I haven't read this manga but hear the "shooouuunen-aaiiii!"-screams allover the net >.>;

Shounen-Ai as a genre (not demographic by mag) and in it's light form, shows that there's a official hint to a deeper male relationship (not the slash in Shounen like Naruto or Reborn). That can be implied and does not necessary mean that the characters express it in an explicit way, meaning: a boys love undertone.

I don't ask you to add it back if you're so against it but keep in mind that a "obvious undertone" already counts as Shounen-Ai. A not to little part of Shounen-Ai manga out there doesn't even have the characters touch each other, that's very normal for this genre indication.[/quote]

Well Official Square-Enix Nabari no Ō manga website says otherwise then you but i respect your opinion ( I do not hate Ai at all!) 😁

I hate shounen-ai.

But, I like Nabari No Ou. I don't get feelings of some romance between the two characters, but that they're kindred spirits.

Anything I think is over the top I can simply ignore due to the quality of the series itself...

However, as LastExile noted, I'd have to say it -is- shounen-ai, as much as I'd rather it not be.

Quote from Rob1988

I admit I haven't read any Shounen-Ai other than Rivers Edge and that didn't have much either but from my understanding...

Shounen-Ai = boys in love
Yaoi = boys in love doing more than just kissing 🤢 similar to Shoujo smut...

Now I don't see any boys in love in this manga... The main characters teases the teacher but their is no actual feelings between them...

I think the simplest is to ask the people who actually read BL and Yaoi... NightSwan and other BL fans, read this and see what yas think =P

I just stumbled upon this thread and what coincidence! I read BL and watch Nabari no Ou =P

For me, shounen ai is a romantic manga with no more than kissing(!), yaoi is like you mentioned before, with sex scenes etc. and it goes up to hardcore stuff (like hentai, just with 2 guys). (Afaik, BL (= Boys Love) is the common expression for shounen ai/yaoi in Japan.)

So, imho Nabari no Ou is NOT shounen ai. Miharu's teasings are simply "homo jokes" for the sake of comedic elements in the show... If you want to label NnO anyway, use something like "slashable". I think that's the most suitable one because "slashable" just means: a manga/anime with an obviously non-BL main theme but still with subtle, hidden BL hints in the show that the viewer can read more into (or just ignore).

I hope that helps somehow and maybe "slashable" should be added as new tag to avoid more trouble with other similar series.

I've always considered Shounen Ai more suggestive of BL then actual act of anything. And example would be like Legal Drug. Anything more than that I'd consider Yaoi.

Anyways... hasn't the tag been changed already like the op wanted? Why are we still complaining...

[img]http://s4.tinypic.com/23jr85h.jpg[/img]

Quote from shaggievara

I've always considered Shounen Ai more suggestive of BL then actual act of anything. And example would be like Legal Drug. Anything more than that I'd consider Yaoi.

Anyways... hasn't the tag been changed already like the op wanted? Why are we still complaining...

Debating the rightness/wrongness of the tag != complaining...

Like i noted Nabari is NOT a shonen ai not like Monochrome factor ( who also is not Yao ) and that is also sad in Nabari manga web. I read Nabari over the year now so i now that! 😎

I agree completely with those who say that this is not yaoi. At the same time, it's not shounen-ai, either. While it has some elements that may lead readers to immediately classify it as shounen-ai, the author seems to be carefully avoiding that title.

Why do I say carefully avoiding? (Please don't read my explanation unless you are up-to-date on the manga.)

Volume Six: Miharu hugs Yoite.
While this would be rather incriminatingly shounen-ai in any other situation, the author makes sure to justify it by the fact that Yoite has just been stabbed through the back and is bleeding to death, and finally, for the first time ever, admits that he doesn't really want to die.

Volume Nine: In two instances, Yoite holds Miharu's hand.
And yet it is in the situation where they are both running; the first time through a smoke and dust-obscured house in which they were nearly killed for betraying Kairoushuu, and the second time is an elaboration on the same scene.

Volume Nine: Miharu blushes at Yoite's comments in the train in chapter 47.
Despite many other supposed scenes that "define" this series as shounen-ai, this is, despite being the most simple, the ones that the fans of shounen-ai should really be arguing with, since it doesn't have nearly as much explanation as previous scenes. It wasn't brought about by desperation or trauma (at least not much, and after the fact) and it's true; Miharu did blush. However, you gotta keep in mind that Miharu also blushes when Yukimi, 27-year old Kairoushuu member, drunkenly ruffled Miharu's hair, or any number of times around Hanabusa Seki, 40-year old live-in lover/wife of Miharu's teacher Thobari. In fact, those are some of the most notable times. I can assure you that Miharu is not sexually interested in 40-year-old Hana or in Yukimi. It can be easily explained by the fact that Miharu has never has a close emotional relationship with anyone, and has especially never experienced maternal or paternal love. Hana is as much of a mother as anyone, and Yukimi hesitantly, despite his professed hatred of children, acts as a father figure, in some ways, to both Miharu and Yoite.

Chapter 50: Was that a kiss? Did Yoite just kiss Miharu's forehead?
There is a panel in chapter 50 where Yoite supposedly kisses Miharu's forehead, but if the author intended this series to be shounen-ai, the scene would not have been buried amidst other small panels, and Miharu would actually have reacted. Yoite's mouth was open like one might imagine it would be when they'd plant a kiss on someone, and Miharu was quite close to him, but Yoite was also in the process of saying, "Arigatou (thank you)," and the "o" sound could explain the way his mouth was. Furthermore, there was absolutely no reaction from Miharu (no blush, no shock), and no thought on it during or after the fact, so I tend to believe that this kiss exists, for the most part, in the fan's minds. Also, Miharu being close can be explained by the fact that Yoite was semi-conscious after taking the most serious damage yet from te effects of the kinjutsu Kira, and they were being chased by assassins who fully intended to kill Yoite. I'd stick close, too.

Chapter 50: Miharu hugged Yoite/Yoite hugged Miharu.
Heck, I'm not a fan of shounen-ai, and I still concede that this was one of the most gorgeous and heart-rending moments I've ever seen in any existing anime or manga. At the same time, though... MY GAWD, who says you have to be madly in love with someone in order to hug them? I hug my best friend all the time, and I don't want to hop in bed with her. Admittedly, I am female, and guys aren't often prone to showing the same amount of emotion that females, do, but again... how would Miharu and Yoite know, having never been involved in any sort of relationship, before? Outside of the storyline, even, males are reportedly less inhibited in Japan, and don't often hold themselves to the stoic image that American boys are taught to live by.

Those are only a few of many "moments" in the manga or anime, but all the ones I've seen so far follow the same pattern of logical explanation.

While the author shows many things that could be construed as shounen-ai, the circumstances always provide a logical reason for the actions. And if this was shounen-ai, then these moments would be brought to the forefront of the scene and given attention with larger panels and actual responses. The author has given herself every opportunity to, through these moments, develop a relationship romantically, but has not done so. Any "moments" that have thus far occured would probably not be considered odd at all if Miharu and Yoite were both girls, and side characters. Fans would immediately put the hugging, smiles, and various other things down to a good friendship. While I don't believe that what Miharu and Yoite has can be defined by something as simple as "friendship", I think that classifying it as "romantic" or "sexual" would be mistaken, too.

Personally, I am not a fan of shounen-ai, but I'm familiar with the genre. Nabari no Ou has a lot of the pointers, especially with a mostly male cast of characters, but despite all that, Nabari no Ou is not now, nor has it ever canonly been, shounen-ai.

That said, the author seems content to throw fans of the genre plenty of juicy bones. The relationships between some characters (Gau and Raikou, Miharu and Yoite, etc.) are certainly not your run-of-the-mill friendships, but at the same time, the author has never portrayed them as sexual in any way.

It would be difficult to do so, even if she wanted to. After all, Gau is only 16, while Raikou is 20. I don't know if it's the same in Japan, but I'm pretty sure that any sort of serious relationship would be rather illegal where I live...

Miharu and Yoite, similarly, are both closed-off, and for various reasons, have avoided emotional interactions with anyone throughout their lives because of past hurts. Not only have neither of them been involved in a romantic relationship, neither has been involved in any relationship, even a proper familial one, and both purposely distance themselves from others.

Which may be why their relationship is so wretchedly confusing. It's a little bit of everything, but ends up being much more than friendship. At the same time, it's not romantic or sexual, and it's not a typical sibling relationship, either. When I have to define it, it seems like a bond between two people who are different but at the same time very similar, and both are the only one that the other understands and is really understood by. It transcends definition in that it has no definition; it is a very strong, deep bond of understanding and care between two people who have never been able to believe themselves worthy of the attention or affection of other people, believing that they cannot return people's kindness, and thus do not deserve it. Having such similar mindsets, they understood each other, and sought to fulfill the promise they, at one point, made without emotion or obligation, but through that, find themselves finally able to change and grow.

Whatever it is, the relationship between Miharu and Yoite is beautiful, and while I have my own definition of what it is, other people may also interpret the scenes as they wish, because the author seems to have written the series in such a way that it allows you to do so.

If anyone is avoiding this series because of the reported shounen-ai, please don't hold yourself back by that. This is a touching, heart-rending and beautiful series that can't be bound by genre.

SO YEAH. dies Th-that was more like an article, huh? I feel really silly now. ^^;; But I've been thinking about this for a long time. I especially enjoy analyzing intentions of authors by the way they place their scenes and the way they write the reactions of other characters, since I enjoy writing, and know that nearly everything is often done on purpose.

These are only my opinions, though.

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Nabari no Ou is NOT shounen-ai, I don't see why we even need to discuss it...

No one makes a fuss over Ookiku Furikabutte...

Just pm an admin to lock the genre if it hasn't been done so already...