Archive for the Yuri Manga Category


Yuri Manga: WORKS in the Bookstore

November 20th, 2006

Sometimes, you get that one small victory that makes it all worthwhile.

This weekend, the wife and I went to a Borders bookstore to look for some books (well duh.) The manga section was labeled “Manga” and was reasonably extensive. A far cry from just two years ago when Manga, when you could find it at all, were lumped in with “Graphic Novels” and buried under an avalanche of DC and Marvel derivatives.

This particular bookstore happened to not have any of the four titles I was looking to get, but that was besides the point. Nor were there any 100% Yuri Manga titles from ALC. I looked at the shelves and thought, “You know what I’d like to see, just once? I’d like to come into a Borders and see WORKS right there on the shelf.”

The wife realized that she had picked up a book she already had, so the very next day we were back at the bookstore – our local Borders, this time.

I walked over to the Manga section. Still no Torikoro 2, or Ichigo Mashimaro 1 or Read or Dream 1, but there was Ninin ga Shinobuden Volume 1, so I picked that up – review to come. Then I did my walk around the whole section, just to see what they had.

I saw it from about 10 feet away, because of the color. I took a crappy picture with my phone, because…well, because. And I walked over to the wife with a strange look, because yeah, I was getting all choked up.

I *almost* bought the book, just to ensure it got sold. Instead I put it, as you see above, hoping that someone would be intrigued and buy it.

I imagine that I’m preaching to the choir here when I tell you this, but – if you don’t see 100% Yuri from ALC on *your* bookstore shelves, tell them to order some! It’s not like every bookstore in America automatically orders 10 of every title. And especially in the case of something like Yuri – there needs to be a demand before there will be a supply.

Yuri Monogatari 4 will be out in the bookstores in the spring. If you prefer to buy in person, not online, ask your local comic book, G/L/B/T or chain bookstore to order some. Or *they won’t know anyone wants them*.

In any case, I wanted to share my little victory with you, because considering what we’ve gone through to get Yuri recognized as a legitimate genre, it’s not a small victory at all. ^_^





Yuri Manga: Maria-sama ga Miteru, Volume 6

November 16th, 2006

Maria-sama ga Miteru, Volume 6, Valentine’s Gift, Last Part, is simply chock-full of Yuri love-love, as it covers the second half of the Valentine’s Day arc. This includes all three of the half day dates with the bouton, and the creepy, yet pity-worthy Sachiko stalker, Mafuyu’s, story. The manga much more closely follows the novels which means, thankfully, no stupid fake cliffhanger as Yumi loses sight of Sachiko for a millisecond, and much more lovey-dovey ends to all the dates.

The manga begin with a replay of the “Surprise Chocolate” scene from the end of the first half of the arc, at the end of which Yumi and Sachiko agree to go on a half day date. Having agreed to that, Yumi is now completely at loose ends on where to go and what to do. Once that’s settled, we turn to the trials and tribulations of ace cameraman Tsutako and newspaper club president Minako, as they try to snag a good story and photo.

Yumi and Sachiko have a painfully cute date. We get to watch them wooja-wooja at each other as Sachiko talks about not ever fitting in, and enjoy Yumi raging at how unfair it is that Onee-sama is richer, taller, skinnier and more beautiful than she is. Most enjoyably, we can watch Yumi overheat at the thought of Sachiko undressing on the other side of that changing room curtain. ^_^ Yumi hangs on Sachiko romantically as Yoshino shouts “go go!” from behind, as she did in the novel. (Big grin from me on that.)

Next up, we follow Yoshino, as she stalks Rei and Chisato on their date. I am rapidly coming to find Yoshino so adorable that I’m in danger of exploding when she pouts. ^_^ When Chisato pays her a visit and admits that she’s insanely jealous of Yoshino and acknowledges that Rei called her “Yoshino” 5 times, Yoshino really shows how decent a person she is.

Shimako’s date begins at the end of Valentine’s Day, as she and Sei walk out of Lillian together, and Sei thanks her for the cake. Shimako is unaccountably shy about it; Sei takes her hand. Shizuka, at the beginning of the date seems a little cool and far off, but when she gazes at Shimako intimately and says she wants to get to know more about her, Shimako, and this reader’s, heart pounds just a bit. ^_^ Their date is, of all of them, I think the most interesting. But that could be because I find Shizuka a fascinating character. The day ends as Shimako breaks down, for the last time, in Sei’s arms and we get to see her be “big sister like.” Because of the way the characters were portrayed in the anime, this relationship is the hardest to get a bead on, but looking back now, its easy to see that of all the soeur relationships we see in the Rose Mansion, Sei and Shimako are very much like real sisters.

The last story covers Mafuyu, the girl who has admired Sachiko since kindergarten and follows her as she hides the red card for the Valentine’s Day treasure hunt. Mafuyu is much less a creepy stalker in the manga than she is in the anime and WAY less creepy than in the novel, where she was downright creepy. ^_^ The whole story reads more like a tragic love from afar than anything else.

I just started reading the 17th novel of the series last night, so stepping this far back to the 6th novel was well…novel. Watching how unsure Yumi is “back then,” knowing how much more confident she is “now,” is interesting. And kind of charming. Yoshino is da bomb, and Shimako remains the most mysterious character – and a fitting companion for both Sei and Shizuka, in this volume.

Of the Maria-sama ga Miteru manga volumes, this one has most closely followed the novels. And, as a result, I’ve liked it best. ^_^

Ratings:

Art – 6 (Everyone is drawn cute in a downward aged way and I honestly don’t like Sachiko’s character design at all)
Story – 8
Character – 8
Yuri – 5
Service – 1

Overall – 7





Yuri Manga: Himitsu no Kaidan, Volume 1

November 10th, 2006

Of the very many Yuri anime and manga series from which the Strawberry Panic anime series “borrowed,” Himitsu no Kaidan, (The Secret Staircase), is the one least likely to be familar to western Yuri fans. So, I thought I’d introduce you to the series. (And my thanks to Erin for originally pointing out the stolen meme!)

I know you will be absolutely *shocked* to learn that Himitsu no Kaidan takes place in a private girls’ school. Where the girls all live in dormitories. I know, I know, revolutionary, isn’t it? But, as with so many other things new fans don’t realize, this *particular* meme began, not with Strawberry Panic (Maria-sama ga Miteru doesn’t count here, btw, the girls there mostly live at home) nor did it begin with say, Revolutionary Girl Utena, which for most Yuri fans is stretching back into ancient history. The history of this meme goes even earlier than Shiroi Heya no Futari, the manga that is one of the earliest example of the Yuri. No, this meme goes back at least as far as Yoshiya Nobuko’s Yaneura no Nishojo, a novel that established so many of the tropes of not only later yuri works, but the entire shoujo genre that it’s quite remarkable. The novel takes place in a girl’s school dorm. I don’t know that it was the first one to ever do that, but for our Yuri genealogy, it’s fairly significant.

In any case, Himitsu no Kaidan are random tales of life, friendship, jealousy, joy and ghosts in a really old dorm. The title is not symbolic – there is an actual ghost stairway that occasionally pops up in the dorm hallway, tumbling students down itself. Ghost students then help the current students out, disappearing when they reach a certain part of the hallway.

The first volume introduces us to several denizens of the dormitories, all of whom appear to be fun-loving pleasant young ladies. The dorms all appears to be “no high drama” zones, because the stories contain little conflict.

One notable exception is Marie, a student who had transferred because her aunt wanted her to – and she hates it. She rudely rebuffs all attempts to include her in activities, meals, study, – you know, “school life” – and writes her aunt about how nasty and unfriendly the other girls are. Her isolation continues until one day she enters her classroom to find it *completely* empty. This goes on for days. She goes back to grump in her room only to find it occupied by a cheerful group of girls having a tea party. This wouldn’t be so odd, but she had just closed the door on the empty room a second ago. The ghosts invite her in for tea. A magic fairy helps Marie find happiness…but the fairy turns out to be a future dorm-mate dressed for a play. Eerie.

(Oh and by the way – they are not really ghosts, we learn, they are the memories of “dorm life” left behind by the residents. Yeah…but that doesn’t explain the stairway, does it? )

More eerie – possibly the freakiest moment of the book to me, was when Na-chan (if there’s a protagonist of the series as a whole, it is Na-chan) and some other students see themselves walking down a hallway. Clearly the hallway enjoyed the happy moment, and was replaying it for its own hallway enjoyment.

Despite all this otherworldliness, the story is really quite light-hearted, fun and tension-free. Well, the there *is* the moment Na-chan and her friends are grounded because Na-chan climbs out of the window to sneak in some fried chicken, falls out of the tree and gets caught…but that’s about how tense it gets.

In a story towards the end, we see some mild bullying, as well, but in general, it’s nothing like the physical, verbal and emotional abuse of say, Oniisama E.

So…Yuri. Not much, but enough that with good Yuri goggles you can see it. The president of the “Mystery” club, (of which Na-chan is a…maybe the only…member) Maki definitely has a soft spot for Na-chan. (I’ve seen some fan art of them by UKOZ which is one of the first things that ever interested me in the series, in fact.) Also our beautiful, yet initially morose Marie, reads Yuri in a way I can only define as “wishful thinking.” And a sempai named Hanano is a boyish girl who is, to her great annoyance, often the subject of underclassman adoration. (One of the best lines of the book, as students compete to give Hanano lunches and things is a student guiding a new transfer around the dorm. She points out the interaction, labeling that kind of thing the “Takarazuka-world” part of dorm life.)

The *only* and I mean *only* problem I have with this series is that I have a hard time telling all the characters apart, even after reading it twice through. However, I have just found a nice page with the character names and info, like which dorm they are in, what clubs, grade, etc. This ought to set me (and you) straight.

In every other way, Himitsu no Kaidan, with its eerie dorms, ghosts of happy memories and midnight tea parties is a very pleasant read.

Ratings:

Art – 7
Story – 6
Characters – 7
Yuri – 3 (enough to ping, enough to base fan work on, but nothing really real)
Service – 1 (Girls! Dorms! Uniforms! They must all be lesbian…)

Overall – 7

As a Yuri fan, it is clearly your duty to become familiar with the source of every single stolen meme from Strawberry Panic. Add this to the list soon.





Yuri Manga: Last Chance to Pre-Order Yuri Monogatari 4

November 5th, 2006

Yuri Monogatari 4, ALC Publishing’s newest 100% Yuri anthology is coming!

Get over to the Yuricon Shop to get your copy for the discounted pre-order price. This won’t be released to bookstores for some months, so if you want great Yuri manga for the holidays – this is your chance!

For a sneak peek at some of the art and a description of the stories, take a look at my previous YM4 post.

This is, by far and away, the best anthology from ALC so far. Get yours today!





Yuri Manga: Yuri Hime 6, Part 2

November 1st, 2006

We left off from Part 1 after the essays about classic yuri series, this time, about two wonderful gender-bendy girl prince stories, Paros no Ken, Sword of Paros and Berusaiyu no Bara, Rose of Versailles.

This essay is followed by another new one-shot, “Pajama Yoru Hanashi”, about a bunch of girls at a pajama party. One confesses to liking someone. Under cover of the usual squeals and fuss, another girl pretty much figures its her.

Akiko Morishima is, in real life, a lovely, polite woman. In the day I spent in her company, she never once drooled, nose bleeded or otherwise acted in unflattering or pervy ways. :-) I say this because in her Yuri x Yuri report this issue, you’d never know that, from the way she draws herself as a slavering freak. ^_^; (She’s also much prettier than she draws herself, I have to say.) In this issue, she and Paiin-sama, her editor, visit a girl’s school festival. From the first time she’d addressed with “Gokigenyou”, Akiko’s a mess. It’s absolutely hysterical. I think she hits every possible stereotype and festish possible at school festivals…of which there seem to be many.

Takahashi Mako’s “Broken Rock Crystal Sugar” is a story about a lonely girl from a broken home finding light in the company of her best friend. It’s got the usual grim quality that keeps me from ever loving Mako’s work, but it’s less grim than most, which makes it good by that standard. :-)

The fractured, erm, Yurified fairy tale is Cinderella! A fine candidate for Yurification, as other than the prince, all the characters are women. Some nice servicey pictures of Cinderella helping dress her stepsisters – and her ES is suitably evil-eyebrowed and elegant. The Queen (no prince here) is pretty cute and even the witch gets the lipstck lesbo look. Of all of these fairy tales I think this one has got to be my favorite.

“Nanami and Misuzu” gets color pages! I wish it helped! Mushrooms, cell phones, getting lost in the woods and Rina-sempai’s offbeat behavior continue the Standard Operating Wackiness. (S.O.W.)

In “Hatsukoi Shimai” Haruna has just walked away from Chika in an espcially hurtful manner. Akiho vows to be there for Chika, and asks Chika to believe in her sister. Meanwhile, Teshigwara smiles and it creeps everyone right out the door…. Chika and Akiho’s class is working with Haruna’s class for the festival to do…erm, something. Haruna and Chika make beaded things, much as they did in the Hatsukoi Shimai Drama CD. They make little beaded rings and exchange them. As Haruna leaves, Touko-sensei berates her for being cruel. Akiho comes to her rescue, Touko retreats. That night Akiho finds Haruna in tears by her bed. We have a goofy interlude where Miyu (also from the Drama CD and the third volume of Yuri Shimai…and someone that no one but me remembers…) attempts to make grumpy Kirika (Miyu’s girlfriend and ditto all of the above) wear a frilly maid outfit. Touko-sensei runs into Akiho, who asks her to stay away from Haruna and Chika, Touko starts to seduce Akiho, who bursts into tears, pouring cold water on that. Chika is walking down the hall when Teshigawara grabs her and drags her away. Touko-sensei comes up and finds the ring Haruna gave to Chika on the ground. Oh Noes! More shades of that Drama CD, where Chika lost the barrette Haruna gave her. More to come – I know the drama is KILLING you.

Just about at this point, I was getting a little tired of schoolgirls again. This issue had sort of slipped back into all-schoolgirls-all-the-time territory. What with no “Strawberry Shake Sweet” and the fact that “Little Red Riding Hood” was off the adults and back to the kids, I was feeling a little down. Thankfully, this entry into “Mermaid Line” was a departure from the school.

Yukari and Mayuko are two Office Ladies (OLs). Mayuko’s off boyfriends, but she wants someone to date. Her bestest friend Yukari, who is seeing a guy right now, offers to play the role of “pretend lover”. Mayuko’s up for it, and they start going out for dinner, and movies and shopping – not really different from before, but they both get into the spirit of the pretend thing and hold hands and the like. The problem comes when Yukari starts thinking a little too hard about this whole thing. When Mayuko says that she’s started seeing someone, so they don’t need to do it anymore, Yukari is not as happy for her friend as she would expect. In fact, she’s downright depressed. Her boyfriend telling her that his mother is interested in her (as in, as a marriage prospect) makes her nothing short of miserable. To Be Continued.

Hakamada Mera is the artist who does Saigo no Seifuku and her entry, the final story, appears to be, if not set in the exact same school, then something exceptionally similar. Sadly, I don’t care for her art, or her stories – I feel like I’m reading about 10 year olds. In any case, Iwami-san is really popular, and Arisaka isn’t. But Iwami is love with Arisaka, who returns the sentiment. They kiss.

And that, along with the usual advice column, and manga, anime, game and doujinshi reviews, is that.

As always, you can get Yuri Hime 6 from Amazon Japan through the Yuricon Shop, or click the image above. I hope you will, of course, because it is still the only anthology other than Yuri Monogatari in existence and we want it to not die out like previous magazines!