Archive for 2017


Out of the Office, Onto the Streets

January 21st, 2017

Today, we march.

The Women’s March on Washington, and all the Sister Marches in all 50 states and dozens of cities internationally, have issued a comprehensive and progressive political platform and today I invite you all to get out and join your voice to others’, be seen and heard in your city and state.  If you cannot march, you can still be active in support.

Please consider joining a march near you. We need to be seen by the whole world resisting this push towards fascism and the undermining of American democracy by people who do not care whether we, our friends and family, live or die. I’ll see you out on the streets today and back in the office tomorrow.

 





Yuri Manga: Inugami-san to Nekoyama-san, Volume 5 (犬神さんと猫山さん)

January 19th, 2017

It’s been a while since I’ve reviewed Kuzushiro’s zodiac animal-themed high school gag comic. It’s not because it isn’t good, or that it hasn’t been funny. It’s just that Volume 4 wasn’t all that Yuri. It’s not that we don’t have Yuri couples – Student Council President Torao Mari and her Vice President, Ryuuzaki Otome, and Nekoyama-san’s older sister Tamaki and her lover Hebizuka Sawako.  

However, Volume 5 of Inugami-san to Nekoyama-san, (犬神さんと猫山さん) ratchets up the Yuri in a couple of places. Primarily the fraught relationship between Souma Sakura and Inori Mayo. Those two alternately fight verbally and physically throughout the volume, all the while skirting  the very real attraction between them. By the end of the volume they have at least acknowledged their mutual attraction even if it’s still going to be rocky.

The titular characters, Inugami-san and Nekoyama-san also go on a date, to a cat cafe. Suzu finds herself having a lot more fun playing with the kittens than she expected and she and Yachiyo find themselves moving ever closer to an actual romance.

And even with all this going on,  these two major shifts in dynamic are not the most interesting thing in the book.

I’ve referred to Aki as everyone’s keeper before and the splash page illustates this in a fairly servicey manner, with Aki in a sexualized pose and the rest of the cast in miniature draped around her. Throughout this series, she’s come off as grounded and slightly removed from everything. Not in this volume, where suddenly we see a bit deeper into Aki and it turns out she’s got very  a pretty dark center. I like it on her. And, she casually mentions, in the course of nothing particular, that she’s bi. Aki takes the lead on being the most interesting character in the series so far.

Ratings:

Art – 7
Story – 7
Character – 8
FanService – 6
Yuri – 7

Overall – 7

All I ever ask from gag comics is that they are amusing. Almost  despite itself, this one is also telling a story. Who’da thunk it!





Western Comic: DC Bombshells, Guest Review by Jen Yoko

January 18th, 2017

It’s Guest Review Wednesday and today we have a double fistful of joy at introducing you to a new Guest Reviewer, but long-time friend of Yuricon  and Okazu (and me!) Jen Yoko! I am ecstatic as heck that Jen has brought us her look at a book that I’ve heard a lot of good things about. Please offer her your undivided attention. The podium is yours, Jen. ^_^

Have you ever wondered what WWII would be like without our iconic male super hero protagonists? No? Why would you? I’m sure it has never crossed your mind. It has never crossed mine.

In DC Bombshells all of our favorite heroines from the DC universe have taken arms to help fight in the war against the Nazis.

When you begin reading the first issue, you are introduced to a 1940’s version of Batwoman. You see her dressed in a baseball outfit similar to what you would have seen in that time period.  The artwork made me feel that I was watching an old 1940’s film. From the way she speaks to her mannerisms, I became immediately reminded of the old films that I would watch with my family on Turner Classic Movies as a child.

Batwoman, aka Kate Kane, is still a lesbian in this universe and is living with Maggie Sawyer, her lover. They didn’t change or hide anything because of the time period. Instead the writers took a different turn. She blends in.  Which to me I found strange, frightening and refreshing.  When Amanda Waller visits Kate, she immediately recruits her into the Bombshells. This is where the story takes off.

You begin to see the journey of not just Kate Kane but almost EVERY FEMALE in the DC universe. It begins with Wonder Woman and how she helped fight alongside the USA, then shifts to Super Girl and Star Girl, to Catwoman, Harely Quinn and Poison Ivy along with so many more!  Each story fits smoothly into each other and does not falter, even in later chapters. I’m not saying every single story is gold, but you want to know what happens to each character and what sisterhood and connection they make with each other. They are now sisters in arms.

War, no matter how you slice it is still horrible, even in a fictional world. In this DC comic I was swept away by something I honestly only considered as pin-up piece in a comic shop. The stories are refreshing and empowering . It imparts a little something for everyone. It is easy to purchase and is available on Amazon or at any comic book shop.

Ratings:

Art – 7 It varies from chapter to chapter depending on the story but it makes the comic that much stronger. There are also several tasteful pin up girl images of each character.

Story – 8 It’s riddled with diversity and adventures that don’t overwhelm you. Not your typical save the day stories.

Characters – 8 Each character is from a different country and some have different accents. You fall in love with old characters with a new twist.

Yuri – 8 There are a several relationships in this book that took me by surprise. Batwoman isn’t the only leading lady of love. Harley Quinn and Poison Ivy are a couple along side a few other female characters that I was unfamiliar with.

Service – 8

Overall – 8 DC comics went out of their way for once to make our leading ladies truly shine. You finally see what you have wanted to see in an all female action comic that has been made in North America. With a market overflowing with male leads this makes you wonder why their aren’t more stories of women like this in US comics? I wish I could have read this as a teen growing up. It’s inspiring. 

Erica here: Well…wow! I’ve added it to my Amazon cart, along with Love is Love, the DC and IDW tribute to the victims of the Orlando Pulse nightclub shooting. Thanks, Jen, you just sold  a book! ^_^





Event: Yuri Lecture at University of Michigan, Ann Arbor on 1/19

January 17th, 2017

Please join me at the University of Michigan, in Ann Arbor, MI on Thursday, January 19, 2017 , 12:00-1:30 PM in Room 1636 School of Social Work Building for the Center for Japanese Studies Noontime Lecture Series.

Alt Manga, Queer Manga: Telling Our Own Stories will cover the history of LGBTQ manga in Japan and the west, and delve into the issues of fan interpretation of commercial manga. Please click the above link and ask for seating availability.

I’m really looking forward to visiting Michigan for the first time (a layover in the Detroit airport doesn’t count.) I hope I will see you there!

 

 





Yuri Manga: 2DK, G Pen, Mezamashidokei, Volume 3 (2DK、Gペン、目覚まし時計。)

January 16th, 2017

Ohsawa Yayoi’s adult-life 2DK, G Pen, Mezamashidokei, Volume 3 (2DK、Gペン、目覚まし時計。) is a bit of an interesting conundrum. Volume 1 was more slice-of-life than Yuri in which we met career woman Nanami and her roommate Kaede, a struggling manga artist In Volume 2, we see a little bit more of their lives, but still, we’re focusing on the life part of their lives, rather than any kind of relationship. This isn’t a complaint – it’s praise. 

The one thing that tires me out the most about Yuri manga is the rapidity with which relationships are seen to be formed. Not so in this manga, where we have spent 2 full volumes fleshing out the lives of  the protagonists. 

Volume 3 continues this trend, with a half volume dedicated not to Kaede’s manga debut, or Nanami’s trials in the office, but with Kaede’s friendly rival in manga, Koyuki, who hits a massive wall with her artistic output and in her personal life. It is ultimately Kaede who helps her snap out of it.

We then again turn towards Nanami and, finally, we see some recognition that maybe, just maybe, she’s looking at Kaede differently than she was previously. Nanami  is finding herself comfortable for the first time in the role she’s take on in Kaede’s life and her own and for the first time, doesn’t look awkward or like she’s wondering what she’s doing with her life. It’s a good look on her.

Volume 4 is going to be full of drama and revelation, but for now, this character development was meant to be exactly what it is; not driving the romance, just building the characters. At then end of Volume 3, we’re ready for the story to begin. ^_^

The epilogue gives Koyuki a little insight to the kind of care and attention Nanami lavishes on Kaede and she’s torn between being embarrassed and jealous. 

Ratings:

Art – 8
Story – 8
Characters – 8
Yuri – 2.5
Service – 4 Koyuki has exceptionally large breasts.

Overall – 8

Volume 4 for the only truly josei Yuri manga running in Comic Yuri Hime? Why, yes, thank you! And it’s gonna get pretty darn interesting, when an old acquaintance becomes a catalyst.