Japanese BL (Boys’ Love) series are on your watch list. Here are the best dramas that are considered cult for those new to the BL genre. Especially Japanese style boys’ love stories are aesthetic and minimalist. Especially manga adaptation BL stories are with you with measured romance and stories that resist social norms and heteronormative pressures.
This Japan BL Beginner’s Guide focuses on that critical 2020-2022 period that enabled the genre to explode worldwide. From the naivety of Cherry Magic to the obsessive aesthetics of My Beautiful Man; from the office maturity of Old Fashion Cupcake to the musical sadness of Given, this list contains the basic building blocks you should watch to understand the J-BL universe. If you are ready to enter the unique, elegant and striking world of Japanese series, here are the top 10 recommendations.
🎁 More recommendations: If you’ve finished the classics, I’ve handpicked the freshest stories for you here: Japanese BL Series #2: The Best Picks for Beginners. Let’s continue our J-BL journey with these modern masterpieces!
Japanese BL Series Recommendations and Subjects: From Manga Adaptations to Modern Classics
The following selection is from the most productive and high-quality periods of the Japanese BL industry. In the list, there are generally popular manga adaptation BL dramas. These are productions that can be watched in terms of acting and emotionality. When you watch the best ones among hundreds of BL, there is no need to watch the others. New series cannot go beyond clichés that are copies of the old ones.
Whether you are looking for an innocent love taking place in high school desks or a mature relationship blooming in the chaos of business life; you will find that magical atmosphere of Japan in this 10-item cult list.
Cherry Magic! Thirty Years of Virginity Can Make You a Wizard?! – 30歳まで童貞だと魔法使いになれるらしい (2020)
Adachi, who can hear the inner voices of the people he touches, learns to face real feelings and to be loved. The first one on our Japanese BL series recommendation list is an old but never aging series.
The Cherry Magic! movie is about the relationship between Adachi, who gained the ability to read people’s thoughts by remaining a virgin until the age of 30, and his colleague Kurosawa. Despite long distance and social pressure, the couple maintains their love and comes out to their families and colleagues. The movie handles themes of identity, love, and acceptance.
The Cherry Magic! movie won worldwide acclaim for its soft and hopeful love story. Viewers praised the characters’ ability to express their identities freely and the positive handling of the coming-out process to the family.
👉 Details, cast, and characters on MyDramaList
My Beautiful Man – 美しい彼 シーズン1 (2021)
Utsukushii Kare is a Japanese BL series that tells the one-sided love of sociophobic Hira and his relationship extending into adulthood. It is a Japanese BL drama classic with its minimalist narrative and realistic style focusing on character psychology.
Silent and introverted Hira falls in love with the newcomer Kiyoi and worships him. Kiyoi also likes Hira, but Hira’s admiration for him makes him uncomfortable. When their paths cross again at the university, Kiyoi wants Hira to see him as his lover, not as an idol, and Hira begins to understand that true love lies in equality.
Hira and Kiyoi’s relationship is shaped by power balances and emotional inequalities in a journey from high school to adulthood. Hira’s obsession with Kiyoi, Kiyoi’s need for approval, and Hira’s silence form the complex dynamics between them. When they reunite years later, Hira’s self-confidence and Kiyoi’s openness put their relationship on a more balanced foundation. We recommend this boys’ love drama, which should be on your watch list.
👉 Details, cast, and characters on MyDramaList
My Love Mix-Up! – 消えた初恋 (2021)
Proceeding through misunderstandings, love confessions, and friendships, the series makes the audience feel the sweet complexity of youth and love.
Aoki likes Hashimoto, but Hashimoto’s interest in Ida is misunderstood. This misunderstanding leads to an unexpected closeness between Aoki and Ida. While Aoki questions his feelings for Ida, Ida also pursues his feelings.
My Love Mix-Up! is a BL series that balances comedy and romance and tackles social prejudices. Aoki and Ida’s story imagines a world where sexual orientation is supported. The series is among the dramas that left a mark on the Japanese BL genre, telling that love is everyone’s right and how we live love is important. We also recommend it to you.
👉 Details, cast, and characters on MyDramaList
Given – ギヴン (2021)
Combining the theme of music and youth with an emotional BL romance, Given offers a story that progresses with loss, healing, and two young people finding meaning in each other’s lives again. We watch the development of emotional traumas, new beginnings, and a silent but strong love accompanied by guitar tunes.
Given is a touching youth BL series centered on music, built on losses, traumas, and reborn emotions. The basis of this story is Mafuyu finding his unsilenceable pain in the strings of the guitar, and Ritsuka rediscovering the passion he has felt missing for a long time through Mafuyu’s voice. The series offers a slow but deep emotional journey where love, mourning, friendship, and individual growth are handled realistically.
To summarize briefly; Given is a modern BL classic that combines the healing side of making music with a romantic bond and offers a strong character-oriented narrative. For this reason, we added it to our watch list.
👉 Details, cast, and characters on MyDramaList
Minato Shouji Coin Laundry – みなと商事コインランドリー (2022)
A Japanese BL series that invites the viewer to the quiet corners of daily life. A story of loneliness, starting over, and slowly blooming love.
While Minato, the 30-year-old laundry owner, leads an introverted life, he meets high school student Shintaro. Shintaro’s energetic personality adds color to Minato’s life and a friendship begins between them. Shintaro falls in love with Minato and explains his feelings, but Minato stands distant due to the age difference and past traumas.
The series offers a simple and sincere story taking place in a laundry environment. The relationship between Minato and Shin is told as a romantic and human development process, far from clichés.
👉 Details, cast, and characters on MyDramaList
Fukou-kun wa Kiss Suru Shikanai! – 不幸くんはキスするしかない (2022)
While the luck of one inspires the other, a bond woven with coincidences is born between two hearts. Love sometimes starts just by coming side by side.
When unfortunate Kota meets popular Naoya, he realizes that his luck has changed. Kota, who accepts Naoya’s love proposal, learns to fall in love with him and himself over time. Unlucky university student Kouta meets lucky Naoya. Kouta’s misfortunes end when he is with Naoya, and the relationship between them deepens. Kouta realizes that Naoya’s love is real and the story ends with a hopeful finale.
“Fukou-kun wa Kiss Suru Shikanai!” is a short and fast-paced BL series full of clichés and exaggerated reactions. The relationship between the opposite characters of Kouta and Naoya both entertains and moves the audience.
👉 Details, cast, and characters on MyDramaList
Old Fashion Cupcake – オールドファッションカップケーキ (2022)
A love story that reminds the taste of life again. Sometimes a cup of coffee and the right person make you forget the entire past.
39-year-old Nozue is a regular and kind company manager. The bond he established with his young employee Togawa changes Nozue’s monotonous life and a deep bond is formed between the two despite the age difference. Nozue finally accepts Togawa’s love and realizes that being together is the most natural decision.
Old Fashion Cupcake is an emotionally intense series focusing on the developing relationship of Nozue and Togawa’s office friendship. While handling themes such as age difference and resistance to change, the balance and harmony between the characters affect the audience.
👉 Details, cast, and characters on MyDramaList
Takara-kun to Amagi-kun – 高良くんと天城くん (2022)
A sweet BL story where youth, friendship, and small emotional discoveries are intertwined.
Popular student Takara established an unexpected bond with introverted Amagi. Their relationship remains secret outside of school, which bothers Amagi, but when Takara expresses his feelings, the relationship deepens. Finally, the duo accepts each other as friends and potential lovers.
Takara-kun to Amagi-kun (2022) is a Japanese BL series about Takara’s struggle with heteronormative expectations and his relationship with Amagi. While the series realistically handles internal conflicts and the high school atmosphere, it offers a light and sweet romantic comedy atmosphere.
👉 Details, cast, and characters on MyDramaList
Senpai, This Can’t Be Love! – 先輩、断じて恋では！(2022)
The admiration of an intern for a cool-headed designer turns into mutual love over time. A sincere office romance that stands out with its soft humor and sincere character development.
Yuki starts an internship at the same company as his idol designer Jun and develops feelings for Jun. Jun’s professional manners and Yuki’s sincerity deepen the relationship between them. When Yuki confesses his feelings, Jun also surrenders to his feelings and their relationship turns into a mature love.
Senpai, Danjite Koidewa! is a typical Japanese BL series: measured romance, internal monologue, and humor. Jun and Yuki’s relationship is shaped by a balance of maturity and emotional openness.
👉 Details, cast, and characters on MyDramaList
Candy Color Paradox – 飴色パラドックス (2022)
Two completely different reporters meet with the most unexpected form of love during a mandatory business partnership. A warm love story born in the shadow of competition.
Kaburagi and Onoe are two journalists working for a tabloid magazine. Initially clashing due to their opposite characters, the two are drawn to each other over time and their relationship spreads from the workplace to the emotional field. While difficult tasks and increasing emotions test their relationship, it finally turns into a union based on honesty and trust.
Candy Color Paradox is a BL series with the theme of rivalry and slowly developing love, set in an office environment. Onoe and Kaburagi’s opposite characters form the main dynamics of the series.
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