thoughts on BLs from a picky gay man
thoughts on BLs from a picky gay man
so many tropes i'm sick of! but ive found a few i like. pretty sure i read most of these starting from 2021 at earliest. ranking isn't super solid on this list but in general the lower it is the less i enjoyed it.
i update my reviews pretty frequently based on reminiscing/catching up. i put small spoilers sometimes but nothing that'll ruin the experience (imo).
i like fantasy the most. tropes i drop a story for tend to be pathetic-alization of mcs, overly strong fujo-gaze, homophobic/no-homo mc, abuse presented as romance, etc. that said, i read stories that have edgy bordering on skeevy content. i WILL warn about them, usually theyre in any stories that have a horror tag.
review for story not on NU: QT: Is it better to be a beta? [Dropped: Ch. 38] - I checked this story out, and I liked the first arc! They kinda lost me on the 2nd arc. Not because of the horror, but the relationship dynamics got weird. TW for most things you could possibly need a TW for in a horror arc, author REALLY releases the edgelord energy. Not a/b/o beta btw.
i update my reviews pretty frequently based on reminiscing/catching up. i put small spoilers sometimes but nothing that'll ruin the experience (imo).
i like fantasy the most. tropes i drop a story for tend to be pathetic-alization of mcs, overly strong fujo-gaze, homophobic/no-homo mc, abuse presented as romance, etc. that said, i read stories that have edgy bordering on skeevy content. i WILL warn about them, usually theyre in any stories that have a horror tag.
review for story not on NU: QT: Is it better to be a beta? [Dropped: Ch. 38] - I checked this story out, and I liked the first arc! They kinda lost me on the 2nd arc. Not because of the horror, but the relationship dynamics got weird. TW for most things you could possibly need a TW for in a horror arc, author REALLY releases the edgelord energy. Not a/b/o beta btw.
39 Followers
Created: Jul 7th, 2022, Updated: Apr 1st, 2024
Created Jul 7th, 2022
Updated Apr 1st, 2024
983 Chapters Every 3.3 Day(s) 37915 Readers 587 Reviews 05-13-2024
[Completed part 1] This is not a BL. I was searching so violently for a BL isekai to read I accidentally started reading this and then finished it.... more>>
91 Chapters Every 3.4 Day(s) 1940 Readers 7 Reviews 05-13-2024
[Reading - Keeping up with updates] My new favorite series! It's fun to read and I love the pacing of it so far.... more>>
315 Chapters Every 1.6 Day(s) 3354 Readers 22 Reviews 05-07-2024
[Hiatus - 195] I like it! Well-written story and fighting sequences that actually keep me interested, plus the promise of BL.... more>>
109 Chapters Every 8.9 Day(s) 3711 Readers 20 Reviews 05-10-2024
[Reading - 72/74; chapter splits make ch count longer than it is] Comedy fantasy isekai-ish story. Heartwarming stuff plus I genuinely laughed a good amount.... more>>
63 Chapters Every 5.6 Day(s) 4473 Readers 12 Reviews 02-23-2024
[Hiatus- 50] Have enjoyed reading so far! No huge complaints, absolutely incredible to have a MC who isn't screaming no-homo every two seconds for once. Bi MC, a little quirky too which I like.... more>>
54 Chapters Every 16.5 Day(s) 2037 Readers 6 Reviews 04-25-2024
[Reading - 51] Overpowered MC, my favorite trope.... more>>
75 Chapters Every 3.1 Day(s) 1768 Readers 6 Reviews 05-12-2024
[Reading - 62] Translation quality is good! Story is fun.... more>>
37 Chapters Every 24.1 Day(s) 2322 Readers 8 Reviews 04-14-2024
[Reading Ch 3 part 3] Starting off with a comment before my review. I HAD to open up the manwha after this one reviewer confused me.... more>>
190 Chapters Every 12.1 Day(s) 8950 Readers 90 Reviews 05-12-2024
[Hiatus - 1st arc completed] I could've sworn I wrote a review for this already.... more>>
132 Chapters Every 7.3 Day(s) 2514 Readers 20 Reviews 05-04-2024
[Hiatus - 88] Decent read.... more>>
24 Chapters Every 18.7 Day(s) 1358 Readers 2 Reviews 04-21-2024
[Dropped- 11] It's a fine story, it just doesn't resonate with me.... more>>
105 Chapters Every 3.9 Day(s) 3183 Readers 17 Reviews 05-12-2024
[Hiatus - 59] Builds itself as a harem but it's not lol.... more>>
94 Chapters Every 10.5 Day(s) 4081 Readers 13 Reviews 04-27-2024
[Reading - 63] Oh the things a good translation brings to a story...... more>>
189 Chapters Every 0.9 Day(s) 1980 Readers 9 Reviews 05-15-2024
[Dropped- 8p1] Fledgling story, surprised it's not marked as a harem?... more>>
41 Chapters Every 1.1 Day(s) 2880 Readers 6 Reviews 05-15-2024
[Reading - 19] 300+ chapters and ongoing..... more>>
74 Chapters Every 17.5 Day(s) 4589 Readers 14 Reviews 09-27-2023
[Hiatus - 38, another group seems to have picked up translation? I thought it'd just stay untranslated forever haha.]... more>>
227 Chapters Every 11.4 Day(s) 6579 Readers 35 Reviews 02-16-2024
[Completed - Skipped half the chapters] Picked this up from another user's rec list.... more>>
2 Chapters Every 115.5 Day(s) 6365 Readers 43 Reviews 09-29-2023
[Hiatus: Ch 334.] Ok lol after dropping this 200 chapters ago I picked it back up. There are a lot of weak points in the beginning but there are a lot of interesting story elements I couldn't forget about. This is supposed to be a harem story but the author clearly has favorites... Before I forget to mention it, a lot of these chapters don't have proofreading. I read a little faster on these parts and it hasn't been too detrimental.... more>>
57 Chapters Every 17.3 Day(s) 1114 Readers 2 Reviews 01-02-2024
[Dropped - 23] Forgot the name for the trope, "got memories of my past life," basically.... more>>
105 Chapters Every 1.7 Day(s) 976 Readers 2 Reviews 04-30-2024
[Dropped - 27] Nice story, just too vanilla for my tastes.... more>>
21 Chapters Every 28.7 Day(s) 1845 Readers 7 Reviews 04-29-2024
[Hiatus - Chapter 7] Saw some spoilers via the reviews (they were tagged I just mindlessly click on things) and well... more dramatic story than I would've expected!... more>>
160 Chapters Every 0.9 Day(s) 2794 Readers 11 Reviews 05-15-2024
[Dropped - 34] Lots of names to remember. Names are my biggest weakness.... more>>
Comments (14)
Interesting list! 100% agree with the annoying "no homo" BL protagonist archetype. I generally find JP novels are more often guilty of this than others. Hope you encounter the good ones!
I'd like your thoughts on "SaYe" if you ever encounter it since it's one of the most grounded danmei works on here in my opinion. Cheers!
Thanks for the rec! Always open to those.
I'm discovering stories on my own because my friends don't really read LN's, so I get a lot of hit&misses lol.
I've noticed that the BL novels that tend to be good are usually shounen ai with a slow burn, rather than Yaoi. This is especially true for Japanese BL novels. A good slow burn novel usually has good world-building and an engaging plot surrounding the two characters.
I could recommend a novel titled "Waiting Until 35." It's a short Chinese novel based on the author's real-life experiences as a gay man. However, be aware that it carries a tragic theme. Another interesting option is the wuxia novel "Tianbao Fuyao Lu," written by a man whose orientation isn't known, but the novel might still catch your interest.
thank you! i made it for like-minded gays in particular so i'm glad it's being discovered
this list really is everything i've read other than maybe some stories i opened up and closed the first chapter, usually due to incomprehensible translations. for infinite flow--if youre talking about death spiral, it looks really interesting! i absolutely love horror. if youre talking about the trope, i haven't stumbled across a story that has it yet. i'm pretty new to the LN world!
@aoma yesss i'm talking about the trope. Death spiral seems interesting but I haven't picked it up yet, but there are tons of other rlly good action/horror BL novels out there.
On the topic of action/horror BL I highly suggest checking out Mist!!! I rlly liked it and I feel like the romance was fairly well done? Forget if there was "wifey" or other feminization of the characters but at least the plot was interesting. plus its superrrrr highly rated
Thanks for the rec and the warning! Funnily enough I think I decided not to read Quickly Wear the Face of the Devil for whatever reason, even though I came across it. Don't remember why but I'll continue to stay clear of it!
I've added the story you rec'ed to my reading list!