Criticism: Yoshiyuki Tomino & Sunrise Studio II's Acknowledgement of Fanworks, Doujinshi & Yaoi
(The original cover of vol. 1 of Coffee Time (珈琲時刻) a collaborative Mobile Suit Gundam BL/yaoi anthology by the mangaka Ren Kishida, Shio Sato, Ryutoshi and Rio Yagizawa. An early work released in 1981, this book was acknowledged by staff at Sunrise's Studio II. Personal collection.) There's no mistake about it - perhaps people simply don't know where to begin in discussing these sort of histories, but the misnomer that Gundam's early queer fan pairings were somehow of no major importance to those behind the franchise is an absolute falsehood. In the broader scope of genre specific queer works, for instance, Char and Garma's proliferation rose and fell from a span of nearly 6 years in its early life, a span that was often not allotted to even the most important of mecha works at the time. From 1979 to 1985, Char and Garma's presence in standalone and joint-books (collaborative works between three or more artists or circles at a time) grew only to falter by th...
