Beefcake Special (Happy Good Meat Day!)

For all lovers of BEEF — dinner is served!!

It’s finally cooled down a bit here in Tokyo, and the Christmas decorations lining all the shopping centers and Mariah Carey blaring from every store’s loudspeaker do a wonderful job of reminding me of the upcoming holiday season.

…But maybe you’re the type of person who wishes the holiday cheer could hold off for a bit longer, and prefers to savor the time between Spooky Season and the lively-but-potentially-exhausting year-end festivities. In which case, Japan’s got you covered!

As we briefly touched upon in our Yaoi Day post, Japan has lots of “special” days throughout the year, based on wordplay that’s possible with the Japanese pronunciation of a given date — and November 29th is one of these days! In Japanese, 1-1-2-9 can be pronounced いいにく (ii-ni-ku), which is a homonym for 良い肉 (also pronounced iiniku), which means “good meat.” As such, 11/29 has been designated “Good Meat Day” in Japan.

Unfortunately, as far as special days in Japan go, Good Meat Day isn’t really that big of a deal — beyond some meat vendors having special offers, or meat lovers treating themselves to a delicious, protein-rich meal .

However, here at RentaBLog, we like to spice things up and take every opportunity to celebrate different aspects of Boys’ Love — and thus, I decided that on this day, we’d give the spotlight over to the beefy guys of BL, who make our hearts pound with their rippling muscles — the buffer, the better! 

Hope you’ve saved room for a feast, because meat is on the menu tonight!!

First off, we can’t have a Beefcake Special without mentioning fan-favorite artist of many works featuring buff dudes with hearts of gold (and heads of air), Ikuyasu!

CL already did a great review of one of their works, Boys, Love, and Plants, here on the BLog, but I wanted to take this chance to read another creation by Ikuyasu-sensei that I’ve been curious about, in no small part due to the spicy cover:

My Invincible Vitality (Japanese Title 俺の絶対無敵バイタリティ Ore no Zettai Muteki Vitality) just hit the site recently, and is already getting rave reviews — for good reason, I discovered!

I’m a huge fan of ridiculous scenarios and over-the-top characters, so this series had me by the balls right away . It goes HARD right from the introduction of its extremely Extra main characters, who both have fetishes that drive their entire beings.

Ikuyasu’s comedic timing is flawless, and I can honestly say I had a goofy grin on my face the entire time I was reading through the series. But the many #Mood moments and memeable panels aren’t the only draw of this fanatic-centered story — there’s plenty of sexiness to balance out the silliness, too. If you want to admire some robust yet soft and supple-looking bodies and belly-laugh so hard you just might develop a 6-pack of your own, check it out!

While we’re on the subject of Ikuyasu, I also wanna give a shout-out to Dirty Dandies, a story of childhood friends-turned-frenemies that made me way more emotional over a couple of dumbass middle-aged himbos than I was ever expecting. As a side note, a spinoff series of the book, featuring a younger pair of himbos who work at the same handyman shop, is on its way to Renta! as well! I know I’m looking forward to reading more silly meathead adventures, so if you loved DD, keep your eyes peeled for it!

I’ve gotta say, Ikuyasu’s ability to make some of the beefiest guys I’ve come across in BL into the most moe characters ever is incredible. They’ve also mentioned in their author’s notes that they love to put the buff guy on the BOTTOM, contrary to the more mainstream approach. If that sounds like your thing, Ikuyasu’s impressive catalog of works will be right up your alley!

If you’re in the mood for something with a more fantastical setting, we’ve got another great beefy offering. Sacrificed to the Shark Clan (Japanese title 鮫族への捧げ物 Samezoku Heno Sasagemono) has buff dudes (both on top AND bottom), wonderful storytelling, and perhaps most notably… DOUBLE SHARK DICK !

One major pull of the series is Satomichi‘s stunning art. In addition to lush scenery portraying the beauty of nature and the ocean, the character designs are drop-dead GORGEOUS. Even setting aside the wonderfully-drawn anatomy (which is put on full display all the time thanks to the characters’ revealing regular attire), Avel’s ponytail and hoop earrings had me feeling some kinda way and Tukiri’s sharp teeth (think Rin from Free! — wait, is this a trend with “shark” characters especially?? ) are surprisingly cute on him.

Although I initially came to the series in search of beefcake, I was instantly hooked by the impressive worldbuilding and sucked into the island world of the Miyaru and Tangata clans. The story touches upon topics such as gender roles, cultural exchange, tradition, and family.

Satomichi’s dedication to depicting athletic male anatomy can be seen in their other series Naughty Models -A Sensual Picture Book Of Beefy Guys In Suits- as well. This one’s a bit more straightforward (the title alone says it all!), but if you’re a fan of Satomichi’s lovely art and appreciation for buff guys, don’t sleep on it!

Keeping with story-driven series featuring beefcakes, next up are the works of Omoinakaba.

I won’t go into too much detail here, because once again CL (a true beefcake afficianado ) has already done an excellent writeup of their series The Wet King Dreams Of Arabian Nights on this BLog! But, I will take a moment to mention the the spinoff series, The Bird Of Dawn Kneels Before The Wet Moon (Japanese title 暁の鳥は濡れた月に跪く Akatsuki no Tori ha Nureta Tsuki ni Hizamazuku), centering around Azam’s brother Sharif, has just recently begun being released on Renta! So far, it seems to be similar to the first installment of the Wet King series, with heavy themes and deep emotional storytelling. If you enjoyed the first series and want to see this world fleshed out even more, be sure to give it a read!

Another BL featuring both wealthy and muscular men is Yan‘s Love Me More than Anything When We’re in Bed (Japanese title ベッドの中では世界一愛して Bed No Nakadeha Sekaiichi Aishite). Set in the posh Whittaker Hotel, this series follows elite businessman Haruki and his attraction to the hotel’s chief concierge Kashiro, whom he has an encounter with in the hotel’s premium suite reserved for… extra special “room service.” The push and pull between Haruki, who won’t take no for an answer, and Kashiro, who refuses to give it up so easily, is intriguing. I also enjoyed the secondary romance featured in the series, between the hotel’s owner-slash-retired-actor and a visiting royal. There’s plenty of drama, and beautiful art to keep your mind and eyes busy all throughout. The sex scenes are beautifully drawn (everyone here, regardless of occupation, is exceptionally well-built) and tastefully erotic.

Though this list is but a handful of the beefy guys available on Renta!, I hope you find something above that suits your personal tastes . And, let us know — who’s your favorite beefy boi BL character? Do you have any more juicy recommendations to share? Sound off in the comments below!