When things look glum, it’s nice to find the light at the end of the tunnel. If there is one thing great about the world right now is that BL is growing and has become increasingly accessible.
When English-translated BL used to be handled by a select number of companies, some of which have consistently given us heavy hitters while others have broken our hearts, in the last few years, there are more publishers eager to publish BL works and distribute globally online. Sublime and Renta have been staples in our community. Seven Seas has also joined the BL race with a number of heavy hitters. And now, there is Futekiya.
On this Yaoi no Hi, I’m happy to speak with Emma Hanashiro, Editor in Chief of Futekiya, and how their website helps us navigate the ever-growing world of BL manga. We talk about their acquisition process, we squeed about how some of our favourite works and titles are there, and then we delved into some of the interesting questions BL titles are raising.
I hope you would find this podcast fascinating to try the titles on Futekiya.
SHOW NOTES
On this podcast, Emma Hanashiro and I talked about the origin story of their website, their selection process, their spice ratings, how they navigate censorship with their titles and dealing with puritanism and conservatism in queer expression. Some notable titles mentioned in this podcast can be found in English namely:
Sneaky Red by Thanat
Pornographer and Mood Indigo by Marukido Maki
The Dreams of the Cuckoos by Tamekou
Welcome to the BL Research Club by Haruta
Aki-chan is the Super Erotic Madonna for Guys by Kabano Sadakichi
Young Bad Education & Young Good Boyfriend by Dayoo
Here There and Us by Thanat
Link and Ring by Tsuyuku Yuruco
Shinjuku Lucky Hole by Kumota Haruko
Heaven in Hell and God is Probably Left Handed by Mushiba
Fujojocast #15: Diversity through Futekiya
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Music: Hikobayuru by Kana Shibue from Showa Rakugo Gengo.
