Yaoi animes have recently blown up in the anime world. People are beginning to see past the stereotypes and enjoying these highly dramatic stories for what they are. If you’re looking to try out some yaoi anime, this list is for you. We’ll be looking at the best yaoi anime.
As a wave of acceptance to the LGBTQ+ community is coming over our society, stories of gay love are also gaining more popularity. Yaoi anime has so much to offer but is generally ignored by the straight male audience. On the other hand, girls are the primary audience of Boy’s Love (BL) anime and manga. Also used interchangeably with Shounen-ai and Bara manga, these terms are very much different from each other-
What Is The Difference Between Yaoi, Boy’s Love, Shounen-ai, And Bara Manga?
Yaoi/Boy’s Love can be used interchangeably, and they mean the same thing mostly- anime and manga focusing on the romantic and sexual relationships between male characters. These are typically created by a female audience for a female audience. However, as a rule, Yaoi always features sexual content, while BL may or may not.
Shounen-ai are the mangas and animes dealing with the innocent, non-sexual parts of a same-sex male relationship.
Bara manga is also media that deals with homosexual male relationships, but these are created by male authors and for a male audience. Also, Check out the Best Bara manga.
Now that that’s out of the way, let’s take a look at the best yaoi anime-
10. Doukyuusei
A very simple love story, this movie will leave you smiling and fill your heart with sweetness. It follows the story of Rihito Sajou, the top of his class, he scored perfectly in all of his subjects in the high school entrance exam. Hikaru Kusakabe plays guitar in live events with his band. Girls go crazy for him.
When their entire class is forced to participate in an upcoming chorus festival, these two students who would have never interacted otherwise coincidentally meet. Hikaru hears Rihito practicing his singing alone. Hikaru is surprised by this new side of his almost perfect classmate and is glad to help Rihito work on his chorus. As the two boys begin spending more time together, their hearts begin to harmonize with each other. They begin to develop feelings. However, with each of them facing their own issues in life, and Hikaru’s direct approach leaving Rihito startled, will their love ever blossom?
9. Loveless
In this anime, we meet Ritsuka, a boy who is devastated after many unfortunate incidents. He suffers from amnesia due to some unknown reason. He has lost his mother’s loving support, and his brother was brutally murdered. Ritsuka lives in a world where everyone is born with cat ears and a tail, which disappears when a person has sex. Moreover, fighting is done only in “fighting pairs” or couples. One, called the Sacrifice, receives the damage, while the other, the Fighter, attacks.
On his first day of school, Ritsuka meets Agatsuma, who used to be his brothers fighting pair. Now, Agatsuma has inherited Ritsuka after his brother’s death. The two team up to investigate his brother’s death; this journey leads them to a mysterious organization known as the “Seven Moons.” As they work closely together, they seem to be developing feelings for each other.
8. Gravitation
Shuichi and his best friend Hiro are members of the band Bad Luck; they’ve always been passionate about singing and have finally fulfilled their dream of getting signed by a major record label. However, with a deadline looming close to them, Shuichi still hasn’t thought up lyrics for the songs. Hiro suggests him to find a girlfriend, as it might inspire him. However, destiny has other plans for him.
Late one night, while walking through a park, thinking up lyrics, Shuichi’s latest lyrics flies off to the feet of a very handsome stranger, who picks it up and reads it. The man completely berates his lyrics, thoroughly insulting Shuichi’s skill. It turns out that the man he bumped into was Yuki Eiri, a successful yet cynical author. He crushes Shuichi by telling him that he had no talent. Extremely annoyed, Shuichi feels motivated and completes his lyrics. He now seeks out the author to extract an apology from him. However, in this, he witnesses other sides of Eiri’s personality. His motivations, which he thought were motivated by anger, might not be all that he feels, as he begins to develop feelings for Eiri.
7. Hitorijime My Hero
Masahiro Sategawa is a hopeless student, forced to do errands by neighborhood bullies. He is defenseless and thinks that no one will ever come to save him. However, his life takes a turn when he meets Kosuke Oshiba, who is well known to beat people to pulp, and this has garnered him a lot of fame on the streets; surprisingly, he teaches Masahiro math! Masahiro has sworn to himself that he is not attracted to men; however, he’s not so sure anymore.
Masahiro’s best friend, Kensuke, also begins to grow closer with the other two. But, their everyday lives are suddenly made more complicated by the appearance of Kensuke’s childhood friend, Asaya Hasekura, who now looks at him as more than just a friend. What confusions will their complicated feelings bring to their lives, and how will they resolve these?
6. No. 6
After the world was destroyed from war, six city-states, separated by walls, were created. Within wall No. 6 is Sion. He is well educated and very intelligent. He lives a privileged life within the comforts of the wall. However, his comfortable life is turned upside down when he meets Nezumi on the eve of his twelfth birthday.
However, it turns out that Nezumi is an escaped convict, and for his assistance in keeping Nezumi safe, Sion loses his rights and is subsequently forced to live in a lower town, living life as a normal citizen. Four years have passed, and Sion once again finds himself in Nezumi’s company, and stuck in a conspiracy that leaves behind a trail of dead bodies. What is really going on in No. 6?
5. Sekai Ichi Hatsukoi – World’s Greatest First Love
As a high schooler, Ritsu fell in love with a boy who broke his heart. This changed his view of love forever. As an adult, he is a prideful literary editor; however, he leaves his company after hearing jealous co-workers say that he is only working under his father’s name. He now transfers off to Marukawa Shoten in hopes of building a career in publishing literature. However, he finds himself working as a rookie manga editor with tight schedules.
His boss, Masamune Takano, is a persistent man who strives for results. He has a rude nature but also seems to be interested in Ritsu. However, Ritsu soon discovers that he is the same guy who broke his heart in high school! How will their past affect the relationship of their present?
4. Super Lovers
When he hears about the death of his mother, Haru Kaidou quickly flies all the way to Canada, only to be met with the news that his mother had lied, and she is healthy, and he now has to take care of his younger adoptive brother, Ren Kaidou. Ren is an antisocial kid who is closer to dogs more than humans. As a result, Haru finds it difficult to get closer to him. Their relationship begins to flourish with time, and he promises Ren that they will live together in Japan after Haru graduates from high school.
Five years later, Ren arrives in Tokyo, expecting Haru to keep his promise, but when he finally meets his brother, he finds out that Haru has no memory of him. Due to an unfortunate incident, Haru has lost memories from the summer that the two boys spent together. How will their old relationship be rekindled to life?
3. Love Stage!!
Izumi was born into a showbiz family- his mother is an actress, his father is a producer and singer, and his brother is a rockstar. Everyone expects Izumi to join showbiz soon himself. However, Izumi is actually an otaku that wishes to be a manga illustrator. The only time Izumi was in the spotlight was as a child in a commercial for a wedding magazine.
A decade after the shoot, the magazine requests a 10th-anniversary ad starring the original child actors. Here, Izumi is reunited with Ryouma Ichijou, now a popular actor. To Izumi’s shock, Ryouma has been in love with him all this while. Izumi’s feminine appearance and uni-sex name made Ryouma think he was a girl. His troubles are worsened even more when Izumi tells Ryouma that he is a boy, and Ryouma is unable to shake off his feelings even then.
2. Junjo Romantica
Misaki Takahashi is trying to get into a university but has little hope of doing so. He accepts help from his brother’s best friend, Usami Akihiko, a famous author. Upon discovering that Usami actually writes naughty books, strange temptations begin to arise within Misaki. Moreover, Usami is secretly in love with Misaki as well. This anime also follows the story of two other couples.
Hiroki Kamijou’s life has reached an all-time low, and he can’t seem to get over the unrequited feelings he held for Usami. However, when Nowaki Kusama falls in love with Hiroki, a complicated side of love is brought up. Nowaki will do anything to make Hiroki happy. How will passion collide with tough love, and what will arise of it?
Another story shows the obsessive side of love when a rich eighteen-year-old, Shinobu Takatsuki, discovers something that cannot be his- the literature professor You Miyagi.
1. Given
When Mafuyu Satou is walking to his high school, he meets Ritsuka Uenoyama, a fellow student taking a nap on the gymnasium staircase. Ritsuka berates Mafuyu when he sees the rusty strings of his guitar. Noticing Ritsuka’s knowledge and experience, Mafuyu pleads him to fix it and teach him how to play. Ritsuka agrees to let him sit through a jam session with his bandmates.
When Satou begins to sing, Ritsuka is thoroughly shocked, as his voice is lovely and fills his heart with its harmony. Ritsuka is determined to make Mafuyu the lead singer of his band, and the distance between the two musicians slowly grows closer.
Yaoi anime has become a powerhouse in the anime industry, generating above 180 million $ every year. The genre has bloomed into so much more popularity since its inception in the ’70s. While there are many controversies surrounding the forceful and occasionally dangerous nature of love in some yaoi anime, the genre is popular, mostly among females, regardless. As the genre continues to grow, the stories are becoming more interesting and including other genres in them as well.