Attention all she’s, he’s, and them’s, let’s rant!

I like some of both yaoi and yuri, shounen ai and shoujo ai. In this post, I’ll focus on yaoi, as a shout-out to all the fujoshi! There are several reasons I enjoy watching yaoi. For one thing, I am often turned on by it. For another, it’s unusual, and I appreciate unusual things. Another reason is the characters and drama can be quite interesting.

A few of my favorite tame shounen ai or yaoi anime shows are Junjou Romantica, Yuri on Ice, Love Stage, Gravitation, and Hitorijime My Hero. Some borderline hentai yaoi OVAs I love are Seitokaichou ni Chuukoku, Koisuru Boukun, Sensitive Pornograph, Okane ga Nai, Kirepapa, and Ai no Kusabi.

Sometimes, yaoi can be offputting because of negative tropes or disturbing elements, especially in hentai or unaired OVAs. If you’re just a little bothered by something in yaoi, but you want to be able to keep watching, you can. There are some handy rules to keep in mind for this. I discussed some of them in an older post, but I’ll review them again here.

1) It’s just anime. Don’t confuse reality and fiction. What you are watching has no bearing on the real world. And if there are a few out there who can’t keep reality and fiction straight, it’s not the job of an entertainment industry to change just for them. Also, just because you like something in an anime doesn’t mean you’d like the same thing in reality.

2) You are not what you watch. You can enjoy a trashy show once in a while and not be a trashy person. Do you become athletic from watching tons of sports anime? No, and you won’t become a pedophile or a voyeur if you watch an OVA where 2D animated teenager characters have sex.

3) If you don’t like it, don’t watch it. If the content is disturbing or irritating enough to you, simply withdraw. You shouldn’t force yourself to watch something you absolutely hate, and you’re under no obligation to finish every anime you start.

These rules won’t necessarily work for every show or OVA. There are many yaoi OVAs and shows that irritate or disgust me, so I can’t watch them. There’s Hyakujitsu no Bara, Boku no Pico, Papa to Kiss in the Dark, and Super Lovers, to name a few. If you’re familiar with any of these shows and features I’ve been mentioning, you might have noticed something. There are ones that I enjoy, like Okane ga Nai and Ai no Kusabi, that are equally disturbing (or more so) than Papa to Kiss or Hyakujitsu no Bara. What’s up with that? Well, since it’s all just anime anyway, it’s alright if what you like or hate is inconsistent. It’s entirely up to the individual what ticks them off and why.

Basically, it’s possible to enjoy yaoi anime and OVAs containing content which might not be acceptable in reality, because it’s just anime. I know that was a short rant, but I’ve got to factor in some downtime, and today is the best day for it in my schedule. This is Anime Rants, and I thank you so much for reading! Have a great day!

PATREON

(All GIFs were found by searching the internet, and I don’t own them.)