Archive for March, 2016


Houkago no Pleiades Prism Palette Manga, Volume 1 (放課後のプーレアデス Prism Palette)

March 30th, 2016

HnPPP1It’s been 5 years since the car company Subaru teamed up with anime studio Gainax to create a short and moderately entertaining anime series.  In 2015, they teamed up again to create a manga for the same extended commercial in conjunction with TV broadcasting of the anime and appearances at comic and auto shows.  Houkago no Pleiades/Wish Upon the Pleiades Prism Palette, Volume 1 (放課後のプーレアデス), was basically the same as the anime, only slightly less marginally entertaining the second time around.

The story is fundamentally the same – schoolgirl Subaru, who loves the stars, is somehow reunited with a former best friend who had gone to another school. She discovers that there is a team of magical girls at the school and becomes one in order to help an alien collect the scattered parts of his ship’s engine. They are obstructed in this by someone who coincidentally looks like the only other character in the story, a boy named Minato who appears to spend most of his time in a magic secret garden. Got it?

The story was a little scattered in the anime, but ultimately wrapped up with some interesting twists. I can’t say it was genius, but it was worth a watch. Knowing the twists ahead of time, I can’t say the manga has anything particular to recommend it. On the minus side, there is service, much of which is pointless and irritating. On the plus side, Minato’s role in this first volume is much less time than in the anime and the relationship between Aoi and Subaru is given more room to develop in one’s head. ^_^

The best bits of the anime – all the space rides on car brooms – is lost here, but we can’t really do anything about that. Manga isn’t anime. But don’t worry, they fill up that time with pointless and irritating service. Deep breath.

If you loved and adored the anime and really want to read the manga, this is certainly cute enough. If you love Subaru and /or Gainax, ditto. (I just got a Subaru for the first time, myself, but somehow I am not motivated by this manga to love the company. ^_^;)

Ratings:

Art – 7 The background screentones are nice
Characters – 6
Yuri – 4
Service – 4

Overall – 6

The fact that this is a really long car commercial is much less obvious in the manga than in the anime as the car-brooms don’t make vroomy noises.

“Space rides on car brooms” – I’m so glad to be alive to have been able to type that.





Yuri Manga: Mahou Josei Chimaka (English)

March 28th, 2016

scanWhen Chimaka was younger, she had been a magical girl. But when it came down to saving the world, she didn’t have what it takes and failed to defeat evil, or realize her eternal fated love. Now she’s a bitter adult in a day job and is at loose ends.

In Mahou Josei Chimaka, (one of several Yuri works put out by Sparkler Monthly, the English-language josei magazine) the creative team KaiJu takes on the tropiest trope and decides to look at it from a completely different perspective: What if it doesn’t all work out? The cynic in me thrilled to the premise…and as I read, I found a lot to like in the treatment.

The art is competent and I like the inclusion of a WoC as the main character. More important to me than the art, always, is the story – and in this I think this book excels. Not only is it a unique rendering of a magical girl story it is, I dare say, a “magical” love story, between two characters who would be more than welcome to come over for lunch. ^_^

Chimaka is available in a Digital edition or in Print and I recommend it highly. Not only do you get the satisfaction of supporting Sparkler Monthly, which is  fine thing to do, and domestic Yuri manga, which is equally dopamine-inducing, but also you get a very fun story, with a lovely ending for the money. All in all, I wouldn’t mind a sequel. Hint Hint. ^_^

Ratings:

Art – 7
Story – 8
Character – 8
Yuri – 7
Service – 1 on principle, because people are weird

Overall- 8

Congratulations to KaiJu and Sparkler Monthly for winning a DINK award this past weekend!





Yuri Network News – (百合ネットワークニュース) – March 26, 2016

March 26th, 2016

YNN_Lissa

Sailor Moon News

As we get close to Sailor Moon Crystal‘s 3rd season, the video clips are coming thick and fast! ANN has two separate reports on the various opening and ending songs and animation, a new extended trailer and plans and singers for other EDs.

But to make it easy on you to watch this repeatedly, here is the first look at the Sailor Moon Crystal Third Season Ending theme, “eternal eternity”, sung by the voices of Sailors Uranus and Neptune, Minagawa Junko and Ohara Sayaka:

Two other notable things – in the extended trailer we see Sailor Venus with her sword, and I was immensely gratified at the final moments when the Senshi are arrayed very similarly to the way the are in the opening of ‘S’.

I have to say, I’m really very pleased with this. We deserve a little service. And Toei appears to not have forgotten the success they had with Sailor Moon S.

If you’re in Japan in this spring, consider hitting up Roppongi Hills for the Art of Sailor Moon exhibit! I’m gonna do my damnedest to get there. Because I will be in Japan in late April and my hope is that there will be a metric fuckton of Outers’ goods. ^_^ So, hey, please consider subscribing to Okazu! I need more stuff and to go to the Card Captor Sakura cafe for you. (Just kidding, all subscription money is used to buy stuff to review and to pay for massages. ^_^)

***

Support Yuri Manga and Anime –  Subscribe to Okazu with

Subcribe with Patreon

***

Anime News

The Spring anime season is heating up and there’s all kinds of stuff happening.

Yuri!!! is an upcoming skating anime that, realistically is probably about a Russian skater named Yuri, but the odd font choice that is strongly reminiscent of Yuri Kuma Arashi, makes me wonder. It’s probably too much to ask, but it would be lovely if there was even a smidgen. A skater and her coach, or even better, two skaters…., please? ANN has the report.

ANN reports that creator of Aria, Amano Kozue’s series Amanchu!, about diving, is getting a 13-episode series. As with Aria, expect less plot and more scenery porn. It was a nice, not compelling manga. Check out the first key visuals on ANN.

YNN Correspondent Day has a news item of “somewhat dubious quality.” Day says “A website for a project of some sort currently under the name of Umamusume has gone up. It’s from the game company Cygames, so I’m assuming it is a game, although it may be a mixed-media project as the PV currently posted depicts no gameplay and instead seems like it may be for an anime. From what little there is, the underlying story is of a group of horse-girls pursuing success on the racecourse, with a dash of idol nonsense thrown in. Yuri is in the form of an intense locking of eyes, and a liplock between a pair of figure-skating horse-girls in the PV. “

So I watched that PV.  (O_O) I’m laughing hysterically, horrified. There is so much wrong with that anime I don’t even have words. A pop idol group of horse-eared girls, who also ice skate, eat a lot (think about it…) and race like horses. I…can’t… holy god that’s vile and amazing.  Thanks, Day. Your punishment is that you’ll have to write the review. ^_^

Manga News

YNN Correspondent Katherine H wants you to know that Yen Press has licensed Kiniiro Mosaic which, at Sakuracon they described as Yuri-ish.

The 7th volume of Murcielago (ムルシエラゴ) has hit stands at last and if you buy it at various bookstores in Japan, Comic Natalie reports, it will include one of a series of special art pieces by the artist.

Yuri Events

Y/Con is a Yaoi and Yuri vent in Paris on November 12th-13. If you’re going to be able to make this, do please consider writing up a report for us!

I’ll be speaking about Queer manga on April 18th at LaGuardia College in Queens, NY.

Tokyopop Germany tweeted that they are  bringing Yuri Manga  Citrus creator Saburouta to Animagic, held in Bonn Germany, July 29-31.

Know some cool Yuri News you want people to know about? Become a Yuri Network Correspondent by sending me any Yuri-related news you find. Emails go to anilesbocon01 at hotmail dot com. Not to the comments here, please, or they might be forgotten or missed. There’s a reason for this madness. This way I know you are a real human, not Anonymous (which I do not encourage – stand by your words with your name!) and I can send you a YNN correspondent’s badge.

Thanks to all of you – you make this a great Yuri Network!





Silent Mobius QD Manga, Volume 2 (サイレントメビウスQD)

March 24th, 2016

SMQD2In November I had a chance to look at the first volume of Asamiya Kia’s return to his classic sci-fi Tokyo of the future, threatened by hard-to-discern creatures from another dimension and the women of the Attacked Mystification Police who fight them.

In Silent Mobius QD, Volume 2, (サイレントメビウスQD) we spend a little time getting familiar with Yamigumo Nagi, the cousin of AMP’s former member Yamigumo Nami, and Irene Wong who, like AMP Chief Lebia Maverick, is a visionnaire.

The volume is non-stop action, with third attracion attacks all over the place and a rescue mission of a vessel called the Bell Liner. In the middle of the action, Aoi continues to be difficult, we grow to like and respect Tasha and Chris insists that she’s there for Aoi…and we’ll never learn why. Unfortunately for us, the series comes to an end here at two volumes. Who Chris is, how and why Aoi can use Grospoliner, will remain mysteries forever.

Ratings:

Art – 8
Story – 3 It bit off more than it could chew
Characters – 8 Wish we got to know them
Yuri – 2 Woulda coulda shoulda on Chris and Aoi. Chris’s emotion was way intense.
Service – 4 Tasteful (hahah) nudity, Irene’s got a nice back tattoo.

Overall – 7

I so wish we had gotten the rest of this. I really wanted to know what the deal with Chris was.





Event: Gay/Lesbian/Yuri/BL/Bara Manga Discussion at Rainbow Pride Week in Tokyo

March 23rd, 2016

I am pleased and excited to announce that I will be participating in a discussion of Gay/Lesbian/Yuri/BL/Bara manga in Tokyo on May 3rd as part of Rainbow Pride Week events.

The discussion will be at the Aisotope Lounge (http://aliving.net/access.html) in Shinjuku Ni-choume on May 3rd, from 13:00 – 16:00, with guest manga artists Tagame Gengoroh and Nakamura Kiyo (who wrote GUNJO as Nakamura Ching) and Chairman Satou Yasuki.

I hope you’ll all join us and  I’m confidant that I’ll create a whole new exciting set of verbal gaffes for this event. ^_^; I’ll be presenting a brief history of Yuri in the first half and acting as “commentator” in the second. It should be a blast! ^_^

***
私はゲイ、レズビアン、百合、BLマンガ会話に参加しているであろう：
5月3日　13：30～16：00
場所：新宿2丁目　AiSOTOPE LOUNGE http://aliving.net/access.html

第一部　性指向をめぐる日本の同性間表現の過去・現在・未来
百合とゲイ雑誌
司会：サイトウヤスキ
エリカ・フリードマン（百合ジャンル）
未定（ゲイジャンル）

第二部　性指向をめぐる表現、コミュニティの外へ内へ
セックスと恋愛の後にくるもの
司会：サイトウヤスキ
ゲスト：田亀源五郎
中村キヨ
コメンテーター：エリカ・フリードマン

わくわく！緊張する。^_^