Embedded Files
Danmei cannot be described as single genre. Or maybe it would be more accurate to say: A book is never only Danmei. It is always Danmei and something else. Curious about this something else? Then this is the page for you!
Discover Danmei
Discover Danmei
Some people think (and have in fact already commented to me): Gay Chinese Fantasy sounds like an oddly specific genre. I don't think there is that many books, won't you run out if you read so much?
And the answer is a clear: NO! (╯°□°）╯︵ ┻━┻
Danmei is a super wide genre and there are A LOT of DIFFERENT works to go around! There is something for every taste (or so I believe). Join me in discovering the vast world of different Danmei genres.
As you might have seen on the home page, Danmei (耽美 = indulging in beauty) refers to a story of romance between two men. So basically, the genre term Danmei informs the reader that the main couple of the story will be two guys. But that still doesn't tell us much about what else will happen in the story. Is it purely romance or will there be more plotlines? Does it take place in the modern world or an alternative one? Is there mystery? Fantasy? Horror? Or even a combination of all of them?!!? ヽ(°〇°)ﾉ
So, Danmei describes the romance aspect and aside from that, we also get at least one more identifier to describe the setting, premise and/or plot. Below, I have compiled a list of the most common genres found in Danmei along with some examples of books/book series that have or will soon receive an official English translation.
Happy browsing! (˶˃ ∇ ˂˶)
If you want to know why I focus on official English releases, please check out:
Small extra: In contrast to Chinese Danmei, Japanese and Korean BL are mostly classical romance stories with not much overlap to other genres. Meaning that the entire plot usually focuses on the romantic relationship of the characters and their daily life struggles. This is what I refer as "Slice of Life" further down on this page because it is centered on the characters ordinary life and does not include anything supernatural, crime, science fiction, etc.
There are exceptions, of course. But the fact that Danmei embeds the romance into the framework of a more intricate story, elaborate world-building and unexpected genres, is the main factor that makes it appealing to me.
Xianxia (Cultivation)
Xianxia (Cultivation)
This is one of the most popular Danmei genres and most English Danmei translations are available for Danmei that can be labelled as Xianxia.
If I had to describe the genre in one sentence, it would be: Fantasy ancient Chinese historic fiction.
Now, that sentence is quite a lot to digest... (ㅅ´ ˘ `) So, let's break it down a bit!
Xianxia is a genre of fiction (invented places, people and events) that takes place in a world reminiscent of ancient China, that's why it's historic. So, everyone has long hair and wears pretty and complicated traditional clothing with super long sleeves and many layers...
Also there is Magic, mythical creatures like dragons, phoenixes, etc. and animal and plant spirits called yao who can talk and sometimes turn into humans. Thus, it is fantasy.
A key concept that must be present for a work to qualify as Xianxia is called cultivation. The term is so crucial for Xianxia, that the genre is sometimes also called Cultivation. What it means is that martial artists who are called cultivators channel the spiritual energy from their surroundings (aka the magic in the air) into their bodies to enhance their life force called qi (aka their own magic). This makes them able to use their qi in combat (to blast their opponent with magic) and also extends their lifespan. When they have reached the pinnacle of cultivation (aka are full to the brim with magic), they can ascend to the heavens, become gods and obtain divine powers (godly magic).
To the most representative works of the genre count: Heaven Official's Blessing, The Scum Villain's Self Saving System, The Grandmaster of Demonic Cultivation, Thousand Autumns, The Legend of Exorcism, Dinghai Fusheng Records and The Husky and his White Cat Shizun.
If you want to know more about Xianxia, e.g. are curious about other specific terms of the genre, please check out this glossary on the official Danmei site of the publisher Seven Seas:
Many Xianxia (Cultivation) novels also include a more detailed glossary in the appendix, especially those published by Seven Seas. If you use that, you will not get lost while reading your first Xianxia novels (˶ˆᗜˆ˵)
Wuxia
Wuxia
Another very popular Danmei genre with lots of works that have received official translations, Wuxia is the low fantasy version of Xianxia.
In short, this means that Wuxia stories take place in ancient China but without the cultivation and the magical creatures.
However, this doesn't mean that there isn't any fantasy. Low fantasy just means that the fantasy is not a central aspect of the story. Some fantasy aspects that are fairly common in Wuxia include e.g. miraculous cures for diseases, legendary (particularly powerful) weapons and machines that are too high tech for the time period (or just impossible from a scientific perspective) ╮ (. ❛ ᴗ ❛.) ╭
Wuxia novels very often feature court intrigue, aka royals, officials, military generals and other such esteemed figures fighting for the emperors favor (or to overthrow him). This does not only involve plotting and scheming against each other behind palace walls but very often also military strategy as well as very interesting battle and fighting scenes.
The settings in Wuxia are of course purely fictional but the inspiration for many of them is taken from actual time periods in ancient China, which makes Wuxia and excellent medium to learn more about society and court politics in different dynasties of various ancient Chinese Empires.
Some authors experiment with things like alternative history or alternative societal conventions like matrilineal inheritance (inherited from mother to daughter) of the throne or same-sex marriage.
To the most representative works of the genre count: The Ballad of Sword and Wine, Golden Terrace, After the Disabled God of War Became my Concubine, Thrice Married to a Salted Fish, How to Survive as a Villain, Art Thou Ailing? and The Wife Comes First.
Transmigration (Isekai)
Transmigration (Isekai)
Transmigration is the Chinese version of the Japanese Isekai.
A character (often the main character) gets spirited away to an alternative world. Most often, the transmigration happens between the modern world to a fantasy world that the character is familiar with from a novel, a comic or a video game.
However, it is also possible that the character ends up in the distant past, the far future or even inside their younger self a few years ago, before some key events in their life have taken place.
The trigger for the transmigration is often a tragic death by accident, murder or suicide. Milder versions let the character fall asleep while reading a novel and they find themselves in it after waking up.
This is also one of those genres that never come alone because the course and flavor of the story depend a lot on how and where to the character transmigrates. Thus, there are Transmigration Xianxia if the character ends up in a fantasy world or Transmigration Wuxia if they are transported to the distant past, and so on and so on (ᵕ—ᴗ—)
Representative works include: The Scum Villain's Self Saving System, The Husky and His White Cat Shizun, After the Disabled God of War Became my Concubine, The Disabled Tyrant's Beloved Pet Fish and The Wife Comes First.
Unlimited Flow/High Stakes Game
Unlimited Flow/High Stakes Game
In China, it is called Unlimited Flow but often gets translated as High Stakes Game because that captures the gist of it the best.
The characters in Unlimited Flow are forced to participate in a game that has potentially high rewards. However, the penalty for failing the game is death. So, the highest possible stake! ヽ(°〇°)ﾉ
This is a genre that I have often encountered in Asian media (from Korea, Japan and China) but that is fairly hard to find in western stories. The only mainstream example I can think of here is Jumanji.
For what kind of game it is and what unfortunate circumstances lead the characters there can be very different. Maybe they just tried to leave their apartment to have dinner with a friend and suddenly find themselves in a corridor full of black doors. Maybe they accepted a gift from a weird girl in the university cafeteria.
But usually, they have one thing in common: They need to find out why they are there, what the rules of the game are and what they need to do to clear it. All while fighting for their life and figuring out if they can trust the other unfortunate souls who got dragged into the game along with them.
Often, Unlimited Flow is coupled to Horror. Because you know... We want the most terrifying scenarios for our characters to suffer (≖⩊≖)
I like this genre quite a lot because it has suspense, mystery and the possibility to explore many different fantasy settings in one work. Also, it is usually very interesting how the characters are pushed to grow by the psychological pressure exerted through the game settings, their fellow players' (tragic) fate and their growing attachment to another (¬ᴗ ´¬ ) character.
For Unlimited Flow, there are not as many works available in English yet compared to e.g. Xianxia or Wuxia but the number is growing! Examples are: Kaleidoscope of Death, Global Examination, The Lucky Egg Game, Welcome to the Nightmare Game and The Earth is Online.
Horror/Supernatural
Horror/Supernatural
This genre should be familiar to most of you, so I think it doesn't require too many explanations.
In horror/supernatural Danmei, the characters are confronted with monsters, ghosts, nightmares, you name it. Body horror and gore are also very common. There can be overlaps with transmigration or unlimited flow. Often, there is also a mystery/thriller component.
One final remark is that Supernatural sometimes has a connection to Xianxia. How? Well, Xianxia is a historic fantasy setting and imagine doing a time skip to the present but keeping many of the concepts like mythical spirits, monsters and immortals (gods). You end up with modern day people confronting these things that are super old and a potential threat to humankind (and the world in general).
Representative works are: Guardian, Drowning Sorrows in Raging Fire, Panguan: The Twelfth Gate, Kaleidoscope of Death, The Lucky Egg Game, Welcome to the Nightmare Game and There's Something Wrong with the Chief.
Science Fiction
Science Fiction
I think many of you are familiar with this genre but it might come as a surprise that this is a relevant sub-genre of Danmei. There are in fact quite a few Science Fiction Danmei, albeit not as many as Xianxia or Wuxia, of course.
Set in the (far) future, the characters in this genre explore their identities and try to reach their personal goals in a world where the line between human, machine and genetically engineered organism blur and new technologies threaten the status quo of society as they know it.
Many stories feature post-apocalyptic worlds, mechanical/artificial life forms and perilous environmental pollution.
Science Fiction Danmei are mostly soft sci-fi, meaning that the scientific background of the technologies is not rigorous and some elements can even be considered fantasy.
Examples include: Little Mushroom, Mist, The Defectives, Killing Show, Case File Compendium and Astrolabe Rebirth.
Slice of Life & Coming of Age
Slice of Life & Coming of Age
This is the genre that is closest to "pure" romance. It doesn't feature any fantasy elements, it doesn't take place in the past or the future. It simply focuses on the present day (love) life of our characters.
Coming of Age specifically focuses on the journey into adulthood of young (mostly teenage) characters.
If you're like me who likes epic fantasy or sci-fi stories with elaborate world building, you may think that this sounds a bit boring and run-of-the-mill. And actually, I kind of agree with that (ᵕ—ᴗ—) ...
But! I think that there are Slice of Life and Coming of Age romances that are well-written and appealing in their own right! So, let's be open minded and give it a try ദ്ദി(˵ •̀ ᴗ - ˵ ) ✧
Examples: Riverbay Road Men's Dormitory, Run Wild, A Certain Someone and Fake Dates and Mooncakes.
Omegaverse
Omegaverse
Whew, how should I start this?
Well... Before I start explaining what the Omegaverse is, let me say something first: This is a fantasy framework that is not at all exclusive to Danmei or Chinese Fantasy. There are tons of comics and books using this concept. And most of them are... well, really weird and sometimes really trashy. All my encounters with the Omegaverse have left me bewildered and therefore, I cannot say that I am a fan of it.
Regardless of my own opinion, I think it is nonetheless relevant because there are a few popular Danmei that can be categorized as Omegaverse or ABO as it is sometimes called.
The core idea is that in addition to their primary gender (male/female), humans also have a secondary gender that is called alpha, beta or omega. Alphas are dominant in personality and behavior. Omegas are submissive and their hormones need to pacified by *cough* being close to *cough* an alpha. Only omegas can get pregnant from an alpha, regardless of both of their primary genders. E.g. it is possible for a male omega to get pregnant from a female alpha. Betas role is different from work to work, sometimes they are not even present.
Many Omegaverse fantasies involve werwolves or vampires but the Omegaverse can literally overlap with any other genre, even slice of life. Yes, I have heard of specific examples of slice of life Omegaverse fiction.
There are many more peculiarities and oddly specific things about this genre that I will not explain in detail. If you are curious, I invite you to check out the Wikipedia article on Omegaverse. But beware! Read the Wikipedia article at your own discretion. I once explained to my work colleague what the Omegaverse is and also told him to check out Wikipedia. He got slightly traumatized by what he read there and he reproached me for weeks (¬_¬")
Examples: Transform Me, Mark Me and Boundless Utterance
Crime/Thriller
Crime/Thriller
This genre is all about characters committing crimes, characters solving crimes and characters chasing each other both literally and also in a battle of wits!
Usually, the people committing the crimes are different ones from the people solving them but... You never know (≖⩊≖)
In Danmei specifically, it is characterized by the push and pull between suspect and investigator, by ambiguity between attraction and distrust and most importantly, by the question: Who has the upper hand in outsmarting the other?
Crime/Thriller is a well known and popular genre that gets new, unexpected twists by combining it with Danmei. There are a few very popular examples that include: Silent Reading, Killer of Killers, Psycho and Hunt for the Leviathan.
Non-Chinese Danmei
Non-Chinese Danmei
If you read my previous explanations about Danmei being a Chinese genre of male-male romantic fiction, you may think that Non-Chinese Danmei is a contradiction to that.
My reply to that is: Yes, but actually no!
∘ ∘ ∘ ( °ヮ° ) ?
Now, to resolve your confusion: Danmei is a Chinese genre first and foremost. However, the international fan base is growing quickly and many people around the globe read and appreciate it. It is only natural that some international fans would be inspired to write something danmei-like themselves.
Now, should this count as Danmei even though it is not from China or originally written in Chinese? In my opinion, yes! As long as it embodies the spirit of the genre, it should definitely count. Some might have a different opinion but I always think it's best to be open minded and inclusive as this is also the core of queer and non-conventional love stories! 🌈
Examples of Non-Chinese Danmei are: Stratagem of Fated Winds, The Legend of the White Snake and Fake Dates and Mooncakes.
Baihe (gay but the other side)
Baihe (gay but the other side)
The female counterpart to Danmei, Baihe (百合 = Lily, 100 years of matrimonial union) is a literary genre from China describing the love and romance between two women.
The more commonly known counterpart from Japan is known as Girl's Love or Yuri.
Even though the general idea is similar to Danmei, Baihe does not enjoy the same level of popularity... Yet! More of them are licensed and translated recently, so I am looking forward to a positive development!
Even though I haven't read any Baihe novels up until now, I am definitely curious. When I dive into Baihe, I will probably also be inclined to write reviews here. And I know, this site is called MianMian's Danmei and not MianMian's Baihe but y'know, Baihe is basically Danmei's little sister... And we want to be inclusive! ( ˘͈ ᵕ ˘͈♡)
Examples of Baihe that have been licensed and translated to English are: The Beauty's Blade, The Creator's Grace and At the World's Mercy.
Some Final remarks
Some Final remarks
I hope I could give you a good overview over different genres in Danmei! Maybe you learned something new about a genre you were already familiar with or maybe you discovered a completely new one.
Anyway, I'm happy if I could spark your curiosity a little bit!
Please note: Even though I did my best to provide a comprehensive list of all the relevant genres, it is simply not possible to cover everything!
In the end, everything comes down to the authors creativity and writing style. They can choose to stick with established genres, mix them up or even create something completely new and unexpected! Therefore, there will always be works that are difficult to assign to specific genres.
For example, Stars of Chaos by Priest can be described as Wuxia but it is also Steampunk, the only Steampunk Danmei that I know of. The world building is extremely creative and very unique, making it difficult to assign it to any of the categories listed above.
If you liked reading this page but think that I am missing a very important genre, please let me know and I will do my best to update the list accordingly!
Bonus: Fujoshi/Fudanshi
Bonus: Fujoshi/Fudanshi
In contrast to all the other entries in this page, this term does not refer to a genre!
If you would say that you are a fan of Danmei or Yaoi/BL, then this term refers to YOU!
Fujoshi (腐女子 = rotten girl) and Fudanshi (腐男子 = rotten boy) are humorous terms from the Japanese BL fandom used to describe women or men who like yaoi/BL. Even though it is a Japanese term, its use can also be expanded to people who like male-male (gay) romances in general.
As a devoted fan of all that stuff, I proudly refer to myself as Fujoshi ٩(ˊᗜˋ*)و ♡. However, you don't need to do that, even if you're actively interested in Yaoi/BL or Danmei.
Fun fact: The counterpart for a woman who likes Yuri/GL or Baihe is himejoshi (姫女子 = princess girl) and for a man, it's himedanshi (姫男子 = princess boy)
If you are interested in the history and terminology of the Japanese BL and GL fandoms, the Wikipedia articles are a good place to start:
Credit where credit is due! As someone with refined artistic tastes but very much not up to par artistic skills, I have used generative AI to create the graphics on this site. To be precise:The site banner was generated with CapCut.The animated GIF of the reading girl was generated by CapCut and Gifify.The other illustrations were generated by Google Gemini, CapCut and Upscayl.
© 2026 MianMian's Danmei. All rights reserved. Terms of Use: The text, layout and featured art on this site are protected intellectual property and may not be reproduced without explicit written consent.
Page updated
Google Sites
Report abuse