A few years ago, in reaction to the Governor of Tokyo’s restrictive bill on manga, most of the companies that participated in the Tokyo International Anime Festival pulled out and created a new event, The Anime Contents Fair. Well, this year the TIAF and ACF have re-merged, and with the big (and yet, controversial) “Cool Japan” push from the Japanese government, a new event is born – Anime Japan. Anime Japan is happening this weekend at Big Sight in Tokyo. Their website is down for the moment, but you can follow Anime Japan on Twitter.
Both Anime News Network and Crunchyroll both have people on the ground there, so check out both sites for photos and news. I’ll update as it strikes me to do so, but please feel free to mail me links to news you think we really ought to not miss!
Yuri Anime
Animesols crowdfunding for the 3rd and final set of Riyoko Ikeda’s Dear Brother got off to a strong start, hitting 50% funding pretty easily. They’ve added new functionality – if you were unable to get the first two sets, you can now simply buy them as an add-on to backing on the third set. You have to make the pledge first, before you can get the option, but now you can just buy the first two sets, and help the third set get made at the same time.
YNN Correspondent Grisnak wants you to know that a new Yuru Yuri anime will get a release as an OVA this fall.
He also notes that upcoming Yuri assassin anime Akuma no Riddle has a commercial for you to enjoy.
Australian company Siren Visual has announced licenses for Mawaru Penguindrum and some other great series.
Pony Canyon at Anime Japan ran a Tamako Market event for the upcoming film Tamako Market Love Story.
***
Yuri Manga
The most recent issue of English-language female-focused manga and Light Novel magazine, Sparkler Monthly, contains a preview of Yuri manga “Before You Go”. Check it out!
***
Lesbian Novels
One of the very first contemporary lesbian authors I ever read was Katherine V. Forrest’s Kate Delafield mysteries.
At the time, (early 90s maybe?) Lesbian mysteries were quite the rage, as they gave characters a chance to be independent investigators, just outside the law or, really, nowhere near it. Of the many, many many authors that were churning out books, only two are people I still want to read. One is Ellen Hart, whose contemporary American cozy mysteries are a delight and Katherine V. Forrest, who is back with a brand new Kate Delafield novel. A LOT has changed since Murder at the Nightwood Bar.
Ellen Hart’s new book is Taken by the Wind, but you may wish to start with some of her earlier books to get to know her characters. I particularly suggest The Lost Women of Lost Lake.
And Kate returns in High Desert (which I imagine has to have been named as an homage to Desert of the Heart, another key book in lesbian novels past.)
I know what I’ll be reading for my summer reading series this year!
***
Sailor Moon News
If you know your Myer-Briggs Personality type, and like Sailor Moon, try this chart to find out which Senshi you are. ^_^ Since you are reading this blog, most of you will be INTJ and therefore Sailor Uranus. ^_^
The Sailor Moon Official Channel has released the English language version of the new Sailor Moon Crystal art. We’re keeping fingers crossed for some key visuals to be released this weekend at Anime Japan.
***
Other News
It’s almost hard to imagine, but Fushima Kousuke’s Aa! Megami-sama/Oh! My Goddess manga is coming to an end after 26 years.
My super random find of the week: Famed Josei mangaka Erica Sakurazawa (Between the Sheets, Angel) has done a online comic for Ricoh Imaging called “Koi Suru Yama ga Aru.”
Book of Bantorra is being streamed on Hulu. It’s not Yuri, but is in every other way one the best anime I’ve ever watched. It’s effed up, has librarians with super powers, and stars Paku Romi as the sexy, sociopathic head librarian, Hamuts Meseta. (She is the reason I will occasionally say “Must kill Hamuts Meseta” and laugh creepily to myself.) I love the show. ^_^ And I so want a t-shirt that says “Must kill Hamuts Meseta.”
***
That’s a wrap for this week! Become a Yuri Network Correspondent by sending me any Yuri-related news you find. Emails go to anilesbocon01 at hotmail dot com. Not to the comments here, please, or they might be forgotten or missed. There’s a reason for this madness. This way I know you are a real human, not Anonymous (which I do not encourage – stand by your words with your name!) and I can send you a YNN correspondent’s badge. Thanks to all of you – you make this a great Yuri Network!
I cannot wait for Akuma no riddle! It looks so cool! I’ve been looking for more Lesbian novels to read thanks so much for bringing Katherine V. Forrest to my attention. Now my booklist will get even longer.
Excellent. ^_^
“Must Kill Hamuts Meseta” is ample reason to get the missing parts to hook up the netbook in my bedroom to the VGA port on my bedside TV … I’m not inclined to pay Hulu to give me ads on my Roku, but I’ll tolerate the free Hulu ads to rewatch Book of Bantora. Thanks Sentai/Section23/TheAnimeNetwork and however many other companies are in that cluster of companies.
And with ep33 of Dear Brother going up on Friday, its ticked up to 55% with 41 days to go … it wouldn’t be surprising for it to be 70%-80% funded when it comes time for the final social media push (circle 25 April to 2 May on your calendars).
I love Katherine V Forrest’s mystery series. They were my first foray into explicitly lesbian fiction, because my local bookstore happened to stock them in the mystery section and not the “alternative lifestyle” section, which at that time I was too afraid to go into (it was high school, and for some reason the bookstore was the happening place to be on weekends so there were always people I knew there).
Ha! I was all excited to see which senshi I was, but then you spoiled it. Are you INTJ, or just have really good demographic data?
I’m split so evenly along all test spectrums that I annoy the hell out of the test givers. (No joke.)
I inferred based on the fact that all my geek friends seem to be INTJ or INTS that it was likely that most people reading this blog might be. ^_^
INTJ checking in. Though my N is pretty close to the 50% mark. Not sure I agree with all their classifications, but I adore seeing what Myers-Briggs type fits a character.
Agreed about the classification. ^_^ Ami should be INTJ.
Getting Sailor Chibi Moon when being just shy of 5’10 I feel a bit odd now. Reading through the corresponding Wikipedia entry, I do get the feeling that I should tackle the manga one of these days though, as the anime version of her seems to be a lot more clichéd…
The manga version of her is more nuanced. In both cases, it’s hard to remember her age until way into the arc, so when she first shows real vulnerability, it’s quite moving.
Sweet, a real live XXXX! You’re split evenly between E and I so you get an X there, you’re split evenly between N and S so you get an X there, etc.
Hahah!
“It’s almost hard to imagine, but Fushima Kousuke’s Aa! Megami-sama/Oh! My Goddess manga is coming to an end after 26 years.”
That is a little surprising, even more so that I somehow missed this newsbit on ANN. As of the latest volume it felt like it was telling a climactic story arc, so I was getting a hunch. All good things come to an end…