Story and art: Deme Kingyobachi
Genre: Romance, Boy’s Love
Publisher: Kodansha
Synopsis: Chiba’s kind manner, clear guidance, and pretty face make him easily the favorite driving instructor of every female student at the school where he works. But, while he’ll play up his charms to get good reviews, Chiba is diligent about politely but firmly rejecting all romantic advances. Yet his well-crafted persona will be put to the test when he’s matched up with the mysterious Yaotome, a new student gaining a reputation of his own as the “Sharp-Suited Prince,” because he comes to every driving lesson way overdressed. Despite his cool looks and demeanor, Yaotome can hardly compose himself when Chiba begins their lesson. An after-hours encounter reveals that Yaotome is actually a manga artist…and that’s not his only secret!
Publication date: 19th August 2025
Thank you to the publisher and NetGalley for a free e-copy of this manga in exchange for an honest review. All opinions are my own.
I’m not about to say that I’m a connoisseur of Boy’s Love manga, but it probably is my most read genre, so make of that what you will. When I saw My Instructor Won’t Yield, I thought it looked like a really interesting concept of perhaps a developing love between an instructor and his pupil, something I’ve not read before amongst a sea of worn out tropes and stereotypes.
I did feel quite let down by the manga, as it didn’t feel like it lived up to the promise of the cover and blurb. It did often feel the most interesting thing in My Instructor Won’t Yield is the insight it gives a foreign reader into the intricacies of learning to drive in Japan. That’s not to say the rest of the plot is bad necessarily, just that it feels very played out and doesn’t really give that something new that I was looking for. I expected more interaction between Chiba and Yaotome actually driving or on lessons, but there didn’t feel like there was all that much.
It was nice to have the characters realise their feelings quickly on and just accept that they are gay; none of the usual trope of going back and forth as to them refusing to accept that they like men, which actually felt quite refreshing.
The characters of Chiba and Yaotome felt flat, with not much depth to either of them. They had the bare minimum of a history each, only really enough to make their actions and interactions make sense, but other than that, there was nothing.
Whilst the manga was well drawn, I had hoped for more in terms of characterisation and plot. There didn’t feel like much in terms of anything that stands out even only two days after I finished reading.
Whilst My Instructor Won’t Yield didn’t meet my personal expectations, it was still an enjoyable and fun read. There’s nothing in the manga that I would count as ‘bad’, just that everything was just ‘okay’. It’s not going to light the BL world on fire, but it is fun for a quick, sweet read.
NetGalley requires users to rate on a star rating of 5, so I have adjusted my star ratings for any review for manga reviewed via NetGalley. Non-NetGalley reviews willl remain out of 10.
Culture Shack 