Yaoi Anime and Yuri Anime Today
Over the last few years, explicitly yuri anime and yaoi anime have been rising in number and popularity. These have included shows like Baban Baban Ban Vampire, Bad Girl, and Watanare, as well as movies like Cosmic Princess Kaguya. However, things haven’t always been this rosy, and many anime used to keep their queer themes either unstated or would simply tease things out in order to attract a queer audience. This is sometimes known as “queerbaiting.” But what is it, and what are some modern examples?
Queerbaiting: A Brief Explanation
In summary, queerbaiting is considered to be a marketing or creative “technique” to appeal to LGBTQ+ viewers and readers by having characters interact in a way that suggests that there may be a queer relationship between them, but never lets those characters actually confirm their relationship.
While it may have been necessary, many years ago, to keep things on the down-low due to lower visibility and less public acceptance of LGBTQ+ people (though this was less severe in Japan than in the west), today it is generally considered to be something of a cowardly thing to do. Some live action examples include the formerly very popular British TV show Sherlock, which showed a deep and affectionate relationship between the titular detective and his assistant Dr. John Watson, as well as a flirtatious one between Holmes and arch nemesis James Moriarty.
Another example is the show Supernatural. Known for its fans shipping the angel Castiel and the series’ central protagonist, Dean Winchester. For over a decade, the two seemed to be close to something, but never quite got there. However, during the show’s 15th season, Castiel did confess his love to Dean… moments before he died. This is connected with another trope, which is considered to be even more problematic: bury your gays, wherein queer characters are “punished” by being killed or suffering other tragic fates.
Examples of Potential Queerbaiting in Anime
While as mentioned above, the spaces of yuri anime and yaoi anime have become more open and sensitive when it comes to portraying queer relationships, there are still occasional shows that play with tropes that mean many consider them to be queerbaiting. Here are a few examples.
Frieren: Beyond Journey’s End
One of the most popular anime of the last few years, Frieren: Beyond Journey’s End focuses on the long-lived elf mage Frieren, as she and her party make their way across multiple countries, retracing the steps that she made when she defeated the Demon King with her former comrades a century ago.
One of her party members is her apprentice, Fern. While it seems as though Fern’s true romantic interest is their only consistent partner who is a man, there are many yuri vibes between Frieren and Fern that fans have picked up on, which people ship as “FrieFern.”
These include (but are not limited to): Fern becoming huffy, jealous, and angry when Frieren talks to or becomes close with other characters, but especially other women; Fern immediately dousing Frieren with a potion to melt women’s clothes when Frieren reveals she has it; Frieren tenderly pressing her forehead to Fern’s to confirm that the latter has a fever; and Frieren making a delighted face whenever she troubles a third party and Fern informs them, “don’t worry, I’ll punish her later.”
Are there non-yuri explanations for these actions? Sure, and those who don’t ship them point to how problematic their relationship could be, given that Fern is Frieren’s mentee and protégé. For others, however, there is always yuri to find for those with eyes to see.
The Summer Hikaru Died
We actually gave our impressions on this anime last year, shortly after its release, and its non-yaoi status can (for some) be summed up with the creator’s position that the story itself is not inherently about two young men in love with one another. Rather, it is a horror story wherein the eponymous Hikaru Indo has died, and his soul replaced in his body by an unknown supernatural creature, but through a queer lens.
However, it is this very lens that leads many viewers to the conclusion that the two main characters, Hikaru and central protagonist Yoshiki Tsujinaka are romantically linked. Firstly, “Hikaru,” who has all of the real Hikaru’s memories and feelings, can’t stop talking about how much he cares for Yoshiki… and on one occasion, early on, penetrates him… and Yoshiki enjoys it. Yoshiki, for his part, is extremely sad that the real Hikaru is gone. He can tell, even if nobody else can, that this is something else wearing Hikaru’s life, and that’s just no good enough for him.
Rock Is a Lady’s Modesty
Released last year but based on an ongoing manga, Rock Is a Lady’s Modesty is focused on Lilisa Suzunomiya, a new student at an elite all-girls academy, as her mother recently remarried a wealthy man, meaning she is no longer a commoner. She then goes through the process of learning how to be a “lady,” while abandoning her passions, including playing guitar. She soon meets Otoha Kurogane, who is naturally elegant, but wants to start a rock band.
At no point in the anime do they kiss or confirm romantic feelings for one another — and in the four years the manga has been running, the same is true. However, there is a huge amount of yuri fanservice, from the pair screaming at one another in a frenemies style to Lilisa first blushing and seeing non-diagetic petals when she first meets Otoha (not to mentioned flushing when she sees Otoha wiggling her butt). But easily the most obvious fanservice re the BDSM yuri fantasies that the pair seem to share whenever they clash, from Otoha being leashed to Lilisa being bound shibari-style by rose thorns.
Some “queerbaiting” can eventually become canon, and perhaps it is possible that will be the case for some of the above shows — none of which we’re saying are bad. However, while some people may enjoy it, queerbaiting is still present in Japan, and in anime.
