By Courtney
When I first started this Delusional Boyfriend Blog and Podcast project, I was eager to find other people creating long-form content about manga, manhwa, anime, and romance novels, and the first account I fell in love with was called Girls, Gays, Animes. The primary host and social media manager, Val, and I started scheming about a crossover episode, but I had yet to record my first episode and was too nervous to lock down any collabs until that happened. Fast forward a year, and we finally got together to make an episode! Not only that, but she suggested that we cover I Ship My Rival x Me (the comic/manhua) by PEPA (author) and Qualia (illustrator). This was my first ever manhua, which is a Chinese comic—or their equivalent to manga/manhwa. It was adapted from a danmei, which is the word for Chinese BL, and I was so excited to finally make my foray into this parallel genre!
One thing that is notable right off the bat about this book—and danmei/manhua in general—is that it is not nearly as explicit as its Korean and Japanese counterparts, due in large part to Chinese censorship surrounding LGBTQ+ content. Although the characters, Wei Yanzi and Gu Yiliang, are adults, we don’t get any spice, and I suspect that will be the case for the following volumes.
Do not let that keep you from reading along with us though! This story is extremely funny and endearing regardless of its milder spice rating. It is an actor/idol story about two co-stars in a drama who are both pitted against each other by their fans and management, as well as shipped together by a small faction of them! The artwork is beautiful, the fashion and costuming are top level, and the chemistry between the two main leads is unmistakable.
I’m so thrilled that I finally got to do a crossover episode with one of my favorite podcast hosts, and I really hope you liked the podcast episode! Please check out Girls, Gays, Animes and subscribe to both of us anywhere you listen to podcasts, as well as on YouTube! Podcasts drop every 5th, 15th, and 25th—but you need to subscribe to our channel and follow our socials to be the first to know when bonus content like this will publish! Thank you so much for coming along for the ride! Until next time, remember, sometimes the delusion is the solution!
Yours in Deep Delusion,
Courtney