Quick note, there will be no report next weekend (MangaNEXT) or the weekend after (I’ll be standing in line to see the Marimite movie.) All other things being equal, I’ll probably be tweeting my experiences, rather than blogging. You can find me at Yuricon on Twitter and here’s to me figuring out how to do that on a Japanese cell-phone. No news report possibly even the weekend after that, as I’ll be massively jet-lagged. Just FYI. If any major news breaks, I’ll be sure to report it.
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Yuri Manga
YNN Correspondent Sean Gaffney shares with us the news that Girls High creator Oshima Towa has a new series coming up. It’s got the clever title Joshikou Girls Love and is running in Comic Sumomo magazine from Futabasha. (Sorry it took me so long to post this, Sean.)
YNN Correspondent Rachel gleefully announces that France is reissuing the Rose of Versailles manga in three volumes, starting in January 2011. I’ve linked to the entry on Amazon.FR for our French-speaking fans. Thanks Rachel for news and link!
Out this week from Ichijinsha, of note was the bittersweet but compelling Sore ga Kimi ni Naru by Hakamada Mera and Sukoyaka Paradigm Shift (I’m way too lazy to lift a finger to research this right now, but the art looks very Gokujou Seitokai) by Sukoyaka.
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Other News
YNN Correspondent Jenna M has written in to inform us of a Yuri-focused academic paper she found on the Internet. “The Sexual and Textual Politics of Japanese Lesbian Comics: Reading Romantic and Erotic Yuri Narratives” by Kazumi Nagaike of Oita University. I haven’t had a chance to read it, but you can be sure I will. :-)
YNN Correspondent Socchan think you might be interested in Steam-Powered: Lesbian Steampunk Stories. Information on pre-ordering and a preview can be found at the link provided.
Kakera: A Piece of Our Lives, the live-action movie based on Erica Sakurazawa’s Love Vibes manga is out on DVD.
A Japanese lesbian ponders my comments at the Gay For You? Yaoi and Yuri for GLBTQ Readers panel at NYCC/NYAF.. She has some great thoughts about her experience with lesbian identity (or lack thereof) in Yuri manga. Well worth reading.
Sasamekikoto, Volume 7 is shipping even as we speak. As is Tsubomi, Volume 8, with Volume 9 hitting shelves in December. Guess that’s gone from quarterly to bi-monthly too.
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Yuri Anime
ANN reports that Section 23 has picked up licenses for the series Koi Hime Musou and Kampfer.
And a second anime season for Mariaholic has been announced.
Media Blasters announced that Magic Knight Rayearth Season 2; Ikki Tosen Volume 3 and Re-orders of Queen’s Blade, Volume 1 are shipping now. You may have noticed that Media Blasters is now on Twitter. Can you guess why?
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Maria-sama ga Miteru News
Once more in honor of the upcoming movie, Cobalt Shueisha is putting out a new set of the Maria-sama ga Miteru Novels, this time an 8-pack set that comprise Yumi’s first year at Lillian Girls’ High School.
Volume 9 of the now-continued manga series will be out this week. Guess I’m going to have to make room on that shelf for Cherry Blossom, huh?
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Snatches of Yuri
From one of Ichijinsha’s “other” magazines, Kings Kings, Sakura Link is presumed to have Yuri. Volume 2 is out this week.
And from Managtime Kirara come two manga I know nothing about but have been on every Japanese Yuri blog: Mikazuki no Mitsu and Senobishite de Jounetsu.
We’ll end up on an “really?” note with the announcement of Hitohira Encore. Yes, the dramatic tale of people who cannot talk and have nothing to say in any case is continued. Unless it has Nono, I don’t care. ^_^
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That’s a wrap for this week.
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Is it possible to get a short summary in English of the Japanese lesbian’s thoughts on identity in Yuri for those of us who can’t read Japanese?
C. Banana – She agrees with me, is the short version. You can read the transcript of the panel here: http://manga.about.com/b/2010/10/20/nyaf-2010-gay-for-you-Yuri-yaoi-manga-for-gblt-readers.htm
The academic paper is a little dry, which I expected, but nonetheless very interesting.
I especially loved the section “Girls’ Schools and Romantic S Relationships” where I got a clearer picture of the context in which the whole girl school thing became an obsession.
I also liked that I knew all the manga referenced in it XD
“YNN Correspondent Jenna M has written in to inform us of a Yuri-focused academic paper she found on the Internet. “The Sexual and Textual Politics of Japanese Lesbian Comics: Reading Romantic and Erotic Yuri Narratives” by Kazumi Nagaike of Oita University. I haven’t had a chance to read it, but you can be sure I will. :-)”
I’d be interested in your take on the paper. Nagaike wrote an interesting but excessively Freudian paper on BL (which is primarily notable as one of the few to recognize that readers don’t necessarily identify with the uke), and her explanation of the impetus behind BL would seem to imply that Yuri-for-girls really should not exist. I’d like to see her write a paper addressing both genres and the relationship between them.
@JRBrown – There is a link to contact her on the page with the paper – why don’t you email her and ask?
@ Erica:
For the same reason I wouldn’t be inclined to switch research plans if some random non-specialist read my papers and wrote to ask me if I’d please examine [gene X] in [organ Y]; the only choices are “yes, I’m planning on doing that” or “no, I’m not planning on doing that”. I can’t imagine that Nagaike never thought about the connection between yaoi and Yuri, so she’s either interested in the topic, in which case she will probably write about it in due course, or not. Media studies does tend to have more permeable fan/scholar boundaries than biology, but still, the interests of dilettantes like myself are largely irrelevant.
Many thanks for linking Ms. Nagaike’s paper. It was an excellent scholarly look into Yuri culture.
Like Atarun, it was pleasant to be familiar with the references (including Lillian Faderman’s deeply illuminating Surpassing the Love of Men), but none moreso than the line from Suki ni Sasenai de!, which I have seen rendered thus:
“This would all be meaningless if I was a guy. I’m proud to be a woman. I want to love and be loved by women as a woman, and for us to touch each other as women.”
I was thrilled to see that line referenced, because it has long been one of my most favorite statements from any character in a Yuri work. For once, a woman in Yuri said exactly what I wanted to hear her say.
I love Chi-Ran more than ever, and of course Zaou and Eiki too.
In other news, lesbian steampunk? I’m so there.
@C. Banana –
Since I was interested in seeing for myself what she said, I tried translating it. I can’t guarantee full accuracy, and I’m well aware the wording is awkward in some places – I’m no professional – but I hope it gets the idea across well enough. Likewise, I apologize in advance if I happen to have made any notable errors.
Posted here, since it’s too long to post as a comment:
http://freetexthost.com/m13s6zzm4z