Domain: it’s not that complicated
Domain is a word not usually encountered in our day-to-day interactions. Yet it is something we are part of.
I’m sure you’ve encountered this in Mathematics in the lesson “Domain & Range”, but regarding information, which we exchange without even thinking about it, it has a different definition:
A Domain is a set of information systems, resources, services, & processes associated with a group of users with common concerns and a common viewpoint, sharing common terminology (Brawden & Robinson, 2012).
Although it is heavy, in simple words, it is information shared and commonly only understood by a group of people. In my take on their definition though, the word information became even broader and I apologize.
An example of a Domain that I would like to share is of a particular genre of Manga. Manga, according to the dictionary, is a style of Japanese comic books and graphic novels. Its western counterpart would be comic books of Marvel and DC (amongst others) which are extremely popular to the point it housed many movies. Similarly, Mangas usually develop to Anime, hopefully a more familiar term, which is simply Japanese animation seen in series or movies.
Like other literary works, Manga has genres such as Shounen (usually for young guys), Shoujo (usually for young girls), Isekai (“escapism” or transportation usually to a fantasy world), Mecha (generally giant robots), Slice of Life (in the name, the everyday life of a character or a group of people), and many more.
The genre I would like to talk about is commonly known as BL a.k.a. Boys Love. One reason I chose this is the overwhelming popularity world-wide and the second is because although it is a sub-genre, and only getting extreme recognition as of recent, it has a larger fanbase compared to the rest.
BL, or Shounen Ai in Japanese, is a Manga or Anime genre referring to romance between two males, it is usually partnered with one or more genre in order specify its plot. Those include Romance, Slice of Life, Tragedy, etc.
Also, this genre is not limited to Manga and can be seen being used in web novels, light novels, anime, webtoons, manhwa (Korean version of manga), manhua (Chinese version of manga), and more.
If you are a newbie or simply someone interested in learning more about it, it’s not hard to find. As I’ve said, it’s very popular and you can easily search for recommendations through Twitter accounts, blogs and even YouTube channels.
Some of those include:
Facebook: futekiya page (or at futekiya.com/futekiya YouTube channel)*
Twitter: @SuBLimeManga
Blogs/Tumblr: honeysanime.com, the-bromance-nee-blog
Youtube: Animu Army
*as you may have noticed, futekiya is highly recommended
Where to read is no difficult feat too, if you’ve read Manga before, then it is available on common sites or apps you use. Or, even easier, Google its name. Although, for a beginner, following the above mentioned sites would be enough, it would be even better if you have a friend that is familiar with them.
The fandom of BL or its many readers, can be classified as “fujoshi” (for girls) and “fudanshi” (for guys), for the benefit of the doubt, it is a highly female-populated fandom. To read more on the history of the terms you can visit: https://futekiya.com/what-is-fujoshi-fudanshi/
Fujoshi and fudanshi can be described with the word “passionate”, they are very close-knit, possibly even secretive, and enjoy recommending mangas to each other, and above all else, are (usually) not afraid to express their love for BL.
Goikotsu Shotenin Honda-san (translates to Skull-Face Bookseller Honda-san) is an anime about a person named Honda (no, he isn’t really Skull-faced), and his everyday life selling books. This particular part of an episode is very informative about the BL fandom:
As of now, the most popular BL-reading platform is Lezhin Comics (although it emphasizes on BL webtoon production and dissimination).*
*futekiya, as I’ve mentioned I think thrice now, in contrast, is a subscription service that focuses on BL manga recommendations and updates.
A short background on Lezhin:
Lezhin Entertainment is a South Korean tech start-up that began in 2012. The company began serving comics to the South Korean public in 2013 as Lezhin Comics, and its app quickly became one of the top-grossing webtoon services in the country.
Some major genres found on Lezhin:
BL: Short for “Boy Love.” At its most basic, BL webtoons feature two men in a romantic relationship, and is generally created by women, for women.
GL: Short for “Girl Love.” GL webtoons, like BL, feature two women in a romantic relationship.
Mature: Mature comics are comics that largely revolve around sexual content. Mature content often overlaps with other genres, such as BL or GL, though much of the content is for the heterosexual male audience.
As a newbie, there might be some terms that are unfamiliar but is used widely by Lezhin users. Here are some:
Episodes: Generally is the “chapter” equivalent of webtoons.
Points & Coins: Points can be earned with every purchase of 35 coins or more. Coins is the paid for digital “currency” on Lezhin.
Sale Comics: Comics that are under sale every Mondays and Wednesdays (free to read, and discounted for Paid episodes).
Since Lezhin is Korean-based, there also exists an English and Japanese service, the former beginning in 2015.
Lezhin website: Our humble team consists of our service and marketing operators, and our little army of translators, letterers, and editors. This accounts for the scheduling differences between the Korean and English webtoons. The Lezhin English team is also involved in translating English comic content into Korean, and we are working hard to bring our all our readers published copies of our most popular webtoons.
Also, they frequently look for new art from comic artists, upholding their unique collection of webtoons.
As a recap, Domains exists in almost any field, any interest or any form of shared information of a group of people. There can also exist Domain within a Domain, such as in BL.
References:
Bawden, D., & Robinson, L. (2012). Chapter 5: Domain Analysis. In D. Bawden, & L. Robinson, Introduction to Information Science (pp. 92–104).
futekiya. (2020). futekiya blog. Retrieved from futekiya web site: https://futekiya.com/
Kahn, J. (2020, September 29). Anime genres explained. Retrieved from Looper.com: https://www.looper.com/189420/anime-genres-explained/
Lezhin Comics. (2020). FAQ. Retrieved from Lezhin.com: https://social.lezhin.com/2017/05/30/faq-all-the-answers-to-your-questions-almost/
