This is a genre, that I have been trying to show my friends – the appeal that there is. So far it is not working, and I can only see in their minds, that they’re probably indulging me, while I mention it. Hehe.. thinking about Gourry in an Octopus suit for this one.
Muscle yaoi – can be called bara, but that is a name not really recognized in Japan. Bara I imagine, is an American term. Actually the bara I like is targeted for homosexual men. I recall hearing in NYAF, that fans of any type of manga, would only stay in the group, their peers are for. Like how shoujo fans are only reads shoujo themed works, or how bl fans, will not cross over into enjoying yuri works.
These are two external links, that I find very useful in defining what bara is. Take a look here and here.
The first time I realized I was attracted to bara was when I read Tsukasa Matsuzaki’s works.
Still another thought crossed my mind… I really like Kenpachi from Bleach, Umibozu from City Hunter, and Jet from Cowboy Bebop for physique reason.
Some of the creators want to call it ML or menslove, which is cool I guess. I tend to like this style as well. When reading BL [yaoi] I tend to gravitate towards Uchida Kaoru [her Soredewa Minasan is hilarious], and recently– Tetuzoh Okadaya [she has works published in ML mags like Uragekidan].
Isn’t it.. ahh I have never heard of it refers to being menslove before. Although I know that this type of manga is targeted toward homosexuals in Japan. I like Tsukasa Matsuzaki, Reibun Ike and Masanori, but I don’t get that much exposure to bara as much as I like to… although I really appreciate Manly by Dale Lazarov, that I wrote a review earlier here http://liheliso.com/buzz/archive/00001060.htm
Thanks for the author rec…!
I loved Manly, I wrote a review as well. :) It reminds me of Disney-porn. [sorry Amy]. Yeah, menslove is this new label the creators came up with. See, all these books are being marketed in Japan as BL. :/ It’s aimed at male fans, but it’s certainly different then typical BL in art style [sadly most the stories are typical BL] but the style is unique enough that even I would feel strange as an artist having my work aimed at female-BL fan.
Here’s the ML 2008 page at G-Project:
http://www.gproject.com/store/love08/
Ahh thank you for the link recommendation gynocrat… sorry about not posting back asap… and when I though to actually post back to you, your blog has locked comments. I do have skype, but I don’t really use it that much.. but if you do check this blog, then I will probably be speaking some more entries on different aspects of more stranger things..
Now, it’s my understanding that the word “Bara” means “rose” in Japanese. (But perhaps there are other meanings that more knowledgeable readers could share…) Regardless, the above text suggests that the origin of the word “Bara” as a common term for a genre of manga might very well hail from this first members-only magazine.
http://www.yaoi911.com/what-is-bara/
That is probably true, I did include a link from that same website on my entry.. bara from my understanding is a symbolic word of a bigger meaning. Probably as you would know yuri is probably female to female, and also the lily flower. There are double meanings, and symbols.