Archive for 2017


Yuri Manga: Anoko ni Kiss to Shirayuri wo, Volume 6 (あの娘にキスと白百合を)

June 6th, 2017

If you enjoyed Volume 2 of Anoko ni Kiss to Shirayuri wo (Or Volume 2 of Kiss & White Lily For My Dearest Girl) you will probably like Volume 6 of Anoko ni Kiss to Shirayuri wo (あの娘にキスと白百合を).

Chiharu and Izumi have grown closer, but when a classmate gives Izumi a flower with a red ribbon (a newly forged class tradition, in which the color of the ribbon signals your emotional intention; friend, love, etc) Chiharu abandons her own desire for intimacy with Izumi. Izumi rejects Amane, who takes it well enough, and forces Chiharu to face up to her lingering attachment to Hoshino-sempai, before the two of them can be the couple we want them to be. 

Amane tries again, but her classmate Hiroma, while actually interested in her, is not a very extroverted…and is swayed from response by Amane’s bestie Nina, who turns out to have it bad for Amane. The ending for this threesome is clearly illustrated on the cover.

I’m glad the story has circled back on Chiharu and Izumi, as she has previously done for Yurine and Ayaka. It’s nice to know that we’re going to get a little bit more than just “I like you. The End” for some of the strongest characters. The art’s getting more detailed, too. I can’t help but wonder if Canno-sensei has picked up a bunch of extra assistants with her new fame. ^_^

Ratings:

Art – 8
Story – 6 A bit pat, but okay
Characters – 7 New characters feel a bit thin at the moment, even as the older ones are getting more developed
Yuri – 5
Service – 1 on principle only

Overall – 7

The thing that keeps bringing me back to this series (aside from the fact that it’s ubiquitous and I can’t escape it ^_^) is the different forms the relationships take. They are far more complicated than the ones I remember from my high school, for sure. ^_^





Yuri Manga: Comic Yuri Hime June 2017 /コミック百合姫2017年6月号

June 5th, 2017

The June issue of Comic Yuri Hime (コミック百合姫2017年6月号) begins with a crisis on the cover. It might looks like two girls walking happily under an umbrella, but if one reads both the large green text and the 6-point type hidden at the bottom it’s apparent that the girl in the glasses really has to come clean soon or she’s a total jerk.

Thankfully, “2DK, GPen, Mezamashitokei”starts with Mahiro being really creepy AND jerky, and Nanami telling her politely, but firmly, to GTFA. Thank you Ohsawa-sensei. Thank you so much.

Nakamura Yukichi gives us what was a nice “Story A” in “Azuma-san to Itakura-sempai ha Koi o Suru.”

Hitoto’s “Shuumatsu Nanishi ni Ikou?” has hit a plot complication…but I’m not sure what the actual plot is, so the complication seems a little out of left filed.

A plot complication has also slapped Hime in the face in “Watashi no Yuri ha Oshigoto desu!” by Miman. As this was a series I never expected to have an actual plot, I’m both pleased and surprised. Hime comes face to face with how much of a jerk she’s been.

“Demi-Life” and “Roku + Ichi Sodarashi” continue to be fun, superficial reads, while “Itsuka Minoreba” insists on continuing, so I’m kind of wondering where it’s going to go, eventually. Is it *really* going to be about her training to play arcade games? Really?

Katakura Ako returns with another messy, smexy story, this time about adults in an office, so I’m happy. ^_^

As usual, there are many other stories in the magazine, all of whicha re good, bad and indifferent, according to your tastes ^_^

Ratings:

Overall  7

It is all I can do to read, much less review these monthly! What an excess of riches we have. I have a substantial pile here of things waiting to be reviewed and more  in my to-read pile. It’s pretty darn cool to have so much Yuri these days.





Yuri Manga: Revolutionary Girl Utena, Volume 2 (English)

June 4th, 2017

The second volume of the Revolutionary Girl Utena Manga Complete Deluxe Box Set remains complex and uncomfortable right until an ending that was much better than I remembered it being.

The primary conflict in the final arc of the Revolutionary Girl Utena anime, appears to be between Utena and Akio. In the manga version, the Student Council has been set to the side, neutralized by Anthy in order to set Utena up for Akio. 

But, like the anime, something happens just as Anthy is set to betray Utena. She begins to believe that Utena can set her free. And here in the manga, that changes everything. Freedom changes Anthy in a way that gives one hope. (And inspires one to write fanfic.)

The art here at the end of the manga arc is strong and hyper-romantic, very suitable for the magazine it ran in, Flowers, I believe it was. I wish there was a color version of Utena-Dios, because you just know she looked amazing in her white and lavender Council uniform. ^_^ 

The complete set includes Juri’s sidestory, which sadly focuses on Ruka, rather than Shiori. And the final section of the collection covers the manga version of the Revolutionary Girl Utena Movie: Adolescence of Utena. This manga volume was the precise moment when I started understanding the literary roots of Yuri Manga and for that, I have a lot of fondness for the thing. The story focuses on two not-really-real relationships, Utena’s adoration of Touga and Anthy’s adoration of (an even more horrible than in the TV manga) Akio. But it ends with the same relationship the TV manga does – Utena and Anthy, finding healing and friendship and love in one another. No wonder we all wrote so much damn fanfic. ^_^ 

 The art of the movie manga has already leveled up significantly from the earliest chapters of the television series manga, and still holds up well enough to satisfy an older audience. The deluxe set wraps up with two short notes by manga artist Chiho Saito and director Ikuhara Kinihiko.

Ratings:

Art- 8 Solid, stylish, with moments of brilliance 
Story – 8 A much better ending than I remembered 
Characters – 8 Touga and Juri end up better than expected, Miki and Saionji suffer and Akio gets extra helpings of awful. Anthy is even more complex and interesting.
Service – 5 Creepy non-con seductions and slapping so…mostly violence against women’s autonomy, with a side of bullshitty consent issues.
Yuri- 7 Anthy and Utena 4ever. <3

I love that between the two Utena manga, anime and movie there are four unique versions of this story and each one ends centered around a relationship built on friendship and hope and love.

One last note – I’m pretty sure I have all the Utena artbooks, but there is a color image in this set that I have never seen before. I refer to it as the “Takarazuka” image, as Utena is wearing a feather back piece and both her and Anthy’s outfits are unusually sparkly. I like it a lot. ^_^ It’s yet another good reason to get this complete manga deluxe set!





Yuri Network News – (百合ネットワークニュース) – June 3, 2017

June 3rd, 2017

Yuri Visual Novels

Several Yuri VNs are on sale over at Denpasoft right now. The demo for the obviously 18+ Alpha’s Adventures is free and includes demos of all the paths, according to the description. If this appeals to you, do let us know how the demo looks.

Also on sale are Highway Blossoms and Love, Guitars and the Nashville Skyline. I enjoyed the former when I played it, and have heard nice things about the latter. 

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Yuri Events

Girl’s Love Festival is happening in a few hours in the Tokyo Metropolitan area, and Morishima Akiko-sensei has created the doujinshi that I felt was the most obvious thing *ever* that needed to exist. Check out her Yuri Yuri on Ice! doujinshi on Pixiv. (And if you’re going to GLF, pick me up a copy? Thanks!) If you’ve been wondering where she’s gone, the answer is…online. Her work has moved to mostly digital. Amazon JP won’t allow non-JP addresses to get Kindle books, but don’t worry, her work is available on other platforms as well, like Kobo, Renta! and Comic SeeMore (which I’ve used). Check out her comic novel in collaboration with Nanbu Kumako, Sasayaki no Kiss on Jimdo.com, for all the links.

 

Yuri Anime

Crunchyroll has added Serial Experiments Lain which, as I found during a recent rewatch, held up a lot better than I had expected! Check out my reviews of Volume 1 and Volume 2.

 

Yuri Manga

Kurosaki Rendou’s Yuri stories from Rakuen Le Paradis magazine have been collected into a volume, Kanojochuu (彼女中). His art is always kinda ugly, the characters look strung out, the sex is messy and the stories gross. but he has a niche. ^_^

My Lesbian Experience With Loneliness is *still* heading up the Yaoi, Gay & Lesbian Manga category! Rock on you folks buying it!

 

Other News

Matt Thorn has put together a terrific primer on the “Magnificent Forty-Niners,” the women responsible for much of what we think of as shoujo (and BL) manga. This is a great read about manga history and these still-current masters of the medium!

The new photos of the next Sailor Moon musical characters, Sailor Galaxia and the Animamates on ANN made me squee. ^_^ Please, powers that be, let Lead Crow and Aluminum Siren have a moment. Please.

Another lesbian couple had a Disney Princess wedding at Tokyo Disneyland. Still meaningless, but pretty. BUT, back here in the real world, the city of Sapporo in Japan is now allowing same-sex marriage certificates. That makes six places in Japan. (And today, my Facebook feed included a letter from a Japanese store manager who told a customer to never come back, after receiving a complaint about a couple of men holding hands in the store.) Steps forward.

 

Resistance News

The Lesbian Herstory Archives in Brooklyn, NY is hosting an exhibition called Graphic Activism. The opening is June 15, from 7-9PM. “Graphic Activism features a selection of posters, newsletters, and zines from the largest collection of lesbian materials in the world. Comprised of posters from across the United States, this exhibit celebrates lesbian arts and artists, including Leslie Feinberg’s Passing Fancy: Passing Women in Their Own Words and Rivers of Honey, a NYC-based Woman of Color Arts Cabaret, and addresses such topics as gay teen suicide and AIDS activism.”

 

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!

 





Steven Universe Soundtrack, Volume 1

June 2nd, 2017

Sometimes, you just need the world to have a #1 movie about an Amazon and the debut of the much-desired Steven Universe Soundtrack. ^_^

There’s not much I can really say about this soundtrack to convince you to get it. Either you enjoy Steven Universe, find the music an integral and pleasant part of the series as a whole, or, well, you don’t.

If you do like the music, and have a habit of singing “It’s Over Isn’t It?” for days and days at a time, then you, too, will want to run out and get this-digital only album. It’s available on iTunes, where it soared to #5 in the album charts right away and also on Google Play. 

I find that not only did I remember every episode every song belongs to, I find myself thinking Lapis and Peridot *really* need a duet. Or, I should say, I really need Lapis and Peridot to have a duet. ^_^

I hadn’t realized that Rebecca Sugar herself sings the beautiful ED, “Love Like You.” And now I get to enjoy Olivia Olsen’s version of “Haven’t You Noticed (I’m a Star)” on repeat as well.  And probably the full-version of the OP “We Are The Crystal Gems”  and “Do It For Her”. Which makes me realize that Deedee Magno Hall as Pearl is the winner in terms of songs for me. The depth and honesty and pathos of the writing for Pearl is extraordinary. 

Yes. I’m fangirling. Yes. This will surprise no one.

And now I undoubtedly will sing “It’s Over Isn’t It?” for days and days. And days.

Ratings:

Overall – 10

And days. 

Soar like a comet and get this album and we can all sit around sharing jams and jam.

Tell me what your favorite track is in the comments