Weirdly, it was almost a year ago that I reviewed volume 1 of this series, in which we met Mameda, a tanuki who wanders into the big city and becomes enamored by the magic of rakugo, Japan’s traditional form of storytelling. This week I finally made time for Uchi no Shishou ha Shippo ga nai, Volume 2 (うちの師匠はしっぽがない)

Rakugo is, effectively, a one-person play, in which the story teller captivates an audience by playing all the roles in their funny, or sometimes sentimental, story. If you did not know any of this before you came into this series, I assure you that you will most definitely know about it. when you leave.

Each chapter is accompanied by interstitial notes on some of the specific cultural touchpoints of that particular chapter. In this chapter Mameda will up her rakugo skills and defeat a mischievous god child at the Tenjin Matsuri,  be possessed by one of the three most famous ghosts in Japan, Okiku and she’ll help out her master’s shamisen player, Koito-san, when an accident threatens to stop the show.

All of these things are true, but the descriptions don’t do justice to the idea of a playful tanuki navigating through human and rakugo culture at the same time. Luckily, I don’t have to work too hard, because you can read My Master has no Tail, in English from Kodansha, available from these helpful affiliate links on Amazon, and Global Bookwalker, because this is not on the Yuricon Store.

And why is this not on the Yuricon Store, although I discovered it through Yuri lists? Because while I don’t argue that there is a bond growing between Bunko and her baka-tanuki disciple, Mameda, I’m not entirely sure I see it as Yuri. It is absolutely cute, and there are some obvious set-ups that are designed to make people think of more, but…well, I just don’t buy it. ^_^ Nonetheless this is a darling manga and very funny in places that I absolutely enjoy the heck out of and will probably read more.

TNSK’s art favors silly, rather than realistic, but the Osaka of the story is lively and fun and you’ll learn a lot about rakugo, which is always nice.

Ratings:

Art – 8 Good, but not to my taste
Story – 8 Goofy and charming
Characters – 8 Koito surged to the head of the pack. She ain’t no dope
Service – 4 Yeah, bathing and some implications and setups.
Yuri – Eh. Affection, definitely, so YMMV

Overall – 8

The Okiku chapter was particularly fascinating, because the very night before I read it, I had just finished a chapter of Zack Davisson’s book Yurei on that exact story. Zack’s book is a great read, by the way, especially f you like ghost stories. He’s a friend of mine, so I’m glad to say that I enjoyed it immensely. ^_^ But what a coincidence!

Today’s review was inspired by a combination of two very different things. Various folks having mentioned this book in Yuri-friendly spaces online and, by complete coincidence, the fantastic podcast Mangasplaining putting it on their calendar, which caused me to bump this up on my to-read pile.

To begin with, Look Back (ルックバック) by Chainsaw Man creator Fujimoto Tatsuki is not Yuri. BUT…and this is a huge  “but”… it definitely falls under the Yuricon broad-umbrella definition of Yuri in one sense:

Yuri can describe any anime or manga series (or other derivative media, i.e., fan fiction, film, etc.) that shows intense emotional connection, romantic love or physical desire between women. Yuri is not a genre confined by the gender or age of the audience, but by the *perception* of the audience.

This definition has always been intentionally broad and subjective, because it has long been my opinion that media is subjective and we will see what we want to see in it, despite (sometime, even at odds with) creator intent. ^_^ With this definition in mind, let’s please take a look at Look Back which is a one-shot story about a manga creator Fujino. From a young age, Fujino loves drawing and loves the praise it garners her. As she gets older, she continues to draw, even when it stops being so cute or appreciated.

When Fujino is shown the vastly superior art of another person at school, her life changes irrevocably. Rededicating herself to her craft, she draws and draws, endlessly. These scenes are communicated by a view of her back at her desk, shown over and over as time, seasons, years change. We can see how many sketchbooks she’s filled, how many books on drawing she owns. And then…she visits shut-in Kyoumoto’s home and finds that she’s nowhere near the level of dedication, of search for perfection, that her erstwhile rival is. The scene that follow, as Fujino dances her despair out in the rain, had me sobbing. It was so…perfect. Not pretty, but perfect.

Still in middle school, Fujino and Kyoumoto team up to become a successful manga-making team. And still, Fujino draws and draws and draws. We see her back in front of that desk with a sketch pad, then increasingly sophisticated  equipment as time goes on. Kyoumoto and Fujino celebrate their success with simple things – Kyoumoto is still learning how to exist in the world. But, finally, after years together, after they’ve graduated high school, Kyoumoto makes a huge leap and applies to art school. Fujino continues to draw manga and continues to be successful.

And here I will not spoil anything except to say that I basically wept my way through the rest of the book. Because it was just that powerful and well-executed. And that there is violence. It is not gratuitous, it is extremely important to the remainder of the story.

The relationship between Fujino and Kyoumoto isn’t anything like romance, but they are both poles around which the story is built and neither they, nor the story, could exist as such without it. So not Yuri in terms of lesbian romance, but in the shadow of that broad definition above, the emotional connection between them is compelling.

Ratings:

Art – 9 Outstanding
Story – 9
Characters – 9
Service – 0
Yuri – No. The story is about a life-changing relationship between two girls

Overall – 9

Magnificently drawn, with incredible subtle detail (much of which Mangasplaining covers) and emotional in a way I haven’t experienced in YEARS.  Best of all, it’s available in English digitally from Shonen Jump. A Jump subscription is $2.99/month, with every major title being released as a simulpub. It’s a ridiculously good deal. You’ll need to supply your own hankies for this volume.

If this review inspires you to read this manga, definitely wait until you have read it, then jump over and listen to the show about it, Look Back by Tatsuki Fujimoto on Mangasplaining.

I am participating in some upcoming events and I wanted to give you a change to get registering. ^_^

November

Wednesday, November 17th @ 5:00pm ET for #MangaInLibraries The LGBTQ+ Community webinar! I will be joining a number of brilliant folks to talk about queer manga. I’m super excited. ^_^ Registration is free.

Saturday, November 20 @5:15 – 6:00, panel Room 5 at Anime NYC, I will be participating on GeeksOUT presents: Serving Magical Person Realness panel. We’ll be talking LGBQT+_ characters and series in manga. I intend to be there a little while that day, so say hello if you see me, I can’t stay too long.

December

In December, date TBA, The NYC Japan Foundation is having an online event, hosted by Dr. Deborah Shamoon and featuring Dr. Kazumi Nagaike, myself and hopefully a few other great speakers on “Girl’s Culture” and anime/manga.

We’ll also be doing our annual Okazu Online Patron Holiday Party in December. Become a patron and you can join in the fun! We’ll be zooming this year so we can all chat.

February

In February, I will once again be running a Translation workshop for Michigan State University. If it works like last year, if there is room, you will be welcome to join. This year we’re having 8 speakers, and a ton of great perspectives.

That takes me into Q1 2022 and I have a few other things in the works. I’ll keep you up to date. Hope to see you online or at Anime NYC. ^_^

Beautiful summer day, I’m taking off. Be back in the office later tomorrow. ^_^