hi there....
a bit bored wit ordinary shoujo romance..

any recommendation of manga with a light - or maybe very light - shounen/shoujo ai? it's ok even it's not the main theme or focus of the manga...
i'm not into yaoi/yuri at all, i can't stand boy x boy or girl x girl confessing and making love... but i'm searching for an extraordinary kind of romance like shonen/shoujo ai, implicitly or without sexual scenes... something like X, kaguya hime can be tolerated....

thanks for help 😀

I'll have to warn you that some shounen-ai are pretty similar to cliched shoujo, with an average girlier/cuter guy and another school idol cool guy (but that doesn't mean they are not enjoyed by many shounen-ai fans). Is it the type you are trying to avoid (cos I avoid them too)? Please say yes or no so that others can recommend suitable ones for you.

Sounds like your are looking for dark manga with toned-down romance, so:
Tetragrammaton Labyrinth
Epitaph
Venus Versus Virus

You could also try Godchild but I don't think it's really shounen-ai.

Boys Next Door by the same author is nice too.

Keep them coming, girls/guys following me. 😀

You can test the waters with these:

Antique Bakery
Boys Next Door
Concrete Garden
Mangetsu Monogatari
Otona no Mondai
Seven Days

Romance isn't a big component in most of them, but the more romantic ones tend to be more explicit, so...

Avatar by tassyn.livejournal.com

Reading: Kingdom, Sangokushi, Historie

I've heard people swear by Only the Ring Finger Knows as the gateway BL manga.

On the other hand, my gateway BL manga was Tokyo Babylon, which sounds more like the kind of thing you're looking for. Though I have the feeling you might have already read it if you've read X. If you haven't read it, do it. Now.

Sugiura Shiho's manga are also very light on the BL. If you like fantasy, her Silver Diamond or Koori no Mamono no Monogatari might be your best bet for getting into BL. I've also heard people credit Minekura Kazuya (Executive Committee + Wild Adapter) and Morimoto Shuu (Asterisk) as good introductions to BL.

To be honest, Only the Ring Finger Knows is exactly the type I try to avoid. I read it long time ago. Though I didn't think it was bad, you would have to point a gun to my head to make me read another one like that. 😮

For shoujo-ai, you could try:
Pieta
Blue - art is not mainstream or pretty but the story is worth a try
Utopia of Homosexuality (I haven't read it myself but heard praise)

Those are josei-ish. Here is a classic shoujo:
Oniisama E

For shounen-ai:
Sequence
Ilegenes
Vassalord
Running on Empty

Loveless
Silver Diamond
La Esperanca
Boy Princess
One Thousand and One Nights

All good light shonen-ai. 😃

[img]http://dl5.glitter-graphics.net/pub/1897/1897505janjlpzhnx.jpg[/img][img]http://dl5.glitter-graphics.net/pub/1312/1312665oecg2117z7.gif[/img][img]http://dl6.glitter-graphics.net/pub/1897/1897516cnienmfgzt.jpg[/img]

time to second~
Boy princess
Seven days
Only the Ring Finger Knows
Antique Bakery

and mention(and wish u to read 😛 )
Asterisk
Demian Syndrome
Innocent Bird
Keep Out (KISARAGI Hirotaka) and well.. anything by hirotaka
The Summit
Bokura ni Matsuwaru Etcetera
Kimi Dake ni Focus
Tokaido HISAME
Gohou Drug

oh! and vassalord is indeed really good.. ... .. ..

** "It's so warm that, Before the snow has a chance to stick, He melts it for me." **

Legal Drug-Implied
Wish-Somewhat gender-bender, implied
Peita-Implied
Earl Cain /Godchild-Implied, some hetero-smut
Cantarella-Strongly implied, some hetero-smut

Boys next door-If you want something a bit stronger.
Loveless-Borders strongly on the shota-line. Has a great plot, and most of the shoujo/shounen-ai is implied, but is obvious with the main characters. Try it out, but be aware that is has more direct content than the above.

Only the Ring Finger Knows is **not **the series you're looking for. Great introduction for someone who wants to ease into shounen-ai and yaoi, but not for someone who can't stand things like confessions/kissing etc.
Innocent Bird starts out very lightly, but has some smut content later in the series, so likely not this one either.

Hmm! Yaoi is NOT-SO-Bad after all!!! 🤣

Most of my reads this week are Yaoi/BL genre, I'm so totally into it!!
Especially yaoi that have deep chemistry and really good characters. I love it! So far, I've been following through some of the recommendations posted by MU members in some of the threads here. Thanks y'all

As a noob, here are my recommendations for Beginners:
Ano Kado wo Magatta Tokoro <-- Feels like I'm reading a Josei
Yome ni Konai ka <-- the first story TOTALLY MADE ME LOL! (I could have sworn my housemate could hear me laughing!)
The Tyrant who fall in love <-- smutty but memorable!
Last Client <-- I hafta say, they're pretty hot. ^__^;;;;;;;
Running on Empty <-- cant wait for more chapters!

psychological??
Bannin
Sono Kuchibiru ni Yoru no Tsuyu
Kaori Yuki's Boy next door. Made me cry..
Cut

Currently I'm looking for some good yaoi on Historical/yaoi genres...but so far ALL that I've leeched are...Abuse/Rape men in military uniforms, Uke priests,warriors.. and lame prisoners of war..

**any recommendations for the noobs on that particular genre?
I would love to read wild west/victorian/military/brothels (with some love chemistry and no she-personalities) **

[img]http://i268.photobucket.com/albums/jj11/obinrobin31/FINISHED2-Roger.gif[/img]
[color=black]The Hidden Agenda=[/color][color=red]Gol.D.Ace[/color]

[color=black]This Week's favourite:[/color]
DoLL (Okado Tatsuya)
Xp

@Hermit-chan: If you like military-style stuff, I recommend Inariya Fusanosuke's work. -wibbles- Intense and amazing. And, uh, totally not meant for first-time yaoi readers, so thread-starter, I seriously recommend not reading any of her yaoi works until you've, uh, eased into the genre. I'm not kidding when I say her stuff is intense. ^^;

Try any of Yumeka Sumomo's works. Cute, sometimes bittersweet, beautiful art.

If your looking for an "exceptional romance" Let Dai, hands down. Prepare for an emotional rollar coaster of life, love, tragedies, friendships, acceptance, revenge, and just the bitter sweet truths of teenage adolescence. This isn't only about two boys who love each other. This isn't just a simple 'I love you'.

[img]http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v43/riney25/Ginkosig-1.jpg[/img]

Quote from Hermit-chan

Currently I'm looking for some good yaoi on Historical/yaoi genres...but so far ALL that I've leeched are...Abuse/Rape men in military uniforms, Uke priests,warriors.. and lame prisoners of war..
**any recommendations for the noobs on that particular genre?
I would love to read wild west/victorian/military/brothels (with some love chemistry and no she-personalities) **

I can't think of any harem situations (without feminine characters), but for historical:
Roman Gousha
Like the Barren Wasteland.
Sakura Gari
Ouchou Haru no Yoi no Romance

Currently I'm looking for some good yaoi on Historical/yaoi genres...but so far ALL that I've leeched are...Abuse/Rape men in military uniforms, Uke priests,warriors.. and lame prisoners of war..
any recommendations for the noobs on that particular genre?
I would love to read wild west/victorian/military/brothels (with some love chemistry and no she-personalities)

Have you tried Yoshinaga Fumi's manga ? she's known for the chemistry and characters than smut fest. For historical genre, I'd recommend Gerard and Jacques & Lovers in the Night.

Also Marginal. It's set in the future, but the technology resembles that of ancient civilization (on the earth's side, anyway)
for psychological, try Zankoku na kami ga shihai suru. I can't recommend them enough 😀

[img]http://i75.photobucket.com/albums/i285/yuuri097/Hanashizume_no_Utage.gif[/img]

Well, seeing as I'm a total newb in both genres, all I can really do for ya is second Pieta- sounds like exactly the kinda thing your looking for. It's a really deep romance that's not really all that romantic XP I know I sound confusing but...

Shinkuu Yuusetsu

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