Publisher Showcase: Brite (Tulle & B.Pilz)

As you may have gleaned from our previous publisher showcase on KiR as well as our Citrus Con panel about the ins and outs of BL localization, when it comes to manga, paying attention to the publisher (and the publishing lines within) matters not just in terms of the type of content on offer, but also how easily a license request can be fulfilled. Different companies have ties with different publishers, either through long-standing relationships and trust building, or simply because they may be the subsidiary of a larger company. So it’s useful to pay attention to what publishers a localization company already has in their roster, because if they’ve licensed from them once, chances are the process of doing it again will be much smoother.

As I mentioned in the KiR showcase, we’ve had a long relationship with them as a publishing line, and frequently release their content. But another publisher we have a good relationship with is Brite Publishing, the larger company behind the two BL lines Tulle and B.Pilz . Our long-standing relationship with Brite Publishing is a major reason we’re able to bring you guys so many of their wonderful titles.

As you can maybe tell, we at the RentaBLog love Brite Publishing and the mangaka who release stories under them. I’ve discovered many of my more recent favorite mangaka through getting to work on Brite Publishing stuff through Renta!, and it’s made me really want to help push their BL out to a wider audience.

One of the things I love about Brite is that, as a medium-size publisher, they work with a great mix of established and newer, lesser-known mangaka. This not only means getting to experience lots of new art and writing styles, but since the artists are newer to the scene, they bring a fresh new take on established tropes and stories. Because of this, you might see a lot of youth culture references (which also makes them fun to translate—we live for the challenge!) or themes that previously didn’t show up in BL much. It makes it so there’s always something new and exciting releasing under Brite!

For that reason, we (me, and our newest BL Team member Yomogi) decided we’d showcase a handful of our Brite Publishing favs! (Aside from, you know, the many, many, many we’ve reviewed on the BLog already… hehe★)

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Tulle

Lonely Nights in Bunny Paradise by Tonomaro

AMES: “Lonely Nights in Bunny Paradise” follows Yeonwoo, one of the employees at a bunny club where people can come and enjoy all the beautiful men in bunny outfits. Highly capable and loved by customers, fellow staff, and his boss, Yeonwoo is hiding a secret—he spends his off time supporting his abusive, shitty boyfriend. So when younger (and much buffer than the usual staff) Mahoro suddenly starts working at the club, Yeonwoo has a harder time than he’d like to admit rejecting Mahoro’s eager advances. Underneath it all, there’s a drug plot threatening to stability of their precious club.

You wouldn’t think a manga about hot buff guys in bunny costumes could be this emotional, but it’s so rewarding to watch Yeonwoo work through his trauma around wanting to feel needed but also wanting to be loved for who he is rather than what he can offer. Mahoro is exactly the type of guy who can love openly and loudly, and so he’s exactly what Yeonwoo needs. Honestly a super enjoyable read!

Chihira Can’t Get Enough Magic Power by Tomaze

AMES: Released only a month after I started working for Renta!, this manga is one of our older releases—which showcases how long we’ve had a relationships with Brite Publishing! And it has such an interesting premise, too. Chihira’s just your average high school boy—he gets bored in class, loves fantasizing about girls, and desperately wants to lose his virginity. However, he’s been feeling exhausted lately, and there’s a strange mark appearing on his back…

When he talks to his mom about it, he’s shook to find he’s actually part succubus—it runs in his family, and occasionally shows up as a recessive gene. Now that the mark has presented itself, most of his sustenance needs to be gained through magic power—which comes in the form of life force converted through sex. Thankfully, Chihira’s childhood friend Arou seems more than happy to help him out. First, they try kissing—but he can’t get enough magical power. So then they try sex—which works great! But, how is poor Chihira supposed to suddenly accept his fate, even with Arou’s help? And, exactly why is Arou so eager to help out?

Lick Me, Bite Me, Kiss Me by Fumizuki Kumi

YOMOGI: This is the first-ever cakeverse series I’ve read, and it’s also the first of its kind to be available through Renta! “Lick Me, Bite Me, Kiss Me” starts out with a fancy networking party, where Hiroto, a cake, is hoping to establish relationships with businesses to help rebuild his family’s company. There, he meets Izuru, one of the sons of the famous Taishaku group, which has influence over just about every business in the region.

To be quite honest, I wasn’t sure how much I’d enjoy the series given that the cakeverse setting was just vastly different from any series I had read. But, reading the first chapter or two was enough to convince me that this series is worth a read! While the first chapter starts out pretty rough (warning: contains a non-/dub-con situation), I was happy to see Hiroto learn to see Izuru throughout the series not just as a fork, but as an individual with his own emotions, struggles, and thoughts around how society treats forks. I was also pleasantly surprised by Izuru’s actions that demonstrate just how much he cares about Hiroto’s family. To add to it, the ero scenes are quite juicy, and both the seme and the uke have such cute personalities (and, readers will be graced with the uke’s blushing face multiple times)! 

This series is ongoing, so keep an eye out for releases in the new year! 

B.Pilz

Yuzuhi’s Sugar Spot by Wasabi Ochazuke

AMES: Have you ever wanted to read a BL manga where some of the guys have a womb Just Because? They can’t get pregnant or anything, but sex is hotter and more intense because the guys can be mating pressed? Then, look no further—we’ve got your manga! The funny thing is that’s nearly irrelevant to the plot. Yuzuhi works for a sex toy company. He’s a hard worker, but he’s convinced his boss, the incredibly strict Kanato, absolutely hates him. However, when the company wants to move forward with sexy livestreams to showcase their wares, Kanato instantly recommends Yuzuhi for the job. Yuzuhi already doesn’t want to be naked and have his male vagina (situated close to his prostate) stimulated on camera, but what’s worse is that Kanato will be the one performing with him.

This one is really silly and endearing and cute—it’s so clear from the beginning that Kanato wants to perform with Yuzuhi because he likes him (insert elementary schooler “oooooooooh!” in the background), but as Yuzuhi finds himself enjoying Kanato’s attention he starts to lose confidence in his ability to perform for the camera. This manga is also delicious if you love big himbo tiddies because Yuzuhi is STACKED, and pretty much every chapter you get to see Kanato playing with them to his heart’s content. Bliss.

The Monster & The Ghost by Himemiko

AMES: I feel like we’ve recommended this one time and time again on the BLog as well as on our other BL socials, and for good reason: it’s just really good. The art is obviously incredibly stylish and detailed and beautiful, and that’s saying nothing of the story. “The Monster & The Ghost” follows Tsubaki, a high school boy who’s incredibly buff and scary—to the point where all his classmates and teachers assume he’s the bad guy every time he gets in fights. But the fact is, Tsubaki just has a strong sense of justice and doesn’t like letting bad people get away with bad things, having grown up under the thumb of his cruel father. One day he meets the ghost of recently-deceased fellow classmate Kabu, and Kabu can see what a kind and caring person Tsubaki is—to the point where he vows to make it clear to everyone around that them Tsubaki isn’t a bad guy! Unfortunately for him, his body only takes shape when he’s alone with Tsubaki in Tsubaki’s apartment.

Enter a full cast of other interesting characters: Ibuki, the weird and vaguely sadistic classmate who’s super into the occult and can sense Kabu; Nanahisa who initially hates Tsubaki’s sense of justice having grown up under similarly difficult circumstances; not to mention all the adorable girls at their school who’ll gladly step in the second someone tries to hurt or insult the main cast. The art is dark and melancholic and moody, but the feeling of the story is a sweet coming-of-age mystery, and that juxtaposition of themes just makes this manga irresistible!

Playboy Beast by Minomushi Momonoki

AMES: Virgin Riku is in his late teens, but he’s never once experienced rut. Waiting for his day to come when he’s no longer a late bloomer, Riku puts up a cool front around his female classmates, acting like a total player when in reality he hasn’t experienced so much as kissing much less sex. One night, while having some self-care time (if you know what I mean…), he suddenly starts feeling hot. When his roommate—actual player and recluse Touma—suddenly shows up, the tingling in his belly explodes into a full-on rut. Or… is he actually in heat? As Touma helps him get off, he leers at him and says “you’ve got what it takes to be a good bottom, you know?”

This series was one of the first Brite Publishing titles I handled when I just started at Renta!, and it truly left a lasting impact. It’s really fun watching Riku and Touma clash while their animal instincts—as you can tell from the cover, they’re both part beast—continue to draw them together. Then, halfway through, it flips: once Riku and Touma finally start connecting on an emotional level, they’re worried their instincts will only cause them to hurt each other as Touma’s hunger for Riku only intensifies. If you wanna read something cute while also incredibly sexy and intense, I can’t recommend it enough!

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Do you have any favorite Brite Publishing titles? We’d love to hear your thoughts in the comments or on social media!