No.3208[View All]
Thread for meta-commentary on trends in the fujoshphere, including but not limited to:
>The recent dearth of fujo-friendly IPs and the overall decline of female-targeted series>Observations and trends about fujo fan activities>Differences in fan culture between Japanese fujos, Korean/Chinese fujos, Western fujos and the rest of the world>Predictions or theories about the BL industryThis is not a thread for pro/anti discourse (
>>2521) or complaining about the genderspecial infestation (
>>541) - threads for those topics already exist.
I was looking at the stats for Comiket 103 and I couldn't help but notice a lack of fujo presence. Picrel is a list of the genre codes and the number of registered circles under them. The genre code is a category that each circle choose upon registration; they can be dedicated to a single franchise (eg 234 Touhou, 331 Kantai Collection, 335 Uma Musume, 222 VTubers) or encompass an entire category (eg 315 Romance, Social games for women which is where games like Ensemble Stars and Twisted Wonderland would fall). Some of them like 600 Reviews/Information or 611 Railways/Travel aren't related to manga/anime at all.
It's obvious that Blue Archive and VTubers swept this Comiket, with mainstays like Kantai Collection, Uma Musume, Idolmaster and Type-Moon ranking high. In other words, all franchises for men. On the other hand, the fujo mainstays like Tiger and Bunny and Touken Ranbu look puny in comparison. Yuri on Ice is a certified fujo classic but it lost its custom genre code last Comiket.
In comparison, the other picrel is a ranking of the most popular series from C89 which was winter 2015. The red bars are female-dominated genres, the blue are male and purple are unisex. From top to bottom: 1) KanColle 2) Touken Ranbu 3) Touhou 4) Idolmaster 5) Haikyuu 6) Kuroko no Basuke 7) Yowamushi Pedal 8) Love Live 9) Tiger and Bunny 10) Attack on Titan 11) Vocaloid 12) Fate series 13) Hetalia 14) Free 15) Blood Blockade Battlefront 16) Splatoon. This was the heyday of Touken Ranbu - it gave juggernauts like Touhou and IM#S a run for their money - and outside obligatory mainstays like KanColle and Idolmaster, fujo favorites dominated the charts.
What happened between 2015 and now? The trend of women (and by extension fujoshi) disappearing from Comiket hasn't gone unnoticed. But it's not as if women are making less doujin, it's that women are flocking to non-Comiket conventions - namely those hosted by the agency AkaBooBoo like Super Comic City. On the other hand, I feel like there is a slump in fujo activity because it's been a while since we've had a fleet of fujo powerhouses trending at the same time (compared to 2015). The mid-2010s wasa good time to be a fujoshi.
No.11495
>>11483>race>RomaThey get more and more retarded with each year.
No.11498
>>11484The formula 1 RPS is one hell of a jumpscare for me. On a less cursed note I've seen Where Winds Meet a bunch lately so I wonder if I should check it out.
No.11499
>>11498Where winds meet is a good game that I would recommend to play but from what I've seen so far ship fuel is almost non-existent.
No.11502
>>11495That's bound to happen given the primary reason the statistics project exists to begin with is because the person running it is a scold about the presence of race and f/f in fanfic.
No.11503
>>11483AO3 is most popular with English and Chinese fandom women, so this list makes sense. There's more het than expected and stuff like all of the LADS y/n fics should really be counted as het even if it's technically open as whatever. The focus on race makes me kek. I'm proud of KPDH for being so organically popular as an animationfag even though I'm not in the fandom. Glad the BKDK, NSN, Drarry, Skk, and Jayce/Viktor juggernauts are still going strong.
Idk how himes can complain about this either when they have plenty to eat with KPDH, CaitVi, Wednesday, Alien Stage, and Yellowjackets for ~toxic yuri~. Even if it's not as much as male focused content, wouldn't you want quality over quantity?
at least that's what I want in my fem slash>>11498Also how do you even get into Formula 1 racing to begin with? Sports are so boring. But I love it when a random women older than 30 with multiple RPS fics writes for my fandom because they write THE BEST FUCKING FICS! I think it's the life experience and observing real people and probably interacting with society through watching sports. I love you Hockey and Formula 1 RPS fags. Muah muah muah
No.11531
https://www.animenewsnetwork.com/interest/2026-01-05/dr-stone-boichi-other-artists-stop-posting-art-on-x/.232621>Following the rollout of a new AI image-editing option by X (formerly Twitter), manga illustrator Mu-jik Park (pen name Boichi) announced on December 25 that he will not post images on the social media platform for the foreseeable future. In his post Boichi stated, “For the time being, I will pause the publication of my comics and illustrations on X.” The illustrator clarified he does not fear AI: “I believe in its future and the possibilities it may bring.” However, Boichi was clear that he does not want his work used for AI training or “exploited without my consent or proper compensation.”>Mokumokuren, creator of The Summer Hikaru Died, has also quietly reduced the number of art they post on X since December 25. Although the creator has not stopped posting illustrations on X, they have posted some art pieces only on their Bluesky account following X's implantation of its new image-editing feature. (Mokumokuren still posts announcements of releases with accompanying images on X.)>The legality of X's new AI image-editing feature is still up in the air. X currently has a clause in its terms of service allowing for artist, companies, and other entities to report copyright infringement. The clause states, “If you believe that your Content has been copied in a way that constitutes copyright infringement, please report this by visiting our Copyright reporting form (https://help.x.com/forms/ipi) or contacting our designated copyright agent at [lists address].”>ANN reached out to copyright lawyer Grant Smith regarding how X's AI image-editing feature could infringe on the copyrights and trademarks of artists, companies, and other entities. Smith said:>That's a big IP infringement issue but the courts haven't had much time to make case decisions on the issues. You have one major case with the Game of Thrones being used at an AI base for when it [creates] content for writers. Words, styles, and formats from the books are used in violation of copyright laws. The case was found in favor of the author. But this is just the start. The issue is the same for artists and their work. The AI rendering is a derivative of the work and would be likely violation copyright rights of the artists. More cases need to be brought and decided for the law to cement itself. No.11553
>>11531It's such an ill thought out feature, not just for copyright infringement but also for illicit modifications to real people's photos.
I've already seen several artists I like migrate off the platform. While I've always championed people use Pixiv more I noticed one artist switched exclusively to Lofter which I just can't access. Shame. I wonder if this will affect official publishers and brands as well.
No.11556
>>11502The insistence on ethnicity specifically is so weird to me because if you account for presence of ethnically diverse characters, the numbers clearly add up. Just look at anime. Are people less racist just because a popular show has an entire Asian cast? Or look at harry potter. Are people racist because the vast majority of a piece of media they like has a majority white cast?
Like at least with gender there is for sure a prevalence of m/m (I don't think there's any issue with that either, it is what it is, who tf cares), but with race it's clearly an issue of proportion of characters from different ethnicities in different source materials. If they wanna track it as data then cool, but I just don't know how you could even get mad about it in fandom even compared to the way people complaint about lack of f/f. It's just completely different lol.
No.11558
>>11556Reminds me of the Garnet arguing. As to what race is a space rock projection
Is she black? No. Her voice actress is. Her skin is the color of garnet. But people draw her brown. She's not brown. She's two people made into one person. One is blue, the other is red. People argued she's black coded. Which turned into more arguing.
No.11559
>>11556They want to single out fujos and only fujos as "racist bitches obsessed with white men" even though the person who makes this stats list is also white and I don't see them writing any black characters.
It's flawed because obviously the popularity of black celebrities or black sitcoms didn't make people less racist, and the popularity of Asian media doesn't make people less racist either. So why treat fanfic like this big deal? They never do this to male fans and we know why, it's because your average man in fandom will tell them to shut the fuck up. Fujos need to be meaner.
No.11567
>>11483why did they have to mention the race of the characters?
No.11598
>>11567Yanks obsessed with identity politics
No.11599
>>11567I can see the logic when it comes to original works of art like tv shows, published lit and the likes, but it's insane to expect fanfic authors to care about it when they're working with established characters. And it's even more weird because fanfic writers and fan artists have the ability to change the pre-established character to any race as long as they stick to the main physical and character traits and EVEN then, let's be honest, a lot of fanwork creators often dress what is essentially their OCs in the skins/names of established characters so they can honestly just do whatever they want–that's what makes those lists so flawed as well.
No.11755
https://www.animenewsnetwork.com/news/2026-01-24/south-korea-new-ai-law-raises-questions-for-webtoon-creators-platforms/.233383>For webtoon creators, the most immediate issue is AI transparency. Under the law, companies that develop or provide AI models and services must clearly disclose AI-generated content. This includes a watermark requirement for generative AI outputs, with stricter visible labeling for deepfake-style content. For formats like webtoons and animation, non-visible, machine-readable watermarks are allowed, easing concerns about disrupting the reading and viewing experience. However, creators still worry about how broadly “AI-generated” content is defined.>The law does not regulate individual users who simply use AI tools, but it does apply to platforms and companies that offer AI-powered creation tools or distribute AI-generated works. Major webtoon platforms that operate in Korea or offer services to Korean users may need to adjust workflows, disclosure systems, and UI notices when AI is involved in production.When will Japan follow?
No.12552
No.12554
>>12553It sucks because legit artists who work on this anime could be accused of using AI if they look for work for more anime next. Imagine you have your name in the credits and people recognize you as one of "the guys who worked in an AI generated anime."
No.12571
I wonder if the increased frequency of yuri anime this decade has resulted in less BL/fujobait anime since? Even back in late 2010s where isekai anime were becoming more common, BL/fujobait are still somewhat common.
No.12578
>>12571I think they would rather pander to men than women. Contrary to what Westerners on twitter think, most yuri anime is still aimed at men, not women. It's why more yuribait shows up in general shows but fujobait is dying. People always try to deny it's changing but look at the stats. Fujos would not be leaving anime for other mediums like webtoons and gacha and vtubers if anime actually pandered to us.
No.12579
>>12578nobody’s “leaving anime” lol. video game and streamer fujos have always been a thing and fujoism/otaku media has only been getting more popular. fujos have never needed much pandering and companies know it. gacha is definitely not very fujo catered either.
No.12582
>>12579There's barely any fujo anime that gets consistent fic and fanart. Jujutsu Kaisen and BNHA ended. Witch Hat Atelier can be a contender but you'll have to deal with the himejoshi bitching about fujos shipping the grown men and not the little girl protagonists. Otherwise anime barely wants to pander like it used, only licenses the most boring BL that no one watches because either nothing happens in it or the animation blows. Fujos now have higher standards than they used to and most companies can't even clear that.
No.12583
>>12582vtubers aren’t “higher standards” lol. I think your perception of trends might be a bit skewed. it’s like those people that talk about how “older anime was so much better” but then only mention the classics that stood the test of time and not the random-forgotten-no-budget- anime. mind you, nakamura is still airing and has beautiful animation. I follow a lot of artists that post tons and tons of anime ship art and fic writers that pump it out in droves too. I wonder if you even watch anime tbh because this mentality doesn’t make sense at all
No.12594
>>12582I'm hoping the Kagurabachi anime will be the next round of "fujo shonen juggernaut" because this aspect of fujoness is definitely going through a dry spell.
No.12623
>>12583No anon there were actually more options to chose from. Nakamura has barely anything outside of the 80s gimmick, which is why no one gives a shit outside of the redraw memes. It's not even close to the good stuff that used to dominate anime fandoms. It's a "so relatable" comedy where the guys don't even get together, not something that would get fujos obsessed over shipping the two guys.
>>12594Shounen looks way less baity than it used be and this looks like the only new one that might actually get the JJK crowd to come back.
No.12645
Ig things are how you make it, its pretty hard nowadays for fujobait to stand out when its not shounen because most people don't like the hassle of watching seasonals.
How is there meant to be a stream of good new stuff if people only watch one or two of the shows coming out, only those they already knew about or are shounen jump? (even Iruma, getting people to try it is like pulling teeth)
Even if people point out shows, most either just ignore the recs or have some criticism about why its not good enough for them.
No.12646
>>12594Aren't there many fujos into the various new shounen? Like windbreaker, tokyo revengers, The Case Study of Vanitas, the new version of Trigun, etc. I think the issue is that many of these series run for shorter periods of time and the source material is shorter. Usually for people time spent being invested in something = greater duration of being obsessed with it even after its completion, with shorter series sometimes having a less dedicated audience unless it fulfills a specific niche or its groundbreaking in some way (usually BL & GL fall in this category, as YOI and SK8! still have dedicated fans).
Though I do get you in that none of these anime personally appeal to me. Tokyo Revengers literally has an m/m kiss between major characters and I still could not be any less interested I have no idea why. I've spent my time consuming old shounen like FMA and naruto and it could be the way relationships are portrayed in them? Idk but there probably is a difference in what appeals to fujos of current shounen and old shounen.
No.12647
>>12645I guess people want a very specific form of fujobait, and people like how the macho atmosphere & mostly male casts lead to very specific bonds being formed. I get your frustration though and it's also possible you're talking to people who get their BL fix from different kinds of media (like thai BL) so the kind of intense homo-erotic friendships formed is not satisfactory.
No.12648
>>12647I guess so. Maybe it'd be worth asking "what is a recent/new/ongoing series you, right now, are getting your fujobait fix from and what exactly makes it enjoyable to you"?
Like, fujobait isn't about the crowd that follows it, fujobait is what the crowd can be moving towards.
No.12649
>>12645Pretty much. Last season there were two seasonal fujobait adaptations that I found more interesting than the actual BL that was airing but I couldn't find anyone else who was interested.
No.12655
>>12646>Though I do get you in that none of these anime personally appeal to me. I think it's this for me. Shonen tends to be my preferred BL sandbox and the only appealing 2020s sandbox to me has been kgb.
>>12647>a very specific form of fujobaitIt's hard to put into words but to me original BL is like a protein shake. It tastes okay and I'm getting my BL macros but I'm thinking "damn I wish this could be real food (a ship I am insane about)".
No.12657
>>12649The surprise for me was eldritch demon in human skin x single dad.
No.12658
>>12649Sentenced and Gachiakuta were the series I got some decent fujo vibes from this season. I had a lot of fun with the former especially since I went in expecting lolibait and came out with a surprisingly varied cast of male characters.
>>12646I didn't care for Tokyo Revengers too much when it was airing, but the doujin community does god's work convincing me of ship dynamics. Japanese fujos still go hard for that series.
No.12661
>>12645this is why it annoys me when people try to frame the situation as “there are no fujo anime” instead of “there are no fujo anime that *I’m* interested in”. Because you can give recs and tell them all about the ships fujos in your fandom are obsessed with but if *they* don’t care it’s suddenly “no one cares” (ex:
>>12623)
No.12663
>>12645>Even if people point out shows, most either just ignore the recs or have some criticism about why its not good enough for them.I have written and deleted so many rants about this for the vent thread over the last year or three. Usually the fujobait anime I look forward to and watch are things I read the manga of already or heard about through japanese fujos talking about it coming on their fan accounts. Y'know, when you follow an artist for one fandom and every so often they draw or retweet a series you haven't tried yet so when its anime gets announced a month later you're already prepared to identify the ships.
I get excited that something is being animated and finally more people will look its way, because god knows they won't read a manga or LN, and I'll try to strike up conversations or share art. No matter what the series is people complain and usually it's the only reply. Everything is "boring" so they haven't tried it. Everything is "not canon enough" so they won't try it. Something is "problematic" though they haven't read the synopsis yet. Nothing has a big enough western fanbase for them. Why do you think there's no western fanbase?! You're refusing anything new! Instead of seeking out things they enjoy the west is now obsessed with social political analysis of why they can't enjoy themselves that always blames others, and clinging to stretched thin fanon of series that don't even meet the requirements they hold new series to. I am tired of self proclaimed fujos telling me I can't gay ship characters because it wasn't gay in canon meanwhile they post Jump characters that were not gay in canon either. Let a man suck cock!
No.12664
I dunno about you guys but I *do* think there's no more fujobait anime kinda in the way it used to exist in the 2010s and I don't think it'll ever happen again quite frankly.
A lot of the latest shows mentioned here do get popular yes, and get their niche fandom for a while but it's never "explosively big" in the way the old not-so-fujobait-but-still-had-fujos stuff used to be (Naruto, Reborn, T&B, FMA, DRRR,etc). I think I just call those more so regular shows that happened to be ominipandering rather than fujobait in specific though.
JJK is the only thing I can remember from memory that has exploded in that sort of popular way, but that's because it's a shonen.
Smaller shows really don't get a chance, and quite frankly everyone gets their fix from other things nowadays that may pander more directly to them so the need to speculate or "force" themselves through regular omnipandering stuff isn't as needed.
No.12666
I wrote too much sorry
>>12663 Cont.
I know when I complain about these comments someone out there will accuse me of being desperate or having low standards like I can't just enjoy my free pirated media, there must be something functionally wrong with my enjoyment and I must be attacking other fujos because I gay shipped some dudes they called ugly. But it's a total fucking downer when people feel they have to reply "it's shit/the industry's shit" every time you talk about something you're enjoying. It sounds like contrarianism for the sake of maintaining a doomer narrative or tribal divisions. I got into anime/manga because of the types of story and character it has and it is my nature to make it gay wherever I go. It is unfathomable to me when everything is more accessible than ever to not find SOMETHING that activates neurons. What I am desperate for is to express my feelings because communication has become more difficult. You can't say these boys should fuck on social media because you'll get caught by antifujo or kids (priv and you talk to a wall because your followers don't care and muted you months ago), and you can't say these boys should fuck on imageboards without people getting upset it wasn't tailor made for them. I can't talk freely here because there's so few users that like the same series it makes you a sitting duck when you post on AO3 or /a/. I don't remember feeling that wary of crossing sites in the past but everyone here is reluctant to associate their fandoms because there are SO many tiny fandoms now and internet spaces bleed into each other all the time.
I don't want to rally against someone, I want balls slapping together and homecooked meals and sad glances across a room and walking into a closed door because he got distracted and ragged panting and hiding his pain to avoid looking weak and knowing that he knows but nobody said anything and now they're trapped in a cave and something something body heat frotting god damn. I have to close sites and sequester myself in media.
No.12668
>>12666The ease of having more means of connectivity and access has ultimately made people more isolated in what they'll accept. If you can find a ton of content targeted for YOU, then your willingness to engage in things you might need to take more than 5 seconds to figure out if you'll enjoy becomes a lost cause. It's a greater problem that has also spread to fujo spaces because by nature we are a niche community that was built on the backbones of 'ship and let ship' outside the base canon of most series. Instead of being creative about dynamics and characters, many people want their preferences served on a platter.
I'm glad you're still able to find joy in the things you watch, nonnie. Please don't let the discourse take that away from you, because the stuff you closed your post with is exactly what should bring fujos together to squee.
No.12669
>>12666>I can't talk freely here because there's so few users that like the same series it makes you a sitting duck when you post on AO3 or /a/. I don't remember feeling that wary of crossing sites in the past but everyone here is reluctant to associate their fandoms because there are SO many tiny fandoms now and internet spaces bleed into each other all the time.God it's so true. Everyone here becomes the queen of vagueposting because of how small and insular their fandoms are and becomes so easy to pinpoint who they are on AO3 or socmed. I can’t say I blame the sentiment because of how stalker people are and how obsessed the purity patrol and troon troop is.
No.12671
>>12664How big does explosively big have to be? Is it a matter of likes? Of fanfiction? I'm seeing bots that do nothing but share gay fanfiction excerpts for series airing now, and the series usually get around 9k likes per art.
Do they need like 20k to be big?
No.12672
>>12669>the queen of vaguepostingGuilty!
>>12671NTA but to me "explosively big" simply means enough fanart/fic that you can kind of fly under the radar if you talk about it in a public space. Like I'd talk about MHA because who the fuck is gonna find my needly ass in that haystack?
No.12673
>>12672>explosively big" simply means enough fanart/fic that you can kind of fly under the radar if you talk about it in a public spaceHow would that work if nobody wants to be the first to point out fujobait
No.12675
>>12673>the first to point out fujobaitMy experience as a fujo is just watching stuff I would watch anyway, realizing "hey my worm activated" and then I go online and see everybody else's brainworm activated too. I can't think of any fandom I've ever been in that hasn't been this way. The problem from my perspective is that "explosively big" worm activation seems to be rarer now so in nascent fandoms it's easier to feel alone, especially with how hostile-by-default young weebs seem to be to fujoshi now.
No.12683
>>12664The subject of omnipandering reminds me there was a fujo I used to follow who was huge into K project and anons on 4chan called it a fujo show but I was filtered by screenshots and gifs of one female character who was clearly only there to have massive tits. This is why I never got into code geass either, I peace the fuck out if they're clearly pandering to men even if there's also a popular fujo ship.
No.12689
>>12666When gacha feeds me much better that any manga or seasonal anime it's really hard to keep enjoying the scraps. I could force myself to watch meh series just because they have cute boys that interact but it'll still be bland and boring and has no interesting plot or dynamics.
Where's shit like Kado (yeah, I know…)? 91 days? Tnb? Samflam? Yoi?
Maybe I just have bad taste but most modern anime is disappointing. Maybe it's the lack of homobait originals that makes it feel so dry.
No.12692
>>12689What have you tried watching recently that left you so disappointed?
No.12700
>>12689>says gachaslop has more interesting plot and dynamics compared to anime/mangaKEKK sorry but this is the opinion of someone who doesn’t actually read or watch much of either manga or anime. you’re free to like whatever but gacha is scrap central
No.12710
>>12700Current anime rarely has dynamics and plots that interest me, manga is a bit better in that regard. I usually check most series when the season starts and then keep an eye on discussions to see if anything I dropped became interesting.
I did mention that it might be the lack of homobaity anime originals that make me feel this way, nothing can replicate that feeling of watching a new story weekly not knowing what's going to happen next. I guess this is where gachaslop comes in and fills that gap.