BL History

I ordered a copy of The Heart of Thomas by Moto Hagio on a proxy website. It was only $4.00! I mean then there's the service fees and shipping fees, so I imagine it's more like $25 at most. Hopefully less than that! But it's got me interested in the historical origins of BL, since that manga was such a foundation to the modern BL genre.

Ten years before Moto Hagio and Keiko Takemiya really pioneered BL with their manga, Mari Mori wrote a trilogy featuring male-male romances. They cover themes of tragedy and age-differences which would practically become staples of the genre for the next few decades. It's fascinating to think of the influence Mari Mori had with her works, influenced by her father's death. She died in 1987, I wonder what she thought of BL of the time, if she knew the influence her works had, if she read any BL manga during her years. It wouldn't surprise me but I also understand if she preferred writing it rather than reading it. I'll keep her memory in mind whenever I read BL or draw my own BL.

I'm so impatient for The Heart of Thomas to arrive at the proxy service's warehouse because then they can actually ship it to my house. I want it now!