Shounenai Anime (Tape 1)

"The Song of the Wind and Trees"
("Kaze to Ki no Uta")

    The anime based on Takemiya Keiko's revolutionary manga series, the first to show love between boys.  This is the story of a boy's youth in a European boy's school, and his beautiful, dissolute, and sadly doomed lover.  The artwork and music are wonderful throughout this fevered romance, the story and characters taking nearly a gothic tone.  Work on "The Song of the Wind and Trees" was made possible by the kind financial support of "Jurii-san".  Movie, 60 minutes.  From the long-out-of-print commercial tape, released in 1987.  This is a shounenai feature; absolutely NOT for children.  "The Song of the Wind and Trees" appears on the same tape as "Zetsuai 1989."  Revision 1, 9-25-97

"Zetsuai 1989"
("Desperate Love 1989")

   The acclaimed manga artist/author Ozaki Minami's passionate duo, Koji and Izumi, meet for the first time, and their blood and tears relationship takes its first steps.  Important: this is the original feature.  Do not confuse it with "Bronze: Zetsuai since 1989", the continuation of the story, so elegantly fansubbed by Lupin Gang Anime recently.  If you saw it, you did NOT see this, the original "Zetsuai 1989".  This is a shounenai feature; absolutely NOT for children.  Like "The Song of the Wind and Trees" which appears with this feature on the same tape, "Zetsuai 1989" is an important feature historically, selling well and firmly establishing the shounenai market as one capable of being served commercially in Japan.  Movie, 45 minutes.  From the out-of-print laserdisk released in 1992. Revision 1, 9-25-97
Letters
    The fact that these are shoujo titles is evident to me: their emphasis on feelings more than actions (sexual or otherwise) is strong thoughout both stories; I suspect that most homophilic males would find them uninteresting. I too have read some of the essays on the appeal of shounenai to a female Japanese audience, and can see how these stories fit the mold of presenting really attractive men in romantic situations that are not, through identification, threatening to the female reader/viewer.  So it's not porn -- it's "art", seen through the lens of both a different culture and a different gender. [K.H.]
        I finally had the chance to watch your fansubs of Song of the Wind and Trees and Zetsuai 1989.  While the tape was rewinding, all I could manage was a strangled, "WOW."  It's not very often that anything can engross me as much as those two wonderful shows did.  I just had to send this to you to thank you for being dedicated enough to fansub them. d:)  Not only have they broadened my view of anime, but I think it's quite safe to say I'll never look about me in the same way again. [S.H.]
Warning on Shounen-Ai material
     Some of these shows contain "shounen-ai" or "yaoi" material.  "Shounen-ai" literally means "boy's love".  This means that it contains material in which two very attractive males are attracted to each other.  There may be romantic or intimate moments between the two.  One or both males may appear to be feminine or androgynous.  Such subject matters are common material in shoujo (for girls) anime.  They are not necessarily viewed as immoral at all, just "very interesting."  They deepen the characterization and provide a bridge between male characters and feminine emotional subjects, thus creating a scenario with much story potential yet remaining essentially a story for women, concentrating on feminine interests.
    Because of its very strong Judeo-Christian cultural roots, American/Canadian/British societal views of such material are negative, and infused with a moral prejudgement, when in fact these story elements were only intended to convey exotic interest, graphic beauty, and multi-faceted charactizations.  If you have strong negative feelings about viewing such material, I recommend you stay away from shoujo anime.  Virtually all shoujo anime contains some kind of shounenai or bishounen or androgynous material.
The TechnoGirls Main PageBrother, Dear Brother... (Oniisama E) Project PageThe BlueGreen Years (MizuiroJidai) Project PageRomeo's Blue Skies [Project Page] (Romeo No Aoi Sora)Nightsong of Splendor (Kasei Yakyoku)Wedding Peach [Project Page] (Aitenshi Densetsu Wedding Peach)Kiko-chan's Smile (Project Page)
Darkness of the Sea, Shadow of the Moon ( Project Page)Memolu in the Pointed Hat (Project Page)Zetsuai 89 (Project Page)The Song of the Wind and Trees (Kaze to Ki no Uta) (Project Page)Aim for the Ace! (Project page)Christmas in January (Project Page)Sequence (Project Page)