Do you know what doujinshi means? Are they Japanese fanfics, or do you also not know what a fanfic is? In the world of Japanese manga there are many things that are unknown, so if you don't know anything about doujinshi, doujin or similar things, we have prepared this complete guide for you.
To start by solving the doubts of those who opened the article, doujinshi are Japanese fanfics. Fanfics are works written by fans based on other original works that are shared on websites, blogs and events. There are countless curiosities and different types of doujinshi that we will cover in this article. To make it easier we even made a summary below:
The meaning of the word doujinshi
The expression doujinshi [同人誌] refers to Japanese independent publications related to mangas, novels and magazines that fall into the fanzine and fanfic category. The doujinshi market moves over $ 700 million a year in Japan alone. These independent works may be original, but the vast majority use existing characters from official works.
The word dōjinshi [同人誌] comes from the expression doujin [同人] which means that it means the same person or people with similar interests. Even because [同] means the same, while [人] means person. [誌] is an ideogram that means magazines, documents or records.
Many people have imagined fights between characters from Naruto and Dragon Ball, in which case tons of illustrations, stories and independent manga appear that fulfill this desire. Doujinshi is exactly the fulfillment of those wishes, something that everyone wants to see, but officially it is impossible. Even a large part of doujinshi are for perverts.
Doujinshi is often abbreviated as doujin and can be related to things other than manga like games. A great example to compare is the independent games that we abbreviate from indie games. The size of a doujinshi is usually B5, about 7 x 10 inches or A5 6 × 8 inches.
Who are the authors of doujinshi?
We all know that manga and animated illustrations dominate all media in the country, there are several colleges of arts specializing in this subject, many Japanese try to pursue this career as an artist that is never easy. While a tiny percentage is successful in the mango industry, others use their skills to create independent works until they gain some visibility.
Many successful works end up being born not only from one-shots but from original doujinshi. Unfortunately this is a rare case and many artists prefer to spend their time making stories of characters or existing works taking the entire structure, themes, characters and using it without any official authorization.
The original works are known as ichiji sousaku [一次創作] while doujinshi based on other works are called [二次創作]. People look for doujinshi exactly to see what doesn't exist or has been told in original works, such as the sexual relationship between characters (pornography) or simply an alternative ending.
It is believed that almost half of doujinshi artists are students, while the other half is divided between people working full-time and part-time. Only 4% say they do this for a living, 10% want to become professionals and 22% create these independent works just for hobby or to relieve stress.
Doujinka (同人家) is the name given to a doujinshi creator, such as an artist or writer. They are part of circles (サークル) that are like groups that release and distribute the doujin. Sometimes these circles are called kojin saakuru (個人サークル).
The strange marketing of doujinshi
Apparently it is totally illegal to take any work, modify it and sell it. We can see this in the game area when people try to make games based on successful franchises like mario. Some even change the names or some details but still end up being sued for plagiarism.
In Japan, copyright holders don't seem to care about these fan projects. In reality, there is a gigantic industry around the creation of doujins that even saw animations. There doesn't seem to be a strong oversight, which makes even thousands of doujin characters lolis minors.
Today doujinshi have spread gigantically and are marketed both in specialized stores and on the internet through digital publications. There is even a gigantic event called Comiket and many other events (estimated to be over 1000) with the aim of promoting and selling doujins (they are called sokubaikai doujinshi).
Where to find doujinshi to sell in Japan? Mandarake, K-BOOKS and Toranoana are the most common and can be found in most major cities in Japan. You can also find them online or at second-hand bookstores. Other popular conventions besides Comiket are COMITIA, Comic City, Gataket and Hakurei Jinja.
What do professionals think about doujin?
For many it must be disappointing to have their work plagiarized or spoiled with some absurd or stupid scene, only that many Japanese artists think differently. Many professionals respect these amateur artists and view the doujin publications of their original work as a successful trophy. Even famous mangaka usually make doujins from each other.
Of course, not every author will like to see his characters doing perverted or denatured things with other characters. Unfortunately, the authors cannot sue these amateurs for fear that fans will negate their reputation and work. That is, destroying the doujinshi can be a threat to the original work or studio, which results in the freedom of the doujins.
Japan regards Niji Sousaku as parodies rather than counterfeiting. These words were said by Prime Minister Shinzo Abe, who stated that doujins do not generate profit in order to harm intellectual property such as anime streaming and illegal manga uploads. Other professionals look at doujins as a form of free advertising.
Different types of Doujinshi and Japanese Fanfics
When a doujin follows the comic book style he can also be called or enter the category mango. A doujin can be called anthology when it is a collection of several stories by several different doujinka. Already copybook it is the name given to a doujin not printed by an editor.
The types of doujin can be separated by popular genres in manga like shounen, shoujo, seinen, wick and others. Of course, there are other special genres to refer to the doujinshi that we are going to see now.
Doujinshi for women are called joseimuke [女性向け], where the vast majority are BL / yaoi. The doujin for men are called danseimuke [男性向け] which are often confused with hentais. Although there are many doujin gen (no romance or sex). Gag it involves comic elements like crack humor.
Doujin who tell original stories instead of fanworks are called sousaku [創作]. The original BL stories follow with the name of sousaku JUNE referring to the month of June where the first yaoi magazine was launched. And the other categories described in the doujin world have self-explanatory titles.
The categories listed below can also refer to other fanfic works besides the Japanese ones.
- Lemon - Fanfics with explicit sex scenes between men;
- Lime - History with adult romance, not precisely sexual;
- Orange - Fanfic with explicit sex scenes between women;
- Citrus - Adult romance fanfic, may or may not contain sex scenes;
Notable artists who made doujinshi
We know that many authors became famous because of Doujinshi as in the case of CLAMP (Sakura Cardcaptor, xxxHolic), Yun Kouga (Loveless, Earthian), Ken Akamatsu (Love Hina) and Osamu Tezuka. Many still continue to do doujinshi and participate in events like Comiket.
Others did not become manga but got jobs as artists, animators and illustrators. This was the case with KAzuma Kodaka who worked on series such as Fullmetal Alchemist, Prince of tennis and Sengoku Basara. Kiyohiko Azuma, creator of Azumanga Daioh and Yotsuba also started making doujinshi.
If you research the career of some illustrators and artists you will come across works that you had no idea existed or that he did. Many artists create cute works that were successful but in their dark arsenal you can find some hentai, yaoi or heavy yuri.
List of Popular Doujinshi Circles
Below we will leave a list of popular circles and their doujinka:
| Circle | Doujinka |
|---|---|
| Plastics echo (プラスチックエコー) | Takaoka Nanaroku (高岡七六) |
| Jack in the Box | Pokachi (ポカチ) |
| Shisinden (紫宸殿) | Rinko Sakura (櫻林子) & Mizuki Tachibana (橘水樹) |
| PARSIFAL (パルシファル) | Nikora Ichijou (一条ニコラ, Ichijō Nikora) |
| AIMAIME (曖昧 me) | Kouu Hiyoyo (紅雨ヒヨヨ) |
| mount10 | Nozarashi Bugyou (のざらし奉行) |
| Master and Pupil LOVER | Shiwo Honjoh (本城シヲ, Honjou Shiwo) |
| Sugar | Coco Satoh (さとうここ, Satou Koko) |
| Kurukuru Girl (くるくる少女) | Yuna Akiyama (秋山ゆな) & Rei Miyabi (雅れい) |
| Gekkou Touzoku (月光盗賊) | Nobi Nobita (野火ノビタ) |
| Konjou Kumiai (根性組合) | Yoko Fujitani (藤谷陽子, Fujitani Youko) |
| Zuihouzakura (ずいほう桜) | Rae Hasutsuki (蓮月らえ - /) |
| K. Haruka Company | K. Haruka |
| It's from | Daichi Tachibana (たちばな大地) |
| Shouyuya (しょうゆ屋) | Tsuki Ayumu (槻歩向) |
| Mirin Kankou Oukoku (みりん観光王国) | Miyahara Tatsumi (宮原たつみ) |
| Atomic Punch | Moyo (モヨ) |
| WILBUR | Akira Hattori (服部章) |
| Super Wild Velvet | Ewri Fuumin Sumihara (純原悠漓, Sumihara Yuuri) aka “Fuumin” |
| Nekogami-Dou (猫神堂) | shima |
| Cherry Beans | Magumi Hara & Mutsumi Tanaka |
| Kuchibirukara Sandanju (くちびるから散弾銃) | Kira Ukon (右近の綺羅, Ukon no Kira) |
| G-Zero | Mitugu Fujii (藤井貢 Fujii Mitsugu) |
| ADULT Children (アダルトチルドレン) | Anna Shitara (設楽アンナ) |
| Kagerouza (陽炎座) | Ibuki Meguru (伊吹巡), Suzuhara Shino (すずはら篠), Hikaru Kahara (河原光流) |
| Anmitsuya (あんみつ屋) | Shiina Hasuki (椎名蓮季) |
| SPIRAL * AIR (螺旋空気) | Sagiri Nanahara (七原さぎり) |
| Kurosusutou (黒煤党) | Mako Futoshi (真己ふとし Futoshi Mako) |
| SKYFiSH Atelier | SKYFiSH |
| Gangu-shitateya (玩具仕立屋) | Kurosawa Falco (黒澤ファル子) |
| Mutsumix | Mutsuki (むつき) |
| Inugumi (犬組) | Hinomotouta (ひのもとうた) |
| OMEGA 2-D | Tomoki Hibino (日比野友輝, Hibino Tomoki) & Seiryuu Shima (嶋成龍, Shima Seiryū) |
| Akaiusagi (あかいうさぎ) | Ren Hazuki (葉月れん) |
| Nejineji (ネジネジ) | Komoto Waka (こもとわか) |
| FLIP FLAP | M Yamada (やまだえむ) |
| FAKE | Azuma |
| Special Cat (すぺしゃる・ CAT) | Rimu Shiina |
| Sumomonoki | Sumomo Momo |
| Shiokagen (しおかげん) | Shiomi Ame (しおみあめ) |
| King Buster | Anri Sahara (沙原杏里) |
| Kerorian (ケロリアン) | Inaba Shino (因幡しの) |
| Haribote (はりぼて) | Ren Hotaka (穂高連) |
| Mochiya (もち屋) | Sukiya Wabisuke (数寄屋佗助) |
| Arcon (あるこん) | Meiya (メイヤ) |
| EgoRhythm | Sakiko (サキコ) |
| K2 Company | Kazuma Kodaka (こだか和麻) |
| PIKAPIKA | Takahashi Mako (タカハシマコ) |
| Hachimitsu | Chris Miyano (宮野くりす) |
| Kilinzaibatu (きりんざいばつ) | Tomomi Koga (古賀ともみ) |
| Black Tea | Yumi Kawamura (河村佑未) |
| Vivid Kids | OOEDO Pal |
| Mononoke Hobaku Butai (もののけ捕縛部隊) | Azami Kubyou (九猫あざみ, Kubyou Azami) |
| Cabotine | Kiriko Fuwa (不和桐子) & Hana Yakou (夜光花) |
Search sources: fanlore, wikipedia