is a Japanese

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 ...

series written and illustrated by Kou Yoneda. A sequel to Yoneda's previous

one-shot One shot may refer to: Film and television * One-shot film, a feature film shot in one long take with no edits, or manufactured to look like so * ''One Shot'' (2005 film), a Sri Lankan action film directed by Ranjan Ramanayake * ''One Shot'' (2 ...

stories ''Don't Stay Gold'' (2008) and ''Though They Drift, They Do Not Sink, But Nor Do They Sing'' (2009), it has been serialized in the

boys' love ''Yaoi'' (; ja, やおい ), also known by the ''wasei-eigo'' construction and its abbreviation , is a genre of fictional media originating in Japan that features homoerotic relationships between male characters. It is typically created b ...

(BL)

manga magazine 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 used ...

''ihr HertZ'', formerly known as ''HertZ'', since August 2011. The manga was adapted into an

anime is Traditional animation, hand-drawn and computer animation, computer-generated animation originating from Japan. Outside of Japan and in English, ''anime'' refers specifically to animation produced in Japan. However, in Japan and in Japane ...

film trilogy produced by

Blue Lynx is a Japanese anime label and subsidiary of Fuji TV. Founded in 2019, the label produces boys' love (''yaoi'') anime films exclusively. History Development of Blue Lynx began in 2017 through the efforts of Yuka Okayasu, a producer at Fuji TV w ...

and animated by

Grizzly The grizzly bear (''Ursus arctos horribilis''), also known as the North American brown bear or simply grizzly, is a population or subspecies of the brown bear inhabiting North America. In addition to the mainland grizzly (''Ursus arctos horri ...

beginning in 2020. It also inspired an

original animation DVD , abbreviated as OVA and sometimes as OAV (original animation video), are Japanese animated films and series made specially for release in home video formats without prior showings on television or in theaters, though the first part of an OVA s ...

(OAD) adaptation of ''Don't Stay Gold'' and an ongoing

audio drama Radio drama (or audio drama, audio play, radio play, radio theatre, or audio theatre) is a dramatized, purely acoustic performance. With no visual component, radio drama depends on dialogue, music and sound effects to help the listener imagine t ...

produced by

Frontier Works is a Japanese company specializing in the creation and distribution of media related to anime, such as producing OVAs, radio dramas, drama CDs, anime soundtracks, or other related products. The company was established in August 1990. Projects i ...

Synopsis

The series follows Yashiro, a young, high-ranking

yakuza , also known as , are members of transnational organized crime syndicates originating in Japan. The Japanese police and media, by request of the police, call them , while the ''yakuza'' call themselves . The English equivalent for the term ...

boss and president of a front corporation. He is assigned a new bodyguard, Chikara Doumeki, who discovers that his employer is a

hypersexual Hypersexuality is extremely frequent or suddenly increased libido. It is controversial whether it should be included as a clinical diagnosis used by mental healthcare professionals. Nymphomania and satyriasis were terms previously used for the c ...

masochist Masochist may refer to: * Sadomasochism, giving or receiving pleasure from the receipt or infliction of pain or humiliation Music * The Prophet (musician) (born 1968), Dutch DJ and producer who has recorded as The Masochist Albums * ''Masochis ...

. Yashiro develops an attraction to Doumeki, who rejects his advances. Yashiro later discovers that Doumeki is

impotent Erectile dysfunction (ED), also called impotence, is the type of sexual dysfunction in which the penis fails to become or stay erect during sexual activity. It is the most common sexual problem in men.Cunningham GR, Rosen RC. Overview of male ...

and pursues a

sadomasochistic Sadomasochism ( ) is the giving and receiving of pleasure from acts involving the receipt or infliction of pain or humiliation. Practitioners of sadomasochism may seek sexual pleasure from their acts. While the terms sadist and masochist refer ...

relationship with him.

Characters

; : :A high-ranking yakuza boss. While outwardly demanding but cheerful, he is secretly a sadomasochist who was sexually abused as a child by his step-father. He has difficulty in maintaining close personal relationships with others. ; : :Yashiro's personal bodyguard. Formerly a police officer, he was forced to leave after going to prison. He became Yashiro’s bodyguard to earn more money. He is handsome and stoic, but suffers from

sexual impotence Erectile dysfunction (ED), also called impotence, is the type of sexual dysfunction in which the Human penis, penis fails to become or stay Erection, erect during Human sexual activity, sexual activity. It is the most common sexual problem in ...

. ; : :Yashiro's friend since high school. A doctor, he runs his clinic as a legitimate business during the day but tends to Yashiro's wounded underlings at night. He has a

sexual fetish Sexual fetishism or erotic fetishism is a sexual fixation on a nonliving object or nongenital body part. The object of interest is called the fetish; the person who has ''a fetish'' for that object is a fetishist. A sexual fetish may be regard ...

for scars and scabs. ; : :A 22-year-old former

delinquent Delinquent or delinquents may refer to: * A person who commits a felony * A juvenile delinquent, often shortened as delinquent is a young person (under 18) who fails to do that which is required by law; see juvenile delinquency * A person who fai ...

who grew up in a juvenile institution. His chest is covered in burn scars from his abusive childhood. ; : :Yashiro's boss, mentor, and former lover. ; : :The boss of the Matsubara yakuza. ; : :The boss of the Shinseikai yakuza. ; : :Yashiro's subordinate. ; : :Yashiro's subordinate. ; : :Misumi's personal secretary. ; :

Media

Manga

''Twittering Birds Never Fly'' has been serialized in the

(BL)

''ihr HertZ'', formerly known as ''HertZ'', Original text: Translation: "Accordingly, the magazine name will change from ''HertZ'' to ''ihr HertZ'', and the label name will change from 'Million Comics' to 'H&C Comics'." since August 1, 2011. Original text: Translation: "August: Taiyoh Tosho's ''HertZ'' band.45, ''Twittering Birds Never Fly'', serialization, 1st chapter, 44 pages." Original text: Translation: "Released on August 1, 2011." In Japan, the series has been collected into seven volumes published by Taiyoh Tosho as of March 1, 2021. The first volume includes two prequel

stories by Yoneda: ''Don't Stay Gold'', originally published in the BL manga magazine ''

Drap Drap () is a commune in the Alpes-Maritimes department in the Provence-Alpes-Côte d'Azur region of Southeastern France. Population The inhabitants are called ''Drapois'' and ''Drapoises''. See also *Communes of the Alpes-Maritimes departmen ...

'' on March 31, 2008, depicting the relationship between Kuga and Kageyama; and , originally published in ''HertZ'' on June 1, 2009, chronicling Yashiro's teen years and his friendship with Kageyama in high school. A

limited edition The terms special edition, limited edition, and variants such as deluxe edition, or collector's edition, are used as a marketing incentive for various kinds of products, originally published products related to the arts, such as books, prints, r ...

of the series' fourth volume was packaged with a bonus manga booklet, , revealing Doumeki's first encounter with Yashiro prior to becoming his underling. In North America, an English-language translation of the first three volumes of the series was published by Juné, the BL imprint of

Digital Manga Digital Manga is a California-based publishing company that licenses and releases Japanese manga, anime, and related merchandise in the English language. Digital Manga also owns and operates eManga, a digital publishing site for manga and l ...

, from 2014 to 2017. After a three year hiatus, the fourth volume was published digitally on December 4, 2020, and in print on January 12, 2021. The fifth and sixth volumes were published by Juné in late 2021. ''Twittering Birds Never Fly'' has also been translated into Chinese by

Sharp Point Press Sharp Point Press () is a Taiwanese publisher of manga and music. It was founded in July 1982. History *1982 - Company established. Mainly publishes military and models related books. *1985 - Started publishing annual Zodiac fortune telling handb ...

, French by

Taifu Comics ''Taifu'' (大夫) was a Nobility, noble title in Japan, denoting a List of Japanese court ranks, positions and hereditary titles, court rank between Senior First Rank, First Rank and Junior Fifth Rank, Lower Grade, Fifth Rank under the ''Ritsuryō' ...

, German by Manga Cult, Italian by Flashbook Edizioni, Korean by Ruvill, Polish by Wydawnictwo Kotori, and Spanish by Ediciones Tomodomo.

Audio drama

adaptation of ''Twittering Birds Never Fly'' has been produced by

since 2013, featuring

Tarusuke Shingaki , better known by his stage name , is a Japanese voice actor from Kumejima, Okinawa. He is affiliated with Mausu Promotion. His most notable roles include Kariya Matou in '' Fate/Zero'', Eishirō Kite in ''The Prince of Tennis II'', Togusa in '' ...

as the voice of Yashiro and

Wataru Hatano is a Japanese voice actor and singer affiliated with 81 Produce. At the 2nd Seiyu Awards in 2008, Hatano won the Best Male Rookie Award for his roles as Sam Houston in ''Toward the Terra'' and Tenshi Yuri in ''Saint Beast: Kouin Jojishi Tenshit ...

as the voice of Doumeki.

Anime films

film adaptation, ''Twittering Birds Never Fly – The Clouds Gather'', was announced on April 26, 2019, and released on February 15, 2020. The film is animated by

and produced by

. The film's primary production staff includes Kaori Makita as director and

Hiroshi Seko is a Japanese anime screenwriter. After serving as an episode screenwriter, he was put in charge of all the screenwriting for ''Seraph of the End''. Since then, he has also done screenwriting for many other series, of which notables include ''Att ...

as scriptwriter; the film's score is composed by piano trio band H ZETTRIO. A sequel film, ''Twittering Birds Never Fly – The Storm Breaks'', was announced on February 15, 2020. An as-of-yet untitled third ''Twittering Birds Never Fly'' film has also been announced. The three films were licensed in English by

Sentai Filmworks Sentai Filmworks, LLC or just Sentai, is an American entertainment company owned by AMC Networks. Located in Houston, the company specializes in the dubbing and distribution of Japanese animation and Asian cinema. Its post-production arm is S ...

for theater bookings, virtual screenings, and home video releases in North America. The first film, ''The Clouds Gather'', was released on Blu-ray on February 2, 2021.

Original anime DVD

An original anime DVD (OAD) adapting ''Don't Stay Gold'' was announced on February 15, 2020. It was packaged with a special edition of the seventh volume of the manga series on March 1, 2021. The OAD was licensed in English by Sentai Filmworks and began streaming on

HIDIVE Sentai Filmworks, LLC or just Sentai, is an American entertainment company owned by AMC Networks. Located in Houston, the company specializes in the dubbing and distribution of Japanese animation and Asian cinema. Its post-production arm is Sen ...

on September 10, 2021.

Reception

Over 1.5 million copies of ''Twittering Birds Never Fly'' are in print in Japan as of February 2020. In 2014, ''Twittering Birds Never Fly'' was listed as a top recommended boys' love (BL) title in a national survey of Japanese bookstore employees. The manga was shortlisted for the

Sugoi Japan Award is an event established by Yomiuri Shimbun in 2015. Awards are given in four categories: Manga, Anime, Light novel and Entertainment novel. In the first year, the award was given to '' Puella Magi Madoka Magica'' as 'Grand Prix'. The word ''Sugo ...

2016.

References

External links

* * * * {{Blue Lynx 2011 manga 2021 anime OVAs BDSM literature Digital Manga Publishing titles Grizzly (studio) Japanese radio dramas Josei manga LGBT in anime and manga Sentai Filmworks Yakuza in anime and manga Yaoi anime and manga