It first originated as a spin-off of the author's Captain Tsubasa doujinshi "Dokusen Yoku". The pairing of Kōjirō Hyūga and Ken Wakashimazu, featured in "Dokusen Yoku",--> is immensely popular and has been compared to the classic slash fiction pairing of Kirk/Spock. The usual dynamic in Kōjirō/Ken doujinshi is that their relationship is based on trust. Kōjirō is the man of the family due to his father's death. Ken on the other hand, is heir to a martial arts school, and is constantly under pressure to quit soccer, and suffers an injury from trying to be the best in both fields. The boys support each other and eventually their deep friendship becomes love. The original "Zetsuai" was abandoned after 5 volumes. Minami Ozaki later picked the story back up in 1992 with "Bronze". Since then, "Bronze" has outpaced the original "Zetsuai" with 14 volumes, with the current story arc called "Restart".