Archive for the LGBTQ Category


Gay for You? Yaoi and Yuri Manga for GBLTQ Readers

October 11th, 2010

Saturday at NYCC/NYAF it was my incredible pleasure to be able to sit on a panel about BL/Yuri manga for LGBTQ readers. It was, in my opinion, one of the best panels I’ve ever had the honor of being on. Great conversation – and great questions from the audience, too.

One of the features of the panel was a handout that moderator Robin Brenner put together, of a suggested reading list based on the panelists’ suggestions.

I’ve edited my comments a bit, but this is otherwise what was handed out Saturday.

Update: And, btw – Happy Coming Out Day. If you have a young LGBTQ person in your life, do them a favor and tell them you love them for who they are. Thanks.

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Yaoi and Yuri Manga for GBLTQ Readers

Compiled by Leyla Aker, Robin Brenner, Christopher Butcher, Erica Friedman, Scott Robins, and Alex Woolfson

Yaoi/BL

After School Nightmare by Setona Mizushiro
(Go Comi!, 10 volumes)
Chris’s note: A complicated though somewhat intense handling of gender and trans issues, in a very readable format. While the series works best as a metaphor, I think there’s a lot there to enjoy (as a story) for any older teen or adult reader with interest in gender identity issues.

Age Called Blue by est em
(NetComics, 1 volume)
Scott’s note: A poetic and angsty look at the tumultuous relationship between two members of a  punk/rock band and how their love for one another eventually pulls the band apart. This less traditional yaoi title will appeal to teens and fans of more European-style comics or art-comics. Est Em’s art evokes a little bit of Paul Pope here.

Antique Bakery by Fumi Yoshinaga
(Juné Manga, 4 volumes)
Chris’s note: A PG-rated series about men working in a bakery. Addresses traditional gender roles and male friendship in a direct and funny way, but real depth and weight is given to the gay characters and relationships as the story develops.

Black Winged Love by Tomoko Yamashita
(Netcomics, 1 volume)
Leyla’s note: Short story collections are usually a tough sell, but this collection is well worth a reader’s time. Yamashita is another mangaka who I’d love to see more of for English language
audiences. Like Kunieda, she’s incredibly strong with characterization–no cookies from the cutter here–and with story construction, which for her ranges from comedic to tragic, from BL to shonen ai to josei, from short stories to volume-length works. Net Comics has released another one of her volumes, Dining Bar Akira, which is also listworthy.

Erica’s note: Yamashita also wrote HER, which I recently reviewed. That had a Yuri story in the collection.

Bondz by Toko Kawai
(801 Media, 1 volume)
Chris’s note: Two really hot guys sleep together, profess to regret it, and then have to navigate the very muddy waters of coming out and their attraction to one another. Dirty. The other 3 stories collected with it are only okay. :)

Dog Style by Motoru Motoni
(Media Blasters, 3 volumes)
Leyla’s note: This is my curve-ball candidate. Most of Motoni’s works are insane crack, but this three-volume series is distinct from the rest of her oeuvre. The story is humorous, angsty, and smarter than it may seem on first read. The art is stylized, with clean, strong lines that are rather unusual for L. Also unusual for BL, the teenage guys actually act like…teenage guys. Readers who are looking for romance, pretty art, and more linear storylines will probably loathe this
(although the story is very romantic in its own way), but those who are looking for something fresh and sharp will probably find much to appreciate here.

Don’t Blame Me! by Yugi Yamada
(Juné Manga, 2 volumes)
Robin’s note: Yamada follows the Mr. Darcy school of romance: snarky bickering until the couple realizes it’s been love all along. Just with more sex. Following adventures of a university film club, this tale is as much an ode to college’s reckless mix of passion and creativity as it is a romance. A few side plots, including fangirls, porn, and love between brothers (must we?), veer into BL clichĂ©s, but the main pairing is messy and tender. If you like her style, Close the Last Door is as compelling about adults, though with sillier notes.

Future Lovers by Saika Kunieda
(Deux, 2 volumes)
Alex’s note: The book that *every* hard core yaoi fan friend of mine told me I had to read. I wasn’t disappointed. Topnotch art where the bishonen ukes still look like guys, an openly gay romantic lead (a rarity in yaoi), very believable character interaction and some sex that’s actually, well hot (also a rarity in my experience with yaoi). A very compelling, page-turning story of two guys with very different personalities who fall in love.

Leyla’s note: Seconding Alex on this one. With one possible exception, all of Kunieda’s titles are top-notch, and I wish she were better represented here.

Ichigenme: The First Class Is Civil Law…
by Fumi Yoshinaga
(801 Media, 2 volumes)
Chris’s note: Probably the most realistic depiction of a mature gay relationship that I’ve come-across in yaoi, the relationships felt really strong, and well-observed. Lots of sex (particularly in the second volume), and it does not feel
overly designed/pandering to its intended female audience, largely owing to Yoshinaga’s skill as a storyteller.

Little Butterfly by Hinako Takanaga
(Digital Manga, 1 omnibus edition)
Alex’s note: Very sweet romance with lovable high-school aged characters and well-drawn art in the shojo tradition. Good humor, well-paced plotting and an all-around good time. Some hardcore yaoi friends I’ve talked to found the plot twists to be yaoi clichĂ©s, but IMHO, it’s a great introduction to the special joys yaoi offers gay readers.

Love Pistols by Tarako Kotobuki
(Blu, Manga 5 volumes)
Scott’s note: My first experience reading yaoi—a bizarre story about sexual conquests, gay relationships and characters evolved from animals other than monkeys. The series follows a lot of the traditional dom/sub and older/younger themes found in most yaoi but turns the genre on its head with the addition of these half-animal characters. This makes sexual scenes ridiculous but also sexy and fun, especially when it’s revealed that males can be impregnated. Might appeal to members of the gay ‘bear’ community or any other community where animal metaphors and sex are found.

The Moon and the Sandals by Fumi Yoshinaga
(Juné Manga, 2 volumes)
Robin’s note: As Chris notes looking at Ichigenme, Yoshinaga’s skill elevates her titles beyond clichĂ©s. Here we have a student in love with a teacher, an easily-led object of affection, and a girl pining away for her gay friend. Yoshinaga promptly upends expectations. Sometimes hesitant, sometimes impulsive, her characters are charmingly true to life. The second volume is filled with sex – character driven sex, but sex nonetheless – but also features a rare storyline
about coming out in the workplace.

Rin! by Satoru Kannagi and Yukine Honami
(Juné Manga, 3 volumes)
Alex’s note: The main reason to get this is for the art — no one draws huggable boys like Yukine Honami. Her penciled style combines traditional manga elements (such as the larger than life eyes) with beautiful naturalism and compelling
expressionality. And while there are no surprises here plotwise, he romance is satisfying, believable and yes, very sweet. Much fun.

Shout Out Loud! by Satosumi Takaguchi
(BLU Manga, 5 volumes)
Robin’s note: Two realistic romances for one! Shout Out Loud is set in the world of voice actors, thus appealing to manga fans, but the milieu is second to the relationships. Baby-faced Shino is unsure of how he feels about his two seductive colleagues while his teenage hockey star son falls for his assistant coach. Much more about heart than seduction, this series deftly balances questions of identity with finding love.

Erica’s note: Takaguchi is also known in the Yuri world for gang-girl classic Hana no Asuka-gumi.

Seduce Me After the Show by Est Em
(Deux, 1 volume)
Alex’s note: Very non-traditional art with complex, difficult characters who feel like they could actually be real people. This book is essentially the opposite of my previous yaoi recommendations — all of which could essentially be summed
up as “happy, pretty Boy’s Love”. Instead, these pages contain thoughtful, sad, wistful, complex and subtle stories for grownups that will make you think. It’s an 18-and-over book that, frankly, you might actually need to be over 18 to appreciate,
and one of the best yaoi books I’ve ever read. One to pick up after you’ve read a bunch of other yaoi books so you can appreciate how special and risky it is.

Tea for Two by Yaya Sakuragi
(BLU Manga, 4 volumes)
Robin’s note: I get as tired of high school romances as anyone, especially when the uniforms and ages are more kinks than window dressing. Tea for Two neatly sidesteps
the pitfalls of high school boy BL. Easy-going baseball jock Tokumaru falls for calm, sexy Hasune, the scion of a famous tea family. Their progress from admitted feelings to a working relationship is all the drama you need. Tokumaru states his feelings bluntly, taking the wind out of any pining on either side, and coming out as a couple is an issue (rarely addressed in BL, here it’s part of growing up.) Humor lightens misunderstandings and Sakuragi excels at exposing vulnerability. As a bonus, no one draws a sexy smirk so well.

Yuri

Strawberry Panic Omnibus by Sakurako Kimino
(Seven Seas, 2 volumes manga, 3 volumes novel)
Erica’s note: Strawberry Panic is a parody of many typical Yuri tropes

Iono-sama Fanatics by Miyabi Fujieda
(Infinity Studios, 1 volume published in English)
Erica’s note: A fun Yuri fantasy. Volume Two is included in Erica’s license requests.

Yuri Monogatari by various creators
(ALC, 6 anthologies to date)
Erica’s note: Yuri anthology in English, artists and writers from all around the world (conflict of interest, well, yes, duh. Still, I think it’s great!).

Hayate x Blade by Shizuru Hayashiya
(Seven Seas, 6 volumes, ongoing)
Erica’s note: Not “Yuri” but with pairs of girls who swordfight to work with, it’s a great action/comedy-drama.

Erica’s wish list for titles that SHOULD be published in English.

Aoi Hana by Takako Shimura
(5 volumes, ongoing)
Erica’s note: Fantastically excellent series – all the Yuri tropes, like Strawberry Panic, but done with elegance, grace and strength.

Rica ‘tte Kanji!? by Rica Takashima
(ALC Publishing, 1 volume)
Erica’s note: Out of print, we’re working on an omnibus. It may be e-book only.
Robin’s note: I agree this needs to come back into print! It’s adorable and perhaps the only title I’ve read that’s both realistic and adorably romantic.

Gunjo by Ching Nakamura
(1 volume, ongoing)
Erica’s note: Dark, violent, dysfunctional story about a woman and the lesbian who is in love with her, on the run from the police after the lesbian kills the woman’s husband. Sounds kind of “meh” it’s actually genius. Reading it is like eating the most delicious razorblades ever.

Maria-sama ga Miteru by Oyuki Konno
(35 volumes novel, 6 volumes manga, ongoing)
Erica’s note: The anime is in English, we really need the novels to come out here, but they never will.

Ame-iro Kouchakan Kandan by Fujieda Miyabi
(1 volume, ongoing)
Erica’s note: There is no “plot,” but the women of the Amber Teahouse do nothing in an incredibly pleasant way.





Lesbian Comic: Batwoman Elegy

October 1st, 2010

Two years ago, I had the pleasure of a guest review by David Welsh on the issues of Detective Comics in which the Batwoman arc ran.

This week I read the collected volume of Batwoman: Elegy by Williams and Rucka for myself and I find that I don’t have a substantially different opinion than David did.

I was an American comics reader for decades before I discovered manga. However, I was almost exclusively a Marvel reader. Not for any philosophical reason – Marvel series were just more appealing to me. So this was probably the first comic in the Batman world that I had read in more than 30 years.

Batwoman: Elegy tells the story of Kate Kane, the daughter of soldiers, who has been busted out of West Point and ripped from an exemplary military career for being gay. This section is poignant, as Lt. Dan Choi was consulted. I expect that the conversation Kate had with her C.O. was not unlike the one he had with his. Lost, flailing for purpose, she has a relationship with Renee Montoya (wow, really, what a shock, not) which breaks up eventually. Because of this and a conversation at the beginning of the book we are supposed to see Kate as incapable of holding a relationship together. Really, three relationships and she’s a commitment-phobe? Um…

Eventually, she finds purpose fighting crime and, eventually, metamorphoses into Batwoman.

The book opens as she fights a new high priestess of crime that plagues Gotham.

Batwoman Elegy has an artistic design that I described to myself as Burton meets Mucha. There were individual pages or spreads that worked well but, on the whole, I found the emphasis on color overwhelming. And man, the faces just were not consistent across the story. It’s obvious in those two sentence that reading manga has strongly affected the things I look for in a comic. With all the color, I find it hard to *see* American comics these days.

Above all things, what I like best is a good story.  Batwoman Elegy is an okay story.

I know that Rucka is a massively popular writer, but I am just not getting what people see. I think he’s competent, absolutely, but nowhere near excellent. Here’s why I say that. About halfway through the book, Colonel Kane gives the entire story away. In one word. This is not foreshadowing. To call this “foreshadowing” is like saying that me beating you senseless with a bat, then saying “you’re going to have a bad day today” is “telling your fortune.” The worst part about it…it was obvious anyway!!! I guessed within 3 pages what the deal with Alice was. I don’t mean to cast aspersions on American comics readers but…really, this is what passes for “excellent writing?” Wow. (I asked my comics store owning friend about this “foreshadowing” and she said she never really noticed. I wonder…when you have like 12 pages of content in a 32 page comic, if the reason people don’t notice is that they are on overload from all the crap they have to wade through to get to the meat. That would kind of explain a lot about American comics, too…)

There were, definitely, things to like about this book. The color scheme is striking, no doubt about that. And the four pages spent on Kate’s evolution from paramilitary crimefighter to Batwoman were fantastic. Really fantastic. Those four pages made the entire book work for me. Which is where my one genuine complaint comes in – four pages? The best part of the story gets *4* pages? In a manga it would have gotten an entire volume. At least a whole chapter. Here, it gets 4 pages.  Oh well.

So, here’s what *I’d* like to see. Let’s redo this story from scratch, get someone who can really write on it and give it some time to develop, instead of shoving each section into 4-8 overcrowded pages.  Give us more. More time, more room, more growth and more development. More of Kate. Less of ridiculous badguys with realllllllllllllly obvious provenance. How about we just get more crime, less shark jumping right off the bat? (This is something I see *a lot* with female-lead series. The new crime drama Rizzolli and Isles went *right* to a previous stalker/serial killer who is ba-ack! arc….in the first episode. Gawd.)

The New Batwoman standalone series is starting soon. DC, here’s your chance to show you don’t suck, you understand how to tell a story. Here’s you chance to create an American superhero comic as interesting to women as manga is. Go for it.

Ratings:

Art – 8
Story – Kate’s personal story – 8, the Alice arc – 3
Characters – 8, what little we got to see of them
Lesbian – 5
Service – 5

Overall – 7

The best part about this book is undoubtedly the fact that it was sponsored by newly minted Okazu Hero Ashley R! Ashley, thank you so much. Email me at anilesbocon01 at hotmail dot com to receive your very own Okazu Hero badge to proudly display on websites and social media profiles!





HER Manga

July 25th, 2010

HER, by Yamashita Tomoko, is a series of character portraits, loosely strung together by everyday circumstances.

The story begins with a woman who wants to be loveable – and loved – and who has a fixation on shoes. Her hairdresser’s fear of the future is the subject of the second chapter. A schoolgirl whose hair she cuts sees her older female neighbor kissing her female lover goodbye. In the past, the neighbor had a difficult relationship with her mother. The neighbor’s lover was rejected by her first love. The couple sitting next to them at the cafe have their own issues.

As an omake, each chapter is summed up by a one-line subtitle with an accompanying 4-panel comic: i’ve not known HER; i’m detested by HER; i’m nothing like HER, i gonna get at HER; i still love HER; i always lost to HER. [sic, in all cases]

The lesbian chapters are quite excellent. They realistically portray an older woman, Yoshiko, who has already reconciled herself to the choices she’s made and can discuss them honestly with a young woman who doesn’t know what to do about her own life. Even as Kozue realizes that everyone she goes to school with can, in one way or, another be considered “strange,” she comes to realize that her neighbor Yoshiko isn’t that “strange” at all.

For one thing, Yoshiko is older – as in late 50’s-60’s. Not only is it not typical so see women that old in manga at all (even mothers seem eternally 30 unless they are 70) but almost unheard of to find a lesbian that old outside a “lesbian bar” scene. For another, Yoshiko is not bitter, regretful, or…well…anything. She’s just a person, as Kozue begins to understand. Yoshiko has thought about kids, for instance and, for several reasons, has not pursued having them. She’s a photographer, she grows flowers. She’s not moralizing, or warning Kozue away from the life – she’s just living her life as honestly as she can. Ultimately, that’s what allows Kozue to accept her.

The chapter about Yoshiko’s youth is not about her sexuality. It’s not about coming out. It’s about her discomfort with her mother’s behavior and the many reasons why she rejects an offer of sex from a guy she otherwise trusts and likes.

Yoshiko’s lover, Honmi, in her younger days had fallen in love with a straight co-worker. Despite her attempts to be a good friend, she’s suffering when the woman she loves suffers, more so because she can’t really do anything to comfort her. Although she’s long moved past this, that first love lingers on in her heart.

HER is a great example of skilled story telling. It’s a book that begs for a re-read or two, so one can pick up things missed on the first or second read. It’s the kind of book that – were it in English – I would give to an adult, female friend who doesn’t read manga. Readers of Octave who enjoy the story for the adult interactions of the characters would also enjoy this manga.

There’s nothing here to appeal to children or children in adult bodies. This is a story for adults, about adult choices, becoming an adult and most of all…what it’s like to be HER.

Ratings:

Art – 9
Story – 8
Characters – 9
Lesbian – 9
Service – 0

Overall – 9

Like a whipped cream, sprinkles and cherry on top of the yummy ice cream of this series, this book was sponsored by Okazu Superhero Dan P – the first of several from my Amazon Japan wishlist. Thanks Dan, this was way awesomer than I anticipated!





Yuri Manga: Aoi Hana, Volume 5

April 22nd, 2010

You know the 5 Stages of Death? Well, Coming Out also has certain stages. 1) First, you have to admit to yourself you are /fillintheblank/. 2) Then you admit it to someone close to you. Just one person, because your sure it’s going to turn them against you. 3) Then you admit it to someone else – sometimes a perfect stranger, because that’s safer than family or friends. 4) The biggest hurdle is vocalizing it to your family. If that stage is not horrible (and for many people it is,) you start becoming more comfortable with the whole thing, until the final stage 5) Acceptance. For that to happen you have to accept yourself. It’s a bonus if the people around you accept you too, but it’s most important that you accept yourself.

In Aoi Hana Volume 5, Fumi has made it past the third stage. And really, she’s not sure how she got there. But it’s okay, because she’s well on her way to accepting herself. And she’s also already incredibly strong, although she doesn’t yet realize it.

It’s once again time for the Drama Club to put on their play and emotions are running very high. Despite themselves, last year’s first-years are turning into rather mature second-years that are admired by the new students. Kyouko stuns people with her performance in Mishima Yukio’s Rokumeikan. (The link is to the collection of plays in which Rokumeikan is included.) Even Akira, who comes down with sudden nerves, finds herself caught up in the moment and shines on stage.

Haruka learns that Fumi, too, is a lover of women, and we follow a flashback when she learned of her sister and Hinako’s relationship. When Fumi meets Haruka’s sister, she is keenly aware – and a little jealous – of their comfort level with each other.

Even Mogi’s clandestine relationship with Akira’s brother is noted.

Everyone is growing up.

I only wish I had “met” Fumi when I was young. I could have used a media representation like her.

With vacation planned and old flames coming back into the story, Volume 6 promises to be full of fireworks – can’t wait!

Ratings:

Art – 8
Characters – 9
Story – 9
Yuri – 5
Service – 1

Overall – 9

Does *anyone* like Chizu? The more we see of her, the less I like her.





Yuri Manga: GUNJO, Volume 1

April 9th, 2010

(Note to people looking for scanlations of this book. The author does not work herself to the bone and pay money out of her pocket so you can steal her work. Scans are not cool – they are theft. You want the book, click the picture and go buy it. Otherwise, you’re devaluing her time and effort and there is no justification for it, other than you are selfish.) 

“Is it settled?”

“It’s settled.”

With these few words begins one of the most profound, most emotionally engaging manga I’ve ever read.

Gunjo, Volume 1 (çŸŁé’ 侊)by Nakamura Ching is a journey from madness to madness, from profound misery to profound misery and from derision and fear into depths of despair where there is respect and even love.

It begins in the moments after a horrible crime has been committed. A woman has asked someone to kill her husband for her. She has asked someone she knows she can use – another woman, a lesbian, who has been in love with her since high school. The woman who requested the death is abusive, derisive. The woman who committed the crime is passive, almost apathetic. She flinches in the face of the other’s harsh words, but doesn’t fight back.

In between incredible, sudden violence, at moments when their existence is most tenuous, there is tenderness. No, it’s more like that there is only tenderness in the moments when they are most fragile.

We only learn later that the one woman has been serially abused by her husband, after a life with an abusive father. And we only learn later that the other woman walked away from a relationship and a life to commit this act of violence for her.

There is no real moral ambiguity here – these two women are violent and broken. They are insanely bad for one another and have together done something unspeakable. And yet, in the darkest moments, they realize they want to live and try to create something like a life out of the chaos they’ve created.

Nakamura-sensei’s art is detailed and realistic – and in those moments of terrifying violence it reaches the level of sublime. Her writing is subtle – and painful and hurtful – and breathtakingly beautiful especially when the situation is uncertain. There is a mastery of tension of just about every kind in every word and line of this story.

Moving, brutal, sublimely gorgeous and profoundly disturbing.

I’ve said it before and I’ll continue to say this – Gunjo is the best manga I have read to date.

Ratings:

Art – 10
Story – 10
Characters – 10
Yuri – 7
Service – 1

Overall – 10

I would love to hear from those of you who bought Volume 1 of Gunjo – what did you think of it, now that you’ve had a chance to see it for yourself?