Hello! I’m Lys, a library worker and BL manga fan. I hope this blog is not only helpful for those who are unfamiliar with BL, such as library staff and booksellers, but existing fans as well!

  • Who is Publishing BL in English?

    Many publishers in the US (and overseas!) have been licensing more and more BL in English in recent years! Tokyopop’s LoveLove imprint is overwhelmingly BL. Seven Seas Entertainment‘s weekly Wonderful Wednesdays licensing announcement often have BL, occasionally making up nearly half of the announced titles. They have been known for licensing many Chinese BL novels (danmei) since late 2021. Indie publisher Denpa has been releasing BL manga under their imprint Kuma. YenPress introduced their imprint Ize Press, whose lineup includes Korean BL manhwa and novels. Penguin Random House now has Inklore, which has also released some BL. More recently, J-Novel Club announced their BL imprint Knight last year, and plan to announce titles soon. These publishers have been announcing a great number of BL, with catalogs that may one day rival long-time BL publishers such as SuBLime and Juné (imprint of Digital Manga Publishing).

    Japanese companies and publishers have also started to join in the English market, though digitally. Japanese publisher Takeshobo has their own in-house team and ShuCream previously released their own titles before working with publishers like Tokyopop, who has licensed many titles from ShuCream’s BL magazine from RED. Animate International, a company which mainly focuses on importing goods to Japan, also began to license manga. There are also companies who are both publisher and platform, such as Futekiya (which is now a part of the service Manga Planet), Renta!, and MangaPlaza. Though I said they were mainly digital, Futekiya/Manga Planet and Animate International have actually started to print some of their titles. In the United States, books from both of these publishers are currently available for purchase from Kinokuniya USA.

    While there has been an increase in BL overall, there have been little updates on Juné’s releases and ongoing titles. This includes the second edition print of Even So, I Will Love You Tenderly by Kou Yoneda, which released digitally last summer. There has been no announcement regarding the physical print since then. Juné has been licensing BL for over two decades now, but no longer release as much…

    As for the types of BL being published, Japanese manga continues to be the largest. However, novels and print versions of webcomics have also been increasingly popular. As previously mentioned, Chinese BL webnovels, known as danmei, has been very popular. Even manhua have been released. Indie publishers of danmei include Hai Tang, Rosmei (Singapore) and Via Lactea (Canada). While Via Lactea books are available through major retailers, Rosmei books can only be purchased through select partner retailers. For indie publishers and manhua, Aloha Comics has published two: the Taiwanese manhua Day Off and Chinese manhua Here U Are. Similar has happened with Korean BL manhwa and webnovels. While Korean BL is primarily released digitally in English, some have been printed. One indie publisher called Publang has recently announced print releases for some of their novel titles.

    Outside East Asian BL, Thai BL has also been gaining traction. In particular, novels SOTUS and The Red Thread have gotten Japanese manga adaptations. Both titles are available in English through YenPress.

    As a fan, the BL boom is real! And keeping up with titles is definitely costly… In addition to larger US publishers releasing BL novels and comics, there are many smaller publishers whose titles may be worth checking out as well! Hope this was a slightly helpful rundown, even though it may have been information overload.

    2025.05.17 Edit:
    I forgot to mention indie publisher Star Fruit Books! They have a few BL manga available too, including a self-published series called When Pink Rain Falls.

    2025.05.26 Edit: I also forgot to mention BLoved Publishing, another indie publisher who has licensed the Korean BL novel and manhwa adaptation of Dear Benjamin and Japanese BL novel series Deadlock.

    2025.07.08: I’ve added more publishers to the list not previously mentioned in this post, including BluPetal, another new publisher staffed by people who have experience at other publishers.

    I’ve created a table of publishers that have published BL! Hope to keep this updated.
    Here’s a preview:

    Last Edited: 2025.07.08

  • Love in the Palm of His Hand by Rinteku

    EN Title: Love in the Palm of His Hand
    JP Title: カメレオンはてのひらに恋をする。(カメ恋)
    Romaji: Chameleon wa Tenohira ni Koi wo Suru. (KameKoi)
    Author/Artist: Rinteku
    Publisher: Square Enix
    Publisher Rating: Older Teen
    EN Publication Status: Ongoing (3+ volumes)

    Setting: Contemporary, university

    Love in the Palm of His Hand by Rinteku truly has been one of my favorite BL titles I’ve been reading. Rinteku beautifully conveys the themes of communication and wishing to connect with others with her characters Fujinaga and Keito and their developing relationship.

    Story Overview
    College student Fujinaga initially meets Keito, who had fallen asleep on him, on the train. Not realizing Keito thanked him for waking him up in sign language, he thought Keito was a foreigner. But when they meet again on campus, Fujinaga learns Keito is deaf. Despite knowing no sign language, Fujinaga’s background as an expressive actor–so expressive to the point of getting little jobs–helps him be able to guess what Keito is signing. Fujinaga’s persistence in making sure he understands Keito and his aptitude for sign language earns him admiration from Keito. Meanwhile, Fujinaga makes sure Keito can understand them when they talk, never minding if he has to repeat himself. Keito notes this, having grown up with many hearing people giving up communicating with him when he can’t understand. These two young men who had difficulties connecting with others begin to form a bond that eventually blossoms into love.

    Review
    Everything about this manga has blown me away. From the characters’ personal and relationship development to the artwork… I really have been loving it all. Rinteku’s ability to convey movement in the artwork is phenomenal. I’ve found myself really rooting for Fujinaga and Keito, both as individuals and a couple! I’m especially invested in seeing Fujinaga develop more as an actor. Keito has also begun to move toward some goals in vol 3, which just released in Japan last month. I’m definitely excited to continue following along with the series!

    Love in the Palm of His Hand is currently serializing in English digitally on Square Enix’s manga reading application Manga UP!, with volume 1 releasing on May 20. As of today, the serialization on Manga UP! has just started releasing chapters from volume 3.

    Closing out this post with illustrations Rinteku drew to celebrate the release of volume 3 and volume 2 getting third place in the 2025 BL Awards Emotional Category! (I’ll definitely write up about the BL Awards and Chill Chill in general in the future.)

  • A New Blog!

    Hello, I’m Lys.
    I’m a library worker, MLIS student, and a huge fan of BL!
    You can learn more about me on my about page.

    I’ve been wanting to make a BL-focused blog that’s informative but also a space I can still gush over titles I enjoy. I’m especially hoping this blog will be helpful for those working in libraries wanting to learn more about the genre and maybe add BL to their collections!

    To start, I’d like to share this book from 2015 that covers the origins and history of the BL genre and other scholarly essays. I particularly recommend those who aren’t familiar with BL to read the chapters An Introduction to “Boys Love” in Japan by Mark McLelland and James Welker and A Brief History of Shonen’ai, Yaoi and Boys Love by James Welker.

    Boys Love Manga and Beyond: History, Culture, and Community in Japan
    Edited by Mark McLelland, Kazumi Nagaike, Katsuhiko Suganuma, and James Welker