manga: YuYu Hakusho Vol 5-8

[meganbmoore]

You know how swords in shounen tend rather phallic? Based on YuYu Hakusho, I think that’s actually been decreased a bit.

OMG Toguro’s brother turns into an amazingly phallic looking sword! What?!?!

To make it even better, Toguro is huge and muscle bound, and his brother is small and has long hair.

And everyone was right, this really does turn into a tournament manga! I think I’ve forgotten why they’re fighting now, save that Toguro told Yusuke that they had to or he’d kill him. Toguro can literally kick heads off and punch people in half. I’d obey him too. I’m amazed we skipped Yusuke’s shounen powerup training, though!

And did Genkei de-age somehow so she could help with the tournament, or it that someone else?

I find it funny that Botan brought Keiko, Yusuke’s mother, and Kuwabura’s mother to the tournament, though. Wish they’d do something. And Koenma’s grown form looks like a Yu Watase character with a pacifier.

Yukina is adorable, as is Kuwabura’s crush on her. I’m confused as to why Hiei doesn’t want her to know he’s her brother, though. And I may or may not have a fondness for siblings where one is gruff and grumpy and pretends they aren’t nice and the other is cute and sweet and friendly.

Kurama’s rose whip has reached the stage of being a full-blown fetish. I think it’s almost at the bondage level. Though killing a person by having plants grow out of them is nice and new!

Oh, I think Botan and Keiko got chased by zombies for a while there. That was a bit different.

 

Comments

[meganbmoore.livejournal.com]

Eeeh, I'm not referring to gender issues at all (I'd have to reread early Bleach to be sure, but I think it started out relatively on a par with this in that regard, whereas Naruto started much lower) just to the phallic imagery, which exceeds anything else I've read in shounen off the top of my head. And I've read Samurai Deeper Kyo, which has a seemingly endless barage of pictures where the male lead's sword is pointed at the female leads breasts or crotch. Not to mention that his hands are almost surgically attached to her breasts.

[cavechan.livejournal.com]

Bleach was awesome until it required every other chick to have huge breasts (though Rangiku is awesome... I still read it anyway). Samurai Deeper Kyo? oh my, yes.

I think that phallic imagery could be a gender issue, but I guess that isn't really the case here. I just don't think swords are made with penises in mind.

[meganbmoore.livejournal.com]

Phallic imagery as a gender issue is on a level even I don't particularly care to get intobecause it's such an ingrained thing with male sexuality being a symbol of strength. And let's face it, whether or not a cigar is sexist is pushing things too far by any standards. (Well, on its own.)

SDK was my first shounen and is possibly the series I've been collecting the longest aside from Blade of the Immortal, and I'll always love it despite the extreme fanservice. (I suppose Kyo/Yuya would be my pairing of deep feminist shame, if I did the "deep feminist shame" thing much.)