Taki and Gou are a pair of “Drug Snatchers,” individuals hired by various people in order to steal drugs and other paraphernalia. In order to carry out this dangerous work, the two have to form a solid partnership based on trust. However, with Gou being completely in love with Taki and making no secret of that fact. Will Taki be able to continuously reject Gou’s feelings? Or will he one day open his heart to Gou’s affections?

Yellow and Fake are incredibly similar with the relationships between characters, plot, and the fact that both are BL manga. In Yellow, the main pair are criminals, while in Fake, the two main characters are cops – however, the underlying theme that is crime prevails in both. The fact that both manga focus on the relationship between two male characters which is tested in various action-packed situations. However, the main difference here is in the fact that the main pair in Yellow are not romantically involved – the question is, will they ever be?

The future, somewhere in Europe. A certain city has several underground levels, packed with the secrets of the past. The secret underground is controlled by a certain mysterious organisation that is somehow linked to the pasts of the retired assassin, Mihai; Haine, the product of childhood genetic experimentation who now possesses dog-like attributes and the chain smoking Badou, who is Haine’s partner; Naoto is an amnesiac child trained in the way of the sword. Somehow, their convoluted pasts spiral out of the enigma that is the secret underground.

While it may not be a BL title, the reason why Dogs: Bullets and Carnage is on this list is due to the dynamic duo that are Haine and Badou. The concept of having two males forming a solid partnership in the midst of blazing gunfire and other dangers is one shared by both Dogs and Fake and that is the biggest similarity. The dynamic of having an arrogant loudmouth paired up with a more soft-spoken counterpart is common to both works.

Ishikawa Ango is an intelligent, athletic and ambitious detective with keen observational skills who is also a bit of a workaholic. One day, when dispatched to the scene of a former police officer’s murder, the killer fires a round which ends up in Ango’s head. Hovering between life and death at this point, Ango opens dialogue about what happens after death. Miraculously, Ango survives the incident, but not without it taking its toll on him. At his next crime scene, Ango sees a boy on the verge of tears; but strangely enough, only Ango can see and talk to him.

Border is a supernatural manga akin to manga like Homunculus in the way in which a major event involving the main character’s head becomes the catalyst for strange developments in the way in which said character sees the world. With reference to Fake; however, Border shares Fake’s rooting in the world of crime – both Ishikawa Ango and the pairing of Ryou and Dee in Fake are protagonists who work in some capacity for the police.

Kashima “Tora” Toranosuke always wanted to become a hero when he was younger. Ending up as a police detective, Tora achieves his childhood dream. As his job would have it, Tora gets a new partner, the gruff and tough Mahori. Tora and Mahori get along as well as any new pair would want to and Tora is chuffed at making a new friend, but with increasing friendliness, Tora and Mahori’s co-workers open up a can of worms when they note just how “lovey-dovey” they are. It isn’t true; but that’s nothing a little time can’t fix…

Again, we are presented with a manga in which the main characters are individuals who work to keep the peace and preserve the law! Mezase Hero follows the budding relationship between Tora and his partner Mahori, which is similar to Fake and the centring of Ryou and Dee’s work relationship turning personal. Both manga take two very different characters and pair them up with the prospect of these characters falling in love.

In a lawless town characterised by crime and depravity, Yuki and his best friend Tetsu attempt to break into the offices of the Seidoukai in order to steal and finance Yuki’s brother’s hospital bills. They fail, but the Seidoukai’s leader, Hyodo Kazutaka, becomes interested in the young pair. Hyodo offers Yuki an incredible deal: Yuki is to visit Hyodo’s office once a week and in return, all of Yuki’s brother’s medical bills will be paid. Yuki instantly accepts, unaware of what his end of the deal really entails…

In Acid Town, we are given a peek into a dark and dreary world where the concept of law and law enforcement does not exist. In this world, two young friends put their lives on the line in order to pay off the escalating mountain of hospital bills incurred by another; however, it is this attempt to find the funds required that kicks off the romantic element of the story. Like Fake, Acid Town is a manga focused on the development of a romantic relationship between male characters. In similar fashion to Fake, Acid Town carries out its plot with elements of action.

Within the ranks of the yakuza are several individuals who, through their good work, earn their boss’s good favour. One such yakuza boss, Yashiro, had only bestowed his favour onto one individual: Kageyama. Yashiro has only ever loved Kageyama; however, that is set to change with the introduction of his new bodyguard, Doumeki Chikara. The masochistic and lewd Yashiro is paired up with the silent, clumsy and impotent Chikara and through getting to know each other, both individuals slowly find happiness.

A first for any of the titles on this list, Twittering Birds Never Fly features a relationship between two very different characters; however, this relationship has the added depth of it having hierarchy. Yashiro and Chikara become romantically involved, but due to the fact that Yashiro is Chikara’s boss, that dynamic plays out in their romantic relationship. This manga is similar to Fake in the fact that it features a romantic relationship between men and again, the backdrop of crime is used in Twittering Birds Never Fly. While the main characters in Fate are crime fighters, the characters in Twittering Birds are the yakuza themselves.