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The genre adopts many classic elements of romantic comedies, from meet-cutes to misunderstandings. The popular series Sasaki and Miyano doubles down by letting Miyano introduce Sasaki to BL, sharing his passion for a fandom that’s all about passion. The sweet, the funny, the anxious, and the adorable unite in this anime all about the many possibilities of love. For those that haven’t got their fill, here are some other great BL anime.
Updated May 22, 2022 by Patrick Armstrong:With the extraordinary popularity of BL bringing wonderful series to viewers every day, there are more to choose from all the time. Sasaki and Miyano has a blend of warmth and humor that has proved inviting for countless viewers. Those that give the series a chance find a remarkable BL anime that shows exactly what the genre is capable of.
The anime on this list create their own brand of romantic magic, drawing viewers into worlds that range from the quietly familiar to the frankly bizarre. What remains unchanging is their emphasis on love, courtship, and finding that special someone that makes everything else worth it.
14 Junjou Romantica
Junjou Romantica has proven controversial amongst anime fans, with many deriding its characters and plotting, while others argue that it is a classic of the genre and worth watching on its own merits. It is inarguably divisive. What it brings to the table, however, is an anthology structure, a strong balance between humor and romance, a strong dose of eroticism, and a memorable (if problematic) plot. While its protagonists can be even more infuriating than Goku when he forgets something important, Junjou Romantica is still a BL anime of which some fans will never stop singing the praises.
13 Hybrid Child
If given enough love and support from its own, an android known as a Hybrid Child can grow. Despite their partly mechanical nature, the Hybrid Children grow close with their owners and vice versa. Another anthology anime, Hybrid Child features three primary protagonists. Kotaro must grapple with the impending death of his Hybrid Child. Seya the swordsman must learn to love again. Kuroda, the man who designed the Hybrid Children, only designed them due to the love he lost.
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Hybrid Child is sadder than most BL, with stories engineered to pull at the heartstrings and bring a tear to the eye. This mission is facilitated by strong animation, music, and plotting, which combine to make these tales of dramatic sacrifice truly effective. Between its original premise and its artful execution, Hybrid Child has much to offer.
12 Sukisho
Sukisho centers around the relationship between boys at an all-boys boarding school. Its attractive animation is one of the first things to hook most viewers. As for its plot, it will be too much fluff for some, with several episodes in its 13-episode run that could be considered filler. In many ways, Sukisho is an archetypical BL anime: heavy on romance, light on deeper themes.
It doesn’t have superheroes punching holes through mountains or wizards summoning dragons, just the developing connection between two young men. Toss in some fan service and youthful hijinks and one has the makings of a solid if simple BL series.
11 Love Stage
Stylish, with well-rounded characters and a plot that hits on most of the staples of the genre, Love Stage is the story of Izumi, a college student and aspiring manga writer. His mother is an actress, his father a director, and his brother the lead vocalist for a band, meaning Izumi has big shoes to fill creatively.
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Complicating things is Ryoma, a man two years older than Izumi, who fell in love with Izumi years ago, mistaking him for a girl thanks to his small figure. Ryoma retains his feelings even after discovering Izumi’s true gender, however, allowing the embers of romance that were kindled years ago to reunite. Neither is sure where their new relationship is leading, but discovering the answer to that question is exactly what makes Love Stage captivating for the audience.
10 No.6
No matter the time or place, whether deep in Earth’s past, the far-flung reaches of outer space, or a medieval fantasy world where dragons and sorcerers rule the day, love more or less always looks like love. No.6 is a near-future sci-fi story about two young men in a dystopian world.
The series succeeds in giving viewers three-dimensional characters in a three-dimensional setting. It isn’t perfect by any means, but the richness of its animation and artwork lends an extra layer of great on top of an already good manga. It might not have the humor of Sasaki and Miyano, but it lacks little else.
9 Spiritpact
Another series that falls short of perfection but has a great deal to offer fans of Sasaki And Miyano, Spiritpact is about Tanmoku, an exorcist, and Keika, the victim of a freak accident that took his life. Two men, one dead, could have been the end of it.
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Instead, Tanmoku offers Keika the opportunity to carry on as Tanmoku’s spirit shadow, allowing Keika to maintain his bond to the real world, even if it isn’t as an ordinary human being. The interesting plot and supernatural hijinks are fun, but what is likeliest to keep viewers watching is the banter between Tanmoku and Keika, two men who, for obvious reasons, have a lot to say to one another.
8 Beryl And Sapphire
How much can this anime realistically accomplish in eight minutes? More than most anime can accomplish in 20, it turns out. Despite its short runtime, Beryl and Sapphire takes BL fans on a journey unlike any other in the genre. It manages this by re-framing the story every single time, casting Beryl and Sapphire in new roles, even as the story of their lives and romance presses ever forward
Intersecting storylines and shifting settings make Beryl and Sapphire difficult to describe, but absolutely captivating. There simply isn’t another BL anime like it, and Sasaki and Miyano fans shouldn’t miss it.
7 The Untamed
Even in BL anime, romance doesn’t always have to strut about like an indignant peacock, demanding attention. That is to say, it doesn’t have to dominate the narrative. In The Untamed, romance is given its space, but always as part of a broader context. It’s a story that features gay characters but doesn’t define itself exclusively by them, leaving both its characters and its audience room to explore other levels of the tale.
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Gorgeously and dramatically animated, The Untamed is the story of Wei Wuxian, a dark magic user in ancient China who resurrects after his death to reunite with his beloved. A love that could draw one back even from death is mythic indeed. It’s in keeping with a story that is in many ways larger than life, melding the ordinary and the supernatural.
6 Umibe No Etranger
It’s discouraging and misleading when the only depiction of a community is of the suffering it faces, but it’s worse for media to ignore the very real suffering that does occur. Shun Hashimoto dreams of an author’s life, only for his parents to abandon him for being gay. With this simple premise, Umibe no Etranger places itself on the side of painful realism, but the anime doesn’t dwell unnecessarily on the negative.
To that end, Shun soon meets Mio Chibana, an orphaned high schooler in Okinawa. The bond they develop is soon tested, but their struggles are painted with a compassionate brush. Umibe no Etranger looks at the good and bad of love alike.
5 Doukyusei: Classmates
While there’s nothing wrong with elaborate world-building, complicated plots, and twists at every turn, there’s something undeniably satisfying about a simple tale well told. Doukyusei: Classmates is a story about two classmates in love.
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Rihito and Hikaru are both in chorus. Rihito is an introverted honor student, while Hikaru an academically-struggling extrovert. Hikaru offers to help Rihito with his vocals, and romance ensues. The simplicity of the story, far from being a drawback, is part of the appeal. Sometimes BL anime should just be about boys in love. Here it is.
4 Heaven’s Official Blessing
A Chinese donghua anime, Heaven’s Official Blessing takes the idea of divine love seriously. So seriously, in fact, its protagonist is literally divine: Xie Lian was a once-mighty god. Now reduced to a fraction of his former glory, Xie meets Hua Cheng in heaven, a divine entity even more frightfully powerful than himself.
The romance between Xie and Hua is elegant. It unfolds gradually, and because it plays out against a backdrop of mystery, religion, and myth, it never feels the tremendous pressure to carry the entire story as romance does in many BL anime. Instead, the love between the gods feels natural, which makes it a whole different kind of divine.
3 Yuri!!! On Ice
When one thinks of sports anime, what often come to mind are titles like Prince of Tennis, All Out, Ace of Diamonds, and Kuroko’s Basketball. Baseball, football, and basketball might arise in the imagination. Male competitive ice skating probably doesn’t.
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That changes with Yuri!!! On Ice. This series does what all good sports anime should, which is to tell a story so compelling that it draws viewers in even if they aren’t fans of the sport. Yuri!!! on Ice is a brilliant BL anime as well, with a wide and engaging cast of characters, sharp dialogue, and solid twists. Whether one watches for the triple Axels or the hand-holding, this series exceeds expectations.
2 Given
Music touches the spirit uniquely, perhaps one reason that music anime is so beloved. Given is both a BL anime and music anime, following the story of high school student Mafuyu Sato and Ritsuka Uenoyama. Ritsuka helps Mafuyu tune and play his guitar, unaware that it belonged to Mafuyu’s first love who died of suicide. Mafuyu joins Ritsuka’s band soon after.
Given is emotionally tough, unafraid of throwing viewers into the deep end of their feelings. Yet probing heavy themes is always done in the name of enriching the romantic plot between the two, and Given flourishes exactly because it’s willing to use the dark to illuminate the light.
1 Banana Fish
Every genre has its progenitors: the titles that helped define and popularize it, giving shape to stories and characters for decades to come. For BL anime, Banana Fish is one of those progenitors. Based on the 80s manga by Akimi Yoshida, Banana Fish is about New York gang leader Ash Lynx and his investigation into the drug that led to his brother’s murder.
As the investigation gets underway, Ash meets Eiji Nakamura, and the two soon fall in love. The anime adaptation is as emotionally punishing as the original manga, and there’s no denying that Banana Fish is close to BL perfection.
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