Archive for the Artists Category


Black Yagi to Gekiyaku Madeline, Perfect Volume (ブラックヤギーと劇薬まどれーぬ 完全版)

October 21st, 2016

downloadIn 2012, Ohsawa Yayoi had her big break in Yuri with the collection Black Yagi to Gekiyaku Madeline, which I reviewed here on Okazu.  It was a short story collection that had some good and less-good stories, but the one that stood out was the oddball title story, which then went on to a sequel, Strange Babies, which I also reviewed in 2013.

Now we are here in 2016 and Ohsawa-sensei’s original volume has been re-released, with additional content in Black Yagi to Gekiyaku Madeline Perfect Volume (ブラックヤギーと劇薬まどれーぬ 完全版).

The cover image got my hopes up immediately, with Yagi and Mado-chan as adults, and they are contrasted nicely by the color page inside. Unfortunately for me, the cover art is unsupported by the new content. Boo….

The stories from the original remain exactly the same, wrapping up with the story of two net idols who couldn’t be more different if they tried. Original chapters follow their first date out in public as a couple, on which Yagi brings along her Baphomet just in case and how Kokoto and Arisu end up at their school. I found this chapter frustrating for all the reasons watching Arisu pine after Kokoto were frustrating in Strange Babies.

I had hoped that we’d get a chance to see Yagi a little older and more self-assured and Mado-chan post cute idol phase, but I guess I’ll just have to use my own imagination.

Ratings:

Art – 8
Stories – 7
Characters – 8
Yuri – 8
Service – 2

Overall – 8

The one thing we do get is a quick glimpse at just how much Ohsawa’s art has improved. Just contrast the cover with that color page and the difference is amazing. In the last 4 years, she’s really gotten better. I want to see a story about that couple…





Torikaebaya Manga, Volume 9 (とりかえ・ばや)

October 13th, 2016

51xwd9km9el-_sx318_bo1204203200_The train wreck that is the plot of Saito Chiyo-sensei’s Torikaebaya, Volume 9 (とりかえ・ばや) just keeps getting wreckier and wreckier.

Sarasojuu who was born as a woman, but should have been a man, has been masquerading now for a while as a woman…as her sibling Suiren, in fact.  Suiren, who was born a man, but should have been a woman, has been playing the part of a male courtier as Sarasojuu.

Complicating things, Sara has fallen in love with the Emperor and Suiren with Toguu-sama, his female heir. In a botched attempt to meet Toguu-sama once more, Suiren and Sara protect Toguu-sama from being assassinated, but must be punished for violating protocols and endangering her in the first place.

I desperately want the Emperor to clue in on what’s going on, but as decent a person as he is, he’s showing no signs of that. And he’s being pressured to choose a male heir over Toguu-sama by enemy factions in the government.

This volume almost exclusively follows Sara as Suiren. And I’m feeling uneasy about it, because she’s starting to assimilate into her “switched role” as a woman. It doesn’t feel right to me at all.

BUT, in Volume 9 one really super important thing happens for which I am extremely grateful. Poor Shi-no-hime, Sara’s wife in name only, with two children by Tsuwabuki, lost, almost utterly alone, is redeemed. Her family petitions Sara’s family to dissolve the marriage, when they receive an offer from a much older man. The dissolution is approved, with genuine regrets on Sara’s part, but Shi-no-hime is not moving for love, but a sense of duty to her children. As she sets off on her trip to her new husband’s house, Tsuwabuki sweeps up and rides off with her. At his summer home, he promises to take care of his children if she’ll have him. They – finally – are allowed to be together.  Thank the gods. At least Shi-no-hime gets a happy ending. Of all the characters in the book, I felt worst for her.

As I read, it dawned on me that if either Suiren and Sarasojuu were gay – or, to be more precise, if they were allowed to be gay as the sex they best suited, this story would be very different. But instead, Sara is finding her life as Suiren less uncomfortable, while Suiren is still managing as Sarasojuu. If they are to find happiness in love, I fear it will have to be as their birth sex. There doesn’t seem a way through this in which they can both, be the sex they wish to be and have the love they wish to have. Even having the tenguu switch them now would only make things worse, as Suiren loves Toguu-sama as a man  and Sara loves the Emperor as a woman. Aughs. So many aughs.

Ratings:

Art – 9
Story – 8
Characters – 9
Service – 1

Overall – 9

Volume 10 is already out. Get the antacids ready.





Yuri Manga: Hana to Hina no Houkago, Volume 2 (ハナとヒナは放課後)

September 30th, 2016

hthnh2In Volume 1, we met Hana, a typical high-school girl with an afterschool job at a mascot goods store, against school rules. At the store, she meets and befriends Hinako, another student from her school, who joins her as a part-timer. Hinako is also an amateur model with polished, adult looks, despite her actually being a first-year and Hana’s junior.

In Volume 2 of Hana to Hina ha Houkago (ハナとヒナは放課後), the story follows a well-worn path through familiar territory for Morinaga Milk fans. As the two girls become closer, they – each in their own way – start to develop feelings for the other. And, as they grow closer, the potential for small jealousies and misunderstandings increase.

Hana learns about a former friend of Hina’s, Maiko, who is also a model. Unusually, it is instantly apparent to us that Hinako and Maiko’s relationship was more than friends, even if it’s not at all apparent to Hana. Hina, for her part, is jealous of Hana’s school friends, in a quiet, unintrusive way. They are switched off the same shift for school term exams, which adds to the sense of distance between them.

Hina comes awfully close to kissing Hana one day and is appalled at herself. Hana is starting to think about Hina differently when she actually meets Maiko, who casually tells her to tell Hina that her former girlfriend dropped by. The scales fall (at least partway) from Hana’s eyes.

Now we return to the tried and true as both girls have the same feelings, but neither can bring themselves to mention it to the other.

Hopefully Volume 3 will quickly resolve this and equally hopefully, we’ll get to step beyond that a bit and watch the relationship develop past the “we like each other” stage. At the moment, though, Morinaga-sensei is firmly in her comfort zone of just before-the-confession. While I am glad that Hina has had a previous girlfriend, I have no idea if or how that might affect the narrative going forward. I hope it does have some affect other than being a reason to be jealous. Certainly, Maiko didn’t seem vindictive or anything. So maybe, just maybe, we’ll get to see a conversation about being gay in a Morinaga series. It’s still an outside chance, but she’s been edging closer and closer over time and Futabasha is the same publisher who is putting out Otouto no Otto.

Ratings:

Art – 8
Story – 7
Characters – 7
Service – 4
Yuri – 5 for Maiko

Overall – 7 +1 for the existence of a former girlfriend.

I still have fingers crossed. ^_^





Kimi no Tame nara Shineru, Volume 6 (姫のためなら死ねる)

September 22nd, 2016

kntns6-e1463843854978 Reading the 6th volume of Kimi no Tamenara Shineru (姫のためなら死ねる) is like slipping into a comfortable pair of old shoes. You can spread out and relax a bit and not worry about rough patches or sore areas. It’s all been worn pretty smooth and soft. And, at the end of the day, if you’ve done enough walking in them, you might have seen something new.

In Volume 6, Kuzushiro-sensei manages to do any number of interesting things with these well-worn areas. She manages a bathing scene, for instance. Something so tried and true and predictable in any other 4-panel gag comic is a bit of a stretch when that comic is set in a time when bathing was done more like annually than daily. But there we are, we have a bathing scene and a chance to watch Sei Shonagon overheat about Teishi-sama in a whole new way.

And we have a seriously unlikely, alt-historical moment, as Benkan suggests that Shonagon marry Teishi-sama’s other Number 1 Fan, her older brother Korechika. Ultimately it’s Teishi-sama herself who kills this idea. In reality, we actually know very little about Shonagon’s husband (or, possibly husbands) or whether she was divorced or became a nun in her later years…or, anything, really. Frankly we know pretty much fuck all about her, except for what she wrote, so I’m perfectly happy with whatever obscure Heian-period nonsense Kuzushiro-sensei wants to throw at me. ^_^ I have the Internets. I can do the research.

Ratings:

Art – 7 (Am I hallucinating or is it getting better?)
Story – 7
Characters – 8
Yuri – 2
Service – 5

Overall – 8

In other notable news, Shonagon actually gets to say the title line. Finally. But not yet to Teishi-sama.





Yuri Manga: Anoko ni Kiss to Shirayuri wo, Volume 3 (あの娘にキスと白百合を 3)

June 27th, 2016

AknSw3-e1440286973777Back in April, I picked up Anoko ni Kiss to Shirayuri wo, Volume 4, and realized suddenly that I had never gotten Volume 3. Durh! While in Japan, this volume was one of two I made sure I picked up, goshdarnit.

When Anoko ni Kiss to Shirayuri wo, Volume 3 (あの娘にキスと白百合を) begins, we turn our attention briefly back to the initial couple we met in Volume 1, Kurozawa Yurine and Shiramine Ayaka. Finals time always stress Ayaka out, as she is eternally chasing after Yurine, the natural genius who never studies. Ayaka tortures herself studying and studying and, as grades come in, Ayaka becomes more and more depressed. Yurine, the slacker and doofus, has beat her again. Yurine’s affection for Ayaka just becomes galling, until, finally, Ayaka gets a top score. Yurine admits that she’s just really at school and won’t really be sorry about that, but she does genuinely love Ayaka. Ayaka, her ego salved, is ready to accept Yurine’s feelings once again.

From here, we move on to the story of the president and vice president of the  drama club. Yurine (and therefore Ayaka) are dragged into the Gardening Club’s ongoing issues with the Student Council, a member of which appears to be dedicated to destroying the Gardening club. The arc, which does not get a “happy” ending,  much like the main arc in Volume 2, is about love and betrayal and growing up. It was, by far and away, the most adult so far of the arcs and also the most depressing, while still remaining sort of hopeful.

I keep saying this about this series – it appears at first glimpse to be another Marimite clone, but it is definitely it’s own thing. If there is one real criticism of the series, it’s that it’s one of those all-lesbian schools, where there don’t seem to be any straight girls and where nearly every character we meet has to be paired off.  Other than this quibble, we’ve met characters far richer than they first appeared to be.

Ratings:

Art – 8
Story – 8
Characters – 8 Less cute and sweet before, but more complicated, instead.
Yuri – 8
Service – 1 on principle

Overall – 8

I’m actually finding myself looking forward to the next volume to see what happens (and hoping Ayaka can get past her  – totally valid – resentment of Yurine.)