Sakaomi Yuzaki, the mangaka behind the shoujo ai mangaShe Loves to Cook, and She Loves to Eatannounced on her Twitter this week that she is opening a charity shop online selling merchandise related to her manga series. The profits made will be donated to a charity in Japan called Marriage for All Japan, which is fighting for marriage equality in the country.On thewebsite for the charity shop, Yuzaki has written (non-professional translation), “These days, fiction works with different kinds of relationships are created every day. Same-sex couples have been blessed by many readers, and pray for happiness. But in reality, same-sex marriage is not legalized in Japan (as of 2022).“She goes on to say, “I have always wondered about the fact that same-sex marriage is not legalized in this country where there aremany girls-love and boys-love worksand representations of homosexuality….I want people who enjoy my story to know about this situation. As a person who draws homosexuality, I wondered if there was anything I could do, and I planned this charity project….I want a society where everyone can choose the future they want.“RELATED:Komi Can’t Communicate: Dissecting Tadano and Katai’s BromanceYuzaki has an excellent point. Shoujo ai, shounen ai, yuri, and yaoi are all popular genres in manga and anime in Japan. The world of doujinshi often portrays characters from popular series inLGBTQ+relationships as well. But in Japan, there is no marriage equality for same-sex couples, and while things areslowly improving, real LGBTQ+ relationships are still often kept to the shadows and do not always have safe spaces.
She Loves to Cook, and She Loves to Eatis about two women, one who loves to cook, and well, one who loves to eat! When the cook, Nomoto, makes too much food she invites her neighbor Kasuga over for dinner - and that is just the beginning! The manga began in 2021, and has been published digitally by Kadokawa in Japanese, and digitally and in print by Yen Press in English.
The special goods for sale in the charity shop are stickers, a mug, and a tote bag, all with character art from the manga, including some with pride flags. They can be bought together in special sets depending on how much money you would like to spend, with the cheapest set being only around $7 USD. The website also has special original art of the characters from the manga with different pride flags, including the lesbian flag,asexual flag, and questioning flag.
It is great to see mangaka like Yuzaki working to help change things, rather than just profiting off of LGBTQ+ people’s interest inqueer fiction! She joins mangaka Yuu Toyota, who donated some profit from the film rights for the adaptation of her mangaCherry Magic! Thirty Years of Virginity Can Make you a Wizard?!back in April to Marriage For All Japan. Hopefully this is a trend we will continue to see more and more of going forward.
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