Sakura-Gari
is a Japanese manga series written and illustrated by Yuu Watase. As the author's first boys' love series, it follows the relationship between a poor student and his aristocratic benefactor, who hides a dark secret. Sakura-Gari was serialized in Rinka, a spin-off of Shogakukan's manga magazine Monthly Flowers, from June 2007 to January 2010. Shogakukan collected its chapters in three volumes published from 2008 to 2010. The company issued a new edition of the manga in 2016.
Synopsis
Set in Japan in 1920, the story follows the relationship between Masataka Tagami, a poor student who wishes to enter Tokyo Imperial University, and Sōma Saiki, a tormented aristocrat with a sulfurous reputation. Sōma agrees to employ Masataka as a servant and house him while he prepares for the university's entrance exam. As Masataka grows closer to the beautiful Sōma, he uncovers dark and disturbing secrets about the Saiki family.
Characters
; Masataka Tagami
; Sōma Saiki
; Sakurako Saiki / Yōya
; Katō
; Tomohiko Katsuragi
; Masayo
; Nobuhito Terashima
; Ohatsu
; Hiroshi Yoshino
; Kanako
; Takafumi Matsushita
; Mitsugu Tagami
Publication
Sakura-Gari was written and illustrated by Yuu Watase. It premiered in the inaugural issue of Rinka, a spin-off of Shogakukan's manga magazine Monthly Flowers, released on June 14, 2007. It concluded in Rinkas ninth issue, released on January 14, 2010. Sakura-Gari is notable for being Watase's first boys' love manga series. Shogakukan collected its chapters in three volumes published under the Flower Comics Special imprint from 2008 to 2010. They re-released the series in three volumes published under the Flowers Comics imprint in 2016. Internationally, Sakura-Gari has been licensed in Spanish by ECC Ediciones, French by Tonkam, and German by Egmont Manga & Anime. In response to fan inquiries, North American publisher SuBLime said they could not "risk publishing" the series in English as it contains underage rape.
Reception
In "BL ", a monthly column for The Asahi Shimbun Company's Good Life with Books website, Masatoshi Inoue chose Sakura-Gari as his boys' love manga recommendation for October 2020. Inoue, the head of Honto.jp's BL specialty floor, described Sakura-Gari as a work of complex emotions that cannot, or should not, be reduced to categorizations such as "suspense story" or "love story".