On Fudanshi: Image, the Subversion of Mecha and Queerness in Post-War Japan

(the front cover of Bottle, Hiction and Illustration, a short story and illustration anthology by the circle Glass, published in mid 1981. Headed by the artists and editors Shadow Miyabi (影みやび) and Mayflower (五月草 他), Bottle presents itself as a unique, 1st hand look at both Fudanshi and Fujoshi interest and collaborative efforts within the mecha genre. Personal collection.)

One could say that Comiket, a realm first dominated by junior high students and manga research groups, wouldn't see major queer male participation until the late 80s. Research and academic documentation of male participation in Comiket, while tending to surround straight males and the implications of their ero works, has long been a realm visible via only a peephole by the West. We have seldom come to uncover further histories of queer male participation prior, and while this picture is steadily being built by many others, I find it personally important to align the presence and phenomena through various lenses. 

At times, one must look beyond Comiket; by the time that the Aniparo (anime parody) era had fizzled, be it from the sudden mass marketing and general acceptance of otaku, long gone were the plucky, if not camp aesthetics, of 70s mecha. Manners of drawing had since changed as did the nature of printing itself; one can see it via self publishing, though typically from female authors. In an issue that I own of Yayoi Takeda (竹田やよい), as Kazuo Mizuki (水木一子)'s 1989 Neuromantic: 2, a chapter titled "Oldies" situates both a staunchly melancholic and dreamy look back on 70s mecha and its former it-boys. In a short comic, Garma Zabi, Richter and Prince Heinel all gather at a table to have quaint drinks as they reminisce on their past fame, only to have the new guard of fujoshi fixation crash their party. 

(Yayoi Takeda (竹田やよい)  as Kazuo Mizuki (水木一子 )'s  Oldies. Published in 1989 albeit completed in late 1988, Oldies gives Yayoi's opinions, criticisms and poetic waxings on the it-boys of the late 70s to early 80s Aniparo movement. Personal collection.)

("Mobile Suit Gundam. No explanation needed. I was as hooked on Daimos. I don't think anything other than this original series is Gundam. It's no exaggeration to say that the appearance of Gundam really rewrote the history of anime. The characters and stories were all so new, and it was a work that could withstand adult appreciation. The big star of that time was Shiomi Shigeshi. Their work was so aesthetic, I was mesmerized. The 1st Crusade (Purple Crusaders) was the beginning of what we now call "side-by-side circles" (circles that would collaborate via joint ventures). 

I think it was around the time of Gundam that specialized circles started to form. Until then, the so-called "various circles" were the norm... I'm an old lady who can't help but talk about the past. Garma and Char were a wonderful yaoi couple who were a little dangerous in the original broadcast. It seems that many people have moved from Garma fans to Shun fans. By the way, I was a Char fan. I also drew a lot of Gundam manuscripts, but even though there were booms (Aniparo) around that time, there were no "falls" or trends, and it all happened rather naturally. Wow, the Aniparo world has changed a lot. I'm lamenting - Mizuki. 

Via Neuromantic: 2, published August 15th of 1989. Personal collection.)

(A full page spread of part 1 and 2 of Oldies, illustrated by Yayoi Takeda. Garma, who claims to have not been out in public for some time, comes to a benefit where he is reacquainted with Richter and several other once popular stars of the mid 70s to early 80s Aniparo movement. Personal collection.) 

Yayoi, now resoundingly imporant in the realm of commercial manga, had humble beginnings as an author who participated in the Aniparo movement. By the late 80s, many of her imprints under the C .  B Lines imprint could be deemed as one of the openly successful fudanshi ingested titles of its time. Colleagues with greats such as Shikiko Yamaai and Simone Yotsuya, Takeda found more avenues for creating well into the 90s by approaching both fujoshi and fudanshi alike. 

However, this isn't the exception that proves the rule. Aniparo relished in excess during specific boom years, primarily during the late 70s into the mid 80s, though with changes in demographics, including that of fudanshi consumption, imagery and even circle dynamics began to rapidly change by 1984.

Be it in favor of original titles or series such as Samurai Troopers, queer male participation within the mecha genre wavered greatly towards the end of the original Aniparo movement. On the onset, nearly two decades of works had been produced by primarily female or feminine aligned individuals, though the notion of queer and straight men's participation in producing boy's love works remains relatively unaccounted for. What were their goals? Their dreams? Through a sliver of a wider peep hole, should it be called that, perhaps we can have more answers.

(An invitation to "Garma's Going Away Party", an event held in 1988. This was given out to subscribers and close friends of Takeda's towards the end of C.B Lines' life as a personal circle. The color purple, commonly indicative of lavender themes, is also a homage to Shigeshi Shiomi (汐見茂思, the penname of the mangaka Kaoruko Motohashi, and her contributions to Charma BL. This event seemingly was held in Nagafuku, Suginami-ku, Tokyo at her residence, whereas several fujoshi and fudanshi came. Personal collection.)

While these histories are not often documented in the West, I was able to be humbly offered several texts by a former parody artist among other documents around this time. These works, which range from books to even private birthday invitations, give credence to the participation of queer and otherwise straight male BL authors — fudanshi, authors who offered their goals, dreams and aspirations via their depictions of queer men. 

I first must begin with how this foray genuinely started. As I hunt and posit offers here and there, I ran across a particular name via Facebook. After sending an innocent message, I chatted with an older man who was living in Kyoto. It would be from his point of view, especially in the realm of his own queer life, that I learned a lot more than I would have expected.

When my source began making queer parody doujin, they were a young man who saved up money as a window dresser at several Western-themed department stores. Through mutual friends who attended their same college, he soon began illustrating for a variety of circles and attended events via both Comiket and those offered via mail-order subscriptions. 

As a queer man, however, their presence and place within society was one of quiet embattlement; not making it aware to those in their family circle that they were creating works where Koji Kabuto and Duke Fleed had a sensual yet troubled romance (one based on their then boyfriend at the time). Sadly, so he felt after sympathizing with my interest in his tory, accounts were given about feeling regaled to the sideline corners of their very own life before meeting their newfound friends — a rag tag group of women, transgender artists and straight men alike who all loved depicting mecha characters as gay men. Homoeroticism abound, they found kinship among several afficionados and attended parties to share thoughts and illustrations. Through the back drops of soda and late night haunts, he knew so very few fudanshi alone.

(A brilliantly printed fuchsia invitation to a private party held by the Perfective Latent Organization or the P.LO. for members who subscribed to the Lectori Salutem... imprint. Illustrated by the mangaka Fujiko Hwarang, known as both Hanarō (花郎) or simply Hwarang. 

Originally held on June 27th of 1982, this particular party was to celebrate the "Flower Knights" or "Flower Youth," referring to the elite youth and notably beautiful male warriors of the ancient Korean kingdom of Silla, many of which were historically queer men. 

Many gay men subscribed to the magazine, and in later issues, leather and latex gear shops in Japan and London were advertised to the partially queer readership. Personal collection via my source.)

("Who are the P.L.O? We are a crazy group of individuals. Please join us and our regular staff, including Yutaka and Sowanna, in December for a special fete. This party will be held at Kawase (a restaurant located in Nagoya). It's Mirai Okuda's birthday. We are no longer accepting applications for new members as Lectori Salutem G will be on sale at Comiket coming soon. You may purchase it there for the first and only time." 

An invitation to Mirai Okuda's personal birthday party for those who had subscribed to the Lectori Salutem G imprint or were invited to participate. November of 1982, personal collection. Both male and female fans, fudanshi and fujoshi alike, comingled at the event as well.)

(Some of the earliest volumes of self published works at Comiket, beginning in 1975 to 1976 or so. Image courtesy of the Kyoto International Manga Mueum's Murakami Collection.)

(Autar Kie I & II, one of the earliest circles of Jun Goto's (後藤順) before the P.L.O was created, exhibited at Comiket 15 when Hideo Azuma's Cybele made an appearance. Espial, Side 3 and Cosmos are also Gundam BL parody groups. Cybele would notably cause a stir and disruption among some fujoshi for the presence of lolicon at Comiket, however, Azuma notable stated that he found it unfair and stagnant that so many queer works dominated a doujin convention like so.)

Life was not easy for any queer man or woman in Shōwa Japan. While feminist and queer-adjacent movements were active at some universities, distinctly queer issues were often subsumed under broader feminist or anti-establishment activism. Male fans posited themselves thus as a minority, be it straight or queer, and were often outsiders in the female-dominated fan spaces originally fostered at Comiket. Once junior high manga and anime clubs slowly filtered out, Fujoshi soon became the primary demographic. It wouldn't be until a very specific moment of upheaval that brought forth a challenge towards this otherwise welcome homogeny thanks to Hideo Azuma's offering of Cybele to the sales floor to differentiate the 'market'.

One cannot forget that Japanese society during the post-war era was a time of social upheaval and reconstruction. Homosexuality, while not openly criminalized in Japan, remained socially marginalized and was to a great extent considered both deviant and a private “hobby” rather than a sexual or social identity. Long gone was the Edo era acceptance of queer identities and the normalcy of same sex male relationships - with so little institutional and cultural support for coming out, many queer individuals stayed closeted, especially in formal academic settings. 

Bars and bathhouses in urban areas like Shinjuku Ni-chōme (better known widely as being Tokyo’s foremost queer district) were hubs for all manners of community, but these spaces were largely adult male-centric and less accessible for students, especially women or gender-nonconforming individuals. Clubs like New Sazae (ニューサザエ), a haunt for the writer and jingoist Yukio Mishima, for instance, purported a largely male environment that was not an immediate locale for the burgeoning otaku.

Early preoccupations with queerness, in the scope of post-war environments, were far and few. One of the first genuine queer male coterie magazines was Adonis or Adonis Society (アドニス会), a members only circle of a particular mettle that was first established in 1952. Adonis, as an imprint, cannot be deemed as otaku adjacent whatsoever, but in the unique realm of what would later become the SF boom in Japan, coterie magazines began to, albeit in small numbers, become the bedrocks for pre-internet subcultures. Queer theory in this realm aligned more with the wealthy, intellectual type - members of Adonis wrote editorials on how they loathed their lavender marriages instead of gushing about depicting Tezuka characters, for instance, in homoerotic situations. Fudanshi clearly were not, in some blatant equivocation, a thing, at least not in such a capacity.

(Volumes 1 -3 of the original Adonis Society imprint, published in 1952. While not a doujinshi as many in the West have come to know the term, Adonis could very well be considered the first queer men's coterie magazine. Published as a niche, members only journal, Adonis proffered tales of suicidal queer men, dissatisfactions with lavender marriages and unfulfilled lusts at times. Yukio Mishima was a notable contributor among several queer male authors, critics and speculative fiction writers.)

While discussed in great length before, meet up spots and organizations for early otaku were often relegated to college 'manga research clubs', societies and snack bars. With the proliferation of amusement bars (locations with arcade games) and hobby shops, the mecca for many queer otaku would once again relegate itself to Comiket and later self motivated co-ops of mail order businesses. The 1970s saw the propagation of resoundingly pioneering works in the yaoi genre alongside the founding of Barazoku in 1971, however, the advent and circulation in zines and self-published materials created a special bridge where such topics were no longer immediately niche or informal in their distribution. 

For queer students interested in art, manga, or writing, doujinshi culture became a subtle outlet for exploring gender and sexuality without overtly labeling it as “queer.” Participating in fan circles allowed some to process or encode queer desires through fictional pairings (especially in yaoi or shōnen ai circles). Many early yaoi creators were women writing for women, exploring male-male relationships as a safe space to discuss gender and romance without the baggage of heterosexual norms, however, what of the Fudanshi, queer or straight? The tableau of experience was, quite frankly, varied in how it manifested in the realm of Comiket and beyond.

(The cover to vol. 2 of Friends of the Night or Midnight Friends, published by the artists Kebe and Gonna's circle Yotomo Publishing. Sold via mail order in 1982, this work features a collaborative effort between both fujoshi and fudanshi artists alike - circles such as NORMAL, REX, Sect Rosa and Violet Shadow, queer and straight men produced adult manuscripts for mecha works such as Braiger and Mobile Suit Gundam. Personal collection.)

(Garma Zabi gets upskirted by Char Aznable in vol. 2 of Friends of the Night the circle Yorutomo Publishing (夜のともだち・ニよるとも出版). Drawn by the artist Kebe, who would later participate in the Lectori Salutem imprint by the P.L.O (Perfective Latent Organization), Kebe would prove to be one of the few fudanshi Charma artists present during the early 80s, if not late 70s as well. This book is notable as several male authors contribute BL manuscripts alongside pornographic hentai works. Personal collection.)

We can first reconcile with fudanshi (腐男子, or rotten boy in lieu of fujoshi as rotten girl) and the entirety of what that means. The term fudanshi itself wasn’t widely used or formalized until much later in the scope of boy's love consumption, male consumption of queer media and the further enjoyment of it within fanzine spaces. Even so, perhaps from a distance, its simply just that. However, fudanshi as a subculture within a subculture, shared or separated, offers the West a unique attribution of socially cultivational creation. 

Fudanshi are typically straight men on the onset who enjoy queer male pairings in works. Fudanshi, as a term in the 21st century sphere however, typically is now used in online spaces as an umbrella term to addressing individuals, cisgendered or transmasculine, who enjoy their yaoi a great deal.

In ethos, however, this terminology is relatively new, albeit not in phenomenon. Albeit not commonly used in the same scope for the male yaoi enjoyer, the term Fukei (腐兄) was notably coined in 2002. While the 1990s and early 2000s brought forth more spaces for the fudanshi to boast about their interests and share via the internet, male readers of shōnen ai and early yaoi existed, even through a very poorly documented lens. During the later period of the 1970s and early 80s, fudanshi authors began notable collaborative anthology projects with important manga research college groups as well as circles that actively participated on the Comiket salesfloor. 

The subsequent rise of mail order businesses by these great arbiters of Aniparo works, many of which sprung into existence in resistance to censorship brought upon them at Comiket, manifested yet another layer of professional legitimacy to these works. Such collaborations could be freely done and allowed for a safer space for males to submit manuscripts, short novellas and cuts around queer topics.  

The commercial manga world had once offered shoujo works illustrated primarily older male authors during the rental comic era of the 40s and 50s, however, as this masculine space was soon diminished (male authors were soon offered work on their own serialized projects at the beginning of the late 60s and start of the early 70s Gekiga movement), women soon dominated these spaces with a vengeance- the year 24 group's offerings proved to be both advantageous and industry changing with boy's love titles that would go on to inspire many young female and male authors in turn. 

Again, the notion postures itself once again: in the grand question of what young men were affected by this movement? One can see this unique element in the realm of yaoi self-publishing through the imprints Friends of the Night, Bottle and M: Masochism to name a few. 

(Another volume by the circle Glass, titled Comic & Illust. Its uncertain the year in which this particular volume was published, however, one can surmise that it was between 1980 to 1982 and possibly has the same authors as other issues.)

(Via M: Masochism, both male and female authors collaborate to produce BDSM themed works via Shikiko Yamaai's mail order business. Via the credits page, both male authors had well to do occupations and could fund the production of these works.  

"Kuni Onizawa is a 22-year-old designer working in Shinjuku. He often goes to live music venues, but says that he gets home late and the taxi fare is a big expense." Kuni Onizawa, who would later reach a sizable commercial fame, was a young queer man producing MLM works and would later go on to contribute to Yamaai's Walkure (aka as Valkyrie) imprint. Personal collection.)

When looking at these circles, especially Glass, one must first give proper attention to mecha as a genre of greater catapulting these ideas. Mecha, then a somewhat restrained and distinctly codified genre, had always been centrally and critically geared towards cisgender male consumption. 

While varied in its aesthetic approaches during the mid 70s, mecha was primarily bolstered by both capitalist and nationalist interests and sympathies on the earliest onset. Storylines offered by several studio systems followed a uniquely centralized, if not neutered, sense of wrong and right - the hero, usually an upright Japanese male, defeated the foreign interest to establish order and balance via his machine. In a means to establish confidence in young men and profit from the purchase of diecast toys and bromides, the breadth and sociopolitical scope of early mecha, with its school chorus openings and brilliant colors, scoured away the would-be defeatist identity that had beleaguered post-war Japan.

Early 1970s mecha anime and manga alike was created, in its central visual identity, as a means to be a lens for exploring nationalist social identity as well as being a means for expressing Japan’s grappling with its militaristic past. Historically, culturally, and ideologically speaking, young female authors taking to the aesthetics for boy's love works, was unprecedented given these notions, but not uniquely so. One must not ignore the fact that women existed in this post-war society as well: Technonationalism and the reframing of Japan's militaristic advancements were on the forefront post the American occupation. This subtle framing of Japan as the "technological savior of the world" — echoing postwar anxieties and aspirations as Japan rebuilt its national identity through industrial and technological growth (i.e., the “Japanese economic miracle”), was further bolstered by subtext presented on the forefront of many works at the time and yet ultimately subverted by the socio-sexual context behind BL works. Machismo, used as a means to strengthen both the youth and the studio's sponsorship, bellied the use of atom bomb explosion imagery and strangely Germanic foes. 

(Explosion imagery, often tried and true to the demolishing of the villainous monster, connoted in tandem firebombing and the atom bomb explosions within the scope of mecha works. From Combattler V, ep. 5.)

SF works were not excluded, either. Works such as Tatsuo Yoshida's Science Ninja Team Gatchaman and proto-mecha works such as Studio Nue's Zero Tester received a fair share of queer-centric fanzines and parody works, however, as one steps full force into mecha as a genre, it wouldn't be until the advent of Brave Raideen that the trope of the effeminate alien villain, both queer coded and visually beautiful, would become a unique foil to the otherwise stalwart hero. Where others had SF villains such as Berg Katse and Dessler to look towards for queer Aniparo, Prince Sharkin's popularity among his female fanbase proved important simply due to both his beauty and antagonism with Akira Hibiki. Azuma Sonoko, famed sociologist, notes in their text Sociology of Culture: Memory, Media, and Body, that many young women began making queer Aniparo works as a means to express their own stifled sexuality via homosocial behavior. Contextually driven in a means to subvert media, could the same be said for fudanshi? It proves to be quite complicated via the Western lens.

Early shōnen ai and proto-yaoi works, while mostly written by women (then oftentimes referred to languidly as the josei sakka, or "female authors") did not actively create commercial manga or anime in the mecha genre that was ingested by young men in the same scale as that offered by Toei or Sunrise during the early 1970s. Commercial manga artists, such as the late Takano Yuriko (高野 夕里子), however, produced commercial grade BL doujinshi, many of which would later be ingested by male fudanshi. One notable title, Beautiful Boy Garuda, done while Yuriko went by Yū Asagiri (あさぎり夕), positions male mecha characters and accounts even for 60s SF works such as Fight! Osper and Ashita no Joe in the context of queerness - immediately sold out when presented on the Comiket floor, Yuriko gained a cult following with both fujoshi and fudanshi alike. 

(Garuda lamenting his life choices and fate while being nearly accosted / shipped with Peter Richardson from Gaiking. This is a rare example of a crack ship by 21st century standards by Yuriko. From Beautiful Boy Garuda (1978) by Yuriko's self published circle OZ, personal collection. )

(Boy's love transcending the realm of mecha and into mid 60s SF works, such as Fight! Osper, now partially lost media, and Rainbow Sentai Robin. From From Beautiful Boy Garuda (1978) by Yuriko's self published circle OZ, personal collection.)

(Via the original catalog for Comiket 4, it could possibly be said that a UFO Robot Grendizer BL circle was one of the first to show Aniparo yaoi at the event. SOULA (Solar) SYSTEM BOA was published by the circle Anime Fanzine Contact in 1976, a circle that had both male and female members.)

(The extra supplementary issue of Lunatics, which featured both Gatchaman and Danguard Ace yaoi Aniparo work. This work, released sometime in 1977, is one of the earliest on internet record for a Gatchaman yaoi work. This work, while soft in its visual eroticism, deals with more extreme topics such as cuckolding and dubious consent. Both male and female authors participated in this publication until 1980.)

While queer male authors published in doujinshi spaces, their networks overlapped less with that of cis-Women produced yaoi in its absurdist context. Be it through independently published literary magazines and other personal zines, many of these authors would strictly only distribute these materials in gay bars or small press events rather than at Comiket proper. Sex and sensuality, in the earliest annals of Comiket's history, were actually far and few in between for genuinely erotic works. Censorship led to authors and editors, such as those behind Glass, to participate in the outskirts of this would-be stagnation. Decidedly not embittered by the presence of say Lum or Minmay half nude and penetrated in the stead of romanticized BL works, authors pooled money and resources to not only out publish, but produce industry grade works.

Edited and published by Shadow Miyabi (影みやび, Kage Miyabi depending on the transliteration ) and Mayflower (五月草 他), Glass as a circle is rather mysterious on the onset. From the information given to me by the original owner of these texts, the circle comprised of many well to do and even amateur fans who cross collaborated in the adults only sphere. No immediate Junior High students could be noted, however, the familial element of the circle and their offerings extended well into the mid 80s. As he put it, they never quite got away from one another, even when one moved on to different things, and friendships proved to be everlasting until they simply weren't. As noted before, private birthday parties were held for members, lunches in public parks and movie screenings were plenty, though in the comfort of a blanketed underground. 

In this particular issue of Glass' Bottle, Miyabi noted that the group intended to participate in the winter Comiket that November, though should the book not make an appearance, it was simply due to their rebelliousness - "In fact, I wrote this story out of a rebellious spirit against a certain doujinshi...". Given the era, this could account for several works that a fujo like Miyabi would protest against. Glass, noted as simply "G  & B", worked at a breakneck pace and had several meetings at inexpensive Chinese restaurants to draft their mecha themed works. Women and men, all under the same roof, produced between their busy schedules BL novelettes and illustrations for Mobile Suit Gundam, Braiger and Daimos to name a few. While perhaps responding to their own ideologies on mecha as a genre, a subversive effort was duly undertaken via the fudanshi as well.

(From 1981, the cover illustration for Goodnight For Now (今はおやすみ), written by as a collaborative effort by both male and female artists. Written by Ai Shingo (神郷藍), traced (re-edited for better photocopying / printing) by Satoshi Kitahara (北原智) and illustrated by Amaki Kyo (京あまき), this Charma work is both hypermodern and grappling with its topics of death and disconnection post 0079's broadcast. Personal collection.)

(A Braiger work illustrated by Satoshi Kitahara (北原智), one of the few of note illustrated by a fudanshi author in Glass' imprints, circa 1981.)

In a post-war realm, albeit even many years later, the fudanshi's participation alongside fujoshi as active, be it prominent or obscure authors, remains culturally significant in the realm of both yaoi and shoujo media alike. Early fudanshi, whether straight or otherwise, existed in and carved out a cultural niche by participating in a fandom not originally “meant” for them — yaoi and shōnen ai — which was shaped typically by women and for women in mind. Exclusionary behavior, momentos of memories I don't have and can't report upon, could have clearly happened, though as it stands, even a small record of the latter proves so much more. 

In doing so, they occupied a liminal space that required both unique navigation of gendered expectations upon themselves and a means to further negotiate their own relationship with queerness and masculinity, directly and indirectly. In a society where open queerness was often pathologized, trivialized, or confined to narrow adult spaces, fudanshi as authors, especially queer ones—found in BL a strange but valuable alternate mirror. Through fiction, ones mind and self autonomy could be genuinely expressed, even though the innately flat body of the fictional male hero turned into a gay manifestation. 

For straight or questioning male fans, their presence subtly expanded the interpretive field of BL: they complicated its audience, forced conversations about who could clearly consume or contribute, and bridged connections, no matter how tentative, between women's fandoms and men's queer cultural spaces. Its important to note how this happened largely without institutional support, visibility, or overt political language. Their participation wasn’t framed as activism, but in hindsight it opened cracks in rigid gender and sexuality boundaries within otaku culture and the mecha fandom, one doujinshi at a time.