Toritan: Birds of a Feather Vol 1 Review

I think this manga might be taking the term “bird-lover” a little too literally!

By Kotetsuko Yamamoto, Toritan: Birds of a Feather is a boys love manga with a supernatural twist and a rather unique love triangle.

Synopsis:

Inusaki is a detective who mostly winds up doing odd jobs around his sleepy neighbourhood, like: walking dogs, picking up groceries and helping to return baby birds to their nests. That last task is made easier for him, thanks to his special skill – Inusaki can talk to birds. This is less incredible then one would expect, however, and Inusaki mostly finds it annoying to always hear the rude things that birds are really thinking when they’re twittering away in the trees. That is, until he meets a cool and helpful crow, whom he names Kuro, who mysteriously seems to already know him.

This is pretty much what I assumed pigeons were thinking.

Review:

Toritan: Birds of a Feather is an unusual story, but not necessarily in a bad way. I mean, Inusaki developing a crush on a crow is kind of weird, but it’s honestly not the weirdest thing I’ve read in a BL manga and at least it’s something different. It also doesn’t last super long, as Inusaki’s affections are soon diverted elsewhere.

Enter Mitsuru, Inusaki’s land lord’s son, whose voice sounds oddly similar to Kuro’s. The similarities don’t end there and the fact that the two are so alike causes Inusaki all kinds of confusion, and maybe some relief, since he can start crushing on a human now, instead of a bird.

I found Inusaki and Mitsuru’s interactions to be pretty amusing; Mitsuru is very serious, despite still being in high school, and Inusaki has a habit of putting his foot in his mouth. I think they’ll make a cute couple, but progress on the romantic front was slow in this volume.

Thankfully, the mystery of what exactly the crow’s connection is to Mitsuru helps to keep things interesting, despite the fact that the story moves at a very leisurely pace. The general nature of their relationship was revealed in this volume, but I’m curious about the specifics and I’m looking forward to learning the details in the next installment, and to seeing more of the adorable baby bird that Inusaki helped rescue and who likes to hang around him now.

A gentle and pleasant read, Toritan: Birds of a Feather is an innocent, if slightly strange, romance. I’d have preferred a bit more excitement in the story, but I did enjoy reading this and I’d recommend it to anyone looking for a boys love manga that’s on the sweeter side.

Final Score: 7.5 out of 10

For more information on this manga, visit SuBLime Manga’s website.

What did you think of this manga? What’s your favourite type of bird? Let me know in the comments.

You can also check out some of my other recent Boys Love manga reviews:

• Canis: Dear Mr. Rain Review
• There are Things I Can’t Tell You Review
• Koimonogatari: Love Stories Vol 1 Review
• Therapy Game Vol 1 Review
• Secret xxx Review