The best of BL

Semantic Error

시맨틱 에러

J. Soori (novel)

A rule-bound computer science student and the charming design senior whose graduation he wrecked. The campus rivals-to-lovers story behind the hit Korean drama, and the usual first recommendation for Korean BL.

Cherry Blossoms After Winter

겨울 지나 벚꽃

Bamwoo (밤우)

An orphaned boy grows up in his childhood friend's house and ends up in his class. Soft, slow and safe.

Heesu in Class 2

Lily Zuzu

The quiet boy everyone asks for dating advice has a crush of his own. A funny ensemble high school story that works for all ages.

Sign

Ker

A broke student takes a job at a cafe and learns sign language from its deaf owner. Comedy on the surface, explicit underneath.

Our Sunny Days

해 뜨는 집

Jeong Seokchan

An ex-soldier moves to a country village with his baby daughter, and the gruff village head keeps turning up to help. Slow, rural and comforting.

Are There Only Gays at Hankuk University?

한국대에는 게이밖에 없나요?

ohshow

A straight guy who read over a thousand BL novels for his dying brother wakes up inside one. A comedy that knows every trope it is making fun of.

Angel Buddy

엔젤 버디

MasterGin (story)

Sooho has always seen ghosts, but nothing prepares him for breaking the wing of Taker, an angel who decides to stick around.

He Might Bite!

맹수주의보

Yeonmi

Yun Tae, a black leopard shifter, dominant alpha and chaebol heir, transfers to a country school to find his first love.

Semantic Error

시맨틱 에러

J. Soori (novel)

A rule-bound computer science student and the charming design senior whose graduation he wrecked. The campus rivals-to-lovers story behind the hit Korean drama, and the usual first recommendation for Korean BL.

Heaven Official's Blessing: Tian Guan Ci Fu

天官赐福 (Tian Guan Ci Fu)

Mo Xiang Tong Xiu

The big one. A god who has ascended three times and now collects scraps, and the ghost king who has believed in him for eight hundred years. Read it if you want an epic that pays off slowly and completely.

Grandmaster of Demonic Cultivation: Mo Dao Zu Shi

魔道祖师 (Mo Dao Zu Shi)

Mo Xiang Tong Xiu

The novel behind The Untamed. A mystery told across two timelines, with a troublemaking necromancer back from the dead and the upright cultivator who waited thirteen years for him. Start here if the drama brought you in.

Little Mushroom

小蘑菇

Yi Shi Si Zhou

A sentient mushroom walks into humanity's last city in a dead man's body and meets the Judge whose job is to shoot anything that is not human. Post-apocalyptic, strange and unexpectedly tender.

Guardian: Zhen Hun

镇魂 (Zhen Hun)

priest

Urban fantasy from priest about a chain-smoking special investigator and a mild professor with a very old secret. If you liked the 2018 drama, this is the full story it had to leave out.

Thousand Autumns: Qian Qiu

千秋 (Qian Qiu)

Meng Xi Shi (夢溪石)

A betrayed, half-blind Daoist sect leader is picked up by a demonic lord who wants to prove anyone can be corrupted. Slow and philosophical, heavy on martial-arts politics. The romance arrives late and earns it.

Roses and Champagne

장미와 샴페인

ZIG (novel)

A civil rights lawyer in Russia crosses a mafia heir and becomes his obsession. Glossy and dangerous, with a slow thaw.

Payback

페이백

samk (novel)

An ex-debt collector learns who was behind the deaths that ruined his life and goes after them. A revenge thriller with a hard edge.

Semantic Error

시맨틱 에러

J. Soori (novel)

A rule-bound computer science student and the charming design senior whose graduation he wrecked. The campus rivals-to-lovers story behind the hit Korean drama, and the usual first recommendation for Korean BL.

Heaven Official's Blessing: Tian Guan Ci Fu

天官赐福 (Tian Guan Ci Fu)

Mo Xiang Tong Xiu

The big one. A god who has ascended three times and now collects scraps, and the ghost king who has believed in him for eight hundred years. Read it if you want an epic that pays off slowly and completely.

Given

ギヴン (Given)

Natsuki Kizu

A boy carrying a guitar he cannot play and a grief he cannot put into words joins a band. A music manga that is also one of the best first-love stories in BL. If you came from the anime, start here.

Grandmaster of Demonic Cultivation: Mo Dao Zu Shi

魔道祖师 (Mo Dao Zu Shi)

Mo Xiang Tong Xiu

The novel behind The Untamed. A mystery told across two timelines, with a troublemaking necromancer back from the dead and the upright cultivator who waited thirteen years for him. Start here if the drama brought you in.

Little Mushroom

小蘑菇

Yi Shi Si Zhou

A sentient mushroom walks into humanity's last city in a dead man's body and meets the Judge whose job is to shoot anything that is not human. Post-apocalyptic, strange and unexpectedly tender.

Sasaki and Miyano

佐々木と宮野 (Sasaki to Miyano)

Shou Harusono

A scrappy upperclassman borrows a BL manga from a shy junior and gets hooked on both. About as gentle as the genre gets, and a safe first BL for anyone.

Classmates: Dou kyu sei

同級生 (Doukyuusei)

Asumiko Nakamura

Two boys at a boys' school, a summer of choir practice, and a very good first kiss. Asumiko Nakamura's classic, drawn in a loose line nobody else has.

10 DANCE

10DANCE

Inouesatoh

Two champion ballroom dancers trade lessons so each can compete in the ten-dance. All tension and tailoring, and the slowest of slow burns between two adult rivals.

Semantic Error

시맨틱 에러

J. Soori (novel)

A rule-bound computer science student and the charming design senior whose graduation he wrecked. The campus rivals-to-lovers story behind the hit Korean drama, and the usual first recommendation for Korean BL.

Painter of the Night

야화첩

Byeonduck

Joseon-era Korea: a nobleman forces a young painter of erotic art into his household. Beautiful artwork, explicit and coercive. One of the most-read manhwa in English, for adult readers only.

BJ Alex

BJ 알렉스

Mingwa

A student finds out his favourite masked streamer is the student council president. The webtoon that brought a lot of English readers to Korean BL. Explicit, and it softens as it goes.

Cherry Blossoms After Winter

겨울 지나 벚꽃

Bamwoo (밤우)

An orphaned boy grows up in his childhood friend's house and ends up in his class. Soft, slow and safe.

Heesu in Class 2

Lily Zuzu

The quiet boy everyone asks for dating advice has a crush of his own. A funny ensemble high school story that works for all ages.

Guardian: Zhen Hun

镇魂 (Zhen Hun)

priest

Urban fantasy from priest about a chain-smoking special investigator and a mild professor with a very old secret. If you liked the 2018 drama, this is the full story it had to leave out.

Thousand Autumns: Qian Qiu

千秋 (Qian Qiu)

Meng Xi Shi (夢溪石)

A betrayed, half-blind Daoist sect leader is picked up by a demonic lord who wants to prove anyone can be corrupted. Slow and philosophical, heavy on martial-arts politics. The romance arrives late and earns it.

King's Maker

킹스메이커

Haga (story)

A rebel prince and the king's captive favourite plot to take the throne. Palace intrigue built around a devoted central couple.

Semantic Error

시맨틱 에러

J. Soori (novel)

A rule-bound computer science student and the charming design senior whose graduation he wrecked. The campus rivals-to-lovers story behind the hit Korean drama, and the usual first recommendation for Korean BL.

Painter of the Night

야화첩

Byeonduck

Joseon-era Korea: a nobleman forces a young painter of erotic art into his household. Beautiful artwork, explicit and coercive. One of the most-read manhwa in English, for adult readers only.

BJ Alex

BJ 알렉스

Mingwa

A student finds out his favourite masked streamer is the student council president. The webtoon that brought a lot of English readers to Korean BL. Explicit, and it softens as it goes.

Cherry Blossoms After Winter

겨울 지나 벚꽃

Bamwoo (밤우)

An orphaned boy grows up in his childhood friend's house and ends up in his class. Soft, slow and safe.

Heesu in Class 2

Lily Zuzu

The quiet boy everyone asks for dating advice has a crush of his own. A funny ensemble high school story that works for all ages.

ENNEAD

엔네아드

Mojito

The gods of Egypt at war after Seth takes the throne. Epic in scale and beautifully drawn, with a dark first act that includes sexual violence. Check the warnings.

King's Maker

킹스메이커

Haga (story)

A rebel prince and the king's captive favourite plot to take the throne. Palace intrigue built around a devoted central couple.

Sign

Ker

A broke student takes a job at a cafe and learns sign language from its deaf owner. Comedy on the surface, explicit underneath.

Heaven Official's Blessing: Tian Guan Ci Fu

天官赐福 (Tian Guan Ci Fu)

Mo Xiang Tong Xiu

The big one. A god who has ascended three times and now collects scraps, and the ghost king who has believed in him for eight hundred years. Read it if you want an epic that pays off slowly and completely.

Grandmaster of Demonic Cultivation: Mo Dao Zu Shi

魔道祖师 (Mo Dao Zu Shi)

Mo Xiang Tong Xiu

The novel behind The Untamed. A mystery told across two timelines, with a troublemaking necromancer back from the dead and the upright cultivator who waited thirteen years for him. Start here if the drama brought you in.

Little Mushroom

小蘑菇

Yi Shi Si Zhou

A sentient mushroom walks into humanity's last city in a dead man's body and meets the Judge whose job is to shoot anything that is not human. Post-apocalyptic, strange and unexpectedly tender.

Guardian: Zhen Hun

镇魂 (Zhen Hun)

priest

Urban fantasy from priest about a chain-smoking special investigator and a mild professor with a very old secret. If you liked the 2018 drama, this is the full story it had to leave out.

Thousand Autumns: Qian Qiu

千秋 (Qian Qiu)

Meng Xi Shi (夢溪石)

A betrayed, half-blind Daoist sect leader is picked up by a demonic lord who wants to prove anyone can be corrupted. Slow and philosophical, heavy on martial-arts politics. The romance arrives late and earns it.

Given

ギヴン (Given)

Natsuki Kizu

A boy carrying a guitar he cannot play and a grief he cannot put into words joins a band. A music manga that is also one of the best first-love stories in BL. If you came from the anime, start here.

Sasaki and Miyano

佐々木と宮野 (Sasaki to Miyano)

Shou Harusono

A scrappy upperclassman borrows a BL manga from a shy junior and gets hooked on both. About as gentle as the genre gets, and a safe first BL for anyone.

Classmates: Dou kyu sei

同級生 (Doukyuusei)

Asumiko Nakamura

Two boys at a boys' school, a summer of choir practice, and a very good first kiss. Asumiko Nakamura's classic, drawn in a loose line nobody else has.

10 DANCE

10DANCE

Inouesatoh

Two champion ballroom dancers trade lessons so each can compete in the ten-dance. All tension and tailoring, and the slowest of slow burns between two adult rivals.

Seaside Stranger

海辺のエトランゼ (Umibe no Étranger)

Kii Kanna

A young novelist and a quiet boy who watches the sea, on a small Okinawan island. Short, sunlit and honest about how hard it is to be out in a small place.

Twilight Out of Focus

黄昏アウトフォーカス (Tasogare Out Focus)

Jyanome

Roommates in a boys' school film club make a BL movie under three rules meant to stop them falling for each other. Later volumes follow other couples in the same club.

The World's Greatest First Love

世界一初恋 (Sekai-ichi Hatsukoi)

Shungiku Nakamura

A manga editor discovers his new boss is the first love he ran from ten years ago. A broad, bossy office comedy in the older style, and a long-time fan favourite.

Hitorijime My Hero

ひとりじめマイヒーロー (Hitorijime My Hero)

Memeco Arii

A teenager stuck running errands for street thugs is pulled out by the man they all fear, who turns out to be his math teacher.