On Triangle: Collaborative Doujinshi, Charma and Intersex Depictions (R18)

 

(Cover to volume 1 of Triangle, a collaborative Charma focused Mobile Suit Gundam doujinshi from 1982, illustrated in part by Shikiko Yamaai (山藍紫姫子) for the front cover, with additional works from Bolin Tomita and Tokyo Jack.)

Finding doujinshi from 1975 to 1983, particularly those with yaoi or "boys' love" themes, presents several challenges that  due to their limited distribution and the clandestine nature of their production and sale. During this period, the yaoi genre was primarily disseminated through self-published doujinshi, which were often sold at niche events like Comiket or through more clandestine efforts. While yaoi's inception as a cultural phenomenon is so widely embraced, especially within Western anime communities, the gathering of amateur artists during the early 70s proved to be besotted with unique hurdles and even academia-coded language. 

These doujinshi were typically produced in small quantities and distributed among a select audience, making them rare and difficult to locate today - recently, I had a conversation with a fellow collector who purchased a whole collection of BL works from this era for a staggering ¥150000 from the estate of a former manga artist, many of which hadn't seen the light of day in over 40+ years. During this conversation and later in an additional viewing, these works, frail and brittle with age, contained the heart and souls of young women communicating their ideals on same sex relationships. What became of them?

The term "yaoi" in itself emerged as a means to connote something that was, in fact, absurdist. It would be the illustrator and mangaka Mikiko Maru (麻留美樹) who coined the term yaoi as a means to describe BL themed works published under their doujin imprint Lovely - "It (the plot) has no climax, no punchline and no meaning." Yaoi in itself connotes yearning, unfulfillment and pining all the same, themes of which aren't lost in most BL works even in the present day. Even with such suffocating, blistering folly on the table, doujinshi from the late 70s into the early 80s surrounding the Mecha genre seems to continually bemuse me -  more explicit than their shōnen-ai counterparts, the focus and ready acceptance of otherwise toxic romantic themes excites me like no other. Even more so, the underground nature of these publications, combined with their limited print runs, means that many were not widely circulated or archived, contributing to their scarcity in the current market. 

(Volumes 8 and 9 of Mikiko Maru (麻留美樹)'s Lovely, an early 1970s doujinshi focusing on both original and parody manga of beautiful, queer boys. Courtesy of Yu Tamaki . This publication would be, on historical record, the first to coin the term Yaoi in regards to absurdism. The publication eventually changed in ethos and direction by the mid 1970s, especially during Comiket.)

The fujoshi movement began to take even more rapid shape in the late 1970s and early 1980s thanks to the advent of Comiket, though through the introduction of mail order and anonymous delivery services, young amateur authors could distribute boy's love works with an ease of networking. Young women began to actively participate in the creation and consumption of male-male romance narratives, both in fan communities and through the production of original doujinshi at a level that rivaled basic readership consumption of general manga. 

This period marked a significant shift in the manga industry, as female fans sought content that resonated with their interests and perspectives. The emergence of the fujoshi subculture during this era laid the groundwork for the broader acceptance and popularity of boys' love media in subsequent decades, though in a concurrent thought, the early 1980s delighted in a variety of new voices to communicate these themes. 

Triangle wouldn't be the first work or collaborative project of the mangaka and novelist Shikiko Yamaai (山藍紫姫子). Shikiko's trail as a BL artist can first be found with the doujin circle Underground and their imprint as early as mid to late 1979, published by the artist Shigeshi Shiomi (汐見茂思, a direct pseudonym from the author of the gay novel Kuso no Hana or Flowers of Evil). While contributing cuts (small or otherwise general illustrations), their major foray into self publishing truly took root with the Triangle imprint. Shikiko's tutelage under the pseudonym Violet Mercury, a play off of their beloved Freddie Mercury and Berg Katse from Gatchaman, blended art and music in a way that, quite frankly, had rockstar energy behind it. 

With their collaborators Tomita Mokubayashi (富田幕林, later Tomita Mori in some publications 富田慕林), under the pseudonym Bolin Tomita (a play off of the energetic and troubled guitarist Tommy Bolin) and Tokyo Jack, Triangle blended elements of both light novels and illustrations together in a manner that I've only seen in the Lectori Salutem or Rubicon imprints.

(Passional Soldiers, possibly the earliest imprint from the ground being Triangle, although clearly distributed as a FC copybook. This work, based on the art later shown in Triangle, pre-dates the aesthetics penned by Bolin Tomita. It is assumed that Passional Soldiers was published in late 1979 or early 1980.)

For those interested in sourcing doujinshi from this period, especially from the Triangle imprint, specialized online marketplaces, such as auctions and fan communities are potential avenues, though this isn't quite certain. As it stands, Triangle as a series spanned nearly 10 volumes with additional side works by both Bolin Tomita and Tokyo Jack. By the mid 1980s, however, Shikiko Yamaai seemingly took on a new interest with works such as Saint Seiya and Captain Tsubasa, a phenomenon that has many mores and crossroads in itself. 

Triangle seemingly received a decent readership, cross advertised in a hand full of available works while advertising for others in a succinctly beneficial arrangement. While these works weren't sold at Comiket and were only purchasable via mail order, Triangle boasted adult works for adults, advertising queer novels among their readership that focused on both Mobile Sui Gundam and Fighting General Daimos. 

However, due to their manner of publishing and limited availability, these works are now often seen as exceedingly rare and can command high prices. I personally considered reaching out to academic institutions or libraries with specialized collections to confirm the number of books from the Triangle imprint, however, I came to note the lack of availability quite soon. 

(Garma Zabi poses the question "皆様,首先向你问好?" or "Ladies and Gentlemen, would you like to ask a question?" to the viewers. Illustrated by Tokyo Jack for the 1st volume of Triangle, the motif of Garma being both effeminate and donning Chinoiserie garb hails as far back as early 1980 from the works of the artist Sowanna. Many works would assume that Garma was either Japanese or Chinese due to the manner in which his eyes were drawn. YMO & Akiko Yano's Kang Tong Boy, written as 'Canton Boy' is mentioned in relationship to Garma in several texts at the beginning of the 1980s.)

Shikiko Yamaai's preoccupations with intersex ideals and themes first began with her love for Science Ninja Team Gatchaman. Particularly taken with Berg Katse, a canonically intersex character who could change from male to female due to being the product of two merged twins, remained of a critical importance to Yamaai's works even past their fandom participation. Yamaai introduces these themes with Char and Garma, albeit subtlety, and becomes one of the first Gundam based doujin artists to do so from my own documents. Its not to say that both trans and even crossdressing/effeminate themes haven't cropped up in BL works prior - Corporation Shameless, to note, featured Richter from Daimos dressing plainly as a woman, and many works by the circle DMC and Private Daimos would continue to feature Richter in a womanly manner. 

Yamaai's occupation with these themes makes their depiction of Charma remarkably unique. Until other examples show themselves, I myself quite drawn to these queer elements considering the era. Yamaai would later go on to write and produce several Gatchaman doujins and even light novels for the SF imprint Core Club. 

Intersex characters, of those are born with biological attributes that don't fit typical definitions of male or female, were occasionally explored in 1980s yaoi doujinshi, often within a broader theme of gender fluidity. While intersex representation was still quite rare, there were instances where artists experimented with characters whose bodies or identities did not adhere to binary gender norms. These characters often displayed both male and female characteristics, whether in their appearance, behavior, or more.

Androgynous and Gender-Bending characters blurred the lines between male and female, often portraying both masculine and feminine traits. They were not explicitly labeled as intersex, but their ambiguous gender presentation could mirror intersex experiences and loosely parallel intersex traits.

The 1980s within the Japanese cultural landscape was a time when gender roles were still very much traditional, and depictions of anything outside of strict gender binaries were relatively subversive. In the scope of yaoi itself, many early and late 80s works began exploring unconventional ideas about gender and sexuality, but it wasn't necessarily done with a focus on intersex characters as a marginalized group.

 Instead, intersex depictions appeared as part of a broader narrative interest in the subversion of gendered identities and even aesthetic approaches. Yamaai's grey-area Garma is both highly masculine and feminine - the meshes of postmodernist gender variance and social movements broadened Yamaai's scope for what Garma could be in the context of sexual fluidity, possibly even bolstered by Triangle's unique connection to Prog Rock, Glam Rock and even Visual Kei. 

(Yamaai illustrating a seemingly gender ambiguous Garma Zabi receiving oral sex from Char Aznable.) 

(Duke Fleed and Kouji Kabuto from UFO Robot Grendizer, a longtime staple pairing for late 70s and early 80s Fujoshi, illustrated by Shikiko Yamaai for vol. 1 of Triangle, the latter more effeminate than usually depicted.)

(Shigeshi Shiomi, as "Seila" (聖良), illustrating An Kawashima's (川島杏) contribution to Triangle, the short light novel La Luna Lunatic, one that tells of Char & Garma's sexually manipulative relationship.)

("Char, stop it, it's already..." Garma bit his lip tightly in an act of endurance as the urge to ejaculate continued to rise from the core of his body. A cold, faint hue lit up his neck all the way up to his pale pink cheeks.

Char raised his head and looked down at Garma's lustful face with an expression of ecstasy. Garma's brows were slightly knitted together and he was biting his crimson lips in agony, a beautifully lustful expression that made him suddenly feel a feeling similar to jealousy. Almost unconsciously, he dug his fingernails into the part of Garma he was gripping even tighter than before. At almost the same time that Garma leaned back and let out a pained cry, a milky white mucus spurted onto Char's hand, which was still gripping it, down to his lower body.

"Kukukuku..." Char let out a suppressed laugh and released his hand from Garma.

Letting go of Char's arms, Garma managed to support himself on the balcony behind him. As if to calm his ragged breathing, he looked up at the sky and groaned.

"I want to kill you, Char, I want to kill you...")

It’s important to acknowledge the erotic nature of Triangle, though in a vastly poetic sense, the depictions of Charma (Char x Garma) are tied to a very keening, high sense of absolutist perversity. In the case of intersex depictions, Yamaai seemingly portrays intersex bodies as a site of eroticized exploration, aligning with yaoi’s general focus on taboo-breaking sexual relationships. In this context, intersex character depictions could, though a narrow lense, be some form of fetishized "other," representing an object of desire and mystery. 

Queerness in the Japanese lens has seen, even during the Edo era, shifts in acceptability and respectability alike. Showa era Japan was no different. However, while erotic depictions could be part of these characters' stories, it is critical to note that they were often not presented with a clear focus on medical or social realities of being intersex. Instead, they were more likely used as a narrative device to explore themes of desire and queer sexuality.

While there isn’t a wealth of mainstream academic analysis specifically targeting intersex depictions in yaoi doujinshi of the 1980s, there are some works and authors from this period whose output may have engaged with gender and sexual fluidity in ways that touch on intersex themes. Yaoi works from authors such as Kaoru Mori, Yayoi Ogawa, or even the more underground creators like Hana Mori and Sho Miyase occasionally include characters who embody gender fluidity, which could be considered early, albeit subtle, forms of intersex representation.

Additionally, the 1980s saw the emergence of certain tropes that would later inform the more explicit BL works of the 1990s and 2000s, where themes of intersex, transgender, and nonbinary identities became more explicit. Today, many scholars and critics are reexamining 80s yaoi works with an eye toward how they portrayed gender, sexuality, and identity. While many in the West have interpreted these older works as primitive or problematic in their treatment of gender ambiguity, I personally see works like Triangle an early, if not artfully imperfect, attempt at exploring nonbinary themes. Given the circle's interest in Rock idols like Iggy Pop and David Bowie, both of which flouted gender norms during their acts, the underground nature of Triangle is cutting edge even some 40 years later.  As with many underground genres, the complexities of representation from the past are often more nuanced than they initially appear.

(Ads and information for three new works, Triangle 2, scheduled for March or August of 1983, while two additional works, Violet Mercury, Yamaai's personal coterie magazine, and vol. 6 of Char ga kuru!, a Charma journal, scheduled to be published in December of 1982.)

(Ads for additional works, showing the network established via Triangle with other important Charma and Gundam BL parody artists - well known and established artists such as Akira Inugami, Yu Hizaki, Yatsuhiro Banri, Toshikuni Sakamoto, Emma Tomomi, Rin Mars, Mari Hibiki and Sho Miyase are noted to contribute to a text known as Sin in the City, while FUNCTION remains Anonymous about their artists, albeit that a few 'respected greats' had contributed. 

Additional ads are for Buried Alive With the Blues, a Charma BDSM work by a seemingly Anonymous author, though the art is distinctly by Yamaai, and Pipe Organ (パイプオルガン), an original collaborative magazine by Yamaii, the mangaka Hinata Atsushi and Aoyagi Karin, which is advertised to be 'hard boiled porn' for serious readers of BL. )