Archive for the Artists Category


Yuri Manga: Anoko ni Kiss to Shirayuri wo, Volume 1 (あの娘にキスと白百合を)

June 12th, 2014

It was only a few weeks ago when I reported on Anoko ni Kiss to Shirayuri wo (あの娘にキスと白百合を), Volume 1 and I confessed that, almost despite myself, I was intrigued. Well, apparently, my intrigue was enough for the kind and generous Okazu Superhero Dan P. and here we are! Thanks Dan!

Anoko ni Kiss to Shirayuri wo (translated on the cover as “Kiss and white lily for my girl”) begins with a slightly irritating premise. At Shiroyuri Gakuen, one of the stars of the school is the beautiful, smart, talented and cultured Shiramine Ayaka. But, no matter how hard Ayaka tries, she cannot surpass the lazy, sluggard genius Kurozawa Yurine. It makes her crazy, especially as familial expectations for her performance come down to anything less than a perfect score and top ranking equals failure. And there’s Kurozawa, sleeping through class and acing the test. Ayaka is driven absolutely to distraction by her rival. I’m always frustrated with the “girl who works really hard just never wins against lazy genius” plot, but the story quickly moved away  from this.

As we all know from romantic fiction, rivalry leads to obsession, which leads to infatuation. Yurine is the one who leaps across the gap between them and brings them together, helped along by Ayaka’s cousin, Mizuki. Ayaka and Yurine are still obsessed about one another, in a good way.

Mizuki finds herself repaid for bringing Yurine onto the track and field team by finding herself in second place. She goes through a crisis, having lost her will to win, but Yurine fires her up and for the first time in a long time, Mizuki rediscovers her sense of competition. Mizuki’s partner in crime, Moe, is thrilled that she’s fired up once again, and they become closer than they were before. It’s not hard to imagine them as lovers.

Yurine had never managed to or cared to become friendly with her classmates, but now that she’s in love with Ayaka and on the track team, the sudden influx of other humans into her life has made her keenly aware of how lonely she is. On a day when she feels particularly not inclined to be alone –  but does not know how to approach others –  one of her classmates asks her to go shopping with her. Yurine spends a day doing incredibly normal things and find herself in tears of relief and joy at such simple pleasures. After Ai leaves her, Ayaka runs up to her, also in tears, mortified that she might have missed Yurine’s birthday. She give Yurine flowers, and they embrace, to Ayaka’s embarrassment. (A little side extra story, follows an adult female couple who sees them hugging in public and are motivated to take one another’s hand.) And, while Ayaka and Yurine are now an item, the final page lets us know that their rivalry is only going to get fiercer.

Ratings:

Art – 8 Very shoujo style art
Story – 8
Characters – 7 None of the characters are particularly realistic, but they fulfill their functions
Yuri – 8
Service – 1 on principle only

Overall – 8

For a “Story A” tale, it was pleasant reading, and we’ll see where it goes. This ran in Comic Alive, but it could have run in a girls’ magazine as is.

Thanks once again to Dan for the enjoyable read!





Yuri Manga: Binetsu no You Na (微熱のような) Ends in Feel Young

June 5th, 2014

ScanA couple of months ago, I noted that Yamaji Ebine has begun a new series in Feel Young magazine. Binetsu no You Na went three longish chapters and has now wrapped up.

In my original review I said, “So far this story is, as many of Yamaji’s recent stories have been, uncomfortable.” And so it remained, right to the very last panel. I suggest you read the first review before you decide if you want to read the rest of this one. ^_^;

Even after Nao is told flat out by Mifuyu how she manipulated Nao, Nao comes crawling back to the other woman. The final scene, in which Nao succumbs to her attraction to Mifuyu, is no more appealing or empowering than earlier scenes, in which she is manipulated into sleeping with her teacher or Yoshiaki. And, in the end, instead of owning her weakness, Nao still blames her absent first love, Taki, rather than admitting that she’s just weak.

Again, quoting from my previous review, I say, “The last few Yamaji works have felt more like her working something out than actual stories. This one feels more like a story, but imbued with a struggle I’m not able to understand.”

Ratings:

Art – Her usual sparse style 9
Story – 6 Tight, but uncomfortable
Characters – 6 Ultimately, the only one I could feel anything about was Yoshiaki
Yuri – 8, but ugh
Service – 4

Overall – 6

I spend the entirety of this story thinking “What on earth happened to Yamaji-sensei that all we’re getting from her these days are stories about rape and manipulation?” I hope to heavens it’s just editors wanting her work to be more “gritty.”





Yuri Anime: Inugami-san to Nekoyama-san (English)

June 3rd, 2014

InutoNekoInugami-san to Nekoyama-san by Kuzushiro-sensei is an entertaining, not very emotionally taxing manga series that runs in Comic Yuri Hime. I’ve reviewed the first two volumes of the manga here on Okazu: Volume 1 | Volume 2.

When the anime for Inugami-san to Nekoyama-san was announced, I had no compelling drive to run to see it, but since it is streaming on Crunchyroll (regional restrictions may apply), I had a chance to check it out while I was on the road this weekend – and I was pleasantly surprised. ^_^

The story,  such as it is, is the non-adventures of girls at a school who have animal names, and appear to have the temperamental characteristics of the animals they are named for. The leads are Inugami Yachiyo (a name which is mostly likely a pun on the famous faithful dog statue at Shibuya, Hachiko. 八千代 – Yachiyo ハチ公- Hachiko) and Nekoyama Suzu (whose given name implies to the small bells on a cat’s collar.) True to their names Inugami-san is dog-like, while Nekoyama-san is cat-like. Ushiwaka, (cow) Nezu, (mouse) Sarutobi (monkey) and Torikai (bird) have all joined the cast in the episodes so far.

The voice cast gives the characters a cuteness that I was not reading into their voices in the manga, a quality that lightens the mood and makes the anime more enjoyable than it might be. The gags in this series are low –  sexual innuendo, bad puns, and snort-ful cheap laughs, so I’m perfectly happy to have the tone lightened throughout. The one thing that really stands out in the first half of anime episodes is that Inugami-san and Nekoyama-san actually have an interest in one another. There’s a cheap laugh bit at the end of the 6th episode in which they find themselves clearly talking about themselves as a couple.

Episodes are 3 minutes long, and focus on some of the most suggestive scenes in the manga and you know, I’m not really going to bitch about that. ^_^ It’s being sold as “Yuri”, and the anime audience in Japan is a subtle as a brick to the forehead, so whatever works. As I said in the Kill La Kill ANNcast, it’s easier for me to deal with grossly overplayed service than coy pretend-innocent BS, of the kind one finds in Sakura Trick.

Ratings:

Art – 8 More consistent than the manga, sorry Kuzushiro-sensei
Story – 6 There isn’t one, but that’s okay
Character – 7 Whittled down to ther essence as they are here, I find I quite like them.
FanService – 6 Mostly lustful fantasies
Yuri – 7 Still mostly lustful fantasies, with the addition of the Inu/Neko and Ushi/Nezumi couples

Overall – 8

More entertaining than I expected and kind of cute in places; the anime captures Kuzushiro-sensei’s narrative style well.





Yuri Manga: Rainy Song (レイニーソング)

May 25th, 2014

We start today’s review with a “well, I never expected that” moment. ^_^ In 2010, I was exasperated beyond tolerance by Momono Moto’s Kimi Koi Limit. The protagonist was, I felt, unlikable and selfish and the most interesting character was treated poorly. I never expected to see poor Hiroko again. Well, here we are 4 years later and there’s Hiroko again!

We begin the first story in Momono-sensei’s current collection Rainy Song (レイニーソング). with “Aru Shoujo no Gunjo”, a bittersweet story about a girl who shares in the relationship highs and lows of fellow train commuters, and her attempts to cheer up Eri, a woman who loses her female lover to marriage. It’s not  happy story, but I quite liked it – and it’s the strongest story of the collection

Following this, we turn to “Kurayami no Asterisk,” the story of underachiever Tendou Nozomi, known as ‘Ten’. She’s gone through school and just hasn’t found her purpose in life. Right now she is unmotivated by a job at a cafe and sees no particular goal for herself. So when she meets, and falls for attractive, polite and slightly sad Hiroko, she find herself in turmoil. I found myself amazed that 4 years later we were finally learning what happened to Hiroko after Sono left her.

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Hiroko has an office job where she does her work competently, but doesn’t connect with anyone, and she works nights at a friend’s “ladies” bar. She, like Ten, is moving through life on automatic. When the two of them meet, it will throw them both into confusion. But ultimately they find each other and, we hope, happiness.

In “Snow Frakes” a long-delayed confession is finally conveyed, to the delight and sadness of a best friend.

And in the title story, “Rainy Song” a persistent fan in school becomes a friend to an aloof musician.

What a change in personality-types from Kimi Koi Limit! For one thing, there are none of Sono’s hideously selfish behaviors here, and while Hiroko starts of sad, there’s only a little moping to be dealt with. This collection has surprising depth, despite the reliance on shorts, especially given how superficial the story in Kimi Koi Limit was with all that length. Momono-sensei has a much more mature feel in this volume and her ability to convey complex emotions is touching and entertaining.

Ratings:

Art – 8
Story – 7
Characters – 8
Yuri/Lesbian – 8
Service – 1

Overall – 8

A much, much better sequel than I could have ever expected. And, it was an unexpected pleasure to see Hiroko happy.





LGBTQ Manga: Torikaebaya, (とりかえ・ばや) Volume 2

May 20th, 2014

In my review of Volume 1 of this gorgeous manga version of the classic Heian story, Torikaebaya (とりかえ・ばや), I discussed the story’s history. Today, we’ll talk about the protagonists of the story.

Two children born on the same day to the same father, but different mothers – a girl, Sarasojuu, who is now living as a young man in the Heian Imperial court and her brother, Suiren who is living as a woman in the women’s quarters. They look so similar, they could be twins, and they are both beautiful. They are also, however, unsuited to the sex into which they were born, and as Volume 2 begins, both of them are passing with their father’s and his older brother’s knowledge and consent…and I want to take a moment to say, Dad’s kind of awesome, really. He’s gotta know the chances of this going well are slim. But he’s owning it. As we shall see.

Sarasoju befriends another young courtier, Tsuwabuki and they, like guys do, have contests of arms and talking smack. Tsuwabuki loves his dear friend, but Sarasoju is never able to truly relax around him. How could she? The moment she’s discovered, it’s all over. (Note: If this were a story in a modern context, I would be referring to Sarasoju and Suiren by the sex that they present as, but for the moment, since the idea that they are passing in world in which trans* people do not exist is the conflict at the heart of the story, I will continue to use their birth sex pronouns. My sincere apologies to anyone who disagrees with my choice.) To complicate matters,  Sarasoju receives a marriage offer from the Fourth Princess, Shinohime. At a very fraught discussion with her uncle and father, Sarasoju goes all in and agrees to accept the offer.

Tsuwabuki is livid at the news – how dare Sarasoju get married without telling him! They have a fight, which they heal up in the time-honored way of beating the crap out of each other and Tsuwabuki confesses that he wants to get married, too…to Suiren. Erk! Erm, Sarasoju tries to put him off, but it’s not happening.

Sarasoju takes up the position of husband to Shinohime, but their relationship is, for the moment, platonic. However, Ume-tsubo, one of the ladies of the court is convinced that Sarasoju is female and has several times tried to catch her out. She corners Shinohime and asks about the sex with her new husband…. Shinohime chalks up their lack of sex life to Sarasoju’s age, since they are 7 years apart. But seeds of discontent are sown.

In the meantime, Suiren has taken up a position with Toguu-sama, the Crown Princess and has been requested to write stories for her entertainment. He is up late one night writing when Tsuwabuki barges in and forces his attentions upon Suiren. Suiren counters with a hysterical reaction about hating men, and beans him with an inkstone. Tsuwabuki retreats, feeling like a heel. Sarasoju tries to console him by explaining that Suiren has a deep aversion to men, but Tsuwabuki has a different problem now.

Having seen Suiren, he’s decided that Sarasoju is better looking…a thought that freaks him out. Homosexuality is not unknown, but it is considered the purview of Buddhist priests and creepy dudes. He encounters Shikibukyo no Miya, a metrosexual sodomite wearing a wisteria flower in his cap, swallows his pride, and asks about homosexuality. Shikubukyo is pretty much as creepy as possible, leaving Tsuwabuki even more uncomfortable with his desire for Sarasoju than before. Unable to sleep, tormented by his own desires, Tsuwabuki sees Shinohime in her garden and again, does the unthinkable by barging in on her in her quarters as the volume comes to an end.

This description makes Tsuwabuki seem like the bad guy in the story, but he’s really not. If there is indeed a bad guy, it’s Ume-tsubo.

The question I had when I began reading this series was “Will this be a comedy or a tragedy?”. As I finish Volume 2 I am no closer to an answer, really. But now I’m annoyed as heck I didn’t just pick up Volume 3 when I had the chance!

Art – 9
Story – 8
Characters – 9
Service – 2
LGBTQ – 4

Overall – 9

Saitou Chiho’s art is gorgeous, of course, and the story remains elusive as of yet. Volume 3 will have to be where we address at least one of the multiple impending crises. Yikes, but you know I’m going to read it. ^_^