BL Metamorphosis

BL Metamorphosis (メタモルフォーゼの縁側) is a Japanese manga series by Kaori Tsurutani. BL Metamorphosis was serialized digitally in the monthly manga magazine Comic Newtype from November 17, 2017, to October 9, 2020. A live-action film adaptation premiered on June 17, 2022.

Since its release, BL Metamorphosis won the New Face Award at the 22nd Japan Media Arts Festival Awards and was nominated for the Manga Taishō in 2019 and 2021.

Plot
Yuki Ichinoi, a 75-year-old woman lonely after the death of her husband, comes across a BL (boys' love) manga in the bookstore one day and buys it out of curiosity. This catches the attention of one of the bookstore clerks, Urara Sayama, a shy 17-year-old high school student and a fujoshi with no friends. As Ichinoi returns to buy more BL manga, the two develop an odd friendship despite their 58-year-old age gap.

Characters

 * Yuki Ichinoi (市野井 雪)


 * Urara Sayama (佐山 うらら)

Manga
BL Metamorphosis is written and illustrated by Kaori Tsurutani. It was serialized digitally on Comic Newtype from November 17, 2017, to October 9, 2020. The chapters were later released in five bound volumes by Kadokawa Shoten.

At Anime Expo 2019, Seven Seas Entertainment announced that they had licensed the series in English for North American distribution.

Film
A live-action film adaptation was announced in January 2021. The film is directed by Shunsuke Kariyama, with scripts by Yoshikazu Okada, and produced by Hidehiro Kawano, Yutaka Tanito, Hiroko Ōgura. It premiered on June 17, 2022. The film won Best Picture at the 32nd Japanese Movie Critics Awards while Nobuko Miyamoto won the Diamond Award (also titled the Nagaharu Yodogawa Award).

Reception
BL Metamorphosis appeared on the top 50 best manga in the magazine Da Vinci. It was the #1 top-ranked manga in the women's category by Kono Manga ga Sugoi! and was named the #1 Best Manga of 2019 in Kono Manga o Yome!

Publishers Weekly described the series as having an "unhurried pace" and praised the artwork, comparing it to Princess Jellyfish due to its female-centric view on subcultures in Japan. Rebecca Silverman from Anime News Network also praised the story, describing it as a "lovely story of friendship" built on common interests.