Archive for 2023


Yuri Network News – (百合ネットワークニュース) – January 20, 2022

January 21st, 2023

A blue silhouette of a girl with a white flower in her hair, embracing the earth. Blue block letters read YNN Yuri Network News. Art by Lissa P. For Okazu.

Yuricon 2023

We are off to an amazing start for Yuricon 2023. The first discussion video will be recorded this week, as will my “Opening Ceremonies” video. (This will be posted when our new mascot art is completed. I am an otaku, after all and have ideas.)

We have almost a dozen confirmed panels/ presentations/discussions lined up so far and another half dozen proposals, but the Internet is nearly infinite and hope you will fill out the Application form to talk about your Yuri obsession, whether it be a series, or a character or a subgenre that really drew you in. Or, maybe you want to talk about art of fanfic or a Light Novel series that changed your life. Making Space for folks and different perspectives is a key concept for this event. 

Don’t self-censor – Apply to run a Yuricon 2023 panel or do a presentation today! We want to know all about your Yuri. All panels will be recorded and shared on Youtube, but I am hoping to do at least one livestream event in Q3. ^_^

 

Yuri Manga

New items up on the Yuricon Store! I’m about halfway in clearing out the backlog of stuff to get up. ^_^

The Summer You Were There, Volume 2 his shelves last month in English from Seven Seas.

The print volume of Yokohama Kaidashi Kikou is up for pre-order for a May release.

Takeshima Eku’s Sasayakuyouni Koi wo Utau, Volume 7, in which we learn the Truth(TM) about Shiho.

Mejirobana Saku, Volume 3 (メジロバナの咲く) by Nakamura Asumiko continues her first Yuri title with what happens after Ruby manages to stay in school.

This is a 2020 Yuri rom-com, Lily Triangle, (リリィ・トライアングル) by the creator of Futari Monologue.

Ichijinsha has a new anthology out this week, Cosplay Yuri Ecchi Anthology (コスプレ百合えっちアンソロジー).

And, while you’re getting Qualia The Purple Light Novel, you should know that there is also a manga for it. Seven Seas will release the Qualia The Purple Complete Manga Collection  in June of this year.

 

 

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Polish fan group Yuri Daily on Facebook has written a review of 2007 doujinshi Manga Carmilla Girls Only, collection. This collection was created by Carmilla magazine, a Japanese lesbian magazine that ran in the mid-2000s which featured 18+manga, club news and stories and sex-forward lesbian media. There are some 3rd-party sellers on Amazon JP with copies to sell, if you’re interested. I reviewed an issue of Carmilla almost 20 years ago here on Okazu. It wasn’t for me at all, but it might be for you.

Vincisblog has reviewed all three volume of the German Edition of Goumoto’s Yuri manga, Umi to Yoru, out as Night and Sea from Taschebuch in Germany. Start with their review of Volume 1.

 

Yuri Anime

Birdie Wing is on the short list for “Best Original Animation” Crunchyroll award and the official account on Twitter is asking you to help them win! And now, so am I.  These are the worst awards voting ever, because we can stuff the ballot box meaning that whatever is most popular wins. So let’s do this thing. ^_^

Not-Yuri, but of interest and looking mighty fine, the Sailor Cosmos trailer dropped this week, with our first look at the Three Lights/Sailor Starlights and the haunting notes of ‘Search For Your Love!” Rafael Antonio Pineda has the details on ANN.

Steve Jones and Christopher Farris take a look at the new season of Isekai anime and determine that The Magical Revolution Of The Reincarnated Princess And The Genius Young Lady is worth watching. Line of the review is Chris’ “…Anis having more personality and face game in her pinky finger than 90% of the potato-tagonists of seasonal isekai shovelware combined.” Outstanding.

 

 

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Yuri Live Action

Again via Yuri Daily, Ohsawa Yayoi’s short Takeout Dekimasuka? will be getting a stage adaptation! This will have 6 performances, March 10 through 12 at Performing Gallery & Cafe Ezorabako. The comic upon which this play is based was part of her 2DK, GPen Aftertime Short Story Collection from 2021.

If sapphic content from other than Japan interests you, I highly recommend you follow douqi on Twitter and check out their list of Asian WLW Dramas list.

ANN’s Rafael Antonio Pined has the news that the Live-Action If My Favorite Pop Idol Made it to the Budokan, I Would Die Film Opens on May 12.

 

Yuri Visual Novels

Studio Élan has  key visuals from their upcoming project, Summer At The End Of The Universe up on their official Twitter account.

YNN Correspondent Patricia B. (who just reviewed 77 Oleander Avenue Ghost House Investigation this week on Okazu) wants you to know about a number of sapphic VNs:

First up is Super Lesbian Animal RPG by ponett, which is exactly what it sounds like: an RPG with anthropomorphic characters and sapphic leads. On top of the main cast entirely being comprised of sapphic women, including transgender women, the majority of the surrounding cast is also very queer. I found it to be a very fun and well-made role-playing game, full of heart, humour, and a good challenge for those familiar with the genre. This game can be purchased on either Steam or itch.io.

The second is The Elevator Game with Catgirls by NoBreadStudio. This is a horror visual novel with point-and-click adventure elements. You play as Asahi, who is trying to find her girlfriend, Kirin, who went missing after attempting a ritual known as the “Elevator Game”. And yes, Asahi and Kirin are both catgirls. This game can be purchased on Steam or itch.io:

The third and final game is Margo by ygretz. It is a short, laid-back, if slightly melancholic, point-and-click adventure game about a day in the life of a young woman named Margo. The game is free, but there are ways to support the developer on the store pages. This game can be purchased on Steam or itch.io:

 

Yuri Prose Collections

Yuri Hakaarashi (百合墓荒らし) is a Yuri short story collection by Tougen Natsuo.

Joining the pack is Yuri Short Story Collection wiz (百合小説コレクション wiz) a collection of stories by 8 writers.

Along with Zerogoh magazine and the Yuri Hime/Pixiv/Hayakawa Literary Yuri contest (of which I reviewed Volume 1, read and disliked Volume 2, so never reviewed and am currently reading Volume 3, and selected shorts from the Volume 4 are running in Comic Yuri Hime this year,) Yuri writers and readers have some options these days!

 

Other News

Joanna Cayanan on ANN notes that Taguchi Shoichi, the creator of Yuri travel/food/hangin’ around manga Futari Escape, is looking for some assistants!

 

Thanks to our Okazu Patrons who make the YNN weekly report possible! Support us on Patreon or Ko-fi to help us give Guest Reviewers a raise and to help us support Yuri creators!

Become a YNN Correspondent: Contact Us with any Yuri-related news you want to share and be part of the Yuri Network. ^_^





Galette No.23 (ガレット)

January 19th, 2023

Pictured: On a pale background, a woman with light green hair with closed eyes hold large abstract flowers, leaning over an orange-haired woman laying down, looking at us. In English the cover says "let's hang out." Orange letters read ガレット and 23 in a blue/purple hexagon. In Japanese white letters say "人遊びしよ. Let’s start with the important stuff. I purchased Galette No.23 (ガレット) through the Galette Booth account, so I could get it with a bonus clearfile. Because I’m like that. If you are also like that, (and I assume you are ^_^) check out that link option on the Yuricon Store.

So this issue of Galette came with a pretty mini clearfile with art by Morinaga Milk featuring Yuna and Rena from her series, “Watashi no Kawaii Neko-chan,” which is now out in English from Seven Seas as My Cute Little Kitten, Volume 1. ^_^ This is a very pretty series, and I like both the characters, but the narrative has very much banged into a wall repeatedly, until this chapter.  There wasn’t a lot of conflict, so most of what drove this story was misunderstanding, caused by refusal to just have a conversation. If know me, you’ve heard me refer to that as Jondalar Syndrome (after a character from The Clan of the Cave Bear series.) It’s not my favorite plot complication, to be honest. But, finally they have at least one part of the conversation, phew!

In “Liberty,” Liz is going to implode, I think. She’s got a head full of anxieties and won’t rely on Maki or anyone else. Also a frustrating plot complication, but unlike Rena and Yuna, Liz is absolutely that kind of person, and all we can ever do is just wait for Liz to snap and Maki to glue her back together. Momono Moto’s art is especially good this issue.

I have come to realize that I have been reading Yorita Miyuki’s “Houkenshitsu no Ano Onna” waiting for it to wrap up. It just seemed like it was a one-shot, then a two-shot, then three and so on. I have stopped reading it like that and am hoping this story about two teachers in love keeps going for a while. Duh, me.

Hakamada Mera’s “Aikata System” continues, this time doing a bit of a core sample on Izumi. Honestly, I keep wanting to run into the scenes with Kairo and scream, “Do it! Break this system!” I hope she brings the system to the ground like a statue of a confederate general. ^_^

As with every issue, there were other stories I read and enjoyed, these are some highlights. I always look forward to Galette.  I’d love to see some new growth in the number and kind of stories we’re getting. It’s a bit schoolgirl heavy for me right now, but I have hope that the new year will bring change. ^_^

Ratings:

Overall – 8

Volume 24 is available in print and digitally, as well as to all backers on their crowdfunding sites, Fantia and Pixiv Fanbox.





77 Oleander Avenue Ghost House Investigation, Guest Review by Patricia B.

January 18th, 2023

Title image of 77 Oleander Avenue, Ghost House Investigation, written out in white letters. The image is dark and moody, showing a brown-skinned woman with red short curly hair, hunched over herself, blood visible on her white tank top. A wine bottle label shows a woman in a red dress. A broken window in the background.Welcome to our first Guest Review Wednesday of 2023! I’m extremely pleased to welcome back Guest Reviwer, Patricia B. on her own account and also because she is here to tell us all about a Visual Novel of note. Thank you Patricia, the floor is yours!

My name is Patricia Baxter (she/her). I am a bisexual autistic writer who has previously written articles concerning how media represents different marginalized communities. You can find more of my work through my personal website “Autistic Observations”.

July 22nd, 2022.  Tabby, a paranormal investigator, wakes up in a dilapidated and abandoned house without her phone, wallet, keys, or memory of how even she got there.  She quickly realizes that she is not alone in the house, upon meeting a ghost named Evie who is significantly better at being adorable than she is at scaring people.  Tabby soon sets up a plan: find her lost items, remember why she woke up at 77 Oleander Avenue, learn more about Evie, and perhaps even uncover the truth behind the house’s final residents: the Larkspur family.  That is if she can survive the night.

77 Oleander Avenue Ghost House Investigation is a visual novel that reminded me just how much I love video games and the unique forms of storytelling that can only be experienced through the medium.  Runa Liore Winters pulled no punches in crafting a horror game that is deeply unsettling to experience, even upon re-exploration.  The writing, visuals, and audio design, all work in tandem to create a place that may have been a house once but was never really home.  The sound design deserves especially high praise, both for its soundtrack and sound effects, which not only allow the player to empathize with the experiences of the protagonists but also feel the house’s hostility surround them through their headphones.  Furthermore, the interactive and cyclical nature of video games helps add to the terror of being trapped in a haunted house.  

At its core, 77 Oleander Avenue is a queer horror game both in terms of its protagonists and central themes.  Tabby and Evie are two delightful lesbians who are the type of endearingly charming people I would be more than happy to befriend in reality and still clearly human in their complexities and personal baggage.  Additionally, the game posits important questions about queerness and how it impacts how we are remembered after we are gone.  In a world deeply entrenched in cissexist and heteronormative ways of viewing people, historical accounts of queer people tend to be ignored at “best” or have their lives entirely rewritten at worst.  It has only been recently through the efforts of the LGBTQ+ community, that we are beginning to uncover those lost histories.  Tabby considers this question as she explores the house, and we see the effects of this erasure as we learn more about Evie’s past.

For all my praise for this game, it is still one where I insist upon reading the content warnings the developer helpfully provides before fully diving in, as the game is full of scenes that may be deeply triggering for queer players and/or those who grew up in abusive households with strict religious upbringings.  I personally found it was better to play the game over three days, one for each level of the house, as this was an effective way of tackling the game’s heavy content without emotionally exhausting myself.

Overall, 77 Oleander Avenue Ghost House Investigation is an exquisite example of the type of stories we can only tell in video games, and one of the greatest examples of queer horror I have ever experienced.  And yes, you can pet and name the (metal inanimate) dog.

You can purchase the game either on Steam or itch.io.

Visual Art: 9 (the game relies more on photography than the digital art typically associated with indie games in the genre, so YMMV on how well that works for you)

Music & Sound Design: 10
Story: 10
Characters: 10 (Tabby & Evie feel like real people, as do the other characters for better and for worse)
Service: 0 (violence is there for discomfort, not salaciousness)
LGBTQ+: 10 

Overall: 10

Thank you so much, Patricia!  This sounds like an intriguing visual novel that I am sure folks here will be interested in.





The Two of Them Are Pretty Much Like This, Volume 2

January 16th, 2023

Snowy, bare white scene, with a few trees and a building in the background. Two woman stand. One wears a mid-thigh length green hooded winter coat, she looks at the other woman, who wear a pink hoodie, brown shorts with black leggings underneath, and is reaching down towards us presumably to grab some snow. Black and red letters read, "The Two Of Them Are pretty Much Like This", In black a large 2 is in the bottom right corner, and in the bottom left, in black, "story and art by Takashi Ikeda."In Volume 1, we met Ellie a scriptwriter and her lover Wako, and aspiring voice actress. In The Two of Them Are Pretty Much Like This, Volume 2, Wako’s career gets a big bump with a role in an upcoming anime. What will that mean for Ellie? Well, it won’t mean that Wako’s paying the rent just yet. ^_^

In this volume we meet an editor friend of Ellie’s, the kind-of-hapless Ataru. and Wako’s fellow voice actors. There are moments of intimacy, and hard work, and mistakes and embarrassing moments with neighbors. Just every day life things. This is a low drama, low comedy, and low low-key slice-of-life comedy. that’s a fun read, without asking much of us. As I said in my review of this volume in Japanese,  the only problem I had with it was the “birthday gag” in the final chapter, a gag that I strongly dislike. You know the one – “Oh, no, everyone has forgotten my birthday.” UGH.

Ellie and Wako are in love, they are adorable together and we (well, maybe not Ataru) are rooting for them all the way.  I didn’t know how much I needed another Yuri manga from Ikeda Takashi until I read this the first time., but yeah, I really did. His art is outstanding, the tone is goofy without being exhausting for a beautifully balanced story. 

Ratings:

Art – 9
Characters – 9
Story – 8 1 point off for the surprise party
Service – 5 Nudity and acknowledgement of sex, but not more. It’s more just like, knowing an adult couple as friends.
Lesbian – 10 and then sure, Yuri – 10

Overall – 9

As I said the first time, “Fun, relatable and way better than I anticipated, but that one point off for that goddamned awful surprise birthday party plot.” I very much enjoy the recurring Wako-as-an-idol gag. ^_^

Volume 3 will be hitting shelves in English in June!

 





Sailor Moon Sparkling Water – Outer Senshi Edition, Part 1

January 15th, 2023

Taiwanese brand Ocean Bomb announced a line of Sailor Moon-themed sparkling waters, and of course, as an otaku of the series, I was required to purchase and consume these. ^_^ I reviewed the Inner Senshi-themed sparkling waters at the end of 2022. They were bad to okay, so please read that review first. Certainly read it before you buy and drink any of them.

I really didn’t feel like I needed to get any more of those… although I have another can of Jupiter/cucumber in my fridge if I ever need. “Need.”

But then, the news came of Outer Senshi flavors and, despite the fact that I can still taste and smell the Chibi-Usa rose soda, I found Sailor Uranus and Sailor Neptune flavors and drank them. So here we are for another round of…

Chibi-Usa holds a gun on Usagi from Sailor Moon 'R'. The captaion reads 'Drink the Soda.'

(Thank you, Christian, for this image.)

Okay, so the Inners were not great. I’m saying “Outers” but there are only two to get through. I wondered about how   was going to manage this. Well, I learned with drinking Sailor Mars that food pairing was critical – strawberry was not good with a cheeseburger.  ^_^;

These drinks were purchased this time on Arcaera, a rando online shopping service I found and trusted to take my money and send me cans of sparkling water, which they did. The packaging was not fantastic, so Uranus has a small dent, but she and I survived.  They have limited amounts of these (or so their websites says.)

With all that in mind, here we go! 

 

Sailor Uranus – Pineapple Flavor

Do You Like Piña Coladas, or a walk in the Silver Millennium?

Pineapple is not my favorite flavor in the world, but….this was really good. I joke about Piña Coladas, but there was a coconut-y bottom note that worked fine. This flavor wasn’t nearly as sickly-sweet as the Inners, which helped a lot. 

As for food pairing, I think I was very clever. We had ordered from a local Taiwanese place and one of the dishes was Singapore Mai Fun which was a curry noodle dish. The pineapple was a smashing success with that. Highly recommended.

9/10 Would drink again, with appropriate food pairing

 

 

Sailor Neptune – Kiwi Flavor

So. Kiwi. I actually love kiwis, but can’t eat too much raw. Luckily no one ever gives me too much. I had leftovers of the above noodles and figured that would be a good comparison point. 

The kiwi flavor was there, but a little muted. It honestly tasted more of the cucumber flavor, but much less sweet, with a kiwi finish. I thought it was pretty darn good. It was even better when I doused the noodles with a hot sauce. It made the “coolness” of the kiwi/cuke flavor stand out.

Again, I’d drink this again, when paired with something spicy.

8/10

 

Both of these were significantly less sweet than the Inners and had no floral overtones. They tasted like sparkling water, which really improved the overall drinkability.  The overall order for all the flavors is: 

Sailor Chibi-Moon – 0/10
Sailor Venus – 4/10
Sailor Mars – 5/10
Sailor Mercury – 5/10
Sailor Jupiter – 6/10
Sailor Moon – 7/10
Sailor Neptune – 8/10
Sailor Uranus – 9/10

There are no Sailors Pluto or Saturn sparkling waters available. My wife and I propose the following flavor suggestions: Grape for Saturn and Pomegranate for Pluto. We will await Saturn and Pluto options with anticipation (and some slight fear.) ^_^

In commemoration of these drinks, I have rebranded my ko-fi account to a Sailor Senshi sparkling water account, and now have the following button for tips! If you enjoyed this post, why not buy me another? ^_^


Thanks for joining me on this taste adventure!