Archive for the Maka-Maka Category


Otome no Teikoku Manga, Volume 1 (オトメの帝国) Guest Review by Mariko S

April 27th, 2016

OnTV1It’s a happy day here at Okazu!! We have a new Guest Reviewer, Mariko S who has bravely decided to wade back into a series I panned back in 2008. Buckle in and get ready for a completely different perspective. Take it away, Mariko!

Welcome back to Otome no Teikoku, Volume 1, a world that, on first glance, you may find difficult to love. I had similar feelings to the ones Erica expressed in her original review when I first read this manga. However, because I was a big fan of the art style and realistic sexiness of author Kishi Torajiro’s MAKA-MAKA books, unlike her I persevered through the subsequent volumes. And, as it improved more and more and I started to really look forward to reading it, I thought, it’s really worth Yuri fans taking a second look at it. Erica invited me to do guest reviews for the series, so here we are. Let’s restart at the start, so we can understand later how things are changing.

The opening frame of the first chapter seems to announce a particular intention – an upward shot of a high school girl in uniform with hershirt hiked up, bra undone, breasts peeking out, and a skirt so short that it doesn’t touch the chair she’s sitting on. It seems to warn away anyone who’s not here for pure titillation. Given that the author’s previous works featured adult content it’s a forgivable assumption. But those works were not just mindless porn – they hadwell-developed, attractive but believable characters in relatable situations. So please bear with the growing pains here as we work
through the challenges of an adult author fumbling with what exactly
he wants this series to be.

As for what OnT is *now,* though, warm up your eye-rolling muscles. The first volume does feature a ton of service of every flavor – most every chapter has some assortment of panty shots, nip slips, groping, or nudity. Maybe it was demanded by the publisher, maybe Kishi-sensei felt like he needed to grab readers’ attention some way while the characters’ personalities weren’t developed yet. In some ways it is a little refreshing to have a series where things are a little more physical, rather than your standard akogare blushing, longing looks, and perhaps a chaste kiss at the end of it all. Humans are sexual
beings and sexy things are entertaining. It’s just that here, to start, all of the “sexy” stuff is either purely voyeuristic or too over the top, removing any sense of a moment between the characters.

Each chapter is composed of a number of vignettes. In this volume they tend to be very short, with 3-5 per chapter, but later there will usually only be 1 or 2. Each vignette focuses on a pair or small group of the girls. One of the things I find refreshing is that despite going to the same school, not all of the characters know each other or hang out together – they each have girls they are usually with, as well as some they interact with occasionally and others not at all. For now, let’s only talk about one of the pairings, Chie and Ai, which is the earliest example of character progress. We first meet them in chapter 2, through a ridiculous setup where Chie is thinking weirdly nasty thoughts about what Ai’s nipples look like, until she gets a downblouse glimpse of the real thing. The characters here have none of their eventual personalities – Chie will be rewritten entirely to be a sweet, friendly, self-conscious girl. The next times we see them, in chapters 3 and 4, they’re just doing servicey stuff – nothing to do with who they are. In chapter 7 though, we see some changes. It’s still “boob stuff,” but mixed in there Chie shares some honest feelings about why she behaves the way she does and the way others treat her body, along with the beginnings of a confession. Finally, chapter 11 continues the positive trend and is mostly about Chie giving Ai a Takarazuka hairstyle and roleplaying a dramatic moment with her that turns a little heart-pounding… until Kishi-sensei’s early favorite ending, the comical interruption, intervenes. Take heart that the other stories will similarly improve!

One of the really positive things to say even at the start – Kishi-sensei is a very talented artist. He draws details others wouldn’t think of, and with a  distinctive, more realistic style.

Another early positive is that some genuinely funny things happen. As eye-rolling as much of the copiously unrealistic service is, you can see the hints of things to come in the comical and cute parts sprinkled in between the pervy stuff.

Finally, I would say, the off-kilter creativity of the vignettes is a real strength. Rather than your standard schoolgirl setups of commuting, club activities, school festivals, and eating snacks, Kishi-sensei sets up a lot of casual, everyday situations and conversations that only improve as the ecchi elements get dialed down. Eventually his talent for expressing more subtle eroticism will really start coming out of these unique setups.

I am not quite as down as Erica was on the way sexuality is depicted here. I’m not sure it really is the default assumption that these girls are bi, (or gay or straight for that matter). It’s not as evident in the first volume, but as the series goes on the relationships of the pairs will take on many different shadings, not all of them sexual, and not all the characters have a pair. Granted, since this is after all an all-girls-school Yuri story, there’s a disproportionate skew toward “likes/loves girls in some way.” While this is a frustrating trope of every all-girls-school Yuri series, I feel it’s not so problematic here due to the vignette nature of the chapters. By not having an overarching narrative or insisting that all the characters interact, and cutting between a large number of characters, it’s easier to appreciate the separate dynamics of each pair. The way sexual orientation is used here is not all that muchdifferent from other all-Yuri-all-the-time schools in things like
Strawberry Panic and Sakura Trick, at least in concept. It’s the execution that is failing right now, missing or mistaking characterization for too much unrealistically exhibitionist goofing around.

Ratings: (leaving these from Erica’s review, as I basically agree for this volume.)

Art – 7
Story – 3
Characters – 3
Yuri – 2
Service – 4 million

Overall – 3

E here: Well thank you Mariko for balanced second look at Otome No Teikoku! I know I’m looking forward to your discussions of the later volumes.





Yuri Manga: Maka-Maka, Volume 2 (English)

February 6th, 2009

makamaka2In Volume 2 of Maka-Maka, Jun and Nene continue on their happy adventure together having intimate contact in public places, and becoming closer on emotional level.

Nene and Jun are happiest together, although they both have boyfriends. These, we are told repeatedly, suck as lovers. (We can probably take for granted that they suck as human beings, as well.) But that’s okay, because they have each other. And in between getting fondled at a restaurant or in a clothes store changing room, Nene is letting Jun touch even more intimate parts of her emotional life. Jun, very much the tachi of this couple acts, from time to time like she takes Nene for granted, but she also opens up to the other woman in a way she would probably never do with a boyfriend.

We learn about their respective childhoods, their first time with a man, their hopes and dreams, their fears and weaknesses.

But mostly, we watch them have sex. ^_^

Depending on your particular set of turn-ons, very hot sex.

As with the first volume, the reproduction is top notch. Color covers, protective obis that hide secret covers on both sides (hint: in the shower, they’re nekkid) double-sided insert poster and excellent reproduction of the internal color pages – all reproduced beautifully – with metallic inks on the cover even. The translation is smooth, makes perfect sense and gives each character a voice of her own. Phew.

Interestingly, Maka-Maka was listed on the manga.about.com poll for best josei series. I spoke to Deb about it because it is not really josei at all. It was drawn by a man, for a men’s magazine as an adult comic for men. You know – the whole lesbian sex/male gaze thing. But let’s face it, the distinctions of genre that are absolutely rigid in Japan (god help you as an adult male buying a magazine for young women, or vice versa) fail completely when manga reaches the market here. At least half the people who bought this book were women, likely more than half. It’s being sold as a “Yuri” manga here, not an “adult manga for men,” which makes me think that if the western manga market survives this economy, I *strongly* recommend rethinking the whole shoujo/shounen/josei/seinen genre scheme completely. I think western publishers should focus on subject genre (scifi/fantasy/mecha/guns/romance/sex) and age appropriateness, which is bollocks but necessary here. In any case, I agree with Deb – list it on the josei list because here in the west, at least, it’s a manga as much for woman as it for men.

The end of this volume is particularly Yuri-fan friendly, as Nene and Jun make a very public statement about Sex. Life. And Communication.

I can’t tell you why exactly, but for whatever reason I like the English adaptation better than the original. Frank, you did a fabulous job. If there were an adult manga award, I’d give it to Media Blasters for Maka-Maka. ^_^

Ratings:

Art – 8
Characters – 9
Story – 9
Yuri – 9
Service – 9

Overall – 9

When I read this volume originally, I remember being turned off by the excess of bodily fluids, but reading it this time, it didn’t strike me that way at all. No idea why.

And let me once again thank Media Blasters for the first copy of this book off the printer. It doesn’t mean I’ll give you a better review, but you do get a bigger smile of thanks!





Yuri Manga: Maka-Maka, Volume 1 (English)

November 6th, 2008

I’ve said it before and I’m saying it more these days – “Yuri” stories can be defined as having lesbian content without lesbian identity. Maka-Maka, Volume 1 is pretty much a perfect example of this. There is undoubtedly lesbian content, but it is also made very *very* clear that these two women are not lesbian in any way. Nor are they bi. They are two straight women who happen to enjoy sex with one another. That’s it. Just, “friends with benefits.”

I’d forgotten how much I enjoyed the first volume of this, since it’s been four years since I first reviewed it in Japanese. Each chapter is a simple “Plot, what plot?” type fanfic. “Nene and Jun get naked,” “Nene and Jun feel each other up in the CD store,” “Nene and Jun have sex for some other reason that really doesn’t matter much.” There’s a little character development, and it becomes increasingly clear that the two actually, honestly do care for one another, as the book goes on. But…no, they aren’t a couple. In fact, they are both seeing guys who, we are told repeatedly, pretty much suck as lovers. (I will refrain from making a snarky remark here. Insert one that satisfies your own levels of paranoia about your abilities as a lover.)

The reproduction is stellar. Kitty Media, the adult imprint of Media Blasters, did a fantastic job of bringing this book over here. There’s honestly nothing to complain about. The dual cover, the fold out two-sided poster, the undercover gags, all remain intact. The translation feels right. Nene and June aren’t made to sound “Omg! Rad!” as some feared. They sound like women in college, who have different personalities and issues.

While I’m praising Kitty – and in the interest of disclaimers that might point to bias and or open corruption ^_^ – let me once again thank Frank, who not only shepherded this book so beautifully into English, he gave me the first copies of both volumes off the press. They really do look lovely. Nice job, everyone.

Ratings:
Art – 8
Characters – 9
Story – 9
Yuri – 9
Service – 9

Overall – 9

As a tale of two adult women who find comfort in each other’s company, and pleasure in sex with each other, Maka-Maka is a realistic, entertaining “adult” manga.

This would make a great gift for someone looking for something with adult content that isn’t squicky, loli or fetishy.





Yuri News This Week – November 1, 2008

November 3rd, 2008

The title really should read “Yuri News Last Week.” lol

Yuri Anime

More free anime streaming directly from the land of Yuri to you.

Toei has announced a deal with Crunchyroll to stream, among other things, PreCure, (aka Futari ha PrettyCure.) This series is so reminiscent of Sailor Moon, you might be tempted to think the same people worked on it – and you’d be right. It’s never been my favorite show, but it’s not hard to see Honoka’s feelings for Nagisa, or Kaoru and Natsuki’s thing for each other in Splash Star. Just sayin’.

Not to be outdone, Funimation is offering the first episodes of some of their series for free online as well, including the reasonably Yuri-ish Burst Angel.

***

Yuri Manga

Well, my top two pieces of news have to be:

Finally, at long last, Hayate x Blade is available in English. It’s unbelievable, really. Marimite and HxB in one year. I still can’t get over it.

And woot, Media Blasters has released both Volume 1 AND Volume 2 of Maka-Maka. It looks splendid in terms of reproduction. Maybe, even, slightly better than the Japanese version. Seriously.

Not that anyone cares at all, but the faux Yuri-filled Amuria in Star Ocean ends its run in the December Dengeki Daioh.

Fans of Aria and Aqua, will be pleased to know that Amano Kozue has a new series starting this month in Comic Blade called Amanchu!. The initial art features two girls near each other. You know the drill. ;-)

***

I have a backlog of Snatches of Yuri to tell you about, but I’m wiped. I’ll do my best to add at least a few in next week. :-)

And no promises, but I’ll *try* to get a review in today.





Yuri News This Week – October 18, 2008

October 18th, 2008

Yuri Anime

The new anime season has begun and, in response to a thread on the Yuricon Mailing List about new anime with no Yuri but that wouldn’t stop people from making up in their heads anyway, several people have jump up to recommend new anime Mouryou no Hako for possible Yuri. I haven’t ‏seen it yet, but will probably watch it as soon as I’m done here. :-) Too many people to name pointed this one out to me, so thanks to all of them!

For series that really aren’t Yuri in any way, but that won’t stop anyone, you might want to check out Hyakko, Shikabane Hime, and Michiko to Hatchin.

Speaking of anime with no Yuri, but that doesn’t stop fans (including myself) from seeing it anyway, Eric points out that Right Stuf has announced a January release date for the Aria The Natural season.

ADV has announced free samples of Azumanga Daioh on iPhone and iPod touch through some service or other. If it gets you Sakaki in gakuran, it’s a good thing. :)

anonymous writes in to share that RightStuf is running a competition for Canada and US residents with a sampler disk of the first season of Marimite for a prize. It closes on the 6th of November.

****

Yuri Manga

Media Blasters emailed me to say that they have completed Maka-Maka, Volume 1 and Volume 2 in English and they look fabulous. With luck, I’ll be able to give you a sneak peek at MangaNEXT.

****

Yuri Webcomics

In a fit of generosity, Ayane wrote in with a long list of Yuri webcomics for me. As I don’t really read them that much, I thought I’d pass them on to you (can one re-gift information?) I have not read any of these and am not endorsing them. You’re all grownups and can make up your own mind. :-)

Hold Me Tight – http://hmt.smackjeeves.com/

Paradox – http://paradox.smackjeeves.com/

Just the Circumstances – http://jijou.smackjeeves.com/

Juxtapose – http://juxtapose.smackjeeves.com/

Inamoratosister – http://inamoratosister.smackjeeves.com/

Milk – http://milk.smackjeeves.com/

****

Other, not really Yuri News

Not really Yuri, but relevant to our interests: The master of “wtf,” Go Nagai, was interviewed briefly by FANTASY.fr and they kindly translated the interview into English for us. Among his many creations, Nagai talks about his classic Cutey Honey series.

****

I want to take a moment to thank everyone who reads Okazu. I appreciate that you can identify satire when you see it, I appreciate all the comments you make in the comments fields, and I can’t thank you enough for all the great news items you send in for the New Reports! I couldn’t do it without you!