This is my first time posting in this part of the forums...I feel so weird ^_^

Anyway, this is really tricky request, but I'm looking for a shounen-ai or shoujo-ai manga (note that; not yaoi / yuri) where the love story is not the main plot focus, and where characters other than the main couple get just (or almost) as much page-time as the main couple do. I'd really like it if one of the protagonists is not even involved in the romance part of the plot.

Examples - Koori no Mamono no Monogatari where the BL is not the point of the story. There's comedy, adventure, fantasy elements - and the side-couple is even more likable (to me, anyway) than the main one.

Silver Diamond is a manga in which 2 of the 4 MCs are not romantically involved with anyone.

In a way, even Self Portrait fits because one of the protagonists is the guy's 'girlfriend' - I found her very cute ^^

I haven't got any examples from the GL department, though >.<

So - are there any other manga like these? If so, please recommend!

And just for the sake of emphasis, please no yaoi or yuri - I'm not really a fan of explicit content.

Thank you for reading! 🙂

Try Otona no Mondai. The main character is a college student whose father adopts his younger gay lover.

Antique Bakery may also be for you. One of the main characters is gay, but in my opinion the story is more about the interrelations between the characters rather than shounen-ai.

Also try a search for the category 'LGBT Character in a Non-Yaoi/Yuri Manga'.

Thank you for the reply! I'll try them. Kind of new to the BL / GL scene, here... 😳

But the category doesn't really cut it, because most of the manga there are not BL / GL at all, and the character in question usually plays a really small, insignificant role. I actually want him/her to be a MC; I just don't want his / her love life to be the only focus of the story, that's all.

I would also recommend Innocent Bird by Kisaragi Hirotaka. Though the love between the MCs is important, it's not really the main focus of the story. It's only shounen-ai so BL-rookies won't be shocked (it is tagged as yaoi, but that's not really the case: only one yaoi-scene occures in the last volume and it really isn't anything graphic, so don't let it scare you away!), the story is great, and the art is beautiful. ^_^

Hmm.... maybe Hanakisou? Stuff by Morimoto Shuu might also be good, especially Jinjuu Houretsuden and Asterisk.

Also, I believe this is labeled as yaoi, but Shout Out Loud! might work. The (completely platonic) father-son relationship is just as important as the romantic relationships, and the sex content was very mild if my memory serves.

The first few volumes of Sweet Blue Flowers seem to fit what you want, though

it's heading towards a focus on the protagonists' relationship with each other.

You could also try these, though some are more subtext than canon:
Transistor Venus
"Bruges" from Applause
Hatshepsut
Honey & Honey
Oniisama e
Double House
The Sword of Paros
Burst Angel
Hayate x Blade
Read or Dream
Yokohama Kaidashi Kikou

Thank you everyone for the BL recs! I'll be sure to check them all out!

@ mizuno_youko -
I don't really like the sound of Aoi Hana and Oniisama e..., but all the other titles look nice. Many thanks!

First at all: Welcome to this part of the forum! 😉 I'm sure you could find interesting light stuff here.

I rarely read "light" BL but imo shounen-ai like these fit to your request:

Uraboku
Kyou Kara Maou
Yami no Matsuei

The three of them were released as animes. The romance is not leading and the plots are interesting. They are not tagged sh-ai but they are.

From Eroica With Love also could be interesting for you.

[img]http://img211.imageshack.us/img211/6674/naturebyabhishekultimat.jpg[/img]

Ruler of the Yaoi world

Thanks for the suggestions.

And I can bump this now, can't I?