Introduction

Ah, the power of BL shipping goggles. Just one look at a couple of characters and you just know your Boys Love radar is going to go off the charts once the anime starts airing and you get to see them in action. Sometimes it’s simply aesthetic, sometimes it’s reading about their relationship in their character bios, and sometimes we’re lucky enough to get glimpses of fujoshi/fudanshi fuel in the PVs. So which boys can we see getting together (non-canonically, of course) this coming summer season? Read on to find out!

Our Hottest Cosplay Ever!

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Our Hottest Cosplay Ever!

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1. Kou Josef Hiraga x Robert Nicholas (Vatican Kiseki Chousakan)

These two have got to be the most obvious of all the potential BL ships of summer 2017. Kou, the beautiful porcelain prince, and Robert, the free spirit brimming with masculinity. These two make the picture-perfect couple. Not only that, but they’re priestly partners, too. From the synopsis of Vatican Kiseki Chousakan, it sounds like these two are going to be spending an awful lot of time together, working on cases to find out if they are truly miracles or something darker. They travel the world together, so you can imagine just how close they are - and you can bet they’ve had to bunk up together a few times, too. Overall, this is one ship that has already sailed as far as we’re concerned. We can’t wait to see these guys in action!

2. Aoyama-kun x Kaoru Zaizen (Keppeki Danshi Aoyama-kun)

Aoyama-kun, the germaphobe football genius, and Kaoru, the competitive fireball. What makes these two so compatible? Well, even before the series has started, it’s been made clear that Kaoru doesn’t like Aoyama-kun at first, but slowly learns to respect his passion for their sport as well as his skills. As for Aoyama-kun, he’s probably too busy cleaning for poor Kaoru to even register on his radar. However, that in itself works as a ship. A burning one-sided rivalry is much like a one-sided crush after all, and there’s a thin line between love and hate. Here’s just hoping that Aoyama-kun and Kaoru spend enough time together for us to really appreciate their BL potential!

3. Yuushi Inaba x Mizuki Hase (Youkai Apartment no Yuuga na Nichijou)

Ahh, childhood friends. One of the favourite foods of the fujoshi, fudanshi, and BL lovers of all genders. Here’s a great example of a potential childhood friend ship in the waters this upcoming anime season. Yuushi and Mizuki have been best friends since they were in the third grade, so we can guess that they’re close enough to know pretty much everything about each other. So how will these two react when Yuushi moves into the youkai-filled apartment? Will Yuushi trust his friend enough to let him in on the secret, or will he keep him in the dark to protect him? No matter what happens, we’re sure these two will stick together. Close, close together.

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Do you ship it? Check out the anime details here!

4. Tatara Fujita x Kaname Sengoku (Ballroom e Youkoso)

Here we have a mentor and student relationship that looks as though it will get BL fans all hot under the collar. Tatara is the talented dancing newbie and Kaname is the passionate professional. Judging from the PVs released so far, these two are going to have plenty of skinship to make us squeal. We can see Kaname casually throwing his arm around Tatara’s shoulder, as well as grabbing him by the collar and pulling him right up into his face. Is there anything better for BL ships than this kind of touchy-feely-ness? Nay say we. What makes this pair even better is that Kaname helps Tatara get out of his slump and leads him to do something that he really cares about - we’ll be rooting for these two for sure!

5. Haruki Mishima x Towa Honda (Konbini Kareshi)

I know what you’re thinking - Konbini Kareshi is probably going to be full of straight romance, right? Our response to that is simple: so what? Like that’s going to stop us! Haruki and Towa are another best friend pair who, despite having girls they are “interested” in, don’t seem to get anywhere with them. While that’s probably going to be due to some stereotypical shoujo misunderstandings, we like to think it’s because they’re too busy spending time with each other. We already know from their profiles that Towa spends almost all his time at Haruki’s house, and Haruki is amazed by Towa. Who knows what could go on behind closed doors between these two? Time to let your rotten imagination go wild…

6. Youichi Fujitani x Atsuhiko Yamada (DIVE!!)

As if DIVE!! wasn’t reminiscent enough of Free!, what with all the wet boys in swimming trunks waltzing around, we now have a pairing that isn’t all that dissimilar to RinHaru. We already know that Youichi and Atsuhiko have been passionate rivals for years and years. Their personalities also clash in that way that makes you want them to have a love-hate relationship, with Youichi being cold and stoic and Atsuhiko being a giant show off. All in all, these two scream sports anime BL potential. Whether they’ll get as close as the Free! boys, we don’t know - we just need to keep our fingers crossed that they’ll get a lot of screen time together!

Final Thoughts

So there we have it, the boy on boy pairings from summer 2017 that we already ship, without even seeing the shows. Has this managed to bring a shine to your shipping goggles? Can you see any other potential BL ships on the horizon for next season’s anime? Let us know in the comments!

Editor/Translator

Author: Ellyn Barnes

Gudetama goods collector with a soft spot for seiyuu and an undying love for Matsuoka Rin. When I'm not smashing out the latest news in the office, you'll find me holed up at home watching anime, playing rhythm games, and sobbing because Miyano Mamoru exists. Other interests include reading far too much bad BL and occasionally trying to create stuff.

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