Yaoi manga/anime discussions....

The first yaoi manga I read was Fake. It's about two policemen who are partners. On falls for the other and tries to seduce him. It can be considered a comedy/mystery manga, I think. I laughed several times and they guys worked on several cases, too.

There are several scenes some may consider graphic. You definitely didn't see certain body parts but you knew what they were doing!

Yep, I read FAKE as well as saw the OVA. It really isn't "yaoi," though, by traditional definition because it is so tame. "Yaoi" is really just the explicit and "sex for the sake of sex" stuff. FAKE belongs in the BL category with just that one scene at the end.

My first BL anime was FAKE, but I think my first BL title in manga was Gravitation. On a whim I picked up the first volume because I vaguely remembered reading someone recommending it to someone else online in passing. By the end of the week I had consumed all of the then released English volumes. It was all downhill from there. I bought all of FAKE, the entire Tokyo Babylon (shonen-ai title), the Gravitation anime and then graduated to true yaoi titles.

My first true yaoi title was Desire. I actually still go back and reread it occasionally. It's a good introductory yaoi title. From there I read Kizuna (and saw the anime), Embracing Love, Selfish Love, Passion, Level C (and saw the anime), Love Mode, Golden Cain, and Skyscrapers of Oz. I also read a lot of BL titles like Only the Ring Finger Knows and Earthian (OLD Yun Kouga, pre-Loveless, title).

Since then I have read quite a number of additional titles. My yaoi/BL collection overwhelms my collection of any other manga genre and I have a whole shelf on my anime bookcase just for the BL genre titles: Loveless, Sukisho, FAKE, Gravitation, Mirage of Blaze, Kizuna, Level C, Legend of the Blue Wolves, Boku no Sexual Harassment, Sensitive Pornograph, Gakuen Heaven, I Shall Never Return, and Princess Princess (even though it's really shojo). Yesterday I picked up the new release, Angel's Feather. Animeworks is a big publisher of BL genre anime in case anyone was wondering.

The most recent titles I have read and liked a lot include: Yellow (Tateno being one of my favorite mangaka), The Art of Loving, Loveless (mostly shonen-ai), La Esperanca, Princess Princess (actually shojo, but so much potential...), Black Knight (Kuro no Kishi), Shout Out Loud, and Let Dai (which is actually Korean Manwha).

Then there are the BL/yaoi novels: Only the Ring Finger Knows, Cold Sleep, Don't Worry Mama and the highly anticipated (by me) future release of Ai no Kusabi. The DMP translations are terrible, but the stories are at least interesting.

I also have both yaoi PC dating sims: Absolute Obedience and Enzai.

There are so many more I could mention, but this post is getting ridiculously long...

I love Yaoi and BL but prefer reading the manga rather than watching the anime. My favorite list goes on and on but if I have to choose just one it will be Embracing Love.

T. LaPonte,

Thanks for clarifying the definition of "yaoi" for me. I was never sure which anime/manga belonged to that category or the shonen-ai category. I just know I've enjoyed what I've read (not much) and seen (still not much) so far! ;-)

Gravitation was my first BL anime and my first introduction to this genre. I had no idea it involved 2 males. Needless to say, I was quite shocked when I saw the first episode. I was just getting into anime at this point and had no idea there were so many genres. Talk about being a NOOB! I really want to buy Gravitation but it has so many volumes. I heard that K's character is more developed in the manga compared to the anime.

I just added Desire to my wish list. I've seen Kizuna and the manga is on the wish list (WL), too. I've heard of some you've mentioned, like Level C, Earthian and Embracing Love (I may have seen this... can't recall). Of course by the end of the day, they'll be on my WL.

<< I have a whole shelf on my anime bookcase just for the BL genre titles>> OMG, I just bought another bookcase because my anime/manga collection has increased! I was running out of room for my vampire books, too.

<< Loveless, Sukisho, FAKE, Gravitation, Mirage of Blaze, Kizuna, Level C, Legend of the Blue Wolves, Boku no Sexual Harassment, Sensitive Pornograph, Gakuen Heaven, I Shall Never Return, and Princess Princess>> Out of this list, I've seen all of FAKE, Gravitation, MoB, and Kizuna. I've seen the first episode of Gakuen Heaven, Boku no Sexual Harassment and Legend of the Blue Wolves. Again, thanks for all the suggestions. I'll also check out Animeworks.

I have a long anime/manga WL but I'll list the few manga I do have (that belong in this category).

1. Legal Drug (on order)
2. Descendants of Darkness
3. Fake
4. Loveless (have and on order)
5. Gerard and Jacques (on order)
6. Lovers in the Night (on order)
7. Ai No Kusabi (on order)
8. Yellow (on order)
9. Twilight of the Dark Master

So basically I've only read FAKE and Descendants of Darkness (is that considered yaoi, BL, or shonen-ai? Oh, yes, I've seen Ai No Kusabi but only the first OAV. Like you, I'm eager to read it, too!

Thank you, T. LaPonte and R.Parklane, for responding. I look forward to more discussions!

Legal Drug is a CLAMP title, so you'll get a lot of insinuations, but never any follow-through. They are horrible, horrible teases, those ladies...

Descendants of Darkness is really a shojo series with some minor BL undertones. In the 11 volumes (it's apparently stalled out in Japan) that I have read there is one implied rape (of the main character's partner when he was still alive-- the story takes place in the afterlife), two men (one villain and one I don't know what...) trying to get into the main character's pants and a little too close relationship between the main character and his partner (that never gets resolved).

Actually, I wrote an Amazon Guide a while back explaining the differences in the genre between yaoi, shonen-ai and BL. You can find it through my profile.

Loveless is shonen-ai, mostly because of the implications between the two main characters. I like the series a lot and I really wish they'd do a second season for the anime.

Gerard and Jacques is by the same manga-ka who did Antique Bakery, which was an okay series (got overly positive reviews, IMHO), but only BL-esque because one of the characters is gay, not because it is a true BL title. Gerard and Jacques actually has a nice BL story with a few tasty yaoi moments. Lovers in the Night is another Fumi Yoshinaga title, but I haven't read it.

Ai no Kusabi I think is going to be one of the most highly anticipated yaoi releases since Kizuna, and probably the most highly anticipated yaoi novel series yet translated into English. I'll be ordering it the day I see it in stock.

I absolutely love Yellow. A lot of people think it's pretty bland (or a rip-off of FAKE), but they usually get through two volumes and decide that and then that opinion taints their ability to enjoy the rest of the series. Volume 3 is a masterpiece of BL storytelling and the cliffhanger... I spent months pulling my hair out waiting for the last volume to come out.

I haven't read Twilight of the Dark Master, but I think it is going to be one of those DMP titles that is actually not yaoi. They've been trying to branch out into some shojo recently. It seems to be getting favorable reviews, though.

Gravitation is a 12 volume manga series with one more volume released of the new EX series. Not a short series, but not an incredibly long one, either. I'm already up to 26 volumes in Boys over Flowers (shojo manga series) and I think there're another 10 to go... =P As for Gravitation, yeah, many of the characters are fleshed out much better in the manga than the anime: K, Sakano, Mika Seguchi, Noriko Ukai, Mizuki (Yuki's publisher), Suguru Fujisaki, and on and on. There are also quite a few manga-only characters in the later story arc that are so much fun to watch (K's wife, Reiji, ARK, Yoshiki Kitazawa...). If you think the anime is crack-y, the manga will blow you away; it's so over the top. Think giant robot panda destroying New York City (and then watch it happen)...

The only thing you have to know about Level C is that the manga series is 6 volumes long, but after volume 3 it really isn't worth reading anymore. It just gets boring and drags on. You could stick to just volume 1, even, and have a good enough experience to satisfy your curiosity.

My bookcases are getting out of control. I buy the short DVD cases that can hold about 70-80 DVDs because manga are just about the same height and depth. I also have two revolving cases. I have about 8 bookcases all together for just manga and another big bookcase for all of my regular books. And then there are my three cases for DVDs, the biggest one being just for anime (dwarfing the rest of my DVD collection).

I will check out your profile for a better understanding of yaoi, shonen-ai and BL. Thanks for the suggestion.

I was quite disappointed when I discovered DoD was left "hanging!" I've heard that it might continue; I'll believe it when I see it!

Have you seen or read any of the following: Junjou Karen, Zettai Unmei, Mamotte Agemasu, Intense Rain, Zetsuai 1989, or Kasho no Tsuki?

Do you buy your manga/anime online? I purchase from Amazon and RightStuf, depending on who has a good sale. The RightStuf is having a good sale now and I'm really tempted to purchase some things!

Do you frequent any message boards? Sometimes I post on the AdultSwim site. I also post on The Anime Network board and The Anime Forum board.

I just signed up to receive a yaoi newsletter from this site..http://www.everythingyaoi.com/

I've heard of a number of those titles, but they aren't licensed and I try to stay away from unlicensed titles, particularly anime, which I have never been a fan of downloading. They're available in places on the internet if you know where to look, though...

I buy about half of my manga and anime on the internet. My main sources are amazon.com and justmanga.com. I've shopped at RightStuf as well from time to time, but I've found that JustManga and Amazon tend to have titles in stock faster. I've also been known to peruse e-bay from time to time as well as akadotretail.com once in a while and scroll through jlist.com's adult store occasionally. Basically I'll buy from whoever has the best price of the title I want in-stock when I want it. In-store I buy most of my manga at Borders and my anime at Best Buy. These two stores are the best for mainstream titles (the big name stuff). I also don't have to wait for shipping, so I get stuff faster, even though it might be available online a week or two weeks before the "official" release date. The only issue is it is more embarrassing to buy yaoi in-store, but I rationalize that most of the clerks don't know what it is and the ones that do are just as guilty as you are. ;)

I don't do much posting about my manga/anime interests in yaoi, et al online (nor do I generally advertize it in RL), though I do read a number of sources including Anime News Network and various LiveJournal communities devoted to the genre. For news I like going to the yaoi publisher websites first: DMP (yaoi-manga.com), Blu (blumanga.com), DramaQueen (onedramaqueen.com), BeBeautiful (bebeautifulmanga.com), and I'm sure I'm forgetting some... I also do a decent amount of reading LJ postings for licensed title information. Outside of that I will do random searched on wikipedia, Anime News Network, Amazon and sometimes web searches. Most of what I discuss in the genre is here on Amazon, which is sort of weird if you think about it...

YaoiCon (a yaoi-specific anime convention held every November in San Francisco) is also a great resource because most of the big English publishers wait until this convention every fall to announce their releases for the next year. Right now is actually the biggest time of year for English language fans of yaoi to find out new information about available titles. The internet is a-buzz with all the newly licensed releases, etc.

I was looking for one thing and found all of those other anime; I was wondering if you had seen them. Like you, I don't like to download anything. I use my computer for work, too, and I don't want to install anything that might compromise my computer from functioning properly. Plus, I really can't watch anime on the computer... I tend to fall asleep! LOL

I'm so glad you mentioned the justmanga.com site. I stumbled upon it last week and wondered how legitimate it was. I found one site, duh - can't recall the name at the moment, which sold anime really, really cheap. I was quite suspicious about it and asked about it on a forum. Sure enough, the place was known to sell bootleg anime; something I did not want. RightStuf has some good sales, too. One sale is ending today. I've been debating for over a week about purchasing some more manga but I must wait now. I'M GOING ON AN ALASKAN CRUISE THIS SUMMER AND MUST SAVE SOME MONEY! So no more manga or anime buying for a while, but that won't stop me from talking about them! I've been buying my anime from BestBuy, too. If it's on my wish list and under $20, I buy it. Oh, yeah, another sale the RightStuf seems to have once a year is the Geneon sale; you can buy 10 for $50 or 25 for $100. Of course, I went for the latter option. Lovely, all this anime and no place to store them, LOL.

<< The only issue is it is more embarrassing to buy yaoi in-store, but I rationalize that most of the clerks don't know what it is and the ones that do are just as guilty as you are. ;)>> That comment made me laugh! LOL

I like the Anime News Network site. I like the ability of maintaining a want to and have seen/read lists. I found another site yesterday. It's called myanimelist.net. You can keep a listing of your anime/manga. It also includes a forum, blogs, reviews, etc. I also like wiki to get more info about some anime/manga.

Have you attended any conventions? I live near Baltimore, MD and they have a yearly convention. I've been tempted to attended put don't want to pay the fee! Once year, it cost $60! EEEK!

I do read a lot more yaoi and BL manga than I watch the anime. I just like the feel of the books in my hand. BTW that is a brilliant idea about the DVD storage for manga! R. Parklane--nice to see you. I have come to rely on your reviews for honest, comprehensive reviews. my first yaoi that I read was Fake and zoomed through them before I started anything else. this was about two years ago. I liked it at the time, but the humor was a little broader than I liked. Yellow was next and I loved it, although in both of these, as well as others down the road, there was the dreaded blank spot where genitalia should be! i find it a little creepy to find that Ken doll look or to see a hand lovingly grasping nothing...Skyscrapers of Oz is a favorite and a classic. Embracing Love and Kizuna are nothing less than addictions and I am anxiously awaiting the newest ones. Shout Out Loud is another strong favorite. Beautiful distinctive art where each character looks different from the others, wonderful story line, and kisses that may be ink on paper, but still stop my heart! lately I have been reading a lot of Fumi Yoshinaga and Hyouta Fujiyama. Although the art was really a little rougher than I liked at first, both of these manga-ka have great story lines, with emotion and a good progression in the story--Freefall Romance, Moon and Sandals, The First CLass is Civil Law, Spell and Lover's Flat, Words of Devotion, CLose the Last Door (really thoroughly enjoyed this one), and Star--this one I had issues with the translation--I suspect it was possibly just done too directly from Japanese to English, and the art is a little rough, particularly on the bodies, but the emotions on the faces of the men here are very clear and touched my heart. THis does have graphic love scenes, with no penis in sight, although it is artfully done and not jarring. Sensitive Pornograph, My Paranoid Next Door Neighbor, and I'm not Your Stepping Stone as well. One I read recently was I Can't Win With You and boy do I have Issues with this one!! Ugh to start with. I (apparently) have a particular weakness for salaryman stories, young men in school, and some genderbenders. I have a shojo section (the Wallflower, Tenshi Ja Nai!, Platinum Garden, Never Give Up) and then there are some favorites that I am not sure where they belong, except that they are keepers--Love Pistols, Loveless, Click--Korean author and new to me, but Interesting!, SEnsual Phrase...Hmm... possibly I should close this off for now, as it seems in danger of becoming a novella!

and how could I forget Target in the Finder series!! raises the temperature even in the midst of winter here !!

C.R., have you read Brother (A DramaQueen title)? It's not actually an incest title, but if you're irritated about the censorship of male "members" (it's actually related to a bizarre Japanese censorship law where you can't technically show the male "member" whether it be in live action or art) this is the title for you. They show EVERYTHING in that one.

I can't keep up with R.Parklane's review rate. I only write yaoi reviews here at Amazon, and I can only seem to get out a couple a month. To get out the hundreds that R has done, I could only dream...

If you've found you like the Korean manwha stuff I can recommend Let Dai to you, C.R. Actually, I can recommend NetComic's website where you can actually legally read manga online. The first chapter of every series is free to read and all additiona chapters are .20/.25US.

I really like the "buddy" series like Yellow and FAKE. I have a thing for two masculine guys, and not so much with the stereotypical femme uke.

You live in Baltimore and you've never been to Otakon?! GO TO OTAKON! It's one of the biggest anime conventions every year after Anime Expo in LA.

I've been going to Connecticon the past couple of years. Maybe I will take a foray to AnimeBoston one of these years, but I can't get too far away because of my work schedule. I really wish I could go to more.

If you find that site with the suspect titles, send it to me. I know some places you can report things like that to. Nothing irritates me more in anime right now than bootleg DVDs. I bought some accidentally back when I was a noob to online buying and it's cost me some cash to replace them all...

If you want any Geneon titles I recommend getting them while you can. Geneon went under a few months ago (partially due to illegal online distribution), and the likelihood that we will see any reprints since the distribution deal with ADV didn't pan out is small.

I LOVED Brother! Story was funny and the seme/uke were sweet and lovable! would love to read more of the mangaka's work. The near-incest doesn't bother me at all. I do prefer more masculine men as well. One of the few things that skeeves me out is the baby-boy characters, especially not just the baby face but when the entire character resembles a 9 or 10-year-old boy. I just got Pet on Duty and the only thing that saved it from immediate resale was the quality of the art and the emotion in the story line--the character was not abused and was more or less the pursuer. this manga-ka also furthered my almost fetish for gorgeous noses! Her noses are beautiful, her three-quarter profile really IS a three-quarter profile and does not make the character look like an alien! and although I know this will be hard to believe, but NO JUG EARS!! it was hard for me to get used to otherwise beautiful art, but ears that looked like a sugar bowl! Ayano Yamane does exquisite features as well--she has a fantasy out now that is really good (if damned well shockingly small amount of actual book for the price!) Crimson Spell. I tripped over NetComic's site trying to find out more about Click. I have been able to resist (barely) the temptation to read ahead but it is difficult--I may succumb in the barren days ahead! I like the difference in the art in the manwha at least so far, but I was told that Let Dai was really violent, that there were a number of rapes and that is one of my skeeve points, so I have not checked it yet, but I will check into it further now.

OH NO!! I am three DVDs behind in Kyo Kara Maoh! must finish KKK!!

I gave up on resisting the temptation on Netcomics many months ago. I read through all of Boy Princess, amd up to date on Let Dai and now I am hooked on Totally Captivated as well.

Let Dai IS violent and there is a rape that happens in the story, but it isn't a glorified rape. In fact, the incident is one of the driving forces in the plot because all of the characters are forced to deal with the repercussions on the victim and everyone she comes into contact with afterwards. It's a heartwrenching story and while reserved sexually (Korea has VERY strict censorship laws, so we don't even usually get to see kissing let alone anything more), the storytelling and writing is well worth the experience.

Unfortunately it doesn't seem that we will be seeing the last three volumes of Kyo Kara Maoh, now. Volume 7 was supposed to come out in November and try as I may, I have not been able to find it anywhere. I fear we may never see it to its conclusion. That above all others is what pisses me off the most. Geneon had so many great titles that we'll probably never see again. Right now I am worried about what is going to happen to the Hellsing Ultimate OVAs...

Oh man, really not happy about that--I did see the last episode on you tube a while ago (not precisely what I wanted) and I had heard that there was an OVA in producdtion or nearly so, but I don't remember where. KKK is my escape valve--There must be a way to finish the series--it is so popular!

I'll give it a try--I mean it's hard to lose at .25 a chapter! and, um, as long as I'm there, I might as well check just the next chapter of Click... and there were a couple of others that might need my attention....why does this suddenly sound a road paved with good intentions????

checked the preview of Let Dai yesterday, and Totally Captivated, next first peek at Click, and a couple of others--teetering on the verge!

Ah, I can't help but think I've done something corruptive...

=\

Not precisely corruptive--I had one foot in the doorway and the other on a banana peel! Hey, has anyone read Play Boy Blues?? is not a new one, been out maybe a year, but I have been tempted for a while. Is by the same author of I'm Not Your Stepping Stone, new one that I really like--actual story line, granted not Deep, but not bad. Kazuya gets a crush on a girl, but he is a middle school graduate and has been working for the past eight years--to be good enough for her, her brother Masashi (very bright, already in high school) convinces Kazuya to get the equivalent of a GED for high school but the payment for his instruction is Kazuya's body (try to hold in your shock here!). Masashi falls in love first, Kazuya has a harder (!) time and things do not go as smoothly as expected. there is an encounter in a bathroom that is somewhere between a fight and love that is impressive... Has a nice HEA and all in all pretty good story, very good art. is graphic but still a bit artful. Keeper for me but when I saw Play Boy Blues was the same author, I wondered if anyone else had read it.

Hello CR, I read Play Boy Blues sometimes back. I like it but have difficulty trying to figure out who is saying what as the speech balloons are badly linked. Needs a bit of patience, I guess. I like this mangaka's drawings of her tall and muscularly slim guys.

Hi R--worth buying but maybe used? I did see the used book price was very reasonable but I do have little patience with waiting longer to get them! The art in Stepping Stone was really good, excellent definition on the bodies.

I know, I really should go to Otakon.. maybe next year. I'll look around for the bootleg site. I think I placed it under my favorites before I was told about it. I'll check this weekend and let you know.

I heard about Geneon and that stinks. Too bad the deal with ADV didn't go through.

Hey, C.R. Emery. Thanks for the other suggestions; my wish list is growing! I did stumble upon the Finder series and that seems really good, too.