WORD OF THE DAY – Yaoi vs. Boys’ Love Part 1

Ever wonder what the difference is between yaoi and boys' love? Is there a difference? Well, it all comes down to where you are from, what is commonly used and what it means there.  I'll first start with yaoi and will later post boys' love: 

"The term yaoi was originally used to point to badly drawn doujinshi. It later came to be used to point to doujinshi with male/male sex scenes. It now can also be used to refer to sex scenes in any BL manga, or indicate that such scenes exist in a work, or to refer to commercial works that consist mostly of such scenes. For example, Zettai Reido, Boy's Pierce, and Comic June are referred to as BL or yaoi interchangeably.

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YAOI MANGA REVIEW: Don’t Rush Love

WORD OF THE DAY: Manhwa

NETCOMICS publishes a lot of manhwa either online or in print.  Here is a link to all of the boys' love titles NETCOMICS currently publishes.  Probably the most well known Korean manhwa is Totally Captivated which is up to its fifth volume with a sixth on its way.  NETCOMICS allows readers to buy a chapter at a time online of many titles (for as cheap as 25 cents), most if not all are GloBL titles including titles from Yaoi Press and Dany&Dany to name a few.  It's a great way to introduce yourself to manhwa titles without having to shell out a lot of money.  I've read a few of theirs already and like any publisher, some I liked and some I didn't.  They do list the age rating so you know just how much dirtiness to expect and you may want to see if it shows a date completed so you know if it is just a short story or an ongoing series.

WORD OF THE DAY: Juné

"June was an early publication featuring male/male stories in the tanbi style. People used to refer to the category of male/male relationships targeted at the female audience as June, but since that was a trade name for a magazine, that meaning of the term has fallen into disuse. The category has evolved and changed so much and the types of stories so varied that the entire category is now called BL by the industry and most fans. In some places, including Comiket, original stories are still called 'sousaku (original) June'."

Source   

YAOI ANIME REVIEW: Kirepapa OVA 2

This episode is really split between Chisato/Shunsuke and Riju/Kakeru as couples (Kakeru is Riju’s new boyfriend).  I’ll just tell you now that there isn’t a whole lot of “action” going on in this one; at least nothing as good as the first one.  Just some dream type sequences that allude to the act.  It is a funny episode, though, and had some good laugh out loud moments in it.  We are introduced to Chisato’s father and two brothers and since Chisato’s father would be Riju’s grandfather, it is quite hysterical at how young he looks.  I won’t go into any further details as to the plot.  As far as the animation, it’s pretty good and has a lot of funny touches added to it (you’ll understand when you watch it, too hard to explain).  The characters are all hot (one of the brothers is to die for) and the translation is nicely done.  If you like fun boys’ love titles (and I do), this is one of them and worth the watch.  If you just want nasty fun, this one will disappoint.

Characters = A (super hot and very funny)

Animation = A-

Translation = A (done by AarinFantasy)

Plot = B+ (nothing in depth but cute and funny make up for it)

Sexual Content = C (sorry, just nothing to get excited over)

Overall Grade = B+   

WORD OF THE DAY: 801

Ok, technically it's a number but it does have meaning.  Here you go:

"Another term for yaoi is 801. "801" can be read as "yaoi" in the following form: the "short" reading of the number 8 is "ya", 0 can be read as "o" – a western influence without doubt, while the short reading for 1 is "i" (see Japanese wordplay). For example, an Internet manga called Tonari no 801-chan, about an otaku guy who dates a fujoshi, has been adapted into a serialised sh?jo manga and a live-action film. 801-chan, the mascot of a Japanese shopping centre, is used in the manga.^[15]"

Now you know why 801 Media uses 801 in their name. 

Source

WORD OF THE DAY: Yukata

"The lightweight cotton yukata is also traditionally used in Japan as a lounge robe, bath robe and sleeping robe. The yukata robes are traditionally white or navy with a very plain geometric pattern whereas the cotton yukata worn in public as clothing have fancier patterns and designs. The yukata clothing can be worn as a robe in Japan, however the yukata robe should never be worn as clothing in public for it would be like wearing your pajamas in public."

(I lost my source info on this)  

YAOI MANGA REVIEW: Dark Sun

WORD OF THE DAY: Bishie

"Bishie -In English this functions as an adjective and a noun but in Japanese Bishounen and Bishoujo are only nouns. Originally from the Japanese word: Bishounen Bi, sho, nen. Each character meaning: Beautiful small year; respectively, roughly meaning "pretty boy"."

Source

(I didn't go with Wiki this time but I think this definition from Urban Dictionary sums it up well)  

WORD OF THE DAY: Imprint

This isn't specific to boys' love but you do hear it quite a bit.  Here's the portion of the explanation that fits for what we're discussing here:

• "It can mean a brand name under which a work is published. One single publishing company may have multiple imprints; the different imprints are used by the publisher to market the work to different demographic consumer segments. In some cases, the diversity results from the takeover of smaller publishers (or parts of their business) by a larger company. This usage of the word has evolved from the old practice of calling the printing of publisher's name at the bottom of publication's title page an imprint.

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