Yaoi novels are a special genre of Japanese art. The works of this direction are becoming more and more popular all over the world, despite their specific subjects. After all, yaoi are love stories between men. What is the catch of such stories, and who reads them?
What is yaoi: features of the genre
Yaoi is one of the specific genres of Japanese visual art. Most often these are short stories, less often - manga and anime. The basis of the works of the genre is love between men, but homosexual relationships develop without vulgarity and extremely frank scenes. Yoyoyny novels have more likely a romantic plot, and therefore girls are the main target audience.
I wonder what the word yaoi means? In fact, this is the abbreviation YAOI, which stands for Yama nashi, ochi nashi, imi nashi. The statement is translated as follows: "No climax, no plot, no denouement." The not entirely approving name of the genre appeared thanks to fans who were amused by the lack of a storyline in the works. After all, the yoyoyna visual novel is most often a brief sketch of the everyday life of a homosexual couple. Such works are not created in order to tell a logical story with instructive meaning. This is just an image of everyday life, pleasing to the eyes, plain and simple.
Yaoi and senen ah: general and differences of genres
Now the name "yaoi" has become a generally accepted term that is used to denote a genre. The second name that can be found is senen ah. The expression is translated as "youthful love." Anime and manga depicting the relationship between the guys can belong to these two genres, which have some differences.
Yaoi is a more frank direction in which you can even see bed scenes, while senen ai is a genre in which youthful love borders on real friendship or respect. One of the guys admires the other, but a closer relationship is not possible. Senen ai are stories with a storyline where youthful love does not always develop in the foreground.
Yaoi visual novels are another matter entirely. Here homosexual love is the basis of the work, and the story is tied to feelings and emotions. This is exactly what the creators of manga and anime want to portray, and therefore there is often no plot development here. Yoyoyny novels are born in order to show the aesthetics and drama of male love.
Concept: what is the basis of the genre
Yoyoynye novels are based on the relationship of two main characters: seme (giving) and uke (receiving). These names came from Japanese martial arts, which were taught to the samurai, where seme is the attacker and uke is the defender. From here the homosexual slang has taken its roots, characterizing the roles of partners in same-sex relationships.
Most scholars of modern culture note the role of ancient traditions in Japanese works of art, because, unlike European stereotypes condemning homosexuality, the Japanese attitude to same-sex relationships is more than positive. This attitude to love between men was born in the era of samurai. Then the woman was considered someone who would only distract the real warrior from the true path, and therefore same-sex relationships were not just not condemned, but even welcomed. However, if in the samurai era the works depicted homosexual relations, where both partners combine both male and female qualities, then modern authors divide the characters into the aforementioned seme and uke.
Sam is predominantly portrayed as a more mature man, tall and handsome, strong and restrained. Uke, on the other hand, is distinguished by its hadrogyny, weakness, defenselessness and a certain apathy, and therefore the dominance of one character over another is pronounced in the relations of the heroes.
Who reads and watches yaoi?
Yoyoynye novels are most often created with a focus on a female audience. This genre has become extremely popular among young girls, but men, both gay and bisexual and heterosexual, are often fans of yaoi. The genre has gained popularity among the male audience mainly from foreign fans. Japanese gays are rarely interested in yaoi novels, as they describe the relationships described in such works as unrealistic and simulated.
Some researchers believe that one of the reasons why novels are so fond of a female audience is that girls compare themselves with the character uke. For example, the question of anal sex is often raised in yaoi. The topic is present in almost all short stories, where it is considered as a problem. Uke often has a fear of the first anal experience, which acts as an embodiment of a female model of behavior in a relationship with a partner.
Classics of the genre: popular works
Find yoyoynye short stories in Russian is not a problem today. The popularity of this genre has so grown that manga and anime are translated into all languages of the world. Fans make ratings of famous works and even write so-called fanfiction. In them, fans create not only continuation of yoyo stories, but also often demonstrate their view on the development of the relations of heroes in anime and manga in a completely different direction.
The list of yaoi visual short stories is quite extensive. The most significant is the anime Ai no Kusabi, or "Wedge of Love", which was shot based on the novel by Rieko Yoshihara in 1992. This work was the beginning of a new era of yaoi. Fans also celebrate such masterpieces as “The Song of the Wind and the Trees”, “Thomas Heart”, “Fake”, “Doomed Love”.
Yoyoyny short stories affect the feelings of many modern lovers of manga and anime, and therefore works are increasingly being released that reveal the essence of this genre. A good example is the recently released anime series "I Demand Yaoi", where the main character is a manga fan. References to the issue of male love are often found in anime of completely different genres. At the same time, same-sex relationships are not considered something extraordinary, which amaze and interest the European audience.