Forced by poor health to take a leave of absence, curmudgeonly conductor Kiri returns to his rural hometown for some much-needed rest. But on his very first night back, he comes dangerously close to freezing to death—until local grocer Osamu scoops him up out of the cold and into the warmth of his embrace. Can this younger man, a years-long fan of Kiri's work, thaw out the ice in the maestro's heart? Or will Kiri be doomed to a life of frigid loneliness forever?

In Love's Key, Reprised has story and art by Guri Nojiro. Translation by Jessica Lange and lettering by Elena Pizarro Lanzas. Published by Vertical (September 16, 2025). Rated M.

Rebecca Silverman
Rating:

This is the second book from Guri Nojiro to make into a manga guide, and I'm pleased to say that I liked it much better than A Beast's Love Is Like the Moon. In Love's Key, Reprised is a warmer, kinder story, and at its center are two people who find what they didn't even realize they were looking for in each other.

Well, that's perhaps not strictly true – Osamu has been in love with Kiri for years, ever since he heard him playing the piano. At the time, Kiri was mourning his mother, playing her favorite song, and Osamu was struggling socially. Kiri's music and the emotion he played with touched the high schooler, and he began following the older man's career as a conductor in Tokyo. When he hears that Kiri is returning to their tiny hometown, he's ecstatic, seeing it as his chance to connect with the man of his dreams.

Kiri, on the other hand, feels like his dreams are all shattered. Although it isn't explicitly stated, he's been struggling emotionally – and professionally – since his mother's death, relying on alcohol to get him through. There are hints that he's a borderline alcoholic, and having to leave his current orchestra and go back home to “rest” certainly isn't helping. He's flummoxed by Osamu and the entire small-town vibe of a place he clearly hasn't lived in for years, but ultimately, it's those very things that save him.

The heart of this book is healing emotional trauma. Despite his golden retriever disposition, Osamu is carrying a lot of weight going back to his childhood, and he feels responsible for his stepsister Lala's emotional well-being, even though that's emphatically not his responsibility. Kiri's first thought on meeting the fourteen-year-old is that her family spoils her horribly, and although Osamu explains the situation, it's easy to see that they've really created their own monster with her. Lala is a foil to Kiri, a mirror held up to make him understand his own unhealthy behaviors, and while Osamu helps him to change, the change actually comes from within Kiri himself. That's the same trajectory Osamu has to follow, and it's only together that the two men can find ways to grow – both together and up. As we see with Lala, you can't force someone to change, but you can be there for them while they're changing.

The single-volume nature of this book means that not every plot thread gets woven into a full scarf. But the sweetness of the story (and its spicy scenes) generally make up for that, and the art is attractive and reassuringly solid. If you're looking for a cozy story with a few sharp edges, this is a good one.

Caitlin Moore
Rating:

Finally, a well-paced BL one-shot! I don't know what order you'll be reading this in, but I picked up In Love's Key, Reprised after working my way through a stretch of beautifully drawn but rushed stories about men falling in love with other men. After that string of disappointments, this single volume offered me what I wanted and needed: a human story of two people, each with their own complex histories, connecting and falling in love.

While high school romances have their own charms and can be a lovely way for an ancient hag (that is to say, late 30s) like me to vicariously relive experiences I'll never have again, I appreciate love stories between two adults like this one. Kiri, a professional conductor, struggles with alcoholism and anger issues since his mother died. When his doctor demands he take a break, he temporarily relocates back to his countryside hometown. There, he meets Osamu, the local grocer who has followed his work for years.

From there, it follows the classic format of hurt/comfort stories, where one person finds healing in the loving attention of another. Kiri is prickly and stand-offish, while Osamu is a big golden retriever of a man who refuses to let Kiri push him away. Still, there's a warmth that saves it from feeling overly-tropey; Kiri may be a difficult person in part because of his grief and trauma, but that's been woven into the fabric of his personality in a way that isn't going to go away just because someone hugged him. Osamu's sweetness, too, is genuine, but is informed by his own troubled past.

The sex scenes are quite graphic and, for the most part, quite hot – Osamu and Kiri are both beautiful men, and the manga is well-drawn and composed from start to finish – but Osamu is pushier than I usually prefer in my romances. While Kiri never outright denies him, Osamu has a tendency to bulldoze through Kiri's hesitations without asking first. People who are sensitive to dynamics around consent should proceed with caution.

Still, if you like sexy romances that touch on grief and recovery, In Love's Key, Reprised is a nice one that's worth your time.