{"id":31204,"date":"2018-07-24T15:05:01","date_gmt":"2018-07-24T07:05:01","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/news.qoo-app.com\/en\/?p=31204"},"modified":"2018-07-24T15:06:24","modified_gmt":"2018-07-24T07:06:24","slug":"qoo-news-anime-expo-special-talking-with-the-yaoi-army","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/news.qoo-app.com\/en\/post\/31204\/qoo-news-anime-expo-special-talking-with-the-yaoi-army","title":{"rendered":"[Qoo News] Anime Expo Special: Talking with The Yaoi Army"},"content":{"rendered":"<p><img data-attachment-id=\"31211\" data-permalink=\"https:\/\/news.qoo-app.com\/en\/post\/31204\/qoo-news-anime-expo-special-talking-with-the-yaoi-army\/attachment\/18072309365725#main\" data-orig-file=\"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/news.qoo-app.com\/en\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/3\/2018\/07\/18072309365725.jpg?fit=708%2C412&amp;ssl=1\" data-orig-size=\"708,412\" data-comments-opened=\"1\" data-image-meta=\"{&quot;aperture&quot;:&quot;0&quot;,&quot;credit&quot;:&quot;&quot;,&quot;camera&quot;:&quot;&quot;,&quot;caption&quot;:&quot;&quot;,&quot;created_timestamp&quot;:&quot;0&quot;,&quot;copyright&quot;:&quot;&quot;,&quot;focal_length&quot;:&quot;0&quot;,&quot;iso&quot;:&quot;0&quot;,&quot;shutter_speed&quot;:&quot;0&quot;,&quot;title&quot;:&quot;&quot;,&quot;orientation&quot;:&quot;0&quot;}\" data-image-title=\"18072309365725\" data-image-description=\"\" data-image-caption=\"\" data-medium-file=\"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/news.qoo-app.com\/en\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/3\/2018\/07\/18072309365725.jpg?fit=300%2C175&amp;ssl=1\" data-large-file=\"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/news.qoo-app.com\/en\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/3\/2018\/07\/18072309365725.jpg?fit=708%2C412&amp;ssl=1\" fetchpriority=\"high\" decoding=\"async\" class=\"aligncenter size-full wp-image-31211\" src=\"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/wp-corp.qoo-app.com\/en\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/3\/2018\/07\/18072309365725.jpg?resize=708%2C412&#038;ssl=1\" alt=\"The Yaoi Army\" width=\"708\" height=\"412\" srcset=\"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/news.qoo-app.com\/en\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/3\/2018\/07\/18072309365725.jpg?w=708&amp;ssl=1 708w, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/news.qoo-app.com\/en\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/3\/2018\/07\/18072309365725.jpg?resize=300%2C175&amp;ssl=1 300w\" sizes=\"(max-width: 708px) 100vw, 708px\" title=\"\" data-recalc-dims=\"1\"><\/p>\n<p>US yaoi fans must be familiar with\u00a0The Yaoi Army. They are a group of manga artists led by writer Seru. During\u00a0Anime Expo 2018, QooApp &#8211; otaku from far east Asian countries such as Japan and Taiwan &#8211; had the chance to learn from Seru about what&#8217;s happening in the US yaoi world.<\/p>\n<p>We surely did learn a lot from him, we hope our conversation could help you as well!<\/p>\n<p><iframe style=\"border: none; overflow: hidden;\" src=\"https:\/\/www.facebook.com\/plugins\/post.php?href=https%3A%2F%2Fwww.facebook.com%2Ftheyaoiarmy%2Fposts%2F825871137620058&amp;width=500\" width=\"500\" height=\"614\" frameborder=\"0\" scrolling=\"no\"><\/iframe><\/p>\n<h3><span style=\"color: #33cccc;\">\u258d<\/span>What prompted you to create your own manga?<\/h3>\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">It was mainly just for fun back in 2015. Writing was a way for me to de-stress and unwind from my day job. Mind you, this was my first time writing creatively. I didn\u2019t take any writing classes or had done any prior writing besides school work, so my first work was not the best. I gave it a go anyway because I had nothing to lose.<\/span><\/p>\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">To see if my work was any good, I uploaded it on Wattpad, a social media platform where you could upload and read amateur literary works. To my surprise, people actually liked my first story, and I kept going and improved as a writer from then on.<\/span><\/p>\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">My works were confined in light novel format, and I had this wild idea to turn my work into a manga. I luckily found an artist to work for me in the beginning of 2016, and the rest was history.<\/span><\/p>\n<h3><span style=\"color: #33cccc;\">\u258d<\/span>What are the barriers for BL manga to survive in the US?<\/h3>\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">The main barrier of foreign BL manga or webcomic in the US is catering to the taste and sensibilities of the Western market such as cultural differences and specific nuisances we have. These barriers fade when the readers can somehow relate to the story or sympathize with the characters. Also, for the sexy scenes, the western market prefers them to be uncensored but due to foreign laws about censorship, we get them censored and we are not really thrilled about that.<\/span><\/p>\n<h5 style=\"text-align: center;\"><img data-attachment-id=\"31208\" data-permalink=\"https:\/\/news.qoo-app.com\/en\/post\/31204\/qoo-news-anime-expo-special-talking-with-the-yaoi-army\/attachment\/18072308483731#main\" data-orig-file=\"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/news.qoo-app.com\/en\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/3\/2018\/07\/18072308483731.png?fit=1080%2C465&amp;ssl=1\" data-orig-size=\"1080,465\" data-comments-opened=\"1\" data-image-meta=\"{&quot;aperture&quot;:&quot;0&quot;,&quot;credit&quot;:&quot;&quot;,&quot;camera&quot;:&quot;&quot;,&quot;caption&quot;:&quot;&quot;,&quot;created_timestamp&quot;:&quot;0&quot;,&quot;copyright&quot;:&quot;&quot;,&quot;focal_length&quot;:&quot;0&quot;,&quot;iso&quot;:&quot;0&quot;,&quot;shutter_speed&quot;:&quot;0&quot;,&quot;title&quot;:&quot;&quot;,&quot;orientation&quot;:&quot;0&quot;}\" data-image-title=\"18072308483731\" data-image-description=\"\" data-image-caption=\"\" data-medium-file=\"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/news.qoo-app.com\/en\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/3\/2018\/07\/18072308483731.png?fit=300%2C129&amp;ssl=1\" data-large-file=\"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/news.qoo-app.com\/en\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/3\/2018\/07\/18072308483731.png?fit=1024%2C441&amp;ssl=1\" decoding=\"async\" class=\"aligncenter size-full wp-image-31208\" src=\"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/wp-corp.qoo-app.com\/en\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/3\/2018\/07\/18072308483731.png?resize=1080%2C465&#038;ssl=1\" alt=\"\" width=\"1080\" height=\"465\" srcset=\"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/news.qoo-app.com\/en\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/3\/2018\/07\/18072308483731.png?w=1080&amp;ssl=1 1080w, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/news.qoo-app.com\/en\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/3\/2018\/07\/18072308483731.png?resize=300%2C129&amp;ssl=1 300w, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/news.qoo-app.com\/en\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/3\/2018\/07\/18072308483731.png?resize=768%2C331&amp;ssl=1 768w, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/news.qoo-app.com\/en\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/3\/2018\/07\/18072308483731.png?resize=1024%2C441&amp;ssl=1 1024w\" sizes=\"(max-width: 1080px) 100vw, 1080px\" title=\"\" data-recalc-dims=\"1\"><em>Source: <a href=\"http:\/\/theyaoiarmy.com\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\">The Yaoi Army<\/a><\/em><\/h5>\n<h3><span style=\"color: #33cccc;\">\u258d<\/span>In places like Japan and China, BL manga fanbase is made up of a large number of females and a few males. Is this\u00a0similar in the US?<\/h3>\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">Our fanbase are mainly female so there is that similarity. However, a lot of gay males play a large role by being the top spenders on our platform.<\/span><\/p>\n<h3><span style=\"color: #33cccc;\">\u258d<\/span>When it comes to BL manga, do the US audience have any specific taste?<\/h3>\n<p>Yes, they do. Cultural relativism plays a major role. They need stories they can relate to.<\/p>\n<h3><span style=\"color: #33cccc;\">\u258d<span style=\"color: #333333;\">G<\/span><\/span>ay men in real life may behave differently from those we see in BL manga, where two lovers are usually portrayed as being &#8220;top, active, passionate&#8221;and &#8220;bottom, shy, passive&#8221; respectively. Do you think these manga help promote LGBT culture in real life ?<\/h3>\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">This may be true in the past, but the new wave of BL manga and webcomic being created today are changing the BL industry for the better. More couples and stories are being represented in a more realistic way. It\u2019s not all rainbow and roses when it comes to love and relationship as represented before in old BL works. Gay people do encounter hardships and pressures from society, family and other external factors.\u00a0<\/span><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">Also, gay men don\u2019t have the typical female-male gender roles. They are both equal and have a say when it comes to their relationship. <\/span><\/p>\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">Creators of today know about these false representations of the past, so they aim to create something new, fresh and real.<\/span><\/p>\n<h5 style=\"text-align: center;\"><img data-attachment-id=\"31206\" data-permalink=\"https:\/\/news.qoo-app.com\/en\/post\/31204\/qoo-news-anime-expo-special-talking-with-the-yaoi-army\/attachment\/18072308425776#main\" data-orig-file=\"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/news.qoo-app.com\/en\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/3\/2018\/07\/18072308425776.jpeg?fit=1858%2C800&amp;ssl=1\" data-orig-size=\"1858,800\" data-comments-opened=\"1\" data-image-meta=\"{&quot;aperture&quot;:&quot;0&quot;,&quot;credit&quot;:&quot;&quot;,&quot;camera&quot;:&quot;&quot;,&quot;caption&quot;:&quot;&quot;,&quot;created_timestamp&quot;:&quot;0&quot;,&quot;copyright&quot;:&quot;&quot;,&quot;focal_length&quot;:&quot;0&quot;,&quot;iso&quot;:&quot;0&quot;,&quot;shutter_speed&quot;:&quot;0&quot;,&quot;title&quot;:&quot;&quot;,&quot;orientation&quot;:&quot;0&quot;}\" data-image-title=\"18072308425776\" data-image-description=\"\" data-image-caption=\"\" data-medium-file=\"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/news.qoo-app.com\/en\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/3\/2018\/07\/18072308425776.jpeg?fit=300%2C129&amp;ssl=1\" data-large-file=\"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/news.qoo-app.com\/en\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/3\/2018\/07\/18072308425776.jpeg?fit=1024%2C441&amp;ssl=1\" decoding=\"async\" class=\"aligncenter size-full wp-image-31206\" src=\"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/wp-corp.qoo-app.com\/en\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/3\/2018\/07\/18072308425776.jpeg?resize=1200%2C517&#038;ssl=1\" alt=\"The Yaoi Army\" width=\"1200\" height=\"517\" srcset=\"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/news.qoo-app.com\/en\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/3\/2018\/07\/18072308425776.jpeg?w=1858&amp;ssl=1 1858w, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/news.qoo-app.com\/en\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/3\/2018\/07\/18072308425776.jpeg?resize=300%2C129&amp;ssl=1 300w, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/news.qoo-app.com\/en\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/3\/2018\/07\/18072308425776.jpeg?resize=768%2C331&amp;ssl=1 768w, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/news.qoo-app.com\/en\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/3\/2018\/07\/18072308425776.jpeg?resize=1024%2C441&amp;ssl=1 1024w\" sizes=\"(max-width: 1200px) 100vw, 1200px\" title=\"\" data-recalc-dims=\"1\"><em>Source: <a href=\"https:\/\/twitter.com\/theyaoiarmy\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\">The Yaoi Army&#8217; Twitter<\/a><\/em><\/h5>\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">Then again, there is the other side of the coin. Old archetypes, tropes and BL clich\u00e9 are still being created because the market still wants those type of stories. We, The Yaoi Army, fall in this category because we still love creating old dynamics and clich\u00e9s but with my own unique touch to it.<\/span><\/p>\n<h3><span style=\"color: #33cccc;\">\u258d<span style=\"color: #333333;\">We<\/span><\/span>\u00a0have heard some gay people are offended by fujoshi who refer to BL manga and ask them &#8220;do you actually do this\/that&#8230;?&#8221;. What should\u00a0fujoshi do in case they are curious about gay men real life?<\/h3>\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">That\u2019s a generalization, and it does happen but not a lot. In our current political and cultural landscape, anyone can be offended by pretty much anything. All I can say is, have respect for one another. What others do in the bedroom is their business, and you should only mind yours.<\/span><\/p>\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">Lastly, BL manga and webcomic are works of fiction and shouldn\u2019t be used as a reliable source of real life knowledge. I suggest reading works of non-fiction by gay men, if they are truly curious about it.<\/span><\/p>\n<h3><span style=\"color: #33cccc;\">\u258d<\/span>Do you want to promote the realistic kind of boy&#8217;s love in your future works?<\/h3>\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">My works are usually out-of-this world and over-the-top. When I write these stories, I find ways to escape reality because real life is mundane and sad. I want to create fun, unrealistic stories to entertain others and make them laugh. As for my future works, I would be open to it but not at this time. I just love creating quirky and fun stories.<\/span><\/p>\n<h5 style=\"text-align: center;\"><img data-attachment-id=\"31207\" data-permalink=\"https:\/\/news.qoo-app.com\/en\/post\/31204\/qoo-news-anime-expo-special-talking-with-the-yaoi-army\/attachment\/18072308425827#main\" data-orig-file=\"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/news.qoo-app.com\/en\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/3\/2018\/07\/18072308425827.jpg?fit=960%2C960&amp;ssl=1\" data-orig-size=\"960,960\" data-comments-opened=\"1\" data-image-meta=\"{&quot;aperture&quot;:&quot;0&quot;,&quot;credit&quot;:&quot;&quot;,&quot;camera&quot;:&quot;&quot;,&quot;caption&quot;:&quot;&quot;,&quot;created_timestamp&quot;:&quot;0&quot;,&quot;copyright&quot;:&quot;&quot;,&quot;focal_length&quot;:&quot;0&quot;,&quot;iso&quot;:&quot;0&quot;,&quot;shutter_speed&quot;:&quot;0&quot;,&quot;title&quot;:&quot;&quot;,&quot;orientation&quot;:&quot;0&quot;}\" data-image-title=\"18072308425827\" data-image-description=\"\" data-image-caption=\"\" data-medium-file=\"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/news.qoo-app.com\/en\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/3\/2018\/07\/18072308425827.jpg?fit=300%2C300&amp;ssl=1\" data-large-file=\"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/news.qoo-app.com\/en\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/3\/2018\/07\/18072308425827.jpg?fit=960%2C960&amp;ssl=1\" loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" class=\"aligncenter size-full wp-image-31207\" src=\"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/wp-corp.qoo-app.com\/en\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/3\/2018\/07\/18072308425827.jpg?resize=960%2C960&#038;ssl=1\" alt=\"The Yaoi Army\" width=\"960\" height=\"960\" srcset=\"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/news.qoo-app.com\/en\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/3\/2018\/07\/18072308425827.jpg?w=960&amp;ssl=1 960w, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/news.qoo-app.com\/en\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/3\/2018\/07\/18072308425827.jpg?resize=150%2C150&amp;ssl=1 150w, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/news.qoo-app.com\/en\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/3\/2018\/07\/18072308425827.jpg?resize=300%2C300&amp;ssl=1 300w, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/news.qoo-app.com\/en\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/3\/2018\/07\/18072308425827.jpg?resize=768%2C768&amp;ssl=1 768w, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/news.qoo-app.com\/en\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/3\/2018\/07\/18072308425827.jpg?resize=50%2C50&amp;ssl=1 50w\" sizes=\"(max-width: 960px) 100vw, 960px\" title=\"\" data-recalc-dims=\"1\"><em>Source: <a href=\"https:\/\/twitter.com\/theyaoiarmy\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\">The Yaoi Army&#8217;s Twitter<\/a><\/em><\/h5>\n<h3><span style=\"color: #33cccc;\">\u258d<\/span>Last but not least, any tips you have for BL manga creators who want to succeed in the industry?<\/h3>\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">The western market is oversaturated with \u00a0BL mangas and webcomics due to its exponential popularity. You need to come up with something unique and original in order for you to stand out. Read a lot of books. Watch a lot of movies and shows. Experience life. Develop a voice. These will give you a lot of material and inspiration to truly create something uniquely yours.<\/span><\/p>\n<h2 class=\"pre-register\"><a class=\"in-post-btn\" href=\"http:\/\/theyaoiarmy.com\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\">The Yaoi Army<\/a><\/h2>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>We tried to understand what&#8217;s happening in the US yaoi world.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":31211,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"jetpack_publicize_message":"","jetpack_is_tweetstorm":false,"jetpack_publicize_feature_enabled":true},"categories":[773,19],"tags":[4,5371,1170],"jetpack_featured_media_url":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/news.qoo-app.com\/en\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/3\/2018\/07\/18072309365725.jpg?fit=708%2C412&ssl=1","jetpack_publicize_connections":[],"jetpack_sharing_enabled":true,"jetpack_shortlink":"https:\/\/wp.me\/pe8G4K-87i","_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/news.qoo-app.com\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/31204"}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/news.qoo-app.com\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/news.qoo-app.com\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/news.qoo-app.com\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/news.qoo-app.com\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=31204"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/news.qoo-app.com\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/31204\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/news.qoo-app.com\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/31211"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/news.qoo-app.com\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=31204"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/news.qoo-app.com\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=31204"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/news.qoo-app.com\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=31204"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}