is a Japanese

manga 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 history in earlier Japanese art. The term is used in Japan to refer to both comics ...

series written and illustrated by Kou Yoneda. A sequel to Yoneda's previous one-shot 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 , also known by its abbreviation , is a genre of fictional media originating in Japan that depicts Homoeroticism, homoerotic relationships between male characters. It is typically created by women for a female audience, distinguishing it fro ...

(BL)

manga magazine 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 history in earlier Japanese art. The term is used in Japan to refer to both comics an ...

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

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

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 wh ...

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 horr ...

beginning in 2020. It also inspired an original animation DVD (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 dramatised, purely acoustic performance. With no visual component, radio drama depends on dialogue, music and sound effects to help the listener imagine ...

produced by Frontier Works.

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 ''yak ...

boss and president of a front corporation. He is assigned a new bodyguard, Chikara Doumeki, who discovers that his employer is a hypersexual masochist. Yashiro develops an attraction to Doumeki, who rejects his advances. Yashiro later discovers that Doumeki is impotent. The two slowly fall in love, but must fight through their own trauma and the hyper-masculine

world if they hope to be together.

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

delinquent Delinquent may refer to: * Delinquent (royalist) In 1643, near the start of the English Civil War, Parliament set up two committees: the Sequestration Committee, which confiscated the estates of the Royalists who fought against Parliament, and ...

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 one-shot stories by Yoneda: ''Don't Stay Gold'', originally published in the BL manga magazine '' Drap'' 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 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, French by Taifu Comics, 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 Frontier Works since 2013, featuring

Tarusuke Shingaki , better known by his stage name , is a Japanese voice actor. He is affiliated with Mausu Promotion. Shingaki's roles include Kariya Matou in '' Fate/Zero'', Eishirō Kite in '' The Prince of Tennis II'', Togusa in '' Ghost in the Shell: Arise' ...

as the voice of Yashiro and

Wataru Hatano is a Japanese voice actor, singer, actor, narrator and comedian 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 ...

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 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. However, the future of the films is unknown as the studio Grizzly dissolved on February 20, 2025. The three films were licensed in English by Sentai Filmworks 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 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 2016.

References

External links

* * * * {{Blue Lynx 2011 manga 2021 anime OVAs Anime films based on manga BDSM literature Digital Manga Publishing titles Grizzly (studio) Japanese radio dramas Josei manga LGBTQ-related anime and manga Sentai Filmworks Anime and manga about the Yakuza Yaoi anime and manga 2011 LGBTQ-related literary works