Any gay Manga readers and Anime followers

[W_L]

Are there any gay Manga/Anime followers around GA readership?

Just wondering, I have had a passion for Manga and Anime, since I was much younger, but my declining vision had forced me to conserve my vision. After my Cornea transplant at the end of last year, I have begun to catch up on a decade of Manga and Anime that I've missed out on. My last gay Manga was Junjo Romantica and Sekai-ichi Hatsukoi series, so I know I have a lot of catching up to do. Wondering if there's fans here who want to point at some new stuff.

Right now, I am binging on Cherry Magic, love Adachi and Kurosawa relationship.

Any other suggestions?

[Drew Espinosa]

So, I don't consume a lot of anime, but I follow people on twitter who do, and I've seen them raving for Attack on Titan.

Oh, and Cherry Magic was adapted into a live-action drama series back in 2020.

[W_L]

1 minute ago, Drew Espinosa said:

So, I don't consume a lot of anime, but I follow people on twitter who do, and I've seen them raving for Attack on Titan.

Oh, and Cherry Magic was adapted into a live-action drama series back in 2020.

Yep, the couple is cute and pure, love the concept and daydream sequences; though I think Adachi would have picked up on a few more erotic gay daydreams than what is shown in the Manga or TV show (just saying a few x-rated day dreams may come up if you're near your crush ).

[Drew Espinosa]

Oh, and there are two gay mangas that were adapted into live action dramas recently: Kieta Hatsukoi and Utsukushii Kare.

Edited April 3, 2022 by Drew Espinosa

[Drew Espinosa]

8 minutes ago, W_L said:

(just saying a few x-rated day dreams may come up if you're near your crush ).

True, but wouldn't they need to change the rating of the show for that?  

[W_L]

3 hours ago, Drew Espinosa said:

Oh, and there are two gay mangas that were adapted into live action dramas recently: Kieta Hatsukoi and Utsukushii Kare.

Thanks @Drew Espinosa, Kieta Hastukoi sounds like a fun little romantic comedy with a bit of teenage fluidity, while Utsukushii Kare sounds like an emotional story exploring characters and motivations.

[Page Scrawler]

When it comes to manga, I actually prefer platonic stories, like La Esperança. There's one or two kisses, but no naughty stuff. 

 

[Drew Espinosa]

2 hours ago, Page Scrawler said:

When it comes to manga, I actually prefer platonic stories, like La Esperança. There's one or two kisses, but no naughty stuff. 

IIRC, Kieta Hatsukoi doesn't have any naughty scenes. It's actually pretty cute and wholesome, so I think it might be right up your alley, Pagey.  

[Drew Espinosa]

@W_L If you don't mind a manhwa recommendation, then I highly suggest Semantic Error.

[W_L]

On 4/5/2022 at 11:03 PM, Drew Espinosa said:

@W_L If you don't mind a manhwa recommendation, then I highly suggest Semantic Error.

I don't mind, I also follow "Shàngyǐn"/Addicted live action series based off the light novel "Are You Addicted?", sometimes you just need to find a bit of fantasy happiness.

I also finished Cherry Magic, it was cute, but sadly the main couple at the end of the 1st series was turning into a sitcom (will they or won't they?) with a supernatural hook, I like the idea of the story, but feel like there's so much more to explore even on the romantic side with a partner that can literally know what your thinking by touching you. 

[W_L]

For July 4th weekend, I'm binging on "Given", the 11 episode Anime series. Might be worth checking out if anyone else like music subgenre of gay romance.

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Given_(manga)

The idea of boys falling for each other over music isn't original, but I still love it. 

[Drew Espinosa]

14 hours ago, W_L said:

For July 4th weekend, I'm binging on "Given", the 11 episode Anime series. Might be worth checking out if anyone else like music subgenre of gay romance.

 

I've been meaning to check out Given, 'cause I've heard many great things about it.

[W_L]

6 hours ago, Drew Espinosa said:

I've been meaning to check out Given, 'cause I've heard many great things about it.

I also just started watching Sasaki and Miyano, it's another gay high school romance. This time, the love interests are fans of gay romance aka Boy Love mangas, so there's a lot of meta-references to other manga. I love the interesting cultural stuff I pick up about Japanese gay culture and it sort of reminds me why I love the genre.

 

[Drew Espinosa]

48 minutes ago, W_L said:

I also just started watching Sasaki and Miyano, it's another gay high school romance. This time, the love interests are fans of gay romance aka Boy Love mangas, so there's a lot of meta-references to other manga. I love the interesting cultural stuff I pick up about Japanese gay culture and it sort of reminds me why I love the genre.

 

Ooh, then I think you'll like A Man Who Defies the World of BL.

[W_L]

4 hours ago, Drew Espinosa said:

Ooh, then I think you'll like A Man Who Defies the World of BL.

Neat, I'll look for the English subbed/dubbed version of the live action show. The manga site I use carries it, too.

I just finished Given, it really is good after you get past episode 3 and you lose all the preconceived notions of BL genre. It's at heart a psychological study on grief, depression, love, interests, and finding your voice. I wish I had seen this back when I was a young queerling, trying to figure some of this stuff out myself, but I was watching anime in 2000's and this is a 2019 production. Plus, the educational lessons on band management, guitar maintenance, and sound systems are cool, even if I am not a band geek (I've dated a few guys who were so I know enough to praise the writers' focus on the details)

It has the emotional depth with Sato, who is such an endearing gay teenager. I can feel his loss, his depression, and his need to emote without the words to express his emotions.  I thought I'd be treated to another uke/seme pairing, but nope, these boys were complicated. Uenoyama is likely demi-romantic or demisexual, he's attracted to Sato based on emotional bond and musical resonance than sexual interest, other girls and boys don't attract him even when they throw themselves at him. Despite being a bit of a Tsundere, Uenoyama is not quite a dominant seme as I had initially assumed. Sato may seem reserved and quiet, but when he expresses himself you will hear him loud and clear, he's not a submissive uke as it might first appear either. The rankings of Given being in the top 10 gay romance manga/animes is deserved.

Edited July 3, 2022 by W_L

[W_L]

@Drew EspinosaFinished Sasaki and Miyano, there's actually an english dubbed version of it online that came out a few months ago in 2022 (Hooray!).

It's really sweet and charming love story, nothing earth-shattering or deep, just a relationship between 2 boys. Sasaki is completely taken in by Miyano's charms and cuteness with multiple attempts at flirting with him, but Miyano is resistant to it despite being a Fundashi (a male reader of Boy Love).

Personally, I think Miyano is sort of scared of being labeled as being gay or bi, he's not resistant to the idea of being in love with boys (obviously), but he's got a feminine look and is shorter than most boys. He acts like a lot of queer teenagers trying to reason out his interests with social norms. If I were to attach a label to him and the way he acts or how his relationship with Sasaki grows in the anime, and the Manga (they're still going strong as of the last volume in the college years), I'd say he's most likely a "Pan" character in the same vein as David Rose from Schitt's Creek. "He likes the wine, not the label", being with a guy or liking boy love manga is just what he enjoys; he enjoys other Manga/Anime as an Otaku and has crushes on girls before, too. It's cool to see a Pan character depicted in BL manga, it's nuanced and subtle, but if you watch and read his interactions you'll see it.

Sasaki though in the Anime is clearly G.A.F (Gay As F*%&), the boy is more upfront and flirty than most gay guys in real life even the out and proud crew. He doesn't care who knows or cares to know who he likes or what he does. He is chivalrous and defends the weak even if it means injury to himself. He also deeply cares about respecting his partner's boundaries and asks permission every chance he gets with Miyano, if things get more advanced. This is 10-star out of 5 boyfriend, he's the type of unicorn gay guy that a lot of people would die for as a partner. He comes out to his family in the Manga, but the Anime hasn't gotten to that point yet.

It's worth an investment in time as light reading, especially if you just finished reading something traumatic or dark (Given was a lot harder on emotions than I thought) and I was glad to have found the recommendation for something that came out this year.

[Drew Espinosa]

Okay, this was too adorable not to share here. 

 

[W_L]

8 hours ago, Drew Espinosa said:

Okay, this was too adorable not to share here. 

 

BL read by a BL actor.... Naughty @Drew Espinosa!

Not all BL is straight-up sex and blackmail, lots of good ones are just about boys who fall in love under different scenarios. 

I think this review sort of explains why I was so happy with Sasaki and Miyano:

 

Update: This review is even better as it describes some more tropes of the BL genre from an LGBTq+ male perspective, he also offers his realization story which is a cool thing to introduce with an anime dedicated to the topic.

Edited July 5, 2022 by W_L