Archive for 2017


Yuri Novel: Shoujo Mousouchuu. (少女妄想中。)

October 2nd, 2017

As I read Shoujo Mousouchuu. (少女妄想中。) by Iruma Hitoma, I pondered how I might translate the title, as I do. Is it more like the “Girl of my Delusion” or “The Delusional Girl?” This is not an idle thought, either. How I translate the title could easily affect how I saw the stories in the collection.

A girl in elementary school sees an older girl running by and spends the next decade running after that figure. Having rejected the friend who loves and desires her, she knows that her obsession is unhealthy, but can’t help running after her image of the running girl. A girl on the beach meets another girl with a strange name. They spend time together, and run away together…but are either of them real?

A girl falls in love with her aunt, who only has one eye. The story of the accident looms large, but not as large as the girl’s desire for this woman she can’t stop thinking about. A girl goes to the beach with a friend where they discover love for one another, but it was probably all a dream.

You see my point. Is the girl with the delusion the point or the girl being obsessed about? It’s not that easy to tell, as reality and delusion mix and merge and pull apart repeatedly in these stories. In the first story, Ao meets the running girl several times in her imagination before she encounters her as an adult many years later. And the entire love affair in the last story isn’t real at all. So as we read, we’re constantly being asked to re-evaluate the story and see it through two lenses, one of delusion and the other of reality.

Nothing at all happens. Nothing. Less than nothing. I mean, like Misaki and Shirone go to the beach, meet up in town and one day get on a train, then turn around and come back. The end. So if you’re looking for clear cut stories with beginnings and endings, this may not be the thing for you.  On the other hand…it was a pretty good book, I have to say. Not an easy read, especially when I was tired, but compelling enough that I often read a few pages more than I should have stayed up for.  

Ratings: 

Overall – 8

If you want to read something with a little light Yuri and a frisson of mindfuck, Shoujo Mousouchuu. isn’t a bad choice. 





Summer Reading: What Happened

October 1st, 2017

Well. That was cathartic.

What Happened, by Hillary Rodham Clinton, won’t fix anything. It won’t change the weaponization of social media we saw used so effectively (even now) by Russia and mercenary allies. It won’t change or fix the crushing misogyny and racism that is choking us as a society. It won’t fix that America’s always-flawed system has been irretrievably and possibly irreversibly damaged by the election of the least competent person to run for President in a hundred years to the highest position in the land. It won’t and cannot fix any of those things. Nor does it attempt to do so.

But as a clear-minded and reasonably balanced look at the many factors that loomed large in the 2016 USA Presidential election, this is a book that will be mandatory reading for decades, possibly centuries, to come.

It begins with Clinton thanking and praising so many people; the village that helped her campaign. And it never stops thanking her friends, her supporters, the people she spoke with, who canvassed for her, the press who traveled with her, her peers and coworkers in the government, her friends, family and all the folks who helped her make history as the first-ever female major party candidate for President. That achievement has been wholly ignored by everyone, but it’s an achievement, nonetheless.

Clinton breaks down all the mistakes she made even, and especially, ones she thought she managed to do right that were turned against her. She holds the media and Former FBI director James Comey accountable for their behaviors that contributed, both directly and indirectly, to her loss. And she speaks plainly about the ongoing “active measures” Putin is taking in elections around the western world. We’re seeing it in drives to secession from the successful Kurds to Catalonia, from Brexit to the ridiculous California secession movement – anything to fragment and destablize the west. And of course, she recognizes the decades-long hate campaign against her, personally, from days when she was the Arkanasas’ governor’s wife, through her days as First Lady right through the campaign. But the person she blames the most is herself.

After the stress of election night, she talks about how she put herself back together, about her new activism and about her renewed desire to be and stay active for women and children. Clinton’s voice is so distinct, I don’t know how one could read this book and not hear it as she would speak it.

This was not an easy book for me to read. It hurt – it hurts again right now as I review it. Every round of golf, every racial baiting tweet, every day that incompetent is in the White House, it hurts. Which is why I had to read it. But it also has moments of laugh-out-loud humor. And it ends with love and kindness…and hope.

This is a chronicle of the day the west fell. We all should know what happened.

Ratings:

Overall – 10

The weaponization of social media Clinton speaks of is still in full-force. Before the book even was available, hundreds of 1-star ratings appeared on Amazon and thousands of nasty comments appeared on the 5-star ratings. It’s not just bots – it’s people manipulated by propaganda spread by bots and partisan politics. On my review I commented that I had cried and laughed reading the book. The angry angry person who commented told me that no, I hadn’t. So much anger because of 30 years of lies about a woman who worked so hard to serve her country. It’s terrifying. And we still have to live in it.

 





Yuri Network News – (百合ネットワークニュース) – September 30, 2017

September 30th, 2017

Yuri Anime

ANN has a couple of relevant items about the upcoming Card Captor Sakura Clear Card Arc anime. Fittingly, a classic singer, Sakamoto Maaya, is returning to do the theme. That’ll please all the older fans. ^_^ And announcements have been made on new character casting, as well.

Yuri Foxgirl anime Konohana Kitan is going to be on Crunchyroll this October. Check out Crunchyroll’s promotional video for the series.

Girl’s Last Tour, a post-apocalyptic series with cute girls, has been licensed by Sentai Filmworks. That it has an anime at all is amazing. ^_^ Check out the trailer on Youtube.

 

Okazu News

I know I do keep going on about this, but with the help of all of our amazing Patrons – and with humble thanks to our first God-level Patron, Ivan – Okazu is within spitting distance of being able to pay Guest Reviewers. I feel kind of strongly about this. Writing is hard work and it takes a lot of time and effort. I try to get you 4-6 posts a week here and it’s important to me to be able to pay our guest writers for their efforts. Sometimes a single paid gig can make the difference in a resume. 

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Yuri Manga

I didn’t keep on reading it, but heavily supernatural-influenced Comic Cune had a lot of Yuri and Yuri-esque series. Comic Natalie reports that vampire story Kyuugetsgi-chan x Kouhai-chan (吸血鬼ちゃん×後輩ちゃん) is getting a collected volume and vampire x vampire hunter story Killing Me! (キリング・ミー！)  is starting in the November issue. I might have to take another look, despite my disinterest in vampires. ^_^

Comic Natalie also says that from the folks at Kadokawa’s web site magazine, comes Yuri Natsu – Minshokugaya (ゆりなつ-民宿かがや-」) a Yuri Twitter comic by  Nao Mochi-aulait. This series will start in October and I’m going to keep my eyes on it.

Equally, I’m not going to be reading Yuri “comedy” Akarui Kiokusoushitsu (明るい記憶喪失), Volume 2. “cheerful amnesia” is just a big no for me. ^_^

 

Yuri Visual Novel

YNN Correspondent Brendan B want you to know about “a cute looking Yuri visual novel called Butterfly Soup that was released this week.” This is an indie VN and is a free download. If you plan on reading it let us know how it is!

 

Live-Action

Also via Brendan, “Fun Home is getting a Japanese production, with former Takarazuka star Jun Sena playing adult Allison.” He said,  “That’s some casting!” and I was too busy screaming to reply coherently other than yah, it is. ^_^ It’s being performed while I’m there, but I make no promises. If I manage to see it, I promise to scream incoherently for a whole review. ^_^

 

Other News

ANN reports that Fukami Makoto is launching a manga about writers and I just bet that it’ll have lesbians in it. He loves his lesbians.

If you’re in or near Tokyo on November 18 and are interested in literary translation, why not attend Strong Women, Soft Power Symposium #1: Towards a Community of Practice in Japanese Literary Translation?

 

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!





Oshi ga Budokan Ittekuretara Shinu Manga, Volume 3 ( 推しが武道館いってくれたら死ぬ )

September 29th, 2017

I’m starting to think that Hirao Auri-sensei has a bad case of manga interruptus. Is the creator a master of tense, unresolved (unresolvable) sexual tension or is it a case of “string ’em along, the suckers’ll get what they deserve.”? I’m honestly not sure.

But apparently, I, like Eripyo, deserve to keep being disappointed by her inability to bridge the gap between her and the subject of her hopeless obsession, pop idol Maina. Surrounded by shifts in and around the group, Maina is “gambare”ing as hard as she can and Eri is exhausting herself at any number of part-time jobs in order to support her.

In Oshi ga Budokan Ittekuretara Shinu, Volume 3 ( 推しが武道館いってくれたら死ぬ ) things are starting to stretch to untenable stress. Eri’s Mom is wondering when she’s going to stop working like a child and get a real career. 

Kumasa is having the best luck at connecting with his favorite idol and even Motoi has a moment or two, but Eri is exhausted, constantly broke, and eternally frustrated as all she wants is to be there for Maina.

Maina is working as hard as she can and wants desperately to thank her number one fan, but all they can do is stare at one another, awkwardly, unable to think of the right thing to say, holding sweaty hands at the handshake events.

Ratings:

Art – 8
Story – 8, dammit
Character – 8
Service – 1
Yuri – 4 I’m running out digits to cross, with the need to strangle the author.

Overall – 8

Argh and argh. But I guess I get what I deserve, since I keep coming back.  If this series goes 8 volumes and all we get is a reset, I better hope the judge understands, because I’m gonna lose my mind. ^_^





Yuri Manga: Kai to Alternarock (貝とオルタナロック)

September 28th, 2017

Nako’s Kai to Alternarock (貝とオルタナロック) has the English subtitle “The key to her room will be opend by her music” which nicely, if inaccurately sums up the story. Alternarock is short for “alternative rock.” Kai is a shell, a symbol that is relevant to the story. An Alternative rock guitarist does get the protagonist to come out of her shell, but it still wins this year for the most awkward title to explain in English. ^_^

Makino is an asshole boss. Intolerant, rude and impatient, she treats the people in her department poorly as a course of matter. She’s a mope and a grouch.

And yet, Seo just can’t hate her. Seo isn’t trying to play Makino, she’s not trying to seduce her, she just wants her miserable wretch of a boss to enjoy something. Seo invites Makino to see her play with her band live and somehow or other, something starts to crack in Makiko’s thick and bitter exterior.  And almost without either of them realizing it, they are kind of an item. The big boss, an old friend of Makino’s, is pleased to see her friend less unhappy. It takes some time before Makino finally comes clean about the personal history that has made her so unhappy, but of all people in the world, Seo is the last to judge Makino poorly.

Sadly we don’t get to see Makino at work after she open up, but I’d like to think she isn’t any different. ^_^

This manga is pretty well-used plot for an office romance in manga, but I don’t know, I still kind of like it, as unrealistic as it seems to me. (Maybe not to you, but you haven’t had my bosses!)

Nako’s art is not complicated, but not precise, either, with very light use of tone. It’s easy to follow, but then this is a mostly “talking head” manga and didn’t need complicated backgrounds. I quite liked that the manga was preachy about the evils of smoking and drinking. ^_^

Ratings:

Art – 8
Character – 8 Seo’s sincerity won Makino’s heart and mine
Story – 8 Nothing new, but that can be okay, too
Yuri- 6
Service – 0

Overall – 8

Yay for Yuri about adults adulting! More please!

I would like to dedicate today’s review to our first-ever Kami-level Patron here on Okazu, Ivan L! With his and your help we’re just about in range to pay our Guest Reviewers. Thanks to all the Okazu patrons! We can’t do it without you.