From Yamamoto Kotetsuko's Hontou Yajyuu
Yes! For once, I was not to busy to forget this very special day!!
Fujoshis! Run amock! Go wild! Buy some lovely BL and snicker behind every nasty page you’re reading! You deserve it!
Over the last year, I’ve also crossed a fun fujoshi who I don’t mind pimping to everyone. If you guys haven’t read Hazukashii kedo…, then as a fujoshi it’s about time you do so. Fuuko’s a lovely fujoshi who is not afraid to squee over her BL. She’s got some of the latest news from Japan since, she’s admittedly, a fantastic stalker (of the legal kind of sorts) to her favorite BL mangaka. I suggest you guys follow her blog and read through some titles which we can hope can get licensed someday. If you guys enjoyed Men of Tattoes (Shisei no Otoko) then Fuuko has tons of Aniya Yuiji manga for recommendation. I have been getting BL recs from her and I haven’t felt disappointed. <3 Fujoshi-chan, it’s time you get on with the program.
Of course, 801 no hi is a reminder not only of this blessed day to be a fujoshi but on this particular 801, Otaku Champloo will also start its month-long 5th anniversary celebration! \o/ I can’t believe it’s been five years since I started this blog! I’ve got things lined up for this month and I hope you guys won’t mind that I bring out my fujoshi side! At the same time, I’ll be raffling off some manga every weekend! Call me crazy but I’m feeling quite generous after five years and I know I owe it to some of my readers!
Hence! With great gusto, let’s all celebrate being a fujoshi by shouting our beloved oath, “Gentlemen! I like BL!”
Gentlemen, I like BL
Gentlemen, I love BL
I like Kichiku Megane
I like underage assaults
I like naughty assaults
I like gakuen monogatari
I like riiman
I like parallels
I like gachi muchi
I like crossdressers
In parks, in schools
In companies, on streets
In harems, in deserts
In darkness, in daylight
I love every aspect of boy’s love that takes place on this earth
I like quickly shooting the customer with the cash register while packing up the merchandise
When new publications on the stand decrease at amazing speed, my heart dances
I like operating the computer and responding to customer inquiry quickly
When new books arrived at the cash register, my heart leapt
Gentlemen, I desire BL, BL that is like hell
Gentlemen, my companions in the battalion, who follow me
Gentlemen, what do you desire?
Do you desire BL as well?
Do you desire PC games and commercial magazines that strike the wallet with no mercy?
Do you desire doujinshi that stretch the limits of iron, wind, lightning and fire to the limit, one that will kill all the delusions on this planet?
“BL! BL! BL!”
Very well, they are on the 3rd, 4th floor
Popularity: 6% [?]
I believe I’ve been told by one of my advisers that I shouldn’t write something that I’m obsessed about. Bias, after all, is one of the greatest sins in historical writing. It’s like a painted picture where everything is all right or all wrong and it’s hard to tell whether it’s the truth or not because of all the biases people have on it. Is it pretty? Is it ugly? Does the picture really translate the heart of what it’s trying to represent? Or are we simply translating what the painter wishes to portray and nothing more?
It’s hard to get rid of biases but when images sway you to the point of obsession then maybe, just maybe, that picture has more truth that it should hold.
It is in this obsession that I cannot forget Nakamura Asumiko. She draws a gaze that convinces me more than ever that she deserves this spotlight.
Popularity: 26% [?]
I write this spotlight today with a mildly sore leg as March started with a big bump… in more ways than one.
I wonder if living life past a quarter of a century meant seeing your life in still panels with soft lines and endearing faces. Surely, my face was far from endearing, nor was the experience of being hit by a car in any way graceful. But strangely, all worries, anxieties, and fears disappeared as soon as I shared a meal with the lady who hit me with her car. And I can visibly remember the joy of eating food with someone, even if she kind of messed up my legs a little.
At that time, I felt that moment reminded me of a Yoshinaga Fumi panel, two people eating, healing pains and worries with a quiet but hearty meal and smiles on their faces.
Hence, in commemoration of being thankful for life, I put a spotlight on Fumi Yoshinaga.
Popularity: 14% [?]
I thought that this has got to be the funniest joke but it turns out, it was no joke at all.
I’ve seen this being tweeted for some while but it wasn’t long until I finally saw the commercial for Shueisha’s new quarterly BL magazine (under its subsidiary Homesha), BL-ink.
But don’t they have Weekly Shounen Jump already?
I know. It’s crazy. But it seems Weekly Shounen Jump is not the “Sweet BL” that BL-ink is trying to offer. The magazine is a dedicated BL magazine for Homesha and I think this is perhaps an outright acceptance of the popularity of BL.1
What I found interesting was it took some google powers to find the site. It’s mostly mentioned as BLink which doesn’t come out much in searches. Looking at Shueisha’s website doesn’t even announce the magazine (or at least I didn’t see it.) I had to find the websites of actual authors in the magazine to actually figure out that it should be searched as BL-ink to finally find the proper search term for the said magazine.
As I mentioned, BL-ink will be sold more under Homesha, but it’s inevitable to not associate this publishing firm with Shueisha. In fact, in the advertisements, they would proudly put the banner of Shueisha as if it’s quite important and crucial that Shueisha’s involved in this. After all, the company has had a love affair with fujōshi especially with Shounen Jump.
Popularity: 20% [?]
- strangely, the niconico video has only been seen by 1000++ people! [↩]
Red Blinds the Foolish by Est Em
Serialized in Mellow Mellow and Gekidan
Published by Ohzora Publishing and Deux Press
There was a time when I used to dream of Spanish fiestas. La Tomatina. Hogueras de San Juan. San Isidro de Madrid. Corrida de toros.
And I did not dream of this because my country, the Philippines, used to be a Spanish colony. My fascination with it lies in the romance of the activity. There was something beautiful and romantic with the order that comes with the chaos of a fiesta. I’ve seen bits and parcels of it in my own local fiesta, but that charm extends just as much with the Spanish ones, particularly with the Corrida de toros. I find the power in controlling the bull fascinating.
It is in this same fascination that I ended up reading more through the pages of Est Em’s Red Blinds the Foolish. While I admit that I did grab it first because it was written by Est Em, I didn’t realize that she will drag me into this romantic world of toreros.
Popularity: 11% [?]
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