A Discussion on the Auditory Experiences Construction and the Listeners’ Interaction in Cassette JUNE’s Work

Abstract

This study focuses on Cassette JUNE, the very first commercial shōnen-ai project with adult male anime seiyuus (voice actors) casted as prominent characters. Cassette JUNE was established in the 1980s at the intersection of the “second anime boom,” “second seiyuu boom,” and “yaoi boom.” The initiative inherited anime fans’ love of voice and seiyuus to create a unique listening experience in the terrain of female-oriented culture. This article will investigate the cassettes “Tsudumi-ga-huchi” and “Ai-no-kusabi,” as well as the listeners’ respective opinions at the time. This essay explores what kind of listening experience Cassette JUNE provided, as well as how the creators’ performance interacted with the listeners’ experience, in order to create a foundation for future research into how this auditory content intertwined with the visual components of anime. This article argues that Cassette JUNE, unlike the conventional shōnen-ai manga and novels, provided listeners with an auditory pleasure simulating the pleasure evoked by tactile sensations through its arrangement to deliver an adult male seiyuu’s voice directly to the ears of the listener. Furthermore, this article proposes that Cassette JUNE enabled listeners to initiate discussions over their auditory pleasure by offering a communication channel for reflective comments.