I'm looking for BL manga in which the characters are like pretty much any shounen/seinen manga protagonists, except of course they're gay. What I mean is not any stereotypical BL characters that are willowy or wispy or overly sentimental, but boys that are like boys, like traditionally boyish boys in most shounen manga. They should be like shounen protagonists both emotionally and physically and even in how they walk and talk. The gayness shouldn't even be the main point of their characters; they're just guys who happen to be gay, and are involved in a story with many non-gay or non-romantic plot points. (Not just "getting together" or "falling in love" like in most BL manga, but also a plot with many other concerns other than just the romance.)

Examples: I really like Kyuugou's characters 'cause they're really "boyish" boys that wouldn't look out of place or even act out of place in a shounen manga. Lol at least I think so. Just look at Acid Town and you'll understand. Another more famous example is Banana Fish.

To mods: If this should go in the Yaoi thread instead of the Looking For thread, pls. move it. Thanks.

Matoh Sanami and Kodaka Kazuma 's early works remind me a lot to 90s shounen.

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Sankyuu! I forgot about FAKE!

Oh I love Kyuugou too!

Natsume Isaku's Dash has a refreshing shounen like style.

The very versatile Yoshinaga Fumi's Kinou Nani Tabeta? which is currently running in Morning has a gay main character.

Yamashita Tomoko apparently debuted in Afternoon. I think she might be the first bl mangaka to publish in Afternoon! She reminds me a little of Yoshinaga Fumi and her guys are pretty realistic.

I love Yamada Yugi dearly so I might be bias, I think her characters do act boys especially in her older works. Ore wa Warukunai is her best.

I also recommend Takaido Akemi's Breakfast Club and Konno Keiko's Ai no Kotodama.

You might also want to look into the works of Esuto Emu and Ima Ichiko.

I personally love Tokumaru from Koi cha no Osahou. The plot is more focused on their relationship than you might prefer, but he is just such a guy.

Also, for a twist in the opposite direction, have you ever checked out Yu Yu Hakusho? Because you will never find anyone gayer in Shounen Jump than Itsuki and Sensui - and no, it's not just the slash goggles talking.

Thanks rabbitpower & wolf_unknown! I've actually read everything you both recommended except YYH... Lol even without slash goggles? Obviously I have to give it a try.

I'm always on the lookout for series like this. The reason I like bl is because I like boys with boys, not boys with flat-chested futanari!

There's MW, of course, but those guys don't really act like real boys - they act like typical seinen men. Yuki is kind of girly, too.

One I've disovered recently is Saigo no Sangatsu. It's one of those vaguely skeevy g-comi shota, but because of that it portrays boys' sexuality and emotions much more realistically than any female-oriented BL I've read. It's too bad only one chapter has been scanlated.

Last edited by akari_mizunashi at 6:49 pm, Nov 11 2009

I love Kyuugou too!

Check out MINEKURA Kazuya's work. I remember loving Wild Adapter.