You won’t see this kind of thing inside the confines of official material, or outside the confines of Patchouli’s mind, especially since Touhou is already questionable on being “official material”. But it’s out anyway, so what gives?
animekritik just opened himself a can of worms. Who’s willing enough to eat its contents? I am.
I’ve been reading doujinshi for a few years now, years before I even started to open myself up (somehow…) to the world through the blogosphere. I’ve seen a lot of it, and have seen its good and bad points, with ample consideration to the points of view from both the creators and the readers. Because of that, I know that dissection of the doujinshi world and how it works would span almost a lifetime a long period of observation. But hey, we can at least try and grab a gist of it, right?
The recent post of animekritik has opened the eyes of many on the perception of the doujinshi world. He nailed most of the things about it; How the doujin world revolves by itself outside canon material, how it revolves mainly on things that people cannot possibly imagine, and the undying bravado of the people behind the masterpiece. Truly, this world where “people have their way” on things, ticks according to the grandest design of love and admiration for the franchises they so adore. But like otakuism, the world of doujin is hard to describe, partly because of biased points of view, but also due to the vastness of the concept that we can explore, and weave material from.
That is, an interesting doujinshi is an opportunity to explore what would happen, not if Hell froze over, but if so-and-so decided “ah, to hell with it” and went and did it. “It” being something so very possible staring right there at the character. “It” being the doorway to many a shadow world that already exists here and there, everywhere, just waiting to be explored! Seen in this way, it’s no surprise that sex is central to the doujinshi world. What easier way to turn the world upside down than through a big, fat pile of irregular sex?
animekritik (2009/09/19)
N~o~w, most of us really get the “big, fat pile of irregular sex” and the “opportunity to explore what would happen” parts, but that aside, there are things that are to be pointed out. One is that the “opportunity to explore” is not just limited to the options that are probable to happen, but is also open to the options unthinkable, improbable, impossible. And so, the creative minds of doujinkas weave an alternate reality, an alternate world, an alternate ending that would even spawn an alternate beginning, and ultimately, a following. Shippings, forbidden relationships, alternate retellings, alterations of the story’s focal points, material, or characters. Name them, don’t name them. They shall still be made.
Adoration…
And so, from the shadow world that is parallel to official material, the doujin realm is furtherly divided into two parallel worlds: the pornographic ones, and the non-pornographic ones. These two will be further broken down into worlds both expected and unimaginable, each unique, similar, or different in their own way. And so, it evolves into an alternate universe where a person’s fantasies will come true.
For the ultimatum, taking a shot on defining the doujinka’s work is an ever-evolving process, where every peek on the internals of the contraption that is doujin would never be the same as the previous one or the one after it. One must observe carefully, for every concrete and correct deduction on this realm will, in time, be proven ineffective or wrong. Only one thing is certain: The doujin world is the fan’s material projection of himself, his everything, his bravado, and his love for the culture he has chosen as the path and way of life.
How about you? What’s your doujin?
I want to make doujin, sexy but not pornographic. But more than doujin, I want to make original works that have the referential spirit of doujin. Kind of like how Eureka 7 and Gurren Lagann is to mecha anime.
I like diversity. The different flavors we can offer to a category of choice is more than essential on making it flourish. Through these ideas, we weave something that is with respect to the previous works, yet uniquely in a whole new level in itself. Those people behind it, I have utmost respect and admiration, especially since I draw myself.
I love the imagery for your opening line (worms). It’s yucky and beautiful at the same time. You know, at times I’d like to believe there is a line (a fine line, but a line) between doujin that still draws from possibilities of the original and doujin that just escapes into pure fan fantasy. As you said in this post, there really isn’t.
In fact, who’s the first fan? The creator. In that sense, all art is doujin art. It’s all fantasy.
Does the drawing line even matter? I mean, doujin is everything non-canon, so whether it follows canon sources or not is not of the concern as long as the fantasy has been fulfilled.