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So I'm pretty new to BL, but after seeing a few BL Japanese movies out of curiosity, I wanted to see some more because I'm really interested in what kind of stories come out of Japan that involve gay relationships. But I recently learned that when it comes to gay stories in Japan, they often fall under the category of yaoi or bara. If I'm to understand correctly, yaoi is directed more toward women with slender bishounen leads and often portray a seme and uke relationship. Bara on the other hand is kind of the opposite as it's directed toward gay men with manly, muscular male leads. I've heard some criticism about yaoi in that the stories are very melodramatic and fantasy-esque and tries to enforce the seme-uke relationship, which is seen as very unrealistic. In regards to seme-uke, people also criticize how a lot of seme force themselves onto the uke, but ultimately get rewarded as the uke inevitable falls for the seme, which is kinda messed up if you ask me. People also say that many yaoi don't even talk about characters being gay or bi. They just fall for each other and sexuality isn't addressed. I've watched the Takumi-Kun Series and I did kind of see all this in each film. However, people say that bara is the opposite in that the storylines and relationships presented there are much more realistic. I did a quick search for some one-shots, but what I ended up with was nothing but ultra graphic BDSM. To me, that's even worse. I'm sure I missed some better examples, but I got scared away too fast lol. So basically, I'm looking for a specific type of BL story (anime, manga, live action drama, doesn't matter) that's somewhere in the middle of yaoi and bara. I'm looking for: - The two male leads don't have an overwhelming seme-uke relationship. I'd prefer if they were on more of an equal level. - I'm okay with bishounen and I'm also okay if one of the characters had slightly feminine traits, but I'd be really interested if one or both male leads were more masculine. And not ultra masculine with gigantic, rippling muscles or anything like that, just a nice middle ground. - Sex is great, but I'd like to see a relationship that doesn't revolve around it or bloom because of it. I want to see a real, genuine relationship with romance. - Rape fantasies are a complete turn off to me, so none of that. - I don't want sexuality to be ignored. I'd like to see the characters actually identify as gay or bi. Also, it'd be really great if the story actually dealt with real issues of being gay instead of pretending like they live in a fantasy world where it's never questioned or brought up. I'd really appreciate some recommendations. I haven't read too much manga or seen anime, but I have seen a few live action BL stories like Takumi-Kun, Doushitemo Furetakunai, and Hatsu-koi (2007). Hatsu-koi was probably my favorite. It had a lot of what I was looking for. It dealt with issues of being gay in Japan, it had a very real and loving relationship where both partners played equal roles, the actors looked like real everyday people instead of boy band idols (although I'm cool with that), and it even had a glimpse of the more promiscuous side of gay life too. That's the kind of stuff I'd like to see.