Archive for the Magazines Category


Yuri Manga: Tokimeki Mononoke Gakuen, Volume 2

November 21st, 2010

Ah, young love. It’s all drama all the time. Especially when you’re a human who has accidentally found their way to the youkai world and fallen in love with a two-tailed cat-girl spirit.

Tokimeki Mononoke Gakuen, Volume 2 picks up just at the end of Volume 1. Arare and Kiri are in love, that much is obvious, but they’ve got something important standing between them and consummation of that love – the fact that if they have sex Arare will cease to be human and will become a youkai herself! Her situation isn’t made easier when she meets Akina, a youkai who tells her that she herself made that choice.

As much as they desire one another, this simple fact keeps them apart. And, it is this simple fact that causes them to fight and causes Arare to run off, unaware that Pero has followed her. When Arare ends up back in the human world Pero is somehow dragged along. Awkward, but not unbearable…until the human world starts to make Pero sick. Now Arare has a more pressing problem – if she doesn’t get back to the world of the youkai, Pero may die!

I have had a strong belief that I knew what the end of this series was going to be from waayyyyy back in the story. As soon as we heard, in fact, that Arare would become a youkai if she made love to a youkai, I pretty much assumed I knew what the ending was going to be. It seemed so *obvious!* I’m not going to spoil the ending, but I will say this – I could not have been wronger. ^_^;

The ending was cute, the ending was happy…it just didn’t do anything like I expected it to. So kudos to creator Nangoku Banana for finding a unique, creative way out of that well. (That phrase has a story behind it. My Dad was telling me a story of a serial he read when he was a kid – one of those adventure things, you know. The hero was bound, at the bottom of a well, no one around for miles, no tools to rescue himself with, etc, etc. End of chapter. Next chapter began, “Once out of the well…” We use that phrase around my house to signify cheating your way out of corners you’ve written yourself into.)

No doubt Kiri and Arare will live happily ever after.

Ratings:

Art – 7
Story – 8
Characters – 8
Yuri – 9
Service – 7

Overall – 8

This series is still not for the prudish. It’s more serious than Volume 1, and slightly less outrageous, but still pretty over-the-top.

On another note, if you are interested in the youkai portrayed in this story and don’t want to wade through a lot of tedious academic research or historical stuff, I recommend Hiroko Yoda and Matt Alt’s Yokai Attack!, a fun “field guide” to youkai you might encounter and how to deal with them if you do.





Yuri Manga: Pure Yuri Anthology Hirari, Volume 2 (ピュア百合アンソロジー ひらり)

October 24th, 2010

Yuri Anthology Hirari, Volume 2 has some good qualities and some less good ones.

Many of the stories don’t actually seem to be “Yuri” at all. Two girls meet and, um…they meet. But there are others that are less preliminary and a few even go so far as to lightly touch upon some semblance of emotion.

The best of the bunch, in that regard, was “Yubisaki no Koe,” by Maeda Tomo. Not because it was a good story, per se, but unlike many of the other stories in the collection, where we have to just assume that the two girls are interested in one another *because* this is a Yuri anthology, there was a palpable feeling of tension between the two characters.

Also, “Nanami-sempai to Arisa-chan,” while I didn’t like the art at all, did a shift halfway along that created some unresolved (and kind of unresolvable) sexual tension. When Arisa learns that her interest in one upperclassman is hopelessly unrequited, she simultaneously learns that what she thought was a rivalry with another upperclassman was nothing of the sort.

The most unique story, although not necessarily the most satisfying, was Minagi Asaoka’s “Anata to Ireba”‘ when a young woman accidentally encounters her namesake, who is a famous figure skater. They end up having a heart to heart talk. We get a rather sudden epilogue ten years later, when the skater asks her namesake to marry her. This story was indicative of the collection as a whole. “Here’s two girls,” we’re told as we’re handed two girls at random. “This is a Yuri anthology. Therefore they must like each other.” Even if we never actually see or feel that. Or, in something like Scarlet Beriko’s “Mine,” we’re shown a friendship that, at some barely-anything kind of provocation, suddenly is love (and desire.)

As a perfectly fitting ending, there is a short story by Sakaki Kazuki, illustrated by Hirao Auri, the creator of Manga no Tsukrikata. I haven’t read the story yet, but I felt that the choice of illustrator was somehow characteristic of the collection as a whole. Manga no Tsukurikata is also a series in which the interest and tension between the characters largely has to be assumed by the audience, because we see little actual sign of it in the story itself.

Ratings:

All things Variable. Overall – 6

It’s not that it’s a bad collection, it’s just sort of still in prep stages and not quite ready to be cooked.





Yuri Manga: Yuri Hime Wildrose, Volume 6 (百合姫 Wildrose)

October 17th, 2010

I know, I know. I said I was done with this series. I say that sometimes. But then I need another item or two to make an order on Amazon JP worth it, so…

Anyway, here we are in Yuri Hime Wildrose, Volume 6 (百合姫 Wildrose) and while I am not dancing a joyful “this is it!” dance, I’m not gritting my teeth or anything, either. And perhaps the folks at Yuri Hime are getting comments that echo my own, because in it’s own PWP way, this volume of Wildrose steps up its game by a notch.

This is most apparent in the first story of the volume, “Yume no Hanashi,” in which Naho is moved to tears when she realizes that she is not alone in her school as a girl who loves other girls. Given that recently the US is dealing with reports of young gay, lesbian, bisexual and transgendered youth struggling against  prejudice and abuse from not just the people around them but from the leaders of their communities, who don’t seem to care that their casual homophobia is inciting acts of hate and intolerance…this message is an incredibly powerful one. And, given that Wildrose does tend to be rather more superficial than sensitive, and almost all Yuri avoids complications of awareness and identity, this simple acknowledgement of how alone a LGBTQ young person can feel and how important just knowing that you are not alone, is an amazingly powerful statement. It was a strong opening for the volume.

Again, in “Moment Like Fireworks,” the continuation of Nanzaki Iku’s ShizNat-esque couple, Sayo and Ritsuko’s story, Sayo first introduces Ri-chan as a friend to an old classmate , then corrects it to a “good friend,” and then backtracks, explaining that she and her girlfriend would like some alone time to engage in some love talk. Sayo later apologizes for not making the point right away, but Ritsuko expresses understanding and gratitude.

There were a few stories where younger women had to work a little harder at getting their point across to their older lover, and one story in which a Devil tries to ruin an Angel, only to be thwarted by her purity and love (a very cute story, I thought. It seems obvious to me that the real danger is that the Devil will start to feel “Love” and go good.)

There are a few stories which are not “good” in the big picture – one in which a not-very-veiled threat of suicide brings two lovers back together did not, to me, seem to be a good ending to a relationship that just needed to end. Relationships do that sometimes.  But then there’s something like “Houkago Berry Girl” which was just…silly. It made no statements, had nothing deep to impart, but was cute.

My major complaints about the Wildrose stories are that they have basically been retreads of “Story A” and left me feeling empty at best and quite often icky. This time I felt like they had actually stepped up their game, with more established couples and even some “lesbian identity” in a few of those stories.

Ratings:

Overall – 7

I’m back on the wagon for Wildrose 7.





Yuri Manga: Yuri Hime, Volume 21 (Part 2)

September 23rd, 2010

The second half of Volume 21 of Yuri Hime, begins with a chronological “Timeline of Yuri” which they begin in 1902 with the creation of the first magazine for girls to be published in Japan, “Shoujokai.” (少女界）

This is followed by interviews with and “Top 5” lists from the editors. I pretty much don’t agree with their choices in the top 5s, especially as many of them are Yuri by association or implication, rather than actually having Yuri content, and therefore, not very helpful to anyone looking for suggestions of what to read or watch. But they are an interesting glimpse into the editor’s collective minds.

Color pages highlight some notable Yuri kisses in anime, follwed by coverage pf topics of interest to the Yuri Network, such as the surge in Yuri manga in shoujo magazines and the Live Action Maria-sama ga Miteru movie.

Kazuma Kowo’s “Sayonara Folklore” come to a close in which the original premise of the “Monday curse” is addressed, neutralized and set aside, so that Mashiro and Nanase can live a well-deserved happily every after.

“Sore ga Kimi ni Naru” hits an expected lag, as You realizes how painful her existence must be to Amane and how much she wants to see Amane anyway, while Amane realizes pretty much the same thing about You. Sadly for them and us, they just miss each other and have to keep on wanting for another chapter.

Miura Shion’s essay is once again about a story with which I am unfamiliar, “Nami no Ue no Tsuki.” Time to do some shopping, I think. ^_^ This story has been reviewed by Erin S. on her blog, if you’d like a western perspective. (Thanks for the link!)

“Moso Honey” continues to be a love triangle comedy in which Nonoka, because her eyes are fixed on Nozomu-sempai, fails to see how Kanade looks at her.

The penultimate chapter of “Tokimeki Mononoke Gakuen” in which it becomes apparent to us, Arare and Kiri that poor Pero needs to be returned to the world of the yokai. Will they make it in time? And what will become of Kiri and Arare? The series’ second volume is already out, so you don’t have to wait to find out!

“Lunch Box,” by Mitsue Aoki delves a little deeper into Yukari’s feelings for the woman who makes her her lunches with such care and devotion, with a little side-track into leopard-patterned underwear. :-)

A love letter treated with cavalier unconcern is a matter for contention between a third-year and the second-year school prince in what is quite accurately titled “Kobun Miman.”

The final letters section is a farewell from the avatars that have shepherded us through so many letters section. The book ends with a two page ad heralding the next phase of the magazine.

And so, hopefully, we set aside our childish things and look forward to the new iteration, the post-adolescence (we hope) of Yuri Hime magazine!

Ratings:

Overall- 8





Yuri Manga: Yuri Hime, Volume 21 (Part 1)

September 22nd, 2010

We’re right on the cusp of the big merge now. Here were are at Volume 21 of Yuri Hime. One more volume of Yuri Hime S and then they will combine like two galaxies, which I’m sure could be a really funky extended metaphor if I had an ounce of energy to do it. ^_^;

This volume begins with a interview with Shimura Takako, creator of hit Yuri series Aoi Hana. Questions about drawing Yuri, love between girls and the BL and Yuri audiences are asked and answered.  It’s very much a public figure interview, so don’t expect massive personal revelations or spoilers for Akira and Fumi, but as interviews go – it was a good one. Most interesting to me was the use of the word “Yuri” to describe the work and the audience. It might not seem like a big thing to you, but it’s been a decade’s worth of work for me. ^_^

“Renai Joshika” starts to tie up loose ends, as Himeno and Shiraha shed some baggage in order to be able to move forward together.

In “Watashi to Kanoujo” two girls are together, while in “Hoshitotsu  Bokuro” two girls are separated.

Shio’s hair is really pretty and Kanako loves to play with it, but when classmates are unkind about their friendship, Shio puts some distance between them, in “Yuri Yuri.” After a short, tense time apart, they decide that they’d actually like to become closer and the other girls can suck it up.

Takemiya Jin’s “Love Aroma” follows a student who can’t get the scent of the new teacher out of her mind.

The Black Cat Mansion series tries something totally different – two adult women! Kumi and Nozomu are a great couple and ought to be very happy together…but aren’t, until a visit to the Black Cat Mansion forces them to have the conversation they weren’t having, but needed to.

Next up is a “commercial message” from Furutsuji Kikka, the creator of Knife-Edge Girl on the critical topic of her characters’ bust sizes. Oh, and don’t forget to buy the book!

“Hime Koi” and “Para Yuri Hime” are both short and forgettable, and the pages that follow outline manga that won the most recent contest held by Ichijinsha. We can expect to see some of the newcomers in the upcoming issues.

Which brings us to “Love DNA Double XX” which is steadfastly not going where I thought it would, for which I am very, very thankful. Aoi and Sakura begin a duel over competing ideas of honorable behavior and do not conclude it quickly at all. In fact, I think I really actually began to like this story, when 20 minutes later they are still fighting – and their audience is getting tired and bored. ^_^  Does the end come in the shining flash of a sword – tune in next issue to find out!

Which brings us halfway and to the “Petit Yuri Hime” 5-year anniversary pamphlet. 5 years. That makes Yuri Hime the longest-running Yuri/lesbian-focused magazine in Japan. Something to be proud of, for sure!

In ten more years, when Yuri Hime turns 15 and Yuricon 20, I wonder what the Yuri landscape will look like?

Short overview today, because it’s been a really long day today. I’ll finish it up tomorrow!