This year was truly the year of me really getting into specific BL magazines/labels... Because I noticed I've really enjoyed a few specific ones. Some of these include Taiyoh Tosho's ihr HertZ and iHertZ/iHZ, Takeshobo's qpa, Ichijinsha's gateau, etc...
But Shodensha's on BLUE (which is also produced by Shu Cream) really took the cake for me this year.
on BLUE releases every other month, and has been releasing for 15 years! The first volume was released on December 10, 2010. Some of the first comics in this initial issue included chapters from His Romance of 500 Years by Yamanaka Hiko, Wait for Me at Udagawacho by Hideyoshiko, Shinjuku Lucky Hole by Kumota Haruko, and Kuslar by est em.¹
I tried to calculate the numbers once and there are around 90 on BLUE titles licensed in English Based on number of works individually listed by digital manga sites + licensed print works, only 6 are print licenses!
From Seven Seas:
Seaside Stranger Series by Kii Kanna
At 25:00 in Akasaka by Natsuno Hiroko
Marriage to the Wolf: An Interspecies Union by Inui Hana (Vol 1 releasing July 2026)
From KUMA:
Even If There's No Rainbow to Tomorrow by Kihara Noriko
The Ruthless Commander and his Reincarnated Warhorse by Narita Nomoto and Sakashima
One Room Angel by Harada (Release TBA)
As for digital releases...From MangaPlaza:
What's Wrong with Being Innocent? by Fuyushima Shigure
The Vessel of Transparent Love by hitomi
From Renta!:
His Romance of 500 Years by Yamanaka Hiko
Under The Cherry Blossoms by Nishi Tsurumi
Nini's Forest by SHOOWA
Running Hot and Cold by Nobara Aiko
The majority of the translated on BLUE titles are on Manga Planet/Futekiya, which unfortunately is closing down in March. Most of the titles are available with the Manga Planet Pass, which I think you can only do for a month at this point??? But here's all the on BLUE titles they have.
Here are some recommendations:
While we have a wealth of on BLUE titles available in English, many of these titles are older! iirc the "newest" titles (barring ongoing series) available in English were released in 2022. And ongoing Futekiya titles haven't been updated as well, and the site will be closing. Momo and Manji in particular is a title I and many other readers would love to see finished! However there are some 2022 and earlier titles with no licenses.
Ikigami and Donor: Futari no Ikigami by Yamanaka Hiko (spinoff)
Bokura no Micro na Shuumatsu by Marukido Maki
Tourou no Ori by Psyche Delico
STAYGOLD by Hideyoshico (has an ongoing sequel!)
And for muuuch older on BLUE titles, ones by est em, such as Equus and Kuslar.
As for more recent releases... I'd love to see:
Akunin no Shitsukekata by Dayoo (spinoff to Lonely Playground)
Koi Jigoku de Matsu by Dayoo
Saynonara Dattara Yokatta by Inami En
Boku no Blue Cat by Inami En
Only Talk by Shimura Takako and Ichiho Michi
Tsumasaki to Ajisai by aioiuo
Internet Love! by Urino Kiko
Bitter Playmate by Nishimoto Rou
And of course I'd have to mention Harumoto Kon's 3 on BLUE titles!
Henai Dramatic Monster
Himeno-kun wa Tokimekitai
Koi wo Suru nara Hirefushite
I feel like BL labels always have a nice variety of stories and works, and on BLUE is no exception!! But there really is something about the variety that's drawn me to the magazine?? Sorry I'm not really giving much else to go off of. But if you read a lot of the titles, maybe you'll see what I mean...?????
TL;DR
To BL fans: Check out what we have in English while you can!!
To Shodensha and English manga publishers: O am once again asking for more on BLUE in English. And to save the titles we are losing with Manga Planet's closure... There really are some gems in their catalog!!!
Our graphic novel Onibi will be released next week in Japan!
It’s a dream come true for us. We are so happy!!!
It’s published by Shodensha and looks so beautiful!
We can’t wait to hold it in our hands.
