Category: Review

“Studio of Longing” by Haruyosi Hiro

~ ames ~ 1 Comment

Read it on Renta!:
Studio of Longing by Haruyosi Hiro

Japanese Title:
憧憬のアトリエ
Doukei no Atelier

Links:
Haruyosi Hiro Twitter

“Will you imagine I’m a woman and touch me?”

Touched after seeing Masafumi Tsurumi’s painting, “Prostitute in Agony,” in the hallway of their art high school, Kei Higuchi seeks out the other boy to get to know him and pick his brain. While Tsurumi is struggling to paint his vision for his graduation project of the same theme, Higuchi is willing to do anything in his power to assist, hopeful to see Tsurumi’s art at its peak. But Tsurumi is a virgin high school boy—how in the world is he supposed to understand and express the feelings of a proustite as she’s in the throes of passion, being sexually dominated and overcome by pleasure? Thus, when Tsurumi drags Higuchi to the nurse’s office, Higuchi should have seen it coming when Tsurumi requests, “touch me like you’d touch a woman.”

Thus starts their mutually beneficial relationship. By fooling around together, Tsurumi gets to feel what it’s like to be dominated by a man—constantly asking Higuchi to go further and further with him—and perhaps they’ll both find some further inspiration for their upcoming graduation projects while also experiencing real sexual pleasure for the first time.

As Higuchi finds himself catching feelings, though, he’s not sure what to do. Tsurumi is very free-spirited (and honestly rather dumb) and entirely focused on his painting, so he doesn’t seem like the the type to involve his emotions in this kind of situationship. Meanwhile, Tsurumi is secretly finding himself yearning for Higuchi less as an object of inspiration and more as simply an object of desire—at what point does his LARP as a female prostitute end, and his real sexual appetite as a young man begin?

Continue reading ““Studio of Longing” by Haruyosi Hiro” →

Shino Mikami’s “Pittosporum” and the Language of Flowers

~ ames ~ Leave a comment

Read it on Renta!:
Pittosporum by Shino Mikami

Japanese Title:
ピットスポルム

Links
Shino Mikami Twitter (author)
comic picn Twitter (publisher)

According to Wikipedia, pittosporum is a species of flowering trees and shrubs with leaves that are “spirally arranged or whorled, simple” and flowers “produced singly or in umbels or corymbs, each flower with five sepals and five petals; they are often sweetly scented.” Both times I read Shino Mikami’s Pittosporum, it hadn’t actually occurred to me to even wonder what the name meant. When I looked it up for the review, however, Avas Flowers’ article on the pittosporum came up with the meaning: counterfeit and deceit.

Suddenly, a name for a BL manga that used to seem kind of silly and cute felt quite heavy and sad. Because at its core, Pittosporum is about deceit—deceiving the people around you, and, most importantly, deceiving yourself. And it’s the type of deceit many queer people, in particular, know all too well.

Pittosporum is the story of sweet, diligent Yano who’s worked hard to get into a fancy private school far from home. His family, whom he loves dearly, is incredibly poor so he needs to work hard to get good grades and upkeep his scholarship. A wrench is thrown into his perfect, peaceful high school life, however, when he’s suddenly placed in the dorms with Odajima. Odajima is the playboy rich kid who can get away with whatever he wants because his parents help fund the school. Skipping class, fooling around with female classmates and teachers alike… there’s nothing “serious” or “hardworking” about Odajima—at least not on the surface.

However, lurking below his nonchalant and sardonic exterior is a childhood of trauma and an adolescence of hiding his true self. There will be some spoilers below for much of Odajima’s backstory, and so I highly recommend reading the manga first before moving on to the second half of the review!! The manga itself will be a lot more powerful if you do. 😤

Continue reading “Shino Mikami’s “Pittosporum” and the Language of Flowers” →

The psychology behind the host club glam: Akota’s “My Perilous Darling Boy”

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Read on Renta!:
My Perilous Darling Boy
by Akota

Japanese:
Gakeppuchino Darling Boy
崖っぷちのDarling Boy

Links:
Akota’s Twitter
Akota’s Instagram

The very first of anything is something to remember—which is why I remember that the very first BL I got to check after joining Renta! was a short rollercoaster of a story, Akota’s “My Perilous Darling Boy”. My trainer back then probably couldn’t have asked for a better vehicle for getting all our style-guide rules into my head: Akota’s stunning art is packed with details, which means that there could easily be mistakes in replacing sound effects; speaking of sound effects, there were many, so you could miss or mistranslate some; and the translation itself, in a story this subtly complex sometimes, was another challenge altogether.

But we’re not here to talk about translation/checking woes, we’re here because I wanna tell you that, aside from the fondness I have for this manga for being my first BL task, I do genuinely love it.

There are too many BL about Japan’s legendary host clubs to count, but this one earned its stripes, in my opinion, by humanizing not only the hosts but also their clients.

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Like a bug attracted to nectar: Akira Minazuki’s riveting “SMOKY NECTAR”

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Read on Renta!:
SMOKY NECTAR
by Akira Minazuki

Japanese:
Smoky Nectar
スモーキーネクター

Links:
Akira Minazuki’s Twitter
Akira Minazuki’s Instagram

Around the time the team first started this BLog, Ames and I headed to a BL café event showcasing Harada, Mitsuaki Asou and the subject of today’s post, Akira Minazuki, and their work, “SMOKY NECTAR”. Already hooked by the gorgeous art adorning the café walls, imagine my elated surprise when, one July day, I found myself assigned to the translation check of that very same manga. ‘Motivation boost’ doesn’t begin to describe it. It’s not just me either; everyone on the team worked painstakingly hard to bring this masterpiece to English-speaking readers in the perfect form it’s worthy of.

Give a girl with a hidden gothic heart a vampire-themed BL and you might as well win her over for life—and well, I’ll follow Akira Minazuki forever, because “SMOKY NECTAR” is one of the greatest manga I’ve had the pleasure of checking at Renta!.

Continue reading “Like a bug attracted to nectar: Akira Minazuki’s riveting “SMOKY NECTAR”” →

The XL-lent BL That Turned My Expectations on Their Head: Tamachi’s “I’m An XL. Could You Find Me A Spouse?”

~ sou ~ 2 Comments

Read on Renta!:
I’m An XL. Could You Find Me A Spouse? by Tamachi

Japanese:
XL size Desu ga Kekkon Sasetekuremasuka?
XLサイズですが、結婚させてくれますか？

Links:
Twitter (Author)
Twitter (Publisher)

Once in a while, you find a BL that just hits all the right notes to the melody that is your personal taste — almost as if it was tailor-made for you, like the creator knows and sees YOU.

…BL mangaka probably aren’t all psychics, though, so I’ll just call it a stroke of luck that I encountered Tamachi’s “I’m An XL. Could You Find Me A Spouse?” while on the job here at Renta!

The dichotomy of a BL fan (if you’re like me, that is)

If you’ve read some of my other posts on this BLog, you might have already clocked me as a fluff fanatic — to which I can only reply, “Guilty! 天使” But, if you’ve seen the full catalog of the series I’ve recommended here, you’ll know I’m no stranger to the, erm… thirstier side of BL as well (in which case, I can only say, “Go ahead and handcuff me パーティの翌朝” Sorry). These two “flavors” of BL are by no means mutually exclusive, but striking that perfect balance between the two is an art that, when done exceptionally well, calls for celebration in my book. And if a BL can make me laugh too, that’s just icing on the cake!

That brings us to Tamachi’s “I’m an XL. Could You Find Me A Spouse?” When I first saw the title of this series, my first thought was, “Oh. He’s got a big dick. Whelp, better brace myself to check all those tiny sound effect texts during the seggs scenes.” I must admit I have some prejudices; when I see a BL put its most “sexy” component out front and center, I tend to assume that’s its main draw — and that’s not necessarily a bad thing! Sometimes you’re just in the mood to see a cute guy getting reamed on livestream, or a precious boy get degraded (and railed).

So, little did I know this series was going to take hold of me and never let go, with its ridiculous premise developing into something far more tender — and even SEXIER — than I was expecting!

Continue reading “The XL-lent BL That Turned My Expectations on Their Head: Tamachi’s “I’m An XL. Could You Find Me A Spouse?”” →

Renta! Staff BL Awards 2023

~ Admin ~ 9 Comments

New Years is the perfect time to look back on the last twelve months and think to yourself… “What was the best BL manga I read in 2023?” Best-of lists are common this time of year, so we wanted to get in on the action and make a list of our staff’s favorite BL titles a la Chill Chill’s BL Awards. However, our list is less a ranking of the absolute top popular titles as voted by our users (you can find that by checking the “best sellers” list), and more just us—as a team of BL fans—wanting to celebrate some of our favorite titles that were added to the Renta! site this year. (The 2024 Chill Chill BL Awards should be happening again in march, with people already discussing the nominees, so let’s look forward to that in the coming months!)

Without further ado, the categories are…

Favorite New Series
Favorite Continuing Series
Favorite Seme
Favorite Uke
Favorite Up-And-Coming Author
Amazing Art
Favorite Renta! Title
Favorite Cover
Favorite Couple

To make sure it wasn’t just our main blog team pushing our favs we’ve already talked about at length, we also invited Nan, Agedashi, Anne, and Snow from our Japanese side to share some of their favorite titles they got to work with this year!

For each category there’s a good mix of responses, showing just how varied BL fans are in their tastes. However, in the spirit of not making this post too ridiculously long, we’ll just highlight two or three staff comments for each and then list the rest of the choices below.

Continue reading “Renta! Staff BL Awards 2023” →

Making Love to Santa: chabasu’s “A Gift From Santa Claus”

~ ames ~ 1 Comment

Read on Renta!:
A Gift From Santa Claus by chabasu

Japanese:
Santa Claus ga Ataerumono
サンタクロースが与えるもの

Links:
Twitter (author)
Twitter (Publisher)

It’s that most wonderful time of year again! You the know the one: the season where everyone wants to make love to Santa Claus and fulfill their life-long Christmas dreams! …Wait, what do you mean that’s not what the holiday season is all about? I mean, why else would Reibun Ike’s Twitter account be covered in a wealth of sexy Santas?

For all my true Santafuckers out there, though, I’ve got just the recommendation for you. Two summers ago I was assigned the manga “A Gift From Santa Claus” by chabasu, and at first I was like “no way. There’s no way is this actually a BL manga about Santa Claus.” But you bet your sweet ass it’s a BL manga about Santa Claus. Never ever underestimate the mousou power of a BL artist.

Orphaned as a child, Kiyoshi is an now an adult—a simple man with simple desires, he just wants to spend an incredibly beautiful, romantic Christmas with his partner snuggled up next to the tree, surrounded by candles and presents as they sip champagne and huddle close for warmth while watching snow gently fall outside. But newly single, Kiyoshi is starting to feel like his dream will never be realized. That is, until he happens upon a Santa in the park offering to grant any wish. He wishes for a boyfriend he can spend a romantic Christmas with, thinking he’s just shitposting into the wind, and then heads home.

But then the next night Saint Nick shows up at his doorstep, telling Kiyoshi he can do whatever he desires to his body. 😲

This manga is a rollercoaster from start to finish. In true chabasu “older bottom” fashion, Father Christmas is the one to offer up his body. Discarding his silky fake beard and naughty red suit he reveals himself to be Goh Kiritake—but he’s still very much Kris Kringle at heart. It turns out there are many “Santas” all around the world who discard their selves to become a vessel of happiness for children on Christmas. However, by allowing himself to be seen and desired as a man by Kiyoshi, Santa—Goh—must face his punishment by the board of Santas for his Christmas sins.

I don’t want to spoil too much, since I truly feel like this is a manga that needs to be experienced from start to finish. There’s a lot that’s just mindbogglingly wild, such as… you know… watching Santa get fucked. But there are also some incredibly sweet moments, particularly around the fact that Kiyoshi is an orphan, and watching him finally make the Christmas memories he never got growing up. And I also really enjoyed the lighthearted worldbuilding around why there are actually many Santas around the world of all races and creeds—because these are all men who’ve dedicated their lives to making the children around them happy.

There are also hot reindeer.

Incredibly funny and cute and bizarre and entertaining (and sexy—something I don’t often associate with Christmas), I can’t recommend this enough for a heartwarming and light Christmas read! I know I personally think back to this manga every Christmas since it was first assigned to me. Make this your new holiday tradition—you won’t regret it.

I leave you with a simple question this Christmas: if Santa was exiled because he let you fuck him, would you choose to live the rest of your life with Santa in seclusion in an endless winter? I sure hope you would.

Size difference out of this world: ITKZ’s “The Titan’s Bride”

~ Admin ~ 1 Comment

Read on Renta!

Japanese Title: Kyouzinzoku no Hanayome・ 巨人族の花嫁

ITKZ’s Twitter (X) / pixiv / fantia

It’s finally time for me to rant/write about my not-so-guilty pleasure in the Renta! catalog: ITKZ’s “The Titan’s Bride”.

(When I announced my intention, Sou jeered at me from behind her huge monitor, “You’re finally going there??”)

I still remember when news of an animation adaptation had taken some corners of Tumblr by storm way-back-when; now, this manga is past the 30 chapter mark and still going on. One reviewer on Renta! brilliantly describes it as a “shamelessly smutty fever dream”—but I would argue that enough fantasy story-building has gone into that good-ol’ isekai flavor that there’s enough plot to pad and support the gratuitous, giant x normal human smut. The art is wonderful, too; as someone who got into BL from reading shonen doujinshi, it gives me the same vibe. Coincidentally, ITKZ seems to be also active in doujinshi-selling events.

So, anyway, come with me into this review to talk about isekai and, uh… macrophilia.

Continue reading “Size difference out of this world: ITKZ’s “The Titan’s Bride”” →

Christmas Gift Recs: BL Style

~ ames ~ 3 Comments

Perhaps it’s a bit late in the month for gift recommendations, but at least with Renta! you don’t have to worry about shipping! (Let’s give those overworked postal workers a break…) Since it’s that giving time of year, I figured why not make a nice list of recs for that BL fan in your life? Or, for yourself? Christmas is still a good time for self-care in the form of BL, surely.

So I decided to take our top ten categories and list my top three for each, and why I think they’re a great option for anyone who’s into those tropes.

1. Older Bottom
2. Delinquents
3. Omegaverse
4. Beast
5. Childhood Friends
6. Younger Top
7. Hosts
8. Businessmen
9. Sadistic Boyfriend
10. Fantasy

Without further ado, read on for thirty of my personal pics that should satisfy and heal any BL fan during this hectic holiday season!

Continue reading “Christmas Gift Recs: BL Style” →

Call Me Daddy: Shizuku Kunichi’s “Dad, My Lover”

~ ames ~ 1 Comment

Read on Renta!
Dad, My Lover

Japanese title:
ダッドマイラバー

Links:
Twitter
Comic Picn (Publisher)

This last father’s day, I asked on Twitter which kind of BL dads our readers prefer, and sugar daddies—referred to in Japan as パパ活 (papa katsu)—got a pretty lukewarm response. Which I guess is understandable, since there’s actually not a lot of BL about sugar daddies. It’s truly an untapped market. If you look up the tag on Chill Chill, even, there are only twelve (!?) hits.

Which is one of the reasons I got really excited when I found Shizuku Kunichi’s “Dad, My Lover.” Full disclosure: I actually read this three years ago when it was originally released in Japanese. One look at the cover sitting on the bookstore shelf, adorned with Shizuku Kunichi’s stunning art with Makoto’s adorable twink face and lopsided pink hair, was all it took for me to know this was going to be one of THOSE manga—you know, the ones where for some reason they just hit all the right buttons and you find yourself rereading them every six months? That’s not just me, right?

So when I saw we got the translated version of the manga via one of our partners, you bet your sweet ass I was going to take advantage and push this book with all my might. So here I am, doing just that. Pushing this book. Directly into your arms. Imagine me with a creepy, crazed look in my eyes as I take your hands in mine and then gently but firmly place this book into them. (Or, in this case, the JPEGs…)

Dad, My Lover is about sweet, innocent (beautiful cinnamon roll too good for this world, too pure) gay university student Makoto. In university on a scholarship with no extra support from his parents, when Makoto loses his arcade job he’s absolutely screwed. He’s living on his friend Ryota’s couch when Ryota, desperate to get Makoto to move out, recommends sugar dating. Makoto, without thinking too much about it (sweetie… baby… please…) agrees and joins a sugaring app. From there, he’s contacted by a man who calls himself “Sako.”

Continue reading “Call Me Daddy: Shizuku Kunichi’s “Dad, My Lover”” →