Archive for the LGBTQ Category


LGBTQ Manga: Girl’s Lily

August 8th, 2014

ScanThe June 204 issue of Margaret magazine has a “tribute” book to an ongoing manga Usotsuki Lily by Komura Ayumi, about which I know nothing and haven’t bothered looking up even so much as the plot. ^_^

This tribute book starts off with a short comic that is, however, absolutely relevant to us – Girl’s Lily, which is ominously labeled “Boys not allowed” on the cover so, as I picked it up I was already cringing.

It turned out to be an unexpected treasure.

The first page involves a guy, confronting two girls, (all presumably characters we would know from the main narrative), and the older girl commenting “Didn’t you see the “No Boys Allowed” tag?” I just love when the fourth wall crumbles underfoot, so I started to read in earnest. The boy explains that he needs their advice. His older sister wants to marry her lover, he says, but her lover is…a girl. Quelle shock, as you can imagine.

Just then his older sister, Keiko and her lover come into sight, having followed him to try and talk with him.

The lover, Kanae, is a pale, quiet, shy thing, but she follows him when he runs off, takes him to a coffee house and when he’s surprised that he likes what she chosen for him to drink, she smiles and said that, because his big sister likes sweet things too, she thought he’d like that. To his massive discomfort, it become really obvious that Kanae really loves Keiko and that they are  – and want to be – happy together. He inadvertently confesses his massive siscon, and faux-grumpily, to cover his embarrassment, wishes them well.

And so we will assume them, happy and well, for ever after.

I don’t know who these people are, but, wait, was that…? Yes! It was a manga about two adult women getting married to each other. In Margaret, a shoujo manga magazine for teens. Woot, woot, and double woot.

Ratings:

Art – 8
Story – 8
Characters – 8
Service – 0
LGBTQ -10

Overall – 8

Thank you Komura Ayumi-sensei! Congrats on the success of Usotsuki Lily. Here’s to many more.

YNN Correspondent Nikki S. writes in to let us know that Kanae’s and Keiko’s story fills Volumes 9-11 of this series.  Thanks Nikki! (Quick update: Looks like Volumes 10 and 11, but not 9. I have them sitting here, and 9 is all about the school festival.)

 





LGBTQ Manga: Torikaebaya (とりかえ・ばや ), Volume 3

July 14th, 2014

A lot happens in Volume 3 of  Saito Chiho-sensei’s Torikaebaya (とりかえ・ばや ).

Sarasojuu’s friend and peer, Tsuwabuki, has fallen for Sarasojuu’s wife, Shinohime. Alone and unable to understand why her husband does not make love to her, Shinohime falls willingly into his arms.

Both Tsuwabuki and Shinohime are overcome with shame and can’t face Sarasojuu, who is, obviously concerned and confused.

And then, Shinohime is found to be pregnant. Sarasojuu is shocked. Clearly, Shinohime is sleeping with another man, and who can blame her. Sarasojuu visits her father, proposing that Shinohime be told the truth, but he puts the cabosh on that, pointing out sensibly that, if the truth were spoken out loud, even in secret, it would spread fast.

In the meantime Toguu-sama is heading to the mountains taking Suiren with her. Suiren probably doesn’t realize it yet, but  we can see Suiren is falling for Toguu-sama, and it’s kind of cute, but of course there’s the whole gender thing complicating matters.

Toguu-sama allows Suiren to invite Sarasojuu to the mountains to accompany their party. In the mountains, the two siblings meet the master of the mountain, Yoshinomiya who instantly sees who they truly are. Returning home, Sarasojuu “forgives” Shinohime and eventually comes to believe that the father is Tsuwabuki.

In the capital, the Mikado learns of a city warehouse that is not releasing rice to the people and decides that what they need is the return of Yamato Takeru, a hero from the ancient epic Kojiki, to enact the Mikado’s will.  (As an aside, Yamato Takeru is known to have hidden by disguising himself as a woman. This indicates to me that Saito-sensei is having some fun with this story, about a boy who is a girl physically, who is playing a boy dressed as a girl.)

Sarasojuu and Tsuwabuki perform their roles and the warehouse is opened (shades of Mito Koumon there, honestly, with the officials overturning their sake bowls in shock at their appearance.) Afterwards, they are greeted by Shikibukyo-no-miya who blatantly claims Sarasojuu for his evening’s entertainment. To save his friend from this odious man, Tsuwabuki volunteers himself to be the priest’s sex toy. They return to the capital and finally, Sarasojuu is able to confront Tsuwabuki about being the child’s father. Now that the child is born, Sarasojuu offers to divorce Shinohime so Tsuwabuki can raise his daughter. They argue and, as the book comes to an end, Tsuwabuki may have discovered the truth about Sarasojuu’s body.

Ratings:

Art – 9
Story – 8
Characters – 9
Service – 3
LGBTQ – 5 This volume was very Victor/Victoria.

Overall – 9

A lot happened in this volume….and how it will turn out I have no idea. I’m on pins and needles here. I probably won’t get  to Volume 4 for months. Arrghh!

 





LGBTQ Comic: The Legend of Bold Riley, Continued (English)

July 7th, 2014

Bold-Riley-2-463x700If you, like me, have been impatiently waiting for the next installments of the wonderful series The Legend of Bold Riley, written by Leia Weathington and drawn by a number of artists, your wait is over! Three new issues have been released following our favorite dashing adventurer!

In Issue 1,  The Talking Bone, Riley encounters a bone that regales her with a tale of love lost. So, of course, she wants to reunite it with its love and, of course, it’s more complicated than it seems.

Issue 2, Warp and Weft, finds Riley sleeping on a moor alone. And, as everyone knows, when you sleep alone on a moor, strange things happen to you. In this case, Riley meets an old woman whose tapestries tell stories, of the past and maybe the future.  I was fortunate enough to receive a reviewer’s copy of this and Zack Giallongo’s art is perfect for the story. In many ways, it reminded me of the opening to the quite epic anime Erin, (which if you have not watched is absolutely worth a watching. It’s streaming on Crunchyroll.) And the cover (pictured here) makes Riley look so darn cool.

In Issue 3, The Lion Jawed, having left her grief behind her, Riley encounters more visions and a new purpose, as she heads off to find adventure (and beautiful women) in Kabumzala.

As sword and sorcery short stories go, I find Bold Riley to be just about perfect. Each artist gives me the sensation of listening to well-known stories told by different storytellers.  The only thing missing from the series at this point is a Pirate Queen to be Riley’s frenemy. ^_^

One of the million things I love about Northwest Press is the variety of formats their work is available in. Paper pamphlet comics, e-book, PDF, iPad ePub and CBZ…and each linked issue has a few pages up for you to take a look at before you buy. The collected volume should be out next holiday season, but throw a few bucks NWP’s way and get more amazing LGBTQ comics now.

Ratings:

Art –  is always dependent upon your taste
Story – 9 I love this stuff
Characters – 9 I love this stuff
Service – Variable

Overall – 9 for Lesbian Adventurer.

Seriously, I love this stuff.





LGBTQ Manga: Wandering Son, Volume 5 (English)

June 27th, 2014

wson5One of the most maddening things about human relationships is our frequent inability to escape from previously established patterns of interaction with people. We return home to visit parents to find them – and ourselves – slipping into well-worn and often dysfunctional habits of communication and behavior.

As Nitori Shuichi begins 7th grade in Wandering Son, Volume 5 (Amazon | RightStuf), I couldn’t but help feel as if I was reading a return to old habits and relationships. Chiba’s still angry, Mako’s still perceptive in an awkwardly adult way, Sasa’s still energetic and Nitori and Takatsuki are still fighting battles on multiple fronts. A few relationships have changed, but many have not and the tensions they create fill the book with chapters that look eerily like the shadows of earlier chapters. But, even as I say that, I realize I’m being ungenerous. Everyone – especially Nitori and Takatsuki – have indeed changed.

Which is why I almost found it frustrating that the plot complication of the gender-switch play was introduced…again. Yes, it works for this class and yes it allows the characters to work some stuff out, but don’t you wonder if the rest of the kids in the class thought, “Really? Again?!”

And the super awkward obsession of the teacher is, well, just straight up freaky. Now I’m wondering if any of my teachers looked at me and thought of some past person they knew instead. (-_-);

The issue of the gendered uniforms is subsumed in Chizuru’s wearing of the boy’s uniform because she feels like it, while Takatsuki, who desperately desire to do so, does not. And Nitori is almost reflexively denying the desire to wear girl’s clothes, but Mako rightfully points out that they may not be able to get away with it for much longer. Puberty creeps ever closer.

In all sincerity, I am reviewing this volume for the last scene in which Chiba, in an unusually lucid moment, asks Nitori if he likes Takatsuki as a boy who likes a girl, or as the girl he wants to be liking Takatsuki as a girl. I’d also add the possibility that Nitori as a girl could like Takastuki as a boy. Not surprisingly, Nitori cannot answer that question. It’s a tough one and the answer to it is the primary reason I’ll read the next volumes.

Ratings:

Art – 8
Story – 9
Characters – 9
LGBTQ – 8

Overall – 9

I find this series deeply uncomfortable reading, but I keep coming back. I want to see how this plays out.





LGBTQ Manga: Torikaebaya, (とりかえ・ばや) Volume 2

May 20th, 2014

In my review of Volume 1 of this gorgeous manga version of the classic Heian story, Torikaebaya (とりかえ・ばや), I discussed the story’s history. Today, we’ll talk about the protagonists of the story.

Two children born on the same day to the same father, but different mothers – a girl, Sarasojuu, who is now living as a young man in the Heian Imperial court and her brother, Suiren who is living as a woman in the women’s quarters. They look so similar, they could be twins, and they are both beautiful. They are also, however, unsuited to the sex into which they were born, and as Volume 2 begins, both of them are passing with their father’s and his older brother’s knowledge and consent…and I want to take a moment to say, Dad’s kind of awesome, really. He’s gotta know the chances of this going well are slim. But he’s owning it. As we shall see.

Sarasoju befriends another young courtier, Tsuwabuki and they, like guys do, have contests of arms and talking smack. Tsuwabuki loves his dear friend, but Sarasoju is never able to truly relax around him. How could she? The moment she’s discovered, it’s all over. (Note: If this were a story in a modern context, I would be referring to Sarasoju and Suiren by the sex that they present as, but for the moment, since the idea that they are passing in world in which trans* people do not exist is the conflict at the heart of the story, I will continue to use their birth sex pronouns. My sincere apologies to anyone who disagrees with my choice.) To complicate matters,  Sarasoju receives a marriage offer from the Fourth Princess, Shinohime. At a very fraught discussion with her uncle and father, Sarasoju goes all in and agrees to accept the offer.

Tsuwabuki is livid at the news – how dare Sarasoju get married without telling him! They have a fight, which they heal up in the time-honored way of beating the crap out of each other and Tsuwabuki confesses that he wants to get married, too…to Suiren. Erk! Erm, Sarasoju tries to put him off, but it’s not happening.

Sarasoju takes up the position of husband to Shinohime, but their relationship is, for the moment, platonic. However, Ume-tsubo, one of the ladies of the court is convinced that Sarasoju is female and has several times tried to catch her out. She corners Shinohime and asks about the sex with her new husband…. Shinohime chalks up their lack of sex life to Sarasoju’s age, since they are 7 years apart. But seeds of discontent are sown.

In the meantime, Suiren has taken up a position with Toguu-sama, the Crown Princess and has been requested to write stories for her entertainment. He is up late one night writing when Tsuwabuki barges in and forces his attentions upon Suiren. Suiren counters with a hysterical reaction about hating men, and beans him with an inkstone. Tsuwabuki retreats, feeling like a heel. Sarasoju tries to console him by explaining that Suiren has a deep aversion to men, but Tsuwabuki has a different problem now.

Having seen Suiren, he’s decided that Sarasoju is better looking…a thought that freaks him out. Homosexuality is not unknown, but it is considered the purview of Buddhist priests and creepy dudes. He encounters Shikibukyo no Miya, a metrosexual sodomite wearing a wisteria flower in his cap, swallows his pride, and asks about homosexuality. Shikubukyo is pretty much as creepy as possible, leaving Tsuwabuki even more uncomfortable with his desire for Sarasoju than before. Unable to sleep, tormented by his own desires, Tsuwabuki sees Shinohime in her garden and again, does the unthinkable by barging in on her in her quarters as the volume comes to an end.

This description makes Tsuwabuki seem like the bad guy in the story, but he’s really not. If there is indeed a bad guy, it’s Ume-tsubo.

The question I had when I began reading this series was “Will this be a comedy or a tragedy?”. As I finish Volume 2 I am no closer to an answer, really. But now I’m annoyed as heck I didn’t just pick up Volume 3 when I had the chance!

Art – 9
Story – 8
Characters – 9
Service – 2
LGBTQ – 4

Overall – 9

Saitou Chiho’s art is gorgeous, of course, and the story remains elusive as of yet. Volume 3 will have to be where we address at least one of the multiple impending crises. Yikes, but you know I’m going to read it. ^_^