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
147 Chapters Every 9.9 Day(s) 6181 Readers 30 Reviews 05-26-2024
[Hiatus- 85] Finally picked up a new story! No h*mophobia or any hetero-normative standards which is nice.... more>>
165 Chapters Every 36.2 Day(s) 7573 Readers 118 Reviews 02-13-2023
[Hiatus - Forgot what chapter I'm on] Nice story, interesting to not have a fantasy setting for once. I enjoyed reading, though the drama-fuel misunderstanding session from grandpa's choice words was kind of unbearable.... more>>
90 Chapters Every 78.1 Day(s) 6433 Readers 120 Reviews 05-11-2024
[Completed] Yes I made fun of the name 'Zagan' but read the entirety of this story. Jolga.... more>>
60 Chapters Every 69.7 Day(s) 5484 Readers 29 Reviews 11-04-2021
[Hiatus] Very first LN I picked up! Big fan of MC. Stopped reading around volume 2 just because I had trouble keeping up with updates.... more>>
411 Chapters Every 5.6 Day(s) 6961 Readers 71 Reviews 06-05-2024
[Dropped] Interesting story with an easy-to-follow world system! Ended up dropping it because protag acts like a bumbling idiot a little too often, but it was fun until then.... more>>
65 Chapters Every 3.5 Day(s) 3183 Readers 12 Reviews 06-08-2024
[Dropped - 41] "Weird that these things from the original story are changing but that's none of MY business" MC.... more>>
21 Chapters Every 12.8 Day(s) 1398 Readers 1 Reviews 01-04-2024
[Dropped - Ch 6] .... Confusing? ... more>>
55 Chapters Every 68.1 Day(s) 1914 Readers 6 Reviews 02-20-2022
[Dropped - 52] It was good... no romance for the first arc. Had a good number of emotional scenes. No romance as far as I got up to.... more>>
114 Chapters Every 21.2 Day(s) 5054 Readers 56 Reviews 09-22-2023
[Dropped - 86] Thank you to the translator for their hard work, but I can't stomach this story. The ML's feelings and actions for the entire 3rd arc were so disgusting and nonsensical. I won't be picking this up again.... more>>
174 Chapters Every 8.1 Day(s) 8146 Readers 34 Reviews 06-01-2024
[Dropped very early] I'm sorry I just cannot read a story that includes the moaning of "Zagan." Alright story, ML had some obsessive vibes from... more>>
43 Chapters Every 51 Day(s) 993 Readers 5 Reviews 08-20-2022
[Dropped] Too much of an innocent baby MC for me. Can see why other people would like it, just not my taste!
2 Chapters Every 284 Day(s) 329 Readers 0 Reviews 12-04-2022
[Reading - Chapter 2] I started reading this thinking it was a one chapter story, lol.... more>>
25 Chapters Every 3.9 Day(s) 1200 Readers 7 Reviews 03-22-2022
[Completed] I didn't notice the mpreg tag until I was already deep into MC's ass-womb. Until that point it was a fun little quick read. Nothing against men who can get pregnant, this is just not the #rep.... more>>
3 Chapters Every 336.3 Day(s) 617 Readers 3 Reviews 09-06-2021
[Completed] Huge advantage of being a short read! No-homo MC. Alright to read if you have free time.
93 Chapters Every 70.2 Day(s) 2258 Readers 6 Reviews 05-08-2023
[Dropped] Personally not a fan stories with side characters having a crush on/relationship building arc with the protag, when they have no chance of ever... more>>
0 Chapters Every 1932 Day(s) 23931 Readers 462 Reviews 05-01-2017
[Completed] This is the first and only work from this author I read to completion thus far. I don't mean to trample on anyone's feelings, because I know there's a lot of fans, but the relationship becomes incredibly toxic. Like, horrifically toxic. I was devastated while reading, waiting for things to get better, but they never did. The beginning was very fun and very sweet, but things felt so horribly one-sided.... more>>
23 Chapters Every 109.7 Day(s) 20849 Readers 479 Reviews 11-29-2020
[Hiatus] You know what I'll add this one too. My friend has begged me on his hands and knees to read this for months. And I did, up to book 1 I think. I have his word that it is a very, very tender love story. ... more>>
13 Chapters Every 202.3 Day(s) 3957 Readers 8 Reviews 09-01-2020
[Dropped] By the translators too, apparently. No-homo MC extreme. Cover art is cute though, and the ML's were funny. Take note of the smut tag.
23 Chapters Every 254.4 Day(s) 1579 Readers 31 Reviews 03-29-2014
[Completed] This is the worst story I have ever read. It was full of genuine h*mophobia and transphobia. MC went from a confident person to an abused, PTSD-ridden victim who cries at nearly anything. ML is the worst character. Ever.... more>>
10 Chapters Every 76.5 Day(s) 983 Readers 2 Reviews 04-17-2023
On chapter 4 out of 10. Short chapters. Side-eyeing that yandere tag. We'll see how this goes!
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!