Welcome to DBZ Love Garden
~ Where Saiyan Hearts Thrive ~
Question #1 : What is Anime?
Anime is a cartoon style, produced in Japan, which reflects a great deal of the values of the people of that nation in subtle ways.
What is Yaoi? : The generic, oversimplified answer: It is two men involved with each other in a love relationship. If that is too vague an answer, then perhaps this one will suffice : It’s the story of two men who meet, and have sex with each other, or at least think about having sex, or any other form of romantic experience, with each other in the story.
For those not into the gay male relationship… Skip immediately to another website and do not pass go! I am saying this Once More… This is Man with Man intimate relationship material under discussion… As in… leading to sex/ including sex/ or anything therein that you can imagine with dating, Kissing, & all which Love between two people causes.
Now for all anti gay, homophobic people who have just read that last two paragraphs, feel free to exit stage left, right, or in any other direction you can manage, from this site! ::::::watches the intolerant, anti gay people race for exits in a stampede:::::
::::Looks around the vast expanse of cyber space and is happy to see someone who didn’t run away in the stampede::::: To those who are still here, Welcome to this section. We shall do our best to give you the best answers we can regarding the truth about such little words as Yaoi now.
In the first section of this frequently asked questions sector of the website I will endeavour to deal with the actual foundations of Japanese faith, culture, and society to help realistically define terms such as Yaoi and Hentai and Yuri (where applicable).
As is true of any language, tiny insignificant words hold a huge store of subtle meaning, and nowhere is this more true a statement, than in Japanese language and art. To read, view, or write anime is to learn, either through research, or through accident, certain integral values of the Japanese, which may explain the “new craze” that has been sparked outside of Japan for this particular cartoon medium. Anime is an art form of great beauty after all.
Like any well maintained, lavishly cared for high performance sports car, this little word has as many well oiled and smoothly running parts as a Lamborghini. It’s not just about sex between men. It isn’t just about stolen kisses when nobody is looking. It certainly isn’t the low class ideal of plain, every day, raunchy pornography. Yaoi can include these elements, and in many fics, as well as anime shows that are left uncut, it does contain these elements, sometimes to excess, sometimes as only the tiniest flickering hints.
Japanese society, unlike many modern social structures, differs in several ways. These differences are reflected to perfection in the small, 3 separately sounded out vowels, of the word yaoi, in many equally subtle ways. Like a rainbow Kaleidoscope that has many tiny variations of colour, the Japanese language is formed on subtle inflections of a single word… Like those subtle changes of stress in a spoken syllable, the first detail to become aware of when watching anime, is that in anime shows there are usually going to be subtle, through explicit, yaoi hints.
You see, yaoi is far more than romance. It encompasses all forms of respect and love between two men. It is reflected in the love/hate based relationships of the competitive natures of two or more men in the art of combat. It is reflected in the friendships of all the male characters to some degree. In short, “YAOI,” like that well versed tiny little English word “LOVE,” is the core of the very complex emotional palette of human nature, whether you, the reader, realise it or not.
A true fan of any form of anime, be it Final Fantasy, Ronin Warriors or Dragon Ball Z, will be drawn unconsciously, or consciously to these kinds of integral values such as the Yaoi formula of love knows no gender , whether they are aware of the fact or not.
Acceptance, inner truth and honour are very important factors in every anime story, as is virtuous death, and the spirit world’s influence upon the material, living world. So to help broaden the understanding of what anime truly is, as well as to place Yaoi within the correct context of the anime phenomena, you need a quick lesson on Japanese culture to start.
After that, we will deal with the reasons for the Gohan and Trunks romance preference of this particular Group of Dragon Ball Z fans. It will be an in depth enough list considering everything, “hopefully”. The questions such as “why not Goten” or another male “in Gohan’s place,” as well as other issues like the Gohan and Videl connection will be covered in this section.
Question #2 : Why write Yaoi fiction?
Yaoi is a Japanese word that means homosexual or man in love with another man. The term Yaoi is an acronym for “Yama nashi, ochi nashi, imi nashi” which can be translated by “No climax, no punch line, no meaning” or “No peak, no point, no problem”. Another although more recent and ironic version of the term Yaoi is “Yamete Oshiri ga Itai” which translation is even more explicit “Stop it my ass hurt”.
For those who are taught that being gay is evil, such a concept is an affront to their sensibilities. To those, who are fortunate enough, such as myself, the writing of gay men being in love, is a door with which we can hopefully add to the acceptance, and eventual liberation of those who are perceived as being flawed, when in fact they are not. Japan does not have this prevailing association with homosexual or bi sexual gender orientation as being a sign of evilness, or internal corruption like the Western world does.
A true Life experience to shed light on my personal reasons for trying to help gay/lesbian equality to happen in modern society:
I was fortunate enough as a young teenaged girl to have had the awesome experience of getting to live with a gay couple for several years. I learned an invaluable lesson about what it means to truly love another person from those two men who chose to stand up to impossible anti gay pressures, hatred and discrimination with calm dignity.
They lived life as the people that they truly were, and thankfully still are, not as others wanted them to be, with one exception. They had to stand the appropriate distances from each other in public so that the discriminating, narrow minded people of the world wouldn’t kill one of them in a fit of panic.
See, I was a young teenager in a time when gays had no rights what so ever in my town, inside, or outside of the workplace. To be in love with another man was the same thing as career suicide if you were working in a respectable field. It took only one tiny whisper from someone else to trash an individual’s life utterly in the “small town mentality” zone I was living in.
I can still remember not quite understanding why I had to see these two wonderful people forced into unnatural distances in public. They played the “straight and narrow” in this manner for each other’s continued safety and their future security in the careers they both wanted so desperately to succeed in. They were always relieved to get home in the evenings where they could let their, deeper, more emotional selves shine behind the drawn shades and closed doors of the main household.
These guys were definitely not the pansy of mythic proportions either. They were boisterous football fans for the local college they attended. (grad students in their final stretch before getting their doctorate degrees) Both were involved in science based fields of study that demanded a lot of physical effort, (Rock climbing practically becoming a prerequisite to both of their future careers so to speak) and both had taught as underlings for their favourite professors at the college.
The funny thing is, it took me almost 2 full years to realise that they weren’t “straight” and that only happened because I got asked by one of my many teenaged girlfriend’s, why we never saw any girlfriends hanging around the house with them… (all of my G friends had crushes on one or the other of the two and with good reason. :) ::::Chortles..:::: These guys were dark haired hotties both, and not in the least bit effeminate like the drag queen myth one gets accustomed to seeing on tv or reading about in all forms of media.)
I know that a lot of people mistakenly think that if a kid grows up around gay people that they will catch the same habit, becoming gay, as if it were a disease. Actually the opposite is true. I am by no means gay, nor will I ever be. I am a mom first and foremost. I have friends that I have known since that long ago time when I was living in an eclectic home with some very wonderful, if gay guys who married each other… I therefore write about the real mental, emotional side… So no pansy patsy stereotype drivel in my fics, unless it will help the plot along by necessity.
Several of my guy pals from Junior High and High school still speak with this pair of guys, who have been for many years, favourite mentors. (Yep you guessed it… several of the boys, now men, go to my old roomies to try and get answers on how to figure out their wives!!!) I write Yaoi therefore to honour the ideals that my past roomies hold dear. Even when the issue of these two being gay came to light… everyone had known them for over a year or more who knew me… They had taken a lot of us on hiking trips, backpacking/camping trips, and many other things that they enjoyed doing.
To understand the value of this particular aspect of a foreign country’s values you have to understand some foundational evolution of culture, that mold a social value with the help of things such as religion and history, to contribute to the specific ideals within a culture.
Religion in a Nutshell :
(Research online terms: religion + Japan or Shinto + Religion to get real understanding of this culture)
Unlike the dominant faiths of many modern nations, Japan is a Shinto heavy religious area. Shinto is different from Buddhist or Hindu faiths and should not be confused with these religions, even though there are a fair number of Buddhism practitioners in some areas of Japan. Shinto has a lot in common with Buddhism from what my own research has shown me, but it is not to be confused with this other, equally complex and fascinating faith.
In Japanese culture and myth you can see that the Shinto faith has a non central to individuality structure. This means that the idea of “me” first is foreign to the social structure of the peoples of this area. Such things as Samurai committing suicide for having lost face, or their honour as the concept of losing face generally is interpreted to mean, shows that it is the ideal of the group’s welfare that comes first.
To lose face was to do something that endangered in some way, or in some potential way, the safety of the family or friends of the individual, which was, and in some cases still is, an unacceptable, and often unpardonable sin, as is seen repetitiously throughout the nation’s history. Only through voluntary suicide could the disgraced member regain their honour in some situations because of this contribute to the group safety first value.
Shinto faith also has an integral concept that the bi sexual, and in many ways, gay men are as powerful, or at times even more powerful fighters, than the strictly hetero male. Part of this belief is based on the concept that bi sexual and homosexual men are better attuned to their more intuitive or feminine side of the Yin and Yang of spiritual enlightenment. Yin is the feminine side of this concept with it’s nurturing and receptive nature. Yin is seen as being the negative half of the two sides. This is not to be mistaken with evil or bad such as many modern social orders view the word, as the Japanese do not consider negative to be such. Negative is more like the idea of the positive and negative charges found in a magnet. In short. Negative as perceived by this awesome culture has very little to do with the modern, everyday teachings of good and evil.
Yang is the masculine side of the concept which means that is the forceful nature of the universe. The Positive side of the Magnet to continue using the very oversimplified image, is the masculine half. Where yin or negative half of a magnet draws things to it’s self, the Yang or Positive charged half of the magnet will repel or force away. Hence the terms put into a more appropriate context through a very simple and easily proven experiment that pre-schooler often do.
The positive yang also pushes things into action, instead of drawing things to itself to hold them and give them a period of gestation or time to become something of physical character, which is Yin’s job. While an artist dreams of an image that they will some day shape into a physical object, they are living in a Yin state. Once they take out their paints or their clay or their other medium of creation and begin to force the dream into reality, they are in a Yang state of being.
The history :
(Research online Keywords like : History + Japan or Legends + Japan are good starting points)
The myths and legends of Japan are littered with Feudal Lords who have Samurai warriors as their men at arms. Often these somewhat romanticized feudal Lords would have a Samurai that they were involved with, both in the matters of running a disciplined and lawful social order, and in sexual love relationships. While the Lord made laws, the Samurai were the enforcers of law in many stories of old.
Feudal Lord’s had wives just like anyone else, so don’t assume that this meant that they were leaving behind their estates to no one due to these relationships with their male partners, as the opposite was true. Feudal Lords would often love their wives even as they loved their male partners, just in different levels of the concept as we understand the word “love” to be in modern context. The social structure of the feudal Japan society held many levels of love as valid and even worthy of pursuit, unlike our more static views on this very complex emotion.
The Social Evolution :
A favourite series of books that is on the current market, and has proven to be invaluable as it specifically mentions anime within the social structure of modern Japan, comes from Time Life Books. The series is called “Myth and Mankind.” The book specifically dealing with Japanese culture is “Realm of the Rising Sun ; Japanese Myth” It is a good place to begin to study up on the social evolution of this lovely country. The mythology is rich and vibrantly textured. For those who take the time to read it, you won’t be disappointed by what it unveils. This series also has a book on Chinese Myth. Since Dragon Ball Z is in fact based upon a Chinese Monk’s journey to find holy scrolls of the faith he belongs to, it is wise to study up a bit on their lore as well. “Land Of The Dragon ; Chinese Myth” is the name of this fascinating book on the myths that helped to create and shape the Dragon Ball Z universe in part.
The symbolism of the Monkey King, when viewed by the information about the monkey in a section of the Chinese Myth book, along with the dragon’s role in the Chinese hierarchy will shed much greater light on Goku’s never ending role in the 500 episode saga that we call Dragon Ball, Dragon Ball Z, and Dragon Ball Grand Tour. It also will add some texture to the Dragon Balls significance in the story if you read up on the dragon’s symbol and meanings too. Goku is after all, the Monkey King in personified art. Piccolo and other characters also become more easily recognized for the symbols that they represent after you look through this book.
The Examples Section :
The next time you turn on your favourite anime show, pay attention to the way the characters react to each other. No matter if you have the overly butchered American version, or an original Japanese anime tape, (I can only wet dream of the last option personally… You lucky dog!!!) there is a very blatant sensuality in all of it’s subtle forms to guide you when watching. It’s not the words the character’s say, but how they react to things that the others in the story do and say in return. (** Especially in the butchered American by Funimation version of Dragon Ball Z which is often completely re written to fit a socially puritanistic status quo instead of honouring the full meaning of the actual show itself)
The Japanese are masters of drawing images that come alive, and this is very well illustrated in the Dragon Ball Z series among others. No amount of verbal editing or removing the nudity for the more prudish viewer’s peace of mind can change that fact. The Animes of Japan are filled with rich, vivid emotion in their details. Every movement of pen becomes an emotion, as these characters are drawn to reflect true human spirit. Just as the Mirror is revealed as the gateway to seeing the truth within one’s own soul, the anime character is drawn to be a mirror of humanity in it’s higher or lower form.
Example of what I am referring to : In “The History of Trunks” video, cut or uncut doesn’t matter, you will see that Trunks and Gohan have a lot deeper attachments to each other than a big brother, little brother relationship. It’s very obvious that the Mirai team are the only hope that the world of this dark and pain filled future has in combating the Androids 17 & 18. These two have no one but themselves to rely on. They have no one capable of understanding the things they can do. They have no one left to be a guide for them as they struggle to find the strength to defeat the undefeatable. They have only one thing going for them in short. They have each other to understand what the other can do. They have each other to defend and be defended by in turn. They can learn and go through the process of guiding and being guided by each other as the story unfolds.
It quickly becomes obvious during his training of Trunks to fight and to possibly die, that Gohan is becoming (In the American English dub at least) far more involved with his young apprentice warrior than the friendly big brother role put forth in the studios, as can be seen through his actions. He may address Trunks as “little brother” or “bro”, but the subtle lines of the character’s drawn shape speak clearly of other emotions that are more pronounced, if danced around and kept locked within the character’s own personal being.
When Gohan loses his arm to Android 17 during his desperate attempt to prevent Trunks’ potential, untimely demise at Android 18’s hands, the viewer gets a glimpse of how deep the character’s feelings run where his young partner is concerned.
When Gohan puts his last senzu bean in Trunks’ mouth several minutes later, telling him to live, even though Trunks is unconscious, and not nearly as badly wounded as himself, we again see this deeper emotion in action. Gohan is not a stupid person as the anime shows through his ongoing study habits of youth, yet he chooses to see Trunks’ healed, more than he wishes to be relieved from his own significant physical pain.
Mirai Gohan has good reason to be in far greater pain after all. He has just taken power blasts, and other severe abuses, that would have probably crippled or killed Trunks, and did so without thought of his own safety in his desperate attempt to save Trunks from being injured by the Androids. This is a point many try to look away from when the debate over the deeper relationship that exists in this show alone is brought to light by various slash loving groups who often want to stick Gohan with Piccolo, or Goten with Trunks. At least in the Mirai Time line, there is a definite and powerful message here that has nothing to do with “what would my daddy do?” (As portrayed by Funimation’s dub of this show).
