The last few articles were reviews, but today I wanted to write something a bit different. Instead of focusing on one particular work and going very in-depth on it, I wanted to give a short introduction to some of my favorite series, and talk about why I like them! Let's get right to it~ I kept the details of the stories/plots/subjects vague on purpose so as to not spoil these awesome manga for anyone~
Finder (As I will call it from now, everyone calls it that in normal speech, the full title is far too long for comfy XD) is an action-oriented BL manga with lots and lots of hot hardcore smut of all sorts. It comes with all the trigger warnings in existence almost (dubcon, noncon, bdsm, etc), but it's only the more yummylicious for it, especially since the guys are all super hot. The art is out of this world, the story/plot is exciting enough to really draw you in and be a page turner, the only thing I don´t like about it is how long it takes between volumes T_T. The story is about a photographer (our uke ) who gets an assignemnt to track down/photograph a famous yakuza, but they of course fall in love. There is also an extremely snacky triad member (Fei Long) who also joins in on the smut as well at times. I don´t want to spoil anything else, but suffice to say there is many plot twists, turns, and nail-biting moments in addition to all the smut and hot guys. There is also some humor as well at various points in the story providing some lighter moments. Finally, the author notes at the end of each volume are always super cute and interesting! Overall, I would say this is probably my favorite BL manga ever, and that is saying a lot! It is a shared number one place, however, with the next manga, which is...
Both this manga and finder are by the same creator, the famous Ayano Yamane. As should be obvious from the previous paragraph, I basically consider her to be a god of manga, and this series is just as good as that one. This time it is a fantasy story with lots of adventure, humor, and excitement, and even more breathtaking art and maybe even hotter men. And again, lots of porn of all kinks imaginable. Story, art, smut, characters: it's all great. Be warned though that just like finder , there can be a LOT of times in between releases. Both are published in English by suBLime, and there is almost always (well) over a year between volumes. I really wished they would release them at a faster pace, but on the other hand, I guess it might be one of the reasons why the art is so good... anyhow, I can´t choose a favorite between either of these, so they both get the number 1 spot. And if I ever find a one-shot ready to play D&D session/story based on crimson spell , I will gather my friends to play it immediately. It is on my bucket list lol.
This manga is old (I think it's from the 90s) but still very, very good. It does follow the standard/"old" uke vs seme and some other clichés a bit more because of that (I think), but I really like that anyway. I really, REALLY like cute ukes and hot pretty tall cool bishie semes. I like cute ukes who are clingy and emotional and immature in a cute way. Whose favorite color is *PASTEL PINK UwU* and who would never punch someone and have large round pleading eyes and are hyper and run around genki and like girly things. Mostly because I can really identify with them, after all, I am currently typing this on a mechanical keyboard with pretty lights, pink is MY fav color, and last but not least I am off course huge BL trash. And like 80% or what of my friends are fangirls because of that. The uke in this particular series is called Shuichi, and he is really REALLY cute. He is needy, immature, and I love him. He has the cutest smile, is super energetic, greets people by shouting LA-LIHOO, and is just smoll and adorable in every way. Meanwhile, the seme , Yuki, is a stoic tsundere writer ... I love their dynamic so much. Also, because Shuichi has his own band, bad luck, the anime is absolutely chock-full of super catchy songs, I think there is like 20 of them that are all easy to find and enjoy on youtube. I recommend searching for "gravitationg song" there! The anime and manga also have funny moments like this, in glorious 240p! . Obviously, the manga doesn't have the music or color, but it's still a classic. I recommend watching the anime, but if you can get the manga cheap somewhere it's still a nice catch. No matter which of the two you choose, you'll find a series with a lot of humor, cuteness, romance, and tragedy. And I guarantee you will want "your gaybies" to be happy with each other, especially Shuichi. He has a high moe factor for me like that XD
This series is a classic. It was one of the first BL I watched (the first was junjou romantica , which is still one of my favs together with it's spinoff sekaiichi hatsukoi , the only reason those two series aren't in this list is because I only watched their awesome hilarious animes and didn't read their manga) and I immediately loved it. Originally I only watched the anime on crunchyroll, but a few years ago I also bought and read the entire manga from suBLime. The anime is already great, but the manga is even better, especially because the anime only covers part of the 7-volume manga. The main characters in this series are Izumi and Ryouma. Izumi is a super cutie, and I also really identify with him because he matches me almost perfectly: otaku, bi, glasses, and wants to draw manga but can't draw xD Not that I have any plans to make my own manga, but that is because I know I can't draw XD. In addition to having the complete story from start to finish, an extra advantage of the manga over the anime is that it includes some smut. There isn't that much of it, but what there is is hot, cute, and in the beginning hilarious in equal measure. But the most important part of this particular series is the humor, it's a true romantic comedy. What helps in this regard is that in addition to the two main leads, two other supporting characters, Rei and Shougo, are also really likable and funny. Overall, this really is one of my fav manga ever, and since it's still easily available new, I really recommend this one. I even cosplayed Izumi a few times a couple of years back. I love him xD
Ten Count is one of the smuttiest BL manga I have ever read together with the next one in the list. This really sets it apart from the other titles mentioned here. It is about a therapist and a client with OCD who has to work it off by crossing off/doing items on a list to get over his fears. It quickly evolves into a very sexual relationship between the two of them however, during the course of which basically every kink under the sun makes an appearance - SM, toys, etc. In real life this would obviously be extremely bad© and probably reason to jail the therapist or at least not let him work in that job ever again for the rest of his life XD, but since this is fiction we can just enjoy how hot the two of them are together. The art in this manga is also quite good, though I think finder and crimson spell above have the best art of all the mangas talked about on this page. The plot and characters also aren´t that special to me, although the idea of a character with OCD is definitely a bit of fresh air from the usual suspects. Still, what typifies this series for me is the smut. However, sometimes some hot smut is simply "just what the doctor ordered" and fun to read, and I see no shame in recommending this series based on that alone. If you are in the mood for some hard ero-BL, you can't really go wrong with either this one or the next one on the list. Ten Count has 6 volumes and is finished and still readily available, published in English by suBLime as are most of the series on this list.
As I said in the last paragraph, this one is also very smutty. It has more humor then Ten Count , but I feel like the focus is even more on the smut, also because of the outlandish plot that makes that super clear. This manga (and anime) is about an all-boys school where there is a club called the "photography club" but which is actually just meant to have sex. Lots and lots of sex. Members of the club have sex with each other but also make their free services available for any other students or teachers at the school outside of the club when they so desire. I know this sounds like another idea that would be super effed up in real life, but again... that's why I am happy these are just fictional drawings and we can enjoy the smut without worries XD This series also has one of my favorite BL characters ever, Yuri. You'll regularly see him cosplayed in his iconic pink clothes and hair at conventions, probably because there are many other fangirls and fanboys who unashamedly enjoy this series and it's smut. And Yuri is just a really fun characters. He is a little crazy, but he is also a total unashamed slut, which makes him fun. He is bisexual and always up for fun with anyone, basically, and he gets lots of action all throughout the series. I am kinda jealous tbh XD. The main character though is a new student who was looking for a club to join and joined thinking that it was actually a photography club. He is obviously shocked when he learns the group's true purpose, and even more when members inform him of rules such as the gangbang rule where any member who hasn´t had sex for a month gets ganbanged, wether they want it or not, by all the other members XD He eventually finds a member of the club who he doesn´t mind having fun with to avoid this fate. Anyway, it's a crazy, wild, smutty story that I really recommend if you want something smutty, just like the last series. Unlike that one, it is still publishing however (also by suBLime), so there can be a year or more between volumes. But if you're patient enough to deal with that it's quite worth it. As of this writing there are 4 volumes out in English, and of course watching the anime is easy.
The last series I want to mention today is coyote . There are many, many, MANY more BL series, mangas, novels, games, etc, I like, but I have to stop at some point or this article will become ten times as long XD. Coyote focuses on the "forbidden" love between a werewolf and a human. These two factions have hated and fought each other since as long as anyone can remember, and they regularly have violent feuds/wars. On top of that, the two men are of course in a gay relationship as well, making it almost "doubly" forbidden. Their passion/love however is strong enough to want to overcome all these difficulties and live a happy live together. The manga is still publishing (suBLime has published 4 volumes in English so far), and so far things have not exactly been going smoothly for our main couple, but you do really feel for them and I hope they end up together. While I obviously don´t know how the story will end yet, I can say that the way there is quite interesting, discussing many themes such as racism and prejudice. I feel this series is probably the most "serious" on this list as it deals with a number of darker and more serious subjects and explores them quite in-depth. All the other series on this list are more for entertainment I feel, whether humor or smut or action or a combination of those three, whereas this one seems to focus more on exploring it's more serious themes and subject matter. Having said that, there is still plenty of great art to feast your eyes on, and a bit of hot action at times between the two. I recommend this one if you want a more serious story, and can handle tragedy and not-happy (at least for now) romances. You will really start to feel for the characters!