Read on Renta!:
See You Tomorrow, Mr. Policeman by Mojio Ikejiri
Japanese title:
Omawari-san, Mata Ashita
お巡りさん、また明日
Links:
Mojio Ikejiri Twitter
B.Pilz Twitter
B.Pilz Website
Haruto’s an incredibly kind and hard-working neighborhood policeman with ten years on the force. He’s well-known among the locals for being incredibly selfless, and he’s always there to help. This self-effacing attitude of his, however, is starting to negatively impact his personal life. His most recent girlfriend grew cold since he was always working, and he tries his best to never rely on others, which keeps people feeling distant.
When he’s assigned to work the local town festival, he’s more than happy to serve his community. One moment of letting his guard down is all it takes for his life to be at risk, but security guard Sakura—assigned to protect the idol who’s there to perform—steps in and saves him in the nick of time. Haruto wants to thank Sakura, but Sakura’s gruff and distant. Having dealt with plenty of this kind of attitude during his time on the force, however, Haruto isn’t deterred. After Sakura goes on to save the idol from a stalker fan, Haruto approaches him again and is able to break down his walls a bit.
It turns out Sakura hates cops, and so he wants nothing to do with Haruto. Haruto, however, has come to really respect and like Sakura in the short time they’ve known each other—and directly says as much. Shocked by the Haruto’s sincerity and openness with his feelings, Sakura can’t help but be drawn in. Nonetheless, he’s sure he’ll never see Haruto again once the festival ends… 😉 Boy, is he in for a surprise when his coworker checks social media!
I don’t want to give away too much of the main plot, but it revolves around them slowly opening up to each other and working through their trauma together, all while solving an important case. Sakura may seem cold at first, but his trauma is very real and it’s understandable why he’s leery about letting others in. Haruto, too, may be a beautiful cinnamon roll (too good for this world, too pure) but his selflessness has led to him losing himself and keeping others at an arms length. Sakura wants to become the person Haruto feels comfortable opening up to and leaning on. Both men are incredibly cute, even if Sakura can be a bit bratty sometimes.
Now, let’s talk beef. If you follow Mojio Ikejiri’s Twitter, I’m sure you already know that sensei likes them BUFF, so if you like muscles you’re in for a treat. Mojio Ikejiri doesn’t sacrifice cuteness for incredibly built bodies—in See You Again Tomorrow, Mr. Policeman you get both! Haruto was so adorable being princess carried as a big, burly boy, and I also loved that he was still his sweet, kind, somewhat shy self even with his massive muscles, being quite meek and demure in the bedroom. 🥴 If you read our interview with Ikejiri-sensei, you’ll find they’re particularly passionate and excited about drawing muscles. So, beefcake fans are in good company with this one!
And you’ll get to see those muscles plenty, too, because this series has a great mix of plot and steamy scenes. While it takes Haruto and Sakura a while to truly warm up to each other and fall in love, the attraction is quick—especially on Sakura’s end.
Spoilers ahead, so those who haven’t read the series yet, beware! But I want to talk about Sakura a bit more.
One of the things I really liked about Sakura’s character, as a queer person myself, was his struggle with being closeted—the pain of being both terrified to come out and having it change how others see you, but also of constantly lying about and denigrating your true self. When Sakura discussed his shame around lying—and having to overcompensate to “prove” to others that he’s not gay—I sincerely felt that in my soul. The conversation between Haruto and Sakura, where Sakura says how much disdain for himself he felt when rejecting his own sexuality, and Haruto reassures him that it’s because he was valuing and protecting himself that he felt the need to say what he did? Beautiful. Such a kind and compassionate message for those who’re in a really scary and difficult place in life.
Overall, I sincerely loved this manga so much, and it’s such an honor getting to work on it! As I’ve said before in my showcases for both Brite Publishing and KiR Comics, one of my favorite things about getting to work at Renta! is we have wonderful partnerships with less-massive publishers, through which I get introduced to so many amazing stories I might have missed on out otherwise.
Also, it’s been such a joy getting to work with Ikejiri-sensei through the entire interview process! I hope everyone else has as much fun reading the interview as we had putting it together. We couldn’t have possibly asked for a more kind and gracious first interviewee! Thank you, Ikejiri-sensei!
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