Archive for the Minamoto Hisanari Category


Revisiting Old Friends and Celebrating Yuri Anniversaries in Doujinshi!

September 9th, 2020

Some of you may have followed the saga of my recent package from Japan, that sat in a warehouse in Kawasaki for 7 weeks because it was supposed to take 8 weeks, so they made it take 8 weeks and then took 4 days to actually ship. ^_^; Today I want to share the partial contents of that package, because it will give us a chance to catch up with old stories and celebrate some anniversaries. All of the doujinshi I’ll be speaking of were purchased online at Melonbooks, and shipped from there to Tenso, which shipped it to me.

I used to joke/complain that the decent artifacts from Yuri Shimai / Yuri Hime had the most complicated histories. (Although nothing beats Hatsukoi Shimai.) Well each of today’s doujinshi practically comes with it’s own guidebook. ^_^

 

In 2003, before Hayate x Blade, manga artist Hayashiya Shizuru started serializing a story, Strawberry Shake, in the new quarterly Yuri manga magazine, Yuri Shimai, a manga that really honed her “baka” style of physical comedy. The series was ported to the new Yuri Hime magazine in 2005, was renamed Strawberry Shake Sweet and eventually was printed as a two-volume collection, both of which were reviewed here on Okazu. Volume 1 in 2006, and Volume 2 in 2009.  A single omnibus volume re-renamed Strawberry Shake  was printed in 2015 by Shueisha, with a new extra chapter.

The story followed two goofy, clueless “talents” (that is, they model, or do TV shows, or commercials, or whatever) Tachibana Julia and Asakawa Ran, as they meet, fall in love and almost never manage to get it together. When we meet her initially, Julia has just made a splash on a TV drama, and Ran is a new talent who is scooped up for fashion modeling. They are surrounded by a group of wacky characters who are nearly all also lesbian. It’s a tale told with Hayashiya’s bloody, violent comedy and I know it isn’t for everyone, but she’s  been one of my favorite artists since. ^_^ In fact, she may be the first artist I followed specifically, now that I think about it.

She’s continued the series in doujinshi over the years in a – so-far – 4-issue series titled Berry Strawberry Shake. Volume 1 | Volume 2| Volume 3 | Volume 4. The running gag in these are the same running gags in the original. Ran is still a doofus and Julia is still a baka. They are in love, but not in sync. Their manager Saeki is still uptight. The super-lesbian hairdresser Kaoru is still teasing her old schoolmate Saeki and getting into fights with her girlfriend and the very very queer band, which is less visual kei than visual gay, Zlay, is still super gay. All these many years and surrounded by all that gay, and our protagonists still haven’t managed a night together!

Well, this year in, Berry Shake 4, only 17 years after meeting for the first time, Julia and Ran manage a night together. Mostly.  There are…technical difficulties. ^_^;   I’m so glad to be able to check in on Julia and Ran and see that, as goofy as they are, they are happy and successful and…I note that they both are wearing matching rings.

 

 

On a quiet, greenery lined street in a little town, at the end of the road is a tea shop, where you can get delicious tea and patisserie and bask in the company of cute Yuri couples, all enjoying conversation and the pleasant atmosphere. Welcome to the Ame-iro Kouchakan Kandan; Seriho and her partner Sarasa are your gracious…and always adorable…hosts.

Fujieda Miyabi‘s series, Ame-iro Kouchakan Kandan began its life in Yuri Hime magazine in 2006. No, wait, it actually started in 2005 in a one-shot done for the [es] ~ Eternal Sisters, Volume 2 anthology. The series began serialization in Yuri Hime beginning in 2006. It ran for some years and was eventually collected into 2 volumes: Volume 1 in 2009, and Volume 2 in 2012.

Fujieda-sensei took his series to Drama CDs. The series had 4 DCDs and a 5th which was a crossover with his other contemporaneous series,  Kotonoha no Miko to Kotodama no Majyo, Madrigal Halloween, which is still the absolute finest Drama CD I own and arguably, ever made. The cast from this series and locale also makes constant cameos in his other series, including Alice Quartet and even Iono-sama Fanatics. He loves his crossovers as much as he loves Drama CDs.

Sarasa is a high school girl who frequents the local tea shop because she is in love with Seriho, the woman who runs the place. Seriho is sweet and a bit of a bubble-head, but she and Sarasa make a good team. Over time, Sarasa takes on the event planning and marketing and the cafe’s regular clientele eventually boasts a famous Yuri novel series author, a witch, a miko, fashion designers and a god. ^_^ (I bet it tortured Fujieda that his series Twinkle Saber Nova was set in the future….) The series ends with Sarasa and Seriho buying matching rings before Sarasa heads off to school to be become a pâtisier.

When the series wrapped up in Yuri Hime magazine, Fujieda-sensei created his own Yuri anthology doujinshi, Lilyca, in which Sarasa and Seriho, continue to live happily and adorably. I have two of the Lilyca volumes in print and the final two in digital form. It was my great luck to happen upon a collected volume of these stories The Ame-iro Kouchakan Tanhenshuu (飴色紅茶館歓談短編集) on Melonbooks and nab a copy before it sold out. This volume was created for Girls Love Fest in 2018, according to his Pixiv account.

I fell for Fujieda’s gentle stories full of happy Yuri couples, and his clothing design. To be honest, this cover is probably the least good clothing I’ve ever seen him create. Where other artists drew stuff like this – highlighting breasts and crotches for no good fashion reason, Fujieda rarely did that.  He was probably the second Yuri artist I followed specifically.

Time has passed, but all of our favorite couples are doing well. Sarasa is clearly a talented pâtisier now, the shop is known for delicious pastries as well as tea. Also doing well are DCD characters Shuri and Sayu and novel author Manaka and her manager. Sadly we don’t get to see what became of Letty the witch and her miko partner, Tsumugi. But it’s still good to see Sarasa and Seiho happily “married.”

 

 

Speaking of “marriage.” In 2010 – 10 years ago, Yuri Hime magazine was split into two separate publications, Yuri Hime, ostensibly for women, and Yuri Hime S, targeted towards men. Each came out quarterly for a total of 8 issues a year. Almost inexplicably, the February issue of Yuri Hime S premiered a series called  Fu~Fu (ふ~ふ) by Minamoto Hisanari who was, I believe, one of Fujieda-sensei’s assistants, and a member of his Atelier Miyabi/Moonphase circle (which spawned a couple of Yuri artists, in fact.) I say “almost inexplicably,” because Fu~Fu was about Kina and Suu-chan, an adult couple who were moving in together and celebrating wedded bliss without the wedding.  It was great having a series where moe-style art didn’t equate to either infantilized or grossly oversexualized..or worse, both at the same time.

Fu~Fu was a romantic comedy, very much in the Moonphase house style, sweet with explanations of lesbian lives and why marriage equality ought to be a thing. Kina is sweet, bubbly and Suu-chan is serious and a hard worker. They meet other Yuri couples and, when Suu-chan gets them matching rings, their friends and neighbors demand a wedding ceremony. This was collected into a two-volume set. Volume 1 at the end of 2011 and Volume 2 in spring 2013.

Well, this year is Suu-chan and Kina’s 10th anniversary, you see…and Minamoto-sensei had planned a special doujinshi for it…and the pandemic hit and Comitia was cancelled. But he participated with the online Comitia and released ふ~ふ 10th anniversary, act. 1 as a print doujinshi and in digital format which you *can* buy if you are outside Japan.  Act 2 is supposed to be released with the next online Comitia this autumn.

This 10th anniversary doujinshi starts with our two happily nested lesbians watching a movie together. Then a chapter about how all the characters use their cell phones and finally how Kina and Suu-chan met in school. It’s all very “awww”-inspiring.

So here we are, more than a decade since these three Yuri pioneers laid down bricks so many have followed. I still greedily consume everything Hayashiya-sensei creates (including her newest doujinshi series that features Yanki girls, food and Yuri, Yankoi Shokudou, and is therefore the most perfect thing ever created.) I hope publishers will pick them all up again, if they hope for that, or hope they tell the publishers to fuck right off, if the digital economy makes that easier for them.

Happy 17th anniversary to Julia and Ran, Happy 14th to Sarasa and Seriho and a very happy 10th anniversary to Suu-chan and Kina! Our fictitious “friends” are all well, as married as they can be in contemporary Japan, and I’m happier than I expected to be to see them again. ^_^





Yuri Manga: Season Theater Theatrical, Volume 1 (シーズンシアターシアトリカル )

January 31st, 2017

In Season Theater Theatrical, Volume 1 (シーズンシアターシアトリカル ), Manabi is a director and Taiyo is an actress and together they create Yuri-themed musical performances for online streaming site Play Play Douga. But Manabi has bigger dreams. She envisions an all-Yuri musical performance revue! 

Enter Shinomiya Kise, the young, exceedingly cute CEO of the Shinomiya Group. Kise has never really had too many friends, but she loves sitting and watching performances on Play Play Douga. And, of all the performers, she likes Taiyo most. She really likes Taiyo. So, when Kise-chan approached Taiyo and Manabi with an offer they can’t refuse – use of a custom built theater for Yuri-themed plays – they don’t refuse. And, so, the Season Theater (named after Kise) is born.

Taiyo falls almost immediately for Kise’s personality, (which is so shy and scared, she reminded me of a small prey animal. A shrew perhaps, or a vole.) Kise’s maid, Aoba is multi-talented and Manabi integrates her into the staff immediately. 

Now, they just need a cast! Manabi decides to do auditions on Play Play Douga, using popular Yuri couples from the streaming site. She ends up with the two members of  duo “Jewel Box,” Jueru and Hakobe, as the supporting cast. And, when all is said and done, they perform “Yurizukin-chan” a “yurified” version of Little Red Riding Hood 

This manga is drawn by Minamoto Hisanari, creator of Fu~fu, for Comic Cune, which, while it does have Yuri, is more focused on the moe than the Yuri. So, yes, there are Yuri couples and yes, they are all adults, but they all look like they are toddler to 4 years old and everything is extra, super, teeth-grindingly adorable. The plot is amusing, there’s very little drama and it’s a fun read, without being even slightly stressful.

That said, there is one moment when I absolutely wanted to hug this manga. Jueru shows up at the audition with Hakobe all attitude and tsundere. She’s pretty obnoxious, actually. And when she and Hakobe come in second to Taiyou and Kise for the lead roles.  Jueru is all ready with a dramatic exit. “And so, the losers will take their leave!” she says and begins to sweep her way out of the theater. Manabi reminds them that they need other actresses, too, so they are kept on to play the little sister (rather than the grandmother) and the wolf. But the meme Jueru inspired,  “The losers will take their leave!” is granted eternal life on Play Play Douga. Aoba is right on it, and starts to mock Jueru, before the end of the scene. This shows some insight on online cultural dragging and I really appreciated it. ^_^

Ratings:

Art – erm….moe. REALLY moe
Story – Goofy, lovable
Characters – Also goofy, lovable
Yuri – Yep
Service – Nope

Overall – YMMV but I’m feeling generous, so let’s say 8

The story is ongoing and I can’t say I’m hooked, but it’s certainly worth following for some light reading. “Our Theater” the cover reads. How I wish it was….

I particularly like how, according to the author’s note, Minamoto-sensei became hooked on all-female musical review troupes as he did research for this series. “I’m off to Osaka!”” he says to Fujieda Miyabi-sensei, “Wanna come?” “Um..no, that’s okay.” ^_^

 





Rokujo Hitoma no Nekogami-sama Manga (ろくじょ~ひとまの ねこがみさま)

April 2nd, 2015

nekogamiMinamoto Hisanari-sensei is coming off of several very decent manga series for Comic Yuri Hime. Following his stellar series Fu~Fu, he’s had a few fun short series collections. So despite my disinterest in all things cat-related, (it’s really more like distaste, no, more like full-on loathing of all things cat) I picked up his newest collection from Yuri Hime Comics, Rokujo Hitoma no Nekogami-sama (ろくじょ~ひとまの ねこがみさま). And, even setting aside the cat thing, it had a major problem. In this review, even as short as it is, I have already given you a clue to what that problem is. Can you guess?

Mino-san moved into a room with a small shrine on one wall. Unbeknownst to her, there is a cat spirit (who calls herself a ‘god’) living in the shrine. Chaos and comedy and cat jokes and wackiness ensues.

In the final few chapters, we meet Kanade, who really, really, really, REALLY likes food. So she joins the Tabearubu – the school food club whose reviews are the talk of the town, only to learn that they train hard, so they can eat hard.

You can see the problem I had with the manga, yes? At several points I picked it up to check it really was a Yuri Hime Comic because, try as I might, I could see no Yuri of any kind. In the first story, one might, if one wants to make a story out of whole cloth, pretend that Mino’s friend Fudou has a thing for her, but we can do that only because Fudou never actually says a word, so we can make up anything we want about her.

Kanade’s story is shockingly mixed company – actual boys with names exist and are good people. The story itself was really very cute, especially the second chapter, but again, if you’re finding Yuri there, you have made it up. Which is perfectly fine, mind you, but why is this a Yuri Hime Comic? Why not print it under the Rex Comics imprint, which it seems far more suited for? Very odd.

Ratings:

Art – 6 Hisanari (and Fujieda’s) brand of moe hyper cute.
Story – Nekogami was a 5, Shuuran Gakuen Tabearbu was a 7
Characters – 6
Yuri – 0
Service – 1

Overall – 6 Not bad or anything, but why Yuri Hime?





Yuri Manga: Yuridori Midori (ゆりどりみどり)

January 13th, 2015

yuridoriAfter Minamoto Hisanari-sensei’s stunning debut, Fu~Fu, (and the sea change at Comic Yuri Hime, which has moved away from “stories about lesbians” and shifted back over to “stories about unthreateningly cute girls who are in no way lesbian, but who sometimes like each other”) it was going to be really hard for him to hit that same level of storytelling and relevance. In his short story collection, Yuridori Midori (ゆりどりみどり), he doesn’t really try.

Which, in many ways was pretty smart of him. Had he gone the same route with a series, he’d be pinholed. Instead he shuffles out a pile of ootsey-cutesy stuff for the moe fans and dresses it up with the occasional meaningful concept. “Look,” he says, while drawing impossibly adorable animal-eared girls, who are, in reality, animals, thus making the cat-owning animal-eared moe fans extra happy, “Look,  I am one of you.”  And then he throws out a story that just happens to touch briefly on an actual issue.

 

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As a result, no matter what you’re interested in, Yuridori Midori is a mixed bag.

In the first story, we revisit the fairytale of Snow White and her new evil stepmother – who isn’t really evil, and would really like to become closer with Snow. Really close.

The second story is a plot that I will never like no matter how many times mangaka use it. The “cute girl who rolls around your house is a cat” story has been done well past to death, but apparently, every generation recreates it in their own image.

The third story is an after-hours expose’ of the lives of the seven mysteries of the school, and the age-long love affair of “Toilet Hanako” and the “Girl in the Painting.” Also done a million times, but I adore the idea the spirits have a life beyond just scaring the plebes. ^_^

In the next story, we edge so close to being relevant, that it’s almost painful when it doesn’t go there. Suddenly, for no apparent reason, “Yuri” marriages become legal. And in trend-conscious Japan, “Yuri-kon” become the trendy thing to do. So, when the protagonist asks her lover to marry her, she refuses, because she doesn’t want to be seen as following a fad. I get the story, but feel awfully like he could have done something more important and real with it, if he had really wanted to.

This was followed by another animal-eared girl story I couldn’t bring myself to read in the magazine and wasn’t able to manage this time, either.

The next story was my favorite of the collection, about a woman and her lover who is a “suit actor” for a Tokusatsu TV show. In other words, she does the action scenes in a Power-Ranger-like show. Not only is Shio a ranger character, she’s the Red Ranger…and anyone who has ever watched a Tokusatu show (or The Shinesman) knows that means she’s the leader. Rina loves Shio, but Shio isn’t sure if it’s her, or the fact that she’s Red, that’s the real draw. When Shio gets hurt, she learns that it was her, all along.

The final story follows a woman whose girlfriend breaks up with her via Line (a Japanese SMS-based social platform) and, while contemplating suicide, is met and befriended by a young (straight) woman who gets her to smile again.

Now, here’s the interesting thing about doing these reviews – when I read the stories originally in the magazine, I felt the same way as I felt at the beginning of this review – close, but no cigar. But, having rendered down each story to its essence, I find that I was wrong. MInamoto-sensei is doing something important. And because he’s hiding behind humorous one-shots, it’s not obvious until I’ve looked backwards at where this volume took us.

Ratings:

Art – 8 As expected, absurdly cute and moe
Story – Variable, but we’ll call it 8, for more better than not for me
Characters – Variable, and one-shots are hard. Let’s say 7
Service – 4 Animal ears

Overall – I’m feeling generous, let’s go 8

The animal-eared and fairy tale stories aside, this volume looks at same-sex marriage, staying together through better and worse and recovering from an ugly break up. Hrm. It’s almost subliminally lesbian. ^_^ You know… I think I like it!





Yuri Manga: Fu~Fu, Volume 2 (ふ~ふ)

May 9th, 2013

In Volume 1 of Minamoto Hisanari’s Yuri Manga series, we are introduced to a happy lesbian couple and their happy daily life. Sumi and Kinana are not without worries, but their lives are generally happy. They play house together, go shopping together, sleep in their pluffy bed together, as any couple might.

You might remember that this series was originally created for Yuri Hime S, a magazine that was overtly targeted towards a male moe-centric audience (the audience that now is catered to with Yuru Yuri.) Sumi and Kinana represented creatures rarely seen in that magazine – happy, adult lesbians.

You remember my Friedman Addendum to the Bechdel Test? One of the key points of the Addendum is the question “Does she have society?” So often in Yuri, we are reading a romance story, in which there are two, maybe three main characters. Everyone else fades into background furniture. But life is not like that for most people. Most people have coworkers, neighbors, relatives. And, so do Kinana and Sumi.

We are introduced to new neighbors (who just *happen* to also be a lesbian couple) and Kinana’s twin sister, Kanana, and her girlfriend, Shiroyuki. This world is not heavily populated, but there is society.

As the pages of Volume 2 of Fu~Fu  (ふ~ふ) open, Kina is approached by a strange woman who confesses to her. The resulting crisis is the product of a misunderstanding, but it adds yet another character to our cast, Arata. The rest of the story contains emotional turmoil, reconciliation, long talks, exciting shopping trips to the supermarket and other things that look exactly like a real life together. ^_^

The final chapters center around Sumi’s desire to have rings made for her and Kinana. As “wife and wife,” she thinks they ought to have that symbol of their bond. And so she does, but her friends – their society – want the full wedding ceremony and so they make one. It’s a grin-making climax and one that never fails to set my heart at ease and cause me to look goopily at my own wife, who invariably does the same back at me.

After all, we’re wife and wife. ^_^

Ratings:

Art – 9
Story – 9
Character – 10
Lesbian – 10
Service – 3

Overall – 10

If I had my way, I’d have a Drama CD for this series or a single-episode original anime as a deluxe edition of the manga.  A truly lovely series and very fun read.