Volume cover arts for Blue Summer Haze, What If I Said “I Love You”?, and Touch Within the Abyss.
Short BL Mangas Rec List!
If you read my blog often, you’d know I’m a big fan of soft, sweet, wholesome romance. I typically prefer slow burns and longer series, but sometimes a quicker romance is fun, too!
Therefore, I’ve put together a list of some BL mangas that are short and on the more heartfelt or wholesome side. Most of these are single-volume stories, but I picked some multi-volumes series as well! I hope you enjoy!
1. The Two Lions
Author: Nagisa Furuya
1 volume, completed
The Two Lions Seven Seas Entertainment page
This manga follows Junpei Shishido, a university student who gets along with pretty much everyone—until he meets Onizuka Leo, a fellow university student who, for some reason, is clearly avoiding Junpei. Unfortunately for Leo, being on the same university campus tends to make coincidental encounters common!
After bumping into Leo again and again, Junpei finally learns that they actually went to the same high school. Due to his name and naturally light hair, Leo had a lot of rumors surrounding him back then, and couldn’t make friends because of this. Determined to change that in university, Leo tried avoiding Junpei, afraid that he knew the rumors and would cause trouble.
Much to Leo’s surprise, Junpei offers to become friends, and the two slowly form a natural friendship. However, this relationship soon starts to feel a little more special than Junpei expected!
This short BL manga is a good wholesome romance with very lovable characters. Some aspects of the plot can feel a little convenient or rushed (which may have been fixed with a longer series) but overall it was a pretty cute and satisfying read!
2. Touch Within the Abyss
Author: Moyori Mori
1 volume, completed
Touch Within the Abyss Tokyopop page
Touch Within the Abyss is easily my favorite of this entire BL manga list. It captures an incredibly engaging and beautiful story that, while a bit more dramatic than the others on this list, still tells a rather wholesome story!
Firstly, we have Chinatsu, a man who seems to be caught up in a dangerous career. He’s expected to take out “targets” as a part of some sort of a hitman group led by his father. But from the very start, we see that Chinatsu isn’t agreeing with this work. He struggles to perform well due to a significant failure of his from many years ago.
Chinatsu likely would have lost his mind from this event had another individual not accidentally stumbled into him that day. This kind individual’s presence and kind look saved Chinatsu from total darkness. Unexpectedly (for Chinatsu, maybe not for us readers, haha) Chinatsu stumbles into this savior of his again 5 years later due to an incident on the street, and learns his name is Kasumi.
This starts an uncertain friendship between these two very different people and their slightly different outlooks on the world…
Chinatsu sees a world clouded by his wrongdoings and is unable to allow himself to experience happiness; and Kasumi, who lost his eyesight many years ago, struggles to adjust to his new view of the world—he often feels lonely, but still seems to push forward nonetheless.
Touch Within the Abyss is such a beautiful, dramatic story that intertwines these two individuals and reveals that although they might seem like night and day, they might not actually be so different.
I really loved the characters’ dynamic and slow-growing relationship. The romance is so gentle and intimate as these two find solace in each other’s presence; yet there’s a hint of uncertainty as they have some unspoken realities about their situations.
The BL manga is seriously very engaging, even with just one volume. The character design is really well done, the environmental art is stunning, and honestly every aspect of the art had me hooked. It’s a really gorgeously illustrated manga with a story that matches perfectly.
I enjoyed every second of it and I hope you do as well!
3. Lovers on the Last Train
Author: Dayoo
1 volume, completed
Lovers on the Last Train Seven Seas Entertainment page
This single-volume manga is an incredibly lovely and heartwarming story about two men in their forties who unexpectedly find love together!
It first focuses on an office worker named Harue, who has put all his efforts and time into his work for years, while never having really dated anyone—and not necessarily on purpose. One day, he matches with someone on a dating app and even coincidentally meets them in person!
His match is a handsome man named Fujishima, and despite their differences in personality and looks, they get along quite well. This unexpected meeting leads to fast-growing feelings and a very sweet romance!
This romance manga is one of the cutest things I’ve ever read. It showcases a super sweet, wholesome, and healthy new relationship with super lovable characters and a very nice art style.
It perfectly captures the giddiness of a fresh (or first) romance—one that you can experience regardless of age. This short BL manga was incredibly sweet and totally refreshing, I highly recommend it. (๑❛ᴗ❛๑)
4. What If I Said, “I Love You”?
Author: Kumosoku
2 volumes, ongoing
What If I Said, “I Love You”? Kodansha page
This super cute series follows a wholesome childhood friends-to-lovers romance between two boys who have been very close ever since they were in elementary school. When they were kids, Tokio used to give Kazuho piggyback rides—in other words, they have always felt comfortable being glued to each other.
But now in high school, Kazuho has had his growth spurt and is having a hard time dealing with their usual closeness. His closeness with Tokio makes him happy, but when others begin to take notice, Kazuho starts feeling self-conscious.
Why does he feel so flustered, while Tokio seems unbothered? With new feelings growing, the relationship between these two boys starts to take a turn!
I’m excited with how this series is going so far. It’s very sweet, and the characters are super cute, too. I like the art style and the way the story is told, too—it jumps right in, and doesn’t spoon-feed you the plot too much, if that makes sense.
This fluffy BL manga series currently has two English volumes to enjoy, but seems to be as long as 5 volumes in Japanese, so there will hopefully be a little more story to enjoy soon!
5. Blue Summer Haze
Author: Dondon
2 volumes, ongoing translation
Blue Summer Haze Kodansha page
The final recommendation is another slightly longer option, having 5 volumes completed in Japanese (the English translation is still catching up).
Blue Summer Haze is a sweet and lightly comedic BL manga series about three high school boys who have big feelings about baseball—and each other. Firstly there’s Makoto, who came to really enjoy baseball thanks to his middle school friend, Shusuke. Unexpectedly, Shusuke has to move right before they start high school; leaving Makoto feeling betrayed and abandoned.
Despite these feelings, Makoto continues playing baseball with hopes that he’ll reunite with his Shusuke again. In fact, it’s his only reason for playing at all.
While in high school, Makoto joins a team, gains a bit of attention for his skills, and becomes a bit of a duo with a boy named Shiratori. High-school Makoto is a bit grouchy and rough around the edges, but Shiratori handles him well while they play… and he seems to care for Makoto in a way that’s a bit deeper than just a regular sportsmanship.
One day, Shusuke moves back into town and enrolls in Makoto’s high school! But unfortunately for Makoto, Shusuke declares that he’s not interested in baseball anymore; leaving us with three confused characters filled with uncertainty about their feelings and future with baseball!
This short BL manga tells a heartfelt coming-of-age plot as these boys discover new feelings and decide what really matters to them when it comes to playing baseball. I was especially surprised by how passionate Makoto was as a character, and really enjoyed the set-up for this obvious love triangle.
I’m personally rooting for a second-lead win, but we’ll have to wait and see!
Final Thoughts
I hope you’ve enjoyed these cute & wholesome BL manga recommendations! If you love romances of all kinds and want more short mangas to read, be sure to check out my other short & one shot romance manga list. And if you have any thoughts or comments, I’d love to read them below! ♡
