Otaku Champloo

Tag: fujojocast

  • Fujojocast No. 13: A Thai BL Primer with Thomas Baudinette

    Fujojocast No. 13: A Thai BL Primer with Thomas Baudinette

    BL is taking an interesting turn and it’s not happening on the shelves of Ikebukuro but on television broadcasts and streams in Thailand. Thai BL has become a hot topic in recent years and as someone invested in boys love culture, the world of boys love in Thailand has definitely piqued my curiosity. My enabler for this is none other than Dr. Thomas Baudinette who has watched every Thai BL ever released and was more than happy to give me the lowdown on Thai BL.

    Show Notes

    As mentioned in the podcast, Thomas was one of the first anthropologists who has written on Thai BL in English. He has an article that explores the early years of the phenomenon as seen through Lovesick and he has also mentioned in the podcast that he’s currently developing a book on Thai BL. Recently, he also gave a online talk on Thai BL which is definitely something worth listening to as well. His work on Thai BL has led to articles on Asahi Japan that talks about the explosion of Thai BL in the region, his recommended shows, and the new queer practices emerging from this new Thai BL Idol culture.

    The show also mentioned a chapter written by Dredge Kang who touches a bit on this culture in his chapter for BL Opening Doors (Japanese only). For those of you who are able to read Japanese, I strongly recommend this book so that you may see the transformation of the genre in the region. 

    Over the years, I’ve seen Tom’s research grow and I’m fascinated by its connection with the Philippines. In this podcast, we also discussed why Filipino fans are at the centre of Thai BL, the politics of its consumption, and its engagement with our local BL community. After the recording of this podcast, the local publisher for original BL, Black Ink, tangentially touches on Thai BL as they discuss this genre with one of our renowned gay writers, Danton Remoto. 

    What is clear from this podcast is that BL is changing its shape and it’s no longer centred in Japan alone. Thailand is writing its own chapter and so is China with danmei. The Philippines is thinking of creating their own BL too.

    Certainly, BL as we know it is changing. Isn’t it a fun time to be a BL fan?

    Fujojocast #13: A Thai BL Primer with Thomas Baudinette

    Download Episode

    OP Music: Kan Gu, 2gether’s Theme Song

    ED Music: The Ultimate Saraleo Remix by gay spoon (fanvid)

  • Fujojocast #11 – Gay Manga Dialogues with Thomas Baudinette (Part 1)

    Fujojocast #11 – Gay Manga Dialogues with Thomas Baudinette (Part 1)

    Geshuku no Oniisan by Nohara Kuro

    Even when my life since last year has been moving forward like a jet plane, I always make an effort to do something special for Yaoi no Hi! That’s August 1, and that is today!

    For this Yaoi no Hi, I decided to upload a podcast featuring my awesome friend and colleague, Thomas Baudinette (or Tom, as I call him in the show) about gay manga in Japan and its place in gay and women’s culture. We brushed on various related topics to gay manga such as gei komi and, of course, boys love.

    (more…)

  • Fujojocast #9 – Clearly, we can’t stop talking about Free!

    Free!

    Has it really been a year? Is the eternal summer really over?

    Well, clearly, Nozmo, Airin, and I cannot have enough of Free! Now the second season came and went with fantastic new characters who even made some of us cry in misery. The second season also showed us our boys’ attempt in sorting out their future. There were meat pies, cute dogs, adorable little bros, and AUSTRALIA! So if you feel like reminiscing over the season that came and went, feel free to listen to this episode!

    Podcast: Play in new window | Download

    OP/EP Music: Future Fish, Style Five

    If you want to see more of the fan stuff that Nozmo and Airin do, just head on to their tumblrs. You can also read Nozmo’s Todd Allison and the Petunia Violet here. As for Airin’s fic, check out her Ao3 (and for the HaruRins, don’t forget to read Wind Waves!)

  • Fujojocast #2: What we love about Free

    So gather 5 girls in skype to talk about Kyoto Animation’s and mayhem ensues.

    Well… we tried to behave.

    Kyoto Animation’s summer offering, Free, just ended last week and while our feels were still fresh, I gathered some friends to talk about their thoughts and emotions about the series.

    With me are some friends from tumblr: Kat (batgirls), Taka (takanye), Airin (icecreambat), and Nozmo (junjouprince). And we spent a good time talking about abs, olympics, Australia, and this series just exceeded our expectations.

    In case you guys haven’t caught up to speed, you can watch Free! in Crunchyroll! Then listen in on our podcast and share your feels.

    Note: I apologize for the awful recording quality I have. ;__; Made a mistake with the microphones and so yeah… :< Sadness. Will fix that in the next podcasts. But do listen in! The girls sounded awesome though.

    Podcast: Play in new window | Download

    Fujojocast No. 2: What We Love about Free!

    OP: Taste the Satisfaction (Free Soundtrack, Ever Blue)
    ED: Splash Free (Free Soundtrack, Ever Blue, Free! ED)

    Episode Index

    00:00 – 2:17 Introductions
    2:20 – Expectations of the Anime
    6:20 – When did your expectations of the anime change?
    10:00 – High Speed and Haru
    15:00 – Favorite characters
    18:00 – Rin Matsuoka and his amajing
    21:00 – Free! charas as shounen chara stereotypes
    23:00 – “There’s no canon ship here but friendSHIP”
    27:00 – Did it have to be Rei?
    28:00 – “It had to be Rei”
    30:00 – Rin talking to hobos & the Australia experience
    38:00 – Fears for the last episode
    40:00 – “I just want Rin to be happy”
    41:00 – In defense of Rin Matsuoka
    47:00 – Free!’s potential after the first season
    54:00 – “It sold itself more on the friendships than it did on the sport”
    58:00 – The Free!Boys 5 years from now
    1:05:00 – The betrayal of otaku and an anime just for us
    1:16:00 – Free! breaking expectations of anime usually aimed towards fujoshi
    1:18:00 – Expectations for upcoming fujoshi titles (e.g. Meganebu!)
    1:22:00 – Thank you ladies!!

    This was so much fun! I actually didn’t imagine that I will last until episode two. But I suppose that’ll get things rolling and I’m starting to get more ideas for the podcast.

    So, do you want to join me for the fujojocast? Do you have an idea for the show? Don’t hesitate to e-mail me and if schedule and time permits, we can talk about it in the next fujojocast! Or you might receive a stalkery e-mail or message from me as well.