Archive for the Events Category


AnimeNYC Event Report, Pt. 2 – And the Winner is…!

November 18th, 2019

Have I mentioned that AnimeNYC 2019 was fabulous? It was, genuinely, fabulous. I’ve written a post about the event for The Comics Beat which sums up my feelings from a “professional” point of view: NYC’s Anime Con Wars Are Over & AnimeNYC Is The Clear Winner.

Today I want to tell you how much fun  *I* had. ^_^

My con began on Thursday with meeting my dear friend and periodic roommate, Sean Gaffney. Sean’s blog A Case Suitable for Treatment covers everything in English. I go there when I need to figure out if I need to read something that’s out in English and he loves to talk about what he’s reading. I trust him with recommendations, and this time he recommended that I read JK Haru is a Sex Worker in Another World. I read and loved the cold clinical approach to Edo-period sex work in Moyoco Anno’s Sakuran,so… but I get ahead of myself.

Sean and I went to the industry party where we chatted with folks from Yen and Kodansha, among others. We’re all sort of professionally awkward and goofy, so I’ve gotten better at faking social skills. ^_^ I caught up with translator Mari Morimoto just long enough to give her all the stuff I’d bought her in Japan over the last three trips. ^_^;  She was doing interpretation for the Guest of Honor, so had to hustle all weekend long.

Last year, you may remember, it snowed the Thursday befoere AnimeNYC. This year we were able to get the view from the rooftop garden.

Friday began late. The panels at AnimeNYC opened at 10:30, but the DR wasn’t open until 1PM. So Sean and I caught up with comics and manga writer Brigid Alverson. We bummed around until the DR opened then went our separate ways. I wasn’t paneling until 3, so I had some time to introduce myself to some of the folks at Sentai Filmworks. One of my complaints about Sentai has always been that they are good on license announcements and bad about letting people know when stuff is available. They’ve got a new marketing person, Hannah and she has been changing that. I picked up The Bloom Into You Premium Box set and was given a spiffy Revue Starlight lanyard which I’m keeping and plan on using at other events! They licensed Fragtime which was announced right before the anime premiered.

I dropped by the Yen booth, too for a quick hello. They were doing crafts – you could make a teruterubouzu. It was all very cute.

While walking around before panels, I ran into these lovely ladies cosplaying Bloom Into You‘s Yuu and Touko. This picture is being used with permission.

Eventually it was time for me to head to panels to present 100 Years of Yuri one last time this year. The crowd was amazing! Great questions. As usual, I gave out prizes for good questions. Masha gave me a couple of adorable pins (you can see her table with pins here) which I just love. Thanks Masha!

One of the questions asked about terms for fans of Yuri, the way fujoshi and fudanshi were used for BL fans. In response I went on a rant about why the women were “rotten” in that term. They were rotten for having a hobby that had to do with sex that didn’t involve their husbands or boyfriends. Effectively the reason the women are rotten is for having any space of their own that isn’t about the men they give all their time and energy to. Have I never explained how much I hate that? Well. I hate it.  The terms Himejoshi and Himedanshi are stupid. Just flat out idiotic. For one thing, why are fandoms gendered at all, I asked. Why we are not all just…people.

And then I decided that we need a new word. So, I have officially announced that “Yuri fans” are to be hereafter known as “Yurijin,” (百合人) – Yuri People.

Like the word “Yuri,” I did not coin that, but I am endorsing it. It is not gendered, includes no age, sexuality or any other limits. Yuri is for anyone who enjoys Yuri. Yurijin are anyone who enjoys Yuri.

A new, queerer Yuri genre deserves a new, more inclusive word. ^_^

After that I talked with some folks, including translator and editor Kristi Fernandez of Vertical, who runs the Japanese Translators of NYC group. We had a fantastic conversation.

At last it was time for my final panel, “!? vs ?! The Great Debate” in which translator Zack Davisson and I argue loudly and vociferously about whatever random topics. It’s always fun. Especially when I win. Poor Zack took a beating. ^_^

I was off the clock after this, since all the things I wanted to do were against something else I had to do, so I wasn’t doing any coverage of panels.

Erik Ko of Udon Entertainment and a bunch of us went out to dinner where we had a lovely time until they closed the restaurant around us. Erik was so vexed…he was going to bring a copy of The Rose of Versailles, Volume 1, but they didn’t arrive at the office until he was in NYC. 

Saturday started early because people who are not me had panels to get to! I basically finished up my wandering the DR, where I saw really fun stuff. There’s a ton of VR games including, inexplicably, a Spice and Wolf VR game. It’s the anime, but you go through it as the lead character. (YMMV of course, but economics in first-person is no more interesting to me than in third person. ^_^;)

I played slot cars for the first time in decades at the 5-Hour Energy booth.

The folks at J-Novel Club and I had a great conversation about Sexiled (Volume 1 is currently available in digital and will be released in print. Volume 2 is coming in December!) and they light-heartedly bullied me into buying JK Haru after all. ^_^

And, at last, it was time to line up for Fragtime. The line was pretty long and I kind of felt bad about that, because its being sold as another Kase-san … when it is the pretty much the opposite.

 

It’s totally male gaze, creepy sexual assault behavior being passed off as “like.” So I watched. And tweeted. I will review it, but the bottom line is that it will not get my endorsement.

After Fragtime, I hung out with lovely cosplayer Abby Murphy and longtime fellow con grunt Hyo Moon, two of the only people beside my wife I know who saw the Sailor Moon Super Live in NYC. So we had a brilliant time together, talking Sailor Moon, Utena, Sexiled and existential rage.

Finally, it was time to go shopping! The Sailor Uranus and Sailor Neptune Chouette figurines were sold out (phew, because how I would have gotten them home, I have no idea), so I headed over to Viz‘ booth, where I bought Sailor Moon Stars, Part 1 and Part 2. Everything old is new again – the premium set boxes are coming with space for part 2 in the box, just the way they used to do, back in the early days of DVDs. The bag they were giving away at Viz was, IMHO the best of the bunch with Eternal Sailor Moon’s locket on one side and her silhouette on the other, in a fetching purple.

As I was making my final rounds I hit up the artist alley. I picked up Afroseeds by Jojo at Mastermind Comics. Set in NYC, a boy named Amehotep meets a man named Maut and learns he has the power of the Afroseed in him. I’m looking forward to this so much. Jojo was a blast and we were hugging each other like we were long-lost friends when I left. Go read his book – you can download free comic samples at their site.

Before I left I found this lovely pair who have given their permission to use this photo.

From there, I headed to the Yen Press panel where I was just in time for their Yuri manga license. I caught up with Brigid again and then my boss at Comics Beat, Heidi MacDonald. All three of us when out for an amazing meal and some little light shopping at Uniqlo, because Brigid had lost her jacket

My time at AnimeNYC had come to an end, but as I said yesterday, I’m bumping this up to must-attend. I had more fun at this con than I had had at an anime con for years. I look forward to being a part of it next year if I can! 9 out of 10.

Next up…I’ll review Fragtime. Buckle up.

 





AnimeNYC Event Report, Pt. 1 Yuri Licenses

November 17th, 2019

I have returned from AnimeNYC, which was fabulous. I am moving this event up to the No. 1 must-attend anime/manga event in North America, along with TCAF, which is my recommendation for  No. 1 must-attend comics event.  This event has it all. If Javits wasn’t the worst convention center in America it would be perfect. (The fact that it is the worst is because of its design, which was meant to host several smaller events, not one gigantic pop culture event that needs lots of space for free movement and spaces to stand in costumes with wings that don’t block stairs and escalators. Also, people, do NOT stand in front of or on stairs and escalators for photos. Take them to the side. Please.)

Because the event was so good, I’m going to break the event report up into two pieces. Today, we’ll talk about some of the licenses that were announced and a few other Yuri tidbits. To begin with, let me remind you that  every single major western manga (and light novel) publisher currently is now putting out Yuri. Seven Seas, Viz, Yen, Kodansha, Tokyopop and J-Novel Club have really embraced Yuri. Sentai Filmworks is on our side as well, snapping up all the Yuri anime.  Going to an event like AnimeNYC once upon a time, would have netted us a list of one or two things of interest, but this event, I could not go anywhere without seeing Yuri represented. It was…really nice.

Part 1 of the report is something I have *never* done before – a round up of just Yuri licenses announced at this event!

On Viz‘s plate this week saw the release of Makoto Hagino’s A Tropical Fish Yearns For Snow, a slow-burning romance in a seaside school’s aquarium club. You can read a preview of the English volume on their website!

The Yuri OVA Fragtime premiered at AnimeNYC and, at the beginning of the showing, Pony Canyon read a statement from Sentai announcing that they had licensed the anime. Seven Seas followed up with an online announcement that they have acquired the Fragtime manga for digital and print release. I will do a review of Fragtime later this week. I did not enjoy it.

Square Enix announced a manga adaptation of Wandering Witch. Yen Press will be localizing the light novels next year. I know absolutely nothing about this series, but trust Yurimother’s reporting.

Speaking of Yen Press, they announced Nikurashii Hodo, Aishiteru, as  which I genuinely enjoyed, as I Love You So Much, I Hate You.

J-Novel Club revealed that Sexiled will be getting a print release! I am genuinely thrilled about that. I spent all  weekend proselytizing it. This is an absolutely must-read book for any woman and all men. Someone called it a “power fantasy” novel for women and I absolutely wholeheartedly agreed. Fabulous, fabulous book. Second volume will be released digitally next month.

And this morning Kodansha rounded out the announcements with….I’m super excited for this, Sasayakuyouni Koi wo Utau, which I just reviewed, as Whisper Me a Love Song!

It was a really great event for me as a person, as a comics journalist, as an otaku and, most especially as a Yurinin, a Yuri fan!





100 Years of Yuri and More at AnimeNYC

November 14th, 2019

This weekend may be light on reviews and there will be no YNN this week, but it won’t be light on content! I’m heading out to New York City, to be part of AnimeNYC which is sincerely everything NYCC wishes it were in regards to anime and manga.

I’ve written up a manga-focused pre-event report for The Comics Beat which I’ll link to when it goes live. In the meantime, here’s the queer highlights for you if you’re planning your schedule! The panels schedule is available in full on the event website.

Friday

I will be presenting 100 Years of the Yuri Genre at 3PM in Room 1E17. I don’t have a lot of room in my luggage, but I have some small prizes for good questions!

Con guest translator Zack Davisson and myself will be shouting into the void at The Great Debate at 6PM in Room 1E17.

 

Saturday:

The day begins with That’s Gay! Anime and Manga for the LGBTQ Audience at 10:30 in Room 1E17.

Yuri OVA Fragtime will get its US Premier at 1:30 in Room 1E13.

 

Companies that will be there, holding panels, sponsoring guests, and who have been licensing Yuri include Viz Media,who are celebrating the release of the Stars season of Sailor Moon, Sentai Filmworks, who just released a premium box set of Bloom Into You, Yen Press, which has with the Kadkoawa pipeline, J-Novel Club, who just launched a line of Yuri novels that were great), Funimation, Kodansha and Denpa. I’m also going to see if I can ask Square Enix for a book or two.

I’ll see you there!

 





British Museum Manga Exhibition Report, Guest Review by Eleanor W.

September 29th, 2019

This summer saw the largest manga exhibition at a museum outside Japan, as the British Museum for their Manga マンガ exhibit, to critical acclaim. A little belatedly, because I was away, we have a review of that exhibit by YNN correspondent Eleanor W. I was seriously sorry that I couldn’t manage a trip to London this summer to see this, so I’m settling in to walk through the exhibit with a friend. ^_^ The floor is yours, Eleanor…take it away!

When I heard about the British Museum’s manga exhibition running this summer, I decided that a trip to our capital was necessary. Since London is 4 ½ hours from me on the train, I made a weekend of it, took my best friend (also a manga fan) and we had a great time. As long time manga fans, we were both curious as to what the exhibition would hold for us, as opposed to people who know nothing about manga or comics. 

The museum’s own website invites you to “Enter a graphic world where art and storytelling collide in the largest exhibition of manga ever to take place outside of Japan.” 

It’s always nice to see Miyuki

The exhibition began with a quick introduction to manga, including some sample draft pages, some examples of artist’s tools donated by Takehiko Inoue and some videos from editors at the major publishers Kodansha, Shueisha and Shogakukan, wishing the exhibition success.

Once in the main hall of the exhibition there was a lot to see. There was clearly a lot of time and effort taken to cover every aspect of manga and its history and diversity. From focuses on a few specific artists, to a model bookshop where you could take Japanese and English volumes off the shelf to read, as well as information on seminal series like Dragon Ball and One Piece and even a small explanation of doujinshi and Comiket. 

There was of course a lot of space devoted to telling the history of manga and how it evolved over the 20th century into what it is today. From ukiyo-e woodblock cuts to early newspaper strips, it was definitely a good beginner friendly introduction to where manga came from beyond Osamu Tezuka. 

An example of early Japanese cartoons published in a newspaper, in the style of Western newspaper strips. 

 

 


I particularly liked this board game

I was happy that there was mention of the Year 24 Group and how they developed shoujo manga and BL, with a particular focus on Moto Hagio. 

Leading on from the Year 24 Group, there was another section on Boys Love, though disappointingly Yuri didn’t get a mention. I almost forgive them though, as they included Fumi Yoshinaga and What Did You Eat Yesterday as an example of a different more modern type of BL along with a few pages of My Brother’s Husband, which if you haven’t read already, you absolutely need to. 

 

The curators definitely tried to pick diverse examples of series to show, evidenced by Chihayafuru being right around the corner from a display on Junji Ito and his horror works, a large print of JoJo on one of the walls and a Colossal Titan head model looming in the opposite corner.

Another part I particularly enjoyed was the section about sound effects. Fumiyo Kono (Town of Evening Calm, Country of Cherry Blossoms and In This Corner of the World) has produced a manga guide to the common Japanese sound effects often seen in manga, and uses an adorable rabbit character to explain how they are used and often form part of the art.

Overall, this exhibition was a good balance between not intimidating newcomers to the world of manga, but still providing enough for veteran fans to enjoy. I’m glad I made the trip. 

For further reading, take a look at the British Museum’s blog on the exhbit:

https://blog.britishmuseum.org/manga-a-brief-history-in-12-works/

https://blog.britishmuseum.org/an-introduction-to-manga/

and ANN’s report of Viz Editor Urian Brown’s walkthrough video of the exhibit.

Erica here: Thank you Eleanor! I appreciate your overview and I’m very glad that you were able to see the exhibit.

 





October Yuri Events Schedule

September 20th, 2019

Just back home from the 100 Years of Yuri Tour and we’re already working on the next set of events! Here is my October appearance schedule:

October 3-6, New York Comic Con, Javits Center, New York, NY

I will be on at least one panel on Sunday and will be taking a look at this year’s AnimeFest at Hudson Mercantile.

 

 

Oct 15-16 Michigan State University, East Lansing, MI

Tuesday, October 15, 5PM, B122 Wells Hall, MSU Campus

I will be talking about about Rose of Versailles and Sailor Moon to a class on translation. They each pose a significant set of challenges to translators and adapters. This is free and open to the public (check with the school for registration.)

Wednesday, October 16, 5PM, Rom 301 International Center, MSU Campus
We’ll be talking about 100 Years of Yuri!

Oct. 25 Diversity Con, Fashion Institute of Technology NYC, NY

This is a brand-new event that is specifically focusing on marginalized communities within comics. There’s a lot of potential and I have hope that it will be grand.

I’m hoping that I’ll be at AnimeNYC, in November as well. Fingers crossed. ^_^ Let ’em know you want me there!