Debate Doujinshi - A nice supplement, or a detriment to fandom?

I was thinking today about what doujinshi (which are published fan-made illustrated stories based on existing series - not official works, but legally sold in Japan) have to contribute to the fandoms they're a part of, and the pros and cons involved. I figured it'd be interesting to see what other people had to say.

On one hand, doujinshi are like an expansion of a series - just like fanfiction is. This is especially nice if you want to explore some of the possibilities left open in an anime, because you can see other fans' ideas about the characters, the series events, and so on. Normally, doujinshi represent some of the nicest fanart out there (in many cases, the artists are professional doujinshi or manga illustrators). They bring a new dimension to the fandoms they represent and provide an additional source of material for other fans.

On the other hand, many doujinshi are of the... "adult" variety. While that isn't bad in itself, oftentimes doujinshi will perpetuate character stereotypes, and degrade one or more characters by placing them in situations that do not fit their canon personalities. (This is very true of hentai doujinshi, in which many female characters become shameless and... promiscuous - and although yaoi more typically includes a romantic/emotional aspect, it has the reverse effect and turns perfectly macho male characters into sobbing, blushing wimps who behave nothing like your average real gay man, let alone their canon persona.)

I've found that I loathe some doujinshi and love others; I do actually have an ever-growing collection from a few series I like. But what does everyone else think? Do you own any doujinshi, and if so, what kinds (adult, drama, gag, etc.)? Basically, do you think that the stories and artwork in doujinshi outweigh their tendency to encourage fandom stereotypes about the characters, and some of the less tasteful situations they portray?

Note: Don't anyone accuse me of disliking adult doujinshi. ~_^ I just prefer the ones that have some element of logic in their portrayal of the situations and characters.

 

I can some it up pretty much in one word: Meh. (Look! A smiley to go with it! http://www.anchoredbygrace.com/smileys/nixweiss.gif )

Why? It's all noncanon.

If it's extremely well written, then huzzah, good, we get an entertaining read. If it's INCREDIBLY good I'd even let it be pseudocanon in my mind (unless there was a debate, of course). BUt on the whole, whats it matter?

As far as H-Doujinshi go, meh. Porno is about fantasy.

 

All of the Doujinshi that i've seen are in Japanese, so i can't read them. But i would injoy reading a story from another prspective. I think thats what the wole point of Doujinshi's is about, in that the fans get to write or rewrite the story as they would like it, and maybe try and erase parts of the story that they did'nt like. I think that since the story is written by a fan that the writer of the Doujinshi will be more in touch with other fans and will be able to write how he/she feel the story should go.

 

I like most of them even the adult ones :shy3: . But I really don't like how people change the charaters so much that they are totally different. However usually they are quite harmless and I have no quarrel with the artist and authors. Most of them are usually quite good.