Archive for the Artists Category


GUNJO, by Nakamura Ching Getting a Movie on Netflix!

October 27th, 2020

Thanks to YNN Correspondent Mercedes for bring this to my attention early today. Nakamura Ching’s GUNJO is being made into a movie by Netflix. This true-crime style story follows the aftermath of a murder. A desperate woman has the woman who has loved her for years kill her abusive husband. The story happens as they run from the police. The Netflix movie will star Kiku Mizukara and Honami Sato.

Komatsu-san at Crunchyroll News has the details.

Volume 1 of GUNJO is available in English at Nakamura-sensei’s site, on a per-chapter basis. I was able to edit is, with Erin Subramanian doing a fantastic job on translation. I hope you’ll read it! With luck, we’ll get a collected e-book volume soon.





Hello, Melancholic!, Volume 2 (ハロー、メランコリック!)

October 16th, 2020

Volume 1 introduced us to Minato, a girl who loves playing music, but has been hurt by schoolmates. She is discovered by Hibiki, a sempai who runs a casual band/club who encourages Minato to have confidence in her skills.

In Hello, Melancholic!, Volume 2 (ハロー、メランコリック!), the band is about to perform live for the first time, but there are no ends of problems and setbacks. For one, Hibiki’s wrist is injured and she’s had to refrain from playing drums. Secondly, Minato is near paralyzed at the idea of performing in front of people. But both these things are resolved by Minato. She suggests making plastic bottle maracas to get the crowd to be part of the show…and even though she spots classmates from her previous school in the audience, Minato find some strength in herself, leading the audience and rocking out on trombone. It is a massive success.

As she looks around after the performance, Minato spies Chika and Sakiko kissing, which throws her into a tizzy. Chika drags the hapless trombone player off to a family restaurant and regales her with the tale of how she and Sakiko met, fell in love and became a couple. More importantly, though, Chika makes Minato confront the idea that she might be falling for Hibiki. A “date” with Hibiki does not help clear that off the table.

I cannot tell you why, exactly, I want Minato to be happy – although there are a lot of superficially obvious reasons that I might feel that way – but I really want Minato to be happy. If Hibiki can make her happy, I’m all in for them. But I also know that there’s a lot standing between them before they get there…among them Minato herself. She’s a walking bundle of insecurity and hesitation. Ohsawa Yayoi’s come so far in the last few years – Minato’s expressions are really something. ^_^

Ratings:

Art – 9
Story – 8
Characters – 9 Humanizing Chika is surprisingly effective
Service – 2
Yuri – 8

Overall – 8.5 we’re climbing, slowly

Nonetheless, we’ll watch and wait, and listen to pleasant ensemble music featuring flute, drum, piano, and trombone as we do. (Couldn’t also find one with a guitar, but this was close…)





Otona ni Nattemo, Volume 2 (おとなになっても)

September 23rd, 2020

In Volume 1 of Shimura Takako’s adult life drama, we met Ayano, a grade school teacher, and sever Akari, who meet and sleep together. It’s only later Akari finds out that Ayano is married to a man. Despite this, neither of them can stop thinking about the other.

It is on this precarious footing that Otona ni Nattemo, Volume 2 (おとなになっても) begins I spent the entire volume angry for Akari, as everyone in Ayano’s life seems to make a point of going to her restaurant in order to size her up. While Akari is trying to figure out what she wants from her own life, Ayano and her husband are unable to process their own problems in private, as family issues pop up and take their time and attention. At the beginning, Ayano’s husband announces suddenly that they’ll be divorcing, but by the end of this volume it’s harder to know what they will actually be doing.

The fact that I felt so vexed is probably a good sign, as it meant that I was engaging with the drama, something that Shimura’s work rarely does for me. I had to laugh, because my reaction to this volume is exactly the same as my reaction to the ending of Sweet Blue Flowers; that is to say, I want desperately to pluck the lesbian out of this story and find her a decent girlfriend! Yes, yes, maybe Ayano will become a decent girlfriend. I remain skeptical. ^_^

We get a long look at an episode from Ayano’s youth, in which she was a tall, boyish girl whose friend clearly wanted more than friendship from her.

As I wrote this review, I considered the art. It took me awhile to figure out what I wanted to say. Shimura-sensei has been at this a long time and I was thinking her art has changed a lot. Her fine art, the water color-style paintings that usually grace her covers and fill her art books are really quite excellent. Even rendered in black and white, her “watercolor” work has improved. I don’t think her drafting has gotten worse, but it hasn’t really made the same strides as her “fine” art. I’m too lazy to scan in the images I’m looking at here, but two chapter pages; one in ink and one painted, really make my point. (Fine, I’ll scan them in. Pardon my shitty, quickly done scans. The pages are the same size, but the first one has a white border, fyi.)

There’s nothing wrong with the first image. Nothing at all. It just lacks some quality that the second picture has, a depth of emotion, even in black and white. All of this is of course, in my opinion.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 
 

 

Ratings:

Art – When it’s good, it is so very good, I just wish that were more often.
Story – ARGH
Characters – In a holding pattern
Service – Nope
Yuri – Yes

Overall – 7

So once again, I find myself in a holding pattern with a Shimura series, waiting to see what is in store for our characters, and hoping, despite myself, that she will write them a good story and not just handwave the end, as she has in the past.





I’m in Love With the Villainess, Light Novel Volume 1

September 17th, 2020

I’m in Love With the Villainess, Volume 1, written by Inori, illustrated by Hanagata, out from Seven Seas, was an extraordinary read. I mean that in the most positive way. This book was surprising in ways I would never have imagined it to be, in ways that blew me away.

Oohashi Rei, an adult who has always loved games, finds herself waking in the world of Revolution, her favorite otome game. Armed with encyclopedic knowledge of the world of Revolution, and skills given to the PC, Rei, now known as Rae Taylor, sets out to do the one thing she wants most….to romance the villainess, Claire François.

From the beginning, there were little touches that had me intrigued. For instance, the novel lacks Truck-kun. No one dies. Rei simply wakes up in the game as Rae.  Although Rae is a teenager, she has not lost her adult perspective and there are decisions or commentary we get from her which are decidedly mature. About a third of the way through the story, Rae discusses something with us, the reader, and I just sat back and said, “huh.” No child thinks that way. It was about that moment, I realized I was reading something completely different.

In my review of ROLL OVER AND DIE, I said, “The premise makes it completely possible to kill your brain cells reading [the violent scenes] and not feel much. In that, I think the author does the readership a disservice.” and I’ve called My Next Life As A Villainess, “lazy writing.” These are not capricious comments. I believe in world- and character-building being key elements in making an excellent story. I have been a voracious reader since I was a child, I’m usually reading 6-8 things at once. I was a comparative literature major in college. I care about the way writers write as a reader and as a writer. I expect that world-building be done with a thoroughness that provides the story a solid three-dimensional base, even if most of the details don’t apply to this story specifically. Overwhelmingly, light novels do not do this and isekai (or isekai-adjacent) LNs tend to rely on tropes and handwaves to skip the relevant world- and character-building. I’m in Love With the Villainess does the work.

And then you hit a moment when Misha, Rae’s best friend, roommate and foil, turns to Rae and asks, “Are you gay?”…and the characters have a frank discussion about sexuality. Rae analyzes her experiences and feelings and we watch her do so – in so many words – then watch her reach an unusual conclusion, given that this is a webnovel.

But wait, there’s more. This little web novel, this penny-candy confectionery of literary effort, doesn’t stop there. There will be discussions of abuse of authority, and unfair sentencing, of political protests and economic inequality. And, they will make sense in the context of the story. The otome game is called Revolution, after all. ^_^

While all of this world-building is happening, Rae is cheerfully teasing Clare into bullying her, and enjoying every second of it. Never for a second does Rae stop enjoying herself. The more we learn about Rae, the more we come to learn about Oohashi Rei, who seems like a decent person, one we might be able to be friends with.

The only complaint I sincerely have is that there is a scene (I refuse to spoil) that ought to have been illustrated but was not. That is the only negative for this book. Thankfully…there is a manga! Yesterday I mentioned that I’m reading the manga for this series as it runs in Comic Yuri Hime magazine. There are some small differences in functionality, with each medium providing positive and negative qualities. We have not yet reached that specific scene in the manga, but I fervently pray for a few good screencaps. This is where the manga will definitely provide a benefit. On the other side, the novel format allows Rae more internal monologue and she is, IMHO, more relatable as a result.

Absolutely shout-out to Jenn Yamazaki and Nibedita Sen for the translation and adaptation here. Some of the translation lines were in and of themselves, sublime. I’ve never thrilled so much at the use of “There it was.” George Panella’s logo also gets a tip of the hat from me. Everyone at Seven Seas really pulled out the stops here for what is definitely, positively going to be one of my Top Ten Yuri of the Year. No question, this is the series to beat right now.

Ratings:

Art – 7 Adequate, but once again fails completely to illustrate anything significant or interesting
Story – 9 Takes the banal set-up and flies
Characters – 10
Yuri – 7 one-sided in this volume, but…
LGBTQ – Yes!
Service – 2 Implied and some other stuff

Overall – 9

Author Inori thanks their partner in the author’s note. That might have something to do with that discussion of sexuality.

I’m in Love With the Villainess is available digitally on Kindle and Bookwalker Global next week, in print at the end of November.

The novel series, Watashi no Oshi ha Akujyaku Reijou! (私の推しは悪役令嬢。) is available in full in Japanese on webnovel site Syoetsu ni Narou!. Volume 1, Volume 2 and Volume 3 are available in Japanese on JP Kindle. The covers for V2 and V3 are full of spoilery goodness.

Along with Yagate Kimi ni Naru Saeki Sayaka ni Tsuite, Volume 3,  which will make it over here as Bloom Into You: Regarding Saeki Sayaka, Volume 3, in December, Yuri Light Novels got a lot gayer in 2020. ^_^

Many thanks to Seven Seas for the review copy.





Revisiting Old Friends and Celebrating Yuri Anniversaries in Doujinshi!

September 9th, 2020

Some of you may have followed the saga of my recent package from Japan, that sat in a warehouse in Kawasaki for 7 weeks because it was supposed to take 8 weeks, so they made it take 8 weeks and then took 4 days to actually ship. ^_^; Today I want to share the partial contents of that package, because it will give us a chance to catch up with old stories and celebrate some anniversaries. All of the doujinshi I’ll be speaking of were purchased online at Melonbooks, and shipped from there to Tenso, which shipped it to me.

I used to joke/complain that the decent artifacts from Yuri Shimai / Yuri Hime had the most complicated histories. (Although nothing beats Hatsukoi Shimai.) Well each of today’s doujinshi practically comes with it’s own guidebook. ^_^

 

In 2003, before Hayate x Blade, manga artist Hayashiya Shizuru started serializing a story, Strawberry Shake, in the new quarterly Yuri manga magazine, Yuri Shimai, a manga that really honed her “baka” style of physical comedy. The series was ported to the new Yuri Hime magazine in 2005, was renamed Strawberry Shake Sweet and eventually was printed as a two-volume collection, both of which were reviewed here on Okazu. Volume 1 in 2006, and Volume 2 in 2009.  A single omnibus volume re-renamed Strawberry Shake  was printed in 2015 by Shueisha, with a new extra chapter.

The story followed two goofy, clueless “talents” (that is, they model, or do TV shows, or commercials, or whatever) Tachibana Julia and Asakawa Ran, as they meet, fall in love and almost never manage to get it together. When we meet her initially, Julia has just made a splash on a TV drama, and Ran is a new talent who is scooped up for fashion modeling. They are surrounded by a group of wacky characters who are nearly all also lesbian. It’s a tale told with Hayashiya’s bloody, violent comedy and I know it isn’t for everyone, but she’s  been one of my favorite artists since. ^_^ In fact, she may be the first artist I followed specifically, now that I think about it.

She’s continued the series in doujinshi over the years in a – so-far – 4-issue series titled Berry Strawberry Shake. Volume 1 | Volume 2| Volume 3 | Volume 4. The running gag in these are the same running gags in the original. Ran is still a doofus and Julia is still a baka. They are in love, but not in sync. Their manager Saeki is still uptight. The super-lesbian hairdresser Kaoru is still teasing her old schoolmate Saeki and getting into fights with her girlfriend and the very very queer band, which is less visual kei than visual gay, Zlay, is still super gay. All these many years and surrounded by all that gay, and our protagonists still haven’t managed a night together!

Well, this year in, Berry Shake 4, only 17 years after meeting for the first time, Julia and Ran manage a night together. Mostly.  There are…technical difficulties. ^_^;   I’m so glad to be able to check in on Julia and Ran and see that, as goofy as they are, they are happy and successful and…I note that they both are wearing matching rings.

 

 

On a quiet, greenery lined street in a little town, at the end of the road is a tea shop, where you can get delicious tea and patisserie and bask in the company of cute Yuri couples, all enjoying conversation and the pleasant atmosphere. Welcome to the Ame-iro Kouchakan Kandan; Seriho and her partner Sarasa are your gracious…and always adorable…hosts.

Fujieda Miyabi‘s series, Ame-iro Kouchakan Kandan began its life in Yuri Hime magazine in 2006. No, wait, it actually started in 2005 in a one-shot done for the [es] ~ Eternal Sisters, Volume 2 anthology. The series began serialization in Yuri Hime beginning in 2006. It ran for some years and was eventually collected into 2 volumes: Volume 1 in 2009, and Volume 2 in 2012.

Fujieda-sensei took his series to Drama CDs. The series had 4 DCDs and a 5th which was a crossover with his other contemporaneous series,  Kotonoha no Miko to Kotodama no Majyo, Madrigal Halloween, which is still the absolute finest Drama CD I own and arguably, ever made. The cast from this series and locale also makes constant cameos in his other series, including Alice Quartet and even Iono-sama Fanatics. He loves his crossovers as much as he loves Drama CDs.

Sarasa is a high school girl who frequents the local tea shop because she is in love with Seriho, the woman who runs the place. Seriho is sweet and a bit of a bubble-head, but she and Sarasa make a good team. Over time, Sarasa takes on the event planning and marketing and the cafe’s regular clientele eventually boasts a famous Yuri novel series author, a witch, a miko, fashion designers and a god. ^_^ (I bet it tortured Fujieda that his series Twinkle Saber Nova was set in the future….) The series ends with Sarasa and Seriho buying matching rings before Sarasa heads off to school to be become a pâtisier.

When the series wrapped up in Yuri Hime magazine, Fujieda-sensei created his own Yuri anthology doujinshi, Lilyca, in which Sarasa and Seriho, continue to live happily and adorably. I have two of the Lilyca volumes in print and the final two in digital form. It was my great luck to happen upon a collected volume of these stories The Ame-iro Kouchakan Tanhenshuu (飴色紅茶館歓談短編集) on Melonbooks and nab a copy before it sold out. This volume was created for Girls Love Fest in 2018, according to his Pixiv account.

I fell for Fujieda’s gentle stories full of happy Yuri couples, and his clothing design. To be honest, this cover is probably the least good clothing I’ve ever seen him create. Where other artists drew stuff like this – highlighting breasts and crotches for no good fashion reason, Fujieda rarely did that.  He was probably the second Yuri artist I followed specifically.

Time has passed, but all of our favorite couples are doing well. Sarasa is clearly a talented pâtisier now, the shop is known for delicious pastries as well as tea. Also doing well are DCD characters Shuri and Sayu and novel author Manaka and her manager. Sadly we don’t get to see what became of Letty the witch and her miko partner, Tsumugi. But it’s still good to see Sarasa and Seiho happily “married.”

 

 

Speaking of “marriage.” In 2010 – 10 years ago, Yuri Hime magazine was split into two separate publications, Yuri Hime, ostensibly for women, and Yuri Hime S, targeted towards men. Each came out quarterly for a total of 8 issues a year. Almost inexplicably, the February issue of Yuri Hime S premiered a series called  Fu~Fu (ふ~ふ) by Minamoto Hisanari who was, I believe, one of Fujieda-sensei’s assistants, and a member of his Atelier Miyabi/Moonphase circle (which spawned a couple of Yuri artists, in fact.) I say “almost inexplicably,” because Fu~Fu was about Kina and Suu-chan, an adult couple who were moving in together and celebrating wedded bliss without the wedding.  It was great having a series where moe-style art didn’t equate to either infantilized or grossly oversexualized..or worse, both at the same time.

Fu~Fu was a romantic comedy, very much in the Moonphase house style, sweet with explanations of lesbian lives and why marriage equality ought to be a thing. Kina is sweet, bubbly and Suu-chan is serious and a hard worker. They meet other Yuri couples and, when Suu-chan gets them matching rings, their friends and neighbors demand a wedding ceremony. This was collected into a two-volume set. Volume 1 at the end of 2011 and Volume 2 in spring 2013.

Well, this year is Suu-chan and Kina’s 10th anniversary, you see…and Minamoto-sensei had planned a special doujinshi for it…and the pandemic hit and Comitia was cancelled. But he participated with the online Comitia and released ふ~ふ 10th anniversary, act. 1 as a print doujinshi and in digital format which you *can* buy if you are outside Japan.  Act 2 is supposed to be released with the next online Comitia this autumn.

This 10th anniversary doujinshi starts with our two happily nested lesbians watching a movie together. Then a chapter about how all the characters use their cell phones and finally how Kina and Suu-chan met in school. It’s all very “awww”-inspiring.

So here we are, more than a decade since these three Yuri pioneers laid down bricks so many have followed. I still greedily consume everything Hayashiya-sensei creates (including her newest doujinshi series that features Yanki girls, food and Yuri, Yankoi Shokudou, and is therefore the most perfect thing ever created.) I hope publishers will pick them all up again, if they hope for that, or hope they tell the publishers to fuck right off, if the digital economy makes that easier for them.

Happy 17th anniversary to Julia and Ran, Happy 14th to Sarasa and Seriho and a very happy 10th anniversary to Suu-chan and Kina! Our fictitious “friends” are all well, as married as they can be in contemporary Japan, and I’m happier than I expected to be to see them again. ^_^