What happens when a 75-year-old widow accidentally buys a boys’ love manga? You get one of the sweetest stories about fandom I have ever read. I discovered this series from an Instagram reel, and the plot sounded so interesting that I had to check it out.
BL Metamorphosis by Kaori Tsurutani is a five-volume series published in English by Seven Seas Entertainment. Don’t let the title fool you. This isn’t a BL story. It’s a story about two women who find each other because of BL, and it’s quietly beautiful.
Ichinoi is 75 years old and lives alone since her husband passed away. Her days are simple. She teaches calligraphy to children, picks up her prescriptions and stops by her favorite cafe. One hot day she ducks into a bookstore and buys a manga just because the art is pretty. She has no idea it’s BL.
Behind the register is Urara, a 17-year-old who is a secret BL fan. Urara feels like she doesn’t fit in at school, and she lives with her single mom. Her only real friend is her childhood buddy Tsumucchi. She loves BL, but she has no one to fangirl with.
When Ichinoi keeps coming back for the next volume of the fictional series You’re the Only One I Want to See by Komeda-sensei, Urara realizes she’s spotted a brand new fangirl. She works up the courage to talk to her, and the two start meeting for tea to talk about manga.
A Friendship with a 60-Year Age Gap
This is the heart of the series. Ichinoi and Urara are from completely different generations, but they’re both lonely in their own way. Ichinoi is facing the quiet part of life where days start to blur together. Urara is stuck at that awkward point where she doesn’t know who she is yet or what her future will look like.
What I loved most is how much they give each other. Ichinoi doesn’t feel any shame about loving BL. She reads it with pure curiosity and joy, and that helps Urara stop hiding her own love for it. Urara, in turn, opens up a whole new world for Ichinoi at a time when most people expect her to slow down. This really hit home for me. I’ve made so many friends throughout my years of collecting, and every one of those friendships started randomly.
When Urara finds out Komeda-sensei will be at a fan event, she shyly invites Ichinoi to go with her. This is something Urara never had the courage to do alone.
Volume two takes us to the event, and it’s such a real con experience. There are crowds, long lines, tired feet and a dead phone at the worst moment. Anyone who has been to a convention will feel this in their bones. It took me right back to the chaos of attending New York Comic Con, feeling excited, tired and completely overwhelmed all at once.
As the series goes on, Ichinoi encourages Urara to try making her own manga. This is where the “metamorphosis” really kicks in. Urara slowly goes from someone who only consumes art in secret to someone brave enough to make something of her own.
Volume three spends more time with the two of them apart, living their own lives. I didn’t mind the break from their tea dates, because this stretch shows how much Urara has grown since meeting Ichinoi. When they come back together, it hits even harder.
Tsurutani’s art is soft, clean and calm. There’s no flashy action here, just small everyday moments: steam from a cup of tea, a quiet bus ride, Urara blushing over a manga page. The pacing is slow in the best way. It feels like sitting on a porch on a summer afternoon, which fits the Japanese title, Metamorphose no Engawa. An engawa is the veranda that runs along the edge of a traditional Japanese house.
Awards and the Live-Action Movie
I’m not the only one who loves this series. BL Metamorphosis won the New Face Award at the 22nd Japan Media Arts Festival and was nominated for the Manga Taishō in 2019 and 2021. It was also ranked #1 for women in Kono Manga ga Sugoi! 2019.
It was adapted into a live-action film in 2022, starring Nobuko Miyamoto as Ichinoi and Mana Ashida as Urara. The live-action film is on my to-watch list, and the trailer alone gave me such warm feelings.
My favorite moment is when Ichinoi and Urara share a meal together at a restaurant. You can feel how excited they both are. It’s such a simple moment, but it’s very meaningful. Two people who were lonely in their own ways are sitting across from each other, enjoying each other’s company.
BL Metamorphosis is a love letter to fandom. It reminds us that the things we love can connect us to people we’d never meet otherwise, no matter their age. The ending doesn’t go for a big dramatic finish. It’s sweet, gentle and a little bittersweet, which is exactly right for this story.
If you’re looking for steamy BL, this isn’t it. But if you want a cozy slice-of-life story about friendship, growing up, growing older and finding your people, I highly recommend it.
I thoroughly enjoyed BL Metamorphosis by Kaori Tsurutani!
Who it’s for: fans of slice-of-life manga, anyone who has ever bonded with a friend over a fandom, and readers looking for older protagonists.
Buy from Amazon: BL Metamorphosis Vol. 1
Read Next: Intense by Kyungha Yi, a Manhwa Review
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