Naughty and Nice: BL Recs for the Christmas Season

The Renta! BL team wanted to do a Christmas special again this year, and we were racking our brains on what we could possibly post. Last year’s Christmas BL rec post was actually shockingly time-intensive (two whole 10+ hour work days on top of my regular workload…), so I didn’t have it in me to do it this year. And a manga like A Gift From Santa Claus only comes once a lifetime, and I obviously wasn’t going to review it twice. We spent about an hour in the BL meeting just going in circles—BL recs based on Christmas songs? How about based on popular holiday foods?

But then the glorious Sou was like “well… how about which BL characters will get coal in their stocking?” And thus the “Naughty x Nice” Christmas BL Special was born! For this, the Renta! BL team got together and thought of three recommendations for the following four categories:

・Nice Seme x Nice Uke
・Nice Seme x Naughty Uke
・Naughty Seme x Nice Uke
・Naughty Seme x Naughty Uke

Some boys will be getting a lump of coal and a spanking (😘) this Christmas season, so to see who’s on Santa’s shit-list and who’ll be getting exactly what they asked for, read on!

Nice Seme x Nice Uke

My Clueless Cutie
by Tsuna Azumi

This is one of those manga where both characters are just such normal, nice people. They really love and care about each other, and they don’t really do anything to hurt each other through the series—intentionally or unintentionally. Shinichiro and Fumiyori were incredibly close as teenagers, and as adults they naturally drifted apart as life got in the way. However, they’ve now both achieved their dreams of being news anchors, so when a scandal brings them together again, they’re eager to reconnect—and possibly bring their relationship even further. Shinichiro is such a good guy that Fumiyori refuses to believe for a second the rumors about him could possibly be true, and Fumiyori is such a reliable and talented person it stands out and becomes a hot topic when he actually isn’t good at something for once. The only “naughty” thing about these two is they’re just so bad at understanding their own feelings for each other.

With The Dog Comes The Spring
by Mayako Yoshiduka & Ichigo Satou

With The Dog Comes The Spring is peak “both good boys.” After hearing his childhood “friend” talking shit behind his back about how he’s an immature and unreliable person, Masora takes a temp job at a ski resort to prove to himself and those around him he can make it on his own. From a wealthy family and incredibly spoiled, Masora has grown up with a silver spoon in his mouth, to the point that he doesn’t even realize that all his stuff is from designer brands and most people don’t have hired help to do everything for them and greet them when they get home. He’s not a bad kid—just extremely sheltered from most real-world problems. Kohaku, who already works at the resort, can sense that Masora really wants to learn to be independent and reliable, so he takes the other man under his wing. Kohaku is patient with Masora, who breaks an unimaginable number of plates, because he can sense he’s a kind person deep down. It’s really sweet watching them grow closer as Masora also comes to terms with the fact that his friend was right and maybe he has some work to do.

Countdown to Yes
by Roji

This BL features a pair of nice, wholesome guys who are just trying to figure out friendship turning into love. The story starts off with Wataru, the light-haired character, teary-eyed after his roommate Minato moves out for his new job post-graduation. This scene already pulled me in because… isn’t Wataru smiling on the cover? Why is our boy crying!? It’s soon revealed that Wataru is struggling with his feelings for the super friendly Minato, his best friend. Well, as you BL connoisseurs may have expected, it turns out Minato always had a crush on Wataru, too. What I love about this story is that, while it plays heavy with the “Will they? Won’t they?” trope, the dynamic between Minato—who’s perhaps too straightforward—and Wataru—who tends to over-analyze things and is bad at communicating—is super cute and complimentary. Throughout the narrative, Roji mixes some emotional, setsunai scenes that just tugged at my heart, all the while slipping in some humorous ones (cue: Wataru’s misinterpretations). Another feature of this manga is the art. Although I may be biased because I absolutely LOVE the mangaka’s style, there’s a lot of close-up scenes of the main characters’ faces, and it meshes well with the photography motif that is present throughout.

To top it off, the Special Edition on Renta! contains exclusive scenes of the two shopping for their new apartment!

Nice Seme x Naughty Uke

The Doggy and The Fairy Prince
by Kaibashira

Traditionally, uke characters are generally known for being cute, soft, small, sexy, perhaps a bit feminine, and usually good people for whom it’s clear why the seme character would fall for them. Kuniaki from The Doggy and The Fairy Prince is… well. He’s a bit of a special case. If you want a deeper look at the full plot, I (Ames) actually wrote an entire review for this oneshot because of how much Kuniaki caught me off guard as well. He’s a lout of a college student, whose hobbies include getting blackout drunk at parties (preferably ones where the alcohol is free), smoking, sleeping, being loud… that’s about it. His hygiene is sub-par, he’s a lazy mooch, he doesn’t know how to read a room, and he annoys the shit out of his fellow students. But the most important thing is that sweet, precious, tiny, dainty Sho—known by their classmates as “the fairy prince” because he looks and acts straight out of a fairy tale—loves him and thinks he’s the cutest and most talented and best thing since sliced bread. These two are adorable together, and Kuniaki may be a disgusting beast but he’s just so endearingly bad you can’t help but fall for him, too.

Also, great news: there’s a full series continuation for this series, and it should be coming to Renta! very soon. I was doing the final quality check on the files recently, and they’re equally as ridiculous and cute and funny as the original oneshot. So please look forward to that!

The Beastman Is In Heat!?
by Nesuo

Okay, so I’m kinda stretching the definition of “naughty” for the purposes of this article to include “commits acts almost universally considered morally reprehensible in real life in order to get with the guy he likes,” but this is a romcom BL series set in a fantasy RPG world where beast people go into heat, so anything goes! Plus, Dirk’s revealing outfit (tits and pubes peekin’ out and all) just SCREAMS “slut” in the best possible way… and Archar is indeed a very good boy all around, always willing to “help his buddy out,” even when that means sucking the milk out of his massive honkers. So, together, they make the perfect pairing for this category! Their dynamic of “innocent lad meets thirsty vixen” is both funny and exciting, if you’re into that sort of thing 🥴

Because You’re Inexperienced
by Tamuko Kuwata

The plot for Because You’re Inexperienced revolves around Shiina, a man who’s known for only sleeping with virgins. While he’s out hunting for a new lay, he’s ecstatic to stumble upon Sota, an incredibly attractive college student who just can’t seem to get it in. Shiina doesn’t understand how Sota could possibly still be a virgin, but he’s more than happy to help. When they move on to the hotel, though… well, there’s a little issue. A BIG issue, actually, and it’s that Sota is absolutely massive. While Shiina is no virgin himself, there’s no way something that huge is going to fit without loads of practice and preparation. But Shiina wants to take Sota’s virginity, even if it means having to spend more time together than he’d usually be willing to. Shiina may be on the naughty list because he likes to play around and break men’s hearts, but in reality he has a lot of trauma to work through that lead to this, and it’s self-sabotaging that usually brings out his bad behavior. Thankfully, sweet and sincere angel Sota is more than willing to put up with Shiina’s capriciousness if it means building a future where he can stay by Shiina’s side.

Naughty Seme x Nice Uke

My Cutie Pie -An Ordinary Boy And His Gorgeous Childhood Friend-
by Kana Riyuma & Yomayoi

I feel like including this here is a bit of a spoiler, since the first chunk of this manga is relatively innocent both for Naho and for Kana. If you’re only five chapters in, you might be like “oh, is Kana being incredibly attractive and caring toward his friends a crime now?” But if you’re deeper into the story, past the massive tone shift after the first handful of chapters, you’ll understand Kana is incredibly possessive—almost yandere level—of his beloved childhood friend, and is incredibly pushy with his feelings toward Naho. If he could hide Naho even from his own friends, he would gladly—all while Naho is blissfully unaware of the intensity of Kana’s feelings. He’s a bit of a scary boyfriend, but Naho seems to enjoy it, so I’m happy for the two if them regardless. He just sees how cute Naho is deep down—supposedly plain face aside—and he has to protect what he sees as his.

Indulging The Insatiable Pup
by Zutsuuyaku

What happens when a kindhearted dog groomer meets a husky-turned-man who’s desperate for a mate? A whole lotta doggy antics, that’s for sure! Rui’s a hit with the dogs that visit the pet salon he works at. One day, after meeting a very handsome (human) client, he comes across what he recognizes as that very client’s dog, all by himself on the street. A dog person at heart and unwilling to let the poor thing roam the streets alone, Rui takes him home — only to notice that this doggo seems a bit off… which comes to a head when he transforms into a whole ass naked MAN — the same hottie, Joji Hasuki, who Rui’d just met earlier! And even in human form, Joji acts like an animal in heat, pouncing on Rui like he’s ready to mate. As it turns out, he’s apparently part dog, and if he doesn’t find a partner (ideally Rui) to get it on with soon, he’ll supposedly become a dog forever! Now, Joji’s not “naughty” in the typical (read: human) sense, per se — he makes it clear how much he adores Rui, and is surprisingly gentle despite his horndog tendencies. He just can’t control himself and be a “good boy” when he’s around the guy he loves, like an excitable puppy! Can you even blame him?? (Note: the author of this blurb is a Dog Person and believes dogs can do no wrong 🐕🥰)

The Perfect Prince Loves Me, His Rival?!
by Ao Yuki

In this steamy isekai BL, a man’s reborn into the world of his favorite fantasy novel as Loneal, a side character whose only purpose in the story is to be a love rival to the main hero, assault the heroine, and eventually be exiled. Loneal does his best to avoid his dark-fated ending, but he can’t seem to avoid the aforementioned hero of the story, Prince Alec — whom he finds ridiculously attractive. Then, when he reaches the part in the story where his fate is supposed to be sealed, something unexpected happens — he spills a love potion on Prince Alec, and then suddenly the prince is all over him! From that moment on, Prince Alec only has eyes for Loneal, who was only supposed to be the rival side character. How will the story unfold from here now that a major event’s been altered? Despite his princely demeanor, Prince Alec is quite “bad boy” coded, both in the way he’ll use any means to get closer (and intimate) with his crush and with his dripping sex appeal. Loneal, on the other hand, is very nice despite his destined role — he wants to protect the prince’s reputation and, though he succumbs to Alec’s charms time and time again, is even willing to sacrifice his own happiness for the hero’s sake. They’re total opposites, but super cute together!

Naughty Seme x Naught Uke

Happy Shitty Life
by Harada

Okay, you got me, there are no tops or bottoms in Happy Shitty Life (though I’m sure if you asked them, both men would say they’re bottoms). Regardless of whether they top or bottom at any given moment, though, they’re both their own version of incredibly naughty (shitty) boys. Kyotaro isn’t just a pervert, having been transferred and shipped off to the middle of nowhere after being caught getting pegged in the office by the CEO’s daughter. No, his “naughty” traits have more to do with his arrogance, vanity, and serial clout chasing. Yoshiyuki, on the other hand, is at least nicer, but he’s a lazy slob manwhore with only a single braincell going at full speed at all times. They’re both the kind of naughty you can’t help but love in fiction, but might want to avoid in the real world. However, every once in a while they open up to each other and have a moment of sincerity, and that single moment (usually once per tankoubon) is just so powerful that it makes me want to keep rooting for them. I hope they have a whole lifetime of arguing and switching it up in the bedroom together.

Satoshi & Kakeru
by Tsutako Tsurusawa

Satoshi & Kakeru is the love story between an arrogant tsundere host and an incredibly mentally-unwell, often-suicidal stalker. It IS a comedy, and these two are definitely made for each other, but both men absolutely qualify for the naughty list. Kakeru is an incredibly conceited host who refuses to admit his growing affection for his “boyfriend,” constantly belittling Satoshi no matter how much Satoshi showers him with affection. Satoshi, on the other hand, is the other end of the naughty spectrum: mentally ill and intensely passionate, he wants Kakeru to stay home and be his kept man who exists only for him and loves him back. If it was up to Satoshi, he would kill every person who interacts with Kakeru. Nonetheless, Tsutako Tsurusawa uses an amazing sense of dark humor to make their relationship work—both men are just so over the top that their intense psychopathy is more funny than it is horrifying. Plus, deep down, they both love each other intensely (perhaps too intensely in Satoshi’s case…) and are there for each other whenever it actually matters. They may both be pretty bad guys, but they’re absolutely perfect for each other.

Just Been Married!
by Chishanomi

This story’s set in the same universe as Chishanomi’s hit series Maybe We’re Newlyweds, and, as both titles suggest, both series star newlywed couples. But, while the latter centers around a pair of absolutely lovable dorks, this one’s on the opposite side of the spectrum — in that it’s about two total ASSHOLES 🥵. Takara somehow ends up married to Kyosuke, a guy he knows from childhood and always had a sort of love-hate relationship with. Kyosuke’s extremely jealous, controlling, and generally just mad at the world — with the exception to his hatred being his “wife” Takara, though you’d never guess it from the way he takes out his emotions on the poor guy. Takara, though also a former “delinquent,” is the more level-headed of the two, but his pride keeps him from being honest with his husband, and so he usually just ends up riling him up even more, sometimes intentionally. They may be in desperate need of marriage counseling, but it makes for a fun read — Kyosuke’s outbursts are just so over the top it’s comical, and the couple’s interactions are as passionate and messy as a juicy telenovela.