Best New Yaoi Anime Releases 2025 You Can’t Miss

For yaoi/Boys’ Love (BL) anime, we’re sorry to keep the fellas waiting a little over a month after our run-down of this year’s yuri anime, but remember: a gentleman always comes last. That said, a trouble that has plagued our sapphic soul mates continues whe. it comes to anime for gay men this year: there have been fewer than we would have hoped for. Even the highly anticipated Ganbare Nakamura-kun has been delayed until next year.

That being said, there have been some new yaoi anime, with something of a bias towards a supernatural vibe. What are they? What do we think of them? We’ve actually been lucky enough to catch a couple already, after all. So are we getting low volume but high quality? Or should we hibernate until 2026, like bears (not that kind)? And we’ll help you find where to stream them, too!

Baban Baban Ban Vampire

Arguably the most controversial yaoi anime of the year, your beloved Japan Gay Guide covered this show in detail a few months ago. At a glance, though, let’s consider the virtues and vices of this vampire and his values, whether they by villainous or valorous.

The show centers around Ranmaru Mori, a vampire who lives in a Tokyo bathhouse, working to clean the baths and keep the business ticking along in exchange for having been saved by the heir to the establishment, Rihito Tatsuno. But his motives are not purely altruistic: while he survives by feeding on the blood of the wicked at night, he wants to keep Rihito (a boy pure of heart) a stainless virgin until his 18th birthday, when he can feast on his favorite flavor of claret.

As a primarily comedic show, there are a lot of jokes here that do elicit chuckles, but the somewhat seedy aspect to Ranmaru’s drive to protect his young friend have meant that many, including in the enthusiastic BL community, have left with — at best — mixed feelings about the story and the depictions of Ranmaru’s lust for the underage Rihito.

Available for streaming on Netflix, this is perhaps one you’ll need to judge for yourself.

The Summer Hikaru Died

Another supernatural anime, though The Summer Hikaru Died is far more subtle, scary, and even provocative (but in a good way) than Baban Baban Ban Vampire. We’ve also given our impressions on this piece, but here is a quick summary of the high school horror-drama.

In a small mountain town, our protagonist Yoshiki Tsujinaka begins the series spending time with his long-time best friend and possible love interest, Hikaru. But there’s something off about Hikaru.

No one else can tell, but Yoshiki can: this isn’t his friend. When confronted, “Hikaru” confesses that the real Hikaru died on a haunted mountain: he is a creature that has taken his body, memory and feelings. He still loves Yoshiki, but there is something deeply threatening about this… thing that is puppeteering his friend’s body.

While not explicitly a BL anime (the creator considers it more to be about people, including sexual minorities, who have been left out of conversations) the best description might be as a horror anime looked at through a queer lenses.

Unexpectedly Naughty Fukami

The title of this one should not be unexpected: this is a really naughty anime. An 18+ suggestion, it is explicit in many areas. But if you’re on board for that, then you’re in for… a show.

Our main character is the handsome, confident, and deeply narcissistic Akihiro Kaji, who is respected by his company, and lives a secret life as a playboy. One day, he is sent on a business trip by his company along with the bland, homely Yu Fukami. Akihiro is almost insulted by being made to share his time and his presence with a man so plain. But after Yu emerges from a shower, glasses off, something inside him changes… and Akihiro discovers that Yu and he might have a few things in common.

Rather than being a longer production, this consists of eight six-minute episodes, and has been noted for how intense the sex scenes can be. As might be expected of a title this short in runtime, some have commented on how fast the pacing can be, which doesn’t give characters too much time to breath, and can leave it feeling a little rushed.

That being said, if you have an extra hour to spare, and are in the mood for something somewhat salacious, then why not give this a go?

Neko ni Naritai Tamagawa-kun

Another short but sweet BL anime, this 17-minute TV special is based on a longer-running manga by Touno Mato. In it, the put-upon, hapless hotel concierge Tamagawa is constantly getting into trouble with ill-tempered, ill-mannered wealthy guests that make unreasonable demands. To relax, he volunteers at a cat cafe after work, where he finds comfort in the feline’s fealty as he tends to their needs.

One evening, he falls asleep under a pile of paws and purring, only to find himself woken by novelist Shindo, a new customer at the store. Having been told that he could adopt any cat in the store that he likes, Shindo knows immediately which kitty he wants to take home: Tamagawa.

Again, the shortness of this episode means that it the pace is almost break-neck after the first few minutes. We go from a depressed Tamagawa at the start to a semi-self-actualized Tamagawa who is living with Shindo by the end.

This feels very much like a TV pilot, in the hopes of attracting interest from fans and a network to be able to produce more episodes in a full series. The show is sweet enough and has a charming enough premise (and certainly no more unusual than Maid-Sama!), so while a little bit light-weight, even for its truncated runtime, I wouldn’t be averse to seeing more.

That’s It!?

Sorry, this isn’t a description for a new yaoi anime named That’s It!? (though we are accepting script proposals for that title at this time). Sadly, at least two highly anticipated BL anime were delayed this year.

First, we have the aforementioned Ganbare, Nakamura-kun, but there was also another delay in The Other World’s Books Depend on the Bean Counter, an isekai with the rare hook of not just being BL, but also an isekai… where the main character, after being sent to another world isn’t a great hero, or a powerful mage, but an accountant. Sadly, we’ll just have to be patient a little longer before these grace out screens.

While the quantity and quality of BL anime this year has been, in your humble writer’s view, left somewhat wanting, there is still a lot to be found in previous works, and more to look forward to. But please do watch The Summer Hikaru Died.