Only the Ring Finger Knows: The Lonely Ring Finger

by Satoru Kannagi

It's the ultimate expression of love to wear matching rings with your significant other, showing the world that you are a couple. High school student, Wataru Fujii, also wears one even though he is... This description may be from another edition of this product.

• Format: Paperback
• Language: English
• ISBN: 1569709041
• ISBN13: 9781569709047
• Release Date: March 2006
• Publisher: Digital Manga Publishing
• Length: 246 Pages
• Weight: 0.43 lbs.
• Dimensions: 0.5" x 4.3" x 6.8"

Customer Reviews

Very cute

I really enjoyed this book. I wish more illustrations.

Lovely!

I guess most of us pick up this novel because we enjoy the manga version. I like the manga but I love the novel more. This novelist's expression of the boys' budding love is simply beautiful. Thankfully the translation did not let us down even though more editing would have been appreciated. I could not help regretting not knowing Japanese (sigh!). Vol 1 has 2 stories. The manga is based on the first story but even the pleasing graphics and faithful adaptation could not beat the expressive words depicting the angst and romance in the novel. And of course there is the second story which is even more emotional and the last part when our 2 boys finally consume their love is touching and warmly romantic and described with a fluid grace. This second story was never published in any manga form. For the price, the novel is definitely worth its weight in gold considering I have no qualm about spending close to $10 bucks for the manga. Glad there are 2 more volumes to go in this beautiful series. After reading "Don't worry Mama" and this, I am hungry for more translated Japanese BL/Yaoi novels.

An Absolute Must-Have!!!

I absolutely love this novel! The story itself is great to begin with; not that the manga didn't do a wonderful job bringing the characters to life, but it didn't continue the second part of the novel which was about Wataru and Yuichi's time together as a couple. The first half of the novel titled "Only the ring finger knows" is similar to the manga, so i won't elaborate more about this part. The second part titled "The lonely ring finger" is what you should look forward to (i know i did!). "The lonely ring finger" is a continuation of Wataru and Yuichi's relationship after they became a couple; how they try to spend time together without revealing themselves to their peers in school, a bet that is out-of this-world, etc, etc; in my opinion, this second part tells more about their "human" side and their struggles to stay together (like how any other normal couples would) despite all the mishaps and lies. Other than a few typo errors here and there, i find this novel a joy to read and have; it's a must-have for you yaoi fans out there! I can't wait for the second novel to be released in July!!!!

Simply beautiful.

The original novel of the popular BL manga is finally on American shores. This has got to be one of the most anticipated BL releases of the year for me, and I was not disappointed. Setting aside the awkward cliches and predictable plot, the story is absolutely beautiful. If you enjoyed the manga version of this story, you will definitely enjoy the novel. It is divided into two parts. The first part, Only the Ring Finger Knows, follows very closely the story of the manga. Or, should I say, the manga followed this story very closely. This was fairly refreshing, as often a story gets condensed when it is transferred into a visual medium. If you haven't read the manga, but are interested in the genre, you may very well still enjoy this title. The premise of the story is that Wataru Fujii, a second year high school student accidentally switches rings, a symbol of romance and fad at his school, with the very popular third year Yuichi Kazuki, who is renowned for his gentle kindness and good looks. Kazuki's attitude towards Wataru is anything but kind, and it leads the two down a two week long path of misunderstandings, confusion and heartache, all of which revolve around their "coincidentally" matching rings. Part one is very tame, only describing a couple of very sweet kisses and dealing primarily with the boys' conflicted emotions and their complicated relationship. The second part, The Lonely Ring Finger, occurs less than two months after the first. Kazuki is studying for his practice entrance exams for college and this causes their already strained relationship to become even more difficult as the two are not as able to spend time together. Things are complicated further when Wataru "loses" the ring that Kazuki exchanged with him, and lies about it. Part two is considerably more heated than part one was. If more graphic depictions of [...] romance make you sqeamish, I suggest passing on the novels and stick with the manga, which stops the story after part one. If they don't make you sqeamish, the end of part two will be a beautiful climax to a beautiful story. The translation is lacking in some places, and the numerous typoes were annoying to someone like me who is a stickler for such things, but in all, the experience was not unpleasant. The illustrations were few, but they were in fact drawn by the same illustrator as the manga, and include depictions of scenes that are not in the manga. The read actually takes some time. Most of the novelized manga I have read so far have been very quick reads, sometimes taking as much or less time to get through than their manga counterparts, but this smaller than normal sized novel took me several hours to get all the way through. All we can really do now is wait impatiently for volume two to come out.

a good compliment to the manga fans

if you love the manga the you'll love this one. I miss all the illustrations but there are a couple that any fan of yuichi and wataru would love. I specially love the colored picture in the beginning where yuichi hugged wataru in the rain. this happened in the second chapter, after they are already a couple. they were meeting by the park near yuichi's house and it was raining. that was a cute scene, but i also love the confrontation in touko's shop, especially when Miho, the first year left and wataru started as if to go after her because it was already dark and she shouldnt be out alone. But yuichi hugged him from behind, and said, "dont go!" "Dont you know she's in love with you? so dont go." then there's the last picture. and the bet, let's not forget that!! I cant wait for the second novel translation. I have the original japanese version and the drama cd's. Any fan of yuichi and wataru would love these novels, i sure did!!

A Long Way Coming

I fell in love with the Only the Ring Finger Knows manga way back when it was first release and there was about a total of 3 BL titles avaible in the US. Imagine my delight when I realized that the novel was finally coming to the US (especialy after a few thousand names were signed on an online petition, including mine). The novel is split into two chapters. Those familiar with the manga, will quickly realize that the first chapter is the same story. However, it is still a joy to read and guage the subtle differences. The kisses are described so... passionately it'll make any fangirl swoon ('cause I sure did). The translation has improved slightly from the manga but you'll notice that some of the phrases are identical. The second chapter contains a new story that follows the romance between Wataru and Yuichi. The basis of the second chapter is that a first-year girl holds Wataru's ring for hostage after speculations about his relationship with Yuichi. The ending is as sweet as it can get and it'll definately fit the tastes of long time fans. New art is scattered between pages and the last one is definately a treat. All in all, definately a five out of five.