It’s never a bad time to take a moment and appreciate all that yaoi has given us…
It’s that time of year again — at least for the folks who celebrate Thanksgiving 🦃 — where we fill our bellies with all kinds of festive delights, spend just enough time with family for some sort of decades-brewing drama to surface, and promptly retreat to a secluded space to continue reading that BL you’ve been meaning to get around to.
Sou after Thanksgiving dinner, or after a large serving of big tiddy BL
Whether it be personal relationships or developments in the world at large, there’s never a shortage of sources of stress and despair. Luckily, I’ve found that BL is a reliable mood lifter in both the good times and bad — it’s just the thing I need to make me go, “Maybe this Chungus life isn’t so bad after all.” (Well, that and pumpkin pie piled high with Cool Whip, but sadly neither of those things are exactly common in our corner of Japan.)
When I proposed this post theme to my fellow BLog members, they asked whether “things to give thanks for in the BL sphere” meant BL tropes, changes in trends, specific BL series or characters, or recent BL news. I decided not to limit the theme so as to release as much BL gratitude from the depths of our hearts as possible — so get ready for our unfiltered gracious yaoi ramblings.
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.
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.
As we get ready to make 2025 an even more successful and exciting year filled with tons of great manga, we still wanted to look back on our favorite BL of 2024! That’s right, it’s once again time for our BL Staff Awards!
This time we have the usual Ames (hello), Sou, and Yomogi from the localization team, and then the wonderful Pochi, Snow, and Ann from our sales and marketing teams! So if you want to see what we enjoyed having the opportunity to work alongside this year, please read on!
Same as last year, we have the following categories:
Feel free to click on each category to go directly to that section, or you can meander through from start to finish to get that full 2024 BL experience! We also decided everyone only had to fill out the sections they have an actual response for, so just know you’re getting our true recommendations!
Sometimes you’re just in the mood to hurt a little bit. A little hurt/comfort with yourself, if you will. As a treat. Except the thing that’s going to hurt you this time is a BL manga about sexuality and human relationships between college boys because, at its core, Jiro Kawaii’s We’ll Get Our Happy Ending is about human relationships—about how it’s not necessarily about being gay or bi or straight, but about finding someone you care about, learning to treasure and open up to them, and trusting yourself and your feelings—and the difficult path to cultivating a relationship with someone you love as you move on from the past. So, just how does this wonderful manga handle these themes?
It’s been two years since college senior Wataru broke up with his high school boyfriend, Jin. While he’s dated since the breakup, he still sees Jin as special; while Wataru openly considers himself bisexual, Jin’s the only guy he’s ever truly had feelings for. Nonetheless, when he meets college freshman Soma—who’s openly gay—he thinks he’s found someone he can open up to. Soma, however, has other plans—not taking Wataru’s bisexuality seriously (accusing him of “hopping on the bi trend,” no less) and shutting him down by saying he’s already got a boyfriend and isn’t interested.
It’s back to school season! While most people reading this might not be in school anymore (and I hope the one who are still in school are in college… /stares), we can all still enjoy this wonderful time of change and growth and new experiences (and the back to school section at the store, which always smells nostalgically like pencil shavings and freshly-cut paper…) in the form of… BL recs about teachers! We’ve picked seven great titles that run the spectrum of sweet, soft, sad, and spicy, so there should be a little something for everyone!
This early Hon Toku masterpiece sums up what makes Hon Toku great: stunning, sensual art, incredibly dirty sex scenes, and incredibly light on the plot. The himbo gym teacher Mr. Yamano can’t keep his eyes off the super sexy math teacher Mr. Kiyono, so when Mr. Kiyono comes on to him after a couple drinks during night duty, how the hell is he supposed to resist? There are some small side plots, like a love rival and Mr. Kiyono’s supposed husband. But I know why you’re here, you pervert. You can’t lie to me. We’re both ass men, here, you and I—and from one ass man to another, you really need to read this manga. Hey, if he was my teacher (in Minecraft), I’d probably be a weird pervert about him, too.
Math teacher Mr. Miyata hates jocks, so when he meets gym teacher and kendo coach Mr. Samehara, he makes a bunch of snap decisions about him—that he’s arrogant, strict, and likes to boss people around. However, the more he gets to know Mr. Samehara, the more intrigued he becomes—Mr. Samehara is easy to get along with and to be around, but it always seems like he’s hiding his true self behind a wall. Not one to back down from a challenge, Mr. Miyata makes it his goal to break that wall down. But while this is all in good fun for Mr. Miyata, he’s threatening to unravel an entire lifetime of Mr. Samehara’s decision to remain eternally closeted and avoid his sexuality, something he feels a remarkable amount of shame over. This one’s more bittersweet and plot-heavy, which is in line with Jiro Kawaii’s other work, so I highly recommend reading this if you’d like to have your heartstrings tugged. Just in the first two chapters I found myself feeling an intense protective instinct toward Mr. Samehara, and I’m sure you will, too!
If you’re on the lookout for something a little more dark, a little more sadistic, this one might be right up your alley. High schooler Leo hates homemade food—he’s weird about germs, and doesn’t like not knowing how sanitary the giver’s kitchen is, or if they washed their hands. He’s spent much of his adolescence distancing himself from other people, because he’s ashamed to be tossing people’s good will in the trash. Sick of him lashing out, Leo’s new school counselor Mr. Sakashita uses Leo’s secret against him to have his way with Leo’s body. Mr. Sakashita has his tender moments, however, so Leo finds himself slowly trusting him more and more. This one leans a bit into Dead Dove territory because of the imbalanced relationship between Mr. Sakashita and Leo, but it caught my interest since usually teacher/student BL has the student topping, so I still wanted to rec it to those who might be interested!
High school teacher Toma has been dating his highly capable businessman boyfriend Rei since they met back in college. As both their careers ramp up, they need to find new ways to make time to love and support each other. This one is pure fluff, and shows the difficulties both men face: Toma struggles to connect to his students and find his place as a teacher, and Rei overworks himself and forces himself to shoulder things alone due to past trauma. But, whenever they’re together, Toma and Rei are able to talk through their problems and find comfort with each other—and they fully intend on being there for each other for the rest of their lives. This story is just pure comfort—Toma and Rei love each other tremendously, and it just so nice watching two adults talk things through and be there for each other when they’re having a hard time. It’s rather short and simple, but a wonderful manga for those who just want something light and gentle after a hard day.
Get ready, class, ’cause we’re goin’ on a feels trip with this one . Hiyori’s a cheerful high schooler who’s a people pleaser to a fault — desperate to make those around him happy even if he gets burned in the process. When this leads to him getting dumped in the most mortifying way, he’s understandably upset and seeks solace in a dog cafe. There he meets the kind and encouraging Makoto, who offers him some much-needed words of comfort, giving him the strength to move on from his heartbreak. Their chance encounter doesn’t end there, though… the very next day, Hiyori’s shocked to find out that his new student teacher is none other than Makoto! And he’s got his heart set on making the gentle and hardworking man his. This series is a bit of an emotional rollercoaster from start to finish, and really develops Hiyori and Makoto’s relationship in a way that’s heartwarming and touching — emphasizing just how much they care for one another. Plus, it has some valuable life lessons sprinkled in along the way, so you might get even more than an adorable love story from it too! Who said BL couldn’t be educational?
The answer is yes. Yes, he can . The titular demonic teacher, Tsuzuru Toujou, has earned a reputation among his students as being incredibly strict and merciless. Little do they know, however, that the relentless hardass Mr. Toujou likes to get dicked down at a gay brothel in his free time! Tsuzuru’s looking forward to a night of fun with a new cute guy when he’s taken aback at the discovery that his top for hire is Miyamoto, a former student of his! Upon hearing that his now college-aged student has taken up the job in order to earn some extra money, Tsuzuru’s inner teacher can’t help but want to watch out for his former student — so he decides to do so by ordering his services as much as he can! But as they spend more time together, some feelings beyond those of client and worker start to bloom… The series does a good job showing how Tsuzuru’s hard exterior is a result of his genuine concern for others, and doesn’t paint Miyamoto’s choice to do sex work as an inherently foolish or despicable thing, which is refreshing. Plus, there’s plenty of smut featuring a skilled younger top and a cute, nerdy bottom — so if that sounds like fun to you, check it out for yourself!
We opened this list with a pick for all the Ass Men (of all genders, ofc) out there, so I think it’s only fair we close it out with one for all the wonderful Titty Folks reading. This one’s a little unique in that it features a beefy, buxom guy on the bottom, and to great effect. In this story right out of a hormonal teenager’s wet dream, Riichi is known as a troublemaker at school, but his new teacher Mr. Oshima is determined to set him on the right path. After being mamboo(b)zled by Mr. Oshima’s attempts to give him some extra attention at school, Riichi comes across a gay porn video starring a buff bottom who looks eerily familiar… Confrontation leads to some good old-fashioned blackmail, with Riichi promising not to spill his teacher’s “secret” if Mr. Oshima will let him enjoy that naughty body of his a bit . Spicy scenes of a bodacious himbo getting railed by his extremely enthusiastic student aside, this series is silly and surprisingly sweet at times, which makes it a pretty fun read. Plus, it features the elusive and highly sought-after (by people…. it’s me, I am people) BL titty fuck . So there’s that too.
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!
. Hiyori’s a cheerful high schooler who’s a people pleaser to a fault — desperate to make those around him happy even if he gets burned in the process. When this leads to him getting dumped in the most mortifying way, he’s understandably upset and seeks solace in a dog cafe. There he meets the kind and encouraging Makoto, who offers him some much-needed words of comfort, giving him the strength to move on from his heartbreak. Their chance encounter doesn’t end there, though… the very next day, Hiyori’s shocked to find out that his new student teacher is none other than Makoto! And he’s got his heart set on making the gentle and hardworking man his. This series is a bit of an emotional rollercoaster from start to finish, and really develops Hiyori and Makoto’s relationship in a way that’s heartwarming and touching — emphasizing just how much they care for one another. Plus, it has some valuable life lessons sprinkled in along the way, so you might get even more than an adorable love story from it too! Who said BL couldn’t be educational? 
. The titular demonic teacher, Tsuzuru Toujou, has earned a reputation among his students as being incredibly strict and merciless. Little do they know, however, that the relentless hardass Mr. Toujou likes to get dicked down at a gay brothel in his free time! Tsuzuru’s looking forward to a night of fun with a new cute guy when he’s taken aback at the discovery that his top for hire is Miyamoto, a former student of his! Upon hearing that his now college-aged student has taken up the job in order to earn some extra money, Tsuzuru’s inner teacher can’t help but want to watch out for his former student — so he decides to do so by ordering his services as much as he can! But as they spend more time together, some feelings beyond those of client and worker start to bloom… The series does a good job showing how Tsuzuru’s hard exterior is a result of his genuine concern for others, and doesn’t paint Miyamoto’s choice to do sex work as an inherently foolish or despicable thing, which is refreshing. Plus, there’s plenty of smut featuring a skilled younger top and a cute, nerdy bottom 
— so if that sounds like fun to you, check it out for yourself!
. Spicy scenes of a bodacious himbo getting railed by his extremely enthusiastic student aside, this series is silly and surprisingly sweet at times, which makes it a pretty fun read. Plus, it features the elusive and highly sought-after (by people…. it’s me, I am people) BL titty fuck 
rentaBLog 