Two Articles On Yaoi

[Moonlight_Shadow12]

I found two more articles on Yaoi and Boys Love I have decided to seperate them so it doesnt make too long of a post. Please enjoy and let me know how you like it.

Odds are, if you're a long time anime fan, that tiny two word combination elicits one of the following ingrained responses. If you're already a fan, you probably grinned widely. If you're not a yaoi fan, you quite probably rolled your eyes heavenward, at the very least. And if you're new to anime, or have somehow missed this burgeoning anime phenomenon... you might well think I just made up a word that rhymes with yowee to get your attention.

I am innocent of such tomfoolery, but as it turns out, yaoi really is a made up word, a composite derived from the first syllables of each word in the Japanese expression, "yama nashi, ochi nashi, imi nashi," which means "no peak, no point, no meaning." Don't worry if that still seems rather obtuse; it'll be somewhat clearer in a moment. First, though, let's get a working definition in place for those of you not familiar with either Japanese or yaoi: it's simply a subgenre of Japanese animation and manga (comics) featuring male/male relationships... intended for the enjoyment of a female audience.

Yes, you read that correctly - girls' shows (shoujo anime) created by women where boy gets boy - or at least pines after boy, as the case may be. Which isn't to say that guys, regardless of sexual persuasion, don't watch yaoi. Some definitely do, and enjoy it immensely, but the intended audience is exclusively female. Yaoi is a genre that defies understanding by non-fans, particularly in the west. There have been a number of articles written as to why male/male relationships appeal to girls and women, anything from providing a non-threatening way to deal with budding sexuality to avoiding having to watch annoying female leads. Such detailed psychological musings are beyond the scope of this overview, so I encourage interested fans to hunt down the literature online.

From Japanese Tradition to Fantasy for Girls

To have any hope of understanding how an entire entertainment genre could have grown up around the female appreciation of homosexual relationships, we have to turn away momentarily from the animated medium and look to manga, from which most anime originate. Building on centuries of cultural and aesthetic tradition, female manga artists from the 70s and 80s developed a very specific genre about beautiful young men/boys and the intense platonic love they often felt for their fellow boys. These stories were filled to the brim with unresolved emotions and desires and very often ended quite tragically. Shounen-ai, literally boy-love, was the term used to describe these stories. Two of the better-known titles are Hagio Moto's Tooma no shinzou (The Heart of Thomas), and Takemiya Keiko's Kaze to ki no uta (Song of Wind and Trees). The latter is the only shounen-ai story to be animated to date.

Shounen-ai manga faded as a genre over time, but it inspired a legion of female fans to write and publish their own comics - doujinshi - putting established characters from professionally published shounen (boys) manga or anime into romantic or sexual situations. And here's where we get back to the "yama nashi..." expression from above: these stories were all done in fun (no point) and often emphasize the peak (sex) over the meaning (story). These fan-made yaoi comics are a veritable cottage industry in Japan, as new series inspire new generations of fans.

Eventually some artists and authors began to use their own original characters, publishing both manga and novels. Originally called June - after the yaoi-oriented publication, June - to distinguish the works from the fan-made yaoi, the popular term for this genre these days in Japan is "boys love" (BL), which is not to be confused with shounen-ai (boy-love). BL and yaoi are used interchangeably to refer to the genre, though the latter is far more common in the US. Most yaoi anime is drawn from these professionally published manga and novels and it's difficult to discuss one without referring to the other.

For a humorous, highly informative introduction to Yaoi 101, see "What is Yaoi?." Additional information, including a handy yaoi glossary, is available at Aestheticism.

Related List


Hamano has created a list called "Anime Gay Guys" and calls out for blurbs and more titles, if you've got them.



Yaoi Versus Shounen-ai

Hang around yaoi fans long enough, and you'll hear both these terms bandied about with seeming abandon when they discuss various titles. But as alluded to above, shounen-ai is a defunct genre. Kaze to ki no uta aside, there aren't any other shounen-ai titles out there; it's all yaoi all the time.

So what do fans mean when they call one show shounen-ai and another yaoi? It's definitely a case of "lost in translation." American fans have adopted Japanese marketing terminology and applied it... a little differently here. Latching on to the unrequited romantic aspects of shounen-ai manga, fans here tend to apply that term to titles that have little to no sex, saving yaoi to describe shows with a higher erotic or sexual content. This is a handy distinction for fans to use among themselves, even if they're technically misapplying the terms, and the terminology has quickly become standard and nearly impossible to correct. Even Tokyopop refers to fan-favorite Fake as shounen-ai manga, though it's definitely yaoi.

Hold the Sex, Please

There's a common perception - misconception, really - that yaoi anime is all about the sex, nothing more than hentai for women. While this assumption is assuredly true of some titles, there's actually a wide variety of shows touched on in yaoi anime: comedy (Gravitation), historical drama (Mirage of Blaze), science fiction (Ai no Kusabi), high school romance (Kusatta Kyoushi no Houteshiki), even giant robots (Legend of the Four Horsemen). Essentially, if a subject appeals to a female audience, there's a show for it. The key identifier is the central male/male relationship.

And the sex? Sometimes it's in your face and hard to overlook (Level C, Boku no Sexual Harassment); other times, it's never expressed as anything more than a affectionate or tentative hug or kiss (Sekimatsu Darling). It's worth noting that even in the more sexually explicit shows, there's never full-frontal nudity. There are always strategic camera angles or discreetly bent limbs to blunt the effect. Or there are the infamous "glowing cones" of light (or ghostly outlines) which replace genitalia, as in Level C. Or the just plain absent genitalia, as in Fujimi Orchestra's prolonged sex scene.  

[Moonlight_Shadow12]

Pretty Boys and Angst: Yaoi's Shoujo Roots


Sexual orientation of the main characters aside, yaoi's shoujo roots are generally showing. It's got all the trappings - unbelievably pretty boys, impossibly long-legged and beautiful, such as Ai no Kusabi's aristocratic blondie Iason, or Zetsu Ai/Bronze's tortured rock star, Nanjo Koji. Love triangles (heck, love squares!) abound, just as you might expect in your average shoujo show... the hubs just happen to be guys. And oh, the angst. Angst with a capital A. Enough palpable angst to fuel any moody teen. Well, okay, there's not always angst, but when it's there, it goes to eleven.

Even though the main characters are male, it's not difficult for a female viewer to identify with one or both halves of a pair. It's not unheard of for fans to complain that characters such as Shuuichi are just thinly veiled female characters.

Just like your average shoujo heroine, yaoi boys struggle with the first fumblings of love or fret over how to hang onto their men. They can be every bit as insecure and twitterpated as any high school anime girl. Unresolved sexual tension tends to run high in your average yaoi anime, which makes it not unlike any other relationship-based anime, for guys or girls.

Devotion, destiny and eternal love factor heavily in the more romantic titles. Gravitation gains its title from the inescapable attraction between rock-star wanna-be Shindou Shuiichi and romance novelist Yuki Eiri. Mirage of Blaze's Takaya Ougi and Naoe Nobutsuna are inextricably bound by history and fate. Riki and Iason sharing a fateful cigarette near the end of Ai no Kusabi is as profoundly sad and sweet and sexy as any romance junkie could ever hope for. Kizuna's Ranmaru and Enjouji have been together since high school and, despite an occasionally bumpy ride, clearly are devoted to one another and in for the long haul.

Yaoi Tropes

For all that it has in common with shoujo anime, yaoi has some distinguishing characteristics that set it apart. First and foremost, the major characters are invariably male, and there are few, if any, female supporting characters around. This varies significantly from the typical shoujo show in which the main character is often a school girl, surrounded and opposed by other girls her age. Also by contrast, the "boys" of yaoi anime tend to be in their late teens or older. Seikimatsu Darling focuses on a sweet office romance, and Masayoshi and Masami, Atsushi's crushes in KKH, are both in their twenties, as are the aforementioned Ranmaru and Enjouji.

Something unlikely to be encountered in most shoujo anime is realistic violence and non-consensual sex - rape. Both can be found in yaoi, though infrequently. There are fight scenes in Ai no Kusabi and even Gravitation (though that particular scene has been softened from the manga). Both Fish in the Trap and Legend of the Four Horsemen contain non-consensual scenes involving multiple partners. And Kei's rape of Yuuki in Fujimi Orchestra, set to Wagner, is disturbingly surreal. These scenes are definitely not for the younger crowd.

Significantly, there's little to no public censure about the relationships in yaoi anime; in fact, there's generally acceptance or encouragement. The one exception is Ai no Kusabi - but no one cares that Iason has taken a male lover; they're appalled he's taken any lover. The characters' homosexuality is generally just one more aspect of their personalities, nothing more. Consider Dee Laytner of Fake. He's only one of several openly bi or gay cops in a New York precinct... and no one bats an eyelash or otherwise takes note (unless they're after Dee or his partner, Ryo). It's refreshing to get to see these relationships as just relationships, without the weight of real world sexual politics hanging over them. Just two folks in love... or lust.

Yaoi knows full well how to poke fun at its own tropes. One of the unwritten "rules" of yaoi manga or doujinshi is that the taller man will take the "dominant" role in the sexual relationship. It turns this truism on its head by having two salarymen of identical height vie for one another's affections. They spend the entire show attempting to one-up the other to determine who will win the right to woo the other. It's very amusing and very sweet. Similarly, in Kodaka Kazuma's Kizuna, Ranmaru turns the tables on his lover Enjouji by getting back at him for a misunderstanding... by topping him for a change. Again, to hilarious effect.

What to Watch

Not surprisingly, yaoi is a small genre, with only a handful of commercially available titles here in the US, though companies are starting to take notice and pursue more shows for release. Of the currently available titles, the best place to start is probably with Fake. It's light on sex and big on comedy, making it a relatively easy watch for a first-time yaoi viewer. Gravitation, which intersperses moments of super-deformed humor with a turbulent romance, will be released here beginning next spring.

If drama is more your cup of tea, Mirage of Blaze, steeped as it is in a complex historical and political background, is an excellent choice. There is also Earthian, which follows the adventures of two Earth-bound angels, Kagetsuya and Chihaya. Another fan-favorite, Kizuna, mixes humor and romance with some yakuza action.

For those with a hankering for something more hardcore, there's Level C and the soon-to-be-released Boku no Sexual Harassment (My Sexual Harassment). Both are spiced liberally with racy sex scenes.

Of note is the confusing domestic release of Kimera, also from Kodaka Kazuma. This is a title only those in the know realize is yaoi, since the US dubbed version morphs the hermaphroditic character into a female one, utterly changing the nature of the story.

The majority of yaoi titles regrettably remain available to fans only through fan-subs (VHS and digital copies with translations and subtitles provided by fans) or Hong Kong bootlegs. Of these titles, Ai no Kusabi is arguably the finest, a dark, complex tale of obsession played out against a futuristic science fiction backdrop. Minami Ozaki's Zetsu ai 1989 and Bronze, both featuring star-crossed lovers Izumi and Koji, are similarly darkly sexy and angsty. On the lighter side are the aforementioned Kusatta Kyoushi no Houteishiki and Seikimatsu Darling. And there's always the classic Song of Wind and Trees, with its air of high romance and tragedy at a French boarding school. All titles worth seeking out.

If you're not quite ready to jump feet first into yaoi viewing, there are a number of shoujo titles that allow you to ease into the idea bit by bit. Take for example the quite subtly but completely devoted Touya and Yukito from Cardcaptor Sakura (not to mention the younger Li Shaolin's sweet crush on Yukito). Or the darker, antagonistic relationships between Tokyo Babylon's Subaru and Sakurazaku Seishiro, and X's Kamui and Fuuma. All three titles come from the all-female team of Clamp, who certainly know how to play to their fans. Yami no Matsuei (Descendants of Darkness), with obsessive, psychotic Muraki and his lovable, reluctant target, Tsuzuki, is another title with definite overtones. And purely for laughs, check out the bishounen (beautiful boy) episode of Excel Saga, which features a quite amusing "yaoi moment."

For a more in depth look at available titles, visit Boys on Boys On Film, which provides thoughtful reviews of yaoi anime, yaoi-like anime, anime that will appeal to yaoi fans and even live action films.

Future of Yaoi Anime

Unfortunately for anime fans, yaoi's future is in manga and drama CDs (where voice actors are brought in to act out the author's scripts). CDs are cheaper by far to produce and the potential audience for yaoi anime too small to justify animating many titles. If new titles are to make the leap from paper to animation, it'll most likely be more series like Gravitation or Mirage of Blaze, which have a broader overall appeal. And there will probably never be a shortage of authors and artists, such as Clamp and Minekura Kazuya (Gensoumaden Saiyuuki, Araiso Private High School Student Council Executive Committee), who will delight in dropping tasty hints for fans in their works.  

[angelBmine]

wow! eek its crazy how right that article is!! i should send this to my friends when i tell them...if i do. sweatdrop  

[Lady Sang]

Whew, I can't believe I had the patience to read through all of that! sweatdrop
Anyway, thanks for posting these. I've never really asked myself why it is that we like yaoi/shounen-ai so much, but I guess that gives a much better answer than 'It's just so damn hot/cute'. x3

 

[Kavo-chan]

ehm...do the autor know me?
xd  

[Vinny Bertolli]

Thank you for the articles. They were great! ^^  

[Ciceros_Cupcake_Republic]

It explains why I find yaoi boys really sexy but am not attracted to real gay men at all.

I personally think that girl like shonen ai so much because, whenever girls are portrayed in a relationship (sexual or otherwise) they are made to seem weak and compleatly obsessed and dependant on their man. In this modern world where women would rather be seen as strong and independent, they feel degraded by weak sobby girls who are seen as submissive to their male partners. Girls now are starting to learn that they cannot back down to men and must be seen as equals. Therefore, seeing a relationship involving two men dosen't make them feel inferior because there isn't that association with the weak female character. Instead, seeing a man as submissive feels empowering to women. Thats why shonen ai and yaoi are so popular among straight women.

That and yaoi is HOT heart heart heart

Anyway, thats just what I think.  

[N I N J A _C H E E S E]

thanks they were good whee  

[N I N J A _C H E E S E]

heart as i said they were awsome... whee  

[AmethystLexi]

All the articles were quite informative, I think.
Thanks a real lot for sharing! heart

It was nice to read some explanations I haven't thought of, which I think apply to my case as well.
And that last article was nice, I think I'll give it to my cousin who's currently new - lots of help on what to read and see.  

[bakasensei]

whee  

[protecterofelements]

very coolies on both the artictles 3nodding  

[Princess Karis]

ZOMG, flowers and chocolate for your wonderful thread, hun. biggrin  

[xBriar_Rose]

Thanks for posting those! They were interesting to read.