10 best yaoi manga, ranked

Lovers of Boys’ Love, you’ve come to the right place. While the yaoi genre first hit its stride in the 1960s, homoerotic art has been a staple of Japanese culture for centuries and has been present in literature and illustration since the 1600s. While yaoi was originally targeted toward female and queer readers, the genre has recently achieved widespread acclaim after the figuring-skating love story Yuri!!! On Ice won Crunchyroll’s inaugural Anime of the Year award in 2016. While there are brilliant anime adaptions of many of the series on this list, sometimes you just need to rediscover the printed source material to experience it in its full, swoon-inducing glory.

Here they are, the 10 best yaoi manga and manhwa, ranked.

10. My Summer Of You by Nagisa Furuya

My Summer of You is the story of two teenaged film buffs whose mutual love of movies causes them to fall for one another during the summer. Chiharu Saeki and Wataru Toda spend their summer days hitting the theater to catch the latest flick, but Wataru is surprised when Chiharu confesses his love out of the blue. Chihara doesn’t mind that Wataru can’t answer him immediately, as long as he promises to still come on their planned summer tour of famous Japanese film locations. My Summer of You is a slow-burn story about two teens stewing in their feelings for each other during one hot summer season. While Wataru isn’t ready to dive into a rom-com relationship at the beginning, something tells me that they’ll share a third-act kiss before the credits roll.

9. Here U Are by D-Jun

Hailed as a modern genre classic, Here U Are is a manhwa about two college boys falling for one another. Outgoing student Yu Yang is still reeling from having his love confession rejected by his crush, but things begin to (literally) look up when he meets the silent, gentle giant Li Huan. While the pair initially gets on each other’s nerves due to their conflicting temperaments, opposites once again attract as feelings of affection blossom. If you’re looking for a slow and sweet story (or if you’ve got a thing for a height dynamic), Here U Are stands head and shoulders above the competition.

8. Hontou Yajuu (Like The Beast) by Kotetsuko Yamamoto

Sick of flings with short BL stories and looking for something substantial? Commit to Hontou Yajuu. This ongoing manga has been running since 2008 and doesn’t appear to be slowing down. It’s the delightfully implausible story of forbidden love between a beat cop and a yakuza gang member, and given its long-running track record, it’s full of just about everything you could ever ask of a yaoi manga. It’s got the sweet, it’s got the smut, the fluff, the romance, the comedy, the drama; you name it. While the narrative itself isn’t exactly grounded in reality, it’s perfect light reading for any BL fan looking for an escape from the real world.

7. Cherry Magic! Thirty Years of Virginity Can Make You a Wizard?! by Yuu Toyota

If Cherry Magic! Thirty Years of Virginity Can Make You a Wizard?! didn’t inspire you to check this manga out from the title alone, allow me to sell it a little more. Shy and serious office worker Adachi received a strange gift on his 30th birthday—he can read the mind of anyone he touches! While some might consider that a curse, Adachi makes good use of his newfound wizard powers after inadvertently touching Kurosawa—the hotshot from the sales department—and learning that his colleague has an enormous crush on him. Romance is the core of Cherry Magic, and its self-deprecating protagonist soon learns to love himself just as much as his coworker.

6. Killing Stalking by Koogi

Sick of all the light, bright, lovey-dovey BS? Need a romance with a little bit of blood in its teeth? Killing Stalking is the dark yaoi romance for you. Traumatized by the decades of abuse he suffered at the hands of his grandparents, the young Yoon Bum becomes infatuated with the charismatic Oh Sangwoo after the latter saves him from a deadly assault. Bum’s obsession with Sangwoo leads him to break into the man’s house, where he discovers a woman chained up in the basement. After freeing the woman, Bum finds himself trapped by Sangwoo, who reveals himself to be one of South Korea’s most prolific serial killers. Smutty, creepy, and violent as hell, Killing Stalking is for fans of love that comes with a twist … of the knife.

5. Sasaki and Miyano by Shou Harusono

Adapted into one of the greatest yaoi anime ever made, Sasaki and Miyano is one of the most acclaimed entries in the genre. It’s the Heartstopper-esque story of Miyano, a shy and sweet first-year, who strikes up a friendship with the charismatic second-year delinquent Sasaki over their shared love of yaoi manga. Attracted to girls, Miyano initially believes that he is straight but begins to come to terms with his queerness as his relationship with his classmate deepens and as the more emotionally expressive Sasaki draws it out of him. Tender, emotionally grounded, and woefully romantic, Sasaki and Miyano will go down in history as genre-definers.

4. Yuri!!! On Ice—Welcome to the Madness by Kubo Mitsurou

Half sports story and half yaoi romance, Yuri!!! On Ice is perhaps the most famous Boys’ Love story on the market. The plot concerns Japanese figure skater Yuri Katsuki, who suffers a defeat at the Grand Prix Final so crushing that he considers hanging up his skates for good. While skating at his local ice rink, Yuri’s sister secretly records a video of him performing a routine by his idol, Victor Nikiforov, and uploads it to the internet. After seeing the performance online, Victor is so impressed that he decides to fly to Japan to coach Yuri. What starts as a trainer/trainee relationship soon blossoms into a full-on romance as Yuri mounts an incendiary career comeback. Sometimes, it just takes a little love to sharpen the skates. Do yourself a favor and check out the anime while you’re at it; the figure skating sequences are breathtaking.

3. Umibe no Étranger by Kii Kanna

Also known as The Stranger by the Shore, Umibe no Étranger is the story of Shun Hashimoto, an openly gay writer disowned by his parents after coming out. Shun lives a solitary life, working on his first novel while wandering the coastlines of Okinawa. One day, he stumbles across fellow coastal wanderer Mio Chibana, and the twos’ mutual love for long walks on the beach (a classic) causes them to fall head over heels for one another. Sadly, Mio has to leave just before their love can blossom, but the teen returns years later to confess his feelings. Adapted into a fantastic anime feature film, The Stranger by the Shore is a complex story that doesn’t shy away from the harsh realities faced by queer teens in Japanese society. Mio and Shun’s challenges don’t always make this manga an easy read, but watching them overcome them makes it all the more rewarding.

2. Banana Fish by Akimi Yoshida

While yaoi scholars remain divided as to whether Banana Fish counts as a Boys’ Love story, I’m including it because it features one of the most gorgeous and gut-wrenching gay love stories in all of manga. Set in filthy 1980s New York City, Banana Fish revolves around 17-year-old gang leader Ash Lynx, who is wrapped up in a mafia drug trafficking conspiracy after witnessing a crime. By his side is his friend and confidant Eiji Okumura, a Japanese photographer’s assistant working on a report about New York City street gangs. The dark crime caper features one of the most witheringly romantic love stories in all of manga history, the culmination of which will make you sob like a baby.

1. Given by Natsuki Kizu

Part slice-of-life romance and part music drama, Given is perhaps the best story that the yaoi genre has to offer. After becoming the reluctant guitar teacher to his high school classmate Mafuyu Satō, amateur musician Ritsuka Uenoyama begins to see his student in a new light after hearing his gorgeous singing voice. Ritsuka asks Mafuyu to become the singer in his band, Given, and the quartet takes a shot at fame. As the band feverishly rehearses for a festival slot, Ritsuka and Mafuyu’s artistic relationship blossoms into a romantic one. Meanwhile, the bass player and the drummer also begin to have feelings for one another, giving Given enough relationship drama to rival Rumors-era Fleetwood Mac. Given eschews a cliche “and then they got famous” plot arc to tell a complex emotional narrative of love between four young men. It’s beautiful, heart-wrenching, and where the anime adaptation is concerned, full of indie pop bangers.