Boys run the riot vol 3 by keito gaku

Ryō has to deal with the fallout of having a popular YouTuber out him as transgender. At first, many people at school are supportive, but that quickly diminishes as classmates start asking inappropriate questions about Ryō’s body and sexual attraction. Ryō skips school for a couple of days to do some soul searching while Jin and Itsuka plead with Tsubasa to take down the video. Ryō returns to school and announces to his whole class who he is and apologizes for his silence. No one is more hurt than Chika, Ryō’s crush, who admits she thought they were closer friends. Meanwhile, Tsubasa has an intimate night with a woman, and she posts a photo online that goes viral. This causes Tsubasa's fans to question Tsubasa and criticize them for potentially lying to garner views and profits. The "Boys" create a new shirt supporting Tsubasa and their right to some privacy.

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Although it happened in a really crappy way, it is good to see Ryo finally being proud of who he is and embracing it with his classmates. I sincerely hope Chika knocks it off in the last volume and gets to a place where she accepts the journey Ryō was on. The major takeaway for me in this volume was just how much many societies (in this case, Japanese and the parallels I see in US society) are fixated on asking folks from the LGBTQ+ community about their bodies and sexual attractions, like they are entitled to this information, or, depending on the answer, it will help the person decide whether they fully support the LGTBQ+ person. The ending to this volume is perfect, and a lovely reminder to the cis-folk that these questions are invasive.

Because of the scene with Tsubasa, this might be better suited for older readers than I previously had this series rated for.

Sara's Rating: 8/10
Suitability Level: Grades 9-12

Reviews of previous volumes in this series: vol 1, vol 2

Publisher: Kodansha
Publication Date: October 5, 2021​
ISBN: 9781646511198 (Paperback)

Tags: Rating: 8/10, Suitability: High School, Manga, LGBTQ+, School Life, Realistic Fiction, Friendship, Kodansha