Archive for 2011


Yuri Manga: Girls Love, Volume 1

March 25th, 2011

Last year, Ichijinsha announced that the Yuri Hime Wildrose series would be undergoing a name change. And so, the Girls Love series was born. Japanese bloggers had some issues with the title, due to the missing apostrophe in the English-language title. Most of them weighed in with a preference for Girl’s Love, but I think I probably would have used Girls’ Love, if I was going to insist on the apostrophe. It’s all moot because Ichijinsha didn’t ask any of us and so, Girls Love it is.

More importantly, the question I had was, was the newly re-named publication going to be better (or at least different) than it’s predecessor?

Unequivocally, the answer is…no. Girls Love is the same kind of “Plot, What Plot?” porn shorts that I found almost entirely unappealing in Wildrose. As I read stories by Rokuichi, Mikuni Hachime and other Comic Yuri Hime regulars, I thought a bit about what, exactly, kept me from enjoying the stories in this series. I mean, these folks are pretty popular and I like some of them. So…what is the problem?

Upon reflection, I’ve come up with two distinct issues that I have. Neither is true for every story, but one or the other is true for most.

The first is – the art. In many cases, I find the art to be actively unappealing. Some artists that are popular with other readers, absolutely utterly fail to be sexy to me. When the stories are merely meant to frame the sex, this is problematic.

Secondly, and again, I realize that your mileage may vary on this but, quite often I find the way the characters maul each other to look, well, painful, rather than sexy.

Either one of these can kill a story for me, and together they kill most of the stories in the book. Combine this with the unfortunate tendency of most PWP stories to pretty much suck as stories and you basically still have a book that wastes a lot of talent for very little return, IMHO.

That having been said, this volume had a few stories that were notable for one reason or another.

“Junjou Playgirl” by Asagi Shinobu has a typical setup of quiet girl getting seduced by the school playgirl, but she turns the tables on her seducer in a rather cute way.

Morishima Akiko’s “Omoidasu Musubi” was sweet, a little melancholic and I wish there had been a resolution, rather than a fadeout.

“Yume Miru Yoake” was just…I don’t know what it was, but I liked it anyway.

Saida Nika’s “Amai Namida” was also another same-old setup, but I liked the ending quite a bit. It almost had a feel of after happily-ever-after.

Like all the Wildrose volumes that came before, it’s not like every story sucks, it’s just that after I’ve read them, very little sticks in my brain and too much of the sex looks uncomfortable and painful for it to be fun to read.

Overall – 6





Yuri Manga: Nobara no Mori no Otome-tachi, Volume 2 （野ばらの森の乙女たち）

March 22nd, 2011

Welcome back to the melodramatic world of Nobara no Mori no Otome-tachi! （野ばらの森の乙女たち）In Volume 1, we met heroine Hatsumi, her best friend Sakura, who enter a prestigous girl’s school together where they meet the Top Star couple of the school, boyish Izumi and her partner, perhaps lover, Mayuko.

Hatsumi has developed strong feelings for Izumi and, after Mayuko leaves Izumi at the party, is spending a lot more time with the charming, otokoyaku-ish Izumi as Volume 2 dawns.

But something is not right here at Otoha Girls Academy. Students who were previously pleasant to Hatsumi, or ignored her as another first-year, are starting to pick on her. And the bullying is getting bad, rather quickly. Izumi rescues her from some of it, but that makes it all the worse. Sakura rescues Hatsumi as well but, when Hatsumi tells Sakura that she’s in love with Izumi, Sakura yells at her, saying that she’s grossed out by it all and runs off. Not only does she stop talking to Hatsumi, she moves out of their room, leaving Hatsumi open to even more bullying.

The bullying stops when the girls all report back to Mayuko, how they’ve taken revenge on Hatsumi for stealing Izumi away from her and Mayuko tells them off. But this is only because Mayuko has other plans…. Mayuko convinces Sakura to help her.

That night, in a somewhat convoluted scene, Mayuko tries to seduce Izumi into making a formal promise in the chapel, but is rejected because, Izumi says, Mayuko rejected her when she asked previously. Izumi can see that this is some kind of set-up and sure enough, Sakura and Hatsumi were there to see it. Izumi tells Mayuko that if she’s going to make a vow with anyone, it’ll be Hatsumi, and Mayuko, in what was a stellar moment of bad judgement, throws herself out the window…which is only one story up, so instead of killing herself, she breaks an ankle.

Hatsumi is still seeing Izumi and trying to get a clue about Sakura so, she decides to have it out with Mayuko…which she does. Big time. Mayuko throws stuff at her and she hauls off and slaps the upperclassman across the chops, instantly rising in my esteem.

Back at school, Hatsumi appears to have clued in finally and decides that the one she wants is Sakura, while Mayuko and Izumi reunite and make up, along with protestations of love all around. The End… Only, it’s not!

There’s an omake chapter about Mayuko and Izumi’s childhood together which was both annoying and funny and a second chapter, which leads into the story that will be collected in the third volume.

The series has been moved to Nakayoshi Lovely, the seasonal special, but a third collected volume has been given the go sign. This time we will be following “cool” (distant, unfriendly(?)) Fujitani-san and a mysterious beauty. Whoo~~

When you read this series, read it slowly, no more than a chapter every few days. Weekly would be better. Savor the melodrama, the tears, the slaps, the sensuality of the scenes, the thrill of Izumi in glasses, etc. etc. It’s a silly story, still very much the child of Yuri that has gone before. To all the little girls who are reading this series and thinking that Izumi is pretty hot – welcome to the club, kid, have a seat I’ll pour you an orange juice. ^_^

Ratings:

Art – 8
Characters – 8
Story – 9
Yuri – 10
Service – 4

Overall – 9

I have to admit to a teeny bit of squeeing over this series, because the idea of a whole new (really new!) generation of Yuri fans makes me very happy.





Yuri Manga: Comic Yuri Hime,(コミック百合姫) March 2011

March 21st, 2011

Comic Yuri Hime (コミック百合姫),Volume 2 gets off to a smart start with cover art from “Rapunzel,” this issue’s short story written by Fukami Makoto, illustrated by Kazuaki. The story is quite literally a tale about a girl trapped in a tower while an evil “witch” does experiments using her as a guinea pig – as a form of torture in order to get information on the whereabouts of the girl’s sister. Ultimately, the fifth artificial human caretaker she’s had, Chanel (number 5, yes, yes) helps her escape. This can only be described as a “really creepy story.”

This volume’s wacky column from the editors trains you in how to be a “Yuri Sommelier” and make suggestions of series based on people’s tastes. As you may know, I have avoided doing this for many reasons, but here is the primary one: When people recommend things to me, 95% of the time I don’t find them as wonderful as they did, and therefore assume that it will be the same for you if I recommend something for you. In fact, there are only two people I know who can recommend manga to me and only one who can recommend books.

“Wakka Hane-Hane” introduces us to aggressively clueless Yuka who shows up and moves in with Saka-chan and then is aggressively clueless until they both decide they like it that way. I never did come around to that way of thinking.

Hayase’s employment is the topic of discussion in “Fu~Fu” and so is the dynamic between her and Komugi. This leads into a little furry play on Kina’s part, and then a morning after hasty explanation in the hallway. A goofy interlude, with some serious implications about relationship dynamics, but again, presented in a way that slides the important stuff under otaku radar.

A woman falls for a married woman in “Suwako-san to Uchyuu Ryokou.”

Arisu and Saki contemplate marriage and “playing house” together in “Renai Joshikka.” This chapter was stellar. There’s a bit of awkwardness and miscommunication, as there is in real-life, but these are the first steps toward *after* happily ever after and I’m beyond thrilled that Morishima-sensei is the one leading the way! Everyone – follow her!!

Skipping “Kokoro Renjou” because I’ve kind of had it with the Black Cat Mansion stories. Fans of twincest will like this chapter.

“Hime Cafe” this issue is a somewhat informal chat about…stuff…with Namori-sensei, creator of Yuru Yuri. This is followed by editor’s recommendations and picks and comments, including the same kind of “everything old is new again” phenomenon we’re experiencing here. No surprise, you gotta figure every generation needs to rediscover the classics for themselves. (And what sells well never dies, so they’ll reissue things as long as people shell out for them!)

Rokuichi’s “Kimi-Watashi” is a slightly melancholic story about two women who can’t seem to let go of one another. This is followed by a sneak peek at the artist’s collection, Kuchibiru ni Sakete Orange, which I have previously reviewed.

“Yuru Yuri” was short. But don’t worry – it’ll be back.

Otsu Hiyori plumbs the depths of the moment between confession and answer, from the perspective of the one confessed to. Of course we all know the feelings of the confessor and the many tortures we/they go through, but what does the confessee feel? I’m not sure this story really convinced me – it was a little too close to “sympathy love” for my taste.

“Utsutsu no Itoshii Hito” by Takemiya Jin continues the saga of two sisters with radically different approaches to love.

When I saw that Uso Kurata was going to be doing something called “Yuri Danshi” I was not filled with joy, but neither was I running off panicking. I trusted Kurata-sensei to not turn in something that sucked. And so, I read the first pages with reserve. We meet Hanadera Keisuke, a secret Yuri Fanboy, with a stash of Comic Yuri Hime magazines under his bed and an overactive imagination. And a grin-making name. Even my wife laughed at that. Keisuke has a little crush on the Yamato Nadesico of the class, Fujigatani Saori. But when new student Miyajima Akane transfers in and immediately glomps her childhood friend Saori, a new obsession is born. Keisuke is *absolutely positive* that they must be a Yuri couple! All excited to see a real one, Keisuke begins to follow them when he comes to the sudden, sobering conclusion that, if they are really a couple – they would not want him around. There it is folks. The THREAT. If they are lesbian couple he is unneeded, unwanted – an annoyance. What mental hoops will Keisuke create for himself and jump through next time? Tune in to find out!

The short story by Miyamoto Ayako wasn’t all that good, IMHO.

“Juliet and Juliet” by Oimoro Jiroh was exactly what it sounds like.

Kurokiri Misao’s “Kokoro no Pendant” was a misunderstanding wrapped around a pendant, but everything works out in the end.

“Reversal” by Imura Ei was unique for several reasons. The art was all scratchy and sketchy, which sort of fit the tone of the story, which followed a girl involved with, let’s face it, it was prostitution. When she is hired by another girl for a little humiliation, she ends up turning the tables on just which of them is in control of the relationship.

Skipping a couple of stories which didn’t make a mark on me, the volume wraps up with a sneak peek of Rikachi’s Ibara no Namida. The sneak peek follows three female college students and the love triangle that has them orbiting around each other. It instantly caught my attention for the clean art and realistic behaviors. I’ve got the volume sitting here and I’ve bumped it up on the too-read pile.

So, overall, still loads to like for just about anyone, and maybe even getting better, bit by bit. I love the new wacky column in the beginning of the volume. Starting off with some goofball humor coming off the stress-y Fukami stories is a good way to get us all to relax and have a little fun while we read.

Ratings:

Overall – 8

Before I wrap up, I want to answer one more question that was asked at the UBC lecture the other day that I didn’t have time to answer. The questions was, in short – whether men who like Yuri identify more with the seme or the uke (which only applies in *some* stories, but we’ll use it for the moment, because neither is the answer anyway) in a Yuri couple. Of course I cannot answer for every man who is a Yuri fan (or every woman who is, for that matter) but here’s what I’ve seen in the majority of the Yuri fans – we identify with the couple. In my many, many discussions with Yuri fans over the years the issue is not that we want to be Haruka, or date Haruka…we want Haruka to be with Michiru. Remember my interview with Fujieda Miyabi-sensei when he said that when he creates a couple together, that’s when he’s happiest. I have had so many people tell me that this goes for them, too. I also feel this way. When the couple is happy, so am I. Therefore, I will generalize and say that Yuri fans do not identify with either pursuer or pursued, but with an established, hopefully functional, couple. ^_^





Bustician Manga, Guest Review by Bruce P

March 20th, 2011

Erica here. I’m busy chauffeuring Rica Takashima today to the Dykes Draw the Line slide show and discussion at the Bronx Academy of Arts and Dance, and with news, both good and bad, we’ve had few reviews here in the past week. Today we have one of those ever-so-special treats when a Guest Reviewer jumps in to save me from losing my mind and you from having to go a single day without wit and/or wisdom from Okazu. Today it is my very special pleasure to welcome back Okazu superhero, one of my dear friends and best lackeys, Bruce P. with what I promise is a very witty and wise review….

Breasts.

Just practicing. Its a word that will be used an awful lot in this review.

To begin addressing the manga Bustician (バステティシャン) by Oshima Towa, it is useful to refer to an earlier review by Erica of Gokujouu, in which that manga was described as ‘a more nudity-filled, more pervtastic, even MORE stupid version of the same exact set of gags in High School Girls…if Kouda was the lead character.’ Oshima Towa, author of High School Girls, apparently is not one to let such a challenge in the arena of plummeting taste go unanswered. Unfortunately with Bustician she succeeds brilliantly, plumbing the depths of bad burlesque in a fundamentally bizarre manga that centers entirely on the female breast. Incidentally, the term ‘plumbing’ was brought to mind by the manga itself, see below (‘plumber’s helper’).

The word Bustician is a contraction of bust aesthetician, an expert in breast aesthetics. Kokoa and Mami are new busticians working in the salon Bustnia. They are under the tutelage of the lovely and poised Sarasa, and are rivals for her affection (actually, they are less interested in the affection than in the groping, but we’ll get to that). Bustnia is a breast salon. Women who are unhappy with their breasts are treated to various massages and non-surgical treatments to augment, diminish, reshape, or otherwise change them. Each chapter involves a woman (or pair of women) who has a difficult relationship issue or career issue or self-image issue originating with their breasts and hopes that Salon Bustnia is the answer. These issues are serious concerns to the customers and obviously highly personal, but what we are treated to is a barrage of slapstick gags as the two new girls maltreat their customer’s breasts in painful, extended and explicit displays of nominally hilarious, clueless, Kouda-esque ineptitude. You would think the girls had never encountered a breast before. For breast augmentation cases Kokoa is always reaching for the vacuum cleaner. And yes, the plumber’s helper.

In fact Kokoa and Mami are girls only on the outside. They behave in every way like adolescent boys – presumably mirroring the intended audience. They are fascinated by breasts, excited to learn new things about them, unable to keep their hyperactive, groping hands off them. Their prime desire is to see Sarasa naked, and they get all nosebleedy on those occasions when it might just happen. You get the feeling that somewhere along the line they must have been hit on the head by one of those falling spaceships, and since their reconstruction as girls are now living a boy’s voyeuristic fantasy. On one page that will get you some interesting looks on the bus Kokoa is massaged by Sarasa and falls into a trancelike dream where she is lying in blushing, naked, orgasmic bliss in a bulging sea of elephantine breasts. This illustration takes up a full page, in the corner of which a chorus of smiling disembodied SD breasts are singing the happy breast song. You know, the one that goes ‘O, o, o, o, o–, oppai oppai oppai opapaai.’ Yeah, that one.

There is Yuri. Two of the employees have a relationship, one of whom, Asahi, is brought onto the case of the customer with the insensate breasts. Asahi’s explicitly sexual and obviously well practiced massage solves the woman’s problem, only to create another one: a hopeful repeat customer (it’s not that kind of salon, apparently, though it sure looks like it most of the time). A woman with large breasts wants to look more like a man when she is making love to her girlfriend (it turns out that her girlfriend likes her just the way she is.) Then there’s Kokoa’s and Mamai’s desire for Sarasa, but again, it’s more adolescent male lust than anything else.

Ratings:

Art – 7 Typical Oshima Towa, which is not bad. Her breast art is an adolescent’s dream. In this manga she had lots of practice.

Story – 2 Pain, embarrassment and interminable physical abuse can sustain a story only so far.

Characters – 4 It might seem like the customers deserve some sympathy, but they really don’t, because they rarely get up and pound the living crap out of Kokoa and Mami.

Yuri- 6 Some of the secondary characters are definite couples. Kokoa and Mami lust after Sarasa’s breasts. Put it all together and shake and OK, there’s some Yuri.

Service – 90 Breasts. Naked. Multiple. Massive. On every page. Without some of the women’s issues it could have been 91.

Overall – Oh, somewhere below 5. That the translucent first page that allows you to remove the negligee and reveal the breasts of a full color Kokoa actually sums it up pretty well.

Having enjoyed High School Girls, I would like to believe that Bustician was meant to be so unbelievably over-the-top, so tongue-in-cheek in its breast obsession that normal standards were sort of beside the point. But as in the case of Ernest Vincent Wright’s Gadsby from 1939 – a novel written without once using the letter ‘e’ – intense single-mindedness may be a source of amazement, but can make for a pretty lousy read.

Erica again: Hahahahahahahahahhahah

Better you than me, Bruce.





Yuri Network News – March 19, 2011

March 19th, 2011

Yuri Drama CD

Because one Hayate x Blade Drama CD was not enough and two drama CDs only barely scratched the itch, the Hayate x Blade Ultra Jump Drama CD Sanban Hoshi! Hyuuryuu Tsumeawase (はやて×ブレード ウルトラドラマCD さんばん星！ 漂流つめあわせ) is now on sale!

Also available is the GIRL FRIENDS Drama CD. Morinaga Milk seemed very happy with the results in her posts on her blog and on Twitter, so I think we’re in for a treat.

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Yuri Anime

This week Nozomi/RightStuf announced the street date for the first Revolutionary Girl Utena (少女革命ウテナ) box set. This set will include all the extras that were in the Japanese remastered set – and TRSI says that for fans who pre-order all three sets, there will be an extra extra. There’s no hint yet as to what that might be, but they promise it will be very cool. If any other company said that, I’d shrug. TRSI gets my kind of “cool” better than most. As another type of extra, there is a feature on the Utena website in which you can ask the Director Ikuhara Kunihiko questions about the series. Have at it – I’m looking forward to seeing those questions!

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Yuri Manga

My reaction upon hearing the news that Kodansha USA was going to be releasing the Sailor Moon Anniversary edition and Sailor V manga in English was, and I quote “OMG, did Kodansha USA *listen* to us? I don’t know where to look, or what do do with my hands!!!”

Under no circumstances is, “So when is the anime coming out?” the appropriate reaction, btw. Saying “yay!” and saving your money to buy the volumes, which will start being released in September, is an appropriate reaction. If you really do not have the money (and believe me, I sympathize with that,) the most appropriate reaction is to head over to your local public library and become friends with the person who is in charge of the Graphic Novels section or, if there is no GN section, the “acquisitions” person and start getting them primed to pick this series up. Don’t rant. Just let them know that one of the two series that truly launched anime/manga here in the US (Dragonball being the other) is about to be released and it’d probably be cool to get it for the collection.

One last thing while I’m asking you to mind you manners. ^_^ Tokyopop did not actually do a TERRIBLE, GODAWFUL translation. They changed the names, because that was what we did back then. It was not actually a crime against nature – for the most part, the Japanese companies wanted it that way. In fact, convincing the Japanese publishers that we *didn’t* want names changed was a pretty big battle back in the day.

Quick History Lesson: Sailor Moon was being serialized in Tokyopop’s Smile, then Mixxzine magazine when the first rebellion occurred. The anime had been running on Cartoon Network, Usagi had become Serena, Makoto was Lita already. Tokyopop kept Lita but tried to mollify fans with Bunny for Usagi. BUT. When the Outer Senshi arrived and their names were changed, it was intolerable – the straw that broke the camel’s back was, apparently, using Olivia for Hotaru. Fans rebelled and wrote ridiculously angry letters. Tokopop bowed to pressure and when Sailor Moon ‘S,’ ‘Super S’ and ‘Stars’ volumes came out, the Outers and Starlights retained their names. I still have those Smile and Mixx magazines issues, by the way. ^_^

This series, and later Azumanga Daioh, with Yukari being the Spanish teacher in the first volume of the manga, were the two big proving grounds for the kind of localization we expect right now.

Some back channel chatter convinces me that we *are* getting a new translation of the manga, and from a very talented and reliable source. I hope we get some good editing too! Let’s keep our fingers crossed.

I’m still not entirely sure what this is about, but Dengeki 4-Koma Collection, Fu-Fu, (電撃4コマ コレクション ふーふ ) appears to be just what it sounds like – a comic strip of two women “playing house” as we call it around these parts. There’s apparently going to be – or is – a net game release associated with this, if I read that correctly.

And let’s finish up with something that I think will make a lot of people happy (hopefully happy enough to buy it, rather than just download scans.) The first Ichijinsha collection by Nanzaki Iku Sweet Little Devil, is due out in April.

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Yuri Novel

Miyamoto Ayako is currently contributing short stories to the new Comic Yuri Hime. She also has a new book out, Ame no Tou (雨の塔) which, like the short stories, is Yuri.

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That’s a wrap for this week.

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