It's just another day for office worker Momo Akado. She's hitting the bookstore on payday to pick up some boys' love manga when she notices a guy shopping in the BL section! But her excitement over spotting a BL fanboy in the wild fizzles out abruptly when she discovers he's none other than her old high school boyfriend, Suzuya Katakura, who sure wasn't into the stuff back then!

While Momo feels guilty that a past slipup might have inadvertently triggered Suzuya's BL fanboy journey, they gradually push past the awkwardness and find themselves bonding in ways they never did before. Could the two of them rediscover the same love that's in the pages of their beloved BL manga?

My Ex-Boyfriend Loves Boys' Love! has a story and art by MUGIIMO. English translation is done by Sawa Matsueda Savage and lettering by Dietrich Premier. Published by Square Enix (September 15, 2026). Rated T.

Rebecca Silverman
Rating:

Is there anything more embarrassing than accidentally leaving a volume of BL manga in your high school boyfriend's room, ghosting him, and then meeting him in the BL aisle of a manga store? And realizing that he's into BL because you left that volume and were too embarrassed to ever see him again? That's pretty bad…and it's Momo's uncomfortable reality. It's doubly embarrassing because now she's a doujin creator along with her fanfic writing friend Yukine, and she in no way wants Katakura to know, even though he's a fan of her work as Impasse. It's a perfect romcom storm.

It's also a lot more “com” than “rom,” which works well. Katakura and Momo may have dated back in the day, but that seems to have been, at least on her part, more a social pressure thing than anything else. Katakura, as the book goes on, probably does have some interest in her, but at this point he's just thrilled to, at the age of twenty-four, finally have some fujoshi friends he can geek out with. He's also very aware of being a male in what he perceives as a traditionally female fan space, and while Momo is delighted to have an excuse to keep him away from Comiket and learning her secret, it's also hard not to feel a little badly for him. He so desperately wants to belong to this group that he's afraid of making any wrong moves, which is probably also why he's keeping things friendly with Momo.

Where this book succeeds the most, though, is in its humor. One of my favorite jokes is when Yukine takes herself to Italy and meets Silvio, a gorgeous young Italian man who is a superfan of Puella Magi Madoka Magica. Once Yukine gets over her shock that he's into that and not One Piece (or “that pirate manga” as she calls it; my mother refers to it as “the one with the guy with the arms”), she's stunned that he's so…touchy feely with her. And that, when he shows up in Japan to study abroad, he throws himself delightedly into her friend group. Silvio is a pretty basic foreign otaku stereotype, but he's so good-natured and puppyish that he's the furthest thing from more jaded depictions of the trope. And the moment when Yukine, Momo, and Katakura all think, “Oh yeah, he's such a PMMM otaku” is pure gold.

While this isn't strictly a four-panel manga, it does have an awful lot of pages that are set up that way. I'd still hesitate to classify it as such because of the story flow – it's not choppy like a lot of four-panel series I've read. The art's quite good and reminds me a bit of Eiichiro Oda for reasons I can't quite put my finger on, and the translation works very well – and as a bonus, the Italian is correct. It's a fun, lighthearted read.

Jean-Karlo Lemus
Rating:

My Ex-Boyfriend Loves Boys' Love! is a very light, breezy read—but man, it'll sink its claws into you. The hook for the series is wildly effective; protagonists Momo and Suzuya dated in high school, until Momo pushed Suzuya away purely out of embarrassment after having left a boys' love book at his house. Even without the fujoshi angle, this is a great hook for a romance; there's clearly way more chemistry between the two than they'll ever admit. Suzuya pining for Momo (and their mutual friend Yukine) while Momo is busy working on Comiket doujinshi behind his back is quite adorable, especially as he realizes just how much he doesn't know about this friend that has walked back into his life. While their relationship is developing quite slowly, Suzuya and Momo's interactions are adorable, especially with the angle of Suzuya being completely unaware that Momo is, in fact, his favorite doujin-ka.

It can be really challenging to make one of these inside-baseball manga work, considering how insular otaku culture is—especially given the many differences between how otaku culture works in Japan versus America. But the passion here speaks truly; never mind the sparse references dropped in through the dialogue, some of the best moments are seeing the characters pour out all their love for specific characters or shipping. It almost doesn't matter that they never even name the anime these characters are all obsessed over—this is just how this kind of thing works for folks. Moreover, it's nice to see more representation for anime fans that aren't teenagers. (Us old folks make your fanfics, kiddos!)

Another fascinating wrinkle is the subplot involving the Italian otaku Silvio and his passion for Madoka Magica. I'm not sure how aware Mugiimo is of the manga scene in Europe, but if they had to choose a place that would definitely have a passionate manga scene, Italy is a great choice (Silvio even notes that he got into manga through his mother). Yukine's teased romance with Silvio is about as entertaining as Momo and Suzuya, but I'm glad it's underplayed. (Also, there's a five-year age gap between Yukine and Silvio, which feels a bit weird.)

Mugiimo's art is flowery and fun, with Yukine and Momo making phenomenally funny faces at the drop of a hat. And everyone's got really nice outfits, too—even The Stylish can be hardcore fujos. While My Ex-Boyfriend Loves Boys' Love! is setting itself up for the long haul, it's got a stellar first volume. I love it to bits; its reflection of adult passion for manga rings true, and our leading lovers are the best pair of idiots who absolutely deserve each other. Strongly recommended.

Bolts
Rating:

There's something very cute about watching full-grown adults get completely absorbed in their hyper-fixated hobby. I say this as somebody who has also had long, painful, and even cringe conversations about my over-the-top love for all things anime. Reading this felt like I was watching a play-by-play of what my own life has been like as I got more immersed in anime fandom. While the overall premise is a little bit contrived, I was surprised at just how invested I got in all of these otaku-driven conversations between office workers.

There's a real bite and snappiness to the dialogue here, and I think that comes down to the fact that almost all the characters in the main cast have some sense of cynicism to them. All of them know how deeply entrenched they are in boys' love, and they're willing to go to great lengths in order to express that love while also maintaining a difficult job. The story never gets to the point where it feels unrealistic, even if some of the reactions and faces are drawn in a cartoony way. While there is definitely a romance element to the story, it's not the priority, as the main hook of this series is just watching adult otaku interact with each other, which I appreciate.

The story is structured in a “days of their lives” style of format. While there are some mysteries and lingering plot points, like how some of the characters might be hesitant to reveal certain aspects about themselves until later, there's not a strong sense of narrative progression. Even when things are being kept secret, it still feeds into that idea of self-deprecating otaku humor, like finding the one thing that is too embarrassing to admit even though it would not be surprising with everything else that had been discussed. I think this is a story that most anime fans should be able to relate to, even if you're not strongly into boys' love, because the conversations are so interchangeable with other facets of this fandom. I got a good, relatable laugh out of it, and I think a lot of people will too, especially if you were a young adult who has had similar conversations in the past.