Hornytoad's BL Manga Recs

Mangaka: Akira Norikazu
Genre: Yaoi
Length: 5 chapters + extra
Scanlated by: Dangerous Pleasure

The Akira Norikazu test can be applied to any manga. If the manga contains four of the following five things, there is a 90% certainty that it was penned by Akira Norikazu, and if it contains less than two of these things, there's a 100% chance it's not Akira Norikazu, with the standard margin of error for making statistics up.

1. Men in suits. Probably yakuza.
2. Random peonies.
3. A lot of sap.
4. A manly seme with this haircut.
5. The dreaded uke-face.

Kyou Hana no Gotoshi has all of the above, but luckily, it skimps on #5. The first four chapters are about a young yakuza heir and his bodyguard and mentor. Unlike a lot of Norikazu's ukes, he actually has a glimmer of a spine. Chapter five is a related oneshot with a separate couple.

Sample Pages
Cover + +

You can download this title through Dangerous Pleasure's website.

Mangaka: Toribito Hiromi
Genre: Yaoi, historical
Length: 3 chapters (ongoing)
Scanlated by: Loveless

Amidst the crowds in Asakusa district, Tokyo, a young man is assaulted by a group of bandits. When a red-haired stranger comes to his rescue, Suoh falls in love at first sight, but all is fair in love and war. (Loveless)

That makes Suoh sound like a total wuss--but what I like about this series is that he isn't. For sure, he's a gay man who designs flamboyant kimono, but he has a huge temper and isn't afraid to use it. The characterization is unusually multi-faceted for yaoi manga.

And so is the story. It's nothing sensationally complicated, but there are several things going on: Suoh's conflict with his younger brother over the direction of their kimono shop, the dangerous gangster trying to seduce both of them, Suoh's unrequited love for Shinobu (the stranger who saved him), and Shinobu's problems with being a Christian an obviously foreign in historical Japan.

Three chapters and no sex yet, just one hot hot hot masturbation scene.

Sample Pages
cover + +

This title is available through Loveless's IRC channel, #loveless on IRChighway.

Mangaka: Yamimaru Enjin
Genre: Yaoi, supernatural, sci-fi
Length: 1 chapter (ongoing)
Scanlated by: Dangerous Pleasure

It's too early to tell if I'll like this story, although I've liked other work by Yamimaru Enjin. But I love the premise:

Keigo and Kifumi die while trying to rescue a puppy. When they wake up, a strange alien girl tells them that they can return to life if they harvest biofuel for her experiments. Having no other choice but staying dead, they agree--and only then find out the details. Kifumi ends up a vampire, and Keigo ends up a werewolf. The biofuel they have to collect turns out to be blood and semen, respectively.

Isn't that the best porn set-up ever? It's like she couldn't decide what sort of cliched porn plot to use, and ended up mixing several together in a big pot of wrong.

I can't wait for more chapters.

Sample pages
Cover + +

This title is available for direct download through Dangerous Pleasure's website.

Update: This title is now complete at eight chapters.