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KYOTO: Queer coincidence turns shopping center's mascot into 'otaku' superstar
asahi.com :05/29/2007
It's green, hairy, bug-eyed and has limbs growing straight out of its face. But that hasn't stopped shopping center icon "801-chan" from becoming a hit with fans of a sub-genre of gay manga, thanks to an odd coincidence.
801-chan, pronounced "Yaoi-chan," is the mascot for the Misonobashi 801 shopping district, not far from Kyoto's World Heritage Kamigamojinja shrine.. "Yaoi," which was chosen by locals as a pun on the shopping center's name, is also a slang term for a cult genre of manga comics on homosexual themes....more...
