Archive for the Artists Category


If My Favorite Pop Idol Made It to the Budokan I Would Die, Volume 3

November 9th, 2023

Seven girls in red pop idol costumes pose on the cover of If My Favorite Pop Idol Made It to the Budokan, I Would Die, Volume 3 by Auri Hirao.Phew. Now that Christian took us over the hump of Volume 2, in which neither Maina nor Eri act in any way approaching the way normal humans might, We arrive at Volume 3 of If My Favorite Pop Idol Made It to the Budokan I Would Die, where they are marginally less not human. 

The first-ever ranking contest results are in and through an amazingly tortured and unreal set of circumstances, Eri comes too late to make a difference in the rankings. Main is, yet again, disappointed for the wrong reasons, until she learns that Eri bought her CDs anyway and runs after her Number 1 fan, but missing her because of an amazingly tortured and unreal set of circumstances. But the Christmas concert comes and although Reo is still center, the girls make their best efforts at giving their fans the kind of service they want – callouts, special gestures, handshakes – and, for the holiday a fraught gift a three shot! Why an idol group would sow dissension among their otaku by requiring them to pick a second fave is beyond me, but perhaps management forgot that otaku live and die by single-minded, creepily possessive obsession?

Importantly, Eri and Maina make each other very happy by saying something mostly-incoherent, but this time at least positive to one another! Yay! Maybe we past their inability to communicate? Hahahah, no, obviously not. This is a Hirao Auri manga and no one important will ever have a meaningful conversation.

The manga ends with the Cham Jam girls and their fans accidentally being at the local shrine at the same time for New Year’s…and the news that Cham Jam will be participating in this year’s Okayama Idol Fest…and so will with the girls who were in Reo’s old group. shock!

I said we’re “over the hump,” and in one sense we are. There will be less torturing of Eri from Volume 4 onward, but this volume is still firmly rooted in the idea that hurting Eri, and Eri and Maina not managing to talk is super hilarious, and not massively stressful. On the other hand, the members of Cham Jam are actually lovely when they are together. You can really see how much they like one another and really believe in themselves, which is incredibly charming. The shrine scene is a reminder that whoever they are up on stage, idols are people, too.  Cham Jam seems like a group you could really get behind.

Ratings:

Art – 8
Story –  Still frustrating but I know there is a light at the end of the tunnel, even if I can’t see it yet.
Character – 8
Service – Pleasantly, 0
Yuri – 4 Hovering at “I think I feel something for you, but can’t put a finger on it,” to “I can’t look you in the eyes, but don’t know why” with potential

Overall – 8

Tokyopop does a very good job of making this series as fun as possible which, at least for a few more volumes, is not very much. But IF you love idol culture and love insights into both sides of the struggle – what idols and their fans go through – this is probably one of the most realistic manga out there. Idol culture is a niche of it’s own and has it’s own language and rituals. Thanks very much to Tokyopop for today’s review copy and for the excellent work by the entire team for bringing this title over.

 





If My Favorite Pop Idol Made It to the Budokan I Would Die, Volume 2 Guest Review by Christian LeBlanc

October 11th, 2023

Seven-member pop idol group makes their signature gestures at us, wearing cute outfits of white blouses and blue accents and skirts.Like finding a big ol’ slice of salmon in the special parfait you ordered at the maid cafe*, volume 2 of If My Favorite Pop Idol Made It to the Budokan I Would Die is an ugly volume of a very sweet and poignant series. 

Admittedly, I know very little of idol culture outside of what Erica’s written about it in her reviews of the Japanese volumes of this series. Maybe Auri Hirao is satirizing and/or critiquing some of the darker parts of idolatry, which would mean the negative impression I get is not a bug, but a feature. Regardless, I can only react to what’s on the page, with the background that I bring to it. 

So, what is my background? Well, as an awkward fan, I feel like I have a lot in common with Eripiyo, “the number one stan for Maina, a sidelined member of the underground idol group Cham Jam.” The desire to show support, coupled with a clumsy, almost debilitating awkwardness around those I admire, makes me feel comradery when I see fellow trash like Eripiyo, Kumasa and Motoi being too fan to function around their faves.

On the other hand, I have trouble understanding why fans and performers, especially on this small, local-group scale, can’t just be friends if they want to be. I think that’s why I liked the chapter where Eripiyo and Kumasa run into Aya moonlighting at a maid cafe: it just feels like how things *should* be, imho. An idol and a few fans just casually shooting the breeze and messing around, unbeholden to the forced interactions imposed on them by management. They’re all just people, free to interact with each other. As if they were humans.

I especially can’t relate to the idea that idols aren’t allowed to have a personal life outside of fan interactions. When a member of Cham Jam is rumored – not spotted, but rumored – to have been seen with a man, her popularity within the group drops, she loses fans, and even some of her fellow idols are disappointed in her. 

And I’m not even going to get started on how Maina is able to ignore Eripiyo’s signs of suffering to ask her why she isn’t buying many CDs. I don’t think it’s just because Eripiyo says things like “I eat salmon while thinking of you, Maina!”

This all being said, there’s still a lot to recommend this volume. Eripiyo manages to clearly communicate to Maina why she likes her, a feat rarely seen in volume 2 of anything I’ve read. Cham Jam holds a track and field event for some reason, with references to brutal violence happening when they tried this the year before. We spend some time with Yumeri and Maki, who are always a delight to see together. Eripiyo is shown eating a guardrail, and – I said this before, but it bears repeating – is able to tell the girl she likes that she eats salmon while thinking of her. I realize that most Yuri manga would close up shop at that point, but luckily for us, the third book comes out in print…today!

Ratings:

Art – 7
Characters – 6
Story – 5 Rather disjointed volume, in spite of the thread of a popularity contest tying things together.
Service – 1
Yuri – 6

Overall – 7

*Yes, this happens, and yes, Eripiyo is absolutely here for it.





First Look at I’m In Love With The Villainess Anime

October 2nd, 2023

Today was the day we’ve been waiting for! I’m In Love With The Villainess anime has premiered on Crunchyroll. With an English dub, as well as the Japanese audio track.

As I said in a comment on the first episode, this is the Yuriest anime that has ever been made, since it is literally centered around the romantic relationship of two women right from the first moments. As those of us  who have read the novels know, it also becomes progressively queerer as it unfolds. We should find out next episode how much of that is retained. For these things alone, I would love this anime.

The narrative  – especially in these early scenes – are wholly character-driven, so it’s a pleasure to know that the voice cast really made it all work. I actually laughed out loud twice watching this first episode, even though I anticipated the gags. inori-sensei commented on her Pixiv Fanbox that at the live premier event in Japan, she was worried that people might not react to the jokes, but there was plenty of laughter. The funny bits were, genuinely, funny. I’m going to rewatch the episode later this week as a dub and see how the jokes land.

Serizawa Yuu as Rae and Nanami Karen as Claire have really dug deep on these characters and made them come to life. Of course the supporting cast is also terrific and it felt very comfortable to hear the three Princes, Pipi, Loretta and Misha all sound, well, like they sounded in my head, honestly.  Kenn’s Rod Bauer was so full of bonhomie, I kinda sympathized with Rae’s dislike of him. ^_^

The one real weak spot of this anime is the animation. I have a number of thoughts about that. First, let’s just acknowledge that there’s a good chance that it simply was given a limited budget. That happens and I would not hold it against them any more than usual. I’d rather the animators get more time and money every time, but no one asks me. That said, we can do some justification …and projection…without too many mental calisthenics.

To begin with, this story begins in the world of an otome game, so the animation might be reflective of that. Otome games are, like other sims, usually pretty flatly animated in a puppet show kind of way. The backgrounds here are often ignored for sound effects and other gimmicks, which are, yes, money savers, but also give this early phase a gag manga feel. It would be kind of cool if, as the story developed, so did the animation. I don’t think that’s going to happen, but I’d love to see it.

We can see a little bit of the initial arc of the story from the opening credits. At the very least we can see that the Commoner Movement arc will be included and, with the addition of Mizuki Nana to the cast as Manaria, it’s a good bet that it will go through the Scales of Love arc. That means we’re definitely getting into more serious territory before the season ends. And here, I am going to digress, but I will be back to conjecture further.

Today on Twitter, the official wataoshi account announced that Blu-Ray Box pre-orders are available at various Japanese anime outlets. (That link will take you direct to King Records to pre-order.) Different stores have different extras, as usual, and folks who pre-order will get a special copy of “Rae’s doujinshi” story that she wrote for Revolution, of course, written by inori.-sensei herself. The BD box is slated for a February 2024 release, so that’s an extremely early pre-order period. inori.-sensei commented on Twitter that expectations for success were very high so the BD Box was arranged even though the anime had not yet aired.

So, back to conjecture. I think that pre-orders for the box set may well be used to determine if a second season will bring it to the end of the Revolution arc. Sales for that could determine whether we ever see a Nur or DQ arc – highly unlikely, but not wholly impossible. Sure, the anime also may exist in part to bump up sales of the ongoing manga and the print volumes of the novel and I hope they do! There’s nothing wrong with that. Ichijinsha’s done a decent job extending the life of several series that way.

Definitely give the series a watch. It’s fun and goofy and deep and serious and very queer and we’ve never seen an anime like this before, really. As we discussed on the Okazu Discord as I typed, if you want to get someone into Yuri, this would be a good place to start! Like isekai? We have series for you! How about high fantasy?  We got you covered. Looking for LGBTQ+ anime – it’s here. Oh…you like Sci-fi….well, sit down and let me tell you….  Looking for something with social consciousness? This is what you’re looking for !

So grab your friends and get them aboard the Yuri train with I’m in Love With the Villainess, streaming now on Crunchyroll.

Ratings:

Art – 6
Story – 9
Characters – 100
Yuri – 8
Service  – This is a complicated question… Let’s take a look at it again later

Overall – 9

A fun start to what I hope will be a story that takes audiences to very gay places they have never been before. ^_^

Next up for us, would be to pressure Crunchyroll to provide us with premium BD box sets so we can get that doujinshi, too!  I mean, I can see myself pre-ordering the JP set just for that….please don’t make me do that, Crunchyroll.





Oshi ga Budokan Ittekuretara Shinu Live-Action (推しが武道館いってくれたら死ぬ)

September 27th, 2023

For various reasons I have spent the last few weeks playing catch-up with everything I have meant to watch and read and listen to but never got around to. At the behest of folks on the Okazu Discord, I *finally* watched Sound Euphonium all the way through and Sean Gaffney suggested that, but for one episode, I might find Management of a Novice Alchemist worth a try. Why is Ep. 9 always the absolute worst? I’m looking at you, Magical Girl Lyrical Nanoha.

And, finally, spurred on by my recent read of Oshi ga Budokan Ittekuretara Shinu, Volume 9, I finally managed to sit down and watch all ten episodes of the Oshi ga Budokan Ittekuretara Shinu Live-Action series (推しが武道館いってくれたら死ぬ).  And wow do I have some opinions about it. ^_^

First of all, the acting was really quite excellent. Matsumura Sayuri as Eripyo was outstanding. In all her pathetic  and inappropriate enthusiasm, she was absolutely perfect.  Jitsukata Takao as Kumasa and Toyota Yudai as Motoi were likewise absolutely spot-on for their roles. If you’ve been following this series, you’ll know that Kumasa is very much our otaku godfather and mentor. He’s balanced and wise and deeply moved. Motoi is a fuckup that I am never going to like, but that’s pretty much the point. LOL Motoi’s sister Reina is so normal and nice in comparison.

The members of ChamJam are, likewise, absolutely fantastic in their roles. Like the manga, the best scenes are those with the members and their relationships. While the story centers Eripyo’s obsession with back-row member Maina, the slow building relationship between Yumeri and Maki is really quite sweet.

It’s hard for me to not see the idol ecosystem as an non-sexual form of human trafficking and the bits where the otaku bankrupt themselves to “support” their favorites will always make me angry – especially when the story positions that behavior as honorable. But slowly, almost as slowly as the manga, the members of ChamJam and their otaku have their worlds widened.  One of the strongest bits of the live-action was to give me a reminder of everyone’s personality and finally, I may be able to remember Yuka’s name now. ^_^;  I don’t know why…but I just keep forgetting her. Maybe that’s why Aya is so annoying, so people remember her. The support Sorane shows leader Reo when she’s feeling pressure was quite nice. And we get a glimpse of Maple Doll, which features the lead in Reo’s former group. As I have repeatedly said in reviews of the manga, the moments spent with the group members, getting to understand them has been the best part of the story.

Ratings for the adaptation, not the story:

Acting – 10
Story – the beginning volumes can be harsh, let’s say 6 at the start and 8 at the end
Characters – 10 Everyone was perfect.
Service – 0
Yuri – Eri x Maina  – an uncomfortable 7  Maki x Yumeri  – a comfortable 5

The live-action picks a solid place to end, thankfully, so my guess is that they did not let Hirao-sensei pick the stopping point. ^_^ We’re left with some hope that Eri and Maina might one day communicate appropriately and that ChamJam will one day be in an even bigger venue….

…which reminds me of the day my wife and I saw a bunch of boy idol groups at a Japanese mall, and all their fans came to shout and wave things at the right times. It was really interesting to watch these not-that-popular groups performing. We did not buy any CDs, although we considered getting one song that wasn’t bad.

This series is streaming on Hulu Japan, if you have access. I wish Crunchyroll would pick it up, since they have the anime (via their Funimation merger.) I think I’ll write them and ask.

 





Oshi ga Budokan Ittekuretara Shinu, Volume 9 (推しが武道館いってくれたら死ぬ)

September 25th, 2023

Three female pop idols dressed in "cute" costumes that are reminiscent of Nara deer dance on a stage.When we left this series in Volume 8, there were rainbows and doves flying because an entire volume had passed without making me feel unpleasant thoughts in the mangaka’s direction. This was a genuine achievement in the uncomfortable relationship I have with creator Hirao Auri’s works. As a reminder, Volume 8 of Manga no Tsukurikata was dire. So for there to be an entire volume that did not make me want to die or cause something else to be destroyed was a miracle. Well, here we are in Volume 9 of Oshi ga Budokan Ittekuretara Shinu (推しが武道館いってくれたら死ぬ) and a miracle has occurred once again. ^_^.

The volume has a rough start, though, as a collector’s photo event with special, super special and super special rare photos is going on and, of course, Eripyo does not get one of the SSRs. (Why the management doesn’t just make sure she gets one, after all the money she spends is beyond me.) But Motoi does. And he doesn’t just give it to Eripyo, which has me solidly annoyed for a few chapters. Kumasa and Eripyo are pathetic otaku, but Motoi, wtf, he is such  loser. Thankfully, his sister Rena is not  a loser and makes sure Eripyo gets it. Rena is turning out to be a good friend to Eri.

But even that becomes fragile, when Eripyo learns Rena has fans of her own (fans who ultimately get Motoi the SSR photo he wanted.) Eri explains that, as an otaku she can’t be friends with someone like Rena. Thankfully, Rena is a perfectly decent human being and insists on being friends anyway.

And then we head into the endgame and I tensed up…

Maina has fans! This is a brand new development and Eripyo is ecstatic. Because that means for the first time ever, the group will be holding a Maina birthday event. Eripyo and Rena talk about what they should do for the event and of course Eri’s ideas are too too much. In the mean time Maina has an idea for the birthday concert that actually gets everyone in Cham Jam fired up – they’ll sing in front of a cardboard stage set that is reminiscent of the Budokan. Everyone is stoked.

We’ve actually learned a bit about Maina in recent volumes – shes in this group because she really wants to be for one thing. In this volume she admits to be eating bread a lot recently, because it reminds her of Eripyo, who always smells like bread from working in a bread factory.

And then…and then…Maina and Eripyo have a nice, extended conversation in which Maina’s nail color is the exact color Eripyo wanted for her birthday celebration. And they smile at one another happily.

I almost collapsed with relief.

There is drama on the horizon, though, Reo is about to retire and Kumasa is in despair.

The final chapters follow other idol groups including Reo’s former group Maple Doll, whose “deer costumes” grace the cover.

Ratings:

Art – 8
Story – 9
Character – 9, except Motoi who was a 5. WTF dude.
Service – 0
Yuri – They had a conversation and made each other happy. 10

Overall – 9

Another good volume? No, no, I can’t relax until it’s all over. Not possible.