Archive for the Yuri Manga Category


Yuri Manga: Hana to Hina no Houkago, Volume 2 (ハナとヒナは放課後)

September 30th, 2016

hthnh2In Volume 1, we met Hana, a typical high-school girl with an afterschool job at a mascot goods store, against school rules. At the store, she meets and befriends Hinako, another student from her school, who joins her as a part-timer. Hinako is also an amateur model with polished, adult looks, despite her actually being a first-year and Hana’s junior.

In Volume 2 of Hana to Hina ha Houkago (ハナとヒナは放課後), the story follows a well-worn path through familiar territory for Morinaga Milk fans. As the two girls become closer, they – each in their own way – start to develop feelings for the other. And, as they grow closer, the potential for small jealousies and misunderstandings increase.

Hana learns about a former friend of Hina’s, Maiko, who is also a model. Unusually, it is instantly apparent to us that Hinako and Maiko’s relationship was more than friends, even if it’s not at all apparent to Hana. Hina, for her part, is jealous of Hana’s school friends, in a quiet, unintrusive way. They are switched off the same shift for school term exams, which adds to the sense of distance between them.

Hina comes awfully close to kissing Hana one day and is appalled at herself. Hana is starting to think about Hina differently when she actually meets Maiko, who casually tells her to tell Hina that her former girlfriend dropped by. The scales fall (at least partway) from Hana’s eyes.

Now we return to the tried and true as both girls have the same feelings, but neither can bring themselves to mention it to the other.

Hopefully Volume 3 will quickly resolve this and equally hopefully, we’ll get to step beyond that a bit and watch the relationship develop past the “we like each other” stage. At the moment, though, Morinaga-sensei is firmly in her comfort zone of just before-the-confession. While I am glad that Hina has had a previous girlfriend, I have no idea if or how that might affect the narrative going forward. I hope it does have some affect other than being a reason to be jealous. Certainly, Maiko didn’t seem vindictive or anything. So maybe, just maybe, we’ll get to see a conversation about being gay in a Morinaga series. It’s still an outside chance, but she’s been edging closer and closer over time and Futabasha is the same publisher who is putting out Otouto no Otto.

Ratings:

Art – 8
Story – 7
Characters – 7
Service – 4
Yuri – 5 for Maiko

Overall – 7 +1 for the existence of a former girlfriend.

I still have fingers crossed. ^_^





YNN Special Report – Yuri and LGBTQ Manga in 2017

September 19th, 2016

Welcome to a Special Report brought to you by all the folks at YNN who want you to be able to buy all the Yuri manga. ^_^

Today, we’re going to be looking forward to 2017, which  looks to be a watershed year for Yuri in English.

rovuseFirst, and almost unbelievably, Rose of Versailles, from Udon Press.  Announced in 2015, we should be be seeing this around the new year.

Interestingly, this is *not* the first time this series has been translated into English. In 1983, the first two volumes were published here, translated by groundbreaking localizer Frederik L Schodt. Unfortunately, the series had no traction (or English audience) at the time. That failure may have contributed to the difficulties companies had in licensing this manga for English-language release for years after.

When Nozomi/RightStuf was able to successfully license and distribute the anime (which is now also streaming on Crunchyroll,) it signaled that a change was in the making…and now, in a much better environment, we at last will get this classic story of love and loss set in the French Revolution.

The book was written in the early 1970s and it shows. The uniforms will have bell-bottoms. The manga is more Yuri than the anime, Oscar and Rosalie have a somewhat more intimate relationship, with a lot of “what might have been”s. Everyone cries a lot. ^_^

 

murcielago1-212x300For fans of schoolgirl romance or “pure” Yuri (which seems to mostly mean schoolgirls)  MURCIELAGO, by Yoshimura Kana, is as far from what you like as possible. I really want to make this plain – this series is incredibly vile, full of guro, a fair amount of creepiness, some lolicon and extreme violence.

As I pointed out several times recently, in one issue when a woman is meat-hooked through the chest, it’s not even close to being the worst thing that happens in the volume.

I really want to make this point, because Yuri fans aren’t used to this kind of thing at all. They are used to schoolgirls in love, not predatory lesbians who are psychotic murderer protagonists.  I quite like this series, but I will not defend it. It’s reprehensible. I still like it. ^_^ This series has 8 volumes so far in Japanese.

 

anokoLucky for the more delicate, Yen is also laying down a much kinder, gentler series, the breakout hit A Kiss and White Lily for Her.

This is a much more conventional school-life drama at a school where most of the characters we encounter will be in or want to be in a relationship with another girl. The main couple is a typical sort of opposites attract, but succeeding volumes have had better depth and subtlety. Not all the relationships have happy endings, which I appreciated.

It’s an ongoing series, with 5 volumes currently and a Drama CD.

 

 

Okujoumou1

 

Seven Seas is in the market bringing us the Kindred Spirits on the Roof tie-in manga volumes, which are called Side A and Side B. They are largely about non-game characters, although some of the game characters (and the ghosts) make cameo appearances.

These two volumes were better than I expected in a lot of ways – primarily, the lack of service. Coming from a game in which the couples are somewhat expected to have sex, it was pretty refreshing that these were basically character stories, with some romance.

 

 

YKNN-275x390Seven Seas also has a breakout hit license to it’s credit, Bloom Into You.

This story appears to be another schoolgirl romance, but it’s also a look at asexuality or, possibly, aromanticism, (although, not spoken of as such) and has therefore been a unique story. I’m still not sure where it’s going, yet.

This is two volumes so far, the series is on-going as of right now, but I could easily see it wrapped up in 3.

Seven Seas also has two Morinaga Milk announcements.

 

 

ohnhmm-275x389

 

Secret of the Princess, a single-volume series that follows a couple involved in a sham relationship that becomes something more than it was. It was a series that started from a pretty lame place that improved as it went on.

The strength of this story was in the characters, who broke out of the molds they were written in to and turned out to be somewhat less 2-dimensional by the end of the volume.

 

 

HanatoHina

 

Morinaga’s newest series, Hana and Hina Afterschool is not a surprising title for Seven Seas, as they’ve licensed all of her other Yuri work, but it’s a welcome addition.

The so-far 2 volumes follow two classmates who also have an after-school job together. It’s not a huge departure from her normal “Story A” girl-meets-girl type of narrative, but it’s been very enjoyable, so far. I’m hoping for Morinaga’s sake that it goes to a third volume. Gakuen Polizi just sort of died on the line, and she deserves another series that goes more than 2 books.

 

 

 

kaseLast of the Seven Seas licenses, but not at all least, in my opinion, is a series that made my Top Ten Lists several times and Best of the year in 2014. Takashima Hiromi’s Kase-san series, starting with Kase-san and Morning Glories, follow two schoolgirls (you see why I like MURCIELAGO so much, yes?) who meet and fall in love.

Yamada and Kase are given time to develop a happy, healthy and very real relationship. It’s a schoolgirl romance that is pretty trope-y, but feels fresh and real anyway. I very much like that the romance is not rushed through. Them getting to know each other is the plot. I’m really excited for this 3-volume series!

 

Phew. That’s 8 series so far and I’m not done.

 

Aoi_Hana1Viz Media has entered the Yuri playing field for the first time and they are going big with Shimura Takako’s Sweet Blue Flowers. This 8-volume series is, in many way, a distillation of every “Yuri” story ever, with an added genuine connection between a somewhat typical Yuri plot and being lesbian.

Fumi’s coming out as part of the narrative is one of the things that sets this series apart from so many others of it’s kind.

This will be the third time Sweet Blue Flowers manga has been licensed for English, but the first in print. Because the licensor is Viz, there’s a pretty high likelihood of it being printed to completion, but ultimately, that up to us. If we don’t buy it, it’ll be no one else’s fault if it’s canceled again.  And for those folks who say they only buy print, not digital, this is the moment when they have to walk the talk.

Here’s hoping this is a huge success for Viz.

 

OnO1And as of just a few hours ago, we have some really exciting news today! Something I have been looking forward to for months, since the first volume. Tagame Gengoroh’s My Brother’s Husband is being published by Pantheon Books and Gay Manga. This will be released in summer 2017 as a single omnibus volume containing all 3 volumes of the manga.

This completely realistic, heartbreakingly honest look at the passive homophobia of Japanese tradition, and the change in one man’s life when he meets his late brother’s husband is going to blow people away. It’s an amazing manga and should be on everyone’s to-read list for 2017.

So there you have it. 2017 will bring us 10 great Yuri/LGBTQ series in manga. Bookmark this space, as soon as pre-order links are available, you’ll have ’em. One last note – what impresses me most here is the variety of publishers. It’s never a good thing to have one western publisher’s relationship with one Japanese publisher be our only source. There’s work here from several Japanese publishers and multiple American localizers. That’s the sign of a healthy market.

Get ready and save your money up. 2017 is going to be the Year of Yuri!

 





Yuri Manga: Comic Yuri Hime September 2016 (コミック百合姫2016年7月号)

August 31st, 2016

CYH916Comic Yuri Hime September 2016 (コミック百合姫2016年7月号) continues shifting back to fully “sweet, pure love” of the school-life and fantasy variety away from the more realistic, adulter place it inhabited when Kazuaki was doing the cover art. I’ll continue to mope about this until it shifts back, or the artists I like get fed up and start a new magazine for themselves. (Don’t think I haven’t thought about doing this, but publishing has even thinner margins than ever before. If the magazine was online, there’d be so little opportunity to make enough money to pay people, it’s depressing even considering it. Don’t get me started.)

You know by now the stories I follow. Whatever Takemiya Jin, Ohsawa Yayoi, Minamoto Hisanari write, I enjoy. That and “Last Waltz” is about all I read this issue, as the percentage of animal ears is growing, the characters style slips back into blobs, the creepy crotch gazing increases and originality runs down the drain.

Ratings:

Overall – 5

I’ll get over it. I always do.





Yuri Manga: Comic Yuri Hime July 2016 (コミック百合姫2016年7月号)

July 25th, 2016

Comic Yuri Hime for July 2016 (コミック百合姫2016年7月号) wasn’t as wretched as the May issue, but the divide between stories I like and the super creepy fanservice that is pretty much indefensibly vile is widening.

Looking at girl’s crotches, even fictitious, drawn, completely not-at -all real ones, when the “plot” literally has to contort itself around that, just to make it constantly possible, is still utterly repulsive to me in every possible way. And, too, I’m finding it harder and harder to tolerate Amano Shuninta’s “Ayame 14,” which might be sincerely meant, but feels just exactly like another way to pander.

“Prince Princess” wraps up with a (if you think about it too hard) bizarre affirmation that girls don’t have to be masculine if they don’t want to. Being girly is A-OK. Since that’s not usually a problem – and, in fact, the opposite is usually the problem –  it kind of fails as an analogy for inclusivity. But it’s a happy ending, so…yay?

Thankfully for me, Takemiya Jin, Ohsawa Yayoi and Kuzushiro all have continuing series. Phew. I long for the covers drawn by Kazuaki, as the entire magazine steadily falls back into the most banal and egregious moe tropes. Okay, pendulum, it’s time to swing back now!

Ratings:

Overall – 6

Thank *heavens* for Ohsawa Yayoi. She’s the only one drawing adults right now and I cling to “2DK, G Pen, Alarm Clock” like a life preserver.





Otome no Teikoku, vol. 5 Manga (オトメの帝国 5) Guest Review by Mariko S.

June 29th, 2016

OnT5Welcome back Mariko S who has been bravely plowing through Kishi Torajirou’s Yuri series for us!  Gambare, Mariko! Keep going! Rah!

I struggled with a way to approach this review for Otome no Teikoku vol. 5, (オトメの帝国 5) which stands at the halfway mark of the currently published volumes. In many ways the merits and flaws closely align with the things I already said about volume 4, which suggests the series has found a groove (or a rut, depending on your perspective). There’s quite a lot of service this time – a fetishistic amount of panties and bras. But on the plus side, Kishi-sensei’s growing comfort with and grasp of his characters is also evident here. The chapters are longer and more focused, and they incorporate and transition between more characters. Really the hallmark of this volume is the way it kicks some of the serialized elements up, especially the Shizuka and Kaoru storyline. I can’t say many of the chapters grabbed me exactly the way the best ones did in vol. 3, but I’d like to somewhat return to that review’s gimmick anyway and give you the highlights:

Chie’s Birthday – Ai and Chie’s storyline this time is a very sweet three-parter about Chie’s upcoming birthday. Ai asks Chie what she wants, and after a bit of joking she says she wants a pinky ring. Ai is worried about picking one that Chie will like, feeling she has no taste for such things, but Chie assures her that whatever Ai chooses will be perfect because it’s from her. Next, we see Ai struggling while shopping for the gift, and reminiscing through her photos for inspiration. She finally decides on one, but has second thoughts when she passes another jewelry store.

The big day is Ai x Chie overload, filled with wonderful character touches. At school, a joyful Chie gets her present from Ayano and Miyoshi, a funny card, and sets up her celebratory karaoke date with Ai for later. When they get there, Chie wants singing and the whole nine yards, but a nervous Ai just wants to give her the gift. As it turns out, she bought a whole bunch of rings because she couldn’t decide on one. She feels bad about it and says Chie should just pick one and get rid of the rest, but Chie is moved and overjoyed at how much thought Ai put into it. The highlight of the chapter is when she makes Ai put one on her finger, and blurts out “I do!” when it happens.

The Pocky Game – Ayano and Miyoshi by far get the most presence this volume, mostly playing silly service games or talking about weird factoids and trivia. To this point the series has been coy about their relationship, not being entirely clear on whether they are just friends or whether one or both of them is interested in something more. Kishi-sensei is also the master of slow-burn relationship progression, doling out each bit of physical advancement for the pairs with cunning patience – a holding of hands here, a kiss on the cheek there… Ayano and Miyoshi get a bigger moment this time, and it’s funny and sweet, but what does it mean if anything? We’ll see.

Ayano is eating some Pocky in class, and Miyoshi wants some and suggests they play “the game where you eat from both ends.” Miyoshi misunderstands the game, thinking the point was to break the stick and get the longer piece. Ayano explains that you are supposed to eat slowly and the first one who gets nervous about kissing and breaks away loses. They try again, getting closer and closer… then Miyoshi gets impatient and finishes the stick by glomping onto Ayano’s face. They discuss whether or not that counted as their first kiss. Miyoshi is, as usual, oblivious, but Ayano is much more affected by their “kiss” and a little ticked that Miyoshi doesn’t care more about it.

Honoka & Alicia’s Christmas, pt. 2 – Honoka and Alicia both pop up a bit in the other stories, but their only major chapter together is the conclusion of the Christmas story started last volume. I think it’s notable for one main reason – the presence of Ed and Ian, the gay couple that are Alicia’s host family. As I was reading this again, I thought back to the earlier review here of Otouto no Otto. One of the important ways that we make progress in increasing understanding and tolerance of LGBT people is by increasing representation and exposure for people who otherwise might have little or no contact with out gay people. Otome no Teikoku ran/runs in Business Jump and then Grand Jump. I have little understanding of the nuances between the various comic anthologies, but it would appear these are targeted at average adult male consumers. And while these average adult males may enjoy a bit of schoolgirl lesbianism, they probably don’t consume a lot of media featuring gay male couples.

While Ed and Ian will probably never be forefront characters, they are the first male characters to be given any kind of “screen time.” And while their main purpose now is to bond Honoka and Alicia, they are given space to express their interests (they really like Honoka’s manga, for different reasons) and feelings for each other and avoid any easy caricature of gay men. The meat of the chapter is series standard – Alicia showing off her Santa underwear, a funny gift exchange – but I like Ed and Ian.

The Extras – In fact, weirdly enough, when you really think about it this series depicts way more gay male physicality (in the form of our ongoing glimpses at Honoka’s manga) than female. Chapters 65 on in this volume each conclude with a single page of a Honoka and Alicia original work featuring Hideyoshi and Rikyuu, uh, “meeting” the Earl of Sandwich. They’re pretty spectacular. ><;

Kaoru & Shizuka – Things really start to heat up in this plotline. Shizuka catches Kaoru reeling in another kohai and chastises her a bit for it. We find out they used to go out and broke up because of Kaoru’s playgirl ways. Kaoru deflects now, but we see that this breakup was her previously referenced emo trauma from age 16. Kaoru is definitely working in some misguided ways to try to get Shizuka back, but Shizuka reaffirms to herself that she won’t go back to Kaoru because she loves Mio now. Later, Kaoru flirts with Shizuka at swim class. She’s frail though and passes out from the heat. During class she’s holding on to Shizuka in the water for support. She takes the opportunity to aggressively go after Shizuka. She believes Shizuka’s strong emotions for her ultimately amount to love, and that Mio is only a substitute for her. What does Shizuka really feel for Kaoru and Mio?

The Reunion – Role reversal can often be an enjoyable tack for a story. We get a glimpse at less-obvious sides of characters, a chance to see them working outside of their comfort zone. That’s the case with the short but sweet Yuu and Mari chapter this time. Mari has an upcoming reunion she tells Yuu about. Sensing Yuu’s jealousy, it’s Mari’s turn to power play and coyly force Yuu into admitting she doesn’t want Mari to go and wants to be with her instead. Even though Yuu is being immature, it’s a nice reminder that she really does care for Mari. You sense Mari doesn’t care whether she goes to a middle school reunion or not. It means more to her to fluster Yuu into admitting how much she wants to be with her.

What Else is Going On?

 

The debate club has a chapter that I found a little uncomfortable. The three kohai discover that Nononon is ticklish and gang up on her. Now, there’s no sense that they are being malicious or that Nononon is upset about it or angry with them for doing it. But it’s very servicey, drawn with an unusually excessive amount of panty shots, bra glimpses, and skin. And the angles chosen really emphasize the “non-consent light” nature of the scenario as the girls hold her down and tickle her. Certainly adults can have those kinds of fantasies, but this wasn’t about what Nononon wanted, it was for the reader-voyeurs. Maybe I just felt this way because I am ticklish too and would hate that to happen to me?

Other than that we get our usual assortment of Mahi-Mahi weirdness, Michiru and Airi taking funny photos, Nao indulging herself, and Onoda being lonely and uptight. Finally, a new character is introduced. Midori is the most junior member of the manga research club. A tiny, nerdy firecracker, she also draws BL but (as we see) is not nearly as talented as Honoka.

Ratings:

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

Overall – 7

Thank once again Mariko for your continued, epic, efforts!