has a key importance as to why he developed his phobia in the first place.
On the other hand, I was already suspicious of Kurose which gradually faded when he made the wise, assertive decision to distance himself from Shirotani after he realizes that he is becoming attracted to his patient. Unfortunately, suddenly cutting ties from Shirotani (INSTEAD OF RECOMMENDING HIM TO ANOTHER DOCTOR, HOW IRRESPONSIBLE COULD YOU BE?) was ill-advised because all the progress that Shirotani has made only regressed, and he became more withdrawn to the point where he stopped going to work. Kurose came to his aid, and finally admitted why he had to stay away from Shirotani. That pivotal scene where he wrapped a jacket around Shirotani so he can hug him was heartfelt in a way and made me forget for a while that what Kurose has done to Shirotani was already reckless, and I probably shouldn't trust him at this point. AND I HAVE NEVER BEEN SO RIGHT!
THE CONFLICT: Good-looking therapist in his late twenties and a hot mess of a man in his thirties with a crippling phobia as his deal-breaker baggage find themselves sexually attracted to each other. It's a delicious premise that would allow a more conscientious writer to explore issues concerning physical and emotional intimacy and co-dependence, all the while cautioning readers with the fall-outs and problems that could arise when a person such as Shirotani engages in a relationship that could only harm his progress and recovery, considering it's with a mental health physician who really should know better than to reciprocate his patient's feelings.
THE GOOD: Let me discuss my favorite part of this manga that was enough reason for me to re-read, review and look forward to the conclusion of its story. In a chapter that illustrated Shirotani's childhood, it was revealed that he was raised by a single father who is a high school teacher. They were close and his father was very sweet and affectionate to him. However, a student of his started lingering around the pair and it was implied that she was his lover. During a conversation at Shirotani's home, the girl asked if he wants to have a new mother, but Shirotani said he doesn't need one because he already has his dad. The girl pressed on that his dad needs someone special in his life aside from his son, and Shirotani--an innocent ten-year-old--casually remarked that he would marry his dad instead because he knows he can make his dad happy. It was a very naive comment from a child who didn't know better, but the girl--THIS HORRIBLE CUNT OF A HUMAN BEING--got angry and told Shirotani that he is a filthy boy for wanting to marry his father. Normally, someone who has a more compassionate heart would have laughed it off and just explain to the boy why the father would need to remarry. I could think of a dozen better ways to react than how that cunt did.
Then go die in a cleansing fire for extra measure, you bitch
But that's not the worst thing that she did, and the reason why I maintain that she deserves to be called the mightiest cunt of cunts (while being stoned to death) is because of the extremes she went through in order to prove to Shirotani--again, A TEN-YEAR-OLD BOY--that she is the only one who can make the father happy. Are you guys ready to read about it? It's sickening, I tell you. But here we go: One night in his father's office, the girl had Shirotani hide in one of the lockers. When the father arrived, she started seducing him until they ended up having sex RIGHT THERE AND THEN WITH SHIROTANI STILL HIDING IN THE CLOSET. Shirotani, shockingly witnessing his own parent engaging in sexual congress, was immediately unable to process and cope because he started getting aroused too and it terrified him. To relive himself, he started masturbating for the first time because he remembered one of his classmates telling him that if his penis starts to hurt then he should rub it. After the cunt got what she wanted, the father leaves because he thought he heard some noise in one of the classrooms. Smug with her new breed of malice, the girl then addresses Shirotani in the closet, bragging that he could never have sex with his father the way she just had and therefore she should be the one that gets married to the father. When he didn't answer, she opens the closet and finds him trembling with his pants down around his ankles, crying and very much stupefied about what just happened. And her reaction. She screams at him that HE IS DISGUSTING.
How does this affect the young Shirotani? TREMENDOUSLY. He was unable to speak to his father about it, of course, and his innocent familial affection for his own parent was tainted to the point where he outright refuses to be touched by him later on. IT WAS PAINFUL AND WRONG AND ALL KINDS OF HEARTBREAKING! What happened to Shirotani was definitely A SEXUAL TRAUMA. The worst thing is that his father might have gotten married to that selfish cunt which would explain why I never really get to see the father again now that Shirotani is an adult. As horrible as this part of the story was, I thought it was an interesting facet and a meaningful backstory that explained effectively why Shirotani is both simultaneously repulsed and aroused by sex, and why he thinks sexy is a dirty, dirty act. It's really sad to see him deny himself intimacy with his own father. This scene broke my heart:
THE BAD: So now we have established that Shirotani--even now as a man in his thirties--is still traumatized by the pain and loss that cost him the relationship he used to have with his father, and has suffered a gross violation pertaining to his childhood innocence. As a result, he developed an inability to get physically close with anyone without going through torturous bouts of self-loathing and disgust. And then here comes Kurose who at first was a positive influence in his life who aimed to help him overcome his phobia. For a while, Shirotani was making some progress but then he develops attraction for his therapist which does happen but there are fail-safes that must be in place when such scenarios do happen such as being referred to another doctor. However, this is a yaoi manga so the solution was still based on the fantasy of sexual dominance and submission where Kurose--blatantly expressing his interest and desire for Shirotani--gets close to Shirotani physically in spite of the dangerous effect that could have on the man. Shirotani has sexual trauma and mental anguish and badly needs the behavorial therapy and what does Kurose do instead?
Yeah, this fucking thing
THE UGLY: He proceeds to engage in increasingly sexual scenarios with him where Shirotani explicitly verbalized so many times that he is uncomfortable of the physical intimacy that Kurose initiates. Sure, he gives in anyway because his body craves physical enjoyment but that doesn't mean he is mentally prepared for it. AND IT DOESN'T GIVE KUROSE THE RIGHT TO TAKE ADVANTAGE OF SHIROTANI'S TRUST. The dubious consent scenarios are on high alert for this manga but much like most yaoi, this is fetishize instead of being addressed as a serious problem that definitely almost crosses that thin line between consent and rape. I am appalled that Kurose even declared at some point that he wants to degrade Shirotani by making him feel the pleasurable agony of sexual arousal and completion. I also have a problem with the softening resolve that Shirotani displays every time Kurose outright rapes him. It's like he would fight back at first but his will starts to deflate as soon as his body starts feeling good. THAT IS STILL CONSIDERED RAPE because if the person receiving the pleasure feels guilty and disgusted of himself afterwards then there is a lack of true consent in the first place.
And it will continue to become a systematic abuse in the later chapters
Shirotani is not a normal person who can be held completely responsible for his decisions especially when he is at the mercy of the one person who should take a moral obligation to respect his boundaries and help him get better. Shirotani is vulnerable and damaged goods and Kurose is an absolute prick to have sex with him nilly-willy. And to do it as his therapist! It would have been less...evil if he gave up his professional relationship with Shirotani and just be some asshole who is taking advantage of someone else than be a care specialist and do this kind of things to said patient. Honestly, this has yet to be tackled in the story and that is why I have hopes that Shirotani will assert his agency and seek out help (probably from his boss and co-worker Mikami who are both genuinely concerned about him) because Kurose is not at all the person he should associate himself with regardless whether or not he is attracted to him, and especially then.
I'M NOT EVEN GOING TO TALK ABOUT KUROSE PROCLAIMING HE LOVES SHIROTANI BECAUSE CLEARLY THIS IS NOT HOW YOU SHOW THAT YOU LOVE SOMEONE!
Just a normal heart-to-heart between a victim and his rapist
RATING SO FAR: 7/10
DO READ MY REVIEWS AT
This is still an ongoing work, mind you, so I'm careful not to have a very definitive opinion about the narrative just yet although I must say that this has a very promising premise and it might have been a more compelling, emotionally mature read if it was published as a josei work and not simply a yaoi material.
Sadly, the intended purpose for this manga was for some sexy times to commence, and therein lies the problem because I get the sense that author Takarai-sensei must really want to expand on the inner conflict her protagonist is struggling with but since this is published as a yaoi, she had to comply to the demands of editors to put some sexy stuff already because who wants to read about believable character development dealing with a phobia anyway?
Well, as it turns out, I do. Upon my second reading this week, I think that it's worth noting that Takarai eventually got to the point in this manga where she has provided readers with a very intriguing backstory that personally made me hope that she can recitify the unpleasant situation that his two leads got caught up in because of the early (and dubiously consented) sexual scenarios that happened between them. But I'm getting ahead of myself. There is a reason why I still re-read this work and that's because I want to give my insights on the direction of the writing and the portrayal of the characters' struggles concerning his phobia. I'm not sure I can recommend it just yet, however. Hopefully the author will publish more installments and that the story would improve along the way. I actually do want it to because I am intrigued with the conflict.
THE PLOT: A man in his thirties suffers with acute mysophobia (a fear of dirt and filth) and meets a therapist from a mental health clinic who volunteered to help him with his crippling affliction. The therapist puts him under what is known as 'exposure therapy'. To do so, the therapist had the mysophobe write down his Top 10 list of the things he is not comfortable doing and brings him the most anxiety; with 1 being the lowest and 10 being the highest. Item 10 was left blank, and this is where the patient's trauma stems from which we will later find out more as the story progresses.
[CLICK FOR LARGER IMAGES]
An attraction develops between them which stemmed from said mysophobe's dependence on the therapist (also known as transference), and said therapist also begins to reciprocate the patient's feelings (also known as countertransference) because these things tend to happen in psychotheraphy. This manga examines the complexities of such a circumstance but also fails to address as of yet the serious repercussions of such an unhealthy relationship.
THE CHARACTERS: Shirotani is the mysophobe and Kurose is his therapist, a much younger man who has questionable ethics. From the very beginning, we see Shirotani has to wear gloves to counter his fear of touching dirty things, and he also obsessively washes his hands to the point that his skin is badly scarring and peeling in some place. He meets Kurose during a chance encounter, and the latter offered his services as a therapist. Things were going well for a while because Kurose seems dedicated to help Shirotani to overcome his phobia little by little, and he was patient enough to stay by his side even when Shirotani once broke down in the middle of a public transit because of a panic attack after being sneezed upon by accident. I thought Shirotani's characterization is well-written. I can sympathize with his struggle, and I'm also curious about the flashbacks from his past when he was a child which later on has a key importance as to why he developed his phobia in the first place.
On the other hand, I was already suspicious of Kurose which gradually faded when he made the wise, assertive decision to distance himself from Shirotani after he realizes that he is becoming attracted to his patient. Unfortunately, suddenly cutting ties from Shirotani (INSTEAD OF RECOMMENDING HIM TO ANOTHER DOCTOR, HOW IRRESPONSIBLE COULD YOU BE?) was ill-advised because all the progress that Shirotani has made only regressed, and he became more withdrawn to the point where he stopped going to work. Kurose came to his aid, and finally admitted why he had to stay away from Shirotani. That pivotal scene where he wrapped a jacket around Shirotani so he can hug him was heartfelt in a way and made me forget for a while that what Kurose has done to Shirotani was already reckless, and I probably shouldn't trust him at this point. AND I HAVE NEVER BEEN SO RIGHT!
THE CONFLICT: Good-looking therapist in his late twenties and a hot mess of a man in his thirties with a crippling phobia as his deal-breaker baggage find themselves sexually attracted to each other. It's a delicious premise that would allow a more conscientious writer to explore issues concerning physical and emotional intimacy and co-dependence, all the while cautioning readers with the fall-outs and problems that could arise when a person such as Shirotani engages in a relationship that could only harm his progress and recovery, considering it's with a mental health physician who really should know better than to reciprocate his patient's feelings.
THE GOOD: Let me discuss my favorite part of this manga that was enough reason for me to re-read, review and look forward to the conclusion of its story. In a chapter that illustrated Shirotani's childhood, it was revealed that he was raised by a single father who is a high school teacher. They were close and his father was very sweet and affectionate to him. However, a student of his started lingering around the pair and it was implied that she was his lover. During a conversation at Shirotani's home, the girl asked if he wants to have a new mother, but Shirotani said he doesn't need one because he already has his dad. The girl pressed on that his dad needs someone special in his life aside from his son, and Shirotani--an innocent ten-year-old--casually remarked that he would marry his dad instead because he knows he can make his dad happy. It was a very naive comment from a child who didn't know better, but the girl--THIS HORRIBLE CUNT OF A HUMAN BEING--got angry and told Shirotani that he is a filthy boy for wanting to marry his father. Normally, someone who has a more compassionate heart would have laughed it off and just explain to the boy why the father would need to remarry. I could think of a dozen better ways to react than how that cunt did.
Then go die in a cleansing fire for extra measure, you bitch
But that's not the worst thing that she did, and the reason why I maintain that she deserves to be called the mightiest cunt of cunts (while being stoned to death) is because of the extremes she went through in order to prove to Shirotani--again, A TEN-YEAR-OLD BOY--that she is the only one who can make the father happy. Are you guys ready to read about it? It's sickening, I tell you. But here we go: One night in his father's office, the girl had Shirotani hide in one of the lockers. When the father arrived, she started seducing him until they ended up having sex RIGHT THERE AND THEN WITH SHIROTANI STILL HIDING IN THE CLOSET. Shirotani, shockingly witnessing his own parent engaging in sexual congress, was immediately unable to process and cope because he started getting aroused too and it terrified him. To relive himself, he started masturbating for the first time because he remembered one of his classmates telling him that if his penis starts to hurt then he should rub it. After the cunt got what she wanted, the father leaves because he thought he heard some noise in one of the classrooms. Smug with her new breed of malice, the girl then addresses Shirotani in the closet, bragging that he could never have sex with his father the way she just had and therefore she should be the one that gets married to the father. When he didn't answer, she opens the closet and finds him trembling with his pants down around his ankles, crying and very much stupefied about what just happened. And her reaction. She screams at him that HE IS DISGUSTING.
How does this affect the young Shirotani? TREMENDOUSLY. He was unable to speak to his father about it, of course, and his innocent familial affection for his own parent was tainted to the point where he outright refuses to be touched by him later on. IT WAS PAINFUL AND WRONG AND ALL KINDS OF HEARTBREAKING! What happened to Shirotani was definitely A SEXUAL TRAUMA. The worst thing is that his father might have gotten married to that selfish cunt which would explain why I never really get to see the father again now that Shirotani is an adult. As horrible as this part of the story was, I thought it was an interesting facet and a meaningful backstory that explained effectively why Shirotani is both simultaneously repulsed and aroused by sex, and why he thinks sexy is a dirty, dirty act. It's really sad to see him deny himself intimacy with his own father. This scene broke my heart:
THE BAD: So now we have established that Shirotani--even now as a man in his thirties--is still traumatized by the pain and loss that cost him the relationship he used to have with his father, and has suffered a gross violation pertaining to his childhood innocence. As a result, he developed an inability to get physically close with anyone without going through torturous bouts of self-loathing and disgust. And then here comes Kurose who at first was a positive influence in his life who aimed to help him overcome his phobia. For a while, Shirotani was making some progress but then he develops attraction for his therapist which does happen but there are fail-safes that must be in place when such scenarios do happen such as being referred to another doctor. However, this is a yaoi manga so the solution was still based on the fantasy of sexual dominance and submission where Kurose--blatantly expressing his interest and desire for Shirotani--gets close to Shirotani physically in spite of the dangerous effect that could have on the man. Shirotani has sexual trauma and mental anguish and badly needs the behavorial therapy and what does Kurose do instead?
Yeah, this fucking thing
THE UGLY: He proceeds to engage in increasingly sexual scenarios with him where Shirotani explicitly verbalized so many times that he is uncomfortable of the physical intimacy that Kurose initiates. Sure, he gives in anyway because his body craves physical enjoyment but that doesn't mean he is mentally prepared for it. AND IT DOESN'T GIVE KUROSE THE RIGHT TO TAKE ADVANTAGE OF SHIROTANI'S TRUST. The dubious consent scenarios are on high alert for this manga but much like most yaoi, this is fetishize instead of being addressed as a serious problem that definitely almost crosses that thin line between consent and rape. I am appalled that Kurose even declared at some point that he wants to degrade Shirotani by making him feel the pleasurable agony of sexual arousal and completion. I also have a problem with the softening resolve that Shirotani displays every time Kurose outright rapes him. It's like he would fight back at first but his will starts to deflate as soon as his body starts feeling good. THAT IS STILL CONSIDERED RAPE because if the person receiving the pleasure feels guilty and disgusted of himself afterwards then there is a lack of true consent in the first place.
And it will continue to become a systematic abuse in the later chapters
Shirotani is not a normal person who can be held completely responsible for his decisions especially when he is at the mercy of the one person who should take a moral obligation to respect his boundaries and help him get better. Shirotani is vulnerable and damaged goods and Kurose is an absolute prick to have sex with him nilly-willy. And to do it as his therapist! It would have been less...evil if he gave up his professional relationship with Shirotani and just be some asshole who is taking advantage of someone else than be a care specialist and do this kind of things to said patient. Honestly, this has yet to be tackled in the story and that is why I have hopes that Shirotani will assert his agency and seek out help (probably from his boss and co-worker Mikami who are both genuinely concerned about him) because Kurose is not at all the person he should associate himself with regardless whether or not he is attracted to him, and especially then.
I'M NOT EVEN GOING TO TALK ABOUT KUROSE PROCLAIMING HE LOVES SHIROTANI BECAUSE CLEARLY THIS IS NOT HOW YOU SHOW THAT YOU LOVE SOMEONE!
Just a normal heart-to-heart between a victim and his rapist
RATING SO FAR: 7/10
DO READ MY REVIEWS AT
This entire review has been hidden because of spoilers.
April 1, 2018
This was such an interesting manga. Shirotani is a mysophobic which means he’s irrationally afraid of germs and bacteria. And Kurose Kun is a psychiatrist who knew Shirotani is mysophobic right away. And Kusose decided to help him cure the irrational fear by using exposure therapy. But the doctor started to have feelings for the patient and it freaked him out. So he decided to cut the ties with Shirotani which crushed him completely.
This was a bittersweet romance which tagged my heart a lot while reading it. The attraction between these two men is sweet, sexy and tantalizing at the same time. This is a very promising start to an already completed manga series. Onto the next volume right away. 😉
4 genuinely good doctor (if you know what I mean) stars
⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️
This was a bittersweet romance which tagged my heart a lot while reading it. The attraction between these two men is sweet, sexy and tantalizing at the same time. This is a very promising start to an already completed manga series. Onto the next volume right away. 😉
4 genuinely good doctor (if you know what I mean) stars
⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️
October 12, 2016
Intriguing...
The premise is pretty awesome. A boy with misophobia. He cannot let anything touch him. And he cannot bear the thought of anybody (or anything) touching him. And another boy who falls in love with him and pushes him into doing things he doesn't like because he finds them disgusting, but that he really wants to do nonetheless.
The other MC is a psychologist with his own issues.
Both have painful pasts, and both have their very own reasons to be what they are, even when they may not be aware of them.
I wish I could read a m/m romance novel about this topic.
I've read another yaoi by this author, Seven Days, which I didn't like. But this one was compelling and sensual. Maybe a little twisted, but whatever.
*****
This is a review of the whole series.
*****
Read in Manga Rock.
Volumes and chapters:
*****
Volumes in the series:
The premise is pretty awesome. A boy with misophobia. He cannot let anything touch him. And he cannot bear the thought of anybody (or anything) touching him. And another boy who falls in love with him and pushes him into doing things he doesn't like because he finds them disgusting, but that he really wants to do nonetheless.
The other MC is a psychologist with his own issues.
Both have painful pasts, and both have their very own reasons to be what they are, even when they may not be aware of them.
I wish I could read a m/m romance novel about this topic.
I've read another yaoi by this author, Seven Days, which I didn't like. But this one was compelling and sensual. Maybe a little twisted, but whatever.
*****
This is a review of the whole series.
*****
Read in Manga Rock.
Volumes and chapters:
*****
Volumes in the series:
November 28, 2017
Aviso a navegantes, voy a escribir esta reseña, digamos, cabreada. Si queréis la reseña de fangirl, leed la del tomo de SuBLime, que es de otra época y yo era una inocente fujoshi que apenas había salido del huevo. Casi que mejor no sigáis leyendo xD
Kurotani, siempre han estado entre mis favs, siempre (ojo, y aún lo están, ellos no tienen culpa). Me han proporcionado incontables horas de locura y diversión, de charlas e intercambio de pantallazos con el BLSquad, pero ahora, me da mucha tristeza pensar en ellos, por que señores, lo que Rihito Takarai ha hecho con esta prometedora historia, es, directamente, cargársela en los últimos capítulos :/
No voy a seguir por aquí porque sería spoiler, quedaros con que la historia en este tomo en concreto, promete y engancha. Kurose is "da man" y siempre lo será, al menos en mi corazoncito. Y Shirotani es dulce a más no poder y sus manitas maltrechas me inspiran una ternura tremenda. Hay que protegerle a toda costa.
Una vez soltado el rant sobre la mangaka, paso al otro tema que me chirría, la edición de Ivrea, edición que a mí personalmente no me ha gustado. No me gustan ciertas cosas de la traducción, ni el grosor de las páginas, ni el "color". Por el mismo precio estoy a costumbrada a trabajos de mayor calidad en el mercado español, así de simple. Estoy tan decepcionada que la voy a completar en inglés y compraré muy poco a poco, más por apoyar al mercado en español que por otra cosa.
Kurotani, siempre han estado entre mis favs, siempre (ojo, y aún lo están, ellos no tienen culpa). Me han proporcionado incontables horas de locura y diversión, de charlas e intercambio de pantallazos con el BLSquad, pero ahora, me da mucha tristeza pensar en ellos, por que señores, lo que Rihito Takarai ha hecho con esta prometedora historia, es, directamente, cargársela en los últimos capítulos :/
No voy a seguir por aquí porque sería spoiler, quedaros con que la historia en este tomo en concreto, promete y engancha. Kurose is "da man" y siempre lo será, al menos en mi corazoncito. Y Shirotani es dulce a más no poder y sus manitas maltrechas me inspiran una ternura tremenda. Hay que protegerle a toda costa.
Una vez soltado el rant sobre la mangaka, paso al otro tema que me chirría, la edición de Ivrea, edición que a mí personalmente no me ha gustado. No me gustan ciertas cosas de la traducción, ni el grosor de las páginas, ni el "color". Por el mismo precio estoy a costumbrada a trabajos de mayor calidad en el mercado español, así de simple. Estoy tan decepcionada que la voy a completar en inglés y compraré muy poco a poco, más por apoyar al mercado en español que por otra cosa.
May 21, 2019
Reseña del manga completo: En general me ha gustado mucho el dibujo y la historia -Kurose es too much-, pero no he entendido ese final.
September 20, 2016
Edited because I cannot let those four stars be anymore. I still stand by my review of volume one because it was good, but it goes downhill so fast after that and becomes a fucked up trainwreck of a manga that I feel two stars are generous. Basically the problem is that it's badly written. A better mangaka could have told a great story with this setting, but despite the hype, Takarai Rihito may be a good artist but she is not a good writer. I get why this is so popular, but as we all know quantity of volumes sold has nothing to do with quality.
My old review starts here:
Because I only looked at the cover and not at the text on the obi *or* the back cover, I thought this was some kind of futuristic boxing manga.. *coughs* It's really not, though.
Shirotani is a guy suffering from misophobia. Because he has an understanding boss, he mostly gets by - but then his boss gets caught up in a traffic accident, partly because Shirotani couldn't bring himself to help him. Thankfully, his boss was safed by a young man called Kurose who turns out to be a therapist and suggests Shirotani gets help for his condition. And somehow that help ends up being Kurose himself - not officially, as Shirotani's therapists, however, but in order to become his friend.
(It's not the most... believable set-up but I liked that she didn't have him be his official therapist because that would have been icky. This way it's just a bit weird.)
Kurose lets Shirotani make a list of ten actions he finds difficult to do, rated from "possible" to "very difficult". And then he tells him to meet him at a cafe every week and try and work his way up the list. Actually, the last spot is still empty - and when Shirotani asks Kurose why he's doing all this, Kurose tells him he'll let him know once he reaches number ten. (My BL sense was obviously tingling at that.) And so beings Shirotani's therapy.
To be honest, I'd buy Takarai Rihito's manga sight unseen, so. I like the way the story is unfolding so far, and I am already looking forward to whatever's coming next. The art is very pretty, as usual, and both Shirotani and Kurose are very intriguing characters. And as I mentioned before, I like that she was aware making Kurose Shirotani's official therapist would have been problematic, to say the least. I always like when it's obvious the mangaka think about things like this.
Interesting plot, likeable characters and gorgeous art. Definitely worth reading!
My old review starts here:
Because I only looked at the cover and not at the text on the obi *or* the back cover, I thought this was some kind of futuristic boxing manga.. *coughs* It's really not, though.
Shirotani is a guy suffering from misophobia. Because he has an understanding boss, he mostly gets by - but then his boss gets caught up in a traffic accident, partly because Shirotani couldn't bring himself to help him. Thankfully, his boss was safed by a young man called Kurose who turns out to be a therapist and suggests Shirotani gets help for his condition. And somehow that help ends up being Kurose himself - not officially, as Shirotani's therapists, however, but in order to become his friend.
(It's not the most... believable set-up but I liked that she didn't have him be his official therapist because that would have been icky. This way it's just a bit weird.)
Kurose lets Shirotani make a list of ten actions he finds difficult to do, rated from "possible" to "very difficult". And then he tells him to meet him at a cafe every week and try and work his way up the list. Actually, the last spot is still empty - and when Shirotani asks Kurose why he's doing all this, Kurose tells him he'll let him know once he reaches number ten. (My BL sense was obviously tingling at that.) And so beings Shirotani's therapy.
To be honest, I'd buy Takarai Rihito's manga sight unseen, so. I like the way the story is unfolding so far, and I am already looking forward to whatever's coming next. The art is very pretty, as usual, and both Shirotani and Kurose are very intriguing characters. And as I mentioned before, I like that she was aware making Kurose Shirotani's official therapist would have been problematic, to say the least. I always like when it's obvious the mangaka think about things like this.
Interesting plot, likeable characters and gorgeous art. Definitely worth reading!
March 23, 2017
Hacía tiempo que no incluía un nuevo Book-Boyfriend en mi lista y, señores, menuda nueva incorporación: Kurose, ¡¡¡¡te quiero en mi vida pero ya!!!!
Esta serie es chulísima, y no sólo por el dibujo de Rihito Takarai, que se esta convirtiendo en una de mis favs, es que la historia que nos propone es muy interesante, el desarrollo de la terapia es poco profesional, vale, pero no espero un tratado de psiquatría, aquí es todo mucho más visceral.
Shirotani es un personaje maravilloso y complejo, lleno de sentimientos de culpa y traumas varios, pero es que MI adorado Kurose no se queda atrás, parece una cosa pero realmente hay mucho detrás de esa fachada, es muy intensa la manera en que estos 2 se relacionan.
No voy a decir mucho más, sólo que no os la perdáis, las emociones salen de las páginas, te atrapan y no puedes parar de leer, aviso a navegantes ^^
Esta serie es chulísima, y no sólo por el dibujo de Rihito Takarai, que se esta convirtiendo en una de mis favs, es que la historia que nos propone es muy interesante, el desarrollo de la terapia es poco profesional, vale, pero no espero un tratado de psiquatría, aquí es todo mucho más visceral.
Shirotani es un personaje maravilloso y complejo, lleno de sentimientos de culpa y traumas varios, pero es que MI adorado Kurose no se queda atrás, parece una cosa pero realmente hay mucho detrás de esa fachada, es muy intensa la manera en que estos 2 se relacionan.
No voy a decir mucho más, sólo que no os la perdáis, las emociones salen de las páginas, te atrapan y no puedes parar de leer, aviso a navegantes ^^
August 29, 2017
I'm not really sure how I feel about this one just yet...
It's off to a decent start, but I've gone ahead and read some reviews for the other volumes in the series and it looks like my instincts were right. Something feels slightly off about this one and based on some of the things I read, I should go into the rest of this series with a bit of caution.
As of right now the characters are a little flat, especially Kurose...there's just nothing to him yet. Shirotani is slightly more interesting, but I feel like there's so much more to learn about both of these characters.
The storyline/concept plays on the whole doctor/patient trope so it's not exactly unique or interesting, but it works slightly better than I thought it would. I think I'll be moving on (with caution) to the second volume soon and we'll see where it goes from there!
Also, can we talk about these covers and their artwork for a second?! Damn.
March 3, 2020
Ten Count, Vol. 1 follows Shirotani, who is a germaphobe and has OCD, and Kurose, who is a therapist. When the two first meet Kurose offers to help Shirotani with his problem, if in return Shirotani will be his friend.
Kurose has Shirotani create a list with 10 things he can't do due to his OCD and germaphobia, ordering from least difficult to moset difficult. In this volume, we see the two begin the list.
I really enjoyed this volume. Kurose and Shirotani's dynamics were great, and I can't wait to see where their relationship goes in future volumes.
Kurose has Shirotani create a list with 10 things he can't do due to his OCD and germaphobia, ordering from least difficult to moset difficult. In this volume, we see the two begin the list.
I really enjoyed this volume. Kurose and Shirotani's dynamics were great, and I can't wait to see where their relationship goes in future volumes.
March 15, 2017
BR with em
Not much happened in this first volume so I don't feel like I can give it more than 3 stars, but I'm definitely curious to read the next one right away!
Not much happened in this first volume so I don't feel like I can give it more than 3 stars, but I'm definitely curious to read the next one right away!
April 7, 2018
Ahhhh this was so sweet!!!
November 2, 2017
I was so disappointed in this. This first volume didn't draw me into the characters or to the story. This was also very jumpy and it felt like some panels were taken out so the illustrations in relation to the story were kind of story. The next thing that bothered me was the OCD rep. Basically this guy approaches our main character and see's that hes wearing gloves. He proceeds to call him a germaphobe and that he should see a psychologist and well what do you know, this man is a psychologist. He works with Shirotani and gives him a list of ten things to do to "cure" his OCD. He literally says, "you will be completely cured". That really pissed me off, mental-illness is not that easy. You can't follow a list and be completely cured. I thought that was so unrealistic and not a good message to people who are not informed about mental illness or OCD specifically.
June 19, 2017
Estoy igual de "ba-dump" que Shirotani...¡¡AHHHHHHH!!!
December 5, 2016
3.5 ora voglio il secondo però T-T
June 8, 2017
Kurotaniiiii *Gritos*
September 22, 2021
I enjoyed this, I’m glad they are taking the time out to flesh out the romance between the main characters.
March 12, 2026
For Kurose I would also never miss my therapy session
December 8, 2018
Ten Count es un manga que he aplazado por muchísimo tiempo. He leído otras obras de la autora como Only The Flowers Knows que es uno de mis mangas favoritos y, por esa razón, le estoy dando una oportunidad finalmente.
Me parece que es un buen inicio para la historia. Hay un par de cosas que me parecen un poco peculiares e irreales. La salud mental y el tema del TOC es bastante delicado y no debería ser tomado a la ligera, pero le daré un voto de confianza a la autora por arriesgarse.
Por otro lado, los personajes son bastantes simpáticos, complejos y hasta un poco misteriosos. Quiero ver una mayor interacción entre ellos, pero estoy segura de que no me defraudarán.
Casi lo olvidaba...el arte es precioso. Siempre me ha gustado su estilo de dibujo y aquí no es una excepción.
En general, no está mal para el volumen 1. Al menos, me interesó lo suficiente para saber como evoluciona todo.
Me parece que es un buen inicio para la historia. Hay un par de cosas que me parecen un poco peculiares e irreales. La salud mental y el tema del TOC es bastante delicado y no debería ser tomado a la ligera, pero le daré un voto de confianza a la autora por arriesgarse.
Por otro lado, los personajes son bastantes simpáticos, complejos y hasta un poco misteriosos. Quiero ver una mayor interacción entre ellos, pero estoy segura de que no me defraudarán.
Casi lo olvidaba...el arte es precioso. Siempre me ha gustado su estilo de dibujo y aquí no es una excepción.
En general, no está mal para el volumen 1. Al menos, me interesó lo suficiente para saber como evoluciona todo.
January 6, 2021
😲 That iconic coat wrapped hug will remian with me forever 😵
The first volume got me hooked ☺️
I love it with all my being 😎
Kudos to the author/artist for making this manga so real.
(Ok. Let me wait until my tears dry up first)
Phew...
It's been a long time since I read John Green's Turtles All The Way Down which tackled the topic of OCD.
Unfair of me to compare but I like the representation of the same in this manga much better. I know cases differ and situations differ and tastes differ.
I like the characters as all these few characters introduced upto now is whole lotta mysterious yet calming and comforting.
I hope not to write the whole review here before I read the next volume.
Let's go the next volume, shall we? 👉👉👉👉👉
The first volume got me hooked ☺️
I love it with all my being 😎
Kudos to the author/artist for making this manga so real.
(Ok. Let me wait until my tears dry up first)
Phew...
It's been a long time since I read John Green's Turtles All The Way Down which tackled the topic of OCD.
Unfair of me to compare but I like the representation of the same in this manga much better. I know cases differ and situations differ and tastes differ.
I like the characters as all these few characters introduced upto now is whole lotta mysterious yet calming and comforting.
I hope not to write the whole review here before I read the next volume.
Let's go the next volume, shall we? 👉👉👉👉👉
March 19, 2019
BDMP. BDMP. BDMP.….I can hear Shirotani’s heartbeat.
Tadaomi Shirotani suffers from severe obsessive compulsive disorder. He wears gloves to avoid germs and touch—touching anything or being touched by anyone. The flinches and panic and hesitations broke my heart. For protection, he’s closed himself off.
“It’s more difficult to hurt or disappoint others…if you aren’t close to them in the first place.”
But then Riku Kurose, a therapist with a mysterious air about him, enters the picture. Kurose is set on helping Shirotani with his disorder one step at a time. As we move through Shirotani’s list of 10 fears and dreads, the attraction and connection between these two men grows.
Count me in! I want more.
Off to find book 2….
March 12, 2026
18+ only please!
I reread this so I could review it properly. I have read the entire series already so keep that in mind! I was diagnosed with OCD about 14 years ago, and it's a big part of my every day life unfortunately. I am always excited to read fiction centered around a disability or disorder that I struggle with because I have a desire to connect (even if it's with a fictional character lol).
I think the OCD in this series is depicted very well. It's not stereotypical (you'll see why as you read the other volumes). In this first volume it seems stereotyped but I promise it's not!! Once you learn Shirotani's backstory you'll get it.
I don't LOVE Kurose's character if I'm being honest. I mean...ofc I like him cuz yeahhhhh he's sexy, whatever. But in the real world his character's actions would be extremely harmful to your average OCD sufferer. Like...you're just gonna witness Shirotani's breakdown and thennnnn ghost him? And you're a therapist? Okay...suuuuurrrrreeee buddy 😂💀
I recommend this series a lot. It's dark but also has really funny and cute moments as well. I especially recommend it if you have OCD because I think you'd get it on a deeper level.
I reread this so I could review it properly. I have read the entire series already so keep that in mind! I was diagnosed with OCD about 14 years ago, and it's a big part of my every day life unfortunately. I am always excited to read fiction centered around a disability or disorder that I struggle with because I have a desire to connect (even if it's with a fictional character lol).
I think the OCD in this series is depicted very well. It's not stereotypical (you'll see why as you read the other volumes). In this first volume it seems stereotyped but I promise it's not!! Once you learn Shirotani's backstory you'll get it.
I don't LOVE Kurose's character if I'm being honest. I mean...ofc I like him cuz yeahhhhh he's sexy, whatever. But in the real world his character's actions would be extremely harmful to your average OCD sufferer. Like...you're just gonna witness Shirotani's breakdown and thennnnn ghost him? And you're a therapist? Okay...suuuuurrrrreeee buddy 😂💀
I recommend this series a lot. It's dark but also has really funny and cute moments as well. I especially recommend it if you have OCD because I think you'd get it on a deeper level.
This entire review has been hidden because of spoilers.
September 21, 2018
I’m going to preface this by saying I’m reviewing the entire series with this one review, because I’m not going to waste my time seeing where each volume ends. That being said, this manga was a huge disappointment. The concept was amazing — as other reviews say, mental illness is a rarity in manga — I, however, think this was the only thing keeping me reading. No matter how complex the characters tried to get I found them falling flat and was uncaring about everything except the MC’s (sorry, I forgot his name though I think it started with a T...) mysophobia. And even that falls flat compared to other comics and manhwa centered around curing mysophobia. UNTOUCHable, for example, a manhwa about vampires who touch people as a source of energy and a female vampire who falls in love with a mysophobic male. Caring only for the MC’s disorder, not him as a person, is not how you should write a character. Take again the aforementioned example of UNTOUCHable, the guy in that has other qualities than his mysophobia and gradually gets cured, instead of magically inhaling his therapist’s d*ck and all of a sudden he gets over years of trauma that has ruled his life. All in all I just don’t see what everyone else sees when they talk about this manga and how they think it’s so amazing.
(Sorry for the lengthy review on something that is supposed to have a purpose akin to porn, but even in that respect I feel it fell flat)
(Sorry for the lengthy review on something that is supposed to have a purpose akin to porn, but even in that respect I feel it fell flat)
July 7, 2017
Ten Count es una historia inmensa que va creciendo de a poco cuando sus personajes se van desnudando, dejando ver las viejas heridas y otras cosas...
El arte es realmente una preciosidad y las escenas a color, ni les cuento. Kurose, amor mío, que maravilloso, con tu metodología de terapia poco convencional xD
¡Ansiosa por el update!
El arte es realmente una preciosidad y las escenas a color, ni les cuento. Kurose, amor mío, que maravilloso, con tu metodología de terapia poco convencional xD
¡Ansiosa por el update!
November 20, 2017
RILETTURA DELL'EDIZIONE ITALIANA
Recensione nel Blog https://newadultitalia.blogspot.it/20...
Leggo così tanti yaoi che non farei in tempo a recensirne uno che ne avrei già finito un altro, ecco perché spesso nemmeno segno i titoli dei manga che leggo su GR, figuriamoci recensirli tutti come si deve.
Ma Ten Count è diverso, perché stiamo parlando del mio manga yaoi preferito che io ho già letto in inglese (due volte!) e, dato che è stato finalmente pubblicato in Italia (grazie infinite, Jpop!), voglio che siano in tanti a innamorarsi di questa storia così come lo sono io da un bel po’ di tempo ormai.
Ten count è la storia di una lista di dieci cose. Oppure è la storia della decima cosa di questa lista.
Un giorno, un segretario di nome Shirotani si imbatte per caso in un giovane di nome Kurose, il quale si accorge che lui è affetto da misofobia e rupofobia.
La misofobia è una patologia che si manifesta con il terrore del contatto con lo sporco, per cui chi ne soffre evita qualsiasi tipo di contaminazione, cadendo nella cosiddetta rupofobia, cioè nel disturbo ossessivo-compulsivo di lavarsi di continuo le mani.
Il misofobo tende a evitare ogni tipo di contatto con altri esseri umani, finendo per vincolare la sua vita a spazi ben precisi e a oggetti determinati che devono sempre essere disinfettati per non essere contaminati dal tocco degli altri.
Kurose è uno psicoterapeuta e non ha difficoltà a riconoscere nei guanti di Shirotani macchiati dal sangue delle ferite dovute ai frequenti lavaggi delle mani, i segni della misofobia.
Dopo il fugace incontro con Kurose, Shirotani sembra interessarsi per la prima volta della sua situazione, della sua fobia. Già, perché fino a quel momento la sua condizione ossessiva non sembrava disturbarlo, come se fosse una parte inevitabile della sua vita.
Ma adesso qualcosa in lui è scattato e incontrare di nuovo Kurose proprio quando aveva deciso di recarsi in una clinica per farsi visitare, è il segno definitivo che il destino di Shirotani sta cambiando.
“Ha mai sentito parlare di terapia dell’esposizione con prevenzione della risposta?”
Kurose propone a Shirotani di stilare una lista di dieci azioni (ten count) che gli provocano disagio, partendo dalla più lieve fino ad arrivare alla più pesante, la numero dieci.
Shirotani stila questa lista, inserendo delle azioni che per una persona comune sono pressochè normali: toccare la maniglia di una porta, usare gli oggetti che altre persone hanno toccato, comprare un libro in libreria. Tutte cose banali che invece per lui sono dei veri traumi.
Ma di questa lista Shirotani lascia vuota la posizione più importante, quella che dovrebbe contenere l’azione per lui più difficile da portare a termine.
La decima della lista (ten count).
Questa ambiguità nell’intendere il titolo del manga (lista di dieci cose oppure decima cosa della lista), mi piace moltissimo, perché è questo il fulcro attorno a cui tutta la storia di Shirotani e Kurose ruota.
Avendo letto già tutto il manga, ovviamente io conosco cosa si cela dietro quella decima posizione vacante, e rileggendo in italiano capitolo dopo capitolo, mi sono resa conto che i discorsi e le immagini hanno un significato molto importante che lì per lì non può essere capito ma col senno di poi acquistano un valore esplicativo eccezionale.
Beh, non temo di fare spoiler dicendo che la decima cosa della lista è fin da subito rivelata, è proprio sotto agli occhi del lettore, ma nessuno riuscirà a capire quale sia se non dopo un po’ di traversie e un certo numero di volumi in cui perderà il fegato e maledirà tutto quello che sarà in grado di maledire.
Se la misofobia di Shirotani può sembrare un argomento poco attraente, voglio rassicurare i lettori dicendo che Ten Count non è un manga in cui tale patologia la fa da protagonista. Non è un trattato medico, non è un testo di psicologia.
Ciò che tiene banco è, invece, la storia di ciò che ha scatenato la patologia in Shirotani, mentre il giovane si trova ad affrontare una persona che vuole toccare e da cui vuole essere toccato, ma che praticamente non può avere per via della misofobia, Kurose.
“Quando sono con Kurose… Mi sembra di essere un po’ più normale.”
Inoltre, non bisogna dimenticare nemmeno le ragioni che spingono il nostro Kurose a interessarsi tanto a Shirotani. Che cosa nasconde? Perchè lo fa?
Non c’entra solo il fatto che lui sia uno psicoterapeuta, perché Kurose fin dall’inizio non opererà come medico di Shirotani, ma come suo amico. E fatalmente non è nemmeno l’attrazione a spingere Kurose verso Shirotani, come penserebbe chi come me è una fujoshi acclarata, (anche se la scena con cui si conclude il primo volume ha fatto svolazzare allegramente le farfalle nello stomaco sia di Shirotani che della povera sottoscritta che è inevitabilmente e inesorabilmente innamorata persa dell’affascinante dottorino).
Kurose sembra capire molto bene i bisogni di Shirotani, sembra percepire i suoi stati d’animo e le sue sensazioni prima che lui stesso le manifesti. Ma Shirotani non si fida di lui, del suo definirsi un suo amico. Perchè dovrebbe aiutarlo?
“Le rivelerò le mie ragioni quando avrà riempito la riga del numero dieci.”
Ma ce ne vorrà di tempo prima che ciò accada e ne passerà acqua sotto i ponti prima che tutti questi segreti vengano a galla.
Ma ce ne vorrà di tempo prima che ciò accada e ne passerà acqua sotto i ponti prima che tutti questi segreti vengano a galla.
Il primo volume può sembrare lento e poco "yaoi", ma non bisogna farsi trarre in inganno perché la relazione di Kurose e Shirotani è solo all'inizio.
Con i primi sei capitoli la perfida e abilissima Rihito Takarai ha solo gettato le basi per una storia che indubbiamente cela dei retroscena misteriosi, facendo intuire anche che saranno accompagnati da una buona dose di dolore e di imprecazioni in perfetto giapponese (Kusooooooo!)
Detto questo, devo parlare del chara dei personaggi. Questo non è il primo manga di Takarai sensei che leggo (in italiano cito Alla capitale dei fori e Solo i fiori sanno ), e conosco molto bene il suo tratto, così particolare che è davvero impossibile da non riconoscere.
Amo i suoi disegni e amo soprattutto la caratterizzazione di Kurose e Shirotani.
Adoro Kurose, il suo sguardo che rivela un sacco di cose, la passione per il suo lavoro che cozza contro i sentimenti verso Shirotani, la lotta interiore che già a fine primo volume si intuisce tormentarlo.
E Shirotani, così fragile, così scoperto, così solo. Lui scatena inevitabilmente istinti di protezione nel lettore, si intuisce che la sua malattia ha un'origine dolorosa e non si può fare altro che spronarlo a continuare a spuntare quelle voci della lista, con l'aiuto di Kurose.
Questo manga va letto, assolutamente.
E se quello che ho detto non vi ha convinto, sappiate che c’è un aggettivo che contraddistingue sempre il nostro Kurose: enorme. Si tratta di uno yaoi, traete le vostre conclusioni.
Recensione nel Blog https://newadultitalia.blogspot.it/20...
Leggo così tanti yaoi che non farei in tempo a recensirne uno che ne avrei già finito un altro, ecco perché spesso nemmeno segno i titoli dei manga che leggo su GR, figuriamoci recensirli tutti come si deve.
Ma Ten Count è diverso, perché stiamo parlando del mio manga yaoi preferito che io ho già letto in inglese (due volte!) e, dato che è stato finalmente pubblicato in Italia (grazie infinite, Jpop!), voglio che siano in tanti a innamorarsi di questa storia così come lo sono io da un bel po’ di tempo ormai.
Ten count è la storia di una lista di dieci cose. Oppure è la storia della decima cosa di questa lista.
Un giorno, un segretario di nome Shirotani si imbatte per caso in un giovane di nome Kurose, il quale si accorge che lui è affetto da misofobia e rupofobia.
La misofobia è una patologia che si manifesta con il terrore del contatto con lo sporco, per cui chi ne soffre evita qualsiasi tipo di contaminazione, cadendo nella cosiddetta rupofobia, cioè nel disturbo ossessivo-compulsivo di lavarsi di continuo le mani.
Il misofobo tende a evitare ogni tipo di contatto con altri esseri umani, finendo per vincolare la sua vita a spazi ben precisi e a oggetti determinati che devono sempre essere disinfettati per non essere contaminati dal tocco degli altri.
Kurose è uno psicoterapeuta e non ha difficoltà a riconoscere nei guanti di Shirotani macchiati dal sangue delle ferite dovute ai frequenti lavaggi delle mani, i segni della misofobia.
Dopo il fugace incontro con Kurose, Shirotani sembra interessarsi per la prima volta della sua situazione, della sua fobia. Già, perché fino a quel momento la sua condizione ossessiva non sembrava disturbarlo, come se fosse una parte inevitabile della sua vita.
Ma adesso qualcosa in lui è scattato e incontrare di nuovo Kurose proprio quando aveva deciso di recarsi in una clinica per farsi visitare, è il segno definitivo che il destino di Shirotani sta cambiando.
“Ha mai sentito parlare di terapia dell’esposizione con prevenzione della risposta?”
Kurose propone a Shirotani di stilare una lista di dieci azioni (ten count) che gli provocano disagio, partendo dalla più lieve fino ad arrivare alla più pesante, la numero dieci.
Shirotani stila questa lista, inserendo delle azioni che per una persona comune sono pressochè normali: toccare la maniglia di una porta, usare gli oggetti che altre persone hanno toccato, comprare un libro in libreria. Tutte cose banali che invece per lui sono dei veri traumi.
Ma di questa lista Shirotani lascia vuota la posizione più importante, quella che dovrebbe contenere l’azione per lui più difficile da portare a termine.
La decima della lista (ten count).
Questa ambiguità nell’intendere il titolo del manga (lista di dieci cose oppure decima cosa della lista), mi piace moltissimo, perché è questo il fulcro attorno a cui tutta la storia di Shirotani e Kurose ruota.
Avendo letto già tutto il manga, ovviamente io conosco cosa si cela dietro quella decima posizione vacante, e rileggendo in italiano capitolo dopo capitolo, mi sono resa conto che i discorsi e le immagini hanno un significato molto importante che lì per lì non può essere capito ma col senno di poi acquistano un valore esplicativo eccezionale.
Beh, non temo di fare spoiler dicendo che la decima cosa della lista è fin da subito rivelata, è proprio sotto agli occhi del lettore, ma nessuno riuscirà a capire quale sia se non dopo un po’ di traversie e un certo numero di volumi in cui perderà il fegato e maledirà tutto quello che sarà in grado di maledire.
Se la misofobia di Shirotani può sembrare un argomento poco attraente, voglio rassicurare i lettori dicendo che Ten Count non è un manga in cui tale patologia la fa da protagonista. Non è un trattato medico, non è un testo di psicologia.
Ciò che tiene banco è, invece, la storia di ciò che ha scatenato la patologia in Shirotani, mentre il giovane si trova ad affrontare una persona che vuole toccare e da cui vuole essere toccato, ma che praticamente non può avere per via della misofobia, Kurose.
“Quando sono con Kurose… Mi sembra di essere un po’ più normale.”
Inoltre, non bisogna dimenticare nemmeno le ragioni che spingono il nostro Kurose a interessarsi tanto a Shirotani. Che cosa nasconde? Perchè lo fa?
Non c’entra solo il fatto che lui sia uno psicoterapeuta, perché Kurose fin dall’inizio non opererà come medico di Shirotani, ma come suo amico. E fatalmente non è nemmeno l’attrazione a spingere Kurose verso Shirotani, come penserebbe chi come me è una fujoshi acclarata, (anche se la scena con cui si conclude il primo volume ha fatto svolazzare allegramente le farfalle nello stomaco sia di Shirotani che della povera sottoscritta che è inevitabilmente e inesorabilmente innamorata persa dell’affascinante dottorino).
Kurose sembra capire molto bene i bisogni di Shirotani, sembra percepire i suoi stati d’animo e le sue sensazioni prima che lui stesso le manifesti. Ma Shirotani non si fida di lui, del suo definirsi un suo amico. Perchè dovrebbe aiutarlo?
“Le rivelerò le mie ragioni quando avrà riempito la riga del numero dieci.”
Ma ce ne vorrà di tempo prima che ciò accada e ne passerà acqua sotto i ponti prima che tutti questi segreti vengano a galla.
Ma ce ne vorrà di tempo prima che ciò accada e ne passerà acqua sotto i ponti prima che tutti questi segreti vengano a galla.
Il primo volume può sembrare lento e poco "yaoi", ma non bisogna farsi trarre in inganno perché la relazione di Kurose e Shirotani è solo all'inizio.
Con i primi sei capitoli la perfida e abilissima Rihito Takarai ha solo gettato le basi per una storia che indubbiamente cela dei retroscena misteriosi, facendo intuire anche che saranno accompagnati da una buona dose di dolore e di imprecazioni in perfetto giapponese (Kusooooooo!)
Detto questo, devo parlare del chara dei personaggi. Questo non è il primo manga di Takarai sensei che leggo (in italiano cito Alla capitale dei fori e Solo i fiori sanno ), e conosco molto bene il suo tratto, così particolare che è davvero impossibile da non riconoscere.
Amo i suoi disegni e amo soprattutto la caratterizzazione di Kurose e Shirotani.
Adoro Kurose, il suo sguardo che rivela un sacco di cose, la passione per il suo lavoro che cozza contro i sentimenti verso Shirotani, la lotta interiore che già a fine primo volume si intuisce tormentarlo.
E Shirotani, così fragile, così scoperto, così solo. Lui scatena inevitabilmente istinti di protezione nel lettore, si intuisce che la sua malattia ha un'origine dolorosa e non si può fare altro che spronarlo a continuare a spuntare quelle voci della lista, con l'aiuto di Kurose.
Questo manga va letto, assolutamente.
E se quello che ho detto non vi ha convinto, sappiate che c’è un aggettivo che contraddistingue sempre il nostro Kurose: enorme. Si tratta di uno yaoi, traete le vostre conclusioni.
May 1, 2022
★ ★ ☆ ☆ ☆
The slow burn is killing me. But the tension is ramping up and I can’t wait until they explode
The slow burn is killing me. But the tension is ramping up and I can’t wait until they explode
July 12, 2018
This book counts towards my July Cliterary Genius book challenge: Read a Manga. (Physical Book)
Great artwork, very talented but the manga itself cemented my disinterest in manga. Btw this is a book about a germaphobe seeking professional help. No smut.
Great artwork, very talented but the manga itself cemented my disinterest in manga. Btw this is a book about a germaphobe seeking professional help. No smut.
December 5, 2016
So I find myself wondering why Goodreads added the "(Yaoi Manga)" bit to the title of this. Yes, technically speaking, that's an accurate description. But it's not actually part of the title, nor does the phrase appear anywhere on either the front or back covers. Yes, it's published by SuBLime Manga--note the intentional emphasis on the "BL"--and rated "Mature." So does Goodreads call attention to ALL yaoi manga this way? I can't make up my mind whether they're trying to call attention to it or ghettoize it or what ...
I actually didn't realize this was a yaoi title until I looked it up on Goodreads. I saw it on the New Arrivals shelf at the library, and thought something along the lines of, "Huh. A new manga series I've never heard of. And it's volume 1! I might as well check it out and see if it's any good." That said, "yaoi," to me, implies more than actually happens in this book. There are two male characters, who seem attracted to one another. And ... they almost kiss. Scandalous! An M rating seems entirely too mild for this filth! Think of the children ... Seriously, this is pretty mild stuff. Fraught with promise, true, but quite tame in what is actually depicted. I suppose things might heat up in future volumes. They'd better, if that M rating is to be justified.
What's that? The story? I thought story was supposed to be irrelevant in yaoi? Okay, fine ...
Shirotani is the personal assistant to the president of a major corporation. He's a germophobe, but does good enough work that the people he works with are willing to overlook it. He has a chance encounter with Kurose, a therapist who offers to work with him to overcome his phobia. The core of this process is a list of ten actions of increasing difficulty (for a germophobe) that Shirotani must perform--in his own time, when he feels ready--before he will consider himself cured. Number 10 has been left blank for now, but I'm sure it will be filled in by the end of the series. There's some mystery as to why exactly Kurose is helping him, but I'm sure we'll know by the end etc. There seem to be (ba bump) feelings for each other on both sides of this potential relationship ...
The scene on the front cover does not appear anywhere in this volume. Sorry.
I enjoyed this quite a bit. The premise is interesting, and the characters intriguing. This is only volume 1, so it's mostly about introductions and setups for future plot points and so on. I'm definitely on board for more. Recommended!
I actually didn't realize this was a yaoi title until I looked it up on Goodreads. I saw it on the New Arrivals shelf at the library, and thought something along the lines of, "Huh. A new manga series I've never heard of. And it's volume 1! I might as well check it out and see if it's any good." That said, "yaoi," to me, implies more than actually happens in this book. There are two male characters, who seem attracted to one another. And ... they almost kiss. Scandalous! An M rating seems entirely too mild for this filth! Think of the children ... Seriously, this is pretty mild stuff. Fraught with promise, true, but quite tame in what is actually depicted. I suppose things might heat up in future volumes. They'd better, if that M rating is to be justified.
What's that? The story? I thought story was supposed to be irrelevant in yaoi? Okay, fine ...
Shirotani is the personal assistant to the president of a major corporation. He's a germophobe, but does good enough work that the people he works with are willing to overlook it. He has a chance encounter with Kurose, a therapist who offers to work with him to overcome his phobia. The core of this process is a list of ten actions of increasing difficulty (for a germophobe) that Shirotani must perform--in his own time, when he feels ready--before he will consider himself cured. Number 10 has been left blank for now, but I'm sure it will be filled in by the end of the series. There's some mystery as to why exactly Kurose is helping him, but I'm sure we'll know by the end etc. There seem to be (ba bump) feelings for each other on both sides of this potential relationship ...
The scene on the front cover does not appear anywhere in this volume. Sorry.
I enjoyed this quite a bit. The premise is interesting, and the characters intriguing. This is only volume 1, so it's mostly about introductions and setups for future plot points and so on. I'm definitely on board for more. Recommended!
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