A romantic mystery filled that keeps readers guessing, this is a fantastical BL story for those who love a quick read.

“I can even turn the stories in your head into a novel.” 

Okitsu, who had been wandering around Okinawa and had been sleeping rough, takes refuge in the home of novelist Ibu after a typhoon. Ibu claims to be able to read other people’s minds, and from the moment they first meet, he shows interest in Okitsu, who suffers from claustrophobia due to past trauma…!?

Is he a delusional maniac or a liar? A vivid and stormy night spent with a man with mysterious powers──!!

NOTE: This book contains mature content and is intended for readers 18 years of age and over.

This manga went a bit over my head, and readers need to realize that the first two episodes of the manga in the book are not the main story, but more like a loosely connected prologue that doesn’t figure into the main story all that much.

The first story, told as “An Invisible Friend,” focuses on a young man named Shirou (aka Koushirou) who witnessed his childhood friend Yuuto being kidnapped during his first year of grade school. Yuuto disappeared without a trace. Over the years, people are convinced Yuuto is an imaginary friend, and Shirou is even taken to psychiatrists and therapists to “work through it.” However, the years pass, and Shirou still insists in his heart that Yuuto was a real friend who really disappeared.

As he tells this story to his two college friends, one of them, Okitsu, starts to feel uncomfortable and leaves the conversation. Shirou goes to Okitsu’s house to wait for him and….

SPOILER…

says, “Welcome home, Yuuto!” It turns out Okitsu is the name of another man, a childhood friend of Yuuto’s, that Yuuto decided to borrow for various reasons. One of the key details that comes up about the real Okitsu is that he has severe claustrophobia that led him to barely attend school growing up.

Anyway, the “Invisible Friend” story wraps up with Yuuto and Shirou happily reuniting with a kiss and learning m ore about the mysteries of the past, and we learn that Okitsu moved to Okinawa for wide open spaces…

and that’s where the main story “Wandervogel” kicks in.

Okitsu lives and works in Okinawa for a man with an izakaya-type place, and he makes food deliveries for him. But due to his severe claustrophobia, he sleeps outside.

There’s a major typhoon ready to hit the islands and Okitsu is told to make all the deliveries before it hits, and he ends up making a delivery to a man known as Mr. Ibu, one of the izakaya’s top customers. Ibe is a novelist and lives in a huge home, as Okitsu finds out.

Mr. Ibu has a knack for echoing what Okitsu says in his head, but plays it off. He realizes Okitsu needs shelter from the typhoon and claims his boss told him to let him stay.

Okitsu feels comfort with Ibu and his large home, and doesn’t feel claustrophobic, even when it’s time for him to bathe. The whole house has a lot of windows and is designed to look open and free.

But there’s something hanging over Okitsu’s head…the night or two before, he witnessed a strange old man choking Ibu at his house, and then running off. He thinks it’s a lover’s quarrel, but it’s actually a writerly one.

It turns out, Ibu writes books for people with stories, but cannot write them. I missed the part in the book where this is attributed to mind-reading on his part, but I have to admit I was super tired while reading this manga and nodded off a couple times, so I could have overlooked it in my drowsiness. However, it makes sense, because Okitsu believes it might be a bit of a delusion on Ibu’s part, despite trusting what he says.

Anyway, there’s this whole conflict between writers, secrets about the novels, and an explosive realization from the previous story, “An Invisible Friend,” that gets casually mentioned that made me do a double-take. Again, I might’ve missed this because I was sleepy.

I won’t elaborate on the story further, only that it has a good, happy ending, and there will be a forthcoming volume two.

So, admittedly parts of this manga went over my head, and I had a hard time linking the first story with the Wandervogel story because the first one seemed so…emotionally fraught in comparison. Not that there aren’t emotions to be had in the Wandervogel part, it’s just that one story comes across far more serious than the other. I wanted these stories to flow together a little bit better and have a clearer relationship with each other. They felt like two very separate works.

Despite my missing out on stuff (I blame my uncontrollable napping, not the author), I did enjoy myself as I read this manga for the most part. It’s got unique ideas going for it, some interesting art styles, and mysterious, traumatic events. If you like something on the quirkier side of your BL tastes, pick this one up.

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Wandervogel Volume 1 is available today from TOKYOPOP directly or a wide variety of book retailers online. Volume 2 is up for preorder now and will release April 21st, 2026.