Archive for the Now This Is Only My Opinion Category


Queerness in Sailor Moon: Is It Progressive or is it Just Progress?

September 2nd, 2019

Inspired by my current reading material, Volume 5 of Sailor Moon, Eternal Edition, I have been thinking about the concept of “queerness” in Sailor Moon. This essay has no thesis – that is to say, I am not trying to prove a point, or make any conclusions, I’m simply musing on a topic that has fascinated me for many years. Our ideas of, ideals of, and language about gender and sexuality have altered tremendously in the last 25 years. I’m not the first, nor will I be the last to discuss Sailor Moon as an iconic | series for queer | fans. I encourage you all to share your thoughts and experiences in the comments. All respectful comments will be welcome – even and especially, those that disagree with any of my thoughts. As I say, I’m not making a point here, I’m merely thinking out loud in text. ^_^

To begin with, I’m going to write up the list of characters in the original anime or manga (thus, Crystal) that I consider overtly queer. You may not agree, and you may also not consider this list comprehensive. This is what I consider to be a survey of the as-explicitly-as-we got queer characters. I’m leaving out common fan pairings, like Rei’s obvious feelings for Usagi (which was surfaced in her song during Sailor Moon Super Live,) Hotaru and Chibi-Usa, Ami and Makoto, because while they are all a totally valid way to interpret the characters and their dynamics, they were not created with explicit intent to be seen as what we now think of as “queer.”

Part 1: Queer Characters in Sailor Moon

Season 1: Sailor Moon / Dark Kingdom

Zoisite and Kunzite – Two of the four generals of the Dark Kingdom, serving under Queen Beryl, Zoisite and Kunzite are explicitly written as lovers in the first season of the original anime. Zoisite’s death in Kunzite’s arms is the motivation for a desperate attempt to defeat Sailor Moon which amounts to a suicide by the final general. They are portrayed very much as a Kabuki pair, with Zoisite playing the part of the onnagata, the actor who plays women’s roles.

 

Season 2: Sailor Moon R / Black Moon

Fiore – In the Sailor Moon R movie, Fiore’s story reads as a love story gone bitter, a kind of gender switch Kijo (which matches with Mamoru’s gender switched role as “damsel” in the series.) Fiore’s resentment of not being Mamoru’s beloved turns him into an avenging alien/demon set on the destruction of Earth and Sailor Moon.

 

Season 3: Sailor Moon Super / Death Busters

Haruka and Michiru – This perfect couple can be seen in multiple ways. Takeuchi famously declared them lesbian lovers in several interviews, and she also mentioned that Haruka was originally meant to be a Takarazuka performer. In the text of the manga, Michiru declares Haruka to be a man and a woman, which was understood by Japanese fans to refer to Ribon no Kishi‘s double-hearted lead, Sapphire. In 21st century terms, Haruka is genderfluid and can be seen wearing both women’s and men’s clothes in artbooks.

Haruka and Michiru are consistently portrayed as a couple, in all versions of the series. Never as openly as we might hope, perhaps, but the Sailor Moon musicals now have a long tradition of playing up their flirtation, their bickering and their innuendo, as well as having them launch across the stage to die in each other’s arms in seasons where that is relevant. ^_^

In Sailor Moon Super S Special and Sailor Moon Stars, their relationship is surfaced in scenes where Michiru proclaims that she has no interest in saving a world without Haruka, and the two tease each other in intimate terms. A quarter of a century after they first appeared, there’s still a lot to say about them.

 

Season 4: Sailor Moon SuperS / Dead Moon Circus

Fisheye – One of the Dead Moon Circus’s Amazon Trio, Fisheye is not human, but in human form, is assigned male at creation. The entirety of Fisheye’s arc is, however, testament that this is incorrect. Fisheye primarily presents as female in human guise and has a clear preference for men, making her a fairly strong transgender character. (Stronger, I would argue, than the Starlights, who were not originally intended to be men.)

 

Season 5: Sailor Moon Stars / Galaxia

Sailor Lead Crow and Sailor Aluminum Seiren – As Animamates, Crow and Seiren do not get a lot of screen time in the original anime, but the time they do get is memorable. When they encounter Haruka and Michiru, they are the only ones in the entire series to comment on the rose petals which accompany them. (In my head canon this is their gaydar.) They bicker often and Crow appears to have little respect for Seiren, but as their arc goes on, it becomes clear that they can be seen as a romantic couple.

Sailor Stars – In the Bishoujo Senshi Sailormoon Volume V Original Picture Collection, Takeuchi says that she was “shocked” to learn they’d be men before transformation in the anime, which indicates that the manga Starlights are all women passing as men. Nonetheless, in the original anime, the Sailor Starlights are gender variant, which opened up a whole new way for the audience to experience and identify with the characters.

 

Part 2: Is Queerness in Sailor Moon Progressive?

On Twitter, as I was pondering the place of Queerness in Sailor Moon, specifically, I saw a post on Twitter by E. Simins talking about anime being progressive, generally. This tweet got me thinking – in a good way. And here are some of the fruits of that thought. One of the series tweeted about was Sailor Moon because it has such positive representation of what-we-now-call-queer characters.  I wanted to expand on the general idea.

In thinking about the idea that anime is “progressive” I have to say that to be progressive, I require an anime to have more than just positive representation in the narrative (or, more realistically, accidental positive representation,) I would expect to see call to action. So much of what people see as progressive thought in past anime series is either a misinterpretation (willful or misguided) about intent or origin. So if we talk about Haruka and Michiru as a “Takarazuka couple” in which Haruka is otokoyaku and Michiru is musumeyaku, we’re sort of handwaving the queerness, because Takarazuka can be interpreted as queer, but is not inherently meant to be seen that way. We’re supposed to see a man and a woman in a heterosexual partnership in a Takarazuka show. On the other hand, we know that we are supposed to see Haruka and Michiru as two women in love. Are we supposed to we think of their relationship as a positive representation of an inherent butch/femme dynamic, as genderfluid/femme couple or as a stereotype of hetero-normative male/female dynamics?

If we really want to talk about Sailor Moon being progressive in 2019, we kind of have to look at progress across time as well as geographically.

Looking at older series in which queering them makes them queer, or the queerness can be interpreted differently, is too much like saying fanon is more important than canon (which can be valid, don’t get me wrong!)  It certainly was more overtly progressive than American animation in the mid-1990s. But would that make it “progressive”? Compared with something like the predatory lesbian of 1985’s Patriot Games, yes, clearly. But is that a reasonable comparison? I don’t think so. So…let’s not compare it to western media at all. Apples to apples.

So, to discuss whether anime in general or Sailor Moon in particular is progressive, let’s look at something that is not a 25-year old series. How about Asagao to Kase-san /Kase-san and Morning Glories?  Both manga and anime are very positive representation of two young women falling in love. The anime was explicitly handled in a way to show “love is love.” High marks on positive representation. 10/10 for that.

Let’s compare Kase-san to Sailor Moon. Haruka and Michiru are represented as a queer couple. They were *intended* as a positive representation of two women in love. So are Kase-san and Yamada. So, relatively equivalent. Now…here’s the major question. Is there any progress between the mid-1990’s portrayal and the late 2010’s one?

Sort of.

Kase-san and Yamada are explicitly more a “couple.” So that’s one more step for representation.

How about social or political “progress”?

Not so far.

Kase-san and Yamada have discussed living together, but there has been no discussion of real-world challenges; of talking about their relationship to family, to government, to anyone. No concerns about health or finances (okay, legitimately, they are in college, so that’s not a super important priority, but…)

What I am saying is that I see Kase-san as a positive representation – with intent – which is a form of progress, but not “progressive” in the sense of calling for social or political change. Give us Kase-san and Yamada at a Rainbow Pride parade……where an older couple of a famous race car driver and violinist come out and make rousing speeches for social progress and *then* I’ll be like, “Yes, this is progressive!” ^_^ (Which calls to mind the live action 2008 Japanese drama Last Friends, which did star a non-binary motocross rider Ruka and her beloved musician friend Michiru and it did explore issues of gender and sexuality, at least a little.)

I believe that at 16 years-old Haruka has never really thought about her gender or sexual identity, because she’s worried about the end of the world and more concerned with her identity as a Senshi. But ….after Stars, after dying twice, after building a family with Michiru, Setsuna and Hotaru…a few years later at, say 20, what is she thinking? How is she identifying herself? We can’t know with certainty, because the story will never tell us. We have the original anime, the anime adaptation of the manga, and the manga, but we don’t have the “25 years have passed and *we* understand gender and sexuality differently” version.

What happens in that version, when Hawkeye tells Fisheye, “We’re all boys here.”? What if Fisheye turns to Hawkeye and says, “No. We’re not. You two are boys. I am not.”

What happens in that version when Minako asks Haruka “are you two lovers?” or Usagi asks Haruka “are you a man or a woman?”

We can conjecture what those things might look if they were created now…but we have to accept that they might not be all that fundamentally different. It might not ever be “progressive.”

Fans of anime, despite watching media that does have positive queer representation don’t always themselves translate that into real-world progress. Although that is changing for the better in most cases, *.*gate notwithstanding. If anything, the reactive, reductive, anti-progress factions’ existence argues that progress has happened. Fans, like all humans, tend to view their entertainment through the lens of their experience. ^_^

Representation might be critical to progress, but by itself it is not “progressive.”I can acknowledge that Sailor Moon was inclusive/diverse for the time in which it was created, having been part of progress without it having been progressive . And I can accept that anime or manga I want to see pushing that needle forward might never actually go where I want it to go. ^_^

So…what is a good example of a manga that is overtly”progressive”? Shimanami Tasogare is a manga by and about sexual and gender minorities. So that stands out as a manga that is asking for genuine social change.

Whether Sailor Moon is “progressive” is open for discussion, but Shimanami Tasogare clearly asks us to move forward. And that’s progress.

 





How Not to Comment Online Revisited – Commenting Etiquette in 2019

June 30th, 2019

Many years ago I wrote an opinion piece on Okazu that went a little viral (at the time, in the pre-Twitter world) about how to and how not to comment on a blog post. A great number of the things that were relevant at the time are not as much relevant now, but there are still so many ways to come across poorly as we do more and more of our communications on social media.

To be clear, this post is not in response to any circumstance or person or specific or general comments here on Okazu, so if you feel attacked personally, I hope you will think about why that might be, rather than assuming that that is my intention. ^_^ It’s just time we revisited commenting etiquette. I did reach out to Twitter to get some feedback as well. Here, in no particular order and with no particular emphasis, are things not to do in blog comments.

The number one thing to not do:

1. If You Are Not The Editor, You Don’t Need To Edit

This is not as simple as it sounds! I love when you tell me I’ve gotten a fact wrong! Did I mention the wrong publisher or platform or mistranslated a word – I totally want to know. Really. But if someone spelled “the” wrong, then you can let that slide, it’s okay. I’m a pretty shitty typist, so I do go back over my posts every once in a while, too, and I’m still finding typos from 10 year old posts. But a good rule of thumb is if you understood it, so does everyone else. ^_^

 

2. We Have Wikipedia Too

Again, if I, personally have fucked up a translation, or have mistranslated a name or something, yes I want to know! But you know, if a blogger is mentioning Rose of Versailles, no one needs to be told that it’s actually called Berusaiyu no Bara. And that’s not even true, honestly, it’s name is ベルサイユのばら. Transliteration and translation are always evolving and are always, always open to interpretation. ^_^ You can share info for other readers too, without assuming the author doesn’t know. There may have been a reason they chose not to share. I have, in actual fact, done that. I curate what I share here, as does every blogger, reviewer and journalist.

 

3. It’s Opinions All the Way Down

You know the saying about opinions are like assholes, everyone has one? Well that saying has become a little bit more commutative these day. All opinions seem to have assholes, as well. ^_^

Every reader is free to interpret what they read, or watcher what they watch, as they want. Even if you don’t agree. When you are reading a review or commentary or analysis…it is not your job to tell people they are wrong. Unless they are objectively wrong, i.e., Moby Dick is not about a vanilla ice cream cone. And, if the reviewer is saying that it is  – whether they are in an amusingly altered cognitive state or have or have not made a solid case for their point – there’s no reason to become combative if you disagree. You can both be right, and wrong, simultaneously. Creative endeavor is like that. My first point brings me to….

 

4. No, Really, We Get That It’s Problematic

Yurimother knows of what she speaks here. I’m pretty comfortable with my fetishes and my turn-offs. I’m also comfortable surfacing them in turn and leaving it up to you to decide if you’re comfortable with the same things or not. But some folks are not satisfied with that and get super miffed that we’re not just rejecting it outright. We all like problematic things or not-problematic things by problematic creators because we and the creators are all human. Learning to accept that your favoritest series in the world was created by a raging asshole hurts, but learning to accept the parts of that thing that helped you personally grow, can still be important and useful.

 

5. It’s Okay to Say…Nothing

Sooz and Mirielle nail this one. Is it really important that you be “funny” right now? Could that “joke” wait? I bet it could! I bet it could wait forever and pass into the oubliette of never-having-been-said and no one will miss it!  I love writing comments, but there are days when I self-censor the shit out of myself by asking this question. It’s okay…that oubliette is darned big and has plenty of room for things never said outloud. ^_^

 

6. This Blog is Made for You And Me…and That Lady and That Guy, and Those Other People

Mirielle’s point leads me to something I often want to say and can never find a nice way to say it. Bloggers and journalists love readers’ feedback but we’re the ones doing the work. If you are unhappy with a post, an opinion, a conclusion, a choice…then you are always free to start your own site. Being angry with, or even worse, at, the person you’re reading is human. But you don’t have any right to demand anything.

Many of the readers I have on Okazu have become my friends in the real world and I assume that I will meet and befriend many more as I continue to travel and talk and meet people. But I also appreciate it if you don’t presume ownership of this site – or my friendship. I’m not writing that post for you, personally, so if you are unhappy, it’s not critical that I be told. Someone else might have really enjoyed that post. I write a lot of jokes on Okazu for myself (there are several of them in this post) and most of them probably go right over your head. I am not here for you, I am here for me. Just kindly remind yourself of that.

 

7. Don’t be a Dick.

You all remember Penny Arcade’s intro to the Greater Internet Fuckwad Theory? If you missed it, here it is.

Well, it turns out that anonymity is not actually the problem. The problem, it turns out is “Normal Person.” People are possessive about a lot of things…including their very individual perspectives about their individual fandoms. And some measurable percentage of these people react to any deviation from their point of view as if that deviation was meant as a personal attack. This is the literal meaning of “/whatever/ destroyed my childhood.” Imagine actually being a person who actually takes a Ghostbuster movie as a personal insult.

There are too many examples of online harassment against people because they were involved with a thing some individual or group objected to, to link to (and many of these have been astroturfed by hate groups, and were never grassroots as they claimed.) But there are still people, as we saw this very week, whose reaction to a translation they don’t like is to start harassing the translator. As I said yesterday, this is not okay.  I can remember each and every death or rape threat I have received. I have nothing but pity for the sad, pathetic fuckwads who thought that that was an appropriate way of addressing anything, of any kind, ever.

There is never any good excuse for being rude, being unkind, being aggressive or aggressively clueless in comments. The blogger does not owe you, personally, any other time than the time they took to write their post.

It shouldn’t have to be said (and, honestly, is not really being said for Okazu commenters – you folks are awesome!) but if you really, really hate a review, definitely do not call people terrible names online. Write a rebuttal or a strongly worded, polite comment, or rant to friends, but don’t be a dick and harass people.

With these basics of etiquette in mind, you’re ready to move the conversation forward, to add unique perspective and insight, offer praise and express enjoyment of your favorite writers!





LadyBroad Ledger Independent Newspaper

April 29th, 2018

I talk a lot about supporting the comics ecosystem here and to celebrate the support Okazu is getting from our own community, and give back to that ecosystem, we launched a series of Microgoals for the Okazu Patreon this spring. These goals allow Okazu to directly impact creators by giving them the kind of income they need to be able to live so they can do their work. This kind of patronage is different than the project-based crowdfunding at Indiegogo or Kickstarter and I want to talk about that for a moment.  Creating is a process and, generally speaking, readers only grasp some pieces of that process. And one of the things people don’t grasp is that it’s work that deserves to be paid for. Not just the end result…all the middle stages, too. 

In early crowdfunding days, I knew of one comic artist who attempted to crowdfund their daily expenses as they worked on a book that they would then also have to crowdfund. They did get some money, but backers were resistant to the idea of paying the creator’s rent or food. I understand why, of course. “Backers” want to “back” a thing; a production, a publication, something concrete that they can see and hold. In the same way that investors don’t invest in ideas – they want to see that something has been built and is being used, backers expect results…whether they are putting money in a Broadway play or a database or a comic, it seems unreasonable to ask people for money for paying your rent while you write the play or draw the comic.

But the reality is that for comic artists, there are only a few ways to make a living off their work. Comic strips and comic books are not stable, long-term gigs (and, as with most industries, only a few make the numbers that let them make a living from those.) Anthologies are piece-work. Until recently, there just hasn’t been a simple system to charge for webcomics. This piece of the ecosystem has been precarious for some time, but the technological reinvention of patronage is a key factor for creators who have been searching for a way to live.

My objective with the Okazu Microgoals is to contribute to creators’ ability to live as they create. And I am specifically choosing marginalized voices and diverse creators, with an especial focus on the queer community. To that end, I have chosen a fabulously talented Native writer, Nakawē Writer Mari, whom you may remember from the Absolute Power: Tales of Queer Villainy! anthology, with her brilliant story, “Chrome Crash.” Mari is, incidentally, closing in on her primary goal, which is to achieve a level of patronage that will allow her to have ADA-accessible housing. If you think you can help her get a little closer to that, I’d appreciate it. 

My second choice was the subject of today’s review – an honest-to-goodness local newspaper out of Burlington, VT. The Ladybroad Ledger is “a group of female and nonbinary cartoonists from Vermont. Our goal is to produce a FREE twice annual newsprint publication to promote comics and comic art by femme Vermont cartoonists and distribute it throughout the state.”  As a result, the ads are not local to me, but give me hope for a vital, inclusive, and diverse community in a place as alien to me as Bali. ^_^

The Winter Issue includes comics on community, motherhood, food, politics and a decidedly queer comic “Frenchman’s Cove” by arby essex. It is brimming with love of comics for comics sake. I’m very pleased to have a few extra issues some of which will be part of the next round of Lucky Boxes. ^_^ Just to be able to share the love of comics, I will also give one issue away here. Entering is easy – suggest a cool Patreon to add to the list of people we should follow (and hopefully support) in the comments (make sure you’ve got a real email attached to your WP profile) and I will pick a recipient of this fantastic niche print newspaper. Remember – I’m looking to support comics and creators with disabilities, folks of color and/or queer folks. Drop your suggestions in the comments with links so everyone can check them out and maybe win a copy of the Ladybroad Ledger!

Ratings:

Overall – 8

THIS is the kind of stuff I love supporting, which is exactly why I like independent comics shows best, like the upcoming Toronto Comic Arts Festival in Toronto and Comitia in Tokyo. 

 

 

 

 
 




Supporting Your Comics Ecosystem in 2018

April 1st, 2018

Three years ago, I wrote up a little treatise on the importance of financial (as well as emotional) engagement in our comics and manga ecosystem in Supporting Your Comics Ecosystem in 2015. And I’ve been thinking a lot recently about how things have, not so much changed, but we are able to see the situation with more nuance. So today, I wanted revisit this topic (although I am also behind on reviews and have some other writing to share with you, as well….!) because we’re at an extraordinary point in the evolution of comics – a term I will use here to include manga, doujinshi, webcomics, zines and mini-comics for the purposes of saving a few key strokes. If you haven’t read the original essay, go do that first. I’ll assume that you have, and then move forward.

The Macro-Level

In 2015, I focused on the importance on purchasing comics through legitimate licensed dealers with the understanding that our money supports the companies and that they are in turn supposed to support their employees and the industry. It is a reality that we live with that this is only partially true now. Yes, while supporting the companies does provide jobs to people at all levels, from the artists through to the kid shelving the books, it is also true that many of these jobs are not paid living wages nor do they have reasonable working conditions. Nonetheless, I still believe that purchases made on what I am now calling a macro-level of consumption does put some money back into the larger economy through wages, and taxes for all levels of employment, even though we must know also recognize that corporations are not paying their fair share.

That said, this macro-level, which we can also look at as the more traditional model, also includes small businesses like local comics shops (LCS) and online retailers. When you think about how many layers your dollars get sliced into, it can be very hard to believe that not paying for a comic will affect anyone negatively, but the drain from the ecosystem can be death to smaller pieces of that larger system. We’ve seen how the erosion has affected LCSs, for instance.  There’s a certain amount of inevitability in this erosion. When a store opens up near you that has everything you might want, the one store that only carries some of what you want will suffer. The LCSs I see surviving have taken one of two tacks – they’ve evolved to be community centers for the comics audience, running gaming nights and events, opening shelf space up to a more diverse audience or they’ve hunkered down, watching a shrinking audience stick to formats and characters with whom they are comfortable.

In the meantime, large retailers have seen sales go up and down in waves, but when we look at the larger ecosystem of comics, and include graphic novels outside the traditional LCS market we can see that it is young and diversifying.

I  buy a lot of my comics through major retailers. I buy Sweet Blue Flowers from Viz on Amazon, and pick up my Comic Yuri Hime by Ichijinsha at Kinokuniya (and while I am there, maybe I buy Slumbering Beauty by Seven Seas  or Nakayoshi from Kodansha as well.) Of these, only Viz and Seven Seas are “small” companies and they legitimately have larger companies invested in them. These purchases are the lifeblood of the traditional comics ecosystem.

 

Comics in the Middle

By 2015, we saw the creative success of a meso-level of consumption. When we pay money to projects on crowdfunding platforms we are injecting much-needed funds into what might otherwise be a closed system.

What do I mean by a “closed system”? When I was younger, I would attend events like pagan festivals and various “culture” festivals. At all these events, you could see the same vendors and performers on a circuit. And, at all these events, someone might have a personal life change- a marriage, a baby, etc. The vendors and performers who all knew each other, would often chip in to pay for expenses or buy gifts. This is where the system was closed – people might give this person a gift or money, and then next time a gift or that money was returned for something else. That same amount would cycle through the community. I’d buy a necklace from someone that bought a piece of art my wife was selling. We both “made” money, but nothing was gained or lost. Outsiders and spectators were the lifeblood of these events.  They brought in new money to the community. If I bought a piece of jewelry and was not there to accept something back because I was not part of the community, then that money remains with the community. This does not really apply to vendors at anime cons, except, maybe among the smaller sellers and artists, because vendors are not making or consuming their or other people’s goods. A dealer buys 200 DVDs to sell, they sells them, but doesn’t take that money to the artist’s alley or buy a figurine from someone else. They then pocket that money. It may go to con expenses, but doesn’t get recycled back into the community by purchase of good or services from the community.  

Crowdfunding has changed the way we perceive this meso-level comics market. Smaller publishing companies have a chance to put out nicher material – material that may well be appealing to a diverse audience, but will not or cannot be published by larger corporate publishing companies who rely on traditional models of printing, logistics, wholesale and retail. These meso-level publishers often have condensed staffing with only a few people for multiple tasks, and they often prioritize creator’s income over their own. They use social media and crowdfunding to recruit talent, staff, buyers and utilize customized distribution models that the macro-level publishers do not need. Again, some of this money goes to outside expenses, but a large portion of it gets recycled into the community directly in the form of paying artists and staff because that is what encourages backers to commit. Few backers are enthused by the idea of giving more money to support company costs, and in one notable case, the direct request for corporate expenses to be covered by backers tanked an already tenuous campaign.

I put my money behind crowdfunded publications as often as I can.  Right now I’m hoping that Lemonade Summer, a kid-friendly LGBTQ novel makes its goal! I’m much more likely to back original, niche work than I am reboots or remasterings of old work. Backing new work not only brings new money into circulation, it brings new artists in from outside, as well. I don’t have anything against anime auters of the 1990s getting HD reboots, but it doesn’t encourage creativity from them, or give jobs to folks breaking into the business. 

 

One to One, Person to Person

Now, in 2018, we are watching the success of payment processes that allow readers, consumers and fans to fund the work directly. These micro-level publishers are the creators themselves, for whom that income is, well, income, and is used however it is needed or wanted. Patronage is a a pretty old concept, but we have a pretty new technology for it. We can individually fund multiple creators through smaller payments or back a few or one creator with larger payments. This is revolutionary, because we can regularly inject the cash needed to fund people to have the lives they need to have in order to be able to create the work we want to see. 

(There are, of course, many external influences to the ecosystem, as well. The ACA was a massively positive change that allowed USA-based creators to have the kind of healthcare that other industrialized countries take for granted and freed people up to just create for a living…and the ongoing sabotage of that has had a detrimental affect to creative industries in the country.)

We are also now in a place where we can directly see the influence of our dollars in a way that we could not have, even a decade ago. Amazon proves for us that sales of a story about a lesbian manga artist with depression can sell well.  We can see directly that a small comic company can raise the kind of money that most comic companies would die for and that we are not alone in demanding more diverse and more representative comics for everyone.

As I stated this week, I’ve launched new microgoals for Okazu. For every $50 more we make at this point on Patreon, I will be supporting another creator. I’ll specifically be supporting micro-level efforts like individuals, small collaborations like Okazu (which at this point is 94% me, and 6% other folks creating content, and all me doing the editing, promotion and the like. ) To begin with I’m supporting a talented artist, Nakawē Writer Mari and writer and a feminist collaborative newspaper the Ladybroad Ledger.

What does all mean for us? It means that we can be less naive about how our money is used. Yen Press might seem like a massive company with corporate backing, but it’s still a pretty small company with only a few employees. Sure, you might not want a huge book chain to make more profits off of you, but your money does impact Seven Seas or local comic shop…and the lack of it, even more so. Buy your books at the level of convenience and ethical responsibility that’s comfortable to you. But when you parse your purchases, remember you can directly affect the industry at macro-, meso- or micro-level as you choose, and at at each level, you’ll be helping to support a sustainable industry for the future.





Top Ten Yuri Manga of 2017

December 27th, 2017

2017 brought us a veritable excess of Yuri riches. So much so, that with 2 exceptions, every item in this list is available in English and Japanese – and even one of those is available on USA Kindle. It’s been an amazing year and has set up an amazing 2018 for us. What a perfect time to look back and celebrate some of the best the year had to offer. Check out the Yuricon Store for links to all these Yuri manga series and more.

 

 

10. Hana & Hina Afterschool /Hana to Hina no Houkago (ハナとヒナは放課後)

A new story by Morinaga Milk is always good news. This story contains all her favorite themes, which means we can sit back, relax and enjoy the ride.  ^_^

Hana and Hina are both likable, their struggles with “what is this feeling?” are adorable rather than awkward and we spend all our time with them hoping for a happy ending.

A solid example of “Story A” – exactly what Morinaga-sensei does best. Cute, sweet, slightly sexy, without deep emotional commitment.

 

 

9. Bloom Into You / Yagate Kimi ni Naru (やがて君になる)

Nakatani Nio seems to have hit a zeitgeist with this story of an aromantic and the girl who is in love with her. Provocative, with sleek shoujo manga-style art in a seinen series, and a lot of unanswered questions, makes this a fascinating (if occasionally maddening) series to read.

The addition of an adult lesbian couple as role models and guides for the young lesbian character puts this series up on LGBTQ points, part of a positive new trend in Yuri. 

 

 

 

8. Kiss and White Lily for My Dearest Girl / Anoko ni Kiss to Shirayuri wo (あの娘にキスと白百合を)

I admit to being a sucker for stories that do all the Yuri tropes, all at once but don’t let that sentence fool you. Characters here are more than a single trope, and the main relationship is given plenty of time to develop past it’s own set-up, so when this series ends, we’ll have gotten a well-developed relationship rather than just a Yuri coupling.

Yes, this series by Canno lacks the emotional gravitas of her previous series, but trading one emotional triangle tangle for multiple ways to explore relationships – including poly relationships – makes this an interesting take on the all-Yuri couple school.

 

 

7. After Hours (アフターアワーズ)

Adults doing adult things. Check. Adults struggling to find meaning in life. Check. Actual relationship dynamics that make sense, by making no sense. Check.  The complexity of the character’s emotions, the conversations they have – even the way their spend their time signals that this is not a child’s story. 

Nishio Yuhta does a good job of building two unique and interesting characters without pandering, even if the art is the only not-adult thing about the series.

It’s so refreshing. I can’t wait to find out what will happen in Volume 3!

 

 

6. Sweet Blue Flowers / Aoi Hana (青い花)

Classic S tropes wrapped gently around a modern tale of a young lesbian coming to terms with herself and her place in the world. Shimura Takako never loses the touch with early 20th century, but gives her characters a 21st century sensibility.

More importantly, the main characters have family, they have friends, they have agency. Decisions have consequences and we watch them mature as a result of making them.

The art is simple and stylish, the roots deep and literary. And Viz had given us the definitive English-language edition of this new Yuri classic.

 

 

5. My Lesbian Experience With Loneliness / Sabishi-sugi Rezu Fuzoku ni Ikimashita Report（さびしすぎてレズ風俗に行きましたレポ）

A heartfelt and  honest look at a life with chronic depression and an eating disorder, Kabi Nagata’s autobiographical online comic made it’s mark on both the Japanese and English manga scenes by speaking directly about real life issues for many.

With a rough style that echoes the storyline, this manga has been on the top of the charts since it’s release. This story, of the less functional aspects of adult life, clearly resonated with many readers. 

 

 

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4. MURCIÉLAGO (ムルシエラゴ)

Yoshimurakana’s “Violence Yuri” manga is unique in being an action manga, starring a lesbian serial killer, a lesbian sociopath and a lesbian Yakuza, with a bunch of other random lesbians, all in the middle of gonzo violence and ridiculous enemies.

The art is ugly, which suits the characters and situations well. 

Blood, guts and lesbians all around. I love it.

 

 

3. Kase-san Series/ 加瀬さん シリーズ

This schoolgirl romance is awkward and wonderfully realistic in turn. A “story A” that reminds of all those moments when we first had those feelings. 

The art is loose, a little service-y and occasionally excruciatingly sweet.

Asagao to Kase-san, the first book, already has been made into an adorable animation clip and will soon be a OVA getting theatrical release in Japan in 2018.

Sometimes all we really want is a story where two lovely people get to be together. This is that story.

 

 

 

2. 2DK, GPen Mezamashitokei (2DK、Gペン、目覚まし時計。)

I love this Josei Yuri series by Ohsawa Yayoi for what it isn’t, as much as for what it is. A story of adult life that includes things that adult women often care about, like having more than one outfit and nice smelling face soap and, I don’t even know, normal life things like having a drink with a friend, and being competent at work. 

Kaede is a human golden retriever and Nanami is a girl magnet and I want them to get together…just not yet.

This series is a “josei” series, for adult women by an adult woman. It would make a terrible anime, which is exactly why I like it. No hijinks, just humans.

 

The Top Yuri Manga for 2017 is….

 

1. Galette (ガレット)

This is the Yuri magazine I have been waiting for for years. Talented Yuri creators banding together, supported by fans, creating the Yuri they want to create, rather than the Yuri editors want them to create.

Already the magazine has taken a few chances with narrative, but in ways that expand the genre. There’s still plenty of schoolgirl Yuri for readers, but the stories about adults are some of the best I’ve read this year. 

For this…for being the Yuri magazine I’ve wanted to be able to support for so long, Galette is my top Yuri Manga of the Year.