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!
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.
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… 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.
The mega-popular BL train that is “Given” shows no signs of stopping yet; following the manga’s conclusion, a sequel series has just started running in Cheri+ magazine, and fans of the anime adaptation are raving about the latest theatrical release and already looking forward to the next one.
In my 2024 BL anime rundown, I wrote about how excited I was for the latest “Given” movie, “Hiiragi Mix,” which premiered on January 27th. I went to go see it opening weekend, and was blown away by the animation, the feels, and of course, the MUSIC.
More info about the next installment of the two-part movie series, which will presumably cover what’s left of the manga material, has also just been announced, with the title revealed to be “Umi e” (“To the Sea”)(@manga readers: If you know, you know ), and scheduled to hit theaters in fall of this year. Two “Given” movies in one year?? We are truly blessed.
Concertgoer Sou (avoid looking directly into laser eyes)
But the “Given” magic doesn’t stop there. Now, one of my biggest passions in life (besides BL, of course) is music, and I’m thrilled when it intertwines with my other interests, such as anime. Plus, I’m a rocker at heart and love to enjoy music live whenever I get the chance (fun fact: Alice and I attended the same punk rock festival last spring to see MCR, having no idea the other was present until after the fact ). So, when I caught wind of an IRL concert of the tunes of “Given” — more specifically, highlighting the music of the in-universe band headed by Hiiragi called “Syh” — being held, it’s only natural that my interest was piqued.
Music is the heart and soul of “Given” (honestly, I can wholeheartedly recommend the soundtrack even if you’ve never read or watched the series because it just GOES so HARD), so seeing the in-universe music live felt like the next big step in my interaction with the franchise.
Read on for my experience as a BL fan getting to hear the music of one of my favorite series brought to life!
From Japan’s やおい論争 (Yaoi Ronso, or Yaoi Debates) to the online discourse of today, the most common question surrounding BL in media and social criticism is “what is BL’s place in the larger sphere of LGBTQ media?” Does it belong there at all? Is it a genre that, while revolving around MLM, remains entirely separate from LGBTQ culture? Does it mostly being written by and for (supposedly) straight cis women fully disengage it from being LGBTQ? Is BL a force for good, or does it only exist to promote stereotypes of queer men? And what about BL’s treatment of women? Which supersedes the other: the queer men who’re uncomfortable with the content in some BL, or the fans who use BL as a reprieve from the stifling nature of the heteronormative media landscape? Or is BL, in itself, heteronormative?
Those are just a handful of the questions discussed at the Meiji University symposium “BLの国際的な広がりと名国のLGBTQ,” or “LGBTQ Issues and the Globalization of ‘BL’.” Hosted by around twenty scholars, academics, fans, and community members from around the world, this symposium aimed to share research around how global queer communities interact with and shape BL in their own image post-import.
First, a little background. Taking place on November 25th and 26th, the event was hosted at Meiji University, which is often at the forefront of manga studies and research in Japan. The actual lectures were held at the Nakano campus, which just seemed right considering Nakano is also home to Nakano Broadway, a huge multi-level otaku hub for used manga, doujinshi, and goods. It’s been years since I was personally on a university campus and, being a huge nerd (I probably would have tried for my graduate degree if I hadn’t landed my dream job), I was pretty excited to feel those academic vibes again. Especially since the temps recently finally took a turn in Tokyo, so not only was it academic vibes, but cold weather, fall leaves, grab-a-huge-ass-coffee-before-class vibes. The perfect atmosphere to nerd out about BL manga for two days straight. (And get paid for it… 😏 I love my job.)
J.GARDEN didn’t start until 11AM, but the thing you learn fast with attending events is that you have to get there early. While the staff try to make it fair by holding lottos and raffles to randomize how and when people enter the venue regardless of when you actually show up, etc. you still get there early. There are more than 13 million people living in Tokyo, and even if just a small fraction of them care enough about original BL to want to attend J.GARDEN, you want to up the odds of getting in and getting the books you want as much as you humanly can.
There’s a reason many otaku refer to event days as “war”—you need to go in with a game plan, or you’re going to lose. And Sou and I were already at a rough start, because we’d missed the chance to pick up a pamphlet on pre-order. They’d sold out within the first four days of release, and we hadn’t been given the okay to attend until the fifth day. So we were kind of screwed. Nonetheless, we did what we could with what we had—which was Twitter’s #J庭54 hashtag, the official J.GARDEN site, and tons of passion for BL—and decided we’d torture ourselves getting up at 5AM day-of, come down early, get a pamphlet, and do our best to plan in the time between obtaining it and when doors opened.
In the age of the internet, it’s easier than ever to connect with people who share the same interests as you — you can collectively squeal over your favorite series on social media, share your fanwork creations with other fans, and stream video and gaming to share real-time reactions. However, there’s still something to be said about the unique atmosphere of a convention, where people travel from all over just to revel in their shared love of a certain thing.
This past weekend, I attended the very first Citrus Con — a weekend-long BL-centered event that combines the convenience of online interaction with the sense of close community provided by good old-fashioned fan conventions.
When our campaign team decided to hold a fan-letter campaign in honor of HANASAWA NAMIO’s “The Foxy Mouse’s Romance”, I read it to find out more—and then I threw a curse on my colleague that’s been blessed with preparing it for our website, because damn, do I wish I had his luck.
Writing this review to introduce more and more people to the sheer beauty that is this manga, I’m seriously struggling. There are just no words to describe how perfect it is. All I can think to write is an endless string of squealing. It’s that good.
Omegaverse meets the Food Chain
For the uninitiated, ‘omegaverse’ revolves around the idea of a ‘secondary genre’—omega, alpha, beta—based on as-of-now debunked animal behaviors around mating. Betas are the ordinary majority; alphas are bold, aggressive and at the apex of social hierarchy, while the rare omegas suffer through a phenomenon called ‘heat’ that causes them to exude pheromones that make them sexually irresistible to alphas.
Now, throw humans originating from various animal species that retain predatorial/prey dynamics into that mix and you’ve got HANASAWA-sensei’s “The Foxy Mouse’s Romance.”
It follows the story of Sachio, a mouse omega working as a manga artist in a young men’s magazine, and Ukano, a fox alpha and his editor. The dangers implicit in a mouse omega and a fox alpha having to work together are not lost on either of them, especially Sachio who’s painfully conscious of his place in the bottom of the social ladder—and the food chain. Not only is he a sexual target for the alphas around him, but also actual food for predators—especially to Ukano, as mice constitute a fox’s main meal.
But, while Sachio may have his guard up against his editor, Ukano seems unyieldingly determined to pursue Sachio for love rather than for his stomach.
But first, let’s rant about that world-building
I cannot—cannot—overstate that it’s HANASAWA NAMIO-sensei’s world that stole my heart above all else. There are elements familiar to any reader of omegaverse (pheromone blockers, neck guards, secondary-gender clinics, the concepts of a ‘heat’ and a ‘rut’, etc.) but sensei’s animal-kingdom spin on it elevates everything to a different level.
Laws govern peoples’ animalistic, voracious tendencies. Omega-only spaces offer a safe night out. When someone is in their animal form, humans can understand their words only if their own animal ears are out—and, there are even little cards that state, “I have my ears out because I’m looking after someone, thank you for your understanding” to be worn in public in such cases. Grooming salons cater to one’s animal-form fur. Cab drivers must state their species and secondary gender on an ID card for the safety of their passengers. Diseases and phenomena surrounding the animal families or one’s secondary gender also exist, as do various intricacies surrounding sex between predator and prey.
All of it is proof that this universe exists beyond our two characters. HANASAWA-sensei could easily write other stories featuring this same world; and, on this point, the characters that surround our two protagonists are interesting on their own, too. The treacherous civet could have an extra tidbit, Sachio’s two mangaka friends, Tomo and Momoi, could have their own side-stories; I’m personally intrigued by the head editor of the publishing house.
That’s the beauty of this world; every detail that jumps out of the pages amuses and intrigues, and every panel serves the purpose of delving deeper into it all. Which also brings me to the matter of the art—besides being GORGEOUS, it’s also masterfully used to the utmost to tell this story. The paneling is on point. The expressions are fantastic as it is, but it’s the attention to detail that makes this world and the characters come alive, such as Ukano’s eyes dilating when he gets turned on. Anytime Sachio is hand-held in mouse form, you can almost feel the weight of his tiny, pudgy body in your own palm. The art accompanies the writing and dialogue perfectly, which is what makes this world so believable and the characters so relatable and easy to understand.
From (natural) enemies to lovers
Have you ever tried to sleep, only to end up staring at the ceiling with bloodshot eyes, wondering why the Hell you said x-y-z that one time? Then you’re bound to somewhat relate to our mouse protagonist. Who hasn’t wallowed in negativity at least once?
Though cynical at first glance, Sachio’s core is kindness. Despite a traumatic situation with his college friend Tomo, Sachio had always been willing to forgive him. Similarly, he comes to love Ukano, so even when a dire misunderstanding occurs in ch.4, Sachio is ready not only to forgive him, but also to get closer to him. His negative mind twists everything to take others’ mistakes onto himself, not just because he’s self-deprecating to a fault, but also due to his love for others.
Now is the part where I will do my best to describe Ukano without rambling incomprehensibly. I’ve written in other posts that dark stories and vaguely yandere characters are my forte, and, let me tell you, Ukano strikes a perfect balance between being a normal, loving boyfriend but also having this menacing, darker side to him. His loving devotion to Sachio doesn’t override his ‘foxiness’. The art itself often reminds us of his more devious nature via a grey shadow over his eyes. Sachio, at the start, is constantly on his toes around him, and we see that even others get an uncanny feeling from the wily fox.
But, it’s when we see Ukano’s perspective that we get, in my biased opinion, some of the greatest gems in this story. In a scene that explores what it’s like being a predator in this world, Ukano recalls a time that Sachio, too exhausted to keep his guard up, transformed into a mouse in front of him. Ukano transports him home in a bed made of his handkerchief (so. cute.) and that’s when we get this beautiful internal monologue: “Life is sacred, and I was holding someone’s whole life in my hands. That’s how humbled I felt. At the same time… I thought about how I could crush him easily if I wanted to. The sadist in me reared its ugly head. ‘I want to eat him.’ ‘I want to protect him.’”
Compare this to the time that Tomo surrendered to his wolfish instincts and you’ll see how Ukano shines: he’s deeply aware of his nature, but he understands it’s in his own hand to curb his urges. Just like a quote from a certain anime I love goes, “Taking responsibility for oneself is the basic qualification for being human” and truer words have not been spoken when it comes to this universe of beings teetering between human and animal. The line that divides the two is exactly this capacity for taking responsibility, and Ukano’s always on top of that. Contrariwise, when Tomo and Sachio reunite for the first time, Tomo literally runs away from his responsibilities, forcing Sachio to shoulder the blame for everything instead. Ukano could and would never.
Darkness, more darkness, and fluff
Whether or not I realized it at first, perhaps the thing that personally drew me to this story is that it hits that perfect sweet spot between tooth-rotting sweetness and grim darkness. The art is adorable, the interactions hilarious, the romance is great and the love between our two characters is true, but it all coexists with the bleak implications of an omegaverse world and the danger that one could lose control and literally eat their loved one. And, perhaps the best/realest thing about it is that those dangers don’t magically disappear after Sachio and Ukano become a couple; even if it’s through humor, the reader is constantly reminded of that possibility, just as Sachio and Ukano themselves are.
From the first few pages, the manga doesn’t pull any punches. Starting with a kid-friendly show explaining animal families and secondary genders in a squeaky-clean manner, the story soon contradicts this cheaply manufactured narrative with Sachio’s mother calling to tell him that his mouse omega sister got fired from her part-time job for getting into heat in front of an alpha customer and almost getting assaulted/eaten. Our mouse protagonist himself works as a mangaka because it allows him to stay cooped up at home (mostly), away from danger. And the story continues with various examples of how perilous, inconvenient, and downright unfair it is to be born as a mouse and as an omega.
Nowhere does it get more obvious than in the juxtaposition between our two main characters, not just in their obvious difference in status, but also in their thinking. When Ukano stands up for Sachio and the latter thanks him, Ukano thinks anyone would have done the same, but Sachio corrects him that no one would. ‘Foxiness’ aside, Ukano’s mindset is positive, proactive, that of someone who’s strong and therefore able to act for others without weighing any consequences first; Sachio, on the other hand, has had no other choice but to see the world—and his place in it—in the most negative light, existing as literal prey.
Due to his trauma and negative worldview, Sachio takes the blame and compromises on everything, out of love and the idea that it’s his justifiable place to act that way. While that mindset might seem odd to a lot of readers, it makes sense for Sachio as a character to think so, and it’s very pleasingly contrasted with Ukano’s worldview. “The onus is on me as an alpha.” he tells Tomo, his most direct foil in the narrative. While Sachio surrenders to the possibility that he could be devoured at any given moment (and it would be his fault, according to him), Ukano actively takes steps to ensure that he’d never hurt the one he loves, to embrace that danger and then boldly defy it.
At this point it’s rather obvious that I’m rambling, but I can’t help it because there’s so much I could say about “The Foxy Mouse’s Romance”, even going into every single scene I adore (the horrible misunderstanding in ch.4? The jump in ch.5? the hand-holding heavy with implications in ch.7?? The fur-grooming session in ch.8???). If you enjoy elaborate worlds and multifaceted characters, if you fancy a dose of angst in your fluff, if you love stories about (dangers aside) wholesome couples, please give “The Foxy Mouse’s Romance” a chance. And, while we’re at it, why not show HANASAWA NAMIO-sensei your love through Renta!’s fan-letter campaign? All you need to do is either fill in the form here or tweet using the hashtag #SqueaksForSensei. I’m deliberating on sending something too (after I find out a way to convey my admiration in fewer words than this long blog post).
If you’ve read “The Foxy Mouse’s Romance”, what do you love most about it? What are your thoughts? Favorite character? Join me in rambling about it in the comments!
Nestled in a narrow, trendy side street in Tokyo’s youth fashion district of Harajuku is a bright pink building named emo café, a tiny collab café that partners with mangaka and publishers to turn manga into a culinary experience. emo café is relatively new, having started up in the last few years, and follows in the footsteps of other BL cafés like Toriko Mangaten and ComiComi Studio Machida (r.i.p.).
When I saw they would be doing a third B+Library, this time for Harada’s Happy Shitty Life, Akira Minazuki’s Smoky Nectar, and Mitsuaki Asou’s The Farthest Love in the World I knew we had to go—especially considering Happy Shitty Life is one of our localizations, and Smoky Nectar is coming soon. Unfortunately, because of the massive popularity of all three artists (each one of them being a veteran in the BL genre) I once again couldn’t get in.
…That is, until they extended the end date by a week. Sometimes it pays to sit on Twitter constantly. -w-)b
When I was suddenly asked in late May to attend AX as a representative of Renta!, I wasn’t sure what to expect. The last American anime convention I attended was in the early 2000s, and in Iowa, which is quite a ways from Los Angeles. I remembered being younger and hearing all the fanfare, seeing all my online friends from Cali attending, and dreaming that someday I’d be going to such a huge con—little old me, from the midwestern United States. And now here I was, being made that offer, from my office in Japan.
I’d never been to such a huge convention—even in Japan I’ve never been to Comiket, instead opting to attend the smaller events scattered through the year like HaruComi and Comic City. I wasn’t sure what to expect. Granted, I would also be attending as an industry insider rather than a fan, which is also a very different experience.
Event poster with a special autograph and Yukari doodle by Chishanomi-sensei
As a BL fan, it always delights me to see my favorite creators get some much-deserved recognition in public spaces — be it a collab cafe, a book signing, or a special art gallery. I love to visit these spaces when I can to show my support for the hardworking and passionate artists and their works which I admire so much (and get some cute exclusive merch while I’m at it)!
We at Renta!BLog are lucky enough to live in Japan and work in Tokyo, where BL gets its fair share of special events — so we thought, why not share this fun piece of fan culture with the world?
One artist who’s making waves in the BL community right now is Chishanomi, with the release of volume 4 of their hit series Maybe We’re Newlyweds (Japanese title Oretachi ha Shinkon san kamo shirenai). To celebrate its release, along with the 10-year anniversary of Chishanomi’s debut as a mangaka, a special event, including a manga art exhibition and pop-up store, dedicated to the series is being held at Manga10 in Shibuya’s Magnet department store. (It’s also being held in Taiwan, which just goes to show how much international renown Chishanomi-sensei has gained over their 10-year career!)
Ames and I recently had the opportunity to hit the bustling streets of Shibuya and check out this limited-time exhibition. Read on for our otaku heart-pounding experience!
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!
), and scheduled to hit theaters in fall of this year. Two “Given” movies in one year?? We are truly blessed.
and love to enjoy music live whenever I get the chance (fun fact: 
). So, when I caught wind of an IRL concert of the tunes of “Given” — more specifically, highlighting the music of the in-universe band headed by Hiiragi called “Syh” — being held, it’s only natural that my interest was piqued.
rentaBLog 