In advance of J-Novel Club’s release of Otherside Picnic, the sci-fi light novel by Miyazawa Iori, I picked up the manga for the story. In Urusekai Picnic, Volume 1 (裏世界ピクニック ) the manga adaptation of the story introduces us to Sora and Toriko, two women who have access to the “Otherside,” a world populated by weirdly wiggly aliens and strange phenomenon.

The manga begins as Sorao is dying. She has no idea why she is or how she got here, but here she is, submerged in some kind of liquid. She remembers finding a door to the “otherside” and seeing one of the wiggly aliens. She is rescued by another human, a woman of apparently about her age, Toriko.  Toriko tells Sorao that she’s hunting…and after she shoots an alien, it turns out that what she is hunting is the chrome cubes they leave behind along with their physical form.

Sorao almost loses her life once again, as the aliens grow inside her like a plant. Although Toriko saves her, Sorao finds that 1) she can kind of hear them now and 2) her one eye has turned blue,

We learn that Toriko is also hunting…a friend, Satsuki. It is pretty clear to Sorao and us that Satsuki was more than a friend to Toriko. What strikes Sorao as odd is her own reaction to that. She hasn’t put a name to it by the end of Volume 1…but I can.

The two women meet a man who has lost his wife and clearly some measure of his sanity on this Otherside. The guy is not with us long, but his disappearance is the catalyst for learning that Sorao’s alien eye can also see alien tech for what it is, which allows her, for onc,e to save Toriko.

I found it a little hard to engage with the book at first. Not because it lacks context (which it does) but because it lacked any kind of character development. Sorao is a blank. We know almost nothing about her when we meet her and by the time the first volume is over, we know about the same amount of nothing. The same is true for Toriko, although we can see that she is driven to find her – probably – lover. The two women are more interesting together because neither appears fearfulnor hesitant. When Toriko shows up at her school and asks Sorao to hunt with her, Sorao is right on it. If there’s a single specific quality of the characters that appeals to me, it’s that.

The art by shirakaba is conventional, but solid. All in all this looks and feels exactly like  what it is said to be – a science fiction manga with, one presumes, a Yuri plot somewhere in there.

Ratings:

Art – 7
Characters – 7
Story – 8
Service – 1, maybe
Yuri  – 2 by implication so far

Overall – 7

I have absolutely no idea where the story will go, but I guess I’ve signed up to go hunting with Toriko and Sorao. ^_^

Final Update! Via Rachel Thorn’s Twitter feed today, Viz has rectified the deadnaming of translators Rachel Thorn and Dana Lewis in the Nausicaä manga release. Thank you very much Viz, for addressing this.

With this, I consider this matter closed in the best possible way. Viz rose to the occasion and did all the right things the right way. I am very appreciative – and hope that if you wrote them to complain, you’ll write them with thanks for their handling of the the situations!

2nd Update! Viz is reaching out to Dana and Rachel and will be making the changes that are needed. I really appreciate Viz moving quickly on the larger issues as well. Misnaming and lack of credit will be fixed. Thank you Viz for handling this.

Update! Viz has promptly addressed the issue of the booklet mislabeling Haruka and Michiru’s relationship. Still waiting to hear back on whether Dana and Rachel receive an apology or correction.

Viz has released a formal statement and will update people on how to receive a replacement booklet.

The team here at VIZ was very excited to take on the honor of localizing Sailor Moon, especially acknowledging that Sailor Neptune and Sailor Uranus are not friends, but in fact, partners. pic.twitter.com/TNPpvEBIXU

— VIZ (@VIZMedia) June 24, 2019

We made a mistake in the Sailor Moon Sailor Stars booklet and we deeply apologize for the implications of our error. We have initiated a reprinting of the booklet with updated language.

— VIZ (@VIZMedia) June 24, 2019

More details to follow about how to receive a replacement booklet.

Full statement: https://t.co/kO9uVRQbUT

— VIZ (@VIZMedia) June 24, 2019

I appreciate Viz’s acknowledgement and hope that they’ll manage to do better going forward. I want to thank all of you, too, for being part of this campaign to right a wrong.

Let me introduce you to Friedman’s Razor: “Never attribute to malice that which is adequately explained by organizational decentralization.” At no point in time did I assume malice. I strongly believe that these mistakes are because editorial and translation are jobbed out in pieces with little time or money given to overall consistency. A managing editor watching over the entire project ought to catch this kind of thing, but if no one has an eye on the project, then these kind of things are more likely to happen.

***

I’m sharing a letter I wrote today to Viz Media on the subject of several editorial decisions leading to LGBTQ erasure this week. I hope you will read it all the way through and then follow up at the end with your own actions.

Hello –

My name is Erica Friedman, I’ve been a loyal customer and reviewer of Viz media products for many years and I am writing today to express two specific concerns with recent editorial decisions that combine to become one troubling trend.

The first and most important is the exceedingly problematic and insulting use of both Rachel Thorn’s and Dana Lewis’ deadnames in the new Nausicaä manga release and in your Banana Fish release. This is not acceptable and I have not seen any apology to either person for this mistake. It cannot remain unacknowledged by Viz.

Also concerning is the recent description of Haruka’s and Michiru’s relationship in Sailor Moon Stars as “friendship.” This is patently absurd, as their dialogue is often intimate. As they were described as “partners” in Sailor Moon S, its quite inexplicable – especially in light of Viz’s earlier promise that their relationship would not be erased or hidden. As your promo for ‘S’ stated…”no cousins.” And here you are, bowdlerizing them.

Any of these decisions alone is concerning, but them all coming at the same time makes me very concerned for the current state of acceptance and tolerance of LGBTQ people at Viz.

Whether these were all mere lazy editorial decisions and not overtly meant to be insulting, we still respectfully request an apology – and these errors to be fixed immediately.

Thank you.

Sincerely,

***

If you have any opinions about this, I encourage you to write politely worded messages to Viz on Twitter, Facebook or use their customer service form on their website and add your voice to those who are requesting appropriate apologies and corrections.

I’m doing some spring cleaning, so it’s time for some Okazu Lucky Boxes!  And you know that you totally want utter crap that I’m cleaning out of my house! ^_^

This time we have 4 Lucky Boxes: 2 Medium size boxes and 2 Large moxes. All the boxes contain a random assortment of manga, books, candy, toys, random pieces of paper things I put in there, and a lot of stuff from our friend Bruce’s collection. Because this is stuff we had around the house, these are bargain sale priced to go!

When you email me, please refer to the box you want by the title ans #1. First come, first served and these always go fast! These are listed out so I can cross them off as they go.

Large Box 1 – $35 – Claimed
Large Box 2 – $35 – Claimed
Medium Box 1 – $25 – Claimed
Medium Box 2 – $25 – Claimed

I can 100% guarantee these boxes are filled with absolute pure stuff, with no guarantees of any other kind. No returns, because look – either you like the fact that you’re spending money on someone else’s stuff, or you don’t.

***

How to be eligible to buy a Lucky Box: Follow these instructions carefully. Please. Thank you. Failure to follow all of these instructions will disqualify you. It’s not personal, they go fast and I don’t have time to track you down for a piece of information.

1- You must live in the Continental USA (contiguous 48) only, no APO/FPOs – sorry about that, really. It’s vexing, I know.

2 – You must be over 18, I am not policing which books you get and since these boxes have doujinshi and other items, I really don’t know what you’re getting.

3 -Email me at anilesbocon01 at hotmail dot com with the subject “Lucky Box”. Use an email you check regularly.

4. *****Please include your name, age, mailing address. ***** Tell me which box you want. Even if you’ve given me your address previously, please include it, I am very lazy.

5- I will contact you at that point and give you details about payment by Paypal. Please be prepared to check your email and get payment out so this post doesn’t linger. Thanks in advance.

This whole process will be handled with utmost capriciousness, as usual. ^_^ 

Ready? Get your Lucky Boxes!

The subject of today’s review isn’t really Yuri, although I’ve seen it on a number of Yuri lists. Despite that I want to talk about it, in part because I mentioned it recently during an interview. Ah toka Uh shika Ienai, Volume 1 (あーとかうーしか言えない ) is the story of Toda, a woman who is a very decent ero-manga artist, but who finds it challenging when it comes to expressing herself verbally. Tanaka, her editor, shows remarkable skill in interpreting Toda’s monosyllabic responses “Ah”s and “Uh”. Together, they make a great team.

After a few pages establishing their partnership, we learn how Toda debuted at “XtoC” magazine. That established, the manga becomes more about the cuthroat world of manga rankings. And within that, we get to see Toda and Tanaka working beautifully together.

About halfway through this book I wondered out loud whether I was enjoying it. I wasn’t sure if Toda’s communications issues was being presented as a gag, which I would have found intolerable, or not. But, after Toda and Tanaka spend the day doing research at an amusement part and Toda really starts to open up to her editor and together, they push Toda towards the top of the rankings, I found that I was enjoying it, after all. Specifically, the page with Toda smiling in front of the ferris wheel, telling Tanaka she was having fun. That pretty much set me into a positive spin about this story.

To encourage and support Toda, Tanaka has her move in with her. And in the end, Tanaka says that she likes reading the manga written by a person she likes. The end of Volume 1 comes and we are totally team Tanaka /Toda and rooting for them to beat the author/editors combos to the top of the rankings.

The two things I found to be standout notes on this series were, first, that any Yuri, if there indeed will be any, is not as important as the teamwork that Tanaka and Toda develop. It was pleasantly surprising to have a story which is openly festooned with sexual imagery to not be about sex or sexual objectification of the principle characters. Additionally, this is the second manga I have encountered in recent days, that deal with different forms of difficulties with verbal communication. Yesterday’s Lily Lily Rose presented us a child whose verbal skills were hampered by trauma. In today’s story, Toda’s overwhelmed by the words themselves. In both cases, understanding and supportive partners help the protagonists communicate. As a person who loves words, but who is likely to become overwhelmed when I am communicating verbally (and who is losing access to words more often, presumably as a result of MS,) I’m really feeling Toda’s struggle.

Ratings:

Art – Kind of amazing, really, because its required to present multiple styles and phases of creation 9
Story – 8
Characters – 8
Service – 7 There is quite a bit, as they work for a porn magazine
Yuri – 1 but it doesn’t matter

Overall – 8

I’m 100% behind the idea of a positive working relationship for two women as the backbone of this manga. Whether or not it ever becomes a romance is irrelevant to me.

In Volume 1, we met Nobara whose quiet live is upended when the daughter of her late sister arrives on her doorstep. Lily is a quiet girl, but slowly, she becomes more comfortable with her aunt and her aunt’s boarder, Maya.

As Volume 2 of Lily Lily Rose opens, Lily is doing well – she’s talking more, she’s playing with local kids. Nobara, however, is not doing well at all. Haunted by her late sister’s death, we accompany Nobara as she mourns the relationships she and Yurika had…and the betrayal she felt at her sister moving on to a life without her.

Nobara starts to take her anger at Yurika out on Lily. Lily withdraws into her noverbal state and Maya stands between her and Nobara. Maya rebukes Nobara and points out that Lily is not a stand-in for her sister and should neither be treated like one, nor blamed for Yurika’s failures.

In the meantime, we learn that Lily was there when her mother killed herself. She and her father could only watch from the shore as Yurika drowned herself in the ocean.

Nobara apologizes to Lily and the girl graciously accepts, but established clearer boundaries between them. They need to need one another, but neither of them will be allowed to become dependent, now.

As we established in Volume 1, Noabara and Maya are not lovers, but there is a comfortable closeness about them that does feel like they are partners. When Nobara and Lily are estranged, it’s Maya who step in to parent Lily. Crossdresser Saotome comes by for tea and refers to  Maya as Nobara’s wife. Nobara is honestly confused by this, so Saotome says, “partner, then” and goes on to note what is obvious to all of us…that whatever they see their relationship as, it has morphed into a kind of family, whether Nobara likes it or not.

As the series end, we see that the three of them have indeed become a family and we’re assured that Lily and Nobara will both be able to move on and grow.

Ratings:

Art – 9
Story – 8
Characters – 8
LGBTQ – 4
Service – 1

Overall – 8

This was an uncommonly gentle and sweet story by a creator who often fills her Yuri stories with incest and violence. It felt like  throwback to her days of gentle school ghosts in Himitsu no Kaidan (Volume 1 and Volume 2). The end of the story was sweet and satisfying and I’m glad I was able to read it.