First-year high schooler Shingo is a one-man information network. For the right price (lunch, in most cases) he'll find out whatever you want to know about your crush, using his top-notch conversational skills and easy-going nature. But Shingo meets his match in the handsome yet terrifying second-year Ao, a boy whose gloomy presence doesn't hurt his popularity one bit. For some reason, Shingo gets tongue-tied around Ao, but when he uncovers a secret about the older boy--one that has nothing to do with the mysterious scar on his face--he notices his feelings begin to change.

Cupid Is Struck by Lightning has art and story by Minta Suzumaru. English translation is done by Tristan K. Hill and lettering by Ray Steeves. Published by Seven Seas (October 28, 2025). Rated M.

Rebecca Silverman
Rating:

Minta Suzumaru is, I think, an uneven creator. There's always something just a little off in their books, but not always the same thing. Still, every one of their BL manga I've read has had something enjoyable about it, and Cupid Is Struck by Lightning is no exception, even if the premise takes a backseat to the actual plot awfully quickly.

Ostensibly, this is a story about Shingo, a high school first year who has a thriving business researching girls' crushes for them. He gets paid in food, which feels very accurate, and apparently he's got quite the reputation and a high rate of success. But all of that changes when he's asked to find out why second year Ao has a large scar on his forehead. In the process of his research (which he knows is invasive, but the lure of bread is just too strong), he falls hard for the older boy, which is partially where the title comes from: although less common in English (at least where I'm from), the French term for love at first sight translates to “a clap of thunder” or “struck by lightning.” This is juxtaposed with the fact that Ao's scar origin has to do with a thunderstorm, so it's at least moderately clever. (If you're wondering, the original Japanese title is Cupid no Rakurai, so this isn't invented by the translator.)

But once Shingo falls for Ao, the story leaves the whole matchmaker aspect by the wayside in favor of the boys' sexual adventures. That's a little bit flippant, because the emotional component remains strong, and we get a really clear picture of how much they care about each other. Shingo tries to play it cool and is afraid of scaring Ao off, while Ao, although a much more laid back person, makes it as clear as he can that he's into Shingo as well. Three-quarters of the book, however, is about them having sex. There's a lot of enthusiastic consent and emotional payoff to this, but it's still clear that the focus is on the physical. That's fine, and I give Suzumaru props for capturing the horny teenagers aspect of the characters so well. But it does feel like things move a little too quickly for a real emotional payoff.