BL manga recs, part2
50 x 50
Oh man... this one was an instant favourite. I have no words to describe just how much I loved this.
First of all? From the first moment, you have no idea who the seme and who the uke are. That alone would have made it to my “top ten” favourites list, but there’s more. The guys are handsome, yes, but they’re superficial, despicable, shallow, chauvinistic pigs. They love women, but only because of their legs and boobs, respectively. It’s so important to them that it’s practically a fetish. And because women aren’t idiots in this story, these guys keep getting dumped... and winding up stinking drunk and in bed together, despite the fact that they really can’t stand each other. In this story there is no seducer and no seducee, they’re just two total morons that end up getting together to bitch about women over drinks, and who can’t control their libido when drunk.
It’s been a long time since I read a story about two guys that weren’t perfect in every aspect, and who, if dumped, weren’t shown as the “poor him.” It’s clear in every case that it’s totally their fault women end up hating them, and they make a horrible couple as well.
But still, they’re together. And that is what makes this so special! There’s no “happy ever after”, there’s no “made for each other” crap. They’re just two guys in a really, really disfunctional relationship... who are totally hot together. But still! XD
This is a totally hilarious story that manages to break practically every cliché in the book (and those that do show up are ruthlessly made fun of) and that will definitely see many re-reads from me in the future... and it’s still ongoing! Boy, I can’t wait to read more. *___*
Nights
One of those stories about seedy guys in seedy places doing seedy things… but with the twist that the guys involved are amazing. You can still tell at a glance who the bottom and who the top are going to be (and why am I not surprised...?) but their personalities and the way they end up together are nothing like what you would expect. Just to give you an idea: When the seme leans in in the typical I’m-going-to-kiss-you-just-to-harass-you way, the uke burns the seme’s face with his cigarette. Damn, but I loved him for that. Oh, and also? Plot. A rarity, in this genre, so enjoy it.
Kanjou Spectrum
Your standard highschool romance, but it’s very cute, fluffy and nicely done.
Doushitemou Furetakunai
On the first day of Shima's new job, he met a man with a hangover in the elevator. That was his first meeting with his new boss, Togawa. Tough Togawa seemed rude and crass, Shima was drawn to the kindness beneath his rough facade. Both men harbored a painful past, but unlike Togawa, who was open with his feelings, Shima seemed unable to move on.
And I totally plagiarized Mangafox’s summary, but it, for once, was rather good.
There is quite a bit of wangsty “poor me” in this story, but it’s well-done and the relationship is very believable. These two sods fail at basic communication, and it only gets worse with time. Even with all that, it has a happy ending, so don’t be afraid to dive in.
Stay Gold
A yakuza wants to recruit a certain “Mad Dog”, but the guy will have nothing of it. The yakuza finally decides to coerse him into working for him by holding a debt over his head and practically kidnapping him. Despite all that his strategy isn’t very effective, and all it seems to do is get the guy stuck in his quack doctor’s house. Now, two gorgeous guys stuck living together in a yaoi manga... mh... wonder what could possibly happen then? As it turns out, surprisingly less than you’d suspect, despite there being obvious interest from both parties.
You’re going to have to read it to find out how it ends, because it actually surprised me quite a bit. That “Mad Dog” turned out to be sneakier than I thought...
Dog Style
Not a mushy love story. This is about two guys who are crushing on a pair of brothers who are every bit as self-centered as teenager punks can be, and they eventually find each other and fall into bed (and eventually in love) if only because of how hopeless their situation is. This story isn’t even named after the obvious, but rather because one of the boys is a punk, and a total “stray”, which coupled with his “mad dog” way of fighting gave him the reputation of a stray dog. This is actually quite a violent story, in the normal beat-the-crap-out-of-you way, not in the stylized way that is predominant in yaoi stories. The artwork is also pretty strange and may take a while to get used to, but it’s worth it.
This story gets very high points if only because a) the top was actually very bad at sex the first few times and b) the bottom is actually taller than the top. That is darn rare in these stories and worth at least a look.
The surprising thing is how adorkable these two are... if you want stupid, cheerful, macho love between teenagers, then this is the story to read.
Faraway
Now this collection of oneshots... It doesn’t have the best art, it doesn’t have much plot to speak of, and is altogether not the best piece of fiction I’ve ever read... but I can’t help but find it terribly endearing.
I particularly like the first couple (whose story we learn about in the first two chapters). It’s about two teenagers who fall in love... and what is it that I like so much about it? Well, they really make me believe that they’re teenagers. They’re stupidly cute and awkward around each other, and when they finally kiss (and more!) it’s unskilled, and nervous and flushed and clumsy and truly without any kind of technique whatsoever... it doesn’t look attractive at all, and that, in my opinion, is what makes it so irresistible. Good sex doesn’t look good, good sex feels good, and there’s no denying that’s exactly what’s going on here. They both look so damn overwhelmed by it all that I can’t felt but believe this is a couple just in the beginning stages of being in love and figuring out what the heck it is two people do when they’re intimate.
The other couples are adorable too, and all the sex scenes in this compilation share that not-meant-to-look-good-but-feel-good quality, so it’s defitinetly worth a look.
...I’d stay away form the last one-shot in this compilation, though. Dubious-con warning, though to its credit, it does address the fact that buttseks isn’t quite as easy as it looks...
Mimitabu no Riyuu (A reason for Earlobes)
Newest in the saga of stupid couples, this may at first feel like every other yaoi story available, but there are a few things that seperate it from the rest.
You can tell at a glance who the uke is, with the girly face and small body (and he only gets girlier as time goes by), but the seme at least is not completely stereotyped.
In fact, he’s one of the most emotional tops I’ve seen, and he’s not afraid of donning an apron (with frills!) to get on the uke’s family’s good side. He’s jealous and insecure, and totally fails at communication, resorting to elaborate plots to make sure of his uke’s affection. Mind you, that’s partly the fault of the uke for being such a textbook tsundere, but oh, well.
It’s silly and cute and it doesn’t revolutionalize the yaoi genre, but it still makes a nice read, as long as you don’t take it too seriously (a piece of advice that is good for any kind of story under the yaoi genre, really).
Ushirosugata no Natsu no Neko
Very cute story that revolves around a cat... though not really. A man keeps meeting under very strange circumstances an old acquaintance that was supposed to have been dead for years. Mind you, it’s kind of confusing. :P
We are Gorgeous
Yaoi stories are known for several clichés, like the fact that there is likely to be very few women around (because we can't have them outshining the ukes), there will inevitably be sex, and the ways in which couples get together will seem either ridiculously simplistic or adsurdly complicated (there is no middle ground). There are the stories which plough on regardless of how ridiculous this is if you stop to think about it, incorporating each and every one of these clichés and taking them seriously; there are the stories that try to avoid them like the plague... and then there are the ones that strive to show them for what they are and make you laugh at the surreality of it all.
“We are Gorgeous” is one of the latter.
It’s the story of a ballet group in which all the members are male (and nobody seems to find this strange). It features the story of several couples, all of which have this ballet group in common.
The characters are cheesy, the plots overdone, the dialogues loquacious, the couples stupidly in love and the sex athletic and anatomically impossible, and while any of these things on its own would have made me gag, together they manage to make something utterly and completely hilarious.
Particularly funny is the fact that they keep adding these little arrows pointing out unnecessary things, like the fact that everybody you see is male, despite tutus and wigs and make-up. At times, it really helps to be reminded, considering the usual way ukes are drawn. ^^UU
Bannin
The first story in this incomplete one-shot collection is nothing out of the ordinary, but still cute enough to warrant a read.
The second one, however...
Rape is one of those things that is ever-present in the yaoi genre, to the point where a certain degree of non-con is to be expected in practically every story. It’s generally used as a cheap wangst generator and an excuse for the seme to comfort his uke... or to get them together in a morally debatable way.
Not so in this story. This is actually the most realistic portrayal of rape I’ve ever seen, and while it is rather disturbing it is dealt with tastefully and without watering down or cheapening something that can affect a person in a million different ways. It shows how even the people you thought you knew can have a different side to them, and how a thoughless moment of giving in to a lust-induced impulse can have deep and lasting consequences in the people affected by it.
At the end, and as if to contrast this dark story, there is a oneshot that ruthlessly makes fun of every chiclé in the yaoi book... seriously, there wasn’t one they skipped. It might even be too clichéd and too ugly for most of the readers, though. I’m not kidding on this. XD
Please tell me if there is any link that isn't working. LJ hasn't been cooperating with me lately, and I wouldn't be surprised if it screwed some of them up.
Oh man... this one was an instant favourite. I have no words to describe just how much I loved this.
First of all? From the first moment, you have no idea who the seme and who the uke are. That alone would have made it to my “top ten” favourites list, but there’s more. The guys are handsome, yes, but they’re superficial, despicable, shallow, chauvinistic pigs. They love women, but only because of their legs and boobs, respectively. It’s so important to them that it’s practically a fetish. And because women aren’t idiots in this story, these guys keep getting dumped... and winding up stinking drunk and in bed together, despite the fact that they really can’t stand each other. In this story there is no seducer and no seducee, they’re just two total morons that end up getting together to bitch about women over drinks, and who can’t control their libido when drunk.
It’s been a long time since I read a story about two guys that weren’t perfect in every aspect, and who, if dumped, weren’t shown as the “poor him.” It’s clear in every case that it’s totally their fault women end up hating them, and they make a horrible couple as well.
But still, they’re together. And that is what makes this so special! There’s no “happy ever after”, there’s no “made for each other” crap. They’re just two guys in a really, really disfunctional relationship... who are totally hot together. But still! XD
This is a totally hilarious story that manages to break practically every cliché in the book (and those that do show up are ruthlessly made fun of) and that will definitely see many re-reads from me in the future... and it’s still ongoing! Boy, I can’t wait to read more. *___*
Nights
One of those stories about seedy guys in seedy places doing seedy things… but with the twist that the guys involved are amazing. You can still tell at a glance who the bottom and who the top are going to be (and why am I not surprised...?) but their personalities and the way they end up together are nothing like what you would expect. Just to give you an idea: When the seme leans in in the typical I’m-going-to-kiss-you-just-to-harass-you way, the uke burns the seme’s face with his cigarette. Damn, but I loved him for that. Oh, and also? Plot. A rarity, in this genre, so enjoy it.
Kanjou Spectrum
Your standard highschool romance, but it’s very cute, fluffy and nicely done.
Doushitemou Furetakunai
On the first day of Shima's new job, he met a man with a hangover in the elevator. That was his first meeting with his new boss, Togawa. Tough Togawa seemed rude and crass, Shima was drawn to the kindness beneath his rough facade. Both men harbored a painful past, but unlike Togawa, who was open with his feelings, Shima seemed unable to move on.
And I totally plagiarized Mangafox’s summary, but it, for once, was rather good.
There is quite a bit of wangsty “poor me” in this story, but it’s well-done and the relationship is very believable. These two sods fail at basic communication, and it only gets worse with time. Even with all that, it has a happy ending, so don’t be afraid to dive in.
Stay Gold
A yakuza wants to recruit a certain “Mad Dog”, but the guy will have nothing of it. The yakuza finally decides to coerse him into working for him by holding a debt over his head and practically kidnapping him. Despite all that his strategy isn’t very effective, and all it seems to do is get the guy stuck in his quack doctor’s house. Now, two gorgeous guys stuck living together in a yaoi manga... mh... wonder what could possibly happen then? As it turns out, surprisingly less than you’d suspect, despite there being obvious interest from both parties.
You’re going to have to read it to find out how it ends, because it actually surprised me quite a bit. That “Mad Dog” turned out to be sneakier than I thought...
Dog Style
Not a mushy love story. This is about two guys who are crushing on a pair of brothers who are every bit as self-centered as teenager punks can be, and they eventually find each other and fall into bed (and eventually in love) if only because of how hopeless their situation is. This story isn’t even named after the obvious, but rather because one of the boys is a punk, and a total “stray”, which coupled with his “mad dog” way of fighting gave him the reputation of a stray dog. This is actually quite a violent story, in the normal beat-the-crap-out-of-you way, not in the stylized way that is predominant in yaoi stories. The artwork is also pretty strange and may take a while to get used to, but it’s worth it.
This story gets very high points if only because a) the top was actually very bad at sex the first few times and b) the bottom is actually taller than the top. That is darn rare in these stories and worth at least a look.
The surprising thing is how adorkable these two are... if you want stupid, cheerful, macho love between teenagers, then this is the story to read.
Faraway
Now this collection of oneshots... It doesn’t have the best art, it doesn’t have much plot to speak of, and is altogether not the best piece of fiction I’ve ever read... but I can’t help but find it terribly endearing.
I particularly like the first couple (whose story we learn about in the first two chapters). It’s about two teenagers who fall in love... and what is it that I like so much about it? Well, they really make me believe that they’re teenagers. They’re stupidly cute and awkward around each other, and when they finally kiss (and more!) it’s unskilled, and nervous and flushed and clumsy and truly without any kind of technique whatsoever... it doesn’t look attractive at all, and that, in my opinion, is what makes it so irresistible. Good sex doesn’t look good, good sex feels good, and there’s no denying that’s exactly what’s going on here. They both look so damn overwhelmed by it all that I can’t felt but believe this is a couple just in the beginning stages of being in love and figuring out what the heck it is two people do when they’re intimate.
The other couples are adorable too, and all the sex scenes in this compilation share that not-meant-to-look-good-but-feel-good quality, so it’s defitinetly worth a look.
...I’d stay away form the last one-shot in this compilation, though. Dubious-con warning, though to its credit, it does address the fact that buttseks isn’t quite as easy as it looks...
Mimitabu no Riyuu (A reason for Earlobes)
Newest in the saga of stupid couples, this may at first feel like every other yaoi story available, but there are a few things that seperate it from the rest.
You can tell at a glance who the uke is, with the girly face and small body (and he only gets girlier as time goes by), but the seme at least is not completely stereotyped.
In fact, he’s one of the most emotional tops I’ve seen, and he’s not afraid of donning an apron (with frills!) to get on the uke’s family’s good side. He’s jealous and insecure, and totally fails at communication, resorting to elaborate plots to make sure of his uke’s affection. Mind you, that’s partly the fault of the uke for being such a textbook tsundere, but oh, well.
It’s silly and cute and it doesn’t revolutionalize the yaoi genre, but it still makes a nice read, as long as you don’t take it too seriously (a piece of advice that is good for any kind of story under the yaoi genre, really).
Ushirosugata no Natsu no Neko
Very cute story that revolves around a cat... though not really. A man keeps meeting under very strange circumstances an old acquaintance that was supposed to have been dead for years. Mind you, it’s kind of confusing. :P
We are Gorgeous
Yaoi stories are known for several clichés, like the fact that there is likely to be very few women around (because we can't have them outshining the ukes), there will inevitably be sex, and the ways in which couples get together will seem either ridiculously simplistic or adsurdly complicated (there is no middle ground). There are the stories which plough on regardless of how ridiculous this is if you stop to think about it, incorporating each and every one of these clichés and taking them seriously; there are the stories that try to avoid them like the plague... and then there are the ones that strive to show them for what they are and make you laugh at the surreality of it all.
“We are Gorgeous” is one of the latter.
It’s the story of a ballet group in which all the members are male (and nobody seems to find this strange). It features the story of several couples, all of which have this ballet group in common.
The characters are cheesy, the plots overdone, the dialogues loquacious, the couples stupidly in love and the sex athletic and anatomically impossible, and while any of these things on its own would have made me gag, together they manage to make something utterly and completely hilarious.
Particularly funny is the fact that they keep adding these little arrows pointing out unnecessary things, like the fact that everybody you see is male, despite tutus and wigs and make-up. At times, it really helps to be reminded, considering the usual way ukes are drawn. ^^UU
Bannin
The first story in this incomplete one-shot collection is nothing out of the ordinary, but still cute enough to warrant a read.
The second one, however...
Rape is one of those things that is ever-present in the yaoi genre, to the point where a certain degree of non-con is to be expected in practically every story. It’s generally used as a cheap wangst generator and an excuse for the seme to comfort his uke... or to get them together in a morally debatable way.
Not so in this story. This is actually the most realistic portrayal of rape I’ve ever seen, and while it is rather disturbing it is dealt with tastefully and without watering down or cheapening something that can affect a person in a million different ways. It shows how even the people you thought you knew can have a different side to them, and how a thoughless moment of giving in to a lust-induced impulse can have deep and lasting consequences in the people affected by it.
At the end, and as if to contrast this dark story, there is a oneshot that ruthlessly makes fun of every chiclé in the yaoi book... seriously, there wasn’t one they skipped. It might even be too clichéd and too ugly for most of the readers, though. I’m not kidding on this. XD
Please tell me if there is any link that isn't working. LJ hasn't been cooperating with me lately, and I wouldn't be surprised if it screwed some of them up.