N Title: Pink Heart Jam beat
JP Title: ピンクハートジャム beat
Author/Artist: Shikke
Publisher: SuBLime
Publisher Rating: Mature
Status: Ongoing

Content notes: Explicit sexual content

SuBLime recently released Pink Heart Jam beat, the sequel to the two volume series Pink Heart Jam. For those unfamiliar with the story, it follows the romance between freshman Yuki Haiga and his senior Ryo Kanae. Haiga joins his university's rock music club and finds himself drawn to Kanae, a cool guitarist and senior. At an outing with a club, he's dared to visit a brothel1 meant for gay men. Haiga, who had been wondering about his sexuality decides to seriously visit one. But when he picks out a place and allows the staff to pick a member for him, he runs into Kanae! After hearing Haiga out, Kanae decides to help Haiga explore. But on campus, Kanae and Haiga's relationship returns to simply being junior and senior. As Haiga continues his visits and also gets to know Kanae outside the brothel, he finds himself falling in love. Kanae too begins to recognize his own growing feelings and quits being a sex worker. In the end, Haiga confesses and Kanae accepts.

beat picks up three years the last chapter and before the epilogue (after Haiga returns from senior year band camp trip). Despite living together, the two barely see each other because of their schedules. Kanae often works late hours while Haiga struggles to figure out his career path before graduating. Kanae, who knows isn't the greatest at giving emotional support, wants to support the stressed-out Haiga better. Haiga also wants to be with Kanae more, but doesn't want to add on to his busy schedule. Haiga also finds himself jealous, after hearing misinformation about Kanae and a friend from Kanae's older brother. But everything gets set straight in the end after Haiga follows friends' advice to be open and talk with Kanae. Haiga soon graduates, and gets a surprise performance from Kanae's band that disbanded after the members graduated, the Cigars.

When I first read Pink Heart Jam, I really appreciated how Shikke she wrote Haiga and his desire to understand his sexuality. I really appreciated the realistic feel of the story, and I was glad to continue feeling it in beat. I enjoyed reading about Kanae and Haiga balancing and navigating their own lives and their relationship in this first volume. The two are a very loving couple, and they resolve tensions calmly and quickly, especially with Haiga's worries over Kanae's possible past relationship with Hayashida, his friend and former bandmate. I do feel writing about established couples and their obstacles can be difficult do well, but Shikke is able to continue Kanae and Haiga's story in a way that keeps readers engaged. With serialization continuing in Japan, I'm excited for the second volume! I look forward to more of SuBLime's work on the title as well. I really have enjoyed all their other titles they've brought to English fans.

Thanks to NetGalley and SuBLime for the DRC!

Pink Heart Jam Beat is a cute romance that reads like a slice of life.

I felt misled by the summary. This is a sequel to Pink Heart Jam. Though there are some flashbacks to the original work, going in blind like I did was confusing. I think this should be remedied by being labeled volume two or three.

I was so excited to read this! And my excitement lasted! I loved coming back to our main characters and seeing them in an established relationship now. I love established relationships. I loved seeing the complexities of them navigating living together and being together. Overall, so happy with this latest installment and cannot wait for more! Thank you to NetGalley for this.

The BL series Pink Heart Jam by Shikke has been one of my favorites since it was serializing on Futekiya a few years ago. I couldn’t have been happier when SuBLime, Viz’s BL imprint, announced it would be licensing the print editions and the sequel, Pink Heart Jam beat.

Pink Heart Jam follows Haiga, a college freshman who is navigating his sexuality. When he meets Kanae, a senpai in his music club, the two begin a complicated relationship. Kanae works at a sex parlor on the side, and Haiga becomes his customer. While Haiga works out his sexuality, the two grow closer and ultimately become a couple.

I fell in love with Haiga and Kanae in Pink Heart Jam! I revisit the story often because I can’t get enough. Haiga’s curiosity, which transforms into a yearning for Kanae, makes my heart race! Although inexperienced, Haiga is the ultimate lover boy. His determination to make Kanae his is charming, and you can’t help but fall for him too. Of course, Kanae’s apprehension of Haiga is understandable. But as Kanae starts falling for Haiga, you just want to let him know his heart is safe. The two-volume series ends right as the couple makes it official, which isn’t unusual for BL. However, you are left wanting more, and luckily, Shikke delivers with the sequel, Pink Heart Jam beat.

Sequels for series can be hits or misses sometimes. Will they capture the original essence that made us fall in love with the stories? Will it be new enough to engage us and keep us wanting more? I’m happy to report that Pink Heart Jam beat does all that and more. Shikke manages to expand the world of Haiga and Kanae without losing the original spark we felt in Pink Heart Jam.

In Pink Heart Jam beat, two years have passed since we last saw Haiga and Kanae. Haiga is now a college senior, on the cusp of graduation. He’s currently rethinking what he wants to do professionally after he graduates, and is contemplating becoming a music teacher. Kanae is working as a producer in a recording studio. He works very long hours and has an erratic schedule. Haiga and Kanae are all grown up and working through their personal issues, while still learning about each other in the relationship.

I loved seeing these new, adultier sides of Haiga and Kanae. They fumble through career prospects, being out in the “real world,” family relationships, friendships, and more. Haiga and Kanae’s relationship transforms ever so slightly, but in a realistic way. They still have challenges, but nothing too contrived or exaggerated for the sake of adding drama.

I may be biased because I adore Haiga and Kanae so much, but I think we need 10 volumes of this sequel. It is so well done and makes me so excited for what is to come for the couple. It manages to remind us why we loved them in the original series and also gives us new reasons to root for them in this iteration

Haiga and Kanade are back! "Pink Heart Jam beat" follows "Pink Heart Jam," although one can still enjoy this volume without having read the previous one. (I first read "Pink Heart Jam" years ago on futekiya, when it was still separate from Mangaplanet.) If you absolutely need to know how a couple gets together, then you should read the "Pink Heart Jam" first. If you like stories where the couple acts like adults, puts effort into their relationship while still functioning in society, and actually talks things out, then this is for you. To new readers the story will just be a young couple who moved in together, an event that usually changes relationships. I am really hoping there's a volume 2 because reading about Haiga and Kanade is like a dopamine and serotonin story cocktail. "Pink Heart Jam beat" doesn't serve big drama, but for a slice of life romance it's like an ideal fantasy setting because they're pursuing careers in music, have affordable housing, and a supportive social network. Sometimes you just want to read about people who live different lives but are still living their best lives.

Pink Heart Jam beat 1 picks up where Pink Heart Jam left off, with some helpful flashbacks to fill in gaps. Haiga is navigating senior exams while Kanae is working long hours in a music studio. The two have finally moved in together but with both men so busy they struggle to make time for their relationship. These two so clearly love each other, which is why I didn't love the jealousy subplot, but luckily that was resolved quickly. I look forward to seeing how things evolve now that Haiga is also joining the workforce. Thanks to Viz media and NetGalley for the arc in exchange for my honest review.

This new series actually hails from the Viz Manga imprint SuBLime, specializing in BL manga titles. Shikke’s Pink Heart Jam beat is actually a sequel to her previous series, Pink Heart Jam. But you don’t have to have followed the original to dive into this new series. College-grad-to-be Haiga is lamenting his career path, considering working as a music teacher. Fortunately, his boyfriend Kanae is there for him. Literally, the two share an apartment. But Kanae also goes the extra mile to help his boyfriend do what he needs to pursue his new dream. As graduation approaches, Haiga finds himself with new difficulties. What about Kanae’s past love life, for instance? And why does Kanae push himself to the point of exhaustion to be supportive?

Pink Heart Jam beat is an explicit, rated-M title. Whether that’s a deal-maker or a deal-breaker is up to the individual reader. But do bear in mind that there are several “open-door” moments. The art is lovely throughout, and there’s a lot of story to go around. From college and workforce woes to the anxieties of a new relationship, this new title covers them all. If you’re not familiar with Shikke’s work already, this may convince you to explore more.

This is a continuation of the two part series Pink Heart Jam starring the same couple, Haiga and Kanae. Set shortly after Pink Heart Jam, Haiga and Kanae have moved in together and it's going surprisingly well, despite the long hours Kanae works as a sound engineer and Haiga's developing concern over his career prospects. Overall I really like the tone of the Pink Heart Jam series, because the characters really support each other. It seems like Haiga and Kanae's relationship is developing at a good pace.

this is such a good series! i enjoy every new volume. i always enjoy a series where the couple talks to each other and manages to work things out without relying on a miscommunication trope.

ARC provided by NetGalley. I originally received this ARC a with out realizing it was a continuing story. After catching up on the original, I was pleased to read this one and see how sweet the story continued. I loved how short and sweet the story is. Two boys falling in love and unlike a lot of BL, there wasn’t a HUGE climactic fall out between the two love interests. Which I like sometimes but can get very annoyed as they are always based in miscommunication trope (the worst trope). So I was pleasantly surprised that these characters actually brought their worries to each other and communicated. That doesn’t happen often in manga and even less in BL. Very sweet! Love these two and hope they have a happy life forever ❤️

I liked this volume even more the the previous two. This series is a continuation of Pink Heart Jam and has a slight time jump to Haiga being a college senior. He and Kanae now live together and I think their interactions are both cute and realistic. They have some struggles but it's nothing panic inducing. There wasn't a single moment when I thought they might break-up and I really appreciated that. Instead, they talk and work through their issues. Haiga being jealous was kind of comical but also understandable given what he was told. Kanae's brother is kind of an idiot but not in an annoying or malicious way. Overall this was a good read and I look forward to the next volume.

This was such a cute continuation! (That I didn't know we were getting!!!)

Thanks to NetGalley and the publisher for the DRC.

We start off with them living together, with Kanae working in his desired field and Yuki in his senior year of college. I found it adorable how they cared so much for each other while they were busy as heck. Also, it's really refreshing to read a BL where both families know their child is dating the same gender and is open to meeting them.

Dynamics while living with your partner can get tricky but they quickly learned that communication is key. Even when Kanae's brother unintentionally stirs up some drama, it's resolved pretty quickly by them communicating.

Outside of them balancing their relationship and life, seeing the band come back together to not only perform but to also immortalize their songs for Yuki was damn near a proposal in my eyes.

It seems like we're getting another volume so I'm curious if it'll go the family route or skip a few years into the future.