i guess like junjou romantica, sekaii ichi hatsukoi, seven days, super brothers, hana no mizu shiru, where there was a shift from the so called “yaoi hands” and big proportions that were big in the 90s, but there also was a shift from the darker, more psychological thriller type stories that sort of reflected the social climate during the time. 2000s yaoi largely still reflected that but took some more lighthearted proportions, but also focused a lot on making the main characters as beauty as possible haha. also characteristic is the “cold on the outside but soft on the inside” top and the, usually younger, bot who also usually the ordinary man, i.e this mc, and the mcs from the stories i mentioned. ofc these couple dynamics exist in every era in many stories but this particular one got REALLY popular. i hope this explained what i meant but also idk
This has such a 2000s Yaoi vibes in the best way possible, and it’s passed so well