Interesting article!

[winterspel]

[Warning: Sexually explicit discussion of cultural customs in historical Japan found in the comments. Proceed at your own risk.]

Many thanks to icajoleu for forwarding this to me! :) I love that my friends keep an eye out for my crazy interests...this article is short but addresses a few different interesting ideas.

Harry Potter Loves MalfoyBy Jennifer

Comments

[miyamiaki]

Akihabara SCA~RES me! *Shudders* I think I'd start crying if I got stranded there because of those scary otaku people... Oh, but this article was pretty interesting although 'yaoi' isn't pronounced 'yowie.' ^-^;;; Japan always had a weird culture when it coems to yaoi. LOL.

[winterspel]

Oh, but this article was pretty interesting although 'yaoi' isn't pronounced 'yowie.'

I didn't think that pronunciation was quite right. How should it be?

Japan always had a weird culture when it coems to yaoi.

I would LOVE to hear your thoughts about, or whatever you know, because all I know is what I read on the internet, and we've seen how accurate that can be. :) It's popularity and how it is depicted is something that really fascinates me.

[miyamiaki]

It's pronounced as is 'ya-oh-e' although I'm not sure if I wrote the pronounciation out right

[winterspel]

*relief* Then my pronuncation of "yaoi" was correct. I've always understood that Japanese is like Italian - that each vowel should pronounced distinctly.

And I'm not sure what point I was trying to make or if that was on-topic anymore. ^-^;;;

You never need to worry about off-topic around here, honey. :) I love tangents, especially when they take us interesting places. I'm glad you wrote what you did - it's great to understand these things from a more intimate and knowledgeable perspective (than mine, anyway). :)

[ina]

This article really really raises my urge to go back there and raid the shelves for JE doujinshi. XD

The commercial manga yaoi market is strong in Japan too and published authors have no problems drawing and selling doujinshi for their own and other's work.

Translated yaoi manga sell well in the US and Europe, as do other mangas, so I don't understand this sentence: Many lament the fact that businesses that have done so well with manga have failed to translate that success into profits in the American market.

Japanese manga publishers own American manga publishers. (VIZ is owned by Shueisha)

[winterspel]

I see very decent sections of mangas in mainstream bookstores nowadays, so yes, that is a bit surprising.

Btw, I do like some comics and graphic novels (particularly the darker, more horror/fantasy ones as opposed to superhero comics), and I have been wanting to try out manga - I only know about them. If you read manga, can you recc any (yaoi preferably, but really I just want a good story w/good characters and good artwork). If not, I may end up tossing this question out to the flist at some point, because I prefer reccs rather than just jumping into something unknown.

[ina]

I buy a fair amount of manga each month, German translated, but here are the ones that are available in an English translation too

[winterspel]

WOW, you are beyond awesome! Thank you so much for such a great list of reccs! I have heard of Kizuna (who hasn't, right?). :)

I have not yet gotten to Kimi wa Petto...I have been planning to start Strawberry on the Shortcake next, to stay in Takki theme. Should I try some Jun instead?

[dangermousie]

*adds place to the list of places to visit* Hmmm, though it sounds like Mr. Mousie will be out of place :)

[winterspel]

OMG, if you went you could bring me back some JE doujinshi manga! Eeeee! ;)

And yeah, sounds like Mr. Mousie definitely would stick out (well, so would you, but at least you would be the right gender). Because I'm assuming you're interested in going to Otome Road and NOT to Akihabara!

[ina]

The last time I was there, a friend brought her husband to carry her acquisitions. *g*

[riccichan]

What I find even more fascinating in regards to gender issues is that the yaoi boom (today generally called BL ("bieru") in Japan or written as 801) also spawned a subgenre of pornographic videos starring an androgynous looking female as "male" main actor. From what I've read, this genre specifically caters to women, not (gay) men, and often even has plots (if one might call it that...) similar to dôjinshi or yaoi manga. I've often wondered if a genre like that would be popular in Western video stores, too.

[winterspel]

the yaoi boom (today generally called BL ("bieru") in Japan or written as 801)

What should I call it so that I don't sound like an idiot? Or should I do like I do with soccer and write soccer/futbol/football/calcio like I sometimes do for all the different people who relate to it in their own ways.

The subgenre of porns that you describe is fascinating. So women actually buy porns of women cross-dressing as men! Wow. That's a very good question as to whether or not that would be popular in western culture.

The gender issues that I've come across over the last few months in Japanese culture are just truly fascinating. To me, it seems like there are so many contradictory cultural elements, and I'm so curious how all of it evolved/evolves and coexists.

[riccichan]

What should I call it so that I don't sound like an idiot?Apart from the fact that you'll never sound like an idiot, no matter which expression you use (:)), the common term in western fandom is yaoi. The biggest boys love themed convention in the U.S. is called YaoiCon, so people generally talk about "yaoi" when they mean boys bonking boys in any media authored in Japan (games, manga, anime, sometimes even dorama or movies

[winterspel]

If you ever want to tell me more about this topic I would be happy to learn/discuss.

1. I'm fascinated that this gender issue exists at all in a culture that is so conservative in so many ways. (although I realize that it really isn't in other ways)

2. Further, in relation to Johnnys, I'm fascinated by the whole concept of "fanservice" and of the idea of corporate big business + real people participating in and encouraging fan fantasy. Sex really does sell. Huh. ;) That would just never happen in the U.S., not like JE does it, anyway.

3. And further to the last, the sexualization of JE boys in service to this, even at a young age.

It's curious to imagine that Edo period shudô lovers would agree with Tokyo fangirls on the subject of their adoration, isn't it? :)

Curious? Heee! That's one way of putting it! (and yes, it certainly is)

[trance_angel]

I remember my friend telling me about the otaku culture in Japan, he didn't paint a pretty picture of it though.

I used to be into manga (and anime), but not so much now (if not anymore). It became a very expensive hobby for me, and being a big j-music fan didn't help me either. I ended up having to sacrifice one for the other to keep within budget. After some time, I guess I grew out of it.

As for manga, I mostly read shounen-ai. I've never tried yaoi though. The closest I've gotten is when I randomly bought Gravitation on DVD not knowing it was mild yaoi..haha. Yea, it was really silly of me. Why does JE doujinshi sound interesting all of a sudden? I still have some unfinished manga sitting on my shelf now that I think of it.

[winterspel]

Well, I don't know that I would become a huge manga fan, but I would like to at least give it a try. I would like to understand what the appeal is in the stories and artwork. I have no problem with the visual medium, and manga would just be for me another mechanism for delivery of culture. I'm always interested in that!

What is this Gravitation DVD? *feeling stupid*

As with most things, for me at least, the interest comes and goes. I rarely stop liking something, but I get interested in other things more, and so I move on and put other things on the backburner. I used to collect comic books, and I don't anymore, but I treasure the few titles I own. I still go back to old things and enjoy them, but in general, when presented with new shiny? I jump on new shiny all the time! :)

[ina]

What is this Gravitation DVD?

Probably the anime that got made from the Gravitation manga.

From the recs I made earlier, Kizuna, Gravitation, Embracing Love and Fake all made it to anime in one form or another. Though only Gravitation has a tv series anime, the rest were made directly for video/DVD.

[winterspel]

Oh, of course! That would make sense. Thanks!