Gay Japanese Movies & Yaoi (Boys Love): What it takes to film such genres in Japan & the actors who play such roles [Part 1/3]
Many would probably remember Hamao Kyosuke as the intense young promising dramatic actor in 3 of the 4 BL movies entitled Takumi Kun. These Yaoi-themed movies were extensively featured in PsychoDrama, and we have listed the 10 best BL movies [ Part 1 | Part 2 - Takumi Kun series ] from Japan as well. Certain gay-themed movies were also extensively featured - Gohatto and Big Bang Love Juvenile A (both featuring acclaimed actor Ryuhei Matsuda). Among the current 10 favorite J-movies list - features Joe Odagiri playing a gay man in Le Maison de Himiko .
But what does it takes to do a gay-themed movie in Japan? Is it taboo to show two male actors kissing (how about having sex?)
I'm pretty sure the Yaoi themed movies may have its share of audience (mostly girls who love to watch movies with a homoerotic romantic or sexual relationships between male characters) But gay movies are quite different and both have been limited in terms of release. Have you heard of any Yaoi or gay J-movies for the past 2 years? I think not.
[ Update: There are two movies one is a manga adaptation and a yaoi movie entitled Doushitemo Furetakunai starring Kosuke Yonehara and Masashi Taniguchi, already released last May. The other is yet to be released in Japan, this month, entitled Tokyo: The City of Glass, which will be reviewed here very soon ]
Perhaps the reason for the limited production of gay-themed or BL movies is that there is prejudice (even discrimination) of such movies, and the apparent "disappointment" of fans, especially if the actors are known to play roles from a different genre - say Kamen Rider or any other superhero-themed movies. There was an article @JeFusion (famous for featuring Tokusatsu, Henshin and Anime news) written back two years ago where Toku fans and those who maybe considered more "open-minded" movielovers argued quite extensively. Part of the article reads:
Yaoi has been a popular genre these past years among female fans, termed as fujoshi. And because of it, live-action movies of such came to the entertainment scene. Termed as Boys Love Movies (BL), stories of such revolves around romantic relationships between men. These stories were adapted from famous yaoi mangas and novels by famous authors.
Most of the known BL actors of today are non other than tokusatsu ones. Some of these actors started at BL and some in toku who gained so much popularity from it, especially for the fangirls. Maybe one reason of which is their physical appearances as good-looking young men. [ BL Movies: Side Career of Toku Actors? ]
The comment below probably summarized what people has to say about these movies:
I've learned so much about the Toku fandom from the last few months, whether it was the blatant, virulent racism exhibited when a black actor showed up in Kamen Rider or when it was merely HINTED that a Caucasian might be part of a Sentai team, or the rampant homophobia on display here and now.
Attention whiners: Gays exist. Actors will play them if they get paid well enough or if they like the role. Get used to it. All this whining is just reminding me of what it was like to be in high school in the 1990s, where "queer" was the biggest insult the jocks could toss out and any vague suggestion that someone might be gay was treated as if you just threatened their mother with a knife.
Of course, I'm willing to bet that if we were talking about girls love movies starring some of the lovely young women from SS and KR, all these whiners would not only be okay with it, they'd actively be hunting those movies down so they could jerk off to them. [ read more ]
Some of the more known Japanese actors who have played gay or Yaoi characters (aside from Ryuhei Matsuda, Joe Odagiri and Masanobu Ando) are Takumi Saitoh, Baba Ryoma, Ryuunosuke Kawai, Hidenori Tokuyama, Yasuka Saitoh, and Daisuke Watanabe.
As mentioned already Hamao Kyosuke received his share of fan adulation when he appeared as Takumi in the said Yaio movies. However, he was not able to move on and play other characters with the same success. As of this writing, his last public announcement where he retires from acting remains.
Is it a jinx or (perhaps a curse) for a Japanese actor to play gay or do a seme or yuke role? Perhap not. It probably depends on the integrity of the actor - in fact, Ryuhei Matsuda's first movie - Gohatto - is a gay samurai movie (for lack of a better description) where he is pursued by older Samurai - among them Tadanobu Asano's character.
Takashi Miike's Big Bang Love Juvenile A also features Matsuda, this time he's paired with Masanobu Ando - where both their characters were imprisoned for committing violent crimes. Inside the juvenile facility, their relationship took on a deeper level.
There is no love scenes (or sex scenes) on both movies - the sexual attraction or even the romantic "interludes" were more "symbolic" rather than physical. However, Ando and Matsuda took off their clothes in an early scene.
Same goes with Joe Odagiri and Min Tanaka in Le Maison de Himiko. Their relationship is more implied without even a glimpse into their intimate relationship. In one of the movie's funniest scenes, Odagiri was flirting with the young manager who employs Kou Shibasaki - teasing the guy that he's interested in having sex with him. That scene and the dance number were probably the most revealing of all.
Compared to Yaoi or BL, the intimate scenes were more prominent - Hamao Kyosuke and Daisuke Watanabe had a few intimate scenes with hints of sex. Says the actors in an interview:
"For me, playing Takumi; he's a very shy person, but after meeting Gii, he's getting happier. He's true to himself about everything, and I think I want to be like that too."
"What was it like to play a character with a same-sex love interest?" Daisuke says that it wasn't really that weird or uncomfortable, as he'd been acting along with Hamao before, and he's easy to get along with and it didn't get awkward. Though, sometime he felt like he had had his share of boy's love, but it was a good experience. [ source ]
In Fujimi Symphony Orchestra, the two lead actors (Takasaki Shota and Arai Yusuke) went beyond mere kissing and actually engaged in sex.
The movie is a boys love story about two musicians who are part of an orchestra. Considered as a musical genius, Tonoin Kei (Yusuke Arai) became the new conductor of Fujimi much to the disappointment of Morimura Yuuki (Shota Takasaki) who is the acknowledged leader of the group. Yuuki who was smitten by one of the female musicians is unaware that the new conductor is actually in love with him. As they both struggled with their new roles, one misunderstanding led to another until a serious confrontation ensues involving the two young men. [ Read our full review ]
The sex scenes in Yaoi or BL are not without controversy. There is always the hint of rape, and such a sensitive issue cannot be taken lightly.
Some reactions of gay men regarding Yaoi follows:
The ridiculously high frequency of rape and sexual assault in yaoi is revolting. Yaoi artists make rape seem like a good thing. It's extremely offensive that they characterize gay men this way. The seme-uke trope is unrealistic and annoying. The way that the uke acts like a helpless lamb, and the seme acts like a sociopathic sex offender, is dumb and turns me off. [ read more ]
The below comment would probably described what I am trying to say about the difference between gay movies and Yaoi:
The big movie studios have not ventured into the Yaoi genre for apparent reasons. The only producers who have ventured into the BL-themed movies are small, independent producers who hire young actors not really conscious of being typecasted or perhaps they are just passionate to play Yaoi roles - be it an aggressive seme or a submissive yuke.
In Part 2, we interviewed an up and coming filmmaker yet already recognized abroad for his gay-themed Japanese movie entitled Tokyo: The City of Glass.
