Otaku Champloo

Tag: fujoshi

  • Fujojocast No. 16 – Confronting BL Misconceptions

    Fujojocast No. 16 – Confronting BL Misconceptions

    This is long overdue.

    When I started as a BL fan in my teens, my curiosity for the genre was fed by highly informative websites such as Aestheticism(dot)net and communities on Livejournal that outlined the foundations of BL and the different expressions its community created. In many ways, that community has fuelled my personal and professional decisions in making BL a central aspect of my identity and life. Had I been a BL fan in this day and age, I doubt this website would exist or that I would be motivated to do what I do as an academe.

    Despite the accessibility of various texts concerning BL in the last decade, BL media and its community of BL consumers are faced with much discrimination and vitriol online. Some of these prejudices bleed onto articles and online discourses that perpetuate misconceptions, misunderstandings, and misreadings of the genre. Rather than getting encouraged to appreciate the vastness of BL, people dabbling with the genre are often faced with remarks on how the genre is perverse, immoral, problematic, and so on. It is in this context that I found myself gathering some of my cohorts to confront these misunderstandings and discuss the broader ways we could appreciate BL.

    In this podcast, I talk with Sam Aburime (@SamAburime), an independent scholar, and Thomas Baudinette (@tbaudinette), Senior Lecturer from Macquarie University, about this growing vitriol on BL media and culture, its prevalence in Anglophone discourse, the various feminist and queer studies from all over the globe that are lost in this discourse, and how different communities are using BL as a tool to deepen and broaden their understanding of queer identities and media.

    Critical to this episode are the fantastic articles written by Sam on anti-fan culture and her rich database on BL research that lists the English-language works by academics and scholars such as Tom and myself. I strongly suggest that after this podcast, you read through Sam’s article and browse through her database.

    Tom and I also referenced some Japanese scholarship that pushed people’s understanding of the BL genre, such as Naoko Mori’s Onna was porno o yomu and Akiko Mizoguchi’s BL Shinkaron.

    Seriously, one hour barely touches the surface but we’re hoping that in listening to this episode, you may be inspired to look deeper into BL and reflect on the many ways BL can be meaningful to you and to the broader media ecology of queer content.

    Podcast: Play in new window | Download

  • Fujojocast no. 15 – Diversity through Futekiya

    Fujojocast no. 15 – Diversity through Futekiya

    Futekiya’s Library

    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. (more…)

  • The 2017 Dangerous Boys Love (BL) Manga

    The 2017 Dangerous Boys Love (BL) Manga

    Kono BL ga Yabai Cover

    2016 was quite surreal as seemingly impossible things just got real. From the deaths of our cultural heroes to the figure skating anime we never realised we actually needed, 2016 was exceptionally cray. 2016’s BL titles were no exception. 
     
    The 2017 list of BL’s “dangerous” titles, as selected by Japanese BL readers and critics for Kono BL ga Yabai, represents an audience’s thirst for something different, exciting, if not, a bit “dangerous.” This is more apparent in 2017 than in previous years as readers and critics chose stories that were definitely “yabai”. 

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  • My favourite manga reads in 2016

    My favourite manga reads in 2016

     

    2016. What a year.

    It’s been a tough year for many of us and personally, it was a challenging one. I was so busy with the last stretch of my dissertation that I hardly read any manga at all! When things finally slowed down in December, I started thinking of the titles I should put on this list and honestly, I hardly remembered five titles! I know I enjoyed a couple of reads, but I can’t even remember why I enjoyed them! Isn’t that sad!?! My head was totally out of it that I spent the last week recalling all the good things I read. Thankfully, there were a few that reminded me of good things about 2016. Just like before, these are titles that I have read in the last year and are not necessarily published that same year.

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  • The BL Manga Starter Kit

    The BL Manga Starter Kit

    blstarterkit

    I’d like to think of this BL Starter Kit as Pandora’s Box. When Airin raised the idea to me, I was obscenely curious over what she had to say. In fact, I’ve been very curious what titles people suggested because getting someone started on BL is like opening Pandora’s Box. The entire world thinks that it has nothing but evil — homosexuality, misrepresentation of homosexuality/masculinity, sexual aggression, yaoi hands, etc. Before you even grab your first BL book, people would have told you 9000 reasons why it suck and why you should not read it. It’s reached a point where any person who likes BL will openly tell you “Yeah, it’s TRASH,” as if acknowledging that nothing good comes out of it. And yet, a recent book about BL has earned an Eisner nomination. Amazing artists such as Yoshinaga Fumi and Shimura Takako started their careers as BL writers. And then the people who considered BL also trash also openly admitted that they genuinely love the genre. Doesn’t that make you want to open this Pandora’s Box?

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  • Fujojocast #10: Building a BL starter kit!

    Fujojocast #10: Building a BL starter kit!

    Honto Yajuu vol. 8

    So I posted last weekend about pooling people’s recs for a BL starter kit! If you’ve got a few titles in mind, that’s great! Let me know about it!

    However, if you’re still thinking how to go about it, let Airin, Maija, and I help you build a criteria for your BL starter kit! In this podcast, we share our thoughts on BL titles we think is accessible for curious readers! It may have been recorded last year but I think our selection still holds! Listen in and I hope it inspires you to rec for the BL Starter Kit!

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  • Pooling Recs for a  BL Starter Kit List

    Pooling Recs for a  BL Starter Kit List

    Asking me what BL to read is like asking me how I like my eggs for breakfast — I’ve got my favourite but I also like changing it up from time to time. Over the years, people have approached me to ask if I have any BL to recommend. I often recommend titles I recently read but given that I’ve read quite a lot of BL in my lifetime, it’s becoming harder to recommend BL titles. I’ve got titles that go back to 1969. I also enjoy all kinds of themes and tropes. I’m never one to turn down an insane idea so I tend to find merit in the unusual. I often tell friends that I’m never the kind of person to ask BL recs but lately, I’ve been thinking, maybe, I should challenge myself to think of one. And hopefully, you can join me in this process too!

    Over the next week, I’d like for you to consider 3 to 5 BL titles you would recommend to a friend who’s curious about BL. This may be a friend who has never read BL before. A friend who has but lost that loving feeling along the way. Or a friend who just wants something new.

    You’re more than welcome to send me your recommendations either via twitter (@khursten, with the hashtag #801blrec), or send me an e-mail (punkednoodle-at-gmail) with the subject [801BLREC], or leave a comment below. If you’ve got so much feels about these titles, do share why these titles merit your recommendations! I’ll be doing the same thing in a separate post and I’ll be sharing a podcast as well on this matter. I think more than my blabbing, I’d love to hear what titles you think are worth recommending!

    As a reward for your thoughts, I’ll be giving away BL care packages to the top 2 contributors. This BL care package contains BL goodies and books gathered from Japan, some doujinshi, as well as some prizes from Blush Con and Aarinfantasy!

    So, when you have a list ready, do let me know! I’m taking recs until 9 September!

  • 2016 BL Webcomic Rec List

    2016 BL Webcomic Rec List

    Whether it’s raining or I’m burning under the summer sun, I will not miss out on this year’s rec list!

    The contributions this year are amazing and diverse. I took out some recs  because they’re quite young narratives which still needs some time to brew. For most, well, I did my best to list them down below.

    If you’re looking for a steamy summer read, then you can get started with these BL webcomics! 

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  • Let’s party, fujojo! It’s 801 (yaoi) no hi!

    Takeuchi sachiko's kusare joshi in deep

    Hey fujojos! Happy Yaoi no Hi!!

    If you’ve been abstaining from your delusional thoughts over boys falling in love, then it’s the perfect time to indulge yourself and bask in BL all day long. For all you trashy fujojos, it’s an opportunity to revisit your favourite stories and ships. For others who have lost touch with BL, perhaps it’s time to reconnect and find some new titles to try!

    This year is particularly special for me. As it turns out, on the 21th of this month, this blog has been around for 10 years! This day has been creeping on me and I often realise my blog anniversary often after the date. It’s crazy and to be honest, I can’t believe it’s been ten years since I wrote my first post! I also can’t believe I’ve kept this blog for more than ten years! I’m more delinquent than most blogs but it’s crazy just to have this blog and to have met some amazing people in the process. It’s been a batshit crazy decade that I just can’t handle all these amazing feels rushing through me this month. 

    In celebration of this blogversary, I’d like to invite you to a month long party in my blog! I’ll be doing a couple of features over the month and I will be giving away some goodies as I recollect the best things that happened to my fujoshi life in the last ten years. Hence, Otaku Champloo is celebrating Yaoi Day FOR AN ENTIRE MONTH. Well, maybe we’ll be celebrating my otaku life for this month and you can join me in recollecting our love for manga in the last ten years!

    But for now, allow me to start your day right by greeting you a happy yaoi no hi, fujojo! May your day filled with love and boys who love each other!

  • 43. Doukyuusei by Nakamura Asumiko.

    43. Doukyuusei by Nakamura Asumiko.

    doukyuusei DVD

    I got my DVD of Doukyuusei last week. To be honest, I didn’t want to get the DVD. I mean, yes, I wanted to watch the film. I was miserable that I missed the film when I had the chance to see it. But the DVD, I thought, it can wait another day. Like, maybe, when the PhD is over. I’m at that point in my Nakamura Asumiko fan life that I can wait a few months before buying her next release. I mean there was a time where I can wait years before I get a book so, I know that this can wait. But somehow, the Doukyuusei DVD kept on popping up on my Amazon suggestions.

    And then it dawned on me that I might have a use for the DVD, so I eventually preordered it. When it arrived, I felt a slight tickle under my skin. I didn’t think I’d be so excited about it until I placed the DVD on my shelf beside my Doukyuusei manga. Suddenly, years of my BL life just flooded over me. I realised that had it not been for Nakamura Asumiko, I probably wouldn’t be where I am today.

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