I have a bad habit of reading my feeds too late. And thanks to that, I get late on the news. ^^;; So, the new year started with Comipress putting the news about the special relationship with Jump and fujoshi.

Fujoshi is what we, foreigners, would actually call ‘ yaoi/bl fangirls’. These are fangirls who have graduated from shoujo and are now crawling to the darkside and embrace Man x Man (Sometimes… Man x Boy ^^;;) affections. Because “what else could be prettier than seeing two hot boys getting at it?” To me, it’s one of the steps to otaku-dom. Among other things, it is indeed a true crawling to the darkside because well… yaoi and bl tend to be lewd in nature. It’s a little embarassing, nonetheless a very interesting experience. ^_~ You can read the technicalities of it in an earlier Comipress article

Now, going back to the article, I honestly wouldn’t wonder why Fujoshi would complain to Shounen Jump about the fanservice they give in their jumps. Honestly, have you guys been reading jump lately? Have you browsed through tenipuri!? I swear that series is GAY! If Tenipuri was one of the reasons that brought a large girl fanbase to Jump, I’m telling you, it’s the same reason why more girls are reading other things than Jump nowadays. God. -_-;; How gay can jump get!? There are just some titles that are too gay to mention. Maybe the girls are having an overdose of stuff from Shounen Jump


Just to clear things, don’t worry, I don’t hate Shounen Jump. In fact, like the article mentions, I owe my fujoshi side to jump. I love Jump! But there are just times when Jump fails me. ;A; and it’s not even fujoshi-related. Sometimes…

Toshi and Sougo sitting in a tree

Now, why did I say earlier that jump is misread. There are some things that you just can’t read through without giving it a little meaning. In the world of the fujoshi, it’s always the hidden meaning of a scene or a panel that’s fun to look at. Just look at this lovely picture of Sougo and Toshi fighting. It’s like marital bliss! But there’s really just little meaning to it. It can mean one thing, but for fujoshi, it entirely means another. It could mean, as I put it, a short quarrel between two friends who have been ‘screwing’ each other. The pun is definitely for big fujoshi who have always understood the tension between Hijikata and Okita. This to me is one of the better puns and jokes that come out of jump. More so, on Sorachi’s end, this was a well played pun for a comedy. It fits in the scenario and it’s A-grade! Puns like this, the subtle and careful pun that makes you look at the line over and over again just to know what he said is true or not definitely earns my fujoshi radar!

But there are jump titles that just doesn’t work on me with the fujoshi material and yet it’s a great fujoshi magnet. And I think sometimes, it’s not just the fault of the artists, but the fans as well. One that fell in such a chasm was The Prince of Tennis, or what fans affectionately call as tenipuri. Hey, this was a fun manga and I will not deny to people that I was into Prince of Tennis once. In fact, it’s one of many things that has turned me into some fujoshi.

At first, I actually denied the yaoi in tenipuri. At this time, I was already into the yaoi, but I do recognize that tenipuri has its ‘gay’ qualities, but not just there yet. I mean for chrissakes, they’re middle school kids! The innocence of hardwork, admiration, and team work can’t be easily tainted. However, as time passes, there are things that you really can’t deny. The closeness between Kikumari and Ooishi was much too… close. ;A; The whole idea of their ‘secret place’ and with Kikumaru completely heartbroken and his eyes were to tears was something that I just can’t deny as gay. There are more instances such as Atobe’s obsession with Ryoma, Ryoma’s unending quest to gain the respect of Tezuka, the THOUSANDS of anime images of the boys dressed up like Johnny idols and happy intimate moments of sharing sundaes and piggy back rides and so on. ACCCCCKKKK!! ><;; The short subtle hints were sweet, but the influx of more openly gay images was too much for fujoshis to handle. I can only assume that this is the very reason why fujoshis are complaining. Please, we don't read jump because it's gay. We read it because it opens possibilities. If we wanted gay, we can just go to our BeBoy Zips and be happy with it.

As I said, the enjoyment of a fujoshi with shounen mangas rely on the hidden meanings. It is the short puns exchanged, like that of Hijikata and Okita. The banters between Zoro and Sanji. The tension between Roy and Ed. The misgivings between Gintoki and Katsura. The dependency between Katsura and Elizabeth (there’s a man inside that duck! I’m sure of it!). The reliance between Renji and Byakuya. These things, however small they are, is enough to set a fujoshi’s heart on fire.

The heart of the fujoshi love is the possibilities. If you give it away and there’s no possibilities left for you, there’s no fun left to imagine. These subtleties found in either jump or any shounen manga for that matter lights up a whole auditorium in Japan twice a year during comikket. I mean, just take a look at the choices and the possibilities. lol. And that picture down there is not even a 1/3rd of it. lol.