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8[[quoteright:350:https://static.tvtropes.org/pmwiki/pub/images/101.jpg]]
9[-[[caption-width-right:350:Why? Because GuyOnGuyIsHot and that's all there is to it.]]-]
10
11''Yaoi'', also known in Japan as "Boys' Love", is a subgenre of {{Shoujo}} and {{Josei}} [[QueerRomance focusing on male homosexuality]], for a [[YaoiFangirl predominantly female audience]]. Typical pairings have the {{seme}} and the {{uke}} roles, which signify the characters' roles during sex, penetrative and receptive respectively, and often times even dictate their personalities and masculinity relative to each other. The word itself comes from ''"yamanashi, ochinashi, iminashi"'' (or [[PornWithoutPlot "no climax, no ending, no meaning"]]), though fans have also come up with another memetic acronym: ''"Yamete! Oshiri ga itai!"'' ("Stop it! My ass hurts!"). However, the term is outdated in Japan and the more neutral term "Boys' Love" is more often used to describe the genre, which also refers to any gay content in general.
12
13With its roots in the chinbi (aesthetic) novels of the 1970s and doujinshi culture, commercial Boy's Love has developed drastically in terms of style and content. While some stereotypes and cliches remain, such as [[IfItsYouItsOkay characters denying homosexuality]], or [[IdealizedSex lack of realism with regard to gay culture]], and the prevalence of rape fantasy as a common theme, modern BL often grapples with subjects like homophobia and gay identity, and has gained popularity among gay men as a result. Furthermore, transmasculine fans may relate strongly to men being assigned feminine bodies and female social roles.
14
15See UsefulNotes/BoysLoveNotes for a list of standard character types.
16
17For the corresponding genre aimed specifically at a gay male readership (though many female readers also enjoy it), see BaraGenre. For the DistaffCounterpart to this genre, see YuriGenre, or {{Hentai}}.
18
19No relation to the {{Yowie|s and Bunyips and Drop Bears Oh My}}, an UsefulNotes/{{Australian|Wildlife}} cryptid similar to the BigfootSasquatchAndYeti.
20
21If you're looking to write in the genre yourself, see the page on [[SoYouWantTo/WriteAGoodYaoi how to write a good Yaoi]].
22
23[[folder:Tropes associated with the Yaoi genre]]
24* BarbieDollAnatomy
25* {{Bishonen}}
26* CastFullOfGay and consequently:
27** CastFullOfPrettyBoys
28** ChromosomeCasting
29** TheSmurfettePrinciple
30* CrazyJealousGuy
31* ClosetKey
32* ComingOfAgeQueerRomance
33* DepravedBisexual
34* DepravedHomosexual
35* EvenTheGuysWantHim
36* EveryoneIsBi
37* FagHag
38* FetishizedAbuser
39* {{Gayngst}}
40* {{Gayngster}} (or rather Gay {{Yakuza}} in this case)
41* GenkiGirl
42* GoodEyesEvilEyes
43* TheGruntingOrgasm
44* HeroicBuild (especially for the {{Seme}})
45* IfItsYouItsOkay
46* IncompatibleOrientation
47* {{Keet}}
48* LGBTAwakening
49* LongHairedPrettyBoy
50* MasculineFeminineGayCouple
51* MoreExperiencedChasesTheInnocent
52* MrFanservice
53* OneHeadTaller
54* OnlyHasSameSexAdmirers
55* RapeAsBackstory
56* {{Seme}}
57* SexGod
58* SexualHarassmentAndRapeTropes
59* ShirtlessScene
60* SingleTargetSexuality
61* StraightGay
62* StupidSexyFlanders
63* {{Uke}}
64* WallPinOfLove
65* WholesomeCrossdresser
66* YaoiFangirl
67[[/folder]]
68
69----
70!!Examples
71[[foldercontrol]]
72
73[[index]]
74[[folder:Anime and Manga]]
75* ''Manga/FiftyXFifty''
76* ''Manga/AcidTown'' is one of the most unusual numbers on the list, being light on the sex (which appears as nothing but a byproduct) and heavy on a story full of dark themes such as child abuse, broken homes, violence, prostitution, drug trafficking, crime and more.
77* ''Manga/AJiAndCRosWarAgainstTheirGorgeousDailyLives'' is a one-shot manga that parodies the genre.
78* ''Manga/AmeagariNo10Nenme''
79* ''Manga/AnimalX''
80* ''Manga/AwkwardSilence''
81* ''Manga/BadTeachersEquation''
82* ''Manga/BiNoKyoujin'': A {{Yakuza}} leader falls for a clever young smuggler. Very explicit and mature, themed around family duty, the ruthlessness and constant violence of the yakuza world, {{Revenge}}, IfItsYouItsOkay and the problems such a relationship can cause in a very gay-unfriendly setting contrasting the sweet moments and otherwise touching developments.
83* ''Manga/BlackOrWhite''
84* ''Manga/BlackSunDoreiou'' is a manga about a European soldier who is taken captive as a SexSlave by a Turkic army general in exchange for the safety of the former's men.
85* ''Manga/BlueSheepReverie''
86* ''Manga/BreakfastClub''
87* ''Manga/{{Calling}}''
88* ''Manga/CandyColorParadox''
89* ''Manga/CasteHeaven'' is a psychological drama that's heavy on NightmareFuel.
90* ''Manga/{{Challengers}}''
91* ''Manga/CherryMagicThirtyYearsOfVirginityCanMakeYouAWizard''
92* ''Manga/{{Chintsubu}}'' is a manga about boys with talking penises.
93* ''Manga/{{Classmates}}''
94* ''Manga/CrimsonSpell'' is a hybrid of HeroicFantasy and Boys' Love.
95* ''Manga/ACruelGodReigns''
96* ''Manga/CuteDevil'' (and its sequels).
97* ''Manga/DekichattaDanshi'' features ChildhoodFriends as the main couple and they raise an infant together.
98* ''Manga/DouseiYankeeAkamatsuSeven''
99* ''Manga/DoushitemoFuretakunai'': A man recently out of a bad relationship starts an affair with his straight boss.
100** ''Soredemo, Yasashii Koi o Suru'': A spin-off focused on the couple's friend, who after falling for one of them, is propositioned by a friend to test out a relationship with another man with him.
101* ''Manga/TheDemianSyndrome''
102* ''Manga/EerieQueerie''
103* ''Manga/EndlessWorld'' has drugs, sex, and [[spoiler: suicide]].
104* ''Manga/{{FAKE}}'' takes the HoYay inherent in the BuddyCopShow dynamic to its inevitable conclusion. It's also one of the first widely popular yaoi to softpedal the seme/uke dynamic--while it still exists with a defined seme and uke, they are very close to equals.
105* ''Manga/FinderSeries'': A modern classic of the genre, the story is centered around a freelance photographer who becomes involved with a crime boss for the long run after attempting to get a scoop on him...
106* ''Manga/FishInTheTrap''
107* ''Manga/AForeignLoveAffair'': A romance between an Italian sailor and a member of the yakuza.
108* [[/index]]Creator/FujisakiKou is a BL author with roughly a third of her works occurring in the same {{verse}}. These currently include:
109** [[index]]''Manga/HappyYarouWedding'' which follows university student Yuuhi and Professor Todou Akira (the elder son of the Todou boss) and Akira's 5-year-old son, Shouta.
110** ''Manga/VirginLove'', ''Manga/JunaiNoSeinen'' and ''Manga/MensLove'' follow the smutty romance of Todou Group employee Kirishima Kaoru and Mercury executive Daigo Mikihisa.
111* ''Manga/FutureLovers'', a two-volume manga series that's relatively realistic and down-to-earth compared to many other BL manga.
112* ''Manga/GDefend''
113* ''{{Manga/Given}}'' is about a rock band and the events that occur after Ritsuka, the guitarist, is roped into teaching guitar to his spacey schoolmate Mafuyu. While the band aspect is important, the plot mainly focuses on the growing relationship between Ritsuka and Mafuyu, as well as the romantic tension between the other two band members Haruki and Akihiko.
114* ''Manga/GoForItNakamura'': A more comedic work from Syundei, it focuses less on serious romance and more on Nakamura's attempts to get closer to his crush Hirose, and HilarityEnsues whenever he tries to put these attempts in motion. Nakamura's feelings for Hirose still do take up a lot of focus.
115* ''Manga/GorgeousCarat''
116* ''{{Manga/Gravitation}}'': Despite its music-themed plot, the main focus is on the relationship between {{Keet}} singer Shuichi Shindou and angsty novelist Eiri Yuki. It (and especially the PornWithoutPlot doujinshi connected to it) also features some of the most strict, stereotypical seme/uke characterization, with the uke Shuichi eventually undergoing {{ukefication}} to the degree of {{Chickification}} and, in the doujinshi, {{Flanderization}} to the point of appearing childlike.
117* ''Manga/HaruWoDaiteita'' (''Embracing Love'') is a 14-volume manga series (and 2-episode OVA) concerning two "adult video" actors who are trying to break into mainstream acting.
118** ''Anime/WinterCicada'', by the same author, is a series of 3 OVA detailing the romance and eventual suicide of two samurai, set in the Edo Period. It originated as a [[ShowWithinAShow film the two main characters of ''Embracing Love'' appeared in]].
119* ''Manga/HanakoiTsurane''
120* ''Manga/HeartNoKakurega'': After being robbed blind, a man is forced to move to a run-down complex with a group of quirky tenants and a stoic landlord.
121* ''Manga/TheHeartOfThomas'': One of the very first Boys' Love manga. Written by Creator/MotoHagio, a contemporary of Creator/KeikoTakemiya.
122* ''Manga/{{Hen}}'': Though better known for the YuriGenre second series, the first series was a love story between a ManlyGay young man and a {{Bishonen}} younger guy.
123* ''Manga/HideAndSeek'' AKA ''Himegoto Asobi'': A love story between a divorced single dad who owns a candy shop and the local pediatrician.
124* ''Manga/HidokuShinaide'': A delinquent blackmails a scholarship student into being in a relationship with him.
125* ''Manga/HisFavorite''
126* ''Manga/HitorijimeMyHero'' and its predecessor/pseudo-prequel, ''Hitorijime Boyfriend''
127* ''Manga/HontoYajuu'': A romantic comedy about the forbidden love between a cop and a yakuza.
128* ''How to Make a "Girl" Fall in Love'' (localized in English as ''Manga/IThinkITurnedMyChildhoodFriendIntoAGirl''): A take on BL that crosses over with the OtokonokoGenre, a boy who likes doing makeup gives his best friend a makeover that leaves him looking like a girl. Romantic hijinks ensue. The English localization was controversial for initially [[AdaptationalGenderIdentity changing the main crossdressing character into a transgender girl]].
129* ''Manga/HybridChild'': A collection of oneshots from Nakamura Shungiku revolving around the eponymous "hybrid child", dolls that can gain emotions and grow when given affection from their owners.
130* Hyouta Fujiyama has created a number of loosely related stories around the setting of Kinsei High, an all-boys school where "rumor has it" that [[/index]] [[EveryoneIsBi 90% of the student body really is bi]], [[index]]if not gay. Oddly, the main stories always seem to focus on the boys who think they're in the 10%...
131** ''Manga/FreefallRomance''
132** ''Manga/{{Sunflower}}''
133** ''Ordinary Crush''
134* ''Manga/IHearTheSunspot'' is about a growing romance between two college-age boys, one of whom is deaf.
135* ''Manga/IllBeGayBodySwitcheroo''
136* ''Manga/IllMakeYouCry''
137* ''Manga/IShallNeverReturn'': A relatively early example from the mid-'90s; it's notable for averting or subverting many of the more common BL tropes, possibly because of the [[UsefulNotes/BoysLoveNotes Uke x Uke relationship type]].
138* ''Manga/InTheWorldOfAGalGameMyBestFriendSaysHeLikesMe''
139* ''Manga/InTheseWords'': A plot-heavy series that revolves around a SerialKiller and the psychologist hired to interrogate him. Very dark and explicit, with a rare thriller-like atmosphere and a Creator/SatoshiKon-like universe that constantly blurs the lines between reality, madness and dreams.
140* ''Manga/InuMoArukeba''
141* ''Manga/{{Jazz|1999}}''
142* ''Manga/JunjouRomantica'': A comedic romance that gives us three couples for the price of one, all three very different but all touching on the theme of SecondLove.
143* ''Manga/JustWhenIThoughtICameHereToDie''
144* ''Manga/KarasugaokaDontBeShy''
145* [[/index]]Creator/KeikoTakemiya[[index]] is the Grand Dame of the genre. Her works include:
146** ''In the Sunroom'' (1970), the first known Boys' Love manga story,
147** ''Manga/KazeToKiNoUta'' (The Song/Poem of the Wind and Trees) (1976-1984), one of the most influential of the early Boys' Love manga,
148** ''The Door into Summer'' (1975), one of the first Boys' Love stories to be made into anime (in 1981).
149* ''Manga/{{Kirepapa}}'' is an {{OVA}} with a romance between a man and his son's high school-aged best friend. The second OVA focuses on his son and an older man.
150* ''Manga/{{Kizuna}}'' is widely regarded as the series that popularized the Boys' Love genre.
151* ''Koisuru Boukun'', a.k.a. ''Manga/TheTyrantFallsInLove'', a spin-off from ''Manga/{{Challengers}}''.
152* ''Manga/{{Komatta Toki ni wa Hoshi ni Kike}}''
153* ''Anime/KoutetsuSangokushi''
154* ''La Esperança'' is an example of religion-induced melodrama, but it's pulled off quite well.
155* ''Anime/LegendOfTheBlueWolves'' is an example of crossover with BaraGenre, and qualifies as both Yaoi and plot-heavy Bara.
156* ''Manga/LibertyLiberty''
157* ''Manga/LiesAreAGentlemansManners''
158* ''Manga/{{Links}}''
159* ''Manga/LittleButterfly''
160* ''Manga/LoveMode'': A long-running series about the owner of a men-only "dating club" (read: brothel) and his clients, employees and friends.
161* ''Manga/LovePistols'' revolves around high schooler Norio, whose life has been turned upside down ever since he discovers that primates apparently aren't humanity's only origin. About 30% of humanity are actually descended from other animals such as [[AnimalMotifs dogs, cats, snakes, bears and even]] [[DyingRace mermaids]]. Includes [[MisterSeahorse male pregnancy]].
162* ''Manga/LoveStage'' is a collaboration between Eiki Eiki and Zaou Taishi about an {{otaku}} and an idol.
163* ''Manga/Madness2004''
164* ''Manga/MaidenRose'' (aka ''Hyakujitsu no Bara'') has added the appeal of hot military men in spades.
165* ''Manga/ManlyAppetitesMinegishiLovesOtsu'' is a light OfficeRomance about a popular and friendly salaryman who loves giving food to his grouchy co-worker.
166* ''{{Manga/Marginal}}'': Sci-fi and dystopian series by Creator/MotoHagio set in a world where there is apparently only one woman and the rest are men.
167* ''Manga/MeguroAndAkinoJustDontRealize''
168* ''Menkui!''
169* ''Monster and the Beast''
170* ''Manga/NegativeKunToPositiveKun'' focuses on the relationship between the titular male characters, but it's a SliceOfLife story with no sex.
171* ''Manga/NekokaDanshiNoShitsukekata'': Ayane Ukyo's first entry into the BL genre, followed by her more explicit {{Spin Off}}s (all of which ran concurrently in a more explicit sister magazine and under the pseudonym [[PornNames Aya Sakyo]]):
172** ''Ikezu Kareshi no Otoshikata''
173** ''Nekoka Kareshi no Ayashikata''
174** ''Manga/KuronekoKareshiSeries''
175** ''Fukigen Kareshi no Nadamekata''
176* ''Manga/NiibanmeNoAlpha''
177* ''Manga/NotEqual''
178* ''Manga/OffBeat'': One of the few OELManga examples.
179* ''Manga/OkaneGaNai'': One of the more explicit and violent ones that includes heavy seme/uke dynamic and repeated use of the RapeAndSexualHarassmentTropes, around the themes IfICantHaveYou and AMatchMadeInStockholm. Stands out for being one the few BoysLoveGenre manga written by a man.
180* ''Manga/OnlyTheFlowerKnows''
181* ''Manga/OnlySeriousAboutYou'': Notable for exploring the theme of a child raised by two men.
182* ''{{Manga/Oyajina}}'': A GenderBender manga about a bunch of teenaged girls who are suddenly turned into middle-aged men.
183* ''Manga/{{Patalliro}}'' An early and long-running satirical manga (1979 ? ongoing) and a rare example of a BL series by a male mangaka. Also one of the first BL-flavored anime to be produced for television (in 1983-84).
184* ''Manga/PornoSuperstar''
185* ''Manga/PrinceCharming''
186* ''Manga/PrunusGirl''
187* ''Manga/RulesUniverse'': A series of manga and doujinshi focusing on Hikaru, his friends, and their love lives.
188* ''AudioPlay/SaintBeast'' is based off a series of audio dramas (generally considered BL, although the audio dramas are more explicit than the tame anime series).
189* ''Manga/SakendeYaruze''
190* ''Manga/SakuraGari'': Creator/YuuWatase is better known for her {{shoujo|Demographic}} works, and while she's also a known YaoiFangirl, this is her only proper BL work.
191* ''Manga/SasakiAndMiyano''
192* ''Manga/TheSecretAgreement''
193* ''Manga/SeikimatsuDarling''
194* ''Manga/SeitokaichouNiChuukoku'': Campus Romance
195* ''Manga/SekaiichiHatsukoi'': A spin-off of ''Manga/JunjouRomantica'' set in the same universe but with new characters in its core story. It features cameos of characters from the previous series.
196* ''Manga/SenobiNoHousoku'': A one-volume BL story.
197* ''Sensitive Pornograph'':
198** Manga: A collection of one-chapter short stories, both [[/index]][[NoPlotNoProblem rather plotless porn]] as well as more plot-driven tales.
199** Anime: An oxymoronic title for one of the most explicit one-shots of the genre that focuses mainly on {{Fanservice}} and uncensored sex scenes. [[index]]
200* ''Manga/SevenDays2007''
201* ''Manga/ShinkuuYuusetsu''
202%%Sukisho can be found under Literature%%
203* ''Manga/{{Stockholm}}''
204* ''Manga/{{Stranger}}''
205* ''Manga/SuperLovers''
206* ''Manga/TenCount''
207* ''Manga/TheTitansBride'': A rare combination of BoysLove and [[TrappedInAnotherWorld Isekai]] centered around the relationship between a giant prince and a human high school boy.
208* ''Manga/{{Tsukigasa}}''
209* ''Manga/TwitteringBirdsNeverFly''
210* ''Manga/TheTwoLions''
211* ''Manga/UnderGrandHotel'': An explicit BL manga set in a U.S. prison.
212* ''Manga/UruwashikiShuen''
213* ''Manga/WalkerUniverse''
214* ''Manga/WaruiKotoShitai'' and its related series, ''Kirai ja nai Kedo'' and ''Mujihi na Otoko''
215* ''Manga/TheWeathermanIsMyLover'': A romance between a straight-laced newscaster and eccentric weather "fairy".
216* ''Manga/WereSupportingActors''
217* ''Manga/WildAdapter'': a subtext-only {{Noir}} action series that walks and talks like {{seinen}} and wasn't marketed as BL in the U.S.
218* ''Manga/WildFangs'', ''Manga/WildRose'' and ''Manga/WildWind'', part of a series by Yamagishi Hokuto involving half-human, half-beasts.
219* ''Manga/WildRock'' by Takashima Kazusa is set in prehistoric times and is a common Boys' Love GatewaySeries.
220* ''Manga/TheWizeWizeBeastsOfTheWizardingWizdoms''
221* ''Manga/YataMomo''
222* ''{{Manga/Yellow}}''
223* ''Manga/YoureMyPrincess'' and its sequel SpinOff ''Someday My Prince Will Come''
224* ''Manga/{{ZE}}'': About the relationships between the different Kotodama-samas and Kami-samas(dolls).
225* ''{{Manga/Zetsuai 1989}}'' and its sequel series ''Bronze: Zetsuai Since 1989'': One of the greatest classics of the genre, by Minami Ozaki. The series began as yaoi doujinshi for ''Manga/CaptainTsubasa'', and was spun off into an original tale brimming with melodrama; the word "zetsuai" is a made-up compound meaning something like "desperate love" or (Ozaki's favoured English translation) "everlasting love".
226* ''Manga/ZettaiBLNiNaruSekaiVsZettaiBLNiNaritakunaiOtoko''
227[[/folder]]
228
229[[folder:Film]]
230* ''Film/ItsukiNoKimiE''
231[[/folder]]
232
233[[folder:Literature]]
234* ''Literature/AiNoKusabi''
235* ''Literature/CardRoodRebirth''
236* ''Literature/ColdSeries''
237* ''{{Literature/Corsair}}'' has {{pirate}}s, {{bishonen}} and dub con.
238* ''Literature/DevilVenerableAlsoWantsToKnow''
239* ''Literature/DingHaiFuShengLu''
240* ''Literature/DontWorryMama''
241* ''Literature/TheFourteenthYearOfChenghua''
242* ''Literature/FujimiOrchestra''
243* ''Literature/FoxDemonCultivationManual''
244* ''Literature/TheGoldenFeather''
245* ''Literature/GoldenTerrace''
246* ''Literature/GrandmasterOfDemonicCultivationMoDaoZuShi'' started as a serialized web novel and has been adapted into a ''donghua'', a [[Series/TheUntamed live-action drama]], and a chibi SpinOff series.
247* ''Literature/HeavenOfficialsBlessingTianGuanCiFu''
248* ''Literature/TheHuskyAndHisWhiteCatShizunErhaHeTaDeBaiMaoShizun''
249* ''LightNovel/ImmoralDarkness''
250* ''Literature/LittleMushroom''
251* ''The Man Who Doesn't Take Off His Clothes''
252* ''Literature/MarriedThriceToSaltedFish''
253* ''Literature/MirageOfBlaze''
254* ''Literature/MistakenlySavingTheVillain''
255* ''Literature/MyTeammatesAllAreCrazy''
256* ''Literature/TheObsessiveShouMovesOn''
257* The ''Literature/OnlyTheRingFingerKnows'' books are many people's GatewaySeries into this genre, due to their interesting (if generic) plot and light romantic scenes. There is also a manga.
258* ''Literature/QiangJinJiu''
259* ''Literature/QianQiu''
260* ''Literature/{{S|2005}}'' is a detective and yakuza light novel series.
261* ''Literature/TheScumVillainsSelfSavingSystemRenZhaFanpaiZijiuXitong''
262* ''Literature/ShaPoLangNovel''
263* ''Sleeping With Money''
264* ''Literature/{{Sukisho}}'', which started out as a novel, and expanded to an anime and BoysLoveGame.
265* ''Literature/TianBaoFuYaoLu''
266* ''Literature/TheUglyEmpress''
267* ''Literature/WuChangJie''
268* ''Literature/{{Wushuang}}''
269* ''Literature/ZhenHun''
270[[/folder]]
271
272[[folder:Live-Action TV]]
273* ''Series/BadBuddy''
274* ''Series/KinnPorsche'' is a Thai BL drama that focuses on the relationship between Kinn, the heir of a crime family, and Porsche, a bartender and underground fighter who becomes Kinn's bodyguard.
275* ''Series/MannerOfDeath''
276* ''Series/ATaleOfThousandStars''
277* ''Series/TwogetherTheSeries''
278[[/folder]]
279
280[[folder:Manhwa]]
281* ''Manhwa/ImAtEndOfYourSight''
282* ''Manhwa/LetDai''
283[[/folder]]
284
285[[folder:Music]]
286* The song ''Stab Me In the Back'' by Music/XJapan is a fairly graphic description of IntercourseWithYou between two men in its original version (the 1987 and live version, not the ''Jealousy'' version), and qualifies as ''both'' this and BaraGenre due to the appearance of the band when they performed it, though, with some of the band members likely having been/being bisexual, it's probably closer to bara.
287* The VisualKei duet Music/{{Adams}} centers around the idea of the duet being male lovers, and they are consciously a mix of {{yaoi}} and {{bara}} aesthetic.
288* Some VisualKei PerformanceVideo and promotional video tends in this direction due to fanservice or symbolism--see the Visual Kei entry below.
289* There are various song parodies of the "Yaranaika" meme (you may not name or link to the work it originated from, as that work is ''definitely'' a violation of site rules). The most well known are "Yaranaika (Balalaika)," "World Is Abe," "Crash Man," and "GONG." These vary in whether they are classified as bara (as the story the meme originated from was) or yaoi. They also vary in explicitness--the Balalaika remix is usually "safe" if [[BilingualBonus no one around]] [[ForeignCussWord understands Japanese]] (which is how [[RefugeInAudacity someone in one of the more famous videos got away with performing it in a mall in Muslim-majority Indonesia]]), and "GONG" the most visually so and only allowable on Youtube because of its heavy use of parody censor items (roses, lightsabers, [[SerialEscalation golden wings]]).
290[[/folder]]
291
292[[folder:Video Games]]
293* [[Creator/AliceSoft Alice Blue]], produced two BL [[RolePlayingGame RPGs]]. (''Oujisama [=Lv1=]'', ''Oujisama [=Lv2=]'') and a BL simulation game (''Ore no Shita de Agake'') before [[ScrewedByTheNetwork going under]].
294* ''VideoGame/AbaddonPrincessOfTheDecay'', while having three female love interests for protagonist Homura, not only has two {{Gay Option}}s but even gives them their own H-scenes in the [[HGame uncensored version]] (and the toggle-able option to activate them is outright called Boys Love).
295[[/folder]]
296
297[[folder:Visual Novels]]
298* The works of [[Creator/{{Nitroplus}} Nitro+CHiRAL]], the most notable and popular developer. Their titles tends to be DarkerAndEdgier with heaps of NightmareFuel.
299** ''VisualNovel/TogainuNoChi'': In a Japan ravaged by the effects of the third World War, protagonist Akira is framed for a crime he never committed, and is given the chance to clear his name by participating in a DeadlyGame called Igura.
300** ''VisualNovel/LamentoBeyondTheVoid'': Set in a world inhabited by cat-human hybrids, protagonist Konoe is suddenly haunted by dreams that hint at a prophecy concerning TheEndOfTheWorldAsWeKnowIt and sets out to investigate his connection to said prophecy.
301** ''VisualNovel/SweetPool'': After his hospitalization, Youji Sakiyama resumes his high school life, but soon realizes that homework, socializing and puberty will be the very least of his problems.
302** ''VisualNovel/DramaticalMurder'': In the island of Midorijima, Aoba Seragaki is committed to living a life free of the trouble of gang wars and whatnot, but any semblance of normalcy disappears from his life after he receives a mysterious email that sets a chain of events.
303** ''VisualNovel/SlowDamage'': The story focuses on protagonist Towa and his life in the dystopic city of Shinkoumi as mysteries about him and the people around him slowly begin to unravel. Its spin-off, ''VisualNovel/SlowDamageCleanDishes'' focuses on the CleanUpCrew operating in Shinkoumi.
304* Although not as popular as [=Nitro+CHiRAL=], ''Creator/{{Spray}}'' is also a notable developer in Japan with foreign fans. They once did a {{Crossover}} artbook with [=Nitro+CHiRAL=], and they're known for creating the likes of:
305** ''VisualNovel/GakuenHeaven'' and its lesser-known follow-up, ''Gakuen Heaven 2 ~Double Scramble!~''
306** ''VisualNovel/{{Steal}}''
307* ''Creator/{{parade}}'', which is a branch company of [=ClockUp=], a company famous (or infamous) for creating {{Eroge}} visual novels that are rife with {{Gorn}} and other content that's not for those with weak stomachs, has also gained traction for their BL works, which are:
308** ''VisualNovel/NoThankYou''
309** ''VisualNovel/RoomNo9''
310** ''VisualNovel/{{Lkyt}}''
311* ''Angel's Feather''
312* ''VisualNovel/AnimamundiDarkAlchemist''
313* ''VisualNovel/TheDivineSpeaker''
314* ''VisualNovel/DreamSaviorGakuen''
315* ''VisualNovel/HanaKiSou''
316* ''VisualNovel/LuckyDog1''
317* ''VisualNovel/{{Messiah}}''
318* ''Miracle No-ton''
319* ''VisualNovel/{{Morenatsu}}'' is a kemono example.
320* ''VisualNovel/NUCarnival''
321* ''VisualNovel/ShingakkouNoliMeTangere''
322* ''VisualNovel/SilverChaos2ArtificialMermaid''
323* ''VisualNovel/TheSymbiant'': After his ship is damaged, a pilot takes an offer to transport an alien to his home planet and falls in love with him.
324* ''VisualNovel/TavernOfSpear''
325[[/folder]]
326
327[[folder:Webcomics]]
328* ''Webcomic/{{Artifice}}''
329* ''Webcomic/{{Avialae}}'': Ordinary teen-abruptly-turned-bird-boy and his bird-geek neighbor fall in love.
330* ''Webcomic/BloodBank'': A vampire falls in love with a human who isn't all he seems to be. BDSM- and gore-heavy, and highly unsafe for work.
331* ''Webcomic/BoysLoveBoysLove'': A college kid drunkenly summons a demon in an attempt to rebound from his recently ended relationship. So far limited to suggestive {{Fanservice}}, the work's title suggests more in future updates.
332* ''Manhwa/DarkHeaven''
333* ''Webcomic/DemonOfTheUnderground''
334* ''Webcomic/{{Devoto}}''
335* ''Webcomic/{{Ennead}}''
336* ''Webcomic/FriendsTillDeath'' has WordOfGod stating there will be Boy's Love content, although the comic hasn't reached that point yet.
337* ''Webcomic/GhostEyes'' has been confirmed by WordOfGod to be this, and [[ArtStyleDissonance it's a rather dark and morbid]] example at that. It should be noted that it tends to be a twisted HorrorComedy comic first and foremost, as any possible romance between [[PsychoticLoveTriangle the main trio]] tends to take a backseat to all the [[LovecraftLite supernatural]] and [[PsychologicalHorror psychological]] plots going on.
338* ''Webcomic/HereUAre''
339* ''Webcomic/HighSchoolBoy'': Sparks fly when a former middle school bully—who failed to go through puberty—attracts the attention of a tough loner, who brings him protection from bullies who had been harassing him due to his feminine appearance. WordOfGod holds that [[https://twitter.com/ch960116/status/1566225067750567937 they will fall in love.]]
340* ''Webcomic/HoneydewSyndrome''
341* ''{{Webcomic/Hotblood}}'', with an extra helping of centaur InterspeciesRomance.
342* ''Webcomic/IncubusTales'' {{NSFW}} at points, but the focus is on story.
343* ''Webcomic/KhaosKomix''
344* ''Webcomic/KingsMaker''
345* ''Webcomic/OnOrOff''
346* ''Webcomic/{{Paradox}}''
347* ''Webcomic/PinkBlack'' has the main characters Sifris and Terence being rather close in promotional and extra art. It's already been [[WordOfGod stated by the creator that it is this]].
348* ''Webcomic/ThePizzaDeliveryManAndTheGoldPalace''
349* ''Webcomic/RobberXLover''
350* ''Webcomic/SeiyuuCrush'' is a BL comic that also parodies yaoi with fictional drama [=CDs=] and dating-sim games that the characters lend their voices to.
351* ''Webcomic/SemanticError''
352* ''Webcomic/{{Shutline}}''
353* ''Webcomic/SmokeFurAndStone'' focuses on a gay love story in a dark fantasy setting.
354* ''Webcomic/{{Starfighter}}''
355* ''Webcomic/StickyDillyBuns'' isn't full-on yaoi, but could be considered a lightweight Western version, with Dillon and Jerzy as the resident gay guys. The concept is also extensively alluded to within the comic; see below.
356* ''Webcomic/{{Teahouse}}'' features three main male pairings. Be warned that it's NSFW in spots.
357* ''Webcomic/TechnicolorLondon'' features a gay couple among other gay (and a few straight) characters.
358* ''Webcomic/TrippingOverYou'' is about two boys falling in love while at a British boarding school, and how their lives go from there.
359* ''Webcomic/WetSand''
360* ''Webcomic/WhatHappensInCarpediem''
361* ''Webcomic/YaoiTales'' is essentially Disney fairy tales... but yaoi.
362* ''Webcomic/YoungProtectors''
363[[/folder]]
364
365[[folder:Web Original]]
366* ''[[http://www.fictionpress.com/s/2822811/1/All_I_Ever_Wanted All I Ever Wanted]]''.
367* This is pretty much the premise of ''[[http://www.fictionpress.com/s/2718227/1 Fragile]]''.
368[[/folder]]
369[[/index]]
370
371!!Works commonly mistaken for BL:
372
373[[folder:Anime and Manga]]
374* ''Manga/ZeroSevenGhost'' frequently dances right on the edge of this trope without coming right out and saying it. Teito and Mikage's relationship teases at it, and Kuroyuri and Haruse darn near imply it. Not to mention Hakuren's outright statement that he does "not like women", with a couple of exceptions.
375* ''Manga/{{Adekan}}'' by Tsukiji Nao, is a historical shoujo manga featuring Yoshiwara Shiro, a sexy umbrella maker and Yamada Kojiro, an uptight but kind-hearted police officer. It is especially notable for its impossibly detailed art, as well as the sheer quantity of steaming {{Fanservice}} and innuendo. It's so blatant that the series could almost be considered as a BL on its own, though it never crosses that line.
376* ''Manga/BananaFish'' has a male/male relationship as its main pairing and ran in a {{shoujo|Demographic}} magazine, but the series is primarily a gangster drama. [[https://rainfall.dreamwidth.org/109564.html Author Akemi Yoshida has explicitly stated that it's not BL]] and the series has never been marketed as such, though it's still considered to have been influential on the genre.
377* ''Manga/BetrayalKnowsMyName'' is made up of a mostly male cast who very occupied in confessing their [[HomoeroticSubtext mutual admiration]] for each other, and they even have a pet dragon called "Sodom". Several sites tag this series as BL, but the subtext never actually crosses the line into text.
378* ''Manga/BlackButler'' is officially {{Shonen}} despite the rampant HomoeroticSubtext between the teenaged protagonist and his {{Bishonen}} demon servant that early on included an infamous DoesThisRemindYouOfAnything scene where Sebastian [[ItMakesSenseInContext puts a corset on his master while the latter is pinned against a wall]].
379* ''Manga/BlueFlag'' is a shounen drama in which a number of central characters are gay, which has caused it to sometimes mistakenly be labeled as yaoi. The main character is actually caught up in a BisexualLoveTriangle between a girl and another boy, and he's conflicted over his feelings for both of them. [[spoiler:The fact that the two male leads do end up HappilyMarried still doesn't make it a yaoi.]]
380* ''Manga/TheCaseStudyOfVanitas'': The two {{Bishonen}} male protagonists have a relationship filled to the brim with HomoeroticSubtext that often borders on plain UnresolvedSexualTension, and some of the most poignant scenes are demonstrations of their devotion to each other. The anime's OP and ED center solely on their HomoeroticSubtext. Due to this, the series has been mistaken for a Boys' Love anime/manga, when it's officially a {{Steampunk}} shounen.
381* Creator/{{CLAMP}} loves gay couples and HomoeroticSubtext (they have their own [[ShipTease.{{CLAMP}} Ship Tease page]]), and they began as a {{doujinshi}} group that focused on male/male pairings from series such as ''Manga/{{Devilman}}'', ''Manga/SaintSeiya'' and ''Manga/JojosBizarreAdventure'', but none of their professional works are officially Boys' Love. CLAMP works that are particularly yaoi-esque include:
382** ''Legal Drug'', which was later restarted and renamed ''Manga/DrugAndDrop'', is for all intents and purposes a slow-moving Boys' Love story. While it ran in a shoujo magazine as ''Legal Drug'', it moved to a seinen magazine as ''Drug & Drop''.
383** Subaru and Seishirou of ''Manga/TokyoBabylon'' are more or less in a romantic relationship, although it might not be [[MindGameShip the kind]] you imagined at first.
384* ''Manga/DescendantsOfDarkness'' (aka ''Yami no Matsuei'') has a complicated LoveDodecahedron involving most (male) main characters, but focuses mainly on the love/hate [[LoveTriangle triangle]] between the psychopath Doctor Muraki, Tsuzuki Asato, and Kurosaki Hisoka. Despite this, the relationships between the main characters never cross the line into actual romance.
385* ''Manga/ExcuseMeDentistItsTouchingMe'': The story has quite a bit of ShipTease between the two male leads, which hints they may actually become a couple, but it is a comedy shounen series, not a yaoi.
386* ''Manga/GameXRush'': At times it seems to run on HomoeroticSubtext, without ever crossing the line to actual Boys' Love.
387* ''Anime/{{Gankutsuou}}'': Albert's relationships with the Count and Franz are dripping with subtext, though it's more text on Franz's part.
388* ''Manga/GetBackers'': Not only does it have copious amounts of HomoeroticSubtext between its [[CastFullOfPrettyBoys many beautiful male characters]], but the artist of the manga is a self-admitted YaoiFanboy, and [[http://www.animepaper.net/art/67772/charaberrys-vol2%E3%80%80atsuko-nakajima the]] [[http://www.animepaper.net/art/19449/get-backers-picture anime]] [[http://www.animepaper.net/art/19451/get-backers-picture contains]] [[http://www.animepaper.net/art/19448/untitled several]] [[http://www.animepaper.net/art/4020/ban-x-ginji suggestive]] [[http://www.animepaper.net/art/4019/gb-and-yua artworks]]. In fact, one of the most commonly asked questions about ''Manga/GetBackers'' is whether or not it’s a yaoi series. The truth? It’s actually a gritty shounen manga with tons of {{Fanservice}} ([[MaleGaze for the guys]]).
389* ''Manga/GoldenDays'' has BL elements, but it's not officially BL as the main characters' feelings for each other are never made explicit.
390* The lead of ''Manga/HanaKimi'' is only ''[[WholesomeCrossdresser dressed]]'' like a boy, but Boys' Love romances abound among the supporting cast.
391* ''Hands Off!'' due to the absurd amounts of subtext between two of the male characters, which gets mentioned a lot--but is completely about [=ESPers=].
392* ''Webcomic/HetaliaAxisPowers''. Despite being a major CastFullOfPrettyBoys and having ''two'' not [[WillTheyOrWontThey entirely]] confirmed canon male-on-male pairings ([[OppositesAttract Germany×Italy]] and one-sided Sweden×Finland if you ask, not to mention all the other male-on-male ShipTease), this fanservice is almost entirely PlayedForLaughs, the story doesn't revolve around those relationships, and it's marketed as seinen.
393* ''Manga/IlegenesKokuyouNoKiseki'' is shoujo but the [[HoYay relationships between the male characters]] and especially the cover art depicting them in close positions have many fans asking if it's boys love.
394* ''Manga/JyuOhSei'': Women are scarce on Chimera, and tend to live separately from men. As a result, a lot of otherwise straight men aren't against going for the next best thing (read: [[EvenTheGuysWantHim Thor]]). There's also blatant HoYay between Thor and Third, and Thor and Zagi. Zagi can't keep his hands off of Thor, especially in the manga (where the HoYay is so obvious that Zagi's love interest, Karim, gets jealous of Thor). Third prefers the "getting in his face" method. It's officially shoujo.
395* ''Anime/{{K}}'' is loaded with ShipTease and FoeRomanceSubtext between kings and vanguards with a CastFullOfPrettyBoys. It would have made a really good BL series if it weren't for its shounen label.
396* ''Manga/KaguyaHime'' is a shoujo manga with characters who blur the lines between male and female, with gender identity being one of the main themes as well as LGBT scenes figuring same-sex relationships.
397* ''Manga/KarakuridoujiUltimo'', while heavily in the {{Shonen}} robot genre, and not to mention authored by ''the creators of Manga/ShamanKing and ComicBook/SpiderMan'', is becoming more and more known for its Boys' Love subtext. The main character Yamato's best friend Rune becomes evil due to his jealousy of Yamato liking somebody else. This... leads to some [[AttemptedRape surprising and horrifying]] situations. Whether this was intentional or not is unknown; don't think anybody would have the guts to ask Hiroyuki Takei or [[Creator/StanLee Stan FREAKING Lee]] about this.
398** The subtext becomes so strong that when Part Three came around, Viz Media pulled Ultimo from its ''Shonen Jump'' lineup.
399* The four {{Bishonen}} protagonists of ''Anime/KnightHunters'' and their [[PsychoRangers opposite numbers]] are all canonically heterosexual, but their status as terminal {{Doom Magnet}}s combined with copious amounts of [[HoYay subtext]] has gained it a reputation as a Boys' Love series.
400* ''Literature/KyoKaraMaoh'' is a series about a boy who becomes king of the demon realm; in the process of doing so, he [[AccidentalMarriage accidentally proposes marriage]] to another man. Despite this, romance isn't the main focus of the story and its boys' love undertones tend to be PlayedForLaughs.
401* ''Literature/LegendOfTheGalacticHeroes'' was published in a boys' love magazine even though it's actually a cross between the shoujo/shounen demographic.
402* ''Manga/{{Loveless}}'' focuses on the relationship between Ritsuka and Soubi, who are both male. However, the manga was originally published in ''Monthly Comic Zero Sum'', a magazine that was looking for crossover shonen/shoujo readership (although it has since turned into a shoujo/josei mag), so it's not officially BL; creator Yun Kouga has stated that she doesn't personally consider the series to be BL, even though her fans do. It also doesn't focus solely on male/male relationships, as there's also a lesbian couple. Not to mention all the horror and MindScrew.
403* ''Manga/MonochromeFactor'' is riddled with pretty boys and HomoeroticSubtext in the anime, and is sometimes labelled as BL even though it's officially a seinen.
404* Manga sites often mistakenly tag ''Manga/NabariNoOu'' as BL. You can't really blame them with the blatant HomoeroticSubtext, though. Unsurprisingly, it's serialized in the same magazine as ''Manga/BlackButler''.
405* ''Manga/{{Naruto}}'' features the relationship between Haku and Zabuza, along with other male/male subtext examples, as well as the hugely popular Sasuke/Naruto. Some fans assume that the manga was originally meant to be BL due to the fact that Naruto and Sasuke get about as much ShipTease as the heterosexual relationships, especially on cover pages and in the anime. Even after [[spoiler: Naruto marries Hinata and Sasuke marries Sakura in the epilogue]], some fans still prefer Naruto and Sasuke together.
406* ''Anime/NeonGenesisEvangelion'' falls into the shounen/seinen demographic and one of the series' popular aspects was the [[HoYay relationship between Shinji and Kaworu]]. This was to the point where KHARA released engraved Kaworu and Shinji wedding bands and necklaces from the wedding company KISS that read "Good things happen when we play together". In the original drafts of Kaworu's appearance, the HoYay was meant to be even more blatant. Originally, they were going to go skinny dipping in the ocean together, [[http://anneemay.tumblr.com/post/41516408265/kawoshin-kiss-scene-that-was-supposed-to-be-in-the kiss]] and Shinji was actually going to confess his feelings for Kaworu.
407* Rare {{shonen}} example of a male-male romance: ''Manga/NoBra'', a {{manga}} where a guy falls in love with a WholesomeCrossdresser.
408* ''Literature/No6'' does this with Nezumi and Shion. Things essentially get more HomoeroticSubtext-fueled with every episode/chapter, including a "good-night kiss" and a "good-bye kiss", eventually ending with them [[spoiler:becoming the OfficialCouple]]. Despite this, the series is typically considered shoujo/josei rather than BL.
409* ''Manga/PandoraHearts'' is shonen and is primarily marketed as a dark fantasy series, but there are multiple instances with HomoeroticSubtext and the main character's friend is hugely devoted to him and often fights with the female lead for his affection as a result. Regardless, you can interpret it as HomoeroticSubtext, overprotectiveness or [[DevotedToYou something else entirely]].
410* ''Manga/PeacemakerKurogane'' has an incredible amount of HomoeroticSubtext, a {{Bishonen}} main cast, and a boring female love interest, so it's not surprising some would consider it Boys' Love.
411* ''Manga/PrincessPrincess'' does this with having the very feminine guys dress up as girls to be adored by their school's male population. Not to mention all the HomoeroticSubtext between Tooru and Yuujirou. It's officially shoujo even though it's sometimes tagged as BL.
412* ''Manga/{{Saiyuki}}'' is a shounen manga about four pretty guys traveling together on an epic journey, spending most of their time in close proximity. There would be too much HomoeroticSubtext to list even if the mangaka wasn't a former yaoi doujinshi artist who deliberately adds to it.
413* ''Manga/SeraphOfTheEnd'' is a shounen anime/manga that plays up the relationship between Yuu and Mika and other male characters to the point where fans wonder if it's BL.
414* ''Manga/SilverDiamond'' has gotten this reputation (its a shoujo manga). Probably due to its story art and cover art featuring Chigusa with Rikan in suggestive positions.
415* ''Manga/ShonenNoteBoySoprano'' attracts both an LGBT fanbase and a music-loving fanbase. It has several canonically LGBT characters and several implied ones. This is unsurprising, as it's written by the same X-gender mangaka who made ''Manga/NabariNoOu'' and ''Manga/OurDreamsAtDusk''. Though it's seinen, not BL.
416* ''Manga/TheSummerHikaruDied'': A story about a highschool kid's best friend (and unrequited love) being replaced with a perfect imitation. Strong horror elements abound. But it is seinen.
417* ''Manga/{{Tactics}}''. The characters are so gay that the authors themselves have made yaoi doujinshi of them. (Specifically, "Lovesick".) Kantarou and Haruka in particular are the most notable example, and it's more apparent in the manga than in the anime, but still there. It's not BL, though, but shounen, and was featured in Monthly Comic Avarus, the same magazine that featured ''Manga/{{Vassalord}}''.
418* ''Manga/TokyoTribe'' is sometimes believed to be yaoi because of the infamous ''Goosh Goosh'' scene, but it is seinen.
419* ''Manga/{{Vassalord}}'' features the relationship between Charles and Rayflo with various blood-sucking scenes that [[DoesThisRemindYouOfAnything remind one of boys' love]]. It's officially shoujo.
420* ''Anime/WaveLetsGoSurfing'' goes ''very'' heavy with the ShipTease in its first few episodes between Masaki and Sho, and even has the characters in an onsen together. It then becomes apparent, however, that the main character simply admires the other's prodigious surfing ability and wants to be like him. That doesn't stop the rest of the series from having a particularly high HoYay content.
421* ''Manga/WhatDidYouEatYesterday'' focuses on the [[SliceOfLife everyday lives]] of Shiro and Kenji, a middle-aged gay couple, and the meals Shiro cooks for Kenji. While it's easy to assume this is a BL series, the manga actually runs in a {{seinen}} magazine, making it more of a seinen manga that just happens to star a gay couple. The manga has been noted by critics to not fall into typical manga tropes, being a good deal more realistic and down-to-earth than most BL series.
422* ''Anime/YuriOnIce'' has enough ShipTease between two of the main characters that easily exceeds all the HoYay that can be found in other sports anime like ''Manga/KurokosBasketball'', ''Manga/{{Haikyuu}}'', ''Anime/{{Free}}'', etc.--'''[[ExaggeratedTrope combined]]'''. Because of this it's garnered a reputation as a boys' love series despite not actually being boys' love, as it's primarily marketed as a sports story. [[spoiler: The fact that these characters, who are both men, ''actually'' become a couple halfway through the series helps]].
423* ''Manga/{{Yuureitou}}'' has a LGBTFanbase with its [[CastFullOfGay cast full of gay and bisexual men]] and the main character Tetsuo is a handsome trans man who eventually falls in love with the male Amano and vice versa. It's because of this that fans have mistaken it for being a Boys' Love manga despite it not being labelled as such. It's actually a dark seinen manga.
424
425[[/folder]]
426
427[[folder:Manhua]]
428* ''Webcomic/LingQi'': Many readers believe Yang Jinghua and Duanmu Xi are madly in love with each other, which is not unfair, considering that 90% of their actions scream "we're very gay" at the readers. They do everything any couple would do (just minus the romantic feelings): making cheesy confessions, blushing at the other's cheesy confessions, holding hands, hugging, crying at the thought of losing each other and ultimately, kissing. Yes, they kiss, and multiple times. It doesn't help that the official animated series makes it even gayer. Seriously, it would be easier to explain why bread always lands on the buttered side than to explain how Ling Qi could possibly '''''not''''' be Boys' Love.
429[[/folder]]
430
431[[folder:Manhwa]]
432* ''Manhwa/DemonDiary'' has several fans wondering if the male characters are in a relationship or not.
433[[/folder]]
434
435[[folder:Music]]
436* VisualKei provides a complicated, multilayered case. Early on, the scene ''was'' a safe haven to some degree for ''actual'' bisexuals and gay men, owing to its descent in part from Kabuki and other theatre, its androgynous aesthetic, that (while no one from them actually came out in a traditional manner until ''much'' later) some of the members of the founding bands of the scene were either gay or bisexual or allies of gay or bisexual friends, and that at the beginning displays of man on man sexuality were seen as a way to shock Japanese society at large and flip off the "to grow up you must marry a woman and have kids" and "we will pretend real gay and bisexual people don't exist in Japan" societal standards of TheEighties and [[TheNineties early 1990s]] Japan. As the scene developed in TheNineties and the fujoshi / YaoiFangirl was recognized as a demographic to whom the HoYay and {{fanservice}} appealed, straight artists began to engage in it solely for the sake of making money and attracting fangirls, which led to a backlash of people considering it insulting or denying the presence of the actual gay or bi men in the scene, in a sort of gender inversion of how LesYay is [[SweepsWeekLesbianKiss often considered]]. It's kind of reached an odd equilibrium at this point, with plenty of straight men pretending to be gay couples for the fangirls, but a fair amount of ''actual'' bisexuals and gay men as well (especially with the older bands, which are more likely to have these as opposed to 100 percent straights faking it).
437[[/folder]]
438
439[[folder:Video Games]]
440* Some fans consider the Riku/Sora pairing in the ''Franchise/KingdomHearts'' video game series to have more subtext than the other pairings in the games. This is to the point where some consider the series yaoi-ish outside of its actual genre (action/adventure RPG).
441[[/folder]]
442
443!!Use of BL manga/anime itself as a trope:
444
445[[folder:Anime and Manga]]
446* ''Manga/BLMetamorphosis'' is about two people who bond over BL manga: Urara Sayama, a shy 17-year-old girl who's a longtime fan of the genre, and Yuki Ichinoi, a 75-year-old widow who picks up a volume of BL manga out of curiosity and finds herself enjoying it. When Ichinoi goes back to the bookstore Urara works at to buy more of the series, the two of them form an IntergenerationalFriendship from there.
447* In ''Manga/CodenameSailorV'', Marie Buraidaru admits to writing yaoi {{doujinshi}} about Phantom Ace.
448* ''Manga/{{Genshiken}}'' features both the "double" otaku Kanako Ohno, who is into both {{Cosplay}} and yaoi (of [[BaraGenre muscular, middle-aged men]]), and the self-doubting YaoiFangirl Chika Ogiue, who initially is ashamed about her fetish but gradually grows to accept it. The continuation introduces three more, including a crossdressing yaoi fanboy.
449* Haruna Saotome from ''Manga/NegimaMagisterNegiMagi'' is an aspiring manga artist with a not-so-secret love of BL. In the first episode of the first anime adaptation, she brings some BL manga to class once and shoves it in Nodoka's face, [[DoesNotLikeMen much to her consternation]]. She also drags Negima to Comiket at one point and shows him some BL doujinshi.
450* Nagata in ''Manga/MyLesbianExperienceWithLoneliness'' is shown to read Boys' Love comics in some panels. She used it as a basis for what she thought was supposed to happen during sex.
451* In ''Manga/NoMatterHowILookAtItItsYouGuysFaultImNotPopular'', the main character buys a BL visual novel.
452* Mio in ''{{Manga/Nichijou}}'' draws yaoi manga as a hobby, and is mortified by the thought of anyone else discovering it. At one point she [[CurbStompBattle goes as far]] as to [[HumanHammerThrow beat up a cop]], her best friend, an [[ElderAbuse old man]] and a ''[[WhatMeasureIsANonCute goat]]'' in order to get it back.
453* ''Literature/NyarukoCrawlingWithLove'' has something of a RunningGag where aliens find protagonist Mahiro so attractive that they keep trying to cast him in BL media -- whether he likes it or not (and he most certainly does not). In the novels and first TV series, he's almost auctioned off to star in "[[Manga/OkaneGaNai a sparkly love-hate drama about a pretty boy bought by a young businessman]]". In the second season, he finds out that an alien doujin circle has produced a yaoi manga about him; when he finds out, he buys the manga and burns it, partly to keep it out of his UnwantedHarem's hands but mostly just to destroy it.
454* ''Manga/PrincessJellyfish'' has the [[ReclusiveArtist highly reclusive]] Boy's Love manga artist Juon Mejiro, who sometimes has the other residents of Amamizukan help out with inking manga pages before deadlines.
455* Narumi from ''Manga/WotakoiLoveIsHardForOtaku'' is a huge YaoiFangirl; she reads BL and also draws her own BL {{doujinshi}} that she sells at Comiket to make cash on the side. Hanako is also a yaoi fangirl, and she likes to mess with her boyfriend Tarou by reading explicit BL manga near him.
456* ''Manga/ZettaiBLNiNaruSekaiVsZettaiBLNiNaritakunaiOtoko'': A DeconstructiveParody where the genre is deconstructed by a background character trying to avoid cliches that might make him part of a couple.
457[[/folder]]
458
459[[folder:Comic Books]]
460* In ''ComicBook/{{Empowered}}'', Emp tries to freak her male teammates by showing them X-rated yaoi {{doujinshi}} starring themselves. [[InsultBackfire They decide they're flattered.]]
461[[/folder]]
462
463[[folder:Video Games]]
464* The ''VideoGame/TheLegendOfHeroesTrailsOfColdSteel'' games have a RunningGag of a girl named Dorothee who is head of the Thors Military Academy Literature Club, but her entire taste in literature is this. One of the playable characters, Emma, joins the club unaware of her taste in literature and throughout the game, Dorothee tries to corrupt others into becoming fans of this genre.
465[[/folder]]
466
467[[folder:Webcomics]]
468* CoolAndUnusualPunishment in [[http://www.missmab.com/Comics/Vol_471.php this strip]] of ''Webcomic/DanAndMabsFurryAdventures''.
469* In ''Webcomic/QuestionableContent'', Marigold gets annoyed at Hannelore for mixing her yaoi in with the rest of her manga. Pretty soon they're watching yaoi anime together.
470* ''Webcomic/StickyDillyBuns'' first alludes to the concept [[http://www.stickydillybuns.com/strips-sdb/i_do_not_speak_japanese here,]] and Ruby's new, naive, but intense [[YaoiFangirl interest in yaoi]] rapidly becomes a major point of her characterization.
471[[/folder]]
472
473[[folder:WesternAnimation]]
474* In the ''WesternAnimation/SouthPark'' Season 19 episode "Tweek x Craig", Tweek and Craig are MistakenForGay due to the Asian girls drawing a bunch of yaoi artwork. Not only does Wendy give a lecture about the topic of yaoi, all the drawings in the episode are actual fanart submitted by fans for this episode. Not only that, but several episodes later reveal that Tweek and Craig are an OfficialCouple, [[WordOfGod which was also confirmed by Matt Stone and Trey Parker over Twitter and in the DVD commentary.]]
475[[/folder]]
476

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