Frequently Asked Questions

[bluadmin]

Q: What's this whole "boys' love" thing?
A: "Boys' Love" is a genre of Japanese animation and comics (manga) that deals with romance and relationships between male characters. Often referred to as yaoi, an acronym meaning "no plot, no climax, no meaning," or shonen-ai, (literally, "boys' love") these works vary greatly in terms of their plot, length, artistic style and content. Some are very tame love stories, told over many volumes of manga, some are much more explicit short stories. The terms "shonen-ai" and "yaoi" are common in the American fan community, with the former typically describing stories with lighter, less explicit content than the latter, but both of these terms have taken on slightly different meanings in the current Japanese fan community, so we here at BLU prefer the catch-all term "boys' love."

Q: So, it's like gay comics?
A: Interestingly enough, no. The boys' love genre is seen as a subcategory of shojo, or "girls," manga. The stories are primarily drawn by female creators for a female audience, and an accurate depiction of homosexual relationships is not nearly as important as sweeping the reader away with the fantasy aspects of love and passion. We do hope that male readers (gay or straight!) give some of these books a try, though, since many of them have a lot to offer beyond the purely graphic appeal.

Q: Why "BLU," and why that symbol on the logo?
A: We wanted a name for the line that was simple, memorable, and didn't beat you over the head with what the books were about. Taking inspiration from the names of various boys' love magazines in Japan, we came up with this one. The kanji character is the one typically used for the color "blue," but it also has implications of youth and virility, which, of course, fit many of these books quite nicely!

Q: Wait, is it “boys’ love,” or “boy’s love”?
A: I’ve seen it both ways (and “boys love” as well, just for good measure). “Boy’s Love” seems to be the more common spelling in Japan, but grammatically, “boys’ love” is correct, unless it’s a very one-sided love. And how tragic would that be?

Q: What do the terms seme and uke mean?
A: You hear these a lot in the fan community, and they basically refer to who is doing the doing in a particular couple, if you know what I’m saying. (wink wink) They come from the verbs for “attack” and “defend/receive,” respectively, and are used in a variety of different contexts beyond fandom circles, including in martial arts. I just about had a heart attack the first time my aikido instructor referred to my sparring partner as the uke!