Blue Lock? Blue Exorcist? Unless the lads in these shows are gonna skip the formalities and get straight to blue-lockin’ lips, that’s not the kind of BL I mean. I’m talking Boys Love. Bonafide Yaoi anime. And Crunchyroll has the sauce: these are the best BL anime on The Roll ranked.
10. Dakaichi: I’m Being Harassed By the Sexiest Man of the Year
Dakaichi: I’m Being Harassed By the Sexiest Man of the Year sounds like a problem that some would be envious of. “Sexiest Man of the Year” award winner Takato Saijō is an actor at the top of his game. He’s been the reigning sexiest man in the industry for five years straight. Everything changed when the Fire Nation attacked, and by “Fire Nation” I mean Junta Azumaya, the hot young newcomer actor who has usurped Takato’s title. Naturally, Takato is pissed, and decides that Junta is his mortal enemy, his high school theater kid showbiz rival. As for Junta? He’s madly in love with Takato. Half-enemies to all-lovers arcs abound.
9. Heaven’s Official Blessing
Heaven’s Official Blessing is a Chinese donghua anime about two divine gods with some mortal desires. Xie Lian is a good whose star is in descendancy, he’s lost his holy moxie. He’s off his celestial game. Meanwhile, the glorious god Hua Cheng has just entered Heaven’s dating pool, and he’s far more powerful and majestic than Xie Lian. Uh oh! Power dynamics. The divine fire of love is lit when these two stars cross.
8. The Betrayal Knows My Name
Do you ever wish Death Note was just a little bit … gayer? Your wishes are granted! The Betrayal Knows My Name is a dark fantasy anime that is sure to make your little Hot Topic heart sing. The teenage Yuki Sakurai has the uncanny ability to instantly see and feel other people’s problems. Like a sort of supernatural therapist. Sounds like a bit of a curse. One day, the otherworldy Luka appears, and along with him come spiritual monsters called “Duras”, which begin hunting the pair. Tired of standard boy meets boy high school fare and want something spookier? He’s your answer.
7. Cherry Magic! Thirty Years Of Virginity Can Make You A Wizard?!
Cherry Magic! Thirty Years Of Virginity Can Make You A Wizard?! is about thirty-year-old office worker Adachi, a man with the power to read minds. I’m not sure if that would make his job easier or way harder. There’s a catch to his power however, he can only read the minds of people he is in direct, intimate contact with. He can generally avoid the psychic noise until he comes face to face with office hottie Kurosawa. Despite the hotshot’s confident exterior, he hides an inner insecurity and sensitivity that, through the power of telepathy, Adachi becomes intimately acquainted with.
6. The Night Beyond the Tricornered Window
Like The Betrayal Knows My Name, The Night Beyond the Tricornered Window is a ghostly romp for all the spooky kids out there. Mikado is a mild-mannered bookstore employee with the unexplained ability to perceive the supernatural. Kid gets an eyefull of creepy and unexplained oddities on the daily. After a chance encounter with hot exorcist Hiyakawa, Mikado gets dragged into spirit world wheelings and dealings. Who knew the cleansing evil spirits with a cutie could feel so … good?
5. Love Stage!!
Love Stage!! is a show for the performers at heart. Izumi is a nepo baby born into a family of celebs. Dad’s a musician, mother’s an artist, and his brother is in a pop band. Sadly, Izumi didn’t get the talent gene. He’s just your average geeky college student (with no student loans, most likely). One day, his natural good looks allow him to get cast in a commercial where he has to sport a dress, and one of the fellas on set Ryoma falls in love with him after mistaking him for a woman. The sweetest part? After Ryoma finds out that Izumi is a boy, his feelings remain steadfast. That’s the sort of anime pansexuality we stan.
4. The Stranger By The Shore
The Stranger By The Shore is a full-length boys love movie! The genre made it to the big screen, baby! Aspiring novelist Shun Hashimoto struggles to find acceptance in his family after his sexuality comes to light. Alone and isolated, he wanders the seashore and right into the arms of Mio Chibana. Mio is an orphan, who finds similar solace by the seaside. The pair begin a slow-burn romance that will drown your heart in the salty seas of love.
3. Yuri!!! On Ice
(Mappa)
Yuri!!! On Ice is one of the most celebrated modern anime around, featuring one of the genre’s sweetest love stories. After Japanese figure skater Yuri suffers a devastating defeat at an international competition, he attracts the attention of acclaimed (and hot) Russian figure skater Victor. Victor offers to coach the young Yuri back from the brink of defeat and into the figure skating spotlight. Yuri’s spirits lift, along with his figure skating scores, and so begins a sports romance victory lap for the ages.
2. Sasaki and Miyano
Sasaki and Miyano is the modern-day boys love blueprint. It’s a simple series—high school boy meets high school boy. There aren’t a lot of ingredients that make up this boys love dish, it’s rather the quality of those ingredients that makes the flavor. Miyano is a shy first year and fan of yaoi anime. Sasaki is a second year sweetheart with a bad reputation. The pair strike up a friendship that slowly blossoms into something more as Miyano realizes that he’s not as into girls as he thought he was. Fans of the gold-standard yaoi Doukyusei: Classmates will love this one.
1. Given
Given relies on the formula that The Beatles discovered long ago: Take four young heartthrobs and throw some guitars at them and you’re bound to make a cultural impact. Ritsuka Uenoyama is a high school guitarist who is stuck in a creative rut. After hearing his classmate Mafuyu Sato sing, his juices get flowing again—in more ways than one. The pair decide to enlist two of their classmates and form a band. Love songs penned by the quartet inspire real love to grow. Art imitates life, after all.
(Featured Image: MAPPA)
