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Generic yaoi plot: Aloof seme meets cheerful uke, seme rapes uke, uke falls in love with seme. Now, replace "aloof" with "upbeat and long-suffering," "cheerful" with "violent-tempered and homophobic," and "falls in love with" with "tries his damnedest to deny his feelings for" and you have Hinako Takanaga's Koisuru Boukun or, as it's known in English, The Tyrant Falls in Love.

A Spin-Off of Challengers, which had side characters Souichi Tatsumi, Tomoe's homophobic and tyrannical older brother, and Tetsuhiro Morinaga, his lab assistant and kohai who harbors a longtime crush on him. Despite Souichi's homophobia, Morinaga managed to confess his love for him without Souichi promptly beating the living daylights out of him or getting as far away from him as possible. Souichi, however, did kiss Morinaga in exchange for them forgetting that anything ever happened to compromise their friendship.

The Tyrant Falls in Love takes place about a year after these events, with nothing much changed. Souichi is still a homophobic tyrant and Morinaga still his loyal and lovelorn companion. It looks like Morinaga's 5-year-old unrequited love will only drag on, until one night when Souichi, on a drinking binge at Morinaga's house, unknowingly downs an aphrodisiac stored in the back of a cabinet. Morinaga finds Souichi turned on and rendered immobile, realizes that this is a once-in-a-lifetime opportunity, and finally does what he's been waiting for five years to do with Souichi.

Since this isn't exactly typical BL fare, the morning after Souichi attempt to murder Morinaga. When that fails, Morinaga decides to remove himself from Souichi's life before he causes any more trouble...something which Souichi oddly doesn't take well to. But Souichi's a self-professed homophobe, so just because he doesn't like Morinaga leaving his side doesn't mean that a romantic relationship could ever form between the two, no matter how much Morinaga pursues Souichi, no matter how overly defensive Souichi becomes of his heterosexuality as if he's got something to hide, no matter how furiously he blushes even when telling Morinaga not to misinterpret his words...

...Right?

With characters able to elicit both laughs and sympathy, a thoroughly entertaining puppy-like seme/tsunderish uke dynamic, and hot sex scenes that feel more romantic than trashy, it's a fun ride to the end.

The Tyrant Falls in Love was licensed by DramaQueen, but got stuck in release limbo for over a year before being picked up by DMP for their June imprint; the first volume of the official English translation was released in September of 2010. An animated OVA which covers the first two chapters of Volume 1 also was released in the summer of 2010, and another OVA, covering chapters 3-5, was released in November of the same year..


This series contains examples of:

  • All Gays are Promiscuous: Tetsuhiro recounts to Souichi that after breaking up with Masaki, he had his fair share of one-night stands. This trope is also subverted because Tetsuhiro stops sleeping around after meeting and falling for Souichi, much to Hiroto-kun's chagrin.
  • All Just a Dream: The sex scene that kicks off volume 3.
  • Aloof Big Brother: Morinaga's older brother who has remained distant from him (along with the rest of Morinaga's family) for reasons concerning his homosexuality.
  • Anguished Declaration of Love: It doesn't actually include the word "love," and is vague enough for Souichi to claim that he didn't mean it the way Morinaga takes it, but considering that Souichi shouts it out during a period of high stress and appears taken back by what he just blurted out, it likely fits.
    • After Morinaga intervenes and Souichi forfeits from the final night of Isogai's karaoke hell, Morinaga points out if Souichi would simply sleep with anyone because he was blackmailed in an attempt to get Souichi to realize that his actions all along showed that he did in fact 'love' Morinaga. Souichi retaliates that he was only comfortable being blackmailed into sex because it was coming from Morinaga.
  • Big "NO!"
  • Blackmail: Used twice. Morinaga emotionally blackmails Souichi into sex in exchange for staying at the university. When Tomoe's friend, Isogai, sees Morinaga give Souichi a handjob on the street, he threatens to expose this, forcing him into a week of karaoke hell at the hotel he's staying in.
  • Breakout Character: Tatsumi Souichi was created to be a weirdo villain in his brother's manga, challengers, but as the story developed he became more popular and he got his own series.
  • Can't Live with Them, Can't Live Without Them: Souichi tells Morinaga that he doesn't want to see his face again after he rapes him, but when Morinaga does exactly that and breaks off all contact with him, life feels strangely empty and lonely...
  • Cool and Unusual Punishment: After discovering the true nature of Morinaga and Souichi's relationship, Isogai blackmails Souichi into coming over to his hotel and...singing karaoke of the Doraemon theme tune with him. It was all just because he's bored, but it leads to a Not What It Looks Like moment when Morinaga begins to worry Souichi is cheating on him.
  • Disappeared Dad / Missing Mom: Souichi's Dad isn't mentioned at all, even though his family is a frequent issue in the series. Turns out, he was too busy hunting down rare insects. It took Souichi a whole month to track him down after their house burned down His mother is said to have died many, many years before the canon timeline. Meanwhile, Morinaga ran away from home and hasn't kept in proper contact with them for years after the incident involving Masaki
  • Dogged Nice Guy: Morinaga. He is in love with Souichi for nearly five years, foregoing all other romantic relationships for him. When he finally does begin a relationship with him, Souichi is hesitant to label them as a couple, often violent towards him and refuses to initiate sex until Volume 8. Morinaga (mostly) endures this with cheer.
  • Driven to Suicide: Masaki, when his and Mori's relationship comes out to the community.
  • Dude, He's Like, in a Coma!: Masaki following his suicide attempt.
  • Erotic Dream / Nocturnal Emission: **Tearfully related by Morinaga, as the first page of Volume 3.
    • In Volume 11, Souichi shares the apartment with his new lab assistant after Morinaga left for training. Souichi sleeps in Morinaga's room and gets two of these
  • Friends with Benefits: Violently denied by Souichi when Morinaga suggested that their relationship is this.
  • Foregone Conclusion: Really, is there any chance of the tyrant not falling in love with the Dogged Nice Guy by the end of the series? Especially with a title like that?
  • Glad-to-Be-Alive Sex: Volume 4, after the Tatsumi house burns down. Souichi tries to pretend it didn't happen.
  • Hair-Trigger Temper: Souichi regards every offer Morinaga makes as a sexual advance. Sometimes he's actually right about his true intentions, but not always.
  • He Is Not My Boyfriend: More accurately, "Don't make a guy sound like a homo!" and "I'm not your sex friend!"
  • Hypocritical Humor: The tyrant is a homophobe who lets a homosexual have sex with him. He's absolutely, positively not a homosexual or in love with one. Sure... Well, it was rape at first, then consensual. But he still protests. In the later chapters, the number of protests gradually decreases.
  • I Didn't Mean to Turn You On: Happens to both sides.
  • I Have You Now, My Pretty: In the Volume 5 extra. Only, Masaki really does end up raping Kunihiro without interruption while telling him that he has absolutely no heart, that he cannot love, and how horrible of a person he was for hating his ex-best friend because of his sexuality. Oh, and that he's a filthy beast for orgasming when another man is touching him. Not entirely accurate, I am not sure the correct trope for this situation but it is obvious that Masaki's choice of words are intended as a deliberate echo of the way Kunihiro had viciously screamed "You disgust me!" as his reaction to his discovery of Masaki and Tesuhiro's relationship, which is what led to Masaki's breakdown and suicide attempt..
  • Imagine Spot: Dear lord, Morinaga. Also, the Boukun Booklet Nurie is a colouring-style book with a few pages dedicated to Morinaga's fantasies of Senpai... there's even a wandering samurai, a high school student, heck even a Chinese dress! And natsumatsuri senpai eating a chocolate banana
  • Kissing Under the Influence: And far, far beyond that.
  • Knight Templar Big Brother: Souichi threatens to fly to America to save his brother Tomoe from "corruption" after he hears the state of California has legalised gay marriage.
  • Long-Haired Pretty Boy: Souichi. Especially in Slipknot Ponytail mode.
  • Love Martyr: Morinaga. Falling in love with an antisocial tyrant is bad enough, but staying in love with him for no less than four years even after he becomes hostile against your kind requires some pretty serious commitment.
  • Love Hotels: Morinaga drags Souichi to one in Volume 3.
  • Luminescent Blush
  • Making Love in All the Wrong Places: On the floor, in an alley, on the street (where they get spotted).
  • Manly Tears: From a majority of the characters for various reasons.
  • Mistaken for Cheating: Applies to Morinaga and Souichi. Morinaga believes that he is having an affair with Isogai after he follows them to a hotel. What was actually happening was a week-long karaoke section Isogai forces Souichi into after catching them together. Later on, after an argument with Morinaga that nearly tears them apart, Souichi believes that he has left with Masaki while he was truly convincing Morinaga to go back to Souichi.
  • Mistaken for Gay: Isogai
  • My God, What Have I Done?: Morinaga has quite a few of these. Most notably in volume 1 when he wakes up the morning after raping Souichi and again in volume 8 when Kunihiro gives him an impassioned speech about how difficult it is for the latter to be questioning his own sexuality after spending most of his life believing himself to be straight—making Morinaga realize he'd been pushing Souichi way too hard to come to grips with his own sexuality. Souichi has a big one in Volume 8 after realizing that despite wanting Morinaga to find his way in life and advance in his studies or career, he truly wants Morinaga with him so much that he would go against his principles for him. Sure, he vehemently protests every single time Morinaga tries to make love but he ultimately allowed it too. Every. Single. Time.
  • Nice Job Fixing It, Villain: Desperate to keep Tomoe from getting married to Kurokawa, Souichi calls up his little brother and screams at him to not go to San Francisco. Tomoe, however, did not know about San Francisco legalizing gay marriage, and when he asks Kurokawa about it, Kurokawa gathers the courage to propose to him. While Souichi is still on the phone, no less! And in Volume 8. Masaki was on their side this whole time when he overheard Souichi and Morinaga arguing. He tries to spur some jealousy in Souichi by claiming that Souichi is incapable of making Morinaga happy and that between the both of them, Masaki can definitely console Morinaga better. Souichi meets Morinaga the next day and brings up the conclusion that Morinaga must have been with Masaki the night before, Morinaga is disappointed that Souichi assumed that and yet he couldn't care less since from Morinaga's perspective, Souichi never came looking for Morinaga.
  • Rape as Backstory: Very narrowly adverted, but in Challengers it's shown that Souichi's hatred of homosexuals stems from the fact that a senior professor tried to rape him. Morinaga saved him in that case.
  • Rape as Drama: The victim definitely doesn't fall hopelessly in love with the rapist in this case, though the rape appears to have been necessary to spark an incremental Relationship Upgrade between the tyrant and his assistant.
    • As of volume 8, though, Kunihiro says he might be falling for Masaki, despite the fact that Masaki raped him. Kunihiro actually seems to imply this is what happened, though he himself isn't quite sure if it's really love.
  • Second Love: Souichi is Morinaga's second love after Masaki.
  • Selective Obliviousness: Souichi regarding his feelings for Morinaga. He even sorts of admits this at one point, telling Morinaga that with their relationship upsetting his 5-year-long homophobia, the least he can do to try to straighten out his conflicted feelings is to protest when they're having sex.
  • Sexual Extortion: Morinaga uses this on Souichi after he returns from his absence. Morinaga demands sex from Souichi and in return, he will not leave the university. Deeply upset at the prospect of Morinaga leaving, Souichi agrees.
  • Single-Target Sexuality: Souichi openly states that Morinaga is the only one he's willing to have sex with, which Morinaga takes as a declaration that he's the only person Souichi can love. Of course, Souichi denies this romantic interpretation, though it's pretty hard to see what else his words could mean. (Interestingly, Morinaga, despite being the Love Martyr, doesn't fit this trope as he had been in love with another man before he met Souichi.)
  • Slipknot Ponytail: Happens to Souichi during sex, making him look more conventionally ukeish.
  • Shower of Angst: Souichi, immediately after having sex with Morinaga.
  • Stoic Spectacles: Subverted in that Souichi looks the part, but is far, far more emotional tsundere than emotionless stoic. Morinaga's older brother, Kunihiro, is a bit more of a straight example, at least until Masaki corners and rapes him..
    • Kunihiro seems to have gotten rid of this trope. He was pretty spirited when he told Morinaga that he may or may not be falling for Masaki and he's scared and confused by this.
  • That Didn't Happen: Not quite a verbal agreement, but Souichi is extremely good at acting as if he and Morinaga have never crossed the line, to the point where Morinaga wonders if he only hallucinated having sex with him. Also in Canada, Souichi gets frustrated that his body, being conditioned to such an extensive amount of stimuli by Morinaga, now cannot reach an orgasm. He tries to visualize how Morinaga does it to him and masturbates accordingly. Then he denies having done any of those.
  • Think Unsexy Thoughts: Morinaga's attempt to prevent a hard-on by mentally repeating the value of pi. It doesn't work.
  • Tsundere: Souichi to an amazing degree.
  • Will They or Won't They?: After eight volumes, it's confirmed that they will. And the fangirls rejoiced.

Alternative Title(s): Koisuru Boukun

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