Archive for the Artists Category


Yuri Manga: Awajima Hyakkei (淡島百景)

July 2nd, 2015

I know this is going to sound a little strange, but I never really know what I’ll get with a new Shimura Takako series. I mean, yes, she has blown me out of the water with Aoi Hana/Sweet Blue Flowers, but she’s also left me cold in any number of other series. In fact, her work most resembles Melissa Scott‘s science-fiction to me. I love the characters, but find the almost-passionless storytelling hard to warm up to. I just wish I could feel her in her work.

In Awajima Hyakkei, Shimura takes on a topic of much interest to Yuri fans all over the world – the student body of a famous all-female musical revue school that is definitely not that other famous all-female musical revue troupe that might automatically come to mind.

Each chapter focuses on two of the people at the school, the relationship between then, the circumstances of their friendships or rivalries and what the connections in the school mean to them afterwards. This volume is not in any way tidy. The whole thing is non-linear and is easier to read if you stop looking for “the story” and start just letting the character profiles work on their own. Eventually they tie back to the beginning and eventually we start to feel the threads of fate that bind everyone in the school.

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There is a little bit of Yuri, in a story about first love. It is the kind of classic old 20th century retrospective, where the love the character feels is recognized mostly as she looks back as an adult.

Some of the best parts of the volume are those vignettes set in the past. My favorite chapter was towards the end when a new student uncovers the family history of one of her teachers and learns that she’s a third-generation star.

Ratings:

Art – 8
Story – Variable, averaging 7
Characters – 7
Yuri – 3
Service – 1 on principle

Overall – 7, but I think it will improve with a re-read.

As the title says, this series is “One Hundred Views” of a respected establishment, rather than a single tale. And, like a famous landmark seen for the first time, it will get better with a second viewing.





Yuri Manga: Strawberry Shake (ストロベリーシェイク)

June 28th, 2015

downloadIt was the beginning of 2004. The magazine was called Yuri Shimai. The comic was an actual comedy, with physical gags blown way out of proportion. There was an idiot and a doofus and they fell in love, but didn’t realize it. The comedy was manzai-style, with blood and tears and extreme over-reactions to silly jokes. It was Hayashiya Shizuru’s professional Yuri debut. She’d been drawing doujinshi in that same style for years, and made her pro debut previously, but for those of us who were or would become fans, Strawberry Shake Sweet was the first time she was a pro “Yuri” artist.

Yuri Shimai was cancelled and in 2005,  Yuri Hime picked up the series. In 2006, a collected Volume 1 was released, followed by Volume 2 in 2009. Hayashiya-sensei left Yuri Hime and has gone on to do great things with Shuiesha. And so it is with both delight and trepidation that I review Shueisha’s re-release of this series as a one-volume collection, Strawberry Shake (ストロベリーシェイク).

The story follows Tachibana Julia a young “Talent” in Japanese TV. (Which is to say she does everything and anything, from starring in TV dramas, to advertisements, to quiz shows.) She’s asked to mentor a newcomer to the agency, Asakawa Ran, but instead, falls in love with Ran.

Ran isn’t the brightest bulb in the box, and Julia isn’t much better. Between the two of them and very much despite the objections of their manager, they’ll have to figure it all out on their own.

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Strawberry Shake is very much played for the laughs. Touching or romantic moments are frequently marked by massive nosebleeds. If you’re not used to Hayashiya-sensei’s style, or classic manzai, the amount of violence might surprise you. The other thing that might surprise you is the ending. As I said when I reviewed Volume 2, “I absolutely refuse to spoil the rest of the chapter, except to say that you will probably be outraged and/or disappointed by the end.”

So, here we are over a decade after the comic was originally begun and a lot of things have changed. Yuri is a genre of it’s own. Hayashiya-sensei is a star among Yuri artists. And same-sex marriage is a thing that is discussed in the news, in the courts. Even in Japan, where Shibuya is the only part of the country that allows same-sex marriage, the conversation has begun.

What does that mean for a comic like Strawberry Shake? It means that some of the jokes just don’t hold up that well. Saeki Ryouko, Julia and Ran’s manager, in 2004 was a comedic figure. In 2015, she seems just like a closeted homophobe. Sorry Saeki-san, but you protest *way* too much. ^_^ Comedy is harder than tragedy. In Strawberry Shake, the comedy is vaudevillian, and so, a relic of the past, rather than a joke we’re all laughing at now.

The essential love story is still cute and maddening and adorable and sweet. ZLAY is still absolutely fucked up hilarious. The climax of the manga is still fantastic. And the new extra chapter? “I absolutely refuse to spoil the rest of the chapter, except to say that you will probably be outraged and/or disappointed by the end.” ^_^;

Should you get it? Yes. This is an important book for Yuri fans. Will you like it? Maybe. ^_^

Ratings:

Art – 9 It’s striking to see just how much better her art is now than it was in 2004. This volume has been touched up, but look at the first and final chapters to see a difference.
Story – 7 It has worn a little around the edges over time.
Characters – 8
Yuri – 8
Service – 2

Overall – 8

Again I will quote myself from 2009: “As funny as this manga is, I’m forced to conclude that this story is not *quite* as perfect for Hayashiya-sensei as Hayate x Blade. The action component just catapults that series to perfection.

But hey – this is a groundbreaking series. A Yuri series for Yuri magazine by a woman who has been drawing Yuri comedy for a long, long time. A must-have for any fan of Yuri.”





Yuri Manga: Seijun Shoujo Paradigm (聖純少女パラダイム)

June 16th, 2015

downloadIn Seijun Shoujo Paradigm (聖純少女パラダイム), Morishima Akiko gave Pure Yuri Anthology Hirari readers her take on the most common private Catholic girl’s school tropes. And typically, she has a lot of fun with it. ^_^

At Saint Paradigm Girl’s School (one of a long line of nonsense Saint names in Yuri literature, but sometimes it’s hard to tell, I’m looking at you Saint Scholastica,) Aoi is all excited to get her elite high school experience started. Even the sight of a girl confessing to an upperclassman (and being rejected) makes her feel like she’s in the middle of a novel. And when the teacher leaves the room and the girls all drop their proper facades to pick up their phones and play games, or text their boyfriends, it depresses her.

Depressed as she is, she’s still more cheerful than Lily, the girl who had been rejected.  Lily actually likes girls, but is rejected regularly. Aoi, who has no interest in a boyfriend, agrees to be Lily’s best friend. Until Lily gets a girlfriend, she and Lily will love each other best.

The story splits off a bit to deal with some other couples among the student body – the president of the literature club and a member who have been lovers for years, but still have some issues. and the President and Vice President of the Student Council who are a perfect Takarazuka couple and, despite the fact that they live together and know they love each other, have not gone beyond a kiss on the cheek. Lily’s lack of tact is the key development that allows them to close that final gap between them.

After the school festival, Lily confesses seriously once more…to Aoi. Aoi knows they’ve agreed to love each other best, but this seemed different. As their second term begins, Aoi comes to realize she has deeper feelings for Lily, and the book and the story draw to a close with an “awww.”

Ratings:

Art – 8 Morishima’s usual cute faces and cheerful style
Story – 8 A sweet series for a Yuri-themed magazine
Characters – I liked them all, but sympathized with the literature club’s Midori most, who just wanted to hear “I love you” more often
Yuri – 9
Service – 3 Some underwear scenes, Morishima does underwear nicely

Overall – 8

Morishima-sensei says that this is her first Yuri set “among the sakura” and I immediately thought of a tagline for this kind of Yuri. Not “strawberry” at all – they had the wrong fruit. This is Yuri with “The scent of lilies and the flavor of cherries.”





Yuri Manga: Chou Chou Nan Nan (喋喋喃喃)

May 27th, 2015

downloadThe girl/guy next door, the childhood friend who has always been there for you, who can always read your mood, and knows just what to say; it’s a well-worn trope in every subset of romance. It’s equally as common to show the protagonist unable to return the favor, unseeing when their friend has deeper feelings than friendship for them, as they moon over someone else – usually someone unobtainable. It’s so entirely universal in fact, that it almost boggles the mind.

In Chou Chou Nan Nan (喋喋喃喃), Takemiya Jin takes a(nother) swing at this trope.

Aoi is in love with Chihiro and her best friend Nao can see it from a mile away. Unfortunately, Nao is in love with Aoi and Aoi can’t see it at all. Chihiro can see what’s going on and, because she’s a cheerfuly manipulative jerk, she teases Nao by manipulating Aoi’s feelings. Shino, the fourth of the group is uncomplicated and doesn’t care who is love with whom, just as long as they are all having fun.

There is never any reason to think that Aoi and Nao won’t get together, so it’s more or less just a matter of watching them get there, enjoying the stolen kisses, “shock!” eyes and narrowed eyes/manipulative faces that Takemiya-sensei does so well.

It is also stereotypical that the story comes to a head during the school festival, as Nao plays the prince and Aoi plays Sleeping Beauty. Reading as much manga as I do set in school, I thank my lucky stars that I never once had to do a play in a school festival. (The only thing I can recall doing for a school festival was making a highly popular, heavily alcoholic Black Forest Cherry cake one year for German Club.)

They end up together (of course) and we never learn, really, whether Chihiro feels bad about her role in keeping them apart or finds it all a hilarious joke. I was very much hoping that the doujinshi follow-up “Chou Chou Nan Nan 2” would look at Chihiro’s real feelings (my bet is that Chihiro found it hilarious. People like her are never sorry. ^_^;), but instead it gives Aoi a chance at taking the lead in a kiss for once. Also okay. ^_^

Ratings:

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

Overall – 7

A pleasant trip along a favorite path, decorated with beloved flowers. We all know it well, but it’s perfectly fine to enjoy it once again. ^_^

Many thanks to Jye N. for being kind enough to get “Chou Chou Nan Nan 2” and several other doujinshi for me! I’m savoring every page. Thank you for your kindness!





Yuri Manga: Renai Manga (レンアイマンガ)

May 15th, 2015

51Iqpki8CmLOne last book for “low expectations” week but, in this case, to show that having low expectations isn’t always the same as expecting something to be bad.

In 2011, I reviewed a book called Renai Manga, by Kodama Naoko, that had been published by Tsubomi Comics. I gave it “a warm fuzzy, comfortable 8” as a score.

Now, Yuri Hime Comics has re-released Renai Manga (レンアイマンガ). And it is the same, all the way to the very end, where a new chapter is new, but not any different.

Haruka is a new editor at Sweets Magazine, where she is assigned to manage her favorite author – the one who inspired her to become an editor in the first place. Only, Kuroi-sensei is not the fashionable woman she imagined, but a hoody-wearing recluse. Haruka pulls Kuroi-sensei out of her shell just a bit and Kuroi-sensei gives Haruka the courage to stick to her guns and stay in Tokyo as an editor when her mother pressures her to marry.

The end of the book ends up eating it’s own tail as it turns out that Haruka’s fan letter to Kuroi-sensei was her first, ever, and a charm she’s kept all these years to keep her going.

Now, since I knew exactly what to expect from this manga, I was able to pay attention a little more to small details; how Haruka is manipulated by the editor-in-chief, who obviously knows both parts of the story, how Kuroi-sensei finds herself after a long slump because of Haruka. I was also able to enjoy the now almost-silly climax scene as Haruka runs around town looking for screentone. In a mere few years that has become significantly less of  crisis, as so much more of manga is done digitally, it’s almost hard to imagine that this might have been a thing.

The original manga ends with Kuroi-sensei being honored at a party for the new TV Drama of her series. A new chapter turns away from the tale of professional persistence to – for the first time, really – the couple of Haruka and Sensei, who I now think deserves to be referred to by her given name, Ritsu. Haruka and Ritsu are, clearly, already important to each other, but Ritsu takes a big step and asks Haruka to move in with her so they can be together all the time. Haruka agrees happily. In the final panels, we see the editor-in-chief being not at all surprised and thinking that the two of them ought to get married already. (Ironically, since, as we know, they still can not legally marry anywhere in Japan except Shibuya.)

My expectations were low, but not because I expected this to be bad, but I expected nothing significant to have changed. And so it hasn’t. This manga remains a warm, fuzzy slipper of a story – nothing surprising, nothing alarming. Just a nice story told nicely.

Ratings:

Art – 8
Story – 8
Characters – 8
Yuri – 8
Service – 2 Kuroi-sensei still needs a better bra

Overall – Still an 8