Archive for the Guest Review Category


Western comic: EROS/PSYCHE Guest Review by Foxy Lady Ayame

January 7th, 2015

erospsycheBack in May, 2014, YNN Correspondent Niki S wrote in to tell us about a lesbian comic of interest.  I invited anyone who was planning on reading it to write about it and as a result, we’re starting off our Guest Review Wednesdays with today we have a brand new Guest Reviewer here at Okazu! I’d like you all to welcome Foxy Lady Ayame, Ayame will be taking a look at this interesting new European comic that is published by Norma Editorial.

Hello, I’m Foxy Lady Ayame from The Beautiful World, a blog dedicated to miscellaneous storytelling media and particularly in anime and manga.

Eros/Psyche (promotional video) by Maria Llovet is a mysterious comic about a small intern all-girl school. Maria Llovet makes the reader plunge into the cryptic world of “The Rose” through the eyes of Sara. There, fate has it, she’s lead by a scarf to meet Silje, the ‘key’ student. They swear loyalty to one another as blood sisters. She joins happily the bucolic life at the school with uncanny gothic rituals and the strict rules; she studies books written in codes and sits for exams that decide which student is going to have to leave.

Sara’s so absorbed in how free she feels and how close she is to Silje, that she doesn’t mull over the suicide of a classmate, or the need for ‘rebellion’ Vanna had, or her last words before she was expelled. Sara doesn’t notice another classmate, Tamlyn’s, budding feelings for a boy either, something that seems treasonous. And, despite the fact that The Chamber comes again and again to the forefront of events, Sara has no will to explore it further and acquiesces to Silje’s unwillingness to talk about it.

New students come and go throughout the year. Silje reciprocates Sara’s feelings. By the last months of the year, only these two remain, until it’s time for the last test. Sara wakes up to find Silje departing suddenly. Silje tells Sara that she’s the next key student, gives her a guide book, apologizes and says her goodbyes. Perhaps they’ll meet again like Eros and Psyche in the Greek myth Silje tells Sara.

I bought and read the German edition by Tokyopop, which has a striking pink cover with the glossy figures of the main characters on the front and a smaller grey-ghostly version of this on the back cover. The whole comic is in black and white but otherwise it doesn’t remind one of manga very much. As a result, I wonder why it got the bronze medal in the 6th International Manga Award. It has some influences from Revolutionary Girl Utena and S-Class Yuri manga, but that’s it. The atmosphere is wonderfully eerie with the abandoned buildings, the creepy dolls and symbolic scissors. The panels are almost always rectangles, which had me doubting the artist’s talent, but they work well, giving off a cinematic or stop-motion experience.

Unfortunately, the ending is open and leaves the reader with more questions than answers. In her blog, Llovet expresses her desire to continue the story, but we don’t know anything certain yet.

Art: 8
Story: 7
Characters: 6, there’s small fluctuation in feelings
Yuri/Lesbian: 7
Service: 1, if some nudity counts

Overall: 7

If you love emotive stories that trigger your imagination, this one is for you. Otherwise, I’m not sure if EROS/PSYCHE is worth the 12 euros I spent.

Thank you Ayame, for taking the time and effort to read and review this book for us!





Yuri Anime Sabagebu! (English) Guest Review by Elizabeth V.

September 30th, 2014

sabaaeIt is once again my sincere pleasure to welcome a brand new Guest Reviewer to the Okazu family! I want you all to please welcome Elizabeth V and give her your full attention. The floor is yours, Elizabeth!

Sabagebu – Survival Game Club!, is a madcap, sometimes hilarious series that doesn’t take itself too seriously, despite some actual violence.

Momoka Sanokawa, a new student at an all-girls school, is coerced into joining the school’s survival game club by its president, Miou, a pretty and popular upperclassman with a wide violent streak. As the series progresses, Momoka, Miou, and their friends in the club undergo a series of wacky adventures ranging from fighting off upskirt photographers to an all-out road war in the Australian outback against a senior citizens’ survival club. Other members include the beautiful model Maya, the quiet cosplay fanatic Kayo, and the bubbly but ultimately violent Urara, whose obsessive crush on Miou is speedily transferred to Momoka in the first episode.

Animated by Pierrot+ and airing on Crunchyroll (regional restrictions may apply) this past summer season, the series’ pacing is speedy and each episode after the first has two or three stand-alone stories. An unseen, adult male narrator helpfully offers additional, often sarcastic remarks which occasionally cause the characters to break the fourth wall. The seemingly sweet Momoka is swiftly revealed to be rather cold and ruthless, undermining the common “innocent, good-hearted moe heroine” trope. She violently reacts to Urara’s extreme advances, often punching and slapping the younger girl (who always returns with even more fervent, masochistic devotion), but while this relationship is mostly played for laughs, it doesn’t come across as homophobic or demeaning, and by the end we are led to believe that in spite of it all, Momoka doesn’t actually find Urara that objectionable.

One thing which might bother some viewers is the amount of violence in the series. Although the narrator reassures us in the first few episodes that the bloody gunshot wounds and subsequent “deaths” only occur in the characters’ imaginations as they play their games with pellet-firing replica guns, the gory visuals might be upsetting. I have to admit, at first I was not at all interested in this series after seeing a screenshot from the first episode in which a character lies “dead” with bullet wounds in both breasts, but I reconsidered and started watching Sabagebu in earnest. I’m glad I did, however, the imagery might be too off-putting for some, so view at your own discretion.

Overall, although the humor of a few of the stories fell flat, the series was funny and enjoyable. Fanservice was mostly concerned with Maya’s generous assets. The characters’ outrageous adventures kept me laughing throughout, despite my initial reservations. Aided by side characters such as a stereotypical otaku called Fried Chicken Lemon, Momoka’s bizarrely cheerful and equally violent mother, and the club’s danger-prone advisor Miss Sakura, the Survival Game Club managed to keep me entertained despite my initial doubts, and gave me a new appreciation for pretend weaponry and the “magical gun-toting girl” transformations that accompanied it.

Art – 7
Story – 7
Characters – 7
Yuri – 5
Service – 6
Overall – 7

Thank you, thank you Elizabeth for the terrific review – and for the reminder that I should watch the rest of this series. I quite enjoyed the manga volumes I read. ^_^ 





LGTQ Comic: Lumberjanes (English) Guest Review by Katherine H.

May 28th, 2014

ljanes1It’s my favorite day of the week – Guest Review Wednesday! And today, we welcome back the stunning, the fabulous, the one and only Katherine H. of Yuri no Boke to speak on one of the most anticipated and popular new western comics of the year, The Lumberjanes. (Which I am also reading and I assure you, it’s fantastic.) So let’s give Katherine a warm welcome back and settle in for the ride. The podium is yours, Katherine!

Right now, I am following two ongoing non-manga comic book series- the new Ms. Marvel, which is great, and Lumberjanes, which is super-weird and a lot of fun.

Lumberjanes being awesome is no surprise given its pedigree. It’s co-written by Noelle Stevenson, the creator of one of my favorite webcomics, Nimona. If you read Autostraddle like I do, you may have noticed that one of their writers, Grace Ellis, is Lumberjanes’ other writer.

Brooke A. Allen is this series’ illustrator and Maarta Lairo is its colorist. I’m not familiar with Allen and Lairo’s other work, but they do a great job here. Allen’s art is expressive and doesn’t skimp on details without being too busy, and the composition is well done. Allen and Lairo’s linework and coloring pop with the energy this story requires, also.

Lumberjanes is basically about a group of awesome Girl Scouts punching their way out of strange and dangerous situations at sleep away camp. Jo, April, Mal, Molly, and Ripley are spending the summer in the same cabin at the Lumberjanes sleep-away camp.

The first issue opens the story with their fighting demonic foxes after following an old woman they saw turn into a bear into the woods. Their cabin chaperone Jen is exasperated when she catches them returning, but their den mother Rosie not only doesn’t punish them, she seems to have a bead on how preternatural the forest around their camp is when they tell her what they saw.

ljanes2In issue 2, Jen takes the girls canoeing, and its becomes weird again and more awesome. Amidst all the action, two of the girls become a couple and it’s pretty adorable. I expect this series to keep handling them well given Grace’s Autostraddle-ness and how well Noelle has handled the queer characters in Nimona. Issue 2 of Lumberjanes ends with the characters underground, pretty much accepting that they’re not going to have a normal summer.

This series doesn’t take itself too seriously- there’s a lot of banter and visual gags and even potentially grim scenes have goofy moments and punchlines, like the message the foxes spell, April’s response to the dragon, and pretty much everything Ripley does. The pacing is brisk and the characters are all likable so far.

In short, you should at least try Lumberjanes if you like stories featuring featuring well-written female leads doing cool stuff- basically if you’re Okazu’s target audience. The cute lesbian couple is the cherry on top. This was originally meant to be an eight issue mini-series, but it has sold well enough to be promoted to ongoing, and I’m glad for it.

Art: 9
Story: It’s just intro so far, but for entertainment, it’s a 9
Characters: 9
Yuri/Lesbian: 7
Service: 0

Overall: 9

Erica here: I agree with every word of this review. This is a terrific comic book, one of four western comics I am currently following (along with Ms. Marvel, My Little Pony ~ Friendship is Magic, and Rocket Girl.) By far and away, Lumberjanes is the the most creative of this creative bunch.





34-sai Mushoku-san Manga Vols. 1-4 (34æ­łç„Ąè·ă•ă‚“) Guest Review by Bruce P.

April 2nd, 2014

34-saiIt’s Guest Review Wednesday once again on Okazu and I couldn’t be happier…but that’s because I’ve already read today’s review and I can’t stop laughing. Once again it is my sincere pleasure to welcome back Okazu Superhero, longtime friend, traveling companion and amazing Guest Reviewer Bruce P Yaaaayyy!   

I picked up a copy of 34-sai Mushoku-san (The Unemployed 34-Year Old), (34æ­łç„Ąè·ă•ă‚“) Volume 1, by Ikeda Takashi, with the not unreasonable thought that the author of Sasameki Koto might have included some Yuri along the way. I was wrong; four volumes later, and there hasn’t been a hint of Yuri. Instead what we are given is a viciously drawn-out interior monologue of boredom, hopelessness, and personal failure. It’s cruel, peculiar, glacial, and grindingly depressing. Plus it makes me laugh. What a great manga.

The protagonist, who is never named, is a 34-year old woman who lives alone in an apartment and who has lost her job. The first chapter starts right off with a gag–she wakes up and can’t find her glasses (they’re on top of her head). The jokes continue. She doesn’t get up in time to take out the recycling. Her vacuum cleaner falls over. And then it falls over again. What we have here is a wacky slice-of-life story, as our madcap heroine searches for love and employment in the big city! Except
she doesn’t actually ever do any searching for love, or for employment, and as the same jokes begin to repeat, and repeat, it becomes clear that they are not jokes at all. They are symptoms, and despite her best excuses she is a woman in serious trouble.

Though able to deal marginally with others, even if there aren’t many others she ever deals with, at home she lives in a state of almost total paralysis. She cannot pull herself out of her futon until late afternoon, or up from under the kotatsu – Yui from K-ON! all grown up when it is no longer cute. You get the sense that losing the job may not have had much to do with the economy after all. She’s isolated from her family (including a daughter) and has only one acquaintance, a woman she meets occasionally for dinner and who is blatantly drawn with eyes always shut. Her only real companion is her apartment. She just swirls slowly, sleepily around in the drain of her well-vacuumed world. And if that doesn’t make you want to shell out for the multi-volume set, be assured that in Volume 2 she takes dramatic steps to change her life, by contemplating possibly taking dramatic steps to change her life. Contemplation of these steps continues in Volume 3 and Volume 4.

It sounds grimmer than kidneys on toast. Why read it?

(1) Asymmetric though she is, her character is strikingly realistic, and in more spots than are comfortable I can see, in her, a reflection of some of my own unlovely edges. This is both disturbing, and of value when I’m trying to get out of bed in the morning.

(2) It’s beautifully and brilliantly drawn, which nicely counters the subject; some chapters contain no words at all, but are simply picture plays as she bleakly and languorously contemplates her empty life. It’s like mime, in two dimensions, though not as depressing.

(3) Ikeda-sensei has a nice comic touch, and it really is quite funny. Even if laughing at all the pratfalls feels somehow misdirected, like appreciating the Hindenburg disaster on account of it being all bright and sparkly.

(4) Nothing has changed in four volumes. I’m still waiting for the thing to happen.

***

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***

Ratings:

Art: 9. Brilliant. Just brilliant.

Story: 5. Not so much a story as a slowly deteriorating situation. I’m betting on something happening; it eventually did in the classic gently-paced series Yokohama Kaidashi Kikou when Kokone reappeared. My suggestion is to add robots.

Character: 18. She’s not honestly sympathetic, but credit for every year over the age of 16.

Yuri: 0. Unfortunate, but ideally Yuri requires a second character.

Service: 2. A few sponge bath scenes, if you’re desperate enough.

Overall: 8. 34-sai Mushoku-san will not be to everyone’s taste. However, I have never been a fan of action series, and with this one I hit the jackpot.

 





Yuri Game: Gone Home Game – Guest Review by Jackie S.

March 12th, 2014

gonehomeIt’s Guest Review Wednesday and amazingly we have a new Guest Review by a brand new Guest Reviewer. Please welcome reader Jackie S, who has offered to take a look at a game that got a lot of buzz in lesbian/female/gaymer circles. A games that got so much buzz, in fact that I even heard of it. ^_^  

Take it away Jackie!

There are spoilers in this review.

In the computer game Gone Home, by the Fulbright Company, the year is 1995. You play 20-year-old Kaitlin Greenbriar, who has just returned to the US after a year abroad in Europe. You arrive after midnight at the new home your family moved into while you were away, but discover that no one is home. The object of the game then is to explore the house and discover clues regarding the whereabouts of your family.

The main narrative focus of the game and major point of interest for Okazu readers is the story of your 17-year-old sister, Samantha. Without her older sister around to confide in, Sam decided to write about her year as a series of journal entry “letters” addressed to you. As you progress through the house, you unlock narrations of Sam’s letters. Her entries tell the story of moving to a new school, being intrigued by another girl, finagling a way to meet said girl, becoming friends, becoming girlfriends, and their relationship from there.

First off, Sam is a fantastic, interesting character. She passes the “Would I invite this character over for lunch?” test with a resounding YES. Example: About three rooms into my exploration of the house, I found her assignment for health class lying around. It was a pretty awful assignment about the reproductive system – put sentences about “The Menstrual Cycle” or “The Life of a Sperm Cell” in order – that included the gag-worthy line “It is incredible how the female body knows how to prepare for pregnancy!” She had done the assignment and put them in order
 within the context of a tragic, wartime romance story. (^_^) Unfortunately (but unsurprisingly) the teacher seemed to lack a sense of humor


When Sam first sees Lonnie, her eventual girlfriend, she’s interested from the get-go. She hatches a plan to interact with her by challenging her to a game of Street Fighter, which doesn’t go quite as smoothly as planned (she gets her butt kicked) but accomplishes the main goal of making contact. Sam’s excitement as they start hanging out is obvious, and later her fervent hope that she’s reading the situation right really rang true for me. (A lot of this can be attributed to very good voice acting done for the narration.) It took me a while to realize, but Sam never questions her sexuality or her being in a relationship with another girl. She knew before the timeline of the game started that she likes women (“since, like, She-ra,”), and seems to have already accepted that as a part of who she is. That doesn’t mean, however, that she doesn’t struggle with parents, friends, and classmates knowing/finding out. The biggest issue for Sam, though, is the future of her relationship with Lonnie. Not because they’re gay, but because Lonnie, who is a year ahead of her, is in JROTC and planning on joining the army right after graduating. And then she’ll just be
 gone. All of the issues in Sam’s life seem to be coming to a head as you near the end of her storyline and progress to the attic of the house. Honestly, I was a bit worried about what I would find in the attic


**SPOILER  ALERT**

Thank goodness they didn’t decide to use the “lonely, rejected gay teenager commits suicide” trope. The ending is a little bittersweet, but also hopeful, and avoids a too-neatly-wrapped, unrealistic happily-ever-after ending.

***

For me, one of the best things about Gone Home was how real it felt. Even though you never meet them, your family members feel like real people, especially Sam. The house feels like a real home that people actually live in. The level of detail the creators put into all of the STUFF in the house is pretty incredible: books, recorded VHS tapes, mugs, pads of paper, soda cans, bottles, and so much more, most of which you can pick up and inspect more closely. (I tend to spend way more time than necessary in games exploring every nook and cranny, but in this game that tendency was rewarded with all sorts of interesting discoveries! Like Dad’s adult magazine collection! 0_o) The nostalgia factor is also strong – it really feels like 1995 in there. The music, sound effects, and lighting combined to create an atmosphere that really fit how I would feel exploring a strange, empty house during a thunderstorm (of course) after midnight. Heck, I had to keep reminding myself that I wasn’t playing Resident Evil, and no one was going to jump around a corner at me wielding a chain saw. Which I sometimes have to remind myself of walking around my OWN not-strange house at night during storms.

Ratings:

Visuals – 8 Not the most visually stunning or beautiful game I’ve ever played, but the sheer level of detail of all the different knickknacks and paraphernalia is quite impressive.

Controls/Gameplay – 9 I don’t usually play computer games (more of a console gamer), but I picked up the controls pretty easily. I really liked being about to pick up and interact with so many things in the house. It took me about 3.5 hours to beat the game, and while I think I missed a couple things, I’m pretty sure I found most items of interest. YMMV on how much replay value there is and whether it’s worth spending $20 for a 3-4 hour game. (Though I got it on sale for $10!)

Story – 10 For two reasons: 1) Sam’s storyline by itself isn’t exactly groundbreaking, but as far as I’m aware it’s the first time such a story has been the main narrative focus of a game that isn’t a visual novel/dating sim/whatever. 2) I haven’t really talked about it, but the stories you can piece together about your Mom, Dad, and the great-uncle who willed the house to your dad are also fascinating, if much harder to suss out than Sam’s.

Characters – 10 Sam alone gets this, but reason #2 in my story rating also applies.

Yuri – 10 The main storyline is about a lesbian, in a lesbian relationship. It is not a “Story A” AND

**SPOILER** doesn’t end with any gay teenagers committing suicide. \(^,^)/

Service – 0 Because finding your Dad’s porn stash is more of a disservice


Overall – 10 For what this game is trying to be, it does a fantastic job.

Erica here: Thank you Jackie for this review, it certainly sounds like it deserved all the praise it received. And Steam runs sales all the time. ^_^