Archive for the Series Category


Yuri Manga: Yagate Kimi ni Naru, Volume 7 (やがて君になる)

May 8th, 2019

Since the first volume, I have been cautious.

“All this having been said, I need to bring up two important issues I have with this manga. The first is that it is presented as a romance. The story is apparently that we’ll side with Touko as her sincere feelings for Yuu are eventually returned. ”

I have repeatedly pointed out a glaringly obvious problem with this series.

“I’m still not sure if Yuu is supposed to be confused because she just hasn’t had an “a-ha!” moment or because she’s genuinely asexual. I don’t think the mangaka knows, either and I’m positive Yuu herself has no idea.”

“Which leads me to the, I think, obvious conclusion abut Yuu. What if she’s asexual? If so, she’s never going to have those feelings for Touko or anyone. She might come to love Touko and continue to admire and like her, but never have sexual interest in her. So, then I can’t help but see Touko’s coming on (to be crude) to Yuu as another burden, rather than a blessing.”

“Both these things nag at me while I read this manga. And I worry that Yuu’s agency will be stripped from her as the narrative continues.”

“Where they will end we cannot say (well, okay, obviously we can. It was abundantly clear from the first page of this series it was meant to be a romance. As I noted in my review of the first volume back in 2016…. So, yeah, obviously it has been heading in this direction from the very beginning. Which I’m still kind of sad about. I would really have preferred to have Yuu as a rare aromantic manga protagonist. Oh well.”

And so on…. every volume has been problematic.

Yagate Kimi ni Naru, Volume 7 (やがて君になる) is not helping. ^_^;

That said, there is a lot to like in this volume. We get another moment when Sayaka sits down with Miyako and really talks about the thing that they have in common; a thing Miyako has largely dealt with, but that Sayaka has not, yet. We also get a chapter backstory for Miyako and Riko, in which we see how they met and came to be a couple. Those are both wonderful moments. And, continuing on, we see Sayaka take an important step forward in her own growth. For all of this, this volume is very, very good.

But the big glaring problem does not get smaller here. Yuu is going to have deal with how she feels about Touko – – which is not the glaring problem. The big glaring problem is how her being set up as an aromantic is going to be dealt with. I do not want to spoil a thing, but… I did was neither surprised, nor impressed by the way it was handled. The way it was handled is the big glaring problem. When the series is complete in English, we’ll talk about it. Until then, I look forward to spoiler-free comments from you!

Ratings:

Art – 9 It is palpably better in this volume than it has ever been
Story – If the point of art is to create a reaction in its viewer, then this is a 10, for both good and ill
Characters  – 10
Service – Nothing salacious, buy Miyako and Riko getting ready for bed was a kind of service. ^_^
Yuri – 10+

Overall – 9

It was very “aauuggghhhhh!” and very “yay!” and I need you all to read it asap so I can *talk* about it! You will have the chance to read it in December, while Volume 8, which will hit shelves in autumn in Japan, will be the final volume. When this all over about a year from now, we shall sit down and have a good long talk about this series. ^_^;





Sailor Moon SuperS Anime, Part 1, Disk 1 (English)

April 15th, 2019

It’s been a long time since I watched Sailor Moon Super S the very first time and I am not at all surprised to find that I consider it as unwatchable and excruciating as I felt the first time! It’s got just about everything I don’t like all crammed into a very thin plot (Chibi-Usa, Pegasus, creepy Amazon Trio ripping women’s dreams from their chest while they beg them not to….shudder…) , and while I – like all good fans – have rewritten and retconned it in my own head to be a valuable piece of the mythology, in reality it’s really pretty eh, unless you genuinely enjoy Chibi-Usa and Usagi screaming at each other for a lot of episodes.

That said, there are actually a couple of really interesting plot needles among the rest of the plot hay. So, I’m basically ignoring the story of SuperS for all of those.  You know the rule – it’s 25 years old, there can be no spoilers.

The first interesting plot element is that the Amazon Trio are all male (do not try to make sense of the name, therefore) but Fish Eye is the second gay male character who crossdresses in the series.  With all the women who pass as men in the spotlight of ‘S’ and “Stars”, its sometimes easy to forget Zoisite and Fish Eye who provide the queer quotient in the first season and “SuperS.”

The animation suffered significantly for this season. Remastering could only work so far when the original just wasn’t that great to begin with. The sound quality was surprisingly good, but as the music was mostly on automatic, it adds little to the overall experience. Even the end theme “Baby Baby Love” is not one of the strongest in the pantheon of Sailor Moon music. Especially when you consider the end theme of Stars, which is weep-messy-tears worthy.

I hope you will forgive me for otherwise ignoring much of what happens in this season. I would probably not even be reviewing it but for the most amazing thing being included on Disk 1. The Sailor Moon SuperS Special consists of 2 short stories both of which are basically the only reason this whole season has for existing. This is the first official release of this special in English and you must run out and watch this immediately if not sooner.

Part 1 of the SuperS Special follows Haruka and Michiru as they encounter the Dead Moon Circus at a resort hotel. Haruka is sick in bed and flirting with the maid who is taking care of her, forcing Sailor Neptune to fight the Dead Moon Circus alone.  The punchline of this episode is Michiru’s line – which is the one of the three best lines in all of Sailor Moon – “There seems to be a misunderstanding. It’s not worth saving a world without Haruka.”

Part 2 is the only Chibi-Usa story I can tolerate and is one of the chapters from “Chibi-Usa’s Picture Diary” from the manga.

Ratings:

Art – 6
Story – 2 Ask me how much I care about Chibi-Usa and Helios. Have a seat. It’s gonna take a while.
Characters – 3 Hawk’s Eye and Tiger’s Eye did not age well as character designs or concepts, but we’ll get more Inners, later.
Service – More BDSM creepiness than I’m comfortable with, frankly.
Yuri – 10 A whole episode of Michiru and Haruka being so very, very gay.

Overall – 9 for the Special, 6 for the rest of the season

The SuperS Special and the SuperS movie are good. The rest of the season can go hang. ^_^





Yuri Manga: Bloom Into You, Volume 6 (English)

April 5th, 2019

The moment has arrived….the school festival is here and now, at last, the Student Council will perform a play. Touko will achieve the thing her late sister was never able to do. She will be able to put her sister’s phantom behind her. And then what?

In Bloom Into You, Volume 6 Touko will have to ask the question that has been plaguing her for years – and she’ll do it literally in front of the entire school all her friends and her family.

Unusually for a manga, we are allowed to see the whole play. Konomi nails the character each council member plays and it is especially lovely to be able to see how close to the mark she got in the dialogue, not just hear about it. (Even though, of course Konomi is not writing, but being written that way, it  still works in context.)  We are also given the opportunity to see audience reactions, like Touko’s parents looking pained when the dialogue lands on their lap, or the intrigued whispers at Sayaka playing Touko’s lover. All of it skirting >this< close to plausibility that the audience – and readers – might be tempted to think it was the truth.

This volume was both a triumphant climax for the series and one of the best school festivals play episodes I’ve ever read. It’s a pretty common trope for the play to reflect the story in an unsubtle way, as we’ve seen with Torikaebaya in Maria Watches Over Us, or Shuu-chan’s original script in Wandering Son. This one wins. Now Sayaka will have to deal with everyone wondering if she and Touko are, were, or could be lovers. Which, if she weren’t actually in love with Touko, might be funny.

And Yuu, at last, has to confess out loud what we’ve already known for a while now – she has failed to keep her end of the promise she and Touko made. Her heart-wrenching confession puts Touko into a tailspin.

We, the audience of this play-within-a-play are in the somewhat unusual position of having to wait to find out what happens because Volume 7 does not come out in Japan until the end of April and in English in December! I have read one or two of the chapters in Dengeki Daioh magazine where it is serialized, but am otherwise in the dark about where this story now goes. Which I quite like, so please do not helpfully spoil me, thanks. ^_^

Seven Seas’ edition continues to be excellent. This volume was, I think, particularly critical for this series, with a lot of future ramifications being laid out, and I was confident that translation by Jenny McKeon and adaptation by Jenn Grunigen were solid. The technicals were also especially good. Once again I feel that this volume offers the authentic manga reading experience fans are looking for.

Ratings:

Art – 8
Story – 8
Characters – 8
Yuri – 5
Service – 1

Overall – 8

In my review of this volume in Japanese, I called the play “terrifyingly accurate.” While we know damn well that that’s contrived, it still worked.

 





100 Years of Yuri at Toronto Comic Arts Festival!

April 4th, 2019

This week, you can listen to the me talk 100 Years of Yuri with the fine folks at Anime World Order. Check out Anime World Order Show # 173 – 100 Years of Yuri with Most Dangerous Erica Friedman, Yuri Bodhisattva. We’ll be talking about the Asagao to Kase-san movie.

We timed that beautifully, because Toronto Comic Arts Festival, May 11-12, 2019 in Toronto, Ontario, announced that Kase-san creator Takashima Hiromi will be a guest at TCAF and I’ll be talking with her about Kase-san and Yuri!  I am so impossibly excited, I can barely stand it. ^_^

I’ll be presenting a talk at the Japan Foundation during TCAF on 100 Years of Yuri, as well. TBA on that.

AND, I’m curating a 100 Years of Yuri exhibition in the Gallery Display at Page & Panel in the Toronto Reference Library! These are objects out of my personal library – some of these  items have not been out of the house since the Yurisai event Yuricon ran in in 2007.

TCAF is open to the public, there is no admission fee. There will be a ton of awesome panels and workshops and so, so many terrific comic artists and books to read and buy.

Thanks ever so much to Jocelyne Allen and all the fantastic people at Seven Seas and TCAF for helping make this a reality. I cannot think of a better place and a better group to  kick this celebration into high gear.

I hope you’ll join me at this terrific comic event and help me celebrate 100 Years of Yuri!

 





Sailor Moon Super Live Event Report

March 31st, 2019

Sailor Moon fandom is, without question, the most charming, delightful and adorable group of people on the planet. I mean that so sincerely. A more joyful, happier group of people I cannot even imagine.

Yesterday, it was my sincere pleasure to gather together with 2000 of the cutest people in the world, decked out in glorious finery as their favorite Senshi, or in Sailor Moon-inspired clothing, with ribbons and bows and handbags and t-shirts and back packs, all proclaiming their love of this lovable series to see Sailor Moon Super Live.

The performance is not quite a musical and not quite a play. It is more properly a pantomime of the key elements of the first Sailor Moon Arc, accompanied by singing, dancing and a host of really fun stage effects. The opening was worth every penny as the effects allowed integration of manga panels, and animated fore and backgrounds. We are able to enjoy rather sophisticated quick-takes on scenes like Mamoru and Usagi meeting, the gathering of the Senshi and the various battles.  The fight scenes, which combined effects, were especially fantastic when, for instance, black light effects turned Usagi’s classmates into monsters and stage elements, lighting and CGI effects combined for attacks and scenery. All of which made for a fun and dramatic stage. There were subtitles being shown but at one point, they had become rather silly, so when Kunzite was laughing evilly – about all he had for lines – I joked that I was surprised it wasn’t subtitled. ^_^ “Bwahahahah. Hahaha. Haha…” Random spoken lines are also displayed in the background as manga panels. Having seen this, I now understand why it’s called a “2.5D Musical” and I think it works.

The songs sung during the show are all original and, IMHO, mostly forgettable, except the song sung by the Senshi to encourage Sailor Moon, which was spot-on for their temperament and relationship to Usagi, and which was reprised during the concert portion of the show. The concert also included “La Soldier” and an extended version of “Moonlight Densetsu” to which we all sang along.

We had paid for the VIP seating, so when the show was over, we got high fives and hand shakes from the cast and a Super Live fan, along with the concert light stick and t-shirt we had bought before the show. The concert light stick could change colors and I giggled every time we all dutifully changed the color to match whomever was singing. We’re such nerds. ^_^

We spoke with folks about the amazing variety of goods and clothes and designs we saw. A lot of the stuff was fan-created, but without difficulty, we saw official Sailor Moon goods from Her Universe and Torrid/Hot Topics (I was wearing my old Inner Senshi HT shirt from the first time they carried Sailor Moon goods back in the 2000s, and people were recognizing it, which means we’ve all been doing this a long effing time. ^_^). And of course folks trotted out their Japanese brand goods – my wife carried her Sailor Moon x Gu collaboration purse, filled with Sailor Moon hand towel and gashopon Sailor Moon locket purses from Japan. Everyone was decked out in their Sailor Moon finest. 

Before and after the show, there was a flurry of photo activity. I took a few pictures of folks who were dressed up. One set of Haruka and Michiru were magnificently cosplaying as this cosplay magazine photoshoot. They looked so good we recognized them cosplaying as this cosplay. How amazing is that?

 

This group we encountered on the street outside the theater. I asked them if I could use this picture.

For some pictures of the cast and from the performance, check out this article on Theatermania. Unexpectedly, Forbes(!) also has an article on the show and short trailer, as well.

The only, only down side was that the music was so loud, it fuzzed out sometimes. This worked okay for the bad guys’ distortion music, but less so when it was meant to be melodic. I’d totally see this again, but bring earplugs to cut back on the noise. 

Ironically, the night before we had gone to see a bit of contemporary dance, Elizabeth, the dance, by Ann Carlson, which was also a kind of pantomime of female dance choreographers’ work, so as we sat through Sailor Moon Super Live, it felt kind of like it was the same – homage to a pop culture phenomenon as the dance troupe paid homage to high culture phenomenon.

Sailor Moon Super Live was a heck of a collage to celebrate of 25 years of a pop culture phenomenon.