I was leery of this book, admittedly because I was judging it by its title. Luckily it turned out to be a cute, funny story of a college-age woman and her older brother bonding over his love of BL. Kirika starts out begrudgingly helping her agoraphobic older brother Teruo (and he clearly is a shut-in because of agoraphobia; that's shown quite well) sell his BL doujinshi at events, and over the course of the book she stops finding what he draws weird and gets into it herself.

I did love all the other things though! I love Kirika and how much she cared for her brother. I loved seeing Kirika get immersed or at least try to make sense of all the BL stuff and how conventions work. I was delighted to see that she got to the dark side, um cough the good side. Welcome girl, welcome to BL land! Teehee. I love her reactions to her first Shounen-ai/Yaoi, ah, yes, I remember having the same reaction when I first started with it. I had a laugh when she got deeper and deeper into BL and even was able to discuss/argue with her brother. Oh yes! I did feel sorry for her that she had no time to adjust, her brother just asked her to do all the porny stuff, her expressions and things she said reminded me of Genshiken. Hope that makes sense, in my head it does. Haha. I loved seeing all the events, all the things involving BL, and man I wish I could have gone to all those events as well. I love BL, and I wouldn’t mind some doujin or other things to enjoy. I love the BL scenes that seemed to just happen to the brother. For reals, he has a very BL worthy swoony moment with a buff/old mail man. Later on he also has one with one of the people working at the cafe. I just had such a laugh about that. I liked the 4komas (especially the one from chapter 6, yes, you can like the same pair… but who is top or bottom is a whole different sect). The art was also fantastic and I really enjoyed the expressions on the faces of the characters, I love the BL scenes (with all the glitter that you always get in manga during those scenes). The ending was just terrific and I am so so rooting for Kirika!

The art is alright (I've seen better and I've seen way worse). I love oneshot manga volumes, but for some reason my patrons just don't check them out as much as longer series. If you can get your patrons to check this out, they're likely to love it, but you might have a hard time getting them to pick it up.

as soon as I read this synopsis I was NEED TO READ THIS NOW

and I started reading and I was enjoying the first 2 chapters that were really fun and cute


the 2 best points in the story are Teruo's relationship with Kirika, and Teruo's evolution for him to feel comfortable in public.

the sad part is that at the same time that these 2 points evolve, the rest seems to be frozen passing through a loop of repeated scenes 🤡

the siblings' relationship is VERY cute
even though it was developed very quickly, I had A LOT of fun watching them and felt heartwarming every time they helped each other


Teruo's evolution is very interesting and I felt comfortable or uncomfortable with him.

I liked that and I cared too much for him


unfortunately, as the story goes on it gets VERY repetitive and I felt like I had reread the same chapter 500 times

it was always the same cycle repeating itself and I was 🥵 WHERE'S SOMETHING NEW HERE

the basis of the story is VERY cool and could be developed to be perfect, but it didn’t happen.

the manga has a lot of funny scenes and I identified with the characters LMAO


the line is very beautiful and at some moments it got more detailed I got 😲🥺🥵😳 with Teruo who is GORGEOUS PERFECT I fell in love with him


a very good idea, but it was not well developed 🤡

recommended especially for those who like to read stories with relationships pictures between siblings

This is a sweet story about sibling love and understanding with a very original twist.
The shut-in older brother who secretly creates fantastic BL doujinshi and the little sister that gets pulled into the world to help him out is a great twist that I've honestly never run into before. With the number of years that I've been reading manga, I consider that part a win from the get-go.
Not only is it sweet, but it's also very funny. The puns and visual gags are everywhere. It's a rapid-fire delivery of jokes, puns, gags, and insider jokes that had this long-time manga reader laughing almost from page one.
This is also the reason why I couldn't give this a five-star rating. There are so many jokes and situations that kind of depend heavily on a person's knowledge of the otaku culture and its trappings. I'm not sure a casual reader could enjoy it as fully and kept thinking that while I was reading.
The art is nice. Nothing particularly original or inspired, but it fits the story to a T and works perfectly to set the tone of the story.
Overall, I'm happy I gave this one a chance and am thankful to Tokyopop for bringing over such an unconventional title.

Happy thanks to NetGalley and Tokyopop for the early read!

This is definitely a unique premise, I haven't seen any story like this around. Overall, this is just a funny, little manga, that works great for a quick read in between, but won't really stick with you in the end. Still fun though.

I won't lie. The brother, Teruo, is very relatable to someone who has been in quite a few fandoms that've gotten me to buy every bit of merch imaginable.

However, that fact aside, this manga took a few chapters before I could really invest in it. And while I enjoyed some aspects of the humor I have to deduct a star for the sheer lack of direction or derisiveness the plot seemed to take in getting from A to Z as it seemed to want to focus on both Kirika and Teruo's character growths without solid building blocks.

Fortunately, Oyamada does manage to end on a note that achieves that development. However, certain aspects felt stretched out and tiresome. The pages often being text heavy with the amount of dialogue squeezed in via outwardly, inwardly, and side explanations.

A little more than halfway in is when things start to clear up and the endearment I hold for this story finally began to flourish. As a reader, I could better appreciate the character's quirks as Teruo, especially, started breaking out of his introverted shell and Kirika developed an interest in BL. Meanwhile, the ending had managed to finish off in a way that gave it a sweet and well rounded aspect.

Overall I'd say it's an average read, but I do enjoy the tongue to cheek jokes of obsessive fans and their ships.

BL Fans LOVE My Brother?! is a refreshing oneshot shoujo manga. The plot doesn't work for a longer series, but for a single book it holds together. Kirika is a college freshman, whose hot big brother Teruo is a shut-in. Teruo is obsessed with boys' love and draws a fan comic about his favorite couple. He uses the name "Amaterasu" and eventually makes Kirika to play his alter ego in order to sell the fan comics at a convention. Along the way Kirika kind of gets into the whole thing and at the same time Teruo gets more courage too. This is a comedy and not serious at all. The fans are made to be super geeks and Kirika watches the whole thing from the outside and wonders about the whole weirdness of it. In a sense this is quite cliched and repeats itself, but still it's nice and cute even.

The art is OK. At times the panels are very stuffed and there's too much text. It takes time to read this, even though there's not so much content. A little lightness would've made this easier to approach. Also, I would've liked to know why Teruo became a shut-in. But, an OK manga altogether.

Thank you to Netgalley and Tokyopop for this ARC in exchange for my honest review. I just reviewed BL Fans LOVE My Brother?! by Mimu Oyamada. #BLFansLOVEMyBrother #NetGalley

I really liked this story but it is not what you would think it is. It's a fun and light-hearted manga about a girl who is learning more about the world her brother has become a shut-in for. The two siblings share a fair amount of differences because of their separate personalities. The main girl slowly becomes more accepting of manga and the otaku lifestyle as she helps her brother out in making his BL. I did think some of the tasks that she was asked to do were a little odd to ask of someone who had no prior experiences with this job, but watching it play out and seeing her reactions was fun.

I definitely felt like this book was way less of a BL than it led me to believe. On that basis, I was somewhat disappointed but once I got the gist of the actual premise, I enjoyed this manga and was glad I tried it.

Huge thanks to Netgalley and Tokyopop for this ARC in exchange for an honest review!

I love this story so much! It's a fun and light-hearted manga about a girl who becomes closer to her brother as she learns more about the world he lives in. The two siblings are so sweet to each other. I don't want to say too much, because spoilers, but I just cannot get enough of Kirika and her brother!

It was a fun read. I don't think I have read a manga that has a similar storyline, so it was a new experience for me. Overall, I really enjoyed it.

I loved this manga so much. I never thought I could relate to something more. There is so much expression and personality in this manga. I love all the otaku lingo and thought that reading this manga was like finding a friend who is just as obsessed with otaku culture and OTP's as you are. I feel like this manga is a taaaad bit on the extreme side but it was still a great read! There were so many parts in the book where I would literally laugh out loud. I also really liked how supportive Amano was of his sister venturing into the doujinshi world. This story is just so cute and pure (despite what Amano draws). One thing that could require a content warning would be that the way Amano talks about himself sometimes can be very self deprecating and harmful, but I guess it fits with the whole tortured artist trope? Overall it's a really great story though! I really enjoyed it!

Thank you to NetGalley, Tokyopop, and Mimu Oyamada for the opportunity to read this book in exchange for an honest review.

To be clear, I would not consider this book actual BL, but rather a humorous parody of artists and fans of the genre.

When Kirika finds out her older brother, Teruo, is the author of a popular online BL doujin, her life gets a bit turned around. She ends up helping him complete his manuscripts, makes public appearances using his mangaka name, and goes to conventions on his behalf. Each chapter has its own dilemma or scenario revolving around Teruo's artwork and getting his sister wrapped up in some way.

This is a one-off volume with no true overarching story plot. It has quite a few aspects of humor to it as it makes a bit of fun of BL and doujin mangaka as well as fans and their obsessions. It wasn't bad, though probably not something I would buy for myself. There are a select few that I would recommend this to, but it really has a very specific audience for it.

Review to come March 11 to Blog/Goodreads.

I received this manga from Netgalley/the publisher in exchange of an honest review.

I am so delighted to see manga appear on Netgalley and that I am able to request it! I am happy that I was approved for this one. I love BL, and this title just spoke to me. I needed to know all about this brother. What kind of stuff does he draw? How will his sister get sucked into the BL world? And more! I also loved the cover, the art looked really good.

I am thinking that I should just stop reading manga with shut-ins. Really. No matter which one I have read over the years I have watched anime and read manga... I haven't found one I liked. Generally I just get annoyed with them as they make other people do their shit for them. In this one the brother is using his sister's name to buy things because he likes BL (man up), he uses her hands because he has big manly hands (WTF?), he just forces, or well bribes her with food so she helps him because he is just too lazy to get a better time schedule or like an assistant (just no). He should just be honest with his fans, one day it will get out that he is the creator... I get that shut-ins generally have mental health problems and don't dare to go outside, and at times I could understand the brother, but other times I just wanted to shove him out of the door and get the fucking help he needs. Someone to talk to, someone who helps him. He has been inside for 4 years. Why is no one looking for help? Though I did think it was a bit weird that he went from being afraid to leaving his room to partially going to comiket to going to a cafe in such short time. Plus, I just didn't feel OK with reading how he kept putting himself down. For no fucking reason he just kept saying he was a maggot that he was worthless and so on. Later on I did get to like him a bit more as he did more of an effort, but it was very hard to read the first couple of chapters.

I did think it was weird that he called his sister Madam Kirika at times....

I did love all the other things though! I love Kirika and how much she cared for her brother. I loved seeing Kirika get immersed or at least try to make sense of all the BL stuff and how conventions work. I was delighted to see that she got to the dark side, um *cough* the good side. Welcome girl, welcome to BL land! Teehee. I love her reactions to her first Shounen-ai/Yaoi, ah, yes, I remember having the same reaction when I first started with it. I had a laugh when she got deeper and deeper into BL and even was able to discuss/argue with her brother. Oh yes! I did feel sorry for her that she had no time to adjust, her brother just asked her to do all the porny stuff, her expressions and things she said reminded me of Genshiken. Hope that makes sense, in my head it does. Haha. I loved seeing all the events, all the things involving BL, and man I wish I could have gone to all those events as well. I love BL, and I wouldn't mind some doujin or other things to enjoy. I love the BL scenes that seemed to just happen to the brother. For reals, he has a very BL worthy swoony moment with a buff/old mail man. Later on he also has one with one of the people working at the cafe. I just had such a laugh about that. I liked the 4komas (especially the one from chapter 6, yes, you can like the same pair... but who is top or bottom is a whole different sect). The art was also fantastic and I really enjoyed the expressions on the faces of the characters, I love the BL scenes (with all the glitter that you always get in manga during those scenes). The ending was just terrific and I am so so rooting for Kirika!

All in all, despite the brother and me not liking him that much... I really enjoyed this manga and I am delighted I got the chance to try it out. I am kind of hoping there is more coming out and that this isn't the only volume. I want to see how Kirika gets better, and there are other things I would like to see.

Not at all what I expected. I mean, it’s my fault, I didn’t read the blurb until the end. However, even now, having read it and the book, I am not sure I would recommend it. Indeed, the story is quite linear let’s say. I didn’t develop a liking for the characters, just the side character that arrives at the end; I wish we had seen more of him. It is a story about personal growth and I guess I saw that but at the same time, it didn’t strike me. I didn’t invest myself at all in this manga. I don’t know, I just didn’t like the story. The drawings are quite nice though.

2/5

A bit (a lot, actually) surreal in various aspects (like, not leaving the room for 4 years, really?) and I'm not a big fun of the trope "if you are an otaku you are a shut-in with problems and no life". However, I must say I liked the character development. Indeed, even if the premise -and the delivery- of this manga might seem silly, it actually had an interesting development of the two main characters. While the brother learned how to be "normal", the sister got closer to the BL world. They learned from each other and I found it really well done.

When I frirst asked to review a BL manga I knew what i was going into as I have read alot of BL manga before. However I was rather disappointed. I would not personally call this BL manga as it is only briefly touched upon by one of the main characters being a mangaka for the genre. This disappointed me. I believed that from the title and main cover that the main character (the mangaka) would be falling in love with HIS brother. But as i read the manga I felt like it was more likely that the main female character would fall in love with her brother which isnt BL.
However I did enjoy the idea of the manga and the illustrations tied in well with the style.

I really loved the premise of BL Fans LOVE My Brother?! and I enjoyed the sibling relationship between the two main characters. It was certainly funny in its way, but I was put off a little by some of the derogatory terminology surrounding the BL fans and creators. I believe it was only in jest and for the comedy aspects, but it still rubbed me up the wrong way now and then. Had that been toned down, I probably would have enjoyed this work a little more. Still, it was an entertaining and quick read, and I liked the illustration style, so this is a solid 3-star read for me.

I had so much fun reading this!!! Kirika and Teruo are absolutely adorable, and their sibling relationship, helping and supporting each other, with Kirika slowly learning about the BL universe (?) while Teruo improves from his shut-in state... I love them...

Kirika Amano’s 20 year old brother, Teruo Amano, hasn’t left their house in 4 years, and the manga starts when she finds out he’s been stuck in his room all this time drawing BL doujinshi for his favorite anime series. Teruo asks Kirika for some help, baiting her with some meat, and we see their relationship and their love for Muscle Academy and BL themes come up in every chapter after that. It’s a bit episodic, with unrelated events happening in each chapter, but in the end they’re all kinda connected and show the character development both siblings went through.

Teruo himself is very relatable, at least to me, because I know how it’s like to be so passionate about a show like that... and honestly, “muscles are what make my fave characters my faves” could be my bio on social media lmao.

So yes, it doesn’t really have much conflict or drama, it’s all humour, I laughed quite a few times, but in the end I was just really happy for both characters for enjoying themselves and each other’s company. The art also helped a lot; it’s very pretty but also becomes really silly in the perfect moments, matching the comedy that guides the story.

In complete honesty, what kept me reading was the side characters; while none are seen through the manga's entirety, they honestly made me smile.
Overall the main characters felt very lackluster; while there is definitely a story of growth being shown, at no point was I truly invested in it. Even once we began to see the support going both ways. Creating a more healthy relationship between the siblings.
The only point I found myself actually becoming excited was towards the end when a side character reappears and provides support to Kirika.