Archive for March, 2019


Yuri Network News – (百合ネットワークニュース) – March 9, 2019

March 9th, 2019

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!

 
 




Yuri Manga: Philia to Eros no Aida, Volume 1 (ピリアーとエロスのあいだ)

March 8th, 2019

Welcome to the end of “vaguely dissatisfying week” here on Okazu. ^_^ Today we’re wrapping up the week by taking a look at a manga by an artist I like, for a magazine I like,with a series I just have not been able to like.

Philia to Eros no Aida, Volume 1 (ピリアーとエロスのあいだ) by Yorita Miyuki, runs in Galette (ガレット) magazine. This volume is one of the second round of Galette Works collected releases, following Kurumi and Nikaido, a couple that I wish I could be rooting for.

When we meet them, Kurumi still has an interest in a guy, Mishima, but Nikaido is there for her. And Nikaido’s emotional support helps Kurumi  good about herself, which becomes affection towards Nikaido, even though she’s still kind of interested in the guy. Nikaido doesn’t seem to mind, even if her other friends do. Her gentle, persistent “being there” for Kurumi is their bond and Kurumi convinces herself, at least a bit, that she likes Nikaido back.

I don’t see this relationship ending well. If it does, it’ll just be annoying. I’m with Hibiki, Nikaido’s friend who is incensed over this relationship, going so far as to punch Kurumi for having the nerve to pretend to care for Nikaido while pining over Mishima.

Ratings:

Art – nice
Story – argh
Characters – ergh
Yuri – ugh
Service – nah

Overall – 6, but I really wish it was higher.

I’ve enjoyed Yorita’s doujinshi over the years, but like Hibiki, this relationship makes my teeth grind.





Oshi ga Budokan Ittekuretara Shinu Manga, Volume 5 ( 推しが武道館いってくれたら死ぬ )

March 7th, 2019

Since this week has sort of naturally slipped into “manga that vaguely annoy/disappoint/vex me” week, I think this is a perfect time to review Oshi ga Budokan Ittekuretara Shinu, Volume 5 ( 推しが武道館いってくれたら死ぬ ). ^_^;

Being an otaku takes a lot of work and a lot of money, as we’ve learned in the previous 4 volumes, but it also takes a kind of compulsion, a need to be there for the singers you’ve all but adopted as yours. In Volume 5, the Cham Jam otaku follow their idols to an overnight camp, where they get to do camping chores and sit at the campfire with them and get commemorative pictures and to Tokyo for their first show in the big city.  It’s not at the Budokan, but the group does get to take a picture outside the Budokan, so that’s something.

I was going to be really snarky and say “and then a thing happened,” but as I think about it, a number of things happened, it’s just that the scale of “happen” is so small for this series. There’s always a side story within the group itself,  this time, it mostly focuses on the group in Tokyo and them trying to keep their energy up after a 10-hour van ride into the city. I’m more and more convinced that two of the group are a couple, but just not telling anyone (Yumeri and Yuuka, maybe, I have a hard time keeping them all straight. I only recognize Maki and Maina of the 7 Cham Jam members at a glance. I am a terrible otaku and Hirao’s art leans slightly more realistic than fantastic. The Cham Jam members all have hair that looks normal and is varying shades of black and gray. Maina wear twin tails, when she takes them out, I have no idea who she is.)

In the meantime, we’re still watching Eri and she’s definitely changing, albiet very slowly. We get to see her at her bakery job, which she genuinely enjoys and which gives her time later in the day to do the otakuing she needs. We also get a glorious moment when Motoi brings along his younger sister Rena, who used to be a Cham Jam otaku, too and we can see Eri in the company of another woman her age outside the otaku world. It felt very refreshing, even as, of course, Eri, Motoi and Kumasa mostly talk about the group.

Most importantly, during handshake time, Maina and Eri *finally* have a short conversation with no mishaps. It’s banal and keeps to the established territory of fan/idol interaction, but they manage a whole few minutes together.

The more I read this story, the more I desperately hope it’s meant to be a cutting commentary on the utterly brutal idol industry, and the equally brutal hobby of being an idol group otaku. Otherwise, it fills me with despair. (Yeah, I know, I know, I keep bringing it on myself.) The idea that this manga is getting an anime is already annoying, but it will probably be meant to be a comedy and I will just want the world to burn. 

Ratings:

Art – 8
Story – I don’t even know anymore~~~~
Character – 8
Service – 1
Yuri – 2 Their eyes meet, they have a conversation, no plants fall and Eri doesn’t end up injured. They are practically married.

Overall – 7 

If the crushing awfulness of idol/otaku relations is an intentional target, I would like it so much more, but I think crushingly awful is just what the artist does.





Yuri Manga: Nettaigyo ha Yuki ni Kogareru, Volume 4 (熱帯魚は雪に焦がれる )

March 6th, 2019

From the beginning, this series has moved slowly, and almost haphazardly, like the tropical fish of the title, lazily moving between plot points. As Nettaigyo ha Yuki ni Kogareru, Volume 4 (熱帯魚は雪に焦がれる ) begins, we pick up with Koyuki sick in bed, and emotionally wracked because she couldn’t be there for Konatsu during the summer festival. When Konatsu’s fish show goes well, Koyuki become emotionally wracked over that, too. Konatsu doesn’t need her, what does that mean for them?

And for an entire volume, a mostly non-verbal Koyuki finds it impossible to express her feelings to Konatsu. Finally, after they reprise the show (having fish jumping through hoops) at the aquarium, Koyuki *finally* finds the words she needs to express how frustrated she is with herself: She thought she was changing and becoming her real self, but she just has no idea who that self is.

Konatsu assures her that whoever she is, it’s the same sempai she cares about. They embrace as the volume comes to a close. 

Ratings:

Art – 8
Story – 7
Characters – 8
Service – 1 on principle only, there really isn’t any
Yuri – 4

Overall – 7

This series has always been, in large part, about Koyuki’s journey to find herself. It would be nice if she finds some self-confidence and we can see their relationship develop from here.





Yuri Manga: Ame to Kimi no Mukou (雨と君の向こう)

March 4th, 2019

Since yesterday we started off the week by discussing a manipulative twin sister plot, let’s talk problematic narratives again today!. Momono Moto and Sakuraya Yukino’s Ame to Kimi no Mukou (雨と君の向こう) is a good choice for oh so many reasons.

Kanou Yuka is a middle school home room teacher. She has no boyfriend and is feeling the pressure of being 27 unattached.  Medarame Aki is a student in her classroom whose dead eyes and romantic overtures to her teacher scream “sexually abused” to this reader. 

Yuka and Aki’s relationship is not a healthy one, not from the very beginning. Aki is manipulative and uses things like Yuka’s virginity as a weapon against her, which is just gross. Yuka tries going out with a guy and just finds herself going back to seek Aki’s company. When she and we see that our guess that Aki has been abused is correct, it still doesn’t make anything that’s happened okay. 

Possibly worse, the two are given a happy end in which we see Aki older, them living together and presumably happy, but I think I broke a tooth grinding my teeth. Of course I understand that fiction is not reality, and I have even been able to enjoy a problematic teacher/ student narrative before, but there were just so many things wrong here. Yuka’s abject misery at being not desirable, Aki’s obvious struggle with physical, probably sexual abuse, their age differential. It was not okay, even when I saw that the story was meant to be tied up in a ribbon of okay.

I love Momono Moto’s work, but she may well be one of the most problematic artists I like. I nonetheless like her art, and damn, if she didn’t capture Aki’s dead eyes far too well for me to ever feel comfortable with her as a romantic anything.

Ratings:

Art – 8
Story – 3
Characters – 5 No one would get a lunch invitation. Well, maybe the guy who goes out with Yuka, he seemed okay.
Yuri – 8
Service – No visual service, but the whole concept of an adult being attracted to a sexually abused child is a level of creepy I am unwilling to accept as anything other than criminal. 

Overall – 5

I didn’t enjoy this book, but then I didn’t expect to. Now I’m putting it out of my mind and waiting for Liberty (リバティ) to come out next month. ^_^;