good BL, no rape between MCs + trigger warning (part 1)

☆

[18+, slice of life, rom-com, school life]

TW: SA, internalized homophobia, attempted rape (all of it are not between MCs)

My favorite school life BL ever. It's still ongoing, but so far it has all that i want from a BL manga: fun dynamic, well written characters, tender and fully consensual sex scenes, and just two guys being hopelessly in love with each other. So good!

☆

[PG, school life, slice of life, comedy, drama]

TW: violence

+ friendship/bromance
+ funny as hell

About four boys being silly together. There's some stuff about mafia and kidnapping or whatever, but it's secondary to the relationship and bond between the main characters. Would like it more if they werent junior high schoolers drawn like adult super models but oh well!

☆

[18+, rom-com, drama, secret identity]

TW: yakuza, violence

A tender story about two members of opposing yakuza groups who fell in love without knowing each other's identity. It's so refreshing to read about two manly, badass men being hopeless romantics. Both of them suit each other perfectly, the drama is there but it's serving great feels, overall a great romantic love story.

☆

[18+, supernatural, romance]

TW: major character death, ghost, ghost sex???

+ friends to lovers
+ oh look another manga to cry my eyes out to
+ bittersweet ending

A tragedy that's written in lighthearted way. Readers are well aware that both MCs won't end up together right from chapter one, and it's sad, sure, but it's also funny and heartwarming with a satisfying closure rather than angst just for the sake of it.

☆ 4.5/5

[PG, slice of life, drama, coming of age, found family]

TW: suicide attempt, depression, underage (17x20), abusive family, violence, bullying, homophobia, sexual harassment (not between MCs), murder

+ growing up tgt
+ affectionate couple
+ switch (in the novel)

Another adaptation of a great slice-of-life / coming-of-age novel by WuZhe! The pacing of the manhua can be a bit disorienting but overall the story is great. I want to keep reading it forever.

☆

[PG, school life, rom-com, slice of life]

What I love about this manhwa is that the romance is so intertwined with the friendship and family aspect. While it's certainly a light feel-good story with silly moments, it's also unexpectedly deep and touching. Kinda has the same feeling as Reply drama series.

☆

[Gen, slice of life, family]

TW: homophobia, heteronormativity, toxic masculinity

This manga is both simultaneously hard and healing to read. It addresses tons of prejudice and microaggressions that LGBTQ+ people deal daily, and it's so effective because it's from a perspective of a mother who has been unintentionally prejudiced against gay people her whole life as a byproduct of her surrounding. Can be heartbreaking, but also incredibly uplifting and hopeful.

☆

[18+, slice of life, romance]

TW: internalized homophobia

Two guys traveling the world together to get married. I like this one a lot--it's really fun (and envy-inducing) to read about their travel journey. There's also some realistic elements that hit close to my heart.

☆

[18+, drama, school life]

TW: homophobia, homophobic slur, bullying, SA, onesided!teacher x student

+ friendship
+ gender non-conformity
+ beautiful coming of age story

The TWs are intimidating but it's worth reading. This is a story about understanding and acknowledging the things you want, while still being able to let go of them to choose what is most important to you.

☆

[PG, slice of life, school life, rom-com]

+ established
+ heartwarming and wholesome
+ pretty art and good writing

Another favorite slice of life. This one's about 2 boys who've been best friends for a while before started dating each other. It's filled with their daily life in short chapters format, kinda feels like a diary. It's mundane without major conflict but well written. A great mood booster!