Portrait Of The Artist As A Young Man In Tight Leather

If you don't know who Razor Ramon, a.k.a. "Hard Gay," is by now, you've obviously been living under a rock and there was probably no internet access in the vicinity of that rock. In the event that you're actually not familiar with his antics, he is one of the most interesting (and potentially, most offensive) Japanese television characters to capture the fickle spotlight in recent years. While it's debatable whether his parody of the "hardcore gay" male is helping or hurting the nascent gay rights movement here in Japan (indeed, some have already taken offense), his popularity is showing no signs of abating, leading some to question whether he may actually find some sort of lasting career outside of the customary 15 minutes.

While a number of Hard Gay's skits are now available online, one thing that you can't really get a feel for without actually being in Japan is the ubiquity of Hard Gay merchandise. Since reporting on Hard Gay costumes a little over a month ago, a new Hard Gay item has started popping up in my area: the Hard Gay book. Released just a few months ago, HG, as it is simply titled, marks the comedian's first foray into the world of publishing. Since most of you may never have an opportunity to page through HG, I thought that I would give you all a little preview of what's inside. I don't have access to a scanner, so try to excuse the low quality of the photos.
The cover of the book features Razor Ramon staring stoically into the eyes of the reader. It also features "HG" stamped in foil letters. Classy.
The first few pages feature "sexy" shots of HG like those seen above. However, the real meat of the book (pun intended) is a series of skits, much like those seen on television, presented in manga style. Let's have a look, shall we?
This page comes from a series where Hard Gay is attempting to cut down on litter by ensuring that cigarette butts are properly disposed of. Here we see our hero loudly announcing (in English) that he intends to "CATCH!!" the stray cigarette.
As he rebukes the polluter, he disposes of the cigarette in what is apparently the proper receptacle: his leather hot pants.

And then for good measure, he thrusts his hips while shouting his inescapable catch phrase: "FUU!!" (most likely a transliteration of the sound generally identified in English as "woo").
In another skit, HG impersonates a doctor. As you might expect, hilarity ensues.
A young man comes in and complains of a sore throat. The "doctor" replies that he understands and notes the symptoms.
In a rather unorthodox move, he then commands the patient to remove his pants. Finally, he shouts "FUU!!" yet again. Boy, didn't see that one coming! In all seriousness though, HG is no one-trick pony. Elsewhere in the book, he attempts to prove to the reader that he is also in command of more subtle forms of humor, for example, innuendo:

"BANANA FUU!!"

"SAUSAGE FUU!!"

If you haven't seen enough yet, you could always order your very own copy of the book, which is guaranteed to serve as lasting evidence of an odd cultural phenomenon. It would probably also be a good conversation starter, so you might even want to give it a new home atop your coffee table. FUU!!