Hi! I'm ace, and while I like the cuteness and emotionality of shounen-ai, I have zero desire to see any kind of sex in there, I just want the pure stuff. Kissing is perfectly fine, just nothing AT ALL beyond that-- I don't want even off-screen hints of other acts/a previous night in bed or even discussion about wanting sex at some point with their SO or anything like that in there. And I'd also prefer it to have good writing and characterization. And a happy ending (or, at the very least, CLOSURE of any sort). (And I've been having a devil of a time finding titles that check off even just the first/main part of this request, no less all rest of them, orz...)


TITLES I ALREADY READ OR PLAN TO READ (they fulfill all parts of the request):

* Basically everything created by CLAMP
* Seven Days
* Silver Diamond + its side-story/sequel
* That Summer web manhwa


TITLES I ALREADY CROSSED OFF THE LIST DESPITE THERE NOT BEING ANY SEX IN THEM + WHY (to better demonstrate just how restrictive my request really is):

* Doukyuusei + its sequel(s) - I... actually don't remember specifically why I had crossed this one off, lol, I just know I did...
* Endou-kun no Kansatsu Nikki + its sequel(s) by Nojiko Hayakawa - There's some pseudo-sexual mental imagery + clear desire/intent for it on the part of the main characters about/toward each other.
* Ichi Ni no San! - Seemed to have only kissing, but then I found out that they discussed wanting to go further than that towards the end... :\
* I Hear the Sunspot + its sequel(s) because apparently in the later volumes the characters discuss wanting sex, too. :\
* Loveless - The whole virginity-ears thing + the main character eventually going to lose it/them in canon according to official artwork (plus some other really messed-up stuff... I mean, I know it's more of a psychological manga than anything else, but still, yikes).
* No. 6 - While it doesn't go beyond kissing, and would otherwise seem to check off all the boxes in my request, it turns out that it has a completely open ending with no romantic closure at all (meaning, it doesn't check off the 'ending closure' bit).


So, yeah, this is hard, lol. (Please tell me that I didn't already find all the ones that fit this request, orz... ) Anyone have some more suggestions? (I don't care if it's new, old, manga, manhwa, heck I'd even take a 4-koma at this point, lol... just please give me something, orz ) Thanks!

Last edited by TotallyClever at 7:00 pm, Mar 30 2018

I had a long search for this sort of thing (except without the happy ending & and I just didn't want explicit sex). It was amazing how little I found (there were a few short generic sort of stories, like one shots, but I thought they were a waste of time). But I'll list some of what I found here. I'm hoping you'll get more recommendations (so I can read them too).

My first thought was Ichi Ni no San!, it's really cute. And there is an important female character whose likeable (always a plus for me).

La Esperança is also cute and innocent. It's set in a boys school and reminds me of some of the classic shonen ai tragedies in setting, only it's generally optimistic. I will warn you the art is terrible, but the story & characters are worth it.

There is also the classic Komatta Toki ni wa Hoshi ni Kike!, which is almost not BL with how platonic it is. You kind of have to read into it.

Others you might be interested in: Senpai, Shinkuu Yuusetsu (really platonic, almost not shounen ai), Tsuki to Mizu no Yoru & Kabe no Naka no Tenshi (Bikke) (I don't remember if this one had hints or not, but there definitely wasn't anything explicit.)

Of course, my two favorites are the already mentioned No. 6, and my all time favorite manga, Golden Days. The writing & characterization of both of these are amazing, particularly Golden Days. Golden Days does have an ending that most people would call sad, though, though I found it uplifting as well. (For reference, I thought that Seven Days & Silver Diamond both had poor characterization & writing, so you may think differently about these).

I also really dislike sex in manga (I only want to read it if it's comedic or implied). There is a lot of GL like this too if you are interested (I actually think it is a bit easier to find than the BL).

Last edited by meredithbecca at 6:13 pm, Mar 29 2018

You do realize shounen-ai IS yaoi, right?

I'm asexual too, but I like reading yaoi, so we might interpret things differently. I think this author fits your criteria, though.

https://www.mangaupdates.com/authors.html?id=3917

These are some of her stories I've read:

Gunjou no Subete
Hoshi Dake ga Shitteru
Kimi wa Natsu no Naka

And this one is not even considered shonen-ai officially, but there are definitely romantic feelings

No. 6

I very much second Golden Days, but only if you're okay with having your heart broken (in exchange for a lovely story, of course).

Have you read Koori no Mamono no Monogatari, by the same mangaka as Silver Diamond? Imo it's far superior to SD.

Jinjuu Houretsuden, Asterisk, Moon Trick - Pretty much have the feeling of Suguira Shiho's works, but much less accomplished world-building-wise.

Uragiri wa Boku no Namae o Shitteiru, maybe. It's not technically BL, though.
Crush on You
Earthian
Hikari no Machi - I read this years ago so I can't remember whether they ever mentioned sex. But there's definitely nothing explicit.
Isagi-Kojima
Ikemen-kun to Saenai-kun
Hanakisou
Lost Boys - There's nothing sexual about the relationship between the main couple, but you may want to skip the end-of-volume extra about the side couple.
Oka no Ue no Rakuen
Running on Empty
Luo Xue Cheng Bai
Thomas no Shinzou - But it is a tragedy.
Yasashii Ryuu no Koroshikata

Last edited by calstine at 8:09 am, Mar 30 2018

This is good to know. I'd decided not to read this one because I didn't think SD was all that great. I'll have to give this a shot. Thanks!




I think it is probably because of the creepy teacher who's after them.

Ah, maybe that was it. Oh well, lol...



Anyway, in response to everyone so far:


@meredithbecca + @catandmouse: OMG, you are gems!! <3 This is exactly the sort of stuff I was looking for! (Well, aside from No. 6 because of its ending, lol, and Ichi Ni no San!, which is actually the one that I had originally said I couldn't remember the name of, lol {edited my op now to add this}. Otherwise, though, those all look like great rec's {especially Golden Days, Komatta..., Senpai, and all of Nagisa Furuya's stuff!}, and I will definitely check them out! Thank you! )

@calstine: Thanks! I've heard kind of a lot of mixed things about a few of those (like Uragiri wa Boku no Namae o Shitte Iru, Crush on You, Running on Empty, Yasashii Ryuu no Koroshikata, etc.) in terms of their writing so those are just going to be maybes, and since Lost Boys does have sex in it that one's going to be a no. (Oh, and Heart of Thomas does have an instance of implied/off-screen sex{ual assault} in it, if I'm remembering what I heard right, but since that particular title is a major classic, I will keep it in mind.) However, Jinjuu Houretsuden, Koori no Mamono no Monogatari, and Isagi-Kojima all definitely look intriguing, and Moon Trick and Luo Xue Cheng Bai look super cute, so I'll definitely give those five a look!



Also, @everyone Re: endings: Really, I just want something with decent closure, not some total non-ending like No. 6 has, orz. Happy endings are definitely preferred, but heck, even tragedies will do as long as they've got an ACTUAL ENDING of any kind, lol. (Clarified my op now to reflect this, too. )



This is already more rec's than I was expecting (due to the trouble I was having in finding stuff like this on my own, lol), so immense thank yous to you all so far!! <3 I'll keep on checking this thread, so if anyone finds any more that fit the bill, please continue to throw them my/our way


Last edited by TotallyClever at 7:34 pm, Mar 30 2018

Hi,

Adding another one

Koimonogatari (TAGURA Tohru)

Tadaima, Okaeri is pretty good, its one of those omegaverse stuff, but honestly its really adorable and its not one of those typical omegaverse rape stuff. And honestly their child is effing adorable, i reccomend you read it. And of course its pure shounen ai. ❤

There's also this one called Given. I wont really explain the story to you that much, but basically (just found this summary from google though):
?It?s stuck deep inside me and I can?t get it out of my head. Mafuyu?s voice is an insane and dangerous weapon.? That day, I started to feel that playing the guitar and playing basketball, both of which I liked very much previously, was becoming boring. Uenoyama meets Mafuyu who?s holding onto a broken guitar. The moment Uenoyama finishes fixing the guitar, Mafuyu becomes completely attached to him. However, hearing Mafuyu?s song by chance leaves a deep impression on Uenoyama. An alternative love drawn by Kizu Natsuki!

There's also one called Sasaki to Miyano and its basically about a fudanshi, its kind of like a slice if life thing, but its still adorable.

Another one is Harenochi Shikibu. Well its kind of hard to explain so i think its better off for you to serach it up yourself.

Shimanami Tasogare, After recently moving to Onomichi, Hiroshima, high school student Tasuku Kaname is thrown into despair at the possibility that he may have been outed for being gay. Convinced his life is over, his despair turns into shock when he sees a woman jump out of a window of a nearby house. Tasuku races to the house in a panic only to discover that it's a public meeting lounge owned by the woman he saw before. Tasuku comes face to face with the woman as she walks past him unharmed, but not before she implies that she had been watching him from afar. Confused, Tasuku follows her up to the top of a steep hill where she offers to briefly listen to what's on his mind. Although Tasuku doesn't go into too much detail, he later accepts her invitation to come to the lounge to meet others with similar troubles.

EDIT: nevermind Tadaima, Okaeri. I forgot its a little bit yaoi.

Last edited by Floor123 at 5:41 am, Apr 18 2018

Second Koimonogatari (TAGURA Tohru). It's a really beautiful read. Kinda sad, but introspective and indirectly positive. Gorgeous art, awesome pacing and great characterisation. It's not light, but it has a degree of maturity, a mellow kind of realism lacking in the rest of the genre. The deepening of friendship between the two main protagonists is especially touching to see. This is a work I find easy to call a masterpiece.

I also second Sasaki to Miyano. It's just plain cute, comedic and incredibly light. If you're willing to overlook Miyano's hobby, which is completely innocent, all things considering.

I'm pretty new to this genre, so there's not much I can speak of, but there are quite a few titles I'm aware of which may fit however I can't say for sure. So once I've read them, I'll come back.

Additionally, I agree that the best shounen ai is the kind you're looking for, and what originally drove me to find more.

Last edited by AlternateLife at 3:45 am, May 2 2018

I know this is an older thread, but if you are still looking I suggest reading Bloody Mary:
https://www.mangaupdates.com/series.html?id=105476

The story is very emotional and plot-heavy. Watching the MCs relationship slowly blossom into love was lovely to watch, and Mary is very funny and cute, a perfect foil to Maria's cool exterior.