Best Seinen Boys’ Love Manga

Summary

• Seinen BL manga offer a mature take on love outside of traditional pairings, exploring complex themes.
• Different genres, such as historical, gourmand, and psychological dramas, are showcased in these completed romance manga.
• Unique stories delve into crossdressing, dance, and supernatural elements, providing diverse narratives within BL manga.

Love is in the air everywhere one looks around, whether it plucks people’s heartstrings, turns their stomach, or leaves them unmoved either way. There’s certainly plenty of it in the media, as the pursuit, gain, and loss of love has inspired multitudes of books, comics, songs, and movies since their earliest days.

Though most of the time, they do tend to be about heterosexual pairings. Tristan & Iseult. Romeo & Juliet. Mork & Mindy. What if readers wanted stories about two guys falling for each other? Not just any old fluffy shōnen/shojo manga either, but one that’s more mature in tone? They can check out these seinen boys’ love strips, which show that the genre can be more than a male meet-cute.

7

Yagyu Hijoken Samon

Famous Samurai’s Brother Falls For His Lord

• Creators: Yoshiaki Tabata and Keiichiro Ryu (story), Yuki Yugo (art).
• MyAnimeList Score: 6.18.
• 1 Volume, 5 Chapters.
• Fan Translations only.

Starting with a historical period piece, Yagyu Hijoken Samon (“Samon Yagyu, The Callous Swordsman”) follows the brother of the famous samurai, Jubei Yagyu. Both here and in history, Samon replaced Jubei as the personal instructor to the Tokugawa shogunate when they and his brother had an irreconcilable difference in teaching techniques. They preferred no-contact sparring, while Jubei didn’t. One full-contact session later, and Jubei was out, left to become the wandering samurai of legend.

Historically, Samon didn’t do much until his premature passing a few years later. In this manga, Samon continues instructing in Jubei’s place, where he isn’t considered as good as his big brother. But Iemitsu Tokugawa, the new shogun, certainly prefers Samon’s company to Jubei’s, and the two develop feelings for each other. Over time, it leads Samon to question himself and wonder how to stay true to himself: by knowing his role or following his heart?

6

Natsuki-kun Is Beautiful As Always

Boy Isn’t Put Off By His Crush Being Another Boy

• Creator: 9°C.
• MyAnimeList Score: 6.51.
• 1 Volume, 17 Chapters.
• Fan Translations only.

Gender-bending stories make for curious inclusions, as they can shake up what love means between its leads. Would their leads still like each other if one hadn’t been switched to a boy/girl/NB, etc.? Then what if there weren’t any magic, science experiments, etc., that caused that switch? What if a guy just fell in love with another guy who could rock the schoolgirl look?

Natsuki-kun is Beautiful as Always sees Fumiya fall for Natsuki, who appears to be the prettiest girl in school. But Natsuki turns him down as he’s just a guy who knows how to crossdress. Not that this puts Fumiya off, as he wants to woo Natsuki regardless. It was a fun rom-com that played with how porous gender could be, but its run was sadly cut short as it was canceled and brought to a premature end.

5

What Did You Eat Yesterday?

Gourmand Tests Out His Latest Dishes On His Boyfriend

• Creator: Fumi Yoshinaga.
• MyAnimeList Score: 7.48.
• 23+ Volumes, 184+ Chapters.
• Available in English via Vertical.

When looking up seinen BL, people will start to see a few patterns emerging. Beyond the content too racy for this list, they’ll see a lot of crossdressing romances like Natsuki-kun, one-shots or shorts like Yagyu Hijouken Samon, and the occasional gourmand story, like What Did You Eat Yesterday? This shows that the way to a man’s heart must truly be through his stomach.

It’s a slice-of-life tale about Shiro, a lawyer by day and gastronome by night, and his hairstylist boyfriend, Kenji. When the manga isn’t putting the two through the usual peaks and valleys of a gay relationship in modern Tokyo, it’s all about meal prep and what goes into making the perfect dish, as it covers a wide range of cuisines. It’s basically the perfect strip for BL fans who love cooking as much as they love their romance plots.

4

Manly Appetites: Minegishi Loves Otsu

Handsome Salaryman Tries To Charm His Coworker With Food

• Creator: Mito.
• MyAnimeList Score: 7.47.
• 3 Volumes, 41 Chapters.
• Available in English via Seven Seas Entertainment.

The pattern continues in Manly Appetites: Minegishi Love Otsu, but it has more of a focus on the boys’ love than food love. At least it does in comparison to What Did You Eat Yesterday? As the title suggests, it follows Minegishi, a handsome salaryman who, despite his quick ascent through the ranks, prefers pleasing his grumpy coworker Otsu to filing reports.

He does this by preparing nice meals to help him get through the day. Otsu just thinks he’s pulling off a charm offensive, and, unlike the rest of their coworkers, refuses to be swayed by him. Yet he still tucks into Minegishi’s dishes and can’t deny he’s got a knack for making munchies. Over time, he may see Minegishi is the real deal.

3

Bokura no Hentai

A Psychological Drama Between Two Crossdressing Boys And A Trans Woman

• Creator: Fumiko Fumi.
• MyAnimeList Score: 7.71.
• 10 Volumes, 41 Chapters.
• Fan Translations only.

Another pattern seinen BL searchers will find is a wealth of crossdressing stories. From stories of boys having to become magical girls, to guys discovering their younger brother is their school’s best-looking “sister,” it’s become quite a trend. Though few delve into the topic of crossdressing as deeply as Bokura no Hentai. Where the only mature content is the drama as it goes into its three leads’ different reasons for dressing in girls’ clothes.

Yui’s crossdressing is a form of mourning for his late sister, which only compounds his self-loathing and puts him at odds with the other two. Parou is more comfortable crossdressing, as he’s trying to charm his straight school senior. Though he doesn’t succeed, he does end up wooing Marika, the trio’s sole trans woman, through his kindness and support for her. As a result, the story forms a tricky love triangle that only gets trickier as the three come to terms with their identities.

2

10 Dance

Dancers Of Different Stripes Find Love In Their Contest Prep

• Creator: Satou Inoue.
• MyAnimeList Score: 7.97.
• 7+ Volumes, 42+ Chapters.
• Available in English via Kodansha Comics USA.

Readers who prefer their men to wear formal wear over skirts can get a touch of class in 10 Dance. It’s a tale of opposites attracting, as Shinya Sugiki and Shinya Suzuki only have their first names and a passion for dancing in common. Even then, they have contrasting styles, as Sugiki is the “Lord of Standard Ballroom” while Suzuki is the “King of Latin Dance.”

But if they want to win the 10 Dance competition, the two will have to work together, as it requires pulling off a total of 10 unique ballroom and Latin dances. They’ll have to teach each other the finer points of their styles to pull off an effective routine. In the process, the two learn more about each other and end up starting an unlikely romance.

1

The Summer Hikaru Died

Boy’s Crush Comes Back Changed

• Creators: Mokumokuren (art), Mio Nukaga (story).
• MyAnimeList Score: 8.23.
• 6+ Volumes, 33+ Chapters.
• Available in English via Yen Press.

Seinen BL can also go beyond telling boy-meets-boy stories and tell something darker and more complex, like The Summer Hikaru Died, which combines a tricky BL romance with supernatural and psychological horror. In the story, Yoshiki and Hikaru have been friends since childhood, and time has only made Yoshiki’s feelings grow deeper. But things changed when Hikaru disappeared and reappeared one day.

He looks the same, sounds the same, and even has the same memories, but he doesn’t act the same. When Yoshiki confronts Hikaru about it, he threatens to kill Yoshiki, while at the same time confessing his feelings for him. Whoever this new Hikaru is, they’ve developed a bond with Yoshiki. But he loved the old Hikaru, and as life in their village starts going awry, he can’t help but miss things the way they were.