Archive for the Magazines Category


Girls Jump Magazine

January 16th, 2011

/singing/ You know Shounen and Business and Super and Weekly, and V and Young and Monthly and Ultra….but do you recall, the newest Jump magazine of alllllll……..?

Announced at the end of 2010, Shueisha added the seasonal Girls Jump ( ガールズジャンプ) to the lineup. The premise was to approach popular and off-beat female manga artists to draw manga for a young adult male audience. The inaugural issue is a combination of talent, creativity, flavored with a dash of wtf that makes for a truly compelling read.

Anyone who is reading current popular manga will recognize at least a few of the names in this collection. For our purposes here at Okazu, the three names that will draw our attention are Suekane Kumiko (Afterschool Charisma,) Nakamura Ching (GUNJO) and Torino Shino (Ohana Holoholo,) but there are any number of excellent storytellers in this volume.

The manga I liked best was a Furuya-esque piece called “Uki Mieru” by Tomii Masako, in which everything – by which I mean every random thought that could be expressed as an individual image – that a girl thinks, is visible to those around her. Because the story is set at Christmas, there’s a lot of happy shinyness going on there, and a lot of other stuff too.

Suekane Kumiko had a story that I found snortingly amusing called “Christmas Koroshiya” in which a young man who had wanted to become an assassin when he was young, imagines killing all the happy, shiny couples around him.

I can’t not discuss Nakamura-sensei’s “Vespa.” If you’ve ever wondered what life in a beehive is like from the perspectives of the bees, then you really need to read this. In a sense, it’s kind of a hopeless love story between a nameless drone and the Queen.

While these three stories were my favorites, they hardly give you a taste of the variety in art and story encapsulated in the volume. I wouldn’t hesitate for a second to pin my newly coined “fifth genre” label on this – it is not precisely josei, nor truly seinen, but something new and interesting, for people who want to read it.

Ratings:

Variable , Overall – 8

Should there indeed be a next issue, it already has a guaranteed place on my must-read list.





Yuri Manga: Comic Yuri Hime , (コミック百合姫) January 2011

January 12th, 2011

And thus, the fourth era of Yuri has begun.

Ichijinsha has re-launched Comic Yuri Hime (コミック百合姫), with an entirely new look, a slightly new feel and a new bimonthly publishing schedule.

Gone is the sweet snuggliness of Fujieda Miyabi or Hibiki Reine, gone is the stoic Eiki/Taishi look, gone is the moe-moe of Tsubaki Asu. Comic Yuri Hime Rebirth is heralded with violence and darkness…

…there is something so very, very wrong about this that I immediately loved it. ^_^

The whole experience begins immediately on the cover where, buried in the art, begins a short story by Fukami Makoto (writer of Vertigo, which I reviewed a few months ago), illustrated with slightly more blood than, maybe, strictly necessary, by Kazuaki – a tale of girls shooting each other with guns in sexy and pointless ways. It was great, but then, you know I love stories about homicidally violent women.

I laughed like a loon at the first page after the color art page, in which we are trained in the proper application of “Yuri Brain,” similar to our “Yuri Goggles.” Here we are taught how Yuri Brain shifts things to being Yuri, even when they are not, really. The example given is hilariously funny: In the real world, Junsui Adolescence *is* Yuri, and K-ON! and Grappler Baki are *not* Yuri. With Yuri brain, only Grappler Baki remains on the “not Yuri” side of the equation. With that kind of sense of humor upfront on this magazine – and the girls with gun fetishes wtf-ness in the cover story – I was primed and ready to read the new Comic Yuri Hime and hopeful that we can leave some, if not all, of the moe blob blandness behind us.

The volume gets off to a good start with Takemiya Jin’s story of two sisters who have a radically different approach to love. Takemiya does great short series, and has really leveled up in the past year or two of working professionally.

Techno Samata’s story of cool girl/uncool girl left me feeling lukewarm, but only because I’ve seen it done a lot recently and I clearly need a few chapters to warm up to any story.

Way back in the 90s, Mist magazine used to label all their stories – “Coming Out,” “Second Love,” etc, so you kind of knew what categories a story might fall into. Sakamoto Mano’s “Pie wo Agemasho, anata ni pie o ne” is handily labeled “90% Bitter and about the same Sweet, Love.” Even more interestingly, this label is in a creole of Japanese and English that totally works in either language. For the label alone I would have liked this story, but in addition, the story fascinated me right away as it took two typical characters, subverted the way they were handled, then threw them into the Yuri blender to see what happens. What happens is a very unlikely love.

Also new for the Rebirth, btw, there is contact info for all the creators – snail mail only, which I thought was kind of cute and old-school. Of course so many of them are on Twitter, it’s easy enough to reach them. (Start by following my Yuri Artists and Writers list to get a head start on it.)

“Fu~Fu” takes Kina-chan and Su-chan on a whirlwind tour of their own feelings about their relationship when another female couple moves in next door. When Komugi and Hayase are so upfront about their relationship, it inspires Kina to level up the love-love talk as well. This series is a like a refreshing drink of water, even as it wallows in its own silliness. We need about a dozen more series like this.

Tanaka Minoru takes a few well-covered tropes – two women meeting at a group date, cell phone madness and emotional awkwardness and sews them together for “Mettesarete Kya-”

Uso Kurata takes a look at a different story in the RPG world of “Sore demo Yappari Koi o Suru.” A young girl befriends a good looking guy in virtual reality, but is able to see right past superficial appearances to the jaded woman behind the character.

Takahashi Mako returns with a less drippy, and slightly less dark story in “Kobako no Tegami.” This is followed by only about 30 pages of “Yuru Yuri” which contained one amusing gag relating to the use of color in some of the pages. At 30 pages, it was totally tolerable. Perhaps the cancer is at last in remission.

I have not had a chance to read the short story by Morita Kisetsu that follows, but the illustrations do not give me much hope. This is followed up with a chapter of “Para Yuri Hime,” and an essay by Miura Shion on the volleyball manga Shoujo Fight, which I also have not had time to do more than just scan. I hope to have some time in the near future to actually read these….

“Yuki no Yosei” was another cool girl/uncool girl story. I feel like I’ve read too many of this in the recent past to really like them, but this one was sweet enough.

I’m sorry, I can’t even remember “Lost Girl,” the story that follows. Looking at it now, I don’t remember a single thing about it.

Yeah, I’m still skipping “Mugen no Minami” and I don’t expect that to change, ever.

Love on the school rooftop in “Twinkle Little Secret” was cute, but also kind of retread. “Onna no Karada” by Konno Kita was almost Mist-like in content, but much gentler in art style. This was a nice exploration of the mental hurdles of getting to “couplehood” for two women.

I would like to apologize sincerely to Zaou Taishi and Eiki Eiki for my presumption. They are doing *exactly* what I thought they were going to do, but they are totally not doing it the way I expected and, as a result, “Love DNA Double XX” is not nearly as excruciating as I had feared. Carry on ladies. I’ll trust you to know what you’re doing.

Morishima Akiko-sensei and her editor Poin have a chance to meander through a number of topics – some sillier than others – in a short column called “himecafe.” This is followed by messages from the contributors to the magazine and some suggestions for good reads and watches from the editors of the magazine.

Another thrilling chapter of “Black Cat Mansion” brings two girls together and gives us a hint that the mistress of the mansion has a story of her own.

You know what? Hiyori Otsu could draw a story about absolutely nothing and I’d love it. Thank god she draws Yuri.

“Musou Honey” basically is much like everything Mikuni Hachime writes, with lots of flailing and hurty faces. This chapter has slightly less depantsing than usual, so I guess that’s a win.

“Renai Joshika” turns back to the very first couple, Arisu and Saki, as they take their first steps together as a couple. Immediately an ex pops up to plague them, but it’s not really a crisis at all. Ow, ow, my cheeks hurt from smiling. Ow.

Are we ready? I know I am. I know I am VERY, VERY ready for this chapter of “Ame-iro Kouchakan Kandan,” in which Seriho makes it VERY, VERY plain what the ring she gave to Sarasa means and what it means for Sarasa to accept it. Squeee! Ow, ow, my heart. Ow!

Which just about wraps up this exceedingly chock-filled to the brim with a bunch of different kinds of Yuri issue…but, wait, there’s more! Just before we close the final pages, there’s “Kimono Nadesico,” a little 4-panel strip full of lovely classic cosplay, in the sense of kimono and archery uniforms and the like.

So – overall, there is something here for just about everybody. Action, romance, guns, girls, women, realism and fantasy. If you can’t find something you like in the new Comic Yuri Hime – seriously, it’s you.

Ratings –

Overall – 9

Great start to the new era. Let’s go Yuri!





Yuri Manga: Sayonara Folklore

January 6th, 2011

You know how it is – you join a club, start a new hobby or take lessons in something, and find that there’s a whole freaking mythology attached to it. Rituals, jargon of course, and all these unwritten rules that no one tells you, but you gotta know.

In Sayonara Folklore, (さよならフォークロア) Hayase has gone to this school for years, so she knows that you do *not* touch anyone on Monday, and if you do, there’s a little incantation that must be recited. But Mashiro has just transferred in, and does not know these things. Hayase explains –  we do not touch on Monday, because not too long ago two girls did – and they fell in love, became lovers and tried to die together. Therefore, if you don’t recite the charm, you might fall in love with whomever touched you…and that would be bad. Of course Hayase explains this after Mashiro has touched her…on a Monday.

At first Mashiro is amused, then annoyed and finally, frightened by this stupid ritual that forces Hayase to continually reject her touch.

By the time the rumors have traveled through the school and the teachers find out, it’s too late for Hayase and Mashiro – they have indeed fallen in love. The “Monday curse” has come to pass. When Hayase refuses to deny the relationship, they are separated. Hayase is left in an attic room to reflect on her behavior. In that room, she find letters from one girl to another…  Mashiro, never one to play by the rules, climbs to the dormer room to be reunited with Hayase, who has now learned the truth about the two girls who originated the Monday curse.

This story and a short omake about a woman and her animal-eared maid, are by Kowo Kazuma, one of my current favorite artists. Kowo-sensei just manages to reach into my chest and squeeze my heart. I never really understand why, but her work always touches  me. Something about the art makes me *care* about the characters in a way that few other artist’s work does, and this feeling extends to her non-Yuri work, as well. I love Kowo-sensei’s story in Rakuen le Paradis, “Dear Tear”.

More objectively, this is a nice little Story A with a silly setup that manages to remain sustainable through the volume (unlike, say, Zettai Shoujo Astoria, in which the zOMG thing just gets left behind, then picked up again later and explained away badly.) This is not a major work of literature, but it is a good solid read, especially if you like stories of schoolgirls in love, with a teeny “human tribes create ritual and taboo” driver.

Ratings:

Art – 7, but I like it 9
Story – 7
Characters – 7, but I like them 9
Yuri – 8
Service – 1

Overall – 9 for me, but your mileage may vary, depending on how you feel about Kowo’s work.





Yuri Manga: Tsubomi, Volume 8

December 28th, 2010

Since we just did Volume 7, let’s jump right into Tsubomi, Volume 8, (つぼみ) shall we?

“Hoshikawa Ginza Yon-choume” begins with an anniversary. Minato and Otome apparently met two years ago (and I wonder why I thought it was six from the collected volume, but am too lazy to go find it wherever it ended up in secondary storage and figure out what I mis-read.) No surprise to anyone, Otome was, at the time, a badly behaved kid, acting out her frustration with adults in a variety of typical ways. This flashback gives us a chance to see just how far she’s come since then.

Morinaga Milk’s “Himitsu no Recipe” starts off with Wakatsuki’s romantic club time with the club president squashed as the previous president shows up. Now studying to be a pasty chef, the former President is clearly admired by Yuuko, and Wakatsuki is not happy about it *at all.* After a fight and making up, Wakatsuki’s plans are totally foiled by the President’s successful plan to make the club popular. Bwah~wah~waaahhh~

I was a little disappointed that “Lonesome Echo” ended with such a pat ending. Walking away from an abusive relationships is rarely that simple. But, happy ending, so I’m inclined to be forgiving.

“Green” sketches the crushes of several generations, centering on Ryouko, who is the object of a crush now, but fondly remembers one of her own back then.

Need. More. Sports. Yuri. Manga. In “Hana to Hoshi” a childhood ping pong rivalry turns into something different when an accidental, sleepy kiss turns Hanai’s life upside down.

Fuji-sensei realizes that she really needs Komomo in her life in the conclusion to “Metoraba” and won’t be stopped – even by tremendous distance – in her attempts to get her back. This story gets a little shiny star for the final line, too.

Haruka takes care of a sick Kuroi-sensei in “Renai Manga” but thinks she may have a serious rival in the chief editor. Rival for what? Neither Haruka nor Kuroi could answer that yet, I think. Maybe in a chapter or two.

The school festival is coming and the resident Ame-Onna (Rain Woman) is asked to make it rain in “Kami-sama to Omefurashi.” But when the day of the festival comes, it’s sunny, and neither girl seems to really mind.

Something we rarely see – a chubby chaser Yuri story. “Futo Metcha Club” follows a heavy girl and the girl who loves her for her cute roundness. This story is notable for actually showing a cute, round, heavy girl for the “fat” girl, rather than slightly less than anorexic.

“Tandem Lover” is not a series I particularly liked, I have to admit, but I did like the ending of this chapter, in which Meru gives Shima a letter to her future partner in the Tandem competition. This story could have been better without all the service and some decent art, but it wasn’t.

“Yume yori Sutekina” was creepy, but kind of adorable, as a careerwoman notices and follows a high school student and sees her head off hand in hand with her girlfriend. Stalker=creepy, youth being less closeted than adults=adorable.

Nawoko’s “Private Lesson” continues. Tamago-chan learns a little bit more about her beloved piano teacher, which galvanizes her into action.

Ratings are Variable:

Overall – 8

As always, these are not all of the stories, but the ones I found notable. And you’ll notice that there’s a bunch of them that I found notable this time. No longer do I sigh with resignation at the idea of reading or reviewing Tsubomi. That’s got to be a good thing.





Yuri Manga: Tsubomi, Volume7

December 22nd, 2010

Here we are at Tsubomi, Volume 7, (つぼみ) an anthology with 20 stories, many of which are continuing series. I purchased this volume at the same time I bought Volume 8 and, as a result found it much easier to remember/follow several of the stories. And, while the previous volumes of Tsubomi have filled me less than full of glee, I overall was surprised at the quality of what I read.

Of note was the silly, but charming “Lonely Wolf, Lonely Sheep” about two women with the same name, born a day apart from one another, visit the same phone fortune site and, with, in a masterful overuse of handwaves, have the same injury for which they need to same therapy. One version of Kakimoto Imari is a butchy landscaper’s assistant (complete with motorcycle) and the other is a very feminine and cute woman. The two are drawn together, first as friends and by the end, maybe more. I’m just charmed by Mizutani Fuuka’s work, although I can’t put my finger on why. The characters are likable, in a “so cute, we want them to succeed!” kind of way.

Kazuto Izumi’s “Metoraba” is the story of a prize-winning romance novelist who finds that she really needs a wife to cook and clean for her, so she rents one from a service. As Fuji-sensei becomes more used to Komomo’s presence, they become closer and Komomo picks up more personal tasks like beta-reading and even a little writing. But in a massive blow-up, Fuji-sensei sends Komomo away. Will they get back together? Who will cook and clean for Fuji-sensei? Tune in next time to find out what happens in this soap-y, but enjoyable short drama.

In “Renai Manga” Kuroi-sensei’s manager tries to draw the shut-in manga artist out, by taking her to a hugely popular, busy and crowded area for some research. When Kuroi-sensei goes missing, Haruka panics, but it’s okay. Phew.

“Nickname Apaato” was quite possibly the silliest thing I’ve read in ages, but gosh it was cute. ANOTHER writer (are we seeing a pattern…?), well writer-wannabe, has given nicknames to all the other denizens of the house she shares. The Witch is always carrying herbs into the house, the Chef cooks up wonderful smelling meals, The Vampire goes out at night and returns by dawn, Eda-san confides to the young woman she sees out in the garden. Kurogawa-san is enraptured by these tales and enjoys Eda-san’s company…and only admits that she is the Witch, the Chef *and* the Vampire herself, when it has become obvious. What do you do for a living? Eda-san asks, but although we can see that Kurogawa is a published author, she doesn’t answer the question.

“Lonesome Echo” is a creepy story about an abusive relationship and a young woman who won’t stand for it.

“Endless Room” is the tale of a suite in a hotel room and the people that stay in it.

“Girl’s Ride” is a cute short about two girls on a vacation and how a foot injury brings them closer.

“Darling Darling” tells a little tale of communication and why it’s so important even between a couple that has been together for a while.

It’s good to see Nawoko again. In “Private Lesson” a girl learns how love was the motivation for her beloved teacher to lose weight and excel in her music.

And in “Caterpillar & Butterfly” Kurogane Kenn tries his hand at a story about two adult women, and the intimacy created between them over something as simple (or not) as a hair cut.

While these are not all the stories in the anthology, they are the ones I enjoyed most. Amazingly, I note how many are stories about adult women. Some are more Yuri than others, some barely find the itch, much less scratch it, but overall, things are looking much improved from my perspective.

Ratings are Variable:

Overall – 8

If someone would draw a cover that actually reflected any of the above, and we lost Shimai-ism, I’d be far more enthusiastic about the magazine as a whole. Nonetheless, compared to the first year, Tsubomi is a completely different (and significantly better) animal.