Archive for the Events Category


New Beginnings – Yuricon 2023 Online

January 1st, 2023

Happy New Year! Like the rabbit it is associated with, I am leaping into 2023 with new ideas and projects. One of my projects for the year is celebrate the 20th anniversary of our all-Yuri convention in 2003 with Yuricon 2023 as a series of presentations and panels to be held online throughout the year on Yuri Studio.

I’ve chosen this format for three reasons – #1 accessibility. I want as many people as possible to be able to participate. #2 Tripledemic and inflation have made travel untenable again. #3 Convenience. It won’t matter if folks can’t make it one day or another, the entire event will be available to everyone for free anytime online.

For my part, I’m planning a series of interviews with folks who have been leaders in Yuri fandom, research and scholarship and the industry. As the year progresses, I hope you will offer your own panels and presentations as part of the schedule.

Have an idea for a panel or presentation for Yuricon 2023? Here’s how to apply!

1. Fill Out The Panel/Presentation Application Form

Treat this like any application to a convention: If your panel/presentation is accepted, you ought to consider yourself committed to doing a panel/presentation.

Topics are up to you. You can fan out about a series that has changed your life, or talk about a subgenre of Yuri you love. Whatever you’d like to talk about is perfectly fine! This is a Yuricon – go wild.

If you want panelists, it is on you to find panelists and get them on board. I’m working on my own. ^_^

2. Schedule a Date for Recording

I will provide a Zoom space for the panel and record it, then it will be posted as part of Yuricon 2023 on Yuri Studio on YouTube channel.

I’m making this that easy because I really want you all come up with ideas so we can enjoy a whole year of Yuricon 2023. ^_^

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The application form is live and the final date of Yuricon 2023 online is December 31, 2023, so you have a whole year to make your Yuri panel dream come true! I look forward to hearing from you and I’ll see you at Yuricon 2023.





Yuri & BL Conversation Tonight at CasaCon!

December 16th, 2022

Tonight, at 8PM Eastern US time please join myself and BL scholar James Welker as we interview each other about our respective books on Yuri and Boy’s Love at CasaCon on Discord! We’ll be chatting in Panel Room 1 on the CasaCon Discord.

CasaCon is free and virtual and everyone is invited. Register on Eventbrite.

Bring your questions about BL & Yuri and about our books. ^_^





Catch These Hands, Volume 3

December 5th, 2022

It was in March 2020 when I reviewed Watashi no Kobushi wo Uketomete, Volume 3 ( 私の拳をうけとめて). Re-reading that review, honestly, I can add little to it for this review, so I will quote myself liberally. ^_^ My apologies in advance. 

In Volume 2, Takebe has hit the end of her rope in trying to be a new person. She’s not feeling the support from Soramori she thought she’d get. For her part, Kirara is half jealous and half frustrated by Takebe’s search to become someone else. They stop speaking, both confused as how to move forward.

As I said in my review of the Japanese Volume 3: The problem is not that they aren’t enjoying each other’s company…Takebe starts to really understand what Soramori means to her when they aren’t hanging out. And it’s not that they are rivals, Soramori, realizes as days go by when they aren’t speaking. But something is off and they both know it. In Catch These Hands, Volume 3, Takebe reaches back into her past to try and create a new future…in the wrongest way possible, by assuming that she can’t move forward until she’s settled the past with KiraraAfter taking to Maria (and training for the confrontation that’s coming,) Takebe calls Soramori to the park to have it out the old-fashioned way. The way they know, the way they met each other. She challenges her former gang-member rival girlfriend to a fight. And fight they do.

And, at last, Soramori understands. THIS is the woman she fell in love with. This is the self she wants to be. And when she beats Takebe into the ground with one final punch, she finds that the two of them really enjoyed beating the heck out of each other.  

As the volume comes to a close, they have – as far as they are able – to communicate that they want to continue dating. And now, maybe they can stop worrying about being something they are not.

Ratings:

Art – 7
Story – 7
Characters – 8
Service – 0
Yuri – 5

The team at Yen Press did a great job. Amanda Hadley’s translation of the gang patois works for Takebe. This story is a lot of fun, again. ^_^

Volume 4 is headed our way next spring!





‘By Your Side’ Interview at Kinokuniya NYC

December 2nd, 2022

This week, I had the incredible pleasure of being interviewed a Kinokuniya NYC in midtown New York City. I cannot begin to tell you how much fun this was! Thanks so much to everyone at the store, especially Ariel, the interviewer. We held the interview right as people walked into the store, so we had quite an audience. I signed some books – and even had a few folks there pick some up. Thanks to the folks who came by!

Once again, I’ll ask you to give this video a watch and a “like” on the Kinokuniya Youtube Channel. It helps them and lets them know that they made a good choice to have me. ^_^ Here’s the whole interview:

 

 

If you’d like to share some shorter clips, they also had me do a pitch for my book… ^_^

 

…and then read a short segment.

 

Please feel free to share any of these and comment on YT! Thank you all for making By Your Side a success and thanks again to everyone at Kinokuniya NYC and Kinokuniya USA for their support.

You can find By Your Side: The First 100 Years of Yuri Anime and Manga at Kinokuniya, online or at bookstores near you!





The Yuri View From Anime NYC

November 21st, 2022

Typically, I would be writing an event report for today, telling you about all the great stuff I did, but this year, for the first time in almost a decade, I was behind a table the whole time and saw almost nothing of the actual event. But there’s a fair chunk of Yuri news out of AnimeNYC, so I thought I’d run those down for you in short order.

First of all, thanks very much to AnimeNYC for inviting me and all of you who came by and bought copies of By Your Side: The First 100 Years of Yuri Anime And Manga! And thanks to those who brought your copy to be signed. That was fun. ^_^

Zack Davisson commented that it was ballsy that I had a pre-printed sold-out sign…but I knew you folks could do it. ^_^ It was a blast hanging with him and paneling with Zack and Abby Denson.

Secondly, thanks to my next door neighbors in the artist alley, the world-class Patabot. I totally picked up a “In the name of the Moon, I will fuck you up!” t-shirt, but they also have awesome pins and stickers. Do check them out. Trust me, you’ll love them!

So let’s get on to the good stuff.

First thing I saw was Global Bookwalker’s TATESC  vertical scrolling service is launching with, among other titles, Lilies, by Yuto Komiya. The first chapter can be downloaded for free.

HIDIVE had this banner for The Executioner And Her Way Of Life, which was nice to see. Sorry for the unedited images but I have some Thai Yuri to watch and no patience with formatting today. ^_^

The Gundam installation included a lovely display of the mobile suits and Suletta from The Witch From Mercury…and a giant Aerial model!

Which, by the way is why I have decided that, while I may buy Miorine and Suletta figuarts, I won’t be getting Aerial. After looking at so many Gundam models I realize they all look exactly the same to me. Don’t @ me. ^_^

News at Anime NYC was fantastic!

Crunchyroll is going to be streaming Yuri Is My Job! anime in spring 2023. Looking forward to seeing how this does. It’ll be funny, but will it work?

Kodansha licensed one of my favorite series right now, Kuzushiro’s Amayo no Tsuki as The Moon on a Rainy Night. (image from OASG on Twitter.) I have been waiting on this announcement for a while. You can read my reviews of Volume 1, Volume 2 and Volume 3 here on Okazu. I think this is an outstanding series and I’m thrilled we will get it in English.

I thought I’d wrap this up with a reminder that By Your Side: The First 100 Years of Yuri Anime And Manga is lesbian approved and you should totally get it. ^_^

I’ve spent the last week reading my head off, so more reviews to come this week!