Yaoi novels: features and concept of the genre

2024 Author: Leah Sherlock | [email protected]. Last modified: 2023-12-17 05:25

Yaoi novels are a special genre of Japanese art. The works of this trend are becoming more and more popular all over the world, despite their specific subject matter. After all, yaoi is a love story between men. What makes such stories catchy, 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 novels, 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 explicit scenes. Yaoi novels tend to have more of a romantic storyline, so girls are the main target audience.

I wonder what the word "yaoi" means? It is actually an abbreviation for YAOI, which stands for Yama nashi, ochi nashi, imi nashi. The saying is translated as follows: "No climax, no plot, no denouement." The not entirely approving name of the genre appeared thanks to the fans, who were amused by the lack of a storyline in the works. After all, a yaoi visual novel is most oftena brief sketch of the everyday life of a homosexual couple. Such works are not created in order to tell a logical story with an instructive meaning. It is simply a depiction of everyday life, pleasing to the eye, uncomplicated and simple.

Yaoi and shounen ai: common and different genres

Now the name "yaoi" has become a common term used to refer to the genre. The second name that can be found is shenen ai. The expression is translated as "youthful love." Anime and manga depicting relationships between guys can be in these two genres, which have some differences.

Yaoi is a more explicit direction, in which you can even see sex scenes, while shounen ai is a genre in which youthful love borders on true friendship or respect. One of the guys admires the other, but a closer relationship is not possible. Shounen 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 what the creators of manga and anime want to portray, and therefore there is often no plot development here. Yaoi novels are born to show the aesthetics and drama of male love.

Concept: What is the core of the genre

Yaoi novels are based on the relationship of two main characters: seme (giver) and uke (receiver). These names come fromJapanese martial arts taught by samurai, where seme is an attacker and uke is a defender. This is where homosexual slang, which characterizes the roles of partners in same-sex relationships, took its roots.

Most researchers of modern culture note the role of ancient traditions in Japanese works of art, because unlike European stereotypes condemning homosexuality, Japanese attitudes towards same-sex relationships are more than positive. This attitude towards love between men was born in the era of the samurai. Then a woman was considered someone who would only distract a real warrior from the true path, and therefore same-sex relationships were not only not condemned, but even welcomed. However, if in the samurai era the works depicted homosexual relationships, where both partners combine both male and female qualities, then modern authors divide the characters into the above-described seme and uke.

Seme is predominantly depicted as a more mature man, tall and handsome, strong and restrained. Uke, on the other hand, is distinguished by his androgyny, weakness, defenselessness and a certain apathy, and therefore in the relationship of the characters, the dominance of one character over another is pronounced.

Who reads and watches yaoi?

Yaoi novels are most often created with a focus on a female audience. Among young girls, this genre has become extremely popular, but men often turn out to be fans of yaoi - both gay and bisexual, and heterosexual. The genre won popularity among the male audience mainly among foreignfans. Japanese gays are rarely interested in yaoi novels, as they call the relationships described in such works unrealistic and feigned.

Some researchers believe that one of the reasons why the novels are so loved by the female audience is that the girls identify themselves with the character uke. For example, the issue of anal sex is often raised in yaoi. The theme 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 the personification of the female model of behavior in relationships with a partner.

Classics of the genre: popular works

Finding yaoi novels in Russian is not a problem today. The popularity of this genre has grown so much that manga and anime are being translated into all languages of the world. Fans make ratings of famous works and even write so-called fan fiction. In them, fans create not only continuations of yaoi stories, but also often show their views on the development of the relationship of characters in anime and manga in a completely different direction.

The list of yaoi visual novels is quite extensive. The most significant is the anime Ai no Kusabi, or Wedge of Love, which was 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 "Song of Wind and Trees", "Thomas's Heart", "Fake", "Fated Love".

Yaoi novels touch the feelings of manymodern lovers of manga and anime, and therefore more and more works are being released that reveal the essence of this genre. A good example is the recently released anime series I Demand Yaoya, where the main character is a fan of the manga. References to the question 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 surprises and interests the European audience.