Archive for the Artists Category


Yuri Manga: Season Theater Theatrical, Volume 1 (シーズンシアターシアトリカル )

January 31st, 2017

In Season Theater Theatrical, Volume 1 (シーズンシアターシアトリカル ), Manabi is a director and Taiyo is an actress and together they create Yuri-themed musical performances for online streaming site Play Play Douga. But Manabi has bigger dreams. She envisions an all-Yuri musical performance revue! 

Enter Shinomiya Kise, the young, exceedingly cute CEO of the Shinomiya Group. Kise has never really had too many friends, but she loves sitting and watching performances on Play Play Douga. And, of all the performers, she likes Taiyo most. She really likes Taiyo. So, when Kise-chan approached Taiyo and Manabi with an offer they can’t refuse – use of a custom built theater for Yuri-themed plays – they don’t refuse. And, so, the Season Theater (named after Kise) is born.

Taiyo falls almost immediately for Kise’s personality, (which is so shy and scared, she reminded me of a small prey animal. A shrew perhaps, or a vole.) Kise’s maid, Aoba is multi-talented and Manabi integrates her into the staff immediately. 

Now, they just need a cast! Manabi decides to do auditions on Play Play Douga, using popular Yuri couples from the streaming site. She ends up with the two members of  duo “Jewel Box,” Jueru and Hakobe, as the supporting cast. And, when all is said and done, they perform “Yurizukin-chan” a “yurified” version of Little Red Riding Hood 

This manga is drawn by Minamoto Hisanari, creator of Fu~fu, for Comic Cune, which, while it does have Yuri, is more focused on the moe than the Yuri. So, yes, there are Yuri couples and yes, they are all adults, but they all look like they are toddler to 4 years old and everything is extra, super, teeth-grindingly adorable. The plot is amusing, there’s very little drama and it’s a fun read, without being even slightly stressful.

That said, there is one moment when I absolutely wanted to hug this manga. Jueru shows up at the audition with Hakobe all attitude and tsundere. She’s pretty obnoxious, actually. And when she and Hakobe come in second to Taiyou and Kise for the lead roles.  Jueru is all ready with a dramatic exit. “And so, the losers will take their leave!” she says and begins to sweep her way out of the theater. Manabi reminds them that they need other actresses, too, so they are kept on to play the little sister (rather than the grandmother) and the wolf. But the meme Jueru inspired,  “The losers will take their leave!” is granted eternal life on Play Play Douga. Aoba is right on it, and starts to mock Jueru, before the end of the scene. This shows some insight on online cultural dragging and I really appreciated it. ^_^

Ratings:

Art – erm….moe. REALLY moe
Story – Goofy, lovable
Characters – Also goofy, lovable
Yuri – Yep
Service – Nope

Overall – YMMV but I’m feeling generous, so let’s say 8

The story is ongoing and I can’t say I’m hooked, but it’s certainly worth following for some light reading. “Our Theater” the cover reads. How I wish it was….

I particularly like how, according to the author’s note, Minamoto-sensei became hooked on all-female musical review troupes as he did research for this series. “I’m off to Osaka!”” he says to Fujieda Miyabi-sensei, “Wanna come?” “Um..no, that’s okay.” ^_^

 





Yuri Manga: Yagate Kimi ni Naru, Volume 3 (やがて君になる )

January 26th, 2017

In Volume 3 of Nakatani Nio’s Yagate Kimi ni Naru, (やがて君になる) some very good things happen and some very not good things happen. 

I will begin with the not-good things, which is to say, the main plot continues to throw up some serious warning signs. In my reviews of Volume 1 and Volume 2, I have expressed very real concerns about this narrative. And generally, I’ve received a lot of flack for this opinion. To make my point I am going to review Volume 3, but I will pretend Touko is a guy. I will call him Tou-kun. It is very important that you play along with me, so you understand my point. Thank you. 

Yuu is very happy with her relationship with Tou-kun. She is pleased to accompany him as a friend, to support him in Student Council endeavors and to cheer him on in the club relay. But, Tou-kun clearly wants more from Yuu than she is comfortable giving. He coerces her into kissing him from time to time, without her express consent. And, on the eve of the sports festival he insists that, if he wins his race, she will kiss him for real, taking the lead. She does not dislike kissing him, but she does not like it, either and really is made deeply uncomfortable by this request.

When the time comes, Tou-kun drags her to a quiet place and demands his ‘reward.’ Yuu just cannot bring herself to do it….

Hopefully, my point becomes plain in this scenario. If Touko was a guy, the lack of consent and coercion she is using on Yuu would be disturbing to most of you. It should be no less disturbing because she is a girl. Coercion is coercion and lack of consent is lack of consent.

***

That having been said, as it must, a side plot has become very interesting. The book begins with an extended look at Sayaka, Touko’s Vice President on the Student Council. It has been very obvious to me from the beginning that her feelings for Touko are much more than merely friendship and that while she understands those feelings will not be returned, she resents Yuu for being the target of Touko’s attention, when she herself longs for it.

In Volume 2, Sayaka learned, quite unexpectedly, that her homeroom teacher is going out with the owner of the cafe they had visited.   In Volume 3, we see that the two women live together and are lovers. Sayaka’s nascent gaydar is activated and she goes back to the cafe to speak with the owner, who turns out to be a very decent person. Miyako admits that she figured Sayaka was gay, and confirms that, yes, she and the teacher (as we had ourselves seen in a lovely homelife scene) are lovers. Sayaka is thrilled to have an example of an adult woman in a stable relationship and I was likewise thrilled for her to have one as a person to get advice from and, as a role model. Miyako is very helpful and Sayaka feels much unburdened.

Ratings:

Art – 8
Story – 3 or 8, depending on whose story we’re talking about
Characters – 9
Yuri – 8
Service – 1

Overall – 8….

…the beginning of the volume gave me hope, but the end of the volume was very frustrating. At *least* Nakatani-sensei has given readers a not-dysfunctional relationship with Riko and Miyako  and a smart, self aware young lesbian in Sayaka. Because what’s going on with Yuu and Touko is really not okay.

You can decide for yourself whether you consider this a problematic narrative or not, as Bloom Into You, Volume 1 is now available in English from Seven Seas.





Yuri Manga: Inugami-san to Nekoyama-san, Volume 5 (犬神さんと猫山さん)

January 19th, 2017

It’s been a while since I’ve reviewed Kuzushiro’s zodiac animal-themed high school gag comic. It’s not because it isn’t good, or that it hasn’t been funny. It’s just that Volume 4 wasn’t all that Yuri. It’s not that we don’t have Yuri couples – Student Council President Torao Mari and her Vice President, Ryuuzaki Otome, and Nekoyama-san’s older sister Tamaki and her lover Hebizuka Sawako.  

However, Volume 5 of Inugami-san to Nekoyama-san, (犬神さんと猫山さん) ratchets up the Yuri in a couple of places. Primarily the fraught relationship between Souma Sakura and Inori Mayo. Those two alternately fight verbally and physically throughout the volume, all the while skirting  the very real attraction between them. By the end of the volume they have at least acknowledged their mutual attraction even if it’s still going to be rocky.

The titular characters, Inugami-san and Nekoyama-san also go on a date, to a cat cafe. Suzu finds herself having a lot more fun playing with the kittens than she expected and she and Yachiyo find themselves moving ever closer to an actual romance.

And even with all this going on,  these two major shifts in dynamic are not the most interesting thing in the book.

I’ve referred to Aki as everyone’s keeper before and the splash page illustates this in a fairly servicey manner, with Aki in a sexualized pose and the rest of the cast in miniature draped around her. Throughout this series, she’s come off as grounded and slightly removed from everything. Not in this volume, where suddenly we see a bit deeper into Aki and it turns out she’s got very  a pretty dark center. I like it on her. And, she casually mentions, in the course of nothing particular, that she’s bi. Aki takes the lead on being the most interesting character in the series so far.

Ratings:

Art – 7
Story – 7
Character – 8
FanService – 6
Yuri – 7

Overall – 7

All I ever ask from gag comics is that they are amusing. Almost  despite itself, this one is also telling a story. Who’da thunk it!





Yuri Manga: 2DK, G Pen, Mezamashidokei, Volume 3 (2DK、Gペン、目覚まし時計。)

January 16th, 2017

Ohsawa Yayoi’s adult-life 2DK, G Pen, Mezamashidokei, Volume 3 (2DK、Gペン、目覚まし時計。) is a bit of an interesting conundrum. Volume 1 was more slice-of-life than Yuri in which we met career woman Nanami and her roommate Kaede, a struggling manga artist In Volume 2, we see a little bit more of their lives, but still, we’re focusing on the life part of their lives, rather than any kind of relationship. This isn’t a complaint – it’s praise. 

The one thing that tires me out the most about Yuri manga is the rapidity with which relationships are seen to be formed. Not so in this manga, where we have spent 2 full volumes fleshing out the lives of  the protagonists. 

Volume 3 continues this trend, with a half volume dedicated not to Kaede’s manga debut, or Nanami’s trials in the office, but with Kaede’s friendly rival in manga, Koyuki, who hits a massive wall with her artistic output and in her personal life. It is ultimately Kaede who helps her snap out of it.

We then again turn towards Nanami and, finally, we see some recognition that maybe, just maybe, she’s looking at Kaede differently than she was previously. Nanami  is finding herself comfortable for the first time in the role she’s take on in Kaede’s life and her own and for the first time, doesn’t look awkward or like she’s wondering what she’s doing with her life. It’s a good look on her.

Volume 4 is going to be full of drama and revelation, but for now, this character development was meant to be exactly what it is; not driving the romance, just building the characters. At then end of Volume 3, we’re ready for the story to begin. ^_^

The epilogue gives Koyuki a little insight to the kind of care and attention Nanami lavishes on Kaede and she’s torn between being embarrassed and jealous. 

Ratings:

Art – 8
Story – 8
Characters – 8
Yuri – 2.5
Service – 4 Koyuki has exceptionally large breasts.

Overall – 8

Volume 4 for the only truly josei Yuri manga running in Comic Yuri Hime? Why, yes, thank you! And it’s gonna get pretty darn interesting, when an old acquaintance becomes a catalyst.





Yuri Manga: Yuri Kuma Arashi, Volume 3 (ユリ熊嵐)

January 2nd, 2017

Volume 1 and Volume 2 of the Yuri Kuma Arashi manga tell a slightly different story than the anime.  The main premise remains the same – human girl Tsubaki Kureha meets and falls in love with bear girl Yurishiro Ginko, who has some connection to her past and her late mother. 

In the anime the fairytale about the bear princess and human princess ends up overlapping with reality and Ginko and Kureha end up happily-ever-after, but much of the detail gets lost in the obsession with a “promise kiss,” an overabundance of lilies and a lot of plotline mad libs.

In Yuri Kuma Arashi, Volume 3 (ユリ熊嵐), the story is brought to a conclusion that, in one way, makes a lot more sense, but in order to get there, needs a few key magical handwaves.

In Volume 2, we learned that Yurika, Kale and Leila, Kureha’s mother, were all close. In Volume 3, we learn the truth, that all three were lovers. Kale was betrothed to Yurika’s brother, but fell in love with Yurika instead. Independently they both fell in love Leila. The three lived a lovely, romantic twilight world of joy until Leila broke their bonds and left. It almost killed Kale. When Leila returned she was pregnant so Kale (who had been betrothed to Yurika’s brother, remember) also became pregnant. Their children were fated to be together because they said so.

But, tragedy struck. When Ginko and Kureha were small, Leila was late returning to the house one day Ginko, not knowing who she was, shot her. The real question is how does a small bear shoot a rifle, but just, don’t…

Between Kale, Yurika and Ginko, the full story comes out and Kureha forgives Ginko, as she was only a little bear and couldn’t possibly be held responsible for her actions. In the meantime, Ginko, suffering from a guilt-induced fever is staying at Sumika’s house with Kureha and Lulu. Lulu is finding herself really falling in like with Sumika, but is still worried that she’s a “kumajyo,” a witch  who uses magic against the bears. The three bear-boy judges  finally get their screentime and judge Sumika, who is their sister, for being a kumajyo. She’s found innocent, and Lulu decides that she could do worse. 

Kureha forgives Ginko. To be able to stay together, Kureha becomes a bear, as well.

Yurika and Kale reunite, and all would be perfect if ONLY Leila were still alive. 

…

…

As Ginko and Kureha play one day, Kureha finds a picture of woman who looks exactly like her mother in an Estonian bear preserve! As magic fills the end of the book, Yurika and Kale head off to find their lost love, Lulu and Sumika head into a new relationship, Lulu runs into her late brother, suddenly resurrected, Ginko and  Kureha kiss as they board the Yurikuma Arashi “flight to the unknown.”

The End.

I’m not sure that it made any more sense than the anime, but it sure didn’t make any less. And what sex and romance we encountered was far less service-y than the anime. The main difference is in Yurika. In the anime, she was very much the Evil Psycho Lesbian Bear. In the manga, she was the stabilizing force for Leila and Kale. I liked Yurika best in both versions of the story.

Ratings:

Art – 8
Story – 8
Characters – 8
Yuri – 9
Service – 5

Overall – 8

Leila means “light” in Estonian…as one might expect.