Summary
Boy’s Love,often referred to as “BL” or “Yaoi,” is a controversial genre to some, and a revolutionary genre to many. It puts LGBTQ+ romance and characters at the forefront of its story telling and often highlights queer communities and culture in the process. Despite its Japanese origins, BL manhwas (Korean mangas) are increasingly popular among BL fans.
Though it typically caters to female fans and found itsorigins as a shojo subgenre, BL pulls a wide audience. Moreover, BL has evolved into a popular genre, taking up much of the space on webcomic sites like Lezhin and Tapas. Now, BL creators execute some of the highest quality art you can find in a manhwa.
Updated December 4th, 2024 by Fatima Naeem:The manhwa industry is really stepping up its game with BL stories that go beyond simple romance. These stories dive into different themes, offering more than just surface-level relationships. When these deep stories are paired with a great art style, the whole reading experience is taken to the next level. The latest updates to this list show just how diverse the BL genre is, with unique art styles that match different themes. Whether it’s a sad, emotional story with dark, gritty artwork or a funny, lighthearted plot with lots of pink and pastels, BL manhwa is making a big impact on the industry.
11Pirouette Into My Heart
Art Style: Colorful And Cozy
This is a Chinese manhwa, or manhua, about a male ballet dancer named Shen, and his relationship with next door’s boxer Jinyi. The two meet when they are 12, and quickly become friends as their respective classes are in the same building. As they get older, their relationship becomes more complex, but they are always supporting each other’s dreams above all else.
Pirouette Into My Heartis more about chasing your dreams than it is about love, but the storyline between Shen and Jinyi is nonetheless heartfelt.
10Touch Your World
Art Style: Like Seeing Color For The First Time
When Xie Cheng, who sees the world in literal black and white, comes across a man in color he instantly tries to approach him. Unfortunately for famous designer Bai Lu, the man in question, Xie Cheng collides with him in the bathroom and reporters pounce. Now the two have a questionable photo of them on the internet.
Though Bai Lu first mistakes Xie Cheng as a stalker, they quickly grow close despite Bai Lu’s obvious distrust of people. Xie Cheng just wants to know why he’s seeing someone in color for the first time. This manhua by Tang Man Hua, Zhi Wen, and Chen Xiaoke, is in a classic manhua art style and is suggested for mature teens.
9Dine With A Vampire
Art Style: Gory And Traditional
Dine With A Vampireis adark tale of love and revenge. When Sooin meets a vampire named Chi-hwan, who usually despises human blood, he finds himself with an opportunity to escape his abusive relationship. Chi-hwan is prepared to make Sooin a deal in exchange for his blood. What will Sooin do?
This 18+ manhwa depicts mature themes, and it’s worth looking up the content warnings before reading it. That being said, PINKO’s art is beautiful, and PANGIN’s storywriting is exceptional. Furthermore,Dine With A Vampiregenerally shows these acts as despicable and not something that should be treated lightly, which is not always the case with BL manhwa.
8Who Can Define Popularity?
Art Style: Bright And Fantastical
An enemies-to-lovers storyline, if concocted correctly, can prove to be one of the most entertaining romance tropes ever. A well-rounded approach to it would be a point of conflict between the main characters, their visceral hate for the other, and their uncontrollable attraction towards the other party.
Who Can Define Popularity?is a comedy romance BL that revolves around the concepts of rivalry, envy, respect, and eventually, love. It follows Siwon, a previously apprehensive kid who makes a complete 180 by working on himself incessantly. Siwon’s hard work pays off in college, and he becomes one of the most popular kids on campus. However, his thunder is very soon stolen by another guy, Daun, who is everything Siwon is, but better.
7Incidentally Dyed By Spring’s Love
Art Style: Classic Yet Unique
Ji-yeon Park’s most recent manhwa,Incidentally Dyed By Spring’s Lovetells the story of hard-working Shim Cheongsun as he crosses paths with the wealthy piano genius, Gonghyun. This story is best going into without any spoilers, as the plot twists are integral to the story.
Incidentally Dyed By Spring’s Loveis a completed work by the same manhwa artist asWolf In The HouseandMomentum. It has a version for teens and a mature version, so readers can just pick which iteration they want to consume. Both are pretty good for what they are trying to be, and they benefit from constantly great art that brings to life Shim Cheongsun and Gonghyun’s relationship.
6Hate Mate
Art Style: Quirky And Memorable
Hate Mateis a frustrating story about Subin, a gay man who confesses to his heterosexual friend on a drunken night together. The two part ways with their friendship damaged, and Subin’s unrequited feelings not going anywhere. This story features a love triangle, or two, that will make fans' hearts hurt. Despite all that, the art is so beautiful it’s hard to put this one down.
Created by RECK, known forBody Complex,Hate Mateis available to all ages on Tapas.
Though it is available to all ages, it still contains sexual content without graphic imagery.
5The Degrees Between Us
Art Style: Elegant, Soft, And Minimalistic
The Degrees Between Usis a perfect series for readers who are looking for a perfectly wholesome, soft, and natural BL romance story. It follows a budding romance between two polar opposite people who initially have no plans of falling in love. The unexpectedness and the novelty of their romance, in addition to their cute ‘first-time’ moments, would make any heart go all giddy.
Yeonwoo is an extremely popular high school student, known on his campus for being bright, charming, and completely magnetic. It doesn’t help that he’s also the rep of his class, and he’s pretty smart too. However, the truth is, Yeonwoo is very bored with life and is actively seeking some sort of excitement. Enter Dojin, the broody and dark kid of Yeonwoo’s class who promises to make his life fun from this moment onward.
4Shutline
Art Style: Masculine And Brooding
So this is another quirky plot with a lot of steamy scenes, that wound up pulling on the heartstrings for more than one reason. This is an action-packed manhwa with genuinely good writing and impeccable art. It follows a “rogue street mechanic” as he meets a rich mafioso, and soon their stories, and bodies, intertwine.
Though it might follow the outline for the typical gangster x poor orphan trope,Shutlineis well-thought-out and unique to the subgenre, and it is certainly intended for mature audiences. That said, the manhwa’s relationship is fairly positive compared to other BL manhwa, opting to depict a relationship built on tension but not exploitation. The art is naturally great.
3Digitalis
Art Style: Dark And Grungy
One of the most gut-wrenching romance tropes is the combination of fated lovers and unrequited love, where the main characters are deeply yearning for each other but are unable to act on their feelings due to their circumstances.Digitalisis a reincarnationfated lovers manhwathat is as heartbreaking as it is beautifully drawn.
The story centers on a man who has lived countless lives in search of his true love. In his current incarnation, he’s known as Jinwoo, a white-collar office worker leading a dull, uneventful life. To make matters worse, his destined love in this lifetime feels as unreachable as in all his past lives. This time, his fated soulmate is a close friend of his biological sister and that makes it so much more awkward for Jinwoo to pursue this relationship.
2On Or Off
Art Style: Classic Comic Book Heaven
On or Offis another 18+ title, but this time it’s a workplace romance about a business exec named Kang Daehyung and a young startup developer named Ahn Yiyoung. Kang Daehyung is reminiscent of Clark Kent in appearance and acts in a similarly upright way. Yiyoung is a charming, likable character with a solid group of friends. Together, the two create a relationship that is enviable at the very least.
This manhwa, created by A1, is great for fans of non-toxic relationships, with the questionable scenes being minimal. The art is memorable and different from the typical manhwa.
