Author Archive


Dokidoki! PreCure Anime (ドキドキ！プリキュア)

March 21st, 2013

dokidokiIt’s that time of year again, when I dutifully sit down and scan the new PreCure series before I wander off again. ^_^ This incarnation, Dokidoki! PreCure (ドキドキ！プリキュア),  is playing-card suit themed: Cure Heart, Cure Diamond, Cure Rosetta and Cure Sword. (You know the Spades of playing cards are the Swords of Tarot, right? Cards turned swords into plowshares. ^_^)

Mana, Cure Heart, is the president of her school’s Student Council. I approve, but not for the reason you might presume. ^_^ Instead of being clumsy and sweet, or full of love and a moron, Mana is a hard-working, intelligent lead character who has earned her rank as leader.

Rikka, Cure Diamond, is Mana’s best friend, her right-hand and she immediately pings the ole Yuridar. You just know she worships Mana, and if you are one of us, you can easily see more.

Alice, Cure Rosetta, is a nice switch around. Usually the Yellow PreCure is the loli-bait and initially it seems that Alice might be cast in that role, but along with being hyper-cute, she’s rich (that’s going to solve a lot of problems up front) and  is actually a skilled martial artist. I like that she’s got a tragic back story that was basically she beat people up too much. ^_^

We’ve seen Cure Sword and we’re not 4 years old, so we know who she is right from the get-go, MakoPi the famous idol. She’ll be our resident tsundere. I forsee some light crushiness by Mana.

PreCure has returned to the standard formula – color-coded, themed characters, tons of goods, and bad guys that make you sad with their ineffectiveness. ^_^

The only downside to this series is, well, the preachiness factor is through the roof. Monsters of the Day are created by minor acts of selfishness. Really minor – disagreements, playing one’s music in earphones too loud (really?)…I look forward to the one that represents taking the seats reserved for older or disabled folks and pregnant women on the train. Of course The PreCure will rescue Trump World, but by god if the final boss isn’t a parody of Donald Trump, I’m gonna be pissed.

Ratings:

Art – 7
Character – 8
Story – 7
Yuri – 2
Service – 1 on principle

Overall – A solid 7

I don’t see this series blowing me away, but I don’t hate it. ^_^





Yuri Manga: Inugami-san to Nekoyama-san (犬神さんと猫山さん)

March 20th, 2013

Kuzushiro’s  Inugami-san to Nekoyama-san (犬神さんと猫山さん) is a very silly premise, charted out in a series of very silly 4-koma strips.

Inugami-san is very dog-like, but likes cats and Nekoyama-san is very cat-like, but likes dogs.  They are made for each other and they might be perfect together but this is a comedy, not a drama. There is no destination to this journey. Dagwood will never quit his job, Nekoyama-san and Inugami-san will never be a “couple”. Like most comic strip characters, they are gags on the hoof. (Pun intended.)

Speaking of hooves, the menagarie is not complete until we mention mouse-like Nezu Mikine and cow-like Ushiwaka-san, who add to the Yuri yucks, the moe quotient and the ensuing wackiness.  This zoo even has a keeper – Aki-san who, by being Inugami-san’s  childhood friend, can’t escape the role.

If you’re familiar with Kuzushiro’s work from Kimi no Tamenara Shineru, nothing here will surprise you. The humor is mostly puns based around the character’s personalities and proclivities. Yuri in the series is madcap hijinks, some thinly veiled real lust and service. Which doesn’t mean that Ushiwaka and Nezu don’t belong together or Inugami and Nekoyama wouldn’t be perfect for one another. It’s just that that is completely beside the point. ^_^

Ratings:

Art – 7 Some strange inconsistencies and their heights – which are put under repeated scrutiny – seem to fluctate as the scene requires
Story – 6 There isn’t one, but that’s okay
Character – 6
FanService – 6 Mostly lustful fantasies
Yuri – 6 Mostly lustful fantasies

Overall – 6

As gag manga goes, this wasn’t too bad. I chuckled here and there, might have even laughed out loud once or twice.





LGBTQ Comic: No Straight Lines: Four Decades of Queer Comics

March 19th, 2013

nsl4dqcComix: The doujinshi of the western comics scene.  Small press or self-published, comix are typically tales told of underground or fringe “lifestyles.” Very often intensely personal, they are a window into a life that may be yours.

I never read many comix or indeed many comics. When I did read comics (back in the Stone Age) my choices were superhero comics or Richie Rich and Archie. (Archie definitely deserves a read these days, as they lead American comics in positive presentation of gay characters.) I knew comix existed – there was a Spencer’s in my local mall, after all – but the whole sex, drugs and rock and roll of them didn’t appeal to young me. And I did encounter gay comics as a teen, but the drawing was inelegant, and again the whole sex, drugs, rock and roll and angry gayness of them left me unengaged.

So as I sat down to read No Straight Lines: Four Decades of Queer Comics, edited by Justin Hall and including artists that I have now had the opportunity to meet, talk with and grow to admire, I felt trepidation.

I was prepared to not feel – part of the thing. I expected the allegories of gay life, the “darling, we’re so gay” comix, the angry “you are ignoring AIDS and we’re dying you fucking fuck” comix. None of them would represent me, my coming out, my life, my dreams, my challenges. In fact, I considered this book to be more “other” than any manga I have ever read.

I couldn’t put it down.

Of course the pages include well-known names like Tom of Finland and Trina Robbins. It also taught me about Mary Wings, Lee Marrs and a host of writers I had never heard of.  I marveled at how many of the creators I read in this collection I have been blessed to meet and chat with – my jealousy of their skill knows no bounds. So many of them are still creating now, right this very second. I marvel too, at how many of them make time to talk to fans on Twitter and Facebook.  Above all, I am so proud to know so many names in this book. Their talent is amazing and so is their sheer niceness.

These are stories that had to be told, so they told them. They are still telling them.

If you care, even a little, about stories told by and for LGBTQ people, this book is an absolute must-have, must-read, must-evangelize.

Thank you to all the artists here and to Justin Hall for this collection that is raw and brutal, beautiful and surreal, totally wtf and wonderful!

Ratings:

Overall – Fabulous ^_^

Just FYI, Amazon JP has told me it’s going to be like 2 months or more before they send my next shipment of manga, so expect reviews heavy on the “related media,” while I mark time! ^_^ Lesbian novels, queer comics, Light Novels and random stuff I find on the Internet, ahoy!





Hard Decisions

March 18th, 2013

Okay, after a really bad week last week, during which JManga closed up and fans everywhere ignored the impossibly complex business of licensing and publishing to point fingers at individual factors which they, with their years of experience in pointing fingers, believe is “the reason” JManga failed, I have made a decision.

In 2000, I started a fan community for Yuri. 13 years later, it’s still a fan community. It’s not an annual event, or a thriving sustainable manga market. You know that old business adage about “do a thing for 10 years and you’ll be an overnight success?” It’s not true. ^_^

I’m stepping down as Yuricon events chair totally. I can’t run a sustainable event with the money in my pocket alone. I kept hoping one book, or one event would be successful enough to fund the next. I’m also giving up, for the moment, hope of publishing  anything new. I can’t afford print, you don’t want to pay for digital, and all the many differences between JP publishers and US fans are so huge and insurmountable. I don’t have the energy or clout or money to bridge the gap.

On the front end, this will make no difference to you. I’ll still be blogging and promoting good Yuri, collecting and disseminating news and research here on Okazu and on Yuricon. I’m available for writing, lecturing and editing. But on the back end, I’m stopping trying to accomplish anything. 13 years is enough. I’m tired. 13 years is a long time to fail at something. ^_^;

This is not to say I’m giving up loving Yuri. I‘m merely giving up trying to create a sustainable Yuri market here in the the US. 

I’ll be back tomorrow with a review.

Extra credit question: How many sales do you think a JManga ‘Best Seller’ made?

Postscript: More well-wishes (and less “you suck” comments) that I imagined came in after this post. Thank you all. I want to reassure you that I am fine. Not suicidally depressed or anything at all. ^_^ It is one of my magic powers to adapt to change  faster than most people can even envision change. For those of you interested in business management, in the last three years I have attempted to “pivot” this business several times. The market just wasn’t there to make anything sustainable. The number of people who download don’t translate to sales at all.

The answer to the extra credit question is about 300 or so. That means a best seller was taking in roughly $1500. That about covered the cost of  producing the thing. When there’s not enough profit and seed money is gone..that’s it for the company.  Once again, it’s not Dawinian failure, neither was CPM or Tokyopop. (You know how crazy people sound when they blame hurricanes on gays and the like? Fans sound exactly the same when they blame business’ failure on random things.) No company fails because they want to screw fans. It’s just business. ^_^

So again, thanks for all your kind words. I’m fine. I’m still here and that means there’s always another opportunity ahead. (^_^)v





Celebrate Spring with Sweet Blue Flowers/ Aoi Hana Anime Contest

March 17th, 2013

Spring is here and Yuricon is celebrating with a festive bouquet of Sweet Blue Flowers! Thanks to Nozomi/RightStuf, Yuricon has 3 complete DVD sets of the Sweet Blue Flowers anime -plus extras! – to give away.

swbdvd

This contest will require a little deep thought and maybe even a bit of research. ^_^ Drop by Yuricon.org for the contest details and good luck!