The classification for 攻め[seme] and 受け[uke]
If you happen to be a BL[Boys' Love] fan, you would know what 攻め[seme] and 受け[uke] mean. Since I have a 腐女子[fujoshi "BL fangirl"] friend, I have learned some classification for 攻め and 受け from her. There’s too much to memorize! At any rate, I hereby introduce those I can think of.
Before I begin with that, I shall explain the meaning of 攻め and 受け briefly in case you are not sure of it. In any BL stories, two guys happen to love each other…in such a male-male pair, each has to function when they make love. One functions as male is 攻め, and the other functions as female is 受け though they two are boys.
Okay, so let’s start with the classification for 攻め first.
1. へたれ攻め[hetare-zeme]; へたれ[hetare] means a person who is so reluctant or hopeless. Or else, it simply means sucks. Normally, 攻め should be stronger than 受け, however, if the 攻め boy is less aggressive or positive than 受け, he would be へたれ攻め. Even though he functions as 攻め, he seems to be under the 受け’s control…he would be also entitled to be へたれ攻め. Mostly, if he is such へたれ攻め, the other would be either 誘い受け[sasoi-uke] or 襲い受け[osoi-uke](I’ll mention these later). I can think of Shinji[Evangelion] could be へたれ攻め if he takes 攻め’s place though someone like him would be definitely 受け.
2. 鬼畜攻め[kichiku-zeme]; 鬼畜[kichiku] means barbarity or a person who is cold-blooded. So if he is extremely so cold-blooded, and does brutal things to 受け, he would be 鬼畜攻め, or simply 鬼畜. I think the protagonist in the BL anime, お金がないっ！[No money!] must be 鬼畜攻め. Also, if you have played the BL game, 俺の下であがけ[ore no shita de agake "Struggle under me," you would be sure of 鬼畜.
3. ワンコ攻め[wanko-zeme]; Sounds cute, doesn’t it? Well, ワンコ[wanko] means a dog here(but it’s not correct) It derives from the fact that they howl ワンワン[wan wan "bow wow"]. At any rate, dogs are so obedient to their masters but they also fawn upon. Yes, no matter how cold 受け is, how many times 受け refuses to accept him, he never gives up, and eventually it comes to pass. It sounds like a relationship between 先輩受け[sempai-uke] and 後輩攻め[kouhai-zeme]. 先輩 means a senior at a company or school, and 後輩 means a junior as well. 先輩 is more superior to 後輩. In such a relationship, 後輩 becomes 攻め…the position is switched, isn’t it?
4. 総攻め[sou-zeme]; This term is used in doujin-circles mostly. In a certain manga, anime, or whatsover, whoever he dates, he ends up being 攻め. Such a boy should be 総攻め. 総[sou] means overall, general, and synthetic. For example, I think Tedsuka buchou in Prince of Tennis must be 総攻め. And of course, there’s other way around, 総受け[sou-uke]. I think Kira Yamato in Gundam Seed must be.
5. 下剋上攻め[gekokujou-zeme]; 下剋上[gekokujou] means that a person whose position is lower than the other, surpasses the other. So, at first he is such a wimpy 受け…but with so much going on, he could surpass 攻め so badly. Eventually he can take over 攻め’s place.
6. やんちゃ攻め[yancha-zeme]; やんちゃmeans merry, but sometimes it also means naughty or mischievous. Well, I think if he is such a merry boy, and extremely childish, he would be やんちゃ攻め. Having said that, I have never heard of やんちゃ受け, though…
So, below is all about 受け.
1. 誘い受け[sasoi-uke]; Normally, 攻め should have the initiative, shouldn’t he? But in this case, 受け does have it. 誘い[sasoi] means temptation. See what I mean? In this case, he must be stronger than 攻め so that he can control the other. So that’s why this pair could be possibly 誘い受け and へたれ攻め.
2. 襲い受け[osoi-uke]; If 受け is far stronger than 攻め, and he could even rape him. He should be 襲い受け. 襲い[osoi] means rape, and verb form is 襲う[osou]. But, he must function as 受け when they “do it” because he is 受け.
3. オレ様受け[ore-sama-uke]; オレ[ore] is a kind of the first person. And it’s the most casual. But why -sama? Sama is the most polite honorific than anything else. So オレ様 sounds quite arrogant and narcissistic because he addresses himself with -sama. So, if such a narcissist is 受け, he should be オレ様受け. Speaking of オレ様, I can definitely think of Keigo Atobe in Prince of Tennis. He says オレ様 when he uses the first person, doesn’t he?
4. オヤジ受け[oyaji-uke]; オヤジ(in kanji, it is 親父) means a father, and it’s casual. But when it doesn’t mean a father, it would mean a middle-aged man. It’s a slang, sort of. Anyway, if a middle-aged man is 受け, he should be オヤジ受け. I think オヤジ受け can be seen in リーマンもの[riiman-mono(I will mention it later)] series mostly.
Precisely, there are some genres in BL works, so I shall explain it as far as I know.
1. リーマンもの[riiman-mono]; If a story takes place in a office settings, or the two guys are salarymen, it should be classified as リーマンもの. リーマン means a salaryman, and it’s a slang. もの[mono] means a thing, stuff…a kind of thing. As mentioned before, オヤジ受け could be seen especially in リーマンもの because a boss might be a middle-aged man.
2. 学園もの[gakuen-mono]; It’s easy to guess. If a story takes place at school, it should be classified as 学園もの. Well, 学園ヘブン[gakuen heaven], 桜蘭高校ホスト部[Ouran High-School Host Club], and 金色のコルダ[Kin-iro no Corda] are this kind of thing.
3. ナマモノ[namamono]; It means raw stuff literally. But in BL circles, it does mean a BL thing(mostly fan-made manga) that real people are used. Mostly, actors, pop singers, sport players, or even seiyus.
4. イロモノ[iromono]; This is very rare. It means a BL thing by a pair of minor characters. If not very popular characters are used in such a fan-made manga, it should be classified イロモノ. Or else, イロモノ means a fan who has a minor taste away from the majority.
5. 兄弟もの[kyoudai-mono]; Easy to guess what. 兄弟[kyoudai] means brothers, so in this genre, a pair should be two brothers. Yes, in other words, we Japanese say 近親相姦[kinshinsoukan"incest"]. Mostly a story takes place between two half-brothers(sometimes real brothers!), and a younger one could be 受け and such a ロリショタ. Speaking of 兄弟もの, I can think of Night Head.
That’s all I can think of right now. If you know anything else, tell me please.
khursten said,
August 4, 2007 at 3:02 am
(´0ﾉ｀*)ｵｰﾎｯﾎｯﾎ!! このエントリーが一番好き！
I just laughed at how Kira will be 総受け! That is quite the truth. As much Ishida Akira is also known as being the 総受け声優. He always plays ukecharas! XDDD
As for Atobe Keigo as 俺様受け… ダメです! Although he uses Ore-sama a lot, he never bottoms. lol. He’s always on top. I guess it’s his narcissitic nature that since he’s the best, he’ll always be on the top. XD He is in a way always 総攻め, unless he meets another 総攻め (e.g. Tezuka) and then maybe… he would go on bottom. I don’t know if this still holds for fujoshi fandom now, but I remember it being called リーバ。リーバ stands for reversal, meaning most of the time he is seme, but if he finds someone who can match him, he is willing to be uke. :3 I like リーバ charas the best, that’s why Atobe-sama (lol.) is the best! XD
In relation to oyaji uke, there is another thing I think I should also add. It’s called 年下攻め which often pairs up with oyaji uke. I encounter this a lot in BL magazines. *fufu* And also one of my favorite types of seme.Meaning, the seme in the pairing is younger than the uke. He doesn’t have to be oyaji (but this is used most of the time in リーマンもの。) Of course, with the 年下攻め is the 年上げ受け。In a way, 年下攻めs are very interesting. They’re either ワンコ攻め or 鬼畜攻め at the same time *fufufu*.
Etou, there is another interesting entry in a community that discusses this. you can read it here.
And my question to you is… is there something like this for the 萌え genre? Do akibakeis also have classifications for the types of 萌えout there other than ツンデレ？
bangin said,
August 4, 2007 at 12:32 pm
Yes, speaking of 総受け声優, I think Miyata Kouki and Hoshi Souichiro are as well. Lately, Ishida Akira is not doing BL…whereas Miki Shin-ichiro and Inoue Kazuhiko do.
Ah, top and bottom, so is that how English speakers say 攻め and 受け? I heard pitcher and cacther is something like that…but so many people don’t agree, though.
Ah me, darn it! I forgot to write about リバ. He can be both, depending upon who he pairs up, right? I think Fuji-sempai could be リバ in Prince of Tennis the most. And Koizumi in the Melancholy of Suzumiya Haruhi could be though mostly he is 攻め and Kyon is 受け. Oh no, isn’t Atobe 俺様受け? XD Then who can be entitled to be 俺様受け?
Yes, agreed. 年下攻め and 年上受け is generalized camparing to 先輩受け and 後輩攻め…XD
I think akibakeis do have. My next post must be about that, thanks for the tip. :))
khursten said,
August 4, 2007 at 4:14 pm
俺様受けですね。。。 Do you know Wolfram of Kyou Kara Ma Ou? I think he’s quite the ore-sama type of uke. Since he too is very ロリショタ, even if he is the prince, he will still be uke. So far, I think he’s the closest one I know to a 俺様受け。
as for top and bottom, it’s a general term really for sexual relationships as it also holds for both men and women. I know there is a specific term for it, but this is the one most commonly used.
Looking forward to the akibakei post! ^^v
bangin said,
August 5, 2007 at 6:31 am
Yes, Wolfram is such a ロリショタ and also so arrogant that he could be entitled to be 俺様受け. Speaking of 今日からマ王, Yuuri could be 受け mostly, but only if he pairs up with Wolfram, he could be へたれ攻め. XD
Avplaya said,
August 6, 2007 at 6:45 am
So, then Chiaki in Nodame Chantabile would be a オレ様受け ne? It just feels like Masumi would be the 攻め here, but definitely a へたれ攻め.
OMG… I’m discussing BL terms… must be that damn 腐女子彼女 blog… ARG!!
bangin said,
August 6, 2007 at 11:38 am
Ah yes, Chiaki could be. He is so narcissistic to anybody else. He seems to be under Nodame’s control, but if he pairs up with any other “guys,” he would be a オレ様受け. :))
Light Yagami in Death Note might be, too…umm, he never says オレ様, though.
Kotsuki said,
December 10, 2007 at 3:33 pm
Hi!
May I translate this text to portuguese? I wish to post it in my Livejournal, but I’ll do it only if you permit. ; )
bangin said,
December 11, 2007 at 4:10 am
Thank you for coming.
Okay, then after you did it, please let me know the URL, and be sure to write my URL as a work cited.
Kotsuki said,
December 11, 2007 at 10:53 pm
Thank you so much! ^^
The URL is: http://kotsuki-chan.livejournal.com/4722.html
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[...] charming and amusing that girls used this as their base for their relationship. Rukawa played the Kichiku-seme in this scenario. He would generally appear cold and uncaring, but in the end he would do anything [...]
Can middle-aged men find admirers? « Jared’s in Nakano said,
May 2, 2008 at 1:18 pm
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Types of tops (攻め), bottoms (受け), and Boys Love anime « Jared’s in Nakano said,
May 20, 2008 at 1:01 pm
[...] ワンコ攻め[wanko-zeme]; Sounds cute, doesn’t it? Well, ワンコ[wanko] means a dog here(but it’s not correct) It derives from the fact that they howl ワンワン[wan wan "bow wow"]. At any rate, dogs are so obedient to their masters but they also fawn upon. Yes, no matter how cold 受け is, how many times 受け refuses to accept him, he never gives up, and eventually it comes to pass. It sounds like a relationship between 先輩受け[sempai-uke] and 後輩攻め[kouhai-zeme]. 先輩 means a senior at a company or school, and 後輩 means a junior as well. 先輩 is more superior to 後輩. In such a relationship, 後輩 becomes 攻め…the position is switched, isn’t it? [...]