If popular BL series like Gakuen Heaven, Shungiku Nakamura’s Junjo Romantica, and Maki Murakami’s Gravitation are any indicator, BL characters are usually more willowy and traditionally “pretty.” There’s even a word for this style of male beauty: 美少年 ( bishonen or “beautiful boy”). This is said to come from the Japanese expression yama nashi, ochi nashi, imi nashi, or “no climax, no fall, no meaning,” to jokingly describe how BL is often critiqued for a lack of actual plot.Īmong Western readers, yaoi tends to connote BL works that have more explicit scenes, while shonen’ai is still sometimes used to refer to tamer gay manga series in which you watch an entire series only for the main couple to kiss. Yuri on Ice, a light-hearted love story between a retired master Russian figure skater and his Japanese apprentice, falls under “BL,” or “Boys’ Love” which is a direct translation of shonen’ai (少年愛-literally, “boy love”) an older term for BL manga that fell out of usage in Japan.Īnother disappearing term for BL is yaoi. Yuri on Ice and My Brother’s Husband are good examples of these two subgenres. Gay manga has two major subgenres, not to mention the huge variety of plotlines ranging from futuristic dystopian societies to gay cops fighting crime and finding love. Get ready to blush, gasp and “ kyaaa!” as we delve into why gay manga is so popular, and how to navigate an already huge international fandom. While the topics covered in Japanese anime and manga are seemingly endless, if recent hits like Yuri on Ice (2016), or My Brother’s Husband (2014-2017) are any indication, gay and homoerotic relationships fill an extremely popular niche in manga plotlines.īut, My Brother’s Husband (which was was remade last year into an NHK drama) and Yuri on Ice are only the tip of the iceberg.

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