Thirty-year-old manicurist Toshi Agawa is a devoted fan of the idol group FLAT. For the first time in two years, he's finally going to see them live, together with his new friend “Kazusa,” a fellow fan he met online who managed to snag them tickets to the upcoming concert. It's the perfect match — not only does Kazusa share the same intense love for FLAT, but they both stan the same idol! However, when Toshi arrives, the man waiting to meet him looks less like a fan and more like a yakuza thug! Will he still survive the night and have fun?

Stan by Me has story and art by Kiyou Mori. English translation is done by Katie Kimura with lettering by Vibrant Publishing Studio. Published by Tokyopop (February 24, 2026). Rated M.

Content Warning: homophobia

Rebecca Silverman
Rating:

I don't know if “adorability” is an actual criteria Tokyopop uses to determine which BL manga to license, but if it's not a deliberate choice, the sheer volume of cuteness in their selection says something about someone's taste. Not that I'm complaining - Stan by Me is a fluffy little delight of a romance, even as it hints at some darker themes.

The title is meant to be taken literally – protagonists Toshi and Kazusa are both superfans of male idol group Flat. Since they're not the designated demographic for Flat, neither of them is entirely comfortable showing their love in public or going to concerts…assuming they could get tickets in the first place. They meet online, and when Kazusa manages to snag two tickets, he asks Toshi to go with him. They are, in fact, stanning their bias beside each other.

But that's really just the superficial top layer of the story. Toshi is a nail artist, and he's faced plenty of criticism for being a thirty-year-old man in a “girly” profession, beginning all the way back with his father, who also physically abused Toshi's sister Riko for daring to be a lesbian. Toshi now operates a “nail corner” in his sister and her partner's café, and even though he's making his living through his manicure skills, he's still uncomfortable letting people know. Kazusa, meanwhile, grew up without his dad, and his mother coped with her grief by becoming a serious idol fan. That's not to imply that she ignored him, because she didn't, but he's not quite sure how he's “supposed” to present himself or act. This leads to the only real misunderstanding in the book: when he and Toshi first meet up, he dresses up, which to him means “as gaudy and flashy as possible,” leading Toshi to assume that he's a yakuza. Whoops.

The heart of this single-volume story is how both men find acceptance with each other. Kazusa (a carpenter, not a gangster) discovers not only love and new ways to express himself, but also ambition. Toshi's nail art and manicure skills turn out to be more valuable than he ever expected, bringing him closer to his favorite idols. But more importantly, they both learn that someone who will love them for who they are exists, even if it takes Toshi a bit to figure out that Kazusa is asking him out romantically.

Although this does have two explicit sex scenes, they don't feel prurient, but rather the natural progression of the men's relationship. Supporting characters are just that, warm and supportive of the main couple, and the plot manages to use idol worship as a catalyst rather than getting lost in it. Stan by Me is just charming.