Archive for the Staff Writer Category


My Idol Sits the Next Seat Over, Volume 7

July 15th, 2024

by Luce, Okazu Staff Writer

My Idol Sits the Next Seat Over, Volume 7 is the final volume, in which we get the fallout of Maaya coming clean about her pretending to Chihiro that she wasn’t already a fan when they met, and Sakiko feeling guilty about helping her hide it. Chihiro decides to remain an idol after a heart-to-heart with both Sakiko and Maaya, and is able to perform in Misaki’s graduation concert. The three of them have a sleepover at Chihiro’s house, attend Spring Shine’s summer concert, and ponder their futures.

This series doesn’t wallow in things – they fall out over something, but they manage to sort it out. This means that a lot happens each volume, as always, but despite that, it never feels too rushed to me. The characters do their best to sort things out, rather than endlessly mithering over whether they should or shouldn’t say something. Sakiko manages to get over – in class, in a foreign language at that – her guilt at not wanting Chihiro to quit. Chihiro, rightly so, points out that she herself has agency in her own friendships. It’s a two way thing, not something that should be decided for her. This is reiterated to Maaya as well, which clears the air between the three of them.

One thing I adore about this manga is the journey Maaya takes through it all. Becoming friends with Sakiko and Chihiro, and later Motoyama, has changed her for the better, but she’s still her. She is still a little obsessive, focused, and blunt… But it’s toned down, rather than a sharpened weapon at all times. She doesn’t make a complete 180 in personality, but she mellows, is able to be more honest with herself and others – a big moment here is her truly showing her ‘bare face’ (with no makeup, and I’ll commend the mangaka that there is a notable difference) to Chihiro. It’s a really nice scene, not because Maaya has anything to be ashamed of, but because she finally feels like she can do it.

Sakiko, too, has been on a journey. At the start, she was a shy fan who couldn’t stand up for herself, but through all this, she’s become confident enough to stand up to others as well, and to decide her own path. Often being a bridge between Maaya and Chihiro, with the end of this volume, she’s settled into a good place, with the three of them on more even footing. The last chapter is in the future, showing them all meeting up, and an ‘interview’ with Chihiro which delve a little more into Spring Sunshine after the series.

I did wonder how they were going to resolve the ‘triangle’, and the answer is, it doesn’t really get resolved, per se… But it’s clear that Maaya is in love with Chihiro, and that Sakiko knows that. I don’t mind that it doesn’t pair any of them off, to be honest (while I would have been happy for a poly ending, I’m glad it didn’t rush one) – it’s clear that they value each other immensely, and that’s just as valuable.

Overall, I’ve really enjoyed this manga, and I’ll be excited to see if the mangaka gets anything else licensed!

Ratings:

Story – 7, nothing particularly groundbreaking, but not totally predictable, and doesn’t drop into needless drama all the time
Art: 8 – really suits the vibe, and an extra point for actually having a difference between someone wearing makeup and no
Service – 0 (I don’t think there’s even a sleazy angle)
Yuri – 5

Overall – 8

For a cute idol Yuri manga, this is great!





Love Bully

July 10th, 2024

The promotional poster for the Thai yuri series Love Bully, showing Charlotte Austin (left) and Engfa Waraha leaning in for a kiss.By Frank Hecker, Staff Writer

Two of the most impactful scenes of season 2 of Blank: The Series featured a fictional version of the real-life Thai show Club Friday, in which people call in to tell the hosts and audience their relationship problems. Club Friday is so popular that it spawned a long-running live-action spinoff Club Friday The Series, with plots based on those calls. Its current season (titled Hot Love Issue) includes the four-episode yuri series Love Bully, now streaming on YouTube.

CW for this series: homophobia, transphobia, and sexual assault.

Love Bully stars Engfa Waraha and Charlotte Austin, both former beauty pageant contestants turned actors, who previously starred in the beauty pageant yuri series Show Me Love. The first thing to say about Love Bully is that it is literally a soap opera: one of its sponsors is a maker of detergent (featured in one of the most hilariously out-of-nowhere instances of product placement I’ve ever seen). Love Bully lives up to that description, its plot featuring family secrets and corporate intrigues, with characters dressed to the nines.

Charlotte plays rich party girl and lipstick lesbian Irene, who befriends Night (played by Engfa), the bartender at Club Joanne, a bar owned by “Auntie Jo” (Uan Return), a trans woman who has a hidden connection to Night. Irene is being groomed to assume the CEO role at the real estate firm headed by her imperious mother CJ (Meenay Jutai), who is most displeased at the possibility of her daughter having a lesbian relationship, especially with someone of Night’s class and family background.

Complicating matters further are Fey (Gift Sirinart Sugandharat), Irene’s conniving corporate rival, and her lover Thul (Namo Thanapat Phiukham), who also happens to be Irene’s executive assistant and Night’s ex-boyfriend. Fey is a delightful example of an evil mastermind whose plans for world (or at least corporate) domination are continually ruined by an incompetent minion. As played by Gift she’s the best thing about this series — I found myself counting the minutes impatiently waiting for Fey to have another scene.

But, wait, you say, wasn’t there supposed to be a hot lesbian romance? And what about the quest to make “Englot” a top-tier “love team” to rival “Milklove” of 23.5, “Fayeyoko” of Blank, or perhaps even “Freenbecky” of GAP? Well, about that . . . Charlotte and Engfa’s characters’ interactions in Show Me Love were brought down by Charlotte’s relatively flat acting opposite Engfa. She’s improved a great deal since then, and to her credit gives an expressive performance in Love Bully. However, I still found the central love story to be unconvincing.

That may be because the four-episode runtime leaves little space for Irene and Night’s relationship to develop naturally: from Irene’s point of view the first scene in episode 1 is almost literally “Hi, I just got off the plane from LA, I need a drink! I love the drink! I love you! Please be my girlfriend!” Or it may simply be that the actors lack that most elusive and hard-to-describe factor, on-screen chemistry. Charlotte and Engfa will no doubt get another chance to star in a Thai yuri series, and perhaps third time’s the charm. But at this point I’m not that motivated to find out.

Story – 6
Characters – 7 (Fey ups the score)
Production – 7
Service – 5 (short skirts, bunny suits, and for BL fans a shirtless Thul)
Yuri – 10
LGBTQ — 7
Overall – 5

Love Bully is a competently produced and acted high-gloss soap opera with some fun moments (especially those featuring Fey). However, it’s not a “must see” for anyone but diehard Englot fans.





Blank: The Series, Season 2

July 3rd, 2024

Official poster for season 2 of Blank: The Series, showing Neung (Faye Peraya Malisorn, left) and Aneung (Yoko Apasra Lertprasert) gazing into one another’s eyes.In my review of season 1 of Blank: The Series I noted three negatives of the series: the 16-year age gap between the older Neung and the younger Aneung struck many fans as problematic, the behavior of Aneung was childish and annoying (and her portrayal by Yoko Apasra Lertprasert somewhat one-note), and the subpar English subtitles made understanding the dialogue difficult at times.

Still, I liked season 1 and I’m happy to report that season 2 of Blank: The Series is even better. The subtitles, while not perfect, feature understandable and idiomatic English. Now that Aneung is in university her maturity level has increased, and Yoko’s portrayal of her has correspondingly improved to the point where she’s often upstaging Faye Peraya Malisorn’s Neung. As the plot unfolds Aneung is alternately happy, angry, loving, despondent, or delightfully mischievous, as she goads an oft-reluctant Neung into various displays of affection.

As for the age gap, the story wouldn’t work without it. Its central theme is how Neung is caught between two different generations and must determine how to negotiate their differing demands and perspectives in her own life. Aneung is young but now fully an adult, has made new friends in university, and is confident and secure in who she is (an out lesbian) and what she wants (a relationship with Neung). On the other side of the divide are Aneung’s absentee mother Phiangfa (formerly Neung’s best friend), Neung’s ex-fiancé Chet (who we learned in season 1 has a previously-hidden connection to both Phiangfa and Aneung), and Aneung’s grandmother. All of them have their own reasons for continuing to treat Aneung as a child and (like many Asian parents and grandparents) seeking to control her life as an adult.

Meanwhile Neung, although the same age as Phiagfa and Chet, in many ways reads as closer in age to Aneung: she’s skated through life thus far, rejecting both her privileges and responsibilities as a member of the Thai aristocracy, her slacker lifestyle subsidized by ongoing “loans” from her younger sister Sam. Following the events of season 1 she moves back to her family’s “palace” and begins to assume the position to which she was born. However, at the same time she finds herself being drawn more and more to Aneung. Between Aneung’s entreaties and the older generations’ demands, Neung gradually finds herself entangled in a Gordian knot of irreconcilable expectations, a knot that’s cut by a final melodramatic plot twist and Neung’s and others’ reactions to it.

New production company NineStar Studios has done a stellar job of sanding off the rough edges of Chao Planoy’s source novel and turning out a great adaptation of it on a relatively limited budget (further strained by doing reshoots for parts of season 2). Faye continues to shine as Neung, and as noted above Yoko more than holds her own opposite Faye. The writing and cinematography are generally sharp, with occasional dips in quality (including an odd and confusing flashforward in the final episode) that are more than compensated for by some excellent scenes, most notably those involving a radio call-in show.

NineStar CEO Wanwand (“P’Wan” to Blank fans) is a self-described social media influencer and (judging by her X timeline) a major Becky Armstrong fan. A year and a half ago she was making GAP reaction videos, a year ago she first read Blank, by August she had formed NineStar Studios (with Ice Papichaya Pattaralikitsakul, who portrays Sam in the series, as COO) and was starting casting for the series, and five months later (assisted by veteran production house Moongdoo Production) NineStar debuted episode 1. After a slow start Blank: The Series is now a solid success, with individual episode segments racking up millions of views and sold-out fan meets in Thailand, the Philippines, and elsewhere. I’m looking forward to what P’Wan and NineStar come up with next, whether it features Faye and Yoko or not.

Rating:

Story — 7
Characters — 8
Production — 7
Service — 3
Yuri — 10
LGBTQ — 5 (Aneung to Chet re her friend Yui: “She’s not a tom[boy], she’s queer!”)
Overall — 8

This may be blasphemy to write, but in some ways season 2 of Blank: The Series is a more interesting and emotionally satisfying watch than was GAP: The Series (the previous gold standard for Thai live-action yuri), ditching superfluous side plots and “comic” relief in favor of a sustained focus on the central couple. If you’re interested in Blank but have limited time, you may wish to start with episode 6 of season 1—just go on the internet first to acquaint yourself with the basic facts about the characters.





Pulse, Volumes 5-7

June 23rd, 2024

by Eleanor Walker, Staff Writer.

Content warning: Volume 6 contains scenes of sexual assault.

A blonde with long hair in an orange dress and a long dark-haired woman wearing a beige top embrace happily.

Remember when I said back in my review of the first two volumes “does this hospital not have an ethics board?” Never did I predict this statement would come back to bite the way in the way that it has.  The hospital director, who we met at the end of volume 4 is cunning, ruthless and will stop at nothing to get what she wants, which is Mel. They have history together (they are ex girlfriends), and thanks to something Mel did which is never explicitly discussed, although it is covered in flashbacks, she cannot use her hands properly and had to give up being a surgeon. She is quite clearly a sociopath who only sees people as tools to be used and thrown away once she’s finished with them.

Back to Lynn and Mel. At the end of volume 1, they made a bet “If I can get you to fall in love with me within 2 years, will you be the one to operate on me?” It’s now time to call that bet in, or is it? Volume 5 sees Lynn’s condition getting worse, she’s back in the hospital and been moved to the top of the transplant list. But the director steps in, and the donor heart is sent elsewhere. Coincidence? I don’t think so. Lynn has to have another operation to place a device in her heart to squeeze out some more time while waiting for the transplant, and the director bursts into the operating theatre mid surgery and orders Mel to leave the room immediately.

 

A blonde and a dark-haired woman share an intimate moment, as the blonde takes the other woman's glasses off, as she sits on the floor next to a bed.

Because of the situation Mel finds herself in, in volume 6, Lynn overhears some of the other staff talking, concludes that this is all her fault and it would be best to break up with Mel so she doesn’t lose her career. It’s the least convincing breakup ever, but I’m pleased to report that they eventually find their way back to each other via all your favourite cliches, including a reunion at the airport, as is obvious from the frankly adorable cover of Volume 7.

Lynn finally gets a new heart, the director gets her long awaited and well deserved comeuppance, and they all live happily ever after. How far we’ve come from the stone cold woman who doesn’t believe in love, and the journey has absolutely been worth it. I’ll certainly be reading again from the beginning, and at 7 volumes the story is a nice length without dragging itself out too much.

 

 

 

A blonde in a wedding dress and a dark-haired woman in a wedding suit smile at one another happily.

Lynn and Mel continue to be the main attraction of the series, and although you do want to tell them to just talk to each other sometimes, we wouldn’t have a story otherwise. Olivia also deserves a lot of credit for being brave enough to stand up for what she thinks is right.

The art is as attractive as ever, and the erotic scenes are well crafted without leaving much to the imagination. Seven Seas have once again done a lovely job of designing the covers, and the interior printing is of good quality with clean lines.

Hot off the press, Thailand is expected to legalise same sex marriage by the end of the year.

 

Ratings:

Art: 8. As charming as it’s ever been.

Story: 8. Enough twists and turns to keep you guessing and even thinking the unthinkable. The side story with Mel and Crystal at school is also very fun.

Service: 10. Graphic depictions of sex with very little left to the imagination, as always. Also, Mel in a suit.

Characters: 9. Olivia, thank you for doing the right thing.

Yuri: 9.

Overall: 9. As I said for the first two volumes, if you’re looking for something with adult characters and a decent bit of spice which isn’t just porn, you could do a lot worse than Pulse. These later volumes up the drama but if spice is your main thing, you won’t be disappointed.





Assorted Entanglements, Volume 4

June 7th, 2024

A woman in sweatsuit and a girl in a school uniform sit close in a classroom as the sunset turns golden in the windows.by Matt Marcus, Staff Writer

In the previous volume of Assorted Entanglements, a new couple joined our problematic posse with the 3rd year high school student Sugimoto and her perpetually maidenless gym teacher, Kujou. Everybody else is still on their normal bullshit.

Assorted Entanglements Volume 4, brings something that was sorely needed to the series: character development. No, really! The series up to this point was content with short four-page chapters that loosely hung together but were mostly setups for gags. About a third of the way through this volume, Mikanuji-sensei starts writing longer chapters that expound more on the girls’ histories and their evolving connections to each other. It’s something that I would not have explicitly asked for, but it greatly benefits the whole package.

Minami has a flashback to the time she spent with Shizuku after getting out of the child services facility, which prompts a crisis of confidence. Nevertheless, she continues to think only of Iori and how she might leave her someday. After another open-handed peptalk from her older lover [sigh], Iori admits that she is a terrible person (true!), but she says that they would not have met if either one of them were normal. It’s almost touching!

Elsewhere in the city, a meaningless spat between Shizuku and Saori* leads to the two girls not talking for some time. Shizuku, never one to be fully honest with herself, finds herself feeling lonely enough that she goes out of her way to patch things up by laying out her point of view for Saori: that she is a fundamentally broken person who cannot relate to “normal” people, and thus despises them. Saori accepts this, finding common cause as maladjusted girls with twisted, unfulfillable loves. It’s kind of endearing!

Kujou’s girlfriend quest hits a snag as she gets a harsh dressing down from the cantankerous manager of the lesbian bar. Sugimoto is still trying to push her along, her last act in the volume being to offer her teacher an aquarium date as a “girlfriend test” (we all knew this was coming). We do find out in a bonus chapter that Sugimoto found the gig at the maid cafe after finding herself too gripped with panic to deal with the social stressors at school, and that seeing Kujou outside the bar everyday gave her the motivation to go back to class. It’s nearly sweet!

While all the other couples are angsting it up, Heke-san and Shinohara are still slowly circling towards each other like a binary star system. They are still the most wholesome couple here. It’s refreshing!

You may be detecting a theme here. With some space to stretch out, Mikanuji-sensei is able to add more contour to the characters and, despite all of my kvetching and faint praise, there is a core here that I do indeed like about this series. It’s still a hard recommend, but if you’ve stuck it out through three volumes already this one is worth picking up; it’s the best the series has been so far.

Art – 7 No major changes here, but Shizuku does give one the best “silent seething rage” faces I’ve seen put to page
Story – 8 It’s not going to win an Eisner but at least it’s trying
Characters – 7 Everyone’s schtick is firmly established here, yet there is some growth
Service – 2 Points are mostly for Minami’s tattoos
Yuri – 9 / LGBTQ – 9 Kujou gets a lesbian dating app

Overall – 8 Normality is overrated

Volume 5 of this ensemble story of Sapphic misfits is coming our way in June.

*I hadn’t noticed until recently that while the localization by Eleanor Ruth Summers has been excellent, Iori’s sister’s name has ping-ponged between Shiori and Saori throughout the series, even within the same volume. It’s an odd editing miss. Either may be technically correct, but after some discussion in the discord we have decided to go with Saori.

Matt Marcus is a serial enthusiast whose range of appreciations include guitars, watches, and a particular genre of Japanese popular media named after a flower. Outside of writing for Okazu, he cohosts various projects on the Pitch Drop Podcast Network, where he frequently bloviates about video games, anime, and manga. He also hosts a blog Oh My God, They Were Bandmates analyzing How Do We Relationship in greater depth.