Yaoi is slop nowadays

you should try reading yaoi mangas. i swear ive been there too before where i couldnt find any good bl (i hate heavy conflicts and SA). then i started reading bl mangas and i realise that the plot is a lot more interesting and there are lots of greenflags!

I respect your opinion, but be mindful that Yaoi has ALWAYS had these problems. This isn’t me glorifying the constant abuse and rape in certain stories, but this is unfortunately rather common in Yaoi. However, I wouldn’t say the qualities of Yaoi nowadays are significantly better or worse than in the past. Now, I find ways to avoid red flag stories like the plague anyway, but I MOSTLY read stories from 2022 onwards (according to the dates on this site, which may or may not be accurate) and I’m loving what I’m seeing. Not all of these stories are amazing or anything, but there are PLENTY of gems found in the “new-gen” Yaoi.

Unfortunately, we can’t do anything about fans eating up toxic Yaoi. As long as people want it, they’ll keep making stories like that. Still, thats a fault with Yaoi as a whole, not just the newer ones. As for the recommendations, I gotcha gang :3 (gimme a moment)

Yaoi mangas are soo peakkkk, u should deffo read Punks Triangle and Given. There's so much more but I lwk forgot the titles

Not specifically buff bottoms but these def arent slop, you mightve heard of them but its not just overrated/famous for no reason, they actually slap. I'd like it if you could show these some love as well

1. Regas
(dont let the reincarnation of the buff bottom discourage you, the mc was and is still a mastermind)
2. Follow the sheep into the abyss
(less chapters, upcoming peak marination worthy)
3. Dreaming of the dokkaebi
(i dont remember much, i just know i loved it sm)
4. Legroom/A room without window
5. When the killer falls in love
(the bottom you're looking for)
6. Our sunny days
(BUFF EX MILITARY SINGLE DADDY BOTTOM)
7. Winterfield
(also marination worthy, even better to read along with the updates)
8. Accidental baby/luharang
(youll love the bottom)
9. Secretive xx
(delicious mouth watering art, deserves more chaps)
10. Should i write you a love letter instead
(isekai, HILARIOUS)
11. Turning
(not mentioning this is a crime)
12. The hunter wants to live quietly/the hunter's gonna lay low
(Peak absolute mc, not overpowered, the perfect balance of action and angst, still ongoing but ive read the novel and the manhwa team has been doing well so far so i know the upcoming chaps/seasons gonna EAT)

I totally agree with you, like the yaoi genre itself is incredibly problematic, it's literally insane. I just wanted to talk about yaois coming out today or recent ones, and I am totally mindful of the ones in the past tho. I'm glad u brought this up cuz literally back then yaoi was way less woke than today. Like WAYYYY less. Literally one of my firsts was this 2018 manhua called The Silent Concubine and it was weirddd. But I mean yaois even older than that were much worse. Genuinely who approved the production of Super Lovers and Daikaichi. I haven't watched them but I heard of the fuckery that went on and I am not planning on watching them. I mean like it's ok to read toxic yaoi or whatever, but romanticizing their actions and treating the toxic one like some kawaii anime character who is all puppies and rainbows is just weirrddd. A good example can be Jooyeon from Reverse Thinking. Genuinely his actions were worse than Jiwoks and even if he was traumatized and had a bad past it still doesn't excuse the disgusting things he's done. Reverse Thinking is written alright in the aspect of plot, the smut is uncomfortable to read tho (obv). I do agree when u say there are plenty of yaoigems out there, me personally I just listed out stories that scratched the itch I needed. I want more stories to like, change my life. Yang Ill Woo and I literally changed me. I suggest u read it. Anyways, the popular yaois, tho, they are mostly (keyword MOSTLY) problematic ones. I mean take a look at Mr As Farm cuz that one had to put in a human rights violation warning. At least they did put out a warning, unlike Jinx and Reverse Thinking. Like everyone online will say the "3 most iconic and popular bottoms" are Taekjoo Leewon and Illay but they all were raped by the MLs. And Low Tide in Twilight gets a whole ass animation. Not to mention Painter of the Night got a whole song. Literally the faces of the yaoi community are always stories excusing rape, sexual assault, and abuse. That's what I've noticed mostly tho, but I do also see some green flag gems being rlly popular too (guildmember next door and nerd project). Oh my goodness I am so sorry this was so much text and apologies if I went off topic, rambled, or if anything didn't make sense. English is my first language but I'm hella bad at speaking it thank u for commenting tho, and THANK U FOR RECS!!!!

Stories like ORTA (some aren’t Yaoi):
I find it amusing that almost all of these reccos are black and blonde duos lmao (it’s a curse.)

https://www.mangago.me/read-manga/homeless/ This story is probably the closest to the ORTA vibe out of all of my recommendations and probably one of the closest stories you’ll find like… ever. Homeless/No Home isn’t a Yaoi, though the two MAIN main characters develop a very close bond. Every character in this story starts out rather… rough around the edges. Some you may just outright hate! But as the story goes on, you’ll find yourself growing attached to all of these characters.
Homeless/No Home has the perfect balance between angst and comedy— though it’s more angst leaning compared to ORTA. I loved watching as these kids developed as people throughout all 270 chapters (GODDAMN). Progression in this story (kinda like in ORTA) isn’t linear. The characters (especially the main two) may end up improving and then going back to their old ways, but they all feel so incredibly human. If you read this story already, then reread it. That is a threat. (It may be my favorite manhwa of all time)

https://www.mangago.me/read-manga/yang_il_woo_and_i/ An actual Yaoi this time! This story doesn’t really have the comedy of ORTA, but you get to watch the main characters become closer and more understanding to one another, just like in No Home or ORTA. The angst aspect, however, is DEFINITELY there. There’s a bit of a pattern of these blonde characters having traumatic backstories, but I won’t reveal it because spoilers. While Yang Ilwoo and I doesn’t have many chapters (24), it managed to make me grow deeply attached to these characters. They’re my children

Gelp… I was writing paragraphs describing stories like ORTA to recommend to you and Yang Ilwoo and I was one of them. I LOVE me some angst

OH MY GOODNESS I LOVE YOU!!! I have read Legroom, When the Killer Falls in Love (THIS IS SO PEAK I PUT IT IN MY STORIES I LIKED LIST and I forgot to mention it in stories I check for updates regularly) , Winterfield (I actually rlly RLLY!!! liked this one) and The Secretive XX. Im still reading Our Sunny Days, Accidental Baby (kinda send a little iffy to me but I'll give it a chance), Should I Write You A Love Letter Instead, and The Hunter Wants to Live Quietly. The rest I have not touched, but I will check it out! Thank u so much for the recs

Omg I was actually reading Homeless/No Home thinking it was a yaoi for all this time . Doesn't mean I won't stop reading it tho. I'm still only in the first chapters tho, I didn't make much progress

Loll it's totally ok Yang I'll Woo and I is smth that always should be reccomended. It's absolute peak. Like idk how author manage to capture a specific emotion and make the vibes stand out. Like they r so goated for that.

THIS!!! FINALLY SOMEONE SAID IT

Literally gotta dig through trash and dirt to find actual some gems

Btw the Blondie guy from No Home is like so funny too, I love him so much

Yess frfr cuz how come all the popular yaois are some slop. Be so fr rn Codename Anastasia, Passion, and Roses and Champagne should NOT be the "big 3 of yaoi." (literally why do ppl on tiktok keep saying it it's genuinely annoying ). We have to dig through genuine cowshit to find yaoigems. It's hard to catch a yaoigem under all of this yaoislop. We need to make an uprising and nominate One Room TA as the most popular yaoi and the greatest yaoi ever. Haha JK, but I mean... it's still literally the greatest yaoi ever made tho...

You might've mistaken my recs with the other person but im more than happy to be a part of yall's sharings

anyways you can consider my recs safe as well cause sa grape romantacizing black flag behaviours? I RUN AWAY AT ITS SLIGHTEST MENTION i havent and will never read stuff like jinx, reverse thinking, codename anastasia, roses and champagne, low tide in twilight, even painter of the night or pearl boy, some of the supposed ancient texts of yaoi

As mentioned by the other user, these problems have always been in yaoi, kinda shaped the yaoi industry back then tbh,and there are plenty of fans who want more of it, so the best i do is let them be them and cry while digging for bls i actually want to read lol

Also I remember reading The Silent Concubine omlmy younger self suffered so that my present self could stay safe and yes punk love triangle and yang ilwoo and i are absolute gems

Anyone who's already read legroom before me recommending it automatically enters my list of cool people

Maybe word count cut it off but i actually mentioned a warning for accidental baby bc of its dub con but i see you've read it already.

I wrote a whole ass para begging you to read legroon lolllllll it was embarassing how desperate i was but peak deserves love so i had to do it

Also if the long list wasnt too overwhelming for you, i always rec R2R:Run to Red bc of its insanely good art style and word building but left it out for you bc there's grooming and manipulation involved between the mc and a SIDE charac. The ml's adorable tho