Yep. I also get tired of the usual single volume 5/6 chapter yaoi where they just basically show 1/2 straight guys who just "magically" happen to be gay for the other "special" guy & eventually develop feelings for him after "trying" it out! Also, don't forget the overused & over exhausted "love at 1st rape" theme.
I used to drop manga that I didn't like, before too. But, now instead of dropping it, what I do is bookmark them. I have found out that my affinity to certain mangas depend on my mood or the time I am reading it. So, I keep trying to read them again & again, in hope that I might like them/finish reading in the future. TBH, this is what improved my excessive picky habit. Now I don't drop mangas as often as I used to.
How sad it is, that you basically described 99% of yaois out there ;-;
And as for me, i just recently started tagging mangas as "dropped" , just so i could avoid re-reading stuff i know i've disliked, maybe i one day go back and finish them (づ￣ ³￣)づ
i DO THAT TOO!!!!
it really does depend on my mood, sometimes i wanna read good stuff but most of the time i'm ok with whatever. but yeah, if i feel like reading good stories with well written characters i usually don't search for them in the yaoi category... xD
fortunately there are some good shounen ai for us to read :)
The prb is i love BL so much ┗( T﹏T )┛
that's why i'm always searching for BL stories and mangas that are well done, with believable characters. The few times i did find such stories i enjoyed them immensely.
thank god for shounen ai :')
I'm one of the oldest battle-axes on this site, and, although I've never catered my critical reading to best books lists such as those published by The Guardian or ... others (there are multitudes), I've ploughed my way through quite a few of them (and forgotten most—that's how little they meant.) I also read for pure unadulterated pleasure, and don't look for depth in ANY manga at all. It's a very pleasant surprise to find it (yes, even in yaoi ... or, rather, especially in yaoi, my favourite id candy), but I think manga are not the media for which such standards are largely expected or upheld. The difference is the arcane division between art and populist entertainment. Most forms of entertainment, including manga, can be elevated into an art form, so this isn't about elitism, but a different readership with different expectations, and readers drive the market.
When I read yaoi or other romance-genre manga (or any non-romance manga), I look for how well the mangaka has met the criteria of entertaining readers; how cleverly and freshly the traditional boundaries of a work's have been met, adapted and extended; how good the art is (relative to other elements, since most of the world-building and exposition is relegated to the layout, design and execution of the art); and how interesting the INEVITABLE resolution was.
In a romance story, for example, if the ordained couple do not get together by the end, that breaks a cardinal rule of the genre, one which its readers expect to be fulfilled. A romance mangaka has to play with that rule because it's the source of conflict and dramatic tension without which there is no story, but if she breaks it outright, there had better be hell-a plot structure and character development moving it or the wrath of readers will double-down upon her. The problem is, because there are these expectations, as well as limitations of space, budgets and time imposed by publishers, stories will be predictable, or often resolved in hackneyed ways. Deep, fully realized characters? It can, and does, happen, but it isn't quite the same as the illustrated novel genre.
With yaoi, the expectation is pornographic—unlike shounen ai, which is romance. So the effect of yaoi has to be visceral and carnal, although good yaoi also fulfills the criteria of the romance genre.
i'm reading it now, because of what you said, and it really is amazing so far, thanks for the recommendation!
Maybe I'm quite a picky..
Because generally, I prefer manga with a beautiful art (or fine art at least) with a fine shading n lighting
But for a content, It doesn't matter to me. Soft, hard, sweet, heartwarming, tragic, horror, twisted.. any genre, depend on my mood.. Well, I also don't add manga in my reading lists that frequently here. Cz I always use an app
well, luckily it's not like there aren't any good yaoi mangas out there, they're just hard to find!
btw i'm 19 too xD
When it comes to shoujo or josei, I have only one criteria that should be followed: the characters must not be utter stupid bubble and ignorant heads. I hate it when a stupid heroine falls in love with a jerk for the stupidest of reasons...ugh! #－.－)
The same criteria applies to BL too, but because I spent more time on this genre, my expectations are a "bit" higher. First of all, the art has to be pretty (or at least bearable). There are so very few times when I enjoyed a story with a not so pretty artstyle. Secondly, the plot. Depending on my mood, when I need a fluffy and stress-relieving story, the plot must not feel rushed, the characters have to be lovable and the lines must not feel cheesy or corny. When I want something more serious, that's when I become pretentious. The plot needs to be captivating, deep, with a happy ending and well-developped. The characters MUST be lovable (or I can't get into the story) and make me feel empathy for them. Basically, if a story touched my heart, then it did its job well.
If you're ok with bara, I recommend you "Senya Ichiya-Shitone no Himegoto". It was amazing in my opinion (especially the ending). I don't always read that genre, but this manga was too good to let it pass.
Aye, fluffy little pollito, I was waiting patiently for the day when I could finally pet you ヾ(☆ω☆)
I always think this when i read your comments, but Toad is very learned :) , u always sound wise and sagely (づ￣ ³￣)づ
I'm such a demanding reader, even tho i know that mangaks can't make perfect characters i still can't help myself. Well i still read and like them, they just can't capture my heart
G-Guys Σ(っ°Д °;)っ
Bless this post, this is what I have been feeling more and more, and finding good stories is not easy.
For me other than very well developed characters, the story itself (unless a classic) has to show a good measure of originality... I love it when I read a resume, or start a story, and its unlike anything I have read before :)
Thanks, but I think there are many learned, wise and sagely people on this site, enjoying the silliest of stories. If a character in ANY story or film or work of art, dance, theatre, etc., manages to capture your heart or, at least, your imagination, especially as you grow older, it's an amazing feat, because of the weight difference between real life and fiction. I am content if the stories simply fulfill the promise of the manga genre, which is to entertain me.
Typo. ╮(￣▽￣)╭ You changed the y to ah.
Lately i've noticed that i am an extremely picky reader. That is, for me to enjoy a manga or book, it absolutely MUST have well developed characters.
It's becoming more pronounced as i get older, if the chars aren't well done and don't have psychological deepness, i end up subconsciously dropping mangas and stories and never going back to them┑(￣Д ￣)┍
And if i do finish them i pretty much forget what it was about in a week.
On the other hand the stories that managed to pass that high criteria, i remember and love no matter how much time passes. I end up immersing myself in the story completely, and more often then not, end up falling in love with the characters (both male and female). They become so incredibly dear to me
As you can prb guess it's quite a big problem for a yaoi fan, testament to that is the fact that there is not a SINGLE yaoi manga that managed to pass that high criteria (a few shouunen ai's did tho (edit: just for references sake, the only shounen ai that managed to do that completely is No. 6, i love those two so very very much ╥﹏╥ ))
i still read yaoi despite that tho(●￣(ｴ)￣●)
Well there's not much helping it and i'm trying to stop doing that and to at least tag the mangas i stop reading as discontinued so i know what i've read
So i'm just wondering, how picky a reader are you and what are you the most picky about ?
(sry for my rant (⊙…⊙ ) it's been on my mind quite a lot lately)