#Love Stage

[romancemedia]

Anime Girls + Makeovers

[advocatekwlaunt]

one thing about Japanese bls is that they will be ���thiccc✨ with plot.

virgin @ 30?😯 guess what? you're a witch now. you can read minds! read minds and figure out what's wrong with you.*👍🏽

crushing on the resident cool guy?🤔 well guess what? that blond tsundere mf is JUST AS OBSESSED WITH YOU AS YOU ARE WITH HIM (maybe more!!!)...have fun misunderstanding each other every single episode 🩷

unluckiest guy in the world?🫠🫵🏽 well guess what? the luckiest guy in the world IS IN LOVE WITH YOU and he's willing to just be a little unluckier if it means he gets to be with you.🥹aw.

wanna top the DILF boss?😎convince him it's in the interests of anti-ageing that he let you top him. 💪🏽make him have an anxiety attack while you're at it.🫂

like to eat naked?😶‍🌫️ Great. the guy that had a crush on you in high school WILL COOK FOR YOU, and you can eat naked. 🫡In fact, he wants you to. He really does.

your crush has a crush?😢guess what? that crush thinks YOU have a crush on him and he actually becomes YOUR crush and then he has a CRUSH ON YOU.👻 we're crushing. u get a crush! u get a crush! EVERYONE IS GETTING A CRUSHHHHH.🫨 'cept the primary crush. she gets nothing...

JUST JOKING SHE GETS A CRUSH TOOOOOOOOO!!!🤠 everyone's a winner.

kissed a girl in for commercial when you were younger and never stopped loving her?🤭 WELL GUESS WHAT?? THAT GIRL...was a boy.��� he's still a boy.🫤 WHY DO YOU STILL WANT TO KISS HIM are you gae bro?🏳️‍🌈⁉️

*for legal purposes this is a joke.

[dailybigbro]

Todays Big Bro is Shougo Sena from Love Stage! He loves his little brother!

[doyouknowthisanime]

Do You Know This Anime?

[impromptu-sketches]

✎ MANGA INDUSTRY/MANGA FAN ✎

Part 1

Oh! My Assistant

Sekaiichi Hatsukoi / The World's Greatest First Love: The Case of Ritsu Onodera

Fate Makes No Mistakes

Sasaki and Miyano

Love Stage!!

[d4rk-x-w0lf-17]

everyone else: omg uzi has cool gradient colored eyes now that she's the new main host

me: why do her eyes remind me of him

[fresherfriut]

[your-anime-boyfriend]

I was scrolling on Tumblr and it got me thinking "I should do an LGBT anime list", I won't make any spoiler and it will be short, so let's go:

No. 1: Yuri!!! On Ice.

Is there any gayest sport than ice skating? I don't think so. One of the most beautiful spokon animes I've ever seen. The growth of Yuri is LIT and the soundtrack is GORGEOUS (listen "free skate" from episode 7).

No. 2: Sakura Trick.

Really lovely and beautiful. Their relationship changed from friends to lovers, but they have a great connection, there is no drama at all. That's the best part, everything flows.

No. 3: Hitorijime my Hero.

Unfortunately, this isn't as peaceful as the previous ones. There are two main couples, but let's focus on Masahiro and Kousuke. Masahiro is kinda traumatised, but Kousuke will give him hope again.

No. 4: Given (anime).

Mafuyu never understood his emotions neither express them, but thanks to Uenoyama he gets over Yuki and made a statement. He got a voice. I really liked how they evolved as a couple, very nice and lovely. It always gets back to the past, so don't watch this if you're sad or depressed.

No. 5: Doukyuusei.

A friend recommended this anime and I thought that the animation isn't the best, but I loved it. I loved how they discover themselves. I cried a lot because I think we all can relate.

No. 6: Love Stage!!

Izumi did CD for a spot and Ryouma fell in love with him. When he discovers that Izumi is a boy he was shocked, but ended loving him. Very nice anime, I tried to watch it in a few days, but I watched in only one day.

Love y'all and happy holidays <3.

[befuddledcinnamonroll]

15 Day BL Challenge

Day 8: The Trope You Hate Except When It's "This Series"

With all love and respect to those who love this trope, I utterly hate the fall kiss. It's so cringe, it's so contrived, it's so against the laws of physics. These very coordinated healthy young men just happen to suddenly become all klutzy, lose the ability to use their arms, and yet somehow never once smash noses. Sure, Jan.

I don't mind falls on their own, it's just the kiss part I cannot stand.

I get that there's history behind why it's so popular, I'm not trying to do any cultural shaming here. I'm just saying that for me, the idea of thwapping myself face first into another person is an absolutely horrifying concept.

Which is why I found the use of it in Love Stage so refreshing.

To be clear, it's still a totally cringe awkward moment.

But see this man in a hospital bed? See the cut on his lip? THIS IS WHAT HAPPENS WHEN YOU FALL FACE FIRST INTO ANOTHER HUMAN BEING!!! It's not cute! There is blood and teeth! It's horrible! It's amazing!

I was so happy we were getting away from fall kisses last year, but sadly they seem to be making a comeback. *sigh*

@negrowhat's full challenge here

[wrongmeat]

He was so before his time. He should have been the main character. He’s so babygirl coded and yet is a fully competent individual who isn’t boiled down to being an uwu bottom. He is everything to me. He has captivated me.

[romancemedia]

LGBT/Yaoi Anime Series

Fair Warning: These animes may contain sexual content.

[respectthepetty]

I went to go grab a screenshot from Love Stage!! because I SWEAR in 7 Days Before Valentine that Rain's best friend, Meen, who sings

is the singing instructor in Love Stage!!

And now I'm four episodes deep into an unplanned rewatch and Fort's here!

Kaownah better be back on The Sign soon because if I only had him for one episode when he can play unhinged so well, I'm gonna be salty.

But let me continue this rewatch!

[yaoicores]

[cocotome]

Oh! The cast gathered to record a voice drama for Back Stage, the spin-off from popular yaoi manga Love Stage!! This special drama will be included with volume 3 of Back Stage when it goes on sale 9/29/23! Apparently, Daigo hasn't recorded his portion yet lol. How is Hirarin aging backwards?!

[ddreamzee]

My Top 10 BL Dramas of 2022!!!

I figured I would also make my list of my favorite bls that came out this year (and ended this year) so here are my picks!

1. Love In The Air (Thailand)

I think most people loved this series this year and it’s not very hard to see why. the couples are immaculate, the spicy scenes are SPICYYYY and the storyline is actually interesting. the couples also got equal amounts of screentime and each of their stories made coherent sense. i personally loved phayu and rain a tad bit more than prapai and sky but i love both either way. chef’s kiss

2. KinnPorsche (Thailand)

once again I think most people love this series. I waited so long for this series and almost didn’t watch it bc I was annoyed it took so long lmao. but i’m glad I gave in and watched it anyways. this is art. this is how you do a mafia drama, this is how you act, this is how you depict love, lust, hatred, betrayal, all of the above. i thought i liked kinn and porsche the most out of the couples but after going through my saved videos I have found myself to be a clown, apparently I was subconsciously obsessed with vegas and pete.

3. Cherry Blossoms After Winter (S. Korea)

LET ME TELL YOU SOMETHING LET ME TELL YOU SOMETHING!! THIS SERIES!!! IS SO FUCKING GOOODDDD!!!! i love cherry blossoms after winter so damn much. it’s so fucking cute and i love the characters so much, especially taesung. oh my boy taesung! he is such an angel pls. i always expected something bad to happen while watching this but I was so happy when nothing did happen. even when taesung’s mom found out they were together, haebom and taesung both stood their ground for their relationship although haebom was hesitant to even start dating taesung bc he was worried about his mom. but this is definitely one of my favorite korean bls

 4. Cutie Pie (Thailand)

this is a very obvious choice. zee has been one of favorite actors since why r u so i was so damn excited about this. i really liked it and it was different for thailand, an arranged marriage bl series. i also really enjoyed the side couples in this, especially nuea and syn. in my opinion this series wasn’t completely perfect though, there were times i felt like things were a little too slow or a character would get on my nerves *cough* kuea *cough* but i’m really hyped for the special episodes and zeenew’s series coming in 2023

5. Takara-kun to Amagi-kun (Japan)

I love love LOVED takara kun to amagi kun. it was so cute, both takara and amagi are literal angels. it was pretty natural too like it didn't feel really forced and I loved when amagi would get all excited and like mess with takara or drag him around and takara just went with it bc he was so utterly in love with this boy. nothing but love for my two angel boys

6. Cherry Magic The Movie (Japan)

the original series was so fucking good so i KNEW this was gonna be good but i didn’t think it was gonna THIS fucking good. this movie was everything i think all of us wanted it to be and more. i could not ask for anything else, this movie knew what it needed to give and it GAVEEEE. it was so cute and the serotonin boost i got while watching this, i felt like a lovesick fool smiling throughout the entire thing. it was certainly a perfect ending for this amazing series.

7. Senpai, Danjite Koidewa! (Japan)

japan was GIVING in 2022. i cannot even begin to explain how in love i was with this series. even i was surprised at how much i loved it bc i usually don’t really like workplace/ office bls, i really don’t, but something about this year made me overcome that dislike and i was obsessed with so many workplace bls this year, i think this series is the one that started that trend for me.

8. Love Stage!! (Thailand)

so this series was so unexpectedly good. the original anime has always been one of my favorites so i was so hyped about this. i saw the japanese adaptation that came out in like 2020 which was umm.....something. i will say that this was MUCHHH better than that. especially since it was kaownah and turbo, made it so much better, they were perfect. i remember while watching this there were so many issues with episodes like audio, quality and subtitles wise, like there was always something wrong. despite that though i got through it and still enjoyed it. the side couple was also really good. since this series revolves around celebrities, managers and the entertainment industry it gave very much war of y vibes but like not as dramatic(?)

9. My Secret Love (Thailand)

everybody and they mamas was hating on this series and i never knew why, i felt like i was the only one enjoying it? i loved all the couples (especially park and lee) and like it was pretty much just a lighthearted university bl which i’m quite a sucker for tbh. i do admit some scenes were a little.....?? much? unnecessary? but overall i loved it, and the ost is such a bop, one of the few thai bl osts i really enjoy, bc it’s jeff satur so of course.

10. Oh! Boarding House (S. Korea)

do not ask me why i loved this series so much, i really do not know. i feel like it just really stuck with me throughout the year and even till now i catch myself thinking about it for no reason. like there were so many good korean bls this year but this one was slightly different. i loved the main couple and i just really enjoyed the other side characters as well. it was like a found family kind of situation and it felt really cozy, fun and relaxing to watch. like while watching it, is almost felt like hanging out with friends? idk if you haven’t seen it pls go watch it and maybe you’ll understand what i mean.

Honorable Mentions!

- Triage (Thailand)

- Plus and Minus (Taiwan)

- Semantic Error (S. Korea)

I would say overall this was a good year for bl, it seemed like there was a new series almost every week and there was always something to watch. also the influx of korean and japanese bls this year was surprising but they were all decent, they are pretty much on the same level as thailand at this point, but i think thailand is still number 1 in all things bl.

[randomlonelymusician]

Giving "problematic" BL a chance - Love Stage!!

I've been watching (or rewatching) some BL anime that have been deemed problematic to see really how bad they are... or if there's anything good in them!

Warning for the unfortunately usual BL tropes! And some spoilers!

Synopsis

To those not familiar with the anime, Love Stage!! follows Izumi, a guy who was a stand-in for a female actress in a commercial while younger, and Ryouma, his counterpart in said commercial. The thing is, Ryouma believes Izumi is a girl and holds feelings for him for ten years after the shoot. And during a ten year anniversary for the commercial, Izumi and Ryouma are reunited... only for Ryouma to learn Izumi is a guy. Chaos ensues, and the problematic romance begins.

The Good

Overall, I actually enjoyed the series. It's very hard to take seriously and somewhat cringeworthy at times, but it's ridiculous enough to keep me coming back. I genuinely enjoyed watching Izumi and Ryouma bounce off each other in all their ridiculousness. While their romance didn't feel especially natural to me (especially due to some events I will mention later), they definitely had chemistry in other ways. I also found Izumi to be a likeable lead who had a story besides just the romance. He's an otaku and has a dream of being a mangaka, despite his parents wanting him to get into show business like them. He's also pretty clearly bisexual, which is always nice to see. There's also a real discussion about s*x that wasn't too weird or awkward, which was really nice to see in a genre this ridiculous. Also, they're adults? Low bar, I know, but this is BL from 2014.

The Bad

Like an unfortunate amount of BLs, there are multiple cases of SA and harassment. There's an earlier scene where Ryouma tries to force himself on Izumi, playing into the "I just can't help myself" trope. There's another scene in the latter half of the series that involves Izumi and a group of men. Both scenes are incredibly uncomfortable to watch, especially with how casually they're played off. To give credit where credit's due, Izumi is traumatized by both occurrences, but they fact that they're both played off as no big deal by everyone around him and he later gets into a relationship with his abuser is just not okay. On a far, far lesser note, it does play into the "tall masculine" and "meek feminine" tropes. And there are definitely some intimate scenes that do feel more like fanservice than natural relationship buildup.

Final Thoughts

Besides those seriously horrible aspects... I did have fun watching it. While the episodes with the assaults were very uncomfortable, most of the other episodes were just funny or enjoyable. I do really understand why people would avoid this. Also, side note, like a lot of BL, I really did not like the art style, but at least it's not a big offender of the Yaoi Chin™. And while I can't really comment on the overall f*tishy-ness of the whole thing, it just felt... really mild? I thought it would be a lot worse with the amount of hate it gets. Honestly, there's a lot of series that are worse offenders of these tropes that get a lot more love.

TLDR: Love Stage is problematic and has some really gross moments, but besides that is genuinely entertaining and quite funny. Overall, it's a lot more mild than it's often made out to be.

Do I recommend? Not really. Unless you really want some trashy shoujo to cringe and laugh at. Is it good representation? No, but it's no where near the worst I've seen.

You can find it on Crunchyroll or Hidive, btw.