Gege ass propaganda

GOSHHH ILY FOR EXPRESSING SOMETHING THAT HAD BEEN NAGGING AT ME FOR SO LONG- the restrictions on queer representation is just sad to look at. Not just in this work, though, in so many other media seeing dynamics left unexplored solely because of the stigma attached to queer folks is really a big tragedy not only for the characters themselves (being unable to fully express themselves) but also for the readers and the author. This supression is at least now coming to surface but just like you I really wished that we could've gotten what Mokumokuren fully envisioned with this manga, all unfiltered. And again, we're so used to seeing such relationships be left 'open-ended' (which does have it's own merits) but it'd be nice to get something... established for once. I hope I live to see a time where its normalised for queer people in genuine stories that explore their identity and prefrences while also acknowledging that their label isn't all there is to them. Something like that would be nice to see in other genres other than romance-driven. Love tshd to bits and pieces but i really wished the direction was nudged in a slight different situation.

AAH and ily for your thoughtful reply. I agree with everything you wrote. There are other attempts to break the mold in various works, but there's still a long way to go. I believe we're getting there.

And yes!! Let's continue to give those wonderful stories lots of love and talk about them, and hope it encourages more authors to do their queer characters and their own visions justice. (Obviously, the publishers need to see that it isn't black or white either, and that the homophobic straight man isn't the main consumer).

Right!! Aside from the homophobes, there's an overwhelming support of queers and allies that would EAT UP good representation. We literally stopped Love Bullet from cancellation . Publishers (ESPECIALLY THOSE RESPONSIBLE FOR SHOUNENS) can't keep getting away with trying to "accomodate" as many demographics as possible by keeping things tame (i.e., queerbait) and letting dynamics die as bromance all the damn time (sasunaru i mourn you everyday). They're gonna have to pick a side and explore dynamics outside the heteronormative norm because its ABOUT DAMN TIME.

REAL. I'll never forgive Kishimoto for his ass romance decisions. Owari no Seraph is another prime example of completely trashing your own work by creating two very queer-coded characters and never letting them be together.

This is exactly why magazines with creative works shouldn't be divided by such clear-cut demographics. Japanese fans will always write the most ignorant comments online if they never get in touch with ANY queer characters (like for TSHD, many guys would spam comments such as "I would've never started this had I known it was BL" or "This isn't horror, this is BL"). This doesn't happen as much in the English community.
Maybe you know Blue Flag—a shounen jump series with a love triangle including queer characters (+ one more side character). It was painfully obvious that the author had avoid certain scenes they most def wanted to draw. At least they were a little more free in the very last chapter, but the comments of a few male Japanese fans were very similar to TSHD... like, did they read the story with closed eyes? That kind of fragility in their own sexuality can only be eliminated if they understand that stories aren't either/or, that not everything has to appeal to them (within a story or just the story itself), and that queer characters exist outside of romance and smut focused works.

YOU KNOW ABOUT ONS TOO? This is such a sensitive topic for me I was a huge fan of it and even bought the volume 22 where Mika confesses (it is what it is) to yuu. I was, and still AM a firm believer of mikayuu and anyone with eyes and a smidge of reading comprehension can figure out that whatever they had was beyond our traditional definition of brotherhood. They are family for sure and their romantic spark does nothing to diminish this connection. IF it was confirmed then that would've only served to strengthen their bond. Bypassing that unsaid line would've done wonders for their dynamic and character, and could've given way to so many new plot devices to work towards. And in response to people saying that ONS isn't romance-driven...fyi intense emotional bonds IS the prominent theme of ONS. Studies in biological drive say that romantic love is second only to parental love. The potency of the affection they hold for one another can only be described as love derived from romantic pining. Mikayuu serve as the main characters of ONS and delving into their dynamic and allowing them to be freed from the restrictions of our real world (becase lets be honest NO ONE in ONS would bat an eye to mikayuu becoming a thing) would only help fill in the gap that many shounen have-- and that is, shallow main character depth. It's disappointing. The teasing was left as something hanging in the air in an unsaid bundle of 'i love you's. Im still recovering from the butchering Takaya Kagami has done to his characters...

And 100% with you on your second take. Despite mainstream BL having been popularized by the influx of doujinshi by mangakas, a huge chunk Japan is still woefull ignorant and loud in their opinion disregarding homosexuality. And the pressure to cater to the likes of the majority leads to mangakas conceding to change their creative direction towards their own stories. Frankly, Naoya from JJK getting 5th place in weekly shonen jump popularity poll in Japan says enough about how progressive their fandom spaces are.

I've never read Blue Flag (I'll go read it as soon as I'm done writing) but I've heard a lot about it due to it's queer inclusion! But alas it IS again very painful to see people preach their heterosexual mindset onto others. I understand that this conditioning is hard to get out of but being vocal on your hate to a work, solely because it touches queer subjects is a very, VERY stupid approach. Usually what'd they do is steer clear of topics they don't prefer but hating on queerness is such a common practice that they bandwagon on this hate truck, resulting in the cancellation or restrictions in such works. And as you said, this fragility NEEDS to be removed but unfortunately the people practicing this aren't even aware of their shortcomings and hence do nothing to work towards broadening their worldviews. Lack of empathy on a mass scale is scary but nobody wants to acknowledge their own faults.

[P.S: IM SO SORRY FOR THE LATE REPLY AND LONG YAP...If there's an error here forgive me it's almost 4am ╥﹏╥]