Archive for the Series Category


Yuri Manga : The New Hana no Asuka-gumi

March 25th, 2003

Fabulous Manga Alert!

Okay, here’s the dish…an incredible manga series is being resurrected and I want you all to run out and look for it!

Hana no Asuka-gumi is an 18-year old manga series, about girl gangs and unresolved sexual tension and the yakuza and other ridiculous things that are true and it’s simply spectacular. I recommend it highly for many reasons: the clothes (Asuka…sigh), the story (Yohko…sigh), the uniforms (Kazuga…sigh), the characters (Hime…sigh), the conspiracy, the bizarro Hibari-sama organization….

But the cool news is – there’s a new version out! Yes, Hana no Asuka-gumi 2003 is here! It’s running in the seasonal specials of Asuka magazine. Check out the mangaka’s site for some of the character designs. The intro shows, in this order: Miko; Hime; Asuka and; Kaze.

Click Asuka 2003 with the numbers in our numbers, for an info page.That page has two cameras at the bottom – if you click those, you get sketches from the manga. The banner on the top leads you to a Flash Animation with more previews! (And note the domain of the Flash, I thought it was funny…)

This manga has something for everyone who is a shoujoai/yuri fan – Asuka is the center of more frustrated physical attraction than Bittany Spears. LOL

For some really creepy fun (that doesn’t work entirely on my browser, but may on yours) click the fourth link on the Asuka page (The page is actually called the Zenchuu Ura, after Hibari-sama’s organization,) the Hibari SS. This gives you another flash opening that stars “Shuu” one of the Hibari SS. (“SS” stands for something like “Planning Council” nothing to do with Nazi troops, so don’t get freaked.) Shuu is always creepy, even in the comic…this link appears to lead you to some kind of quiz, but I can’t get the characters to work for me. I’ll let you know if I can figure out what it says!

You can still sometimes find the original Asuka at used manga stores – and at least one lucky dog will be receiving the first few issues as a Yuricon 2003 Contest Prize! (Speaking of which – only 5 days left for submissions to 3 of the Contests…get your submissions in now!)

Last Asuka note for today – I have one fanfic up for this series. In Mourningtells the tale of Asuka’s experience with the Hibari-sama organization, from an outsider’s point of view. I think it works – you’ll have to tell me what *you* think.

Anyway, enjoy the previews and I hope I’ll be joined by all of you in one big happy Asuka fandom shortly. LOL

Next time, the Tokyo Journal continued….promise!





Events: Yuricon at MIT

February 28th, 2003

We interrupt our regular Tokyo journal to mention that last weekend I had the incredible honor of speaking at MIT about gender and sexuality in Japanese animation. Many thanks to Cassie Huang and Emily Lowe of the Women’s Studies dept and to the MIT Anime Club who were very, very cool!

The program was titled Schoolgirls and Superheroines: Gender and Sexuality in Japanese Anime.

Keridwen Luis was the first speaker – she did a great paper on shoujo anime from an anthropological perspective. Her discussion focused on “agency” – the active element, as opposed to passivity, that affected female characters in shoujo anime.

The next speaker was Dr. Sarah Frederick, who discussed Utena in relation to the work of Yoshiya Nobuko, an early 20th century Japanese popular writer. Her presentation was fascinating to me as I have a real interest in Yoshiya’s place in the origins of shoujo conventions.

I’m no academic, so I basically did what I always do – I cracked ’em up. I wasn’t profound, but they laughed a lot, which was all I cared about. I presented them with a basic history of anime and manga, some definitions; I made up some “archetypes” of the portrayal of women, contrasting the conventions of shoujo and shounen anime and manga. I finished up with a discussion of fandom and it’s role in portrayal and creation of gender and sexual roles in the field. And we all had lots o’fun.

I will be putting the text of all three lectures at the Yuricon Essays page under the title of MIT lectures (duh) so you can all read what we talked about. It was some good stuff!

Last but not least, here’s a mention of an upcoming appearance – in April in New York City, the New Festival, NYC’s Gay and Lesbian Film Fest will be showing the Utena movie and Fake. I may or may not be presenting them, and there may or may not be a Queer Anime panel – if there is, I’ll be on it. In any case, I’ll be there doing promotion for Yuricon, so drop by and say hi!

I’ll upload the next bit of the Tokyo Journal real soon – promise!!





Events: Tampa International Gay and Lesbian Film Festival

September 9th, 2002

If you’re down Florida way, make some time on your schedule for not one, but *two* anime showings in Tampa:

On Sunday, October 6th as part of the TIGLFF’s “Not for adults” schedule, you can watch the Sailor Moon Super S Special at the Tampa Theater.

On Tuesday, October 8th, I’ll be once again presenting Revolutionary Girl Utena: The Movie, at 7:30 at the Centro Ybor Muvico, in Ybor City.

If you’ve come by to see the movie, please don’t hesitate to stop by and say hello to the Yuricon Vice-Chair, the delightful Menagi-chan and myself!

Don’t forget to visit us at other Yuricon Events, as well.