BL Fans LOVE My Brother?!

by Mimu Oyamada

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 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?


 

Genres: Manga, Comedy, Humor, LGBT, Contemporary, Comics, Graphic Novels

192 pages, Paperback

Published March 23, 2021

About the author

おやまだみむ

Reviews

[Lois Bujold · Rating 3 out of 5]

About what you'd expect from the overexcited title. Girl discovers her shut-in (but drawn pretty) brother has actually been drawing amateur boy's love fanfic manga, to some online success. She's sucked in to more support than just bringing him meals on a tray (! and what kind of entitling enabling is that?) eventually even getting him out of the house, if only to a comic con. Satirical but informed view of fandom culture and denizens. It appears to be complete in just one volume, which is about what the joke can support, but that also doesn't give development time to go beyond its basic standard tropes, which are growing rather shopworn by now. It did give me a few laughs, which guilt-tripped me into upping the rating by a star, along with the nice discovered-friend bit with the kindly cosplayer. If you enjoy this sort of self-referential slice-of-fannish-life comedy it might be worth a whirl.

Ta, L.

[Julie · Rating 2 out of 5]

I kind of dragged through this. There's something about fandom terms in literature that make me cringe a little. It's like there are definitely people who speak like this, but it seems so forced when it's in a book I guess?

There were parts about this that made me laugh, but it seemed a little too much at times. This was okay, not as good as I was expecting it to be.

[Mehsi · Rating 4 out of 5]

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.

Review first posted at https://twirlingbookprincess.com/

[Rebecca · Rating 3 out of 5]

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. It's less about BL and more about siblings becoming friends and learning that you shouldn't do what I initially did with this manga - judge things by their outward appearances.

[Alice4170 🌙 · Rating 4 out of 5]

4/5 ⭐️

[Carmen · Rating 4 out of 5]

Kirika is just your average college freshman until she accidentally gets introduced into the world of fandom and fanart. Her older brother, Teruo, is a hut-in who hasn’t left their home for the last four years. If anything, he barely leaves his room. It turns out he’s Amaterasu, a popular boy’s love artist, and he needs help finishing up some panels of his fan comic before the deadline hits. Not only that, but he also needs Kirika to pose as the real-life Amaterasu at conventions. What is Kirika to do?

I picked this up expecting a fun book diving into the fandom world, and that’s exactly what I got. With the help of a little bribery in the form of top-quality meat for Kirika to cook with, these two siblings enter the convention world together. Poor Kirika had no idea about what fandom or fanart was before Teruo needed help, and now she’s found herself posing as a very popular artist for a fandom she’s not familiar with. Along the way, we see the two of them help each other out and watch Kirika discover a whole new world while Teruo slowly finds he’s able to leave home in small increments.

While the shenanigans that occur is exaggerated for fun, I had a good time reading this. It was interesting to see the character development for Kirika and her brother, but also see them meet new people and discover new parts of themselves. We didn’t see a whole lot of their parents, but I loved how supportive the two of them were even though it was more toward Teruo at first.

The artwork is beautiful and fun. I love how silly the panels got at all the right moments and found myself laughing hard at various moments of the story. This is certainly a fun take on sibling relationships as well as diving into the fandom world. I hope to see more from Mimu Oyamada in the future.

[Dylan · Rating 4 out of 5]

This manga was cute and perfect for BL fans. We follow a 20 year old shut in otaku who draws BL doujin in secret. He convinces his sister to be the face of his artist persona and they go to comic cons together.
This was so fun and made me smile so hard. I love that he writes BL featuring beefy muscle men. I lived my whole life reading this manga. It's a lot of fun and I highly recommend it.

[Natalie H · Rating 3 out of 5]

November 2023
Kindle edition
KU manga

It was alright but not one I'd read more than a volume for. Felt sorry for the sister getting dragged into her brother's mess but the journey down the rabbit hole was a little fun. Menp stole the show with that costume.

[Nicki Markus · Rating 3 out of 5]

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 received this book as a free eBook ARC in exchange for an honest review.

[Alan D.D. · Rating 4 out of 5]

Divertida, entretenida, y muy bonita en general, es una historia entre dos hermanos que desarrollan un vínculo especial, a veces extraño, pero muy sólido a lo largo de los capítulos. Ambos buscan apoyarse mutuamente, hacer lo mejor que pueden, y superarse a medida que van avanzando en su relación. Hubo algunas escenas que me parecieron apresuradas, pero es un manga que se disfruta con mucha facilidad.

Funny, entertaining, and very beautiful in general, it is a story between two siblings who develop a special bond, sometimes strange, but very solid throughout the chapters. They both seek to support each other, do the best they can, and improve as they progress in their relationship. There were some scenes that seemed rushed to me, but it is a manga that is very easily enjoyed.

[Katja · Rating 4 out of 5]

Heheh, this was really fun. Teruo's (the titular brother) fanboying was cute and funny (in a good way, I say this as someone who fangirls over myriad of things and characters and ships! :D). And it was nice how Kirika (the sister) helped him and eventually started to understand the whole fandom and shipping thing too. One volume was perfect length too. Sometimes it got a bit slapstick-y which I don't care for but otherwise, I liked it a lot.

[Veronica · Rating 2 out of 5]

I regret to say that I just didn't like this title very much. It seemed like it was trying to be in the same vein as Wotakoi or Princess Jellyfish, but for most of the book it's just punching down at fans instead of being full of absurd joy. I wasn't impressed by the art, either.

[Joey · Rating 4 out of 5]

A very cute and enjoyable read.

[ochalove · Rating 3 out of 5]

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.

✨e-arc provided by NetGalley & TokyoPop in exchange for an honest review. Thank you!

[Teresa · Rating 4 out of 5]

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.

[Sam · Rating 2 out of 5]

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.

[Ruthsic · Rating 3 out of 5]

3.5 stars

A hilarious story of a brother-sister duo in the world of BL, this book has a semi-famous doujin artist have his sister be the public face of him. The story is from the point of view of Kirika, whose older brother is a shut-in (which seems like agoraphobia, but it isn't confirmed) and has been so since the last four years. Unknown to her, during that time he got into a shonen (from the looks of it) anime, that has a large BL following, and he basically becomes a fudanshi who draws doujinshi. He has mostly been relying on one of his followers to do the actual sales at Comiket, etc, but this year, with that person unable to help him, he turns to Kirika. Kirika is at first shocked by his obsession with the show, and then further shocked by the content of her brother's manga. She is bribed into helping him (with food) and gets her first taste of the BL fandom at the convention, where she is amazed by the fujoshi crowd that reveres her brother, ahem Amaterasu as a god.

While it pokes a lot of fun at Teruo for his fan behavior like getting all the collectibles, getting anything even tangentially related to the show, plus his nonchalance about the BL porn in front of his sister, it is overall a heartwarming story about siblings finding something common to connect. Kirika, while initially uninterested and even a bit over her brother's obsession, ultimately starts to get interested in the BL genre, seeing her brother's as well as the other fans' enthusiasm. However, since it is entirely from her point of view, Teruo still remains a mystery. We do know how he got into the show, but we don't know his backstory, as in why he becomes a shut-in. I assume it was bullying because he was 16 then, so high school bullying seems plausible; he is also attractive looking which makes his whole 'I am not worthy' complex, and his worries about how he would be perceived as a fudanshi in the fujoshi crowd seem like his negative self-worth stems from something traumatic. I guess it would be heavy for what is a comedic manga, but it still could have been fleshed out a little!

The artwork is decent enough, and the story flows well between the scenes. It also is a standalone, so the plot is quick and doesn't drag on, which works in its favor. Overall, a good comedic standalone manga for a quick read!

Received an advance reader copy in exchange for a fair review from Tokyopop, via Edelweiss.

[Lexine Higgins · Rating 3 out of 5]

I actually borrowed this from my local library as I was scanning through the online catalogue of one-shot manga volumes they possessed, and I found this goofy-sounding manga. I just had to pick it up. It sounded hilarious, and so I reserved it and picked it up.

This was an entertaining and hilarious read. It pokes fun at fandom culture, particularly the hardcore fans of any fandom who are deep into fanfiction and fanart and have their own personal interpretations of the TV show/movie/manga etc. With fans arguing over relationship pairings and dynamics, being desperate to own all the merchandise, and obsessing over characters to the point where it's almost unhealthy. But it also shows the good side of fandoms, where people connect over their love of a fandom and the wonderful fanart and stories that come out of that love.

As someone who has floated around fandoms for several years, I can safely say that this manga really captured the different aspects of fandom culture. Fandoms can be both a welcoming and terrifying place, depending on how intense they are. In my opinion, people shouldn't be judged for being hyper fixated on something they love and that brings them happiness, but there's a healthy balance needed between fiction and reality. We all like to lose ourselves in fiction every now and then, but we have to remember that it's simply that: fiction. You need to have a life outside of it.

It had me laughing and smiling several times, and it was a quick and easy read. If you want something light-hearted that will get you to crack a smile every now and then, give this a go.

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[LaPommequirougit · Rating 5 out of 5]

https://lapommequirougit.com/2021/06/...

Ce titre m’a beaucoup plu. Je me suis beaucoup retrouvée dans le personnage de Teruo ! 😉

Kikira à un grand frère qui est mangaka, hikikomori et otaku. De ce fait, vivre sous le même toit que ce dernier n’est pas tous les jours facile. Surtout que dernièrement, il lui demande de plus en plus d’aide pour ses mangas, qui sont des boy’s love.

C’est alors qu’il lui demande d’aller vendre pour lui ses exemplaires. Ce qu’elle découvrira là-bas va pas mal l’étonner. En effet, son frère est une star auprès des fans du genre. À partir de là, elle ne le verra plus de la même façon… ou presque ! ^^’

Premièrement, ce que j’aime beaucoup dans ce titre, on y met en avant les hikikomori, mais surtout, la phobie sociale, qui y est dépeint d’une manière où je m’y suis beaucoup reconnus. Ce souffle court quand on doit sortir et qu’il y a du monde. Cette impression paranoïaque que les gens te regardent et parlent sur toi. Cette sensation que tu vas mourir. J’ai aimé cette facette dans ce titre, car souffrant depuis quelques années et d’autant plus depuis un an de phobie sociale, j’y ai revu toutes les difficultés que je vis à chaque fois que je sors !

Ensuite, ce titre est bourré d’humour. Si vous voulez passer un bon moment, ce titre vous conviendra. On enchaîne chapitre après chapitre, des scènes plutôt cocasses, sur le quotidien de Teruo et de Kikira qui est désespéré par le frère qu’elle a !

En bref, c’est un titre avec deux personnages très touchant et drôle. On y passe un bon moment, le tout avec humour et légèreté !

[Siina · Rating 3 out of 5]

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.

[Nessa · Rating 5 out of 5]

Thank you Netgalley and Independent Publishers Group for the eARC! 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!

[Athena Funtowicz · Rating 4 out of 5]

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.

[EyrisReadsTheWorld · Rating 2 out of 5]

Interesting but not enough

Key words: manga, contemporary, fiction, young adult

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

Thank you NEtgalley for this eArc in exchange of my honest opinion.

[Calista · Rating 3 out of 5]

This is a refreshing story from Japan about a content creator for BL. There is no lover story in this one. The boy is 20 years old and he has been a shut in for 4 years. All he does is draw BL manga. His sister tries to get him out of the house.

She becomes the public face. He gets her to go out and do all the public events and people think she is the author. She gets to see how popular her brother really is.

The guy is a obsessive complusive wreak. He's very neurotic. I'm very jealous that he can be a shut-in. If I was able to set it up so I never had to leave my house again, I would totally do that. I have moments of wanting to do something else, but I'm much happier at home on my own.

Cute

[Emma Stallwood · Rating 2 out of 5]

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.

[Ludo · Rating 3 out of 5]

Thanks NetGalley for providing an EARC copy for an honest review.

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.

[Eniram · Rating 3 out of 5]

3.5/5 ✨

Je ne m'attendais pas à grand chose avant de lire Mon Frère, Cet Otaku. Mais c'était sans prise de tête et mignon à souhait. J'ai adoré la relation entre Teruo et Kirika, et surtout l'évolution de celle-ci. Au début de l'histoire, Kirika ne comprend pas du tout ce que fait son frère enfermé dans sa chambre. Au fur et à mesure, elle cherche à comprendre et son frère s'ouvre à elle.

Ne cherchez pas de plot et de ligne conductrice à ce manga. Il n'y a en a pas. Il s'agit principalement de tranches de vie dans lesquelles Teruo et Kirika vivent de petites aventures ensemble et se rapprochent.

[Chloe · Rating 3 out of 5]

While I accept that I am cringe and therefore free, this was a bit too cringe for me to be entirely comfortable reading it. It's probably incomprehensible if you don't know a little about shipping and fandom, or baffling if you exclusively engage with English-speaking fandoms and fan-culture. (Though the translator has done a very good job trying to translate the cultural idiosyncracies.)

The cringe and the art style (very appropriate for the theme of doujin artists, but not my favourite) knock off one star, while another is knocked off for repetitive feeling chapters. That being said, it is a fun little book if you're in fandom, and it is cute to see Kirika understand her brother better. (Even the dad kind of joins in too!)

[Maraya21 (The Reading Dragon) · Rating 3 out of 5]

🎶 Read for the 2021 KU Shitathon™ challenge – [Halfsies #2: July-December] – at Weaponized Pineapples 🎶

🔹 Plan A — Book: #10 of 13 🔹

[Amanda Hudgins · Rating 4 out of 5]

Cute

This was pretty cute if a bit light - there’s an interesting brother/sister dynamic here where the sister is helping the brother make sexually explicit material but it’s handled well enough that it’s not…weird? Ok, it’s a bit weird but the creator here seems aware of it.

As someone who has boothed at several conventions (though not for dojounshi) I thought the parts about that especially rung true and I enjoyed it quite a bit.