Thanks to Netgally and Kodansha for the ARC
2.5

Shout Loud My Heart has great potential but the length of this and the kinda stilted translation holds it back from being too remarkable. The story isn’t too important here let’s be honest, when you go in for a short BL single volume read the focus is usually the romance. Here the music plot was somehow the central focus but also took away time to develop the two MCs as a couple.

The art is nice, but I’ll be real, the fact this is uncensored was the most pleasant surprise. Nothing crazi detailed but still more than you would normally expect in this type of read.

Overall I enjoyed this but it won’t be the most memorable. I would have loved a longer series about these two.

EN Title: Shout Loud My Heart
JP Title: シャウト・ラウド・マイハート
Author/Artist: Youga Rayri
Publisher: Kodansha
Publisher Rating: 18+
Status: Complete (1 Volume)

Content notes: Explicit sexual content

University student and guitarist Gen rarely notices the people surrounding him, uninterested in most people outside his friends. But when a vocalist from another band captures attention, Gen finds out that he's actually one of his classmates! Mika, who's known as Mike to most, and Gen quickly become close despite Gen's grumpy attitude and technically being in "rival" bands. When he notices his music changing, he begins to realize his feelings run deeper. Meanwhile, Mika finds Gen's blunt honesty and demeanor refreshing. With the two falling for each other but not knowing what to say, it's through music that they are able to convey their honest feelings.

I absolutely love band stories! There really is something so special about connecting and communicating your feelings through music. In the scene where Gen checks out Adam's (Mika's band) performance, Youga Rayri wonderfully depicts how Mika's voice charms him. Despite being a single volume BL, we a glimpse into the characters' lives and friendships of the characters, which I found really nice. It's actually through a lot of interactions Mika and Gen have with their friends that help push them to recognize their feelings for each other. But because it's a single volume BL, the development feels extremely quick! A second volume would have been really nice to give it a bit more depth. I also want to note I that really enjoyed the localization of the dialogue! While I haven't read it in Japanese, it felt very natural to read and suited the characters given their ages in their early 20s.

Overall, I do recommend the story for those looking for something light and who love band settings.

Thank you to NetGalley and Kodansha for the ARC! Shout Loud My Heart releases on June 17.

3.5 stars rounded up. This solid one-shot BL manga is just itching for more volumes. The art is beautiful, and I love the chemistry between the two leads. You could feel the romantic and sexual tension on the page. A band-focused setting is so fun. What is needed, though, is more plot and more background info on the characters. There are not enough pages for their emotions to be explored, and I liked the characters so much that I wanted to read so much more about them. Overall, this is a solid manga, but I think could have been an amazing series.

I'm really weak to stories that utilize music as a method for conveying people's feelings, so this was an insta-read for me. While it is a one shot so has a few issues with pacing and rushed characterization, overall, it's a really enjoyable read. Watching Gen and Mike connect with each other and then compete with each other in a battle-of-the-bands-style live was so wonderful. I especially loved that it wrapped up with a jam session that really gets to show off the art style embodying the "musicians syncing up with each other" connection.

If this were more than one volume, I'd be absolutely there, but as a one-shot, I feel plenty fulfilled with Gen and Mika's relationship and story.

it was a fast-paced, one-shot manga that follows the story of gen - a guitar player in a band called eve, and mika, the lead singer of another band called adam. mike's voice is mesmerizing - from the moment gen hears it, it instantly grabs his attention. soon, they meet again - turns out they go to the same college.
gen soon realizes he's falling for mike - and it's not just because of his magnetic voice.

this was a fun and quick read that left me wanting more! i loved the black cat/golden retriever energy. gen and mike's interactions were really cute, and there was a slight chemistry that made me want to root for them. however, i somehow couldn't fully connect with the characters, but since it's a one-shot manga, i kinda expected them to be underdeveloped. i wish we had gotten to know them both better. their relationship just lacked depth. i think the story would've benefited from focusing more on exploring their emotional connection rather than the music and gigs aspect.

the side characters also contributed to the story in a good way - they were really funny.
the artwork is absolutely gorgeous and the 18+ scene was done very well. very tastefully.
i loved the bonus chapters too - i'm happy we got so see them in a more advanced stage of their relationship.

while the story might not be the most unforgettable one, i still had a lot of fun reading it and would definitely recommend it.
if you're looking for a quick college romance with great art and a bit of spice - give this one-shot manga a shot.



*thanks to NetGalley, Kodansha Comics, and Youga Rayri for an ARC of this manga!*

Shout Loud, My Heart is a short and sweet one-shot with an adorable grumpy/sunshine musician pairing, a touch of pining, and a sprinkle of miscommunication.

The art style is beautiful throughout, with expressive character designs, but the performance scenes were the real standout. They captured that intense, almost transcendent feeling of being swept up in someone’s presence on stage, and those moments were the highlight for me.

The characters themselves were sweet, and I liked the contrast in their personalities. The development of their relationship did feel rushed at times, with a few off-page jumps that made the emotional progression a bit harder to follow. The chemistry was still there though, and the dynamic between them was compelling enough to carry the story. The side characters added some fun, and the spicy scene at the end provided an intimate, steamy, and satisfying payoff.

Where it fell short for me was in the overall depth. The story is fairly simple, and I didn’t come away feeling like I truly knew the characters beyond their initial impressions. It’s a quick, easy read that looks great, but doesn’t offer much more beneath the surface.

That said, if you’re looking for something short and pretty with strong visual storytelling, this is worth picking up.

3.5 ★

I really enjoyed reading this manga! It was super cute and I really love stories around music. I definitely recommend it if you’re looking for a quick soft romance. It doesn’t have all that much depth but it’s not really the point of the story, it did well as a oneshot.

This manga was really good! I'm actually quite sad because I think this would have been great as a short series, maybe like 3 volumes, but I believe it will be a one shot. As is typical with one shots, the relationship develops quickly which isn't my preference but it was still done well. I liked these characters and how they're just enamored by each other and their talent. They both had solid friend groups that were enjoyable to read about as well.
If you like a green flag BL this is a good one.

Thank you so much to Netgalley for providing me with an arc💜

Thank you Netgalley, Youga Rayri and the publisher for the early e-copy of this manga!

Shout Loud, My Heart is a fun one shot manga where a guitar player meets a singer who’s voice captivates him. The more time they spend together the more their mutual interest grows. We have subtle flirting and misunderstandings (I personally love a good misunderstanding trope) and all the things that I love about this particular genre.

The art was great and I loved the character designs. I enjoy a sharper look in manga as opposed to the overly soft overly round look, so this hit the spot.

The only critique I have is I wish the dialogue went smoother and felt more natural. It did feel a little jumpy at times, but definitely not terrible.

Overall I really enjoyed this volume and would be very interested in reading more of this authors works!

Not gonna lie, this is like a bite-sized version of Given. Not identical, but the core concept is roughly the same. The two male leads are both pretty interesting as their own characters. I do adore that this isn't a "love at first sight" type of romance, but rather a deeper connection beyond that. A connection through music! The slow realization of their attraction being more than just loving each other's music is a great slow burn. There is a [spice] scene at the very end, but it's tasteful. The art style is fantastic, I'll seek out the artist's other works just for the art.

Thank you to NetGalley and the publishers for an advanced copy in exchange for my honest review!

This was a really easy and quick manga to read. I liked a lot! I love the artist's drawing style, it's pretty. The characters were eye-catching and very fashionable, and the love story was super cute. It was calm, wholesome, and overall gave off a very pleasant vibe.

That said, it did feel a bit boring at times since not much really happened, and the only conflict felt a bit unclear to me, i didn´t really get why it happened, it seemed like a strange misunderstanding that wasn't fully explained. Still, the sweet and happy ending leaves you with a warm feeling.

Just a small warning: there is one +18 scene, but it’s not essential to the story and it's only a few pages long. You can easily skip it if it’s not your thing or if you don’t feel comfortable with it, the manga is still worth reading.

3.5 stars :)

Shout Loud, My Heart was a story that sounded like it would be right up my alley: BL and musicians. I liked the illustration throughout; however, I struggled to really care about the characters, perhaps because we learnt so little about them outside of their respective bands. I could understand an attraction but not the causes of so sudden and deep a romance. Therefore, while I could appreciate the book, I couldn't fall in love with it. It has an 18+ rating, but I would note there is only one explicit scene towards the end and the bulk of the book is PG to M. But the explicit scene is highly explicit, so bear that in mind if you generally prefer the cuter end of BL manga. I am giving this one 3 stars.

I received this book as a free eBook ARC via NetGalley in exchange for an honest review.

Actual rating: 3.5/5

This was largely fine - I tend to keep my expectations low for standalone manga as there's rarely enough space to deliver a deeper story. In terms of content, this could have easily been a two to three volume series but I think it did well enough with condensing it to a single volume.

I enjoyed the art but I didn't like the majority of character designs - this is of course entirely subjective and doesn't say anything about the quality of art. I did really appreciate how some of the music scenes were brought to life - the main character Gen listening to the love interest sing and picturing the depths of the sea while doing so was a stand-out scene for me.

I am not a huge fan of plots that revolve around bands but again, that's just a personal preference and I knew that going into it so it won't be affecting my rating. I did by and large enjoy the two main characters and their romance was cute. Had we had more time with them and given them more depth, this would have been a more impactful story. As it is, I'll stick to fine - definitely better than some other standalones out there, especially among the BL genre.

Thank you to NetGalley for providing me an ARC of this book for an honest review. All opinions are my own.

Not enough happened in this story for me to stay invested and grow attached to the characters. The two met, there was some pining, and then they had sex and that was literally it. A bit disappointed, but the art style was good, and I enjoyed that part of it!

⭐️ 4.5/5
🌶️ 2/5
😰 2/5
🥰 4/5

Thank you NetGalley and Kodansha Comics for the ARC in exchange for an honest review!

I found this manga to be really sweet! It’s about two 20-year-olds who play in different bands: Gen is the guitarist in the band Eve, and Mike is the vocalist in a band called Adam! When they first meet at the start of the story, Mike has known of Gen for a while, he’s a fan even, and obviously already likes Gen. When Gen first hears Mike’s voice, he is enchanted, and when they find out they go to the same university, they quickly become friends, and before long realise there might be something more than friendship between them.

The manga is really short, under 100 pages, so their relationship develops kinda quickly. That being said, I think you need to read between the lines and accept that time passes between scenes, so there’s definitely stuff that we don’t see.

There’s a little flirting, attraction building, some tension and angst after the first kiss as there may be some miscommunication about what each of the characters want, then there’s one intimate scene (with explicit images), and just really swoony moments towards the end! The illustrations were really well done and I enjoyed this manga a lot!

Shout Loud, My Heart has a real old-school, early 2000s feel to the art and the story. There's something so nostalgic about Gen and Mika's growing relationship, that I felt blasted back in time to when I was first reading manga in college. It could be the whole "rivial" artists growing together, or Youga Reiri's very grounded illustrations. I blasted through the whole book in a day and will probably re-read it again in the future.

I do love a one-and-done manga in a sea of 20, 30, 50+ volume stories. That said, I wouldn't have minded if author had expanded a little about the members of Adam and Eve, Mika and Gen's bands respectively. They had very unique designs, and they clearly had personalities and stories of their own drafted out in the author's mind. I hope we get to read them one day.

Also, I love that the angsting over "is he into me/is he into men?" is kept to a very minimum and that the two leads, despite appearing reserved, are actually very open with their feelings. With their friends and each other.

Just a sweet, nostalgic read. Loved it, and would love to see more.

Shout Loud, My Heart is an adorable love story between two musicians. These two slowly come together in a very endearing way! I thought the story was full of cute and touching moments. The art was well done and did a great capturing the emotions of the characters. I enjoyed that this manga highlighted how powerful music can be to express emotions. I also loved all the side characters and band mates. I especially loved the two additional stories at the end that showed are characters after they came together! This was a cute, enjoyable, fast read! I recommend it if you are looking for something light and fun!

3.5/5 Stars

I love a musical themed bl romance and this one was really good. I thought this was going to be a rivals to loves but it was more of a friends to lovers which I greatly prefer. I loved the main characters as well. They were both really sweet and lovable. I especially loved Mike. I would have loved to hang our with him. Also the art in this was really great. I especially loved the music scenes where you could really see the characters feeling the music. Overall this was a great one shot!

ᨳ᭬ ⭑ ⭑ ⭑.25࿐ྂ

❝ Your Voice clings to every Beat so exactly and i just won’t let go it’s as if this was how the Song was meant to be. ❞

I really like the couple, but the story itself was quite boring. I would have liked more depth, but otherwise i enjoyed it and would recommend it.

*Thanks to NetGalley and Kodansha comics for early copy for review*

I loved this so much and wish it was more than a one-shot. I have always enjoyed manga that followed people pursuing a music career (Nana, Beck and Given being my favorites). I enjoyed Mika's and Gen's interactions so much. This is definitely for older readers and has a spicy scene. I would read a sequel and I'm gonna check out other titles from this mangaka.