Countdown to Yes
A BL romance that centers around photography? Count me in!
As a former photography nerd who still has a pretty good selection of film and instant cameras, I was so excited when I saw a BL that happened to revolve around two men’s love of photography. Countdown to Yes by Roji is a BL one shot following two men who met back in high school. I know there’s probably someone out there saying “another one shot?” and to that I say…. shhh I love one shots. Recently we’ve been on a roll with great BL one shots, let’s see how this one fares.
Genre: BL, romance
Age Rating: Teens 13+
Publisher: Animate International
Status: Complete, one volume
Synopsis:
Wataru and Minato are polar opposites. Wataru is outgoing and very expressive, while Minato has a calm and stoic demeanor. Although on paper, these two men couldn’t be more different but their shared love of photography back in high school brought these two together and they quickly became friends. As they grew older, they ended up renting a place together in college but once graduation comes around Minato moves across Japan for work. Minato’s absence causes Wataru to come to terms with his romantic feelings for his best friend, but will Minato feel the same way when they see each other?
Favorite Things:
Photography: I loved seeing elements of photography throughout this story, it really brought me back to when I used to love exploring and would take my film cameras along with me. I loved seeing the camera equipment, seeing film being developed, and the emotional relationship a photographer has with their muses.
Minato: Our stoic male lead was so clear and concise about communicating his feelings and wants. He was also incredibly patient with Wataru as well, sometimes he was a little too patient in my opinion.
Minato’s backstory: I really enjoyed seeing the flashback and getting to see how a very young Minato fell in love with photography. It was really cute seeing him take an interest in it after seeing how his grandpa took sweet pictures of his wife. Seeing how much joy his grandpa would get from capturing images of the love of his life made Minato want to express himself through photography.
Things I Disliked:
Wataru: This dude literally gave me whiplash. I really hated how stubborn and wishy washy he was throughout the story. If he was in love with Minato, then why the hell did he keep toying with his emotions? I know Wataru mentioned a few times that he was scared to lose a friend but he was also not a very good friend to begin with. Who gives their friend the cold shoulder for no reason despite claiming how close you two are? It was weird and he ended up becoming one of the most detestable characters I’ve come across.
Supposedly this is a story about two people who are bad at communicating but only one was truly bad and refused to listen. *Cough cough* Wataru. Like I mentioned earlier, Minato was so clear with his feelings for Wataru and what he wanted. There was zero room for misinterpretation.
Rating: ★★ / 5
This was such a frustrating read. I wasn’t even able to get happy once they got together because by then I was so tired of Wataru. If it wasn’t for Minato and his grandparents, I probably would have given this a one star, but they’re truly the best parts of this story.
Shop here: Crunchyroll / Animate International