Full of heart-fluttering moments and overwhelming cuteness, this delightful collection of Japanese BL Dramas is sure to leave you smiling!

Best Japanese BL Dramas

Satoshi Onoe (Keito Kimura) is a reporter for the weekly gossip magazine “Dash!” The magazine is a hit among readers, as it often contains juicy details about the latest celebrity scandals, and sells well as a result. Its success is largely down to its so-called stakeout crews – teams of journalists and photographers who follow celebrities in the hope of catching them getting up to no good.

But one day, the magazine’s senior staff decided to reshuffle the stakeout teams – and pair Satoshi Onoe with the photographer Motoharu Kaburagi (Yamanaka Jyutaro). Satoshi Onoe secretly resents Motoharu Kaburagi, and thinks of him as a rival, of sorts. Furthermore, while Satoshi Onoe prides himself on his writing skills and his sense of ethics, Motoharu Kaburagi is very different. The photographer has poor manners and takes a haphazard approach to work. The two clash as they begin their joint assignments, resentful that they have to work together. But as they try to catch the ultimate scoop, they unexpectedly begin to develop feelings for one another. Could an unlikely workplace romance be in the cards for them?

This drama was based on a manga series of the same name that was written by Isaku Natsume and first published in 2019.

“Candy Color Paradox” is a 2022 Japanese drama series that was directed by Tomoyuki Furumaya.

Candy Color Paradox

🍬Candy Crush🍬

Fukuhara Kota (Sota Ryosuke) is a bumbling college student who is plagued by terrible luck. Although he never gets down about it, you can bet if something could possibly go wrong when he’s around, it almost certainly will! One day, he is about to walk in front of a car and end up in a traffic accident when he is saved by a fellow college student named Naoya Shinomiya (Yusuke Sato). The latter is Kota’s polar opposite: His “problem” is that he is “cursed” with endless good fortune.

Kota is grateful for Naoya’s assistance, and tries to ask his new acquaintance to be his friend – but phrases his request badly and accidentally leads Naoya to believe he is asking for them to become lovers. The “lucky” Naoya surprisingly agrees and the duo embarks on an unorthodox relationship. Will Kota’s chaos bring a taste for the unknown into Naoya’s life? And will romance bring spell the end for Kota’s bad luck?

“Mr. Unlucky Has No Choice but to Kiss!” is a 2022 Japanese drama series that was based on a manga series of the same name and directed by Yoshino Mamoru.

Mr. Unlucky Has No Choice but to Kiss!

💋 Kiss me Luck team 🍀

Takara (Sato Arata) and Amagi (Oriyama Naohiro) 
 are polar opposites. The former is outgoing, popular and belongs to a group of extraverts at school. His classmate Amagi is anything but. Although he is not unpopular, he is extremely quiet and reserved. Their many differences mean that they share little common ground. But there is one reason for them to interact: They both belong to their class’ environmental committee. This means that they have to tend to the lawn. And one day, when they are both assigned to go to do some weeding, the usually quiet Amagi suddenly tells his classmate that he loves him.

This sudden outburst helps him pique Takara’s interest, and the two decide to start dating – although they agree to keep their relationship a secret from the rest of the class. However, they soon discover that keeping a relationship hidden isn’t easy. And neither is dating someone who is so different from you. Can Amagi ever get used to Takara’s often-brash ways? And will Takara ever learn the true secrets of Amagi’s heart?

This series was adapted from a hit manga title of the same name that was authored by Hanage no Mai.

“Takara-kun & Amagi-kun” is a 2022 Japanese drama series that was directed by Yoshino Mamoru.

Takara-kun & Amagi-kun

🌞 Sun&Moon 🌜

TV Asahi

For longer than he'd care to admit, Sota Aoki (Shunsuke Michieda) has had a crush on his classmate Mio Hashimoto (Riko Fukumoto). Sitting next to her in class every day, Aoki wishes he could find a way to tell her how he feels but something keeps holding him back. Despite being unable to confess his feelings, he’s at least able to talk to her about other, simpler things. He’s even occasionally borrowed school supplies from her, which is why he didn’t think twice about asking to borrow an eraser from her when he found himself needing one during class one day.

Little did Aoki know that borrowing one simple eraser would change his life forever. Noticing Hashimoto had written something on the eraser he’d borrowed, Aoki is devastated to find that she had written "Ida-kun". Crushed by the realization that she has absolutely no romantic interest in him, Aoki finds himself so flustered that he accidentally drops the eraser. Much to his horror, the very same Kousuke Ida (Ren Meguro), picks up the eraser and hands it back to Aoki. Noticing his name on the eraser, Ida suddenly sees Aoki in an entirely different light.

With Ida now convinced Aoki has a crush on him and Hashimoto wanting nothing more from him than their casual friendship, Aoki has no idea what to do next. Will he be able to clear up this misunderstanding with Ida, or will he find that fate has other plans?

Adapted from the manga of the same name written by Wataru Hinekure, “My Love Mix-Up!” is a 2021 romantic comedy drama directed by Shogo Kusano and Tadaaki Horai.

My Love Mix-Up!

Lend Me Your Eraser Team💛💙

With no friends, poor grades, and a stutter, Hira Kazunari (Riku Hagiwara) isn’t exactly enjoying his life as a high school student. With no dreams, and little ambition, Hira’s only hobby is to take photographs of his everyday life. With a new semester now starting, Hira doesn’t really expect things to change but when they take a turn for the worst, he’s caught completely off-guard.

Rescued from a horribly uncomfortable situation by none other than the class’s “King”, Kiyoi Sou (Yusei Yagi), Hira can’t help the feelings of admiration that threaten to overwhelm him. Despite his best efforts to resist, Hira soon finds himself madly in love with the exceedingly handsome Kiyoi, but with such polar positions in the class, his chances of winning Kiyoi’s heart are slim. Or so it would seem. Uncovering Kiyoi’s secret dream, quite by accident, Hira soon realizes he and his crush now have something important connecting them.

Sharing such an important secret, will Hira and Kiyoi find themselves slowly coming together, or will it eventually become the wedge that drives them apart?

Adapted from the novel, “He, Who is Beautiful” by Nagira Yuu, “My Beautiful Man” is a 2021 romantic high school drama directed by Mai Sakai.

My Beautiful Man

🥂The Ginger Ale 🥂 Team

At thirty-three, Soichi Haruta (Kei Tanaka) should have been living a full, happy, comfortable life. Unfortunately, he’s not. As an employee at a local real estate office, Soichi isn’t exactly unsuccessful in his career but when it comes to women, he has absolutely no luck. Still living with his parents, Soichi often wonders if his luck will ever change. Ironically enough, it does; but not in the way he was expecting.

Done supporting him, Soichi’s mother decides to walk away, leaving her son to find a way to survive on his own. With no idea how to cook, clean, or generally take care of himself, Soichi wastes no time in accepting his co-worker, Ryota Maki’s (Kento Hayashi), offer when he invites Soichi to live with him. Though Soichi is happy to be enjoying Ryota’s impeccable housekeeping skills, he’s completely caught off guard when he learns that Ryota has long had a crush on him. To make matters even more complicated, Soichi’s boss, Musashi Kurosawa (Kotaro Yoshida) has recently confessed his love for him.

Surrounded by men with strong feelings for him, Soichi finds himself caught in an unexpected love triangle. How will he be able to sort out his own feelings when he’s constantly being pulled in opposite directions?

One of the very first Japanese boys’ love dramas, “Ossan’s Love S1” is a 2018 Japanese romantic comedy drama directed by Saito Yuki and Toichiro Ruto.

Ossan’s Love

Unexpected Love Team

Soichi Haruta (Tanaka Kei) is a 35-year-old former high school basketball player who has been working at a sportswear company for several years. The company is in financial trouble, however, so he leaves his job and decides to switch careers. He eventually finds work as a flight attendant at Tenku Peach Airlines. He is somewhat awkward and bumbling, but appears to have found a protective mentor in the experienced Captain Kurosawa Musashi (Kotaro Yoshida).

But one day, Soichi Haruta discovers the reason why Kurosawa Musashi seems so keen to help him: The Captain has drawn pictures of him that he keeps hidden in his locker – and appears to be in love with his young subordinate! And to compound the confusion, he is drawn into a love triangle that also comprises a mechanic by the name of Shinomiya Kaname (Totsugi Shigeyuki) and an amorous young co-pilot called Ryu Naruse (Yudai Chiba). Will any of them end up winning Soichi Haruta’s heart?

“Ossan’s Love S2” is a 2019 Japanese drama series that was directed by Yuki Saito, Ruto Toichiro, and Yamamoto Daisuke.

Ossan’s Love: in The Sky

Love Found Team

Fuji TV

Nozue (Takeda Kouhei) is a 39-year-old office worker. He is also decidedly stuck in a rut. Life has become mundane. His career is going nowhere fast, and he has never had thoughts about getting married. The grind of this mundane and grey way of life has taken its toll on him and depression is setting in. Another thorn in his side is Togawa (Kimura Tatsunari), his 29-year-old office junior. Despite the fact that Togawa is the older man’s subordinate, he is cold and unpleasant with Nozue.

However, deep down, Togawa actually has a strong sense of respect for his senior – and even feels romantic attraction toward him. Fate intervenes when one day, they both end up in a pancake shop that is a hotspot for young, attractive women. They end up spending more time together at this unusual venue – and starting to enjoy one another’s company more and more. At first, Nozue is confused by Togawa’s sudden attempts to make him happy. But little by little, the duo starts to hear Cupid’s call. Could true love be on the horizon for them?

This drama was based on a manga novel of the same name by Sagan Sagan that was released in 2021.

“Old Fashion Cupcake” is a 2022 Japanese drama series that was directed by Kato Ayaka.

Old Fashion Cupcake

🧁 A Cupcake for Two 👨‍❤️‍👨

Just an average college student, living his average life, “Mob” (Atsuhiro Inukai) had never once considered the fact that his life might be anything other than ordinary. With each day passing very much like the one before, Mob might have been stuck in his average, ordinary life forever. But a sudden epiphany causes Mob to see the world in a whole new light, flipping his ordinary world upside down in an instant.&nbsp;

Now fully aware of the fact that he is living inside a “world of BL”, Mob can’t seem to go anywhere without being caught up in some boys’ love story. From school classmates to his own little brother, Mob finds himself surrounded by boys whose sole purpose in life seems to be to fall in love. Determined to keep himself from becoming this world’s protagonist, Mob assigns himself the role of a background character, but no matter how hard he tries, he can’t seem to escape the love scenarios unfolding all around him.

Constantly bombarded by love-struck boys, Mob does everything he can to fight back, but even as he fights, he feels his will beginning to crumble. With one special boy slowly stealing his heart, Mob begins to wonder, how much longer will he be able to fight the inevitable?&nbsp;

Adapted from the manga of the same name, written by Konkichi, “A Man Who Defies the World of BL” is a 2021 romantic comedy drama directed by Koichiro Miki.

A Man Who Defies the World of BL

Epiphany of True Self

Once a normal college student, living his normal college life, “Mob” (Atsuhiro Inukai) had his world turned upside down the day he suddenly realized he was not only living in a manga-esque “world of BL” but was also the world’s main character. Unable to escape the constant stream of love stories unfolding around him, Mob eventually realized that he had no choice but to accept his fate.&nbsp;

Having fully embraced his life in this “world of BL” Mob even went so far as to admit his feelings for his classmate, Kikuchi (Asahi Ito). Believing that was the end of his story, Mob was happy to settle into his newfound “happily ever after” but in reality, that “end” was really only the beginning. With the sudden appearance of the handsome Igarashi (Kenta Izuka), Mob finds himself dealing with a whole new set of problems. With Igarashi vying for Kikuchi’s affection, Mob finds himself forced to prove that he’s not only the best man for Kikuchi but still the best man to play this world’s main character.

Watching the love stories of so many others unfold around him, Mob must find a way to straighten out his own story. But how?

Adapted from the manga series of the same name by Konkichi, “A Man Who Defies the World of BL 2” is a 2022 Japanese romantic comedy drama directed by Koichiro Miki.

Shows

Comments