I’m hijacking my own column (again) to make it all about me this time! It was my birthday a couple of days ago, so you’ll be forced to read me (again) yapping about my all-time favorite Boys’ Love series.
I don’t know if there are any recurring themes or similarities on this list. These series are simply titles that I go back to reading whenever there’s even the slightest, minor inconvenience in my life and I’m desperate for a pick-me-up. Or when I want to hurt my own feelings by reliving the tragedies.
Some of the series on my “Hall of Fame” have already made it into the previous lists. Our Sunny Days is one, which snagged itself a print edition from Seven Seas and the announcement understandably broke the internet. This time, it’ll be the time of the titles I’ve been trying so hard not to recommend to shine. Let’s get this bread!
Someone Else’s BL Comic
Writer & Artist: bbobariee
Platform: Tappytoon (All-ages)
At school, Seunghee is your prim and proper, quiet, well-adjusted boy who minds his business. In private, however, he loves cross-dressing and resorts to online forums to meet other men and go on dates. He knows he’s gay, and even came out to his family, and it couldn’t have been gone more wrong. So these dates going awkwardly are the least of his worries. That is, until two of his schoolmates, Seungtaek and Kyubin, see his date ending awry. Seungtaek is one thing but Kyubin is the infamous bully everyone promptly stays away from, except other bullies. Will Seunghee’s school life be okay?
Someone Else’s BL Comic is bbobariee‘s first and only Boys Love VSC available in English. It’s completed and available on Tappytoon with a total of 121 chapters.
The second high school BL on this list! Despite usually being more drawn to adult settings and characters, I can’t get enough of high school BLs as well, especially when they try to reach a bit further than simple will-they-won’t-they.
If I were to summarize what reading Someone Else’s BL Comic feels like with one word, I’d describe it as a “curveball”. It’s a new curveball at every turn and I could never guess what was going to hit me next. Definitely not in a “What is even going on in this creator’s head” way, though. The series is unexpected in great ways that are in service to the themes the creator wants to explore.
Par course, sexuality, exploration, vulnerability, desperately wanting to be accepted and loved by someone, sometimes anyone, and pushing certain characters to do otherwise unthinkable things are at the core of this VSC.
I should warn you: It isn’t always a pleasant ride. There’s violence and bullying at times. One of the characters is an adult Seunghee met online, who chases after minors and is now stalking him. He serves a purpose as well, but if that’s something you wouldn’t want in your BL, there’s your warning.
I’d recommend Someone Else’s BL Comic for readers who have no qualms with reading messy, heartfelt, challenging works that are focused on exploration!
Ouroboros
Writer & Artist: Songhyel
Platform: Lezhin (Mature)
Woo Hyung’s life is derailed most unexpectedly by his brother-in-law Noyeol. He wakes up in a run-down, one-room apartment, handcuffed to a railing that only allows him to reach the bathroom. Noyeol repeatedly sexually assaults Hyung and after ten days that felt like forever, Hyung finds a way to escape.
However, what awaits Hyung outside is a different kind of hell. He’s victim-blamed and shamed by Noyeol’s parents, he can’t go to therapy for fear that it’ll be going on his record as an investigator. He’s outcasted at work and becomes dependent on alcohol, which results in his marriage ending. When he hits rock bottom, two men enter Hyung’s life, each carrying their own baggage.
Ouroboros is Songhyel‘s first commercial BL and it’s completed. Their later work, Lovesick Dog, is also recently finished and both are nuanced, exceptional comics!
Songhyel asks an important question that is rarely asked or addressed in BL: what happens after the sexual assault? How do you deal with the shame and blame? Do you, or can you, go back to having sex? How do you achieve closure? How do you reconcile with the fact that your assailant is someone you’ve thought of as a brother, known ever since you were little and you were together with his sister? Someone you considered family?
Despite Noyeol admitting to his crime and going to jail in the early chapters, his image and watching eyes continue to haunt Hyung. What follows is Hyung’s attempt at getting himself back on track, using every harmful coping mechanism he can think of.
His “healing journey” is anything but like what you see on Instagram nowadays. It’s messy with lots of detours, three steps back if there’s barely a step forward. And the two men Hyung got acquainted with, one the promiscuous son of a wealthy family and the other a subordinate of Hyung, become deeply linked to him in their own ways.
Songhyel not only excels at crafting this remarkable study of assault but also at creating lead characters who have a purpose and function in Hyung’s narrative while having their own stories and characters explored. The rough and angular character designs appeal to my taste as well.
When this series first became available in English, I tried giving Ouroboros a chance but had to drop it due to the confinement at the beginning. I was reassured by a friend later on that Noyeol wasn’t the love interest and I gave it another chance. I’ll forever be grateful because I would’ve otherwise missed this masterpiece.
So if you’re like me and prefer to stay away from confinement or kidnapping, I hope you still give Ouroboros a chance because there aren’t many sensitive, thoughtful, mesmerizing series out there with a unique setting such as this!
Saha
Writer & Artist: Lee Uin
Platform: Lezhin (Mature)
Abandoned in the middle of a shopping street with only a doll and a birth date clutched in his tiny hand, Giju is taken in by an orphanage, later being adopted by a wealthy family of art professors. What should’ve been a blessing turns out to be a horrible reality Giju eventually ran away from. His “fated” meeting with Young-do happened in a back alley enveloped by a fishy smell, Young-do wobbling with his head covered in blood. What was less than ideal intertwined their lives, and Young-do still swears by that he saw an angel that night.
Lee Uin‘s Saha is a completed story and the creator’s only commercial BL. It’s another hard pitch with regard to its themes and its art style is closer to geikomi. However, I’m prepared to shoot my shot.
Saha is by no means an easy read. In the first chapter, we’re faced with how horrible Giju’s adoptive father was and the things he had to endure. Young-do’s life wasn’t a breeze either, and their coming together doesn’t necessarily make their lives any easier. There’s violence, the use of drugs, pedophilia, homophobic slurs and rape. Lee Uin’s artistic approach to depicting these scenes is careful and makes what transpired all the more heart wrenching.
Saha‘s narration is so poetic and beautiful. The narration isn’t chronological or straightforward. The plot doesn’t lend itself to the reader openly, especially toward the last chapters. The ending is open to interpretation as well, and even though the depiction isn’t dark, there’s solemn and despair in its tone.
I can only recommend Saha to people who can handle such themes and would appreciate a rather surreal, poetic and tragic Boys Love series. I’m sure it’ll be one of the most memorable reading experiences!
The Shape of Your Love
Writer & Author: Nodeok
Translation: nyang2
Lettering: APmxngo
Primary & Secondary QC: D.S.Jay, Cole Bowman
Platform: Tapas, Main Story (All-ages), Side stories (Mature)
Violence in retaliation is never the answer, but Yohan should exercise shutting up and staying in his lane more. After witnessing his brother’s heartbreak, Yohan develops a zero-tolerance policy towards unrequited feelings. It doesn’t mix well with his being a busybody and one day he warns his upperclassman Mugyeong for staring too openly at his crush, another boy from Yohan’s class, following with a “You’re gay, right?” They get off the wrong foot, but being in the same high school, the same club and sharing a secret inevitably bring the two together.
The Shape of Your Love was previously on Pocket Comics and The Shape of Sympathy, the former’s continuation that focuses on a different couple, on Manta. However, readers can now enjoy the mature versions of both of the series on Tapas!
Nodeok is a creator I find challenging to pitch to others because my arguments often boil down to “Read and you’ll understand!” Reading their works is like running a marathon—Nodeok really loves taking their time to develop both the characters and their changing circumstances. If you want your faves’ lips to touch as soon as possible, they will not work for you. If you’re a slow-burn fan like me, however, and want every detail explored and given its due time and space, no need to think twice. Read and you’ll understand.
The Shape of Your Love is, at its heart, a study of youth and everything it entails. The anxiety, the figuring out, time running too slowly and too fast at the same time, all the highs and lows. The art style is very minimal and diverges from what’s generally appealing to people. None of the characters here are conventionally attractive.
But I would die on this hill that is The Shape of Your Love. It’s the high school BL done exceptionally. The series employs the usual tropes of high school romances; the misinterpretations, not getting enough chances to spend time together due to not being in the same school year, one of them being a senior/exam student and the family drama.
The Shape of Your Love adds another layer of sexuality and the anxiety that arises from struggles around acceptance or planning out a future together. It’s silly, it’s annoying, it’s heartfelt, it’s emotional. Every emotion you can expect from a BL series and more.
I’d recommend The Shape of Your Love to everyone with hopes that you can exercise the patience this series, and Yohan to be honest, needs. You’ll be rewarded in the end, I’m sure!
Love For Sale
Writer & Author: Dal Hyeon-ji
Platform: Lezhin (Mature)
Namwoo is so burnt out that when his friends ask the amount of money he’d like to have no strings attached, the furthest his imagination could go is $1000 compared to his friends’ extravagance. He deals the finishing blow with his reason why—he’d be content with not worrying about rent for a while. That drunken night continues with a mental breakdown at the market and ends with exactly $1000 scattered on the floor, him naked in bed, and a stranger’s contact in his phone. Who’s this older man who practically gave away this inconceivable amount of money to him, and how come the conversation led to wanting to date Namwoo?
Love for Sale is Dal Hyeonji‘s first commercial serialization, and it’s completed with 103 chapters. While the creator has another short series, it’s not yet available in English. It’s only 5 chapters!!! How long do we have to wait??!!
Let’s face it. I knew this day would come. You knew this day would come. Why delay the inevitable?
Sure, Love for Sale has its shortcomings that can be attributed to its being a first commercial work. I am, by no means, calling it a perfect VSC in a technical sense. There are no assistants credited, the series was on a weekly schedule, and I don’t remember the creator taking a week off except for the months in between the seasons.
I truly commend their discipline and dedication. However, it’s also a fact that it takes a long while for the character designs to settle fully. Especially in the beginning, the characters look different from different angles, and sometimes the bodies look a bit off. While I personally really like how angular and sharp the features are, I understand why people might bounce off the art style. It isn’t exactly in line with what’s popular.
Summarizing doesn’t do this series justice either, as it seems like your run-of-the-mill rich older man forcing his way into the young, impressionable man’s life (and bed) and dating him in exchange for money. However, even from the very first chapter, their interaction is constructed in a way that signals how different their dynamic is from the usual Boys’ Love series.
That nuance in crafting the story and character-building is spread throughout the story and makes Love for Sale such a satisfying, unforgettable read that sets itself apart from the rest. While there are elements in this title that are to my personal taste, I can attest to the strength, depth and complexity of its writing.
As you can see, all you need to do is insert a coin, press a button, and I’ll talk about Love for Sale for eternity. If you’d ask me to elaborate on a single point about what sets this series apart, and I know you’d do so because you’re kind enough to entertain me, I’d say it’s the series’ mindful approach to its characters.
When a creator writes characters that are on the extremes, as in the extremely sadist CEO versus the impoverished young man who’s riddled with millions of debt with an army of gangsters after his body, you have to take these things at face value. We all know the poor man has no way of paying off that debt, and no other choice to endure whatever the CEO throws his way. However, when a character has someone, especially family, he can rely on but chooses not to, or when there’s a behavioral pattern behind why he can’t, then the creator has to weave plausible reasons and past events into the story so these characters make sense in the fictional world they inhabit.
And I can’t stress enough how good Dal Hyeonji is at this. Both from their creator’s note and from the comments or questions I got about this series, I understand the nuanced writing has made it hard for readers to really grasp why characters act the way they do. However, it’s simply due to both Namwoo and Sieon, the love interest, are hard to categorize. And they certainly don’t fit the standard boxes most series present.
Alright! I’ll let you go by adding that, don’t let my enthusiasm cloud your judgment and I hope you can go into Love for Sale with a fresh mind as possible, if you do decide to give it a chance. You might be surprised!
Boys Love: Rivaling Hollywood’s Walk of Fame
Boy, did this turn into a long love letter—thank you for entertaining me! Looks like I have a thing for complicated stories that don’t shy away from bringing the ugly sides forth as well as the beautiful ones. I had more I wanted to highlight, but I guess I’ll have to wait for another year for the second part of this list.
Are there any series that you’d be embarrassed about admitting how many times you’ve reread them? Any work that’s left such a mark on you that you’re sure it rewired your brain? Altered your chemistry? Let me know in the comments, and see you around!
Catch up with previous entries in K-Comics Beat’s Boys Love for Life series by clicking here!
