Tadaomi Shirotani suffers from obsessive–compulsive disorder that manifests as severe mysophobia. He meets psychotherapist Riku Kurose, who recommends exposure and response prevention therapy and instructs Shirotani to write a list of ten actions he is unable to do: Kurose tells Shirotani he will be cured once he completes the items on the list. Shirotani makes steady progress on the list, until Kurose abruptly suspends their sessions; when pressed, he admits he has fallen in love with Shirotani, and felt it would be inappropriate to continue as his therapist. Shirotani nevertheless wishes to continue their sessions, and they resume therapy while simultaneously initiating a sexual relationship. Through a flashback, it transpires that the root cause of Shirotani's mysophobia is a childhood trauma of witnessing his father having sex: the self-loathing he experienced after becoming aroused by the sight of his father, combined with the shame of being caught masturbating to the incident, prompted him to associate physical contact and intimacy with feelings of disgust. As Kurose and Shirotani's relationship intensifies, Kurose notes that Shirotani is simultaneously repulsed and sexually aroused by his advances. Kurose reveals that he is a sadist who derives pleasure from triggering Shirotani's mysophobia, and has intuited that Shirotani is a masochist who derives pleasure from the very acts that disgust him. Shirotani rejects Kurose, and they do not speak for many months. After a chance encounter, Kurose and Shirotani reconcile their relationship. Shirotani reveals the tenth item on his list – to be patted on the head, an act he associates with his father – and admits that he loves Kurose. Shirotani finds he is now comfortable enough to reciprocate Kurose sexually. In an epilogue, Kurose quits his clinic job to study for a doctorate in psychology. Shirotani, having completed the list, has significantly alleviated the symptoms of his mysophobia. Kurose admits that he was lying when said that completing the list would cure Shirotani's mysophobia, and offers a second exercise to make amends: a list of ten actions that Shirotani wants Kurose to do.
Rihito Takarai launched the manga in Shinshokan's Dear+ magazine in July 2013. The series ended on November 14, 2017. Viz Media's SuBLime imprint announced their license to the series at Yaoi-Con on September 19, 2015.
Game
A social network game titled Ten Count: Another Days for Ameba was announced on December 15, 2017, and it was launched for Ameba users on March 22, 2018. Shinnosuke Tachibana and Tomoaki Maeno reprised their roles from the drama CD. The game also introduced new original characters, Shiki Natsuya and Masaya Fuwa, who are voiced by Yoshitsugu Matsuoka and Takuya Sato. The game ended services on November 29, 2019. On August 1, 2018, a puzzle game for iOS and Android titled Ten Count for App React was announced and scheduled for a fall release, with all four main characters returning. The game was later released on January 7, 2019, with approximately 15,000 people downloading the game during launch, and by the end of the month, the amount of players doubled to 30,000 people.
Anime
An anime adaptation was announced via a wraparound band on the final volume of the manga on March 26, 2018. A 2020 release date was confirmed in a teaser trailer for the series posted on March 23, 2019.
Reception
Ten Count sold a consecutive total of 2 million physical copies as of March 2018. In 2015, Ten Count was ranked #1 on the National Bookstores' Top Recommended Boys' Love, surveyed 470 employees across 400 bookstores nationwide in Japan. It was again ranked #1 for 2016 in the same survey. It won 3rd place for Best Manga in the Sugoi Japan Awards 2017.
