Mf are trying to gatekeep to keep a statue like we all didn’t get recommended this when this manga won a award or heard about it from others
It isn’t bl, it’s a queer horror story, one of the protagonists is literally queer, SPOILERS AHEAD if you go in thinking this is is bl then you will be disappointed, expectations should be tempered so ppl aren’t disappointed, there was a big ass debate when it came out that there will be no romance between ‘Hikaru’ and Yoshiki and ppl were crying homophobia and censorship but the thing is just because there isn’t any romance between Yoshiki and ‘Hikaru’ doesn’t take away the queerness of the story. It’s still about Yoshiki grappling with his sexuality and coping with his grief over losing his best friend who he truly loved romantically and doing all of this in a homophobic society. Feeling like a monster for who he loves and finding solace in having a companion who is truly a monster because that’s the only place he feels safe with and can truly be himself. Of course that monster is also the spectre of his best friend whom he loved. It’s tragic and well written, the characters are fleshed out well, the themes are given due respect, it’s truly nuanced and complex. That’s all people are trying to say.
Wtf do you even mean by “queer”? This was originally written as a typical BL (that is, gay male romance); that clearly changed as it gained mainstream appeal. It seems like you are using a deliberately ambiguous, trendy “identity” label, which the majority of gay men/boys to whom outsiders like you apply it consider a slur, in order to muddy the waters.
I identify as queer. It isn’t a trendy label and it wasn’t originally written as a bl. It was a bl one shot but the main story isn’t bl and it never was. It was never labelled that way. Yoshiki is at least gay and the whole story is about him dealing with grief, loss, and coming to terms with his sexuality in a homophobic society, and that’s why I call it a queer supernatural horror story. If you think that mangago website labels are real and have any bearing on actual publishing companies then you are delusional. No, the narrative that it was no longer a bl because of public and mainstream backlash is not true, bl is mainstream and huge and there are already anime and live action adaptations. There have been for sometime. The bl industry is doing fine, it isn’t niche. The bl part of the story died with Hikaru because having a long form story where Yoshiki uses ‘Hikaru’ as a replacement and then falls in love with ‘Hikaru’ itself is seriously such a predictable story that’s been done and ‘Hikaru’ would no longer be an eldricht horror that exists for literally no reason. It also just has so much unnecessary angst. It’s been done before. ‘Hikaru’ being an entity that is beyond this realm and completely not relatable is refreshing. And that whole using someone for yourself and then falling in love with them and then the reader never really knowing if they got over their previous love because this is literally a look alike is sooooooo done.
the "ogs" that are trying to gatekeep this is honestly confusing me sm. i saw a tiktok the other day where people said "the new fans are gonna perceive the storage room scene as sexual and dumb it down to a bl" like what? was it not mokumokuren themself that said the scene was supposed to be interpreted differently depending on the reader? was it not mokumokuren themself that said that there ARE queer undertones? the anime hasn't even come out, and some of you guys are already trying to scare newcomers away, its ridiculous, just let everyone enjoy this beautiful story! cant wait for the adaptation !!