Kowloon Generic Romance

In the distant future, individuals who adore the old way of life live in Kowloon Walled City—a slum city that serves as a refuge for those who long for the Hong Kong of the past. Realtor Reiko Kujirai, however, craves for the new and exciting places in the area. In contrast, her only coworker, Hajime Kudou, enjoys the nostalgia the city invokes and is put off by anything modern that seeps past its walls. But despite their differing views and constant bickering on the most mundane of things, the two often find themselves enjoying each other's company.

One day, a prank gone wrong leads Hajime to make an unexpected advance toward Reiko, after which he swiftly apologizes for. Baffled by his actions, Reiko starts investigating for possible explanations, only to discover a past that she has no memory of.

[Written by MAL Rewrite]

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Background

Kowloon Generic Romance was nominated for the sixth Tsugi ni Kuru Manga Awards in 2020. The series ranked third in the 2021 Kono Manga ga Sugoi! for the Male Readers division. In the same year, the manga was nominated for the 14th Manga Taisho Award and placed ninth in the final ranking.

The series has been published in English by Yen Press since August 9, 2022, and in French by Kana since May 21, 2021.

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Characters

Kujirai, Reiko

Main

Kudou, Hajime

Main

Lin, Yaomay

Supporting

Xiaohei

Supporting

Hebinuma, Miyuki

Supporting

Yulong

Supporting

Kujirai B

Supporting

Tao, Gwen

Supporting

Xiaohei

Supporting

Hebinuma, Father

Supporting

Reviews

May 18, 2025

cheesecakelv

Recommended

Preliminary (1/? eps)

Oh my god, my mind is doing backflips right now. It's been a long time since I've had to re-read chapters to understand what's going on in a manga (in a good way). Started reading it two days ago, and I'm already caught up; it's just that good. Every character has such a profound story, and I like that they don't just give us the truth of what's happening right away. I can see that the author spent a lot of time making this story; it is so complex and mysterious.

If you like mystery/suspense with a touch of romance, this is definitely your go-to ...

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Mar 19, 2025

popomelo

Recommended

Preliminary (78/? eps)

Watching the trailer for the anime adaptation, I found Kujirai hot and the art style hot and nostalgic, so I spent my weekend until Monday night reading from the start up until Chapter 78. I could have finished it sooner, but it's the kind of story where you want to take huge breaks in between because it's so good and you don't want to reach the end just yet.

Sure, Kujirai's hot, and the art and narrative are great and all, but what really kept me on the edge of my seat was the non-linear storytelling (just like Tengoku Daimakyou) and all the other characters. They're ... all fleshed out really well, and I love the setting - it makes me want to visit Hong Kong again. I started reading this for Kujirai, but I binged it till the most recently translated volume for Yaomay, Miyuki, Xiaohei, and the rest.

This manga gets it right—it shows rather than tells (I hate excessive exposition and monologues), shifts between multiple perspectives (I hate linear scifi/drama/mystery manga that rely only on the clueless main character’s point of view because it always gets boring and predictable), and makes sure EVERY character is multi-dimensional and has real depth.

There's a lot of philosophical moments too. Kowloon Generic Romance should be taught in schools instead of Camus, Sartre, and Hegel lol. Reading this made me feel like I was in college again. Yaomay sometimes sounds like that one fun philo professor teaching freshmen about existence precedes essence and the absolute self.

From a plot standpoint, I don't understand why others say it's a slowburn when there were several panels in the first five chapters that already show how there's something OFF. To the point where I thought it was heading towards Gakkou Gurashi or Bird Box mass hallucination levels. It's not as fast-paced as stories like Dandadan (different genres of course), but there were definitely clues, Chekhovs guns, and off-putting dialogues that already showed something was OFF - but they all give you a highly satisfying eureka feeling when you figure it out later on when the author starts showing more clues and eventually lays out the whole context.

Without spoiling anything, I assumed the worst out of almost all the characters but was pleasantly surprised when they didn't turn out how I thought them to be (and I'm hoping it stays that way because I've grown really fond of everyone).

I don't usually leave reviews, but this is absolutely s-tier writing and visual storytelling compared to what I've read in recent years that I'm surprised it managed to stay un-adapted and sort of obscure for so long. I usually hate writing reviews about a manga I'd just read because I think it takes away from the experience of speculating, reflecting, and waiting before the new volume is released. But this manga is just THAT good. Jun Mayuzuki just gained another fan.

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Jan 3, 2025

rinlix2

Mixed Feelings

Preliminary (73/? eps)

Being a relatively new series , the story of romance revolving around Kowloon walled city is most definitely a interesting , unique , mysterious and confusing one .

The story itself begins quite simple , yet as it slowly progresses the plot tenses , darkens and with each new chapter mysteries of Kowloon and it's residents starts to unravel . Past , Present , Death , Alive , Lies , Truth , Love , Hate is all but questions that awaits to be answered In the walled city of kowloon

The Characters themselves are full of mysteries , each character is decently well written and captures problems ...

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Poll: Kowloon Generic Romance Chapter 104 Discussion ReMightyRon - Dec 3	2 replies	by ReMightyRon »» Dec 4, 1:44 AM
Poll: Kowloon Generic Romance Chapter 103 Discussion ReMightyRon - Oct 25	0 replies	by ReMightyRon »» Oct 25, 12:37 PM
Poll: Kowloon Generic Romance Chapter 102 Discussion ReMightyRon - Oct 25	0 replies	by ReMightyRon »» Oct 25, 12:23 PM
Poll: Kowloon Generic Romance Chapter 23 Discussion SiriusTimeKeeper - Jul 16, 2020	4 replies	by otakuweek »» Sep 27, 6:25 AM
Poll: Kowloon Generic Romance Chapter 22 Discussion MegamiRem - Aug 29, 2020	3 replies	by otakuweek »» Sep 27, 6:19 AM

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