Ask John: Why So Little Shonen-ai Anime In America?

Question:
Why is there so little shonen-ai anime in America?

Answer:
Shonen-ai (boy love, or male homosexual) anime isn’t really all that common, although there is enough of it to justify it as a sub-genre of anime. The only real shonen-ai title that I know of that’s been released in the US is Kizuna. While not technically yaoi (another name for shonen-ai), the Earthian series and Fake also have male homosexual overtones in them. My suspicion is that, because anime is still a somewhat misunderstood medium (I mean by that, that many mainstream Americans still think of cartoons and anime as merely children’s entertainment) translating companies are hesitant to license this type of series because the market, in its current stage, will not support this type of anime. In order for the domestic translating companies to bring an anime title to America, they have to be certain that they can sell thousands of copies to mainstream consumers and mainstream retail outlets. I suspect that until the American market develops to the point at which mainstream consumers will look at this genre without disdain or a dismissive attitude, we are unlikely to see more yaoi anime released in the US. As always, if this seems true to you, and you don’t like this situation, do what you can to change it by promoting anime to your friends and contacting the translating companies to let them know what you think.