Archive for the Artists Category


Yuri Manga: Fujiyuu Sekai Perfect Edition (不自由セカイ 完全版)

June 26th, 2016

In 2012, I read and was traumatized by Kodama Naoko’s Fujiyuu Sekai. It’s one of my most popular reviews, presumably because folks who read scanlations are equally as traumatized and want someone to tell them it’ll be alright.

Well, this hideous monster is back in a new collection, Fujiyuu Sekai Perfect Edition (不自由セカイ 完全版) and things are most definitely not alright.

Reo befriended Meiko back in high school when Meiko was not treated well by her classmates. Popular and attractive, Reo drew Meiko into society. Meiko joined the tennis club in order to be closer to Reo and, as a result, hurt her ankle during practice. One day not long after, Reo offered to walk Meiko home, but she refused because she was getting better. Reo went off and unknown to her, Meiko was attacked and raped.

Now, years later, Meiko is still making Reo pay for it. Meiko is abusive and neglectful, Reo is tortured, and the fact that they get a “happy” ending is only one of the many things wrong with the narrative.

I reluctantly coughed up for the Perfect Edition, hoping that any new chapters would have Meiko abjectly begging for forgiveness or, barring that, Reo walking away and getting a better life. But no. In all my many concerns about the wrongness of all the plot elements in this story, the one resolution Kodama-sensei went with hadn’t even occurred to me.  Because, god, no.  (I’m not saying that it might not work, I’m saying this story needs to die in fire.)

Ratings:

Overall – 3, down 2 points from the original.

In 2012, I said, “It really could have been good, but it wasn’t.” In 2016, I have to admit that this was just a shitty manga that had no chance of being good.





Yuri Manga: Yagate Kimi ni Naru, Volume 2 (やがて君になる)

June 13th, 2016

YKnN2When I stepped into the new flagship Animate store in Ikebukuro in Tokyo last month, I did not expect to find much Yuri. Positioned near “Otome Road,” this particular store tends to cater more to the fujoshi than the otaku. However, the very first thing I passed on the shelves was a special display for the second volume of Nakatani Nio’s Yuri series. When I bought it, it came with a sweet little postcard and a special book cover. If only the romance inside was a clear and simple as the cover made it seem. ^_^;

I summed Volume 1 of  Yagate Kimi ni Naru as a “sweet little Yuri romance that I both enjoyed a lot and also have several real problems with.”

And now that I’ve read Yagate Kimi ni Naru, Volume 2, I feel exactly the same way…with perhaps even more reservations than previously.

In Volume 1, Yuu found herself in the precarious and uncomfortable position of being the object of a crush by a person she admires, but just does not have romantic feelings for. In order to support Touko, she agrees to become a member of the student council.

But now Touko has begun to press harder. Having decided that she loves Yuu, she crosses the line into coercing kisses from Yuu, who is naturally distressed by this. She still admires Touko and really wants to be with her, but just does not feel that way.

Compounding the issue are the other members of the Council. Touko’s childhood friend and Vice President, Sayaka,  is both protective and possessive of Touko. The other first-year appear to think of their personal drama as a form of entertainment.

When Touko and Yuu study at Yuu’s home, Touko gets very embarrassed from overstimulation and Yuu is forced, again, to wonder if there is something wrong with her.

But when it turns out that Touko has been competing with a deceased older sister, it is Yuu that steps up and demands she be herself, rather than someone else. Yuu and Touko (again) agree that the way it is between them right now is good enough and they’ll keep it this way.

Loving someone very hard is not enough in the real world. But in this awkward presumed-romance, we’re supposed to be rooting for Touko, assured that Yuu will see her lack of feelings as just doubting herself. That is all the same as it as in Volume 1, but in Volume 2, we’re supposed to be happy that Touko coerces a kiss from Yuu.  I’m not happy about it all. It makes me view Touko with suspicion.

On the other hand, Yuu is really digging into her lack of response to Touko in an interesting way. At this point she wishes she did feel something. Yuu still has not put a name to her lack of feelings – and her situation is positioned awkwardly. She does have some emotion around Touko – admiration and just a hint of something else, but Yuu doesn’t think it’s romantic love or desire and we have to take her word for that.

I’m still not sure if Yuu is supposed to be confused because she just hasn’t had an “a-ha!” moment or because she’s genuinely asexual. I don’t think the mangaka knows, either and I’m positive Yuu herself has no idea.

Ratings:

Art – 8
Story – 8
Characters – 9
Yuri – 6
Service – 1

Overall – 8, still with reservations

I’m going to keep hanging on to this series because I want both Yuu and Touko to grow past this thing they have laying between them, but I’m not sure I want them to be together at the end of this series, despite the cover art. It might be better for them both if they aren’t.





Yuri Manga: Houseki no Youna Mono (宝石のようなもの）

June 9th, 2016

HnYMMMSince we’re doing stories that are kind of cringeworthy except when they are not, this seems like a really good time to review the latest collection by Momono Moto, Houseki no Youna Mono (宝石のようなもの). This is a collection of Momono-sensei’s doujinshi in a self-published, but very highly produced volume.

The collection is mostly one-shots, but it includes two doujinshi based on her own works, Kimi Koi Limit and Rainy Song, both of which have been reviewed here on Okazu. In “Kimi Koi Limit Plus” we see that Satomi and Sono are still together and that things basically look okay for them.

It becomes obvious by the end of this book that Momono-sensei likes her attraction salty-tears flavored and her favorite form of complexity for a character is melancholy. None of these stories were bad in any way, and most of the couples end up together, if that kind of thing works for you.

The art was variable since, as I mentioned these are one-shots drawn over time, but overall, you can’t really fault her for technique. Her art is slick and you can really tell the later work vs the former, as the art is visibly more layered and tighter.

I mentioned that this is a self-published volume, but I want to highlight the high-quality of the production. This is a professionally put together book, not at all out of place on shelves with Ichijinsha or Futabasha books.

This collection fills a need that I would personally like to see more of – professional artists collecting their original doujinshi. Like Amano Shuninta’s Philosophia, this gives us a chance to see the artists, free of editorial interference…and a glimpse into their hearts directly.

Ratings:

Art – 6-8
Story – Averaging at 7
Characters – 6 I can’t ever quite *like* most of her characters
Service – 5 There are some sex scenes and nudity
Yuri – 9

Overall – 7

Honestly, I intended to be a little unkind about this book when I started the review, but talked myself into liking it about halfway. ^_^

If you like Momono-sensei’s work, I recommend taking a look at Watashi no Muchina Watashi no Michi, Volume 1 and Volume 2 (which was reviewed here, although Volume 1 never was.)





Yuri Manga：Oshi ga Budokan Ittekuretara Shinu, Volume 1（推しが武道館いってくれたら死ぬ）

May 16th, 2016

BudokanorbustSo used am I to feeling frustration born of absolute disinterest in hideously boring characters in previous Hirao Auri manga series, that reading Hirao Auri’s new manga, Oshi ga Budokan Ittekuretara Shinu, Volume 1（推しが武道館いってくれたら死ぬ）instilled in me a wholly new feeling – frustration because I actually care about the characters! It’s a completely different feeling, I assure you. ^_^

Oshi ga Budokan Ittekuretara Shinu (which is a really evocative title that one could have a lot of fun translating: Budokan or Bust; Give Me Budokan or Give Me Death; Push on to the Budokan or Die Trying…) follows an obsessive fan of a minor pop idol group, a woman named Eripyo, and the specific idol she likes, Maina.

Cham-Jam (pronounced “Charm Jam”) is a street pop idol group that is just starting to get some traction. Each of the members has her own set of otaku, of course, and we get to see some of the many unwritten rules involved in being a idol’s fan in this manga. It reminded me of Yumi’s line about a “fan’s pride.” These fans are allowed a certain amount of controlled exposure to their objects of admiration and anything else crosses a line for the idols – and the fans.

Eripyo is friends with two other Cham-Jam otaku, Kumasa and Motoi. Each has their favorite, but it’s easy for us to see that Eripyo’s feeling when she yells that she loves Maina are more complex than just admiration. And poor Eripyo….the mangaka hates her. We can see that Maina has sincere regard for her Number 1 fan, but plot complications force them further and further away from one another.  I have to admit to a few imagined comic “strangling the writer” panels in my head, as poor Eripyo, so deserving of real intimacy with Maina, is beaten bloody with failure. Argh.

The loveliest – and I mean this sincerely – moment of the volume, comes as the members of Cham Jam are participating as models for a “girls festival” fashion show. The audience, mostly fashionable young women, are put off by the idea of a street idol group, and Eripyo and Kumasa are uncomfortable and awkward out of their element. Despite the different social mores of the girls festival, there are Kumasa and Eripyo in the front row when it’s the members of Cham Jam’s turn. Reo, Kumasa’s favorite, even goes so far as to make her signature move towards him as she turns back up the runway. Maina and Eripyo lock eyes, and it becomes immediately apparent that their feelings – nascent and confused – are the same. Maina notices that Eripyo has dressed up for her, so as not to come to this fashion show in her usual UPS-style outfit.

Sadly for readers, this moment is followed by an excruciating Rube Golderbergian plot, that includes mice eating through a string that holds a tanabata tree, which crashes through a window so that Eripyo’s messages to be tied on it  fall outside and are missed in the mayhem. (cf, imagined comic “strangling the writer” panels in my head.)

The upshot is that, while I still imagine comic violence against Hirao-sensei, this time it’s because I really like the characters and want to see them together. So…progress, I guess.

Ratings:

Art – 8 Much improved since early days At least Manga no Tsukurikata had some use, then.

Story – Still frustrating, but there is hope for a decent payoff, unlike Manga no Tsukurikata, which was merely an nihilist exercise in manga-reading.

Character – 8 I really like the otaku group. They aren’t all one thing, but we really get to see the side of this relationship we don’t tend to see if we’re not part of it. And the Cham Jam girls are nice, as well. You don’t feel yucky liking them.

Service – Not really, except for it being a pop idol group, but even the costumes aren’t creepy.

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 – Gods help me, 8.

I want to know what is going to happen. (Hirao-sensei, they better bloody well get together, you. (insert comic “strangling the writer” panels here.)

Hello redditors: I’ve reviewed 5 of the 6 current volumes here and yes, this is pretty much how it goes.





New Cardcaptor Sakura Manga Series in June

April 26th, 2016

ANN has the scoop513FFeTeOrL on CLAMP’s classic magical girl series, Cardcaptor Sakura, which is getting a new manga series to celebrate it’s 20th anniversary!

Debuting in June, in Nakayoshi magazine the series will be a true sequel, picking up with Sakura in middle school. (hrm…2018 will be Sailor Moon‘s 25th anniversary. I wonder if we’ll get a new story for that, now that Crystal has been so successful.)

Here’s hoping for more of the wonderful bent characterization and gorgeous CLAMPian art that made the series delightful the first time around!