I want to read more yaoi with versatile couples. Seke couples. Who'll top and bottom regularly.
Like the awesome and adorable couple of Itoshi no Nekokke.
Please, avoid suggesting stories in which a Top becomes a Bottom or vice-verse. So mangas like Sex Drop are not what I'm looking for.

The first story of Kuma to Interi features a versatile couple, but it may not be what you're looking for because it's not your typical yaoi. The art is different, it's a collection of oneshots in the same universe, it's pure slice of life where sex is just part of their lives, and it has political undertones.

I personally feel it's the best representative versatile couple I have ever seen in yaoi because they aren't "uke-fied" and "seme-fied" depending on their role. Meaning, they don't turn into someone else when they're intimate, where the uke has to blush, the seme has to look "cool" and "manly" and call the uke "cute", and their whole mannerisms change depending on their position during sex. In this one, their character is consistent all the way be it in their regular interactions or when they're intimate, regardless of their position.

If you want something more cute, Neko x Neko may be more what you're looking for, although there is a little bit of resistance for one of them to bottom (resolves by the end of the first chapter). You won't find a typical yaoi with a better versatile couple than Itoshi no Nekokke, unfortunately.

Last edited by Careena at 7:22 am, Jan 4 2022

Sad... I already tried reading Neko x Neko, but I didn't got into it. And I tried reading Kuma to Interi. It was interesting to say the least.
You're probably right. Itoshi no Nekokke might be the only good versatile couple in yaoi manga.
Which is why I've been trying to explore outside Japanese BL, but sadly most of the stuff I find is too similar to yaoi or straight out porn.

That's only natural. Versatile couples don't sell well in Japan so there isn't much out there. Women there (the target audience) don't like them for some reason. As erotic fiction, sure, but not as an actual normal couple.

That's the annoying part of yaoi. Is made by straight woman. Which is why I rarely find content I can actually enjoy.

The first chapter of Fancy Love (https://www.mangaupdates.com/series.html?id=495) is a true vers couple but as mentioned it's a rare occurrence in BL.


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Been there, read that

Mou Ichido, Nando demo implies they are a seke couple. Hatsukoi no Atosaki and Akarui Kazoku Keikaku also only imply... but I never read one like Itoshi, unfortunately.

Last edited by dalek at 10:19 am, Jan 21 2022

"40 x 40 Chikuwa Kaigi" is a manga with a seke couple, plus it's just a good manga with mature, older men, which is a bit different than many BL. But as many have already said, seke isn't popular with the original Japanese female audience. The roles are fixed likely because the (mostly straight) women reading BL need to have a stand in, and that's usually the uke. He's the most "woman-like" character. Switching the roles around would disrupt the fantasy and suspension of disbelief, so pairings need to stay as heteronormative as possible.

An alternative would be reading so-called bara, written by actual gay men. Bara is usually very pornographic, but the roles are much more fluid. I have found BL with manly or masculine ukes are the best bet outside of reversible. Those comics tend to be my favorite. Mainly because the characters are more equal to each other in size and behavior, which is similar to the few seke BL I've read. A really good example is "Hoshi wo Kazoeru Koto" by Uchida Kaoru. Also, Korean BL has a lot of manly bottoms, much more than Japanese BL. But still very little seke.

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