Manga

The genre known as “boys’ love (BL)” or “yaoi” is deep and expansive, covering all manner of settings, scenarios, and characters. Collecting LGBT+ manga titles is a priority for us, and so we are thrilled to acquire these books through a recent gift in kind from several donors! Here are some highlights that are now available for check-out in our circulating collections:

First on the list is Ten Count, an award-winning series by Rihito Takarai. Ten Count follows Tadaomi Shirotani, a salaryman plagued with obsessive-compulsive disorder that manifests in his intense germophobia. In order to improve his condition, Shirotani is instructed by a therapist, Riku Kurose, to write a list of ten actions he is unable to do, and then he is to work toward completing each one as a form of exposure therapy. However, things get complicated when Kurose falls in love with Shirotani. What secrets will come out as their relationship intensifies?

Another highlight in this donation is Mō ichido, nando demo (No Matter How Many Times it Takes), written by Aniya Yuiji, a lesser-known yet appealing contribution to the BL landscape. This two-volume series tells the story of Takahiro Fuji and his live-in partner Taro Koto. After Takahiro is struck by a car and develops amnesia, Taro becomes no more than a roommate as his lover forgets everything about their relationship. Readers can follow the couple in their desperation and confusion to find out if in the end, they are able to rebuild their former bliss, or if they fade to nothing more than a shadow of a memory.

A final highlight is Shimanami Tasogare (Our Dreams at Dusk) by Yuhki Kamatani. Hailed as a “crucial” and “realistic” portrayal for Japanese LGBT youth, Our Dreams at Dusk opens with high school student Tasuku Kaname preparing to commit suicide after his classmates discover gay pornography on his phone. However, before he can follow through on this plan, a mysterious individual leaps out of a window, landing unharmed. Tasuku follows the individual, learning that they had landed in a “drop-in center” for the LGBT community. Through this drop-in center, Tasuku meets other queer people who help him on his path to self acceptance.

Further Reading

Boys’ love manga : essays on the sexual ambiguity and cross-cultural fandom of the genre / edited by Antonia Levi, Mark McHarry and Dru Pagliassotti

Boys love manga and beyond : history, culture, and community in Japan / edited by Mark McLelland, Kazumi Nagaike, Katsuhiko Suganuma, and James Welker

Himitsu no BL Nihonshi / Kitahachi cho ; Shishamo Toshizō manga

Other BL Manga

Our dining table / story and art by Mita Ori

Junjo romantica/ created by Shungiku Nakamura

One is enough / Love