> INTERVIEWER: I think women tend to react to characters like Guts and Griffith, who have such rich symbolism, by saying their relationship is "yaoi"-like. Do you find that reading unacceptable, Miura-san?
>
> MIURA: No. People tend to want to draw the line for that at whether a relationship is physical or not, but I'm not sure where to draw the line personally.
>
> A kid might treat women very carelessly, but is extremely devoted to his friends. So, you know, people around him might wonder if he's gay.
>
> INTERVIEWER: Well, even if something is called yaoi, it doesn't mean there has to be a sexual component to the relationship. The characters in what shoujo manga calls a "destined pair" don't necessarily have a sexual relationship. There's Ash and Eiji from "Banana Fish" or Gilbert and Serge from "Kaze to Ki no Uta"; they're not together because of sexual attraction to one another. To be honest, there are a lot of people out there that think their male friendships are more important than a romantic relationship with a woman. Just like in Mukouda Kuniko's "Ah Un", right?
>
> MIURA: Yes. But--and maybe I'm the only one who thinks this--men are also fine with allowing their friendships to die slowly.
>
> INTERVIEWER: You really think so?
>
> MIURA: I feel like men think as long as their friends are still there physically, everything is fine. Even if they lose contact with one another as long as the other still exists out there, it's all good.