Destiny Paradise Night Manga Review (Minor Spoilers)

Synopsis

Chikayuki Murata, a former office-going businessman, inherits a coffee shop from the grandfather that raised him. Usually his days pass by peacefully, but today, his girlfriend has dumped him, which is just one event in a string of unlucky incidents. On his way home, he sees a man he doesn’t recognize standing on the railing of a bridge over a river. Under the impression that the man is attempting suicide, Chikayuki grabs him, but he accidentally causes the both of them to fall into the river. Chikayuki then takes the unconscious man home, but when he wakes up, the man reveals that he was just trying to look at the moon. The man, named Rei Aihara, takes Chikayuki out on the town for a fun night of games and date activities, and even performs a song and dance as a gift to Chikayuki. Rei leaves with a promise to come back and have Chikayuki’s coffee again. Soon after, Rei reappears without any warning, luggage in tow, stating that he will be moving in and living in Chikayuki’s house starting today. It turns out that Rei is actually a famous idol, and wants to start living with Chikayuki because he believes that he has found his destiny. And thus begins this story of two lonely hearts meeting by chance.

The Good

Destiny Paradise Night is very much a meet-cute manga, without any particular surprise twists. While Chikayuki does mistake Rei’s unorthodox moongazing location as an attempt to jump off a bridge, it ends rather happily with Rei recovering without hospitalization while staying in Chikayuki’s cozy home above the coffee shop.

I enjoy idol stories because I like looking at the outfits, and Destiny Paradise Night has a few scenes with Rei and his idol group performing in their stage outfits. There’s not much insight into the idol industry, but it’s interesting that Rei chooses to move out from his old place and into Chikayuki’s place really soon after meeting him. It works out for the both of them, though, as Chikayuki just lets Rei come and go without much drama. While taking in strangers off the street could mean gaining an unwelcome squatter in some BL manga, it turns out well for everyone. Due to Chikayuki not watching much television, he doesn’t know what Rei looks like, and therefore he has no particular special reaction when he first meets Rei that fateful night on the bridge. This is probably why Rei takes a liking to him in the first place.

Destiny Paradise Night explores the theme of “loneliness” – while Rei’s loneliness is resolved by choosing to give his all to his found family and fans, Chikayuki’s remains present from building his defenses too high after a lifetime of losing both his parents and the grandfather that raised him. The manga artist Tomato Machida skillfully weaves two people together into one cohesive story by showing how their strengths and weaknesses fit together, while also allowing the reader to see all of Rei’s cute expressions. Rei treats his idol life as a job only, and due to Chikayuki being incredibly chill, Chikayuki ends up being Rei’s oasis into being treated like an ordinary person. Chikayuki’s positive attitude keeps the story from being too sad, but it’s a double-edged sword, as he tends to keep everything to himself, which serves as the central conflict in the climax.

Somewhere In Between

The speed of which Rei moves in with Chikayuki might concern some people, but they do check in with each other and are compatible as roommates, so nothing bad happens from it. Some readers might question Chikayuki’s good judgment due to A. Grabbing a person on a bridge and then ending up in the river with him, B. Taking the unconscious man to his home instead of the hospital, and lastly C. Allowing the man he picked up from the river to live in his house after talking to him for one night. If you choose to read the story like a romance flick where normal rules don’t apply because it’s fated, this is an acceptable series of destined events.

There is one incident where Chikayuki makes a sexual advance on Rei while drunk, and I found it somewhat out of place in this relatively sweet story between two mature adults, even with a 7-year age gap.

The Verdict

Destiny Paradise Night is more on the sweeter side in comparison with Tomato Machida’s more antisocial romantic leads in Heaven’s Trap and Love Awakening x Syndrome (both currently available from Manga Planet digitally). It’s a short read with light notes of drama that will scratch the itch of wanting to see a spoiled, but very endearing, idol having a whirlwind romance with an ordinary café owner. While idols are central to the story, the idol aspect isn’t depicted with much realistic detail, so if you’re interested in stories that are closer to reality, you might have to look elsewhere. However, it does offer an idol story about an idol with an ordinary person, rather than another idol. This would be a nice addition to the collection for readers that are looking for a BL romance manga that concludes neatly in one volume, with a little bit of sexual gratification at the end.

Credits

Story and Art: Tomato Machida
Editor: Becca Chen
Translator: Massiel Gutierrez
Copy Editor: Hayame Kawachi
Proofreader: Katie Kimura
Quality Check: Shingo Nemoto
Retouching & Lettering: Vibrant Publishing Studio
Cover Designer: Aracelli Ejarque Villegas
Published in English by Tokyopop

Thank you to Tokyopop for providing a review copy. Receiving this copy did not affect the reviewer’s opinions as expressed here.

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