Archive for the Christian LeBlanc Category


Yuri Manga: Kiss & White Lily for My Dearest Girl, Volume 7 (English), Guest Review by Christian LeBlanc

November 28th, 2018

Hello and welcome to Guest Review Wednesday on Okazu! Yay! Today we welcome Christian LeBlanc of 3Dcomics.weebly.com to our loving embrace. Or, was that deadly clutches…I can never remember. ^_^ In any case please give Christian your full attention…as we head out together on today’s review.

By Volume 7 of Kiss & White Lily for My Dearest Girl by Canno, (translation by Leighann Harvey, letters by Alexis Eckerman) we’ve firmly settled into the template for a K&WL book: several chapters will showcase the new characters shown on the cover, and the remainder will focus on a ‘legacy couple’ (more than likely Ayaka Shiramine and Yurine Kurosawa, as is the case in this volume).

Our newest cast members are piano-playing junior-high student Haine Aoi (who has recently joined the gardening club so she can get closer to Yurine), and her supportive aunt Aika Yukimura, a senior at Seiran. (scratchy noise of a record skipping) Yes, I did say aunt, so let’s address this elephant in the room right away before it knocks over something valuable.

Canno portrays many different types of relationships in her work. Countless micro-stories fill the “Kiss Theater” bonus pages at the end of each chapter. Her story in Éclair: A Girls’ Love Anthology That Resonates in Your Heart follows a 28-year-old rogue and the 16-year-old girl who pursues her, and she’s even explored monster girls in a MONSTAR doujinshi (along with circle mates Nega and Kawauchi).

Non-romantic friendships are also valid story fodder, as we’ve seen in Volume 4 with Kaoru, Kohagi and Momiji. Here, then, Canno continues exploring different relationships between women by focusing on an aunt and niece, close in age, who were brought up as siblings. Canno even makes it explicit in one scene that they will never be paired romantically, when one character momentarily considers the possibility and is put off by it. I think Canno felt this was necessary given the expectations of romance set up by the cover (and genre) (and by contemporary stories such as Citrus, coughcough), but it still feels a little strange that they consider it at all. The alternative, I guess, is to not show this scene, and leave the reader with a seed of doubt: “but . . . are we supposed to think of them as a couple?” Better to just nip that question in the bud.

This all being said, Haine and her aunt Aika end up being a delightful pair to read about.  Their affection for each other is sincere and touching, rendered even more so by Leighann Harvey’s thoughtful and expressive translation. They both suffer anxiety over the idea that siblings are supposed to drift apart to some degree in adulthood, but Aika receives advice from a returning character on this. There’s also some tension between the two early on concerning piano skills (something they once bonded over nearly drives them apart!) and Haine needing her space and independence (I know she’s just at that age, but oh boy does she act like a brat!), so in all, we still get our ‘romantic conflict’ for our cover stars to work through.

As for our returning players, we see some major growth in effortless-genius Yurine and her relationship with hard-working honors-student Ayaka. We’ve already seen hints throughout the series that Yurine’s advantages over her classmates have caused her some alienation. This comes to a head when Haine triggers a depressive episode in Yurine by telling her she has an empty life for failing to find a passion for anything. Ayaka gamely tries to help her recover, still grateful for Yurine’s help back in Volume 5 when Ayaka was at her lowest.

Contrasted with this, however, is Ayaka’s negative reaction when Yurine later suggests throwing the exams to let Ayaka take back first place. Ayaka has always been comically tsundere before, but there’s nothing funny about her reaction this time – her words are cold and mean, with no underlying hint of “but I really like you!” at all. It feels especially shocking given how much Ayaka was earnestly trying to help Yurine in this book, and speaks volumes about her unresolved hang-ups concerning perfection.

This is also the first volume to end on a cliff-hanger, incidentally: as their relationship evolves, Yurine feels something different after one of her many kisses she’s forced on Ayaka, and it freaks her out – the next volume is about her sorting through what these new feelings mean, so stay tuned! Volume 8 is currently scheduled to be published by Yen Press on March 19, 2019.

Art – 7 Significant improvements: hair is given a lot more definition and shading, and there are more efforts to visually distinguish Yurine from Ayaka (their height difference feels more pronounced, for example). However, I have to knock two points off the English edition for being printed with significantly thicker blacks than the Japanese version, which destroys a great deal of subtlety in the tones and shading; scenes set in the dark particularly suffer from this. Additionally, Yen Press routinely trims off a fair bit of bleed art, and it was frustrating to see Ayaka’s and Yurine’s test results get cut off as well.
Story – 9 Again, Leighann Harvey has done a wonderful job translating this.
Characters – 9
Yuri – 5
Service – 3 My wife may or may not have uttered “Holy Bazongas!” when she happened to glance over my shoulder at the bath scene, and if you have a thing for Santa dresses, Canno’s got you covered with the introduction to the closing chapter.

Overall – 9

I really enjoyed this volume. There are many returning characters, giving the book a welcome ensemble feel for the first time, reinforced by four bonus chapters at the end. The two main stories connect quite seamlessly, and the Christmas backdrop leads to some very pretty scenery (the cover, with its snow-flecked poinsettia, pinecone and holly border sitting above a starry-looking field of snowflakes, is my favorite of the series for this reason). It’s also refreshing to see Yurine struggling for once – she’s come a long way from her one-dimensionally super-human portrayal in Volume 1.

Erica here: Thank you so much for your insight, Christian. If I wasn’t already reading this series, your enthusiasm and affection for it would surely convince me to pick it up! Thank you again for a wonderful review. ^_^





Yuri Manga: Kiss & White Lily for My Dearest Girl, Volume 6 (English) Guest Review by Christian Le Blanc

July 4th, 2018

Hello and Welcome to Guest Review Wednesday, where we welcome back returning Guest Reviewer Christian LeBlanc! It took me a little too long to ask him to do this, especially as he is undoubtedly this series greatest advocate in North America. So, please welcome him, thank him and let us know your thoughts on this manga in the comments. In the meantime, the floor is yours, Christian!

Before going too far into this review, let me first declare my subjectivity, so you can keep this in mind while reading: I am a huge fan of Kiss & White Lily for My Dearest Girl. I get commissions of Chiharu and Izumi when I attend conventions. I proudly wore the 2018 Yuriten K&WL t-shirt while tabling at a con, as well as when I went to my local comic shop the morning this volume was released. I often listen to the drama CDs, even though I only understand about 5 to 10% of what is said. I have a playlist in my head of songs that I think “work” for certain characters. I celebrated when I saw my favourite couple ‘aged up’ for the Yuriten 2018 main illustration, because this confirmed they were still together years later. I loved a single chapter of Volume 5 *so hard* that Erica asked me to write this guest review for Volume 6. So when I say “Everyone should run out and buy three copies of this book!”, you should probably temper that advice and just buy the one copy instead.

So! Kiss and White Lily for My Dearest Girl, Volume 6, introduces us to Amane Asakura and Nina Yuunagi, who are in an open relationship – except Nina doesn’t really want it to be, but is scared she’ll lose Amane if she says anything about it. This is complicated by the arrival of Ryou Hiruma, who develops a crush on Amane (Amane has been helping her out with notes and chores while Ryou’s hand heals…and the crush is mutual). This is complicated even *more* when Nina and Ryou develop feelings for each other – poor Nina gets so twisted up with guilt and insecurity that she has a bit of a breakdown at Ryou’s place, where the gang all ends up meeting and hashing things out.

To put it in even simpler terms: since Nina wants to be in a monogamous relationship with Amane, she feels jealous when Amane and Ryou start getting close, and ashamed when she, also, starts to develop feelings for Ryou.

I was hoping this review would help me ‘get’ their relationship and enjoy them more, but the opposite happened. As interested as I was in reading a story about polyamory, the more I re-read this section, the more I’m convinced that this is a very unhealthy depiction of one. Nina would be a sympathetic character, except she shoves Ryou into some wet garbage, has murderous thoughts towards her right after, and forces a kiss on her later when she starts to develop a (one-sided, at this point) crush on her. Amane would be sympathetic, except when Ryou tells her about the pain Nina is in, Amane takes it personally and gets mad at Nina for not being honest with her. And for her part, Ryou doesn’t tell Amane she wants to get closer until after Nina tells her to back off, allowing ‘spite’ to be a motivator in her relationship with Amane.

Our trio achieves perfect equilibrium by story’s end, and maybe they’ll all be happy together from here on out after they’ve had their touching heart-to-heart, but I can’t help thinking that as soon as Amane falls for someone outside their circle, their happiness will vanish into thin air faster than a fart in a hurricane.

In contrast, returning heavyweights Chiharu Kusakabe’s and Izumi Akizuki’s relationship is much stronger and healthier, and much more fun to read. Izumi wrestles with the concept of polyamory after receiving a flower from Amane (this happens early in the book, before Ryou even appears), but ends up charming the hell out of Chiharu when she gets caught returning the flower (in any other series, seeing your girlfriend handing a flower to someone else would result in chapters and chapters of drawn-out misunderstandings; Canno’s abundance of new characters forces her to abandon these clichés in order to keep things moving, which I find really fresh and appealing). For her part, Chiharu gets a surprise visit from her former crush Hoshino-senpai, forcing her to deal with the last of her lingering feelings towards her, which culminates in a beautiful scene between her and Izumi. We also get a mini-chapter with these two at the end, as well as a very quick check-in with the other couples from the series. There’s even a 4 koma that shows how Ryou hurt her hand, revealing herself to have been the reason Chiharu had to attend an emergency disciplinary committee meeting and be late for her date with Izumi (Canno puts a *lot* of thought into her linking elements).

If you didn’t like Chiharu and Izumi from Volume 2, I don’t know that this volume will turn you around on them. If, however, you’re on the right side of history and swoon over the cute interplay between Izumi’s boundless affection and Chiharu’s cool, sarcastic exterior that hides a painfully shy but deeply loving interior, then you’ll love this book. I think it’s fantastic whenever we get to see a couple being a couple – so many romance stories are about characters falling in love; we don’t get nearly enough stories like this about people just *being* in love.

There’s a really sweet moment where Chiharu tells Izumi the reasons why she’s late for their date – Izumi is stung, but she falls forward into Chiharu’s shoulder for comfort, instead of turning away in anger. That one small detail is incredibly touching to me, as is Izumi’s trust in Chiharu when she realizes, hey, she didn’t do anything wrong (it just took her by surprise).

There’s one even smaller detail which I think is even more important, and possibly more affecting. At one point, Izumi thinks to herself: “Like in a tv show, you have just this one special person…and they tell you you’re special too…maybe this thing with me and Senpai is the same old story. Someone somewhere decided on the ‘mold.'” To Izumi, her relationship with Chiharu is the most natural, normal thing in the world, because of course it is, and I love seeing anybody feel that way. I don’t know if Canno intended it to be such a powerful beat (Izumi’s only thinking it because she’s mulling over Amane’s proposal of polyamory, which Izumi had never thought of before), but it’s right up there as one of my favourite moments in comics, and I think it’s perfect that this was published in time for Pride Month.

Ratings:

Art – 10 (Very fittingly, the only rough spot is when Amane, Nina and Ryou have a group hug)
Story – 10 (I averaged 6/10 for Amane’s, Nina’s and Ryou’s section, and 14/10 for Chiharu’s and Izumi’s section. You know, to be fair and impartial.)
Characters – 10 (see above)
Service – 3 (There’s a topless scene, played with zero salaciousness, which I think is neat; no, I rate this a 3 just for the expressions on the faces of Chiharu and Izumi when they kiss)
Yuri – 10. “How on earth did they let you in high school?” Chiharu asks Izumi; because she tested so highly in Yuri, obviously, which is the most important pre-requisite for attendance at Seiran. Now that I think of it, even the cats outside the school are probably in a Yuri relationship: “You’re so cuddly. Cuuuuute! Maybe you’re sisters?” Oh, Nina. You’re so naive.
Overall – 11, and you should buy three copies.

Erica here: As it happens, I love this volume. In a series that for me is cut, rather than meaningful, this volume stands out as a really excellent and important volume. I liked it in Japanese and generally consider it to be my favorite volume to date.





Miss Koizumi Loves Ramen Noodles Anime (English) Guest Review by Christian LeBlanc

April 25th, 2018

Welcome to another Guest Review Wednesday on Okazu! Today we have the pleasure of you another new Guest Reviewer, frequent Okazu commenter, and talented 3D comics conversionist, Christian LeBlanc I expect you will all give Christian a warm Okazu welcome! 

“I want ramen…ramen…ramen…I want ramen.”

These are the first words that open slice-of-life gourmet comedy Ms. Koizumi Loves Ramen Noodles  and quickly sum up the main character’s raison d’être. Koizumi-san (we never learn her full name) is a new transfer student at Yuu Ohsawa’s high school, and is henceforth the object of Yuu’s affections, despite never returning those feelings. In fact, Koizumi never expresses any emotion outside of eating ramen, where she is shown displaying extremes of determination and pleasure.

“My only family is ramen.”

Based on the manga Ramen Daisuki Koizumi-san (ラーメン大好き小泉さん) by Naru Narumi, each episode is made of several shorts, and the show focuses on two obsessions: Koizumi’s obsession with ramen, and Yuu’s obsession with Koizumi. Koizumi’s obsession with ramen results in her talking matter-of-factly at great lengths about different aspects of ramen, flavors, methods of preparation, restaurants etc. with whoever she’s with at the time. Even though Koizumi prefers to enjoy ramen alone, she often ends up eating with Yuu, or with one of Yuu’s best friends: Jun Takahashi (the anxious brainy one) or Misa Nakamura (the fashionable one). These interactions allow the viewer to hear the Wikipedia-like info-dumps of ramen knowledge that Koizumi shares.

“Koizumi’s only lover is ramen.”

Yuu’s obsession with Koizumi, however, is another matter, and one that will divide viewers. The tone of the show is light and comedic, so Yuu’s constant badgering and stalking of Koizumi is played for laughs. Based on a lot of reviews I’ve read and comment sections I’ve lurked in, many people are annoyed by Yuu, and not amused. As someone privileged to have not been on the receiving end of unwanted attention very often, I found the series amusing watching it one episode a week: drawing pictures of Koizumi in her notebook, laughing goofily at the thoughts of their spending time together, blushing while gazing at her, making up cute little songs about her while she’s getting groceries, all this endeared me towards Yuu.

Watching it again all at once for this review, Yuu’s behaviour is harder for me to laugh off. Yuu calls Koizumi cold for rejecting her, “stingy” for not wanting to go on a beach outing and let Yuu see her in a bathing suit, and is constantly shown lurking behind bushes and signs as she follows Koizumi around after being told she wants to be alone. She’s jealous that her friends have gotten Koizumi’s contact info before she has, and her eyes will sometimes go blank as the background warps and her voice distorts as she chants obsessively to herself about Koizumi. (It’s worth noting that my wife sympathized with Koizumi right from the start.)

“Why did you want to climb that mountain?” “Because there’s ramen there.”

Overlooking problematic behavior to enjoy media is rarely a choice for me – I either buy in and gloss over the negative, or, something is ruined because of what I’m not able to look past. For viewers able to stomach Yuu’s behaviour, there’s a fair bit of comedy on offer (Yuu’s voice actor, Ayane Sakura, impressively delivers plaintive shrieks, shattered ranting, and aggressive bellows of relief). There’s also lots of knowledge about ramen, beautiful background scenery, and a travelogue-like presentation of restaurants (most, if not all, of the restaurants visited in the show are based on real-life ramen restaurants). The background music is unobtrusive, but unmemorable (in contrast, the opening and closing theme songs are very catchy and upbeat). You will learn about ramen with extra fat added (with a bizarre visual metaphor of sakura leaves falling onto the water), pineapple ramen, international variations of ramen, euglena (a bug-like type of algae) in ramen, cold ramen, a ramen with a blue broth that turns pink with the addition of vinegar, cocoa ramen, and more.

I recommend a couple of episodes to give this series a try, starting with episode 3 “Third Bowl: Saimin / Flavor Concentration Booth / Instant Noodles” (Yuu is actually appreciated this episode by Koizumi, who she finds passed out on the street after she forgets that the restaurant she wanted to go to was closed that day). Episode 6 “Sixth Bowl: Morning Ramen / Hiyashi / The Museum” allows Koizumi some time alone in a nice quiet episode, that also has the funniest line in the series. The browns and yellows in the background scenery of an evening festival are also beautiful to look at. After these two, you’ll know if you’re up to watching episode 10 “Tenth Bowl: An Unfamiliar Dish / Spinning Ramen / Rise to the Challenge!!” which is undoubtedly the funniest episode (but also features Yuu at her most unhinged…there are observation journals, a disturbing bulletin board full of photos torn and pasted together, etc).

“What do I have to do to become ramen?”

As for Yuri, it’s undeniable, but still never stated in as many words. Every bit of Yuri in the show comes from Yuu’s one-sided crush on Koizumi: she’s portrayed with hearts in her eyes during the opening theme song, her friends tell her “You’ve always loved cute girls, Yuu” after noticing her crush, and she fantasizes about the two of them in wedding dresses cutting a cake together. This last fantasy comes from asking Koizumi to help her cut apart a giant gyoza, which she sees as their “first cooperative activity.” The visuals, as well as Yuu’s behavior in general, make it obvious that she’s interested in having a romantic relationship with Koizumi, but the language itself is in denial, just as when Yuu basically confesses her feelings to Koizumi in the 12th and final episode: “I’m just obsessed with Koizumi-san, the girl who’s obsessed with ramen! I-I’ve never felt anything like that before. Which is why I was hoping we could maybe become better friends.” It’s obvious that what’s unspoken is “And maybe something more,” but it IS still unspoken, and I wouldn’t blame anyone who feels disappointed by this.

The ending theme “Love Men Holic,” sung by Shiena Nishizawa, reflects this discrepancy. At first glance, the title suggests someone addicted to loving men; on closer inspection, the ‘men’ is actually the same ‘men’ as in ‘ramen,’ while the word ‘love’ resembles the ‘ra’ in ‘ramen’ in an awkward portmanteau.

Ratings:

Art – 8 The background scenery is gorgeous, and the restaurants make you feel like you’re there. The characters themselves are drawn quite well (although Koizumi’s red eyes make me worry about all the sodium she’s consuming in her ramen-only diet).
Story – 4 The story is just a frame on which to hang lots of knowledge about ramen, and one girl crushing on another.
Characters – 3 (see Story, with a point taken away for bad behavior)
Yuri – 3 (It’s one-sided, and it’s not healthy, and it takes a back seat to the ramen. I believe it’s meant to be the ‘heart’ of the show, but I don’t feel that it succeeds well in that role)
Ramen – 11
Service – 3 or 10. There’s an occasional male-gazey pan over one of the girls in their bathing suit, and Jun does tongue an egg for a split second. I have to offer a 10 even though I don’t understand it or feel it: as Koizumi and friends chow down on noodles, male observers are sometimes shown with shocked expressions, gulping nervously, and even blushing sometimes, which indicates they’re getting something out of this that I’m not. Comments I’ve read online take for granted that the dining scenes are obviously service-y, but again, I’m stymied. Euphoric sighs at the end of a bowl are the closest I get to understanding it.

Overall – 7

BONUS RECIPE!

Episode 2 features a visit to a restaurant based on Pa-Pa-Pa-Pa-Pine in Tokyo, where every item on the menu contains pineapple. After watching the episode I was insanely curious to try it, so I watched a few YouTube videos with the owner and parsed together my own home-made, easy-to-follow attempt at it. Please enjoy a bowl of this while you give the show a try. (My wife insists I make this for us once a week, and a few people I’ve shared this with online told me they really liked it)

Serves: 1 (just double the ingredients and use two packs of instant ramen noodles when cooking for two)

Note: this recipe is vegan, however, one person I shared it with reported success using kippers instead of tofu. You may also want to boil an egg to have with yours, as my wife does.

Boil 1 ½ cups of water.

While the water’s heating up, add:
¼ tsp pepper (but use 3/8 tsp if cooking for two)
1/8 tsp Sriracha sauce (use less or more depending on your preferences for heat)
1 Tbsp soy sauce
½ packet of beef flavouring from instant ramen
11 or 12 cubes of tofu

Shred about half a carrot while you’re waiting, too.

Once boiling, add a ½ cup of the pineapple juice from a can of crushed pineapple, as well as the ramen noodles. Let boil for about 2 minutes (or according to package directions), remove from heat, and throw in some spinach. (If you prefer bok choy over spinach, add that to the broth 1st thing, as it takes longer to cook)

Pour into a bowl with some nori (dried seaweed) strips, 2/3 cup crushed pineapple, sliced green onion, top with shredded carrot, and enjoy!

(Note: the real recipe uses Korean chili threads, but I haven’t been able to find this in my area)

 

Erica here: Seriously, euglena?!? Holy crap. Bruce loved ramen and and travelogue stories and Yuri and euglena, which was his “favorite single-cel organism” . Stupid Bruce going and dying, he would have loved this series.  Grr…..

Anyway, fabulous review and I take what I said on Twitter back back, this recipe actually sounds pretty good. Thanks so much for sharing!