Category Archive for Books + Magazines
YAOI MANGA BOOKSTORES IN IKEBUKURO, TOKYO: BOYS LOVE, BISHONEN COMIC BOOKS.
Yowee for yaoi! Sebastian, the Black Butler from the popular manga, welcomes otaku into an Ikebukuro manga store dedicated to Boys’ Love — Japanese comics about intimacies between men.
The recurring theme in yaoi is romantic relationships between the male characters — usually young beautiful boys (bishonen).
The “action” can get quite explicit. Usually, one has the seme (top) role, while the other is uke.
Interestingly, most readers of yaoi manga are not gay men — but women seeking romance stories. As one told me, “Most of the time, real relationships cause trouble and we don’t want to feel hurt. Reading yaoi is a flight from reality. No woman exists between you and the boys in the stories.”
That’s why “fan service” moments, such as kisses between male Jrock musicians, get fans swooning.
The Ikebukuro district of Tokyo is boys love central. Be sure to visit the Swallowtail butler cafe, where 19th century style pretty boys serve you tea. Nearby, there’s a large selection of yaoi manga and figurine stores. To get there, please check out my Ikebukuro map and guide.
I photographed a Shibuya butlers cafe for my book, Crazy Wacky Theme Restaurants: Tokyo. Please check it out — there are stories and images from Tokyo’s strangest themed cafes.
Do you read yaoi? If so, what is it about the male relationships or themes that compels you? Why do you think yaoi is popular in Japan among women?
Song of the Day: Here’s one of the many Visual Kei fan service videos on the net.
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HELP JAPAN WIKI: DONATION RESOURCES & FUNDRAISERS FOR EARTHQUAKE RELIEF. TOKYO ART BENEFIT, PRINCESS GHIBLI CD.
My “spooky friends” are the best. They’ve been working day and night on fcharity projects for Japan, as well as making waves in music, writing and fashion. Let’s salute them — starting with my Pirate First Mate, Naomi Rubin. (Above, with her boy-slave-of-the-day.)
Naomi created Help Japan Wiki, an editable compendium of ways to aid Japan’s earthquake relief. Anyone can add a Donation Resource or Fundraising Event to the charmingly designed site. The Resources page includes a list of reputable charities helping Japan, with info and links. Please pass the link along — www.helpjapanwiki.com — and add your events and charities to the listings. The more hands on deck, the better we can provide info for Japanese relief.
Cotton Bale and Mistress Maya (who you may remember from the Andrew Zimmern episode) are participating in ArtGigTokyo1, a series of art happenings in public places. The first event is free, and presents 15 music / performance art works that transform the club into an improvised art gallery. Art Gig will also hold a silent art auction, with proceeds to support relief efforts in Tohoku.
Come see them perform on May 8th at Bar Exit in Shinjuku, from 15:00 – 03:00 (full info here).
Another artist friend who’s helping Japan… Dienzo, who made the “Carmina Rising” painting of me, has been fundraising. He just launched a store, which sells prints, T-shirts and canvases of his dark, Gothic artwork. If you type the discount code LACARMINA (all caps), you get 10% off.
Congrats to my friend B.Jevanael, who published her first book. She gave me a sneak peak of her gripping novel, The Reality Filter. “The evidence of a murder turns up in your photography project. Evidence from your rocky-road past invades the dreams of your happy present. Your best friend is dead at your hands, and wasn’t who you thought she was from the beginning. The worst part is, you don’t remember a thing, and you’re trapped within a world you built up around reality to save yourself.”
With a Gothic horror aesthetic, and an eloquent plunge into mental delusions, it’s a read I bet you’ll enjoy. The Reality Filter is available as an e-book from Amazon and Barnes and Noble; more info here.
Sophia, vocalist of Blood Stain Child, never ceases to inspire me. She sings on several tracks of the new Princess Ghibli CD, a collection of metal covers of Studio Ghibli. That’s right: Miyazaki meets metal. More info and song previews here. (Coming up, Blood Stain Child will perform at A-Kon in Texas, June 10-12.)
Last but not least, thank you to Katy Kamikaze for sending me this adorable, handmade wallet. Basil Farrow loves the cute bentos and animals. There’s more cuteness on her Pineapple UK Etsy store. (The sparkly butterfly ring is gifted from Soho Hearts.)
Thanks to everyone who supported the Iron Fist auction; congrats to Rochelle for triumphing and donating to Japan! I hope you’ll pass along the HelpJapanWiki resource and contribute to it. Let’s keep putting our efforts into helping Japan.
Song of the Day: Imaginary Flying Machines, “Princess Ghibli” album trailer featuring Sophia
LA CARMINA
