Archive for the Comic Yuri Hime Category


Yuri News This Week – July 26, 2008

July 26th, 2008

Short post today – I’m incredibly pressed for time.

Yuri Novels

Ichijinsha has released the first two Yuri Light Novels in their new Girls Love Line. Wild Bouquet looks to be a maid/mistress story and Period is a girls with guns thing that is notably illustrated by Shoujo Sect‘s Kurogane Kenn. Thanks to Kazu-kun for also sending me info on these. There’s previews of these novels in Yuri Hime S (plus an “Otomeiro Stay Tuned” clearfile by Fujieda) and some Yuri Hime Wildrose side stories in Yuri Hime as extras, so if you want to take a look before haring off and buying them, you can.

I do have to say, though, that for series supposedly part of their line for girls, these two novels look *awfully* like they are really for the guys. Unless “girls” novels really meant “novels about girls.” No clue and don’t really care one way or another. I’m just sort of thinking out loud. lol

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Yuri Manga

WORKS by Eriko Tadeno is back in print! Place your orders now at the Yuricon Shop for this fabulous 100% Yuri collection.

Bandai has yet again announced that it has licensed the Lucky Star manga, which is probably good news for Konata x Kagami fans.

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Yuri Event

If you are in the Miami, Florida area and you have some time, run over to Yasumicon and join Katherine on August 2 at 3-5PM for a fabulous Yuri Panel!

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That’s it for this week! As always, feel free to send your news items to me and I’ll do my best to let the world know!





Yuri News This Week – June 7, 2008

June 7th, 2008

We’re trying something new this week. This is pre-recorded programming. Cool, huh? Even as you are reading this post, *I* am in NYC at Puck Building, joining the fab folks of Prism Comics for the Museum of Comic and Cartoon Art Art Festival today. If you are in or near the NYC area, drop by. It’s an amazing event full of amazingly talented independent comic artists from all over. The MoCCA event is a don’t-miss event if you like comic art!

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Yuri Anime

It’s pretty much the all Mai edition this week! First off, Bandai has announced that they will be releasing all four of the Mai Otome Zwei episodes on one disk. In the past Bandai ran into some serious clashes with the fans over Japanese-style DVD releases (two TV episodes or one OVA per DVD.) In this climate of contracting markets and struggling anime sales, it’s nice to see that they’ve gotten a clue.

Speaking of Mai devoted reader Eric P. points out that Bandai has announced a new Mai HiME series, starring a girl named Mao. There’s not much more info available, but I expect it to be the same service with a light negligee of plot that the rest of the series wears. :-)

While I’m beating the Mai series to death, I just want to say that I have added the Mai HiME/Mai Otome/Destiny Light Novels to the Light Novel Page on the Yuricon Shop. I had no idea how many Mai novels there were!

And for those three of you who were wondering if there’d *ever* be a new Mai Otome ~ S.ifr, the answer is – yes. Look for episode two of that OVA to arrive sometime in July.

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Yuri Manga

Speaking of July, you can look forward to a new edition of Yuri Hime Wildrose coming out that month. (Yes, yes, pun intended.) Look for more girls who are not lesbian having sex with other girls, even though they don’t quite know what girls do in bed. This will be released on the 18th, the same day that the next Yuri Hime magazine hits the selves.

Looking for a quick fix of 4-koma goofiness with a light flavoring of Yuri? Rakka Ryuusui, Volume 3 is already on sale in Japan. Get your fill of kyuudo klub komraderie and inexpressible puns. :-)

Here’s an interesting piece of news – Hayate x Blade is switching not only magazines, but publisher as well. Up through Volume 9 it will continue in Mediaworks’ Dengeki Daioh, but as of the September issue, which ships in August, it will be running in Ultra Jump magazine and the collected volumes will be printed by UJ Comics. How interesting…. Makes you wonder what went on there, doesn’t it? LOL It was reported on Hayashiya Shizuru’s blog. (Thanks to Erin, btw, who made me *read* what it actually said, because when I scanned it the first time, I completely missed what she was saying. lol)

Also of note, creator of Yuri OEL manga Steady Beat, Rivkah, has some very interesting things to say on her Livejournal about the reorganization of Tokyopop and what it means for the third and final volume of her story! She includes some of the pencils from the climax, so definitely check them out.

And Sean reminds me that Strawberry Marshmallow, Volume 5 is shipping next week. For all us Miu fans.

And for those who have Internet Explorer, don’t mind downloading Digital Object Reader and can navigate basic Japanese, Young Gun Carnaval has been made into a free manga distributed through Flex Comics’ Yahoo Japan site. I’m told there’s Yuri in the novels. I don’t know if there actually is. There are girls who kill people. That’s good enough for me. :-D

For fans of Mnemosyne, there is a manga for the series “Daughters of Mnemosyne Manga: Miss Black” running in Comic Valkyrie. Has Yuri-service just like the anime. :-) I’m not sure at this point if it is a one-shot or not. I’m sure someone will weigh in with details.

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Other Yuri News

There is a very interesting blog which I have mentioned before – Ultimo Spalpeen – which follows the American anime and manga industry in Japanese for a Japanese audience. The writer, Komatsu-san, has been a terrific supporter of Yuri in general and Yuricon, ALC and Okazu in specific. Last week he emailed me with a question about the title of my Light Novel, Shoujoai ni Bouken. He asked me if I knew that it wasn’t quite right Japanese. I told him my little secret about the titles for SnB and the sequel Saiyuu no Ryouko, i.e., SnR. I *chose* to use not-quite-right Japanese for the titles on purpose, since it always fascinates me that so much anime/manga/doujinshi use English in a way that is not-quite-right. lol We had a long conversation about the whole thing and he’s transcribed the entire thing in Japanese for his readers. Thank you, Komatsu-san for all your support!

Now on to much more important things, like Strawberry Panic fighter jets!

Anastasia Moreno posted on her Manga Gunkan blog that Friend of Yuri, soulassassin547 realized, after learning that Ana is a ex-Marine who translates Strawberry Panic, that Astrea Hill would be the natural location for an air base. To that end, he designed the StoPani fighter jets…and one special Lillian squadron. (Commander “Ice Queen” Ogasawara. Swoon….)

Also from Ana’s blog, this Pixel Maritan AMV. The song is from the CD that accompanied the book I reviewed. There are subtitles in English, so you can enjoy it fully. You all have to watch – this way you’ll get a feeling for how insane this series really is. I believe Ana told me that she wrote the English lyrics for this song. My favorite line is “Let’s beat those evil fuckers now!” (Yay!)

Last up, a non-Yuri item, but it may be of some interest to readers here – and feel free to pass it on to other MLs and groups you know of:

The Kurodahan Press Translation Prize

It gives us great pleasure to announce the Kurodahan Press Translation Prize, awarded for excellence in translation of a selected Japanese short story into English. We hope that it will be possible to continue this prize as an annual event.

Kurodahan Press was established to preserve and circulate contemporary and historical observations of Asia, and to produce informative and entertaining translations. The Japanese literary world needs no help from us in producing outstanding works, but they cannot be introduced to a broader, global audience without skilled translators capable of rendering delicate nuances and atmospheres into another language.

The Kurodahan Press Translation Prize is held to help locate and encourage these translators.

The short story to be translated is 笛塚 by 岡本綺堂, and is about 9500 characters in length.

Submissions will be accepted through September 30, 2008, Japan time.

Three judges will select the winning entry (alphabetical order by surname):
– Juliet Winters Carpenter, Doshisha Women’s College of Liberal Arts
– Meredith McKinney, Visiting Fellow, Japan Centre, Australian National
University
– Royall Tyler

The winning entry will receive a cash prize, and an additional payment for first English publication rights in the upcoming kaiki anthology. Submissions will not be returned, but translators will retain all applicable rights to their work.

For additional information and a complete contest package download, please see our website:http://www.kurodahan.com/mt/e/khpprize/

or write us at:

Kurodahan Press
3-9-10-403 Tenjin
Chuo-ku, Fukuoka
810-0001 JAPAN

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It’s been a long post, but finally, that’s it for today! See you next week!





Yuri Manga: Yuri Hime 12, Part 2

May 22nd, 2008

Onward into the dark depths of Yuri Hime Volume 12!

“Tokimeki Mononoke Gakuen” continues from the moment after Kiri and Arare have kissed. Arare is flipping out – not because she didn’t like it, but because she did! Immediately, she wonders just how Kiri got to be that good a kisser and freaks as she imagines her practicing with just about everyone. Arare wakes up in bed, assuming it was just a weird dream, but in a series of fabulous visuals, finds herself becoming insanely, irrationally jealous of Kiri and Pero. Arare and Kiri make up, Arare wondering if they should become lovers, when Kiri drops the bomb – if they do, Arare will become a real Youkai. Finally! A reasonable reason for the inevitable not getting together! What will happen? Tune in in July.

In “Sweet Peach” Touka flashes back and forth between what appears to be a “normal” world and the world she’s actually stuck in, with a floating perverted hamster-girl as a companion. Airei and Chun, the warrior-elf and the maid-doctor, show up to save her, and a fight looks to be forming when priestess-y Uzume-sama breaks it all up. Airei and Momoka are together when something very important, and yet heavily servicey happens and they find themselves in each other’s arms. We can look forward to even more fantasy elements to be crammed in to this story next time.

A new chapter of the next game in the Aoi Shiro canon, begins. A girl is trained to be another girl’s bodyguerd and servant. I won’t be buying this game any more than I bought the other game, so unless something happens in the story (and I’m betting that this chapter was really just an advert in manga form) I won’t care.

FINALLY! The one thing you all really cared about – the next chapter of “Strawberry Shake Sweet.” Having admitted their feelings, Ran and Julia spend a few pages being pretty sure they must have been mistaken. Ran falls asleep while Julia is in the bath. When Julia returns, waking her, Ran asks for a kiss, which Julia gives. Ran admits that she feared she had made it all up in her head and was just testing. While Saeki is held back from trying to reach them in the dead of night, Julia and Ran end up sleeping together, holding hands.

That’s the good news. Here’s the bad news – this story will be finished in two chapters. Now, that doesn’t *definitely* mean we won’t get more from Hayashiya-sensei. We don’t know yet. So don’t ask me what’s next. I do not know, any more than you do. OTOH, I think we can guarantee that Ran and Julia will live happily ever after. :-)

A girl is always watching Hasekawa, and when she notices, she inexplicably attacks her, trying to force a kiss and possibly more. When Hasekawa is injured, the girl visits her and receives an apology, but frankly, I didn’t like Hasekawa anyway. Thus concludes “A Beautiful Thing” by Hakamada Mera.

Yahoo! “Hatachi Otome Virgin Season” by Morishima Akiko, picks up the story of 20-year old art student Eimi and her lover 30-year old art teacher Keiko. Still wrestling with the age difference, they plan a trip to an onsen. They get sidetracked by a fight about an old boyfriend of Keiko’s, but they get back together in a fit of adorable love-love.

A new series by the artist of Hatsukoi Shimai, which has a name that I simply don’t feel like translating. LOL Anyway, it was exceedingly average. Girl comes to a mysterious store Nekomedou, as she struggles with feelings for her friend who adores her writing. She writes Yuri filth which upsets her friend, but makes up when she realizes that she’s never getting the girl, and her gallant stories of romantic Yuri love are all she can give her.

Last and utterly least is “Nanami to Misuzu” which I totally skipped.

Ratings:

Overall – 8

Like I said, yesterday, Yuri Hime is a bag of mixed candy. You’re going to like some, not like some and love and hate one or two. That’s the advantage and disadvantage of an anthology. On the whole I really liked about a third of the stories, which is a fine percentage – I’ve bought magazines where I only liked one or two of the stories, so 6 out of 17 “really like” and 5 “okay” is a totally acceptable to me. And of course, you make like some or all of the stories I disliked. ^_^





Yuri Manga: Yuri Hime, Volume 12 Part 1

May 21st, 2008

Like a bag of mixed candy, Yuri Hime Volume 12 provides some tasty treats and some flavors that maybe one doesn’t like quite so much. lol

We begin with Goth-Loli story “Epitaph.” When it first began, I was witholding my judgement. Now a whole volume into it, I’m finally comfortable saying that I find it to be flavorless. It reminds me of Venus Versus Virus in the way it wraps an episodic and not particularly engaging plot around a not-particularly engaging not-quite couple. Towa and Ash are, well…boring. This chapter introduces the traditional rival couple, who are, as tradition demands just slightly more of a couple than our primary couple. There is a threat, which is dealt with by the also slightly more competent other couple and all of it makes Ash question her not-quite relationship with Towa.

Set in the Meiji period, and told through a series of letters, a girl’s rival is also her not very secret admirer, in the short “Sakura Buntsu.”

“Clover” follows the uncomfortable triangle of Student Council president Tachibana, and her VP, Hashimoto, as Tachibana discovers that Hashimoto unexpectedly has a girlfriend, Katou. Tachibana pushes Hashimoto to acknowledge and pursue the relationship, even as she realizes that she’s pretty heartbroken over it. Tachibana goes home and cries on her sister’s chest, but complains that it would have been nicer if she was bustier. Words of wisdom, I think. :-)

“Ichigo Ichigo Ichigo” is a school doctor-student love story that has the most unpleasant use of strawberries I’ve seen so far. (Whatever you’re thinking right now – it wasn’t that. It was just that I kept thinking, “who’s gonna clean that up?”

“Hatsukoi Kanon” surprised me. I keep forgetting that this school doctor-student relationship story is a series. lol Matsumoto-sensei and Nanao are interrupted in an embrace by Ruko-sensei, who tells Nanao that a student once fell for her. Matsumoto tells Nanao that their relationship will be over when Nanao graduates, and we learn (as if we couldn’t have guessed!) that Ruko’s admirer was Matsumoto.

Which brings me to my not-really new rule about being gay in manga. For a while, I’ve thought that falling for another girl once is basically nothing. Could be a crush, a phase, a first love, convenient, whatever. Twice is a trend. Three times, gay. lol

Moving on, in “Apple Day Dream” a new character is introduced, we dress her up and marvel at how many different ways the same three jokes can be rehashed.

“Sweet Olive Flowers” is another pretty dsyfunctional non-relationship triangle between a girl who likes another girl and the guy who likes her.

Creo has decided to attend school with Suou in “Creo the Crimson Crises.” Wackiness and DRAMA ensue.

Exam time has come, and graduation is something everyone is thinking about in “Ameiro Kouchakan Kandan.” What she’ll do when she graduates is obviously on Sarasa’s mind, and no less on Seriho’s. Seriho gets a call from someone named Sumire and, as she’s making plans uncovers a school guidebook Sarasa had left lying there. Crisis? Probaby not, but the mild tension is good for us. :-)

Takeuchi Sachiko’s Honey & Honey books (which have been reviewed here, use the search bar, I’m too lazy to link today) are reviewed as we end today’s overview of the first half of Yuri Hime 12.

I know what you want to know. You’ll just have to wait until tomorrow to find out, won’t you? ^_^





Yuri Manga: Mermaid Line

April 18th, 2008

In the face of the continuing moe-fication of the manga world in general, and the Yuri world in particular, it’s nice to know that there are a few men who can buck the trend. Like Kishi Torajirou’s Mars no Kiss, Kindaichi Renjurou’s Mermaid Line is a Josei-style book by a male author.

Mermaid Line is a collection of stories that ran in Yuri Hime magazine. They are collected together as short mini-series, done in an episodic, almost soap-opera-y way.

In “Megumi and Aoi ” Megumi confesses to her friend Aoi that, despite her ungainly swimming, she feels as if she is a mermaid. Aoi finds herself fantasizing about being the prince to Megumi’s mermaid, but Megumi runs to the arms of a boy, trying to put a beard on her feelings. Aoi is turned into the class target, but Megumi realizes that she’s made a bad decision and once more approaches Aoi. Eventually, they go out and, over cake, come to agreement that it’s not male or female that’s important, but that you like someone.

Ayumi, in “Ayumi and Aika,” wants to get married to her boyfriend so naturally, she’s shocked when he tells her that he wants to become a woman. She learns to cope with this and reconnect to him as a friend, but when he comes back into her life, as gay bar hostess Aika, friendless and homeless, Ayumi rethinks everything. It’s not marriage, but Ayumi’s pretty confident she can love Aika as a woman.

“Yukari and Mayuko” are both OLs. Mayuko’s between boyfriends and bored, so she asks Yukari to pretend to be her girlfriend. It works out well, until Yukari realizes that her feelings for Mayuko are more than just pretend. When Mayuko gets a new boyfriend, Yukari lets her go, but there’s no happy end for her.

And finally, in “Miura-san and Me” Okabe loves Miura’s beautiful hair. When Miura-san cuts it all off, Okabe learns to love her for herself.

Overall, the stories deal with feelings that are more complex than just “I like her.” There’s a sense of the characters being realer and deeper than the normal “Story A”types. There is angst and there’s bullying, and being outcast, but there’s also acceptance and growth and of course, love.

While none of these narratives are breath-taking, “Ayumi and Aika” stands out as the best of the bunch. By far and away, the strongest of the series in this book. I liked this series the first time around and it’s just as nice this time. Where something like Kashimashi plays the gender change card as a handwave you just need to go with, this miniseries looks at it with a light hand, a humorous touch and a sensitive heart.

Ratings:

Art – 8
Story – 7
Characters – 7
Yuri – 9
Service – 1

Overall – 7

The tagline on the obi says, “Love doesn’t come in only one form” which I think it a fitting, and pretty, summation for this book.