Yaoi-con Press Release
San Francisco, CA, USA — October 11, 2004 — Yaoi-Con, the only Western fan convention dedicated solely to the yaoi genre of Japanese anime and manga (animation and comics, respectively) is set to launch its fourth annual event Halloween weekend (October 29-31, 2004) at the Westin San Francisco Airport hotel in California (located in South San Francisco).
Created by women for a predmoninantly female audience, yaoi is unique in its exploration of strong platonic bonds and romantic relationships between male characters. This Japanese phenomenon of "Boys Love" has gained popularity in the United States in a large part due to the intense and highly idealized examples of love and romance that yaoi works exemplify. The genre is widely accepted in Japan and many popular mainstream mangaka, or manga artists, had their start in yaoi comics.
Yaoi-Con continues to be committed to the promotion and celebration of this genre, and this year's convention features such fan favorite activities and events as a 24-hour anime screening room; yaoi-themed panels and workshops; a Dealers' Room packed full with hard-to-find merchandise; a fundraising Bishounen (beautiful boy) Auction; a Fiction contest and printed anthology, Cosplay and Anime Music Video contests; and much, much more.
This year's Guest of Honor is Boys Love mangaka Yamane Ayano, who will be accompanied by her editor. Yamane is best known for her illustrations for numerous Boys Love novels and has risen rapidly to star status with her premier manga publications in BexBoy Gold (Finder no Hyouteki) and Drap (Ikoku Irokoi Romantan). Also joining the convention are representatives from Be Beautiful, which is Central Park Media's dedicated English-language yaoi manga imprint and Lucina Project, a Japanese game company best known for producing Shushushu Sakurai's Seikaihouretsuden Boys Love game. Sakurai was Yaoi-Con's 2003 Guest of Honor.
Yaoi-Con anticipates its most successful event to date, due to the continuing rise in the popularity of yaoi. Yaoi-themed anime and manga have enjoyed a huge boom in the United States in 2004, including several recent and upcoming yaoi manga releases (Golden Cain, Kizuna, Only the Ring Finger Knows, Selfish Love, Skyscrapers of Oz). Greater commercial attention to the genre continues to attract new fans and ensures the popularity and growth of Yaoi-Con for years to come.
For additional information on Yaoi-Con, visit the Web site at http://www.Yaoi-Con.com.
Created by women for a predmoninantly female audience, yaoi is unique in its exploration of strong platonic bonds and romantic relationships between male characters. This Japanese phenomenon of "Boys Love" has gained popularity in the United States in a large part due to the intense and highly idealized examples of love and romance that yaoi works exemplify. The genre is widely accepted in Japan and many popular mainstream mangaka, or manga artists, had their start in yaoi comics.
Yaoi-Con continues to be committed to the promotion and celebration of this genre, and this year's convention features such fan favorite activities and events as a 24-hour anime screening room; yaoi-themed panels and workshops; a Dealers' Room packed full with hard-to-find merchandise; a fundraising Bishounen (beautiful boy) Auction; a Fiction contest and printed anthology, Cosplay and Anime Music Video contests; and much, much more.
This year's Guest of Honor is Boys Love mangaka Yamane Ayano, who will be accompanied by her editor. Yamane is best known for her illustrations for numerous Boys Love novels and has risen rapidly to star status with her premier manga publications in BexBoy Gold (Finder no Hyouteki) and Drap (Ikoku Irokoi Romantan). Also joining the convention are representatives from Be Beautiful, which is Central Park Media's dedicated English-language yaoi manga imprint and Lucina Project, a Japanese game company best known for producing Shushushu Sakurai's Seikaihouretsuden Boys Love game. Sakurai was Yaoi-Con's 2003 Guest of Honor.
Yaoi-Con anticipates its most successful event to date, due to the continuing rise in the popularity of yaoi. Yaoi-themed anime and manga have enjoyed a huge boom in the United States in 2004, including several recent and upcoming yaoi manga releases (Golden Cain, Kizuna, Only the Ring Finger Knows, Selfish Love, Skyscrapers of Oz). Greater commercial attention to the genre continues to attract new fans and ensures the popularity and growth of Yaoi-Con for years to come.
For additional information on Yaoi-Con, visit the Web site at http://www.Yaoi-Con.com.
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