Ten Count, Vol. 5 Paperback – August 8, 2017

Shirotani and Kurose are rescued from their elevator ordeal and emerge into falling rain. Cabs are scarce, so Kurose says he’ll walk, but Shirotani speaks up and offers to share a cab with him, which is a major step for him. Once inside the cab, Kurose prompts Shirotani to continue with what he began to say earlier, but Shirotani claims not to remember what that was, when the reality is he doesn’t feel comfortable bringing it up in that place. A disappointed Kurose has the driver pull over and gets out, since they are right by his apartment. As he waits for the elevator, he’s surprised to hear his name and turns to find Shirotani there. Shirotani gives him an obviously fake story as to why he’s there before finally making what is a major admission for him, even if it’s phrased hypothetically. They go up to Kurose’s apartment and Shirotani requests that Kurose “make him dirty inside”.As a child, Kurose’s parents were very busy, and he was left on his own most of the time. He strikes up an acquaintance with an older man named Nishigaki, and begins to hang out with him, even if the man claims Kurose is a pain. Kurose doesn’t understand Nishigaki’s idiosyncrasies, why he makes Kurose follow certain rules. Too late, he begins to understand what Nishigaki’s problem is. When Nishigaki disappears, Kurose blames himself. He studies all he can about germophobes, and makes a promise to himself to save the next Nishigaki.Shirotani wakes the next morning in a strange bed. Kurose is already up and is very attentive to him, anticipating his every need. Shirotani tells Kurose he’s filled in number ten on his list and wants him to guess what it is, so then Kurose has to tell him why he is doing this. Kurose says he has feelings for Shirotani, but Shirotani knows there is more to the story than that, that it has to do with his being a germophobe. Will Kurose come clean with Shirotani?The story is almost done, one more volume to go, and it’s so good as Shirotani and Kurose’s relationship grows stronger and stronger. Now we know more about Kurose, and why he was initially drawn to Shirotani. It almost feels like closure for him with regard to Nishigaki. But he also says that Shirotani being a germophobe is not the only reason he is drawn to him, that he would love him anyway. Shirotani hasn’t told Kurose about his father, and what he witnessed that helped to make him the germophobe he is now. Hopefully he’ll do it in the next volume. Ideally, I would love to see them move in together, and have an open and loving relationship. I think they can heal each other. I’m crossing my fingers for them.Only one more to go, can’t wait!

Ten Count volume five, as I had hoped after reading volume four, finally reveals Kurose's backstory. It's an uncomfortable story that explains how unhealthy Kurose's mindset (not to mention his attraction to Shirotani) actually is. Speaking of which, the relationship between our two leads is getting more and more unnerving as Kurose's motives become increasingly clear. But it's that very aspect that makes the relationship complicated and interesting. Unfortunately, it also makes it more realistic, as people with such unhealthy mindsets often find themselves in unhealthy relationships. Still yet, I miss the mutual respect of boundaries we saw in the earlier volumes.The art continues to be beautiful and sexy - a definite strong point of the series. The artist conveys so much just in the characters' facial expressions. Even Kurose's somewhat cold and blank smiles have meaning behind them. It's also impressive that each character has their own individual style that remains consistent. Shirotani likes suits and more structured clothing while Kurose favors clothes that are much more casual. Too often manga artists just throw all their characters into the same kind of fashionable clothes without much thought, but the fashion choices of Kurose and Shirotani are excellent representations of their personalities. It's little details like these that make the art stand out.Ten Count remains one of the better yaoi manga currently being released. It doesn't shy away from graphic sex scenes but it's far removed from the kind of manga you can skim through just to get to the sexy parts without missing anything significant. The story is compelling and the characters, broken and unhealthy as they are, will draw you in.

~4/5It's really hard to tell where this couple stands. A couple of times already, it has seemed like they were making up and taking a step forward, and then suddenly they're not speaking again. It feels like they've finally accepted their feelings for each other in this volume, but then the ending gives the sense that something else is coming along to mess it up. But even without that, they're still not quite used to each other yet.This is a guilty pleasure romance, and I really enjoy reading it, but it keeps reminding me how unhealthy it really is. When we see what happened to Kurose when he was younger that led to his behavior, it's actually even more unsettling. He has some even bigger problems than Shirotani does, and it makes me second guess them being together, if he's even worse for Shirotani than it seems.They both have some serious stuff to work through.And I am undoubtedly going to read the next one, because I'm hooked. It's dirty, questionable smut, but it's hot and intense and the art is really good, and I can't get enough.[More of my reviews are available on my blog, Geeky Reading, to which there's a link on my profile.]

What can I say, this story-line keep getting better and better. The artwork and the dramatics of Ten Count, are definitely worth reading. Things are heating up between both Shirotani and Kurose, and in this volume we get a backstory for one of these guys, which really helps to set the tone for the reason, why he acts the way he does. I would urge the readers to listen to the drama CD's as well. Tomoaki Maenoi and Tachibana Shinnosuke do an amazing job breathing life into Takarai's sensei's characters and this story. The drama CD's are exactly the same as the manga. You can listen and follow along with the manga.I would definitely recommend this story-line if you are looking for a different BL story to read and something that a bit refreshing, with older and more established characters.

I read this story online, and I was able to purchase it! Honestly, this series is amazing and it broke my heart with some characters. This is not a series for anyone, but I truly recommend it for a future read.

Nearly at the end of the series and my friend can not get enough. Recommend for anyone interested in BL manga with an amazing story line. Came in a sealed packet so no damage during shipping.

I'm really enjoying the development of the story and the characters, they have been written well, I love the story so much that I couldn't put the book down, I look forward to the next book in the series when it comes out

Love love love

I love this couple, they are so sweet. drawing are brilliant, and the storyline is well told.buying both hardcopy and online.recommend.

Excellent