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MY TOP BL MANGA OF 2023
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MANGA: Enishi Majiwaru Haguremono
Enishi Majiwaru Haguremono – Tobi Washio
Kazusa, an exorcist gifted with strong spiritual powers, is spirited away by a Crow Tengu on his way back from a case. Nagi’s brilliant white feathers brand him an outcast from his people, but he has a plan: become stronger by siphoning the essence of a powerful exorcist… through the bond of sex.
Outcasts Bound by Fate is a paranormal romance between two traditional enemies, an exorcist and a crow yokai called tengu.
It all started when village pariah Nagi hatched a hair-brained scheme to strengthen his powers by sexually bonding with a young but powerful exorcist, Kazusa. And being powerful, Kazusa thwarted the white tengu’s advances repeatedly, though Nagi kept coming back night after night. Later, Kazusa recognized a kindred spirit and offered his friendship, which soon blossomed into something more.
Both MCs are outcasts since childhood, Nagi for being an albino and Kazusa for his supernatural abilities. The exorcist was dropped off the temple when he was still a child, and his parents quickly washed their hands of him. The tengu, though known to have strong wind powers, was nearly kicked out of his village if not for the village elder’s decision to let him stay.
The story is sweet and super funny, with an undercurrent of sadness that made me root hard for our outcast lovers. Nagi is stunning, hella gorgeous, and the perfect tengu seme. There’s not a lot of tengu boyfriends around, but this crow yokai adores his human, and it’s swoony AF!
And I loved Nagi for being the first to open his heart to a lonely tengu no one wants. And he might be a virgin, but he’s no shrinking violet. There’s lots of steam once Kazusa gets over his initial virginal hesitations. Plus, our boy’s a fighter who stormed an entire village to find his tengu after Nagi went missing!
All in all, a fateful tale full of laughs and feels!
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MANGA: Uso Ka Makoto Ka
Uso Ka Makoto Ka – Tobi Washio
One day, Taiyou, a popular guy because of his good looks, was asked by a senior student at his part-time job to take care of his cousin, Tsukihiko, who is attending the same university as Taiyou.
However, Tsukihiko is rude to him from the beginning to the end, Taiyou still tries to be lenient towards him, but on the inside, he’s on the verge of exploding because of him!
Suddenly, Tsukihiko confessed his feelings to Taiyou and took him to an empty classroom where he made his move…!
Lie or Truth is a senpai/kohai, childhood connection romance between two university students.
This is an older uke, younger seme romance where the seme, Tsukihiko, is cold, blunt, and dub cons his way into the uke, Taiyou’s pants. I was initially meh about Tsukihiko, but as the story progressed, he somehow won me over.
The two MCs initially got off the wrong foot. Taiyou, known to be popular and cheerful, approached Tsukihiko as a favor to his work colleague, requesting he looks after his cousin. But the younger man bluntly told him his smile was fake and gave him the cold shoulder. Then out of the blue, Tsukihiko confessed, and Taiyou rejected him as revenge. It began a little game of notice me kohai/senpai.
The key aspect here is the childhood connection that began a lifelong devotion to one’s crush. I love this trope, and the execution was perfectly balanced between hot/cold, humorous, fluffy, light angst, and steam.
And dub-conning Tsukihiko, I forgave because he acknowledged going too far and apologized for putting Taiyou in that spot. The forehead kiss was everything!
The guy on the cover is Taiyou. Tsukihiko’s character is drawn with overlong bangs covering his face. And you can bet it hides an uber-cool seme face! Check out bonus chapters.
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MANGA: Bros.
Bros. – Tobi Washio
A cute little brother suddenly became a beast. “Little brother, don’t you have something to tell me?” “You’re one to talk!” Yusuke and Tokio are brothers living together in their parents’ house during their absence. One night they have an unexpected encounter in the city, and their secret is revealed: Yusuke is gay, and Tokio is bi. Even though it was a choking discovery, Yusuke keeps trying to play the good older brother role, while the younger brother Tokio can’t see him with the same eyes anymore. The love battle between a poker face brother and another that has a soft spot for bad men begins!
Bros. is brother complex turned brotherly love with the usual caveat to make the taboo more palatable. Rarely does this trope employ actual brothers.
Big brother Yusuke wears his heart on his sleeve, is a bit of a doofus, unlucky with men, and determines to be the bestest big brother to poker-faced Tokio, a surly guy with an aggressive streak. Things took a turn when the brothers bumped into each other one night with their male dates. It surprised the heck out of them to know they are both queers, and Tokio started seeing his brother in a different light.
Tokio is one of those semes who dub-cons his way into things. The transition from brothers to lovers was done in a brilliant cliffhanger which would have been effective if I hadn’t seen it so many times already.
The brother side of their relationship was actually more endearing because Yusuke is such a doting big brother. He’s very conflicted but it doesn’t stop him from taking care of Tokio like he always has.
The overall execution was good but lacked the oomph to make the story more memorable for me. If brotherly love is your jam, this one’s tasty enough.
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