Man Learns What Love Is with Help From Hug Deliveries
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No specific activities in this title.Explicitness
Warning:
This review will contain spoilers for the manga and anime series Delivery Hug Therapy. While the manga may vary slightly from all other forms of media, it may have similar story elements and could be considered spoilers.
Content Warning: There may be references to excessive drinking, peer pressure, breakups (not between the main couple), age gap, homomisia, sexism, mentions of strained familial relationships, and overwork, as they appear in the manga.
Synopsis:
Kiichi is pretty popular with the ladies, but his previous relationships have all been more work than they were worth, ending on his partners’ sides every time. Kiichi has made a concerted effort to avoid romance ever since. But then, he goes to his best friend’s wedding. There, Kiichi realizes just how much he cared for him and how he may have never experienced love before. Heartbroken, he heads out to one of his clients’ places, a bar. There, he drinks his sorrow away.
When he wakes up, he finds himself in the back room of the bar, being looked after by the part-time bartender. Embarrassed and indebted, Kiichi wants to get as far away as possible, but also wants to do something to repay the part-timer for his kindness. The part-timer, Nao, doesn’t want much. If anything, he wants to continue to give to Kiichi. So, slowly and steadily, Nao and Kiichi see more and more of each other, under the guise that Nao is coming over to deliver hugs to Kiichi.
Kiichi is realizing that he’s feeling something for Nao, and Nao is feeling something for Kiichi.
Review:
I’ve read other works by Toworu Miyata, but I didn’t realize this was theirs when I saw the cover. All I saw was that adorable blushy bean being hugged. This cover art is some of the best out there and really embodies the tone of the story within. This is a very soft and fluffy story, and Kiichi, blushing and comfy on the cover, is exactly how I feel when reading this. However, as adorable as the cover is, the art within is much more inconsistent and sketchy. Honestly, it was a bit of a disappointment. So, as much as I like it, don’t let the cover art fool you. I’d even go so far as to argue that the Kiichi on the cover looks completely different than Kiichi in the story.
But while the art is pretty disappointing, the story is much more enjoyable. I read a lot of dark stuff, and even if it isn’t necessarily dark, I also read a lot of sorrowful stuff. This is neither. I love my dark and sad BL, but having something super lighthearted and fluffy is refreshing. I mean, the foundation for this relationship is on hugs. Is there anything more wholesome than that?
Now, that’s not to say there isn’t any depth. This is a single-volume story, so it’s not like there’s a ton of room to delve deep into these characters, so what depth we get is just beneath the surface at best, but it’s still quite meaningful. Nao, working through the pain he experienced when he thought he had started a relationship with his childhood friend, only to then be told his friend had found a new girlfriend and that their intimate rendezvous were nothing more than a way to pass the time for him. It explains why he is always the one giving the hugs, as that gives him control over how far the relationship goes, which he had no control over in his previous one. It’s when the roles switch and Nao allows Kiichi to hug him that he finally lets his walls down, and they can truly love each other. It’s one of the sweetest moments I’ve read in a while.
Before we close out this review, I would be doing this story a disservice if I didn’t mention Kiichi. With the way this is setup, he could’ve easily have turned out to be a self-denying asshole – using Nao while refusing to admit that he may be attracted to men. Sure, he does spend time questioning if he is attracted to men or not, but Kiichi ultimately accepts that he is. He’s very self-assured, self-confident, and willing to grow, which, compared to some of the men who go through a questioning phase in BL, is so nice to see. If anyone is a green flag, Kiichi is that.
Results:
This is super fluffy. I’m not going to pretend it’s the best thing I’ve ever read because it’s not, but it is really nice. If you need a break from some darker and smuttier stories, this is a great, lighthearted read with just the right amount of spice to be satisfying. This story is the epitome of a warm and comforting hug, and I highly recommend it.
Have you read Delivery Hug Therapy? If so, what do you think? Do you agree with my assessment? Do you not? Let me know, and comment below!
