After being dumped by his girlfriend and enduring a series of misfortunes, Chikayuki Murata thinks his day can't get any worse—until he “saves” a young man on a bridge. The twist? Rei Aihara was just stargazing. To make up for the misunderstanding, Chikayuki takes Rei out for an unforgettable day filled with batting, bowling, and arcade games. When they part ways, Chikayuki casually invites Rei to visit his café, never expecting him to return so soon—or that Rei is actually an idol who sings his favorite song. But the real surprise comes when Rei decides to move in with him!

Destiny Paradise Night has story and art by Tomato Machida. English translation is done by Massiel Gutierrez with lettering by Vibrant Publishing Studio. Published by Tokyopop (February 3, 2026). Rated M.

Rebecca Silverman
Rating:

If I had to pick one word to sum up Destiny Paradise Night, it would be “sweet.” This moderately explicit BL volume tells the story of two lonely men who don't even realize they're searching for a place and a person to call home when they find it in each other, and there's something that's just lovely about that. It starts off fairly quickly, but the emotional progress is slower and a bit understated, making for a book that hits a lot of the right notes when it comes to romance.

Of the two men, Rei, a popular idol, is the less self-aware, although it doesn't seem that way at first. Rei isn't unhappy, but the alacrity with which he moves speaks to the fact that he's missing something in his life. When he realizes that Chikayuki, who runs the coffee shop he inherited from his late grandfather, has no idea he's famous (or an idol), that's his greenlight to pursue a relationship…to the tune of showing up at Chikayuki's door with a suitcase. He seems to think that he finds the other man attractive because he doesn't know who he is and treats him like a normal person, but as the story unfolds, it becomes clear that Rei's decision to become an idol in the first place is based in a desire to be loved by others. What he sees in Chikayuki is someone who accepts him for who he is alongside his idol career, not because of it.

Chikayuki, meanwhile, knows that his grandfather's death and his girlfriend leaving him have had an effect on him. He thinks he's fine because he coped with his parents' deaths when he was little, but doesn't quite realize the outsize role his grandfather played in that. The longer he lives with Rei, the more he understands that having a person around to love and support you and just be there is something he both wants and needs. He was aware that it was important in his early life and that it's something other people rely on; he just didn't fully realize that he is also a person who would like this.

Despite trappings of glitz and destiny, this is really a story about two people finding each other and falling in love, learning that they make each other's lives better. There's a puppyish quality to their relationship that's remarkably endearing, and the art generally supports that. It may not work if you're specifically looking for an idol BL, because that's not a major factor in the story, but for a sweet one-shot, this is worth picking up.

Erica Friedman
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A regular guy meets an idol, they fall in love and live happily ever after. What's not to like? This one-shot hit all the notes one might expect. Both men have tragic backstories and don't like to talk about themselves, there are misunderstandings and a disappearance after a confession. There's no real tension of whether “Chika” and Rei will get together, only the “how” of it.

I did enjoy how Rei is comfortable with idol life and the fact that he is sharing himself with fans and his group members, as well as with Chika, but feels responsibility when his family is dragged into it. Chika is an upright guy who, having just come off a relationship with a woman, is a bit slower to admit his attraction. Once he understands his feelings, he throws all his cards on the table in a charming bit of honesty.

Neither art nor story are breaking new ground, but both are pleasant enough. For about three-quarters of the volume, the only sexual scene is a dream and, I have to admit that the whole thing felt much more natural that way. The sex felt compulsory in exactly the way sex scenes in movies often do. This volume might have been stronger if the pages dedicated to the bedroom were used to fill in more backstory for both Rei and Chika. The character development felt a bit like two high schoolers having a deep conversation about middle-school issues. Even though it was only a single volume, I think a little bit more depth on both characters would have the overall story.

Even with such simplistic character and story building, Rei and Chika are both likeable and it feels perfectly comfortable to root for them to live together happily ever after.