The BL Manga That’s Changing the Genre’s Reputation for the Better

gamerant.com:

given made its anime debut in the Summer of 2019, and while it didn't win any anime awards, it was arguably one of the best anime dramas of that year, according to Crunchyroll. It tells the story of four characters — Mafuyu Sato, Ritsuka Uenoyama, Haruki Nakayama, and Akihiko Kaji — and how they relate to each other against the backdrop of music. At first glance, the premise is standard compared to anime like Sakamichi no Apollon, but what makes it special is how it's portraying the Boy Love, or BL, genre.

Typically made for women by women, the BL genre has a reputation of catering a lot to fan service, amongst other things. Most times, BL anime is consumed by a niche group of people who adore the genre mainly due to its raunchiness. But given has broken into mainstream media and has shown that the genre has more to give than just two good-looking boys going at it.

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The story starts with Mafuyu who's unusually attached to a guitar and catches the eye of a fellow schoolmate, Ritsuka. The way that Ritsuka finds Mafuyu sleeping like a baby while holding a guitar sounds like a typical beginning for romance to ensue. In the context of any heterosexual anime or manga, this kind of romantic beginning is pretty much a staple. For BL though, it isn't.

Generally speaking, the BL genre of recent years starts with the couple having explicit, non-consensual intimate scenes within the first episode or chapter of the manga. You'll see this in stories likeDakaichi: I'm Being Harassed By the Sexiest Man of the Year which ends up with one of the characters forcing themselves on their drunk love interest. Apart from BL anime or manga having dubious beginnings, it's also not relatable. That beginning