The Yaoi Stand
Earlier today, while riding a train and listening to a drama CD, I was thinking of why did I come to love yaoi?Wait,love.Love?Scratch that. I’m obsessed!
It has the same side of the coin as yuri and yet I dislike yuri, to hell with it.
After minutes of flashbacks, I remembered those days where I was totally grossed and freaked out by yaoi snapshots. Then came the day when a friend of mine was asking for the anime list I wanted him to burn, I jokingly told him Junjou Romantica and of course he refused. Moments later, I unconsciously surfed for episodes of Junjou Romantica and to my surprise, I got hooked up with it. I started reading its manga and after that, I searched for more yaoi titles.
Still searching for more til today.
Yaoi, shounen-ai, boys love or whatever you may call it is a genre that involves male homosexual relationships. In layman’s terms I’d say it’s gay love.
So what’s with yaoi?
I believe that the majority of the fans of this genre are composed of females, minority are males. Yes, males can become fans too. I have met a handful of them and it was quite interesting to encounter a straight man reading yaoi. The exact opposite in my part.
We have smutty heterosexual mangas scattered but why do some still want yaoi?
Basically, they’re getting sick of it and I know where they’re coming from. I won’t say that yaoi is different in terms of smut and romance but many heterosexual romance mangas can’t provide the thrill and excitement anymore. The plots feels like copy pasta from other popular mangas. It gets duller by the moment.
Yaoi can provide that.
We can’t deny the fact that common yaoi fans are getting turned on because they get to see lots of cute guys having affairs and sex. I can’t find any suitable word other than arousing. (Thanks to snowmiyu for correcting) But let's use the term exciting.
Yaoi does have different forms. Some deliver pedophilia, hebephilia and ‘normal age difference’ romance.
I have no preferences but I do want my read to lay low on girly ukes. I’m getting sick to it recently.
In terms of art,landscapes and tones, some shounen-ai gives more of a serious atmosphere compared to shoujo. The profiles are more concrete and angle-focused, thus the impact.
In pertaining animated yaoi, I have yet to see something better than Hyakujitsu no Bara and Loveless. Others were below average and poor when it comes to animation and art quality. We all know that these titles doesn’t have classy and superb animations but I’ll be betting a thousand to whoever can give me a title better than them.
『BISHOUNENS + LOVE = WIN』
That is, if you’re an average yaoi fan.
Some fans tend to pair up characters that doesn’t cover the yaoi genre. Come on, I’m not one of them. Yaoi is yaoi, shounen is shounen, shoujo is shoujo. I don’t want to ruin your fantasies but this is obnoxious. I know it’s fun to imagine your anime crushes in a yaoi way but some are way over their limits. Keep it cool girls.
Let’s get more serious.
Male homosexual relationships that are being depicted is more than what meets the eye. Normally, straight males that are shown in this genre gives the story more depth and confusion. Later on, we see that there is always a possibility for him to be attracted towards the same sex. But this doesn’t conclude that he is actually gay. We may say that he disregards the gender of the person he is attracted to. Settling in an intimate relationship is another factor and is different from what we are discussing here, attraction.
In sexual terms, one takes the dominant role and the other the lesser. In Japanese terms, one is called the Seme, meaning the giver and with the male role. The other is called the Uke, meaning the receiver, taking the role of the woman. However, there are some instances that one shifts from being an uke to the seme position and vice versa. Generally speaking, one can be flexible in both positions.
A tip to easily differentiate the Seme from the Uke is that the word Seme, consists of four letters while Uke has only three. Four is greater than three and is literally dominant.
Speaking of Uke, I often encounter over girly ones. When I say over girly , what I mean is someone who presents himself with glittery eyes, exaggerated girly features and loli shota traits. That said, I am not really against of it but some just ruins the image of the Yaoi genre.
At this point in time, I have discovered really remarkable and fascinating storylines which are complex and dramatic. Regardless to what their gender is, I always take into account that I put my feet in some character’s shoes. (For a record, I have cried only once in reading yaoi)Some has shown contrasting points of view on life and follows psychological aspects. It opens a closed mind into phenomenology. It draws you into both surreality and reality. Either way, it all ends up depending on how it is expressed and how they make it into something noteworthy.
For that I say, hats off to those exceptional authors.
Before criticizing this sinful genre, do try a good title. I’m open to any recommendations and I can give you mine as well to let you see this genre in a different light.
It has the same side of the coin as yuri and yet I dislike yuri, to hell with it.
After minutes of flashbacks, I remembered those days where I was totally grossed and freaked out by yaoi snapshots. Then came the day when a friend of mine was asking for the anime list I wanted him to burn, I jokingly told him Junjou Romantica and of course he refused. Moments later, I unconsciously surfed for episodes of Junjou Romantica and to my surprise, I got hooked up with it. I started reading its manga and after that, I searched for more yaoi titles.
Still searching for more til today.
Yaoi, shounen-ai, boys love or whatever you may call it is a genre that involves male homosexual relationships. In layman’s terms I’d say it’s gay love.
So what’s with yaoi?
I believe that the majority of the fans of this genre are composed of females, minority are males. Yes, males can become fans too. I have met a handful of them and it was quite interesting to encounter a straight man reading yaoi. The exact opposite in my part.
We have smutty heterosexual mangas scattered but why do some still want yaoi?
Basically, they’re getting sick of it and I know where they’re coming from. I won’t say that yaoi is different in terms of smut and romance but many heterosexual romance mangas can’t provide the thrill and excitement anymore. The plots feels like copy pasta from other popular mangas. It gets duller by the moment.
Yaoi can provide that.
We can’t deny the fact that common yaoi fans are getting turned on because they get to see lots of cute guys having affairs and sex. I can’t find any suitable word other than arousing. (Thanks to snowmiyu for correcting) But let's use the term exciting.
Yaoi does have different forms. Some deliver pedophilia, hebephilia and ‘normal age difference’ romance.
I have no preferences but I do want my read to lay low on girly ukes. I’m getting sick to it recently.
In terms of art,landscapes and tones, some shounen-ai gives more of a serious atmosphere compared to shoujo. The profiles are more concrete and angle-focused, thus the impact.
In pertaining animated yaoi, I have yet to see something better than Hyakujitsu no Bara and Loveless. Others were below average and poor when it comes to animation and art quality. We all know that these titles doesn’t have classy and superb animations but I’ll be betting a thousand to whoever can give me a title better than them.
『BISHOUNENS + LOVE = WIN』
That is, if you’re an average yaoi fan.
Some fans tend to pair up characters that doesn’t cover the yaoi genre. Come on, I’m not one of them. Yaoi is yaoi, shounen is shounen, shoujo is shoujo. I don’t want to ruin your fantasies but this is obnoxious. I know it’s fun to imagine your anime crushes in a yaoi way but some are way over their limits. Keep it cool girls.
Let’s get more serious.
Male homosexual relationships that are being depicted is more than what meets the eye. Normally, straight males that are shown in this genre gives the story more depth and confusion. Later on, we see that there is always a possibility for him to be attracted towards the same sex. But this doesn’t conclude that he is actually gay. We may say that he disregards the gender of the person he is attracted to. Settling in an intimate relationship is another factor and is different from what we are discussing here, attraction.
In sexual terms, one takes the dominant role and the other the lesser. In Japanese terms, one is called the Seme, meaning the giver and with the male role. The other is called the Uke, meaning the receiver, taking the role of the woman. However, there are some instances that one shifts from being an uke to the seme position and vice versa. Generally speaking, one can be flexible in both positions.
A tip to easily differentiate the Seme from the Uke is that the word Seme, consists of four letters while Uke has only three. Four is greater than three and is literally dominant.
Speaking of Uke, I often encounter over girly ones. When I say over girly , what I mean is someone who presents himself with glittery eyes, exaggerated girly features and loli shota traits. That said, I am not really against of it but some just ruins the image of the Yaoi genre.
At this point in time, I have discovered really remarkable and fascinating storylines which are complex and dramatic. Regardless to what their gender is, I always take into account that I put my feet in some character’s shoes. (For a record, I have cried only once in reading yaoi)Some has shown contrasting points of view on life and follows psychological aspects. It opens a closed mind into phenomenology. It draws you into both surreality and reality. Either way, it all ends up depending on how it is expressed and how they make it into something noteworthy.
For that I say, hats off to those exceptional authors.
Before criticizing this sinful genre, do try a good title. I’m open to any recommendations and I can give you mine as well to let you see this genre in a different light.