BL Library - Entertainment Industry

Manga Review | My Darling Has My Favorite by Tsutako Tsurusawa

Title: My Darling Has My Favorite

Masachika and Grim are happily married. Grim has really embraced the spotlight that comes along with marrying prolific actor Masachika, and Masachika is just as big of a fan of Grim as ever. Everything should be peace and tranquility, but Masachika has recently moved to his mother's agency and, in doing so, has gotten himself wrapped up in job after job. Thankfully, Masachika loves his acting work and takes it all in stride, especially since he gets to come home and rest in the arms of his favorite person, Grim, after all the work.

Unfortunately, the time has finally come when two major works that Masachika wants to be part of overlap, and they are quite a distance from each other. This means being away from his safe place and person for an extended period. Grim is very supportive and offers to visit when things get tough, but Masachika is determined to finish the work without worrying Grim. Unfortunately, only two weeks in, Masachika's mental health has steeply declined to the point his work is beginning to suffer.

If he could just get a short break with Grim, he'd be refreshed, but he just can't bring himself to expose this weak and vulnerable side of himself. Will Masachika be able to make it through these shoots without falling apart? Or is he destined to lose both his job and Grim?

Title: DEAR. DOOR

Author(s): Pluto

Artist(s): Pluto

Kyungjoon is struggling. He's doing everything he can to keep it together while out on the beat as a police officer, but the moment he gets back to his empty apartment, he's forced to remember that his girlfriend and fiance have died. He spends evenings mourning her death while recreating moments of their life together and tending to the plants she left behind. Kyungjoon is stuck, with no sign of moving forward, not that he even wants to, to begin with. Thankfully, the rising threat of a cult keeps him busy, but the nights are still lonely.

He's at home alone, as always, when something comes flying in from the balcony, breaking into his apartment. Rather than fearing for his safety, he's more worried about the plants that have been destroyed. He can't focus on this new loss for long, though, as a strange, humanoid, demonic creature appears before him alongside another demon. They're discussing all kinds of things like “doors,” “mana,” and “war,” but none of it makes any sense to Kyungjoon. Then, before he can even begin to wrap his head around this chaotic scenario, Kyungjoon feels immense pain, so strong he feels that he's ripped apart from the inside out.

As it turns out, he has become the door for the king of the western faction of hell, Cain. What does it mean to be a door? He is the way the demon king can go to hell and back to the earthly realm. Cain can open the door with a spell, which is the terrible pain Kyungjoon was subjected to. Or, he can use much more… pleasurable methods. Will Kyungjoon be able to maintain his dignity and sanity amid this civil war in hell, or will he meet the fate of every cultist that has been a door thus far and die?

Title: Hold Me Safe

Author(s): Mocho

Artist(s): Mocho

Han Jaehwa is a prolific mystery and crime novelist. He's so prolific that his work is being adapted into live-action. Unfortunately, while he is a beloved novelist, those who know him in person aren't as big of a fan of him. He's prickly, never mincing words, no matter how harsh they may be. This leads to a lot of gossip, including rumors about him being gay (which he is) and having sex to get what he wants (which he doesn't). Jaehwa couldn't care less about what people have to say about him, just happy to live the way he wants without appeasing anyone.

Life is all good until Jaehwa comes home to find things moved around. Someone has been in his house. Fearing for his safety, Jaehwa hires a bodyguard, Seong Taekyung. As it happens, the bodyguard is exactly Jaehwa's type, and after some heated moments between the two, they shift their professional relationship into an intimate situationship. The two are having fun together, and Jaehwa feels much safer, so everything is set to return to normal.

That is until a fan letter, full of razor blades comes in through the mail. The stalker has clearly not been deterred by Taekyung's presence, and it seems their moves will only get more violent. Can Taekyung catch the stalker before he becomes someone worse? And can Jaehwa keep his relationship with Taekyung casual, or will he inevitably fall in love with his protector and the only person he can trust right now?

Title: Do Black Cats Dream of Wolf Princes?

Author(s): udon nodu

Artist(s): udon nodu

The world is split into canines and felines. Within each group are multiple species, such as wolves and dogs in the canines and tigers and cats in the felines. Aoi is a common housecat, so he's not all that rare or in demand. That's fine with Aoi, though. He's not looking for just any partner. He wants the best. Aoi, since he was a child, has dreamed of meeting his prince charming. While he looked for those partners in storybooks as a child, as an adult, his attention has been drawn to something a little less wholesome: porn. Particularly porn with the prolific porn actor and wolf Yukio. Yukio is his dream prince, and he's determined to meet him, and his first step in doing so is joining the porn industry as an assistant director.

Unfortunately, the world isn't all that kind to felines, seeing them as sexual objects more than people. On the set of a porn shoot, the feline that was supposed to come in cannot make it. Due to scheduling conflicts, the canine actor must also leave, meaning the studio and the staff are all needlessly being paid for. Desperate, the director that day decides to try and force Aoi into the role despite him being adamant that he's not interested. As he's about to be drugged with catnip and potentially raped by the staff, Yukio, the wolf prince, comes in to save the day.

Much more willing, now that he's finally met his prince, Aoi gives over his first time to none other than Yukio, which is a dream come true. After it's all said and done, though, Yukio turns out to be anything but a prince. Instead, he's cold and rude and makes it clear that he isn't interested in the least. Aoi is heartbroken and begins to question if there even is such a thing as a prince charming. But Aoi isn't one to give up so easily. He's determined to find prince charming, whether with the fake wolf prince or someone else.

Title: PAID

Author(s): Fujoking

Artist(s): Fujoking

Heejae is known as the conglomerate prince. He is part of the Jinhwa group, founded and controlled by his family, the Yeon family. His elder brother, Heekyum, is a chairman, and Heejae is a board member. For most people in Heejae's position, this would afford him all manner of luxuries. However, while he does have the title and the money, he isn't nearly as well-off as one would assume he should be as a person of his standing, living in a studio apartment and being left out of most significant decisions regarding the company. But Heejae doesn't care all that much, just happy to live his life the way he wants… as much as he can under his brother's thumb, that is.

Unfortunately, Heejae isn't the brightest bulb in the box, and when his closest friend and secretary, Haeju, mentions a chance to get back at Heekyum by embezzling one million won, Heejae is more than happy to go along with it. Unfortunately, they don't consider the bag with their contract and ledger, all with the evidence of their embezzlement inside accidentally getting swapped with someone else's on public transportation. Thankfully, the bag was taken by a regular guy, Taekyung, who would probably have no idea what he had.

Paranoid and desperate to keep himself safe, Heejae decides to tail Taekyung, but when he is inevitably caught, his only excuse is that he is attracted to Taekyung. Thankfully, Taekyung is happy to go along with Heejae's whims, and to keep Taekyung close, Heejae asks him to move in with him. With Taekyung agreeing, Heejae assumes everything is in his control. Unfortunately, he doesn't anticipate Taekyung wanting to consummate their new relationship, and if Heejae wants to stay under the radar, he will have to go along with everything. Everything.

Title: Having My Favorite in the Middle of the Night

Author(s): Tsutako Tsurusawa

Artist(s): Tsutako Tsurusawa

Grim is a radio host. He spends his evenings reading letters over the airwaves, answering questions, and sharing stories of his own life. He's perfectly content with the easy-going lifestyle he's cultivated for himself. However, his simple life gets a little bit more hectic after being invited to a party with all manner of entertainers, including models, actors, and the like. Grim is already looking for his escape when he meets renowned star Masachika.

As it turns out, Masachika is a massive fan of Grim's radio show. Anyone would be happy to hear that, including Grim, but Masachika seems to be more interested in Grim than his radio show. While Grim is flattered, he's not interested in anything with a young man like Masachika. He's all too happy to escape back to his quiet life, but Masachika is much more tenacious than Grim gave him credit for. Can Grim keep his distance, or will Masachika lure him into an inescapable trap?

Title: A Stomachful of Secret Delights

Author(s): Tsutako Tsurusawa

Artist(s): Tsutako Tsurusawa

This is the sequel to Saving My Favorite For Last.

Melo suffers from intense anxiety. His anxiety is so strong that he suffers from chronic hematuria, which puts his health on a major decline. The reason for his anxiety? It could be anything, but the main culprit is his lover, Noris. They'd been together for as long as Melo could remember, having been childhood friends since their families were close. From the moment Melo saw Noris eat his food with a smile on his face, Melo made it his mission to marry Noris.

So far, so good, until Melo catches Noris smiling at his new coworker. Melo has never had competition before, having thoroughly monopolized all of Noris's affection for himself. Melo's anxiety has reached a fever pitch with a few new suitors hanging around. Not even his meds can stave away the stress anymore, and with the increased pressure, so follows the steep decline of his health. Will Melo be able to keep his one love to himself, or will he die before he even gets the chance?

Title: Saving My Favorite For Last

Author(s): Tsutako Tsurusawa

Artist(s): Tsutako Tsurusawa

Humanity has evolved from cats. To expand their population, they have also developed the ability for all sexes to give birth, if they so choose, and can lure in potential mates with pheromones. Kazui is an expert in using his pheromones, as he spends every evening going out and trying to find someone to inseminate him. Why? Because he desperately wants children of his own that he can raise and love. He was abandoned as a child, and he has always longed for a genetic connection with someone.

No matter how many partners he tries with, his body won't get pregnant. Undeterred, he continues working extremely hard to scrape and save every dime he can to care for his future children. When the contracts for his jobs start to run out, he is offered a position as a manager for a model, which pays way better than many of his jobs combined. He jumps at the chance. On his first day, he meets some of the hottest purebred cats out there, and the particular model he is assigned to is the top Maine Coon model, Noah.

Kazui would love it if a purebred like Noah would help him get pregnant, as purebreds are guaranteed to inseminate their partners, but there's no way someone as sought after as Noah would go for a plain mixed breed like him… right?

Title: Gold Gray

Author(s): Lee Green

Artist(s): Lee Green

Lee Rain has dreams of becoming an actor. He can sing, dance, and act, but having grown up poor and under mysterious circumstances, he's had to claw his way up to achieve the bare minimum, much less his dreams of stardom. Along with the daily struggle of surviving, Rain has an odd ability to smell what he calls “perverts.” They smell so good; unfortunately, they are drawn to Rain like flies. Frustrated, Rain has finally saved up enough for a hail Mary. He plans to drop everything and travel to the United States, hoping to make it onto Broadway or die trying.

On the other side, there is Won Lukas. He's a perfect alpha, bred and raised from the finest stock to take over Roenjoy industries one day. Unfortunately, following his father's death, Lukas learns of a disgusting stipulation left in his father's will for the company. The next president will be the child that can produce an alpha heir. The only way to create a perfect alpha is by an alpha having a baby with an omega, but due to a pandemic that swept through the world, omegas went extinct.

But Roenjoy has a seedy underbelly. Hidden from the public eye, they have managed to create artificial omegas, which they raise from fetuses to adulthood, and upon giving birth, they die within a week to prevent the secret from getting out. Lukas is prepared to artificially inseminate an omega to take his role as company president. Unfortunately, the building where all of the omega research took place is destroyed by none other than Joshua, a subpar alpha and Lukas' half-brother. With his brother vying for his position, Lukas is desperate to find an omega and make an alpha heir, but with all of the known omegas gone, there is little to no hope until Lukas meets Rain.

Title: Love Stage!!

Author(s): Eiki Eiki

Artist(s): Taishi Zaou

Izumi doesn't fit in with his family. His mother was a model and is now a famous actress; his father was a stage actor and founded the SenaPro talent agency, and his older brother is the frontman for a famous band. It would be an understatement to say he has talent running through his veins. However, no matter how much innate talent he may have in the entertainment industry, Izumi has no interest in pursuing a career in that field. Instead, Izumi has dreams of becoming a mangaka, just like the creator of his favorite series, Lala Lulu. There's just one problem: he's terrible and has no idea.

That's the least of his worries, though, as he is now faced with a new issue. His mother wants nothing more than to act alongside one of the hottest actors of the time: Ryoma Ichijo. Fortunately, the opportunity arose as she asked to reprise her role in a wedding commercial she, Izumi's father, and Ryoma starred in a decade ago. Unfortunately for Izumi, he'll only take the role if the original cast returns. He hopes that he'll get to meet the little girl he worked alongside in the commercial, as he's been in love with her since they met all those years ago. Unbeknownst to Ryoma, that little girl was none other than a cross-dressing Izumi.

After some convincing and bribery with Lala Lulu merch, Izumi agrees to take the job. How will he handle Ryoma's advances? More importantly, though, how will Ryoma handle finding out the woman he's held a torch for all these years is actually a man?

Entertainment Industry

Manga Review | My Darling Has My Favorite by Tsutako Tsurusawa

Manhwa Review | Hold Me Safe by Mocho

Manga Review | Do Black Cats Dream of Wolf Princes? by udon nodu

Manhwa Review | PAID by Fujoking

Manga Review | Having My Favorite in the Middle of the Night by Tsutako Tsurusawa

Manga Review | A Stomachful of Secret Delights by Tsutako Tsurusawa

Manga Review | Love Stage!! by Eiki Eiki

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