BL manga recs to help distract you from the demise of the internet

[meitachi]

Free-floating through fandom, I've been reading BL manga lately and I promised I'd make some recs, so this is a rec post! Those marked with * are WIPs. :( They will be the death of me.

My favorite BL series tend to fall into two broad categories: (1) gradual development of relationship skewing towards realistic portrayal of genuine trust and affection or (2) ridiculous hilarious completely divorced from reality stories that hit all my id kinks :D Then, of course, the ones that fall in-between.


CATEGORY 1 - THE SLOW-PACED RELATIONSHIP

Hana wa Saku ka* by Hidaka Shouko [Nakama]
Overworked, still single, 38-year-old salaryman Sakurai Kazuaki collides with a young man at the train station - causing the magazine he was carrying to be spoiled. This young man, Minagawa Youichi, is a student at an art college and lives in a big, old-fashioned mansion with two of his cousins. Since he happens to own the same magazine, he takes Sakurai to his house, saying "If I trade my copy with yours, you'll have nothing to complain about, right?"

Despite feeling annoyed and frustrated by the unsociable Youichi's arrogant behaviour, Sakurai soon finds himself a frequent visitor of the secluded household, inexplicably drawn to its enigmatic owner...<

I like: the art! The slow slooooooooooooooow super-PG story. Sakurai's job! Youichi's cousins! (Oh god, tell me I'm not the only one who really really ships his two cousins together alskdfjls I WANT THAT GDI.) I wish I could say more here but I think I really just liked that it was such a quiet, slow-paced BL manga for a change. It's interesting to see how the two main characters are drawn to each other - not exactly despite themselves, because they're not set up to dislike each other, but more like...hitsuzen? It's sort of the concept of chance meetings that end up changing your life unexpectedly. Maybe it was fate! It's hard to say. I'll also note that I don't particularly love age differences in relationships, but I don't mind them either - mostly I don't like when the age difference is emphasized as a kink (not my thing) rather than sort of an incidental fact. It's the latter case here and while not dismissed entirely, it's not dwelt upon as a kink either so I'm all good. :D

Seven Days by Tachibana Venio & Takarai Rihito [Vices & Devices]
Bright and early one Monday morning, Shino Yuzuru asks Seryou Touji out on a lark when they run into each other at the school gate. Seryou, who's immensely popular, has the odd habit of going out with anyone who asks him out first at the beginning of the week, then promptly dumping them at the end of it. "Anyone" apparently includes male upperclassmen like Shino, and as a boyfriend, Seryou is perfect--unfailingly thoughtful and kind. Shino, obviously, has no intention of being in a serious relationship with Seryou. It's not like it's actually love or anything like that. ...Right?

Another series that is soooo PG but really cute! Schoolboys! :D I liked how they both had misconceptions about the other and how everyone else has misconceptions about them as individuals too - and that's what actually helps them slowly get to know each other better. It's pretty slow-moving overall despite the story taking place only over the course of a week - well, you can fall in love in one week in the world of BL, okay? The art is all right; not my favorite but it has its style. It's really the story that matters here; it's not quite "pretend boyfriends" but it's close enough that it makes me glee. Overall it's much less tropey than you might think.

Yachin Hanbun no Ibasho desu by Asou Kai [Shinmakoku Scanlations]
3 stories - (1) two college-age co-workers learn to live together as one deals with his cheating boyfriend; (2) the prequel to the next title (Sorenari ni Shinken nandesu) where a guy is torn between his cheating ex-boyfriend and a younger man; (3) how a guy deals with loving someone who keeps cheating on him

YEAH THERE'S A LOT OF CHEATING HERE. They're all unrelated stories, but I liked the first one best because it was less about the cheating and more about the gradual friendship/trust developing between the two main characters. One of them is always smiling even when he's upset; the other one almost never smiles, even when he's happy. Idk, idk it is sort of silly and fluffy and sort of tropey (ulterior motives!) but it is really sweet nonetheless. The second one was sort of uninteresting to me except as backstory to the following title and the last one stirs a lot of mixed feelings in me. Don't stay with someone who keeps cheating on you, even if he promises you (again) that he really, really loves you and really, really won't do it again. Ugh. D:

Sorenari ni Shinken nandesu by Asou Kai [Shinmakoku Scanlations]
Oosawa had known Yoshioka for a long time... As his customer, Yoshioka came in and out of the shop with different boyfriends all the time. He thought he knew fully well what kind of man Yoshioka was. But when tragedy hit Chizu, his one and only daughter... and his capability as a single father was questioned... Yoshioka came out of nowhere and offered help. Slowly but sure, Oosawa learned that the man he despised was very different than what he appeared to be!

I guess I got used to the standard font used for comics bc I specifically noticed the difference here and it bugged me a little :'( or maybe it just didn't fade into the background as easily since it was different? That aside, things I loved about this manga: it's not love at first sight; gradual development of genuine trust; the theme of not having to do everything by yourself (it's okay to rely on others!); Oosawa's daughter Chizu is adorable (and not just a cute side character - both guys actually care for her and it shows and is important); consent! awkward nervous hesitant first time but genuine consent!; no one is perfect but you love them anyway. This is domestic and sweet and lovely lovely lovely. (Extra 3 gets me right in the heart, oh man. ♥)

Kakko Warukute Kakkoii Kimi by Asou Kai [Bliss]
Ever since they were little, Yukihisa and Takashi have always been together. However, Takashi recently started acting strange towards Yukihisa. Takashi refuses to come near Yukihisa, baffling him. Takashi offers no explanation for his actions, causing Yukihisa to be filled with doubts about their friendship. What can Takashi be hiding from Yukihisa that's causing him to keep one meter away from him?

This is silly and light-hearted and cute. :D I like Yukihisa's realization of why he's so pissed Takashi is avoiding him; I like Takashi's stupid reason for avoiding him; I like that it follows them into their relationship a year on, two years on, after the happy ending, you could say. There are relationship problems! People are jealous and stubborn! Yet it is handled well in that they actually talk about them! I was very impressed. It's kind of like real world relationships work - not always well, but stronger when you deal with your problems. So I don't mind the clichéd miscommunication subplots because they are addressed in the end rather than resolved solely through a magical understanding of your other half or sex.



CATEGORY 2 - THE LUDICROUS WHO-NEEDS-REALISM-WHEN-YOU-CAN-HAVE-LULZ-AND-SEX "RELATIONSHIP"

Love Stage!!* by Taishi Zaou & Eiki Eiki [September Scanlations]
With a father who’s a singer, a mother who’s a movie star, and an older brother, Shougo, who’s the lead vocalist for the super-popular band ‘The Crusherz’, Sena Izumi–an otaku college student–is the only dull one born into this super famous and talented family. He loves “Magical Girl LalaLulu” and is working hard to become a mangaka, but one day he winds up appearing in a TV commercial he just can’t turn down. There, he’s reunited with Ichijou Ryouma, the super-popular young actor he costarred with on a project ten years prior.

THIS IS SO RIDICULOUS AND HILARIOUS. I am happily entertained. And the main couple defies your expectations of acting like the stereotypical seme and uke - even though they seem to fit the roles at first. But Ichijou is weirdly earnest and adorable despite his cool image and Izumi is a coddled loser but strangely endearing anyway. There are some meta-ish threads to this I think: in particular, one scene that is a pure BL rape set-up where Ichijou actually stops himself and one scene where Izumi is running away and makes the tongue-in-cheek observation that he has reached the limits of his otaku stamina. BUT THE BEST THING ABOUT THIS SERIES IS IZUMI'S OLDER BROTHER SHOUGO eeee Shougo who is so happy-go-lucky and hot and has a total brother complex. I loved him as soon as he appeared on the scene and then desperately shipped him with Rei, Izumi's control freak ultra-stressed glasses-and-suit-wearing stereotype of a manager.

AND MY BL INSTINCTS DID NOT LEAD ME ASTRAY. LET ME TELL YOU ABOUT THE GLORY OF SHOUGO/REI.

Or...read their backstory for yourself in Back Stage!!

Back Stage!!* is actually a BL novel from Rei's POV that details how he got involved in SenaPro (the family entertainment company) and how he met Shougo. Here's a spoiler: Rei is in love with someone else. Rei kind of uses Shougo, but Shougo is willing to be used, because he loves Rei. It's all very convoluted and terrible and yet it makes me have all these feelings because, surprisingly, the complicated relationships are handled pretty well. No one gets off blame-free for their choices, because they make their choices knowingly, even if they are bad ones.

The novel's also a WIP (fuck everything about my life!!) but September Scanlations is really good about quick updates - the only thing slowing them down is the rate of release in Japan. Bawww.

Also, the in-canon fangirls (in Love Stage) ship the wrong couple (i.e. Shougo and Ichijou, the two idols). This is hilarious to me, as someone who's shipped idol RPF. We totally would.



And now for some classic series everyone's probably read before but which I reread recently and few the need to talk about. :D

Viewfinder (Finder Series)* by Yamane Ayano [Shi-Ran, Nakama, Club Vogue, Harudaki]
Asami, a leader of the Japanese underworld, and Takaba, a young photojournalist, antagonize each other yet are drawn together by dark sexual desires: Asami's ruthless desire to possess and control Takaba's free spirit, and Takaba's subconscious desire for the pain and pleasure Asami offers, all while he tries to capture Asami's illegal activities in his viewfinder.

I have the worst kind of love-hate relationship with Viewfinder. So long as it's fictional, I will eat up the creepy unhealthily codependent utterly consumed with each other relationship dynamic. Asami/Takaba? Fuck yeah I ship that. It mashes all my buttons. Plus Yamane Ayano draws the hot sex scenes, okay? YMMV but guh. I like. On the other hand, when I've delved happily into a no-one-but-each-other fucked up wrongness id space, I don't want that ruined by one party randomly getting manhandled (and so casually) by third parties. No, I shriek. No, get the fuck out of my terrible-for-each-other-but-suited-for-no-one-else OTP! That is why I will always hate Feilong, regardless of how pretty he is or how tragic his woobie past. Fuck off into a FIRE. The silly thing is that this kind of fucked up relationship dynamic almost demands third party interference, if only as an excuse to show how possessive and codependent the two are. So I know to expect it but I still hate it, even if there's nothing healthy going on in any aspect... To the point where I am viciously glad even as Takaba is being raped (yet again, because it's a staple Yamane Ayano trope and I've learned to turn off my brain by now) he only ever thinks about Asami Asami Asami. Oh Viewfinder, you are terrible and you wreak such emotional havoc with me. D:

But you guys! It is all conveniently online and in order! I swear, the difficulty in figuring out the timeline of this series was like a rite of passage for all BL fangirls.

Here is Crimson Spell in order too, just in case you want it. (Personally this is not a rec, because omg the plot and characters bore me to tears. They're not Yamane's strong point. She's one of the few I'd skip plot scenes for porn scenes, whereas for many others it's the other way round.)

Koi wo Suru DNA+ by Yamane Ayano [Club Vogue]
Sports stars, Hiyama and Mizuno, find themselves caught up in something bigger than they first imagined when they go out to find out whether or not their fathers are really gay.

This special release includes all 4 of the one-shots in this universe and I think it's one of my favorites from Yamane-sensei. :D Mostly because ahaha schoolboys! She doesn't do them much. Alas, she also seems firmly opposed to any of her characters ever having a happy, healthy, and requited relationship... But you should also read this sequel, which is a crossover with the Finder series. :D :D :D Koisuru Finder no Hyouteki [DL] Hiyama and Mizuno go on a school trip and one of their chaperones ends up being Takaba, doing a favor for his old teacher. It makes me happy to see my two favorte Yamane series together, plus there are funny moments, oddly tender moments, hot moments (of course!), and actual development for Hiyama and Mizuno's relationship! Well, "relationship". :D Plus you get a scene where Takaba name-drops Asami to hilarious results - one of my favorite clichés.


Sex Pistols by Kotobuki Tarako [Nakama, Bestiality Manga]
People are starting to act very odd around Norio. This average, normal boy is suddenly getting a lot of unwanted romantic attention and he can’t figure out why! A broken leg and a fall down the stairs into the arms of a handsome stranger set off the beginnings of an explanation, and it is one Norio never could have possibly imagined. Soon a whole new world opens up for Norio, revealing a secret society of special people evolved from animals other than monkeys. This society has a complex structure and its members are ranked by rarity and desirability, and it turns out that Norio is a particularly rare breed and his DNA is in much demand! How will he survive in this modern jungle where he’s suddenly the prey?

IN CANON ANIMAL TRANSFORMATIONS, BESTIALITY, MPREG, ALPHA HIERARCHY, BUSINESS SEX, AND THE MOST CONVOLUTED FAMILY STRUCTURE EVER. What's not to love? Oh my god, the Makio/Karen family tree, oh jesus, it hurts my brain every time I try to figure it out.

This series was so ridiculous and great and I loved it until volumes 5 and 6 went off on total tangents about people I just DID NOT CARE ABOUT and now it seems like the series is on hiatus forever-/- Ugh. Well, read Volumes 1-4 and enjoy what's there. Yay melodramatic possessiveness and no one being honest about their feelings! :D

Chintsubu by Yamato Nase [Nakama, Liquid Passion]
Toride has always loved his cute classmate, Ayase. Due to an accident, Toride's spirit went to Ayase's penis, a weird couple then was made. They both have feelings for each others, but is it really a blissful thing for a relationship such as this? The accident not only changed Toride and Ayase's life, but also Iwabuchi- the emotionless, and Kamiya- the playboy? Unlike Toride and Ayase's situation, Iwabuchi and Kamiya have their penis switched, and their penis can talk?

THE CUTEST TALKING PENISES EVER. No, seriously! No, wait, come back. ;___; It's utter crack but it's hilarious and well worth it, even if you don't care about the main couple after the first two chapters, lol. I think we all know we're just here for Iwabuchi and Kamiya and their respective chinkos (KAMIYA-CHINKO IN COSPLAY LOLOL). :3 THIS WILL NEVER NOT BE HILARIOUS OKAY. It's a classic must-read. Plus, Yamato-sensei's chibis are indisbutably the cutest.

Apparently the series is complete at 4 volumes but only 3 are scanlated, plus various official doujin by Yamato Nase. HOW DOES IT END? DO IWABUCHI AND KAMIYA FINALLY RESOLVE THEIR ISSUES AND GET TOGETHER PROPERLY? ;A; I...don't really care about Toride's storyline, oops.



THE STUFF BETWEEN

Yume Musubi, Koi Musubi by Sakuragi Yaya [Dangerous Pleasure]
High school student Ao decides he’s in love with Ryoumei-san, a priest at the local shrine and Ao’s childhood friend. Not one to beat around the bush, Ao immediately tells Ryoumei he wants to do perverted things together, but it will take more than a little persuading to get the shocked Ryoumei into bed. Between bad advice, romantic rivals, and Ryoumei’s scruples, there are many obstacles in the path of true love.

Things I enjoyed: laughter during sex, matter-of-fact protag, realistic awkward first time, subverting many tropes, drawn out relationship development, little details like stubble!, actual mature emotional theme: you want the ones you love to be able to rely on you. The age difference here was more "meh" to me but I got past it. Really, Sakuragi-sensei's recent works are all turning traditional BL tropes on their heads and it's kind of great to see - but at the same time, she still sells that familiar BL story at heart. ♥ Ao is a great character - he has a real personality, one that can be cute and tough at the same time, one that is spacey and dumb sometimes, but also a squinty jerky teenage boy at other times (especially to Aka, ahaha).

I'd rec downloading the manga from DP over reading on mangafox, because a few fans got impatient for the later chapters and uploaded quick-and-dirty translations that are...not the best quality. :(

Himegoto Asobi* by Sakuragi Yaya [Dangerous Pleasure]
The sweets shop owner Tanihara goes to for love advice with a stern, scary looking pediatrician. Though the doctor has one majime looking face but deep within he's a gentle soul. Not to mention he isn't afraid of showing his love or the fact that he's gay. The game of “trick-or-love” between the happy-go-lucky father and the scary but popular pediatrician! Normally the paths of a shrewd man and a stoic man would never cross…

A sequel/spin-off to the above (Yume Musubi, Koi Musubi), this one subverts trope even more! Even within the first two chapters (which is all that's out right now). I was incredibly impressed at the sex scene, ho. A straight man consents to gay sex! He doesn't hate himself and doesn't have a tragic past! Everyone is an adult making adult decisions! And then the sex is neither perfect nor a disaster, but an actual exploration and sort of learning first-time experience. SO IMPRESSED, YOU GUYS. Want more. :D

Usagi Otoko Tora Otoko* by Honma Akira [Nakama]
Dr. Uzuki, who works at a university teaching hospital, comes across in an alley and saves the Yakuza member Nonami after he's been shot. The next day, when Nonami shows up at the hospital, Uzuki is scared that he's come to make sure of his silence after he's seen the gunshot wound. But actually, Nonami, who misheard Uzuki's name and has mistaken him for a woman named "Suzuki", has forced a younger yakuza brother into being admitted into the hospital and order to find this woman, and they've started to search for this 'Suzuki'...

The timid rabbit-type doctor and the Yakuza with the chisled strength of a tiger - a law of the jungle love!

Only two volumes out, but it will conclude with the third volume! I am so intrigued by this series - it's not OTT ludicrous but you can't take it that seriously either, given the premise. But gradual development! Yakuza! It is full of interesting things. I like the art a lot too, despite the rabbit doctor being so ridiculously tiny. The tiger/rabbit illustrations are both cute and hilarious.

Saezuru Tori wa Habatakanai* by Yoneda Kou [Blue Spring Scans]
Yakuza Yashiro, who only ever loved Kageyama, meets a new bodyguard, Doumeki Chikara. Unfortunately, the latter is impotent.

Okay, that is a shitty summary. It's the sequel to "Don't Stay Gold" which you don't have to read to understand, imo. Basically Yashiro is in love with a childhood friend Kageyama but knows it'll never work out and secretly hooks Kageyama up with the guy he's with now. In the meantime, Yashiro deals with his yakuza-run "financial institution", his reptuation for being a sex addict (or, uh, more eloquently "the public toilet"), which is really a cover for his own tragic past and belief he'll never have a normal romance, etc. All the tropes! It's pretty unapologetically OTT, but the development of the relationship between Yashiro and his new bodyguyard Doumeki is handled pretty well, I think, as they slowly get to know each other's fucked up pasts. Also! I can't remember the last time I encountered impotency in BL? It's not solved by magical healing cock or being with the ~one true love~ either. Well, so far, anyway. Kind of gritty dark and fucked up and funny in a bleak way. Idk, I liked it! It's so very ongoing though. WIPs. :( But the scanlating team also provides great translation notes!



And because no BL rec post is complete without a reference to my favorite favorite favorite BL manga of all time, the lengthy, ultra-PG Komatta Toki ni wa Hoshi ni Kike, a slice-of-life boarding school series about two roommates who start off hating each other but end up inseparable that manages to satisfy all my id desires (except for the possessive sex, sigh) while at the same time portraying character and relationship development. Lots of fun secondary characters, lots of story arcs, family, friends, etc. SO FANTASTIC. Complete at 26 volumes, up to 16 volumes scanlated at present. ♥♥♥♥♥


Check some out if you have time? Rec me some of your favorites? Everything ends in question marks??? The proper way to mourn MU is through sharing, obviously, because sharing is caring.

Comments

[transitorial.livejournal.com]

AHAHAHAHA OMG MEI I LOVE THIS. I will totally tell you how awesome you are ♥♥♥♥♥

[meiface.livejournal.com]

YAY THAT'S ALL I WANTED :DD

[konnistique.livejournal.com]

Gosh, Mei. Bless this post! *u* This is amazing, thank you so mucccch~~ eeeee ♥

[meiface.livejournal.com]

Hopefully something to help pass your Saturday! :D

[suxing.livejournal.com]

MEIIIIIIIIIIII HANA WA SAKU KA IS SO GOOOOOOOOOOOOD I CANNOTTTTTTTTTTTTTT /FLAILING!!! NO SERIOUSLY IT IS BASICALLY MY #1 BL MANGA RIGHT NOW ;____; I AM ACTUALLY READING THE CHINESE SCANS B/C NAKAMA IS SO SLOW orz

But eeeee there are a few that I haven't read yet so will definitely be hitting them up when I have the time between family and uhh more family!

Also MU's demise makes me anggggst ;____; except not really b/c ahahahah I couldn't access it from China anyway. I will probably be way more distraught in ~6 months time. :'(

I HAVE RECS FOR YOU except I have to go to lunch (w/ family! \o/) now so I will come back to this post later???

[meiface.livejournal.com]

ahaha I hate WIPs but I end up reading so many ongoing manga series. ;A; And waiting for their release then translation is such a pain - yet I am too lazy to read raws or Chinese scans. Hana wa Saku ka has been lovely so far though! I suppose for gratuitous sex I have other series, haha, so it's nice to see a story not being rushed.

Ugh, China and MU never worked well together, which is so depressing. :( Thankfully there are other ways to DL!

Yay recs! :D I...owe you an email, haha. Later!

[forochel.livejournal.com]

where are the chinese scans




why am I doing this to myself (by the way check your email I have ... more of that thing.)

[sapphynashi.livejournal.com]

Oooooooooooooohhalkjdflhalkjfhksa I am so excited, let me tell you, THIS WEEKEND WILL BE FULL OF BL READING.

SO MANY TITLES I HAVEN'T READ YET. :O

Ahahahaha, the love-hate relationship with Viewfinder. I just completely and utterly turn off all my expectations and standards when I read it, and then there's no problem. I mean, hot sex scenes! (Unhealthily) hot possessiveness! Um, yes. And agreeing on the snore-fest that is Crimson Spell. :\

Have you read The Cornered Mouse Dreams of Cheese? I love it (and its sequel) though it's admittedly bleak sometimes a lot of the time... Okay, maybe I just like the unlikable characters. Story of my life!

Oh, and Sakura Gari by Yuu Watase!! Again, kind of... not a happy story lol why am I like this. But it's just so pretty. A-and disturbing, fine, there's that, too, but in a heart-crushingly beautiful way...?

I also recall enjoying Silver Diamond, but I'm having trouble remembering a lot of it. I think I liked the main character's denial of reality and something about a talking snake? Giant transparent snakes that become rivers?? It's better-done fantasy than Crimson Spell, at least. I don't think I cared about the other main lead which was the problem.

[meiface.livejournal.com]

Let me tell you my strategy for finding good BL these days, lol: Go to mangaupdates.com, list series by Rating, and browse through them for high-rated manga tagged for yaoi or shounen ai. Alternatively I just searched by genre and looked into BL series that were rated 8.5 or above, which has yielded good results (and I've seen familiar titles of stuff I've liked).

Thank you for your reeeecs. Looking into The Cornered Mouse Dreams of Cheese right now. :D (And it's rated 8.71, so my strategy would've led me there at some point, I hope, haha.) I do sense a theme from the things you've liked though, lol. Dark and fucked-up and tragic.

Viewfinder is gloriously hot. There is no one quite like Asami, okay. Yum.

[herocountry.livejournal.com]

THIS MAKES ME REALLY HAPPY BECAUSE I HAVE BEEN READING BL NONSTOP LATELY. so many titles i haven't seen before!! i spent this week reading everything suzuki tsuta and yoneda kou have written alsdkjalfds i love yashiro so much, smushes him and doumeki together ;___; also seven days is like my 2nd fav BL of all time. and love stage is so cute ;_____;

[meiface.livejournal.com]

HAVE YOU READ ALL THE TOKO KAWAI and there are others that are escaping me right now, lol. Older things, basically - all this stuff is newer (probably why so many are WIPs ;;) that I am trying to catch up on after years being distracted by...idk kpop?

YASHIRO AND DOUMEKI SO BROKEN BUT I AM CONVINCED THEY WILL SOMEHOW BE GOOD FOR EACH OTHER :DDD

ugh if I listed my favorite BL we'd be here all day - mostly because I'd have to trawl through all my folders and remember all of them ahaha. Ugh KomaHoshi is what I will die with AND MAYBE I WILL DIE BECAUSE IT WILL NEVER BE FULLY SCANLATED BEFORE THE END OF THE WORLD WHYY

[chrestomanci]

kljfdljsf ok other mangakas you should read if you haven't already (same goes for you mei)

sakuraga mei (i really like kirai ja nai kedo.............. hehe delinquents)
hinako takanaga (but seriously who has not read stuff by her??? it has to be impossible to find someone like that)
FUJIYAMA HYOUTAAAAAAAAAAAA my favorite seriously IF YOU HAVEN'T READ ANYTHING BY HER. STOP. RIGHT NOW. READ IT. there's hardly any dubious consent it's all so delightfully consensual I FEEL SO INSANE SAYING THIS RIGHT NOW BUT YOU KNOW WHAT I MEAN

i can't remember if you've read them before or not idk but outside of suzuki tsuta they are my other favorite authors

i really miss the preview button, how am i supposed to judge how insane i sound without seeing a preview

[chrestomanci]

omg also miyamoto kano like.... such great artwork, such gutwrenching love stories

[meiface.livejournal.com]

BUT SURELY EVERYONE KNOWS ABOUT SEX PISTOLS? :D It was so great. I'm so dismayed about it being on hiatus. I want more Norio and Kunimasa! More Pres and Yonekuni! I...don't really care about Vols 5&6 though. :(

[meiface.livejournal.com]

WHAT, really?! Not even Viewfinder? It was like The Big Thing five years ago and I thought every BL fangirl was obligated to read it! lol Though really it's not gonna be everybody's thing.

Hopefully you find something out of these recs you like! :D

[chrestomanci]

lkdfsjfljl mei your categories 1 and 3 we've got like................ pretty much exactly the same taste there ldsjkfjsdlfjkgjkgh like there's one on each i haven't read/probably wouldn't read. i can't stop laughing

BUT I LOVE HANA WA SAKU KA SOOOOOOOOOOO MUCH
SOOOOOOOOOOOOOO MUCH
IT'S MY FAVORITE RIGHT NOW

BUT SERIOUSLY THO COME ON SAKURAI, JUST NAIL THAT KID

[meiface.livejournal.com]

WE JUST HAVE EXCELLENT TASTE, COURTZ :D

alskdjflk ugh I KNOW RIGHT. I do like that it's developing slowly and naturally but I'm also like WHERE IS MY PAYOFF. CAN HIS COUSINS GET TOGETHER? Why are they cousins... :( Otherwise they are my favorite relationship type. :(

[mardigrasmaven.livejournal.com]

SO NICE, THIS POST!! :DDDDD

[meiface.livejournal.com]

READ SOME MANGA :DDD enjoy ♥

[meiface.livejournal.com]

hehe hope that means you'll find some time to read to some!

[forochel.livejournal.com]

toumei shounen -- I'm only interested in the resolution of ONE pairing though, and it's just like FFFFFFFFFFFFFFFFFFFFF DEAR MANGAKA PLEASE PICK IT UP AGAIN.

[meiface.livejournal.com]

omg I started reading that ages ago and then IT ENDED WITHOUT ENDING and now it's been years so I can't remember anything that happened, haha. Fucking WIPs. ;__; Maye I'll reread it and join you in your frustration!

[acornmama.livejournal.com]

I .. oh wait.. a new format!! Nice.

Haven't been around due to life issues, but I saw this post, among others, and wanted to respond.

Definitely mourning MU but this list of mangas is just awesome. I rarely sit and read like that anymore but you make me want to. I might just give it a shot. Thanks

and if I didn't catch you before Happy New Year.

[meiface.livejournal.com]

New format to escape the new default LJ comment pages - so ugly. :( And so difficult for some people to even access.

Hope life issues aren't giving you too much trouble - and hope they get resolved quickly. ♥ Happy new year to you too! Find some time for a quick manga read maybe. :)

[arccie.livejournal.com]

Wow, we have some similar tastes there. There's only one that you're missing that I can't bear to leave off any BL rec list: Silver Diamond (even if it is the light side of BL). The characters are fun and cute and the plot is actually plotty with different strands winding together as their journey continues.

(Actually most of my favourite mangas are BL-light, probably because they spend more time developing the plot that way. Hmmm.)

[meiface.livejournal.com]

Silver Diamond was recced to me above! :D I'll check it out when I can. Though I spent last night going through the series Asterisk, which is full of ANGELS lol but very BL-light and cute and not at all like the dark twisted Angel Sanctuary.

[herocountry.livejournal.com]

did you

ever skim the rest of sex pistols

because suddenly it's gotten like

extremely creepy and the translation/art is way worse o_o

it went from like

WACKY ANIMAL BL SHENANIGANS!

to like

DARK SACRIFICE A HEADLESS MAN RISING FROM THE OCEAN STEALING IDENTITIES MULTIPLE EYES IN THE SHADOWS

LIKE WHAT IS THIS PAGE http://view.thespectrum.net/series/sex-pistols.html?ch=Chapter+036-040&page=30

[meiface.livejournal.com]

Well, the translation issue is due probably to Nakama having dropped it after Volume 5 because it got licensed, so whoever did Volume 6 was not the same team and probably someone just doing it haphazardly? but lolol omg right, what is this sudden ~dark~ plot? I miss the first four volumes! IDC ABOUT THESE UNRELATED PEOPLE IN 5 AND 6.

omg I read so much BL this weekend, Tori. :( :( :(

[jibrailis.livejournal.com]

MEI MEI

YOUR ORGANIZATIONAL EXCELLENCE, I APPROVE OF

oh wait there goes the rest of my day. *dives in*

[meiface.livejournal.com]

lol N I read so much more this past weekend I could probably put up a rec post part 2. But!! Go enjoy and be distracted! And come flail with me about them too. :D :D

[notablender.livejournal.com]

This is an awesome post :D Just what I needed this weekend! ♥

[notablender.livejournal.com]

agh reading the first one and it's so good! downloading Chinese scanlations and raws now T___T need moreee