What's It About?

The second sales division at Itsuboshi Trading Company is headed up by Mr. Takanashi, one of the firm's top performer and a charismatic knockout at age 40. One of his subordinates is the equally hot, cool and calculating 26-year-old, Hiwatari. Practically every woman at the company has attempted to stir up an office romance with the magnetic Takanashi, but this dashing zaddy has turned them all down, because...he secretly has ED! Meanwhile, Hiwatari seems like a scary robot on the outside, but he's actually looked up to Takanashi since he started working with him four years ago. When Hiwatari gets a chance to spend the evening with Takanashi, he reveals more than he means to! An irresistible love comedy between a hot older man with a shameful secret and a cunning underling who becomes an unlikely confidant in his quest to once more stand proud and, ahem...erect!

The Dashing Zaddy and His Icy Protégé has story and art by Fumito. English translation by Jacqueline Fung and lettering by Nicole Roderick. Published by Kodansha (April 1, 2025). Rated M.

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Is It Worth Reading?

Rebecca Silverman
Rating:

If there is one thing that The Dashing Zaddy and His Icy Protégé does well, it is this: Tokyo Tower makes an excellent stand-in for Takanashi's penis. Scenes of the tower dominate the backgrounds when he's successfully overcoming his erectile dysfunction, perfectly positioned to make it clear what's going on even though we can't see it. Truly, this is the best series about ED since Ixion Saga DT.

It's also just fun, although readers who have more of a stake in ED than I do might disagree. Makoto Takanashi has been struggling with the disorder for at least a year when the story opens, and he's too embarrassed to go to the doctor about it. But lo and behold, the magic of BL turns out to be all he needed, because when he finds himself faced with his perhaps overeager subordinate, Ren Hiwatari, the ol'Makoto Tower (his name for it, not mine) rises again – much to Hiwatari's admiration. Some of the simultaneously funniest and cringiest scenes in the book are when Takanashi, after loudly proclaiming his ED, realizes that such is not the case, while Hiwatari waxes eloquent over the perfection of Takanashi's unexpected erection.

Neither of the men thinks that they're gay (or bi, in Takanashi's case) until things get heated, but it doesn't come off as homophobic or the detested “gay for you” trope. Takanashi, in particular, is dealing with a lot of stress from a director who is constantly coming on to him. While he's enjoyed liaisons with women quite a bit before, the pressure of this woman, his superior at work, may be stressing him to the point of ED. Hiwatari, meanwhile, has been obsessed with Takanashi since he was a child, when the older man stepped in to offer help after his dad's company folded. He's unaware that his feelings have turned romantic for most of the book, but he's not upset when he realizes that they have.

At its heart, The Dashing Zaddy and His Icy Protégé is a comedy. There are more serious moments sprinkled throughout, but the major takeaway is that these two men who have known each other for a long time are tripping and stumbling their way into love. Humor centered around this journey is light and silly, and the art does a very nice job, even excluding the masterful use of Tokyo Tower. The series is rated 18+, but this volume itself really isn't, so I think we have to assume that a more…physical method of dealing with Takanashi's ED is ahead in future volumes. But in the meantime, if you're looking for goofy BL, this is a good one.

I'll leave you with a question: is “zaddy” the appropriate translation of “ikeoji monster?” Discuss among yourselves.

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Lauren Orsini
Rating:

This story's got a joke not everybody's gonna like. In The Dashing Zaddy and His Icy Protégé, the main gag is that the titular Zaddy has erectile dysfunction. If you can work with that, you'll enjoy this age-gap romance with a silly streak. It's the story of two office workers who each harbor a big secret completely at odds with their public reputation, and it's exactly these secrets that could bring them together. Big brain art choices enhance this handsome pair's sex appeal, but it's the quick-timed comedy that makes it stand out in its genre.

Forty-year-old Takanashi is the office zaddy, but he can't take any of his admirers to bed since he's been struggling with ED for a year. Meanwhile, his 26-year-old protégé Hiwatari has a reputation as a ruthless taskmaster, but behind his robotic facade is nothing but gooey thoughts about romancing his mentor. When HR gets a complaint about Hiwatari's coldness, Takanashi decides to take him out to dinner and gently figure out what's going on. Needless to say, he gets a lot more than he bargained for. One thing leads to another, and Takanashi discovers that the only thing that can make his “Makoto Tower” stand tall once again is somehow his subordinate. There's no actual sex in this volume, but what's hotter are several horny (and dare I say, brilliant) art choices, like the decision to convey Takanashi's wrinkles, nipples, and the moles on his chin and ass in loving detail. This porncake is targeted at Middle-Aged-Man Enjoyers. Between the teasing “almost but not quite” romance scenes are the goofs—a yakety-sax panorama of mostly harmless mishaps. Both Takanashi and Hiwatari make priceless reaction faces to the jokes that their lives have become.

One of the main benchmarks I use in the guide is, “Do I want to pick up the next volume?” and for this title, I do. Stories about romantic leads who hide behind cool facades are a dime a dozen, but it's the execution that sets The Dashing Zaddy and His Icy Protégé apart. The well-timed humor and the leads' sheer chemistry take what could have been an overly formulaic romance and turn it into something much more memorable. Sexy, funny, and fast-paced, it makes an entertaining read for BL fans.