Archive for the Guest Review Category


Gunbured X Sisters, Volume 1 (ガンバレッドｘシスターズ), Guest Review by Mariko S.

October 13th, 2021
Welcome to Guest Review Wednesday on Okazu! This week we welcome back Mariko S whose reviews are always a delight to read. Ahead of the Seven Seas edition of this seies, Mariko is taking a look at Gunbured X Sisters, Volume 1, (ガンバレッドｘシスターズ) and I for one can’t wait to see what she says about it. Welcome back, Mariko and take it away!
 
I am not an aficionado of vampire tales. I’m not a fan of nunsploitation movies. I don’t care for stories of spectacular violence or body horror. But when I ran across Mitogawa Wataru’s demented yuri-nun-vampire-girlswithguns-horror-erotica mashup manga… somehow, I knew it was for me. There is nothing subtle about this manga: It is proudly exploitative and violent. There is ugly lesbian sex and plenty of blood. But if just the idea of the sentence “sexy lesbian nuns hunt vampires with ridiculous weapons” makes you smile, you will love this book too.
 
Dorothy (Dolores to everyone but Maria, for reasons) is the daughter of the head of the Church, and a prominent nun in the monster extermination division of the abbey. She is slated to be the next leader of the Church and is treated with awe and deference by all that she meets. To public appearance, she is the picture of the Church’s ideal, trained in every aspect of running the Church and combating monsters. But privately she is a deeply, deeply damaged young woman. Her mother seems to have died when she was very young. In childhood, she witnessed the nursemaid that raised her be torn to pieces by vampires. She has become obsessed with the idea that vampire/human hybrids called “dhampirs” exist, and that finding one is the key to her quest to exterminate all vampires and effect her revenge.
 
Maria is the dhampir that Dorothy has been searching for all these years. Hated by humans and vampires alike, she and her sister Noelle were orphans. One fateful day a few years earlier, Maria helplessly watched as her sister was kidnapped by a vampire, and has spent all of her time since then hunting vampires from the shadows in hopes of finding her.
 
Of course, fate and circumstances conspire to bring the two together. Maria, chased by a horde of vampires she cannot defeat, crashes into Dorothy’s chapel, and is gravely injured. Once Dorothy realizes what she is, Maria gets a quick education in dhampirology. To this point, Maria has nourished her vampire side with blood bags, but a drink straight from the source triggers a powerful transformation into a bondage-geared beast. In that state she is capable of wielding the huge cross-shaped transforming gun that Dorothy totes around, which is specifically designed for dhampir use. Afterward they reach a detente – Maria will subjugate herself to Dorothy and work with her as a Red Sister, in order to further her mission to find and rescue Noelle. In return, Dorothy will be able to use Maria’s power in her quest to annihilate the vampire scourge.
 
Introductions aside, the rest of volume one is devoted to peeling the onion on the workings of the world and its societies, both vampire and human, as well as deepening our understanding of our heroines. Maria is crass and boorish, and absolutely uninterested in conforming to the expectations of a sister or of obeying Dorothy. But Dorothy in turn has a sadistic streak, and delights in manipulating Maria into doing her bidding. That completely unsubtle sub/dom dynamic is a major part of their relationship, especially at first. They undergo some missions that provide both spectacular stages for violent action, as well as further the mystery of just what the vampire legions are up to. We are also eventually introduced to Shanon, the princely woman who leads the Knights of the Cross, the male equivalent of the Red Sisters in the Church. She has been in love with Dorothy since childhood, and is her self-appointed protector.
 
Let’s talk about service. In case everything I’ve already written hasn’t made it abundantly clear, this series is a confection of pure uncut service from every direction. There are shower scenes and bedtime seductions and bondage and clothing destruction. There is every manner of salacious angle chosen to show off legs and breasts and butts. Maria wears a “combat habit” that is basically a miniskirt and corset, and after her magical girl transformation to dhampir mode wears even less. There are buckets of blood and violent deaths and huge explosions. What I appreciate most is that Dorothy and Maria are never cringing victims who are abused by the story for the reader’s pleasure (only to win in the end to make all the torture “ok”). No, they have power and agency at all times. They are not cute. At all. They are foul-mouthed crazy assholes, and I love them both for it. Also worth noting is Dorothy’s character design – if you like full-figured women but are tired of the anime aesthetic of a twiggy girl with two beach balls strapped to her chest, then Dorothy’s zäftig frame may be right up your alley. She has big hips and big breasts and they look and move like they should – A+, Mitogawa-sensei.
 
Yuri is a slow burn in this series. Dorothy is clearly obsessed with the idea of “owning” Maria the dhampir. There is a lot of playing around with vampire lore and tropes to suggest a conflation of Maria’s bloodlust with sexual desire for Dorothy. But they are both so screwed up and self-absorbed at this point, that most of the Yuri is veiled through their power dynamics. The late introduction of Shanon introduces another Yuri trope to the story, and there will be more, much more, in subsequent volumes.
 

Ratings:

Art – 10     Totally subjective, but the detailed-yet-sketchy renderings of gothic churches and dark alleys and horrible monsters and sexy nuns is, to my mind, perfect for this story.
Story – 7     Points for innovation, points off for cohesion (there’s a lot of hand-waving for anything that doesn’t get us to the next scene of mayhem). Also, having grown up Catholic, the concept of the Church operating in this way is absolutely hilarious.
Characters – 9     Did I mention “shit-talking lesbian nuns-with-guns?”
Yuri – 5    Not so much yet, outside of some variably tasteless exploitation scenes between Dorothy and Maria.
Service – Yes.

Overall – 8

 
Note: the title is a bit of a Japanese play on words, combining the words “Ganbare!” (Do your best!) and “Red Sisters” (the name of the combat division of the Church’s nunnery). The author’s romanization (which differs from the katakana), “Gunbured”, also suggests a reference to a “gunblade,” presumably the cross-weapon that Maria wields as a dhampir.
 
Attempt at obligatory limerick:
 
In a modernist medieval town
Hot nuns fill bloodsuckers with rounds
With a Church ineffective
And each her own objective
Dorothy and Maria get down
 

Erica here: Outstanding! Extra credit for an obligatory limerick. ^_^

As a quick reminder, Seven Seas English-language edition of this series is slated for March 2022 release. It sounds like utter trash…I look forward to it. ^_^ Thank you again, Mariko for this review and we look forward to hearing about future volumes from you.





Yoru To Umi, Volume 1 French Edition, Guest Review by Laurent Lignon

October 6th, 2021

We welcome a new guest reviewer, Journaliste/Chroniqueur Lauren Lignon, who will be looking at the French translation of Yuri manga Yoru to Umi by Goumoto. I’m very happy to have Laurent here to talk about this series…and what a great review this is. Laurent, the floor is yours…

This review is based on the French translation of the Plongée dans la nuit, Volume 1.

“In a flash… I went under”

Tsukiko Yano is a half-Japanese/half-European transfer student. A withdrawn and solitary girl, she spends her time between home and classroom, rebuking potential boyfriends and never trying to get along with the other schoolgirls. Until the day she sees by chance a fellow student, the extrovert Utsumi Aka, swimming in the pool. Struck by the grace of Utsumi’s movements in the water, Tsukiko will try to get closer to her… Not knowing that herself has also been noticed by Utsumi, who is fascinated by Tsukiko’s cold and distant attitude.

Thus starts the first volume of Yoru To Umi (夜と海) (The Night and The Sea, translated as the delightfully poetic title “Dive Into The Night” in French), a very interesting take on the classic love story between schoolgirls. Each of the five chapters is told from a different point of view : Tsukiko, Utsumi, the Theatre Club (most notably would-be actress Maihara), then once again Tsukiko and Utsumi. Through each point of view, we see how each character sees her surroundings and what their relationships with others mean to them.

Tsukiko, when retreating inside her thoughts, sees the world as the bottom of the ocean, calm and without sound, full of fishes and sea creatures. A vision linked to her memories of a trip to a seaquarium she undertook with her father as a child. This is what attracts her to Utsumi, as she see the swimming girl as a graceful sea creature whose form and movements in the water fascinates her to the point of wanting to keep looking at her swimming all day long.

Until meeting Tsukiko, Utsumi’s only pleasure was to spend hours swimming and diving in the school pool, feeling only at home in the water. Utsumi sees Tsukiko as a cold and otherworldly creature of the Night, a beautiful vampire from a movie she saw as a child, an inaccessible nightflower, out of her reach, but whose nocturnal beauty enthralls her. Both girls, very different in mindsets, manage to reach a sort of friendship that seems to bloom into something else… Except that each one of them struggles in her own way to understand the other one and express her feelings.

This is a slow story, going at a rather dreamy pace. The talent of Goumoto-sensei resides in the way she manages to picture some rather casual actions as having a deep impact on the the characters. This is not a story of blushing and cherry trees, but of the slow discovery of what brings two different people together. You can find in it as much a strong romantic friendship (in the Class S style) as blooming love, and it is up to you, the reader, to fill the blanks. However, this is not without some humour, most notably when Tsukiko imagines Utsumi as a suffocating out-of-water fish when the swimming pool is closed for the holidays.

But it is in the landscapes and the surroundings that Goumoto-sensei’s drawing talent shines the most. Every time Tsukiko retreats into herself, or looks at Utsumi, we see fishes and waves. And her mood impacts the way she envisions her environment (whales skeletons swimming near her when she feels down, an nocturnal abyss when she sleeps and dreams, a crashing wave materializing Utsumi’s difficult speech to her at the end of the volume, and so on). When Utsumi looks at Tsukiko, she sees castles, stars, the night and even a few bats. It is a very poetic way to represent the emotions and feelings that animate each of the two heroines, and it is beautifully translated into the drawings.

As the volume ends, Utsumi, although being quite a loquacious girl, gets to ask Tsukiko something that she’s never been able to say to anyone else before, leaving Tsukiko speechless, and the story to be continued in the next volume. (Volume 2 is available in Japanese or French.)

Ratings:

ART – 9 : this is brilliant from start to finish, and one can get lost in the amount of details on some pages

STORY – 8 : slow pacing, dream-like sequences, a few gags but still the story moves on correctly. The Sundays or The Cocteau Twins were my soundtrack for this reading session.

CHARACTERS – 7 : Outside of Tsukiko and Utsumi, the rest of the cast is rather non-existent for now.

SERVICE – 1 : a single pantie shot that could have been avoided, despite being logical in the context. Then there is Utsumi always swimming in a one piece swimsuit, but nothing is made to sexualize her.

YURI – 6 : this is so far a well done Class S story. The note reflect the fact that, to some, this may still not be Yuri enough.

OVERALL – 8

It is an unusual Yuri : although not said clearly, there are hints that at least one of the main character can be defined as asexual/aromantic, a rare representation within the genre. The story fills you with a soothing feeling, and the main protagonists are lovable enough to make you want to see more from them.

POST SCRIPTUM : On my first draft of this review, I had assumed that the character of Tsukiko Yano was an Asexual/Aromantinc lesbian, a rare representation in Yuri manga. However, confessing my own ignorance towards the Aro/Ace spectrum (as noted by A/A online contact Bee : “ Confusing a lack of romantic feels as just a general lack of feelings is a very common misconception so its honestly really understandable”) , I’ve asked some A/A people I was in contact with to read the manga and give me their own opinions. I was graced with the following interesting answer from Bee :

“Just the opening monologue makes me wonder if she’s a little bit on the autism spectrum […] Disinterest or disconnect from common things but random fixation on others […]  Yano has very questionable social skills – like she clearly enjoys the company of people she wants to spend time with, just doesn’t really pick up on social cues, seems to prefer personal space snd physical distance so I would learn more towards Autism or Aspergers than A/A”

This would make for an even rarer representation in Yuri. I’ll leave up to you, the reader, to make your own opinion about this very unusual character in a very unusual manga.

Erica here: Thank you Laurent for such an evocative review! I hope we can ask you to return for Volume 2.





School Zone Girls, Volume 2, Guest Review by Christian LeBlanc

September 29th, 2021

Welcome to Guest Review Wednesday on Okazu! This makes a third guest review in a row and we have at least two more on the way! If you enjoy our guest reviews, I hope you will support the Okazu Patreon. Thanks to our Patrons, who make reviews like Luce’s review of Volume 1 of this series and Christian’s review of Volume 2 possible! Welcome back, Christian LeBlanc for today’s review. ^_^

So, let me admit something to you: Ningiyau’s second volume of School Zone Girls from Seven Seas has proven to be a very hard book for me to review, as I would often find myself re-reading the stories instead of trawling its pages for beats to describe and funny lines to quote. Flipping back and forth through its short, episodic chapters is like a ludic loop of dopamine hits.

With its ensemble cast of misfit high school girls and their cool-as-hell uniforms of black dress shirts and white ties, this manga feels a bit like if Azumanga Daioh went through an emo phase (at least stylistically), abandoned the 4-koma style, and leaned more towards slacker than absurdist humor. Chapters are three to eight pages long on average, and this brevity perfectly suits the lighter tones of this book full of lovable, surly idiots.

Tall, breezy, beautiful Yokoe Rei (as seen on the cover) is still disastrously crushing on her best friend since middle school, the short, perpetually-perturbed Sugiura Kei (last volume’s cover star). Their friend and classmate Negoro Yatsude is the connective tissue between most of the cast, since she’s also friends and classmates with Matsuri Fuji, and club senpai to Hinase Tsubaki, both of whom we’ll get to. Yatsude’s withering reactions of concern and/or annoyance over everyone and their bull$#!t make her the perfect foil for her friends’ eccentricities, bouts of despair, etc.

Hinase Tsubaki is a bit of a wallflower (a friend of a friend describes her as “a gloomy li’l reject loner girl”), although bright and cheerful Kaname Yamashiro keeps taking the initiative of being friends with her. Tsubaki’s twin, Hiragi, is a surly loner, and also has a bright, cheerful classmate (Utsugi Ren) she’s getting closer with. To be honest with you, it wasn’t until I got towards the end of this book that I realized these were four different people, instead of two (Volume 2, due to reasons, was my first time reading School Zone Girls). We do see some flashbacks in this volume, so I expect we’ll soon learn why Hiragi hates her twin Hinase so much (which may or may not be related to Hinase’s let’s-hope-the-author-just-drops-it sister complex, ugh).

Matsuri Fuji is new to the cast, and is first depicted playing a crane game with increasing fury; the prize (which she thinks looks stupid anyway) has twisted itself in her mind into some form of character growth, like a next stage of enlightenment she needs to attain. You’d be right to assume from this that she takes herself way too seriously; she speaks with a heightened dialect that only makes her look more awkward to the arcade employees, and tortures herself with inner dialogue spirals about honor, respect, doing good deeds for selfish reasons, etc.

Once arcade employee Kishiya admits to feeling embarrassed over something, she becomes an inadvertent mentor to Fuji, helping her realize that even adults can be imperfect – and that’s ok. It’s almost like the relationship between Miyako and Sayaka at the coffee shop in Bloom Into You, except, well, Miyako would never laugh her ass off if Sayaka freaked out and gave herself a nosebleed. (Or keep replaying the moment in her mind, laughing a little harder each time.) Incidentally, I hate to admit how much Fuji reminds me of myself at that age, and I have to wonder why I’m being called out in this manner.

Most of the time, our cast is just $#!tting around: hanging out at school, riding each other over who can’t wink with their eyes, watching TV during homework dates, falling down 3 flights of stairs into a bloody mess before admitting they need someone to walk them home because the ad for a scary movie messed them up, etc. Stakes are fairly low all around, in spite of how hard Rei freaks out whenever she interprets Kei’s gruffness as affection, or Fuji’s obsession with winning that stupid stuffed toy at the arcade.

As I said earlier, School Zone Girls eschews the 4-koma style, so the comedy has more room to breathe naturally. Chapters are exactly as long (or short) as they need to be, contributing to the natural rhythms and quick pacing. I think this makes the poignant 18-page It Was a Joke stand out that much more, increasing its dramatic impact. This tale sees present-day Rei narrating some flashback scenes from middle school that shed light on why her crush on Kei hasn’t gone any further than it has. I’ll admit, the slapstick and spit-takes up to this point had my guard down, so I wasn’t expecting to see such an affecting portrayal of why two girls would still be stuck in a “will they or won’t they?!” stasis required by the plot. And, I know I can be a bit of a soft touch for scenes like this, but I dare you to flip back to the first page of this chapter again after you’ve read it and not feel something for poor Rei.

This section actually struck me as realistic (as opposed to contrived for the plot), but I got hung up on whether or not that was for me to judge. I asked Erica for her opinion, and she reminded me that authenticity is individual, but to go with my gut; my gut simply told me not to speak for others on what is or isn’t authentic to them. And then I wondered if I wasn’t overthinking a book where someone got punched in the tit last issue. Such is the genius of School Zone Girls!

Ratings:

Art – 9 A good comedy needs expressive, inventive body language and exaggerated expressions, and this one has it. Clean lines, screen tones that expertly give depth to the page and guide the eye, and engaging character designs all contribute to this rating. Ningiyau is particularly skilled at rendering affectations of disdain.

Story – 7 There’s a lot of fun nothing happening, except when Ningiyau decides to hit us in the feels with some of those bittersweet drama times. And that’s fun too.

Characters – 7 The twins still confuse me, but there’s hints that we’re about to see their history soon. Rei is best girl and I want everything to work out for her.

Service – 2 One panel stands out as a little cheeky, but otherwise there’s a welcome lack of gaze.

Yuri – 6 The audience is meant to root for Rei and Kei to get together. I can see some relationships forming among other cast members, and others staying platonic, but everyone else is just friends at this point.

Overall – 9 There’s a fair bit of substance here, in spite of its plain title and covers. The humor is dumb but in a smart way, and it feels like there are hints of relationships and future story arcs sprinkled throughout.

Special commendations should be given to the translation/adaptation team of Avery Hutley and Jamal Joseph Jr. for translating a comedy that reads briskly, naturally, and lands all the jokes and interactions, along with slang that sounds fresh, natural and unforced. Aidan Clarke’s lettering helps convey all the different beats as well – font types and sizes change when they need to, and sound effects do a great job matching the varying ways the original kana are written.

Erica here: Thank you so much, Christian! You and Luce have convinced me to read this comic! As we mentioned last time, Volume 3 is on the way in November, as well.





School Zone Girls, Volume 1, Guest Review by Luce

September 22nd, 2021

Another Wednesday, another Guest Review – and this one comes with a built in bonus, as Volume 1 will be followed next week with Volume 2! Please welcome back Luce, with a review of School Zone Girls, Volume 1, out now from Seven Seas in print and digital. Luce, the floor is yours!

I’m Luce, the owner of a book collection too big for the room I currently inhabit. I own a lot of yuri manga, and Erica kindly asked me to review Volume 1 of this manga. I can be found in the Okazu Discord under the name farfetched, and on tumblr at silverliningslurk. Now, on to the review! 

School Zone Girls shows us the daily lives of two friends; Sugiura Kei, a short-haired, short-statured generally sensible girl, and Yokoe Rei, a beautiful but nonsensical girl. Alongside their fellow students, it depicts their high school lives and adventures. Or misadventures, as we see very quickly.

In many ways, this feels much more like what actually happens at schools than any shoujo. Romance drama? I don’t remember much of that, more having daft conversations with friends, the weird things you were into and all the things school said you had to do but you didn’t want to. School Zone Girls is very much this. The chapters are short, with a four-koma style comedy about them, despite being normal manga form. There are no school princes of any gender here, just people in often ridiculous conversations and situations of their own making. Kei and Yokoe are the kind of friends that you don’t really know how they’re still friends – and neither do they – but they do care about each other underneath the bantering. I love it.

One of my favourite things is the expressions. They’re not ridiculous (most of the time), but get the emotions across very well. The characters also look distinct from each other, with different eyes and such, which I appreciate. There are a set of twins who look very similar, and they’re about the only ones you would mix up, but they have different uniforms, as they go to different schools, so that’s sorted too. Speaking of uniforms, I really like the uniform of this school. I haven’t seen anything else like it in manga. Never mind all the sailor uniforms, this is the one I’d want.

As for yuri, the blurb on the book makes no secret of the fact that Kei and Yokoe like each other… but maybe can’t admit it. This isn’t so much a blushing rom com though – more of the comedy, without the stupid set-ups. By halfway into the book it’s clear that Yokoe is very aware of her feelings, whilst Kei is… not really there. Mainly, Yokoe is usually annoying her too much to actually dwell on it while they’re together. There is a great scene where Yokoe confesses because she thinks Kei isn’t listening… Turns out she was kind of listening. But misconstrues it anyway. When you consider that Yokoe often proposes to Kei when she’s in her post-exam ‘anaphylactic shock’ (nothing to do with allergies), perhaps it’s not so weird. It feels like a character that is so often daft that she no longer knows how to be serious about something even when she wants to, something that’s touched on more in the second book. If anything, I find it hard to believe they will get together, just because it almost feels like them getting together might ruin the dynamic of the manga. But we’ll see how that goes! I’ll trust in Ningiyau, since they’ve done a good job so far.

Ratings:

Art: 8 for the faces. The ‘serious’ art is pretty nice, although pretty standard for decent manga
Story: 6 
Characters: 9, I love them all, but I hope the twins reconcile in later books
Service: 1 purely because a bra gets mentioned once. I guess they were in swimsuits at one point? It’s not a male gaze series at all.
Yuri: 6? More friendship based at the moment than romantic

Overall: 8

It’s daft, but I really enjoyed it. Second book in the series is already out in digital and print, which will have a guest review next week, and the third will be along shortly I believe. 

Erica here: Thanks so much for this heads up. I know I could sure use a goofy, fun series on my  tablet these days. Next week we will indeed have Volume 2 on tap, with a review from Chris.
 




I Summoned a Ghost to Be My Girlfriend, Guest Review by Jennifer Linsky

September 15th, 2021

Hello and welcome back to the first of several Guest Review Wednesdays in a row, hopefully. ^_^ Today we welcome back Jennifer Linsky who has graciously offered to review one of an increasing number of independently published Light Novel- and manga -inspired creations on Kindle.  So let’s settle in and let Jennifer have the floor!

The number one thing I say that I want from lesbian cinema is less lesbian cinema, and more movies that are whatever they are, and happen to include two female characters who kiss each other. So when I saw the light novella I Summoned a Ghost to Be My Girlfriend on Amazon, I figured it was worth the two bucks to buy it and try it out. I’m glad that I did, because it’s the kind of book I enjoy — a book about things.

It was written by “Kyuuen,” which is a pen name for Chris Ing, as he himself says in the author notes at the end. And while I know nothing about Kyuuen as a person, I can tell you two things: he’s a hard-core light novel fan, and he doesn’t actually live in Japan. I know the first of these things because he captures the beats of light novel writing perfectly; I know the second because he puts the characters on a train from Tokyo to Okinawa… a train route which doesn’t exist. But those complaints are easily considered and set aside. What’s more important is that the book has things which make it a joy to read.

Mae, the protagonist, is a high school student at an all-girls school in Tokyo. While on a class trip to a museum, she falls in love at first sight — with a girl who has been dead for eighty years, a girl she sees in a photograph on the wall. She delves into necromancy, and before you know it… well, it’s right there on the cover.

Beatrice, the love interest, reacts surprisingly well to being summoned back to Earth, and begins a campaign to set right the things in Mae’s life which have led to Mae being alone and lonely enough to fall for a dead girl in a photograph. Thus begins a sweet tale about the healing power of love, as Mae gives her love to Beatrice whole-heartedly and unconditionally. In return, Beatrice’s support helps Mae heal the wounds of the betrayals she has suffered.

This is a good book, but it could have been a great book. The antagonist is two-dimensional, a snarling figure of nastiness who never does reveal why she’s nasty. Mae forgives far too easily, and Beatrice is barely examined as a character. If the book had paid more attention to substance while upholding the style with which it is crafted, it could have been a solid ten. As it is, it’s light, it’s fluffy, and the girls do some smooching. What more can you ask for, when all is said and done?

Ratings:

Art – N/A
Story – 6
Characters – 7
Service – 3
Yuri – 10 
Overall – 6

Jennifer Linsky was born in Japan, but grew up mostly in Arizona. She’s the author of Flowers of Luna, available from Amazon or Smashwords, and she tweets sporadically as @walkyrjenny.

Erica here: Well, thank you Jennifer! I’m really glad you took a chance on this and even gladder that you brought it to our attention.