There are yaoi mangas which you have to read it, beacouse it very basic. Like: Viewfinder Haru wo Daite Ita Under Grand Hotel Crimson Spell Okane Ga Nai The Summit Totally Captivated

Is there must read SHOUNEN AI mangas?

Unexpected Love for sure! X3 I second Aitsu no Daihonmei (though it is categorized as yaoi, the story has not really developed into it yet) PX

And Koori no Mamono no Monogatari and Uragiri wa Boku no Namae wo Shitteiru. maybe?

And I personally think you forgot to add Junjou Romantica, Maiden Rose, Sakura Gari, Giglio, Koisuru Boukun, Bukiyou na Silent and Zion no Koeda. 😉

I don't agree that there are basic BL one must read no matter, at least not in the true sense of the word. From the examples that have already been given: Totally Captivated is completely forgettable, Okane Ga Nai is good for those who enjoy girly ukes only, Junjou Romantica is only half good for the comedy, not so much for plot, art and (sometimes) even characters (I still love you, my sweet, sweet Nowaki). Giglio, beautiful, painful, rotten, cruel Giglio is short enough to make a romantic puke. Also, most people suggest Gravitation - already in the shonen-ai department - and maybe six or seven years ago I'd have agreed with them. Today, not so much. Gravitation is fun but it loses track easily and it's not that much of a BL considering all the options that have been around for the same amount of time. But perhaps it's just me who likes to swim against the current 🤣

That being said, of course I wouldn't mind leaving some suggestions. For instance, I always thought Ame ni Niteiru was a great introduction to BL (it was mine, followed closely by Gravitation). Then again, it is so sad (of course it depends on your age, fufu) any romantic of soft-heart probably wouldn't like it that much. Slow Starter (ICHIKAWA Kei) is another gem. Kanjou Spectrum is particularly good and useful for those who only read shonen-ai, since it can be the bridge to the wonderful world of Yoneda Kou-sensei 😛 . Only the Ring Finger Knows is pretty sweet and I bet more than half the BL fandom has already set their eyes on it (this is a stupid guess of mine though).

I've forced myself once or twice to read a particular manga because people kept saying it was a "must read" and they were never half as good as the reviews and the rating make it sound like 😐

It's the Art of Time, it's the Art of Life--
Of the player and the craftsman,
Of the writer of songs, of the creator of love,
Of those who will follow, of those who led,
There's no other way in the world ahead ♥

Endou-kun no Kansatsu Nikki and seven days

I am not one to read shounen-ai on a regular basis, but even so, there are some that I read and I absolutely LOVED!!!!

In no particular order... here they are~
Seven Days
New Beginnings
Loveless
Pure (Dakkang)

I will agree with MirayAllen on Kanjou Spectrum as well as Only the Ring Finger Knows... Also, if you like Only the Ring Finger Knows then the Novel is a MUST read... it goes more into detail 🙂

Only the Ring Finger Knows
Fake
Eerie Queerie!
Silver Diamond
Seven Days
Kiss Me Princess
New Beginnings

And maybe Toukaidou Hisame and Macaroni?

I would normally also say Totally Captivated, but I usually consider it more yaoi-ish than the regular shounen-ai. 😛

I've been thinking about this same thing lately, as I've been considering whether I want to put together a presentation on shounen-ai. Here's what I've come up with.

Classic shounen-ai:
Heart of Thomas
Kaze to Ki no Uta
From Eroica with Love
Earthian
Banana Fish

More modern:
Gravitation
FAKE
Only the Ring Finger Knows
Challengers, prequel to Koisuru Boukun
Koori no Mamono no Monogatari or Silver Diamond
Gakuen Heaven or Gorgeous Carat
Gohou Drug, Tokyo Babylon, X, or another title by CLAMP
Let Dai
Loveless

I think of these type of lists as not so much a 'must-read' list, but as more of an attempt to define the important titles of the genre. My goal is to list works that fans should at least be aware of, to sort-of have a basic literature of the genre. They might be important historically, or for excellence, or simply for being well-known. I think this is a different list from one of introductory titles to introduce someone to shounen-ai, or of favorite titles. sissiee, I think your yaoi examples do that - whether one likes them or not, whether they are even good or not, every yaoi fan has doubtless heard of these titles and knows something about them.

Thank you guys, this is a lot! 😀 I see what you are saying, and you are right, not every one of them are must read, I just listed the most popular ones.