#Tagame Gengorō

[ineffable-opinions]

Manga Recommendation #1

For those who love as well as those who hate the ongoing BL manhwa 징크스 (Jinx) by Mingwa (밍과).

(source)

There are BLs involving boxing (e.g. Salad Days). There are also BL involving wrestling.

But what I want to recommend is not a BL.

The Arena by Gengoroh Tagame

Arena is available in English as a part of The Passion of Gengoroh Tagame: Master of Gay Erotic Manga

The Arena was originally published in G-men in the year 2000. It is also available in French.  

One-line summary: Undefeated martial-arts champion from Japan faces new challenges abroad. Warning: it is very hardcore. You may want to read about the author a bit.

How is it different from Jinx:

It is one-shot.

It is a gei-comi [aka bara]. It is queer work by a gay man for gay men [as target audience.] Nothing stopping others from enjoying it though.

There is no seme/uke dynamic as it is. But the main character can be considered sou uke.

It has sci-fi elements to it.

It doesn’t have Kkonminam aesthetics. Instead, it has gachi-muchi aesthetics.

It has a different take on agency, consent and their manufacture.

There are more similarities than differences since both deals with those topics in the context of commodification of bodies - wrestling as entertainment, transactional sex as a commodity, people under laissez-faire capitalism. I mean, imagine Kim Dan's grandma's care being public funded.

Some might find it Truly Queer™. Is it "fetishization" if author and audience are queer? Thank sensei, it is not a "toxic" BL!

(courtesy @wen-kexing-apologist )

Sensei talks about the work – in this video.

[queerographies]

[Il marito di mio fratello. Vol. 2][Gengoroh Tagame]

Fare la conoscenza di Mike, il marito del fratello defunto, spinge Yaichi a interrogarsi sui preconcetti con cui si guarda ai rapporti di coppia e alle famiglie non tradizionali. [Il marito di mio fratello. Vol. 2][Gengoroh Tagame]

Una nuova consapevolezza. Fare la conoscenza di Mike, il marito del fratello defunto, spinge Yaichi a interrogarsi sui preconcetti con cui si guarda ai rapporti di coppia e alle famiglie non tradizionali. Anche alla luce del suo ruolo di padre di una ragazzina che un giorno dovrà avere il diritto di scegliere chi amare. Sotto lo pseudonimo Gengoroh Tagame (田亀 源五郎, Tagame Gengorō, 3 febbraio…