Archive for the Guest Review Category


Run Away With Me Girl, Volume 1, Guest Review by Matt Rolf

January 25th, 2023

 With the blue sky as a background, we look up at two young women in what can be understood as wedding dresses.. One with flowers in her light brown hair touches the lips and cheek of the other, with dark hair and glasses. "Run Away With Me Girl," and "Battan" are in black, handwriting font letters, The number 1 in black is surrounded by a circle of words that reads "Run Away With Me Girl," in a smaller type.Welcome to another exciting Guest Review on Wednesday on Okazu!  Today we welcome a new reviewer, Matt Rolf with a look at an intense new series. Let’s give him a warm Okazu welcome and don’t forget to leave a kind word on the comments for him! Matt, the floor is yours….

Creating art that deals with abusive relationships in queer contexts is challenging. The cultural canon contains a long list of works where queers get what they deserve for being gay.  Likewise, queer relationships often exist in spaces between gay and straight, without clear distinctions or categories that allow the participants an easy way to figure things out. Run Away With Me Girl, Volume 1, by Battan, begins by tackling both these fraught topics, and the results are rocky. Content Warning: Domestic Violence.

Midori and Makimura formed a close romantic relationship in high school. They split up at graduation because Midori thought they had outgrown their girlish relationship. Ten years on, Maki is single and still wants to be with Midori, while Midori is engaged to a man. When the two women meet by chance before Midori’s wedding, they rekindle their friendship. The first volume of Run Away With Me Girl contains the first six of sixteen episodes in Maki and Midori’s story.

Both of Midori’s relationships, the one with her fiancé Tonoike, and the one with Maki, are not what one would call healthy. Midori herself has an outlook of self-doubt, and struggles to reconcile her identity and desires with society’s expectations. Some panels explore Tonoike and Maki’s individual backgrounds and experiences, but Midori’s struggle is at the core of the story. The themes of the book become increasingly dark as the novel goes on, culminating in an indefensible act.

The character artwork is detailed and attractive, appropriately contrasted with mostly sparse backgrounds. The economy of the artwork is not intrusive, and several panels are fully rendered in a beautiful way. Battan has done very well with the most important parts of the visuals, and the result is pleasing to look at.

This book is definitely yuri, but the relationships depicted are difficult and may not be enjoyable for the reader to return to later. Maki is clear-eyed in her love for Midori, and that’s where the clarity ends. Fan service is light: there are a few panels of kissing and holding hands, with some panels of Midori naked. The drawings of Midori are more about vulnerability than titillation.

The focus of the book is on the fairly realistic portrayal of an imperfect set of adults navigating unhealthy relationships that may or may not be worth the effort. Readers who can relate to these experiences may find it difficult to finish the book. The story is well told and gives the reader food for thought after they put down the book. I suspect these characters have a lot more to go through before they find their resolution.

Final Verdict: A book you keep on your shelf because it’s good, but don’t read much because it’s hard. This series is published by Kodansha Comics, with translation by Kevin Steinbach and lettering by Jennifer Skarupa,  

Ratings

Art – 7
Story 8 – +3 for undertaking a challenging narrative, +2 for mostly succeeding, -2 for there’s a reason the narrative is challenging.
Characters – 5 Given the meat of the story, the characters are a little underdeveloped.
Service – 3
Yuri – 8

Overall – 8

Erica here: Thanks Matt, I appreciate you taking a look at this series for us!

 
 




77 Oleander Avenue Ghost House Investigation, Guest Review by Patricia B.

January 18th, 2023

Title image of 77 Oleander Avenue, Ghost House Investigation, written out in white letters. The image is dark and moody, showing a brown-skinned woman with red short curly hair, hunched over herself, blood visible on her white tank top. A wine bottle label shows a woman in a red dress. A broken window in the background.Welcome to our first Guest Review Wednesday of 2023! I’m extremely pleased to welcome back Guest Reviwer, Patricia B. on her own account and also because she is here to tell us all about a Visual Novel of note. Thank you Patricia, the floor is yours!

My name is Patricia Baxter (she/her). I am a bisexual autistic writer who has previously written articles concerning how media represents different marginalized communities. You can find more of my work through my personal website “Autistic Observations”.

July 22nd, 2022.  Tabby, a paranormal investigator, wakes up in a dilapidated and abandoned house without her phone, wallet, keys, or memory of how even she got there.  She quickly realizes that she is not alone in the house, upon meeting a ghost named Evie who is significantly better at being adorable than she is at scaring people.  Tabby soon sets up a plan: find her lost items, remember why she woke up at 77 Oleander Avenue, learn more about Evie, and perhaps even uncover the truth behind the house’s final residents: the Larkspur family.  That is if she can survive the night.

77 Oleander Avenue Ghost House Investigation is a visual novel that reminded me just how much I love video games and the unique forms of storytelling that can only be experienced through the medium.  Runa Liore Winters pulled no punches in crafting a horror game that is deeply unsettling to experience, even upon re-exploration.  The writing, visuals, and audio design, all work in tandem to create a place that may have been a house once but was never really home.  The sound design deserves especially high praise, both for its soundtrack and sound effects, which not only allow the player to empathize with the experiences of the protagonists but also feel the house’s hostility surround them through their headphones.  Furthermore, the interactive and cyclical nature of video games helps add to the terror of being trapped in a haunted house.  

At its core, 77 Oleander Avenue is a queer horror game both in terms of its protagonists and central themes.  Tabby and Evie are two delightful lesbians who are the type of endearingly charming people I would be more than happy to befriend in reality and still clearly human in their complexities and personal baggage.  Additionally, the game posits important questions about queerness and how it impacts how we are remembered after we are gone.  In a world deeply entrenched in cissexist and heteronormative ways of viewing people, historical accounts of queer people tend to be ignored at “best” or have their lives entirely rewritten at worst.  It has only been recently through the efforts of the LGBTQ+ community, that we are beginning to uncover those lost histories.  Tabby considers this question as she explores the house, and we see the effects of this erasure as we learn more about Evie’s past.

For all my praise for this game, it is still one where I insist upon reading the content warnings the developer helpfully provides before fully diving in, as the game is full of scenes that may be deeply triggering for queer players and/or those who grew up in abusive households with strict religious upbringings.  I personally found it was better to play the game over three days, one for each level of the house, as this was an effective way of tackling the game’s heavy content without emotionally exhausting myself.

Overall, 77 Oleander Avenue Ghost House Investigation is an exquisite example of the type of stories we can only tell in video games, and one of the greatest examples of queer horror I have ever experienced.  And yes, you can pet and name the (metal inanimate) dog.

You can purchase the game either on Steam or itch.io.

Visual Art: 9 (the game relies more on photography than the digital art typically associated with indie games in the genre, so YMMV on how well that works for you)

Music & Sound Design: 10
Story: 10
Characters: 10 (Tabby & Evie feel like real people, as do the other characters for better and for worse)
Service: 0 (violence is there for discomfort, not salaciousness)
LGBTQ+: 10 

Overall: 10

Thank you so much, Patricia!  This sounds like an intriguing visual novel that I am sure folks here will be interested in.





Soulmate, Volume 2, Guest Review by Laurent Lignon

December 21st, 2022

Welcome back to Guest Review Wednesday on Okazu! This time of year is always too-busy here and this year I have complicated matters for myself by trying to squeeze out one last video for Yuri Studio before the end of the year, as well as the Okazu Patron Holiday Party! So thank you, as always to Journaliste/Chroniqueur Laurent Lignon for taking time to share this review of Soulmate, Volume 2 . Laurent reviewed Volume 1 last spring. So, let’s jump right into it – take it away, Laurent!

It is time for us to go back to the story of Qi, a Chinese lesbian teacher whose mind has been switched in time with her past teenage self. Will she then be able to save the woman she loves from the disease that is slowly killing her? Soulmate has been released as a webtoon, in Mandarin Chinese by Kuaikan Manhua and the printed version in French by Nazca Editions.

IN THE PRESENT : The relationship of Yuanzi and Qi was anonymously revealed on social networks, and by no one other than Xinjue, Qi’s student assistant. As the homophobic flame starts to rise online, Qi is temporarily laid off by her administration until the rumor calms down. For Teenage Qi, who is still struggling to adapt herself to an adult life in an adult body, the blow is hard. Her lover Yuanzi tries to calm her down by organizing a meeting with their old high school friends, only for Qi to ask to meet the only person she remembers from her teenage years that was supportive to her : her father. However, Teenage Qi learns that she hasn’t seen her father for seven years : when she came out to him while he was in a middle of his divorce, he overreacted and rejected her, pushing her to cut all ties with him in order to stay with Yuanzi. As Teenage Qi confronts her father about accepting her life of Yuanzi, she has an unexpected encounter with Chen Shuo, the boy who was in love with her during high school and was unable to express his feelings for her. Unknown to them, this encounter lead to a sudden change…

IN THE PAST : Adult Qi is still actively trying to date Yuanzi years before they became an official couple, in order to push her to be diagnosed and treated for the disease that will kill her 10 years later, and which Yuanzi is yet unaware she has. However, Adult Qi starts to see that things are changing from her memories and not in the way she expects it. First, a painting done by Yuanzi and inspired by Qi is stolen. Then, Chen Shuo confesses his love to her, something he never did in the original timeline. Hearing this, and thinking Qi may actually love Chen Shuo and think of her as nothing more than a friend, Yuanzi run away, leading to Qi chasing after her and hurting her ankle in the process. This accident allows for a long conversation between the two girls, in which finally Adult Qi confesses her true feelings for Yuanzi, further changing their past.

Let me be clear : a lot of things happen in those 200 pages. The story written by WenzhiLizi is gripping, rooted in everyday life and will speak to everyone, with all the characters being well developed and having a distinct personality. Most importantly, this development sheds a new light on the personality of two characters : Chen Shuo, who is finally revealed to have spend his whole life in the shadow of the love between Qi and Yuanzi, and is unable to move forward with his life ; and Xinjue, who is revealed to be secretly in love with Qi and, behind a friendly and helpful face, a manipulative personality who anonymously reveal Qi’s homosexuality online out of spite when she understands that her love will never be returned.

The struggle of Teenage Qi to adapt to adult life is paralleled in the way past Yuanzi learns to accept her own sexuality : both girls hide their true feelings and personality behind the mask of shyness, until they manage to accept their love for each other. In some ways, this is a classic ‘master and student’ story, with each of the main characters playing the opposite role in each of the different timelines. This is a story that had me totally hooked, the thin veil of sci-fi never hiding the beautiful slice of life I’ve read here.

ART : 7 – Keranbing’s art is still good looking, even with computer-colors (mind you, it was first designed to be read on cellphones and e-readers). It suits the story well, the only flaw I can find is that nearly all adult male characters don’t seem to have aged a bit during the 10 years gap between the two timelines : lucky bastards!

STORY : 8 – Even better than the first volume, with higher stakes and many twists. However, I think that the part about the forced coming out on social media is important but not as developed as I had hoped it would be. This is quite a problem in the real world, and it would have been interesting to see it tackled more deeply here.

CHARACTER : 9 – All characters get more fleshed out, even the secondary ones. More importantly, all motivations behind actions get explained. The past is changing, and with it the way each people see themselves and their place in the present little play.

SERVICE : 0 – Not even a kiss.

YURI : 10 – A lesbian time-traveling into the past to save the life of her lover and live happily ever long after with her : how more Yuri can you get ?

OVERALL: I won’t lie, I read it in a single take. While the sci-fi nerd that I am is quick to point out some small inconsistencies (time paradoxes, all the way!!), it never distracted me from the fact that this is a well written story, with charming characters that are easy to get attached to.

I can’t wait to read the third and final volume, for they all deserve their happy ending (yes, even poor Chen Shuo and jealous Xinjue!)

“to answer your question: the person I love is currently carrying me on her back.”

Erica here: Fantastic. I wonder what Volume 3 will bring! Thank you again, Laurent.





line, by Yua Kotegawa

December 7th, 2022

One of our best supporters and dearest friends here at Okazu, Bruce, died about 5 years ago. I have been slowly working my way through all his anime and manga. Much of it has been given to a good home, some of it has been part of Lucky Boxes. Recently, I can to the last box of English-language manga in his collection…and I found something I had never heard of!

line, by Yua Kotegawa is an English-language edition put out in 2006 by ADV Manga, so this is way past just “out of print.” It’s not really Yuri in any sense, either. But after reading it, I can totally understand why Bruce had it in his collection. If he were alive, I would ask him to review it. So he’ll have to guest review from the spirit world today.

Chiko is a popular, cute girl at school. She doesn’t concern herself with the kind of class bullying that exists around her, she’s just in her own world, doing her own thing.

The book opens up as she finds someone’s dropped cell phone. She’s going to bring it to lost and found when it rings…and the person on the other end commands her to rush to a location to save the life of a student about to commit suicide. The voice explains how horrible life is when one is ostracized or bullied. Chiko arrives too late, but is seen yelling into the phone by a classmate, Bando. Bando is a quiet otaku type, but quickly becomes Chiko’s partner as they seek to find and save people about to kill themselves. The phone rings and they go running. They don’t always make it, but sometimes they do. And those people become part of the team. The suicides ramp up in frequency, until the anonymous caller has Chiko, Bando and everyone they saved, running around town saving as many people as possible. Eventually the caller kills himself and the team all lay, exhausted on a roof.

The next day, Chiko invites one of the bullied kids in her class out with her and Bando and the rest out to do something that’s no biggie…because, as she says, everyone going has got very sore muscles.

So, yeah, this is hardly a worldshaking book, but it hits pretty solidly in showing how important it is for people to not just passively accept bullying and loss. Chiko and Bando aren’t a couple, there’s never any tension between them of that kind, but the circumstance draws them together and, by extension, draws people to them. I can see all sorts of parallels to that in my life. Communities of interest are the invites out, the group of people with something in common to talk about.

ADV missed a chance to post a suicide hotline phone number, but I won’t. If you think you can’t do this any more, please call someone. In the USA, just remember 988. Please call. Someone is there to listen.

No ratings today.





How Do We Relationship, Volume 7, Guest Review by Matt Marcus

November 23rd, 2022

Welcome once again to a Guest Review Wednesday on Okazu! Today we once again are pleased to host Matt Marcus, with his continuing coverage of one of our favorite messy couples. ^_^

Matt Marcus is a cohost of various projects on the Pitch Drop Podcast Network, such as the JRPG games club podcast Lightning Strikes Thrice, which is currently covering Final Fantasy VIII.

We’re back on campus for How Do We Relationship, Volume 7. In the previous volume, we left off with Saeko growing into a more emotionally mindful partner with Yuria while Miwa has taken interest in Tamaki, a gruff freshman who resembles Shiho.

We are fully into the new normal established midway through Volume 6. It’s odd to say it this far in, but this volume is the easiest, least angsty stretch in the series so far. Not that there isn’t some tension to keep things interesting, but any conflict feels extremely low-stakes compared to the dizzying anxiety of the first six volumes. What we get instead is payoff in the form of emotional growth.

To start with Miwa, she has taken a mentor’s role to Tamaki (despite her growing crush on her). She calmly listens to Tamaki’s break-up story and is forgiving when she is hit with redirected frustration. She bears a bit of her wounds giving honest advice to Tsuruta, who is Too Nice™ to ask out a freshman girl who is clearly into him. Despite her nerves, she pursues and has a good time on a date with a woman she connected with on an app. At last, we are seeing real growth in her character, and it’s fantastic.

In contrast to Miwa, what struck me in this volume is how well Tamifull depicted Tamaki as immature. After hearing a little about Miwa’s messy relationship she suddenly becomes very vested in knowing things about Miwa that no one else does. Why? Because it makes her feel superior. She wants to dominate access to Miwa’s secrets, and not specifically out of jealousy or antagonism towards Saeko. It’s recognizable teenage behavior which puts Miwa off balance. Still, she has added an interesting wrinkle to the tapestry of characters. To be honest, I can’t help shake the feeling that we are meant to see her in a less alluring light than Miwa does and I find that fascinating.

Not to be outdone, Saeko also gets to demonstrate growth. For one, she helps out Miwa by scouting out her date. She’s been reading signals from Yuria that she interprets as lack of comfort with sex, but instead of letting things fester, Saeko decides to–gasp!–talk it out with Yuria. It turns out that she was wrong! You can really feel her relief…until the rug gets pulled under her with a familiar request. I hope the next volume finally addresses the Elephant In the Room that is Saeko’s past. I think Yuria (who continues to be a delight) might be able to break through Saeko’s emotional defenses.

I do want to take a moment to praise the art. Over the past couple of volumes, I’ve noticed more use of large panels, often filled with tons of lived-in detail. Tamifull specifically called out his excitement in drawing Saeko’s and Miwa’s rooms in the author’s comic and it’s noticeable. Also, I want to give kudos about the new students actually looking younger than the second years. Tamifull has managed to capture that sense of looking back a grade or two and realizing just how young they were only a year ago–and also how small they must have looked to their senpais. That level of verisimilitude feels rare in my (admittedly narrow) experience reading manga.

One thing I have not mentioned recently is the localization done by Kelleth Jackson, who took over for Abby Lehrke starting with Volume 6. This particular volume doesn’t have as many colorful language choices as we’ve seen before, but it remains generally strong in my opinion. That said, there is always one blatant typo or missing word in each volume.

So, something that I have been avoiding is talking about the “commentary track” comics that sit at the end of each volume. They depict Miwa and Saeko lounging around together, looking back on scenes from the chapters, heavily implying that they have gotten back together. I still think it’s an open question whether or not these scenes are diegetic, but it’s becoming more and more distracting.

To sum things up, this volume is a quiet reward for readers who stuck through all of the toxic relationship dynamics and heartbreak. What I lament is the feeling that this is one of the best currently running yuri manga that many may start, but few will finish. This volume is the first step towards justifying the drama.

Art – 9 The art has become more confident as the series progresses
Story – 9 Most of the work is character-forward and it’s great.
Characters – 9 Finally, some serious growth for Saeko and some forward momentum for Miwa
Service – 2 There’s some light canoodling
Yuri – 8 / LGBTQ – 8 Miwa uses a lesbian dating app, so up we go

Overall – 9

I do want to find out who gave Kan that shiner. He probably deserved it.

Erica here: Absolutely all of this. This is easily one of the most realistic manga I have ever ready, which can make it massively frustrating, but also incredibly rewarding as our protagonist are definitely maturing.  Thanks once again for a terrific review.

Oh, and let me assure everyone – typos happen. ^_^ No matter how many eyes go over a book, typos happen. ^_^;