Links go to search results. Availability varies by region.
Find a Specific Chapter
68 chapters total
The Betrayal Knows My Name
裏切りは僕の名前を知っている
7.86(4K votes)
Ranked #1285Popularity #1884
chapters
68
volumes
13
Status
Finished
Published
Sep 24, 2005 to Apr 24, 2017
Authors:Odagiri, Hotaru
Adventure
Worth Reading? — Global Verdict
8.7/10
Average Review Score
100%
Recommend It
3
Reviews Worldwide
International Reviews
namibozu
Recommended
10
To add onto the already existing reviews, you honestly cannot go wrong with this story. You fall in love with all the characters, my FAVORITE being Tachibana & Sodom. :3 I would not put this one aside even with the shounen-ai tag. This is more comrade-ship type, similar to 07 Ghost. No yaoi/boy love at all. I mean sure the dialogue may imply it, but I didn't get that vibe what-so-ever. The art is amazing, the story progresses so smoothly though I did have some confusion more towards the last volume as to how it suddenly developed midway, the characters are so fun, & more!!It's just a phenomenal story. Due to health issues sadly, our mangaka has left it as an open-ended story that is to be continued at a later time when it's right :) so I pray for her safe recovery! I enjoy all the extras & the mangaka notes & fan corners in the manga xD. I highly encourage yall to get the hard copy in case ya wanna send a letter to our mangaka via a library.
Having lived in an orphanage for as long as he can remember, high school student Yuki Sakurai has always believed that he existed to burden others. Despite possessing a mysterious power that allows him to see other people's emotions, the ability seems to torment him instead.
One day, a beautiful man in black clothes saves Yuki's life, and Yuki faintly feels as if he has met this stranger before. The stranger, later introducing himself as Zess, displays a strong concern about Yuki but quickly disappears after giving him a warning. The following day, Takashiro Giou—the head of the Giou Clan—appears at the orphanage claiming to be Yuki's brother and proposes an idea that Yuki is reluctant to accept.
As puzzling problems threaten his safety emerge and familiar faces reappear, Yuki soon learns that his frail existence holds a greater significance than he had initially thought.
[Written by MAL Rewrite]
13,105 Members
7
The way you end a story can either make it or break it. The Betrayal Knows My Name? It broke it. Well... kind of? Now, hear me out or rather let me break it down to you. The plot of the story isn't really anything special. You probably read something like this already, but i nonetheless enjoyed it. The art style is also quite the standard for it's genre and the era the manga started in. I liked some of the character's designs, and some I disliked (ahem, Luka, looking at you - tho 12 y/o me would probably droll over you), but the art itselfreally is nicely drawn.
Now, what I liked most were the characters themselves. They feel fleshed-out and they do have quite a lot of character development. While it sometimes feels a bit crowded with all the new people entering the story, i feel like the author managed to strike an overall pleasing balance.
Aaaand then we get to the ending. To my understanding, the author took a long hiatus before finishing the manga and I gotta give them kudos to that - it's tough going back to finish something you no longer have the energy to do. And I'm glad they came back, the story didn't just drop in the middle of an extremely important scene or something like that, but it really does end abruptly - there is no way around that fact.
This is sadly something that i absolutely hate. Maybe not hate, dislike would be a bit better. I don't hate that the author didn't get to finish the whole plot/manga, but an unfinished story just leaves this empty feeling behind - "What happened then? Do they live? Was the betrayal real? Did they lie? What happened to the cycle? What the actual frickity frick?"
The series would be a solid 8 or even 9 if it weren't like for the ending. Because I don't think i would have read the story, if i had known it would end like this. I almost gave it a 6 even, but i would be lying if i said i did not enjoy the story still.
My advice? If you're not bothered too much by an unfinished story, do it - read the manga. It really is great. But if you can't handle not knowing (like i do), maybe look for an another one.
(p.s. - just saw the MAL genres for this manga and i'm sorry to disappoint, but there is no shounen ai)
10 found helpfulNov 12, 2020
Lequynhnhu
Recommended
9
I loved the manga I just had to buy the full set. The manga had a good plotline happening. It's different from your typical action thriller mangas where this story is connected to past lives while also trying to move forward in their current life. I loved the characters, almost all the characters introduced have their own backstory while some are still left in mystery. I loved the relationships these characters have with each other and that they are paired together. I don't even care that there are male-male relationships. It's not yaoi but more like shounen-ai. You just squeal at every little interaction. Youcan see how much the characters love each other and how far they would go for each other so a strong friendship bond can be mistaken as love.
I am disappointed that the manga ended earlier than it should be. I felt like the manga could have continued for like 5 more volumes. But it can't be helped when all this much work for such a great manga takes a lot of toil for the author. She did take a long hiatus and managed to make a comeback to finish this manga the best she can instead of just leaving it incomplete indefinitely.
In saying that, I kind of felt disappointed how some characters arc never got developed because it only got interesting just as the manga ended. While some characters did have an interesting and unexpected development, it just never had the chance to be explored but the abrupt ending. Again, I'm not going to blame the poor author who had to battle her illness while trying to finish this manga so she could focus on getting better.
The ending was left ambiguous with more questions than answers. A cliffhanger really. I was really looking forward to learning more about Luka's back story with his former master and I actually thought the guy was going to make an appearance. This is only possible if the author had the capability to continue further than the ending we got.
I'm more sad than disappointed about the ending but I also respect the author's decision to bring it to an end. She's been very ill for a long time and tried to battle it while working on the manga at the same time but it just got worse for her. She went on a really long hiatus and probably thought she can't do this to her readers any longer and thought it was best to bring it to an end - maybe not the best ending we all hope for - but it's better than leaving it incomplete forever.
Overall, I give this manga a 9 out of 10 because I did enjoy it. I loved the story. I loved the art and I loved the characters. I gave it an extra point for her efforts to complete during a difficult time. It's not a 10 out of 10 because of the ending.
I do recommend this if you don't mind an ambiguous ending. It's ambiguous but it's not a bad ending.
