Cheap Cheap Cheap's the Name of My Soul

Right Stuf has the Oofuri S.A.V.E Edition as part of their weekly special. It's going for 18 dollars, which is a pretty sweet deal for 26 episodes including a dub track. Usually I'd check and see if Best Buy is selling it for around that price or less, but since their anime section keeps shrinking and shrinking, I doubt I'd even find Oofuri there.

I'm trying to save money, but I'll probably buckle and end up ordering a copy tomorrow. Oofuri totally failed at getting me interested in baseball the way Hajime no Ippo had me suddenly flipping through channels searching for boxing matches. I watched purely for Mihashi. He's like crack to me. Now that I think of it, personality wise, Ippo and Mihashi are kinda similar. In fact I watched HnI for Ippo. I guess I have a thing for wimpy guys. And Mihashi is the king of wimps.

This series is also very slashy. Like, Prince of Tennis slashy times 10. So, if you're a slash fan and you haven't read or watched this series, I AM DISAPPOINT.

Disney Kink

Yes, yes, I'm still going on about Disney slash because it is my thing right now. If it's your thing too then head over to the disney_kink community on Live Journal and add to the huge list of request.  The meme allows all sorts of pairings and perversions so you don't have to hold back. I was surprised to see so many request for The Great Mouse Detective. People actually liked that movie? Hardy-har-har! Also, when filling a request you are allowed to do fics, vids, art, pretty much anything. Yay, for options!

I haven't made a request but I am currently working on filling a prompt. No, it's not Dean/Dimitri, but it's something close to it and a whole lot better. I actually didn't post here yesterday because I was so engrossed with writing for the meme. It distracted me! 

T_T

Rest in peace, Satoshi Kon.

It Does Exist

Found me some Dimitri/Dean Slash.
 

Not finding this was totally my bad for always spelling Dimitri's name with an E in the beginning. So, nothing ever popped up when I searched. Oh, mighty English degree, I have failed thee!

Boys in Skirts

This whole boys in skirts thing seems to be a new trend for the guys in Japan. I really can't tell the difference between a prepubescent boy or girl in a dress, but I guess that's the point. We're all pretty much unisex in looks until glorious puberty hits. So it has to be the thought of the images being male which gets the guys excited because there really is no way to tell unless those skirts are being flipped. I may be alone in this analysis but these magazines as well as Boku no Pico seem like voyeuristic forms of pederasty. A way of participating in the old practice without actually participating. If you don't know what pederasty is I'm going to direct you to Dirk Deppey's article here and also to a Frontline video which looks at the practice in Afghanistan. Both will help you better understand the history and the practice and maybe shine some light on why these boys in skirts magazines are springing up in Japan.

As for females, I know there's an audience for this material (you need look no further than y!gal for proof). I doubt it's huge and I'm pretty sure the reason for this is rooted in history as well and is linked to the woman's role in the home. If your job is to raise young boys it's probably not beneficial to look at them sexually. With female roles changing and so many females opting out of childbearing more females might join the ranks of men who like boys in skirts. However, I do not see this group growing in countries such as the US. Christopher Handley will probably serve as a warning to individuals interested in shota or magazins such as Oto☆Nyan. So, maybe in the US, the shota audience will shrink.

I'm still waiting for someone to create a magazine dedicated to men in skirts. I love me some cross dressing men.

Going Global

Ah, Global BL. BL with origins from outside Japan. Or, as I see it: a mishmash of a marketing scheme and Japanese purism. Love it!

No. No I don't love it. I've never been a fan of calling Japanese comics manga or Japanese animation anime. I do not live in Japan, and unless I'm speaking Japanese, usage of those words are unnecessary. I am not trying to be a word Nazi like John Locke and demand everyone apply the same definition to each word or not have so many words for one definition. It's an unrealistic goal. In this particular case I am a bit perplexed as to why an extra word is needed to distinguish a product. At its core, BL is romance shared between males. Does this change if a Mexican is penning the story? No. So why is global necessary?

Some part of me believes this has to do with keeping Japanese products exotic. Seriously, doesn't Global BL sound like a cheap knock off of the real thing? But I can't follow that line of thought because I know the phrase came from within my own community. So I'm doubly puzzled since us fujoshi tend to be very accepting of all forms of BL because in the end it's all about the love, baby.

I just can't willing go along with the segregation of a genre based upon the origins of the creator, especially when there is no core distinction between what the Japanese produce and everyone else. Yes, there can be sci-fi BL, western BL, and  fantasy BL, but there is no global BL.

Where my girls at?

When it comes to American mainstream comics and the two big companies, Marvel and DC, I have always felt they didn't do enough to reach out to their female audience. Oh, yes, DC had Minx, but that was doomed to fail. They did have some awesome titles, but I'm an old fujoshi and what I'm going to appreciate is not what a thirteen-year-old girl will appreciate. They're in the middle of puberty and their hormones are going all crazy--they want sex. DC gave them wonderful girlhood stories. However, the thirteen-year-old eighth grader who can't wait for Keith to message back he likes her too, isn't looking for the next Little Women. Twilight topping the hardcover graphic novel charts speaks volumes to this fact.

There's a lot of blame to go around when it comes to failing at appealing to females and after reading this article from The Comics Reporter, I believe the proprietors of comic shops deserve the same amount of blame. Tom Spurgeon outlines three arguments we could be having about comics. One particular question caught my eye: why are so many direct market comics shops still female unfriendly? Although he provides no answer, he touches on some interesting points, such as the comic shop location and environment, which are none to pleasing to females (or him, for that matter). I think the environment is very important reason females stay away. Because, lets face facts, usually enclosed with in the dark dank area of the comic shop are some really creepy people.

I understand some male comic fans may take offense to this, but allow me to elaborate on my own experience. When I first started going to a comic shop the guys were either mean jerks who sent out "you have no place here" vibes or they were creepy losers who sniffed around my skirt. Once, while sifting through old comics, I was approached by a guy who told me how he lived in his moms basement, collected Spiderman comics and ended by asking me for my number. Yeah, really made me feel comfortable. I don't know, I guess, for me, despite the darkness, despite the dankness, I had expected the comic shop to be a safe zone. A place where I would be accepted and respected because I shared a common interest. And I definitely did not go there expecting to be hit on. What amplifies this and made the situation seem worse to me is it happened in this closed in space where you're crowded by comics and people. I've been hit on in the mall or the library but the difference is these are wide open spaces with light. The openness put me at ease.

I can't blame the customers. People are jerks and they will put you in uncomfortable situations. Therefore the responsibility falls on the lap of the comic owner to make their environment as amicable as possible. So far, the majority of comic shops do not do this. I do not believe comic owners go out of their way to make females feel uncomfortable so comics can remain a male only club. I do believe these shops are owned by men who haven't an inkling how a female feels. So, I'm letting you guys know, if you have a dark, eerie, dreary comic shop where it's difficult to keep the people from overlapping, maybe it's time to call in a interior designer to work their magic. Not only will you benefit from more light and more room, you'll benefit economically because you'll gain me as a customer. And believe me, in this dire economy, you want my business.

Crossover Fun

My sisters have been obsessed with these animation crossovers over at youtube. These are music videos where the creator will take a character from one animated movie and pair them up with a character from another. For example: Tiana / Dean, Cinderella / Beast, Gaston / Wendy. I have to admit, they are kind of addictive. I like coming up with the craziest paring I can think of and searching to see if someone has dedicated a video to it. Thus far, the oddest pairing I've seen was Hercules with Maid Mirian. Yes, that's Disney's Maid Mirian, who is a fox. So, yeah...

With all these crossover hijinks there is surprisingly (well, for me) very little slash. I would love to see someone hook up Dean (Iron Giant) with Demetri (Anastasia). It makes about as much sense as Hercules / Maid Mirian, but it must be done. Because I said so.

Out of the few slash videos I could find, this one is my favorite:



Go search and see all the crazy mashups you can find. And maybe, if you have the ability to do so, make one of your own. And if you are an awesome person you'll do Dean / Demitri. Because I said so.

Speaking of Marvel...

Just thought I'd point you guys in the direction of an X-Men comic I'm following on Y!Gal. Just check out Tracto's gallery to read his X-men Xposed. You can't go wrong with great art, a funny story, and a very naked Gambit.

More Tea, Please.

Dear Travis Mccoy, if I were a billionaire I'd pay the fine ladies behind Teahouse enough to woo them away from Marvel so they can dedicate all their time to working on their comic. In my opinion, Teahouse is far superior to many comics published by DC and Marvel (btw, Marvel, I'm not a fan of retconning MJ's pregnancy).

I've been excited about the upcoming print release of the first chapter of Teahouse, which is odd for me since I'm not a big fan of print anymore. But this is different since it's a full color BL comic. I can't say no to that. I also can't say no to a bonus story about Rhys and Axis. Love. Those. Boys. So. Much. If you are super excited too I hope you're going to participate in the fanart contest. Entries are due the 31st of this month.

Speaking of fanart, why is Y!Gal not being flooded with fanart for this series? I guess everyone is too busy drawing Hinabn smut. Which, I won't complain about because I love me some ConWorth.

New Be-boy and More Tanaka

The new cover image is up for this months Be-Boy. Since it was drawn by Suzuki Tanaka I of course had to gank it and post it here.

Nice summery feel. I do believe Ms. Tanaka is getting better at doing cover art. And I lol at the amount of text they cram onto these mangazines. More often than not the image is drowning in kanji. Anyway you can check out who's appearing in this issue here by clicking lineup, or just look below for a list of the creators and their works in English.

Hell & Heaven by Fuwa Shinri
Wakareta Otoko wa Ikaga desu ka? by Tateno Makoto
Furachi na Kyouken no Tenazukekata by Wasabi Maguro and Nakahara Kazuya
Ouji, Ikebukuro-kei by Sakura Sakuya
Mazu wa Ubaiai! by Sasamura Tsuyoshi
Soushoku Joushi no Otoshikata by Asou Kai and Satoko Ai
Sweet Life by Takamine Akira
Suki Tte ii Te by Haruno Hikaru
Sayonara Note by Tomoe Fumi
Love Erosion by Hashiba Mizu
Maniac ni Aishite by Higashino Yuu
Sex Pistols by Kotobuki Tarako
Hi wo Tojiru Mae ni by Masao Sangatsu
Aitsu no Daihonmei by Tanaka Suzuki
Boku wa Anata no Yoru ni Naritai by Aruku
Shizuka Hanabira Ringo no Kaori by Kawai Touko 
Dekichatta Kazoku by Mikage Tsubaki
Hoshigarimasen Shukaku Made wa by Shuusai Fumiko
Yajuu Shugi--Tora Hen-- by Misasagi Fuhri

Pretty awesome lineup this month.

Where we belong

TRU FAX: I see breast on the front page of Deviant Art more often than I see my own. I wonder if the creators of pieces such as this image (NSFW) ever get noted about their work being derogatory? I've read journal entries where artist who draw yaoi were nagged by fans not to do so. And you'll find a few artist on Y!Gal who are more comfortable posting their risque art there than on DA. I don't know, I just feel everyone should feel comfortable on DA regardless of what they draw. I know I've seen some very sexual girl on girl pics on DA and I doubt they receive the amount of complaints yaoi artist receive.

I guess, all I'm saying is an imbalance exist. I know, I know, we live in a patriarchal society so this is no big surprise. But since the majority of yaoi artist prefer using their DA more often than their Y!Gal accounts it would be nice if they didn't have to put up with any hub-bub. I just want them to feel as comfortable posting their hot man loving as the guy above felt posting his hot girl on girl photography.

The book review that grew into a great article

Near the beginning of the month, the peeps over at The Comic Journal had a roundtable to discuss the book, Boys' Love Manga: Essays on the Sexual Ambiguity and Cross-Cultural Fandom of the Genre. Dirk Deppey's contribution was my favorite because he did so much more than review Boys' Love Manga. He also gave great insight on homosexuality, BL, yaoi, and fandom. In his blurb before the article he comments on how he had every intention to contribute to the roundtable on the book but his addition ended up spiraling out of control (Four pages worth, baby). All I will say is reading his four pages is probably a million times more beneficial than purchasing the above book.

Dirk Deppey's post, The Mirror of Male-Love Love, is four pages of great writing. He begins by explaining the history of--not homosexuality--but pederasty, which was prevalent at one time or another in many countries around the world. He does this to combat the assumption of some of the authors that homosexuality had been tolerated at one time. He then moves on to explain his own homosexual experience before diving into reviewing Boys' Love Manga. He ends by wondering why no one wrote about masturbation and then outlines the real difference between the top and bottom roles in homosexual sex.

He also wrote this:

I am a gay bottom. Oh, I can top, if that’s what circumstances require. I’m quite good at it, actually, but the reason that I’m good at it is precisely because I am a bottom, and therefore I know what a bottom wants from sexual intercourse.

Which made me think of this:

And then I wasted my morning rereading Carp. In Japanese. Oy Vey.

BACK ON TOPIC. The conclusion Dirk reaches in his essay are echoed in the sentiments of his fellow contributors. Why are people trying to make a simple equation so complex? Or as Dirk puts it:

We also need to finally learn to forgive each other for being fucking monkeys, and start understanding and celebrating it instead.

There's nothing deep and profound behind why females like yaoi and/or BL. Boys' Love Manga, for the most part, seems to try to explain a fandom to our patriarchal overlords who can't quite grasp why some of us don't fit into the rigid spectrum they created for us. So if you're white/male/cis gendered and can't understand why girls love BL but you totally believe the hot lesbian stuff you watch online is a-okay, this may be the book for you. However, if you frolic in the land of BL and yaoi, Dirk's article will undoubtedly better service you. He's not trying to figure you out. He celebrates the fact we all like sex. And you know what, sometimes it's just that simple.

Here are links to the other roundtable articles if you're interested:

BL Roundtable: No Point, No Meaning, Maybe Tenure by Noah Berlatsky
BL Roundtable: Do we really need to spill this much ink over the question of whether girls like porn? by Shaenon Garrity
BL Roundtable: Anthropologize Me One More Time, Baby by Kinukitty
BL Roundtable: Conclusions: On Dream Police, Cigars and Maybe Not Shutting Up Forever Noah Berlatsky
BL Roundtable: Conclusions: I didn’t make him for you! by Dirk Deppey
BL Roundtable: Conclusions: Men Doing Makeouts by Shaenon Garrity

Lesson learned

Pride month is winding down. In case you missed out on some of the awesomeness ontd_political has a couple of post collecting some very beautiful images of pride parades from around the world. Check 'em out!

Sadly, this month was also plagued with a few mishaps in the land of comics. Lets begin with Apple's infamous crusade against porn. In the middle of the month two comics, The Importance of Being Earnest and Ulysses Seen, were rejected by the Apple app store only to be approved when resubmitted with black bars blocking out any nudity. Later Apple backtracked and allowed the creators to submit unedited versions of their work to the app store.

Here is a montage of some of the censored images from The Importance of Being Earnest complied by Prism Comics:

And here are the images uncensored:

I believe the sad Keanu pic below parallels my feelings of this situation quite well.

Moving onto DC and their never ending problems with presenting characters that aren't white/male/cis-gendered. Gail Simone's Bird's of Prey was released this month and fans were shocked to discover she used a tired, sad, overused trope. In this most recent issue a homosexual male commits suicide after the death of a straight male he had been pining over died. Many fans saw this as ironic since Gail Simone became known for her Women in Refrigerators website, which chronicled the demeaning deaths of women in superhero comics. There was a big blowout on scans_daily with some back and forth between Gail and the fans that led to some hurt feelings but also to some awesome articles on homosexuals in comics, such as this one by neo_prodigy on noscans_daily. He gives an extensive writeup on the tropes comics tend to fall back on when it comes to writing homosexuals and explains why they shouldn't be used. I love the part on "the mythical straight boy unicorn". Here's a little taste:

Stop me if you recognize this plot device or some variation thereof. Miserable gay boy who has given up on love falls in love with the mythical straight boy. Gay boy in desperate need of being rescued falls in love with the mythical straight boy. Gay boy is persecuted by life and homophobes, who shall ever save him, the mythical straight boy. The gay boy is miserable and has no confidence in himself. Who teaches him to be cool, self confident and self reliant? The mythical straight boy. The gay boy is looking to recruit and win over that white knight. So who does he convert? The mythical straight boy. The gay boy needs saving? Who shall save him? I know, how about the mythical straight boy.

Gail Simone also read this article and posted about it in her blog in a response to the craziness which unfolded at scans_daily. Gail is human and is prone to make mistakes, but it seems she's taking the high road and learning from them. Hopefully we won't see so much fail in any of her upcoming releases.

We are nerds and the small little blips of fail in our community won't put a dent in the month long celebration of being yourself.

 Party hard, people!

How not to write a review

The Yaoi Review made me realize I need to stop reading reviews from yaoi blogs (the few that are in existence) after reading Jennifer's review for Incubus Master. She gives the plot an A+, the readability a B (wtf indeed), the sexual content an A-. The overall grade is an A-. What is saddening about this review--other than the outlandish grades--is the lack of substance. Instead of telling us what is exceptional about the plot, what sets it a part from your typical fanfiction and why you need to spend 3 dollars on each section, we are given smoke and mirrors:

What can I say? I love this plot. It’s always a good sign when you find yourself eagerly awaiting the next release. At no point in time did I find myself predicting where the story was going or thinking I already knew the ending. There are a lot of original elements to the story and I found it to be very engaging throughout. The synopsis provided for the story doesn’t do the story justice in my opinion. I think Yamila does a good job of 'going there' when tough situations arise in the story; not every element is sunshine and unicorns but that’s what makes the story a little deeper than most we get.

What about the story kept her waiting in suspense? What elements are original? How does Yamila go there? There is no elaboration. So, yes, I am frustrated--doubly frustrated since I am a English major--to read a review which tells me as much as the story's synopsis. And, yes, when I read a positive review with little to no substance I feel the writer is either purposely trying to mislead their audience or they have no writing skills. And not to be crude, I believe in this case it may be the latter. I understand reviews are opinions, but these blogs are not personal or casual blogs. These people are in contact with companies and undoubtedly believe their blogs serve a great purpose. They have the power to convince individuals to spend their hard earned cash. If you wield such power, it's your responsibility to at least learn how to write a good review.

Another aspect of her review I find quite puzzling is how Character Development received an A+ when she never discussed the character development. There is a section labeled "character" where she basically gives character descriptions:

Jinady, a human, is the main character the story follows. From the illustrations, he looks like your typical feminine long haired bishie and in some aspects he is but what I liked most about him is how the author chose to go beyond the typical bishie mold. Jinady not only is a bit of a slut throughout the story with his partner swapping but he also switches up once becoming the seme. I think it’s all his sexual risk taking that makes some of the sex scenes so steamy.

Figaru is Jinady’s main love interest although not his only one. He’s a demon who’s looking for love after losing his wife and although there are plenty of potential suitors, he knows he must be careful with who he partners with. Don’t feel sorry for Figaru when Jinady gets slutty, he’s getting his needs met as well!

There are plenty of other characters to keep the story interesting including a shape shifting demon named Gor, a slightly crazy transvestite named Leatha, spoiled brat and not to be trusted Rowan and our poor Vandrel, who is just too love sick over Leatha to make any good decisions

None of the above has anything to do with character development, which is about change and growth. So the reader is left in the dark as to why character development received an A+. We know Jinady likes to top and/or bottom and Figaru lost a wife but how does this add to the story? This information seems more like random facts than an in-depth dissection of a character.

Now, lets talk about sex, baby:

As I mentioned above, you get to see the sexual content illustrated and in color. Each part provides at least one sex scene and they are usually quite graphic and long. There are a lot of different partners written about so you definitely get some variety. I found the sex scenes written about Jinady to be the most appealing, probably because he’s the one we get to know the best (and is the most slutty!). The writing at times does detract a bit from the sex scenes and one of them early on didn’t really do it for me, moreso due to one of the characters involved but I saw improvement with each subsequent scene.

How does the author improve the sex scenes? What technique is applied to make them interesting? Is the sex there for mere titillation or is the reader able to garner any information about the characters through this physical act? Since one sex scene was found distasteful, mostly due to who was involved, is the only improvement whom Jinady is having sex with? What about the writing? How does the writing improve from what is presented in the free sample? As a reader all I gleaned from the above paragraph is there is graphic sex in each section and the sex scenes with Jinady are the best. The absence of how and why makes the writing come off lax and sloppy. It's that book report you wrote on the Giver in the fourth grade where you believed "it's cool" was a sufficient enough description to receive an A.

Look, I have yet to buy Incubus Master because I read the free preview and was not convinced it was worth so much as a nickel. These other reviewers have read the story and it's their job to convince me I am missing out. A good review would pique my interest and make me doubt my own preconceptions. The reviews I've read so far make me question whether or not these people have even written an essay for a class because rule number one of any essay is BACK UP WHAT YOU WRITE.

Furthermore, do not be quick to brush off those who only read the free sample. The job of the writer is to hook a reader with the first sentence. Incubus Master does not succeed at this task. So to casually forgive the poorly written opening and promise improvements in the sections which require payment is disingenuous.

Last and final scanlation post....for now.

What bothers me about articles such as this one written by Kuriosity's Lissa Pattillo is she is placing all the blame for the downward spiral of manga squarely on the shoulders of the fans. Want to read manga? Learn Japanese. Want to own manga? Import from Japan. These are all great suggestions but they're very much detached from reality. The majority of individuals don't have time to invest into learning a foreign language just to enjoy a leisure activity and despite her skewed facts the majority of people do not have the money to import manga from Japan.

However, people are more than willing to pay for entertainment if they believe it's worth it. Sita Sings the Blues is a great example of how fans will clamor behind a product they like. Even though Sita was free to the public the creator, Nina Paley, made a fifty-five-thousand dollar profit. Paley embraced the internet and in turn was rewarded. Such an acceptance of the internet has yet to happen within the corporate world of manga. There's no Netflix for manga. But maybe the aggregator's have shown companies there is a need for a similar service for manga fans.

I believe, for the most part, the fans have done their part. We've shouted loud and clear, "we want this". Now it's up to the companies to provide. If they don't, we'll find our own way. People such as Lissa may point their fingers and cry "thief", but I'll sleep soundly tonight regardless.

Where do we go from here?

This week DMP officially released information on their new translating venture to ANN:

The program is set to feature over a thousand manga titles or as many as "a few thousand," mostly in the boys love genre, to establish a following before branching out into other genres and possibly novels, Sasahara said. The business model will allow for DMP, the Japanese licensors, and the translators to each receive a cut of digital sales, and additional revenue will come from derivatives such as advertising, and possibly television or other adaptations of manga titles. Titles that perform well online may also go into print.

According to Sasahara, the venture was established as a reaction to the high up-front costs of licensing manga titles, coupled with long production time. He states that he was not aware of the Digital Comics Association's plan to work with U.S. publishers in a coalition against scanlation aggregators. He said that DMP's new program has been in development for over a year, and that "a few" unnamed content providers in Japan have verbally agreed to participate.

Sasahara also indicated that DMP would like to invite translation/lettering groups to the DMP offices at the company's expense for a presentation on the program in the near future.

It would seem DMP wants to become a legal BL aggregator site. But how do they intend on getting thousands of titles overnight? I believe they want those scanlations already in existence. All those titles Dangerous Pleasure, Nakama, and Arigatomina have been working on for years. I'm sure some scans will need touch ups here and there but for the most part I believe DMP just wants all these scans under their name. They're just doing what One Manga or Manga Fox already do but are actually asking the scanlators for permission to post their work and promising pay someday...maybe.

I can't really make heads or tails of this. My knee-jerk reaction is to not trust DMP because they are the big evil company who only cares about money. However DMP is at a disadvantage in this situation. They do not have the scans and they do not have the fans. By teaming up with scanlators they gain both. However, once DMP has a hold of those scans and the fans the power balance will shift, this is one reason why scanlators are probably wary about negotiating with DMP.

I wish the scanlators luck. And who knows, maybe this new initiative will transform the corporate manga world. A BL aggregator is a wonderful idea and if done right has the ability to be beneficial to all. So I'm just gonna wait to see how this all pans out.

Waaaaant....or maybe not.

Found this gem while looking up on Sakira:

Ryo Mutobe! For me, she's one of those automatic purchases. If she made it and it's BL or yaoi--I want it. So off to Jpqueen I went. I was excited to discover they had a copy. They also had this lovely preview up:

I then scrolled up and saw this:

WTF indeed. The price caught me off guard because it's more than double the original price (680). Jpqueen usually charges a bit more for all their purchases, I know. But this is quite the increase. Look, this is what I paid for a new yaoi manga in 2008:

This was the usual one would expect to pay for a yaoi manga from Jpqueen around that time and before. Some people may wonder why I'm making such a big deal since BL manga in the US goes for about 13-17 dollars, depending on the publisher. The key difference is shipping. If I buy this and ship EMS I'd have to pay 33 dollars. There are other shipping options: air, sea, SAL, all cheaper but with no tracking. I could take a chance and ship it without EMS...

There's also the whole thing where I feel like Jpqueen just charges too much in general. In Japan used manga usually goes for about 1-5 dollars. Jpqueen seems to slap an extra 3-4 onto used manga and I don't understand why this is done. I guess I could understand if they were relying purely on sales from outside of Japan. However, I don't know. And I guess not knowing makes me hesitant to rush into making a purchase.

If I'm lucky some store like Akadot Retail will someday have a few copies for sale. Until then I think I'll hold off on this purchase. If someone out there is willing to cough up the dough you can purchase the manga here. If it's not there it may be because I somehow talked myself into getting it. Maybe...maybe...

Woooooo, cliffhanger!

Harder, Better, Faster, Cheaper

The Yaoi Review has an article up on DMP's new effort in the digital market. Here's a little snippet:

DMP is working on a new ‘secret’ project for publishing more manga faster and cheaper than it is now. It would be via a digital format and they are looking to hire scanlators to help with this. Essentially, scanlators would be doing what they do now except there is the possibility of getting paid based on the sales of said manga titles they worked on. They also get to have their name on everything they translate and retain certain rights to the work they do. What rights I do not know. There is also the possibility of becoming a paid translator ‘if qualified’ and you’d be ahead of the pack when it comes to any other candidates that applied for the position.

Nine times out of ten faster and cheaper translates to cheap and/or free labor. DMP is hoping to snatch up scanlators with promises of "pay someday, maybe". This is a common tactic used throughout the business world and it's sad to see DMP being so open about it. I want to believe in this because having an American comic/manga company finally embrace digital media is great. Not paying people who work for you isn't so great.

However, Jennifer, Yaoi Review's blogger, finds the situation a bit ironic:

If I recall correctly, when a scanlator scanlates a title, the author and artist already did their work… where is their pay? Don’t they have a right to be “paid for that service regardless of the manga’s success” as in, even if it isn’t successful enough to be published in the U.S. or other countries, they should still get paid?

I think Jennifer probably doesn't remember the good ol' days when BL was not being sold in the US and scanlating groups such as Nakama were havens for us fans who were unable to get their hands on the real deal. Scanlators served and still serve a purpose to our community. Even though BL has finally found a way to our shores there's still a time delay. How long did we have to wait for Under Grand Hotel to make its way over here despite being a fan favorite? Don't get me wrong, I'm all for supporting the creator, but where would the fans for the work be if not for the scanlators? I wouldn't have discovered Suzuki Tanaka if not for Obsession. I know it's the same for many other fans.

DMP knows this and it's probably the reason why they want to integrate these individuals into their company. I applaud them for their efforts but find it deplorable if they intend on not paying the very people who created the fans who give them their profits.

He said whaaat?

I'm sure by now the majority of anime fans have read Sherman's post on the demise of anime. He wagged his finger at illegal downloads which lead many to enter the age old debate on fansubs. In my opinion the argument detracts from the conclusion Sherman came to: Anime is going to die. What kind of over-blown, stupid, idiotic statement is that? It's just as dumb as when some stupid idiot over at Disney thought people didn't like hand drawn animation anymore. Such a big outlandish shocking statement does nothing to help his cause, especially when everyone knows it's untrue. Maybe dub anime will disappear. Such a possibility is plausible and having a honest open discussion about whether or not dubbed anime has a feasible future would be great. Such discussions don't grow from untruths or by pointing fingers.

Hmm...you'll do.

Teahouse fanart! I'd write a review or recommend Teahouse, but I think it's too early to do either. There's only 8 pages so I say give it a go. But I can't really make heads or tails of it this early in the game. I don't think you will be disappointed since both creators are professionals and it shows in their work. I will say, so far, this is some of the best paneling I have seen in an online BL comic. Just lovely.

More on the entry from yesterday

Yesterday I posted a link to Yaoi World after stumbling upon the site only to learn it was closing down, due to--well--craziness. I posted a link here on my blog so people could read the craziness for themselves. I feel I should have left some type of explanation because the entry itself can be very confusing unless you know the history of "Kira Takenouchi". And if you don't it'll take some time on google to unravel the whole thing. Below is a summary of who Kira Takenouchi is ganked from this website:

Kira Takenouchi is a controversial American yaoi author best known for her Ai no Kusabi-based doujinshi yaoi novel series, Taming Riki, which gained a worldwide following in the ever-growing underground yaoi movement when Takenouchi chose to sell her doujinshi series through the book publisher Yaoi Underground after seeking and receiving the approval of Ai no Kusabi copyright owner DMP/June. Despite receiving the green light to publish Taming Riki by DMP/June, Takenouchi has been denounced for selling the popular trilogy by critics who say she is profiting from another author's work. The book series is now being published by Yaoi House.

Takenouchi's books are extremely sexually graphic, depicting male/male (yaoi) sex, and have been banned in Singapore and Thailand.

The controversy continued in the spring of 2008 when Takenouchi, who suffers from severe bipolar disorder, abandoned her company Yaoi house while in a delusional mania state, leaving customers, investors, and authors to pick up the pieces. Takenouchi has since returned to the company and continues to generate censure for retaining the title of President, despite her now well-known mental condition.

This info, plus a bit more digging, helped make a lot of that crazy blog entry make sense. I mean, after searching the site it was quite obvious it wasn't a "yaoi" site, but one dedicated to Ai no Kusabi, which had me questioning it's motives before I moved onto the blog. The who debacle made me wonder if anyone actually took the site seriously. And, lol, wow, she interviewed herself and everything.

Anyway, tomorrow ends my daily updates. I want to apologize for some of the entries. Toward the end of my break I realized it would be a good idea to do my homework, so I wasn't able to devote too much time to each entry. I do have a bunch of ideas I'm slowly fleshing out and will hopefully see the light of day soon.

Ha-ha-ha--Wut?

This is a bunch of craziness.

The difference between yaoi and bl

I spent my morning blog surfing and happened upon the Yaoi Review. The webmaster restructured the way she does reviews on her site. There are four categories she grades: plot/readability, character development, illustrations, and sexual explicitness. The fact sexual explicitness is given its own section made me think about how many fans in the US think of sex when they think of BL. Why is this?

The majority of BL fans in the US didn't start out reading BL. Yaoi came first. With yaoi comes the expectation of sex. When fans move onto BL the expectation carries over. Because of this the line between Yaoi and BL has been muddled and mixed up to the point where the two words are used interchangeably. Or, in most cases, BL isn't used at all.

I don't have a problem with US fans calling BL yaoi. However, I think it is important for fans to know the difference between fan made works and professional ones. Yes, you can find BL manga where the whole purpose is to titillate, but this is also true of shoujo and shounen. Sex isn't tied to those genre's. Sex shouldn't be tied to BL.

Yaoi Prose: Incubus Master

Oh, god, this is hard. Okay. When I workshop a story I have to look for the good and bad when I write my critique. Good followed by bad, bad followed by good, there has to be a balance. But when someone expects you to pay money for a story written with the same care and expertise as a twelve year old who writes Inyuasha yaoi, the game changes. It's not about helping a writer improve anymore, but helping you make a wise choice about where to spend your money.

This morning I read the free 3 chapter preview of Incubus Master by Yamilia Abraham. The story opens in the midst of a battle, I think. I'm not really sure. Nothing's really clear. All you know is something is happening. This is one of the major flaws of Incubus, the author takes for granted her audience is familiar with the subject matter. I most certainly am unaware as to what a Succubus or Incubus is and I'm sure I'm not alone in this lack of knowledge. It is the author's responsibility to find a creative way to weave a description into the narrative, but that's another thing Incubus has little of: description. This is all forgivable in the land of fanfiction where the audience already knows what the world of Gurren Lagann looks like or a batarang is a weapon and not just some funny sounding word. But when a author chooses to forgo much needed detailing the writing comes off lazy.

So, yes, there's this thing going on and Jinady, our protagonist, is swept up by a demon. End scene. In the next scene we learn he has been held captive and used as a sex slave by the demons in a cave high in the mountains. We are made aware Jinady is a pretty, pretty man before we're plunged into a long sex scene with an incubus. If the focal point of a story is sex you better have the skills to write one good sex scene. Sadly this is another of Incubus' shortcomings. Although, for once there is detail, the description is very cut and dry. Insert slot A into slot B. What really spoiled the sex for me is how the gasps and moans were written into dialogue. Instead of being sexy it has the opposite affect and makes the scene more comical. Come on, think of any bad!fic you read in the past and I bet you can remember the "oooohs", and "ahhhhhs". You got a smile on your face right now, don't you. Because it was funny! It's funny because it's unnecessary.

As an English major, the over use of the word that in this piece kills me dead. Also the back and forth between present and past tense doesn't help the flow of this already choppy work. Even if a reader is able to overlook such breaches of the rules of writing, the absence of detail will undoubtedly turn them off. Which leaves me to question blogs such as Kuriousity which reviewed this and didn't find many, if any flaws. What I want to know is if the site owner would go out of her way to purchase these chapters if she wasn't receiving free digital copies. I doubt it. Because if she wanted to read bad writing there's this site called fanfiction.net where she could get her fill for free.

What saddens me more than the bad writing is after chapter 2 of Incubus Master there are the glimmerings of a great idea that could have flourished if written by a more skilled writer. Or, perhaps, if she just had someone edit the story. Even a couple of proof readers. Any help would have been beneficial. Incubus Master does not read like a finished work. It's a first draft in need of extensive reconstructive surgery.

This mini review is on the first 3 chapters. Maybe I've piqued you're interest and you want to check it out yourself. But I cannot recommend anyone pay for this in good conscious. I advise you guys to put your money to better use and treat yourselves to a coke or a candy bar instead.

A Spotlight on Epic by E. K. Weaver Part 1

If you go to ygallery, no doubt you've clicked the Today's Tops tab and seen E. K. Weaver's characters TJ and Amal a few times. If you watched her, you learned more and more about her characters through her sketches, comics, and illustrations. Her goal is to print the story of these two boys, but for now she's made them available to us through her website

So far there is about 57 pages of The Less Than Epic Adventures of TJ and Amal up. I had wanted to wait until there was at least 100 pages before giving a small review, but currently there are a couple of things in Epic I find both interesting and problematic that I wanted to highlight here.

Today I'm going to focus on the two main characters and tomorrow I'll write about my thoughts on the art, layout, a dialogue. Beware, there are small spoilers ahead.

Epic opens with Amal (pictured above) storming out of a house followed by a woman. They talk, but Amal can't be consoled. He enters his car and drives around aimlessly before ending up at a bar where he gets plastered. I want to note this whole scene has no dialogue. While it does work stylistically, I feel we miss out on getting to know Amal. This detachment might have been done purposefully since Amal himself has become detached. She sets up a void between the reader and Amal that will slowly fill as the story develops. It can possibly work, but I won't know until there's more meat to this story.

Amal's character may be a skeleton that needs some fleshing out but TJ (above) will make you fall in love. He approaches Amal at the bar after over hearing a conversation he has with his sister where he declares he will drive cross-country to go see her. Obviously too drunk to drive, TJ escorts Amal home where the next day he updates him on a plan they had hashed out whilst he was drunk. TJ wants to tag along on Amal's cross-country drive, he even offers to cover all travel expenses. Why does TJ want to join Amal and why is he willing to pay for all expenses is a mystery Weaver sets up beautifully. TJ is a paradox. He seems very open and honest, yet he's shrouded in mystery. He's very charismatic, so as a reader you warm up to him instantly and you want to learn more about him. But can you trust him? Should Amal trust him? There are situations that transpire that makes TJ out to be a trustworthy individual, however, Weaver keeps throwing in these little tidbits that make you question TJ.

What we've had so far, up until chapter 7, is basically two people who share the same space but have no real interaction. When TJ speaks Amal hears him, but he's so far gone in his own little world he doesn't listen. I like this concept, but certain aspects of it can further alienate the readers. I believe the dialogue is working well, but there are places where the layout widens that gulf.

And I shall leave it there and pick up with layout tomorrow. See ya then!

Here, have some fanart

I had originally planned on posting a review of the webcomic The Less Than Epic Adventures of TJ and Amal but today has been especially busy. Lots of running around. I'll have it up tomorrow and hopefully other stuff if errands don't get sprung on me again. Until then, here's a WIP of a fanart I've been working on. See ya guys tomorrow!

The Winds of Change

I had a different outlook for this blog when I started it a little over a year ago. My number one prerogative was to improve my writing. I had a professor who glorified review writing because of his belief in how it strengthened writing abilities. So I wanted to do reviews and reports on what was going on with the BL industry.

As time passed I realized the entries I really enjoyed writing were the ones where I focused more on the fannish things such as slash/yaoi or games. Then I remembered the reason I've been into this genre for as long as I have was because of the community. Even if BL ceased to exist there will always be a fan writing fanfics of Kirk and Spock having hot sex.

Even more than slash/yaoi I enjoy the original BL webcomics such as Starfighter or Honeydew Syndrome. I think my previous entries on what I wasn't buying should clue people into how I feel about the BL industry in America. What I like about these webcomics is how they're able to get their product to the fans without having to go to some big cooperation. I know any artist's dream is to get picked up by a comic company, either for money or exposure, but I like to think the internet is making it that anyone with an idea and audience doesn't need the industry anymore. And I think we might be seeing the beginnings of this in the BL world.

The direction of this blog will change to mirror my interest. There will be scanlations, doujinshi, fanart, and webcomics. I'll occasionally write about mainstream American releases, but this will not be the focus. I also want to try my hand at translating and maybe starting my own comic. I'll make news updates, but only on information I find interesting and want to comment on. If you're looking for something tapped into the mainstream world, try the The Yaoi Review. This blog will focus on the part of the genre I like the most: you guys.

That there's a smexy face

Arigatomina released the DBZ doujinshi Animal Clock yesterday. It's Goku/Vegeta, and I must admit, I prefer Vegeta topping. This is probably because I haven't seen anyone really keep a seme Goku in character. He falls victim to the seme/uke dynamic and becomes rough and mean. That's not who Goku is. Why can't Goku be a seme and remain super sweet and adorable? I'd love to see that. Sadly, Animal Clock did not fulfill that desire. However, the artist knows how to draw one darn good Goku sex face. This doujinshi is all about the sex and what makes these scenes great are Goku's expressions. I just wanted to share a few of my favorite ones below.

Oh, half-lidded Goku, how can anyone resist you?

You can read this doujinshi online here. In order to access it you must know the username and password. If you don't know it, search the site.

Spring Break Marathon

Spring Break is finally here. My plan is to update everyday until my return to campus Monday the 15th. Dedication! This has been a hard thing for me to do in the past. To keep me from slacking I will begin operation: No update, free pic. If I miss a day, the first person to comment on this post starting midnight the next day can request any yaoilicious pic from me. Basically this post is just a place holder for something that will never happen. EVER. You don't believe me? We shall see, my friends, we shall see.

Moments from Nagasaki

Just sharing this picture of a lovely guy in drag at a doujinshi/cosplay event I went to in Nagasaki. This guy and his friends were quite annoying, but I forgave them because he was so cute. Sorry about the lighting. It was bad. The only good place for pictures was on stage. That's basically where the cosplayers hung out. This guy and his gaggle of friends, however, scampered around everywhere. Lol, I actually chased him down. I have a couple of other pictures I want to share as well as a sketch an awesome artist did for me of Kakashi and Iruka. This was my first convention ever and I quite enjoyed myself. Now to go to an American one.

Brother, where art thou

Ever since I returned from Japan I haven't read comics, BL included. This mostly has to do with school and the amount of work I have to do this semester. Workshops. Ugh. So much reading. BUT I made time this weekend to read a couple of BL works and downloaded Giglio and Brother X Brother from Dangerous Pleasures. Giglio, by Inariya Fusunosuke, made me miss the time I devoted to reading my favorite manga genre. Brothers X Brothers, by Kisaragi Hirotaka, had me running to my homework.

This isn't the first time I've read Brother X Brother. In fact I can recall having a soft spot for this manga. However, whatever the author is doing with her current plot line isn't working for me. It's too predictable. I found myself rolling my eyes on quite a few occasions as I read chapters 12-15. And the sad thing is I like the characters and I feel there is so much potential for them to grow.

I mean, the author was pushing it with the whole "my ptsd makes me want to sex someone up". And maybe I could be more forgiving if that plot device was used for lots of sexing. The thing is, this story is definitely not sex driven, it's plot driven, therefore, the plot must be intriguing. And Brother X Brother just isn't anymore. For me, that is, what drove the story was the history behind Kaname and Masato. But with that all explained in previous chapters the mystery is gone.

From this point on there will be spoilers.

Okay, yeah, I like Kaname and Masato as a pair. But I don't dislike Souichirou and I can see him with Kaname, I just don't like how things seemed to have ended between Kaname and Masato. Kaname's all like "I'm gonna go get help for this problem I have" and Masato replies "yeah, you know, I think we shouldn't be using each other sexually anymore" and that's that. It shouldn't be so simple, especially if someone is suffering from PTSD, that's some hard stuff to overcome. I know Kaname wants to make a change, but I can't help but believe he won't need Masato there to hold his hand until he gets to a point of stability. Yeah, Souichirou is suppose to take his place, but the story would be far more interesting if Kaname and Masato continued on with their relationship as Souichirou realizes his feelings for Kaname, but recognizes that for the time being, Kaname needs Masato.

So, yeah, that's just my two-cents. Brother X Brother isn't godawful (this is), I'm just a little disappointed it hasn't lived up to it's potential.

Why I'm not buying Junjou.

Last year RightStuf announced they acquired the rights to Junjou Romantica. Being the dreamer I am, I hoped magically somehow it would be dubbed. Last month all the specs for the dvd were released and I made my decision to forgo this purchase.

This is not a first for me. If you look at my dvd shelf BL is very sparse, almost nonexistent. Sad, I know, but for me, dubbing is a huge reason why I purchase anime. Oh, yes, sometimes a dub can be atrocious such as the redub of Macross (whose bright idea was that). But for the most part, there are days when I just don't want to listen to Japanese, because when you're still learning a language listening to the language you're learning is work, thus it's tiring. Yeah, there's subs, but I prefer to have the tv on and do other things while I listen. So, dubs, no matter how bad, are necessary. This hasn't just hindered my purchasing of BL but other series also, such as Tears to Tiara and Simoun. Especially since, for the most part, a lot of these are streaming online or I can catch them on the anime network. There are those collectors who just have to have the series they're into, but for me that was a phase I have long since out grown.

I understand BL is a niche market but I really do think they had a chance to snatch up more fans with Junjou. Not including a dub you're cutting out a part of your market. And believe me, there are many people out there who are turned off by subs. And if they weren't going to include a dub track they have to offer something to entice people like me. Blu-Ray would be nice, but if this series can't get dubbed there's no way it will get a Blu-Ray release. You can get me with extras. And a nice little bonus would have been the interviews with the voice actors you can find on youtube such as this one here featuring Kamijou and Nowaki's VA's:

Pencil boards, postcards, trading cards, keychains would have all been nice little add-ons. Come on, Right Stuf, woo me! I've already seen Junjou, now give me a reason to own it.

Up, up and away...

Back home in the states and I'm welcomed by this news: Tokyopop is raising prices on their BL titles. BLU manga will now cost 14.99. This doesn't sit well with me. I know the economy sucks for everyone and TP probably is hurting for money, but I don't see how raising prices is going to help them any, especially when everyone is cutting back. And I doubt BL is on the top of anyone's buy list. I'm also not easily won over by their promise of bonus color pages. Going by their track record they can just as easily pull these pages without any explanation to the customers and expect us to keep paying the same price. This is probably why I'm not too keen about the new price because I don't know how long they will keep printing these color pages, nor am I confident this new price raise will prevent them from doing yet another, and another, and another.

I don't know. I'm all about supporting the genre, but I guess everyone has their limits and I think TP has reached mine. This isn't just about the raise in prices, but a lot of things TP has done over the years. So, this is more about not supporting a company then not supporting a genre. BL will continue to get my money one way or another, but TP won't.