Archive for the Events Category


Sailor Moon The Super Live, in London, Guest Post by Rue Ball

March 19th, 2025

As I have been shouting from the rooftops, the live-action extravaganza Sailor Moon The Super Live is on tour. I have seen any number of live stage performances of Sailor Moon, including my very first trip to Japan! I saw Sailor Moon The Super Live in NYC in 2022 and enjoyed it immensely and have plans for seeing it next month when it comes NJPAC – why not join me and say hi! ^_^ The tour is adding a few dates now – they just added a *4th* date in Seattle, wow, so definitely see if you can be part of this. It’s really quite wonderful.

And, now, Okazu friends in London have experienced the show for the very first time! Rue Bell was kind enough to write up this report for us. Thank you Rue, I’ll turn it over to you….

I attended Pretty Guardian Sailor Moon The Super Live (henceforth Super Live) in London with some friends and members of the Okazu Discord Server. Like may geeky events in London, the experience started on the London Underground before we even got to the theatre, with more and more passengers wearing Sailor Moon themed clothes, bags and hair buns as we drew closer to the Camden venue. Seated tickets were available for a premium, but most of us opted for the basic standing ticket. There was a merchandise stall that included photos of the cast and Sailor Moon branded light sticks.

Super Live is a musical adaptation of the first season of the anime, which is the part of Sailor Moon that I have the most familiarity with and nostalgia for, having watched selected episodes on VHS as a child. The plot introduces Sailor Moon and the four Inner Senshi, then they battle against Queen Beryl and her six monster for possession of the Silver Crystal. Tuxedo Mask is in every fight as a love interest and ambiguous friend-or-foe figure.

Sailor Moon Super Live, London 2025, photo by Ashley Payne. Five girls in Japanese sailor-suit school uniform inspired hero costumes, on a stage. Huge colorful ribbons of light fill the background.

Super Live is performed entirely in Japanese, with translations projected onto a large screen. The musical numbers were translated with animated typography, and standard subtitles were used for the spoken dialogue in-between. I thought this worked well, however in this
particular venue overhanging balcony seats meant the dialogue subtitles were not visible from about half of the standing area, which is likely to have created a poor experience for audience members in those areas.

I enjoyed the shimmer, sparkle and spectacle of Sailor Moon when I was a child, and I think Super Live’s impressive production lived up to it. The dancing was, to my eyes, impeccably synchronised and choreographed, and it was backed up by a huge screen at the back of the
stage, and an LED-covered set and props that all pulsated and changed colour in time with the music and dancers.

Sailor Moon Super Live, London 2025, photo by Rue Ball. Five girls in Japanese sailor-suit school uniform inspired hero costumes, on a stage, each posing in the traditional "appearance" pose of their character. Behind and above them is a person in a tuxedo and cape, while a large moon is projected behind them, superimposed with the words, Time and Again we find each other.

 

As an adult, the interactions between the Sailor Senshi are my favourite part of the Sailor Moon anime. These unsurprisingly weren’t the focus in this musical with a highly compressed plot. However, one person I went with did notice that the Senshi actors still conveyed these dynamics using small interactions, so the observant fans will enjoy those. There were also two musical numbers focussed on the diverse personalities and skills of the Senshi. The message that there are all sorts of ways to be a girl or a woman is quite important to me, so I appreciated these performances being there, and got quite emotional about them in the finale.

I think the Tuxedo Mask performance deserves a particular shout-out. He was played by the female actor Sufa, and she nailed his cool, confident presence in every scene. The performance reminded me of an otokoyaku – a woman playing a man’s role – in the Takarazuka Revue. I don’t think that this is intended to be seen as queer, but I expect that yuri fans will nonetheless enjoy watching an actor playing with gender roles.

Sailor Moon Super Live, London 2025, photo by Rue Ball. Five girls in Japanese sailor-suit school uniform inspired hero costumes, on a stage, each posing in the traditional "appearance" pose of their character. Behind and above them are a woman in purple with scarlet hair and half a dozen people in purple posing around her.

 

I would definitely recommend Super Live to any Sailor Moon fan, it adapts many of the things that drew me to the original series. The run in London ended on March 19th 2025, but at the time of publication a North American tour is planned for March and April 2025.





Yuriten 2025 Osaka Event Report by Bea Baker

February 24th, 2025

Last week, I had the opportunity to go to Yuriten 2025 in Osaka, my first Yuri-themed event in Japan.

I’ve lived here for many years, but most of that time was spent in the Aomori countryside, pining from the sidelines as so many otaku events came and went in the big city. Finally, though, after moving to the Kansai area, I got my chance to see the Yuri fandom up-close and in-person.

Recently, I started my own lesbian game development studio, Yuri Kissaten! We’ve released two games so far and several more to come. So of course I am now honor-bound to go to all LGBTQ+ otaku events in the Kansai area!

Yuriten 2025 was held from February 8-16 in the Shinsaibashi area of Osaka, north of Dotonbori and close to a lot of Namba’s lesbian bars (a very nice touch). This year’s Yuriten was held in Osaka Space, which seems to be a different, and smaller venue than previous years where it was held at Namba Parks.

Osaka street scene. Osaka Yuriten 2025, by B. Baker

Curry and rice platter, with salad and a cup of water, napkin and flatware. Yuriten Osaka 20253, B. Baker.

I went with a friend on February 11th, a national holiday. Osaka was absolutely buzzing with activity, but the area around the event was surprisingly quiet. After curry lunch at a nice little cafe, we went to Osaka Space and descended down the stairs to the basement floor event.

Wire stand with chalkboard sign reading Yuriten in Japanese , decorated with lilies. Yuriten Osaka 20253, B. Baker.

 

Signboard for the Yuriten event, with the same scene rendered as a live photo and an illustration. Two girls in dark school uniforms sit in a window holding hands intimately. Osaka Yuriten 2025, by B. Baker

 

Yuriten definitely felt like a low-key affair. With free entry and a very quiet atmosphere, it was almost like a pop-up museum. High-resolution manga prints for a couple dozen series, a guided path through the space, and a place to write a memo for future guests to look on. Everyone was quiet, almost in reverence to the beauty of fictional lesbianism. I had to whisper to my friend anytime I had a comment.

With how museum-like it felt, I’d honestly have loved an actual exhibit with Yuri genre history and some really old magazines on display. But this is more like a showcase of creators and series past and present–it’s run by Village Vanguard (basically the Hot Topic of Japan), and so the goal is definitely to help boost manga sales in a niche but growing genre.

Cover art and message by Oku Tamaushi, featuring Arisa from Cheerful Amnesia

 

Card drawn by Sal Jiang featuring Hiroko and Ayaka on the cover of "Ayaka is in love with Hiroko" Osaka Yuriten 2025, Bea Baker

Sign card illustrated by Sal Jiang featuring Hiroko and Ayaka from "Ayaka is in Love with Hiroko". Yuriten 2025, Bea Baker

 

 
Cover image for "Even Though We're Adults, by Takako Shimura. Osaka Yuriten 2025, Bea Baker
 
Card drawn by Takako Shimura, featuring Fumi and Akira from Sweet Blue Flowers. Osaka Yuriten 2025, Bea Baker

There were many series on display, some I recognized, and some I had never seen before. That’s part of the appeal of the event, I imagine; see some really cool art from comics you’ve never heard of, or only seen a pic or two online, and finding new series to read through.

Art by Taka Shimura from Sweet Blue Flowers. Osaka Yuriten 2025, Bea Baker
 
Art from Strawberry Panic! Osaka Yuriten 2025, Bea Baker

Art from Strawberry Panic! anime showing Nagisa behind held by Tamao. Yuriten 2025, Bea Baker

Art from Strawberry Panic, showing all the characters of the anime, laying on the grass with their heads towards the center. Osaka Yuriten 2025, Bea Baker

 

It also showcased Strawberry Panic and Aoi Hana, two of the classic Yuri schoolgirl romance anime series of the 2000s. That’s some nice representation! Strawberry Panic was the first Yuri media I ever found, and it hit me in a very bad way to realize that it’s turning twenty years old next year.

Time passes very quickly…

Images of Yuri manga on the wall. Osaka Yuriten 2025, Bea Baker
 
Black and white manga drawings being exhibited at Osaka Yuriten 2025, Bea Baker

Anyway, most everything else was currently running or just-finished manga series firmly in the Yuri genre.

 

Black and white and color drawings exhibited at Osaka Yuriten 2025, Bea Baker

 

Art from Noir anime by Bee Train. Osaka Yuriten 2025, B. Baker

 

I noticed one RPG called Witch & Lily, but practically everything else was manga. It’s fitting for a Village Vanguard event, but I was disappointed to find little love for other mediums, especially games, music, movies, and novels. (Especially games… I’d love to be featured here one day…)

This year also seems sorely lacking in “heavy hitter” series. Compared to previous years like 2019, Yuriten didn’t feature many of the current bestsellers like I’m In Love with the Villainess, How Do We Relationship, or almost anything from Comic Yuri Hime magazine, let alone recent non-romance series with Yuri elements like Witch from Mercury or Dead Dead Demon’s De-De-De-De-Destruction. I understand that series like Love Bullet or The Guy She Was Interested Wasn’t a Guy At All probably became popular too recently to coordinate an appearance, but it felt distinctly like there was something lacking from Yuriten. Like we only got a slice of the fandom, not a full celebration.

Art from Yuri Espoir. Osaka Yuriten 2025, B. Baker

Still, I really appreciate what did show up. The fact that there’s so much popular Yuri out there these days that I’m lamenting what’s missing is a sign of just how many great series are running right now! I just hope Yuriten continues to expand in future years, and hopefully goes to more cities than just Tokyo and Osaka.

 

Art from Boys Who Gild The Lily Must Die? Osaka Yuriten 2025, B. Baker.

 

Art from The Magical Revolution of the Reincarnated Princess and The Genius Young Lady. Osaka Yuriten 2025, B. Baker

Of course, at the end of the mini-exhibit was the gift shop. Lots of exclusive, overpriced items from all your favorite series, and manga for series you want to dive into.

 

 

Yuri goods store Osaka Yuriten 2025, B. Baker
 

Yuri goods at Osaka Yuriten 2025, B. Baker 

Clearfiles and other Yuri goods at Osaka Yuriten 2025, B. Baker
 

Yuri goods on display at Osaka Yuriten 2025, B. Baker

 

 

 

Books and other Yuri goods on sale at Osaka Yuriten 2025, B. Baker
Comic Essay "Parlor" by Fujio on a pile of Yuri goods. Osaka Yuriten 2025, B. Baker.

 

I got me a couple cheap goods, as well as one nonfiction essay manga which stars a butch protagonist (very rare in manga!). I was very tempted to get a manga-branded t-shirt and parade that thing around for years, but I didn’t see any from my favorites.

Yuriten was certainly a fun experience, a free half an hour you can spend observing a slice of the Yuri fandom, and a place for a few exclusive items for smaller series that otherwise may never get any other merch. It made me really wish for bigger, more ambitious events in the future, though, especially something where we can actually meet and talk to other fans. A full Yuricon, perhaps…

(Also, look at this very strange and expensive dress my friend and I found while shopping after the event! Would you wear this to Yuriten?)

Artsy dress with hangining blue and yellow material under a white overpiece. Yuriten Osaka 2025, B. Baker.





The Gift of Love and Queer Joy in Brooklyn, NY on Dec. 10

November 24th, 2024

Join authors JD Glass, Mala Kumar and myself at The Ripped Bodice, in Brooklyn, NY on Dec. 10 for a talk about “The Gift of Love” and queer joy!

Registration does come with a fee, but you get the money back as a coupon towards books at the store. JD, Mala and I will be available for book signings.

Register here: https://www.therippedbodice.com/brooklyn-events

Promotional image for authors JD Glass, Mala Kumar and Erica Friedman at The Ripped Bodice, in Brooklyn, NY on Dec. 10 at 7PM





American Manga Awards, Event Report by Sean Gaffney and Erica Friedman on Anime Herald

September 13th, 2024

America Anime Awards logo, designed by Nate Piekos of Blambot.I promised you a really exciting look at AnimeNYC and today I can share that Sean Gaffney and I were absolutely honored to cover the first-ever American Manga Awards for Anime Herald!

The American Manga Awards – An Historic Moment For The Manga Community

Sean did the lion’s share of the work, while I came in with the shiny stuff at the end.  ^_^ Thank you so much Sean, I could never have done this without you. I also want to thank Samantha Ferreira of Anime Herald – she does great work over on her site. Anime Herald is almost as old as Okazu!

The American Manga Awards was an extraordinary experience. I hope you’ll all read our report and keep your attention out for the next one!





3 Days at AnimeNYC, Event Report by Matias Mintz

September 11th, 2024

Logo for AnimeNYC

 

 

 

 

 

It’s Friday, 12:15pm, and I’m tiptoeing in a bathroom stall, cautiously stepping on my shoes, one at a time, avoiding the floor as if it were lava, getting changed into my Kyouko Sakura (Madoka Magica) cosplay, preparing to attend Erica’s first panel at AnimeNYC. I’m 35 years old and I’ve never cosplayed in my whole life. It’s my third time at AnimeNYC, and every year I told myself that I would dress up as my favorite character, Kyouko. But for some reason, I always found excuses not to do it, and always regretted it. Each flight back to Argentina, I promised myself that next year I would, for sure.

That’s why the excitement of getting into my stockings, my skirt, and my frilly dress is so overpowering that I forget what this bathroom stall has seen before me and what it will endure with its next occupant. I come out, and the only thing left is the final touch: the cute bow.

The transformation sequence is complete. I am now a Magical Girl.

Hello, world!

 

AnimeNYC 2024, Javits Center full of anime and manga themed banners and people in costume. Photo by Matias Mintz, 2024.

 

“The Rise of Queer Manga” was an amazing panel about how Yuri and BL evolved into queer narratives that explore LGBTQ+ representation, both through memoir and fictional writing. The panel was great not only because of the diverse voices and perspectives with a strong presence in the industry, but also because the panelists were fans themselves, and it showed in the way they spoke. When a panelist’s voice breaks while speaking about something that’s important to them, you know it’s rooted in deep love for the works being covered. It’s heartwarming to see folks who resonate with the medium in the same way that I do. On top of being informative and emotive, it was genuinely fun. The crowd had a great time; we all laughed with the four panelists gushing over their recommendations, and, of course, we cheered each time we heard our favorite mangas mentioned.

Works that I want to check out after attending this panel: Just Like Mona Lisa (Tsumuji Yoshimura), Boys Run the Riot (Keito Gaku), Until I Meet My Husband (Ryousuke Nanasaki).

 

 

 

After that great start, I saw the immensity of this year’s convention; the Javits Center was packed even though it was a Friday. Aside from the date, there were some other changes from last year. Everything was bigger, and there was more of it, but at the same time, it didn’t feel as exciting. Speaking for myself, there weren’t many international guests that I was eager to see, except for Chiwa Saito, but, of course, I didn’t win the lottery for her signing session. I also found the layout of the booths and tables harder to understand; I got lost quite often when trying to backtrack to a shop that had something I liked, which, more often than not, was somewhat on the expensive side.

Another thing that surprised me was the lack of variety in terms of shows and merch. It seemed like everyone played it safe and only carried items from classic shows (Evangelion, Sailor Moon, Madoka, etc.), ultra-popular shows (Jujutsu Kaisen, Chainsaw Man, etc.), popular video games (Honkai Star Rail, Genshin, etc.), and trendy or seasonal anime (Frieren, Demon Slayer, etc.). I love some of those series, but I was looking for merchandise from more niche series, and I didn’t find it.

Unsurprisingly, a lot of the Frieren merch was very shippy, and that bothered me. Himmel was everywhere, as if the only reason for Frieren to exist was to pair her, the strongest sorcerer of all time, with him, the blue-eyed hero. It was honestly disappointing to see that a significant focus surrounding the series was disconnected from what makes the show beautiful to me. There wasn’t even Flamme, Eisen or Heiter merchandise, mainly Frieren, Himmel, Fern, and Stark. That merch doesn’t pass the Bechdel Test, I swear. I have to admit that if I had found anything with Kanne and Lawine, I would have bought it though… Oh, well.

 

One of my highlights was meeting Erica, Sean Gaffney, and Rica Takashima at Erica’s table. It was great seeing a very brief history of Yuri on the wall, with the ships we had discussed on Discord. It was fun to see how our online chats led to real-life connections. We shared a few Alfajores and Conitos de Dulce de Leche that I brought from Argentina, we discussed academic topics, I received tons of recommendations, and bought a beautiful tote bag with Rica’s art.

Erica won’t tell you, but as early as the start of Day 2, she sold out every last book she brought to the convention. (Erica here: Oh yes, I will absolutely tell people! ^_^ Buy my book! Buy my book!!)

While I was at the Yen Press booth and checking out the preview of The Guy She Was Interested In Wasn’t a Guy at All, I started chatting with someone who was also looking at the book. As it turns out, she had bought By Your Side and a few Yuri prints!

 

Matias Mintz as a magical girl and Erica Friedman posing in front of a wall of images from Yuri anime at Anime NYC 2024. Photo by Matias Mintz

 

When the bells announced 7 pm, I tried to go to the cosplay changing rooms before my carriage turned into a pumpkin, but they were already closed, so I had to wait for a bathroom stall to clear up to change back into my everyday clothes. Again the tiptoeing, again the dance around the shoes, again the regret of having to change to take the train.

But… why?

That’s the question that I kept asking myself during the ride back to Brooklyn.

And that’s how I realized that I wanted to fight against that fear, and why, the next day, I got changed in my room and went out on the street with my costume on. The feeling was incredibly liberating.

While I was sitting on the train, a lady came and told me that she loved my outfit; it felt so nice ❀. That was just the start of it, because during that day and the next, two more people on the street (non-con-goers) complimented the cosplay!

I love checking the artist alley, so I spent a lot of time walking there and examining every table, but after three days, I said goodbye to my dream of getting a Sweet Blue Flowers t-shirt, charm, keychain, enamel pin, or whatever I could get my hands on. I did get to meet Pemprika again, and we chatted a lot about Houseki no Kuni, Madoka, and Utena. I also left all my earthly possessions at her store because her art is beautiful.

 

 

I never take pictures of myself because I just don’t know what to do; I feel self-conscious and awkward. But, by being Kyouko, I had a few people come to me and ask for pictures of my cosplay. I was anxious but excited at the same time, and even though the first few ones were probably not great, I felt more at ease with each photo. I even ended up taking a picture with someone who was cosplaying Aya from The Guy She Was Interested In…

On Saturday, I attended the “Category Is: Magical Person Realness” panel, which explored queerness and queer coding within the Magical Girl genre. I found myself sobbing a lot with the fragments presented and laughing a lot with the commentaries. To wrap up the panel, there was a very fun fan-voting session to determine the definitive Magical Girl ship, in which Madoka and Homura won against Haruka and Michiru in a very tight final. I was pleasantly surprised that Cocona and Papika made it very far in the brackets.

Works to check out after attending this panel: Witch Hat Atelier, Kill la Kill.

On Sunday, I attended the other panel where Erica was participating; this time it was “A History of Manga by Decade: Manga’s History Two Books at a Time,” where Zack Davisson and Erica did a great job immersing the audience in a trip through Japan’s modern history told through comics. I loved this panel so much that I wished it lasted another hour or, at least, included a few more books per decade because it was incredibly rich, and Zack and Erica made a really entertaining and thought-provoking team.

From this panel, I need to check out more information on Shigeru Mizuki, Yokohama Kaidashi Kikou (Hitoshi Ashinano), and Our Dreams at Dusk (Yuhki Kamatani).

 

ANYC 2024 Manga By the Decade Zack Davisson, Erica Friedman, Jillian Rudes, photo by Matias Mintz

 

 

After that, I wandered around taking pictures of cosplayers, checking out booths I had missed, and realizing that post-con depression had set in earlier than expected.

As people flooded out of our glass castle into the streets of New York, I made my way back to the subway.

And there, suddenly, in the reflection of a train platform timetable, I found myself: that 12 13-year-old in love with Asuka and wanting to be her at the same time. Projecting myself as the character who had to act tough because that’s what she thought society demanded, constantly looking for validation from others rather than loving herself.

My younger self, entangled in video games, always picking the heroine, always identifying with the princess, always longing to be them.
The make-do mirror returned the image of a strong, proud, magical girl, a few directions on how to get to Brooklyn, and an arriving train schedule.

Erica here once again: Thank you Matias! It was amazing meeting you…and I am still enjoying the sweets you brought. ^_^

For those of you wondering where my report is…well Sean Gaffney and I did a very rich review of the American Manga Awards that should post soon on Anime Herald…and I have a special treat from Yen Press coming up (!), so check back for that! ^_^ It was an amazing event, as usual. I hope to return again soon.