What is yaoi?

What is yaoi?

Many, more or less intimately familiar with the anime and manga, will say: yaoi - a tale of homosexual relations between beautiful boys. And there will be a more or less right.

However, if we draw an analogy with the European and American cinema, in the latter we find relatively few pictures of homosexuals, and each of them stands alone. At the same time, yaoi, for all its specificity, is one of the major genres of anime. Where did the Japanese have such an interest in this topic? Like male quality in this country are valued less than others, and a Samurai is not less valiant tradition than, say, the officer in tsarist Russia.

Do not forget about the peculiarities of Japanese morality. Where a European aristocrat, declared abuser duel samurai did harakiri. The Japanese have their own honor and pride, but it manifests itself in accordance with the tenor, formed over the years in their country.

Japanese aristocrat not descend to in order to infringe on someone else's wife. In addition, during the fragmentation of Japan and the continuous confrontation of individual shogunate samurai fully dedicated themselves to the war. Among the most prized qualities that make a male warrior, endurance, and knowing no fear. It was also thought that the society of women "soften" the man, makes him weak and capable of unworthy acts. In Japanese historical novels described cases in which a man found himself in a shameful situation, sacrificing long samurai for the love of a woman. Therefore, some ideological doctrine bushido reached even before the allegations that satisfy the carnal need more samurai stuck with one of his CERA (faithful servants) than with a woman. As we see in samurai representation of homosexuality in no way denied masculinity.

For its part, the most prominent and highly educated ladies of Japan, who left us many beautiful literary works strongly romanticized love, relationships, men and women and feelings of the samurai, who had gone on a long trip, and waits for his beloved wife. In the aristocratic houses in Japan a woman was allowed to express feelings to her beloved mainly through poetry, music and drawing, and they brightened depression loneliness composing long novels, such as "Genji-monogatari." In these novels, they practiced their dream of a hot and boundless love, able to melt any ice and turn it into a refreshing hot flames, burning, but yielding pleasure.

Feminine Romanticism (I'm not just talking about the Japanese aristocrats of the Middle Ages, and about women in general) do not allow them to make the hero's rough and aggressive. Therefore, the Japanese novels dominated by the image of beauty, even feminine, graceful farforovolikogo boys. This appears even the founder of samurai traditions Minamoto no Yoshitsune, although in reality he was, as rumored, a typical soldier, rough and ferocious in appearance. And the women was very severe. But the romantic Japanese ladies not to agree to believe it.

In the twentieth century, the rhythm of life the Japanese began strongly accelerated. The consequence is that the time to read the Japanese have remained smaller, and the traditional literature significantly pushed novels in pictures, so-called manga (manga). Mangou could swallow on that day, which led to a significant amount of the market and the possibility of a presence of a large number of authors. And since the Meiji and Taisho Japanese woman has become noticeably in the rights and almost equal to men, it is not surprising that among the manga artist (mangaka) - authors of the manga - there are many women and girls.

Women Drawing manga genres shjo (shoujo - targeted at young girls), tried to make his characters more romantic. However, the most romantic and they seemed to issue forbidden love and separation. Also mangaka tried to prove the right girl for the conquest of love, but the tradition of Japan simply did not leave the woman role zavoevatelnitsy. Therefore, in the manga began to develop theme stories girls, dressed in men's clothes to disguise their gender. This theme is taken from a Chinese legend about a girl who asked to remain with her beloved, even when he went from home to school, as well as from the novel "The Tale of Yoshitsune", where Yoshitsune in disguise followed by one of his beloved, when he and his companions made his way along roads under the guise of monks Yamabushi dealing spells. The image of the girl in the men's clothing over time, flowing into the image of feminine boys.

But while in the manga of the newly formed genre it was already on the young man, in fact it still had a girl in a man's guise. This can be judged by their appearance, and behavior. For example, Cindy, the hero of the manga and anime Gravitation, though is the plot of adolescent boys, but the whole essence is definitely a girl. In the end, the boy is unlikely to be so enthusiastic squeak, melt at every step and that little bump in tears. A recently released from Pico Boku-no Piko can take the boy did that because of the presence of boyish penis.

In turn, in the manga genre yuri, where we are talking about same-sex love between girls and, accordingly, one of them replaces the boy, a girl can give the features of youth. For example, when Tendze Utena (the heroine of the legendary anime director Kunihiko Ikuhara and manga, created, outstanding manga Saytou Silence) undressing, posing on the tower for a picture of his beloved Himemiya Anfi, we see that it breathes like a man - his stomach. Yes, and her body in general, quite muscular.

Heroes with more "manly" appearance in yaoe called seme ("giving"), fragile and feminine - uke ("receiver").

Step yaoynogo anime often takes place in a certain aristocratic closed private school, such as in the manga and anime Kaze to Ki no Uta («Song of Wind and Trees"), established artist and mangaka Keiko Takemiya, and laid down, we can say, based on genre. This allows authors to turn around in terms of aesthetics aristocratic image of old Europe - a building with columns and marble floors, walls, ivy and wild vines, beautiful uniforms with epaulets and braid (like in the anime Meine Liebe).

And now I tell about the meaning of the word Yaoi. This reduction of expression Yama nashi, ochi nashi, imi nashi - no plot, no climax, no meaning. Initially, this designation was used in application to the amateur djinshi - free paraphrase the famous manga, which includes homosexual relationships between characters, as their authors often did not bother to alignment of at least some story concepts, and kissing between boys in their creations took place neither here nor there simply because it wanted the author (some ecstatic schoolgirl). But then fans of manga agreed that yaoynoy manga story is not generally a special significance - they were dominant relations between the characters, their feelings and experiences.

Her feelings and emotions play in yaoe special role. How could dispense Takemiya Keiko without having to show how the morning after a night of passionate embraces Gilbert opens the window and holds his hand under the raindrops? And as Serge returns after the holidays in the Academy became a mother, and her white buildings gradually show through a black pattern of branches.

In the anime Loveless («unloved") butterflies, humming high-voltage wire line, the huge eyes of standing alone in a clearing in the park the boy reflected a dark autumn sky with a cold moon.

Yaoynaya manga and anime is divided into two categories differ among themselves - tough, candid and more soft, where the emphasis increasingly placed on the romance rather than sex. This second category is known as senen-ai (shounen-ai) - love boys.

Since the tradition of male gomosesualizma in Japan are just out of the harsh times of the samurai (homosexuality in the Japanese army was practiced even in the 2 nd World War), the Japanese sickened by gays romanticism yaoya, they find it too saccharine and sweet. Elsewhere, however, gay and bisexual men often find themselves in yaoe many interesting things. And Aoyagi Rizk - a boy with cat ears and tail, appearing in the manga and anime Loveless, in different countries, including in Russia, a lot of fans - both girls and boys.

Heroes yaoynoy stories waiting tragic end - separation or death of her beloved. But while they sit in the dark, holding hands, whispering to each other declarations of love and fidelity, and the window slanting rain hits the leaves and the wind howling in the trees, chills the soul.