Basically, BL that you would put in a "masterpiece" collection, if you were given the job of picking the most amazingly artistic and intellectual BL mangas of all time. Something very deep and literary and exquisite... A life-changing BL manga that, once you've read it, you will never be able to forget, and which will forever rank among the top mangas in your life.

This should be a manga that you can show to a professor of literature and actually call it literature.

Examples...

The Song of the Wind and the Trees
The Son of Heaven - unscanlated, wah!
A Cruel God Reigns
Marginal
X+Y
The November Gymnasium - again, unscanlated!
The Heart of Thomas

For some reason, they're all classics from the 70s. Anyone have any other recommendations?

Odette and akari_mizunashi, you know I'm looking at you.

Last edited by tartufo at 4:51 am, Feb 18 2010

okay, BL (romance) isn't the main focus (but I think this also applies to all titles on your recs) :
Poe no Ichizoku
Banana Bread Pudding
Shichigatsu Nanoka ni

Last edited by yuuri097 at 10:40 am, Feb 18 2010

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Maybe Banana Fish.

I wouldn't know if the following can be classified as BL "literature" because time isn't on their side but I've always thoroughly enjoyed Yoshinaga Fumi's works. In particular Antique Bakery. Ima Ichiko is another author that I've been impressed with. I would highly recommend Otona no Mondai.

Like I said none of the last two are in the vein of the classics by Group-24 in terms of background, landscape and storytelling. However they're probably some of the best, in my opinion, from the slice-of-life genre - BL or not.

Well it's not subtle, but I would probably say the first story of Shounen Zanzou would fit into this category. The story was unusual and brought up several different topics of thought, but the main reason I find it literary is how short the story is and yet how well it flows and concludes. This is one of the shortest manga of any genre that I've read that felt so complete by the end. It was also one of the only mangas that has ever made me cry (and it wasnt just about the lovey dovey crap either).

Maybe Sakura Gari, depending on how it ends. So far it's been a very impressive work.

It's hardly subtle lol...more on the melodramatic side.

Antique Bakery (and any yaoi of Yoshinaga Fumi sensei)
Future lovers (and any yaoi of Kunieda Saika)
Kanga ne Spoon
The Cornered Mouse Dreams of Cheese and the sequel The Carp on the Chopping Block Jumps Twice


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I didn't like the art in those...

so you want snob yaoi manga? Two rich gay snobs having a go at each other? That sort of thing?

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Gay book discussion thread

Oh hai! *eyes sparkle*

Well, the BL works of Hagio Moto trump all, especially Thomas no Shinzou, which is more literary than most novels.

The BL works of Sakata Yasuko and Hatsu Akiko, coiners of the term "yaoi", might qualify, but many of those are short stories that have never been reprinted.

I would also have to mention The Door to Summer by Takemiya Keiko, a oneshot that reads like a pilot episode of Kaze to Ki no Uta that also happens to be the first shoujo with male homosexual content ever published, and Takemiya's last BL work, Heian Joururi Monogatari. I haven't read this one, but I've seen Chinese scans, and it looks both literary and smutty!

Nakamura Asumiko does a lot of run-of-the-mill stories these days, but Barairo no Hoo no Koro, J no Subete and Copernicus Breathing are masterpieces.

I'm really not much of a fan of Tezuka, but his MW is fantastic. It's not quite BL, since it's seinen, but hey, it's gay.

Kihara Toshie's Mari and Shingo is as subtle and beautiful as you could wish for.

Most of Aoike Yasuko's works are pretty far from literary, but I'd certainly include them in a "best of" collection if I was given the choice. ^^

I'd also suggest a look through all the shounen-ai published in Manga Erotics F. Everything I've seen of that magazine is great.

Edit: Huh, apparently I have more to fangirl about:

How could I forget Tomoi and Nemureru Mori no Binan? The latter has finally been scanlated by the awesome Hotcakes, yay!

What I've seen of the works of Belne is awesome. Her writing and art style remind me of the Year 24 Group.

Salva Me is just lovely. Konno Kita does idyllic single-sex boarding school like nobody else.

I haven't read Hensoukyoku, but idealized European historical gay based on real people based on the queen of idealized European historical gay? Sounds pretty awesome to me.

Last edited by akari_mizunashi at 5:50 pm, Feb 28 2010

Why the hell would that make it literature?

Um. I've got nothing new. I second Boys Next Door, The Breath of Copernicus, and Nemureru Mori no Binan.

And, OK, I have a feeling you've read all of these before, but...

Gerard & Jacques was the first BL I read that made me think BL could be literary.

1999 Shanghai and Shokubutsu Zukan are pure poetry.

Koi ga Bokura wo Yurusu Hani is not subtle, but along with Shiiku Gakari Rika, is extremely provocative.

Concrete Garden is fairly thoughtful.

Light and Shadow is good, but I remember not liking it as much on re-read, so I might have to read it again to see how I feel about it now.


Last edited by Odette at 11:12 pm, Feb 28 2010

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Avatar by tassyn.livejournal.com

Reading: Kingdom, Sangokushi, Historie

That's the type of manga he listed in his first comment. They are all about, at least the first one:

"Hello old chap, do you want to have a go around with the nickle? There we go, one two, front and back, one two, and...we're done. Very nice, carry on. I will see you later for some tea and more promiscuous acts. " sounds like some monty python yaoi doesn't it.....

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Gay book discussion thread

What.

Ah, tartufo has ovaries, but at any rate,
I don't know where you got that view about Kaze to Ki no Uta, but a Monty Python yaoi sounds absolutely awesome.

If you are interested in that kind of yaoi, though, Fin de Siècle Detective Club comes to mind. Does being based on literature make something literature?

If I'm not wrong, Hotcakes plans to do Hi izuru tokoro no tenshi in the future, so you might be in luck.

Yeah, the art there isn't really top notch but the story development and the sex scenes r good.
I like Sakura Gari also. What a pity WATASE Yuu put it on hold now to continue Fushigi Yuugi Genbu Kaiden.

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