Archive for the Artists Category


Alice Quartet Obbligato Manga

January 27th, 2009

If you have read Iono-sama Fanatics, or Kotonoha no Miko to Kotodama no Majyo to or Ame-iro Kouchakan Kandan you already know the ladies of Alice Quartet Obbligato.

Alice Quartet or AQ for short, is a fashion firm that includes the custom clothing lines of four designers. All four work only in black and white, but in no other way have anything in common.

Makino, known as Makinon, at 24 is the leader of the group and the designer of “Le Croix de Lune,” specializing in frilly, goth-loli-esque dresses.

Yuuki, still in high school, does the very butchy, yet somehow feminine “Aqua Drop” line.

Uber-cute Suika, known as Su-chan, designs cute activewear line “P’s.”

And last, Fumi, who you may remember from Iono-sama, receives her direction from Maria-sama for her “Saya” line which blends classic Japanese and Western concepts.

The AQ store is owned by Yukino, called Yukinon, a former classmate of Makino’s, a childhood friend and now business partner. If it was up to Yukino, it would be life partner as well, but Makino’s not biting. Her loss.

Aside from Yukino’s overt interest in Makino, Yuuki pulls in a few female admirers in her chapter as well. Understandably so, as her design for her outfit is darn sexy and not really androgynous at all, while being both kinda butchy and very feminine.

As an added bonus, in the last chapter in which the AQ designers decide to hold an event and invite all their customers, (which follows my Microniche Marketing principle of rewarding engagement, so I approve wholeheartedly!) if you look carefully at the invitees, you will see some characters who are instantly recognizable. ^_^

This is not a book one reads for plot. This volume collects a few short chapters about each designer and their mutual vision for AQ through the seasons. Nothing “happens,” but if you like Fujieda’s clothes – and I do, which seems as deeply weird to me as it might seem to you – this is a lovely little volume about clothing and the women who make them.

Ratings:

Art – 9
Story – 6
Characters – 7
Yuri – 4
Service – 2

Overall – 8

Fujieda Miyabi is probably the best costume designer in manga today. And, with the four designers that make up AQ, he can really stretch his skills. If you like clothes or stories about clothes or Fujieda’s art, with a little Yuri icing, this obscure little collection is a real treasure.





Yuri Manga: GIRL FRIENDS, Volume 2

December 21st, 2008

Ladies, let’s talk about when you first fell in love with another woman. Was it a friend? A teacher? A neighbor? Or was it your best friend – that person you always wanted to be with, who made you laugh the hardest and with whom you had some much fun that you never wanted to go home?

Remember the moment when it became something more? When you realized that you wanted to be with her when you were apart, but when you were together, you were so keyed up that you wanted to throw up. When you laid there at night thinking about her, wondering what the hell were you doing, thinking about her all the time?

In Girl Friends, Volume 2, Morinaga Milk absolutely *nails* the exact level of self-inflicted torture of being >this< close to the person you want, and can’t have. Mari is torturing herself over the kiss from last volume. She’s sure that if Ah-ko finds out, she’ll repudiate her. After days of barely being able to be in Ah-ko’s presence, Mari finally admits to the kiss. Ah-ko laughs it off as just something girls do sometimes. Mari’s relieved, but in her heart, she knows that she and Ah-ko aren’t speaking the same language.

A distraction from Mari’s flagellation comes in the form of an old schoolmate who, it turns out in a giant handwave from the plot complication gods, always liked Mari. He asks her out and, pleased to have someone else to focus her attention on, she agrees. A-ko, suspecting something is up, invites Mari over to play dress up, do her makeup and other girly things, in preparation for her big date. Almost immediately, A-ko realizes that Mari’s lukearm feelings for this boy are unfair to both parties. A-ko pushes the issue and Mari admits to liking someone else. A-ko insists that Mari has to tell that person – right away! Mari pushes A-ko back and kisses her, explaining that her feelings can never be returned.

Mari leaves A-ko sitting alone in her room, dealing with this sudden and forceful comprehension of her friend’s emotions. The volume also includes two “extra” chapters, in which we get sexy cosplay and teacher rumor service. ^_^

So, behind the girly shopping, clothes, hair, makeup, nails, etc, this story takes a turn for the realistic. In fact, Mari’s feelings are some of the most true-to-life I have ever seen regarding a first same-sex love in a manga. It might seem to many that the manga is moving slowly, but I say that this is a good thing for two reasons – one, we can see an honest look at the evolution of a girl’s feelings. (When you are falling in love for the first time, with your best, same-sex friend no less, you’re far more likely to spend weeks trying to assimilate these new feelings before ever even thinking of it as love, much less fantasizing about dragging them right off to bed.) Two, it means that there’s more volumes to come.

So few Yuri manga go to three volumes, much less longer; it’s nice to see something that’s taking the slow route to conclusion.

Ratings:

Art – 8
Story – 6
Characters – 7
Yuri – 7
Service – 5

Overall – 7

All in all, a surprisingly decent tale behind all the frills and sparkly girly stuff….





Yuri Manga: Hanjuku Joshi, Volume 1

November 26th, 2008

Hanjuku Joshi (Half-baked Woman) is one of two collections of stories that were distributed by Yuri Hime magazine, as part of their cell phone service in Japan. Kinda neat, huh?

You know how it is. Whatever kind of body/hair/face you have, you want something else. And Yae is no different. She’s got a cute, curvaceous, feminine body, and soft, fluffy hair. She likes sewing. She’s as girly as a girl could be – and she hates it. Which is why its so vexing to be told how feminine she is all time. And even more so when tall, athletic, Chitose – who is everything Yae wishes she was, including not at all self-conscious about her body – tells her so.

Yae is still reeling from the difference from her previous co-ed schools in regards to relations between students, so she’s not really ready for the feelings she’s having for Chitose. And she’s totally not ready for Chitose to return them. And, just to make it all that much more awkward and painful, she’s not definitely not up to being teased by Hanashima Mari, the cool, beautiful upperclassman who mocks Yae and Chitose for “playing” at love, calling them “half-baked women”, right before she skips class to hit a hotel with her current beau. When, later that day, they stumble across Mari and their female homeroom teacher in a compromising position in the library, everything gets even more complicated than before.

In the end, the story is about not one, but two love relationships, about healing old wounds and finding one’s self.

On the Yuricon Mailing List, I stated that I thought that this book might well be the most perfect “Yuri” manga I’d ever seen. It’s not really a story of anyone coming out – there is some sense of identity, but not so much that it changes the story to a lesbian one. No, the focus here is on “Yuri,” in the sense of lesbian content, not lesbian identity, a classic school setting and first love…and all that “pure” and “innocent” love stuff that fanboys love so much. (Although, for people who like their Yuri “pure” and “innocent” no one ever seems to object when they end up sleeping together.)

Ratings:

Art – 8
Story – 7
Characters – 9
Yuri – 9
Service – 6

Overall – 9

Hanjuku Joshi was not my absolute favorite collection from this last batch of Yuri Hime manga, but it was very enjoyable. I always enjoy Morishima’s work, and always look forward to the next one.





Akatsuki-iro no Senpuku Majyo Manga, Volume 1

November 24th, 2008

Akatsuki-iro no Senpuku Majyo by Hakamada Mera is, according to the obi on the book, a “Magical Youthful Love Yuri Heartful School Story.” I’d call it whimsical, certainly.

Once upon a time, a school for magic existed. Into that school transferred a new student, with the name Akira. To everyone’s surprise, Akira came into the schoolroom wearing a giant armored suit, and was unable to speak. The students were unkind to Akira, but the class president Tokiko rebuked the other students.

One day, a fire broke out in the school, but no one was able to break in to rescuse the student inside the room. Only Akira inside the iron shell stepped up to try. There was a loud bang and Akira’s magic burst past the seal on the door. When the girl inside had been saved, and the smoke cleared, everyone was amazed to see that the iron shell housed a young girl.

Thus begins the Akira’s adventures at the school of magic.

Tokiko and Akira become good friends, and Akira confides that she is looking for her older sister, who her grandmother told her might be at this school. When her grandmother died, Akira was sealed in the iron suit as part of a curse – but her release of magic to save Yoru-sempai had freed her.

Most of this volume is very typical Hakamada hijinks. There’s the usual school stuff, festivals and lunchtime and gym, and in the cracks are some service-y type situations. In fact, this could be Last Uniform all over again, except that it takes place at a co-ed school in a world where magic exists.

Tokiko and Akira look like they might become an item, but by the end of the book, Yoru-sempai has pulled into the lead position of substitute onee-chan, if not the real one. And Mochizuki-sempai likes to snuggle Tokiko because she’s soft and fluffy. The obi tells me the series is Yuri, but by the end of the first volume, we’re mostly working with Yuri goggles on high settings.

Who will turn out to be (or become) Akira’s onee-chan? tune in next time!

Ratings:

Art – 6
Characters – 7
Story – 7
Yuri – 3
Service – 0

Overall – 7

If you like The Last Uniform or any of Hakamada’s other works, you’ll enjoy this manga as well.





Yuri Manga: Hayate Cross Blade, Volume 1 (English)

October 30th, 2008

It has been almost three and a half years since I first reviewed Hayate x Blade and in all that time, never once has my delight in this series lessened one iota. So you can imagine how thrilled I am to tell you now about the English-language edition of Hayate x Blade, Volume 1. (In case you somehow missed my raving about this manga, please feel free to check out my reviews of the volumes already out in Japanese.)

The story of Hayate x Blade is an entertaining mix of comedy, action, drama, chicks with weapons, and a a Yuri-ish setup that grows ever more Yuri as the plot develops. Pairs of girls, sword sisters, competing in battles for supremacy, power and money….and mostly for the amusement of the chairwoman of Tenchi Gakuen, the wholly whimsical Amachi Hitsugi. This is awesome stuff.

In terms of the reproduction there’s something I really need to tell you. It was my pleasure to be able to be the copy editor on this book. No, seriously. Remember way back last spring when I told you that I had gotten a side job? Well, that side job was to be able to edit manga for Tor. I love working on the Seven Seas manga, not just because it gives me the opportunity to see the books early (because, frankly, I don’t really feel any need to see Inukami ever, much less early) but because they do such good work. It’s very enjoyable to be part of the process.

So, before I tell you that the English edition is damn good, you need to understand that it’s pretty much a conflict of interest. ^_^; Nonetheless, I honestly think they did a pretty damn good job with this book!

The volume is not entirely without problems, but those that exist are so small – slightly too thin paper, slightly too dark print, I don’t really love the design for the logo – are so incredibly small and tedious that they bear mentioning only in the interest of fairness. The important stuff – the reproduction, the translation, the adaptation, the lettering, the sound f/x, etc. are all top-notch.

Yuri in Volume 1 is mostly confined to the existence of openly lesbian (i.e., shounen-style pervy girl) Kuga Jun, roomate to one of our leads, Mudou Ayana. But don’t be disheartened, the Yuri quotient rises as the series goes on. And I just finished reading the most recent chapter and can swear to you that the series has never let me down in any way. Yuri, comedy, drama, action – it’s all there in spades.

I am so very, very glad that Hayate x Blade made it out in 2008, so I can happily name it the best English-language Yuri manga of the year.

Ratings:

Art – 8
Story – 8
Characters – 8
Yuri – 6
Service – 2
Overall – 8

Run! Run! Buy this for yourself and two copies for friends. Yes, it’s that good.