Archive for the English Manga Category


Yuri Manga: Iono-sama Fanatics (English)

May 25th, 2007

Today’s review was brought to you by Infinity Studios, the publisher of the English-language adaptation of Iono-sama Fanatics.

I reviewed this book originally on November 11, 2005. For a discussion of the plot and characters, please read my original review. For today’s review I am going to focus solely on the adaptation to English.

Unusually for me, I’d like to start with some of the good things. I am exceptionally pleased with the general level of reproduction (although my review copy was a PDF and not an actual book, so I can’t tell you how it will look on paper.) Color pages have been retained, which pleases me no end. The notes for the story are mostly very decent. I particularly liked the glosses on the notes about the characters and the roles from Mito Koumon upon which they they were loosely based. That worked for me and I felt that the translators were doing a decent job of keeping us readers included in the in-jokes within the book.

On the other hand…other than the “-sama” for “Iono-sama” they left out honorifics (and we all know how I feel about that.) If you could leave in one honorific, I am at a loss as to why you wouldn’t just leave in the others? The names of the characters are transliterated, which works fine for me (except that Aruje will inevitably be pronounced ah-rooj instead of ar-gee, but oh well…) and I admited a certain amount of uncertainty about some of the names myself when I reviewed it originally. But…Frechet (name transliteration taken from the 2007 Fujieda Miyabi Calendar I got at Comike, so the author’s own choice) is transliterated to “Fletch.” That’s just…I dunno…yucky. Frechet-san just seems tons cooler than Ms. Fletch, doesn’t it?

2015 Update: I was wrong here, but so was Infinity, IMHO. Flèche is her name, and while “Fletch” is the English translation…we don’t usually translate names. Argent was not “Silver.” And we’re past that Victorian “Princess Jade Perfume” bullshittery.

In general, the translation is decent, but the one or two times it isn’t, it’s horribly, disturbingly jarring. The first time it is not the translator’s fault.

There is a scene, late in the book, when Frechet (yes, I am going to continue to use the author’s version of the name) and Arata are making googly eyes at one another – obviously enough that everyone else can see it. Iono-sama jarringly asks if they are on the “L Word” together. I took a look back at the original Japanese and honestly, that particular passage would have been a bear to translate without being, well, crude. The points I take away for mentioning a current (and copyrighted…what’s the chances that they got permission?) TV show I give back because the actual sentence…ugh.

The second horribly egregious translation will not go unnoticed, however. Inexplicably, in the author’s note comic in the back of the book, where the word “moe” was used, it was left untranslated, but the word “Yuri” was translated – as “girl on girl.” Thank you, Infinity, for rendering the genre I live and love into a porn term. I wrote them and let them know that it offended.

It’s always nice to *politely* let companies know that the word “Yuri” can remain untranslated as well as “moe” can or, if they insist on translating it, to please use something less connotative of a porn movie, perhaps something like “lesbian stories” or “girls in love”.

Begin digression/

And while we’re on the topic, let ADV Films know that it annoys you when THEY did that very same thing in Best Student Council, Volume 1. You can reach them here: http://www.advfilms.com/FILMScontact.asp

I encourage you all to explain – politely, please – that Yuri fandom is well established enough that there’s no need to be so crude.

I have already contacted both companies, of course, and asked folks on the Yuricon Mailing List to do so as well. ADV sent me an apology for having offended and said that they’d send my message along to the translators.

In both cases I have no doubt that they did not *mean* to offend, but seriously – Yuri fans are the main audience for Iono-sama. It was, as Fujieda says in his comic, originally created as a Yuri story. (Not surprising, as he does quite a lot of Yuri – click his name in the category sidebar to see some of the others. A fact that, apparently, most other reviewers somehow missed.) I just feel that the companies would never have translated “Yaoi” as “gayboy sex” or “gay porn” and realistically, “girl on girl” is a porn term, not a reasonable way to describe Yuri.

\End digression.

One last bad thing about the translated Iono-sama is that there was a rather large typo on one of the character bios. Not a book killer, but I was kind of surprised it got past the editors, since it was really obvious. And yes, I emailed them about that, as well.

So. What do I think of the English adaptation of Iono-sama? I think it’s a nice attempt, but it falls flat in some key places. I would still recommend the book to Yuri fans, because the characters and story shine through the roughness of the adaptation on their sheer force of wonderfulness. ^_^

Ratings:

Art – 8
Story – 8
Characters – 9
Yuri – 10
Sevirce – 2 (it is, indeed, moe))
English Adaptation – 6 (without the Yuri issue, it would have definitely been higher.)

Overall – 9

Dear English manga companies – Yuri fans really don’t like being condescended to. Please treat us with respect. This may mean that you have to police the FanBoyness of your own staff. “Yuri” means lesbian images and narratives – not just girl on girl action (which if it were a porn anime, would be completely understandable!) We’re not prudes, we’re just certain that Yuri is more than hot lesbo sex. Thanks, Erica

For a Yuri manga that treats Yuri fans with respect, try one of our 100% Yuri manga from ALC Publishing! All honorifics intact and no insults to your intelligence! Yuri Monogatari 4, 5 and 6 – on sale now!





Yuri Manga: Kashimashi ~Girl Meets Girl, Volume 2 (English)

May 18th, 2007

I would like to start this review with a sad face in the direction of Seven Seas, since they told me that I’d be receiving review copies of their Yuri, but have so far not. Boo on you, S7.

Kashimashi ~ Girl Meets Girl, Volume 2, is, as was the first volume, an excellent adaptation into English. It is *such* a relief to be able to just have the honorifics as is, instead of watching the contortions of language necessary to make translations work, or to have to ignore the implied relationships because they have been removed. I’m not sure if it’s more like having an itch scratched or the absence of a pain one was barely aware of. In any case, It’s nice. :-)

Volume 2 focuses mostly on the creation and solidification of the three-way romance between Hazumu, childhood friend Tomari and first love Yasuna. We also learn that Hazumu not only lacks critical decision-making skills, but is tortured with the inability to make even the simplest choices. And, in between, we watch Hazumu’s best friend, Asuta, nosebleed over any number of situations with his formerly male, now a cute female, best friend. There’s also an odd chapter that explains Ayuki’s apparent passivity in human relationships, something that will come back later as the story develops.

I just went back and re-read my review of the Japanese edition of Kashimashi Volume 2 and I had to laugh at my last line, “I’ll tag along until it gets unbearable or Hazumu turns back into a guy, whichever comes first.” (But I can’t tell you why, just yet. The series has ended in Japan, although the final volume is not yet out. I’ll review the end when that becomes available.)

There are a few things I do want to comment on. One, the translation and adaptation remain excellent. I know how HARD it is to make translated manga make sense sometimes, and depending on the publisher, the title, the team, sometimes the translation is sensible…and sometimes not. This story actually makes sense in English – not something that is easy to do. Tomari’s tsundere (for non-otaku-speak people, call it “passive aggressive”) personality is especially handled well. It’s not just her being tsundere for the sake thereof…her reasons for her behavior are presented and explained in a way that actually makes sense.

Secondly, as a “transgender” story it’s probably not too bad. As Hazumu says, it’s not like she’s not confused or concerned from time to time, but everyone is treating her the same as always. Maybe that’s idealistic, but – isn’t that the ideal? We’re told, repeatedly, that Hazumu was very girly, he was like a girl, and in this volume, that he wanted to be a bride when he was a child. It’s not a huge leap to say that he was a girl in a boy’s body – again, dredging up Serge’s line at the ACen Yuri Panel, that the aliens fixed what nature had broken. So, in a sense, it is a representation of the ideal situation. That the person gains their true gender and everyone still loves them (in this case, more people love her now.)

As a story of lesbian love, it’s also idealistic. Neither Tomari nor Yasuna are concerned at *all* that they have feelings for another girl. The issue is not “I’m in love with a girl” but “I’m in love with Hazumu” which as it should be in a perfect non-assholish world. And really, the issue is “I won’t lose to her” more than anything else.

Lastly, I really enjoyed Ayuki imploring Hazumu, in her heart at least, to slow down and take her time and just enjoy the three-way dynamic. When, in the end chapter, god appears to concur, it somehow made me happy. I still think that the three of them make the least implausible threesome I’ve ever seen (something that the next volume will explore to a small degree.)

While we the audience might perceive this story to be about gender, by the end of Volume 2, it is no longer. Hazumu’s gender is female. Period. But we still talk about it, don’t we?

So, here’s today’s question for comment: If Hazumu turns back into a boy, would it affect your enjoyment of the series? Do you perceive this series as a Yuri series, a Transgender series or none of the above? Inquiring minds want to know!

Ratings:

Art – 8
Character – 8
Story – 7
Yuri – 8
Service – 5

Overall – 8

The more time I spend with these characters, the less I find anything to dislike.





Yuri Manga: Kedamono Damono

May 17th, 2007

Through luck or agency, I happen to have a plate full of manga and books that deal with gender identity – or, more accurately, use gender identity and gender roles as a springboard for their plots. I thought it might be interesting to review all of these in a row in no particular order whatsoever. I’m not sure if there’s a point to any of this, but it might be a good way to foster conversation on the relative merit of each – or not. Let’s see. :-)

So, we’re going to start off with Kedamono Damono, a silly shoujo manga with little or no merit. ^_^

Konatsu is the manager of her school’s boy’s basketball team and in love with one of the upperclassmen on the team. When she tracks down troublemaker Haruki to drag him to basketball camp, she learns that Haruki’s reluctance was due to his secret – at night he becomes a girl, and is overcome with “perverse” desires. Pretty quickly, female Haruki devlops a relationship with Konatsu, who is happy enough to be doing such “perverse” things with her. In his male form Haruki is awkward and pathetic – he and Natsuo are always on one side or the other of a misunderstanding, but it’s fairly apparent that he loves her and vice versa. For her part, she wants him to say he loves her in his day form, since she’s already gotten that from his night form. He wants to do something super special and just keeps effing up for many and various complications which masquerade as the plot.

If one takes one’s brain away, this story is cute. There’s no doubt that Konatsu is happy with Haruki’s female form – she says as much, that she enjoys her relationship with Haruki as a girl, a lot. She just wants both sides of Haruki, which wouldn’t be asking too much if there was any sense to this story at all. ^_^

Haruki’s painful awkwardness sort of ruins what could be a sweet manga, because as a boy he’s a total spaz. He keeps finding himself in dumb situations because of his inability to communicate, something I term the “Jondalar syndrome, after the lead male of a Jean Auel book in which the *entire* plot was predicated upon the fact that Ayla and Jondalar simply never spoke to one another. And thus it is here. We know that Konatsu and Haruki are, indeed, spending nights together. In all that time apparently they cannot simply have a conversation. It mars what is otherwise a fairly enjoyable manga. Of course, should they actually *discuss* their feelings, the manga would have to end and all of shoujo manga would be reduced to “I like you” “I like you too, let’s go out.” “Okay.” And we simply cannot have that, can we?

The gender issue is handled as a gag. Haruki clearly perceives it as a curse and a secret to hide. This is not Hazumu of Kashimashi, where, as Serge puts it, the aliens fixed what nature broke. Haruki does not want to be, nor is he reconciled to being, a woman. I found it got tired pretty shortly after Konatsu made it clear that she didn’t care in the least. His continued mortification exhausted me. That he tried to hide his family from Konatsu because they too switch gender at night, was just stupid. Obviously, she was okay with it, doofus. Use your words and explain things. She’ll understand.

If I were smarter, I’d insert a clever comment here about how Haruki’s gender switching could represent his unconscious desire to connect with women which he does by becoming one. Or that, more probably, it represents his still immature sexual desire which, since it is not given as outlet as a male, is given leave to be expressed as a female – since we all know that sex between women isn’t “real” sex. But I’m not feeling that smart today. I encourage you all to theorize in the comments section. Why do *you* think Haruki turns into a girl? (Saying something obvious like, “It’s a plot complication to drive a mediocre shoujo romance manga” is forbidden. I will not accept a paucity of imagination in this. Be creative. Be more creative than the mangaka. “That shouldn’t be too hard,” says the wife.)

In any case, Haruki as a girl is significantly less dorky than Haruki as a boy (she is even drawn less dorky, with an emphasis on graceful and sexy curves, where boy Haruki is awkward angles and jerky motions) and gets more kisses too. There is a lesson in that, I have no doubt. ^_^ One of my justifications for calling this a Yuri manga is that what physical relationship we see is largely between the two girls. Another is that calling it a “sexual minority/gender identity manga” is clunky and calling it a transgender manga isn’t accurate – certainly no more than the Yuri label.

Whether this manga remains readable will have a lot to do with how the mangaka portrays Haruki dealing with his gender switching. If he just learns to deal, that would be nice. Konatsu and Haruki like each other, that’s not really in question. But will Haruki have to resolve the gender issue, or can he simply be who he is and still get the girl? My guess is that the next complication (since Konatsu already has another guy after her) will be that girl Haruki is pursued by a guy, with ensuing complications. I’m willing to wait it all out, if I could just be sure that the end wouldn’t suck. ^_^;

For a transgender story, I’d score it pretty low. Not something I’d give to someone who was trying to find themselves in our irritatingly rigid two-gender system. But Haruki makes a pretty good bisexual character, so maybe there is a silver lining in this particular cloud.

Ratings:

Art – 7
Characters – 5, with flashes of 7
Story – 6
Yuri – a bent sort of 7
Service – 5

Overall – 7

As withAkane from Ranma 1/2, I find myself hoping that Konatsu will be left alone to enjoy the best of both worlds. ^_^





Yuri Manga: Read or Dream, Volume 4 (English)

May 15th, 2007

Once again, I have the pleasure of thanking Ted for his sponsorship of today’s review! Yay Ted!

What is there to say about Read or Dream, Volume 4 that hasn’t been said already? I mean that literally, since I reviewed the story in some detail two years ago. ^_^

Here are links to the first and second parts of the Japanese edition review. (There are many spoilers, since I was reviewing the Japanese-language edition for people who I expected did not know the language.)

As with all the other English-language volumes of Read or Dream, Volume 4 is translated well enough that you get the humor, the irony, the adventure and the latent sexual tension. There’s nothing to complain about (except the lack of honorifics.) If anything, this volume reads the most smoothly of all of them. It’s reproduced exactly the same as the others, with no color pages, and the story that originally ran on the cover under the dust jacket translated in pages at the end of the book.

So, really, there’s nothing to be said about Volume 4 that hasn’t already been said…except this. When mail comes and Anita receives a copy of Hisami’s book, Maggie also receives a letter…from overseas. And blushes mightily, when Michelle assumes it’s a love letter. Since it is clearly from Faye, from way back in Volume 1, we can smile and think, why yes, yes it is.

Ratings:

Art – 7
Story – 8
Character – 8
Yuri – 7

Overall – 8

The big downside is *still* no Nenene. I want a new series with grumpy, grown-up Nenene and her biggest fan, Yomiko, traveling post ROD The TV. Waaah. (OK, OK, I admit it…I wrote it already in a fanfic.





Murder Princess Manga and Anime

May 7th, 2007

After the end of a long day trekking around Tokyo, and a visit to the Meiji shrine on what was perhaps the busiest day of the year, I, my wife and our intrepid friend Bruce decided to brave the crowds in Harajuku, for a spot of used manga shopping at Book-Off. It nearly killed us, but the wife did manage to snag me a copy of the Murder Princess manga. It’s the story of a bounty hunter that switches bodies with a Princess, and takes over the role. Very fun, very me.

Now it’s out as a monthly anime OVA release and there’s an English edition of the manga. (Many thanks to Ted for a copy of the translated version!) Although it really isn’t in any way Yuri, fandumb has already begun the contortions needed to justify the “relationship” they see between the two female leads. And since I have a rant that will fit nicely into that space, I thought I’d take a moment to review the series. ^_^

Okay, so to start, bounty hunter Farith is an “outside dog” as we call them around my house. She lives on her own terms, accompanied by Shinigami Dominikov and Troll Pete as her teammates. It’s instantly apparent that she’s got the chops to live this life successfully – she’s a strong, competent woman.

Princess Alita Forland is escaping a coup d’etat when she quite literally runs headlong into Farith. They plummet over a cliff only to wake to find that they have switched bodies. Luckily for everyone, mad sword skillz transfer with your personality. Alita, now in Faris’ body asks Faris to return to her kingdom to save it. Manga and anime differ slightly on how this is accomplished, but in both cases Farith, now in Alita’s body, defeats the usurper and restores peace to the kingdom with points for style and extra credit for enjoying the killing part a lot. (Something I also liked about Xena. I enjoy watching a woman who enjoys her work. ^_^) Princess Alita takes on the name and role of her deceased lady-in-waiting, Milano, to allow Farith to rule in her place. Thus the “Murder Princess’ is born.

Anime and manga differ strongly in the followup, as Alita is crowned and a festival parade is held. I was marginally irritated by the anime’s take on it, wherein the newly crowned Queen goes beserker and almost kills a little girl. I far preferred the manga version, where Alita Mark 2 is cool and competent from beginning to end. Nevertheless, in both versions Alita 2.0 is a force to be reckoned with.

The story itself is constructed with a very old-school feeling, which is oddly refreshing. It has many Slayers-esque elements, although it is not primarily a comedy. Murder Princess is an action series with comedy elements. I liked it immediately upon reading the first volume, and I like the anime even more with the addition of Paku Romi as Alita 2.0’s voice. Perfect fit in every way. And not just ’cause she makes me swoon. (Although, the wife comments, that *does* help.)

The translation of the manga is fine. It’s not stunning, it’s not terrible. There’s a tendency to be hip and timely which I think is a *bad* choice, because is a few months or years those “jokes” will only seem dorky and painful. But nothing that makes me see red or anything. Reproduction-wise, the manga is also okay. The paper is oddly heavy…and sharp, which means that as well as being a fun manga, there’s several ways you can use it as a weapon. An added bonus for this series, I think. ^_^

And now we reach the crux of the matter – the Yuri. In the anime, particularly, screencaps are floating around showing a picture from the end credits of “Milano” (Alita 1.0) and “Princess Alita” (formerly Faris) smiling, embracing and looking like they were caught in a moment of sharing a joke; screencaps of Milano weeping as she embraces the dress of her deceased lady in waiting whose name and identity she has now taken, and; a screencap of Milano embracing the Princess to stop her from beserking. These and some other moments, such as Milano admiring her own body being wielded so skillfully against her enemies, are used as “proof” of the Yuri.

Here’s my objection 1: Milano is admiring the way her body moves. Not admiring it for its sexiness, but for the way it now can function. She tells us all of this, I’m not making it up.

Objection 2: It’s their own bodies. Speaking for myself, if the wife and I switched bodies, it would take some massive time for me to start to find my own body attractive. It would flip me out the door, frankly. Now, hell, maybe Farith and/or Alita thought they were the sexiest things on the planet and sure, they’d love to sleep with themselves I’m sure there’s plenty of narcissists out there who think that. I don’t see it. Not in these two…certainly not yet.

Objection 3, plus bonus rant: What, I ask you, is wrong with you people who see two women embracing and think “Yuri!” Have you people never heard of friendship, caring, sisterly and motherly affection???? Women hug all the time without it meaning they are in love. You know – friends, family, etc. I have no qualms at all about saying that Alita, now Milano, loved the original Milano. That’s absolutely apparent. In love with her? No. She loved Milano as she would a sister, a dear friend, a boon companion. Surely that should be sufficient a depth of feeling. How sad that that isn’t enough for some people. Milano embracing Alita? Not a sign of Yuri. It is a sign of a woman who is in love – with her people and her country. That was the whole point of the episode, folks. That Milano loves her country so much, she would do *anything* for it – even give up the throne to a bounty hunter, because she could keep her country safe.

In conclusion – Milano x Alita – fandumb might see it. I don’t. I *would* like to see the two of them be really good friends and come to care about each other…you know, like people do.

Ratings:

Art: Anime/Manga – 7
Story: Manga – 8 Anime – 7
Characters: Anime/Manga – 8 (I particularly like Dominikov)
Yuri: Anime/Manga – 1
Service: Anime/Manga – 4 (some nudity, crotch shots)

Overall – 8

Action, adventure, comedy, nice old-school feel. I think my biggest complaint is going to be that the series will end too soon.