Yuta and Ritsu have been playing baseball together since they were children, but after being defeated in a local tournament over the summer, they must retire from the high school team to study for university entrance exams. Still, Yuta finds himself unable to give up his lingering attachment to baseball. The one person who can truly understand him is Ritsu, who has been acting worryingly distant since they quit the team. But there's something Yuta himself doesn't understand... Does he think of Ritsu as his partner in the way that a teammate would, or is the affection between them something stronger?
Boys Love Manga and Beyond looks at a range of literary, artistic and other cultural products that celebrate the beauty of adolescent boys and young men. In Japan, depiction of the “beautiful boy” has long been a romantic and sexualized trope for both sexes and commands a high degree of cultural visibility today across a range of genres from pop music to animation. In recent decades, “Boys Love” (or simply BL) has emerged as a mainstream genre in manga, anime, and games for girls and young women. This genre was first developed in Japan in the early 1970s by a group of female artists who went on to establish themselves as major figures in Japan's manga industry. By the late 1970s many amateur women fans were getting involved in the BL phenomenon by creating and self-publishing homoerotic parodies of established male manga characters and popular media figures. The popularity of these fan-made products, sold and circulated at huge conventions, has led to an increase in the number of commercial titles available. Today, a wide range of products produced both by professionals and amateurs are brought together under the general rubric of “boys love,” and are rapidly gaining an audience throughout Asia and globally. This collection provides the first comprehensive overview in English of the BL phenomenon in Japan, its history and various subgenres and introduces translations of some key Japanese scholarship not otherwise available. Some chapters detail the historical and cultural contexts that helped BL emerge as a significant part of girls' culture in Japan. Others offer important case studies of BL production, consumption, and circulation and explain why BL has become a controversial topic in contemporary Japan.
Akio Yamane’s bloodline is cursed! Or at least that’s what his relatives would have people think. Now feverish and delusional from a terminal illness, Akio accidentally summons his family’s guardian deity. Little did he know this sinfully hot god would appear naked, sporting ears and a tail. Wait until Akio finds out the unconventional and rather intimate manner his protector plans on using to cure him! -- VIZ Media
On a whim, high school third-year Yuzuru Shino asks out first-year Toji Seryo, who is notorious for being a weeklong lover—he’ll date the first girl to ask him out Monday morning and then promptly dump her by the following Monday! The boys start dating, and by Tuesday, the first inklings of attraction hit. Can these two put words to their feelings before Monday comes, or are old habits too hard to break? -- VIZ Media
Nijou is the perfect student. He’s class president, great at sports, and beloved by all his classmates, especially the girls. But he hides his true feelings; deep down he’s terrified of letting everyone down with anything less than perfection and being rejected. As the most responsible and respected member of the class, he’s asked by their teacher to check in on Toomi, a student who hasn’t been to school in a while. Toomi sees straight through Nijou’s insecurities and acts belligerent, but he has a secret of his own; in order to pay off his father’s gambling debts, he performs in drag on an adult cam site as “Haruka”. When Nijou accidentally discovers the truth, he struggles with whether he should tell Toomi, or continue to feign ignorance. But at the same time he finds himself developing feelings for Haruka… or is it really Toomi he’s falling in love with?
Kasumi and Kyousuke are polar opposites; where Kasumi is shy and soft-spoken, Kyousuke is energetic and popular. They complement one another perfectly and have been friends since they were children, but now that school is over their relationship suddenly becomes a lot harder to describe. Facing the world -- and one another -- as adults, both men find there are things they struggle to say out loud, even to each other.
When Yuiji accidentally overhears his classmate Yamato confessing to another friend that he's gay, his perspective shifts. Seeing Yamato in a new light, Yuiji does his best not to let prejudice color his view, but he still finds himself overthinking his classmates' interactions now. He especially notices the way Yamato looks at one particular boy: Yuiji's own best friend. Even though he tells himself he shouldn't get involved, Yuiji finds he just can't help it; watching Yamato's one-sided love draws him in a way he never expected. At first, it's empathy, knowing that the boy Yamato has his sights on is definitely straight and has no idea. But as his own friendship with Yamato develops and the two of them grow closer through a mutual study group, Yuiji comes to truly care about Yamato as a person, regardless of his sexuality. He only wants Yamato to be happy, and to be able to express his true self.
It began with a mistake. When Tanaka and Nakata are given each other’s papers back, they come to a horrible realization... They have almost identical names. And test results. And body types. And taste in fashion. And sports scores. And hobbies. The list goes on, and as annoying as it is, at least they know they always have each other. And maybe, just maybe, their similarities run even deeper.
Recently dumped, and very straight, Shizuma tries to drink his sorrow away, only to wake up being spooned by a man! When he explains to Minato, his drunken fling, that he doesn’t remember a thing about their night together, Minato secretly vows to seduce him again—and then dump him as revenge! But even the best-laid plans can go awry when Cupid has his way. -- VIZ Media
A collection of stories featuring beautiful boys and striking art, Shiuko Kano's Priceless Honey features one steamy one-shot after another. Suguri Nagisa, the custodian at an all-boys' school, works at a secret -- and quite risqué -- part-time job. But what happens when a teacher from the school discovers "Call Boy" Nagisa?
