Archive for the Galette Category


Galette No. 22 (ガレット No.22)

September 30th, 2022

Galette No. 22 (ガレット No.22) begins with another strong cover illustration by pen. This is followed by a comic report by Morita Miyuki of the Galette 5th anniversary event!

Like other recent issues, this is split into two section – short continuing and one-shot stories and the continuation of Hakamada Mera’s Aikata System, presumably because Dgenzaka Shobor has pivoted away from Yuri towards only BL. A loss, I think, because they had some quirky titles. I did review Volume 1 and Volume 2 of Aikata System ~ Gakuen ga Eranda Unmei no Onna no ko~, but not the story has move past the chapters I previously read.  Let me spend a second on this second half of the book for a second, because while the premise of this story seems very much an easy Yuri premise – that is, when a student gets accepted into this school, they are assigned an “aikata” a partner, perhaps lover. But by now in the story, we can see that the system is quite broken and can easily be toxic. Two first years are watching their aikata hurt and be hurt by their former partners. Kairo is ready to see the system burnt to the ground. The reason I am taking time to mention this  is because I would love to a see a story that destroyed the hoary old, unhealthy tradition that binds the characters.

Morinaga Milk’s “Watashi no Kawaii Neko-chan” has fall into a rut. I don’t really understand why the two characters can’t just have a conversation, but both of them feel that the other doesn’t love them any more, for various reasons. Once again, I am reminded that Morinaga-sensei’s strength in narrative is just before a couple gets together. I don’t know where this can go and, at the moment, it feels like it’s going nowhere.

Of the remaining shorts and chapters, I really liked the very first one-shot “Natsukashii Mirai no Kimi e” by Asube Yui. It’s a great little fiction about memory and love and loss. Really solid. A sad, but lovely story.

Ratings:

Overall – 8

Issue No. 23 is out with the return of “Liberty,” another story I’m not sure where it’s going, but I;m here for the ride. If you buy it from Booth or Melonbooks, it comes with a clearfile by Moringaa Milk!





Galette, No. 20 (ガレット)

February 16th, 2022

Galette, No. 20 (ガレット) wraps up the 5th year of this crowdfunded, creator-owned magazine. In these past tumultuous years, they’ve put out 20 issues of the magazine, 18 issues of Galette MEETS and almost a dozen collected volumes. A pretty amazing feat especially as their main method of sales, comic markets, have been severely hamstrung for 3 years now and the pandemic (and shifting crowdfunding sites) caused havoc in their fundraising.

I follow a lot of creators on their Pixiv Fanboxes and the pandemic has wreaked havoc in another way, too. Creators are suffering, folks. Their opportunities have been cut off, a lot of them are depressed, and the lack of funds is hurting them, too. It’s pretty rough to read posts sometimes. If you can support your favorite creators by throwing them a buck or two on their crowdfunding sites, please do.

So here we are at an amazing moment in time, Galette has been in print longer than any Yuri manga magazine except Comic Yuri Hime! Even if it were to fold this year, it has done a lot and every one involved should be really proud.

Galette No. 20 (ガレット) features a full half dedicated to Hakamada Mera’s series Aikata System (相方システム), the first two volumes of which I have reviewed here on Okazu.

As always I really enjoyed Kitta Izumi and Momono Moto‘s Liberty, and Morinaga Milk’s Watashi no Kawaii Neko-chan, which has been licensed by Seven Seas as My Cute Little Kitten.

But tops for me this issue was the final chapter of a series that I have been following since the beginning,  Sora-iro Melancholic, which ended with an epilogue that dotted all the i’s and crossed all the t’s. It was a perfect ending to that series, the first volume of which I have also reviewed! ^_^

Ratings:

Overall – 8

Another fine volume of Galette! This one is not up on Bookwalker, I don’t know if it will be, but you can get it on US Kindle in Japanese, as well as Amazon JP in print and digital.

The 5th anniversary volume is now up on Amazon JP, and I can’t wait to see what it offers.

 
 




Galette No. 19 (ガレット)

November 14th, 2021

Galette No. 19 (ガレット) magazine is, happily, still chugging along with quality series by popular Yuri manga artists. This issue is probably the smallest we’ve seen so far, which had me worried, but apparently, the team is persisting through the various challenges of crowdfunding a magazine during a pandemic, when the shows that sustained sales have until recently dried up.

One of the main points of success for Galette was the various streams of income it was able to generate, between online and in-person sales. I know all too well how nearly impossible it is to have a major stream of income cut off in publishing. That said, the comic shows are coming back. Winter Comiket is scheduled to be in-person this year. Attendees will have to be vaccinated or prove they have a negative PCR test. (If it were my event, I’d have a vaccination booth outside the event, to encourage folks to get those vaccines.) Comiket is kind of a strange animal, with all the side doors open in Tokyo Big Sight, it’s inside, but also open to the outside, which might make people a little less concerned. However, there are always a *lot* of people at Comiket. But, I digress.

There are 5 continuing stories in this volume, a few of which are now into a second volume and ought to see collected tankoubon soon.

Additionally, this volume includes one of the Galette team’s “Collaboration” projects, with a paired manga and a short story, a concept I quite like. It feels very much a throwback to doujinshi circle works where folks would do a similar collaboration around a theme or a story. In this collaboration, the story comes first and the manga finishes up.

This is followed up by the editors’ notes and an ad for the 5th anniversary issue No. 20, which hits shelves in Japan this coming week. I’ve already seen the cover on the pre-order for crowdfunding backers; honestly Pen’s covers have been consistently one of my favorite parts of the book! ^_^

Ratings:

Overall – 8

I’m really hoping that the return of comic markets will bring in renewed vitality for Galette. It’s still totally worth getting, but I’d still love to see it consistently over 200 pages, and hope to see some of my fave artists return to its roster. ^_^





Galette No. 18 (ガレット)

July 16th, 2021

Galette magazine has done a pretty solid job of weathering a few challenging years and every single volume, collection or artbook published by Galette WORKS is a veritable triumph for a crowdfunded work. Before we get into the content, just think about what this magazine has gone through – switching crowdfunding platforms, having the comic shows they regularly sold at being canceled, and of course the general (and personal) stress of the pandemic. So, for Galette to be getting a quarterly journal out, along with collected volumes and Galette MEETS, is something for them to be proud of and for us to admire.

And, while Galette No. 18 (ガレット) is down in pages a bit from the pre-pandemic issues, what we are getting is both high quality and still some of the biggest names in the genre!

We start with another excellent cover by pen.

Aoto Hibiki is back with a story about a high school girl who falls in love with an older woman…who is not at all prepared to take advantage of a younger woman.

Morinaga Milk’s “Watashi no Kawaii Neko-chan” has turned towards a plot complication I’m not particularly fond of, but I have no doubt all will be well, eventually.

“Tsuki-chan” by Morita Miyuki is a one-shot about an adult who realizes her friend means more to her.

I have no idea where “Liberty” by Kitta Izumi and Momono Moto is headed, because Maki isn’t a confrontational sort, but I’m thinking we might just be pushing that last button. Liz needs rescuing and Maki is a good set of arms for her to fall into when she leaps.

Hamano Ringo offers up “100% Magic” about a woman at a call center and the woman who falls for her….not because of her voice.

And “Motto Hanjuku Joshi” by Morishima Akiko has now turned it’s sights towards my favorite couple of the original story, Ran and her former student, Mari who are still together now that Mari is a college student…and still fucking with Ran’s head. I love that this story has encompassed all the characters of the original Hanjuki Joshi series and expanded the cast out now. With Seven Seas picking up more of Morishima-sensei’s work, my fingers are crossed for this series – and the Galette sequel – one day in English.

When I said that this magazine is down in page count, don’t get the wrong idea…it’s still a solid 200+ pages of excellent Yuri content.

Ratings:

Overall – 9

This volume is available in print on Amazon JP through 3rd-party sellers, or from  Galette‘s Booth.pm shop….or in digital format on Bookwalker JP. 

I hope the magazine makes it through what is an objectively difficult year and is able to celebrate a successful 5th anniversary.





Galette Illustration Book 01

June 21st, 2021

Crowd-funded, creator-owned quarterly Yuri manga magazine, Galette is coming up on a third anniversary later this year. It’s currently at 18 issues of the main magazine out, 15 volumes of Galette MEETS, several Collaborations and about a dozen collected volumes under their belt. Not so much a celebration, but as a fun extra book, the folks at Galette WORKS took some time to collect some of the color art from Galette Magazine up into a single volume, Galette Illustration Book 01 .

I comment on this every single time I get an issue – I absolutely love pen’s illustrations for the cover of Galette and also really like the design aesthetic. With this volume, you can see a number of the cover illustrations, some of the inside cover and internal illustrations by other artists and get bios and art from other popular artists with ongoing series… among them Hakamada Mera, Morinaga Milk, Hamano Ringo and Momono Moto.

If you, too are a fan of these artists, of creator-owned Yuri manga, you can get digital back issues of some of Galette’s publications by becoming a supporter on Japanese crowd-funding site Fantia. The illustration book is available to anyone on the “Normal Course 500￥/month or above. If you prefer to support the artists directly without the magazine, there’s also a Galette Pixiv Fanbox, where each month a different artist contributes illustrations and a post.

If you’re interested in the art, but don’t want to support the magazine as a whole, you can grab a copy of the Galette Illustration Book 01 on on US Kindle. It’s only a few bucks and has some really lovely art. And I love that it’s been collected in a single volume to enjoy.

Ratings:

Overall – 9

pen’s work scratches all my artistic itches…stylish, adult, beautiful design, no blob heads to be seen. It’s everything I want in Yuri manga cover art. ^_^  I like it so much I jumped at getting a copy in print. It will be heading over on my next shipment from Japan. ^_^

While you’re at it, get yourself a copy of Galette No. 18 in Japanese on US Kindle and enjoy the new illustrations!