25 Best BL Anime (Boys Love Anime)

 Boy’s Love has swept all female anime fans away.

The BL genre has gained attention from major anime studios including MAPPA, Lerche, and others.

The genre is for a male audience, but it’s targeted more at a female audience.

It includes good-looking lads, dynamic relationships that cross all cultural boundaries, sexual tension, and in some cases more than just tension.

BL, often known as the Yaoi genre, has a long history, but it gained popularity in the 1980s when several female mangakas released their works.  

We’ll list popular Boy’s Love anime on this page. I asked a lot of female fans for help on this, so I hope I don’t insult fans.

25. Togainu no Chi

In the wake of a third world war that destroyed Japan, a group called Vischio took over Tokyo and changed its name to Toshima.

In the city’s back alleys, the Vischio run battle games called Igura. In these games, people fight and bathe in each other’s blood to earn the chance to face the tournament’s king, Il-re.

Igura isn’t the only fighting tournament out there. [email protected] is also a fighting game, but it is very different from Igura because it doesn’t allow killing or using weapons.

You can only win if you knock out your opponent. People say that Akira, a young man who lives away from his family, can’t lose at [email protected] But his life on top falls apart when he is accused of killing someone.

All seems lost for him because he can’t prove his innocence, but then a mysterious woman named Emma shows up and gives him a chance.

Now, Akira needs to take part in Igura and beat Il-re in order to get his freedom back.

24. Twittering Birds Never Fly: One For the Ages

A story about a classy and smooth-talking yakuza boss and his bear of a bodyguard who just got out of jail is a good example of character-driven writing.

Even though the title, “Tweeting Birds Never Fly,” seems wrong at first, it is actually a sad summary of the events that shaped them and the sad reality that awaits them, especially in the world they live in.

It’s not always sexual, romantic, or full of action. In fact, there are a lot of funny conversations and smart exchanges in it. The anime movie shows both the cool and boring things about living on the edge of the law.

It’s one of the few yaoi anime that doesn’t just try to please its viewers. The adaptation of The Twittering Birds actually tells a developing story with well-rounded characters in a setting we’ve all seen before in other types of media.

Also, while childhood abuse is usually used to explain sexually deviant behavior in this genre, Twittering Birds uses it to show how similar experiences can lead to different outcomes, especially as an adult.

Whew. Also, Saezuru Tori wa Habatakanai – The Storm Breaks, the sequel to this anime movie coming out in February 2020, is already in the works.

Since I haven’t read the original books, I can only guess that this sequel will make things worse. It remains to be seen if it will be more interesting than Fifty Shades Darker.

23. Saezuru Tori wa Habatakanai: The Clouds Gather

Yashiro is the leader of the yakuza group Shinsekai and is very good at what he does. He is also a brazen s*xual deviant and masochist.

He only ever fell in love with one person, and that person hurt him, so now he only has physical relationships.

One day, Yashiro’s boss gives a recently freed prisoner named Chikara Doumeki the job of being Yashiro’s new bodyguard.

Even though Doumeki is calm and careful, he is also clumsy and powerless, which makes Yashiro sad.

Yashiro has a rule that he doesn’t date his subordinates, but he can’t stop thinking about Doumeki, even though she keeps turning him down.

Even though he has turned Yashiro down, Doumeki thinks he is beautiful and wants to be with him, but he knows he will never be able to make his boss happy.

As the two get to know each other better, their complicated pasts slowly start to come out.

Will their pasts get in the way of how they feel about each other now?

22. Super Lovers

Haru Kaidou, the oldest son in the family, flies all the way to Canada when he hears that his mother is about to die.

As soon as he gets there, he finds out that not only did his mother lie to him, but he also has to take care of his adopted brother, Ren Kaidou, who is shy and prefers dogs to people.

Haru has a hard time getting close to Ren at first because of how suspicious his new brother is, but over time their relationship grows.

He tells Ren that they will live in Japan together after Haru finishes high school.

But because of a bad accident, Haru can’t remember anything about the summer they spent together, not even the promise he made.

Five years later, Ren comes to Tokyo because he thought Haru would keep his promise. But to Haru, Ren is just a random boy who says he is his brother.

21. Sasaki and Miyano

Yoshikazu Miyano’s problems begin when Shuumei Sasaki comes into his life on a hot summer day.

Miyano’s friend is being bullied by a group of kids, and Sasaki saves him. After that, Miyano can’t seem to get rid of his strange upperclassman.

Every time the so-called bad guy won’t leave him alone, his silent admiration for Sasaki turns into irritation.

Miyano doesn’t understand why Sasaki wants to be close to him when he keeps calling him cute names and doesn’t respect his boundaries.

Miyano is shy and easily embarrassed. He has a shameful secret: he is a “fudanshi,” which means he likes boys’ love (BL) manga.

The last thing he wants is for other students to find out, but he accidentally tells Sasaki the truth.

Sasaki, who doesn’t know what’s going on, asks to borrow a book to read because he’s interested.

Miyano is surprised when Sasaki likes the BL he gets and asks for more. This marks a change in their strange relationship.

Even though Sasaki seems to have his own plans, the more time he spends with Miyano, the more complicated his feelings for her become.

Now that they like the same things, their relationship is likely to change and grow.

20. Suki na Mono wa Suki Dakara Shou ga Nai!

Hashiba Sora fell out of a fourth-story window and has forgotten everything.

Fujimori Sunao tells Hashiba that he is called Ran when Fujimori Sunao comes to his school to be his new roommate.

Fujimori and Hashiba are both split personalities that started when they were young. Yoru and Ran, their two different selves, are deeply in love.

Even though what their other selves do with each other at night creeps Fujimori and Hashiba out, they start to like each other.

Because they are friends, Hashiba Sora learns a lot of shocking things about them when they were young.

19. Haru wo Daite Ita (Embracing Love)

Kyousuke Iwaki and Youji Katou are the main characters of Haru wo Daiteita.

They are both cute and attractive and work in the movie business.

They have both been in adult video films and are trying to move up the ladder of success and become better actors.

After beating Katou in the auditions, Iwaki is chosen to be in a popular movie.

During the time they spend together, Katou thinks he is in love with Iwaki-San, but Iwaki-San doesn’t believe him.

When another gay actor comes back to Japan and starts working with Katou, things start to go wrong.

And from that point on, they both know where their hearts are.

18. Loveless

Loveless is a unique anime that combines fantasy world secrets with a dynamic interaction between the main protagonists.

In Loveless, people are born with a tail and cat ears that disappear during sexual interaction. Anyone can tell by looking if you’ve had sex.

Also, fighting is done in pairs where one is the “sacrifice” and the other is the “fighter,” uke and seme in the yaoi couple.

Ritsuka, a 12-year-old with amnesia, investigates his brother’s death. He meets his brother’s colleague, Agatsuma Soubi, and they investigate his death. 

17. Gravitation

Gravitation is about Shuichi and his desire of becoming a pop star like Ryuichi Sakuma.

With Shuichi’s talent, he and Hiro establish Bad Luck and get signed to a record label.

Shuichi and Hiro are severely behind schedule and don’t even have the lyrics. 

lking and writing lyrics Eiri Yuki examines Shuichi’s songs and encourages him to quit because he has no skill. 

Shuichi tries to convince Yuki, leading to more tension between them.

16. Seitokaichou ni Chuukoku (Hey! Class President)

Even though Vice President Chiga-kun is trying to keep the student council president out of trouble, he is drawn to the president’s strength and power.

Chiga-kun doesn’t understand how he, who is so smart, could be taken by a boy who is so simple and from the country.

15. Antique Bakery

There was a high school crush, a pastry chef who was the best in the world, a former middle-weight boxing champion, and a lot of cake.

Ono has changed a lot since the painful day in high school when he told Tachibana that he loved him.

Now, 14 years later, Ono has everything he wants. He is a world-class pastry chef and a gay playboy.

No man can stay away from Ono’s charms (or his great cooking!) But he just started working for a new boss named Tachibana.

Can this be the only man who didn’t fall for him? If so, will the man who turned down the “magically gay” Ono get what’s coming to him?

And how in the world did a former middleweight boxing champion become Ono’s cake boy?

14. Ai no Kusabi (Love Wedge)

This is an anime set in a futuristic timeline with an alien environment but similar social norms.

The anime takes place on the planet Amoi, a planet that is controlled by a supercomputer named after the gas giant in our solar system, Jupiter.

The planet has a dominant male population with some male humans that possess light-colored hair and are deemed to be of an elite class.

These elite class members of society often keep other dark-haired males as their personal mongrels.

The story is about Iason, an elite-class male, and the mongrel that he found in the slums named Riki. Watch as they grow closer together and how society frowns on their relationship.

13. Soul Contract

Ling Qi (Soul Contract) is a Chinese anime.

The anime is about the young heir of an old and famous exorcist who endured a life of poverty due to the sudden and untimely death of his parents.

Yang Jinghua (You Keika in the Japanese version) starts a part-time job to feed survive. Yang meets a strange white-bearded man in some junkyard.

After this encounter when he wakes up, he realizes that he has passed away in an accident and has taken a spirit form.

Later it was revealed that the white-bearded man was actually a famous exorcist.

The man offers him a contract where Yang has to be his spirit shadow in return he will be protected from humans by the white-bearded man.

12. Wei, Kanjian Erduo La!

Wei, Kanjian Erduo La! (Look, I can see your ears!) is an anime that has a catboy!

The anime is about Dashu a rising mangaka whose works don’t sell much yet but he hasn’t given up hope yet.

One day he meets Myou, a catboy who keeps on getting in trouble.

Dashu’s life completely changes after meeting Myou as they both start to share a room together.

The anime was adapted in 2018 into 12 episodes and is based on a Manhwa!

This is a lovely short and sweet anime! Give it a shot.

11. Love Stage!!

Izumi Sena’s mother is an actress, his father is a producer, and his brother is a rockstar, but he has little interest in the family business.

Izumi works to become a manga writer.

Izumi and all the young actors in the ad are called back 10 years later.

Izumi meets actor Ryouma Ichijou. 

Due to Izumi’s feminine appearance and unisex name, Ryouma thought he was a girl when they first met.

Watch the anime to see Ryouma’s reaction. Izumi’s response?

The second half is interesting.

10. Hitorijime My Hero

This anime aired in 2017.

The story revolves around a teenage boy, Masahiro Setagawa, a weak and fragile boy who is always bullied.

His life changes when Kousuke comes to his neighborhood.

The “Bear Killer” soon eradicates all the gangs in Masahiro’s neighborhood.

Later in high school, Masahiro and his friend Kensuke find out that the Bear Killer is actually their math teacher.

The three of them grow closer together and Masahiro starts thinking of Koususke as his hero!

The plot takes a turn when another pretty character is introduced as Kensuke’s childhood friend, Asaya.

Give it a try.

9. Beryl and Sapphire

The anime features two cute-looking boys Beryl and Sapphire.

The anime has 72 episodes and each of the story arcs is set in different worlds where Beryl and Sapphire somehow manage to find each other every time!

I know that is a lot of angst but hey you would definitely get a surprise with this one and how it ends!

The episodes are only 8 mins long so it is not that time-consuming moreover it is definitely entertaining.

8. No. 6

The plot of the anime is set in the future where humankind lives in six city-states that were not affected by the world war that destroyed the rest of the world.

Shion, the protagonist found out about the people who lived in the wastelands when he encountered a boy named Nezumi.

The anime later progresses with Shion and Nezumi getting closer together as they find out about the secrets of No. 6, the sixth city in the world.

Even if you aren’t a fan of the shounen-ai and the shipping that comes along with this anime, I would still watch it for the story it has.

7. Junjou Romantica

The main character, Misaki Takahashi, is a high school student and he is preparing for his University Exams so that he can get into the best university in the country.

Misaki’s older brother’s friend, Akihiko Usami, offers to help Misaki prepare for the exams.

Thinking that Akihiko would help him relieve some stress and get better at studying efficiently Misaki accepts his offer.

But soon he finds out that Akihiko’s books are of lewd nature but that actually ignites something inside of Misaki. The anime is more about corrupting an innocent soul.

It has romance, corruption, lewd scenes, and much more for BL anime lovers.

6. Hybrid Child

this anime has the most unique plot on this list, Hybrid Child. The plot starts by introducing the meaning of “hybrid child”. They are somewhere between robots and humans.

A Hybrid Child can feel emotions and also has their own conscious but they are a mere reflection of the love you show them.

Izumi, the heir to a noble family, finds an abandoned hybrid child in the garbage. He decides to bring him into his household and take care of him.

He names the Hybrid, Hazuki.

Izumi’s family, being a noble family, is unhappy with Izumi’s bringing Hazuki to the house.

They even try to throw out Hazuki but overcoming all these obstacles their love for one another grows stronger.

The anime does have its ups and downs, and the ending has quite the twist but it is quite worth it!

5. Yuri!!! on Ice

This anime needs no introductions.

Yuri!!! on Ice is more than just ice skating, it is about life in general.

It teaches many things and takes some away too.

After his failure at the Grand Prix, a 23-year-old Yuri, once the most promising figure skater in Japan turns into a couch potato all because of the standards he set himself to.

A video of Yuri, performing a routine imitating the five-time World Champion Victor goes viral and Victor actually shows up at Yuri’s house and offers to be his coach.

Watch what happens next!

4. Classmates

Doukyuusei which literally means Classmates. I like the protagonist of this movie, especially for his attitude towards life. Hikaru is so carefree and always tries to enjoy what is in front of him.

During the school summer festival, their entire class is forced to participate in the chorus song, and because of that, he finds one of his elite classmates, Rihito an honor student, practicing singing alone.

Hikaru and Rihito grow closer together as Hikaru helps out Rihito with his singing. The two classmates form an unbreakable bond over the summer!

3. Given

Mafuyu Satou the protagonist has an encounter with Ritsuka, a band member who berates him about his rusted and broken guitar strings.

Admiring Ritsuka’s knowledge about the instrument, Satou requests him to fix it and teach him the guitar.

Over the time they spend together, Ritsuka is pleased so much by Satou’s voice that he decides to make him the lead singer in his band.

Given is much more than just a high school band drama.

It has romance, love expressed with music, and some of the best heart-warming moments in all of anime.

2. Mo Dao Zu Shi

Wei Wuxian, a cultivator who was led down the Demonic Path, Mo Dao becomes a tyrant ruler who is later brought down by the Cultivation Clan.

He is now reborn and is reunited with his then classmate Lan Wangji. Both of them stick together to uncover the mysteries of the spiritual world.

They fight demons, spirits, ghosts, and other cultivators together! It is an amazing adventure anime with just 15 episodes it doesn’t ask much of your time too!

1. Banana Fish

The best of these anime was difficult to pick but no one seemed to come up with an anime that was better than Banana Fish so here we go!

Ash, the protagonist, is fierce, confident and a complete badass but I was more shocked by Eiji. I was awestruck and so was Ash when he saw Eiji jump that wall to escape the enemies!

The anime is two mysterious words, “Banana Fish” the same words Ash’s brother has been uttering since his return from the Iraq war in a paralyzed state.

The anime has tonnes of twists and is quite saddening so please watch at your own mental risk!