BL Anime: Haru wo Daiteita Embracing Love

Title: Haru wo Daiteita Embracing Love 春をだいていた
Release Date: 2004

Quick Summary

Based on the long-running BL manga series by Nitta Youka 新田佑克.

Released in 2005 in DVD format, the anime is about Iwaki Kyousuke (Morikawa Toshiyuki) an adult video actor who is trying to break away from his AV past before his star wanes. When an opportunity to cross over to mainstream showbiz arrives, he takes the plunge and auditions for a film to be directed by a famous novelist, Sawa Nagisa (Inoue Kazuhiko) . He meets a younger and bolder rival in the form of another AV actor, Katou Youji (Miki Shinichirou). Although Iwaki wins the the role in the first audition, the rivals are subsequently paired up as lovers in another production. As the two have more interactions with each other, Katou finds himself falling for Iwaki both on and off screen. Although they have a few physical encounters, Iwaki holds Katou back due to his pride and his lack of confidence in the relationship… Will Katou’s persistence bear fruit?

In the second part of the story, Katou starts work with acclaimed actor Kikuchi Katsuya (Narita Ken) on a new production. Disgraced and forced to leave Japan due to a scandal about his homosexuality a few years ago, Kikuchi returns with a grudge and a hidden agenda. What scheme does he have in store for Katou and Iwaki?

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BL Anime: Ai no Kusabi 間の楔 (Shiozawa Kaneto x Seki Toshihiko)

You can’t call yourself a BL fan if you’ve not watched this anime cult classic, Ai no Kusabi 間の楔 based on a novel by Rieko Yoshihara 吉原理恵子.

Hmm sounds a bit harsh since I’ve not read the original novels yet ^^” Anyway…

Ai no Kusabi is one of the -MUST WATCH- Yaoi/BL animes in my opinion. Contrary to so many readily available BL resources on the internet nowadays, anything BL outside of Japan was extremely rare years ago in the 80s~90s. During those “desperate” times, there were only a few low quality short video and sound clips online to satiate the most deprived overseas BL fan. The sheer difficulty of obtaining a copy or even watching the full video was unimaginable now. Also, Ai no Kusabi introduced me to the intriguing world of S/M and Master/Slave BL relationships when I was still an innocent… where my exposure was only to Shounen-ai influences in Shoujo mangas LOL~ Thus, Ai no Kusabi holds a special place in my heart along with other classics such as the first Yaoi manga I read, Zetsuai 絶愛 1989 by Ozaki Minami 尾崎南 (well, that’s for another post ^^).

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