yaoi.caGeneral Interests
Introduction
My personal, primary interest is yaoi manga, although I do also collect non yaoi titles such as Hellsing, Hikaru no Go, Saiyuki etc. It seems like such a cop-out to say that "I like it all", but that's primarily true.
I rather enjoy the unusual, and the different. Formulaic stories and those with a heavy emphasis on high school and rock bands generally do not hold my interest. I enjoy historical tales, stories that contain magic/supernatural, feature salary-men, Yakuza, and naughty neko Oh My!
I also prefer non-traditional roles of characters. An uke with spunk goes a long way with me. While I find dastardly seme alluring, it's nice when they're being manipulated by their love from time to time.
Anything "a little different" is all good with me.
Graphic sexual content is all fine and dandy, but I much prefer that type of content presented in an interesting fashion. As such, I like creative tales of bondage, BDSM and so forth. If a story contains some depth and plot, I am quite anxious to find an actual translation (otherwise, the pretty pictures and my imagination feed me just fine).
My Path of Acquisition & Addiction
It all started with Higuri Yuu's "Ludwig II" three volume series. Otherwise, I knew absolutely nothing (and I presently know little more than that) about yaoi. I began ordering blindly from JPQueen, largely based on covers and a few sample pages within. While I had read some reviews on other web sites regarding what was considered definitive in any yaoi collection, much of it did not stir me personally. So I was left to my own devices and potentially poor purchasing decisions. However, some fabulous discoveries were made and I think I'm fairly fortunate in that I didn't acquire anything too terrible.
I bought numerous anthologies, which provided me with a good overview of various mangaka. I learned fairly quickly where my tastes resided, but also came to the conclusion that manga was perhaps a far worse addiction than crack. Once I found a story or mangaka appealing to me, I'd search out the tankoubon. There seemed to be an endless parade of books I wished to add to my collection (and that's still the case).
I've refined my purchasing habits and use JPQueen for any volumes that are cheaper than I could obtain them new (this is sometimes the case for older manga or newer releases that don't become popular). BK1 supplies me with most of my manga as there I pay cover price and the volumes are brand new. You can find more detailed information regarding my manga purchasing habits on this site.
I've now developed my favourites which I must acquire as soon as possible. Communities like Yaoi Daily are perfect for gleaning more of an insight as to what's available and further assists me in my purchasing decisions. Slash-kun's site offers up some quick reviews that I find very useful. I will source out scanlations of manga I own or intend to purchase from Manga Jouhou and/or Aarinfantasy. And finally, if all else fails in the search for information regarding a specific title, I will use a search engine on the ISBN, title, and/or mangaka (in English and/or Japanese). JPQueen is fabulous for obtaining ISBN and information in English and Japanese. 
Favourites
Some of my favourite themes and components are:
- period pieces,
- sumptuous clothes,
- tattoos,
- depth of plot and story,
- excess,
- luxury,
- whores,
- supernatural & vampires,
- half dressed sex, and
- long blond haired seme with spectacles.
My favourite mangaka are:
- Higuri Yuu (her attention to detail is unlike anything I've ever seen and her stories very rich),
- Dr. Ten (Queen of hard core smut, mind bending plots and reversible characters),
- Tori Maia (Queen of realistic BDSM and some of the most beautiful boys you've ever seen),
- Suzuhara Shino (purveyor of bois who actually look Asian and stories that tug firmly on the heart-strings), and
- Uki Ogasawara (positively different and erotic on the highest levels).
