Category: Review

Discovering Passion: Guri Nojiro’s “It Was The End Of Spring”

~ ames ~ Leave a comment

Read on Renta!:
It Was The End Of Spring by Guri Nojiro

Japanese:
Sore wa Haru no Owari ni
それは春の終わりに

Links:
Guri Nojiro Twitter
Taiyoh Tosho Twitter
Taiyoh Tosho Official Site

Have you ever had one of those moments where you think about all the people around you, and you just feel different? Everyone else feels such strong emotions, gets attached to people and things and ideas, laughs loudly and shouts in excitement and yells when they’re angry. But, not you. You’ve never felt anything that big before—nothing in the world has ever moved you or made you possessive or made you yearn for something more. But what if something—or someone—could show up in your life and teach you what it feels like to truly desire something, to feel frustration and sadness and longing?

That’s the main premise behind Guri Nojiro’s It Was The End Of Spring. Released in early 2021 as Nojiro’s first ever compiled commercial work, It Was The End Of Spring has all the characteristics of a Guri Nojiro manga—stunning, soft linework, gentle and realistic characters, and a penchant for slow-paced, warm storytelling mixed with occasional humor and bittersweet emotion.

Continue reading “Discovering Passion: Guri Nojiro’s “It Was The End Of Spring”” →

BL Trope Tourney 2025: A Retrospective!

~ ames ~ Leave a comment

Recently we’ve been trying to brain storm how to change our BL Twitter so it’s more fun and interactive! Over the past year, through conversations with readers and community members, we’ve been doing a lot of trial and error regarding what our followers do and don’t like about our social media presence. “Stop posting the same series over and over and over again”? Got it. “We want more culture and recommendation posts”? Working on it! We want to make the BL Twitter as fun to follow as it is to run.

As part of our push to have a more engaging Twitter presence, this last spring we hosted the “BL Trope Tourney”! This was our take on the incredibly popular March Madness men’s college basketball tournament, which we’d wanted to do for a while. Initially, we wanted to face specific popular series off against each other, but that was understandably shot down by our licensing team since it could potentially be upsetting/negative to the publishers and artists. So we shelved the idea for some time—until we realized there were other ways to have a fun bracket without making our wonderful partners uneasy!

Thus, the BL trope Tourney: 16 popular BL tropes were pitted against each other, and over the course of 15 days we held a poll to slowly eliminate the tropes one by one until only a single trope reigned supreme.

Continue reading “BL Trope Tourney 2025: A Retrospective!” →

Cuteness Overload: “A Lonesome Wolf As Sweet As Honey”

~ Yomogi ~ Leave a comment

Read on Renta!:
A Lonesome Wolf As Sweet As Honey by Dozaki

Japanese:
はちみつとオオカミ
Hachimitsu to Ookami

Links:
Dozaki Twitter
Tulle Twitter (Publishing line)

One day in the Renta! office, my colleague was excited to share that they were working on a very sweet and fluffy BL. Because it had been a while since I read a wholesome BL manga, my curiosity was piqued, and I just HAD to find some pockets of time between tasks to find out what all the BUZZ🐝 (bees… honey… get it?) was all about. And, as you might’ve expected, it didn’t take long for me to fall in love with this beautiful story.

This BL is the epitome of cuteness overload. I felt a light tugging at my heart with every chapter. Not only are the characters’ emotions depicted with subtlety, the story also struck a chord for me as someone who found himself quite lonely in high school due to his sexuality. So, if you’re looking for a series that features the themes of loneliness, friendship, and romance, read on.

Continue reading “Cuteness Overload: “A Lonesome Wolf As Sweet As Honey”” →

Do You Ever Yearn?: Yamayade’s “You Should Be The One To Come Kiss Me”

~ ames ~ Leave a comment

Read on Renta!:
You Should Be The One To Come Kiss Me by Yamayade

Japanese:
お前のほうからキスしてくれよ
Omae no Hou kara Kiss Shitekure yo

Links:
Yamayade Twitter
moment Twitter
moment Homepage

Have you ever wanted something you can’t have? Have you loved someone so much you were afraid to be honest about your feelings? Have you ever loved someone so much you were afraid to accept theirs?

At the office, Eito Kanda and Kou Ueno have a cat-and-mouse relationship. Their coworkers are convinced that they have some kind of unspoken beef with each other and that Eito messes up on purpose just to mess with Kou. And, who can blame them? The two couldn’t possibly be more different: Kou is aloof, quiet, and detail-oriented—which resulted in him being removed from the sales department and swapped into accounting—while Eito is the company’s star salesman. Intensely outgoing and hardworking, with strong communication skills, Eito’s loved by most everyone in the office while Kou mostly keeps to himself.

In reality, though, the two are incredibly close. Having gotten to know each other during their time together in sales, Eito and Kou know each other better than almost anyone. Kou knows all about Eito’s issues with his father, and Eito knows all about Kou’s sexuality. The two hide their relationship at the office because Kou is skittish about their coworkers getting any ideas about just how friendly the two are. They’re just friends, and Kou is intent on keeping it that way. Having been traumatized by a previous relationship, Kou isn’t keen on dating a friend, and he’s particularly uninterested in dating a straight friend.

Continue reading “Do You Ever Yearn?: Yamayade’s “You Should Be The One To Come Kiss Me”” →

Muscle Supremacy: Mojio Ikejiri’s “See You Again Tomorrow, Mr. Policeman”

~ ames ~ Leave a comment

Read on Renta!:
See You Tomorrow, Mr. Policeman by Mojio Ikejiri

Japanese title:
Omawari-san, Mata Ashita
お巡りさん、また明日

Links:
Mojio Ikejiri Twitter
B.Pilz Twitter
B.Pilz Website

Haruto’s an incredibly kind and hard-working neighborhood policeman with ten years on the force. He’s well-known among the locals for being incredibly selfless, and he’s always there to help. This self-effacing attitude of his, however, is starting to negatively impact his personal life. His most recent girlfriend grew cold since he was always working, and he tries his best to never rely on others, which keeps people feeling distant.

When he’s assigned to work the local town festival, he’s more than happy to serve his community. One moment of letting his guard down is all it takes for his life to be at risk, but security guard Sakura—assigned to protect the idol who’s there to perform—steps in and saves him in the nick of time. Haruto wants to thank Sakura, but Sakura’s gruff and distant. Having dealt with plenty of this kind of attitude during his time on the force, however, Haruto isn’t deterred. After Sakura goes on to save the idol from a stalker fan, Haruto approaches him again and is able to break down his walls a bit.

Continue reading “Muscle Supremacy: Mojio Ikejiri’s “See You Again Tomorrow, Mr. Policeman”” →

5 Reasons You Should Check Out “Redoing My Youth In Another World -The God Of Death Is My Fanboy-“

~ sou ~ Leave a comment

Read on Renta!:
Redoing My Youth In Another World -The God Of Death Is My Fanboy-
by Taiyo no Taiyo & MANGA SHOKUNIN STUDIO; original story by Hare Takizawa

Japanese title:
青春のやり直しは異世界で～死神は俺のことが好きすぎる～
Seishun no Yarinaoshi ha Isekai de -Shinigami ha Ore no Koto ga Sukisugiru-

Links:
Hare Takizawa’s Twitter (original author)
DeNIMO’s Twitter (publisher)

When it was first announced at our weekly company-wide meeting that our content development team was working on a Renta! Original BL VertiComix, I was ecstatic. Of course, I’m always grateful to get to work with BL regardless of the publisher, and whether or not I personally have a hand in the localization process. But, there’s something especially exciting about being so closely associated (albeit with limited direct involvement) with an original creative work. Renta! already releases some original BL manga through our DeNIMO line, but this would be the very first BL series we’ve made in the form of a vertical-scrolling, full-color comic — which are generally quite different from traditional black and white manga — so I was excited to see what kind of vibe Renta! would bring to the world of BL color comics. After a few weeks of curious anticipation, bada-bing, “Redoing My Youth In Another World” was born, and soon after, the English version was already in the works.

So, what kind of story did we end up making? Initially given very little information besides the key visual, I wasn’t sure what to expect myself, but “RMYIAW” was quite the surprise nonetheless.

What this manga has to offer includes, but is not limited to, a guy in his mid-twenties rocking a school uniform (🥵)(←Ames and Yomogi have already kinkshamed me, so don’t come for me), a God of Death who’s more like the God of Gap Moe, and a plethora of demons and monsters — all of whom want a piece of our dear protagonist. “Literally,” you ask? Well, not exactly…

I don’t want to spoil too much of the story because it’s kind of a wild ride — so instead, I’ll lay out the top 5 reasons this fresh addition to the BL genre won me over, and why I think it’s worth giving it a read!

Continue reading “5 Reasons You Should Check Out “Redoing My Youth In Another World -The God Of Death Is My Fanboy-“” →

#OldManYaoi Never Gets Old

~ Yomogi ~ 1 Comment

Earlier this year, I was overjoyed to come across this post on X from the mangaka account アライグマ社 (@AraigumaSha) regarding one of the finest phrases known to humans: old man yaoi. The thread of posts features a moment of discovery by the artist, accompanied by wholesome interactions between them and English-speaking BL fans chiming in to explain how the term is used to refer to works of BL featuring older characters. Several users also added to the conversation—whether to reassure アライグマ社 that the term has a positive, endearing nuance, or to let them know how, in Western fandoms, works featuring anyone older than 30 or so could be categorized as old man yaoi. Personally, I absolutely love seeing moments like this, where fandoms from across the world connect over a shared interest, teaching and learning from each other. It truly demonstrates the ways in which communities grow and evolve through curiosity and genuine interactions ☺️

At the same time, as an old man yaoi lover myself, I could not simply sit still in the office. I had been meaning to work on doing an oyaji (term described below) blog post, so I took it as a sign from the universe that now is the time to work on it…! I know many of you are already well-versed in this sub-genre (if I can call it that), but I will start off with an overview of different ways in which old man yaoi may be referred to in Japan, followed by some recommendations.

Continue reading “#OldManYaoi Never Gets Old” →

Cat Day 2025: Ames’ Top 5 Bottoms

~ ames ~ 2 Comments

It’s that time of the year again where we’re barraged by cat goods and nekomimi artwork and photos of people’s cats! Cat Day (2/22 aka にゃにゃにゃの日) was this last Saturday, so happy Cat Day from the resident uke specialist and cat lover on the BLog staff. Last year, I wrote a BLog post about the various different kinds of uke characters (and why uke are associated with cats), but this year we’re going to go for a more casual BLog post about my current top five bottoms as of February 2025, why I love them, and also a couple bonuses for those who read until the end!

So let’s get right into it! Which uke characters have been catching my attention this year?

Continue reading “Cat Day 2025: Ames’ Top 5 Bottoms” →

An Indulgent Love Story: “Bittersweet Bliss With A Chocolatier” (Happy Valentine’s Day!)

~ sou ~ 1 Comment
Who needs chocolate-covered strawberries when you have chocolate-covered twunk tits, amirite? 🥴

Read on Renta!:
Bittersweet Bliss With A Chocolatier
by Yan

Japanese title:
ビターポルノショコラティエ
Bitter Porno Chocolatier

Links:
Yan’s Twitter (author)
Melty Bullet’s Twitter (publishing line)

Valentine’s Day is upon us again 💗 and whether that means you’ll be cozying up with a loved one, showing some extra appreciation to your friends, or just chilling by yourself and eagerly awaiting the 15th for all the delicious discounts on Valentine’s chocolate and candies, we hope you have a great one!

And, while we believe there’s never a bad time to enjoy a good BL, when I stumbled upon — and quickly fell in love with — this one in particular, and learned that it was set to drop on Renta! right around Valentine’s Day, I knew this was the universe telling me to jot my thoughts down while reading so I could share them here on the BLog as my Valentine’s Day “gift” to you all.

As the intriguing title suggests, this book has a lot to offer, even aside from the delectable combo of a handsome top in his 40s and a feisty 20-something-year-old bottom with a naughty body; there’s a healthy serving of comedy to brighten your mood, but also plenty of drama to balance out the sweetness.

Get ready for some food porn (in the form of lovingly crafted fancy chocolates), some manga porn (in the form of an astoundingly buff middle-aged chef pounding a cute twunk’s ass), and a genuinely inspiring story about chasing your dreams.

Continue reading “An Indulgent Love Story: “Bittersweet Bliss With A Chocolatier” (Happy Valentine’s Day!)” →

College Boys & BL

~ ames ~ Leave a comment

On Twitter a while back, I remember seeing a complaint that there’s lots of BL with businessmen and older guys, and lots of BL with high schoolers, but where are all the college guys? And while plenty of people were kind enough to swoop in with their favorite college-centric BL recs, it still made me start thinking about what college BL I would personally recommend from Renta!’s catalogue. And what better time than now to make a rec post, as spring semester heads into full swing in the U.S.?

First, though, let’s talk a little about what college looks like in Japan to get a better understanding of some of the more common college tropes you might see in BL manga. I’m sure we’ve all experienced the fanfiction that puts Japanese characters in a super American college setting, with dorm parties and drinking and fraternities—the whole nine yards. (Always a fun and exciting AU scenario, up there with flower shop or coffee house.) Actually, though, college in Japan is pretty different in a lot of ways.

First, there’s no greek life. There also aren’t really dorms—at least, not in the on-campus sense like in the States. I stayed at a dorm that was eight train stops away from my school, and that seems to be the norm. College students generally live at home, stay in apartments (financed by their parents if they’re wealthy enough, or by themselves if not), or live in shared housing or general dormitories that aren’t associated with a particular school but instead house students from schools all around the city. The dorm then has a dorm head who usually takes care of management and maintenance, and a dorm mother who’s usually in charge of cooking and cleaning. This scenario is pretty common in manga: the main character moves into the dorm and has to rely on all the strange and exciting people they meet.

Continue reading “College Boys & BL” →