Archive for the Events Category


Yuriten 2019 in Osaka, Guest Report by Zoey B.

April 12th, 2019

This week is a super-special week – we had a guest review from Christian LeBlanc earlier this week and today, we have a special Guest Event Report! Zoey B. has once more been able to visit the Yuriten Exhibit in Osaka and has returned bearing pictures and a report for us all! I hope you will all welcome Zoey back once more and make her feel welcome. Take it away, Zoey!

Yuriten is a small exhibition and shop of all things related to Yuri held yearly, hosted by Village Vanguard and Kadokawa. It focuses on Yuri in manga as well photographers and illustrators whose work is on the theme of Girls Love. It began in 2016 and this year is being held in over 5 different locations across Japan: Tokyo, Osaka, Sendai, Nagoya, and Fukuoka. The Osaka exhibit has just finished, and starting this weekend will move to Sendai.

This time of the year brings warmer weather and cherry blossoms across Japan, making for picturesque romantic scenes under the cherry blossoms trees – and also, all the Yuri you could ask for! This year’s event is bigger, and if I might say, better than last year’s – not only just in the number of locations, but the participating authors and material on display as well. I was fortunate to attend last year’s event in Osaka, and again this year.

The Osaka event was held in the same place as last year – in the event hall atop a huge shopping centre, Namba Parks, in the center of the city. People were free to come and go as they pleased, which made the amount of people there heartening. I went with my wife again this year – which I think is becoming a yearly tradition. We were fortunate to go on a weekday, at a quieter hour, as we were able to take our time with each one and not feel rushed. I say that, because we actually went again this past weekend to quickly purchase something and the amount of people there was quite significant!

As you walk in, the employees usher you towards the set route that’s laid out, going through the displayed artwork, sectioned off by author, photographer, or illustrator. I could tell immediately the difference from last year’s – there were a lot more on display than before! The route goes through the artworks and any messages from the authors, and also has some nice surprises, such as a poster for the event covered in the signatures of the participants.

 

 

 

 

At the end of artwork displays, it opens up into the shop. The amount of goods in the shop also helps to show how much bigger the event is this year. Like the exhibit, each participant or series had its own display and respective goods, and the area where you lined up to pay was full of all kinds of Yuri-related publications. Last year had a good range of the popular series, but we were happy to see some we’d had never come across, and other less-known works being collected and released by various publishers. From Comic Yuri Hime serializations and Galette Works, to probably some manga that I could argue weren’t Yuri, but maybe had some elements – there was a pretty vast range.
However, something special to note this year had to be the Yuriten Chronicle. It’s a nicely-printed A4 book, collecting of all the featured artists and artwork showcased at Yuriten from 2016-2018.

 

 

 

You can have the chance to get one of your manga signed by your favourite author, if you  attend and make a purchase on the weekend. This is done by lottery, as you can imagine the amount of people jumping at the chance. We did not partake in this, sadly, but it seemed like a relatively organized and calm affair.

Yuriten all finishes off as you exit the shop, with massive boards full of sticky notes – any visitor can write a message or draw an image, and these are really sweet to read through as you leave. My personal favourite had to be the person who wrote, “I want a 2DK, G-Pen anime”. On our second visit, my wife pointed out that the sticky notes began filling up the walls as well. Seeing all the little notes is a great reminder that there is an audience for this event! And that people are just as excited about Yuri as you are.

 

 

Yuriten may not have the craziness that Comiket or Comitia bring, but as an event, it has its own charm. Both my wife and I look forward to seeing how it grows from here. If you get a chance to attend one these events whether this year or in the future and are a fan of Yuri (or even just interested!), I would definitely recommend paying a visit.

 

Erica here: Thank you again Zoey! I’m very sorry I’m missing the event this year (I met Kawamoto-san from Kadoawa last February at Comitia and all we both could do is apologize to one another for poor timing,) but if anyone has a chance to see it in any of the other cities, please let us know. We’d love pictures of the setup! ^_^





100 Years of Yuri at Toronto Comic Arts Festival!

April 4th, 2019

This week, you can listen to the me talk 100 Years of Yuri with the fine folks at Anime World Order. Check out Anime World Order Show # 173 – 100 Years of Yuri with Most Dangerous Erica Friedman, Yuri Bodhisattva. We’ll be talking about the Asagao to Kase-san movie.

We timed that beautifully, because Toronto Comic Arts Festival, May 11-12, 2019 in Toronto, Ontario, announced that Kase-san creator Takashima Hiromi will be a guest at TCAF and I’ll be talking with her about Kase-san and Yuri!  I am so impossibly excited, I can barely stand it. ^_^

I’ll be presenting a talk at the Japan Foundation during TCAF on 100 Years of Yuri, as well. TBA on that.

AND, I’m curating a 100 Years of Yuri exhibition in the Gallery Display at Page & Panel in the Toronto Reference Library! These are objects out of my personal library – some of these  items have not been out of the house since the Yurisai event Yuricon ran in in 2007.

TCAF is open to the public, there is no admission fee. There will be a ton of awesome panels and workshops and so, so many terrific comic artists and books to read and buy.

Thanks ever so much to Jocelyne Allen and all the fantastic people at Seven Seas and TCAF for helping make this a reality. I cannot think of a better place and a better group to  kick this celebration into high gear.

I hope you’ll join me at this terrific comic event and help me celebrate 100 Years of Yuri!

 





Sailor Moon Super Live Event Report

March 31st, 2019

Sailor Moon fandom is, without question, the most charming, delightful and adorable group of people on the planet. I mean that so sincerely. A more joyful, happier group of people I cannot even imagine.

Yesterday, it was my sincere pleasure to gather together with 2000 of the cutest people in the world, decked out in glorious finery as their favorite Senshi, or in Sailor Moon-inspired clothing, with ribbons and bows and handbags and t-shirts and back packs, all proclaiming their love of this lovable series to see Sailor Moon Super Live.

The performance is not quite a musical and not quite a play. It is more properly a pantomime of the key elements of the first Sailor Moon Arc, accompanied by singing, dancing and a host of really fun stage effects. The opening was worth every penny as the effects allowed integration of manga panels, and animated fore and backgrounds. We are able to enjoy rather sophisticated quick-takes on scenes like Mamoru and Usagi meeting, the gathering of the Senshi and the various battles.  The fight scenes, which combined effects, were especially fantastic when, for instance, black light effects turned Usagi’s classmates into monsters and stage elements, lighting and CGI effects combined for attacks and scenery. All of which made for a fun and dramatic stage. There were subtitles being shown but at one point, they had become rather silly, so when Kunzite was laughing evilly – about all he had for lines – I joked that I was surprised it wasn’t subtitled. ^_^ “Bwahahahah. Hahaha. Haha…” Random spoken lines are also displayed in the background as manga panels. Having seen this, I now understand why it’s called a “2.5D Musical” and I think it works.

The songs sung during the show are all original and, IMHO, mostly forgettable, except the song sung by the Senshi to encourage Sailor Moon, which was spot-on for their temperament and relationship to Usagi, and which was reprised during the concert portion of the show. The concert also included “La Soldier” and an extended version of “Moonlight Densetsu” to which we all sang along.

We had paid for the VIP seating, so when the show was over, we got high fives and hand shakes from the cast and a Super Live fan, along with the concert light stick and t-shirt we had bought before the show. The concert light stick could change colors and I giggled every time we all dutifully changed the color to match whomever was singing. We’re such nerds. ^_^

We spoke with folks about the amazing variety of goods and clothes and designs we saw. A lot of the stuff was fan-created, but without difficulty, we saw official Sailor Moon goods from Her Universe and Torrid/Hot Topics (I was wearing my old Inner Senshi HT shirt from the first time they carried Sailor Moon goods back in the 2000s, and people were recognizing it, which means we’ve all been doing this a long effing time. ^_^). And of course folks trotted out their Japanese brand goods – my wife carried her Sailor Moon x Gu collaboration purse, filled with Sailor Moon hand towel and gashopon Sailor Moon locket purses from Japan. Everyone was decked out in their Sailor Moon finest. 

Before and after the show, there was a flurry of photo activity. I took a few pictures of folks who were dressed up. One set of Haruka and Michiru were magnificently cosplaying as this cosplay magazine photoshoot. They looked so good we recognized them cosplaying as this cosplay. How amazing is that?

 

This group we encountered on the street outside the theater. I asked them if I could use this picture.

For some pictures of the cast and from the performance, check out this article on Theatermania. Unexpectedly, Forbes(!) also has an article on the show and short trailer, as well.

The only, only down side was that the music was so loud, it fuzzed out sometimes. This worked okay for the bad guys’ distortion music, but less so when it was meant to be melodic. I’d totally see this again, but bring earplugs to cut back on the noise. 

Ironically, the night before we had gone to see a bit of contemporary dance, Elizabeth, the dance, by Ann Carlson, which was also a kind of pantomime of female dance choreographers’ work, so as we sat through Sailor Moon Super Live, it felt kind of like it was the same – homage to a pop culture phenomenon as the dance troupe paid homage to high culture phenomenon.

Sailor Moon Super Live was a heck of a collage to celebrate of 25 years of a pop culture phenomenon.

 





100 Years of Yuri Tour with Yuricon and Pac-Set Travel

January 31st, 2019

I’ve been promising you something big and amazing for the 100th anniversary of Yuri. Here we go…!

Yuricon, a celebration of Yuri in anime and manga, and Japan travel leader PacSet (PacSet Tours Inc.) have joined forces to launch the first guided trip to Japan dedicated to the Yuri genre of Japanese animation and manga. The trip will take place September 8 -September 17, 2019

We’ll be touring the Kanto area, hitting up sites (like Rei’s shrine from Sailor Moon!) that appear in well-known Yuri anime, shopping in Akihabara, Tokyo Station Character Street, Harajuku and Ikebukuro. The trip will include an overnight stay in Kamakura where Sweet Blue Flowers takes place – and a visit to a hot springs resort. And we’ll be visiting a Shinto shrine festival, where you can enjoy the festival foods and games.  The trip will wrap up with a visit to the Girls Love Fest, a Yuri-only comic market, where you can but parody doujinshi about your favorite couples from popular anime.

This tour will include friendly informal lectures about Yuri, meals with the group, and plenty of time for you to head out on your own and shop. We’re working on getting some guests to join us to speak about Yuri from different perspectives. There will be room parties and plenty of hanging out, chatting about Yuri and eating junk food.  

Okazu Patrons will receive a discount on the trip and special goods when we get there!  

For more details, please see the official press release. 

Share the news with folks on your social media and communities, too. The trip is open to anyone who wants to join us and we’d love to have you there with us celebrating 100 years of Yuri!

Sign up for the 100 Years of Yuri Trip here!





Celebrating 100 Years of Yuri 2019 Event Schedule

January 22nd, 2019

Here are the events I have confirmed (barring weather or other disasters) for 2019.  

Comitia – February 17, Tokyo
Join me at Japan’s best original comics event. Browse and buy original Yuri from some of your favorite creators!

TCAF: The Toronto Comic Arts Festival – May 11-12, Toronto
TCAF is, in my opinion, the finest North American comics event. Steeped in the love of creating and enjoying comics, TCAF is a dream event for folk who love original, unique and global comics. I hope to be moderating panels here and possibly presenting programming on Yuri artistic and literary history!

Queers and Comics – May 17-18, 2019, NYC
Queers & Comics is a symposium and festival rolled into one. Pane;s by comic artists and researchers and publishers 100% focused on queer comics.  Biannual and bi-coastal, Q&C returns to NYC once again this spring.  I’ll be moderating a Queer Manga panel with panelists who know more about it than me. ^_^

Yurithon à/at Otakuthon – August 16-18, 2019, Montreal
Yurithon is a Yuri-focused programming track at Otakuthon. We’ll be bringing our 100th anniversary of Yuri to this great crowd and I guarantee a great time at panels celebrating Yuri

Anime NYC – November 15-17, 2019, NYC 
AnimeNYC  is everything you wanted New York ComicCon to be, but it never was. With big media guests and small fan panels, and a Javits Center full of vendors all selling stuff we might actually want to buy, AnimeNYC is a great balance of everything. I had a lot of fun there this year and will be bringing our traveling celebration withe us to Javits

And….we will be launching a once-in-a-lifetime 100th anniversary event very soon. The curtain’s still down, but get ready, this is gonna be a big one. ^_^ 

This schedule will be updated as we add new events.

You can help celebrate the 100th anniversary of Yuri at your event, organization or school!  Contact your local con, university or organization and suggest me as a speaker. Contact me with any opportunities.