Happy Cat Day! Or 猫の日 (neko no hi) as it’s called in Japan! As we’ve discussed previously on the blog, Japan loves to play word games with numbers (i.e. 8/01 or Yaoi Day, 11/29 or Good Meat Day, etc.), and 2/22 in Japanese can sound like nya-nya-nya, or the sound a cat makes. So, everywhere you look in Tokyo is currently covered in cats: the convenience store has tons of cat sweets and snacks and cat-related campaigns, department stores are hosting pop-up shops for cat-themed goods and toys and accessories, and shelters are obviously taking advantage of the cat festivities with fundraisers and adopt-a-thons! The weeks leading up to 2/22 are a very good time to love cats in Japan.
“What in the world does this have to do with BL manga?” you’re asking? Is this going to be a special about cat boys? How about beasts? Cats who can shape-shift into cute boys and fall in love with other cute boys? Or maybe about boys who love boys but who also love cats? BL where cats are heavily featured?
BZZZZT. You are incorrect.
Highly in-the-know people will probably already see where this is going: this is a post about bottom supremacy.
As quite a few of you may know, the slang for someone who bottoms during gay sex, which originated in gay circles before slowly meandering into the BL consciousness, is neko (ネコ)—or, cat! Well, we actually can’t be certain if cats are the one-to-one reason for “neko” being used. When preparing for this post, I was reading quite a few theories online as to why neko is used to refer to bottoms. This article about gay slang points out the two most common reasons: it could come from pussycat/pussy (as in… women’s genitals… lovely), but it could also come from the Japanese word for a wheelbarrow, nekoguruma (because this is the way you might hold someone’s legs while you’re… umm… y’know). This article by drag queen and TV personality Mitz Mangrove about cats (in general) also discusses how cats are often seen as feminine in Japan which possibly is what led to neko having become the universal phrase for a man who bottoms.
It appears the true reason neko has turned into the slang for ‘bottom’ is unknown, but the fact still remains: cats and bottoms are now linked.
As the resident number one cat lover and bottom absolutist in this town, I figured I would celebrate Cat Day by discussing uke archetypes, my favorite uke characters that are available on Renta!, and slip in a little cultural/language lesson for good measure.
So, what are the most common archetypes of uke characters? This post on Yahoo! Answers (yes, it does still exist in Japan) is a wonderful look into the common “types” of uke, so I’ll share them below:
総受 (sou’uke) – This one was already mentioned in my previous Oshikatsu Slang post, but sou’uke is just an uke character who is wholly, absolutely, entirely, unequivocally a bottom. They never top. Imagining them topping is absurd. They are The Bottom.
誘い受 (sasoi uke) – Sasou means “to invite” in Japanese, so a sasoi uke means an uke character who does the inviting… if you catch my drift. He’s the one who wants it, makes it clear that he wants it, and is willing to take the reigns if necessary.
SEE: Tsumugi from Adorable and Impossible
オヤジ受 (oyaji uke) – Oyaji is Japanese for “middle-aged or old man,” so the meaning is pretty obvious. This archetype became well-known because, in the beginning, BL mostly had younger bottoms. Because of this, it was originally difficult to find older bottoms, which was very disappointing for those who find older men moe.
SEE: Miharu from The Secret Case Files of the Cafe April
俺様受 (oresama uke) – I feel like most anime/manga fans will instantly know what an “oresama” character is, but for those who don’t: oresama archetype is a man who’s very masculine and arrogant, often hotheaded, and possibly violent. People who like oresama uke often like the “gap moe” aspect—he’s an arrogant, confident, manly man, but he still bottoms.
SEE: Kyotaro from Happy Shitty Life
クール受 (cool uke) – “Cool” may feel, to an English speaker, like this guy is trendy and popular, but in this content it’s the more literal meaning—cool as in calm, cold, not showing much emotion. Similar to the oresama type, people who like cool uke might like to see him be more open and expressive while squirming under his lover. 
SEE: Suzuharu from This Poor Beta Doesn’t Know About Love
筋肉受 (kin’niku uke) – Kin’niku just means muscle, so this one is quite self-explanatory. Whether you prefer the buff guy to bottom, or you prefer both your boys buff, it’s beefcake for days with this archetype.
SEE: Michiya from Dirty Dandies
熊受 (kuma uke) – Kuma means “bear,” and this has the same meaning as “bears” in English gay slang—hairy, buff, beefy guys! As the Yahoo! Answers post notes, this is incredibly rare in BL and is much more common in ゲイコミ or comics for and by gay men. The market aimed at BL readers is a tad less hairy.
SEE: unfortunately… none 
健気受 (kenage uke) – Kenage means upstanding, so this is usually a bottom who’s just an all-around good, sweet, kind, hard-working, gentle person. This is a common favorite for people who either want to see a good and sweet boy get pampered in bed, or see someone pure and upstanding “defiled.”
SEE: Kohaku from The “Growth” Progress Of The Sexy Helper Dog
小悪魔受 (koakuma uke) – Koakuma just means “little devil” so these are guys—often quite youthful or young-looking—who’re quite mischievous and flirtatious and playful. You see this type often in succubus stories, but they aren’t always a literal demon.
SEE: Ikko from Say You’ll Be Mine, Starving Succubus
女王様受 (jouousama uke) – Jouousama has the nuance of oresama—still arrogant, but in a much more high-maintenance, pampered way. A man who’s still very “bottom”-coded, but all tops are at their beck and call.
SEE: Sho from He Calls Me Every Night
性別受 (seibetsu uke) – Seibetsu in this context is a bit confusing—it just means ‘gender’ but it’s meant to signify the boy in question has a highly femme presentation: he likes feminine things, he has a pretty and feminine outer appearance, and at times even behaves in a quite feminine way.
SEE: Shion from Twilight Out of Focus (Volume 4)
姫受 (hime uke) – Similar to the jouousama but less arrogant and haughty. They are waited on hand and foot, and doted on and loved by all. These boys are like a Disney princess, surrounded by animals, and every step produces flowers below his feet.
SEE: Haru from Fighting Fate In This Other World -My Alpha Male Is A Gentle Beast-
Pillow Princess – We all know what a pillow princess is. The Japanese term (which I’m avoiding using here since it’s rather… behind the times, so to speak) denotes a character who suddenly changes their personality in bed to be very inviting and demure, even if you’d never expect it from their regular personality.
SEE: Fukami from Unexpectedly Naughty Fukami
As the top answer is careful to note, you can essentially substitute in any kind of personality, profession, appearance, etc. and just add uke to the end and it’s still a valid preference—the ones listed above are just the most common distinctions within BL discussions up until this point—and I’m sure there will be more new faves that pop up in the future.
Another one that wasn’t listed that I personally really like and seems to be gaining popularity is:
純情ビッチ (junjou bitch) – In Japanese, “bitch” actually retains the original meaning of a female dog intended for breeding, so it’s equivalent to something like “slut.” Junjou, on the other hand, means “pure.” So junjou bitch is a pure-hearted ho. This can take the form of a character who’s pretending to be promiscuous in order to get the attention of a certain someone (Karisome Bitch Minami-kun), a character being mistaken for sleeping around (Junjou de Nani ga Warui), or who does sleep around but is “saving” some aspect of their body or soul (whether their first kiss or first love) for that special someone.
SEE: Nao from Hotaru Dies Tomorrow
Big Tiddie Goth GF – Sou insisted I include this one, as it is evidently their favorite uke. According to Urban Dictionary, Big Tiddie Goth GF (BTGGF for short) is “the most desired gf ever” so I guess this holds up. According to Sou this includes uke characters that are “slutty sexy tsundere” with “a heart of gold but acts tough.”
SEE: Hijiri from The Demon And The Goblin’s Love Story
Really, there are a million types of uke character. If you’d like an example of just how many “types” there are, you can take a look at the ChillChill search tags—and this just the archetypes popular enough to be eventually made searchable.
Nearly fifty tags, and that’s not even counting the more specific or recent tropes. The sky is truly the limit.
Anyway, while I could go on and on about uke archetypes for another ten paragraphs, without further ado I would like to introduce five of my current favorite uke characters available on Renta! It was hard to just choose five, but if I allow myself any more than that I’ll be here all night. 
And I need to leave the office eventually to buy a BL tankoubon that came out today.
Saku
(Director! It’s Time To Collect A Sample by Yuki Matsushita)
Dr. Saku is the head of Research Lab One, where they’re using his semen to create the panacea. Yes, you read that right. This manga is slapstick gold, and while this is a series where I love both uke and seme (Toya’s socially anxious tendencies are very relatable, okay…), Saku just makes it. He’s so cute and sincere and hardworking, and I just love him having such a positive (if not quite naïve) attitude for him being a literal genius. I love that he’s willing to give up everything—including his own love and sex life—to help the world. Peak kenage uke, am I right? However, it’s also adorable watching him slowly give himself over to Toya and really lean into their “experimentation” (
). I can’t wait to get the last half of the series on the site so everyone else can enjoy Saku as much as I do.
Jun
(Private Live Streaming by Reo Ohno)
Jun Kanemori is the president of his university’s gaming club, and he’s worked hard to rise above the ranks of the usual antisocial nerds to become stylish, sociable, friendly, and well-liked. However, hiding below the surface of his outgoing exterior is an incredibly lonely and traumatized man who fears rejection. In order to get the approval he so desperately needs, he secretly streams himself jerking off to the world—wanting to be called sexy and told how desirable he is. The manga follows Jun’s relationship with Sota as he realizes real love, attachment, and affection are more than surface-level compliments. I’m an absolute sucker for sadboys, and I just love how realistically petty Jun gets when his plans don’t work or he doesn’t get the reactions from people he was hoping for. He’s just a very cute and silly kurogyaru with a lot of emotional growth left in him. If I had to categorize him, I’d say he’s very junjou bitch coded—a sweet and horny boy who just needs a little extra guidance.
Riya
(Red-Light Trouble by Pzou Nicoyama)
Riya is absolute kenage uke—he’s desperate for easy-entry, high-paying work in order to help out his orphaned little brother with the massive amounts of debt he’s accrued. Of course, for a young man with a pretty face and zero training… sex work is the obvious (and only, really) choice. Riya, however, is clueless about sex and relationships after spending his whole life working hard to care for the only family he has left, and so he has no idea how to be desirable or appeal to customers. In fact, he doesn’t want to be touched and keeps accidentally injuring customers and damaging property during spats—which ends up getting him into more debt. Thankfully sweet, prickly Riya has No. 1 host Takuto as an admirer, so he can help guide him through the Kabukicho nightlife. Riya is just absurdly cute, and it’s fun seeing him in all his sexy little nightlife outfits as he hates every second of it while wondering what the hell anyone could ever get out of sniffling his used underwear.
Fukami
(Unexpectedly Naughty Fukami by Ayaka Matsumoto)
My friend who works for Coolmic (yes, this is a very incestuous industry) messaged me when they started releasing this and was like “you NEED to read this. You’ll love the uke, trust me.” Somehow it still took me months and months to read it after he sent that, but once I did… well… he was right. He knows me too well. The gap between Fukami’s frumpy everyday appearance and don’t-give-a-shit attitude, and his absolutely ho-level behavior and technique in bed, is just 
He’s so cute and doesn’t give a shit what anyone thinks about him—or at least, he didn’t until Kaji came into the picture. It makes me happy that the main POV is Kaji since I share all his adoring, excited reactions to Fukami as well. As for Fukami’s uke category… I’d say cool uke or pillow princess.
Haru
(Kabukicho Cat Honey by Nekojita Udon & Toriumemaru)
I think it’s already been established that I love sadboys, and Haru is no exception. One of the major themes in Kabukicho Cat Honey is that everyone in Kabukicho—Tokyo’s famous red light district—has a story. Haru makes money by selling himself as a top in the nearby gay district, but what he desperately desires is to be topped himself. However, he’s saving himself for the day he meets someone he actually loves to share that experience with. When host Shinya sees right through his tall, sexy, tough exterior and finds him sexy specifially as a bottom, Haru is unsure at first, but through a series of events he comes to trust Shinya—or tries to, since he’s spent his whole life not being able to trust the people around him or accept love. Haru is absolute PEAK junjou bitch trope—he sells himself for money and has no issues being sexual, but deep down he has an intensely pure heart and wants to be loved and save himself for his partner.
Anyway, this post is already obscenely long. Just know that I love cats, and I love uke characters, so you know I look forward to Cat Day every year in Japan. Now I must go home and spend some time with my own special feline friend, so please share your own favorite uke characters and why you love them!
rentaBLog 
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