The good, the dark and the gritty: omegaverse

Blooming cherry blossoms be damned, Japan has been in a rainy mood lately. It’s probably the kind of situation when most people would like to indulge in something uplifting, like a comedy or happy song; but, if you’re anything like me, you prefer to consume media that affirm the rainy season tenfold. That’s sometimes the appeal of sad, dark stories, after all. Which is why this humble purveyor of angst embarked on another exploration through the Renta! catalog, not to find our many cute, sweet, domestic, sexy omegaverse manga, but the stuff that shows people utterly under the thumb of a society governed by biological urges.

Which means of course, here’s a hefty content warning for the most ruthless things omegaverse might offer—if you’re looking for something to scatter the rainclouds rather than darken them, how about Sou’s April Fool’s post?

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Artist Spotlight: Kaoru Watanabe

Kaoru Watanabe’s work was first introduced to me through my job at Renta!, quite early in my career here. When I was first assigned her I Might Be Your Fan, But I’ll Never Fall For you!, my first impression was that her art is incredibly unique and beautiful, but her characters weren’t necessarily to my tastes. However, after starting to read it, I was hooked—their personalities made me fall in love with her characters, and eventually I came to love both them and the storytelling so much that my own tastes didn’t even matter—or more like, my tastes evolved to include “anything by Kaoru Watanabe.” I’ve now read everything by her that I can get my hands on.

Thus, I want to introduce you all to the BL powerhouse that is Kaoru Watanabe.

Read on Renta!:
I Might Be Your Fan, but I’ll Never Fall for You!
Lovingly Cruel Services

Release List:
ビッチ受け~純情リーマン×ヤリ捨てBitch~
推しには絶対ほだされない!
恋するサディスティックサービス
はるかといつか
ディア・マイ・ヴァンパイア
ミルクなきみとビターな彼

If I had to sum up the intense appeal of Kaoru Watanabe’s work in one word, it would simply be: “sensuality.” Her stories have a lot of humor to them, and great pacing and comedic timing. But when it comes to the relationships, it’s truly the push and pull of their feelings and biases and fears and desires that truly makes Kaoru Watanabe’s work. This adds a lot of sensuality to her stories, because things tend to move quite slow between her characters—in their relationships, as well as in the bedroom.

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World’s First “Yaoi Cruise” to Set Sail Spring 2025

Get your yaoi paddles ready, because you’re in for the seaborne adventure of your life やったね

Have you ever wanted to get away from it all and enjoy a relaxing and luxurious vacation… where you can revel in all forms of BL media in a judgment-free zone, surrounded by other fans? Sounds like a dream, doesn’t it?

Well, starting next year, Bophades Cruises is making the dream come true with the world’s first ever “yaoi cruise” — an all-inclusive vacation plan catering to BL fans from all over the world.

This 14-day cruise will stop at 3 countries, giving passengers the chance to explore several IRL locations that have played a significant role in the yaoisphere. Each of the selected spots is guaranteed to have wonderful sightseeing and shopping opportunities.

No, no THAT kind of bingo! Unless…? 赤面 (Also, please read Nipple Bingo パーティの翌朝)

There will also be exclusive fan events with special guests — including star talent and creators from the BL world — such as special talks and autograph sessions.

And, the cruise ship itself? Extravagance incarnate.

When you’re not chilling your luxury suite or enjoying the gourmet buffet and open bar, there’ll be plenty to keep yourself occupied with at all hours of the day — including a massive BL manga library, karaoke rooms, BL anime screenings in state-of-the-art theater rooms, a cosplay masquerade ball, bingo (with fabulous prizes!), and more!

If all this sounds too good to be true and you wanna know how on earth it came to be — or, if it sounds like another 火 Festival in the making and you’re asking, “Why??” — you’ll want to keep reading, because Renta! BLog has the full scoop — along with a special chance for you to win FREE tickets!

All aboard the S.S.B.L.!!!

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Fuyu Touji’s “Pain, Sweet Pain” and a dive into the Dom/Sub-verse

Read it on Renta!: Pain, Sweet Pain by Fuyu Touji

Japanese title:
スウィート・ペイン・セラピー
Sweet Pain Therapy

Links:
pixiv
ChilChil page

It’s not like I have a particular preference for omegaverse. I don’t really go out of my way to find it. It finds me. That’s how I’ve come to review omegaverse works twice on our sweet BLog. So, I guess, why not also tackle one of its many offshoots, the Dom/Sub-verse? I mean, as an afficionado of the darker stories that romance has to offer, clear-cut dom/sub dynamics aren’t just music to my ears, but the additional element of mind-control is the cherry on top of the fucked-up yet oh-so-delicious cake that this trope could be.

So, considering that I recently discovered Fuyu Touji’s “My Bias is a God!?” (coming on English Renta! soon) I decided to explore the Dom/Sub-verse through their previous work, “Pain, Sweet Pain” which has been in my reading list forever. Just as the title implies, this story is both sweet and painful, so join me if you’re down for that.

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BL NON-Guilty Pleasures

When the idea of a “guilty pleasures” blog post was floated during one of our BL meetings, I (Ames) was originally not super into it. While the intention was good—creating a space to talk about less-common or accepted niches within the BL sphere—I’m not someone who likes the idea of ‘guiltily’ or ‘ironically’ liking things. (I know, I know—perhaps I’m a bit too serious and sentimental.) In my honest opinion as an ancient BL fan, just enjoying the things you love with your whole ass is most often the way to go.

There’s already so much shame in fan spaces as it is for just enjoying BL on its own, so I’m not so big on adding even more shame by referring to things as “guilty pleasures.” We already agreed this blog would be a positive space for and by BL fans, and I want to uphold that at all costs. So rather than making a post about guilty pleasures, Sou and Alice have shamelessly gone whole-hog talking about the aspects of BL and MLM media they love that maybe gets a little flack sometimes—but who cares? If you love something, love it.

I admittedly wasn’t able to participate in this post this time around, but maybe someday. パーティの翌朝 Nonetheless, I hope you all enjoy Sou and Alice baring their “rotten” souls to the world discussing Mpreg, and assholes.

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“Look at Me.”: Identity & Acceptance

Read it on Renta!:
Look at Me. by Momose An

Japanese Title:
俺を見て。
Ore wo Mite.

Links:
Momose An Twitter
Doodle Twitter
Momose An Pixiv

When I heard we’d be getting a Momose An title on the site, I was personally ecstatic. I’m not sure how well-known she is in the West, but Momose An is currently an incredibly popular BL mangaka in Japan. She has two smash-hit, long-running series, Naka Made Aishite (Yuzuriha, my love… I use your LINE stamps every day…) and Osananajimi ja Gaman Dekinai, and her series Shitasaki kara Koi was highly influential for the cakeverse genre. I haven’t seen much fanfare for her overseas, and from what I can tell none of her other stories have been licensed.

Look at Me. is actually one of Momose An’s earliest titles. Published in 2017, you can tell she was still coming into her art style at the time, as this is quite different from the angular and boyish characters she currently draws—but the essence of her style still remains (particularly when she draws the side-views of characters). The art is softer and rounder, but still equally a joy to look at.

The story of Look at Me. centers around childhood friends Kyosuke and Saku. Saku was beautiful from birth, with a gentle and feminine face, so Kyosuke initially mistook him for a girl. Most people, in fact, mistook him for a girl—and were often disappointed to find he wasn’t. Not Kyosuke, though—young and blunt, Kyosuke didn’t care one way or another if Saku was male or female. But unfortunately, Kyosuke was too young to save Saku from an adolescence of trauma, isolation, and loneliness.

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Reunion & Inspiration: Sorato’s “Fill in Color”

Read it on Renta!:
Fill in Color by Sorato

Japanese Title:
フィルイン・カラー

Links
Sorato Twitter (author)
Sorato Pixiv
comic picn Twitter (publisher)

Next up in our series of reviews spotlighting some of the manga included in our “Stunning Art Sale” is a manga that’s all about art and finding the beauty in life.

Sorato’s Fill in Color is a nice blend of cute and awkward boys, fun dramatic irony, and steamy goodness all wrapped up in some gorgeous art.

Our story opens with Saki (the blonde dude on the cover there), a young man working as a freelance designer, trying to drink his woes away after a disappointing meeting with his latest client. Anyone who’s worked in a creative field where your own personal vision is constantly at the mercy of the demons of capitalism should be able to relate to his struggle 泣き笑いしている顔

On his way home, he runs into a beautiful young man with stunning red hair — stopping him right in his tracks.

Read on to find out how the spontaneous romance between these two develops into something beautiful and meaningful — just like a work of art.

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“Studio of Longing” by Haruyosi Hiro

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?

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