On April 6th, Sou and I had the honor of attending two separate talks at ChillChill Festival! What is ChillChill Festival? What did the talks entail? And why the heck were we able to go? Read on and you’ll find out! 
On a Friday in mid-March, our coworker Snow (also a participant in the Renta! Staff BL Awards 2023) suddenly approached me after the weekly company-wide meeting and asked if I’d heard of “ChillChill Festival.” Spurred on by my confused post-hour-long-meeting look, she brought up the event page and told me tickets were available through work, since our main Japanese branch is a sponsor of the ChillChill BL Awards. We were allowed to pick two talks, and attend them with one friend if we so desired.
While I would have loved to bring my friend Merry (interviewed on the BLog here), she was unable to come. So, I was thinking I’d go alone—until I brought it up with Sou. Since they’re also a huge fan of Kishimoto-sensei (we discuss her adorable tweets regularly), they said they’d be interested in coming with. Thus, I requested two tickets each for “Discussing the Frontlines of BL Trends” (BLトレンド最前線を語る) featuring Kishimoto, Satou Sugar, and Teku Rin, and “BL Fetishism in the Reiwa Era” (令和のBLフェティシズム) featuring Okita Yuuho, Nikuya Inui, bov, and Yukiharu.
However, before we go into the day of the actual event, let’s discuss ChillChill, and the history of ChillChill Festival!
ChillChill Festival
For those interested in exactly what ChillChill is, and why it matters to the BL space, We discussed ChillChill fairly in-depth in our 2024 BL Awards blog post. For a short summary, though: ChillChill is a BL community and indexing site, providing a massive catalogue of BL information as well reviews, talent interviews (artists, authors, seiyuu, etc.), news, and community outreach. They also sponsor and host massive BL events, such as script readings by popular seiyuu, book signings, and discussion panels. ChillChill is an incredibly important and well-known site to fans of original Japanese BL.
The first ChillChill Festival took place in May 2019, and was a celebration of ChillChill’s 10th anniversary. Held at HMV&BOOKS SHIBUYA, it hosted a book signing event with Okamoto Yuu and Aki Ueda, and a space where you could receive in-person BL recommendations from ChillChill’s famous BL sommelier. This first event seemed more focused on ChillChill and their anniversary rather than on BL fandom as a whole.
The next ChillFes took place only one month later, and was more centered on being a multi-day talk event and live drawing. Tei Hidou drew while seiyuu Nakazawa Masatomo and Hatano Kazutoshi MC’d and did script readings. Atami Michinoku and Ikuyasu also had a discussion and live drawing, and there was a small meet-up where BL fans could play games and make friends, as well as a Natsume Kazuki and Suzumaru Minta book signing.
The event continued to evolve from there. In 2020 Ichikawa Kei & Jyanome hosted an online book signing and there was online seiyuu improv (not surprising, considering this event took place in the heart of early Covid). 2021 ramped things up with tons of displays, activities, events, a collab café, BL fortune telling, etc. 2022 moved more toward the art and culture vibes with an orchestral concert and all-male flamenco show, with 2023 finally changing to focus more on the connection and interest in the mangaka as people and creators—which continued into the 2024 event!
This year’s ChillChill Festival was majorly focused on mangaka and their fans. Hosted at the Shibuya Cultural Center Owada, there were six talks featuring over 20 creators hosted over the course of two days (Saturday, April 6th and Sunday, April 7th), as well as a seiyuu event hosted the day before.
Some rough translations of the discussion themes:
BL Novels: Past, Present, and Future
Discussing the Frontlines of BL Trends
BL Fetishism in the Reiwa Era
The Impact of BL’s Beautiful Bodies
The Drama and Eroticism of BL
BL Artists at Present
Tickets for the talks were fairly expensive (5,800 yen for one talk, 12,000 yen for the full day, and 22,000 yen for the full event) and seemed quite limited, so I feel blessed that I was able to attend through work.
You could also come in and sit down with one of ChillChill’s in-person BL Sommelier (yes, there are multiple, and yes, you actually have to pass a full exam on your knowledge of BL culture and books before you’re allowed the certification). All of their 2024 Sommelier have little descriptions on the event page, and I desperately want to be friends with every single one of them.
The Day of the Event
Unfortunately, because we were only allowed to attend two events (we needed to leave space for other Renta! employees to attend), we can’t give you a full report—we can only discuss the two talks we went to. However, I think even just the two talks we saw were a really good insight on what the full event was like!
Since our first talk started at 2PM, we were asked to get to the venue at around 1:30 and enter through the side marked “invitees” (関係者/kankeisha, staff or “related personnel”). There, we were instructed to check in with our business card or work badge. So, Sou and I opted to meet up in Shibuya at 11AM and do an hour of planning and discussion, grab a quick lunch, and then head over to the venue.
Eternally an otaku in my heart and soul, I went down to Shibuya early to go to the Genshin store, which opened at 10AM. There they had a giant plush cat Scaramouche… I knew that if I came back after the event he would be gone, since the Genshin store regularly sells through their stock in a single day, so I bought him and accepted that I’d either have to track down a locker in busy Shibuya, or we’d have a plus-one coming to our work event. (Thankfully, I was able to eventually find a locker for him.) After that, I headed over to Gusto to wait for Sou and look over the schedule one more time.
We did planning for an hour over all-you-can-drink beverages, and then petered away our entire one-hour lunch break looking at BL at Animate, before eventually heading over to the Cultural Center. Thankfully it was just outside the main shopping district, so it wasn’t too long a walk. The venue was much smaller than I’d imagined and—in line with much of BL event branding—the event was incredibly inconspicuous with no signage or announcements. You were expected to just know without any signs to assist you. Up we went past the library and the science center and the community center, to the fourth flour where the staff were motioning people through the general entry door, or the invitee entrance.
Going in as an “invitee” was honestly a trip—essentially, it was a realization of my life goals since I got into BL manga. I never thought I’d be able to attend a Japanese BL event as staff, and especially since this was a ChillChill event—the site I’d been married to ever since discovering it in the early 2010s—I felt deeply touched to be there. I’d been using ChillChill since it was a small site, back when the BL Awards were still highly ChillChill-specific, so in a weird way I feel like I’ve grown alongside it. It was honestly a huge honor.
So we went in and check in as mono of Renta!—a very polite and self-effacing way to announce you’re staff of a company. They highlighted our names and handed us our tickets—stub already ripped off, since we weren’t allowed to participate in the raffle for the sign board at the end of the event—and our special bonus postcard, and then we were in the room, not particularly sure what to do next.
The waiting area was quite small, and lined with flower stands from the various publishers congratulating their artists for taking part. Flower stands are an incredibly common way to show support and love, so you’ll frequently see them on display at big events like this. You can even sometimes send them yourself, but be warned, they’re incredibly expensive (which is why fans will usually send them as a group).
There was also a box to drop off fanletters, a table to check in for regular guests, another table to check in for the Sommelier, and a box to put in your ticket stub for the raffle. After a while the staff made it clear we were allowed to enter the hall, which was a relatively small theater. Toward the front was where all general admission were seated, and toward the back was filled with publishers, editors, managers, and other staff. We were seated toward the back, which was admittedly a little nerve-racking.
While we were waiting, they played a cute animation of the two ChillChill official characters, Dias and Chiruo. For those who aren’t super acquainted with them, you can see them on the Chill Cafe (ちるカフェ) YouTube channel in both their animal and human forms. They’ve have been making appearances on the ChillChill BL Awards booklets over the last few years. Drawn by PANDA-sensei and voiced by Satou Takuya and Eguchi Takuya, their flirting and bickering seemed to be a popular addition while everyone waited for the main show to begin.
Our first talk was the second of the day, which was “Discussing the Frontlines of BL Trends” featuring:
Kishimoto, “Aihara-kun to Kashima-kun wa Rabukome Kamoshirenai” (EN)
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Satou Sugar, “Kitayama-kun to Minamiya-kun“
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Teku Rin, “Chameleon wa Te no Hira ni Koi wo Suru“
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We weren’t sure what to expect going in, but both talks actually followed the same format, so the “themes” were less about the actual things being discussed and more about how the artists were grouped. Both the talks we attended were MC’d by the seiyuu Hatano Kazutoshi (a ChillFes staple), and each talk had the following sections:
- Favorite Scene
- Quiz Corner
- Live Drawing and Q&A
- Audience & Author Q&A
For the first section, each artist chose a scene from their most recent work (or, whichever one they were there to represent), and then explained the scene and why it was so important to them. I wish I could show them here, but sadly don’t have the relevant permissions. All three picked quite sweet, romantic scenes, which was kind of the vibe of the whole talk—all three of them were really sweet ladies who seemed to get on really well.
I guess this would be a good time to point out that, yes, all of the mangaka were there in person. It’s pretty rare to actually get to see the mangaka who write all our favorite BL, so it was fun to put faces to the creators of the books I love. Kishimoto-sensei was unbelievably expressive and had the silliest, cutest mannerisms, constantly smacking the mic to make sure it was on, or forgetting to speak into it altogether as she gushed over her fellow guests. Teku Rin was super stylish, had a sophisticated, majime (serious, hard-working) older sister vibe, and also knew how to do sign language which was really cool to see. (The BL she was there to represent—linked above!—is also about sign language!) Satou Sugar was very dainty with a super proper, soft, polite way of speaking, which was funny since she had a tendency to blurt out some of the dirtiest stuff with a straight face. All three of them entered and exited the stage holding hands. It was adorable.
For the quiz corner—referred to as “Maniac Quiz Corner” after the fact that super hardcore, obsessed fans are often referred to in Japanese as マニアック—a panel or page was displayed from each manga with a section of it covered up, and all the hardcore fans were supposed to be able to guess what the covered-up portion said. For instance, in Satou Sugar’s, the sound effect of the seme mounting his boyfriend was covered, and we were supposed to guess what it said from: ぐぐっ, ぽお, のしっ, etc. In this case, all our work on editing manga really paid off, since any translator will know those are all very different sounds for very different acts.
The live drawing and Q&A was probably my favorite of the sections. The theme for the first talk was “best couple” and, going from left to right, one person would be doing a 10 minute speed drawing while the person the next seat over would answer questions. It was hard to know where to focus your attention—on the amazing art process taking place right in front of you, or the questions being asked. For each one there was the nervousness of “oh no, what if they don’t finish??” but we never really had to worry—everyone was so amazing and quick, and in the one case where the drawing went a bit over, they just let the other person answer their last question more in-depth while the artist added the finishing touches. Initially it was made to sound like the drawings would never be posted anywhere (“burn them into your mind’s eye so you don’t forget!”), but thankfully many of the artists posted them to Twitter once the event ended.
The final Q&A was questions that were either submitted by the audience or the artist themselves. I’ll include some of the stuff that stood out from both Q&A sections below:
When thinking up a new story, where do you start?
Satou Sugar said she tends to start with what scenes she wants to write, and then build a manga around that. Kishimoto starts with the general theme based off a specific interest. Teku Rin, on the other hand, is a hella planner and does the entire outline of her story before even starting.
Where would you like to vacation? How about your characters?
Teku Rin: Hawaii
Kishimoto and Satou Sugar: onsen
MC’s suggestion: all go to Tottori together
As for their characters, Teku Rin’s specifically like traveling abroad, Kishimoto’s would enjoy going somewhere relaxing not too far away, and Satou Sugar’s would enjoy going on a trip along with their favorite band’s tour sites.
What are some words you’ve received in a fanletter that made you extremely happy?
Satou Sugar: can’t pick, loves everything, and is just excited to receive fanmail.
Rin Teku: just the phrase “moeta” (an incredibly common otaku phrase for when you’re really passionate or excited about something) is enough for her, and makes her extremely glad she’s an artist for the BL genre.
Kishimoto: while all fanmail makes her extremely happy, she’s always touched when people tell her that her manga cheered them up or helped them through a difficult time in their life.
Do you get your story ideas from a single burst of inspiration, or is it something you think about at length?
Satou Sugar says she usually bases her stories off a rush of inspiration, Kishimoto says it’s a mix of both, and Rin Teku reiterates that—as much as she would love to be the type to be able to write an entire manga off one burst of inspiration—she’s the hardcore planning and outlining type.
How did you choose your penname?
Kishimoto wanted it to be a normal name in katakana, Teku Rin already had “Teku” in her circle name (the name used for publishing doujinshi) and so wanted to add just one kanji to differentiate her official and fandom works, and Satou Sugar saw sugar on the table and decided to use that. (“Satou” in Japanese means “sugar” so her name is essentially “Sugar Sugar”.)
What got you into reading BL? How about writing it?
Teku Rin and Satou Sugar said they essentially got into reading it through friends, while Kishimoto just happened to pick it up at the store one day and realize “wow, there’s a whole world of original BL to read, and it’s all really good!” One thing that really stood out is that, for the most part, they got into drawing BL through writing fandom doujinshi.
After the last Q&A was over, they held the raffle, and let us go. Dazed and filled with love for BL manga and BL artists, but also starving since we’d skipped lunch in the name of staring at BL, Sou and I left the Cultural Center to find the nearest restaurant that didn’t have a wait. (This was hard, since there was a Cherry Blossom Festival right down the road, so there were tons of people in the area…) We ended up going to the Matsuya, home of salaryman fast chow, to discuss the talk and take notes while wolfing down our food.
Since I’d been listening to Takochan talk about chigyu, or “cheese gyuudon,” a few days prior, I opted to get that. It was delicious, but kind of heavy for a busy day of discussing dirty manga scenes.
Afterward, we dashed back to the Cultural Center for part two! This talk was “BL Fetishism in the Reiwa Era” featuring:
Okita Yuuho, “PUNKS△TRIANGLE“
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Nikuya Inui, “Kowamote no Rinjin ga Omega datta Toki no Taishohou“
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bov, “Seiheki Yabame na Otoko ni Nerawaremashita” (EN)
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Yukiharu, “Kuraitsuite yo, Danna-sama“
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As noted before, both talks had the same sections. As for these four women, they were much more—as Sou put it—“nigiyaka (lively), alternative gorls [sic].” I had seen Okita Yuuho before at J.GARDEN as she’s always very active at her own table and excited to interact with fans, and I can tell you: if you’ve ever seen that “art vs. artist” meme on Twitter and Tumblr, this woman looks exactly how you would expect from reading her manga. Very cute, very cool, very alternative and punk style. However, she’s also incredibly sweet and not intimidating at all.
All of the women on stage were very nice and super open and funny. The “BL Trends” group was a bit more shy when it came to discussing the ero subjects, but the “Reiwa Fetishism” group went whole-hog with openly discussing fetish gear, S&M clubs, what section of the body they find most sensual—all alongside how to best store their treasured fanletters and how to relax and destress after drawing all day. Nikuya Inui was the most outgoing and talkative of the group, almost acting as an assistant to the MC in her curiosity toward the other women and open excitement over every topic. bov was a bit more quiet, but still very outgoing about her interest in fetishism and the themes in her manga. Yukiharu was the most quiet, which was funny since she displayed the dirtiest panel of the entire event, her titular character Mizuki’s legs spread wide with his hips thrust into the air, presenting himself to his husband. Okita Yuuho gasped and covered her face when it lit up the giant theater screen, shyly peeking at it through her fingers as the rest of the audience went wild.
For the live drawing portion, their theme was “best fashion.” This one was truly nuts, since Okita Yuuho just winged it—she was the first and only artist we saw that didn’t do an outline or anything, yet she was still able to draw Ai-kun in just ten minutes. Nikuya Inui had two artworks prepared. bov had an outline, but rather than doing a simple drawing she did a full illustration with tons of tiny details with chains and dynamic posing, and her penwork was so fast and clean it was impossible to look away. Yukiharu’s was similar—while her illustration was more simple (and incredibly cute), her penwork was so unbelievably practiced and beautiful.
As for the Q&As, some responses that stood out during the “Reiwa Fetishism” portion:
What to do to relax and refresh while drawing?
This was a question from Okita Yuuho, since she said she has a lot of trouble stopping herself and taking breaks during the drawing process. (She said she even eats with her tablet pen in the other hand.) Nikuya Inui said she does super detailed, over-the-top makeup and hair to kind of force her mind to focus on something else. bov does yoga or stretches, or goes for a short walk. Yukiharu, on the other hand, sleeps. (Everyone was shocked she can wake herself up again after just ten minutes!)
Do you own any of the fetish gear that you draw?
This was actually asked to just bov during the live drawing, but it ended up turning into more of a discussion rather than just bov replying. She said she actually doesn’t, but spends a lot of time on the Rakuten fetish gear page. When asked how she knew you could buy fetish gear on Rakuten, she told a story about how she went to an S&M club and the beautiful dominatrix there, when asked where she buys the gear for the club, was cutely like “on Rakuten!” From there, all of them started discussing which parts of Tokyo they like to go to attend S&M clubs. “I like Ginza!” “Mine’s in Shinjuku!” From then on, buying stuff on Rakuten became a running joke.
What parts of the body do you find most appealing? Which parts do you like drawing?
I unfortunately can’t remember the exact answers for this one and who said them, but along with the usual replies (hands, collarbone, wrists, feet) one person said the part they most look forward to drawing is the hair.
Which characters are easiest to draw? Which characters do you look forward to drawing?
The one I remember most clearly is Okita Yuuho: she said the character she finds easiest to draw is Ai from PUNKS TRIANGLE, but the one she has the most ease of drawing is Haruki from Senpai, Naka Misete. Yukiharu said for her, the character she finds herself enjoying drawing the most is Mizuki.
What got you into reading BL? What got you into drawing it?
Similar to the first round, many said they were pushed into reading BL through recommendations from friends. Also similar to the first group, almost everyone said she originally got into drawing BL through fanworks. Nikuya Inui even noted: “I think that’s how most people start out.” (For more information on the importance of doujinshi culture, I recommend reading our other doujinshi event posts! /shameless plug)
Do you have any recommendations for storing fanletters?
This was a question from Nikuya Inui because she wants to treasure all of her fanletters, but currently they’re all in ziploc bags and hard to take out and reread. Okita Yuuho had just the solution on the exact product to buy and how to set the letters up for ease of access, to which the other three guests were taking notes. (The MC: “but can you also buy this on Rakuten??”) Overall, a big take-away from both talks is that the mangaka LOVE and treasure their fanletters, and fans who are so inclined should definitely send them in. I know I’m definitely going to put more effort into writing fanmail going forward.
Another small note that was hard to squeeze in elsewhere:
- A lot of people brought ouen goods, like uchiwa and decorated penlights and such—the same type of stuff you might see at an idol concert. Kishimoto pointed it out near the end of their talk, really excited that people would go out of their way to make that kind of stuff for them. Even some people in the kankeisha seats toward the back had brought these, showing just how many people who work behind the scenes are also massive BL fans themselves.
Anyway, after that we headed back into the great outdoors that is Shibuya, one of Tokyo’s many nightlife districts. We needed to find a place to cool down, discuss the experience, and take notes, but since it was Shibuya on a Saturday night in the heart of spring break and tourism season, it was pretty rough. After a journey that included various different areas, one table pube, and many a long line, we finally found a quiet coffee shop to sit and discuss the event in.
Overall, it was a wonderful experience. We weren’t able to attend every single talk, but the two we saw were both amazing. Events like this make you love BL manga more and more—getting to be in the presence of peers and friends, walking the people who create the content you love openly share their passion in a safe space. It’s truly magical. I hope all BL fans get to experience this sense of open, welcoming community.
A HUGE thank you to ChillChill for always hosting events like this, as well as to my workplace for fostering a relationship with BL websites and publishers so attending events like this is possible. 
As a BL fan, it was a dream come true.
rentaBLog 