Archive for the Shoujoai ni Bouken Category


Stories, Stories Everywhere…

July 7th, 2013

Welcome to Special Announcements Sunday here on Okazu. A happy Tanabata to you.

When I stepped away from events and publishing in March, the most popular question I received at the time was, “What will you do with your free time?” I have an answer for that now. I am spending my time and money on getting things done that have been left languishing for years. So. Today we have two announcements:

Yuriko and Midori by KunThe final chapters of Saiyuu no Ryouko: The Continuing Adventure of Yuriko are (at last!) available on Yuricon.

Shoujoai ni Bouken and Saiyuu no Ryouko, the stories about our beloved Yuricon mascot, out lesbian pop idol Yuriko and her lover, novelist Midori, are completed and up for your reading pleasure.

The first book took a mere 7 months to write, but I had no other obligations and I spent a lot of my days and nights writing.  The sequel took several years to write, but it’s been complete, probably, since 2008 or so. Time just got away from me, with other, more critical tasks.  Looking back over the chapters, I’m still very happy with the stories.  Yuriko and Midori are characters I like to think about, even now.  Maybe one day I’ll even write more about them. In any case, I hope you enjoy reading their stories as much as I enjoyed writing it. ^_^ Please feel free to write fanfic for them. We put SnB/SnR fanfic up on Yuricon. Fanart is also welcome – it will go up on our Yuriko and Friends Gallery. If you are motivated to write or draw about Yuriko and her friends, I thank you from the bottom of my heart. ^_^

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Worldshaking 2.0And, even further down the list of “stuff to get to eventually” was my poor little fan/fiction site, “Worldshaking” Fanfic. I originally built an archive in 1997 when I first started to write Xena fanfic. Like so many other people at the time, I had a free site (not Angelfire ^_^;)  and in 1998, I added my first Sailor Moon stories. It was about then I moved to my own site, “Worldshaking” Fanfic, although the Wayback Machine only has an image from 2001. I remember the first site I built. I was so proud of myself. ^_^  The image here is from my first site renewal. I spent *hours* on that tiled clouds background. /grin/

The site remained substantially the same from 1998-2006, when I ran a contest here on Okazu to get a new design. Kyanite developed a spiffy new site design for me – one that was not terribly different from what most people would be doing shortly thereafter on WordPress. I was writing more Maria-sama ga Miteru stories by then and a lot of Miscellaneous Fanfic from random, obscure series like Amakusa 1637, Transistor ni Venus, Hana no Asuka-gumi, and the like. ^_^

WSF2Also around then I started putting together more original fiction, aside from Yuriko and Midori. Fanfic is a great way to learn the basics of writing, with training wheels. With a fanfic, you don’t have to create the world, the situations or the relationships.  (Although I often do anyway. I tend to create original characters and situations, even while using the ones already established by the series. ) The new site allowed me to focus on whatever I was doing at the time, without losing access to the rest.

I haven’t written a lot of fanfic in the past few years. In 2008, I lost a job, got another one, lost that, got a *terrible* job, left that, had a series of awful jobs until 2010 when I got the job I have now, which I love. Those years were not easy on me – my health and creativity crashed and burned. Duh. And here we are, years later and I am *finally* back to a place where my creativity has returned to close to previous levels. I’m ready to write again. And now I have the time, too.

So, here is my second announcement.  “Worldshaking” Fanfic is back, with a new look  – and a new, original story! And I find myself mentally gearing up to finish a bunch of unfinished stories, (including a cyberpunk novella I have had in my head for probably close to a decade now, which is about 2/3rds done.)

WSF3

Before I wrap up here, I want to mention two things. One – you may have noticed that all the iterations of the site have that dorky little animated gif of Sailor Uranus doing “World Shaking!” I love it, do not grief me over it.  As long as there is a WSF, that gif will be there.  ^_^ (Does anyone else remember those?  They were from some game or other, I think I probably have them all on an unreadable backup disk somewhere.)

Secondly and most importantly, the recent Yuricon, Okazu and WSF site renewals have been worked on by the incomparable Lissa Pattillo. Lissa’s design skills, patience and WordPress wizardry cannot be praised enough. I recommend her with all my recommends for your website needs.

Thank you for reading Okazu and for reading my stories over the years. I hope to bring you many more. ^_^





This Week in Yuri – July 19, 2008

July 19th, 2008

This week, we once again start off with a retraction of a news item from last week. :-)

Yuri Anime

ADV says that Best Student Council DVDs are *not* on the discontinued list – and in fact, fans should keep their eye out for a thinpack, coming soon. Thanks for this news item goes out to Eric P., who is always vigilantly scanning the wide world of news for us. :-)

Right Stuf announced that the trailer for Aria is up on their Aria website.

Coming any day now are the first episode of the Shoujo Sect anime and the second episode of Mai HiME 0 ~ S.ifr, finally.

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Snatches of Yuri

The new Koihime Musou anime is full of service-y Yuri goodness. I’m told that it reads like a parody to people with a brain cell, so I have no doubt that when I finally get to watch it and say, “gee, it’s a parody” I’ll be called all *sorts* of names. ^_^

And over on the manga side of the equation, if Candy Boy is relevant to your interests, you’ll probably want to keep an eye out for L16 the touching story of two sisters – not twins this time – who love each other very, very, *very* much.

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Yuri Manga

Well, all the Yuri Hime books that were slated to hit the shelves yesterday have, and I’m already being asked about YH Wildrose 2 which I will review when I actually *get* it. ^_^

And speaking of reviews – while my Japanese is nowhere it needs to be for me to mirror Okazu in Japan, I have begun to do short mini-reviews on my mixi page. If you are Japanese, or know someone in Japan who would like to read these reviews, here is my mixi profile. I’m glad to give referrals to anyone, but unless you have a Japanese cell email address, they won’t allow you in now (ostensibly to “protect” mixi members, but it’s a measure that seems awfully xenophobic to many.) In any case, if you know someone in Japan looking for short one or two-line reviews on Yuri manga and novels, pass it along.

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Other Yuri News

In totally other news, Rica Takashima sent me this link to Sparkling Rain: And Other Fiction from Japan of Women Who Love Women. To quote from the advertising copy: “This collection features an historical perspective on lesbian literature and activism in Japan as well as erotic poetry, a movie screenplay, science fiction with a queer twist, classic love stories, humor and more.” I will definitely be getting it and let you know how it is. :-)

Just in case you missed this – we’re did an Okazu Reader’s Survey. It was ten short questions, very painless. So far only two result sets have differed from my expectations. The poll is now closed – I’ll report results whenever I have a chance. :-) Thanks to everyone who took it!

Oh – and not Yuri, but dammit, I don’t care. Seirei no Moribito will be on Cartoon Network, Media Blasters will be releasing the anime, and the novels are being published by Scholastic. (Yay!) I think Balsa is the absolute bomb – practically the definition of gar. So if you haven’t seen what was the *actual* Best Anime of 2007, do. This was an amazing anime. Everything about it – story, acting, characters, art, music, everything, was stellar. I can’t wait to buy it – and if MB screws up the subtitles with typos, I’ll personally see to it that they have permanent scars to remind them why to not do that.

Thanks to Anonymous for reminding me that today is International Femmeslash Day!. In honor of which I offer up to your reading pleasure any of the stories on my fiction and fanfic site, “Worldshaking” Fanfic. I actually have a brand new story to go up there shortly, but it won’t get posted for another day or so. :-)

And once again, I thank Komatsu-san for his insightful comments and thoughts regarding Shoujoai ni Bouken on his blog, Ultimo Spalpeen. (In Japanese.) His kind words make me very happy and his insights were very valuable to me. Thank you Komatsu-san! ^_^

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That seems to be it. I feel like there’s something I’m forgetting. Oh well. There’s always next week. :-) Thanks to everyone for reading – and special thanks to those of you who send me news items – you can email news of interest to anilesbocon at hotmail dot com – just type “Yuri News’ in the subject line. Thanks!





Yuri News This Week – June 14, 2008

June 14th, 2008

It was a long week this week and all sorts of news from all over…

Yuri Anime

Amuri in Star Ocean, which is a manga series that runs in Dengeki Daioh magazine has posted a streamed version of the anime trailer on the website Amuri.jp. Amuri consistently has some Yuri service in the manga. I don’t actually know if the anime has any or not. Interestingly though, the trailer is available in a “moe” version and a “sci-fi” version.

The Shoujo Sect anime trailer has been uploaded for you to do whatever it is you want to do while watching it. Looks like they are covering quite a few of the scenarios from the manga. All I want is the very final chapter. Probably not, because it has comparatively little sex.

And Right Stuff has said that anyone who directly preorders the first season of Maria-sama ga Miteru from them, will get a Rosa Chinesis phone strap as a free chotchke. I spoke briefly with them about gew-gaws. We agreed that this audience would be a huge consumer of “stuff” if they let us get any. :-)

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Yuri Manga

The husband and wife team that writes and draws He is My Master has split. Asu Tsubaki, the artist half, who draws for Yuri Hime S, among other things, has said she will not continue the series. I’m heartbroken, as you can imagine.

Steady Beat creator Rivkah reports that Tokyopop will be releasing the third volume of her series on the Web only. This seems to be the fate of many of their World Manga/OEL titles.

Someone asked last week what the TP contraction would mean for the Yuri titles. I think its safe to say that the one or two titles they had that were even vaguely Yuri will take a hit. The third, which had not been released yet, will also likely not see the light of day. I’m conjecturing here, but overall, compared with Yaoi/BL titles, Yuri do comparatively poorly in sales. I’ve figured out why, too. BL titles’ audience – women – *buy* more than guys. A lot more. Guys, if they like a thing want to know where to download it – for free. Women come running up to a table, buy everything and run off. lol Don’t know why, but I’ve seen it over and over at events.

Also, to continue a conversation on the Yuricon Mailing List, this contraction has already trickled to the Tokyopop UK group and is likely to hit Germany and France soon. What that means for the translated Maria-sama ga Miteru novels in Gernmany is as yet unknown. Money talks, so if the books are selling well, they may well be continued.

Friend of Yuri Steven reminds me to mention GIRL X GIRL X BOY, a manga series I keep meaning to review, but keep forgetting. It’s out in tankoubon now. As the title indicates, it’s about a love triangle. While not earthshatteringly brilliant, it does have a happy ending.

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Snatches of Yuri

From Rei, a news item that Shin Megami Tensei Kahn has utterly trash-ariffic Yuri. The Publisher’s Weekly review listed on the Amazon site sums it up nicely: “The book has a surprising amount of violence and nudity: nearly all the female leads appear nude, including Nobu’s mother. Saeko is coerced into graphic demon lesbian sex in one very long scene. At worst, this book is a poor introduction to the MegaTen franchise. At best, it is a mediocre story about demons and a fast pulp read.” Okay then.

And once again from Ana, who knows me so well!, a mention that Light Novel Vanilla – A Sweet Partner has trashy Yuri girls with guns. I am *so* there. I’ll be sure to report back – and put it on the Yuricon Shop’s Light Novels page!

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Other News

Since I mentioned Tokyopop’s collapse, I guess I ought to to give ADV the same courtesy. ANN reports that the next issue of PiQ magazine, ADV’s replacement for Newtype will be its last. I can’t say I’m surprised, but I did think it was a decent magazine. It’s just that the costs of printing and distributing magazines these days make it hard to support the business model. I hope they think about continuing it as an online or mobile magazine.

And last for today, once again my novel Shoujoai ni Bouken is the subject of discussion at Ultimo Spalpeen (In Japanese.) This time Komatsu-san informs me, he is reassuring Japanese readers that my understanding of Japanese culture is not cringe-making. lol Thank you once again, Komatsu-san! I wrote it 8 years ago now, and there are definitely things I’d do differently, but I’m very pleased to have no huge gaffes instantly apparent. Phew. :-)

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That’s it for this week. Don’t forget to join me at 12:30 at the Brooklyn Museum of Art for Ghost in the Shell: Innocence!. See you there!





Unrepentant Begging

March 13th, 2007

I am having an absolutely crappy week. I don’t whine much here, but starting with an abominable Friday, it’s just been going downhill. I hate feeling this way. I can’t force you to do anything, but you can all help me feel less crappy by buying a copy of my book.

Buy a copy of Shoujoai ni Bouken, preferably from ALC directly, but I’ll understand if you go through Amazon, and make me feel better.

I’m certain that you’ll enjoy the story – Yuriko is a very entertaining character and her friends are fun. And I think the illustrations are spiffy.

So if you want something fun, something nearly angst-free, but 100% yuri, get The Adventures of Yuriko. If you’ve already read it, it makes a fun, off-beat gift. If you’ve enjoyed it online, then buying a copy is a nice way to thank me for all that free entertainment.

If you buy a copy directly through the Yuricon Shop, tell me that you’re an Okazu reader, and I’ll autograph the book – just let me know what message you’d like. If you say, “write anything,” you’ll get my default message, so you may want to rethink that… ;-)

So, yes, buy my book and make me happy. It’s that simple. :-)





Yuri Light Novel: Shoujoai ni Bouken at a Bookstore Near You!

November 11th, 2006

I have been informed that this week Shoujoai ni Bouken: The Adventures of Yuriko, Volume 1 ships to bookstores around the nation. Yay! Whee!

If you don’t see SnB in your local Borders or Barnes and Noble or other bookstore, go to the front desk and order your very own copy of the first English-language 100% Yuri “Light Novel.” The ISBN is 0975916025 and there *are* copies available, no matter what Amazon says.

Follow pop idol and out lesbian Yuriko as she returns to high school as a high school senior for a television reality series! Watch her as she navigates the intricacies of balancing work, life and math homework. ^_^ If you have a friend who is not a manga fan, but you want him or her to enjoy a manga-style story, – or you’re looking for a heroine who is an out lesbian without any tedious “issues,” this book is just what you’re looking for. ^_^

If you order SnB direct from the Yuricon Shop, I’ll even make sure the author signs it for you. ;-)

Also still available at the YC Shop and on Amazon, Yuri Monogatari 3, WORKS, and our best-seller, Rica ‘tte Kanji!?”. Just in time to give a few copies to your non-manga reading lesbian friends or non-yuri reading anime friends for the gift-giving holiday of your choice!

And thanks to everyone who has ever bought a book from ALC – we really appreciate your support!