Boys Love, Girls Love: A Starter Pack

Hinako says she wants a boyfriend to fit in with her coworkers, but doesn't feel happy with her work or life in general. In contrast, her coworker Asahi focuses on her work and her younger sister and doesn’t think she’ll ever fall in love. When Hinako crumbles under the pressure, Asahi offers her a doughnut and kindness. Soon, Hinako and Asahi find themselves spending time together and valuing each other more and more. But are they just friends or more than friends?

With its focus on the characters' exploration of love, Doughnuts Under a Crescent Moon is a tender read, ideal for readers seeking stories about characters navigating societal expectations to find happiness. While neither character is identified as asexual, ace-spec readers will likely find much to enjoy here. Readers who liked the gentle romance of She Loves to Cook, and She Loves to Eat will want to check out this series as well.

Internalized homophobia and struggles with amatonormativity; implied family death and familial discord

Megan Rupe

Ayano is a single elementary school teacher in her 30s, and one night, she meets the intriguing woman Akari at a bar, where they almost kiss. One thing leads to another, and the two of them begin to explore the idea of some kind of relationship. Then, Ayano discovers that not only is Akari not single, but she's actually married to a man and wants them all to meet. Adulthood truly is complicated. What makes this manga fantastic and a little unusual is that the main characters are both in their 30s and dealing with the usual adult life problems, whereas many yuri stories focus on teens.

Readers who gravitate towards stories filled with drama but prefer it to be more grounded will likely enjoy this one. Similarly, if they tried Run Away With Me Girl and wanted something a little more toned down, definitely give Even Though We're Adults a try. Because the story focuses on adults, it skirts many of the tropes of yuri in many ways, making it a good choice for readers new to yuri who want to give it a try. It's also refreshing to see adults navigating identities, and it can really resonate with some readers.

Shannan Prukop

Kohei desperately wants to connect, but his hearing loss impacts his social interactions. Taichi is a loud, ravenous guy who offers to be Kohei’s notetaker in exchange for free lunches. As they grow closer, their relationship begins to mean a great deal to Kohei.

A sweet story about navigating connection, I Hear the Sunspot will especially appeal to readers who are in the mood for a gentle romance.

Ableism

Megan Rupe

Kase is the cool and popular track star of the school, while Yamada is the quiet and clumsy one in the background watering the school's flower gardens. So when Kase catches Yamada's eye, Yamada assumes this could go nowhere. Kase proves her wrong, and over the remaining years of high school, their relationship continues to flourish. Then college comes, and now they have a whole new set of problems to navigate, such as dorms, curfews, and living far away from each other. This series falls into several yuri tropes, including the tall, dark-haired, cool girl paired with the more feminine, shorter, blond girl, and the denial of attraction because, oh no, we're both girls, though it doesn't do that one too badly.

This series is sweet, funny, and shows a couple as they transition from crushes to relationships, from high school to college. It's a fantastic pick for readers new to yuri, as it acknowledges its tropes but isn't bound by them, and slowly shows readers that these characters have depth. It is a slow-burning slice-of-life story, so readers seeking a faster pace may become frustrated by its gentle and gradual progression.

Some partial nudity, discussion of sex

Shannan Prukop

39-year-old Nozue's life is all routine - work, sleep, repeat - and he's decided it's enough. But his coworker Togawa, ten years his junior, decides that won't do, and starts shaking up Nozue's routine. Over time, Nozue realizes just how sad he'd let his life become and how special Togawa is to him. It turns out, those feelings are mutual. However, whether this sweet relationship will sour over time due to the realities of work and their age difference remains to be seen. May-December romances are a kind of subset within BL (much like in romance novels), and this short series does it well. This series also falls slightly into the trope of the relationship being kept secret, but it is resolved in a way that is very modern and healthier than many other BL series.

Readers who enjoy slice-of-life romances will likely enjoy this one, though it does have sex scenes in it, so those new to BL may be a bit surprised, especially in comparison to many yuri series. There are also a surprising number of BL series that are slice-of-life stories centered around food, so if a reader enjoys series like What Did You Eat Yesterday or Confessions of a Shy Baker, they'll likely enjoy this one too.

Censored sex scenes, censored nudity, discussions of homophobia

Shannan Prukop

Salaryman Yutaka lives a lonely and lackluster life until he runs into Tane and his big brother Minoru while eating lunch outside his job. Yukata shares his onigiri with Tane and loves how he makes it, so he goes over to their house to show them how he makes it. Minoru learns that cooking requires a little more care and finesse than his all-boys household is used to, and Yukata learns how to come out of his shell and be comfortable sharing his time (and meals) with people.

Fans of Heartstopper or Bloom will love this queer romance, centered around cooking.

Tayla Cardillo

After Asahi has a health scare and needs surgery, with only his close friend Mitsuki by his side to support him, Mitsuki proposes that they travel around the world together. If they are still dating at the end of the trip, they should consider getting married. While always practical, Asahi agrees, he thinks their trip is more likely to end with him being alone than the two of them being together forever. This series follows their travels around the world and their growing closeness. It also explores both of their anxiety about being accepted as a gay couple by both their loved ones and the greater society.

Part travel guide and part slow-burning romance between 2 young men, this title will satisfy readers' wanderlust and their desire for realistic queer romance.

Discussions of Homophobia, alluding to sexual situations

Tayla Cardillo

After getting fired from his job in Tokyo, Mitsuomi returns to his hometown in disgrace. He meets Yamato, a cheerful young man who already seems better integrated into the town than Mitsuomi ever was. Although the two are opposites, they nevertheless find themselves growing ever closer.

With its story that balances a tender dynamic with coming-of-age themes, teen and adult readers who like a good grumpy/sunshine romance will want to pick up Restart After Coming Back Home. Restart After Coming Back Home has a satisfying conclusion, yet readers who enjoy this one will be happy to know that there is a follow-up called Restart After Growing Hungry.

Internalized homophobia

Megan Rupe

Great for folks new to the BL genre, Sasaki and Miyano is a cute romance between the meek and studious Yoshikazu Miyano and his more brash, delinquent upperclassman Shumei Sasaki. Miyano, despite having been primarily attracted to girls, is a fan of boys' love comics (comics mainly created by straight women for straight women). His upperclassman, Sasaki, catches him reading a volume at school one day and sees an opportunity to get closer to Miyano over a shared interest. Their friendship evolves into romance over the course of the series, with Miyano highlighting which real-life scenarios also mirror popular BL tropes.

Newcomers to the BL genre, teens

Sasaki and Miyano are very cute and sweet; it does not contain explicit content. And since Miyano likes to compare everything that happens in his relationship to BL tropes he's seen in comics, it can serve as a sort of guide to popular writing clichés and scenarios commonly associated with the genre.

Al Marcellus

Yuki Nomoto, a woman living alone in Tokyo, is passionate about cooking. Although she has an engaged following on her food-centric social media account, she laments that her lack of friends is keeping her from cooking party-sized portions. After a bad day at work, Nomoto cooks up a storm, but with her small appetite, she isn't sure how to eat it all up before the food goes bad. She remembers an elevator ride with her neighbor from two doors down, Totoko Kasuga, and the bags of food she was carrying all for herself. Notomo takes the initiative, and she and Kasuga begin to share meals, forming a close bond. Notomo eventually begins to develop feelings for her hard-to-read, though very kind, neighbor. What other feelings and foods will arise in this new relationship?
In addition to a lesbian love story (with perhaps some hints at an ace/arospec protagonist), this series also contains numerous cultural and social insights into Japan. Enjoy the slow bloom of affection between these two women as they navigate their feelings towards each other and their livelihoods. Slice-of-life stories about adults are relatively rare, and I wanted to bring this to the attention of potential readers.

Adults, older teens

Although I feel that this series is very appropriate for teens (there is nothing explicit), the story seems to have been written to appeal to adults who lack the social freedom for self-expression that kids typically have. Self-reflection is conducted independently of pop culture and social norms; these women are grown and working adults, and the story is mainly free of yuri tropes that might appeal to younger readers.

Al(lison) Dohhr

Mitsuki Koga is a high school girl with an interest in dad rock (okay, okay...CLASSIC ROCK). She helps her uncle part-time in his record store, where she does her best to keep anonymous (note: high school is compulsory in Japan, and most schools restrict their students from working while still enrolled). She dresses androgynously, covers her face, and keeps quiet. Her classmate, Aya Oosawa, enticed by the music within the store, finds herself attracted to this shy shopkeeper. The series revolves around Mitsuki trying to keep her real identity as Aya's classmate a secret, while doing her best to maintain a friendship with her. They have a lot to learn about each other!

Teen girls

No explicit content - it's all hand-holding and blushing faces!

Al Marcellus

Having an all-girl band play at your high school entrance ceremony would be pretty memorable on its own, but for Himari Kino, she also fell in love at first sight. After watching 3rd year Yori Asanagi as the lead singer of a band called SSgirls, she couldn't stop thinking about her. That means she's her biggest fan, right? The same day, she runs into Yori in the hall and tells her that she "fell in love at first sight" with her. Yori is left wondering if she really means it or is just star-struck. Meanwhile, Yori can't stop thinking about Himari either, her cute smile, her bubbly energy. Has lightning struck twice for these two teenagers, and do they feel the same way about each other, or is it just friendship for one of them and a hopeless crush for the other?

Readers who love the "grumpy/sunshine" trope will enjoy the dynamic between cool, older Yori and bubbly, naive Himari.

Tayla Cardillo