, also known as ''Shōnen Zanzō'' (literally, 'Afterimage of a Boy'), is a one-volume

manga Manga (Japanese: 漫画 ) are comics or graphic novels originating from Japan. Most manga conform to a style developed in Japan in the late 19th century, and the form has a long prehistory in earlier Japanese art. The term ''manga'' is u ...

Kaori Yuki is a Japanese manga artist best known for her gothic manga such as ''Earl Cain'', its sequel ''Godchild'', and ''Angel Sanctuary''. Yuki debuted professionally in 1987 with , which ran in the manga anthology ''Bessatsu Hana to Yume'' published ...

. The story, set in

Los Angeles Los Angeles ( ; es, Los Ángeles, link=no , ), often referred to by its initials L.A., is the largest city in the state of California and the second most populous city in the United States after New York City, as well as one of the world' ...

, follows the love affair of Adrian, a haunted teacher, and Lawrence, a young

male prostitute Male prostitution is the act or practice of men providing sexual services in return for payment. It is a form of sex work. Although clients can be of any gender, the vast majority are older males looking to fulfill their sexual needs. Male pro ...

Characters

Main characters

*Adrian Clay: A 27-year-old

elementary school A primary school (in Ireland, the United Kingdom, Australia, Trinidad and Tobago, Jamaica, and South Africa), junior school (in Australia), elementary school or grade school (in North America and the Philippines) is a school for primary ed ...

teacher. Adrian was conceived when his mother was

rape Rape is a type of sexual assault usually involving sexual intercourse or other forms of sexual penetration carried out against a person without their consent. The act may be carried out by physical force, coercion, abuse of authority, or ag ...

d by a

carnie Carny, also spelled carnie, is an informal term used in North America for a traveling carnival employee, and the language they use, particularly when the employee operates a game ("joint"), food stand ("grab", "popper" or "floss wagon"), or ride ...

. Neglected and despised by his mother, Adrian led a miserable childhood full of

emotional abuse Emotions are mental states brought on by neurophysiological changes, variously associated with thoughts, feelings, behavioral responses, and a degree of pleasure or displeasure. There is currently no scientific consensus on a definition. E ...

, constantly reminded that he was unwanted. His mother began to sleep with men solely for their money, something Adrian constantly felt was wrong. She attempted to abandon Adrian in a

carnival Carnival is a Catholic Christian festive season that occurs before the liturgical season of Lent. The main events typically occur during February or early March, during the period historically known as Shrovetide (or Pre-Lent). Carnival typi ...

once, and the young boy only managed to wander home after two days. Then, he witnessed one of his mother's "boyfriends" stab her. As she pleaded for him to call the police, promising to take him to the carnival again, Adrian delivered the fatal blow with the knife. She stared at him blankly in death, and, unnerved, he

blindfold A blindfold (from Middle English ') is a garment, usually of cloth, tied to one's head to cover the human eye, eyes to disable the wearer's visual perception, sight. While a properly fitted blindfold prevents sight even if the eyes are open, a ...

ed her and colored out the eyes of all the portraits. Not wanting other children to have such a childhood, he eventually became a

schoolteacher A teacher, also called a schoolteacher or formally an educator, is a person who helps students to acquire knowledge, competence, or virtue, via the practice of teaching. ''Informally'' the role of teacher may be taken on by anyone (e.g. wh ...

to help troubled children. Despite his mild exterior, however, Adrian hides a dark secret — at night, he is uncontrolled. He picks up young

s, brutally murders them, and blindfolds them before leaving the scene. *Lawrence Hill: Nicknamed "Lawr", a fourteen-year-old

runaway Runaway, Runaways or Run Away may refer to: Engineering * Runaway reaction, a chemical reaction releasing more heat than what can be removed and becoming uncontrollable * Thermal runaway, self-increase of the reaction rate of an exothermic proce ...

who was forced into male prostitution by his brother, Dallas. He frequently passes by Adrian's school, and finds Adrian to be a gentle, sad character. He witnessed Adrian's sixth murder, and picked up a name tag Adrian left at the scene. He then uses this to blackmail Adrian into meeting him privately. They then begin to develop a relationship. Lawrence begins to warm up to Adrian, and falls in love with him and just wants him to be happy, and as the relationship progresses, becomes far less robotic and more true to his own desires.

Other characters

; Dallas: Lawrence's older brother. Once a model student, he ran away from home due to the pressure put on him by his school and parents. He then came to be the owner of a male prostitute house, eventually forcing Lawrence to work as one of these prostitutes. Dallas is a violent and dangerous character who

brands A brand is a name, term, design, symbol or any other feature that distinguishes one seller's good or service from those of other sellers. Brands are used in business, marketing, and advertising for recognition and, importantly, to create an ...

his prostitutes with

tattoos A tattoo is a form of body modification made by inserting tattoo ink, dyes, and/or pigments, either indelible or temporary, into the dermis layer of the skin to form a design. Tattoo artists create these designs using several tattooing pr ...

in the figure of a chained

iguana ''Iguana'' (, ) is a genus of herbivorous lizards that are native to tropical areas of Mexico, Central America, South America, and the Caribbean. The genus was first described in 1768 by Austrian naturalist Josephus Nicolaus Laurenti in his bo ...

. It is common knowledge within the city that anyone who helps one of the prostitutes is eventually "taken care of." ; Vicky: One of Adrian's students. A young

tomboy A tomboy is a term for a girl or a young woman with masculine qualities. It can include wearing androgynous or unfeminine clothing and actively engage in physical sports or other activities and behaviors usually associated with boys or men. W ...

foster child Foster care is a system in which a underage, minor has been placed into a ward (law), ward, group home (Residential Child Care Community, residential child care community, Treatment centre, treatment center, etc.), or private home of a state-ce ...

, she often gets into scuffles with other students. She lives close by to Adrian and often goes over to his house to feed Wolfy. Adrian sympathizes with her as she feels like an unwanted child, and is often picked on by some of the boys in school. As Adrian attempted to teach tolerance to the boys, she expresses tolerance towards the relationship between Adrian and Lawrence. Wolfy is given to Vicky at the end of the story. ; Wolfy: Adrian's pet

. Wolfy's pet tag, which Adrian accidentally drops after his first encounter with Lawrence, is kept as blackmail by the boy. Wolfy's eyes are used as a

simile A simile () is a figure of speech that directly ''compares'' two things. Similes differ from other metaphors by highlighting the similarities between two things using comparison words such as "like", "as", "so", or "than", while other metaphors cr ...

; they are described as emotionless and then compared to Lawrence's.

Release

Written and illustrated by Kaori Yuki, ''Boy's Next Door'' was published by

Hakusensha is a Japanese publishing company. It is headquartered in Chiyoda, Tokyo, Chiyoda, Tokyo. The company mainly publishes manga magazines and is involved in series' productions in their games, original video animation, music, and their animated TV ...

in Japan on March 19, 1998. Hakusensha re-released the volume in '' bunkoban'' format on November 17, 2009. The manga is also licensed for regional language release in German by

Carlsen Comics Carlsen Verlag is a subsidiary of the homonymous Denmark, Danish publisher, publishing house which in turn belongs to the Swedish media company Bonnier Group, Bonnier. The branch was founded on 25 April 1953 in Hamburg. The publisher's program f ...

, and in French by

Tonkam Tonkam is a prominent French publisher of manga and was one of the first publishers of manga in French, issuing its first titles in 1994. It was founded by Sylvie Chang and Dominique Véret with the financial assistance of a Parisian bookseller, ...

References

External links

* {{ann, manga, 2330
Manga-News review
(French)

(French) Drama anime and manga Hakusensha manga Horror anime and manga Kaori Yuki Novels about American slavery Romance anime and manga Shōjo manga Prostitution in comics