Archive for the Artists Category


Interview with Yuri Manga Artist Takemiya Jin

June 2nd, 2013

日本語で

Takemiya JinI’ve been fangirling over Takemiya-sensei’s work for years. I first began reading her doujinshi,, and rejoiced when she made the leap into the professional sphere. You can find her work currently running in Comic Yuri Hime and in my favorite manga magazine, Rakuen Le Paradis.

I declared three of her books the Top Yuri Manga of 2011: Seasons, Kila Kila and Omoi no Kakera. In particular, I like the sense that her Yuri work is grounded in the reality of lesbian life. Mika, the protagonist in Omoi no Kakera is out to herself and to her close friends as a lesbian. This is something we have not seen all that often in Yuri Manga. This, and Takemiya’s use of actual lesbian slang in her stories shifts “Yuri” as a genre closer to an intersection with lesbian literature.  IMHO, Takemiya-sensei is one of the leaders of the new Yuri movement.

It is my very sincere pleasure today to have a chance to talk with Takemiya-sensei and share it with you all!

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Q1: Please tell us about yourself
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My name is Takemiya Jin, I’m a Yuri Manga artist. My sex is female. I am a lesbian.

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Q2: How did you become a mangaka? Was it something you wanted to do as a child?

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It was my childhood dream to become a manga artist. Because various people opposed my dream to become a manga artist I stopped drawing manga. When one of my submissions for a contest won an award, I started to think that I would draw manga as a job.

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Q3: Which artists have influenced you?
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Manga artists Takahashi Rumiko (creator of Inu Yasha, Ranma 1/2) and Togashi Yasuhiro (creator of Yu Yu Hakusho, Hunter x Hunter) and Obata Takeshi (part of the creative team for Death Note, Hikaru no Go) influenced me.

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Q4: If you were not a mangaka, what kind of work would you be doing?
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I think I’d probably be a clerk in a bookstore with a hobby of creating doujinshi.

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Q5: What motivated you to create Yuri Manga?
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I began by drawing stories that took shape from my own experiences, things I was thinking about and the messages I wanted to convey.

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Q6.1: Please tell us a little bit about your process.
How long does it take to draw a chapter?
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If we’re talking drawing a 24-page manga, it takes me about 2 weeks to completely finish the job.

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Q6.2: How many assistants work with you? What is the first step in your process? What is the last step?
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I have no assistants. But, when I’m in trouble, my partner helps me with the relatively simple tasks.

The first thing I do is to construct the “Plot” (which means planning and composing the dialogue). The last thing I do is “Revision”.
(Plot/Storyboard/Sketch/Inking/Shading/Revision/Tone/Finishing Touches and Final Revision…in that order.)

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Q7: You began as a doujinshi artist. Other than deadlines what are the differences between being an amateur and a professional?

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In my case, doujinshi was a hobby; being in a commercial magazine has that feeling called “work” so, although I draw manga as a job, I still would like to put out doujinshi.

The differences I see between being amateur and a pro: I really don’t know. From the beginning a pro has committed to the requirement of completing a manuscript by deadline, but whether amateur or pro, the work of communicating something is interesting.

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Q8:  Do you read any Yuri manga? If so, what series?
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In the magazines that publish my Yuri manga – Rakuen Le: Paradis and Comic Yuri Hime – I read the Yuri manga my friends have created.

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Q9: Do you have anything you want to ask overseas fans?
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When you read manga, do you think “I want to go to Japan?”

E: はい!「私は日本へ行きたい」と6か月ごとに思います。 ^_^;

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Q10: Do you have any message for your overseas fans?
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When I began drawing Yuri manga, I never considered that there would be a day when my manga was read by people overseas. Now I can receive messages from overseas on Twitter or my blog, it makes me very happy. No matter what country you’re from, people’s thoughts and feelings aren’t different. Therefore, from here on, I will continue to draw the feelings of love and other very important things between two women in love with one another.

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Thank you, thank you Takemiya-sensei for taking time out to talk to us. I look forward to continue supporting your work !

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私は何年間もずっと、竹宮先生の作品のファンとして応援を続けています。読み始めた時には同人誌作家だった先生が、プロ作家としての活動を始めた時には、大喜びしたものです。現在先生の作品は、コミック百合姫や、私のお気に入り漫画雑誌でもある楽園 Le Paradisで読むことが出来ます。

私は竹宮先生の「Seasons」「キラキラ」「想いの欠片」の三作品を、2011年度のトップ百合漫画リストに選出させていただきました。特に私が気に入っているのは、先生の作品がレズビアンとしての生き方のリアリティに基づいている点ですね。「想いの欠片」の主人公であるミカはレズビアンであることを自覚していますし、親しい友達に対してもカミングアウトしています。こういう描写は、百合漫画作品の中でそう多く描かれるものではありません。こういった点や、作品の中での実際のレズビアン隠語の用いられ方によって、「百合」というジャンルを、レズビアン文学としての地位に近づけつつあると思います。私のつたない考えでは、竹宮先生こそは、新たな百合ムーブメントの主導者のお一人だと思っています。

今回、竹宮先生とお話できたこと、そしてその内容を皆さんにもお伝えできることは、この上ない喜びです。

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Q1: 自分に関して私たちに話してください。
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百合漫画家の竹宮ジンです。性別は女性。レズビアンです。

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Q2: 先生はどのように漫画家になりましたか? 漫画家になるのは、子供時代の夢でしたか?

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漫画家になるのは子供の頃からの夢でした。 いろんな人から漫画家になる夢を反対されましたが、漫画を描く事はやめませんでした。 投稿作品で賞をいただいて、お仕事として漫画を描くようになりました。

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Q3: どの芸術家が先生に最も影響を及ぼしましたか?
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漫画家の高橋留美子先生、冨樫義博先生、小畑健先生の影響を受けました。

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Q4: 漫画家でなければ、どんな仕事をしているでしょうか?
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書店等で店員をしながら、趣味で同人活動をしていたと思います。

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Q5: 漫画家でなければ、どんな仕事をしているでしょうか?
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自分が経験してきた事、考えた事、伝えたいメッセージを形にしたいと思って漫画を描き始めました。その想いは今も同じで

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Q6.1: 先生の創造プロセスに関して私たちにほんの少し話してください。章を描くにはどのくらいの時間がかかりますか?
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24ページの漫画を描く場合、完成までの作業日数は約2週間です。

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Q6.2: 何人のアシスタントが先生と共に働いていますか? 最初のタスクは何ですか? 最後のタスクは何ですか?
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アシスタントはいません。 でも困った時にパートナーが簡単な作業を手伝ってくれています。 漫画の最初の作業は「プロット(お話の構成を考える作業)」です。最後の作業は「修正」です。 (プロット/ネーム/下書き/ペン入れ/ベタ/修正/トーン/仕上げの修正…の順です)

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Q7: 同人誌家として始めました、デッドライン以外に、アマチュアであること,プロであることの違いは何ですか?

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私の場合は同人誌は趣味で、商業誌はお仕事と言う感覚です。だからお仕事として漫画を描いていますが時間があれば同人誌も出したいです。

アマチュアとプロの違いは見た目ではわからないと思います。プロへの最初の条件は「原稿を完成させる事が出来るか」と「締め切りが守れるか」。アマチュアでもプロでも伝えたい事をしっかり描いている作品は面白いです。

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Q8:  百合漫画を読みますか?どのシリーズを読みますか?
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百合漫画は自分の漫画の掲載誌(「コミック百合姫」「楽園LeParadis」)と、友人の百合作品を読んでます。

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Q9: 海外ファンに何を尋ねたいですか?
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漫画を読んで「日本に行ってみたい」と思った事はありますか?

E: はい!「私は日本へ行きたい」と6か月ごとに思います。 ^_^;

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Q10: 何か海外のファンへのメッセージがありますか?
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百合漫画を書き始めた頃は海外の人達に私の漫画を読んでもらえる日がくるなんて夢にも思いませんでした。現在では、twitterやブログで海外の方から日本語や英語でメッセージをいただく事もあり、とても嬉しく思っています。どこの国の人も、人を想う気持ちは変わらないと思います。だから私はこれからも女の子同士の恋愛の愛しさや切なさを大事に大事に描いていこうと思います。

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あらためて竹宮先生に、貴重な時間を私達のために割いてくれたことを深く感謝したいと思います。これからも先生の作品の応援を続けていくことを楽しみにしています!

(小松さんによる翻訳. Thank you, Komatsu-san for translation of my intro and sign-off! ^_^)





Yuri Anime: Sweet Blue Flowers / Aoi Hana Disk 2 (English)

May 24th, 2013

swb Where Disk 1 of Sweet Blue Flowers was full of nostalgia and longing, Disk 2 is a brutally beautiful look at all the different kinds of pain people can inflict upon one another without ever meaning to – or wanting to – do so.

With the backdrop of the school play (and Sugimoto being simply too cool as Heathcliff,) Fumi finds herself unsure of her sempai’s feelings. As the days pass, she is more and more sure that Sugimoto likes someone else. When she discovers the truth and confronts Sugimoto, she finds an uncomfortable truth waiting for her, as well.

If the entire series was just this one disk, it would still be one of my favorites. The life lessons in it are deep and abiding. It’s a love song to young love and to Kamakura and to the springtime of youth. Above all, it is a love song to young girls who find themselves in love with other girls. You are not alone, you are not wrong, you can love and lose and love again. That’s a hell of a chorus and I am glad this series is out there, singing those important words.

I’ll say this once again, because it cannot be said too many times – despite her own words to the contrary, Fumi is an incredibly strong character. As I watched this series over again, I felt honored to be allowed to share in Fumi’s story.

The world could use more Fumis.

Ratings:

Art – 8 (with some lapses toward the last two episodes)
Story – 10
Characters – 10
Yuri – 8
Service – 8  Sugimoto as Heathcliff is pure service. ^_^

Overall – 9

I’m so on pins and needles about the end of the manga. I know what I want it to be, but what will it be? /worry worry/





Yuri Manga: Fu~Fu, Volume 2 (ふ~ふ)

May 9th, 2013

In Volume 1 of Minamoto Hisanari’s Yuri Manga series, we are introduced to a happy lesbian couple and their happy daily life. Sumi and Kinana are not without worries, but their lives are generally happy. They play house together, go shopping together, sleep in their pluffy bed together, as any couple might.

You might remember that this series was originally created for Yuri Hime S, a magazine that was overtly targeted towards a male moe-centric audience (the audience that now is catered to with Yuru Yuri.) Sumi and Kinana represented creatures rarely seen in that magazine – happy, adult lesbians.

You remember my Friedman Addendum to the Bechdel Test? One of the key points of the Addendum is the question “Does she have society?” So often in Yuri, we are reading a romance story, in which there are two, maybe three main characters. Everyone else fades into background furniture. But life is not like that for most people. Most people have coworkers, neighbors, relatives. And, so do Kinana and Sumi.

We are introduced to new neighbors (who just *happen* to also be a lesbian couple) and Kinana’s twin sister, Kanana, and her girlfriend, Shiroyuki. This world is not heavily populated, but there is society.

As the pages of Volume 2 of Fu~Fu  (ふ~ふ) open, Kina is approached by a strange woman who confesses to her. The resulting crisis is the product of a misunderstanding, but it adds yet another character to our cast, Arata. The rest of the story contains emotional turmoil, reconciliation, long talks, exciting shopping trips to the supermarket and other things that look exactly like a real life together. ^_^

The final chapters center around Sumi’s desire to have rings made for her and Kinana. As “wife and wife,” she thinks they ought to have that symbol of their bond. And so she does, but her friends – their society – want the full wedding ceremony and so they make one. It’s a grin-making climax and one that never fails to set my heart at ease and cause me to look goopily at my own wife, who invariably does the same back at me.

After all, we’re wife and wife. ^_^

Ratings:

Art – 9
Story – 9
Character – 10
Lesbian – 10
Service – 3

Overall – 10

If I had my way, I’d have a Drama CD for this series or a single-episode original anime as a deluxe edition of the manga.  A truly lovely series and very fun read.





Aoi Hana to End in July

May 8th, 2013

Aoi_Hana1ANN is reporting that Shimura Takako’s Yuri manga, Aoi Hana  will be coming to an end in the July issue of Manga Erotics F.

The Aoi Hana manga was picked up for translation by JManga in 2012 and the Sweet Blue Flowers anime was recently released by Nozomi/RightStuf.

8 volumes is a good solid run, so there’ll be no complaints from me. Thank you Shimura-sensei for such a wonderful series!

Thanks also to YNN Correspondent Orange Pekoe who wrote in to let us know the news.





Yuri Anime: Sweet Blue Flowers / Aoi Hana Disk 1 (English)

May 6th, 2013

swbWhen Manjoume Fumi returns home to Kamakura to go to high school, she’s pretty much forgotten her childhood best friend, Okudaira Akira. But circumstance has brought the two together again in what, for many Yuri fans, is the most-anticipated anime release of 2013.

Fumi is a Nadesico beauty, tall, with long black hair. She was – and still is – a crybaby, who as child often turned to energetic, assertive Akira, A-chan, for help. Their meeting is accidental, but they fall back into their old pattern without even realizing it. And, in a moment, the two of them are best friends once again, even though they go to different schools.

Fumi is caught up in cross-school event, the Drama Club’s play for the school festival – and even more caught up by the lead actress, Sugimoto Yasuko. Somewhat to her surprise, Fumi finds herself dating Sugimoto-sempai and liking it, despite having recently ended a disappointing affair with her cousin.

Everything in this series is classic Yuri, redolent with the smell of old school hallways and libraries filled with old books, until Fumi confesses to her new-old best friend that she’s in love with and dating another girl. A-chan does her best to support Fumi. When Fumi tells Sugimoto, she realizes instantly that Fumi is exceedingly strong. She’s right, but she doesn’t yet know how strong Fumi is. Aoi Hana may feel like it’s set in the Showa period, but Fumi is a Heisei girl – a contrast we’ll see again and again in this story.

However. It wasn’t Fumi’s achingly adorable personality that brought a tear to my increasingly sentimental eye this time. It was the title of the first episode. As the words Hana Monogatari (花物語り) appeared on the screen, I got something in my eye, or maybe it was my allergies. (;_;) Or, maybe, it was the reminder that I’m not the only person to think of Yoshiya Nobuko as a beloved ancestor to this genre.

Ratings:

Art – 9
Story – 9
Characters – 10
Yuri – 9
Service – 2

Overall – 9

Disk 1 of Sweet Blue Flowers was incredibly beautiful, with the hyper-realistic backgrounds that are so popular in anime right now and the source of so much destination tourism for fans in Japan. Despite it being a “Lucky Penny” discount release, the DVD set comes with a booklet of promotional art, so we get a great extra even with the lower price.

You know how Fumi feels about the halls of Fujigaya? I feel that way about this anime. It’s recent chronologically, but it is a Yuri classic, nonetheless. I am so thankful to Shimura-sensei for writing this manga, and for JC Staff for animating it. And I am very, very thankful to Nozomi/RightStuf for releasing it in English!