To answer your question about the pornographic material in yaoi anime, if you notice, the series you listed, such as Ai no Kusabi, Zetsuai, and Mirage of Blaze, are OVAs. These are not broadcasted on television, whereas Super Lovers and Hitorijime My Hero are.
You can read the explanation here:
https://www.animenewsnetwork.com/encyclopedia/lexicon.php?id=35
I wouldn't say that Japan is mostly homophobic. There was a poll done in 2015 that showed a majority would support same-sex marriage. They're getting more progressive.
Honestly, I don't really watch BL anime. For some reason, I can't stand it. Perhaps, it's the drawings and quality of it. I don't mind BL drama CDs though. I like listening to them while reading the actual comic.
For me I would definitely vote for the old style, I don't really understand politics or laws but I do think the old yaoi is better than now even though when we look back those anime the graphics is not very smooth or HD,burly and the characters motion was slow step by step the voice sometimes not prefectly match their face emotion was like a wood but the sex scene is better than new yaoi anime
Now the new yaoi anime as u said full of censorship is true and breaks my heart
The old style seem like don't have time and straight to the point, most of them like kizuna viewfinder vassalord
koisuru boukun they'll take the beginning chapter and change into anime which the worst part is the continue not existed in anime(if anyone find it tell me i was wrong and I would be glad）
yaoistraved if u watched maiden rose enzai before u could say there is no such thing in new yaoi anime(maiden rose -rape,enzai-I can't handle it,there is no such thing of love in this yaoi anime)right now the new yaoi anime walk new path gentle romantic tears soft long breath hugs dramatic
I rarely watch new yaoi anime but I do know "season",so many chapters so slow and the kiss sex scene is rare and most of it I could only see the upper half body is frustrating
Whether u and everyone agree or disagree this is my opinion if I can't enjoy the anime,read manga.
Yaoistraved if u think older yaoi deserve better u always have manga besides u,not everything can change, for me I think older yaoi likes stay in manga better than anime
I totally agree with you regarding the old yaoi anime. Personally I love the older style. Although the themes, as you said, are surrounded by rape and tragedy, they had a special something to them that newer yaoi anime just doesn't have (in my opinion).
To answer your other questions, yes I have watched Maiden rose and viewfinder. I love the art style, and although at times is it choppy, or like you said, not HD and off at times, I just felt that the stories were more engaging. Don't get me wrong, I like how newer yaoi are trying to move away from the rape/tragedy trope that was present in older yaoi, and I REALLY like the fluff and character development in terms of romance and emotional development (rather than sexual/physical), but I just feel that there's something missing?
And yes I read lots of yaoi manga to compensate for the lack of enjoyment. Personally, if the anime industry wants to focus on the fluff and romance in the yaoi genre, then why don't they just make more shounen-ai anime? I mean there's lots of manga material for animators to use. Asterisk and Silver Diamond are fantastic story wise and there's plenty of chapters to use for the episodes and they are fairly mild so I don't see why they won't make them into an anime.
Studios consider several factors before they actually decide on a series to animate. It could be things like strength of fanbase. Do you see fan work of the series? Art? Cosplay? Fan fiction? Would merchandise of the series sell well to a large audience? Did the books actually sell well? Is the series interesting enough to attract a lot of fans? Will it offend anyone if it was made? Is the market for it good? Can it compete well? Has the books actually been scanlated and distributed on the web?
There's other factors too, I'm pretty sure. Studios need to know if the work they are animating will bring in profits. Shounen-ai such as Asterisk and Silver Diamond are too old. Few talk about it to this day, so it does not have a wide and steady audience. It also needs plot points where it is possible for the studios to stop at and whatnot. They should feel like they are able to adjust the story so that things flow and end fairly well.
OVAs, like I said, aren't broadcasted on television. You have to buy the DVDs in order to watch them. Due to the lack of time restrictions and limits, the quality of OVAs are usually relatively better because they simply have more time and a larger budget. Those made for television have a schedule. Things with a lot of pornographic material are packaged as OVA because they don't want kids watching it on TV and have easy access to it. You have to go out and buy the DVD yourself. A lot of the sex scenes in yaoi anime are removed in order to market to a larger audience.
I'm not sure if knowing this will change your opinion. The older anime, which are more than likely OVAs, just had more of an advantage than the newer ones.
Thank you so much for clarifying! I always considered that some of the series are old, but I just wish they would get the recognition that I think they deserve! It's true through, some series are too old and as you said, there needs to be profit in making the manga into an anime. Unfortunately most yaoi/shounen-ai manga series that I have watched or know of do not have a wide fanbase since they are old or not well known. I was just stating a few manga that I could think off the top of my head. But I totally understand what you mean from a profitable sharing standpoint. Spot on, unfortunately these series are so old.
The one anime that really made me happy for the gay community and I was surprised actually got aired on TV with a heavy focus on a gay relationship was, of course, Yuri on Ice. (Which was freaking adorable btw).
Thank you for also clarifying about OVA, I was always confused about those XD Know that I know they don't get aired it makes a few pieces of puzzle fall into place (so to speak). I can see why they may not want kids watching, which is totally understandable and rationale.
Overall, my opinion still stands that I prefer older anime, but overall I am a very open minded person!
Thanks for the wonderful debate! (▰˘◡˘▰)
No problem! I'm glad I could clarify some things! I totally agree with the newer anime, though I have yet to watch the latest ones like Super Lovers. I think, other than YOI, the last one I had watched was Dramatical Murder, and boy was that a ride. The quality of the drawings and animations tend to make me steer away from BL anime. I think they are usually low budget. That's why I like to stick with drama CDs. You get to enjoy the original work and the sounds, minus any movement. I see why you like older anime. There's definitely more refinement done on them.
Yeah I'm glad that you mentioned that about newer animes. It's something I noticed too when I was watching Hitorijime my hero, with Super lovers the animation and artwork was actually really well done, but with Hitorijime my Hero that artwork was sometimes really smooth then other episodes it was really off and poorly drawn (it was all over the place). But I totally agree with you, older drama CDs and OVAs have such beautiful artwork (especially Viewfinder ( ° ʖ °) if you know what I mean).
Here's to hoping for newer drama CDS, OVAs and some hot new yaoi anime <3
This isn't so much about yaoi manga, but more about yaoi anime. Lately I have been watching some really old yaoi anime, for example Zetsuai and Fuyu no semi which were made in the early 1980s. I noticed something when I was watching them. Why is it that older yaoi had some intense sex scenes but new yaoi/shounen ai anime have so much censor ship? For example, in the anime Ai no Kusabi (the old version) there's some hardcore sex scenes, but in new yaoi anime like Superlovers and Hitorijime my hero, all the sex scenes in the manga or original source material are either heavily censored, removed or implied?
I know that Japan is still homophobic, which is a shame and frankly quite stupid since it's practically 2018, but I have to wonder how older anime studios got away with it. Is it because of the new censorship laws? Or is it that with the 2013 same-sex Amendment act, that homosexuality got more attention now that it's more out in the open that it was in the past? Personally I am very interested in knowing how this works. As a fellow anime lover and open minded person towards the LGBTQ community, I am genuinely curious how Japan is so behind with homosexuality. I want to know how older anime studios make such beautiful yaoi anime, especially Fuyu no Semi.
Another question for guys, do you think older yaoi anime is better or newer ones that have been coming out as of late?
Personally I feel that older yaoi anime were a bit better. True their stories may be a bit odd, like in the case of Zetsuai and Mirage of Blaze, but I felt that they were much more creative and had a special quality put in to them that newer anime do not really have. It had a special type of artwork, music and style. I just felt that the older yaoi animes were a better. Anyone else feeling the same? I mean the stories were so cool and engaging. Although I have to admit that I want to see a break from tragic sad endings that seem to be a trope in yaoi anime. What are your thoughts?
Finally, what yaoi manga do you think deserves an anime? Personally there are some good yaoi manga that totally deserve an anime. Or even shounen ai series. Thoughts? Personally, there are some good yaoi manga that are worth a 10/12 episode anime. Instead of throwing constant musical/harem/sports anime, I think the yaoi/shounen ai community deserves a little more love.