Kei Enjouji falls in love with kendo prodigy Ranmaru Samejima when they meet in their first year of middle school.

When Enjouji's mother dies during his third year of high school, she leaves him a letter revealing that he is the eldest, albeit illegitimate, son of yakuza boss Takeshi Sagano.

Ranmaru makes good on his promise that very afternoon, saving Enjouji's life by shoving him out of the way of a yakuza hit man's car.

Neither of them want to have dealings with the yakuza, but get drawn into it when Enjouji's younger half-brother, Kai Sagano, Takeshi's legitimate son, comes looking for trouble.

[2] According to Kat Avila of the comics webzine Sequential Tart, "When Kizuna was just a doujinshi, her current editor took it to the Biblos company president who didn't like it.

[5] A flashback to this scene in the second volume was edited so that a thought bubble obscured the image of young Kai, only showing Masanori's face.

It has been published in Italian by Kappa Edizioni,[6] in French by Tonkam,[7] in German by Carlsen Verlag[8] and Spain by Norma Editorial.

Kazuma Kodaka was first approached about making an OVA adaptation of Kizuna by the production company her editor's older brother worked for as a voice actor.

[3] In 1994, two OVAs, both approximately 30 minutes long[35] and directed by Rin Hiroo, were distributed to Japanese audiences in DVD format by Daiei.

Sequential Tart writer Kat Avila comments on how "the anime has streamlined storytelling and powerful camera shots.

[40] A drama CD adaptation of the early parts of the manga titled Kizuna: You're All... was released in 1998 (catalog number: MMCM-3004).

[41] This drama CD was reissued on March 23, 2000, by Geneon Entertainment, with a sleeve featuring exclusive artwork (catalog number: MMCC-3708).

[42] The drama CD is approximately one hour long and features little adult content, focusing instead on the more romantic and dramatic aspects of the story.

It includes voice acting by Kazuya Ichijō (as Kei Enjouji), Ryō Horikawa (as Kai Sagano), Akio Ōtsuka (as Masanori Araki) and Ryōtarō Okiayu (as Ranmaru Samejima), who also sings the ending theme Tada Hitotsu no Shinjitsu (ただひとつの真実, lit.

Designed as a doujinshi, Hana to Ryū follows Ryūji Kazama, the son of a dead yakuza boss, as he struggles to maintain a peaceful existence while dealing with harmful forces all around him.

Years later, when Ryūji has grown into a teenager, he comes home to find his aunt being gang-raped by apparently random thugs.

It's through Hitoshi that Ryūji begins to get a sense of his humility and innocence back and the two men form a deep, unbreakable bond that gradually grows into love.