Ask John: Why Isn’t There More Yaoi Anime?

Question:
Is yaoi and shounen-ai popular in Japan? If yes, then why are there so little anime created with these categories? And if there are created they tend to be in the old styles [bulky, strong men and etc.]. Why are the new styles [like in ‘Gravitation’ anime and ‘Oujisama’ manga] not used [I mean they are so much cuter]?

Answer:
The boy-love genre actually is quite popular among Japanese manga readers, particularly female readers. And that fact alone answers the question why so little yaoi anime exists. The majority of shounen-ai and yaoi material created in Japan is created by female artists and is read by a female audience. Women tend to gravitation toward more abstraction and imagination than men, who are more tactile and visually oriented. I’m not trying to advance sexist stereotypes. Statistics prove that in here in America female consumers tend to purchase and support manga more than male consumers. While presently in Japan, partly due to the ongoing global recession, female consumers are accounting for a larger percentage of anime buyers than ever before, typically Japanese yaoi fans prefer to see their boy-love in print form rather than animation.

The popularity of yaoi in Japan has increased, in recent years, to the extent that in 2004 a small stretch of road in Ikebukuro, Tokyo, was named “Otome Road” in designation for its condensed number of specialty stores concentrating on yaoi goods. Although much smaller than the electronics & otaku section of Akihabara, “Otome Road” has become internationally recognized as the Mecca for yaoi fans. The fact that yaoi is popular in Japan enough to support this degree of exposure yet still have relatively little anime serves as evidence that the majority of Japan’s yaoi fans are contented to have their favorite genre remain primarily depicted in print rather than cinema.

Saying that most Japanese fujoshi prefer their yaoi in manga form doesn’t mean that there’s no interest at all in anime adaptations. I’m not certain that I comprehend a distinction between “old style” yaoi character design and cuter “new style,” but I can hazard some speculative discussion. Certainly contemporary yaoi anime including Seiyo Kotto Yogashiten ~ Antique, Junjo Romantica, Sensitive Pornograph, Saigo no Door wo Shimero, Boku wa Konomama Kaeranai, Haru wo Daiteita, Hyakujitsu no Bara, Ikoku Irokoi Romantan, and Sex Pistols have used character design styles more reminiscent of 90’s yaoi anime including Ai no Kusabi, Fake, Houkago no Shokuinshitsu, and Aoki Ookami Tachi no Densetsu. But at the same time, the past five years has brought yaoi anime including Kirepapa, Suki na Mono wa Suki Dakara Shouganai, Papa to Kiss in the Dark, Koisuru Boukun, and arguably Okane ga Nai that have softer, younger-looking, cuter characters. 2009’s Baka to Test to Shokanju isn’t a yaoi anime, but irresistably cute boy Hideyoshi Kinoshita is the source of yaoi humor running throughout the series, and the star of a tremendous amount of fan created doujinshi homages revolving around yaoi pairings of Hideyoshi and various other male characters from the series. The past five years have also given rise to an entirely new genre of yaoi anime. Shota yaoi anime including Himitsu Gattai Dailaon, Boku no Pico, and Shounen Maid Kuro-kun didn’t exist prior to 2005.