Arashi fans outside of Taikukan

This post is especially for Kathryn, my #1 reader and blog commenter.

I was innocently on my way to the Taikukan (体育館）public pool– a place as infamous for gays as the summer-only Shiba Koen pool— when I noticed dozens and dozens of young women holding up sad hand-written signs and fans with the unmistakable images of Arashi. Yes, Arashi was performing at the nearby 1964 Olympic stadium, Kokuritsu.

Apparently these girls were praying that some scalper would come by and sell them some tickets. Or maybe they just wanted to hang out with other fangirls and compare photo fans?

ps: I know that these boy bands attract female fans, but what about this image screams hetero to you?! I am not seeing “non-gay,” are you? ^^

Mr Johnny is always thinking

Warning: this music and dancing might hurt your head! I must give full creative credit to Mr Johnnys, the creator of generations of J-pop boy bands. With EastWest Boys, he’s assembled a group of hip-gyrating, overly coiffed, and ridiculously choreographed white boys (“from Los Angeles) to appeal to Japanese teen girls. And, in a departure from decades of standard practice, he’s using the internet to get some free buzz. He’s even added a little emo to add some foreign “flavor” while sticking to the formula that has made Mr Johnny a very very rich, old man.

I found this video and story from Mutantfrog’s blog. I love how s/he captions their photo with “every girl’s fantasy English teacher.” Is it me, or does this Western version of J-pop seem even gay-er than the standard Japanese boy band? Have I gotten used to ridiculously vain Japanese pseudo-celebrities and their ability to feminize themselves in order to appeal to their fangirls? What do you think??

Salaryman Moe: Glasses make the Boys Love game

I am sorry I haven’t referenced the inimitable Bangin sensei recently. He’s the amazing Japanese blogger who introduces moe words and ideas from Japanese anime to an English-reading audience.

He recently posted a cosplay he did of salaryman Boys Love game called Kichiku Megane. The basic story is about a timid (maybe loser) salaryman who receives a pair of eyeglasses from a mysterious stranger that can change his life. The glasses transform him from masochist to sadist (uke to seme in BL terms).

What’s not to love about this story?! As Bangin explains, salaryman Boys Love stories appeal to fangirls because they take place in a man’s world they don’t normally have access to. Plus, suits and glasses are a common fetish in Japan; there’s even a fangirl cafe with this theme called Love All.

Be sure to check out Bangin’s cosplay of the two faces of salaryman Saeki Katsuya [佐伯克也].

One Life to Live, Bringing BL to Amerika?!

開けましておめでとうございます！

One Life to Live brought the first gay male sex scene to daytime TV in Amerika. I love how it begins and ends with candles and fireworks. This female-focused gay love makes me wonder if the US has finally realized that ladies might enjoy watching gay male sex as much as straight guys enjoy faux lesbianism. This would represent a belated import from Asia, bringing BL or boys love across the Pacific. Now they just need better music for love-making!

Here’s the video:

And here’s what my favorite blogger Bryan Boy wrote in his Twitter stream: “I bet housewives all across america were fingering themselves to this.”

Guest post: Asian pop slash

My online friend Marius Mink sent me this amazing collection of links to Asian pop slash, and it was too delicious not to share this post, with her permission, with the world of fan girls and boys.

A quick introduction to this extraordinary guest post. Slash is typically gay male pairings from pop culture created by small groups of female fans. A version of Boys Love based on famous characters from manga, movies or even real life (think Kirk and Spock, for example).

What is most amazing about the Youtube clicks below is that Asian pop has taken this culture one step further. The boy bands themselves are now featuring male smooching as a “fanservice” to their boys-love-loving female fans in concert and on television. While the US has women kissing women in order to turn on men, this latest Asian phenomenon has boys kissing boys in order to get their female fans into a super-frenzy. OMG!

Please enjoy!

———-

Marius Mink’s special guest post:

In an earnest attempt to find my hanchul collection, I went through my favorites and found SO many delicious treats for you. I hope you enjoy the vids. Most of them have nothing to do with Hanchul but I know you will like them. Also, unfortunately most of my good Hanchul stuff got deleted from youtube, but some pretty important stuff is still on.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Z9wt73LF8xI&feature=channel_page Heechul and Sungmin kissed. Starting on Jan 2nd, 2009 (I believe), Heechul performed a song called “Crazy” several times. ^^ He kissed four boys in four diff performances. This, of course, made ALL the kpop news blogs. This is my second favorite but, unfortunately, as much as I love Sungmin, he’s an effing homophobe. For MONTHS after this kiss, he complained about it and said things like “I can’t be around Heechul the same anymore.” In an earlier incident, Sungmin had to touch lips with Hangeng and he made a big deal about that too. -_-

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=QZx4MRBe2yw&feature=related Heechul and Jungmo—bad quality but worth it. This was the first kiss. The first time I was floored b/c Korean pop culture is way more conservative than Japanese, so this was groundbreaking. By the 2nd, 3rd, and 4th time, I was absolutely in shock. Heechul’s gotta be the most daring man in Kpop. Jungmo is part of a krock band called TRAX (they’re not well known but they’re awesome). In my opinion, Jay Kim (the singer of TRAX) and Heechul kind of have a history together. There is some convincing canon slash on them out there.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=LBkpXcwiDdI&feature=related Heechul and Siwon–the uber Christian (but I think homo) member of Super Junior.

http://gengchul.com/ If you can read Chinese…

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=-aHAbaR1kkk&feature=channel_page Kindan no Koi- I have yet to watch this film. It’s probably one of the only BL films in Japan that I haven’t seen. I can’t even find it raw. It looks bad, but that’s never stopped me from watching/reading yaoi before. It’s from the ppl who made Boys Love—best movie ever.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ETZ-q26UKgE&feature=channel_page This is a vid of the now broken up band of Korean transexuals called Lady. My sis and I love them.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=2AwB2TDLlo8&feature=related You’re effing welcome. 🙂 It’s a shame that youtube removed the first vid I ever saw of him. This man, Jung Hyung Min, got a little stint of fame from this event. He was on Starking, one of the most famous tv shows on Korean tv.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=A-rd4ntV_z4&feature=related Jung hyung min again. I LOVE this guy.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=X5013ob6KZ4&feature=channel_page This is the opening song of a crazy ass Japanese gay camp film I stumbled upon at a previously homophobic friend’s PPV. The two lovers, Yaji and Kita, are in search of magical mushrooms b/c the blonde one is addicted to drugs. The blonde guy is super famous. He played the emperor in Tom Cruise’s Last Samurai. I find that hilarious. The brunette is super hot in real life. They make out a couple of times in the film.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=kNKa56ooOQo&translated=1 This is a recent gay Korean film based on the uber famous Japanese manga Antique Bakery (Bangin-sensei cosplayed as the glasses guy). This film is fabulous and the gay action between the French boy and the pretty Korean guy is gorgeous. Watch it. You’ll love it.

Now we begin the Hanchul part:

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=KkINzfl-AEw&feature=PlayList&p=09609FD031338ECF During their Don’t Don stage, Hangeng boasted some fierce blonde hair. This is his now famous hip thrust in the song.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=3cp2pLLGoRQ&feature=PlayList&p=D7A497AF7B35247B This is a really cute vid of Hanchul holding hands and being all coupley on Chinese television. I’m not gonna lie… this video inspires me almost more than anything else to learn Chinese. I SO want to be able to understand Hangeng and the Chin prog he’s on.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=rfvoz4y4odc I love this SOOO much. It’s adorable. Hanchul at its best.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=rD3Vj6j_VLo This is THE most famous Hanchul clip. It occurred on the Korean variety show YSMM (which I’m addicted to). I highly recommend watching the whole ep b/c it’s hilarious and thoroughly entertaining. Plus, I’m in love with the singer Sung Si Kyung and he’s on there. Also, the woman with short orangy hair is a great singer too.