Author Archive


Yuri Network News (百合ネットワークニュース) – June 15, 2013

June 15th, 2013

YNN_MariKYuri Anime

It’s a good news week for fans of Yuri 4-koma school life comedy stories!

RightStuf has announced pre-orders for Yuruyuri: Happy Go Lily Blu-ray Season 1 (S) Premium Edition.

And Sakura Trick (which I recently mentioned in my MangaTime Kirara Miracle review) is getting an anime. I’ll give Sakura Trick this – it has actual Yuri. It’s still not my kind of story, but for once a “Yuri” 4-koma that actually has Yuri. That’s gotta count for something. ^_^

Thanks to all of you who wrote in last week to point me to this news: Kouga Yun (creator of Loveless) is working on a new story – Akuma no Riddle – that, upfront, is being said to have at some Yuri. I like Kouga-sensei’s art and am interested to see what she’ll d with this story. It’s about girl assassins, which is up my alley in a way that school life comedy is never going to be. ^_^ This series has been greenlit for an anime adaptation, as well.

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Yuri Webcomic

Not manga, but a lovey lesbian webcomic suggestion from Erin S. The mermaid and the pirate takes a few well-known stories and reworks them with some exquisite line art. It’s a feel good read and well worth a click!

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Other News

Bandai has announced new toys for the new, yet shrouded- in-mystery Sailor Moon anime. In a nod backwards to the henshin stick lip glosses of the 90’s (which are sometimes available in auctions, always obscenely expensive) the new toys are nail polishes inspired by the Inners’ transformation wands  from Sailor Moon R.  ^_^

You remember the book trailer for the lesbian fantasy novel Pyramid Waltz by Barbara Ann Wright?  Well the book has a sequel and so does the trailer! Here’s  a link to the trailer for the sequel, For Want of a Fiend. The book is serious, but the trailer is a comedy. ^_^

You know I’m not a gamer, but I know many of you are and you’ll want to know this.  The Mary Sue reports that Aveline de Grandpré, the first female playable character in the Assassin’s Creed franchise will be getting her console debut with the upcoming Assassin’s Creed IV: Pirates Black Flag. She looks very cool. Someone will have to let us know how it is.

The NFL Player’s Association is supporting gay pride with a line of #Pride t-shirts, each with the name and number of a NFL Player who has publicly supported gay rights and openly gay NFL players. I’m probably going to get a Chris Kluwe shirt, because he’s funny as heck and a total nerd. ^_^ (What better way for the NFL to do clandestine market research on public support for gay players, huh?)

This week’s link to help you learn Japanese is Kikitori – a site geared towards helping you practice your listening skills. If you’re like me, reading Japanese is not problematic, but when it comes to verbal skills…ouch. Learning to *hear* is critical in learning to speak a language.

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That’s a wrap for this week! Become a Yuri Network Correspondent by sending me any Yuri-related news you find. Emails go to anilesbocon01 at hotmail dot com. Not to the comments here, please, or they might be forgotten or missed. There’s a reason for this madness. This way I know you are a real human, not Anonymous (which I do not encourage – stand by your words with your name!) and I can send you a YNN correspondent’s badge. Thanks to all of you – you make this a great Yuri Network!





Summer Reading Lesbian Novel: Lois Lenz, Lesbian Secretary

June 14th, 2013

Lois-LenzI adore lesbian pulp novels. Even more than the novels themselves, I adore the tropes of lesbian pulp. And I extra specially adore authors that adore those same tropes in all their absurdity and revel in them as I do.

Monica Nolan is one of those authors. She gets every trope and enjoys playing with them as one might a beloved stuffed animal. She writes with just enough dry humor to make sure her novels do not drag or drown themselves out in sarcasm. Her Big Book of Lesbian Horse Stories was a work of genius. Since then, Nolan has embarked upon a series of character trope novels, The first, Bobby Blanchard, Lesbian Gym Teacher was an enjoyable romp at (quelle shock!) an elite private girls’ school. Well-worn territory here at Okazu. ^_^

Lois Lenz, Lesbian Secretary is a direct nod to  Ann Bannon’s Beebo Brinker series, which was a classic series about New York City in the 1960s. A tribute, in a way, to Bannon’s character sorority girl Laura who finds herself far from home in the big city with all sorts of desires she doesn’t have a name for.

Lois is a character much like Laura – a gay girl with no understanding that that is what she is, a manipulative lover at school, who is desperate to have her privileged marriage and her piece on the side – and a desire to do something Big and Important. With the help of a school mentor, Lois is given an opportunity to interview at a firm in the big city, and  a recommendation for an apartment in a boarding house.

Lois is thrown into the middle of a mystery…only it really isn’t *much* of a mystery. In order for there to be a plot, Lois has to remain naive to the point of pathological cluelessness throughout the entire book. Even the other characters begin to wonder if there’s something wrong with her. ^_^; When the coin finally drops and Lois clues in to the entire plot as we’ve seen it, it is a little excruciating, but only a little so. We, the readers, and the other characters nod, pleased that Lois finally gets what’s been going on.

In the end, it’s a sweet, sappy, predictably amusing look at “country gay girl comes to the big city”, “lesbian boardinghouse”, “lesbian hardass boss lady” and “gets caught up in a mystery” tropes all at once.

Ratings:

Overall – 8

In truth, this is actually the last “Summer Reading” book I read last summer, but then I completely forgot to review it, woops. Since Nolan now has a new book in the series, Maxie Mainwaring, Lesbian Dilettante (I so very much hope it’s an homage to the move The Fourth Sex, oh, please, please….!) and I’m about to start reading that now, I thought I’d get this one out of the way before I forgot again. ^_^

Dear Monica Nolan, please do a military story next. Pleeeaaaasssse, beg, whine.





Yuri Manga: Kisses, Sighs, and Cherry Blossom Pink (English) Guest Review by Melissa M.

June 12th, 2013

Kisses_ssWoo-hoo!  It’s Wednesday and we got ourselves a Guest Review! As I mentioned in last week’s YNN Report, “I’ve reviewed it 3 times already (when it first came out from Yuri Hime and Volume 1 and Volume 2 of the new edition when Futabasha put them out.” By all means feel free to read those and get the first and middle looks at this series. Now we’ll take one last look at the series.

Sine I’ve reviewed this story a bunch of times, I think it’s time for someone else to get a turn. ^_^ Melissa M. has stepped up to the plate with her very first Guest Review here on Okazu! I just love when that happens.  Please welcome Melissa to the stage. /applause/

Morinaga Milk’s Kisses, Sighs, and Cherry Blossom Pink follows Hitomi and Nana, longtime friends and new lovers, through high school and their developing relationship.

KSCBP was written in 2003, several years before the series GIRL FRIENDS, by the same author. Unlike Akko and Mari, Hitomi and Nana have to deal with their crises largely alone. Nana mentions that she and Hitomi have had sex but also wonders what counts as sex between two girls, and is upset that she has so many questions and nowhere to turn. It makes me wonder just how few resources there were for the LGBTQ community in Japan ten years ago. Hitomi is afraid that her love is preventing Nana from living a normal life and overcompensates by trying to be “manly.” Both are terrified of being found out, and near the end, they run away together, deciding that their relationship is more important than their friends and families. Their circumstances make KSCBP a more angsty series than GIRL FRIENDS, but also perhaps a more realistic look at the problems and misunderstandings a lesbian couple could have in a society that offers them no role models. It’s nice to see Morinaga addressing issues like these, which seems a bit unusual for her stories. But it’s not all sorrow and fear. The girls have plenty of good times together as they and their relationship mature, and they find that some friends are supportive. I think they have a good shot at keeping their promise to get married and to have their story continue forever.

My only real quibble with this story is the ending, in which everything is suddenly resolved. Hitomi and Nana move into their own apartment together with the blessing of their parents, to face college and life together. It seemed a bit too abrupt and magically-happy-ever-after, almost dismissing all of their earlier fears. But who am I kidding, it turned me into a puddle of squee on the floor. ^_^

The anthology also includes five one-shots set in Hitomi’s and Nana’s high schools, interspersed through and mostly unrelated to the main story. They generally include Morinaga’s stock character designs, the taller outgoing long-haired blonde and shorter quieter short-haired brunette, so it can be a bit difficult to tell in flipping through the pages whose story you’re in. The relationship chart in the back is a big help here. I didn’t like any of these quite as much as the main story since the one-shot format leaves little room for character development, but your mileage may vary.

Seven Seas did a great job with this anthology. I particularly appreciate the fact that they left the larger sound effects in place and added a small translation, almost like furigana, above them – it seems less disruptive than replacing them with English or putting a list of translations at the back.

This is a heartwarming story that belongs on every Yuri lover’s shelf, and a comparison with GIRL FRIENDS makes it clear how far Yuri and (hopefully) society have come in the past few years.

Ratings:

Art – 8 (Being older work, it’s not quite as polished as GIRL FRIENDS)
Story – 9 for the main story; 6-8 for the one-shots
Characters – 9
Yuri – 10
Service – 4

Overall – 9

Hitomi is a cat person! That makes me smile. ^_^

 

Erica here again: Yuri Shimai, the original magazine in which Nana and Hitomi’s story began, was the very first magazine of its kind.  The whole wallowing in angst about “does she feel the same way?” of the early chapters was very typical of stories at the time. The later chapters you’re referring to were all written recently – not in 2003, but in 2011, for the Futabasha edition.

That having been said in 2003, there was LGBTQ life in Japan, but that mostly meant bar life. Resources are way more abundant now, even in smaller cities. Which is all to the good. ^_^

Thank you Melissa for weighing in with your point of view!





Yuri Manga: Onna no Ko no Sekkeizu (女の子の設計図)

June 11th, 2013

Onna no Ko no Sekkeizu, “Drawings of a girl” (女の子の設計図) is a collection of stories by Konno Kita that ran in Hirari magazine and Comic Yuri Hime.

Since her parents divorced Kana has lived with her father but, now that he’s re-married to a younger woman, she’s decided to go live with her mother and her sister, Ato. While apparently making a place for herself with her family and new friends, Kana struggles with intense emotions for her sister. When she and Ato surface their feelings, they share an unsisterly kiss, and agree to stay together forever. I’ll be honest, this story depressed me. What are the chances that they’ll actually be together for even a few years, much less forever? Low? None? I can’t help but feel they just need to get used to having a sister around. It is far, far likelier that one or both of them will find other people to be interested in eventually.

The final story in the collection treads a similar line, in which a woman and her sister-in-law have a relationship after the invisible brother/husband is killed off, making it possible for them to be a happy alternative family.

It is the second story in the collection that I find the most interesting and appealing. In “Shounen” Hisoka “confesses” to Miyaji that there is a boy inside her who has fallen in love with her. Short as it is, this story a unique way of looking at the evolution of a young woman coming out to herself and her person of interest at the same time.

I love Konno’s art, but her interest in sister-love (which has been consistent over the years) is not for me.

Ratings:

Art – 9
Story – 3,7,4
Characters – Hisoka and Miyaji – 7
Yuri – 8
Service – 5

Overall – 6

I consider incest stories to be, basically, lazy storytelling. It’s simpler than coming up with a story of people who don’t know each other falling in love, but much less compelling.





Light Novel: Oshaka-sama mo Miteru ~ Kyoki Ippou (お釈迦様もみてる 潔き一票)

June 9th, 2013

It’s been pretty obvious that the Oshaka-sama  series has been echoing the Maria-sama series. Every glimpse we had of Yuuki in Marimite has been explicated through the shadow series. It was, therefore, quite obvious to me at the end of the last novel in the series, what the next novel would entail. In Maria-sama ga Miteru ~Manatsu no Ichi Page (マリア様がみてる 真夏の一ページ) Yumi learned  – to her shock – that Yuuki is the Hanadera Student Council President.* He says, rather deprecatingly, that Kashiwagi was playing a joke on him when he nominated him. In Oshaka-sama mo Miteru ~ Kyoki Ippou  (お釈迦様もみてる 潔き一票), we learn the truth.

We learn a number of truths, in fact.

Elections are on everyone’s mind – except for Yuuki’s. Since Kashiwagi is graduating, he’s really not thinking about next year at all. But when two of his classmates corner him and make some demands he not run with their fists, his reaction is not what they expect.  He runs into Kashiwagi who apologizes to him, then kisses him – Yuuki is not pleased, but he can’t get back what’s been taken. The next day, vexed and confused, he learns he’s been nominated by Kashiwagi for the position of President. Yuuki is deeply concerned about his friends’ reactions, but can’t yet bring it up to them.

At this point, we get a turn with each of Yuuki’s friends on the council. Andre-sempai and Rampo-sempai have no interest in running – they were there for Kashiwagi. Rampo tells Tetsu (Takada) to run, Of course the Yakushiji twins insist Arisu run – they adore their underclassman and want Arisu to shine. But the chapter that really, honestly, blew me away was Kobayashi’s.

Kobayashi Masamune, known to his friends as “Shounen”. He sees Kashiwagi alone and asks him if he can have a word. Alone on the grounds with Kashiwagi, Kobayashi asks a question that has been bothering him for ages… “Why not me?” Kobayashi points out that he had passed through the gates moments before Yuuki, was also undeclared as Heishi or Genji. So…why not him?

What passes is not possible to synopsize. Kashiwagi’s answer is gentle, apologetic, cold, a little cruel and when they are done speaking, Kobayashi feels that he has seen a little glimpse of Kashiwagi’s true nature…and he’s terrified at what he’s seen. The word “monster” comes to mind.

The four first-years finally speak of their desire to run for Student Council together, support Yuuki as President and they’ll be like the 3, erm, 4 Musketeers (Arisu assures them that 4 is acceptable.)

And so, when they run, there is one candidate each for each of the positions: President – Fukuzawa Yuuki, Vice President – Takada Magane, Treasurer – Kobayashi Masamune, Secretary- Arisugawa Kintarou.

Yuuki wins unanimously.

We learn that it might have been a prank on Kashiwagi’s part, but a well-played one. We learn that the Council next year is going to be load of fun (as we knew). We learn that Yuuki is incredibly well-respected by nearly all the other students, including many of the upper classmen and we learn, at last, the answer to the question “is Kashiwagi gay?” He may be bisexual, but he’s definitely “interested” in Yuuki.

Since elections are over, I’ll presume the next book is graduation and one last fresh hell for Yuuki and the gang before Kashiwagi takes himself offstage for a bit. Andre-sempai will be gone, as well. Yuuki will no doubt be relieved – and I admit, so will I.  I hope we can quickly move to the late summer when Yuuki and Yumi team up to trick Sachiko. Operation OK ahoy!

Ratings:

Overall – 7

* I don’t have a review of the Marimite novels from 12-21, because originally I was translating them. When I changed my stance on fan-produced translations, I pulled these from Okazu. I apologize for the inconvenience. I did review the story for my look at Maria-sama ga Miteru Anime Season 3, Disk 1.