Archive for the LGBTQ Category


Usotsuki Lily Manga, Volume 11 (うそつきリリィ)

February 1st, 2015

Uso11In Usotsuki Lily, Volume 10, we met Kanae and Keiko, two women who clearly like each other, but who don’t know how to tell one another, and Taiyou, the young man who asks Kanae out while working for her.

At the beginning of Volume 11 of Usotsuki Lily (うそつきリリィ), this is the status quo: Taiyou is in mega-bummer mood because, although he really likes Kanae, he knows that she and Keiko like each other. And he can see that, although he and Kanae are “going out”, they aren’t really. But he really likes Kanae.

He asks his older sister for advice and, rather sensibly, she suggests owning the relationship. But it’s Ten, the lead, En’s, younger brother, who makes the real breakthrough in Taiyou’s funk. Ten is open about liking guys. Although “gay” is not used here – dousei 同姓- “homosexuality”or “same-sex” is. Ten explains that he’s on Keiko’s side.

Taiyou and Ten embark upon an ill-advised plot to get Keiko and Kanae together. Let me be clear here. I, personally, believe every single plot complication in all of fiction that is not “tell the person the truth” is ill-advised. ^_^

So Taiyou and Ten (who actually is interested in Taiyou) appear before Kanae to tell her they are going out. Kanae is confused by this, unsurprisingly. To convince her, Taiyou kisses Ten, at which Keiko appears, and kicks him in the head while shouting the PG-rated version of “What the fuck is wrong with you!?!”

Keiko yells at Taiyou that Kanae chose him instead of her, so he’d better treat her well. Kanae is shocked to hear this – yes, of course she likes Keiko, but didn’t know she felt the same, etc, etc. And so, the chapter comes to an end with Kanae and Keiko together. Taiyou girlfriendless and Ten having been kissed by the guy he actually likes but as a fake thing.

One of you lovely folks mentioned in the comments of the Volume 10 review that this arc ended all d’awww… and I see your point, that Keiko and Kanae are together at the end and all, but felt that Ten takes absolutely unnecessary lumps in the process. In fact, he’s the best character of the arc, being the only one able to see the truth, speak the truth and handle the truth. In my mere two volumes of this series, Ten is my favorite character – and my candidate for “I hope he get plucked out of this needlessly complicated drama and plopped into a nice story.” ^_^

But there we go – we know from Girl’s Lily that Keiko and Kanae will go on to live happily ever after and consider marriage. So for them, definitely, d’awww.

Ratings are for this arc only:

Art – 7
Character – 7 for everyone but Ten, who is a 9.
Story – 6 Still ‘Story A’ with adults, and the handwave of young men as catalysts.
Yuri – 5 Same as above
Service – 1 Taiyou and Ten kissing, for the crowd that is interested.

Overall – 7

Not bad, certainly addresses some real issues.  There was a lot of room for improvement, but for a Margaret book, pleasantly positive, reasonably realistic.





LGBTQ Novel: Atashi no Kanojo (あたしの彼女)

January 22nd, 2015

anknWe’re very familiar with Mori Natsuko-sensei’s work here on Okazu.So, it comes as no surprise really that her newest Atashi no Kanojo (あたしの彼女) is another romp through various forms of adult play and BDSM.

Notably, this novel comes with a cover drawn by Morishima Akiko-sensei which, as far as it goes, actually is pretty good illustration of the content. There are no other illustrations in the book, as it is not a light novel.

Sae is a college student, in love with her classmate Hanano. Hanano returns the feeling, but in a private conversation, explains she is not interested in sex, only masturbation. If Sae wants to be her “lover”, she’ll use Sae’s sexual exploits as masturbatory fodder. (The word in Japanese for this, btw, is “Okazu”. That was one of the meanings I had in mind when I chose the name for this blog. Okazu is more commonly use to describe little dishes of various food items, as well, which fit into the idea that the blog covers this and that. And, finally, it’s a nickname for lesbian sex, as it’s not “the main course”, but a “side dish.”)

Sae agrees to Hanano’s term and find herself torturing a nice, attractive male classmate, Eiji, for Hanano’s pleasure. Hanano also sets up a session with a butch lesbian Midori. Sae becomes increasingly unsatisfied with her “relationship” with Hanano, as she never gets to so much as touch the other woman. When she meets up with Midori on what she thinks is her own, she finds that Hanano is already there and is watching them.

One last time, Sae is the top to pretty (and rather sweet) Eiji, but Sae’s thoughts stray towards Midori. She’s attempting to break away from Hanano, but finds that her “lover” is two steps ahead of her. Midori straps Sae down, then calls both Hanano and Eiji to join them, As Midori directs Eiji to have sex with Sae, Sae suddenly realizes that all along, Hanano was the sadist and she, like Eiji, has always been a masochist.

Like Sae, I grew a little tired of the “relationship” about halfway through the book. It was an easy read and I suppose it was sexy, if that’s what one is into, but there was never any kind of emotional development for any of the characters that convinced me to like them. This was very much a case where I would have liked to see Sae be plucked out of this book and find someone nice in another story. ^_^

Ratings:

Overall – 6

It was okay. All of Mori’s typical fetishes, without any of her fabulous outrageous humor or geeky wonderfulness. In the end I decided that the one thing I never, ever want in my porn is an ironic ending. ^_^;





Usotsuki Lily Manga, Volume 10 (うそつきリリィ)

January 20th, 2015

UL10Komura Ayumi’s popular series about a cross-dressing boy, En, has mostly flown under my radar. But, when I reviewed Girl’s Lily, a special focusing on two lesbian characters,  YNN Correspondent Nikki wrote in to let me know that they get some of the spotlight in the series, I thought I’d take a look at those volumes.

In Girl’s Lily, the point of view was Keiko’s brother. In Volume 10 of Usotsuki Lily (うそつきリリィ), the point of view is once again that of a guy, Saotome Taiyou,  the younger brother of the female protagonist, Hinata. Taiyou comes across a woman in tree who, as she shimmies down the trunk, slips and falls onto him. When she sees that he is bleeding, she invites him over to her shop, where she appears to sell hand-made crafts and knick-knacks.  To apologize for injuring him, the woman offers Taiyou a job. And that is how he meets Arimori Kanae.

The shop is quiet, no one comes to buy anything. Bored and with nothing else to do, Taiyou watches Kanae. It is immediately apparent when she brightens up because someone is coming. That someone turns out to be Keiko. It’s obvious right away that Kanae is love with Keiko and vice versa, but it takes a little fiddling, a handwave, and a unfortunate, yet successful, plot to make Keiko jealous, to get them both to admit their feelings.

Their arc in Volume 10 ends with Keiko vowing to snatch Kanae away from Taiyou, who doesn’t really want Kanae, but whatever, drama, etc.

Kanae is pleasantly flaky and Keiko is pleasantly not flaky and I look forward to them getting together.

Komura-sensei’s art is also pleasant, without being amazing. As a Margaret magazine romance, this series  – well, this arc, anyway – is reasonably unmelodramatic.

Ratings are for this arc only:

Art – 7
Character – 8. Everyone seems very nice in this arc.
Story – 6 ‘Story A’ with adults, and the handwave of young men as catalysts.
Yuri – 5 Same as above
Service – 0 Nada. Not even if you try.

Overall – 7

As we already know from Girl’s Lily, they will eventually plan on getting married, which makes me want their arc to be relatively painless. ^_^





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!





Charity and Sylvia: A Same-Sex Marriage in Early America

January 6th, 2015

candsssmLast year, Rachel Hope Cleves published a book that was one of the most fascinating reads of my year. Charity and Sylvia: A Same-Sex Marriage in Early America is a detailed and precise account of two women, Charity Bryant and Sylvia Drake, and their lives together in the rapidly changing environment of early 19th century America.

Born into middle and working class homes, neither woman had a chance to be highly educated and both worked well into their late years as seamstresses But, despite less opportunity than we can imagine, the two made what can only be understood as a happy life together. They were, during their lifetime, regarded as a “married” couple by their families and the people in their town.

In the course of the book we discover that Charity was a bit of a player, but, as with so many other lesbians, she remained friendly with her exes. ^_^ Of the two, Charity took up the “man’s” role in the house, keeping their business running, signing contracts and making large decisions for the two of them, while Sylvia handled accounts for the home.

Cleves takes great pains to make a strong case for the two as lovers, not because it’s not obvious, but because the Victorian among us are so ridiculously persistent. As we encountered with Deborah Shamoon’s Passionate Friendship and Annalee Newitz’s recent io9 article on the Ladies of Llangollen, we’re always inundated with modern Victorian finger-wagging at that thought that two women writing love letters, sharing a bed and living together for decades cannot possibly be seen as a lesbian couple because they might not have had sex. As I replied to Ms. Newitz, I do not understand why it is not “wise” to look at a thing through Occam’s Razor. We don’t push ourselves through this kind of hoop for heterosexual marriages, why on earth would it be different for this one? These women wrote copious letters and there is epistolary testament to their having been lovers. It’s not conjecture. It’s time to accept that the duck is a duck. ^_^

Cleves removes all doubt by putting together a case that is all but unshakable.  Newitz makes the case that concept of “romance” was different in the 18th century, which is exactly why Cleve’s detailed and meticulous combing through written evidence is so critical. At first, as I read the testimonials and evidentiary writing, it appeared to me to be gilding the lily, but I quickly realized her intent was not overkill, but to really make sure that the finger-waggers had as little space to tut-tut as possible. After today’s discussion on io9, I am both thankful and glad for her thoroughness on the issue.

While reading about the enormous difficulties of post-Revolutionary War life was interesting, the toll deprivation, disease and market factors took on society was a bit of an eye-opener. As I frequently say, humans don’t change, only technology does and reading about the market crashes after the War, has convinced more than ever before that we are one hella stupid species.  ^_^

There was a lot of detail in the book about Charity’s and Sylvia’s lives, growing up with their families and their years together. I have to admit, I kind of want to visit the old girls next time I’m in the area and pay them my respects. They and I wouldn’t have seen eye to eye on religion, but I think I would have enjoyed having them over for lunch. ^_^

Ratings:

Overall – 9

Thank you, Rachel Hope Cleves for introducing me to Charity and Sylvia and they life they built together in Weybridge, Vermont.

This book is available in Hardcover print, Kindle and Audible audio editions.