Archive for April, 2020


Sailor Moon Stars Limited Edition, Part 2, Disk 1

April 30th, 2020

Sailor Moon Stars Limited Edition, Part 2, Disk 1 enters what only can be considered the grind portion of any Sailor Moon anime season. The plot is established, we know what the deal is and the most sensible thing in the world would be to just team up and do it together.  But, that isn’t going to happen. Instead we grind through Monsters, while never just sitting down with everyone and saying, “Okay, time to huddle, let’s figure out what is going on here and how to deal with it.” This is my least favorite bit, where everyone ignores their Princess and just wastes their own time and energy.

This is why magical girls have to be 14, not 44.  Otherwise the story would be very short. ^_^; 

This disk contains several remarkable scenes, among them the day when all of the main cast shows up at Usagi’s house for reasons. Artemis is not wrong when saying that them all playing cards was pretty wholesome. This disk is also home to the moment when Aluminum Siren sees the rose petals that accompany Sailors Uranus and Neptune appearance. I wish that had been given some deeper thought beyond a momentary gag – but I’ll take the gag. ^_^

On the positive side, I will admit that Seiya stops hitting on Usagi, confining himself to role of bodyguard. I’ll never love the Lights, myself, but I can kind of see the appeal.

You can see that this series was not making money, the animation is frequently poor, sometimes frighteningly so. But as always Viz’s remaster is as good as something this badly drawn can be.I think I’ll watch the next disk as a dub; I have no doubt that that is well done, as well.

Ratings:

Art – 4, sometimes 3
Story – 4
Characters – 8
LGBTQ – 1 Pretty much nothing but crumbs
Service – 2 The art tanks hard and not even the Phages are fake-sexy.

Now the grind continues until we run out of Sailor Animamates and we have to befriend Galaxia to death. ^_^;





Comic Yuri Hime, May 2020 (コミック百合姫 2020年5月号)

April 28th, 2020

Something had to give, and it looks like “magazines” is the breaking point. I have every Yuri Shimai/Yuri Hime/Yuri Hime S/Comic Yuri Hime magazine since 2003 with the exception of some of the curated volumes I didn’t keep. There are several huge cartons in storage and there’s just no more room to keep them really. I still have a subscription to the magazine with the local Kinokuniya, and hope I’ll be able to pick it up print sometime, but for now, I am shifting all my magazine reading and at least some of my manga reading to Global Bookwalker‘s system. In fact, I just assume the entire global pandemic is specifically because I was caught up with Comic Yuri Hime and this is the universe thumbing it’s nose at me. (I obviously do NOT assume that.) In any case, I’m running behind once again, but plan on forging ahead with new volumes digitally.  ^_^

So today I’m looking at Comic Yuri Hime, May 2020 (コミック百合姫 2020年5月号) which is still available in print on Amazon JP, or digitally on Global Bookwalker – which has the distinct advantage of not being as limited by region as Kindle and includes a English-language manga store, as well as Japanese, something I find very convenient. They can all be kept in one library, as well, so you don’t need to toggle back and forth. You do need to check out the Japanese manga from the JP store and the English manga from the EN store, which is a small inconvenience given the streamlining of the rest of the system. AND like all online systems, it has a points system, and there are sales and coupons constantly and give-backs.

And I gotta tell ya – there is no going back. I LOVED reading the magazine on the digital system! I’m able to change size (not as fluidly on my Surface as with an Android system, but the pen helps) and move easily around the page and the book. A 10″ tablet gives me a roughly full magazine page , I can shift to two page layout with a twist and the art looked great.  Honestly, the art looked clearer and better on the screen than it can on paper, which roughens it up ever so slightly.  I enjoyed the reading experience of the digital edition greatly.  And no soy ink smell! This is always a problem for me.

So how was the content? It was a solid volume, with some good and bad, as always. I have a few stories I want to note because they are doing something interesting. We’ll start with the surprising.

You know I have a complicated relationship with Kodama Naoko-sensei’s work. I like her art, I sometimes do not like the story. More oftenn I’m just creeped out by some fetishtry embedded in the tale. Her current series, “Uminekosou days” (recently licensed by Seven Seas as Days of Love a Seagull Villa,”) has been on brand with this. We’re setting Mayumi up to be betrayed by her “best friend,” because apparently stealing her boyfriend wasn’t enough. So ask me how surprised I am to find that Rin may not be corruptible? I’m really hoping she’s not. I’d love to see a series where the manipulative bully gets told to shove it and shove off. I’m still angry that Peach Girl Next even exists.

Also surprising was FLOWERCHILD’s “Warikitta kankeidesukara,” as it appears to be developing an actual plot. I did not expect that.

On a positive note, although it probably heralds the end of the series, Ohi Pikachi’s “Hayama-sensei to Terano-sensei ha Tsukiatteiru” is teasing a mutual marriage proposal. I’d pay extra if the series just kept going and let the school be in an uproar about the wedding for, I dunno, a year and a half or so, maybe 2? ^_^

I’m also perfectly okay with “Watashi no Yuri ha Oshigoto Desu!” taking it’s time to wrap.  It’s kind of maddening knowing that in 2020 becoming a couple or proposing marriage is still the end of the story, instead of the beginning. Dammit. Give me more like Inui Ayu’s slice-of-real-life “Kyou mo Hitotsu Yane no Shita.” Please.

Ratings:

Overall  – 8, but an extra point for the digital experience. Damn, that was nice. So, 9

I’ll end this by reminding you that you may subscribe to the magazine directly on Bookwalker, a feature I find very intriguing, especially now. New volumes will be added to your library automatically. Each issue page includes a few sample pages, which is nice.  And for those of you interested, the June 2020 issue is already available (And with coins I’ve gotten from purchases and affiliate links, I’ll be paying 16 cents. Booyah)





Éclair Blanche: A Girls’ Love Anthology That Resonates in Your Heart

April 27th, 2020

Today we celebrate the fact that today the Okazu Patreon has once again passed the $500/month mark – which means we’ll be expanding our support of queer creators on Patreon once again with our Microgoal program and we hope to be revising our payments for Guest Reviewers upwards, as well. It has long been our goal to be able to pay sustainable and reasonable rates for our writers and artists. Today we’ve taken another step forward. There’s never a bad time to become an Okazu Patron. Every cent makes a big difference – and gets recycled back into the great Yuri global network by buying media, crowdfunding projects, and supporting creators and events. So thank you Okazu Patrons new and old! You are all an important part of the Okazu family.

To celebrate, we’ve got an exciting review and a giveaway at the end!

When Yen Press picked up the first Éclair anthology, I noted to them that it was (by then) actually a series, which they did not know at that time. I was exceedingly pleased to see that they did get the series and have followed Éclair with Éclair Blanche: A Girls’ Love Anthology That Resonates in Your Heart. In addition, Éclair Bleue is on the way later this year.

So why am I so happy about this? You may remember from my review of the first volume, that Éclair was the very first Yuri anthology to be translated into English. I’ve written about the importance of anthologies to Yuri as a whole in the past – and I have 3 essays dedicated to magazines and anthologies in the Big Book o’Yuri! That’s how important they are. So, to get this series is big news. For fans of Canno and Nakatani Nio, here’s some new original work for you to enjoy. I’m best pleased because you get to enjoy work by Fly, Shuninta Amano, Kabocha and Taki Kitao, all of whose work I adore. ^_^ I want to call out Canno’s entry, because I *just* finished Éclair orange – Anata ni Hibiku Yuri Anthology (エクレア orange あなたに響く百合アンソロジー) and it officially is an ongoing series, (hint, hint, Christian.)

My favorite story was probably Uta Isaki’s “Sewing Machine.” I’ve always like the concept of tsukumogami; the idea that inanimate objects develop a spirit with use and time. We have all made the joke “my car has gone this way so many times, it could drive this route itself.” Well…what if it could? I also enjoyed the aesthetic of the art.

Ratings:

It’s an anthology, so everything is variable, but this has something for most Yuri fans.

Overall – 9

Blanche is a pretty solid entry into the Éclair series. It’s a terrific way to enjoy short-form work by artists you know and like and learn about new artists. And to celebrate this delightful selection, I am giving away a copy of Éclair Blanche: A Girls’ Love Anthology That Resonates in Your Heart to folks in the contiguous 48 of the  USA. (I know this isn’t fair, but I can’t put postage on an overseas package right now. I’ll do my level best to do a global contest once the pandemic is well and truly over.)

To enter, all you need to do is share something WHITE with us in the comments. It can be a link to an image, or a short story, a song lyric, anything you like*. To make it easy to contact you, please have an email you check as part of your WP profile. I will pick a winner and contact them over the weekend. So share your lovely thoughts of Blanche and enjoy some Yuri manga. ^_^

*except cats.

Many thanks to Yen Press for both the review copy and the giveaway!





Yuri Network News – (百合ネットワークニュース) – April 25, 2020

April 25th, 2020

There’s a lot of Yuri news this week, which is good – and amazing, given our present circumstances. Japan is suspending shipping by air to the USA, among other countries, as flights have been stopped. Shipping by sea is still happening, and Amazon JP appears to be, for the moment, still shipping…presumably because they have their own planes. But do be aware that if you buy anything from Japan right now, there may be significantly delays. I will continue to write reviews here as long as I have material to review. And, given the number of manga in the report this week, that doesn’t seem like it’ll be a problem. ^_^

Seven Seas dominates the news this week with a pile of new licenses.

 

Yuri Novels

Seven Seas released the second Sayaka novel this week digitally, you can get Bloom Into You Regarding Saeki Sayaka, Volume 2 on Kindle or Bookwalker Global (you’ll be seeing more of Bookwalker, just because the system makes it easy to get both English and Japanese materials in one digital library.)

Pixiv announced the winners of the 2nd Yuri Literary Novel Contest! You can read the entries in Japanese on Pixiv, including winner Taiyou no Yoakeato. (太陽の焼け跡) by Kotobuki Shika. As you can imagine, the idea of a Yuri novel contest makes me happy. I will aspire to become a judge. ^_^

Seven Seas announced an interesting new license with I’m in Love With the Villainess, a GL Bunko light novel. by Inori, with art by Hanagata.  You may remember I reviewed Girls Kindgom 1&2 from GL Bunko and found the story to be silly and the translation adequate, but not good. GL Bunko teaming up with Seven Seas for translation and distribution means you might get to read these goofball Vampire x Samurai novels I’m reading now. ^_^ In any case, this is a good choice for GL Bunko.

 

Yuri Manga

Seven Seas already licensed the Light Novel, and now they have acquired the manga for ROLL OVER AND DIE: I Will Fight for an Ordinary Life with My Love and Cursed Sword! You may recognize the artist, Munakata Sunao as having done the art for the Riddle Story of a Devil manga.

Kodama Naoko’s Uminekosou days has been licensed as Days of Love at Seagull Villa. This story has, so far been entirely on-brand for Kodama-sensei with solid characters and fetistry that makes me feel wholly creeped out. ^_^; Link above leads to my review of Volume 1, and Volume 2 is sitting here waiting for me to get to around to it.

Not Yuri, but I am ecstatic about it being licensed, Seven Seas has picked up Kageki Shoujo! The Curtain Rises!, a story about a young woman who enters a school for an all-woman musical theater troupe. I really enjoyed the first volume of this.

Also not “Yuri” per se, but a manga from one of our own, My Alcoholic Escape From Reality, is Kabi Nagata’s most recent autobiographical volume licensed by Seven Seas. I reviewed the Japanese edition, Genjitsu Touhishitetara Boroboro ni Natta Hanashi, this past winter. I also would like to take a moment to shout out the title translation on her work, which now presents a consistent body with “My Lesbian Experience…,” “My Solo Exchange Diary, ” and now “My Alcoholic Escape…”. This is really quite exceptionally well done. For an overview of everything Nagata-sensei has done so far, and why I think it is important I wrote an essay about her work, Kabi Nagata: Opening Doors at an Intersection.

From Rafael Antonio Pineda on ANN, we have the news that Love to Lie Angle manga is wrapping up in Comic Yuri Hime magazine.

 

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Yuri Visual Novel

YuriNavi has news of Yoru, Tomosu (夜、灯す) a “horror Yuri” VN headed for Playstation 4 and Nintendo Switch this summer.The link has screencaps and character designs.

 

Sailor Moon News

In the countdown to the new Sailor Moon movie, Sailor Moon Eternal, the Sailor Moon Official site reports that for the next several months, the first three seasons of the original anime will be available on Youtube in Japan. All 5 seasons are available in English on Viz Media’s website. Sailor Moon Crystal, for which Eternal is the 4th season, is available on Crunchyroll.

And, at last, we have a trailer and a date for Sailor Moon Eternal the first movie that will comprise the “SuperS” season. On the positive side, the animation is genuinely good. Check out this comparison of a similar frame from the original anime, Crystal and Eternal from CC Takato on Twitter. Look at Ami’s face and you can really see the difference.

 

Other News

In “feminist scholars you should be following, Grace Ting,” who writes about queer theory and feminism in Japanese and Asian pop culture, is writing a series of intros to Japanese feminist writers on Twitter. I’m super excited about this, frankly.

Nerd Lolz: I made a joke this week about Evangelion 3.0 being a Tales of Hoffman for anime and Loryn Stone came back with this brilliant summation on Twitter. The comment by Empty Movement is also spot on.

ANN’s Crystalyn Hodgkins let us know that Ghost in the Shell: SAC_2045 has already been greenlit for a second season.

And, to wrap up this week, Anthony Gramuglia offers up Girl’s Love: Where to Start With Yuri Manga on CBR.

 

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! Special thanks to Okazu Patrons for being an essential part of the team!





Bloom Into You, Regarding Saeki Sayaka, Volume 2 Digital Release

April 24th, 2020

Seven Seas has released Bloom Into You, Regarding Saeki Sayaka, Volume 2 on Kindle this week! Follow young lesbian Saeki Sayaka as she navigates love and jealousy in high school.

Volume 2 covers the events of the Bloom Into You anime from Sayaka’s perspective and, as with Volume 1, we get a great sense of her internal monologue, her motivations and her own perspective of her  strengths and weaknesses. I enjoyed this book immensely when I read the Japanese edition, about which I said, “Once again, I am pleasantly surprised to have fully enjoyed a novel by Iruma Hitoma, in which the tone and feel of the character as we know her is captured well. And I look forward to the sequel as it takes us into new territory.”

Ratings:

Art – 10 Art by the series creator
Story – 8 A stronger sense of Sayaka’s feelings for and about Touko
Character – 10
Service – 1 Not really this time
Yuri – 7 This book is chock-full of Sayaka’s thoughts about being attracted to Touko for all the reasons.

Overall – 9

I was so pleased to see this appear in my Kindle library this week and I am extra excited for you all to read Volume 3 next autumn!