Welcome Back, Aureole

by Misaki Takamatsu

Outgoing and popular Kazu and shy and serious Moto grew up together as childhood best friends. But something changes during junior high, and the familiar, easy rhythm of their friendship begins to break apart as Kazu starts nursing deeper feelings for his oblivious friend. When Kazu's troubled home life and Moto's budding romantic forays create a clash of misunderstandings, secrets, and hurt feelings, will their relationship be able to survive these growing pains?

Welcome Back, Aureole is a bittersweet yet tender exploration of the maturation of young love. Two boys growing up side by side... their stars drift apart and come together again.

Genres: Manga, LGBT, Romance, Boys Love, Queer, Graphic Novels, Comics

210 pages, Paperback

First published February 27, 2017

About the author

Name (in native Japanese): 高松美咲

Reviews

[daph pink ♡ · Rating 2 out of 5]

Reviewing it after 4 days and already forgot what's the plot was.

[Calista · Rating 4 out of 5]

I was drawn into this story. It's a sweet story of two neighbors growing up together from young kids into high school. They are Kazu, the outgoing popular on and Moto who is shy. Kazu gets a crush on Moto in Junior high and it changes their friendship some. It isn't until Moto is in high school that they look at this differently.

Kazu has a rough home life and his parents are going through it. Moto was dating someone else for two years and that doesn't seem to be working either.

The Japanese slice of life is low key and very sweet. It is innocent and a great first love tale. I enjoyed these two characters. I'm a fan.

[Keiko, the manga enthusiast ♒︎ · Rating 4 out of 5]

HEAR ME OUT, THE AUTHOR OF Skip to Loafer> CREATED A BL STORY AND IT'S ONE OF THE BEST OF BL THINGS EVER.

It's a real slow-burn with flashback and all with adorable friendship that tugs at your heartstrings, and super cute art style!! I really adore sensei's art style. What a breath of fresh air! I'm in love with this one so much but I'm feeling down with the ending, I needed a more reassuring tone in added sketches of course. I felt that the actual romance after the confession is too short, like, I need to see their lovers image after all the angst, you know what I mean? It would be so rewarding on the reader's part, and sensei kind of fell too short on that. Also, I was waiting for the butterfly symbolism when Moto finally confessed to Kazu—WHERE'S MY DAMN BUTTERFLY?!

Overall, I really love it and it's one of my fave things ever!

[Julie · Rating 3 out of 5]

This is a good childhood friends story. It's a pretty slow burn. They've known each other since elementary school, but it starts off with them as middle schoolers and follows them as they get older, develop feelings, drift apart, come back together. It had somewhat of a melancholic feel to it. It made my chest hurt at times, because there were so many times when it wasn't the right moment for them and it was a little painful.

I liked this, but it was a little confusing. I think the pacing was off so I want to revisit it when the physical edition releases in March. I feel like I could really come to love this, but it just wasn't quite there.

[Leila ✨ · Rating 3 out of 5]

El manga en sí me pareció lindo pero uno más del montón. However, me generó una sensación de nostalgia que no estaba mentalmente preparada para sentir ahr porque te muestra cómo las personas con las que creciste pueden terminar convirtiéndose en gente que ya no reconoces a pesar de verlas todos los días, y me hizo re mal jssjsj tipo la historia no se enfoca mucho en eso desde un lado "negativo" pero a mi me puso en modo trolo igual

3 de 5 estrellas.

[bow down to our ace king victor vale · Rating 3 out of 5]

2.45!

it was ok. i wasn’t too attached to the characters or their relationship, so many emotional points were a bit lost on me/ didn’t affect me much. the timeline was also confusing a good portion of the time. that being said, the art was nice (esp the cover), and it was a quick, light read. i always appreciate a good friends-to-lovers ^^

[Sparkling Lemonade · Rating 5 out of 5]

Chinese title: 歡迎回來，我的光輝

This one has 神率 of 65.1% on Chil-Chil!
5⭐️

So Takatsu is the nickname used by Takamatsu Misaki sensei for this BL manga. I was pleasantly surprised and hope to see more BL work from this artist in the future!

To be honest, the drawing style is not what I would typically be attracted to, it’s more like children’s storybook illustration, reminds me of Taiwanese illustrator 幾米 Jimmy Liao.

However, this story about childhood best friends to lovers is one of the best I’ve read, on a completely different level from those popular 幼馴染 BL mangas.

The seme and uke have been inseparable growing up, when they entered high school, the seme is handsome and popular and the uke is quiet and low key.
Because they care about each other so much, they want to maintain this close relationship and dare not to change… Of course boys at this age will start to date girls, but will they be happier spending time with their girlfriends? Will they grow apart once they enter university and hang with different crowds?

The art and story are so well blended, I was completely immersed in their world, like watching an art house film. We follow the two from their childhood to high school and university in this single volume, yet it doesn’t feel rushed at all.

This artist is very sensitive about the homosexual topic just as in real life, carefully displayed the emotional development of the main characters, so much thought has been put into their dialogues, and great attention to details for the story flow and frame layout.

[fer · Rating 4 out of 5]

liked the way the plot developed

[Louly · Rating 4 out of 5]

2.01 pm, aug 5, 2022

i liked it. it was short and sweet. ☺️

[jude · Rating 4 out of 5]

that was so cute

[Nayli · Rating 5 out of 5]

4.5/ quería ver más de ellos

[Cas ✨ · Rating 4 out of 5]

Kind of melancholy but very sweet shounen ai 🥹

[hilary · Rating 5 out of 5]

And yes I kin Kazu idga rats ass what anyone has to say abt it

[Vince Van · Rating 3 out of 5]

I’m not really a fan of manga, but this one was okay. I still couldn’t really follow it at some points tho

[Rebecca · Rating 4 out of 5]

Quiet and bittersweet, this accomplishes what the author says they set out to do: tell a story about two ordinary boys you could find anywhere and their relationship. The use of both time and Kazu's hair are very well used as storytelling and symbolism devices, and I like this more and more as I think about it.

[romi · Rating 4 out of 5]

segunda lecturaaa: POR QUÉ ES TAN CORTO POR QUÉ NO HAY MÁS TOMOS UNO MÁS TE PIDO LOCO UNO AL MENOS

primera lectura: aa fue hermoso encima hace tanto que no leía algún bl que renovador fue volver a mis raíces 🧘‍♀️

[G L · Rating 5 out of 5]

Re read peak again soooo goodd (little heart breaks and pains here and there but the same feelings when I reread it, peaakkkkkkk)

[K · Rating 5 out of 5]

Loved this. A quiet, straightforward story about two best friends growing together (then apart, then together again) as they navigate childhood, the emotional upheavals of puberty, complicated family dynamics, and becoming adults. There's no manufactured drama or petty misunderstandings etc; it feels like a natural, realistic story of youth and life and love.

I suspect some readers might be disappointed by how late the romance becomes part of the story, or how little we get to see of it once it's mutual, but the point of this narrative is seeing how they get there, and how they communicate with each other throughout.

Love Kazu in particular, but also how quickly Moto understood something as subtle and heartwrenching as the reasons behind Kazu bleaching his hair. Their relationship is so good, in a much less obvious way than a lot of traditional storytelling.

Sidenote: the "Attempted Sexual Assault" tag on the back cover is pretty extreme and misleading. I was kind of anxious while reading, because I hate that as a plot element, but all it means is that Kazu aggressively kissed Moto without discussing anything or even explaining (initially) that he was doing it because he likes Moto romantically. Was it good for him to do? No. Was it immediately addressed? Absolutely. So if you're nervous about reading it because of that tag, it is really not as dire as it sounds.

Really enjoyed this, and it's honestly nice sometimes to read a story that's just one-and-done in a single volume.

[ℂ ✧ · Rating 3 out of 5]

Després de llegir fins スキップとローファー 8 Skip to Loafer 8 tenia curiositat de l'obra anterior de la mangaka, sobretot sabent que es tracta d'un BL. He vist en algunes ressenyes que el seu estil d'il·lustració no agrada gaire, però a mi em sembla bastant expressiu i bufó, així que cap queixa. Pel que fa a la trama, prometia força, però el ritme cap al final s'accelera massa i acaba de pressa i corrents amb un salt en el temps i sense ni tan sols un trist petó. No ho feu això, home, que és molt frustrant!!!! :( La psicologia dels personatges és el punt fort de la història, però també li cal més profunditat. En general, és un bon manga, entretingut i cuqui, que es ressent del limitat format volum únic.

[Katerine CC · Rating 3 out of 5]

Empezó muy bien, ¿pero qué rayos fue ese final?

Un flop completo. Se siente como un primer trabajo al que trasquilaron deliberadamente.

O sea, la historia está nice porque son dos amigos que se van enamorando, vemos poco a poco como uno oculta sus sentimientos y como el otro va cediendo con el paso del tiempo. Creo que debió tener más tomos para desarrollar mejor la historia, porque es muy dulce y divertida, peeeero salta de la nada un par de años y justo al final lo más importante queda en el aire. Siento que me faltaron muchas escenas y una transición más suave, además, nos dan un epílogo obvio, pero genérico que me hubiera gustado más si llevara detrás una historia más desarrollada.

En fin, es una pena, porque los primeros 3 o 4 capítulos iban muy bien. En serio, con unos 3 tomos la historia habría quedado perfecta.

[Kay Claire · Rating 4 out of 5]

The story follows two boys from childhood into the end of high school, and there's a lot of time jumps and POV switches. It's definitely a slow-burn and also low-romance (the managaka uses the phrase "too-few love scenes" in the afterword) - there's only ever a HINT that the characters might have kissed. It being a book about children/teenagers falling for each other, I don't mind this lack of anything explicit.

I will say I'm afraid this isn't the most memorable manga I've ever read - I finished it this morning and can't remember some aspects already. But it's slow and sweet, so hopefully it finds its target audience.

CW for parents fighting and mild domestic abuse, parental divorce, some wet-dreams are hinted at, and a small amount of non-con in the form of a kiss

[Bailey · Rating 2 out of 5]

I was intrigued by this BL manga by the same author as Skip & Loafer--I recently finished season 1 of the anime and loved it, so I was interested in giving this a shot. Overall, I found this to just be okay. In the author's note, Takamatsu writes they wanted to write a BL about 2 ordinary boys, which is fine and good, but that makes this story feel extremely ordinary, and the characters don't feel truly real or lived-in in any sense. It's hard to get behind a love story when the love interest doesn't have any defining qualities. So while I didn't hate it, I can't say I recommend it as worth your time. If you're looking for a sweet slice-of-live BL manga, there's a lot of other options out there that are more interesting.

[Kristina · Rating 2 out of 5]

It wasn't bad. It was definitely better than some of the graphic BL manga I've come across lately. I would have liked it more if it has shown us a little more of what happened after they first got together instead of skipping straight to two years later. If they had, I may have given it three stars, but it just felt a little disappointing, like it skipped the climax.

Also, I'm not sure why it's titled Welcome Back, Aureole. Aureole means halo right? Maybe it's because they allowed the innocence back into their relationship? But the way it ended with Seto saying "Welcome Home," and Kuzo saying, "I'm back," seems like it's a play on that, so I don't understand why they chose the word Aureole.

[Natilin Alpaca Saurio · Rating 4 out of 5]

Un Bl bastante "realista", fácil de leer y llegador. La historia no tiene gran complejidad pero no le hace falta más para atrapar al lector con su buen ritmo, personajes carismáticos y trama que te engancha a la primera pagina. Gráficamente también es bastante interesante, el dibujo no es magnifico pero me llamó la atención el manejo de las viñetas.
Me faltó un beso final o un abrazo o algo, pero no se puede todo en la vida :,D

[Iyas Utomo · Rating 2 out of 5]

Hmm, how should I put this... the manga isn't bad, but there's nothing that really wowed me enough to love it.

The story is simple, and honestly, if it were longer and gave more focus to Kazu's conflicts with his family, I think it would be more dynamic.

But for a pretty normal school romance, meaning without excessive sex scenes, this manga is a good choice. The relationship between Kazu and Moto is subtle and realistic for their age.

[Nathalia★ · Rating 4 out of 5]

4.5
La verdad soy muy fan del manga skip and loafer de la misma creadora y cuando vi que esta obra era de la misma me dieron ganas de leerla, me gusta mucho como está escrita la relación de los principales en SaL así que quería leer sobre esta autora y la verdad es que si me gustito estuvo bonito, lo único malo es que estuvo muy corto y no pudo profundidad o darle conclusión a varios temas que toco pero bueno nimopd en general estuvo bien

[rondoravioli · Rating 2 out of 5]

This was okay. I like the art and the premise, but the story wasn't particularly remarkable and I doubt I'll ever come back for a reread. And, admittedly, I didn't care for that scene with Kazu forcing himself on Moto. It didn't go too far, thankfully, and is pretty common for the genre, but I still could have done without it.

[Tib · Rating 3 out of 5]

This is one that I think would have benefitted from being a series rather than a one-shot. The timeline gave me whiplash and even if this was two or three volumes, I think it would have maybe given the story time to slow down and allow us to spend more time with the characters in the different phases of their lives and have us care a little more about their troubles.

[J-Lynn · Rating 4 out of 5]

To be frank, this did NOT feel like a romance manga. Instead, it felt more like something you would find in Chicken Soup for the Soul. A heartwarming story of two friends coming back together and (hopefully) staying together.

[Michelle · Rating 2 out of 5]

2.5 stars
Meh. I like the story in that it was different and didn't just revolve around their relationship, but there was nothing that pulled me in.

There is barely a single kiss so definitely an accurate rating of 13+.

TW: mentions of domestic abuse