Paid Members air_raid Posted January 31, 2018 Paid Members Share Posted January 31, 2018 The sexual ambiguity of the country is quite incredible at times, caught in an ambivalence of liberal and prudish. Look no further than their adult entertainment, where "bukkake" has become a commonplace term used the world over because of its popularity in Nip, and a pornstar ran a competition for fans to send bottles of their jizz in for her to bathe in, and yet they use their mosaic pixellation of the genitals. Remarkable. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Paid Members Carbomb Posted January 31, 2018 Paid Members Share Posted January 31, 2018 (edited) 1 hour ago, BomberPat said: That seems to be true of many cultures that have had Abrahamic religion, or "Western values", as you say, "crudely grafted on". I see the Omega/Ibushi "romance" as something akin to the gay romance manga you mentioned (as far as I understand it, anyway) - young (though Ibushi is somehow 35!), pretty, somewhat androgynous (in Ibushi's case, at least) boys, in a largely (seemingly) asexual, or only flirtatiously sexual, courtship. Anecdotally, the "romantic" element of the storyline seems to have played a substantial part in getting a lot of female interest in NJPW - or in Omega and Ibushi, in particular. It's a very good idea, if they have. For a long time, the young female market for pro-wrestling in Japan has been held mostly by DragonGate, who cleverly carved out a niche for themselves amongst that demographic by adopting a full-on pop-culture and fashion world aesthetic, and employing lots of young, good-looking, athletic, and fashionable guys. If NJPW have indeed gone for a properly-done yaoi storyline, I daresay it could be ground-breaking, but if there was ever any country in which a gay love story could be done without resorting to stereotype, it's Japan, as the culture is there. 29 minutes ago, air_raid said: The sexual ambiguity of the country is quite incredible at times, caught in an ambivalence of liberal and prudish. Look no further than their adult entertainment, where "bukkake" has become a commonplace term used the world over because of its popularity in Nip, and a pornstar ran a competition for fans to send bottles of their jizz in for her to bathe in, and yet they use their mosaic pixellation of the genitals. Remarkable. It is ludicrous, the sheer contrast. The vending machines selling used schoolgirl/call-girl panties, the tentacle porn, the prosecution of a grot company for having mosaics that were too thin and not distortive enough, the sheer perversion on show in regular Japanese movies like Visitor Q or Dead Or Alive, it's mind-boggling. The thing is it's not altogether surprising, taken in a wider historical context. Look at Japan through its culture over the last few hundred years instead of the last 50, and you get a clear sense of a sexually very liberal culture - erotica, sexual openness, even legalised prostitution of which there were actual league tables, rankings and classes of the best courtesans! To analogise ("I put the 'anal' in 'analogy'"), Japan as a sexual culture has been turned into a Catholic schoolgirl at a convent school. Edited January 31, 2018 by Carbomb Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Paid Members BomberPat Posted January 31, 2018 Paid Members Share Posted January 31, 2018 1 minute ago, Carbomb said: If NJPW have indeed gone for a properly-done yaoi storyline, I daresay it could be ground-breaking, but if there was ever any country in which a gay love story could be done without resorting to stereotype, it's Japan, as the culture is there. I think it helps that talent at least seem to have a degree of control over their angles - if Omega on Jericho's podcast was anything to go by, the two of them had more or less carte blanche in the build to their match, and management actually came to Omega beforehand and asked him, "what do you want for the Dome show?". If Omega and Ibushi have been given the same freedom with how they present their own story - and I can't see why they wouldn't have been - then I think it will, at times, veer close to being a full-blown yaoi story. After all, how many other major wrestling shows end with a shower of confetti to celebrate two boys hugging? I think they've hinted at queer traits in other characters - Hiromu Takahashi mentioned writing love letters to Dragon Lee - but usually as an indicator of eccentricity, whereas with Kenny and Kota it just seems to be matter of fact, and that's quite exciting to see. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Colin Culk Posted February 4, 2018 Share Posted February 4, 2018 Thanks folks for the background on Ibushi, Omega and sexuality in Japan more generally. As a casual follower of NJPW it’s really interesting to read this. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
robinbobs Posted February 4, 2018 Share Posted February 4, 2018 I want to see a backstage segment where Omega is slowly rubbing lubricant into Ibushi's young supple frame. Then Muta walks in and starts to undo this trousers. Fade to black. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Paid Members air_raid Posted February 4, 2018 Paid Members Share Posted February 4, 2018 35 is still "young"? Happy days. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Paid Members Jazzy G Posted February 4, 2018 Paid Members Share Posted February 4, 2018 Is Muta not in All Japan? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
The King Of Swing Posted February 4, 2018 Share Posted February 4, 2018 He left All Japan, and founded Wrestle-1 didn't he? Think it was not that long after a wrestler was badly assaulted backstage. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Paid Members Jazzy G Posted February 4, 2018 Paid Members Share Posted February 4, 2018 He certainly did.I was just reading his Wikipedia and happened across his teaming with Akebono as "The Great Bono" in Hustle and All Japan. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
The King Of Swing Posted February 4, 2018 Share Posted February 4, 2018 I miss HUSTLEÂ Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Paid Members air_raid Posted February 4, 2018 Paid Members Share Posted February 4, 2018 Come on Geoffrey, don't half-arse the people on the story of Muta and Akebono in Hustle. "Teaming" doesn't cut it. After a tag match where Muta and Real Gay (don't ask) beat Tajiri and Yinling The Erotic Terrorist (dont ask), Muta spat mist at the muff of Yinling, which impregnated her. Eventually she gave birth to a huge egg. That egg eventually hatched, and Bono came out. They didn't just tag, they were father and son. Whatever your favourite wrestling storyline ever WAS, it's not now, right? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Paid Members Kaz Hayashi Posted February 5, 2018 Paid Members Share Posted February 5, 2018 (edited) Jesus, I need to deep clean the couch after reading that @air_raid. The last 2 pages were unexpected when I clicked on to this thread. I feel like Johnny 5 when he reads a book for the first time. More input. Quite the schooling, cheers. Edited February 5, 2018 by Kaz Hayashi Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Paid Members Jazzy G Posted February 5, 2018 Paid Members Share Posted February 5, 2018 I like the thing about him being Kokushi-Muso and teaming with his counterpart Hakushi as well. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Paid Members Carbomb Posted February 5, 2018 Paid Members Share Posted February 5, 2018 Yeah, Hakushi means "white warrior", and Kokushi means "black warrior", although Kokushi-Muso is also a pun; it's the name of the rarest and one of the highest-scoring hands in Mahjong. Basically, Muta likes his in-gags. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
westlondonmist Posted February 5, 2018 Share Posted February 5, 2018 7 hours ago, air_raid said: Come on Geoffrey, don't half-arse the people on the story of Muta and Akebono in Hustle. "Teaming" doesn't cut it. After a tag match where Muta and Real Gay (don't ask) beat Tajiri and Yinling The Erotic Terrorist (dont ask), Muta spat mist at the muff of Yinling, which impregnated her. Eventually she gave birth to a huge egg. That egg eventually hatched, and Bono came out. They didn't just tag, they were father and son. Whatever your favourite wrestling storyline ever WAS, it's not now, right? Didn't this end with Akebono killing his mum? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Recommended Posts
Join the conversation
You can post now and register later. If you have an account, sign in now to post with your account.