Kodansha 
The ChillChill BL (Boys Love) Awards, a Japan-based competition, has been elevating the fan-selected best manga in the genre since 2009.
This June, Kodansha USA went to the 2026 ChillChill BL (Boys Love) Awards Ceremony in the heart of Tokyo to celebrate the five Kodansha USA authors whose works were recognized at this exciting event: Dondon (Blue Summer Haze), Nikuya Inui (How to Deal When Your Intimidating Neighbor Is Actually an Omega), Jyanome (Twilight Out of Focus) and Komachi Katsura (Shoot Juliet Down).
Check out these exclusive interviews with award-winning author Nikuya Inui and nominees Komachi Katsura, Dondon, and Jyanome!
Winner, Best Fetish Series category
How to Deal When Your Intimidating Neighbor Is Actually an Omega
By Nikuya Inui
Nikuya Inui’s suspenseful and erotic new Omegaverse rom-com manga is finally here! A college-aged Alpha lives next door to a scary-looking hottie whom he assumes is an Alpha, too, but a shocking encounter will correct that assumption! An irresistible, tattooed Omega, living next door… What’s a virgin Alpha to do?
Rated: 18+
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Nikuya Inui-sensei comments
Nikuya Inui-sensei: Thank you very much!
Kodansha USA: What was it like to attend the ChillChill BL Awards Ceremony today?
Nikuya Inui-sensei: I was honestly incredibly nervous! This morning, I was only about 60% sure I would go. I was ready to leave it to a coin flip if I would skip the whole thing. But I wrote out my acceptance speech, recorded myself reading it, and listened to that over and over again until I memorized it, and one way or another managed to give it without issue.
Kodansha USA: I had no idea, you looked very composed! What was it like when you first heard you’d won?
Nikuya Inui-sensei: I was actually in the middle of a layout meeting with my editor when all of a sudden she looked at her computer, pointed at me, and said, “First place!” I thought she was talking about the layout, so I thought, “Huh, that’s an interesting way to say she likes it,” and just said something like, “Whoa.” But then she said, “You got first place! How to Deal came in first!” I had no idea what she meant. I thought she was just gassing me up! I only half-believed her. (laughs)
Kodansha USA: Wow! Well, How to Deal is also very popular in the US. Is there anything you’d like to say to your fans who read it in English?
Nikuya Inui-sensei: Well, in the English editions of the book there is a glossary explaining different aspects of Japanese culture. For example, in the second volume they go to a sento, and the glossary explains these are public baths. So, it would make me very happy if reading my work could help people learn more about and feel closer to Japanese culture, and one day even come visit Japan!
This story is about two Japanese college students, and I was very worried at first that readers abroad would not be able to relate to them. But I was glad to see a lot of people seemed to identify with the sort of wishy-washiness of their relationship. I feel like that must be the same in every country, that we all hesitate and worry and let the littlest things get us down when we’re in love. So I hope people will come back and find things to relate to and enjoy in Volume 3, too!
Kodansha USA: I hope so, too! Is there anything you’d like to try next? Any new challenges you’d like to take on?
Nikuya Inui-sensei: Yes, I’ve always wanted to pursue different media adaptations of my work. This series was made into a drama CD, and the way it sort of left my hands and took on a life of its own in the process was very interesting, so I’d love to experience that again. Also, I’d really love to go to America, meet readers face to face, and hear about the parts they liked most. That’s why now, I’m studying English! I’ll do my best.
Kodansha USA: Amazing! Thank you so much for your time!
Nikuya Inui-sensei: Thank you very much!
Nominee, Best Deep Series category
Shoot Juliet Down
By Komachi Katsura
Love is a brutal battle between vanity and yearning. Amidst the dark glamor of host club Velvet Kiss, Juri―also called Juliet―commands a vice-like grip on the number one position. Impressed by this poker-faced beauty’s supreme reign, newbie and number-two host Akatsuki decides he must learn Juliet’s secrets―and shoot him down from the top of the pack. But Akatsuki’s first up-close taste of Juliet’s intoxicating charm leaves him craving more than he’d expected. And as he may soon learn, some secrets are better left in their bottles, and the bullet that shoots through one heart might take out more than it bargained for…
Rated: 18+
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Komachi Katsura-sensei comments
Kodansha USA: Congratulations on receiving a nomination for a ChillChill BL Award in the Best Deep Series category this year for Shoot Juliet Down!
Nikuya Inui-sensei: [Shoot Juliet Down] was number one in my eyes! It really, really was the best!
Komachi Katsura-sensei: Thank you very much! Thank you.
Kodansha USA: Do you have anything you’d like to tell the people reading your work in America, and in English?
Komachi Katsura-sensei: Yes, well, Shoot Juliet Down is about a host club, which might be kind of a niche topic for American readers. I’m not sure if they’re aware of what a host club is. But I personally go crazy for American dramas, and I have for many years. Ever since the days of ER I’ve been really into them, and, like, I got really hooked on Orange is the New Black. Of course, I don’t know a thing about what life is like in American prisons, but I had a blast watching the show. So I hope that people can find universally relatable elements in my manga and enjoy it, too!
Kodansha USA: There is a female character in Shoot Juliet Down called Mari who plays a crucial role in the story, which is rare to see in BL manga. Can you tell me a little about what inspired you to write her?
Komachi Katsura-sensei: Honestly, I’ve always been the type to include women in my stories. BL stories all center around the main couple, right? It’s about their relationship. To me, one thing that’s really important when fleshing out that relationship is building the world around it. And since there will obviously always be women in that world, it only seems natural that they’d be in the story, too. So I never go out of my way to write women characters, they are just a given part of the surrounding world.
Kodansha USA: Interesting! Is there anything you’re excited to tackle next?
Komachi Katsura-sensei: Yes, I’m constantly thinking up new story ideas. I’m always jotting things down and discussing them [with my editor]. What was it we were talking about the other day? One was about a demon, another about a sorcerer. I’m pushing for the one about the sorcerer, but I think she prefers the demon story. (laughs)
Nikuya Inui-sensei: [I want to read] the sorcerer one!
Kodansha USA: I’ll look forward to both! Thank you very much!
Komachi Katsura-sensei: Thank you!
Nominee, Best Emotional Series category
Blue Summer Haze
By Dondon
A baseball diamond, a love triangle, and two catchers with their eyes on the same pitcher bring the heat in this baseball BL perfect for fans of Nagisa Furuya’s My Summer of You.
Rated: 13+
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Dondon-sensei comments
Kodansha USA: Congratulations on being nominated for the ChillChill BL Award in the Emotional category this year for Blue Summer Haze 2! Can I ask for a comment on what it’s like to have received this nomination?
Dondon-sensei: Yes, I’d like to thank everyone who’s read Blue Summer Haze! It’s so wonderful to have this opportunity for more people to learn about the series. I’ll keep doing my best to express every character’s feelings and growth with as much love as I can, so please do stick with us until the end!
Kodansha USA: Of course! Speaking of, Blue Summer Haze debuted in English on July 7th. How does it feel for your work to be translated into English?
Dondon-sensei: I honestly had never even imagined that my work might one day be translated into English, so I want to thank everyone who made that happen, from the bottom of my heart. While my characters may originally speak a different language and come from another culture, it’d make me so happy if even a little of their youthful conflicts, joys, aspirations, bonds, yearnings, doubts, regrets, frustrations, and jealousies could reach English readers, too.
Kodansha USA: I’m sure they will! Lastly, do you have any messages for your readers abroad?
Dondon-sensei: Thank you very much for finding Blue Summer Haze from across the seas! This series is about three boys in the peak of their youth who are trying to figure out what it means to have feelings for someone else, to chase your own dreams, and to find your way forward while balancing those two tricky things. They come from a different country and culture, but I would be overjoyed if you could relate to their choices and emotions and watch over them with love as they grow through their immaturities!
Kodansha USA: Thank you very much!
Nominee, Best Emotional Series category
Twilight Out of Focus
By Jyanome
Film enthusiast Mao Tsuchiya and his lone wolf roommate Hisashi Otomo make three promises: ① That Mao will never tell anyone that Hisashi is gay and has a boyfriend, ② That Hisashi will never approach Mao “in that way,” and ③ That they’ll respect each other’s “private time.” The second-years’ ground rules should ensure a peaceful life together in their dorm, but reality is never as simple as it seems in the movies, and some things are not so easily promised…
Rated: 18+
Get your copy today:
Amazon | Barnes & Noble | Kinokuniya | Penguin Random House | Books-A-Million | & More
Jyanome-sensei comments
Kodansha USA: Congratulations on the nomination for the ChillChill BL Award in the Emotional category this year for Twilight Out of Focus 7: Afterimages in Slow Motion 2! How does it feel to be recognized like this?
Jyanome-sensei: Thank you! Ever since my debut, I’ve been fortunate enough to have made it to the ChillChill BL Awards every year in some way or another (like for the Best Cover category, which doesn’t exist anymore, or the Best Deep Series category), so I’m beyond thankful. I look forward to the awards every year! And I’m very grateful and honored that my Twilight Out of Focus 7: Afterimages in Slow Motion 2 was nominated.
These kinds of awards that extend beyond a single publisher are always really exciting for me, both as an author and a reader. It makes me so happy when friends of mine are nominated for their work, because it feels like we get to enjoy being together in the same space, even though we write for different magazines and publishers.
I’m going to keep doing my best with hopes that I can make it back to the awards again! (Did you know that readers of the English renditions can also vote in the ChillChill BL Awards? It’d be even more exciting if they joined us in the fun, too!)
Kodansha USA: We certainly hope you make it back, too! What can you tell us about the future of this series?
Jyanome-sensei: The next volume, Twilight Out of Focus 7: Afterimages in Slow Motion 2 is currently in the works, so please look out for that!
As for the future of the series, I’m also in the middle of a serialization that stars Kirito Kujo, the goth who rooms with Shion (the main character of Twilight Out of Focus 4: The Evening Monologues). It’s called Senko Flashback (Stunning Flashback), and I hope to bring it to English language readers soon, too! Overseas fans have had lots of love for Kirito since he first came onto the scene, so I can’t wait for everyone to get to read what he gets up to! What sort of person will this goth who’s sworn off all love and romance fall for? Stay tuned!
Kodansha USA: That’s very exciting! Do you have any messages for your readers abroad?
Jyanome-sensei: Hi everyone, how are you doing? It’s me, Jyanome! Thank you for all the lovely comments you send my way on social media. It’s so encouraging to know that there are people like you who love BL as much as I do in such far-off places around the world. I hope to see you soon in another new volume—can’t wait for you to read it! It’d be wonderful to one day meet in person at an autograph signing or something, too. Let’s make sure we stay happy and healthy until then. Wishing you all the best! See you!
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