All right, so this may be a strange request, but I really, really love subtext. (Gay subtext, sillies.) So I'm looking for a manga that has tons of romantic subtext between two characters of the same sex. By "subtext," I mean that the romance or non-platonic feelings remain only hinted at, and never realized -- at least, not within the pages of the manga. Perhaps a kiss at most, a single kiss, but no more than that! Just loads of meaningful and sexually-fraught interaction between the two main characters, with absolutely no on-screen consummation. (Why this fetish for unresolved sexual tension? Am I a masochist? Good question...) It would also be great if neither of the main characters actually has a long-term love interest of the opposite sex, thus heightening the subtext each of them has with the other same-sex character.

Excellent examples of subtextual stories are:

Pet Shop of Horrors by Akino Matsuri. This is the subtextual story, as far as I'm concerned. Cound D and Leon are so obviously smitten with each other, although it's a love that grows very slowly. Now, nothing they actually do is blatantly romantic, but they spend pretty much all their time thinking about each other or plotting against each other, which makes for wonderful subtext.

Antique Bakery by Yoshinaga Fumi. Okay, so this does have occasional scenes of gay sex in it, but the main two characters -- Ono and Tachibana -- never kiss or even touch each other, despite the fact that they are, for all intents and purposes, the most important people in each other's lives. So between the two main characters, the subtext is definitely "pure." While we know that Ono had confessed to Tachibana, nothing comes of it...

Top Secret by Shimizu Reiko. Is it just me, or is the newbie totally infatuated with Maki? Anyway, awesome subtext in addition to a fabulously addictive mystery series. There's even a gay character in the first volume, which indicates that the mangaka is well aware of all the homoerotic subtext she's putting in there...

From Eroica With Love by Aoike Yasuko. The art really wasn't to my taste to begin with, but WOW, the subtext is out of this world. More than 30 volumes of unresolved sexual tension! I think I was moaning and boneless by the time I got up to the most recent licensed volume -- and that's just volume 13, so I don't know what shape I'll be in by the end of the series. I hope it never ends...

Silver Diamond and The Ice-Cold Demon's Tale, two multi-volume epics by Sugiura Shiho. Again, it's obvious that the main characters of both series are in love with each other, but nothing sexual has happened even after several volumes, so these count as subtextual series.

Cantarella by Higuri Yuu. I've only read up to the sixth volume so far, but there's definitely a lot of homoerotic subtext that hasn't yet been consummated. I'm starting to think that maybe Cesare Borgia, being amoral as he is, always carries a certain amount of subtext with him. My gaydar picked up some very interesting vibes in another manga about him, too -- Cesare by Souryo Fuyumi.

The only series with lesbian subtext that I could find was Claymore by Nagi Yorihiro, which I love and am completely hooked on -- so many gorgeous women, with absolutely no overt interest in men!

I'd appreciate any recommendations you may have for subtextual series with either gay or lesbian subtext. Just to make sure that I get the recommendations I want, here's a short list of points that I'm looking for:

**A. The manga has at least two main characters of the same sex.

B. These two characters have an undercurrent of romantic and/or sexual feelings for each other.

C. But their feelings are never consummated!

D. There should be NO love interest of the opposite sex for either of these characters, at least for a significant amount of time. Brief love interests are okay, as long as it remains obvious that the really important person in their lives, who stays for the long haul, is the other same-sex character.

E. Again, I ought to repeat this for emphasis: NO SEX. Just longing!**

There you have it. If you know of any stories that match these criteria, do tell! And thanks in advance...

Read manga with the following themes...
Politics
Power Couples
Pure Subtext

Oh wow, first I thought you were just looking too deep into it, but let's give it a shot. 🤣

First that comes to mind is Bleach's Yoruichi and Soifon. You might just pass it off as Soifon viewing Yoruichi as the older sister she never had, but there might be more going on.

Also the fact that she doesn't make any moves on Urahara does seem that she has no interest in men. xD She did make moves on Ichigo though. o_o;;

And second one is Naruto and Sasuke, of course. I mean, the bond they share and how far Naruto is willing to go to take him back, hints more than enough that there's something going on. xD

<-- Is too lazy to think of something besides the popular series. >__<

source: animenewsnetwork

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That's kinda strange taste you got there, but hey, who cares right? everybody got their own taste and preference. I dunno if it fits ur discription or not but try Hanakimi, it's between the school doctor and some photographer if im not mistaken, couldn't remember their name either sorry. D-ash also has a lil bit of what you are asking for i think.

You like the things that i HATE, and i HATE the things that you like

OH MY GOD I'M NOT THE ONLY ONE. : DDD

You've already listed most of the best ones I know (OMG SOMEONE ELSE HAS READ EROICA), so all that's left I can think of to add are the "bishie series," because large numbers of bishies = slashable. Now, I haven't read all of these, but the startling amount of doujinshi for some of them suggests plenty of subtext.

Saiyuki
Prince of Tennis
Satisfaction Guaranteed
Yami no Matsuei
GATE
Hands Off! (Though I do think there was a girlfriend in this one...)
Tactics
Gundam something-or-other (There's too dang many of them...)

And I will specially recommend Shout Out Loud! even though there is, er, consummation, because the longing beforehand was so great.

On the flip side, the only think I can think of is Murder Princess with a teeeeeny little bit of lesbian subtext, which was slightly amplified in the OVA, or so I heard.

Also, I highly recommend the Ace Attorney games for the Nintendo DS. The subtext is barely noticeable, but it's there and the writers KNOW IT. ("Thanks to you, I am saddled with unnecessary... feelings.")

Kagerou Nostalgia In general I don't read yaoi, I don't ship couples. But totally got ShiranuixKazuma (the two main guys) vibes from this! Try it, it needs more love.

lol @ PoT, I hear the author is a little perplexed that their shounen, sports series attracted a massive yaoi fanbase.

ZOMG! Yay, I'm not the only one, either! 😀

Thanks so much for your fab recommendations, Oriana3k. I hadn't heard of GATE, Satisfaction Guaranteed and Tactics -- that's three new titles for me to enjoy! I'm particularly thrilled about Tactics, because it's classified as shounen, and I have a sekrit fetish (er, not-so-sekrit?) for shounen or seinen that is actually really very gay. Any further recommendations along these lines will be greatly appreciated.

Many thanks to everyone else, also. Yes, popular series are just fine, so long as they have this element of predominant subtext... I've heard a lot about Naruto and Sasuke! Will definitely look into them. And yes, Kagerou Nostalgia is fabulously gay! I feel a little guilty for saying this, since most of the characters are underaged in this manga, but Plus Anima has tons of gay moments, too.

Speaking of, here are some more titles that I should add to my list of Pure Subtext:

Switch
Dolls
Pretty much any manga by Akino Matsuri...
Count Cain
Di(e)ce
X-Kai
Demon Diary
The Silver Hero
Legal Drug
Sequence
Under the Glass Moon
Hana no Asukagumi (lesbian subtext, at last!)
Let Dai (remains purely subtextual for the first few volumes)
Vassalord (again, the guys shower together and drink each other's blood, but it isn't quite clear whether they actually have sex, or if they're just really comfortable with each other's bodies)

I've found that a great way to find Pure Subtext is to track down BL doujinshi artists, and then find their actual manga work. Quite often, you'll either find out-and-out yaoi -- but if you're lucky, you'll find a plain manga with loads of gay subtext. It's also fun reading non-BL manga by artists who've actually drawn BL before. The BL tends to "bleed through" even in these artists' more innocuous works, and that kind of subtext is just delicious...

Again, Oriana3k, it's a pleasure to meet you. I hope that we'll get better acquainted, and will egg each other on in subtextual bliss!

Read manga with the following themes...
Politics
Power Couples
Pure Subtext

Quote from senefen

lol @ PoT, I hear the author is a little perplexed that their shounen, sports series attracted a massive yaoi fanbase.

That's hilarious! I hope the author's not too freaked out. 🤣

Quote from Atlanta

It's also fun reading non-BL manga by artists who've actually drawn BL before. The BL tends to "bleed through" even in these artists' more innocuous works, and that kind of subtext is just delicious...

Oh, exactly! And that reminded me of so many more.

Author Saenagi Ryou: we've already listed a couple of her works here, so let's just throw in her name to be complete.
Author Matoh Sanami: Though her most famous work is Fake, which might qualify if not for the last volume, some of her less known works could count.
Author Yoshitomi Akihito: Has a few yuri series, but his non-yuri series tend to be a bit suggestive as well.

And any series which follows the buddy cop/lovely angels formula.

Guy examples:
Getbackers
Cross (shounen) only a oneshot, but really good.
Loan Wolf, maybe?
Black Cat
DOGS
Otodama though only a little's been scanlated and it's unlikely to continue.

Girl examples:
Dirty Pair
Gunsmith Cats
Read or Die (the three episode OVA, if you can get it)
And those old Project A-ko movies. B-ko's obsession with C-ko's a bit suspect, I think. 🙄

What else... Faeries' Landing is pretty much all het except for occasional flirting from the heroine's gay brother.

Oh-oh-oh, and how could I forget!? Tvtropes.org has perfect example lists! But be careful with this site, you could get stuck on it for days.

Heterosexual Life Partners; Anime examples are about a third of the way down the page.
Ho Yay and Les Yay
Lovely Angels

And at this point I've pretty much exhausted my resources. Argargh, how do I keep making such long posts on this topic? 🤢 🤣

EDIT 7-28-08

Thought of some more. 🙄
Diabolo
2x2=Shinobuden; not sure about the manga, but definitely the anime, though it's played for laughs.

EDIT 9-13-08
Moyashimon too, though the manga isn't scanlated that far. Better luck with the anime, which is excellent as well.

Hi, Oriana! And all my other subtextual friends...

I must apologize for my prolonged silence, but life's been crazy lately and has kept me away from these forums. Thank you so much for your added recommendations! (And for the links to the Ho Yay! Hahaha... I'd never heard of those terms before, but now I am possessed with the urge to use them in every conceivable context - and even some inconceivable ones. My friends and family are to be pitied.)

In the meantime, I've discovered the following gay-but-not-really series:

Karneval, which has beautiful art sometimes reminiscent of Kouga Yun's, and an unbelievably cute protagonist who could have been the Muse for that Garbage song - "Go Baby Go." For realz! And apparently he does make grown men swoon, if his penchant for attracting devilishly handsome protectors is anything to go by. (Plus, I think it's hilarious that the manga begins with him getting kidnapped by a villainous female pedophile who almost rapes him, just before he gets rescued by one of those handsome protectors. He promptly does the imprinting thing and, like a baby duck, follows this perfect stranger into what might be certain doom. Gotta love it.)

Hand of Glory has, of all things, the title of a hentai epic on the ancient art of onanism. However, it is actually quite an innocent story and features a boy suffering from stigmata. (Or something a lot like it?) Bleeding hands, at any rate. He's also suffering from a severe case of - guess what - devilishly handsome protector-itis! Except that the devilishly handsome protector is probably a real devil, and one who has a mysterious fascination with him. Or with his, uh, Hand of Glory. Go figure!

I'll keep you informed of any more discoveries! Please also keep me informed of yours. 🙂

Read manga with the following themes...
Politics
Power Couples
Pure Subtext

Shibutani-kun Tomo no Kai- I think this one is a little suggestive but it's been a long time since I bothered to look at it, so I could be wrong.

Nabari no ou is also like this (there are a few strong hints), and it has a good story as well.

edit: also forgot to add wild adapter!. It has more than a few hints but I think it has the subtext you might want. Again it has a very good story.

edit edit: remembered one again! I also strongly suggest Tokaido hisame and it's sequel. There is a mountain of tension unrealized between the two characters (although one side tries to do perverted things to the other with no sucess, kind of like silver diamond in that way 😀 ).

errr... I'm done, but hope they help.

I had lots a moment ago but I've forgotten them >_<
Have some yuri subtext anyway and I'll edit this sometime:

Lucky Star (i never miss an opportunity to recommend the anime)
Bakuretsu Tenshi (not so subtle)
Hidamari Sketch

Before reading your thread I hadn't fully appreciated the joys of subtext. It's something I enjoy quite a bit, but usually it gets pushed aside by my need to see the characters getting on with it.

Anyway, since you don't mind popular series, in my humble opinion the most subtext-y 'couple' out there is Fai and Kurogane from Tsubasa Reservoir Chronicle by CLAMP. I don't know if this is considered spoilers, but Kurogane gave his blood to save Fai, then later an arm and his prized sword to save Fai yet again; Fai, on the other hand, exchanged his magic for an artificial arm for Kurogane. Add that to some deep, meaningful conversations and you've got pure subtext at its best.

Yet more CLAMP works: Tokyo Babylon (my favourite manga ever), which has a dark edge to it which I love, along with supernatural themes and society issues (for lack of a better word). In the later volumes it's clear that Subaru loves Seishirou, but whether his feelings are reciprocated or not is questionable until X comes along (and an omake sort of thing about Seishirou helps understand the whole thing). In it their situation is finally sorted out, and you also get acquainted with Kamui, who's fated to save or destroy the world, and Fuuma, who's fated to be his twin star. Now the only obstacle in this is Fuuma's very annoying sister, Kotori, who obviously loves Kamui. But since she dies relatively early in the series and in a rather dramatic way, I don't know if her appearance bothers you or not. There are dozens of subtext-y scenes and conversations between those two boys, and Kamui cares for Fuuma deeply despite their... I don't want to spoil it to you if you decide to read it, so I'll just say 'conflicting opinions'. Fuuma's motives become a bit more dubious after a particular plot twist, but in the beginning he seems to be genuinely fond of Kamui.

CLAMP works are pretty much riddled with subtext, I could go on and on (can you tell I really like them?), but another example is Kinomoto Touya and Tsukishiro Yukito from Cardcaptor Sakura, and there's also Watanuki Kimihiro and Doumeki Shizuka from xxxHOLiC. Watanuki has a crush on a classmate of theirs, Himawari, but it's mostly for comic relief and to explain her appearances/importance.

If you don't mind historical manga, there's Shinsengumi Imon Peace Maker and its sequel Peacemaker Kurogane by Chrono Nanae, the mangaka of Vassalord. It's a Bakumatsu/Shinsengumi story (on hiatus, unfortunately), and there's lot of subtext between the main character, a teenage boy named Ichimura Tetsunosuke, and his counterpart, Kitamura Suzu, who eventually develops a rather 'interesting' personality. Then you also have Hijikata Toshizou and Okita Souji, whose relationship involves lots of pranks pulled on the former by the latter and some very endearing scenes, especially at the end of SIP/beginning of PMK.

This is all my brain can come up with at the moment, will add more if I remember anything else.

I LOVE YOU GUYS. You are the most fabulous, amazing people... So many recommendations! 😲 Love you, love you, love you. I'd be more than happy to have miles of subtext with any of you, I promise... 😀

I've heard of the Kurogane/Fai thing! But I never got around to reading it, presumably because the sugar-sweet and apparently "straight" beginning put me off... (I can't remember much, aside from Magical Boy saving Magical Girl.) Obviously, I was sorely mistaken and should have continued doggedly until I reached the ghey. Blood-sharing! Meaningful conversations! Ah, that sort of subtext is totally my thing...

I should be reading more CLAMP, aye. I did see the X anime, which I thought was marvelously gay, but again, I never got around to reading the manga. That blasphemy shall be swiftly atoned for. Perhaps by reading fan fiction in addition to the manga...

Lialah, I agree with you - "Shibutani-kun Tomo no Kai" has some of the best pure subtext ever seen! I madly, madly worship that series. It's just too perfect in so many ways. I haven't read "Wild Adapter" yet, though, so thanks for telling me of that! "Saiyuki" by the same mangaka had enough subtext to drown the average fangirl, so I have wild hopes for WA as well.

Juneau, your list is the one list which is completely new to me - congratulations! I will now begin hoarding your recommendations to read during my lunch-breaks at work. (Because obviously, lunch-breaks are for devouring manga, not food...)

Thanks again, everyone. You're champs. 🙂

Read manga with the following themes...
Politics
Power Couples
Pure Subtext

Quote from Atlanta

I LOVE YOU GUYS. You are the most fabulous, amazing people... So many recommendations! 😲 Love you, love you, love you. I'd be more than happy to have miles of subtext with any of you, I promise... 😀

you're welcome! this is quite an interesting thread, I'd never really considered 'subtext' factors within manga before but now I'm quite interested, and there are quite a few suggestions here!

Quote from Atlanta

I LOVE YOU GUYS. You are the most fabulous, amazing people... So many recommendations! 😲 Love you, love you, love you. I'd be more than happy to have miles of subtext with any of you, I promise... 😀

Thanks again, everyone. You're champs. 🙂

You're more than welcome, thanks to you I've stopped neglecting subtext (which I was doing for the sake of action), at least for the time being
😀

I'm-a constantly thinking of more/forgetting for later/blablabla...

Here is Greenwood (HOW COULD I FORGET A CLASSIC)
Sengoku Nights
Ludwig Kakumei (and supposedly everything else by this author, but I can't personally attest to that)
Tsuki to Mizu no Yoru

And I think I rec'ced something of hers already, but I'll reiterate that TAKAGUCHI Satosumi is brilliance in human form.