Confession time: I’ve only managed to read a grand total of one manga with any sort of Boys Love overtones…that was Wild Adapter (and only one volume). I’ve only managed to watch a grand total of two anime with any sort of Boys Love overtones…that was No.6 and Free. Both manage to be on the tamer side (or at least for Wild Adapter since I’ve only read one volume) compared to the type of BL that is out there. I still remember my one time back around high school where I found out about an anime called Gravitation. I believe that aired on Anime Network on Demand. I don’t remember finishing the episode. I definitely wasn’t ready to watch that back then. Fast forward now, times have changed, and we’re seeing more exposure to BL than before.
For the manga side, there seems to be a pickup in that category. We now have Sublime, Digital Manga, and other companies that dabble into that genre. But considering how much manga gets licensed in the US, how do you manage to keep track of it all? And then most importantly, what if you’re more interested in a certain genre and you want to know what’s coming out next? For those who want to keep track on BL, BL Updates has you covered. Run by Annie, or Unspark, she decided to start one that focuses on any news and releases in that particular subset….in the US. She lives in New Zealand. I sent her questions by email, and here’s what we have below:
Organization ASG: Any anime you’ve been keeping up with over the Fall season?
This season seems really strong but I haven’t had time to keep up with a lot of shows. I’m only up to date with Kyousougiga which I’m really enjoying so far. Samurai Flamenco and Kurobas 2 I’m looking forward to having time to catch with.
Just curious, but how is the anime/manga scene in New Zealand? Anything in particular stand out?
Annie: In my experience, the scene here is pretty small. Take cons for example: there’s only one major con here which travels through 3 cities, but the con is a mixture between a sci-fi, pop culture and anime. In recent years the cons lean more towards the former media so it feels like anime in NZ hasn’t gained much popularity compared to other pop culture. Also, because Australian companies (such as Madman) license for New Zealand but are based in Australia, we tend to miss a lot of extra happenings.
It lacks mainstream attention. I don’t know if any anime is airing nowadays, but I grew up watching Pokemon, Cardcaptors, Dragon Ball and Sailor Moon. These aired at early mornings or after school so the audience is children, but you can’t expect children to understand the difference in anime and cartoons or find it interesting later in life. I didn’t get into anime until my last years of high school and that was through a friend. We also don’t have any mainstream streaming service like Hulu that airs anime along with other media -only the likes of Crunchyroll and Madman which are known only by anime enthusiasts. Manga is a lot harder to find because, with the exception of the now-closed Borders, manga isn’t stocked in majority of bookstores. The Borders in my city used to have a whole corner for manga and graphic novels; now another company has bought them and the manga section has been shafted to a single shelf.
You run BL Updates, a round up of news about boys love manga published in English. What made you decide to start it?
It was from a comment that someone wished there was an easy place to see all the BL licenses that were happening. It was during the time DMG started picking up a lot of licenses but they don’t announce their licenses anywhere so a lot of people felt lost at what was being picked up. News sites and blogs can report licenses but you have to filter through things to see only BL, so basically a centralized news place just for BL was the idea.
When you started working on BL Updates, did anything surprise you while running the blog?
I was gathering a list of BL publishers and was actually surprised Yen Press published a few BL series. I mean, I always knew Yen Press had those series with obvious BL overtones but I never knew they did straight-out BL.
How did you get interested in Boys Love? Where did it all start for you?
When I was a teen I was into slash and reading fanfiction. Someone commented with a link to a manga the author of this fanfic might like and I checked that out. I was amazed that it wasn’t some fan interpretation but stories with canonly gay characters. It wasn’t until a couple of years later that I got deeper into BL.
Maybe it’s just me, but there does seem to be more awareness of BL now as opposed to, let’s say two years ago. Would you say that’s true or false?
Certainly the BL genre itself has changed over time with “New Wave” works becoming popular and I think that allows for a new audience and awareness. I do feel that a lot more people are open about their interest in BL -on the internet, at least!
For someone who hasn’t read BL or would be reluctant to do so, what manga would be a good start for them?
I highly recommend any works by Est Em or Yamashita Tomoko. They’re very versatile artists who write predominantly BL but also do shoujo, josei and seinen works. I think their works are a good example that BL is just like any other romance out there. Happy End Apartment and Dining Bar Akira would be my recommended picks from the two respectively.
Can you share a few BL manga that you have read over the years that you like?
I Won’t Touch You Anyway by Yoneda Kou and Seven Days have very special places in my heart because these two titles was what brought me to look deeper into the BL genre. Currently Kumota Haruko’s Itoshi no Nekokke is my favourite on-going series which features the cutest couple to exist. Psyche Delico’s Love Full of Scars is easily the most ridiculous title I’ve read full of odd misunderstandings.
Finally, one last question: Is there any BL manga you wish a publisher would license at some point soon?
Chintsubu by Yamato Nase. It features talking penises, what else can I say?
…I…I think you may have said too much…
