Yuri Anime
From Senior YNN Correspondent Verso S, we have the news that Japanese subscription satellite channel Wowow will be broadcasting the TV debut of Asagao to Kase-san at 11:45 on March 29! Another great piece of news for this series that has accomplished so much.
Sailor Moon Super S The Movie is now out, with its moments of Haruka and Michiru wonderfulness as the Senshi battle a threat from outer space. The music isn’t as epic as “Moon Revenge,” but any moment we can intrude on Haruka and Michiru on a date is a good moment. ^_^
YNN Correspondent Eric P wants to let you know that ANN’s Mitch and Steven covered an under-the-radar Yuri anime called Mysteria Friends. High production value and tits, so if that’s your boom, you ought to like it. ^_^
Speaking of high production value, I watched Liz and the Blue Bird yesterday thanks to Verso, (I plan on watching it again today before I review it tomorrow) and you could argue that it is a Yuri story, if you were so inclined. It certainly was an interesting and thought-provoking story. The US release is out from Eleven Arts and I think its worth a watch.
Yuri Manga
Couple of new items on the Yuricon Store, where we are rapidly approaching 1000 Yuri items!
Mochi Au Lait’s Rental Shop Onee-san wo Rental no Suru Hanashi (レンタルショップでお姉さんをレンタルする話) looks fun. I sincerely hope it actually is.
Yuino Chiri’s werewolf feudal fantasy Scarlet, Volume 1, (スカーレット) is violent and bloody, but hey, Yuri werewolves and vampires, oh my.
Itoshi Koishi, Volume 1 (いとしこいし) by Takemiya Jin is sweet as cream. ^_^
I have no idea yet what to make of Watagiri Saya’s Sunami Yuko to Yurina Hitobito (須波優子と百合な人びと). I presume its a comedy, but that’s always a questionable premise for me. ^_^;
And here’s today’s important thing of note: You may recall that My Lesbian Experience with Loneliness‘ Japanese title is Sabishi-sugi Rezu Fuzoku ni Ikimashita Report (さびしすぎてレズ風俗に行きましたレポ). Well, this week I see that Ichijinsha, publisher of Comic Yuri Hime in an all out race to put out as many Yuri anthologies as Kadokawa, has listed Lesbian Fuzoku Anthology (レズ風俗アンソロジー) No contributors listed yet, but one Pixiv creator is talking about being part of it. Based on that one creator’s comics, it appears to be a collection of stories about not-queer women having a “lesbian experience,” with a sex worker not about the lesbian experience of life. I’ll let you know as I get more info.
Speaking of things happening in Yuri – the pre-order for Yen Press’ English edition of Kurukuruhime’s Yuri Life – about the daily life of a cute happily coupled couple – is up for pre-order!
Seven Seas weighs in with Naoko Kodama’s I Married My Best Friend to Shut My Parents Up which is slated for a July release and the preorders for all four volumes of Our Dreams at Dusk: Shimanami Tasogare! (Volume 1 May 2019 | Volume 2 July 2019 | Volume 3 September 2019 | Volume 4 December 2019).
These two rivalries (Ichijinsha/Kadokawa and their English localizers Seven Seas/Yen Press) are going to be something to watch…and also the market reaction to this veritable flood of Yuri manga. I take a look at this major moment in Yuri’s development as a genre – and the trend in Japan that spawned it – on this week’s Okazu YNN Podcast!
LGBTQ Comics
Sparkler Monthly ran a successful kickstarter for Yuri comic Before You Go and now they are releasing the ebook for LGBTQ comic For Peace by Alexis Cooke about Bebe and Lillian, who meet on a forum for truckers.
Kickstarter Watch
The third Dates! An Anthology of Queer Historical Fiction kickstarter from Margins Publishing is live. If you enjoyed the first two volumes (which I totally did: Volume 1 and Volume 2 reviews here) this third one looks to be just as much fun.
Do you have questions about Yuri? Write in and ask and I’ll do my best to address them on the Okazu YNN Podcast, Become a YNN Correspondent by reporting any Yuri-related news with your name and an email I can reply to!
Thanks to all of you – you make this a great Yuri Network!
レズ風俗 doesn’t translate as “lesbian experience”. 風俗 refers to the sex industry, such as brothels.
Thank you for the clarification, that is exactly what is implied in the English not-queer women having a “lesbian experience,” but I edited to make it more obvious to readers.
I would take that wording as including stuff like chapter 1 of Takemiya Jin’s Omoi no Kakera, not specifically paying for sex.
Regardless, stories about lesbian sex work can naturally involve 2 queer women. For instance the story of Barikyari to Shinsotsu begins like that.
That was why I clarified.
You are correct that sex work can include two queer women; given the one creator I know of, I get the feeling that that won’t really be the point or the priority.
We’ll learn more as information is available.
Which creator are you talking about?
I did not understand a bit, but what exactly is considered in this case as the main theme of the plot? Just the fact of lesbian experience in heterosexual women? This plot sounds unusual, so I wondered in which way the author explores this.
I watched ‘Liz and the Blue Bird’ just today! I could go either way on it (while admitting that Mizore’s lengthy gazes seemed suggestive enough), but it hardly matters since it really is a good movie either way. Curious to read your review!
Yeah, Yamada is so fond of homoerotic metaphors that sometimes even she herself can not stop laughing when she is told what impression it gave. Of course, the main “fault” of this lies on Takeda, whose plot is traditionally Class S-ish, but you immediately forget about it when you read the words of Yamada that she deliberately portrayed Kumiko admiration for the Reina as “the boy’s first love”. And this is with the open admission that it was not romance, lol.
If Yamada-Sensei traditionally uses Class S themes and lesbian metaphors wisely, then anime like Mysteria Friends really upsets me. It is such works as MF that raised the part of the yuri community that is obsessively with subtext in an all female show and prefers to “look for” lesbians in a moe show more than read the “real” yuri.
I gave “Mysteria Friends” (why it’s called that I dunno, since the title kana clearly read “マナリアフレンズ,” which would be “Manaria Friends”) a whirl based on that ANN feature. It’s… pretty terrible in kind of a sweet way?
Like, it’s full of the kind of gaze that Erica hates (lots of shots of thighs, asses, boobs, and tails) but aside from that is kind of a sweet-if-formulaic slice of life yuri show. It takes the central characters and their relationship seriously and has a little more depth than most of these things, and a LOT more depth than you’d expect for a delayed-three-years-based-off-a-canceled-mobage-short-form-anime.
It’s not finished yet but overall I’d recommend for your “fluff” needs. It’s mostly service, but not just the “sexy” kind – you also get “prince and princess school play yuri” service, “overcoming your fears together” service, “I will protect you!” service, “Did she slip me a love potion?” service… maybe the scenarios aren’t all as typical as I thought. :D
Haha, good to know. Thanks.