Yuta and Ritsu have been playing baseball together since they were children, but after being defeated in a local tournament over the summer, they must retire from the high school team to study for university entrance exams. Still, Yuta finds himself unable to give up his lingering attachment to baseball. The one person who can truly understand him is Ritsu, who has been acting worryingly distant since they quit the team. But there's something Yuta himself doesn't understand... Does he think of Ritsu as his partner in the way that a teammate would, or is the affection between them something stronger?

Boys Love Manga and Beyond looks at a range of literary, artistic and other cultural products that celebrate the beauty of adolescent boys and young men. In Japan, depiction of the “beautiful boy” has long been a romantic and sexualized trope for both sexes and commands a high degree of cultural visibility today across a range of genres from pop music to animation. In recent decades, “Boys Love” (or simply BL) has emerged as a mainstream genre in manga, anime, and games for girls and young women. This genre was first developed in Japan in the early 1970s by a group of female artists who went on to establish themselves as major figures in Japan's manga industry. By the late 1970s many amateur women fans were getting involved in the BL phenomenon by creating and self-publishing homoerotic parodies of established male manga characters and popular media figures. The popularity of these fan-made products, sold and circulated at huge conventions, has led to an increase in the number of commercial titles available. Today, a wide range of products produced both by professionals and amateurs are brought together under the general rubric of “boys love,” and are rapidly gaining an audience throughout Asia and globally. This collection provides the first comprehensive overview in English of the BL phenomenon in Japan, its history and various subgenres and introduces translations of some key Japanese scholarship not otherwise available. Some chapters detail the historical and cultural contexts that helped BL emerge as a significant part of girls' culture in Japan. Others offer important case studies of BL production, consumption, and circulation and explain why BL has become a controversial topic in contemporary Japan.

Yuuta and Ritsu have been childhood friends and part of the same baseball club for years, but after being defeated in a local tournament over the summer, the two decide to quit the club and begin studying for the same university. Still, Yuuta finds himself unable to give up his lingering attachment to baseball. The one person who can truly understand him is Ritsu. But there's something Yuuta himself doesn't understand... Does he think of Ritsu as his partner in the way that a teammate would, or is the affection between them something stronger?

Nijou is the perfect student. He’s class president, great at sports, and beloved by all his classmates, especially the girls. But he hides his true feelings; deep down he’s terrified of letting everyone down with anything less than perfection and being rejected. As the most responsible and respected member of the class, he’s asked by their teacher to check in on Toomi, a student who hasn’t been to school in a while. Toomi sees straight through Nijou’s insecurities and acts belligerent, but he has a secret of his own; in order to pay off his father’s gambling debts, he performs in drag on an adult cam site as “Haruka”. When Nijou accidentally discovers the truth, he struggles with whether he should tell Toomi, or continue to feign ignorance. But at the same time he finds himself developing feelings for Haruka… or is it really Toomi he’s falling in love with?

As a child, Yukiharu was inseparable from his beautiful cat Dorasuke, until a tragic accident tore them apart. Years later, Yukiharu still holds a place in his heart for his lost friend...but things get complicated when Dorasuke comes back from the dead as a cute boy with cat ears and tail! Things turn romantic quickly, but there’s a catch; if they ever become too intimate, Dorasuke could turn foam and disappear! Will Yukiharu be forced to say goodbye to his best friend and new love for a second time? Ninth Life Love gives a sweet and sexy spin to the classic tale of a boy and his cat. Yukiharu and Dorasuke must overcome nosy mothers, smitten schoolmates and their own doubts and fears in their quest for true love. This volume also features two more tender tales; an English teacher falls for the sweet single dad at a local florist, and a hard-drinking party guy has a few questions about what secrets his boyfriend might be hiding. Fun and fluffy romance await in Ninth Life Love!

Kasumi and Kyousuke are polar opposites; where Kasumi is shy and soft-spoken, Kyousuke is energetic and popular. They complement one another perfectly and have been friends since they were children, but now that school is over their relationship suddenly becomes a lot harder to describe. Facing the world -- and one another -- as adults, both men find there are things they struggle to say out loud, even to each other.

Not long after he starts university, friendly, big-hearted Junpei runs into the very unfriendly Leo. As they speak, Junpei learns that they went to the same high school and that Leo was the "Demon Lion" feared back then as a secret gang leader. After those days spent as a lonely, misunderstood high schooler, Leo escaped to a faraway college to make new friends. Junpei becomes his first and vows to help Leo make more, but are his feelings for Leo stronger than friendship?

It began with a mistake. When Tanaka and Nakata are given each other’s papers back, they come to a horrible realization... They have almost identical names. And test results. And body types. And taste in fashion. And sports scores. And hobbies. The list goes on, and as annoying as it is, at least they know they always have each other. And maybe, just maybe, their similarities run even deeper.

An all-new boys love by the creator of Dekoboko Sugar Days! Enoki is practically the poster-boy for what a typical nerd looks like: short and slight, complete with big round glasses and social awkwardness. His main hobby is making video games, and he's used to not having many friends at school. Then, he meets Shirataki, a former member of the baseball club and his exact opposite; tall, muscular and sporty. Despite their many differences, the spark of friendship between the two boys begins to grow into something more... This book contains sexual content and is intended for an audience aged 18 years and up.

Chiharu Saeki and Wataru Toda are two high school students who share a common hobby: They love to watch movies. After they meet, they become fast friends, until one day, when Chiharu confesses his love for Wataru. Wataru says that Chiharu’s confession doesn’t bother him, and the boys continue throughout their summer, going to pilgrimages to see film spots from their favorite movies. But the more time he spends with Chiharu, Wataru realizes that he may not only be as unaffected by Chiharu’s confession as he claimed to be, but those feelings may also be mutual…