This week in Palm Springs Cali Nov 21 - Nov 27, 2018

QUEER OTAKU
Japanese Anime Primer
Getting the most out of Japanese story
telling, its conventions and terminology
can be great fun but very confusing. But for
this primer, we will focus on the basics.
Anime and Manga are actually two
different storytelling media. They both
originate in Japan, and are closely related,
but are ultimately two different things.
Anime which is literally "animation" when
written as a loanword in Japanese) are
Japanese animated cartoon videos. These
air on television or are released to home
video. Most people outside Japan use the
term solely to refer to Japanese-origin
series. Similar to Spongebob Squarepants
or other American cartoons.
Manga ("whimsical drawings") are Japanese
comics similar to Spiderman. Manga are
often used as the basis for anime so they
are really now quite interrelated and only
the medium is differentiated
Hentai ("pervert") is anime and manga
pornography. But there are numerous
subgenres of Hentai. For example a work
depicting lesbian sex might be described as
"yuri hentai", but in Japan it would just be
described as "yuri" and yaoi "male-male".
These subgenres can be further classified
with additional terms, such as heterosexual
or homosexual types. Tentacle erotica is as
you would expect a depiction of tentacled
creatures and sometimes monsters
(fictional imaginative or otherwise)
engaging in sex.
Bishōnen is Hentai that depicts young
men whose beauty (and sexual appeal)
transcends the boundary of gender or
sexual orientation. Its roots stem in ancient
Japanese literature, the homosocial and
homoerotic ideal. The aesthetic of the
bishōnen began as an ideal of a young
homosexual lover. This is all significant
because this medium is gaining popularity
and LGBT acceptance in a world wide
community. For American teens, they are
finally seeing positive LGBT influences and
queer character development.
Upcoming Conventions:
Cos-Losseum Cosplay Con San Diego 2019
January 5, 2019 San Diego, CA
Animé Los Angeles 2019 January 10-13,
2019 Ontario Convention Center
14 The original Gay Desert Daily Guide. View our Free Digital Version on-line.