Tag: Runa Konjiki

J.GARDEN 57: Return to Paradise

~ ames ~ 1 Comment

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…

It means J.GARDEN is back again, baybeeeeee!!

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.

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ChillChill Awards 2025!

~ ames ~ Leave a comment

Make sure to cast your vote! ChillChill Awards 2025 nominees dropped this last Friday, and boy is the competition intense. Around this time last year I wrote about the ChillChill BL Awards and why they matter so much—about ChillChill’s rise from a review and indexing site into essentially the community hub for all lovers of BL manga in Japan—so I’ll spare you from having me write too much here. Nonetheless, I still wanted to make a quick index of all the nominees from the 2025 BL Awards that you can read on Renta!

Last year we had quite a few, and thankfully this year is no different. Also, not just in regards to Renta!, this year’s BL Awards are a testament to how big BL is getting in the West because many of the nominees are licensed by a variety of other localization companies—both digital and print. It’s so wonderful to see how many BL get brought to an international audience now, not to mention so fast. It used to take much longer before BL was licensed for release in the West, and the options used to be so few and far between. It’s such a testament to Western BL fans who keep showing up pushing that BL isn’t just some niche genre—it’s got a massive and excited fanbase ready and willing to support the genre and its creators in any way they can. I love that so much, both as a fan and obviously as someone who works in the field. I can work my dream job only because of the BL fans who show up to support its creation. Thank you so much!

Another thing that’s a bit of a pride point for me is that two years in a row, now, most of our associated BL Awards nominees (particularly our own licenses and localizations) are in the up-and-coming category. That’s honestly so exciting! I talked a little bit in my post about the benefits and drawbacks of being a digital licensor about how we’re able to take more risks on lesser-known, up-and-coming talent due to the lower entry fees of digital versus print, and it fires me up every time I think I get to play even a tiny part in bringing these new artists to a wider audience. And this year’s BL Awards have a particularly good mix of super popular, established artists and rising stars!

Anyway, without further ado, here’s the list of the 2025 ChillChill BL Awards titles you can find on Renta!—including some sneak peaks into exciting upcoming licenses! 🤭

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[♡RECS♡] 11/22: Happy Good Husbands Day!

~ sou ~ Leave a comment

Here at RentaBLog, we sure do love our special calendar dates — so far, we’ve covered Good Meat Day, Cat Day, Cat Day Part 2, and even Twink(ie) Day. Last week on 11/11, BL fans and shippers around the world celebrated Pocky Day across social media, which was pretty exciting to see (so much great fanart!). But there’s one more day this month I’ve been looking forward to in particular. No, it’s not Thanksgiving — but I am very thankful for the cornucopia of BL I associate with it.

That day — today, November 22nd — is none other than いい夫婦の日 (Ii Fuufu no Hi), meaning “Good (Married) Couple’s Day” or “Good Spouses Day.” It’s a day for couples to show appreciation for one another, and to celebrate the special bond they share.

While the Japanese word for “married couple,” 夫婦 (fuufu), uses the kanji for “husband” and “wife,” the term can be used to refer to same-sex couples as well. Still, some on social media have taken to the M/M-specific term, いい夫夫の日 — here “fuufu” is pronounced the same, but uses the kanji for “husband” twice, to make it “Good Husbands Day”! I always enjoy scrolling my feed on this day, as it’s bound to be full of adorable BL and ship art tagged “#いい夫夫の日”.

Since I have a soft spot for sweet, married-couple vibes BL, I just had to take this opportunity to introduce some series on Renta! that you can read to enjoy “good husbands” all year round! 🥰

Without further ado, here are five BL series centered around married (or basically married) couples that will soothe your heart. From domestic newlywed bliss to the trials and tribulations of a long-term relationship, these manga have it all! 👨‍❤️‍💋‍👨

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