Spring is here! To many people that means the scent of melting snow, the blooming of flowers surrounded by freshly green leaves, beautiful warm weather, cute spring clothes, the excitement as summer approaches, etc. etc. but for me…
I unfortunately had to miss J.GARDEN 56 due to going back to the States for the first time in two years, which was devastating (though, nice to see my family and enjoy Minnesota’s fall weather), but thankfully Sou was there to step in and pick up all the books I wanted. (Including all of Jiro Kawaii’s!) Either way, I’m stoked for J.GARDEN 57.
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.
BL fans far and wide, I am pleased to announce the third installment of our Fan Mail Special!! In case you’re new to the phrase, this is a Renta!-exclusive project in which we open up digital fanletter submissions from fans all around the globe, translate them into Japanese, and present them to the featured creator — so they can enjoy messages from their international fans, language barrier-free!
This time around, the esteemed artist you’ll all get the opportunity to lavish with your love is none other than… Ikuyasu-sensei!!
Their manga’s catchy titles, which are always fun to translate, are also a plus (via Hammered And Pounded)
With an unmistakeable art style and playful sense of humor, Ikuyasu’s become one of those artists that gets me pumped every time I see a new release of theirs — I just know I’m going to enjoy it somehow, no matter the premise. But my personal tastes aside, I can tell why Ikuyasu-sensei’s manga has earned such high praise from countless Renta! readers over the years.
If you enjoy your BL with a healthy serving of “beef” — that is, a bit of meat on both the seme AND uke — I hope you’re familiar with Ikuyasu’s works — and if not, well, then boy are you in for a treat! The musculature of the characters in their manga, whether on the leaner or thiccer side, is clearly drawn with much loving care, which makes it impressive in an artistic sense just as much as in an erotic sense
But, the appeal of Ikuyasu’s manga doesn’t stop there. Though they seem to have a penchant for loveable oaf (or, dare I say, “himbo”) characters, which can make for tons of laughs, some of their stories get pretty deep emotionally. All around, they’re quite filling for the yaoi lover’s soul!
For the uninitiated, I’ve prepared below a brief introduction to some of Ikuyasu’s works, and why I’ve personally come to adore them so much. And, for existing fans, maybe this can serve as a quick refresher of some of the many reasons to love them Feel free to take inspiration for your own personally crafted fan message, which you can submit here until June 14th JST!
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!
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.
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 whyneko 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.
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.
It’s finally cooled down a bit here in Tokyo, and the Christmas decorations lining all the shopping centers and Mariah Carey blaring from every store’s loudspeaker do a wonderful job of reminding me of the upcoming holiday season.
…But maybe you’re the type of person who wishes the holiday cheer could hold off for a bit longer, and prefers to savor the time between Spooky Season and the lively-but-potentially-exhausting year-end festivities. In which case, Japan’s got you covered!
As we briefly touched upon in our Yaoi Day post, Japan has lots of “special” days throughout the year, based on wordplay that’s possible with the Japanese pronunciation of a given date — and November 29th is one of these days! In Japanese, 1-1-2-9 can be pronounced いいにく (ii-ni-ku), which is a homonym for 良い肉 (also pronounced iiniku), which means “good meat.” As such, 11/29 has been designated “Good Meat Day” in Japan.
Unfortunately, as far as special days in Japan go, Good Meat Day isn’t really that big of a deal — beyond some meat vendors having special offers, or meat lovers treating themselves to a delicious, protein-rich meal .
However, here at RentaBLog, we like to spice things up and take every opportunity to celebrate different aspects of Boys’ Love — and thus, I decided that on this day, we’d give the spotlight over to the beefy guys of BL, who make our hearts pound with their rippling muscles — the buffer, the better!
Hope you’ve saved room for a feast, because meat is on the menu tonight!!
Japanese title: 愛玩男子ラブグロウアップ Aigan Danshi Love Grow Up
Love is in bloom in over 200 pages of in-your-face beefy man action! The manga follows the many antics of Midori Sasaki, a young man running a greenery store. In addition to selling plants from his small shop, he also delivers to various offices. His business isn’t faring well (understandable, in this economy), so his side gig is offering special “escort services” to rich businessmen to supplement his income.
Things suddenly take an unexpected turn for Midori when his top client, an I.T. CEO named Eiichi Iwasaki, asks him to date his younger brother, Mizuki! Apparently, their parents are pressuring him to date, but none of those dates have been fruitful. Midori’s first encounter with Mizuki leaves much to be desired, with Mizuki insulting his job, life choices and lack of money, but still sleeps with him. Not to spoil too much but the more you read, the more gets revealed about their backgrounds, personalities and how money and social status has shaped each of their views on relationships and intimacy. While I felt like the two clashed like oil and water because of their differing views at first, seeing them eventually develop a close relationship and Ikuyasu’s gorgeous art made it a truly enjoyable story! Ikuyasu is very skilled at drawing buff men, and combined with the characters’ expressive faces, fluid poses, and steamy sex scenes, you are in for a real treat!
Part two follows Yuuma Shiroyama and his budding relationship with Eiichi from part one. Yuuma makes deliveries for his family’s boxed lunch shop. Though diligent and hard-working, his family is in dire straights due to his father’s medical bills. He catches Eiichi’s eye by chance when making a delivery to Eiichi’s office, who immediately accosts him for sex. To Eiichi’s surprise, Yuuma instantly agrees, and without spoiling too much, that initial encounter leads to a truckload of assumptions, misunderstandings and not the happiest of conclusions… at first! They do eventually end up as a couple, but it’s quite the hurdle for them both to overcome.
Another delightful part of this comic is all the little side stories included. Again, I don’t want to spoil the fun, but there’s a lot of six degrees of separation going on, and later you get to find out more about Yuuma’s and Eiichi’s families! Highly recommended if you like a mix of humor, drama, fluff and naughtiness! The characters are the true driving force behind this story and is a testament to how you shouldn’t judge a book by its cover. Midori seems like a money-hungry, morally grey sex addict, but he has a gentle streak, truly cares for the plants he sells, and struggles with forming meaningful relationships outside of sex. I thought Mizuki would be just another dime-a-dozen rich snob type, but despite his gruffness and extreme lack of tact, his love runs deep.
Eiichi struggles with balancing societal expectations as the eldest son of a prominent family and CEO of his own company, along with being naïve, as he’s lived his entire life never knowing what it’s like to have financial troubles. Yuuma, despite giving off strong innocent and shy vibes, is fiercely independent and stubborn. There are also a few allusions to flowers and plants in describing some of the characters, befitting of the title. I hope you’ll give this a read; it’s well worth your time!
(via 
Feel free to take inspiration for your own personally crafted fan message, which you can submit 
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