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Manda Ringo

What are little boys made of?

The Ontology of the Boy, or: What are little boys made of?

2021-07-27 by ケイ 1 Comment

In the introduction to the book Kono shota ga sugoi (このショタがすごい!) from 1997, Shindōji Gun (真道寺軍) opens with this provocative question:

What are little boys made of?

Kono shota ga sugoi, p. 4
Introduction, page 4–5 in Kono shota ga sugoi (このショタがすごい!) by Shindōji Gun (真道寺軍), 1997.

The question evokes so many thoughts. At first, I think about the boy’s body. Like the rest of us, boys are made up of flesh and blood, bones and organs. But just by spelling this out, I realise what a bad answer it is. Of course boys are made of the stuff that makes all of us. Disgusting stuff that I don’t want to see. So why is the boy so great (or “sugoi”) when he’s made of the same things as the rest of us? Is it the composition of these things – the proportions in which the bones are held together? Is it the youthful lustre of the thin layer of skin that so perfectly wraps around the stuff we don’t want to see? Being so concrete about the answer makes me realise that what the question really asks is this:

What is the magic of boys?

That question has been asked before in shota research. In 1996, Manda Ringo phrased it like this in the shota survey published in her book The Syotaroh:

Where does the magic of the boy reside?”

The Syotaroh, p. 15

Popular answers included “smooth legs”, “thin limbs”, “beautiful face”, and “youthful skin”, but the number one answer, as entered independently by 13 respondents, was junsuisa (純粋さ), which can be translated as “purity” or “innocence”. This is something far more abstract than the physical attributes. It is something that is hard or maybe even impossible to grasp, and thus it is denoted as “magic”. But maybe one can try by way of examples. The introduction in Kono shota ga sugoi follows an illustration where the same question is posed – twice for impact:

Boys, what are they made of?
Boys, what are they made of?
Ray guns and spacecrafts,
what’s more, robot monsters,
What a wonderful anything goes!

Kono shota ga sugoi, p. 3
What are little boys made of? Page 3 in Kono shota ga sugoi (このショタがすごい!) by Shindōji Gun (真道寺軍), 1997.

The text reads like a poem, and maybe poetry is the only way one can close in on questions about magic.

The continuous outpour of books and dōjinshi discussing shota reflects a will among shota fans to understand themselves. Like few other genres, shota seems to create a curious reflexivity among its readers, who are more diverse than readers of other comics. Women and men, young and old, straight, gay and bi, ask themselves: What is the magic of the boy?

In academic terminology, one might talk about the ontology of the boy, as a way to try to capture his very being. The passionate production of shota dōjinshi provides a unique chance to close in on this transient ontology called Boy: How old is he? (Twelve!) What does he look like? What hobbies does he have? Of course there are many answers depending on personal taste, but taken together, the expressions in these dōjinshi make up an important databank devoted to an ideal that never lets itself be captured, and which therefore keeps engaging us.

So I ask you: What is the magic of the boy? Reply in the comments or in the shota forum – and don’t forget to take the shota survey!

Filed Under: Research Tagged With: Manda Ringo, Shindōji Gun, shota, まんだ林檎, 真道寺軍

まんだ林檎 The Syotaroh

Why did you become a shotacon?

2020-08-10 by ケイ Leave a Comment

I’m reading bits and pieces of Manda Ringo’s The Syotaroh and stumbled over some quite personal passages in “Manda Ringo’s shotacon discussion” (「まんだ林檎のショタコン談義」縮めてまん談) on page 102.

After lamenting how shota recently has become synonymous with the hardcore depictions seen in eromanga, as well as elaborating on shame and being judged by society, she goes on to comment on fantasy and reality:

When I see a boy in reality, I feel no sexual desire. Well, sometimes I want to hug them close from behind. But that only happens inside my head. Real boys aren’t that sweet.

Manda Ringo (まんだ林檎), The Syotaroh, p. 102

Ringo’s view on real shota is almost identical to that of some of my research participants.

She goes on to explain why she thinks she became a shotacon:

I really wanted to become a boy. I went all in and lived that gender role. But as I grew up, my body became curvy and I became a girl. Up till middle school I almost never wore a skirt. Only shorts (半ズボン). But that started to look awkward after a while. At age 14 I had to accept that it was no good. So until 14, I was basically a boy. Of course, I didn’t consciously think of it like that, but when I have looked back later and thought about it, that’s how it was. How we think about the boy as a concept is probably influenced by such things.

Manda Ringo (まんだ林檎), The Syotaroh, p. 102

Ringo-san adds that this is why her own shota interest is directed towards boys in middle school, despite shota as such can mean boys in a rather wide age span. I also think that the sometimes traumatic events that occur around puberty heavily influence what kind of shota we come to like as adults.

What do you think? どうしてショタコンになったのか?

Filed Under: Book, Research Tagged With: Manda Ringo, まんだ林檎

Manda Ringo shota survey: Ages

Twelve is the ideal shota age

2020-04-08 by ケイ Leave a Comment

In The Syotaroh (1996) Manda Ringo surveyed almost a hundred shota fans (63 women, 18 men, 1 okama) about their favourite age for a shota character. The respondents were mainly in their late teens and early twenties.

As you can see in the graph, there was a clear preference for age 12, followed by 13, with a certain span between 10 and 14, whereas popularity drops at 15 and 16.

The ages were calculated from the age span chosen by the respondent: If someone checked 13–15, then age 14 was used in the graph. If the user checked 12–13, age 12 was used if they also chose elementary schooler, but age 13 if they chose middle schooler. The preferred ages ranged from 3 to 30, with a median of 16.

This corresponds well with the results of my own interviews, which are partly published in Shota Ripōto 1. The age spans 10–14 (仁さん/Jin-san), 9–15 (大地くん/Daichi-kun), and 11–13 (タケルさん/Takeru-san) all center on 12, whereas 勇太さん/Yuuta-san (10–15) goes halfway up to 13 and an anonymous 27-year-old man centers on 13 (10–16). シンジさん/Shinji-san centers on 14 (12–16).

Favourite age span, from Shota Ripōto 1 (2020).

What’s your favourite age of shota boys?

Filed Under: Research Tagged With: Manda Ringo, まんだ林檎

Facsimile from The Syotaroh (1996) by Manda Ringo, p. 14: Boy items

Favourite boy attributes

2020-03-22 by ケイ Leave a Comment

Manda Ringo’s book The Syotaroh from 1996 begins with the results of a questionnaire that was taken by shota fans. I spent some time deciphering the question of favourite “shōnen items”, or boy attributes.

The questionnaire was taken by 82 people (63 women, 18 men, 1 okama). Ringo comments that she would have wanted to reach a hundred respondents, but that the results are interesting nevertheless.

Respondents’ list of essential boy attributes

アイテムAttributeVotes
くつ下Socks9
バッテン傷“X” wound?5
キレイな足Beautiful legs5
学ランSchool uniform3
ばんそう膏Plaster3
帽子Hat (cap?)3
Tシャツ(タンクトップ)T-shirt (tanktop)3
ピチピチの素肌Bare skin2
サラサラの髪Smooth hair2
しなやかな手足Supple limbs2
細い体Slender body2
はかなく燃える闘争心Ephemeral burning spirit (?)2
ランドセルSchool backpack2
笑顔Smiling face2
友達Friend2
ブリーフBriefs2
フードFood1
赤ちんRed chin (cheeks?)1
セットされてない髪Unkempt (?) hair1
泥のついたスニーカーMuddy sneakers1
白いブリーフWhite briefs1
つばの浅い帽子Shallow brimmed hat (?)1
可愛い顔Cute face1
ブレザー系の服Blazer1
サッカーボールA football1
可愛い声Cute voice1
かなわない夢をみてるUnfulfilled dreams (?)1
夢Dreams1
手が半分くらい隠れる袖Sleeves covering half the hands/arms1
野球帽Baseball cap1
枯れ枝(かれえだDead tree branch (!)1
長い睫Long eyelashes1
くるくる変わる表情Changing facial expression (?)1
あどけなく透通る瞳Innocent eyes (?)1
開襟シャツOpen-collared shirt1
セーラー服 (ひだスカート)Sailor clothes (fold skirt) (?)1
暗い過去A dark past1
のぞきPeeping1
泣き顔Crying face1
でかい靴Big shoes1
昨日の給食のパンYesterday’s lunch bread (!)1
バクチク入り蛙Firecracker frog/toad (?)1
蝉の抜け殻Cicada shell (!)1
男気Man/chivalrous spirit (?)1
サスペンダーSuspenders1
鎖骨Collarbone1
自転車Bicycle1
泥とか埃Mud or dust1

Ringo also comments on the “dead tree branch”: I think she gives “high points” for that as a metaphor for a penis. This makes me realise that “yesterday’s lunch bread” and “cicada shell” must have the same meaning!

School uniform, plaster, cap, backpack, and especially tanktop are all easy for me to understand as shōnen markers. Not to mention the long eyelashes, the slender body, supple limbs, bare skin, and the collarbone – that goes without saying. But it surprises me that socks made the top of the list. For me personally, I think tanktop is the ultimate shota attribute.

What are your favourite shōnen attributes? Please comment!

Filed Under: Research Tagged With: Manda Ringo, The Syotaroh, まんだ林檎

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Reference library

ショタコンのゆりかご (book cover)

ショタコンのゆりかご

Author: ぶどううり くすこ

An essay on the origins of shota, published as a dōjinshi.

国際おたく大学―1998年 最前線からの研究報告

国際おたく大学―1998年:最前線からの研究報告

Authors: 岡田 斗司夫, 渡辺 由美子

An anthology on “otakuology” that contains Watanabe Yumiko’s important shota study.

吉本たいまつ:腐男子にきく。

腐男子にきく。

Author: 吉本 たいまつ

An interview study on male fans of BL and yaoi, published as a dōjinshi.

The Syotaroh by まんだ 林檎

The Syotaroh

Author: まんだ 林檎

An impressive work on the early shota subculture.

エロマンガ・スタディーズ

エロマンガ・スタディーズ

Author: 永山 薫

One of the main resources on adult manga.

ショタリポート①

ショタリポート①

The first part of an interview study of shota fans.

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