Archive for the Series Category


Yamada to Kase-san, Volume 4 (山田と加瀬さん。)

September 5th, 2024

As you age, one of the absolutely weirdest things is watching the people you knew as children growing up, maturing, starting their own lives. You never know what they’ll turn out like but it is an interesting process and a reminder of our mortality. (When you get to some point, practically everything is a reminder of our mortality, really.)

We, as a collective, have been watching Yamada and Kase-san grow up now for more than a decade. My first mention of them here on Okazu was in 2012. It always makes me happy to see the Hirari Comics imprint on the spine, in fact. The magazine isn’t completely gone as long as we have that. In those years, they have a long road, but they graduated high school, and have moved to the big city to pursue their college degrees. There has been a lot of relationship stuff they needed to work through – Yamada’s low self-esteem, Kase-san’s jealousy. Some volumes felt like there was no progress at all. But here we are at Yamada to Kase-san, Volume 4 (山田と加瀬さん。) and they are all grown up. The kids are okay. ^_^

Yamada has really grown into herself. She’s good at her chosen career, and has a lot of options in her future. She likes her job and is making friends in school and at work. Kase-san, the star of her high school track team is the more fragile of the two and has to work much harder, but is up to the challenge. The two of them plan to move out together when the next school year begins.

At which Fukami, Kase-san’s roommate, snaps. We’ve seen this coming for a long while, but it was good to get it out into the open. Fukami, having fallen for Kase-san in the most toxic and possessive way, demands Kase-san race her to see if she’ll be “allowed” to leave the dorm. Of course this is ridiculous. But Kase-san is at heart a kind person and not very confrontational outside competitive running.

Yamada ends up getting a smaller, less ideal apartment than she had hoped, but finds a place in Mikawacchi’s building, which means our three school friends are reunited. Kase-san races Fukami, says she hopes they can stay friends and is generally the big-hearted and kind person she always is…and, at last, comes home to her girlfriend in their new home together. Squee.

They’ve come so far. Yuri has come so far. We’ve come far together.

Kase-san and Yamada are going to be okay.

Ratings:

Art – 8
Story – 9
Characters – 9
Service – 2
LGBTQ+ – 4 Kase-san has to come out for real for the first time
Yuri – 10

Overall  – 9

This was the volume that I was waiting for from this series.  I look forward to more of their adventures “playing house” together.





Watashi no Oshi ha Akuyaku Reijou., Volume 8 (私の推しは悪役令嬢。)

August 21st, 2024

A girl with long silver hair stands in the foreground, a girl with collar-length brown hair behind her, both wearing fantasy school uniforms of red jacket and blue skirt with white underskirt, both looking concerned. Behind them a blonde woman in a white shift dances in front of a display of blue flowers, bathed in light from the moon.Watashi no Oshi ha Akuyaku Reijou., Volume 8 (私の推しは悪役令嬢。) is the climax of Yu’s arc and, as a result it is poignant and touching in about 4 different ways.

To begin with, the entirety of Rae’s conversation with Misha is expanded upon with their meeting as children. Misha, ever practical, finally demands to know the truth about Rae, who she insists is nothing like her childhood best friend. When confronted with the truth, we learn two key things – one that Rae was adopted and two, sometimes in this world children just…appear from nowhere. No one knows where the Children of the Forest come from, Misha says and this seemingly random fact will come back several times in this story in surprising ways. 

With Rae’s unbelievable, yet truthful admission, Misha, at last is ready to help the team free Yu. In an epic moment, in front of the eyes of virtually the entire capital, Yu takes her place as the woman she is, throwing her mother’s plan to dominate the throne into complete disarray. It’s a fantastic moment, drawing magnificently. This will not be the only trans narrative in this story, but it and the other are both very good.

Rae is punished of course, for her actions and ends up being removed from the Royal Academy…again, a seemingly small moment that will have massive repercussions later in the story. Which makes me think about the ping=pong nature of so many epic Japanese stories. How many Gundam series, for instance have world governments overthrown and replaced and overthrown again in the course of what has to be a few months at most? And here is Rae, who catapults to the top of the school, is named a Knight, saves everyone from a chimera, now is thrown out, works for the King, thwarts a revolution and will eventually return to the school as an instructor, only to leave almost immediately as an exchange student to Nur, where she foments revolution there. That seems like a perfectly normal couple of years. ^_^;

Anyway…this volume is fantastic and beautiful and you should definitely get it!

Ratings:

Art – Excellent, with one egregious choice that…woof.
Story – Fanastic
Characters – The princes step up like crazy
Service – Everyone deserves to have their needs served, not just the salacious ones.
Yuri – The main relationship is set on the back burner in service to the larger narrative

Overall –  A brilliant volume of manga.

Volume 7 is on the way in English this October from Seven Seas!





Otherside Picnic, Volume 10

July 24th, 2024

Two women stand back to back. The shorter with collar-length dark hair in a green jacket over striped shirt holds her hand up to her face near a blue eye, that does not match her other brown eye. Behind her is a taller women with long, blonde hair, looking back over her left shoulder at us. In the background are a tall girl with red hair, her hand on a shorter girl's shoulder. The shorter girl holds up a fist as if ready to protect the other girl.by Sandy Ferguson, Guest Reviewer

Otherside Picnic, Volume 10 includes the satisfying conclusion of ‘Sannuki and the Karate Kid’, the beginning of ‘The Whisper Is At-Your-Own-Risk’ and the always welcome bonus Kozakura story ‘Getting Lost in Self-Loathing’, the title is a bit of a spoiler…

In this volume the events of the stories happen in our world. Sorawo and Toriko do not enter the Otherside, instead they are responding to the Otherside interacting with our world in both stories, though in very different ways.

Throughout this volume Sorawo shares her thoughts concerning the nature of the Otherside and how it becomes part of our world.

And through conversations Sorawo explores the distinction between those who actively seek an encounter with the Otherside, people like her and Toriko who are willing to risk the consequences of such an encounter, compared with those who stumble on a ‘patch’ of the Otherside that has somehow infiltrated our world. This is partly as an explanation of why she is willing to help those who stumble into the Otherside, but as she also makes clear she doesn’t want to deal with them being a nuisance who might get in the way of her and Toriko’s fun.

We hear more of Sorawo’s definitions of urban lore and ghost stories and why the distinction is so important to her, with a harrowing glimpse into her childhood to explain why this is the case.

One aspect of Otherside Picnic I appreciate is the ability to portray the presence of the Otherside in an ordinary setting that I find unsettling. For example, Sorawo’s response to seeing Satsuki in a crowd and what happens next.

Satsuki Uruma looms more and more into the narrative throughout this volume in a variety of ways, such as Sorawo becoming annoyed when people are happy to tell her that she looks like Satsuki.

Satsuki haunts Sorawo’s life, not just with her presence, but her fears of what will happen if she shares with Kozakura and especially Toriko that she can see Satsuki. We see more of the connections that Satsuki made, the young women who were drawn to her and who she recruits. The question that arises is what was Satuski’s objective bringing these young women into her vision of the Otherside?

In ‘The Whisper Is At-Your-Own-Risk’ we meet Runa Urumi, also known as Luna-sama, a Satsuki devotee touched by the Otherside with a talent that is a powerful illustration of the consequences of what happens when elements of the Otherside being deliberately introduced into our world.

But it is useful to remember that Satsuki and her ilk are not the only people bringing the Otherside into our world. Sorawo uses the gift of her eye to prepare Akari for her confrontation with the Kano Sannuki.

‘The Whisper Is At-Your-Own-Risk’ is one of my favourite stories from the novels, and the manga has already got a good start in its version of the story, with its dramatic recreation of the kidnap, the story of Luna-sama being touched by the Otherside and Sorawo’s realisation that she has to face the trauma of her past as she is confronted by held captive by a cult who worship Luna-sama.

I am really looking forward to Volume 11, which comes out in November!

I was particularly drawn to the bonus short story, “Getting Lost in Self-Loathing”. As always, we are invited to witness Kozakura’s perspective on events, and this one was a doozie. Kozakura’s honesty about her complicated feelings about Satsuki, Toriko and Sorawo and how they had drawn her into the Otherside is compelling and raw.

Sorawo’s role in Kozakura’s musings are particularly interesting, as Kozakura expresses a combination of annoyance with a dash of gratitude over how Sorawo has changed her life.

Ratings:

Story – 9

Artwork – 9 “A whole lot of…teeth?” is a scene that will be haunting my dreams. And then there is the ethical dilemma, can we enjoy the wonderful artwork of Akari beating up what looks like an old woman?

Character – 9 We are given more glimpses of the complexity that is Sorawo, how she responds to the trauma of her childhood and how this has shaped her ability to be in relationship with other people. And ‘Getting Lost in Self-Loathing is an excellent character study of Kozakura

Service – 7

Yuri – 8 In this volume we are introduced to more potential Yuri thanks to Natsumi and Akari.

Overall – 9





The Guy She Was Interested In Wasn’t a Guy at All Cafe, Report by Miguel Adarlo

July 17th, 2024

An image of a window on a second floor of Tower Records in Ometesando in Tokyo featuring a cafe for Ki ni Natteru Hito ga Otoko Janakkata by Arai Sumiko.Hello, this is Miguel Adarlo, also known as an overachieving potato from the Okazu Discord. This time, I’m sharing my visit to the Tower Records Cafe Omotesando during their collaboration with The Guy She Was Interested In Wasn’t a Guy at All.

During my trip to Japan on July 7th, I had initially planned to visit Yuri Cafe Anchor. Unfortunately, it was closed for renovations. However, I discovered an alternative that was just as exciting.

For those unfamiliar, The Guy She Was Interested In Wasn’t a Guy at All is a yuri manga series posted on Twitter and serialized in Pixiv Comic by Arai Sumiko. It’s known for its striking aesthetic, the leads’ choice of music, and its general vibes. (Volume 1 and volume 2 of Kininatteru Hito Ga Otoko Janakatta.have been reviewed here on Okazu.)

I had previously purchased some merchandise from the series during a visit to Kinokuniya Los Angeles in June. Imagine my surprise when I found out from the Okazu Discord that there was a concept cafe, named Moonlight Diner, for the series at the Tower Records Cafe Omotesando. I just had to go.

Tower Records is an interesting yet appropriate partner for this collaboration. As implied by its name, Tower Records deals in selling music records of all kinds. Although somewhat anachronistic in today’s music landscape dominated by digital downloads and streaming, it’s fitting for Aya and Mitsuki’s choice of music, which mostly comes from bands that were popular when discs were king. Plus, Mitsuki works at her uncle’s record store.

According to the website, I was supposed to make a reservation, but I wasn’t sure how to, especially since I only found out about the cafe the night before. I decided to take my chances and show up without a reservation. I went to the cafe at 2 pm on July 7, only to be turned away initially because they were full. Thankfully, the staff were kind enough to give me a ticket for a later time slot, 4 pm. The staff were very accommodating, despite my limited Japanese. Given the series’ popularity among international audiences, I think they expected visitors like me.

While waiting, I walked to Shibuya to visit a pop-up store for another anime and Mandarake, then I went back to Omotesando. I arrived back at the cafe at 3:40 pm, just in time for the line to form.

Placard for Ki ni Natteru Hito ga Otoko Janakatta Cafe in Omtsando. Picture by Miguel Adarlo.

Upon entering, the vibes were immaculate. The cafe was homely, with dad rock playing in the background. The cafe had a wooden floor, some chairs and tables, and an open kitchen where you could see the staff preparing the food. It felt like the record store Mitsuki and her uncle were minding during the series. The only thing missing was an old uncle minding the vinyl collection.

The cafe’s theme was tastefully applied. There was art on posters attached to the walls, drawn for the collaboration by Arai Sumiko, along with an apron signed by her. Two TVs were playing a mix of music videos, ranging from Nirvana to Bon Jovi. They also played a PV of the series, set to Nirvana’s “Smells Like Teen Spirit,” rotating with the music videos. Aya and Mitsuki were drawn wearing Tower Records threads and diner clothes too.

I ordered a burger, a fizzy drink, and a parfait. The food was fine, but I was really there for the vibes. I was thrilled when Bon Jovi started playing. Along with the food, I received postcards from the collaboration. These postcards came with the food, so I ended up getting three, two of which were of the Moonlight Diner, and one of which was Mitsuki working at the Moonlight Diner, serving Aya her meal.

Finally, I bought some merchandise, namely the Aya and Mitsuki Tower Records acrylics, and paid for my stay. It wasn’t as long as I would have liked, but I’m just glad I got the opportunity to visit a collab cafe for a yuri series I liked. I often miss these sorts of events, so I’m glad I caught this one during the push for the series. They had a Spotify playlist of music Aya and Mitsuki would listen to and a music CD that could have been my parents’ rock mixtape from the ’80s to early ’00s. They even sold a CD of Nirvana’s In Utero at the cafe! Oddly, they weren’t selling copies of the manga, but they had pins, acrylics, posters, tote bags, and even CDs related to the series.

Items from the Ki ni Natteru Hito ga Otoko Janakatta Cafe in Omtsando. Picture by Miguel Adarlo.

As a fan, seeing the immense support this series has gotten fills me with hope. Yen Press licensed the series for an English release, and this collab cafe isn’t even the first the series has had. Maybe, as Erica stated earlier in a separate Yuri Network News Update, there might be an adaptation in the works. With this series still updating and continuing its publication, all the more we can hope for support.

I’m not used to rating cafes, but here we go:

Art: 9 – Love Arai Sumiko’s work.
Story: 9 – The vibes were very good.
Characters: 8 – Could have added the uncle browsing Tower Records, but I understand focusing on Aya and Mitsuki.
Service: 9 – The staff at Tower Records Cafe were great and communicated well.
Yuri: 2 – Low on sapphic romance, but there was a postcard of them sharing a parfait.

Overall: 7.5 – A pretty good collab cafe. I would have liked more items related to the manga, but I trust the organizers knew what to sell with the limited space they were given.

The collaboration cafe runs from July 4 to July 29 at Tower Records Cafe Omotesando. You can find the website for the collab, along with the menu, here.

(no other pictures of the cafe. photography was not allowed inside.)





I’m in Love with the Villainess: She’s so Cheeky for a Commoner, Volume 2

July 8th, 2024

A girl with long blonde hair with a red bow and a girl with medium-length brown hair with a baby water slime on her shoulder walk under a parasol,. Both wear red school uniforms jackets and blue skirts. In Volume 1, we once again find ourselves in Bauer’s Royal Academy, where one Rae Taylor upends the school and eventually the entire country in her pursuit of  Claire François. Only this time, we’re seeing it all from Claire’s perspective. That first volume added a ton of new content to the story including a character that was influential, but never seen in the initial series.

In I’m in Love with the Villainess: She’s so Cheeky for a Commoner, Volume 2 of the spin-off light novel series, we once again see things from perspectives other than Rae’s. Claire, Misha’s… even Pepi and Loretta’s,  Claire’s close friends and hench chicks, turn out to have a story all their own. It turns out that their story is – and will continue to be very worth reading. I find I never reviewed it when I read the Japanese edition, d’oh. It was my favorite of the three volumes. How annoying.

I refuse to spoil the why, so you will have to trust me on this. ^_^

In the meantime, this volume does something I find fascinating. By taking two side characters and putting then in the limelight, we’re forced to rethink their motives and actions completely. And this leads to my absolutely favorite scene in the entire series. One I liked so much, I referenced it in my interview with inori-sensei for Yuricon 2023. It is in this novel we truly come to understand Pepi Barlier and her bosom friend, Loretta Kugret. When they follow Claire to Rae and Misha’s hometown of Euclid, their lives change forever. I promise that their story does not just end there, either. Despite the fact that the Revolution arc basically shelves them, here more will happen that will include them…and it will have repercussions.

Once again this book forced me to confront my weakness at stories about the twins, Mei and Aleah. Any time spent with their trauma will always hit me hard. I’ve said that this book is worth reading if you liked the original I’m In Love With The Villainess light novels. I stand by that. It is not mere a “other person’s perspective,” it is a reminder that one person cannot know everything, no matter how much knowledge she has. ^_^

Ratings:

Art – 7
Story – 9
Characters – 9
Service – 3? 4?
Yuri/LGBTQ+ – We see their relationship from Claire’s side

Overall – 9

 Volume 3, the final volume of the series, (until/unless inori-sensei completes her sequel) will hit our bookshelves in October.

Volume 1 is already available as an audiobook, and Volume 2 is headed our way in that format in August.