Archive for the Artists Category


Yuri Manga: Yuridori Midori (ゆりどりみどり)

January 13th, 2015

yuridoriAfter Minamoto Hisanari-sensei’s stunning debut, Fu~Fu, (and the sea change at Comic Yuri Hime, which has moved away from “stories about lesbians” and shifted back over to “stories about unthreateningly cute girls who are in no way lesbian, but who sometimes like each other”) it was going to be really hard for him to hit that same level of storytelling and relevance. In his short story collection, Yuridori Midori (ゆりどりみどり), he doesn’t really try.

Which, in many ways was pretty smart of him. Had he gone the same route with a series, he’d be pinholed. Instead he shuffles out a pile of ootsey-cutesy stuff for the moe fans and dresses it up with the occasional meaningful concept. “Look,” he says, while drawing impossibly adorable animal-eared girls, who are, in reality, animals, thus making the cat-owning animal-eared moe fans extra happy, “Look,  I am one of you.”  And then he throws out a story that just happens to touch briefly on an actual issue.

 

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As a result, no matter what you’re interested in, Yuridori Midori is a mixed bag.

In the first story, we revisit the fairytale of Snow White and her new evil stepmother – who isn’t really evil, and would really like to become closer with Snow. Really close.

The second story is a plot that I will never like no matter how many times mangaka use it. The “cute girl who rolls around your house is a cat” story has been done well past to death, but apparently, every generation recreates it in their own image.

The third story is an after-hours expose’ of the lives of the seven mysteries of the school, and the age-long love affair of “Toilet Hanako” and the “Girl in the Painting.” Also done a million times, but I adore the idea the spirits have a life beyond just scaring the plebes. ^_^

In the next story, we edge so close to being relevant, that it’s almost painful when it doesn’t go there. Suddenly, for no apparent reason, “Yuri” marriages become legal. And in trend-conscious Japan, “Yuri-kon” become the trendy thing to do. So, when the protagonist asks her lover to marry her, she refuses, because she doesn’t want to be seen as following a fad. I get the story, but feel awfully like he could have done something more important and real with it, if he had really wanted to.

This was followed by another animal-eared girl story I couldn’t bring myself to read in the magazine and wasn’t able to manage this time, either.

The next story was my favorite of the collection, about a woman and her lover who is a “suit actor” for a Tokusatsu TV show. In other words, she does the action scenes in a Power-Ranger-like show. Not only is Shio a ranger character, she’s the Red Ranger…and anyone who has ever watched a Tokusatu show (or The Shinesman) knows that means she’s the leader. Rina loves Shio, but Shio isn’t sure if it’s her, or the fact that she’s Red, that’s the real draw. When Shio gets hurt, she learns that it was her, all along.

The final story follows a woman whose girlfriend breaks up with her via Line (a Japanese SMS-based social platform) and, while contemplating suicide, is met and befriended by a young (straight) woman who gets her to smile again.

Now, here’s the interesting thing about doing these reviews – when I read the stories originally in the magazine, I felt the same way as I felt at the beginning of this review – close, but no cigar. But, having rendered down each story to its essence, I find that I was wrong. MInamoto-sensei is doing something important. And because he’s hiding behind humorous one-shots, it’s not obvious until I’ve looked backwards at where this volume took us.

Ratings:

Art – 8 As expected, absurdly cute and moe
Story – Variable, but we’ll call it 8, for more better than not for me
Characters – Variable, and one-shots are hard. Let’s say 7
Service – 4 Animal ears

Overall – I’m feeling generous, let’s go 8

The animal-eared and fairy tale stories aside, this volume looks at same-sex marriage, staying together through better and worse and recovering from an ugly break up. Hrm. It’s almost subliminally lesbian. ^_^ You know… I think I like it!





Yuri Manga: Inugami-san to Nekoyama-san, Volume 3 (犬神さんと猫山さん)

December 19th, 2014

istns3Here we are at Volume 3 of Inugami-san to Nekoyama-san (犬神さんと猫山さん) and…I’m not tired of it yet. Why? I don’t know, but I’m not! There’s something about Kuzushiro’s characters that make them completely not-boring to me. I don’t think I’ve enjoyed a gag comic this much since…well, ever really.

So here we are and Nekoyama is fully invested in being too interested in Inugami, with no real way to express herself, while Inugami wears her heart on her sleeve.  We follow Aki for a good portion of the book and get a new seasonal addition with her Kendo sempai Touko (whose name is written with the character for “winter.”) Most of the other animals take a back seat to  to Ryuuzaki and Torao. And we see that indeed, they are the couple they appear to be. In addition to Otome and Mari, we get to see Nekoyama’s older sister, Tamaki with her girlfriend. So the Yuri level is significantly higher than previous volumes.

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For the rest, it’s basically a balanced mix of genuine emotion and excruciating jokes that I nonetheless laugh out loud at.

What is it about this comic that I like so much? It’s taken me a while to nail it down, but I think I’ve figured it out. Kuzushiro-sensei likes these character and as a result, so do I. ^_^  Despite the animal puns, there’s a sense of depth to all the characters (except Torikai). While we’re mostly seeing the silly side, every once in a while we see that depth – just a glimpse – and it convinces us that time spent in this boisterous crowd is time well spent.

Ratings:

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

Overall – 7

Apparently the key to a good gag comic is not one loud joke-cracking annoying character, but about half a dozen of them all at once. ^_^

This volume is also available on Kindle for folks with Japanese IP addresses.

 





Yuri Manga: Philosophia

December 11th, 2014

philosophiaAmano Shuninta’s Philosophia began its life as a series of doujinshi. I was fortunate enough to get some, but not all, of them, when I attended the 2011 Girls Love Fest event. I was never able to get the entire run so of course was thrilled that Yuri Hime Comics had collected the whole set for me and published it as a single volume.

The story is told from the perspective of a young college student, Ai-chan, who meets and bonds with college sempai  Shi over smoking and coffee. Shi is hard to understand or get to know, and Ai resistant to the idea that she might be “interested” in her. But after Shi falls ill, and it’s Ai who gets her to the hospital, it’s impossible for Ai to ignore her feelings, as confused and confounded by Shi as she is.

Shi, who has been very aware of Ai’s interest has made it all but impossible for Ai to get to know anything about her life. In the middle of the series, we learn why. In part it has to do with a complicated love-hate relationship with her family and especially her young stepmother, with whom her relationship is exceptionally complicated.

We also look back at Ai’s relationships and her inability to really understand like or love. She’s mortified at herself for liking, perhaps, loving Shi, when the other woman clearly prefers to remain at an emotional distance.

Shi contacts Ai once more to let her know that she’s going out of the country. Ai finds out when her plane leaves and meets her at the airport. Shi kisses Ai, but it’s clearly because this is “Goodbye.” Shi will never return home.

Ai goes on to become a teacher, but in a new epilogue, she meets a half-sister Shi does not know she has who is a dead ringer for Shi.

To say that this is a series for adults is not an understatement. The feelings here are complex, nuanced, complicated and fundamentally not “happy” or “sad.” Barring the epilogue, this is a story that might very well take place in the real world and, as such, does not have an impetus to end, much less happily ever after. As I say, it’s a book for adult tastes.

The epilogue, which was drawn especially for this volume, posed a unique problem for me. I, not having a twin, but being a common “type” am frequently mistaken for other people. Nonetheless, I’d like to think that I, as a human, have an individual “me”-ness that precludes someone who found me interesting being able to simply transfer those feelings to a simulacrum, which is kind of the set up here. Ai will now have a “new” Shi to get to know, hopefully one unburdened by the complicated life of the other. But…really? Because although this person looks like Shi, what is the likelihood that she is like Shi, but without the baggage? And worse, they meet because they are teacher and student, which ideally puts another layer of  emotional distance between them. So, while the meeting is presented as a reboot of a sort, I feel that if Ai and Shi were real people, then it would not make Ai happy to have this Shi-alike in her class, particularly. ^_^;

Shuninta-sensei’s art is already pretty strong in this series, with her characteristic style almost fully developed. And to my recollection, I hadn’t seen any recent Yuri manga in which cigarettes and coffee were such important plot devices, so it was both nostalgic and modern at the same time.

Ratings:

Art – 8
Characters – Complex, real, not tidy at all 10
Story – 8
Yuri – 6
Service – 2

Overall – 8

I very much liked that the characters’ names were incorporated into the title. Ai (Love) + Shi (Wisdom) = Philo + Sophia

An adult read, which went down smoothly and left a strong aftertaste. A refreshing change of pace from featureless characters in Yuri pantomimes.





LGBTQ Manga: Torikaebaya (とりかえ・ばや ), Volume 5

December 8th, 2014

TKB5 Waaaaauuuuuughhhh!!!!!

Arrrgh!!!

UGH

UGh

Ugh.

Okay… I think I can talk about Torikaebaya (とりかえ・ばや ) now. Deep breath.

Volume 5 of Chiho Saito’s stunningly gorgeous, emotionally crushing version of this Heian classic begins with the worst thing possible, Sarasoju, this fine, upstanding young courtier…is pregnant. Sarasoju is, not at all surprisingly, devastated at the thought. Having decided to live as a man, Sarasoju’s life is about to come crashing down. Running away will not, cannot help, but what else can Sarasoju do?

With Sarasoju’s absence, other cracks in the life of the capital begin to expand. Shinohime’s affair with Tsuwabuki is discovered and she is cast out of her home. Tsuwabuki takes her in.

And meanwhile, in the depths of Toguu-sama’s quarters, Suiren is forced to confront feelings for Toguu-sama that cannot, will not, bring anyone happiness. When Toguu-sama seeks respite in Suiren’s arms, Suiren’s feelings cannot be restrained. As the book comes to a close, they kiss.

Auuugggh. Reading this story is like getting hot sauce in a paper cut. It isn’t gonna kill me, but it’s not making me happy, either. And yet, I can’t shake the thought that Saito-sensei isn’t going to just drop the mic and leave us unhappy. She draws shoujo manga after all. And her work is damnably beautiful. I don’t want to watch…but I can’t look away.

Ratings:

Art – 9
Story – 8
Characters – 9
Service – 3
LGBTQ – 6

Overall – 9

Deep, calming breaths.





Yuri Manga: Gakuen Polizi, Volume 2 (学園ポリーチェ)

November 9th, 2014

gp2jpIn Volume 1, we met new school-police force member, Aoba, whose life goal is to be a champion of justice and her unenthusiastic and jaded partner Midori. Together they push the boundaries of their assigned duties and helped a bunch of fellow students as a result.

Volume 2 of Gakuen Polizi (学園ポリーチェ), begins with Midori and Aoba being called into Headquarters…presumably for a dressing down over their out-of-school efforts.  What they actually get, instead, is the presence of Midori’s former partner, Akari at their own school. Whether she is an ally or an enemy is hard to tell – and this remains true through most of the volume.

One of the things I really enjoyed about Volume 1 was the use of real-life issues high school girls face. Unfortunately, Volume 2 ups the ante on the nature of the crimes, without the sense of decency from the first volume. I won’t spoil anything, but do be ready for some creeping yuckiness and implications of violence. But it’s worth noting that these situations are not the main plot.

The bulk of the book focuses on Aoba and Midori’s feelings about being a Polizi, what they want to do with their lives and how they feel about each other.  (We might guess the outcome, it is a Morinaga Milk-sensei story, after all. ^_^)

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The end of the volume offers a glimpse of future Aoba and Midori. If you, like me, were a fan of Morinaga-sensei’s early doujinshi work, you may not be surprised to see them at all. ^_^

Volume 1  and Volume 2 are out in English. Seven Seas can be always counted on for solid reproduction and translation, so no fears from that quarter.

Ratings:

Art – 7
Story – 7
Characters – 7
Yuri – 6
Service – 8 Way more service than the first volume

Overall – 7

I didn’t enjoy this volume as much as the first, but for a 2-volume manga, it was a nice bit of action/adventure/comedy from Morinaga-sensei.