Anime Abandon: Fake

Let's get real... Fake kinda sucks. See more anime goodness at www.benthesage....

[@KaiseaWings]

Pity. Two gay cops on holiday during a spooky murder mystery sounds like an awesome setup.

[@setsers1]

XD LOL

[@anthonybrunotheodd]

I want to get started on the screenplay myself.

[@marocat4749]

yep just do some crazy mystery that keeps them from chilling but gets too them be closer. Or the third cop is secretly a criminal trolling them with riddles for reasons.

[@SonicRyan1992]

"We're here for the man service! So service us, man!" can that be a tee shirt sold a conventions?

[@moegirl8420]

SonicRyan1992 Yes.

[@otakuparadise3585]

Lol 😆

[@Kefkaesque13]

Seriously? The uke is a New York detective named "Randy McClane" and not a single Die Hard joke?

[@sillygrl23]

Kefkaesque13 I am still hung up on the whole "Japanese" thing, the guy looks more Irish than Japanese. Someone in the writing behind it done goof it up me thinks.

[@filipinowhiteboy]

sillygrl23 there are a ton of anime characters that don't look japanese. I just got done watching Area 88. the main character is a blonde haired, blue-eyed, Luke Skywalker looking character and apparently, he is Japanese. A fact that the characters in the show seem to constantly remind us.

[@ElsieGlace83]

+filipinowhiteboy Too true, Usagi Tsukino anyone?

[@filipinowhiteboy]

***** That's sailor moon right?

[@ElsieGlace83]

filipinowhiteboy Yep

[@thebrownwolf]

Thank you Gabe for groaning for all of us.

[@aukedejong7519]

There is a manga called Banana Fish that is about a young gang leader and he's trying to find out why his vietnam war vet brother got fuckuped. He gets involved with mafia politics trying to get to the bottom of the mystery. The interesting thing is that all the head characters are gay. The mob boss whose hitting on this young gang leader, the rival gang leader, the gang leader himself; all gay. It's an intense and kinda noir kinda manga. And it's cool to see gay characters portrayed in this.

[@Lori_P89]

As a casual connoisseur of Yaoi/BL anime myself, (as in I *am* the target demographic that this stuff is aimed at, and I enjoy it when I can) it stinks that 99% of Yaoi/BL out there is mostly centered around rape. (okay, "stinks" is an understatement) I always thought we were supposed to relate to the uke, (oops! guess that was just me!) but if we're supposed to relate to the seme, does that mean that these creators think that all of us fangirls wanna do is rape dudes? That's pretty fucked up! Speaking of fucked up, it's also fucked up that the closest gay dudes have to watching gay porn made for other gay dudes, is the Bara genre type of manga, but I've never really seen any anime adaptations of those, which is pretty dang sad :( Still, Fake is pretty terrible, but I remember liking it for the hot make-out sessions when I was younger. As you said, this genre isn't complicated; it's just plain hot! Thank you for reviewing it!

[@thebritishgeek]

So bring a yaoi consumer where does boko no pico stand? ( not even a joke comment I'm legitimately curious)

[@SylemGistoe]

Lori P Yeah, as an observer from outside the demographic, i always found it really weird that anime about gay men made for women... *resolves so commonly with rape that it's a standard trope of the genre.*

[@Tareltonlives]

Lori P That's my pet peeve with romance fiction in general. WHAT'S WITH ALL THE RAPE?!

[@CurliFox]

Lori P While were criticizing manga, some also have weird incest plots too. For example, in Sword Art Online, the main characters cousin/adopted sister falls in love with him. In Batangatari, there is the infamous toothbrush scene. Or worse... My Little Sister Cant Be This Cute... It keeps popping up again and again in anime, and im not sure why. (BTW I hope I didnt creep you out :( )

[@SylemGistoe]

niaya12 not to reduce a culture to it's weirdest elements but... japan has kind of a thing with incest. You've barely scratched the surface.

[@Atomic_Mousetrap]

Gabe groaning in the background absolutely made the GPS joke.

[@RadioFade]

As a woman who is generally really into LGBTQI relationships represented in fiction... most yaoi is absolutely crap. >.> And usually either bordering on or completely within the realms of sexual assault.

[@animatedawesome5550]

some are cute tho it depends on the writer I guess.

[@RadioFade]

Cute? Yes. Well written? I am yet to find one. :(

[@RadioFade]

Also the rapey bits are most definitely not cute...

[@zillafire101]

Said every internet troll ever.

[@RadioFade]

Inquisitive Lady thanks, missed the point completely. :)

[@e.t.291]

'Just one little kissy-poo!' No words, just cringe for eternity.

[@LunarSpiral1127]

Was about to go to sleep, and I saw this....screw it, who needs sleep.

[@SunnyAznable]

On UK time here. I know that feel.

[@VonTheStampede]

LunarSpiral1127 yoo lol

[@Solqueen86]

LunarSpiral1127 Ditto Can't say no to the classics

[@owlcake]

LunarSpiral1127 I wanted to, but I really needed to sleep. But now I'm here!

[@gizmofrompizmo2177]

And he hasn't slept in two years...

[@KazeRyuTrey09]

"Gurl, that shits a balcony~Don't come at me with veranda bullshit unless you have a roof" Hahahaha XD I can't, I was like why the heck did he say veranda when it's clearly a balcony

[@alphamone]

4:02 Getting flashbacks to Livejournal drama about "yaoi warnings" and fanfiction.

[@tyrant-den884]

And props to Love Stage, the only anime (and presumably manga) where the seme looks at the sleeping uke and thinks: I will just sleep on the couch, forcing myself on him would be rape after all.

[@jamg25]

The review that I didn't know I wanted.

[@jamg25]

Qwerty Bastard yet you loved it.

[@Adamant_Consternation]

jamg25 I honestly wasn't expecting this to be such an absolutely glorious train wreck. This anime would have made a great MST3K episode.

[@margueritestjarna3547]

jamg25 i love yaoi and your pic :3 hugs*

[@piccolo56000]

+jamg25 THATs how it mostly is

[@nathanclark2424]

Mega Mix Jam the review we needed, but not the one we deserved

[@redtopaz]

FAKE is actually one of my favorite BL mangas. And for clarity, the "trip to England" plot cul-de-sac they used for the OVA is easily the worst of all the mysteries in the series. Dee, Ryo, and Bicky are interesting characters set against the frankly unusual backdrop of 1990s New York. The Commissioner and JJ are worthless cast additions that are entirely unnecessary, but the rest of the supporting cast are entertaining in their own right. It's not a realistic or particularly logical manga, but the characters are engaging, interesting, and I genuinely cared about Ryo & Dee's relationship. There's a few solid police mysteries thrown in as well, particularly when the mafia gets involved. I'd actually recommend it to any aspiring fujoshis out there. Don't watch the OVA, though. That's worthless.

[@Joey-yo8mw]

Red Topaz agreed

[@AiNoMiko]

Yup, pretty much my exact thoughts.

[@cjtruman5346]

5:47 - I _think_ it's supposed to be the Lake District (we have one of those and it's well worth a visit) but I don't think you'd get planning permission for a slightly garish new build that appears to be half ramshackle almshouse conversion and half Tuscan villa.

[@Newgenerationkid17]

Sage's 'rapeface' is genuinely fucking terrifying.

[@bretthicksomega]

I fucking love how awesomely intellectual your videos can be. You are a multifaceted individual, and I enjoy the information as well as comedy of your show. Shine on you fucking crazy diamond.

[@zhazha23]

Honestly, Sage's GPS is no match for my Homosexuality Identifying Variables.

[@bulaluigi]

zhazha23 A joke about AIDS in a gay-themed discussion, how classy

[@randomjunkohyeah1]

bulaluigi Implying you're disappointed by a lack of classiness in the KZbin comments. ohgodicantstoplaughing.png

[@ThePolistiren]

bulaluigi They're just jokes, chill. The only way they can disappoint is if they are not funny.

[@bulaluigi]

Turtoi Radu Your sense of humour is seriously underdeveloped if you find 80s era jokes typically made by crusty republicans funny.

[@randomjunkohyeah1]

bulaluigi 1. What makes you think that this kind of joke is typical of this arbitrary group of people? 2. Humor is subjective. It is not your, nor anyone else's, position to tell people what they ought and ought not to find funny.

[@Hokaru11792]

Every time Mr.Black hair wants to get freaky deeky, he goes full on cartoon villain mode

[@JHaru777]

I always love when Sage puts on his sassy persona as he did with this veranda/balcony shit. XD

[@DAsrada]

As a bi-curious guy I am feeling an overwhelming surge of second hand embarrassment coming on. It is so incredibly enormous. Like a tidal wave composed entirely of second hand embarrassment.

[@skyerei190]

Great review sage, and that is honestly very shocking to hear about the lack of any real serious anime for homosexual men that wasnt porn. Really glad to know that this wasn't just done because of the ruling to!

[@PrincessTama2003]

Speaking of lack of gay anime, maybe do an episode for Utena soon?

[@AVerySexuallyDeviantOrange]

Good god that show was great. Thanks for reminding me to watch the other half I forgot about after my favorite site dieded! Also good gosh I’m late to the party.

[@joelbell6075]

Pilot Candidate is pretty damn gay, too.

[@Manawolfman]

I still say women are into YAOI the same way men are into YURI. Not a hard concept.

[@kyuven]

Manawolfman it's a little more complex than that. I had a professor who had a doctorate in Boys Love. I'm not joking either. That was what her doctorate was in. She's apparently a respected authority on the subject as well. Yuri, while similar to Yaoi, doesn't share a lot of the same tropes. Also...a lot of Yuri is popular among straight women as well.

[@murciadoxial8056]

Manawolfman aaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaactually... women are also deep into yuri as well... they just wont admit it that easily, but trsut me, they dig into that shit too

[@LicoriceLain]

Murcia doxial Well, that is partially because so much yuri plays it safe by either outright avoiding the sexual side of things or just sets the story in a location where no dudes exist.

[@RaineV1]

Manawolfman Actually, yuri is read/watched by a lot of women too, and yuri series are often times done in a very cutesy, slice of life style, like Sakura Trick.

[@GEhotpants101]

kyuven I'm about 89% certain men's attraction to lesbians is a little more complex than most people give credit for, too. Don't know how women's enjoyment of yaoi is any more complicated than a man's enjoyment of yuri. Both have their different sociological reasons, neither is "just because." Also not sure why a lot of women enjoying yuri make's OP's point any lesser, I'd like to add as a general statement.

[@CrowsHaven]

No 6 is probably only of the more anime/manga I can think of at the top of me head that depicts a gay relationship without enforcing general yaoi/shounen ai tropes. That focuses a lot on it's story and character relationships.

[@cheshirefiend]

CrowsHaven Correct. it instead focused on disturbing dystopian science fiction and the relationship was not the most important part of the story. No campiness, sexual assault, or most of the other yaoi tropes.

[@CrowsHaven]

Cheshirefiend Another and better example is Yuri on Ice, which enforces a healthy happy relationship.

[@cheshirefiend]

It does but I wish it focused on the relationship more. Too many side characters taking up time just to show off pretty animation. Also another good series was Shin Sekai Yori (From the New World) though that show had homosexual relationships as an explained in universe side dish to a disturbing fantasy dystopian story. Is it me or does yaoi/shounen-ai do really well if paired with dystopian stories? Weird.

[@SethAurelius94]

You are a fun guy to take out of context sage.

[@MBThomas]

12:20 That 10 second stare into the camera while looking at the smiling like a goddamn psychopath made this much more funnier than it needed to be.

[@Squiddyyy]

Bennett, I actually wanna thank you so much for explaining the concept of yaoi sub genre in a mature way. I'm so sick of some people just stereotyping it and calling it gross (usually those people are homophobic anyway) and you bought up an EXTREMELY good point. There really needs to be more gay characters where their own sexuality isn't the main selling point. Its a struggle for any non straight character really. But we're getting there...

[@bocodamondo]

i like the art style of this show

[@MarianaPall]

I loved this review and hope there's more yaoi(and yuri) on the way!

[@nicholasrodinos3789]

I kind of liked the reference to the Avenue Q song "Everyone's a little bit racist"

[@GregReavis]

Gay Japanese Caucasian red head. Yep, totally common.

[@SuperCosmicMutantSquid]

Yaoi manga is mostly made for women in general, not exactly a diverse audience of readers who are looking for stories that resolve around same-sex couples. This is why you see so many different genres for same-sex couples such as bara (big, manly men) and so on. If you look at a lot of popular yaoi its even stylized like shojo manga, with everyone looking fairy-tale cute or handsome and displaying personality types that would draw in a mostly female readership. This is probably the reason why over the reasons, even as a woman myself, I just never got into yaio because it borrowed so many elements from basic shojo formulas that I didn't like and unless the story was actually written with an intent to flesh out the characters rather to pander, I usually find the yaoi character archetypes to be dreadfully boring (uke and seme anyone?) and in most cases with stories where the writer was clearly just trying to copy the style, annoying as crap. I'm not trying to shit on anime and manga for actually having the balls to make comics with openly gay and lesbian couples but to be honest? Most of the stuff that is shipped to the West is more about being popular and making a buck than anything that resembles an actually story where I want to follow the couple go through their trials, their adventures and everything else along the way. Its kind of like how some yuri is more just an excuse for having one of the girls force her way on the other for some titty shots and then pasting a 'BUT THEY'RE IN LOVE!!11' sticker on it to make it, uh, I don't know. Forbidden love? Not every yaoi/yuri anime or manga series is cheap but I often found that some of the better series were the ones that weren't getting the star treatment when they were sent to North America. Sometimes you really have to hunt around for those jewels but in the end, it's worth it. And I remember my friends joking with Fake, putting on snobbish accents going. 'Excuse me. Its FAH-KAY. Not FAKE.' 'It's FUCK, OKAY?'

[@tricksterhuaun]

As a gay man, I must say this is soooo accurate. I mean, I can't even hear another man say my name without blushing, because everyone knows that being gay turns you into an emotionally-unbalanced Tween.

[@Aodhs_Ember]

Cant agree with the language being a plot hole in the original Dub, he's still English after all. I mean yeah I see where you're coming from, but it's no stranger than every person in Japan only speaking English in the English Dub.

[@BroomPusher2024]

Jojos Bizzare Adventure: looks up from newspaper

[@koro8gin]

All I want is a well developed, badass Gay main character or supporting character in a Shounen Anime who's sexuality isn't the bases of his character. *Representation.*

[@Pooky1991]

Koroniria Ryder And the fact the character is gay isn't their only defining trait.

[@koro8gin]

Pooky1991​ Dark Necrophia​​ exactly, the fact that they're gay doesn't have to make up their entire character. We've seen enough Shounen Anime where the Romance comes 3rd or 4th to the plot. There doesn't even *have* to be romance.

[@SuperCosmicMutantSquid]

Koroniria Ryder Then don't go looking for it in a lot of 'popular' yaoi in the states.

[@koro8gin]

Meredith Caudle i don't go looking for it in Yaoi at all. Honestly Yaoi is just a bunch of over sexualized romance with mostly less than interesting characters with terrible relationship dynamics. The only Anime I've seen with queer characters in a relationship that doesn't absolutely overshadow the plot is No.6, and No.6 isn't even Yaoi *or* Shounen Ai.

[@SuperCosmicMutantSquid]

Koroniria Ryder Neither do I. I'm one of those people who will just browse any new arrivals at a bookstore and over the years, I realized that I just couldn't not get into the yaoi craze even though a lot of people I knew were. At first, I felt weird even within the inner circle of my friends who did enjoy anime (this was middle and high school by the way) because I just didn't understand what they enjoyed about it. Then I became aware of the rabid yaoi fangirls and....yeah, bad experiences. No. 6 has been suggested several times in this discussion so I will check that out.

[@dontmindme1681]

Can we get a clip of Sage saying: "Watch out! You might catch the gaaaaaaaay!" Please? That would be the best meme ever.

[@shanashinigami]

That episode was hilarious, keep the great work up! :D

[@171QA]

20:08, now there's Yuri On Ice. Sure the guys are pretty but the relationship is portrayed in a positive manner.

[@crimsondynamo615]

171QA a friend of mine keeps denying the kiss ever happened, and here i am presenting it like a TED-Talk with a bunch of evidences and speeches and shit

[@Clorgisclorg]

I mean... no. No.

[@Kamodomon]

That is a very good point about anime for gay men. Didn't even think about that.

[@bulaluigi]

Kamodomon there is a genre of gay manga in Japan for men (then again there is a genre of manga for everyone), but none I can think of that has been adapted to anime.

[@Kamodomon]

bulaluigi But how easy is it for people overseas to get a hold of/read those mangas? Not very.

[@bulaluigi]

Kamodomon not legally anyway. I haven't looked, but I would expect there are some fan translated bara manga floating around the internet

[@kurvos]

bulaluigi Also, the gay mangas for gay men doesn't work for a lot of homosexuals, such as myself. They try too hard to make them really manly and masculine, and... it's kinda stupid.

[@theproplady]

kurvos I've seen my share of gay-themed doujinshi bsaed on existing media franchises, (for ahem, RESEARCH purposes of course ^_^;) but again, lots of it aimed at women....

[@kurvos]

***** My email to you sparked this?! Yes, this is me, Viktor Åkesson whom sent you that email, Sage. I got to say, I feel really flattered to see you mentioning me in the video and say I had a finger in why you decided to make this video. ^_^; Certainly nothing I was expecting to see, but it was a really pleasant surprise. But yeah, neither you nor anyone else I was talking to could help me find what I am looking for. :/ I guess I just wanted to give it a try to ask you because you seem to know a lot thanks to the research you are doing - my researching on this gave me no luck, so I just hoped for the best that others would know what to look for. Still, this was a surprisingly awesome video. I kept wondering throughout the video if this had to do anything with me sending you my email... and, holy shit, that turned out to be the actual reason. Thank you so much, Sage - you made my day with this video. :)

[@pinkcloudsnightlightbell]

kurvos You sent that email? Awesome!!! Gold stars and cookies, this was such a great topic for Sage to touch on/tackle >w

[@kurvos]

Clemen Si Yup, it was me - I've even saved it so I can prove it if needed. XD But thank you so much - I am really glad to I got to see him bring it up! X3

[@Broken_Glasss]

(Light shining at the end of the tunnel) The answer is BARA!!! Bara is targeted to bi and gay men and there are no shounen ai tropes to be found anywhere. The stories are not melodramatic at all and it's actually erotic. I point you to this links to learn more. Enjoy! tvtropes.org/pmwiki/pmwiki.php/Main/BaraGenre

[@kurvos]

BrokenGlass043 Bullshit. That's not a "light in the tunnel" - that's another depressing dead end. It makes it assume - and also seems to make YOU assume - that all us gay guys want overly masculine manly super-muscular hairy males getting together. Fuck that shit.

[@kurvos]

BrokenGlass043 Oh, grow up. I wasn't fighting you, I was just stating a fact. Bara is NOT a "light in the tunnel" for me. Doesn't mean you have to act like a kid and namecall me.

[@McMeatBag]

NYPD cop named McClane and no Die Hard reference? Jesus Sage, you let me down bro.

[@maugos]

As a gay man I approve of this review. Anyway, yaoi anime may be dumb and, well, for lack of a better word, fake, but there has been a lot of manga that has popped up that is made for gay men. The funny part is how it's practically the opposite of yaoi with guys who are pretty buff and acting manly. Still wish fulfillment of course, but at least it's coming from actual gay male writers and artists. The term I usually see for it is "bara" though I'm not sure if that's official.

[@heero171]

maugos This, so much. I started out with yaoi at a young teenager and always thought "most of this is super lame, and they always resort to the same tropes...isn't there manga out there for actual gay/bi male readers?". Bara is an official category, but mostly gay erotic manga featuring characters with muscle, body hair etc usually more light on story. Hopefully that will change in the near future.

[@Gento70]

maugos Bara actually refers to the body archetype that Fist of the North Star and the early parts of Jojo's Bizarre Adventure characters were drawn in. That is to say unnaturally large and muscular Upper and Lower bodies.

[@SylemGistoe]

Grantite It does also get used to generally refer to ero manga about men for men. T Jon Yeah, it's kind of surprising that despite there being plenty of anime about gay men, *none of it is actually aimed at gay or bisexual men*.

[@el-karasu6070]

SylemGistoe Well actually, there is a bara anime called "Legend of the Blue Wolves", but sadly, that's about it.

[@EllRiver]

the reason why their is no postive portrayal of homosexuality in anime is... sadly that its shunned in society. Its considered to be that just of sexual fantasy and nothing more. homosexuality is socially shunned, same with male to female transgenerism. In anime a man turning into a woman is always put in comedic way. Besides steins gate. where a male/female transgender woman turns into a biological woman, and when she has to turn back into a man. she admits her frustration that when she turns back into a man. she will have to suppress her feelings for the man she loves so that she isn't shunned by society... Though of course its more accepted with women. of course the anti gay sentiment is still their its less so. Notice that all the LGBT characters of note in anime are female... To clarify this is the opinion of the ill informed majority. Those who take the time to read a history book are all very pro LGBT. Simply by the fact that homosexuality was once deep rooted in their culture. Where being gay was something natural. American influence sadly changed the culture and the majority of Japanese society has forgotten Japans homosexual roots.

[@Sayonarasora]

Calling him by his first name would make the Japanese man blush because, in Japan, it's a big deal to be called by your first name. I didn't know this either until a friend of mine was visiting from Japan & we were talking about the differences between our cultures & what we consider 'normal'. He said his coworker had had a girlfriend for a year & even had sex with her already, but was STILL too nervous to call her by her first name! To be fair, in Japan the fact that someone insisting on calling you by your first name would be embarrassing wouldn't need to be explained... so they don't; leaving no room for the dub to explain it to its audience. Awesome review though; as always ^_^

[@theravenousrabbit3671]

As a gay guy, I can say that Yaoi rarely raises my interest. (Pun intended.) This is mostly because most of the characters aren't masculine. They aren't manly, they aren't MEN, at least that is how I feel about it. It's pretty much feminized. It's not masculine, everything about it tend to actually tend to the female gaze. (Yes, there is a female gaze.) To me, yaoi isn't interesting unless I want to interject myself into the uke position of being submissive. These manga's and anime's also tend to have rather weak stories to instead only focus on the romance.

[@JoeyWheelerKaiba]

+louie wallenberg Look up "Gay manga" or the misnomer"Bara" Two titles I know of are Fisherman's Lodge and Priapus. They are manga. They are written by men for men. They are just now starting to be translated.

[@JoeyWheelerKaiba]

+louie wallenberg You can find them on Amazon.

[@lordblueballs7293]

Do rainbow Oreos exist

[@MsSphinx91]

+The Ravenous Rabbit None of this appeals to me either. I think because the situations are presented in such an awkward way. But honestly Japanese portrayals of sexuality rarely appeal to me. I guess it's just a cultural thing.

[@hiddenflare6169]

I thought the Japanese don't like a lot of 'manly' or 'mucho' things?

[@Solqueen86]

Well Sage, they are in England so Dee and Ryo were speaking English there. Dee is full American and given Ryo was half Japanese and barely showed it (Red hair which is something not normally seen unless your name is Noriaki Kakyoin) as well as going by the name Randy so of course the hotel owner didn't know. Also can you not see how much money would go into putting japanese subtext under the guy while and hiring a Japanese voice actor that knows English for him? If you want this problem show fixed check out Descendants of Darkness (A mild Yaoi) episodes 7-9. A Japanese character in the Japanese dub is speaking to a few Americans in broken English with Japanese subtext while in the USA dub he is still speaking normal English.

[@Solqueen86]

Qwerty Bastard Yeah he took that part too literal without thinking about the costs to translate Many anime have setting in America but everyone is speaking in Japanese because most people watching the show are Japanese before the anime is sent over seas. Imagine the cost to find a whole cast of Japanese voice actor knowing English for an anime set in NYC or even France?! Japan doesn't outsource they uses there own and the time it would take for a voice actor to learn another language and use it over and over again for just a few lines? That is way too much to ask in the 90's

[@Solqueen86]

***** It tends to have too many personal pet peeves and even look at some good points in the movies and make them sound bad

[@Solqueen86]

***** True you got a point. And Sage wasn't looking at it to the perspective of someone watching this in Japan first. It's no different then someone in Germany watching the Simpson episode of them visiting Japan. Everyone in that episode going to speak German since it the language of the country they are being shown in unless it's subbed That is one of the top 5 rookie mistakes no anime review is allowed to make. "Worrying why one american is speaking Japanese in a Japanese anime. That like watching JJBA and asking why is Hol Horse an American cowboy speaking Japanese in Egypt? Or the France man or the Englishmen in the show

[@RaineV1]

***** Come to think of it, there actually was a recent anime set in Japan that had the American characters speak English, Terror in Resonance. I forget what the Japanese title is. However, for one of the main English speakers they obviously cheaped out and went with a girl that probably hasn't spoken English since her high school days.

[@Solqueen86]

RaineV1 Yeah not but this was made the early 2000's and even now 99% of anime have setting in places like NYC and such but they still speak Japanese because the viewing audience is Japanese

[@johndavidtibbetts7320]

"two american cops on vacation in england" ...oddly specific trope

[@godzillasaurbuttersworth3176]

Watching this was hysterical Watching it with my partner was even better Thanks dude! Loved the end commentary

[@naterivers6107]

17:25 Does this really count as a plot hole? Yeah, this was made for Japanese people by Japanese people. Why the fuck would it ever be in English? This might be the most picture perfect example I've ever seen of over thinking.

[@BlueSmoke216]

+Nate Rivers Yeah, it's a weird point to make in my opinion. So many movies made in America or Britain just translate what everyone's speaking to English, and even then, the main characters are New York detectives and they are in England - there would be no reason to speak Japanese.

[@SuperWHIIITE]

18:22 HOLY SHIT THE DEAD DAUGHTER BECAME HIS STAND!

[@prime__name5715]

At 7:07 Is that Izzy from Digimon? If thats the case, Prodigis!

[@bjam89]

I think you are right

[@CornishCreamtea07]

First thing I thought of

[@YuuMonMusuedo]

***** Thought of Musashi from Brave Fencer Musashi first. Did a quick check, and their the same actress, she did Izzy as well. The more we know. lol

[@Tareltonlives]

***** Prodigis! A cliched romance comic!

[@prime__name5715]

Tareltonlives Prodigis! A written script containing pictures about my conflicted pre-teen hormones and stimulated brain waves!

[@avencree]

It's not an anime, but I can hope one day someone will finds this gem and put it to the small screen. Rin! is a VERY well written yaoi title that doesn't play on stereotypes. Yes you have the uke and seme, but they never let that be their personality. It's only three volumes long and it doesn't have very many racey scenes in it, in fact, nothing is really shown until the very end even though it has been implied that the two main characters have had sex throughout the series. Rin! doesn't need that to draw you in because all the characters are likable people and not caricatures which moves a good coming of age story along beautifully. If you have the time and want your yaoi to have an actual core, or hell if you just want a good romance regardless of gender, pick this title up. As for Fake, just skip it. You'd have more fun watch/reading Sensitive Pornograph if only because of how over the top bad it is.

[@N6LR0]

Anyone notice that all the positive portrayal of lesbians that Sage showed are from anime directed by Kunihiko Ikuhara?

[@PhilemonTheGulusfan]

Your point ?

[@alphamone]

That Kunihiko Ikuhara is one of the few people in anime to positively portray same-sex relationships? edit: and, presumably, they think that there should be more writers making a better effort.

[@dominickk5293]

Jimmy Stuart? I thought you was doing a Don Knots.

[@leiaistheusername]

Well I am a gay man and I really like yaoi even though I get the criticism. However i think that yaoi deserves some credit because it portrays homosexuality as something sexy/nice and portrays two guys having a loving relationship instead of it only being about sex which is a big stereotype for the gay community and many bara comics are guilty of (yaoi for gay men). When there is a gay character or some innuendo in "normal" anime it is often a joke or something for the het male characters to make fun of or be disgusted by, so I prefer the yaoi way of handling things. I would love to have some more anime with believable gay romances and badass gay characters though, but it seems like we have to wait for that...I guess that is why I do a lot of shipping.

[@BunnySenpai]

A plot that goes from zero to wackado shit? *Clannad*. Jokes aside, as a woman, I can say the only yaoi I ever liked was Love Stage, (because of the characters) yet most of my female friends could be considered fujoshi and I never understood the appeal. Really, it's no better than ecchi, just more flowery and aimed towards women for some odd reason. You'd think that in the fucked up world of anime where nearly every niche has been explored, there'd be at least one respectable gay anime.

[@cidevant002]

***** There are, they just don´t label themselves with "yaoi" because of the lack of sexual content. Shounen-ai stories, for the other hand, are more heavely relying on story and so the plot and the romance are just buddies walking side to side while the yaoi is all about the sex and romance. Some examples of GOOD shounen-ai are Nightwalker (based on The vampire chronicles of Anne Rice), No. 6, Karnival Tv, Vassalord (although is only an ova, you can check the manga) A samurai story, The wind between the trees (this is VERY old one), to some extent Kuroshitsuji (the creator actually wanted to be full yaoi, but her people told her "that shit don´t sell" so we just have the yaoi in the fandom). There are also some beautiful, gorgeus works wich names I can´t remember but one goes about a boy that fight aliens to save the planet and cling to his cellphone to believe he have friends, another one that is about a boy that becomes a rock whenever he is nervous (literally, his skin turn into different types of rocks) and a third one about a boy finding a man-mermaid in the beach and bringing it to his house. They all are from the same studio so they have a similar art style. If you find one can find the others. Dramatical Murder is based on a game yaoi and people said is good.

[@ChristianNeihart]

Candy Von Bitter I believe the anime you are thinking of is called "This Boy can fight Aliens."

[@cidevant002]

Christian Neihart Yes, that one! I can´t believe I couldn´t remember it XD But yeah, that anime is a VERY simple story that is just gorgeous to look at and have nice character. I feel like smiling everytime I think about it because those all three anime are just so damn... nice.

[@Broken_Glasss]

There is a yaoi genre that is targeted for bisexual and gay men! It's called Bara!

[@itsnouse-yourswillbeastill2562]

***** Those gosh darn fujoshi, always shippin away a whole naval fleet. BrokenGlass043 Bara seems to have cooler plots & themes, gay animes and mangas are all cool as long as they're not pure fan service. If an gay show can entertain even straight people then you know it's good. Free! seems like the counter part for sakura trig. Both borderline. They should've just been pure h to truly quench the thirst of it's demographics.

[@ShadowJoe]

When will the media learn? Rape as comedy in a fucking ludicrous series like Boondocks, where a guy getting his head chopped off nets only annoyance is one thing. In a series where there's *supposed* to be a sweet and charming relationship, that's something else. Especially when the attempted rape is *in* the relationship. It just doesn't work.

[@zeroalexis]

Thank you for the review! I remember when this came out on VHS in 1999/2000 when I was 14 and just got into the whole yaoi/shounen ai craze. Of course I'm 30 now and I am not into it as I used to be but looking back on it (compared to what we have now) this was so tame as far as stereotypes and hot-heavy guy on guy action! Great memories watching this.

[@YowLife]

I hope this false theory of yours "THIS CAN ONLY MAKES SENSE IN ENGLISH!" has finally been put aside, and you can make a video stating as to why you were wrong about this. That being the "base language idea", where there is one unified language our main cast speaks that the audience understands. Anyone from a different country could then speak that same language in their own accent.

[@Genevieve1023]

I always thought his fixation on that was so strange. We've all seen a million Hollywood productions that take place in foreign countries, but we're hearing the actors speak English. Did he have the same complaints about Disney's Aladdin or Mulan? What about movies like Dangerous Liaisons or Amadeus?

[@angelsgameplayer2132]

actually Juding by the scenery the area is Likely part of whats known as the 'lake district' Up north nere the scottish boarder it's a beutiful area and very popular for British and fourign travelers Beutiful Lakes, Picturesque Mountaines and Several Manor houses repurposed as resort get aways it's a Lovely area *grins* I live near it :D

[@cidevant002]

As someone that has been fujoshi as long I can remember, I must say that the very little variety in yaoi anime is really annoying to me. I hate to death animes like Sex Pistols, Jounjou Romantica and to some extent Hybrid Child because they are all practically the same thing, over and over and over and over again. Shounen-ai anime is better in general and they do actually have a plot that doesn´t find all his meaning in the romace/sex between the characters, but they also follow a very narrow path when it come to the relationship. I don´t care who is seme or uke. I just want good and solid characters that are good for each other, have a personality beyond their partners and work inside a good and solid story. But that shit doesn´t sell as much as the tipical yaoi/shounen-ai, so they don´t do it. Thank god for manga and artist like Chise Ogawa and Asumiko Nakamura. I wish they would turn their work into a full series or at least an ova, but I am afraid they wouldn´t dare.

[@wdbisl]

Candy Von Bitter I agree there is very little variety in yaoi, which is a shame. It's gotten to the point where I don't read most of it anymore because I want a story. I will say thanks for recommending good artists. I recommend you read Sugiura Shiho in return. She's a shounen-ai artist, but she's really good. I will say while were bringing up the topic of manga; yuri has a much worse selection than yaoi. Most yuri manga is just one shots that revolve around sex. At least yaoi usually has a cliche story, sometimes yuri doesn't even get that.

[@bulaluigi]

Candy Von Bitter I dunno if I classify myself as a fujoshi because the idea of yaoi and BL appeals to me, but what's available certainly doesn't. I feel like a lot of BL portray abusive relationships as fluffy and romantic (hellooooooo Sekaiichi Hatsukoi which even have volume covers that remind me of Pepe Le Pew cartoons), or emphasize the angst of being in an abusive relationship. All I want is one story about two men in a consensual relationship who love each other and don't engage in emotional/sexual abuse. I think Touya and Yukito from Card Captor Sakura would have qualified if they had been the focus of that story, but alas.

[@wdbisl]

bulaluigi Believe me it's not just yaoi that has that problem. A lot of shoujo manga has that problem. Look up almost any shoujo that contains sex and you will find an abusive relationship. I hate the whole rape = love in manga. Mayu Shinjo manga is notorious for unhealthy relationships.

[@bulaluigi]

wdbisl I haven't read that much shoujo--I've read Nana, and while that does contain abusive relationships, I felt that we the readers were supposed to recognise those as abusive relationships. I'm sure a lot of other shoujo are as you describe it though :(

[@wdbisl]

bulaluigi Nana is more a Josei then a shoujo so it's aimed at older mature audiences. The problems in yaoi are basically the same, but a little different. A lot of the times it's a girl saying no and the guy touching her when he wants to. The guys don't take the girl seriously because she's a woman and cries all the time. The woman really has no will of her own and eventually falls for the guy no matter what he does to her. BTW one of the things to look out for is the complementary genre tag smut. That tag usually means the manga has a horrible disregard for women. I basically hate the shoujo where the girl has no will of her own and is just an object.

[@joholloway8818]

twelve and a half minutes in...seized out laughing....came too a half hour later...and now I taste purple...bennett you don't disappoint.

[@c.c.lilford2916]

13:25 I love reaction humour, sometimes it's just the little yet baffled reactions that just kill me. Sage is the master of such humour.

[@LunarSpiral1127]

Because the OVA had a "read the manga to find out what happens next" end, I checked out the manga just to see how it is, and it wasn't bad. Not great, but not bad either. D and Ryo's relationship actually develops, instead of jumping straight to the sex (although there were a few scenes that came off kinda rapey), and there were other better stories that could've been adapted. But, instead, the murder mystery with the ghost (seriously, WTH?) was chosen. Sometimes, I question why I even liked this in the first place, and the answer I always come up with is that it was the first yaoi/shounen-ai anime that I could tolerate watching. Getting into anime, I was curious about the yaoi/shounen-ai genre, but I kept choosing anime that I either didn't like or made me uncomfortable that I stopped watching. I don't hate the genre, I just didn't make good choice on which ones to watch to get into the genre. Including Fake, I only saw 3 animes. 1. Papa to Kiss in the Dark: The first one I watched, but I didn't know it was yaoi at the time. Only heard about it from my high school friend who didn't like it. It was also the first anime that I saw that involved incest, and it made me so uncomfortable that I stopped when the second sex scene began. I mean, they were FATHER and SON for pete's sake! Not a good start getting into this genre. Good thing I saw Fake after watching that. 2. Ikoku Irokoi Romantan: The beginning was funny, but I was weirded out when the Yakuza guy said "it hurts, dad"...while having sex with the ship's captain....DA FUQ?! O_O I was also wondering if it was consensual or not, since he was drunk. The second OVA episode had the Yakuza guy drugged on a ship where people were human trafficking other people to old rich guys. Thought it was gonna go the "Taken" route (which would be awesome XD), but it didn't. Plus, if I watched it again, I'd be hearing either Grimmjow and Renji or D'Arby the Player and N'Doul (both voice actors played these characters). 3. The Tyrant Falls in Love: The love interest is a homophobe, he gets accidentally drugged by drinking an aphrodisiac, and well...yeah, no thanks. Dropped it before the sex even started. -_-

[@aikikaname6508]

At least now there's one good one: Yuri On Ice

[@ZarathustraCalico]

Is it really good? I'm an oldschool yaoi fan trying to get back into anime/manga that deals with it. Gravitation and Fake, despite their good ratings, just isn't my style - they're not good in general, even dismissing the gay aspect.

[@Drakhesh]

It's better than Fake and Gravitation - but it's in no way good, sadly. It is overrated, for something that repeats many narration errors of many similar titles. Yet another anime that musrpresented gay people, on top of misrepresenting russian people. But the animation was slightly above average, so Anime of the Year I guess.

[@lapislazuli9465]

Yeah, that's gonna be a no from me dawg.

[@omarabe26]

+Aiki Kana me Yuri on Ice is ultra mega hella gay.

[@JacobWilsonVO]

Drakhesh in what way, Victor and yuri are not defined by their sexuality, they were originally characters that ended up in a relationship. That's honestly a great representation because the characters don't need to be gay. But since they are, and it's not there sole traits, is a great relationship.

[@mikelevy2477]

I did see this particular anime on the Logo channel when it launched.

[@librahoshino6752]

I don't suppose the Japanese creator realized the connotations of naming their gay male couple "D" and "Randy" XD

[@LRGhost7489]

Sir, watching you watch this is an absolute pleasure. While I can see some places where you were incensed because you missed something (or were at least playing it up), your performance is so entertaining that offering further/corrective info feels uncalled for. Excellently well done. I *was* the target demographic for this and felt very largely as you do. XD

[@tgiacin435]

There is one anime about a gay couple that at least for the anime was pretty realistic, gravitation. It portrays a relationship fairly accurately. A guy in a band falls in love with an author when the author sees a song the singer is writing, and calls it crap, and after that they sorta become a balance, the singer is the optimist, and the author is the realist, and provide a balance for each other. I like it because it doesn't go into porn right off the bat, it gives us characters, and in the anime, it's very tame, except for events in one of the main character's past. Personal opinion, check out gravitation, the only anime to portray a same sex relationship as a real relationship, and isn't thinly veiled porn, or make them obviously gay, and flamboyant in a regular anime series.

[@TerryFedora]

I've gotta say, I read the manga given a friend gave me the first and I enjoyed it. So the FAKE OVA got me excited when I saw that there was an OVA in the first place. Ergo, seeing you do a review made me giggle because I'm like, yeah it wasn't the best adaptation. It chose one of the weakest chapters in the story for adaption as one of the biggest falling points. ALSO, thank you for that whole explanation in the beginning, I love when you give background information and your thoughts.

[@Thatoneswimmingbastard]

I would love to see an anime made that didn't pander more towards fangirls rather than actual homosexual males because I absolutely hate the generic tropes that yaoi anime has.

[@Ilovemahmochi]

From the perspective of a yaoi consumer, I think you hit the nail on the head with the part about readers projecting themselves on the dominant role.

[@TeryJones]

20:55 - damn right I'd be pissed if I were gay, in fact I'm kinda pissed regardless what kind of reverse sexism double standard is this tri-oh shit not another anime I rented one time on VHS. Oh God this is gonna hurt worse than I remember isn't it X_X?

[@RavenWitchShade]

OK, I giggled at the subtle American Werewolf in London reference you threw in there :P

[@_Snowflame]

I'm willing to say that girls like gay anime for the same reason that the main demographic (of readers AND authors) of gay Harlequin-style romance novels is actually middle-aged women. What's thought to be at work is that the balance of dominance in the relationships typical of these novels is often more-or-less level, sort of like the professor you mentioned suggested. Or maybe women just think dude-on-dude is hot like girl-on-girl. Who knows.

[@agreatmanlookingtotheright]

Travis Vardy woman get a hard one to beastiality so we cant really say they find dude on dude hot we can just say they find everything hot

[@moralityisnotsubjective5]

Travis Vardy No one questions why men like girl on girl. I see no reason therefore to question why women like guy on guy. And why should anyone question wanting to watch two hot people going at it anyway?

[@agreatmanlookingtotheright]

Cynical Cthulhu beastiality is man fucks animal can we atleast question that or will we know transform into a society were pedophilia acts are normal and the only thing that is nowadays worth sending someone to prison for is hurting somebody physiclly

[@moralityisnotsubjective5]

likeajon There's something very wrong with you. Troll elsewhere.

[@moralityisnotsubjective5]

likeajon *sigh* Nobody wants to discuss your peculiar obsessions. Blocked and muted.

[@tylerh2548]

sometimes i can't remember if I've seen a particular video or not

[@TheMinorityGAMER312]

Anime Abandon: Berserk?

[@Gento70]

***** Okay 1) Great profile pic 2) Yes, please

[@TheMinorityGAMER312]

Grantite I've also got some great materiel on my channel too(shameless plug)

[@YouGottaShootEmInTheHead]

***** Of course! Let's make it so he doesn't get another anime that is associated with masculinity! but then I would just watch it regardless, so yes :P

[@SsnakeBite]

***** I could have sworn he's already reviewed that one.

[@TheMinorityGAMER312]

SsnakeBite no he just said it was one of his favorite anime

[@animesniper1]

If my memory serves me correctly, the manga did a better job. At the point this ova reaches they are already lovers and it doesn't really show how they met. For those who are actually interested to know, Ryo is the blond's middle and supposed Japanese name (his actual name is Randy) joins a police agency similar to CSI and meets his new partner Dee who finds out that he is part Japanese by seeing his eye color is pitch black as they're heading out to a case that is actually kind of intense as a mob is involved (this is also where you meet Bikky as he was the child to one of the murdered victims in a drug operation; much deeper than in here) The girl is also in the same boat as she was saved by Ryo and Dee. The story is actually kinda bitter sweet how everything is set up. You kinda have to think about it like a more direct version of Decedent of Darkness in it's actual plot... but not in this OVA, the story here really flops hard if you haven't already read the manga. There is also a sequel to FAKE called FAKE 2.

[@lyristhe-pseudointellectua2861]

I'm a lesbian and I think both yaoi and yuri are absolute crap.

[@guywhomstvepostgood]

Because yaoi is for straight women and yuri is for straight men.

[@TheEvilHumanist]

That was supposed to be Jimmy Stewart? Don Knotts at best.

[@GamerGirlOfGotham]

;;gets ready to say the million ways the Manga is a million times better - realizes nobody gives any degree of crap;; Well, if anyone is interested the Manga is a nice series of murder mysteries and there's a nice story hanging over ryou and his past And in all fairness D is bi And the kids are well developed dorks who fall in love and have a nice side story

[@darthbriboy]

GamerGirlOfGotham sounds interesting.

[@Solqueen86]

GamerGirlOfGotham I hear ya There are so many things in the manga they could have done. The drug wars, the child killer, Dee's past on the streets But the late 90's didn't have the funds...Like the JJBA OVA maybe in another 10 years we'll get a reboot

[@GamerGirlOfGotham]

***** The child killer would have been perfect for a short ova! Tense, scary, gives a "point" to the kids for newcomers. This was so far in the series it's kinda pointless, you don't get to see any of the developments their relationship had

[@cidevant002]

GamerGirlOfGotham I like the story in the manga... I just wish that Dee wasn´t so rapey about Ryo whenever he gets the minimal chance. Also I just hate when autors make this "we both wanted it, we both say we wanted, we both know the other one wanted it, but we are not going to do anything about it because REASONS" thing. But go to bed already! Or say that you will never go to bed, but don´t drag this out for seven fucking volumes.

[@GamerGirlOfGotham]

***** It is worth a read. The romance between the two is far better written than the ova makes it seem. They develop as characters as well, one benefit it has over many is their growing relationship isn't the only point to their characters Bicky the little boy has a boss after story and his comedy is hella funny There is a big overarching plot with murder, drugs,and ryou even snaps at one point and it's just pretty awesome Plus D has a really neat back story and is at least slightly more tactful with his romancing ryou The series only results to those rapey moments about twice and depressingly enough? That's amazingly small for yaoi >< Bennett wasn't kidding with the shitty state of actual entertainment media for gay men and not disgusting crappie that tries to pander to my market The anime with the kid with shiny eyes in the beginning? ? HE LITERALLY ALMOST GETS RAPED and the anime never mentions it again ever Talk about big lipped alligator moments

[@Nionivek]

I think one of the more interesting Male-Male gay relationships in Anime/manga actually is the one between Laxus and Freed from Fairytale and would in fact count for this discussion IF... Laxus wasn't likely straight. It is interesting because for the most part Laxus, in spite of being straight, doesn't reject or freek out over Freed's advances. Freed asks him to dance and Laxus doesn't dance. Freed asks Laxus if he would like massage and not only does Laxus say yes but he constantly encourages Freed to massage harder and in more areas, the scene is actually played off as comical but unlike the VAST majority of anime the joke isn't "ha ha Freed is gay" but rather the joke is how flustered Freed is going. Honestly their relationship though probably never going to advance is actually not only sweet but dear holy goodness do I WISH fiction would learn from this... I mean we have a straight character who is near a gay character who clearly has the hots for him... and his reaction isn't to freek out, to assert his sexuality, or to distance himself from Freed. I get the feeling that Laxus just doesn't care. Mind you don't get me wrong this isn't explored much. For the most part it is background detail.

[@rosenrot234]

Still a bummer the anime changes the story of the 2nd book a little. I love Fake. Even if it has a few questionable moments about the relationship. It's still a hell of a lot better than the other gay manga books. Seriously why do these books have to get so rapey? Even Fake does that a little in the last book and I always thought that was weird.

[@heero171]

rosenrot234 A lot of yaoi/BL manga use rape as a plot device.

[@rosenrot234]

T Jon I understand that I just think it's odd that this is such a popular use of story telling for both the authors and fans. I know the difference between fantasy and reality but it just rubs me the wrong way since I'm a gay guy. It's extremely uncomfortable seeing some fans of these types of books gleefully shouting "Rape him!" I wish that was hyperbole but I see far too many people doing that.

[@heero171]

Oh I completely agree.

[@viiranen]

rosenrot234 Two reasons(at least): 1) No matter how much yaoi, shonen ai and such there is in Japan, the people who write and make these works are fundamentally homophobic. There is always the male and female (seme and uke respectively) in the relationship. They are never "really gay", but are simply "drawn" to their given love interest in the works and "don't care" if one of them sticks it in the butt. 2) Rape and non consensual sexual acts are sadly a popular trope in Japanese media, in general. I mean think about tentacle porn for excample, or Tsundere stereotype. "You'll like it once it's done" frame of thought and such are sadly still done. Things like that :(

[@Lin2Waterfall]

DAMN YOUR EYEBROW WIGGLE AT 11:10! Damn near made me spit my soda out >.

[@GnoccitheThrro]

You know it's sad when I think Grell from Black Butler is a more subtle homosexual character than most of the characters in this anime.

[@realitywarper936]

Grell's a transwoman, not a gay man.

[@GnoccitheThrro]

realitywarper93 Wait he is?

[@realitywarper936]

Yes, she is. The creator confirmed it.

[@GnoccitheThrro]

realitywarper93 Huh. I actually never new that. I mean, I never really noticed anything feminine about- okay poor choice of words there.

[@themidnightotaku22]

6:28 You’re even nerdier than Nostalgia Critic. Although a saying like that probably isn’t news to you.

[@AnyaJS]

This is an amazing review, thanks! I agree about all these yaoi stereotypes. But though there are some nice representations of lesbians (and gays) in anime and manga,I think that there are tons of idiocy in yuri too. F.e., the main heroine is a very shy and nice girl, and she fell in love with a very cool, brave and popular (often too manly) girl.And the second girl choose to be with this shy girl, finding something wonderful in her (something the reader would never find out, for sure).And the brave girl defends the shy one, while she is only afraid of anything and apologize for her weakness and stupidity.And the rape jokes can be here too, and many other bad things. So in my opinion it isn't that differ from yaoi in terms of realism.

[@16Nire61]

I'll throw in another possibility on why women might enjoy seeing two males in a relationship, based on my own experience. Speaking as a bisexual woman, I generally enjoy any combination of genders in my fictional viewing/reading/etc. But when there is a woman or women involved, I often try to put myself in the character's place. Now that might sound like a usual reaction to any sort of fiction, but in the case of romance and/or sex, it can actually make things less enjoyable if something happens that I personally wouldn't enjoy in a relationship (not even getting into BL/GL's disturbing tendency towards borderline or actual abuse) - some activity or some dynamic that just wouldn't work for me. With two men, this doesn't happen. I don't put myself in either character's shoes because I don't identify with their gender, and so it's easier for me to just enjoy the characters' relationship as their own, rather than compare it to how I would feel if it was happening to me. And so in a weird way it's just easier to watch. That's how I feel about it, anyway. I don't know if anyone else out there would say they feel the same. Although, as it's been pointed out by many, yaoi/BL and yuri/GL are rarely enjoyable on account of just how... creepy the relationships often are. I used to LOVE yaoi. Nowadays I shake my head at my younger self's stupidity.

[@Thrano]

I am tempted to deeply analyze this anime, but since the kid inside me demands it, I'll make like a seal and say... HA! GAY!

[@THfan9412]

So that means its time to review shows like No. 6, Banana Fish, and Yuri on Ice!

[@leGUIGUI]

The original dub (japanese) isn't in itself a plot hole. The audience simply assume they are speaking in English, but it's translated for the audience. When you watched Ratatouille, did you assume everyone was actually speaking English? No they were speaking French, but for the audience sake, the dialogues were made in English, but it's stillobvious everyone there was actually speaking in french. How is that not straightforward?

[@OnDavidsBrain]

7:07: Hello Mona Marshal what's it been, like two episodes since we've heard you in a dub? Don't worry I've kept your seat warm. 15:55: Sage we do not need to go back to Jungle De Ikou again, I still feel unclean. 16:42: Oh my god you like; sneeze glitter!

[@lukevankleef4245]

Hate to be ''that guy'' but considering the subject mater of your channel, what are your thoughts on One P....... I mean Hellsing Ultimate? XD

[@davidbarco4245]

I don't think he can give his opinion about it given that Alucard( Tfs takhata) has theatened to kill him if he ever speaks about him :p

[@lukevankleef4245]

David Barco XD

[@blixer8384]

When did that happen?

[@mzpurplemist]

I bought the manga for the BL because it was the first BL manga series I actually wanted to own, but found that the series is good, to me anyway, on it's own with interesting characters, their relationships with each other and the crime solving stories. I think what could make this manga uncomfortable for some BL fans to read is Dee's being played up as a horn dog when the manga artist remembers 'oh yeah, this is supposed to be a BL manga.' And though it's been a couple of years since I last read the entire series I don't ever recall throwing my books across the room and screaming at it, 'WTF?' because I like BL, but hate BL with rape.

[@Caitlynn552]

I loved the Avenue Q reference!

[@ChopstickGirl241]

Funny enough, Mona Marshall would go on to voice Wolfram from Kyo Kara Maou; my favourite fantasy/shounen ai. Despite Wolfram ending up accidentally betrothed to the main character, their relationship doesn't hinder the plot, nor does the plot revolve around it. It's there, but you get to see the two grow as characters, with Wolfram eventually coming to love Yuri (the main character) for who he is, instead of just because he's expected to ans because he's a jealous bitch. The trade off though, is that their relationship sadly progresses very little during the course of the show, although I've heard their relationship is better in the light novel series. Still, highly recommend it if you're in the mood for a silly fantasy adventure. (Bonus: the main character, Yuri, is voiced by Yuri Lowenthal in the English dub. Perfect casting all around 👌)

[@akumaten]

Why are there boob jokes in a Yaoi?

[@SunnyAznable]

Much like life, boob jokes will find a way.

[@SunnyAznable]

Everyone, I'd like to thank you for the unexpected level of plus ones. This has made my day...largely because I lead a very empty life, but hey! it's something.

[@CornishCreamtea07]

Looked up Will Knight, turns out he's been in a lot of shoiws I've seen. Poor guy has been typecasted as old man characters.