Please be advised this review contains *major* spoilers for Bad Boys, Happy Home Vol 3 by SHOOWA & Hiromasa Okujima, published by SuBLime.
When my copy of Bad Boys, Happy Home vol 3 arrived, I cried. I have never been both happier and heartbroken to receive a final volume of a manga series. You guys know per my reviews of volume one and volume two that I absolutely love the Boy’s Love series Bad Boys, Happy Home. While I was looking forward to the conclusion, I did not want the series to end.
Sad Boys, Sad Home
Volume three spares zero feelings as it immediately dives into the story showing both Akamatsu and Seven missing each other. Akamatsu is moping around school, feeling dejected. He keeps rereading his text messages and just wondering what he could have done. In the midst of his moping around, Sachiko drops by the apartment to pick up Seven’s things.
Sachiko, who is affiliated with Seven and Eight, tells Akamatsu that Seven is alive and well. However, it’s better off if Akamatsu stays away from Seven. Sachiko then proceeds to fill Akamatsu in on Seven and Eight’s past.
(Trigger Warning!! This next portion includes a summary of a scene with mention of murder, sexual assault, and forced sex work. Please read at your own caution.)
Sachiko explains that Seven’s parents brought him along to a drug deal that went wrong. This resulted in his parents being killed. Seven ended up killing the person who killed his parents. He was then taken in by one of the guys, Kanzaki who already had Eight, a step-child his ex-wife left. Kanzaki ended up forcing them to perform sexual acts on “clients”. This continues until the other guys notice what Kanzaki is doing and get the guys out of there.
Akamatsu, after hearing all this, decides that he is going to rescue Seven no matter what! Can we just take a moment to swoon?! Normally, anyone would be put off hearing about someone’s extremely dark past. Not sweet baby, Akamatsu though! He loves Seven so much, he wants to help him get out of this life.
Getting Seven Back
Sachiko and Akamatsu kind of develop a plan to “get Seven back” but Akamatsu has to wait for Sachiko’s word. In the meantime, Akamatsu just reflects on his relationship with Seven. We see Akamatsu even talking to his mom about Seven, and crying when he thinks of Seven.
After what seems like forever (or a couple of pages who knows,) Akamatsu receives a text from Sachiko with a location on where to go. When Akamatsu arrives, he encounters Seve, Eight, Sachiko, and the rest of the shady guys in a weird stand-off. Our baby Akamatsu goes into rescuer mode and immediately declares that he there to take Seven home.
Over the next few pages, a lot of dialog happens regarding the Yakuza/drug ish stuff and Seven’s decision to leave. I’ll be honest, since I’m only here for SevenxAkamatsu, I breezed past this part. The important takeaway for me is that Akamatsu tells Seven it’s his decision to stay or leave. Seven decides to leave to be with Akamatsu (as he should!)
Bad Boys Return to a Happy Home
Seven and Akamatsu’s reunion tops my list for best reunion ever. Akamatsu spends the day cleaning the apartment in anticipation of Seven’s return. When Seven finally arrives, the two share a very emotional hug. Seven says that he still has things to tell Akamatsu. In which Akamatsu lets him know they can talk about it when he’s ready.
After this, the guys end up going to a cute typical “hot springs” trip where nothing happens because they were both so tired. But when they return home, they finally completely seal the deal. As far as sex scenes go, the moment between Akamatsu and Seven has to be one of the most realistic scenes I’ve seen to date. The sex is sexy, but it’s also awkward and funny as you expect a first time to be. Seven is great at leading the way and Akamatsu is, well, just as you expect him to act during this time.
The story ends with them carrying on as normal and moving forward together for this new chapter of their lives.
Wanting More
I was so satisfied with the ending and happy that Seven and Akamatsu were able to end up together, but I would be lying if I said I didn’t want more! I love them both so much and their dynamic is so refreshing. SHOOWA does a great job of mixing some typical Yaoi/BL tropes while also adding in elements that you wouldn’t normally expect of the genre. As my girl Naja of Blerdy Otome pointed out in her review of the series, the shounen art style really elevates this series and makes it stand out. I definitely need more Boy’s Love stories in this style.
I could have done without the extensive dive into the organization Seven was a part of and the whole stand-off thing, drugs, and all that to be quite honest, but it wouldn’t be a SHOOWA work without these types of elements. Besides, Seven and Akamatsu’s relationship is so satisfying the entire series, I can overlook (or quickly flip through) the details.
Overall, I absolutely loved Bad Boys, Happy Home as a whole and will definitely be rereading it often. I can’t enough of Akamatsu and Seven. They deserve all the happiness in the world and I just love them so much.
