Who knew you could find manga in the book section of the Dollar Tree? Not me. You’d probably be amazed that there IS a book section at the Dollar Tree, but they have to do something with those 800,000 unsold copies of What Really Happened, amirite? Most of what is in there is trite crap I wouldn’t waste my time on, but every once in a while you find a nugget of gold. Once I saw a book titled Vampirates.
How can you NOT want to read this? No matter how awful, totally worth $1.
I didn’t have any cash at the time, so I missed that opportunity because it was gone by the time I went back for it. Really, who wouldn’t want to read Vampirates? How was that not a NYT best seller?
Anyhoo…. so on this trip to Dollar Tree, I happened to find a couple of manga books. I’m hoping at this point everyone is familiar with manga, but in the event you’re not, it is basically Japanese culture graphic novels. They usually come in a series, and they are great fun to read. And added bonus, this wasn’t just any manga book. Oh no! This was an omnibus, so it had several volumes in one book. For just $1.00! Score!
For just a dollar!
I was so excited about the fact that I found manga for Andrea for her Christmas present (at the dollar store, no less!) that it wasn’t until I got home and read the back cover that I realized what I had. Because this was no ordinary manga. Oh no!
This. Was. Yaoi.
Me too. Wishing for that more innocent time.
For the uninitiated (and let me say I hope to god most of you are uninitiated. This is one of those areas of anime culture of which I wish I was still blissfully unaware) yaoi is a subset of anime and manga that deals with boy love. It’s not pornographic (or most of it isn’t, although Rule 34 does apply) but it basically features romantic inclinations between two male characters. And it has quite the fangirl following, for some reason. This is one time when Wikipedia actually explains it best and makes it seem less creepy. Andrea hasn’t fully gotten into the yaoi movement, but some of her favorite character have subtle yaoi undertones. Think Ciel and Sebastian (and Grell) in Black Butler.
And Alois…and Claude… and…
Just about anyone in Hetalia
Seriously, no limit to the number of shipping options in this anime.
Or Hikaru and Kaoru in Ouran High School Host Club.
Okay, that one’s not subtle at all. So she’s had some minor exposure.
So how will she feel about a yaoi themed manga?
“What the hell did you get me?”
The look on her face says it all. She’s…dismayed? Less than thrilled? Wondering what the hell I was thinking?
She hasn’t read it yet, so I don’t know if we’ve got a winner on our hands. I read the first chapter and have to admit it’s a little weird. If nothing else, I’ll give it a half a win, because who would expect to find yaoi manga at a Dollar Tree? Being able to say that alone was worth $1.
The look on her face is PRICELESS
I’m surprised I was able to adequately capture the WTFness of her expression. Perfect pic, given the circumstances.
I second bookfaerie.
I had no idea such a huge fan base exists for such a genre. My literary world is narrowed to Stephen King, Peter Straub, self help books, and Postsecret.
Maybe it’s that very reason I haven’t read a book in years, lol.
Scores at the Dollar Tree are awesome. US stores have way better gems than the Canadian ones!
It’s one of those genre areas I wish I didn’t know about, kind of like snuff films. Okay, not like snuff films, but the general idea that such a genre exists AND is super popular is rawther baffling to me.
ROFLMAO!!!! The look on her face! Who knew you could buy yaoi at the dollar store. BTW, I am one of those freaky yaoi fangirls you are talking about. Nothing wrong with a bit of boy love!
I’m not a full out fan but (shhhhh!) I have leanings. I’m really curious to watch the anime Antique Bakery. I’ve read the synopsis and it sounds really interesting.