Kaze to Ki no Uta, or The Song of Wind and Trees, was published in 1976 by Keiko Takemiya and is considered by many as one of the first boys' love manga. It follows Serge Battour at the all-boys school, Lacombrade Academy, in 1880, France. Serge Battour is a new student who is trying to fit in with the rest of the student body, despite the taboo of his Romani heritage, made obvious by his dark skin. However, his roommate Gilbert Cocteau, known for sleeping with anyone at the school to manipulate them to his advantage, makes it his personal goal to bring about Serge's downfall.

The Gothic is all about the return of the repressed, and Gilbert's trauma keeps resurfacing; his illegitimacy, the abuse done by his uncle, and the loss of his mother. This all brings about the trope of forbidden desire. Their love is forbidden not just because it’s queer in a conservative environment, but because of their differing ethnicities and social positions. Additionally, the manga plays with gender as Gilbert is feminized and often described as if he’s already a ghost or angel fallen to earth. The beauty of the manga is tied to the fragility of mortality. There is also within this a certain gothic melodramatism. Characters sob, scream, collapse dramatically, and stare into voids. The characters are often overwhelmed by emotions and give in to them.