Archive for 2023


白と黒~Black & White~, Volume 3

July 10th, 2023

In Volume 1 we met Shirakawa, top of her department in her office and Kuroda, a promising up-and-comer who threatens to take everything Shirakawa has built. They briefly team up, but in Volume 2, Kuroda makes a mistake that sets her back. Luckily for her, she’s got a mentor who pulls her out of the jam.

In 白と黒~Black & White~, Volume 3 Shirakawa is done playing nicely. She doesn’t care what she has to do, who she has to use or who gets hurt…she’s going to destroy Kuroda. With her own powerful patron within the company, she will ruin careers, physically and emotionally use and abuse others and she will get her way. There is no doubt that Shirakawa wins the battle…

…but does she win the war?

This was not the ending I wanted for this series, I’ll be honest. As I have long said, I like equals who go toe to toe. Choices are made here that are not fighting with a respected rival. As Shirakawa rises, I lost respect for her. Her decisions get ugly and the collateral damage grows. Now, the thing is…in the same position, would Kuroda have been any different? Without spoiling why, Kuroda has an outside chance to fight back…but doesn’t take it. In the end she walks away from the fight.

Having seen so many power struggles in the office  – this is not inaccurate. One cannot lose in a political struggle and still remain on top. So, while not what I wanted, this manga remains a kind-of-accurate version of a intra-office battle for power. ^_^

Ratings:

Art – 8
Story – 10
Characters – 10
Service – 7 A lot of sex and violence, including rape
Yuri – 7 Above, and now, jealousy!

Overall – 10

I had called this series the Best manga since GUNJO for best worst couple, but Shirakawa lost me in this volume.





Yuri Network News – (百合ネットワークニュース) – July 8, 2023

July 8th, 2023

In blue silhouette, two women face each other. One wears a fedora and male-styled attire, one is in a dress and heels. Their body language is obscure - they may be dancing, or laughing or fighting.Yuri Manga

Kodansha announced the license for I Can’t Say No To The Lonely Girl by Kashikaze at Anime Expo. I haven’t reviewed volumes of that, but I really did enjoy it when it was running in Comic Yuri Hime. It’s a very sweet story about acceptance, friendship and love. I’m glad they picked it up.

Yuri Is My Job!, Volume 11 was released as Expo was underway. Make sure you have a chaser for that one. Phew.

NHK has a special episode on The Rose of Versailles online. English subtitles are available.

YNN Correspondent Patricia B caught that Nekobungi Sumire has a new doujinshi in English up on Amazon. Silhouette of the Sea Breeze appears to be a Juliet and Juliet story about a sky person and a sea person.

If My Favorite Pop Idol Made It to the Budokan, I Would Die, Volume 2 is being released in English in August. I reviewed the Japanese edition in 2016.

We have Young Ladies Don’t Play Fighting Games, Volume 5 on the Yuricon Store.

There’s No Freaking Way I’ll Be Your Lover, Unless… manga Volume 2 hit shelves in June.

The English edition of Akiko Morishima’s short story THE SINGLE LIFE vol.1: 60-year-old lesbian who is single and living alone. is up on Kindle She said this will be part of a series.

Iberis no Hanayome, Volume 2 (イベリスの花嫁) is the conclusion of Akiyama Haru’s series about a wedding planner who falls for a bridezilla.

Gal to Nekula to Kyuketsuu Kankei (ギャルとネクラの吸血関係) is a gal x vampire love-ish story.

Still cranking away at Vampeerz, (ヴァンピアーズ ) this time we have Volume  4  of this schoolgirl x vampire love-ish story.

 

Yuri Events

Yuri/GL Phillipines announced that they will be returning to the Cosplay Mania event in Pasay, Sept 30- October 1.

Girls Love Fest is returning to Asakusa in Tokyo on October 9th for their 39th event!

 

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Yuri Visual Novels

YNN Correspondent Patricia B wants you to know about The Chrono Jotter by Orca Layout, a Chinese visual novel “receiving an English translation two years after its original release. The game focuses on a young woman trying to uncover the mystery of her girlfriend’s murder by utilizing her newly acquired time traveling powers. The focus is primarily on suspense and horror aspects, but the main character is still very clearly motivated by her relationship.”

 

Yuri Audiobook

Yen Press announced at Anime Expo an audiobook format for The Executioner and Her Way of Life. ANN’s Alex Mateo has the details.  This intrigues me. I hope they’ll add one for MagiRevo. I’d like that be re-read to me. ^_^

 

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Yuri Anime

YNN Correspondent meow wants everyone to know about Volicia of Pluto-Vapor Trail Another Age 2006- a crowdfunded ‘feature-length mecha vampire yuri anime released on 3rd of July.” It appears to be premiering on Youtube tomorrow, July 9, 9PM JT. I’ll try to be up to see it. Check out the trailer also on YT.

Alex Mateo at ANN has casting announcements for the upcoming Hoshikuzu Telepath anime.

Sean Gaffney gives his final thoughts on Birdie Wing, Episodes 1-25 and, as always, his thoughts are worth reading.

History Hermann also has a spoiler-filler review of Birdie Wing, Season 2.

I’m having a hard time finding a way to talk about everything  I want to say about Birdie Wing, so I appreciate these reviewers who can.

James Whitbrook at Gizmodo writes about how Witch From Mercury’s Finale Made One of Gundam’s Most Fascinating Ideas Queer as Hell

 

Other News

Star Fruit Books announced a new English language manga magazine last year, Comic Bright. They confirmed this year that it is still being worked on. I love the folks there and wish them well, but I am skeptical about the future of print magazines in English that aren’t celebrity gossip.

The Nippon Club is holding an exhibition called JAPAN’S ANIME SWEEPING THE WORLD both in-person and online. This exhibition will include friends June Kim, whom you may remember as the creator of 12 Days and Hiroki Otsuka whose most recent manga series, Backstage in New York, was made into a live action show in Japan.

Nimona creator ND Stevenson has travelogue comics about the Nimona on Netflix Press Tour. Nimona was a nice movie and if you have Netflix, it’s definitely worth a watch. Very good queer rep, among other things.

 

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Anime Expo 2023 Event Report by Alfiq

July 7th, 2023

Welcome to Okazu for a very exciting event report! This past July 4th weekend, at Anime Expo, Yuri had a significant presence. Kodansha and Comic Yuri Hime partnered for a really exciting booth that prominently featured Yuri titles. Kinokuniya hosted Aonoshimo-sensei, the artist for the I’m In Love With The Villainess manga, and the I’m In Love With The Villainess anime episodes 1 and 2 made their worldwide premiere!  To tell us all about it, please welcome Alfiq, who was there in the thick of the excitement!

 

AX 2023: A Yuri Odyssey

(or, “How I Learned to Stop Worrying and Love the Con”)

 

They came from far and wide–from every corner of the US, from across the Pacific, and from other far-flung locations.  They came by plane, by train, by car, and on foot.  Their destination was the Los Angeles Convention Center, set to join the teeming mass of otaku humanity otherwise known as Anime Expo 2023. While not the first, the sheer size and impact of the event had me borrowing the tagline of another Southern California institution: this was the granddaddy of them all, a con that multiple people told me I was crazy to attempt to attend, especially as it would be this older otaku’s first-ever anime con.  But the power of yuri compelled me, as this would be an opportunity I could not allow myself to miss.  Aonoshimo-sensei, the mangaka for I’m in Love with the Villainess, would be there for a signing event on the first day, and then on the final day the ILTV anime would have its worldwide premiere–a first for the yuri genre.

But first, a little introduction is in order.  My friends in the ILTV fandom call me “fwwr” (usually said like “fwer”) or, alternatively, Alfiq.  I can be found on Twitter at @alfiqrailbaron or on Discord at fwwr_alfiq.  I first got into anime two decades ago, as a college student with a Japanophile roommate.  I still remember the day that he called me over into the living room of our shared off-campus apartment, put a DVD into the tray and suggested that I give this particular anime a watch with him.  It will be fun, it’s hilarious, et cetera.  The show was Project A-ko, and I was hooked.  For the remainder of our time at college I was helping with my roommate’s Sailor Stars fan-subs and watching along with other shows, from mainstream names like Cowboy Bebop to less-familiar titles like Mamotte Shugogetten.  As is always the case, however, time and fate kept marching onward, and after graduation we largely went our separate ways in life as my enjoyment of anime and related media receded into dormancy.  It wasn’t until almost twenty years later, while stuck at home thanks to Covid isolation and lockdowns, that I would stumble across a “cute and funny manga” that would touch my heart in ways I didn’t know were possible, change the entire trajectory of my life, and introduce me to an absolute wealth of wonderful people and amazing stories.  I’m in Love with the Villainess was that manga, which led me to the novels (two were out in English at the time), which led me to the webnovel, which led me to feeling personally compelled in ways I had never felt before to seek out the greater community of fans with which to talk about it.  ILTV was something I never knew I needed, but now could never imagine my life without.  When news broke of the goings-on for AX, my wife even pushed me to go for it.  “This is a big deal, a once-in-a-lifetime thing, just go and make it happen.”  I cashed-in untold frequent flyer miles and Hilton points, and negotiated to split costs with another dear friend in the fandom.  The stage was set, and before I knew it I was touching-down at LAX and meeting up with my partner in Yuri and dad-jokes, Kit.  The morning of Day One would be an experience, and we got what sleep we could.

Day One dawned and a local friend from the fandom picked us up bright-and-early at the hotel.  I can’t stress enough the importance of having knowledge from an AX veteran, as witnessed when our friend readily identified “fake lines” and other pitfalls that would very likely have ensnared us without her help and expertise as a previous attendee.  Before I knew it, we were inside, a part of the massive agglomeration of people pushing ever forward into the Exhibitor’s Hall to be among the first to partake in special limited bonuses.  Our eyes were on the prize as we scooted towards the Kinokuniya booth and slowly made our way to the registers, the crush of people behind us pushing our bodies against the front of the booth as people handed what merch they could through and over the crowd.  One person in the throng was overheard to say that he had been offered a $500 bounty if he could obtain Aonoshimo-sensei’s autograph!  I could see the pad of tickets for Aonoshimo-sensei’s signing slowly dwindle, but in making it to the cashier table with my companions close behind, our victory was all but assured.  I spent my required $50 minimum on ILTV products and then carefully made my way out of the booth, waiting patiently for my friends to join me, and thankfully once we all rendezvoused we all held autograph tickets in our hands.  Success!  We then proceeded to the Kodansha booth next door, where we could get Yuri-themed buttons for participating in a couple of activities (one led by an attendant dressed as Hime-chan from Yuri is My Job), and then slowly worked our way over to the King Records booth in the Entertainment Hall, where we obtained ILTV postcards.  After that, we managed to find a relatively quiet room with vending machines and tables where we were able to catch our breath and rehydrate, and talk about the experience so far as we waited-out the clock until 1pm.

We returned to the Kinokuniya booth to find that things had fallen into a much more organized pattern, with shoppers being let into the booth in one line and the autograph queue in another.  We took our spots in line and slowly moved forward, and before long found ourselves at the front of the line before the partition that would let people into the corner where Aonoshimo-sensei was.  All was not running entirely according to plan, however, as apparently Kinokuniya had given out a few more tickets than the advertised fifty, and this realization had become clear just as we reached the front of the line.  Aonoshimo-sensei took a break at this time, which we presumed also involved her gathering materials and preparing additional drawings for the remaining people in line, since she had graciously created drawings for everyone as a special gift in anticipation of there being fifty total participants.  (She’s indeed a superwoman, as series author Inori-sensei herself often tweets!)

Finally, the signing session resumed.  Kit was the first into the signing corner, and then it was my turn.  The butterflies in my stomach felt absolutely tangible–I was about to meet the mangaka behind the manga adaptation of the story which has brought so much joy into my life these past few years.  And then, there I was, face-to-face with Aonoshimo-sensei herself!  I know virtually no Japanese, but there were a couple of Kinokuniya employees there to help.  What followed only took a few minutes at most, but will be seared into my memories for all time. (Twitter link to the drawings from Aonishimo-sensei)

In a word, Aonoshimo-sensei is adorable.  She came across as very happy and eager to meet the fans, and she felt honored that I had traveled from relatively far away to be there.  I was wearing a button with an illustration of my favorite character that she had previously drawn for me in a raffle win (said favorite character may appear in the manga in about five or six years, so please keep supporting it!), and upon recognizing the illustration her face absolutely lit up with joy and excitement.  I also retrieved a makeshift wand from my pocket and mimicked a casting motion, revealing that I had been in a sort of “low budget, washed-up Rodd Bauer” cosplay all along, and she was very excited to make the connection!  She pointed to a chibi of Rodd and I nodded–that was me, for the day!  I had brought a copy of the Japanese edition of Volume 5 of the manga to be signed (those who know, will know about “that scene” that we finally got to see in it!) and she signed it, adding a Relaire that included an identifying feature tied to my favorite character.  (I noticed her using my button as an off-the-cuff character reference!).  Along with my book, I received a beautiful mini-illustration of Lily Lilium in her AX outfit and, as a special surprise, a color card of the ILTV AX chibis hand-signed by Inori-sensei herself!  All too soon, my moment was over, and I shook Aonoshimo-sensei’s hand and wished her safe travels before returning to the rest of the Kinokuniya booth.  With that, I had met Aonoshimo-sensei herself, and had in my possession her autograph personally-obtained along with Inori-sensei’s as well.  Exhausted from the early start and packed-like-sardines conditions, Kit and I returned to the hotel and called it a day.

The next two days we largely did our own thing; on Sunday Kit and our local friend attended several sessions and a vtuber concert and had an absolute blast, while I took advantage of the Metrolink $10 weekend pass to indulge in another of my passions, railroad photography.  We met back up for dinner along with another local friend in Little Tokyo and enjoyed a spirited discussion of Madoka: Rebellion over ramen and drinks.  Monday, Kit and I ventured into Artist’s Alley where many purchases were made, despite my wallet crying out to Jupiter and beyond the infinite.  One artist as I browsed her booth even opened her catalog to reveal a Project A-ko print, as if she somehow sensed that it would have importance to me.  (It most certainly did!)  We finished the day with another trip to Little Tokyo, browsing shops and the Kinokuniya store, before capping things off with another wonderful dinner with more friends from the fandom.

Tuesday, we had precisely one objective: attend the ILTV world premiere.  We stationed ourselves in-line as the prior session was letting folks in, and patiently waited for our turn to enter the large premiere room.  We eventually did, and took our spots front-and-center.  Time slowed to a crawl as people slowly filtered in behind us, until eventually one of the Crunchyroll staff announced the proceedings.  ILTV had top-billing in the listings I had seen, but an unannounced additional series, Reign of the Seven Spellblades, would have its first episode shown first.  It looks interesting, and I may investigate further as I understand that Inori-sensei has tweeted about enjoying the series’ novels in the past, but it received relatively tepid applause–it was clear what series people were there for, and as the room absolutely erupted when Rae Taylor appeared on the screen.

We were not shown OPs or EDs for the series, so we jumped right into the action.  The first two episodes tracked relatively closely to the manga, with just a few details differing or being slightly re-ordered.  We also were not shown credits, so while we heard several new-to-us voices, we don’t know for sure who the VAs are.  Those that we did encounter for the first time were almost universally spot-on to my impression of what they would have been.  I remain just a bit unsure of Rodd’s voice, as it came across as slightly too immature-sounding to me, but yet (as Kit reminded me) Rodd himself starts the series as an immature “bro” type of character.  I suspect his voice will grow on me greatly as the series continues onward.

The visuals were absolutely gorgeous.  Claire’s gazebo, where Pepi and Loretta so often commiserate with her over Rae’s hijinks, looked stunningly beautiful in a painting-like setting with water and forestry adding to the environmental effect.  The instrumentals were perfect, with wonderful piano and string motifs (particularly appropriate, in fact, for those of you who have read the spinoff series SSCC) providing an aural feast to accompany Rae’s taunting and Claire’s screeches.  And, of course, that magnificent ojou-sama laugh of Claire’s could finally be heard in all of its villainously villainess glory!  I won’t spoil specific content here, but suffice it to say that I was smiling from ear-to-ear for the entire time, and cheers and applause from around the room erupted at many key scenes and revelations.  ILTV absolutely had a solid following present, and even fans sitting near us who had said they were there for other series still found plenty to laugh and cheer for in ILTV.  Indeed, upon ILTV’s conclusion, over half of the room emptied-out despite a concluding Spellblades autographed art raffle having been advertised at the beginning.

With that, our time at AX itself was complete.  There were challenges, to be sure, and I don’t think my legs and feet have forgiven me quite yet from all the walking and standing that were required.  Cost and time are finite commodities, and I know that I was lucky to have some external factors (such as frequent flyer miles) come together to help make this happen for me.  But regardless, the memories made and the experiences shared with friends in the fandom are going to stick with me for a long time yet to come.  It was important to me to be there–a sense of obligation and compulsion that I hadn’t felt since when I first finished ILTV, and immediately knew that I just had to reach out and find others to talk about it.  The passion that grew from that experience carried me to AX, and now I feel almost as if I’ve evolved as a fan to a higher level of existence.  As one friend said, “if you can survive AX, all the other cons out there will be a breeze.”  While I’m not in any particular hurry to test that hypothesis, I certainly have more confidence in myself now about it.  It’s ultimately yet another way that ILTV and yuri have helped me to continue to grow as a person.

Now, if only I could find a way to enter cold-sleep until the anime airs in October….

 

****

“Hime-chan” at the Kodansha booth

 

Yuri is My Job banner hanging above the Kodansha booth

Whisper Me a Love Song banner hanging above the Kodansha booth

A giant Comic Yuri Hime mock-up as part of the Kodansha booth.  Sharp eyes may spot where Aonoshimo-sensei surreptitiously signed the ILTV illustration in-person.

 

Posters in the Kinokuniya booth for ILTV, Whisper Me a Love Song, and Yuri is My Job

ILTV merch in the Kinokuniya booth

ILTV banner, prominently hanging among many others promoting upcoming Crunchyroll offerings

ILTV banner, prominently hanging among many others promoting upcoming Crunchyroll offerings

 

VICTORY!

Erica here: Well, what a fabulous time and a fabulous report! I was grinning ear-to-ear myself reading this. I remember the enormous scale of Anime Expo from 20 years ago, I cannot imagine what it is like now. Thank you so much Alfiq for giving us an insider view of the Yuriest Expo ever.

E here: Just as a footnote – there have been three Yuri anime that have had premiers in the US. Yuricon 2007’s Yurisai event held the US premiere of Simoun, Anime NYC had the North American premiere of Kase-san and Morning Glories in 2018, but as far as I know, this was definitely the first Yuri world premiere!

Also, let us talk about the fact that two different Yuri publishers had a presence on the floor, and industry panels and with an anime. I’m only sorry that Seven Seas wasn’t there and that I also was not there. ^_^;

Thanks again Alfiq for the great report.





Sasayakuyouni Koi wo Utau, Volume 7 (ささやくように恋を唄う)

July 5th, 2023

We join Sasayakuyouni Koi wo Utau, Volume 7 (ささやくように恋を唄う), our resident adorable high school love story as Himari and Yori-sempai share their first real kiss.

This leads to them spending the night together after a sudden passing trope leaves them soaked. Yori stresses over the intimacy that sharing a bed brings, while Himari falls asleep.

Shiho decides to tell Himari the whole story about why she left SS Girls and it’s about what one might expect; a pile of mutually exclusive needs and desires that are compounded by strong emotional circumstances. Himari takes it all in so Shiho can get it all out, then politely asks Shiho to deal with the one things she hasn’t ever admitted – her feelings for Aki-sempai.

This series is moe in the most specific sense of the word – one wants very much to treasure these young ladies and protect them from harm. But also one wishes to celebrate them and that is what Kodansha did this weekend at Anime Expo! Head over to the Ichijinsha twitter account and take a look at the photos of their display. Revel in the Yuri-ness of it all. Yuri Is My Job!, I’m In Love With The Villainess and Whisper Me A Love Song all got space and time at the booth. Happy sigh.

Ratings:

Art – 8
Story – 7
Characters – 9
Service – .0001
Yuri – 10

Overall – 9

So darn cute.

Volume 6 of Whisper Me A Love Song is out now from Kodansha!





Birdie Wing, End of Season Review

July 3rd, 2023

“It was the best of times,

 

it was the worst of times,
 

 

it was the age of wisdom,

 

it was the age of foolishness,

Vipère - Birdie Wing: Golf Girls' Story | Episode 4 - YouTube

 

it was the epoch of belief,

 

it was the epoch of incredulity,

Golf Girls Swing Rainbows in BIRDIE WING, Episode 15 | J-List Blog

 

it was the season of light,

Golf Girls Get Their Wings in BIRDIE WING, Ep 19 | J-List Blog

 

it was the season of darkness,

 

it was the spring of hope,

 

it was the winter of despair.”

 

Did I just compare Birdie Wing: Golf Girl’s Story to A Tale of Two Cities? I guess I did. ^_^

After all that has been said about this particular masterpiece, I felt there was nothing left to say except that it was one episode short of perfect.

Ratings:

Overall – 9.9