Author: ames

I love BL manga and cats and cool weather.

A Safe Space to Heal: Sakana Tojo’s “Sweet Apartment in Paradise”

~ ames ~ 1 Comment

Read on Renta!:
Sweet Apartment in Paradise by Sakana Tojo

Japanese title:
楽園性スウィートルーム
Rakuensei Sweet Room

Links:
Sakana Tojo Twitter
Junet (Publisher) Twitter

As I’ve probably made very clear from past blog posts, I’m a massive fan of Sakana Tojo. I’ve already written an artist introduction for her, and also review her works whenever I’m given the chance. There’s something about her manga that slots so perfectly into my preferences—whether it’s the art or character designs or their personalities and relationships, or just the VIBE of her stories. To me, they’re the perfect after-work (or, in this case, during work…) comfort of something simple, sweet, sexy, and cute.

This story is actually a slight step away from many of Sakana Tojo’s previous works, but I’d argue it still holds onto her characteristic sensuality and softness. Sweet Apartment in Paradise follows the story of Sui, a beautiful young man sold off to an “owner” at a young age, and the “Demon” who saves him. The “Demon”—later given the name “Angel” by Sui—is an assassin who hunts evil, bad men. In this world, the human trade is allowed and accepted so long as those who’re bought are treated with dignity and respect. However, there are many horrible people—often very powerful and wealthy men—who exploit this system and treat those they buy as objects for their own satisfaction. Sui’s previous owner, who he called “father,” was one such man. He bought Sui to be used for sex, dressing him up in strange costumes, drugging him to stunt his body’s development, training him to only respond to sexual advances, convincing him his only worth is in how well he can provide pleasure, and hiding him away from the world.

When Angel saves Sui, he’s surprised by just how traumatized the boy is. He’s used to seeing the horrifying results of human trafficking, but something about Sui touches him enough that he offers to home Sui to see him through his recovery. He teaches Sui how to do things on his own and creates a comfortable space for Sui to grow and heal—marking every “safe” thing in the apartment with little bunny doodles (Sui’s favorite animal) to make sure Sui’s trauma doesn’t get severely triggered. He replaces Sui’s shackles with cute accessories, and offers Sui the warmth of his body to show human affection doesn’t always need to be sexual or transactional.

Continue reading “A Safe Space to Heal: Sakana Tojo’s “Sweet Apartment in Paradise”” →

Sweeter Than Expected: “Kabukicho Cat Honey”

~ ames ~ 1 Comment

Read on Renta!:
Kabukicho Cat Honey by Nekojita Udon & Toriumemaru

Japanese Title:
歌舞伎町キャットハニー

Links:
Nekojita Udon Twitter
Toriumemaru Twitter
B.Pilz Twitter
Brite Publishing

Part of me wonders if I even have to post a review for this series, as it already seems incredibly popular. It really doesn’t need an extra push from me—the cover and description already seem to be doing the trick. However, there’s no rule on the blog that says we can’t talk about things we love that are already extremely popular, so I’m still gonna go for it anyway.

Kabukicho Cat Honey is a BL manga by writer/artist duo Nekojita Udon and Toriumemaru. This is actually their second book together, their first being My Private Love Actor (プライベート・ラブマイアクター) which is also released by B.Pilz and localized in-house. While it’s hard to say going off just two releases, it would appear the two mostly work together on BL projects, though Toriumemaru has also done some illustrations for a couple BL novel series and is currently working on a horror josei manga.

The story of Kabukicho Cat Honey follows a young man named Haru. Haru works in Shinjuku’s gay district as an escort, and is popular as a specialized top since he’s quite tall. He’s not just popular with the men, though—the hostesses who also frequent the bar his escort service runs out of love him as well, and so one night they invite him along to a host club with them. Haru doesn’t understand host clubs—he doesn’t get the appeal of being lied to with sweet nothings—but is forced to go by his boss since he was invited by paying customers.

There he meets Shinya, the number two host. His first impression of Shinya is that he seems arrogant and far too friendly, but they quickly bond when they realize they have the same phone case of an indie band they both love. Just as Haru lets his guard down, though, Shinya starts asking him about his work as a prostitute—and why he specializes in topping when he’s so obviously the perfect bottom. Lean build, slender hips, slim neck, beautiful face, soft hair—Shinya makes it clear he would gladly ravage Haru and make him squirm.

Continue reading “Sweeter Than Expected: “Kabukicho Cat Honey”” →

BL Lines to Look Out For: KiR Comics

~ ames ~ 4 Comments

As I’ve mentioned both on here and on Twitter before, when it comes to whether or not we can fulfill a license request, the best bet is to check if we have a history of licensing from that publisher. If we’re already releasing series by a specific publisher, it already means we have a relationship and contract with them, which makes it significantly easier to request titles. If we don’t have a contract with them, well… we will still gladly request the license, but the chances of obtaining the license can be a lot slimmer for a variety of reasons (some of which I discuss in my post about digital vs. physical publishing). But, this is just to say, there’s a reason we have a lot of content by certain publishers, and little to none by others.

For those who don’t know, you can find the publisher and line on the manga itself via logos on the cover, insert pages near the beginning, or backpage credits at the end. You can also check the description on the product page:

Also, the publisher and publishing line aren’t the same thing. For instance, B.Pilz and Tulle are both separate lines under Brite Publishing, and both aim to provide different content, if only slightly. A more clear-cut example is TAIYOH TOSHO‘s HertZ and Craft lines—HertZ tends to offer more standard, shorter BL stories that can be contained to one or two volumes, whereas Craft tends to run longer, more chaste, plot-driven content. There is some overlap between the lines, of course, but that’s simply because it’s hard to put all stories into clean boxes—one BL might be long and story-driven but very sexual, and vice versa.

Lately, when I’m sending out our licensed projects for translation, one BL publishing line that’s been catching my eye more and more is: KiR Comics! It’s not a rare occasion at all that I’m flipping through something thinking “damn… this is The Good Content…” and I find myself distracted reading the full chapter, get to the backpage, and it’s KiR! A few recent ones (and spoiler on content that’ll be coming later this year Peeking eye): Dekisokonai no Love Song by Akota, Kyou mo Kimi ga Toutoi by Hiiro (coming soon!), Eye Wink de Korogashite by Akari Hayashi, Ato Mou Sukoshi de Koi na no ni! by Sanma Tarou… the list goes on, really.

KiR’s manga don’t seem to have too strict a theme, but they often tend to be a bit on the lightly gritty, very sexy side—but not always. KiR also tends to host a lot of lesser-known or debuting artists, which is exciting for me personally since I love discovering new BL mangaka to throw myself behind.

The manga I noted before are all things to look forward to in the future, but for now, I was thinking I’d put together a post recommending some of my favorite current KiR releases that you can read in English. Also, this would be a great time to point out that their website actually has an “overseas” section that lists all their books that have been licensed and in what languages! 訴える顔 A very nice feature for non-JP readers; thank you, KiR Comics staff!

So without any further ado, my personal five picks that I’ve really loved from KiR Comics!

Continue reading “BL Lines to Look Out For: KiR Comics” →

BL Event Report!: ChillChill Festival 2024

~ ames ~ 3 Comments

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! Morning after party

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!

Continue reading “BL Event Report!: ChillChill Festival 2024” →

Artist Spotlight: Kaoru Watanabe

~ ames ~ 2 Comments

Kaoru Watanabe’s work was first introduced to me through my job at Renta!, quite early in my career here. When I was first assigned her I Might Be Your Fan, But I’ll Never Fall For you!, my first impression was that her art is incredibly unique and beautiful, but her characters weren’t necessarily to my tastes. However, after starting to read it, I was hooked—their personalities made me fall in love with her characters, and eventually I came to love both them and the storytelling so much that my own tastes didn’t even matter—or more like, my tastes evolved to include “anything by Kaoru Watanabe.” I’ve now read everything by her that I can get my hands on.

Thus, I want to introduce you all to the BL powerhouse that is Kaoru Watanabe.

Read on Renta!:
I Might Be Your Fan, but I’ll Never Fall for You!
Lovingly Cruel Services

Release List:
ビッチ受け～純情リーマン×ヤリ捨てBitch～
推しには絶対ほだされない！
恋するサディスティックサービス
はるかといつか
ディア・マイ・ヴァンパイア
ミルクなきみとビターな彼

If I had to sum up the intense appeal of Kaoru Watanabe’s work in one word, it would simply be: “sensuality.” Her stories have a lot of humor to them, and great pacing and comedic timing. But when it comes to the relationships, it’s truly the push and pull of their feelings and biases and fears and desires that truly makes Kaoru Watanabe’s work. This adds a lot of sensuality to her stories, because things tend to move quite slow between her characters—in their relationships, as well as in the bedroom.

Continue reading “Artist Spotlight: Kaoru Watanabe” →

VTubers and BL Trends

~ ames ~ 1 Comment

As someone who spends a lot of time in Japanese 女性向け (joseimuke, or female-oriented) spaces and also consumes a lot of BL, one thing I really enjoy is how BL manga very frequently reflects what’s going on in those circles—what themes are popular, what fashions are getting big, social concerns women are dealing with (have you ever wondered why JP Omegaverse is significantly more about social issues than hot breeding kink sex…?), etc. But it’s not just these themes and styles, but overarching trends in popular culture that suddenly start showing up as well. And in this case, the one I want to talk about is:

Shikinagi Akira and Hayase Sou discuss their fav BL tropes

Vtubers.

I’m not super open about it, but I’ｍ a Vtuber fan. I’m not as big into them as I used to be—back during the pandemic it was my (and many other people’s, I believe) main fandom. My cat is named after Saegusa Akina. I cried so hard and for so long on the day Mayuzumi Kai graduated that I wished I could call into work the next day but instead went in looking like I’d been punched in the face. I attended the Nijirock concert back in 2021 as well as Fantasia in 2022. Unfortunately, I’m not super acquainted with the newer gens, and I have much less time to watch them now that we no longer work from home, but Vtubers and streamers still hold a special place in my heart for making living alone during the pandemic significantly more bearable.

And the fun thing for me is that many BL mangaka seem to feel the same. When they aren’t drawing Vtuber fanart on their side accounts, BL manga about streamers (and Vtubers to a lesser degree) has exploded in the last couple years, so I wanted to write about the collision of these two things I love.

Continue reading “VTubers and BL Trends” →

“Picnic at Dawn” Lullaby of the Dawn Cafe Report

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Aside from the fact that I’m allowed to openly display BL goods on my work desk and read BL for large chunks of the day, another great part of working my job is that I get paid to attend BL conferences, conventions, and collab cafés. For this installment, I was allowed to stop by the Lullaby of the Dawn (夜明けの唄, or Yoake no Uta) collab at Manga10, a wonderful event and café space (‘ten’ sounds the same as 展, which means ‘exhibit’) that frequently hosts collabs for BL and other media popular with women.

A short summary for those who aren’t familiar with Lullaby of the Dawn:

To be a ‘kannagi’ is to give oneself up for the world, cutting one’s own lifespan short while protecting the land and its people against the black sea. Elva is one such kannagi, his limbs stained black since youth from battle after battle against the dark waves. When orphan Alto stumbles upon him, it’s the only time since becoming a kannagi that Elva isn’t looked at with scorn and fear, but instead with curiosity. Alto, seeing and understanding the loneliness in Elva, decides to stay with him—and somehow, Alto’s tenderness and touch over the years reverses the stains marring Elva’s body. Is this a sign that the lifespans of the kannagi don’t need to be sacrificed to the sea, or is there something larger at play…? And what role does Alto have in it?

Especially considering the fifth volume is currently on the way, it’s an incredibly plot-heavy BL with tons of intrigue, so if you’re a fan of such stories I can’t recommend it enough! Thankfully, volumes 1-3 have already been released by TOKYOPOP, with volume four hopefully coming soon. (Admittedly, some of the Japanese is rather specialized and difficult to understand, even as someone who usually reads in Japanese… Melting face So, I also super appreciate the TOKYOPOP version!) But, what I really love is that, even though the central plot is the freedom of the kannagi, Elva and Alto’s relationship doesn’t get sidelined, and there’s still lots and lots of great BL content for those who’re like me and prefer relationship development over driving action. This series is truly a good mix of both!

Also, can we just appreciate how beautiful Ichika Yuno’s art is? You know I’m incredibly hung up on Elva—with his tsundere personality and incredibly ethereal features, how could I not be? He’s stunning. Of course, Alto is also wonderful and is like a huge puppy-dog—incredibly kind to everyone around him, but intensely protective of Elva. The rest of the cast is also just amazing, and it’s so fun seeing everyone play off each other.

Anyway, because I’m a huge fan, and it’d been a while since we did a café report, I requested to go so I could write about it. I booked a reservation for March 10th, which was the last weekday available for the Tokyo café. (It’s now taking place in Osaka!) Thankfully, the weather was stunning, and I didn’t have too much outstanding work to be stressed over, so I went to Ikebukuro to take my lunch before heading over to the café.

Spring do be coming quick…
Continue reading ““Picnic at Dawn” Lullaby of the Dawn Cafe Report” →

J. Garden 55

~ ames ~ 3 Comments

Six months went by in a flash, and it’s already time for J.GARDEN 55! Regular readers of the BLog likely already know, but we attended J.GARDEN 54 as a business trip of sorts. This time I’ll be attending by myself just as a regular BL fan, so I won’t be writing another attendance report, but I figured I could still update everyone on who’ll be there, and which artists and books I’m personally super excited for.

Because the pamphlets sold out within a week last fall, I was careful to leave for Akihabara at 8AM on February 18th—I was going to be there at store open on the morning of the pamphlet being released, and I was going to get the damn thing. I went to Akihabara because it’s less popular with fujoshi than my usual haunt of Ikebukuro (land of the infamous Otome Road), and last year Akiba took way longer to sell out, so I wanted to go to Shosen Book Tower, an incredibly popular (and old) bookstore in Akihabara. However… the pamphlet wasn’t there lol. Ope. So I asked the staff, and they confirmed they WERE supposed to get a shipment in, but something went wrong and it was delayed.

Which was fine. Because you could also buy the pamphlet at Animate, and Animate Akihabara was only a few blocks away. (And I could look at Genshin goods while I was there…)

Tip that I actually didn’t know at the time (I spent a good ten minutes combing each floor with no sign of the pamphlet before asking the staff): pamphlets like this are actually generally kept behind the counter of the main floor. So if you’re ever in Japan and looking to purchase an event pamphlet, ask the staff first before wasting a bunch of time looking for it! (They’re very nice and helpful, and if you don’t speak Japanese just show the image on your phone and they’ll understand!)

Anyway, pamphlet obtained! Onto the actual content for the upcoming J.GARDEN 55!

Continue reading “J. Garden 55” →

2/22 and Bottom Supremacy

~ ames ~ 6 Comments

Happy Cat Day! Or 猫の日 (neko no hi) as it’s called in Japan! As we’ve discussed previously on the blog, Japan loves to play word games with numbers (i.e. 8/01 or Yaoi Day, 11/29 or Good Meat Day, etc.), and 2/22 in Japanese can sound like nya-nya-nya, or the sound a cat makes. So, everywhere you look in Tokyo is currently covered in cats: the convenience store has tons of cat sweets and snacks and cat-related campaigns, department stores are hosting pop-up shops for cat-themed goods and toys and accessories, and shelters are obviously taking advantage of the cat festivities with fundraisers and adopt-a-thons! The weeks leading up to 2/22 are a very good time to love cats in Japan.

Family Mart mofusand cat coffee cups for Cat Day.

“What in the world does this have to do with BL manga?” you’re asking? Is this going to be a special about cat boys? How about beasts? Cats who can shape-shift into cute boys and fall in love with other cute boys? Or maybe about boys who love boys but who also love cats? BL where cats are heavily featured?

BZZZZT. You are incorrect.

Highly in-the-know people will probably already see where this is going: this is a post about bottom supremacy.

https://twitter.com/namiohana/status/1628226689246572545

As quite a few of you may know, the slang for someone who bottoms during gay sex, which originated in gay circles before slowly meandering into the BL consciousness, is neko (ネコ)—or, cat! Well, we actually can’t be certain if cats are the one-to-one reason for “neko” being used. When preparing for this post, I was reading quite a few theories online as to why neko is used to refer to bottoms. This article about gay slang points out the two most common reasons: it could come from pussycat/pussy (as in… women’s genitals… lovely), but it could also come from the Japanese word for a wheelbarrow, nekoguruma (because this is the way you might hold someone’s legs while you’re… umm… y’know). This article by drag queen and TV personality Mitz Mangrove about cats (in general) also discusses how cats are often seen as feminine in Japan which possibly is what led to neko having become the universal phrase for a man who bottoms.

https://twitter.com/kumakuma564/status/1760507204229058695

It appears the true reason neko has turned into the slang for ‘bottom’ is unknown, but the fact still remains: cats and bottoms are now linked.

As the resident number one cat lover and bottom absolutist in this town, I figured I would celebrate Cat Day by discussing uke archetypes, my favorite uke characters that are available on Renta!, and slip in a little cultural/language lesson for good measure.

黒猫黒猫黒猫

Continue reading “2/22 and Bottom Supremacy” →

ChillChill BL Awards 2024, and their Importance in the BL Landscape

~ ames ~ 4 Comments

It’s that time of year again! This past Friday, ChillChill opened voting for the 2024 BL Awards! But I figured there might be some of our readers asking:

“What is ChillChill?”
“What are the BL Awards?”
“Why does this even matter?”

…which is why I’ve decided to write a post about ChillChill, the BL Awards, the recent history of year-end BL best-of compilations, as well as this year’s nominee pool and what you can actually read on Renta! So let’s just jump right into it!

What is ChillChill (ちるちる)?

I feel like anyone even vaguely versed in Japanese BL fandom has heard of ChillChill—that’s the level of impact and importance the site has in the Japanese market. You can barely search a BL artist or title without the site popping up as one of the top results.

ChillChill came onto the scene in 2008, starting out as an indexing and community site. Essentially, it was the BL version of sites like MyAnimeList. You could build a profile, share your favs, post reviews, take part in discussions, find new recommendations through their intense tagging system (which I’ve also discussed briefly in my post about why our community tagging system is important), make friends with similar tastes, etc.

Continue reading “ChillChill BL Awards 2024, and their Importance in the BL Landscape” →