‘Utter Nonsense!’ 2013 edition

April 11th, 2013

It’s been a while since I’ve declared it to be ‘Utter Nonsense’ time here on Okazu, so…it’s “Utter Nonsense’ time!

What is “Utter Nonsense’ time, you ask? Well, it’s when you ask me questions about…life, love, blogging, anime, manga, Yuri, whatever. And I do my very best to answer you without lifting a finger to do research. ^_^ For previous Q&As, check out the Now This is Only My Opinion Category here on Okazu,. and take a look at the kinds of things people have asked previously.

There are a few rules:

1) I will not answer questions about “what is your favorite….” I find them difficult to answer, as I really don’t have favorites.

2) No A/B choice questions like “ham or cheese” or “Coke or Pepsi” questions, please.  They aren’t all that interesting for any of us and I can tell you honestly, the answer is almost always “neither of the two.”

3) If you want to ask me what I see as the future of Yuri or why I like Yuri, I beg you to read all the previous iterations of my answers to these questions. If you have a real question about Yuri that I have not previously addressed, bring it on!

4) Please, please, no questions that can be answered by 30 seconds of actually READING one of my reviews here. Also, asking me “what do you think of so-and-so anime/fandom” is not going to give you the external validation you crave nor will I rise to the bait of using it as a springboard to rant about a fandom, either. Don’t know if I’ve reviewed a thing you want to know about? Look to the right—->
See that empty box on the sidebar that says “Search Okazu”? Try that first.  ^_^

5) Lastly no “define the term” questions. The answers have been posted here: https://okazu.yuricon.com/glossary/.

Now, I realize that this makes it harder to ask me questions. But the harder you work at the questions, the harder I have to work at the answering, so it’s a fair deal. The funnier the question, the better chance of an amusing answer. ^_^

Please post your questions in the comments here and I’ll do my best to answer them meaningfully. I’m looking forward to your questions!

23 Responses

  1. Jin says:

    Yes, hello, I had two questions please. I had wondered if in all this time involved in anime, manga, etc., have you felt discouraged, to say, that you have felt a desire to give up on these arts? I do not know if I have asked this properly. For all the anime and manga I love, especially in Yuri genre, sometimes my frustration or ill feelings about the misogyny, sexism, poor writing and such, brings a despair rather than a happy feeling and being entertained.

    I also wondered if there is a place where one can ask some small questions concerning plots or other things in regards to light novels especially Oyuki Konno Maria-sama?

    Thank you.

  2. Jo W says:

    Have you had any good/bad experiences with any particular Region 2 or Region Free DVD player? Before now I always just used a second DVD-ROM in my desktop but I’ve mothballed it any don’t really intend to replace it. Thanks.

  3. It’s a very decent question and I’ll do my best. Ten, huh? Hrmmm… ^_^

  4. Josh says:

    Okay, got 2 questions for you. 1 serious & 1 goofy/funny/sexy.

    Serious Question: Do you find Yaoi being more popular than Yuri a hindrance to creating a stable Yuri market in the states?

    Goofy/Funny/Sexy Question: Sex on the beach, or sex in the mountains?

    • The goofy/funny/sexy question is in direct violation of my rules. Additionally it is neither goofy, nor funny, nor sexy. I have a question for you – why are men broken? I said, specifically no A/B questions. Sheesh. Learn to read instructions.

  5. Mara says:

    Can only think of one thing off the top of my head:
    What was it about ‘Girls und Panzer’ that turned you off it as something to watch?

    I ask because now that the series is over I cannot help but notice that it has many of the conventions you said you liked in stories that have sports/training elements in them. My apologies if this seems to prying or cruel a question.

    • No apologies needed. Not sure if anyone but you actually care what I thought, but I’ll give it my best. ^_^

      • dm00 says:

        I think I would like to hear your thoughts on this, too. I had written the series off without looking at it because it seemed another mecha-musume fetish premise, but, when I was finally persuaded to take a look at it, I found a heroine that even Marika might admire. I think she even passes the Friedman-enhanced Bechdel Test.

  6. Justin S says:

    Hi, I love your blog, I think you’re one of the most eloquent and genuine voices in Yuri fandom. I have a question, we’ve seen a few good Sci-Fi Yuri anime and manga, but what are some sci-fi settings/tropes/concepts that you would like to see in a Yuri story? All the best.

  7. ArcaJ says:

    With the upswing of quality Yuri titles (or Yuri-ish titles) available, is there still a place for EPL’s (Evil Psychotic Lesbians)?

    ::HUGS::

    Arca Jeth

  8. David says:

    Are there any good manga / anime series you’d like to recommend but haven’t because they lack the Yuri content to make it onto this blog? If you can think of enough, a top-10 list from the past five years would be ideal (because around five years ago I got fed up with the glut of ridiculous harem shows and stopped keeping up with new shows), but I don’t want to push my luck by insisting on the answer’s format too!

    • Hrmmmm…..I read tons that never end up here. (I’m not as voracious a reader of English manga as Sean Gaffney – you might want to follow his blog: A Case Suitable for Treatment I don’t know if I can come up with a comprehensive list in English, since I read mostly Japanese manga. I’ll see what I can do. ^_^

      Anime is harder. I don’t watch much, honestly and most of it makes it here.

  9. Brian says:

    Are there any Yuri visual novels you have experience with or would recommend?

  10. DezoPenguin says:

    With regard to the Friedman Addendum to the Bechdel Test, what defines “male hero things” and, more specifically, what makes them inherently “male” to the point that when a female lead does them that it makes the female lead really a male lead in a female-shaped body?

    • gveret says:

      Ooh! Can I second this, and add: how do you make that distinction, considering gender is dependent on nothing but a person’s own sense of identity?

      • Hi gveret. There is no way I’m answering that. ^_^ I am not a sociologist, it’s out of my scope. ^_^

      • Secret Fanboy says:

        Hi, now that Erica has refused to reply, I think I can do it as someone who is not unfamiliar with social sciences.

        The thing is that you really can’t make a distinction. Therefore, I think it is kind of problematic to rule out the “female hero doing male hero things” as something undesired or “unfeministic”, because as gveret pointed out, it is meaningless to try to come up with too strict a distinction between the genders – the only ones who have an interest in doing this are exactly the lousy conservatives/chauvinists we don’t want anything to do with :p

        I think the most important thing about female (and male) characters is agency, really. Whatever it means, and I won’t try to define it here. Of course having a woman blow up 10000 people and acting like some Terminator might not be the most fruitful way to approach female agency, but philosophically it seems hard to classify this approach as something flawed, because the only thing which makes the action-hero -model a “male” one is that we have been led to believe so by the mainstream media etc.

        Obviously, this is far too large a topic to discuss in this context. I could write a thesis about this, and still it wouldn’t be even remotely enough.

        -SF

  11. Michael says:

    I’m heading to Japan for a five-week visit this summer. I’ve travelled there several times in the past, for a total of almost a year, so I have some experience getting around. I have some facility with the language — enough to read “Yotsuba” and, with some work, “Amanchu.” So, can you recommend any places I ought to visit? Places that might not appear in the usual “top 20 things to see and do on your trip to Japan”, perhaps those which are out of the way and not marked on lots of maps? Or maybe just your favorite parks/bars/bistros/bookstores/hangouts?

  12. Steven Meredith says:

    Hey, for once I have a question to ask when you’re actually doing one of these.

    Anyways, I know you’re not big on dubs in general but are there any you’ve heard that have stuck out as particularly good? I won’t ask you to compare them to the original Japanese, as that’s an unnecessarily contentious question, just any dubs that you felt were very good or appropriate for whatever reason.

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