It was a complete surprise to me that Pure Yuri Anthology Hirari, Volume 14 was the final issue. Reading this volume, I had the distinct feeling that it came as a surprise to the artists, too.
And it’s a shame, as this volume, the last we’ll ever get, may well have been the overall strongest volume they ever had. But, with the example of Tsubomi already establishing that the Yuri audience, while demanding, is just not really all that big and self-supporting and not willing to support an online commercial venture, I guess Hirari just had nowhere to go.
Especially excellent was Amakure Gido’s opening story, “Watashi Baka”, about a post-high school meeting, and pretty much the entire first half of the volume (with one notable exception of Kurogane Kenn’s really creepy no-context sex scene story) were lovely.
I will look forward to the final wrap-up volumes of a few of these series, and hope that someone develops a valid online alternative for Yuri, as paper is just too damn expensive to be supported by this small audience.
Ratings:
Overall – 8
I admit to being concerned at the contraction of the Yuri market. A number of pro Yuri artists are having their gigs pulled out from under them and are returning to doujinshi. I desperately hope new opportunities open up for them soon, but I’m realistic enough to know my hopes aren’t meaningful in any real sense.
“paper is just too damn expensive to be supported by this small audience”
So much paper too. I’ll admit that a few times recently when I’ve needed something heavy I’ve reached for Hirari 14.
Agreed that it doesn’t seem like the mangaka had a lot of forewarning, many of the endings seemed abrupt. And of course nobody would plan to end Kase-san with a side-story after the cliffhanger in the summer special.
Exactly so.
“…and hope that someone develops a valid online alternative for Yuri…”
This is something that I’ve always been curious about. In the US, there are tons of self-starter artists, game makers, etc., that have become popular just by using online resources, Kickstarters, etc. In Japan, intellectual properties seem to still be very dependent on traditional publishing, from manga to games. I think I’ve only seen something like Kill la Kill take advantage of crowdfunding.
It’s like how the music industry used to be in the USA, when you *had* to find a label, but nowadays you can become popular just own your own (thanks to the net). Is that opportunity not available in Japan, or do they just not like doing that? I know they have their big doujinshi meets and what not, but that doesn’t seem to hold the same world-marketing power as using the internet.
I could be wrong though, since I’m not super knowledgeable about Japanese markets, but it just seems to me that they’re trying to build a Yuri market (or any new market) by using relatively outdated means.
It’s always easy to be a sideline biz dev expert. Getting people to actually *pay* for things is a moving target.
I am sorry this is a late comment/question, but if you happen to remember, what did you think about the third chapter of the ‘OUT OF THE BLUE!’ storyline by Kumichou that appeared in this volume?
Off the top of my head, I don’t remember it.