Quote:
Originally Posted by karice67
In Japan, ' BL' is actually the umbrella term for yaoi/shounen ai. i.e. BL contains everything from hints/subtext (which Western fans might call 'shounen ai') to really explicit doujinshi/titles (yaoi). According to the Japanese wiki, they don't use ' shounen ai' and ' yaoi' is a sub-heading that refers to really explicit scenes or works that are full of such scenes. Also, BL and ' ladies comics'* are both listed as genres under ' shoujo'.
Most Yuri titles are actually aimed at girls/women, as a few people have already said in this thread. i.e. they're not shounen or seinen. According to J-wiki again, with regards to manga, it'd come under shoujo manga (like 'josei', it's a genre term in Japanese literature).
No. Definitely not. Josei refers to works that target more mature female audiences and tend to feature more realistic relationships. Most 'yaoi' is targeted at 'fujoshi' rather than Josei audiences. The more realistic BL titles, the ones "that explore the complications and possibilities of the topic", can probably be considered Josei as well, and these women would probably read about a realistic/mature yuri relationship too...though the impression I've gotten is that most yuri is aimed at younger audiences... |
Actually,
Yaoi is also known as
Boys' Love, and both of them refer to homoerotic and homoromantic male relationships (
1). And listing a genre underneath a demographic loses all meaning upon the realization of the fact that there's Yaoi out there which targets a male audience. Likewise, there are also Yuri publications that are meant to appeal to anyone carrying a Y chromosome, with
Yuri Hime S being a notable example when put side-by-side with its female-in-mind cousin
Yuri Hime (
2). Finally, fantasizing and being mature are not mutually exclusive; Josei merely refers to the late teenage and adult women audiences that such a work is intended for (
3), and age and maturity are not necessarily congruent.
With that said, I'm really enjoying most of the responses so far. But I find it rather odd that the animation studios haven't taken the initiative to produce more yaoi when the manga side seems to be doing 4th place-ish fine. Failing that, I wonder if they'd get a clue and stop making all of their yuri implied or secondary when you'd get a lot more people who prefer it being the point more than an afterthought, like myself.
