Blog-Market?, oh and Hardcore Yaoi.
Does anyone understand Blogshares? It’s this fantasy stock-market thing, but they trade ‘blogs’. I found GGY there, thanks to an incoming link grab from WordPress. It’s interesting. I’m shocked my worth hasn’t plummeted since I stopped actually being all ‘meta’ on this blog. LOL!
It seems that I’m in the top 50 of manga blogs [[[WRY!!!!]]]. Maybe this is why…
I recently saw a write up talking about yaoi; and I was a bit shocked to see some fens complaining that 801 didn’t belong in a ‘gay guide to yaoi’. First off, I think it’s a safe call to assume that not all gay men read yaoi for the porn. Sure, they might, but let’s think for a second, that maybe–just maybe–some of them read it for the romance instead. Okay ladies*, can you see it? Good. Now while nothing 801’s produced comes anywhere near what they promised they would [remember when they were all about 'hardcore' in their panels and announcements!], they have managed to deliver some relatively mature titles; just not on the crazy-sexy-smut front.
- June/801 is by and large, still the tamest pub out there. For the mature story/yet non-explicit read–801 rocks. They did deliver on mature, just not on the porn. June will always be the perfect imprint for beginners–99.9% of what they publish is as tame as can be.
- BLU is about porn, but nothing that would scare your boyfriend away, girls. They license titles that would raise an eyebrow is mom, dad, cousin, or co-worker. There’s love scenes, action lines, grunts/groans, but nothing ‘visually hardcore’. Overall, it’s somewhat more erotic, than pornographic.
- Kitty Media’s BoyBoy is all about porn. Most of it borders on kink. They’ve had a few stinkers, but they’ve made up for them by licensing hardcore crack [pun intended? That's up to you]. Little is left to the imagination if the mangaka didn’t draw it; but you’re not going to find any plot-heavy erotica here. Their books are not easily shared with the un-indoctrinated.
- Dramqueen, while tending to favor porn in it’s initial releases, has tried to deliver substance over smut, and just plain smut. When they do release their licenses, you’ll see titles ranging from plot heavy creators like Kano Miyamoto, to the aesthetically beautiful porn of Fusanosuke Inariya. With DQ, it’s always explicit, and usually a mature read.
- Yaoi Press is the only OEL publisher making ‘BL’ manga in English, at this time. A majority of their titles do have un-explicit action in them, and the artwork of these titles has risen well above the state of their initial releases; wont comment on their stories-I don’t feel being accused of hubris. *rolls eyes* Their ‘Yaoi Hentai’ series, is the only explicit material that Yaoi Press offers, from what I’ve seen.
- Deux Press , it’s really nothing but well drawn romance yaoi, for ‘young women’. Looking at the catalogue their offering [titles I've seen in Japanese]; they’re not much different than June manga in that, only young fen would find these titles worth the effort, and because the plots are relatively basic, mature fen looking for mature storylines-with sex, may find them dull. But gee, that art is priddy. They’re poised to be June’s biggest competition, in the ‘new to yaoi’ department.
I’m not even going to bother with BroBook’s Boysenberry, GoComi!, or Seven Seas [not trying to be jerk, just calling it like I see it.] With all due respect, they’ve released nothing on a regular basis that even indicates that their forays into BL, are more out of business gain, or the possible personal inclinations of a high ranking employees.
I’m also not going to bring up gay manga, because it’s not stateside, even though it’s affordable through shops like Rainbow and Prime Selections in Japan, both gladly ship overseas—it’s not quite at the level of BL [yaoi], since there’s only about 20 men [some women] making professional ‘gay manga’, in Japan right now. I think they’ve got a future in the states–but whatever pub picks them up, will actively market them toward gay men, and that’s when The Beat will see the backlash they’re so desperately waiting to see. ((^_-))
If you’re looking for books from Japan that you can buy [for smut purposes]; but don’t have the skills to read the language, but just want sex, there is no better listing site than Serena’s Yaoi Bookshelf. She’s a true mangophile, and caters solely to BL. It’s amazing.
The one true resource, no matter how dated it may be, is still Aestheticism.com. Despite beginning to show it’s age against the tide of current trends, it’s still the best place to start for those looking into the genre, wanting to seriously learn about the genre, and those looking for what sort of ‘BL’ they might be looking for.
Where to buy?
Well, the best place to start is still the Amazon.com ‘yaoi manga
If you’re looking to use eBay [yes you can...and even Paypal it!], shops like Discounts Comics NOW, and AnimeStuff, offer hundreds of Yaoi titles. Again, keep an eye on shipping and feedback talleys.
And lastly, there’s JustManga and EverythingYaoi.com [which does, in fact, sell everything released by US publishers!].
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*TIME OUT: Can we stop harping on the OMG they don’t want us in their fandom, routine? Those exclusionists that so horrified you poor gay men, once upon a time, are hardly the fan-majority now…so saying that gay men might find a wall’o'female in their way, when they go looking for Yaoi, is sort of false these days. Sure, if you go looking for yaoi in places like AMLA, or BoBoF, and announce that you’re a guy looking for more ‘gay style’ arts, then you’re going to get the fan-snobbery. :/ It’s no different than the outright nastiness I’ve personally seen in Bara and Gay comics LJs/forums, whenever women try to go on there and talk slash or yaoi. There’s plenty of communities online these days that do not promote that sort of gender segregation; it’s certainly no longer the norm.
