Fujojocast #12: Gay Manga Dialogues with Thomas Baudinette (Part 2)

12/19/17 • 54 min

Herculion’s Full Service. Illustration by Mazjojo

I am finally back from check republic ((as my students call final markings)) with the second part of my conversation with Thomas Baudinette on gay manga.

In the last episode, we talked about Tom’s research, how he stumbled upon gay manga, and how this genre is consumed by readers in Japan. As for this episode, Tom and I will continue and conclude our discussions on gay manga as it moves in transnational spaces.

In this Episode

Thomas and I continue our discussions on gay manga. This time, we look into new concepts of “hard” BL or “hard” yaoi as terms fans use to describe what Tom considers as hybrids of BL manga and yaroukei. As we discuss the works of some artists such as Matsu Takeshi and Zariya Ranmaru, we acknowledge that these works are changing the landscape of BL manga and has shifted the eroticism of the manga to what some of his respondents consider as pornographic.

We continue to discuss the authenticity of these hybrid manga and see its in impact in transnational spaces. Thomas and I look into the works of Asian artists such as Mazjojo and Guilt|Pleasure and see how their works highlight the transformations of gay comic, as seen through this transnationational concept of “bara”.

As we conclude the show, we summarise the main points of the show and reflect upon the future of gay manga as it continues to navigate in a transnational space.

Fujojocast #12: Gay Manga Dialogues with Thomas Baudinette Part 2

Note: The opinions of both Thomas and Khursten do not represent their institutions

OP: Doukyusei BGM 1 by Oshio Kotaro (from the Doukyusei Movie OST)
EP: Doukyusei BGM 1 by Oshio Kotaro (from the Doukyusei Movie OST)

Show Notes

Scarlet Beriko’s BL Design Manuals: Kissing Scenes, Love Scenes, Mousou Poses) Ranmaru Zariya: Coyote, Void, Nemuri Otoko, Pet Keiyaku Kinnniku BL Naono Bohra (

Herculion’s Full Service. Illustration by Mazjojo

I am finally back from check republic ((as my students call final markings)) with the second part of my conversation with Thomas Baudinette on gay manga.

In this Episode

As we conclude the show, we summarise the main points of the show and reflect upon the future of gay manga as it continues to navigate in a transnational space.

Fujojocast #12: Gay Manga Dialogues with Thomas Baudinette Part 2

Note: The opinions of both Thomas and Khursten do not represent their institutions

OP: Doukyusei BGM 1 by Oshio Kotaro (from the Doukyusei Movie OST)
EP: Doukyusei BGM 1 by Oshio Kotaro (from the Doukyusei Movie OST)

Show Notes

Scarlet Beriko’s BL Design Manuals: Kissing Scenes, Love Scenes, Mousou Poses) Ranmaru Zariya: Coyote, Void, Nemuri Otoko, Pet Keiyaku Kinnniku BL Naono Bohra (

Previous Episode

Fujojocast #11 – Gay Manga Dialogues with Thomas Baudinette (Part 1)

Geshuku no Oniisan by Nohara Kuro

Even when my life since last year has been moving forward like a jet plane, I always make an effort to do something special for Yaoi no Hi! That’s August 1, and that is today!

For this Yaoi no Hi, I decided to upload a podcast featuring my awesome friend and colleague, Thomas Baudinette (or Tom, as I call him in the show) about gay manga in Japan and its place in gay and women’s culture. We brushed on various related topics to gay manga such as gei komi and, of course, boys love.

In this episode

Thomas Baudinette is an anthropologist and Japanese Studies scholar who is currently teaching at Macquarie University in Sydney. We’ve worked together for a couple of conferences and often found ourselves talking about our research which looks at people’s consumption of boys love texts. Finally, I had a chance to invite him on a podcast!

In this show, we talked about so many things about gay manga and BL that I had to divide the show into two parts. The first part deals with Tom’s research on gay manga and how Japanese gay men are defining and consuming this comic genre. We also talked about the subgenres within gay manga, some of which are beyond what I perceive as aesthetically gei komi. Of course, we also brushed upon “bara” and how English discourse packages gay manga through English-translated texts such as Massive and other gay-translated titles.

It was a fun first hour, and hopefully, you learned so much from Tom about Japan’s vibrant gay manga culture.

Fujojocast #11: Gay Manga Dialogues with Thomas Baudinette (Part 1)

Note: The opinions of both Thomas and Khursten do not represent their respective institutions.

Download the episode
OP: Doukyusei BGM 1 by Oshio Kotaro (from the Doukyusei Movie OST)
EP: Doukyusei BGM 1 by Oshio Kotaro (from the Doukyusei Movie OST)

Show notes

Articles

Thomas Baudinette’s “An evaluation of physicality in the bara manga of Badi magazine” and “Japanese gay men’s attitudes towards ‘gay manga’ and the problem of genre” (See Thomas’ academia for more articles).

James Welker’s “Beautiful, Borrowed, and Bent: Boys Love as Girls Love in ShÅjo Manga” and “Flower Tribes and Female Desire Complicating Early Female Consumption of Male Homosexuality in ShÅjo Manga.” (See James’ academia for more articles)

Wim Lunsing’s “Yaoi RonsÅ: Discussing Depictions of Male Homosexuality in Japanese Girls’ Comics, Gay Comics and Gay Pornography”

Gay Manga Artists from Badi

Geshuku no Oniisan by Nohara Kuro

Nijiiro Sunrise by Maeda Poketo

Nijiiro Sunrise by Maeda Poketo (See a sample over on twitter!)

Gay Manga Artists and Works Published in English

Gengoro Tagame’s My Brother’s Husband

Next Episode

Fujojocast No. 13: A Thai BL Primer with Thomas Baudinette

BL is taking an interesting turn and it’s not happening on the shelves of Ikebukuro but on television broadcasts and streams in Thailand. Thai BL has become a hot topic in recent years and as someone invested in boys love culture, the world of boys love in Thailand has definitely piqued my curiosity. My enabler for this is none other than Dr. Thomas Baudinette who has watched every Thai BL ever released and was more than happy to give me the lowdown on Thai BL.

Show Notes

As mentioned in the podcast, Thomas was one of the first anthropologists who has written on Thai BL in English. He has an article that explores the early years of the phenomenon as seen through Lovesick and he has also mentioned in the podcast that he’s currently developing a book on Thai BL. Recently, he also gave a online talk on Thai BL which is definitely something worth listening to as well. His work on Thai BL has led to articles on Asahi Japan that talks about the explosion of Thai BL in the region, his recommended shows, and the new queer practices emerging from this new Thai BL Idol culture.

The show also mentioned a chapter written by Dredge Kang who touches a bit on this culture in his chapter for BL Opening Doors (Japanese only). For those of you who are able to read Japanese, I strongly recommend this book so that you may see the transformation of the genre in the region.

Over the years, I’ve seen Tom’s research grow and I’m fascinated by its connection with the Philippines. In this podcast, we also discussed why Filipino fans are at the centre of Thai BL, the politics of its consumption, and its engagement with our local BL community. After the recording of this podcast, the local publisher for original BL, Black Ink, tangentially touches on Thai BL as they discuss this genre with one of our renowned gay writers, Danton Remoto.

What is clear from this podcast is that BL is changing its shape and it’s no longer centred in Japan alone. Thailand is writing its own chapter and so is China with danmei. The Philippines is thinking of creating their own BL too.

Certainly, BL as we know it is changing. Isn’t it a fun time to be a BL fan?