Manga: BL Fans LOVE My Brother?!

Hello, cuties. I hope you're having a wonderful week. There is a manga I swore I wrote about, but turns out I didn't. Mea culpa, ego stupidus stultus. It's a story that made me smile a lot and remember my cringy years when I got started in the manga-anime community (all of us were at the beginning, face it). I'm talking about BL Fans LOVE My Brother?!, by Mimu Oyamada. Thanks to the publisher for sending me a review copy!

• Print Length: 192 pages.
• Publisher: TOKYOPOP (January 30, 2021).
• Expected Print Publication Date: January 30, 2021.
• Genres: Comedy, Drama, Gay, (Indifrect) Yaoi
• Rating: 4 / 5.

Kirika Amano is just an unassuming college freshman, but her shut-in big brother, Teruo, is about to turn her life upside down... Even though he's barely left their family home in four years, Teruo has a big secret: he's been living a double life online as the boys love artist sensation Amaterasu!

With his popularity online growing more and more, Teruo begs Kirika to pose as Amaterasu in the real world, throwing her right into the deep end of doujinshi conventions, hot and sweaty fan comics, and adoring fans who want to worship Teruo—and now Kirika—as a god!

As Kirika begins to crack under the pressure, she relies on Teruo's knowledge to guide her through this new world of conventions, followers, and her own budding love for her big brother's OTP, just as Teruo needs his little sister to help him come out of his shell and explore the real world. And as each new event pushes them further into the limelight, can they find a way to keep the secret of Amaterasu's identity and also have room to be themselves?

The story is pretty simple, without anything too outlandish. It's more a Slice-of-Life manga than anything else with a high dose of irreverent and ridiculous humor that will keep you smiling. Mimu Oyamada took me out of my comfort zone, but it was so easy to enjoy I would love to read more about Kirika and Teruo. They have a funny, sometimes weird relationship that's hard not to like.

I've read some people complaining that shut-in stories kind of make fun of the topic, as if forgetting that's the point of comedy, even more when we're speaking about dark comedy. BL Fans LOVE My Brother?! has a bit of that, and I just loved how Terou used it to get away with everything. His relationship with Kirika changed a lot because of it, and in the end it became something beautiful.

What I do have to admit is that Terou's development was a bit rushed. He would push himself way too far in no time, and Kirika would lose some protagonism because of it. I know it's because he's supposed to love his sister and be there for her as she's there for him, but Mimu Oyamada made an idealized version of what would actually happen. For the sake of comedy, I know, but it did bother me a bit. 

In general, if you want to re-visit your beginnings as a manga-anime lover, remember the cringe, laugh at these two siblings with a lot of chemistry, BL Fans LOVE My Brother?! is the right choice for you. I think Mimu Oyamada could do a second volume, but we'll need to wait. The ending was more open that I expected, but it works like that.

Have you read this manga? Would you recommend it or not? Let me know in the comments! Kinky regards, K!

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