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Dōjinshi (; usually romanized as doujinshi) are self-published Japanese works, usually refering to manga and novels only. They are often drawn by amateurs, but some professional artists participate as a way to publish material outside the regular publishing industry. The term is derived from dōjin (), meaning "literary group", "coterie", or "clique", and shi () which means "magazine" or "distribution". Doujinshi are part of a wider category of doujin including but not limited to art collections, anime hentai and games. Groups of dōjinshi artists refer to themselves as a circle.
Dōjinshi are made by artists or writers who prefer to publish their own materials. Avid fans of dōjinshi attend regular dōjinshi conventions, the largest of which is called Comiket (short for "Comic Market") held in the summer and winter in Tokyo's Big Sight. Here, over 20 acres of dōjinshi are bought, sold, and traded by attendees. Dōjinshi creators who based their materials on other creators' works normally publish in small numbers to maintain a low profile from litigation. This makes a talented creator's or circle's dōjinshi a coveted commodity as only the fast or the lucky will be able to get them before they sell out.
Over the last decade, the practice of creating dōjinshi has expanded significantly, attracting thousands of creators and fans alike. Advances in personal publishing technology have also fueled this expansion by making it easier for dōjinshi creators to write, draw, promote, publish, and distribute their works. For example, some dōjinshi are now published on digital media. Furthermore, many dōjinshi creators are moving to online download and print-on-demand services, while others are beginning to distribute their works through American channels such as anime shop websites and specialized online direct distribution sites.
Perception
In Western cultures, dōjinshi is often perceived to be derivative of existing work, analogous to fanfiction. To an extent, this is true: some dōjinshi are parodies or alternative storylines involving the worlds of popular manga or anime series. However, many dōjinshi with completely original characters and storylines also exist.
Categories of dōjinshi
There are a few prevalent categories of dōjinshi. Seinen (, "young man") dōjinshi usually contain adult material and target adult males over 18. Yaoi and shōnen-ai dōjinshi feature male homosexuality and usually target adult heterosexual women and homosexual men; yuri and shōjo-ai feature female homosexuality. Yaoi and yuri manga tend to include graphic depictions of sexual acts, whereas shōnen-ai and shōjo-ai are often milder in graphical content. Dōjinshi involving sexual themes is often referred to by fans as H-dōjinshi; the "H" is pronounced ecchi in Japanese and thus a homophone of a slang term for sexual activity. It also is often taken as the first letter of hentai. Ippan (, meaning "general") dōjinshi do not contain adult material and are usually suitable for a broader range of audiences.
Famous dōjinshi authors
- CLAMP started out as a dōjinshi group of 11 girls known as CLAMP Cluster. Today, they are a well-known group among manga fans, and have their works regularly serialized in major publications in several countries, such as Japan and the United States. They also publish individual manga volumes, and many of their titles have been converted to anime.
- Ken Akamatsu, creator of popular manga such as Love Hina and Negima, continues to make dōjinshi which he sells at Comiket under the pen-name Awa Mizuno.
- Rikdo Koshi, creator of the popular manga Excel Saga, originally started out as a dojinshi artist.
- Nanae Chrono, creator of the manga Peacemaker Kurogane, has published multiple Naruto dōjinshi, most of a yaoi nature.
- Maki Murakami, creator of Gravitation & Gamers Heaven. Her circle Crocodile Ave. created the popular Remix Gravitation aka Rimigra & Megamix Gravitation is one of the most graphic hard yaoi doujinshis to be found.
- Monkey Punch, creator of "Lupin III" began as a dojinshi artist.
- Ero artists like Tony Taka and Carnelian are also famous doujinshikas.
- Artist Nobuteru Yuki sells doujinshis based on his animated works under his pen-name 'The Man in the High Castle'.
- Yun Kouga, a long-time published mangaka and creator of two well-known BL series, Earthian and Loveless, got her start creating dojinshi for series such as Gundam Wing.
It should be noted that the following are famous artists, however because of their works they are not primarily known as manga-ka. Even so, this continues to be disputed amongst many.
- Bleedman, creator of the online PowerPuff Girls Doujinshi.
- Fred "Piro" Gallagher, creator of the online Megatokyo series, as well as the in-development series Warmth. His Megatokyo co-creator and former writer, Rodney "Largo" Caston, can also be considered one, though Caston has since left the business.
See also
Related concepts
External references
- Dojin Club - online dōjinshi printer
- Desolate Dreams - A personal dōjinshi collection
- Akiba Angels - Total Doujin creator's information site.
Fan fiction | Anime and manga terminology | Dōjinshi
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"Dōjinshi"