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NEWS: Book About Reading Baki the Grappler Manga With BL Lens Gets Live-Action Show




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SHD



Joined: 05 Apr 2015
Posts: 1752
PostPosted: Fri May 21, 2021 4:11 am Reply with quote
I dunno, I think Baki is kind of like Yamaguchi Takayuki's manga in that the homoeroticism is laid on so thick, both in the art that revels in depicting male bodies, especially in various states of exaggeration and/or distress (hell, in case of Yamaguchi even female bodies often look male just with boobs slapped on) and depicts attractive men with traditionally feminine features (long lashes, huge eyes, small pouty mouths, etc), and in the Passionate Male Rivalries/Friendships/etc - that you don't have to look deep or use any particular "BL lens" to see it. It's about as subtle as gay porn, intentionally or not. If anything, I think it would be more interesting to examine all the ways that Baki is homoerotic and in what ways is that different from works that are targeted at female readers.

For a "lol manly manga but BL-ized" take it would be much funnier (and more relevant to how fandom actually works) to take something that is not so blindingly homoerotic.

(edited for typos)
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yeehaw



Joined: 09 Sep 2018
Posts: 436
PostPosted: Fri May 21, 2021 9:50 am Reply with quote
Physical beauty? Am I the only one who think the characters in Baki look grotesque?
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SHD



Joined: 05 Apr 2015
Posts: 1752
PostPosted: Fri May 21, 2021 11:56 am Reply with quote
yeehaw wrote:
Physical beauty? Am I the only one who think the characters in Baki look grotesque?

Grotesque yes, but in a way that fetishistic art is grotesque. The focus on various body parts like hands or feet, the exaggerated proportions, the unrealistically bulging muscles, the loving attention paid to details like body hair, etc. - it's not my cup of tea, personally, but I can see how it's meant to be impressive and even beautiful, and it is to people who are into this sort of thing. Also, look at say, Baki's face, it's all long lashes, sultry eyes, pouty lips, wild hair, etc.

(It's more obvious in case of say, Yamaguchi, where the art also wallows in the grotesque but the leads' bodies are more proportional and the muscles are less exaggeratedly bulging, and also the male gaze is even more obvious. See this vaguely NSFW piece from Shigurui. Yamaguchi's art is also not something I'd call beautiful or even pretty, but holy crap it's magnetic and I can't look away.)
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chao8971



Joined: 22 Feb 2012
Posts: 163
PostPosted: Fri May 21, 2021 12:37 pm Reply with quote
yeehaw wrote:
Physical beauty? Am I the only one who think the characters in Baki look grotesque?


Still like Kaiji is mega popular with the BL crowd even though I'd say none of them are conventionally beautiful. Sometimes just the characters and attention to detail is more than enough to push someone's love of them.
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ranran-001



Joined: 25 Oct 2018
Posts: 537
PostPosted: Fri May 21, 2021 2:30 pm Reply with quote
Never thought I would see/hear of a story about reading another story written by somebody else.
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Beatdigga



Joined: 26 Oct 2003
Posts: 4401
Location: New York
PostPosted: Fri May 21, 2021 2:49 pm Reply with quote
Considering how popular Baki is apparently on Netflix, I’m curious if they would pick up what is essentially a massive spoof of it.
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JonDoe



Joined: 14 Oct 2019
Posts: 243
PostPosted: Fri May 21, 2021 5:34 pm Reply with quote
SHD wrote:
I dunno, I think Baki is kind of like Yamaguchi Takayuki's manga in that the homoeroticism is laid on so thick, both in the art that revels in depicting male bodies, especially in various states of exaggeration and/or distress (hell, in case of Yamaguchi even female bodies often look male just with boobs slapped on) and depicts attractive men with traditionally feminine features (long lashes, huge eyes, small pouty mouths, etc), and in the Passionate Male Rivalries/Friendships/etc - that you don't have to look deep or use any particular "BL lens" to see it. It's about as subtle as gay porn, intentionally or not. If anything, I think it would be more interesting to examine all the ways that Baki is homoerotic and in what ways is that different from works that are targeted at female readers.


Huh? Yeah, this definitely sounds like one of those "Everyone is Jesus in Purgatory" explanations from someone who reads a little too deeply into things. Baki has always been too hyperviolent and the characters too barbaric and grotesque looking to fall into the BL camp. And the reason why the male characters have feminine features is because Itagaki (the creator) worked on a manga about makeup before he created Baki.
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SHD



Joined: 05 Apr 2015
Posts: 1752
PostPosted: Fri May 21, 2021 5:55 pm Reply with quote
JonDoe wrote:
SHD wrote:
I dunno, I think Baki is kind of like Yamaguchi Takayuki's manga in that the homoeroticism is laid on so thick, both in the art that revels in depicting male bodies, especially in various states of exaggeration and/or distress (hell, in case of Yamaguchi even female bodies often look male just with boobs slapped on) and depicts attractive men with traditionally feminine features (long lashes, huge eyes, small pouty mouths, etc), and in the Passionate Male Rivalries/Friendships/etc - that you don't have to look deep or use any particular "BL lens" to see it. It's about as subtle as gay porn, intentionally or not. If anything, I think it would be more interesting to examine all the ways that Baki is homoerotic and in what ways is that different from works that are targeted at female readers.


Huh? Yeah, this definitely sounds like one of those "Everyone is Jesus in Purgatory" explanations from someone who reads a little too deeply into things. Baki has always been too hyperviolent and the characters too barbaric and grotesque looking to fall into the BL camp.

Oh boy. Look, this might surprise you, but hear me out - "homoerotic" does not equal "BL". There's more to homoeroticism than BL, also, this might be a shock but there are actual gay (bisexual,etc) men out there; and there are men, women and all sorts of people in between who are into violence and huge muscular bodies, also huge muscular bodies undergoing violent acts, or heaving and sweating on top of each other, and so on. And if you think something that is hyperviolent can't be homoerotic or *gasp* gay, well... your may want to do some research is all I'm saying.

For that matter though, it's not like there's no violent and/or grotesque BL out there. I don't know what image of BL you have in your mind but er, look up, for example, a little work called MADK. I'll let that be a surprise for you.


JonDoe wrote:
And the reason why the male characters have feminine features is because Itagaki (the creator) worked on a manga about makeup before he created Baki.

...I mean... Very Happy
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ranran-001



Joined: 25 Oct 2018
Posts: 537
PostPosted: Fri May 21, 2021 8:19 pm Reply with quote
SHD wrote:
JonDoe wrote:
SHD wrote:
I dunno, I think Baki is kind of like Yamaguchi Takayuki's manga in that the homoeroticism is laid on so thick, both in the art that revels in depicting male bodies, especially in various states of exaggeration and/or distress (hell, in case of Yamaguchi even female bodies often look male just with boobs slapped on) and depicts attractive men with traditionally feminine features (long lashes, huge eyes, small pouty mouths, etc), and in the Passionate Male Rivalries/Friendships/etc - that you don't have to look deep or use any particular "BL lens" to see it. It's about as subtle as gay porn, intentionally or not. If anything, I think it would be more interesting to examine all the ways that Baki is homoerotic and in what ways is that different from works that are targeted at female readers.


Huh? Yeah, this definitely sounds like one of those "Everyone is Jesus in Purgatory" explanations from someone who reads a little too deeply into things. Baki has always been too hyperviolent and the characters too barbaric and grotesque looking to fall into the BL camp.

Oh boy. Look, this might surprise you, but hear me out - "homoerotic" does not equal "BL". There's more to homoeroticism than BL, also, this might be a shock but there are actual gay (bisexual,etc) men out there; and there are men, women and all sorts of people in between who are into violence and huge muscular bodies, also huge muscular bodies undergoing violent acts, or heaving and sweating on top of each other, and so on. And if you think something that is hyperviolent can't be homoerotic or *gasp* gay, well... your may want to do some research is all I'm saying.

For that matter though, it's not like there's no violent and/or grotesque BL out there. I don't know what image of BL you have in your mind but er, look up, for example, a little work called MADK. I'll let that be a surprise for you.


JonDoe wrote:
And the reason why the male characters have feminine features is because Itagaki (the creator) worked on a manga about makeup before he created Baki.

...I mean... Very Happy


I think you nailed it.

Sports can be sexy to some or even a lot of people. Not necessarily just because of the exposed flesh, but also just the idea or image of someone physically pushing their bodies past the limit. So even the brutal sports can have that element people find erotic.
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harminia



Joined: 24 Aug 2015
Posts: 2007
Location: australia
PostPosted: Sat May 22, 2021 4:05 am Reply with quote
I'm sure there are plenty of Baki yaoi doujins out there but when I try to think of some sort of sex scene in Baki style all I can see is lumps of sweaty muscles to the point you can't tell what's going on or what's what.
But I'm sure that's hot for someone out there.
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nDroae



Joined: 26 May 2017
Posts: 382
PostPosted: Sat May 22, 2021 7:45 pm Reply with quote
harminia wrote:
...when I try to think of some sort of sex scene in Baki style....

That does exist:
animenewsnetwork.com/this-week-in-anime/2019-05-17/.146836

I've never read/watched Baki, but the above is one of the most memorable pieces I've ever read on this site.

"THE DAY OF SEX"

(Edit: Yeah I guess one would think a guy on an anime site with a Fight Club avatar would have picked it up by now)
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