2026-01-09: yaribu (manga)
Edit 2026-05-07: this post is archived from a journal post from an older iteration of my website. there are things i would word differently but i dont think i should change it so... i feel like mentioning that for this specific post for some reason.
i just caught up reading yarichin bitch bu and im gonna pour all the stuff i wanna say about it (please dont judge). this isnt really a review cuz idk how to write reviews.. i just wanna say things somewhere where my IRLs cant judge me directly. spoilers ahead!! i actually tried to read yaribu a few years ago out of curiosity but the first few chapters are quite.. off-putting, which makes sense because early on it was just supposed to be manwhore central. i kinda forgot about it until a few months ago i was on kisskh and saw yaribu was one of the recent series and watched it. putting aside the obvious issues, i was mainly interested in yaguchi's secret personality and kind of wanted to see more of jimmy and yuri.
the main reason i started reading was because of yaguchi. i liked his backstory and was like so glad it explained the blushing thing because it felt like incest-bait in the beginning ngl. im a bit disappointed that they basically abandoned his two-faced personality after it was revealed to touno (which is my favourite scene), like we stopped seeing his fake sweet side and his real side even became publicly known. im not too mad about it tho cuz he still had a part he was hiding which was his feelings for touno. in the beginning, touno's feelings for yaguchi felt kinda superficial. like oh thats just naturally how it should be yk, the (totally not gay) mc likes the feminine guy. but i really liked reading yaguchi developing feelings for touno as he became more conscious of him. i was SO excited to see him finally kiss touno after the play. i thought the big kiss would be on stage but it was actually the one after and i was like qfbsbfjfkj THINGS ARE PROGRESSING YAY. i hope to read how they address it in future chapters because so far its just confusion and blushing.
yaguchi is still my favourite so im still mainly rooting for him and touno. buuuut i wouldnt complain if kashima and touno end up together. in he beginning, to me kashima's feelings towards touno was like kinda outta nowhere to me. like bro you guys just met. but after he confessed, i could see how he shows his love for touno. his backstory is ok too, showing both kashima and yaguchi's persective. i still prefer yaguchi, but kashima isnt so bad. as it stands, it really doesnt feel like the love triangle is leaning any particular direction so i have no idea how it will play out.
i actually quite like yuri. he's mostly just comic relief so he's easier to enjoy when you dont take him too seriously, despite the fact that he literally commits public indecency every other scene. jimmy is very important to yuri's character, pretty much all the times yuri speaks coherently, it has something to do with jimmy. jimmy is also a big fat freak so he complements yuri. the newest two chapters were very yuri-jimmy focussed and i genuinely was like scared for their relationship but not only did it get resolved, we saw YURI'S EYES?? and i think he's going to be exclusive with jimmy?? insane development. he's kind of overpowered tho.. you cant be handsome, good at academics, sports, and yaribu at the same time thats too much. his only debuff is he's weird. his voice lowkey makes me want to rip my ears off but i like him enough that i just convince myself its not that bad.
shikatani is a weird character to me. like he's in the category of sex addict characters but his backstory is actually pretty good. i would read it if it was its own story. i think he is the only case where i can accept a teacher-student relationship because its plot relevant (ill mention the other ones later). one of his gags is asking to take touno's virginity and while i dont enjoy it, its comparatively less worse than akemi who makes gang rape jokes. i dont really like akemi. aside the fact that he makes the most gang rape jokes, he still isnt over his ex while dating his brother?? this isnt a writing issue, i just think he's an asshole. tangent: the seniors mustve graduated at most 2 years ago right?? how is he already married wth a baby?? anyway, tamura has also made a rape joke about yaguchi (which is not how you win over your crush..). i dont really like yaguchi and tamura anyway, it's very one-sided and yaguchi already rejected him.
ok so what is actually the problem with yaribu? you could argue that even though its a sex club run by teenagers, theyre still consenting so its fine (not that i personally believe this, i do think the premise is weird but im just playing devil's advocate)... except the instances where they /dont/ consent like literally the first episode?? (iirc) like they were actually about to gang rape touno and kishima and who escaped due to pure plot armour. tamura was also gang raped as a first year (cuz he didnt have sex in his first month, same as touno and kashima) but "enjoyed it" in the end which is obviously fucked up but with the nature of this manga im not surprised (still hate this type of twist tho, its gross). also it seems a bit predatory that it isnt even apparent that yaribu is a sex club and not a photography club yet akemi would not let touno leave.
there are also student-teacher relationships which are the bane of my existence, i really dont like them in general. there are 3 named teachers afaik implied or mentioned to be involved wih yaribu sexually. i already mentioned shikatani who was involved by matsumura-sensei, he blackmailed him into having sex with him until yaribu exposed him and got him fired so it is relevant to the plot at least. the first time i saw midou-sensei i thought 'hey this guy looks cute i like his little hair bun' and then he said akemi smelled like milk with his face between his legs while he was putting bandages on him and suddenly i remembered what type of manga i was reading. this one is just weird, couldve gone without. last one is konno-sensei who dated arizawa (an alumnus of yaribu) while he was still a third year. this fact is even weaponised against him by tamura so at least its definitely condemned?? in a joking manner tho. this relationship is also relevant when yaribu went to a ryokan (arizawa's family's ryokan) so technically this relationship is necessary for certain parts but idk.
im obviously not going to defend the weird stuff in yaribu, especially since certain topics arent always condemned or treated seriously. this is less of a yaribu-specific problem and more of a yaoi problem imo (not all yaoi ofc, theres plenty that arent like this). but like as long as they arent making rape jokes and the like then yaribu is actually quite funny, it is a comedy after all. yaribu has quite a notorious reputation which is why i am very hesitant to say 'i like yarichin bitch club' and ever post a manga screenshot of yuri, but you know, i can like things while also condemning its bad sides. i like the plot, i like the characters. i dont really care about the sex scenes unless there's relevant dialogue, other than that it feels kinda arbitrary (unless theres one in the future involving touno, then thats gonna be huge). i really like the art style, yaribu was made over more than 10 years and counting so it was interesting seeing ogeretsu tanaka's art style evolve and improve. i have read like 2 other of ogeretsu tanaka's work before, they both have a similar art style to each other but yaribu's art style is a bit different from them. anyway in conclusion yaribu is actually kinda peak now stream touch you (theres individual versions???)
ok wait im gonna go through all these versions of touch you properly cuz WHAT was happening with jimmy. all: yes yes the classic. yuri: why is he barking. hes not even singing lmao i think his va had fun with this. tamura: i like this. jimmy: ok he's mostly whispering then his weird side comes out and he sounds like a could be a menhera kei band vocalist. akemi: i want to punch this motherfucker. itome: dude i dont remember this guy sounding like this i always imagined him with a deeper voice lol. shikatani: i think shikatani could be an eden (enstars) member. kashima: ok his voice is actually so solid im ascending. this might be the best one so far. yaguchi: love the aggressive bits lol. touno: he sounds confused. he's the 'but we're both guys??' type character after all. i wonder why "sawarasenai kimi wa shoujo na no" was the lyric that got popular if it isnt even the main chorus, is it cuz of yuri's line after? anyway i think i might binge free! next. keep the yaoi going and also because i accidentally skipped the second season when i first watched like years ago.
random tangent i remembered: is it just me or as the art style evolved, touno also grew more hair.. like at some point i was like wait when did he have a mullet cuz he was so plain the the beginning. not complaining, it looks good. i feel like yaguchi's eyes changed shape a bit after he revealed his personality to touno which i like. also his little ponytail stands up when he's scared or excited it soooo cute i love yaguchi ok bye you can persecute me now.
Edit 2026-05-07: I read the recent chapter where touno and kashima go to touno's home and OH MY GOD. i have to mention this because earlier in this post i was like "oh the triangle isnt leaning any particular side" YES IT IS KASHIMA IS SO AHEAD OF THE GAME. a yaguchi fan said that, that's why, but legit touno is sosososososo falling for kashima. YAGUCHI KEEP UP!!! yaguchi's tsundereness is basically what is preventing him from getting closer to touno. that and he already technically turned touno down in like the second episode. touno and kashima are going very strong and I LIKE IT AHHH!! i like yaguchi but honestly whichever way this goes i am squealing either way. ok bye.
