Archive for the Yuri Manga Category


Yuri Manga: Yuri Hime 6, Part 1

October 30th, 2006

It’s autumn once again. And with autumn comes many things – school festivals, leaf-watching and Yuri Hime. ^_^ Yes, Yuri Hime 6 is in, and once again it’s full of Yuri variety.

The cover depicts Akiho, right and her beloved older sister (“Sis-con?” asks Touko-sensei sarcastically…) Haruna from Hatuskoi Shimai in seasonally appropriate fashion. It’s nice to see them both happy.

Now put Touko-sensei and Akiho back on the cover, dammit.

This issue begins with a new story from Fujieda Miyabi, creator of Iono-sama Fanatics and Kotonoha no Miko to Kotodama no Majyo to, both of which rank high on my personal Yuri-o-meter.

The new story, Ameiro Kouchakan Kandan, was introduced to us in the little extra comic that came with Yuri Hime 5. To get you up to speed on the who and what, I did a review last month on the Ameiro series to date. This new chapter finds Seriho and Sarasa in a quiet moment as the cafe opens after the near-miss closing in last issue’s omake. (Seriously, if you haven’t already, go read the “series to date” post, because the story picks up at the end of that.) Seriho makes Sarasa overheat by: 1) laying her head against her and 2) telling Sarasa that she is like a tea cozy to Seriho’s pot, keeping her warm and alive. When customers come, it’s Haru, Hinoko and the usual gang – Sarasa gets even with them by making them the most expensive tea on the menu. ^_^

Tokimeki Mononoke Gakuen continues to be incredibly silly. Teacher Rokurokubi (a long-necked female demon) has got a bad neck sprain today and is in no shape to teach. She leaves for the infirmary with an admonition to practice beautifying. Arera is stoked – she’s got makeup down pat. She spends the day slapping huge amounts of makeup on the various “girls” in her class, for hilarious (ahem) results. In the end, she has no lipstick left for hereself, so when the kids all hike off to terrify Teach, Kiri kisses Arera to give her some lip color too. A surprisingly sweet kiss, I might add.

The next story is a one-shot, Hoshizora Cycling. Mako meets Momoka on her first day after transfering to Mako’s school. She can’t cycle, because she’s weak. Mako offers to give her a lift. Momoka and Mako continue this shared commute, drawing closer and closer. One night they join the others in their school on the roof to watch a meteor shower. Afterwards, Momoka won’t tell what she wished, but Mako breaks down and admits that she wished for Momoka to like her. Momo-chan fwaps Mako solidly on the head because, duh, she’s liked her all along, dimwit.

Apple Day Dream is a series of 4-panel comics about dress shop “Apple Day Dream”. Yuma and Kaoru are two employees of this purveryor of fine women’s apparel. Yuma has large breasts and Kaoru likes large breasts. Clothing and breast related humor ensues.

Taishi Zaou and Eiki Eiki’s Little Red Riding Hood continues with Fuyuka’s encounter with Akiho. (We met Akiho way back in Yuri Shimai 2, in “Expressions of Love,” where we learned that her friend, Haruka, loves to grab girls’ breasts. They resolve everything by agreeing that Haruka will not grab *other* girls’ breasts, only Akiho’s.) Akiho recognizes Fuyuka as a person in the same situation as she. Fuyuka is thrilled to have someone to talk to about the whole thing and the two rapidly become friends. Fuyuka admits that she’s concerned that Natsuki *doesn’t* feel the same as she does, and Akiho, clearly, get a bright idea. One day when both Haruka and Natsuki confront their pets, Akiho says that she no longer likes Haruka, but has fallen for…gasp!…Fuyuka! The chapter cuts out as she moves in for a public kiss.

Initially, I found this whole series a string of tired cliches, but recently, I admit to really liking the way Taishi and Eiki are tying all their elements together. The whole is significantly better than the sum of its parts.

Color pages with reviews of the Simoun and Strawberry Panic games. Not being a gamer, they are just pretty pictures to me.

And Chi-Ran finds yet another way to tell a girl meets girl story in Yuri Kago (Yuri Basket.) Maori makes her stick-in-the-mud, curmudgeonly way through life, skeptical of all relationships – and especially of the fortuneteller’s “basket of yuri” in the form of a decorative ball in which, Maori is told, she will find her lover. When the ball splits open and out pops a hideously adorable little doll girl, Maori is not amused. But over time, because of the doll’s sheer wonderful, sweet cuteness, Maori’s hard-assness melts. She finally admits to loving the doll, who promptly collapses, lifeless. One day, Maori is sitting on a bench when she is approached by someone who looks suspiciously like the doll. Could it be? Of course it could. ^_^

Which takes us to about halfway and the essays on classic Yuri manga by Miura Shion, this time Rose of Versailles and Paros no Ken (both of which have been review on Okazu, but I’m too grumpy to find the links at the moment.) Both are spiffy classic gender-bendy series, great for the little girl prince in your life. ^_^

I’ll stop here and finish up later – make sure you come back, because there’s good Yuri stuff to come!





Seven Seas Responds to ALC Publishing on Yuri Manga

October 27th, 2006

In my heart, I had a vision of the ideal response from Seven Seas. It would be respectful and friendly. It’s my pleasure to share with you that Seven Seas actually *bettered* my ideal response. :-)

They were sincere, respectful and friendly – and just plain nice about it all.

In turn, I responded by inviting Seven Seas to attend Yuricon 2007 and was told that if they can, they will come.

So, as I predicted, there will be no turf wars here in the yuri manga world – just an even larger body of folks committed to bringing great yuri manga to fans everywhere. And that can only be a good thing in my opinion. :-)

Incidentally, the thing that made me happiest was the fact that SS commented, quite specifically, on how polite and gentle the emails noting the mistake were. This makes me feel so good. I am, and have always been, convinced that histrionics and paranoia have no place in the fan community and can, and should, be replaced with passion, enthusiasm and mature dialogue.

I want to thank all of you who sent emails to Seven Seas, for your support – and for being so polite and reasonable about it. That says something about the folks who support us at Yuricon and ALC…something I feel quite proud of.

As I told Seven Seas, I look forward to both companies working together to promote yuri and I hope you will too! :-)





New Yuri Manga Kid on the Block – will it mean turf wars?

October 26th, 2006

Hi all – I’ve been debating how to address this here on Okazu, hence the delay in my response. And the short answer to the question above is, obviously, “no.” No turf wars here. :-)

Y’all probably know that this week Seven Seas announced their new yuri imprint, “Strawberry.” They’ll be putting out titles like Strawberry Panic and Saigo no Seifuku under this line, although their previously announced license for Kashimashi Girl Meets Girl will not be.

As you can imagine, as a yuri fan, I’m thrilled. Seven Seas is going for the titles that are, in Japan, marketed primarily to guys, and several of which are attached to popular anime series, so have high recognition value. I’m all for it and I’ll be among the many purchasing their titles, and hoping for them to go after Hayate x Blade as well, since it’s another Mediaworks title.

However.

In their press release, Seven Seas claims to be launching the first-ever line of yuri in the US. This is patently not true. ALC Publishing has been releasing yuri titles in the US since 2003. That’s “first” by my book. :-)

I, and many other people, have emailed Seven Seas to politely point out the mistake. I was really, honestly, hoping that they’d retract the statement, or at least issue a vague correction…or something. Unfortunately, I haven’t gotten any response at all. I’m not taking it personally, I know that businesses are often much more complex than the sum of their parts, but I want to make my position clear.

Here is the email I sent to the major anime news services, and to Seven Seas:

To Whom it May Concern –

My name is Erica Friedman, President of ALC Publishing, the world’s only all-Yuri publishing company. I would like to correct a mistake in the Seven Seas press release about their Yuri imprint “Strawberry”. Seven Seas mistakenly refers to their imprint as the “first-ever” line of Yuri manga to be released in America.

ALC Publishing has been putting out 100% Yuri publications since 2003, including translations from Japanese yuri manga artists such as Rica Takashima, Eriko Tadeno, Akiko Morishima and, looking forward into 2007, doujinshi circles Sakuraike and UKOZ. Our translations, light novel series and Yuri manga anthologies are available in comic book, G/L/B/T and chain bookstores.

All of us at ALC are *very* excited and pleased to see more Yuri entering the American manga market, but we would like it to be known, on behalf of the artists, writers, and all the folks that work on our books that Seven Seas is not the first. And hopefully, they will not be the last – there are many wonderful yuri titles which we at ALC would love to see on American shelves.

All of us at ALC, the oldest publisher of Yuri in America, wish Seven Seas the greatest success!

Now it is obvious to me that Seven Seas and ALC are NOT in direct competition. ALC focuses on stories by primarily, although not exclusively, women who identify as lesbian, for an audience of adult women (and men, of course.) Our primary focus is on the many folks whose work is not attached to an anime, and will not otherwise be seen by people in English-speaking countries – I’m speaking of course, of the lovely people who draw yuri doujinshi.

ALC is dedicated to bring high-quality yuri, what I like to call 100% yuri, by women, about and for women (and anyone else who wants to read it.) We’re not seeking to license yuri done for a broader audience. As a result, we are doomed to always be small potatoes, even in the genre we pioneered here in America. :-)

That’s okay. We love what we’re doing. We love the people doing it with us.

And we are, as I said, thrilled to see more yuri come on the market…but the operative word is “more.”

If you have a moment and want to add your voice to those who have pointed out the mistake in the Seven Seas release, feel free – but please be polite. Seven Seas may be the new kid on the block, but we want to be able to play nice. :-)

If you’ve ever bought a copy of Rica ‘tte Kanji!?, WORKS, Shoujoai ni Bouken or any of our Yuri Monogatari anthologies, on behalf of everyone at ALC, thank you for your support!





Yuri Manga: Blue Drop

October 16th, 2006

As soon as I saw the cover of Blue Drop, I felt a little happy. Because ever since I reviewed Ray, I have been looking forward to a Yoshitomi Akihito series with some actual yuri content. From some of the situations and supporting characters in Ray, I knew he had it in him. :-) Since his forte appears to be bad science coupled with gouts of violence, (I base this assumption on all two of the series I’ve seen, so you *know* you can trust me on this) I was especially looking forward to reading Blue Drop. I quite enjoy a little bad science coupled with violence from time to time, and as Kaguyahime has finished, I’m in need of fix.

In any case, Blue Drop is a loose collection of stories set appropriately in a post-apocalyptic world where aliens basically landed on Earth and after a war, won. They are using humans, most especially human kids to something something, and the kids are shunned because they are something something, but mostly because they have white hair while they are infected.

The “resistance” has decided that, since they can’t fight the aliens, they’ll kill the kids. I did like the fact that the resistance for once wasn’t a noble cause, but a bunch of angry obsessives, who have obviously lost sight of the objective.

The first story is about a boy who is carrying the whateveritis, and the girl that likes him. She sleeps with him, watches him die and a year later has a baby to remember him by and forget any of the crappy stuff that went on.

Then we meet Yui. She’s got some mean fightin’ skills and proceeds to save infected Ami from the mean old resistance. There’s plenty of tension between the two of them, and Ami even offers to sleep with Yui, but Yui gets all noble and leaves. Yui takes on the resistance and appears to die. Time passes, we see Ami has recovered and Yui, somberly reflects from a distance that it’s better that way for everyone. Ami can be normal again.

Kyomi and Rumi are the same age – Rumi’s like a sister to Kyomi. Until they both turn 13 and somehow, Kyomi realizes that Rumi’s taken everything that was dear to her – her friends and even more importantly, the guy she likes. They argue, until Kyomi gets hurt and Rumi learns that the person Kyomi likes…is her. too late, she runs off, in time to find that Kyomi has been infected by the alien and to see her become one with them. Another opportunity lost.

We see Shouko in the doctor’s office at school, where she asks the school’s female doctor out. Misato-sensei begs off politely, but Shouko’s friends have at her unmercilessly, in the way that only really good friends will. Shouko goes home to work in her family’s inn. Her mother tells her to take some beer to a room where a guest is staying. Shouko comes in to the room and sees Yui stripping another female employee, exhorting her to not worry, etc, etc. Yui and Shouko are excited to see one another – Yui shows her affection by pulling Shouko’s kimono down and snuggling her breasts, until Shouko punches her across the room. Shouko tells Yui about her feelings for the teacher, but Yui warns her off.

Yui and Misato discuss Shouko, and Yui’s existence, as well. Misato tries to convince Yui that she is a human, but Yui does not accept that. (We’ve learned previously that she’s half human half alien). The resistance grabs Shouko to get to Yui, and Misato turns out to be part of the resistance. Yui kisses Misato and apologizes, saying that she wants to protect Shouko more than keep the promise that they have between them. Yui gives Misato a handkerchief to wipe her face as she and Shouko run off. Misato promises to give it back one day – a promise that Yui accepts.

Yui and Shouko are watching the news, (in between a little light sexual harrassment by Yui) when Yui gets a call. They go out to find Misato-sensei on the ground – clearly after a rape and assault. She apologize to Yui, saying that she got her handkerchief dirty again. The hostile crowd demands Misato’s death on account of the fact that she’s been given the alien vaccine to kids.

They go back to Yui’s place where Misato cleans up and we get lots of expository discusssion. Just as we’re all relaxed, the resistance shows up to kill Misato. Shouko is dragged off to safety, but Yui obviously and visibly draws a gun on Misato. The room explodes.

The last scene shows us Yui talking to Misato, whom she has saved, about Ami from the earlier chapter. Misato correctly identifies Ami as Yui’s “type.” Yui leaves with a jaunty “I’ll be back!” to which Misato responds “I’ll see you!”.

The volume ends, but assumably, the adventure goes on in that space where stories we have created live.

Blue Drop is hardly great literature, but as violent lesbian leads go, Yui shows compassion, nobility, and mostly healthy sexual behavior…and has a sense of humor about it, which make it all readable.

Ratings:

Art – 8 (I especially like the immense frozen tortured faces that dot the landscape)
Story – 7
Characters – 5
Yuri – 6
Service – 5

Overall – 6

Please remember, downloading scans doesn’t pay the artist’s rent. If you enjoy the scanlation, think about picking up a copy of the real thing. You can click the picture above for the link to it on Amazon JP.





Yuri Manga: Yuri Monogatari 4 Available for Pre-Order (and some sneek peaks!)

October 14th, 2006

At last! The newest 100% Yuri manga anthology from ALC Publishing, Yuri Monogatari 4, is available for pre-order on the Yuricon Shop!

I cannot begin to tell you how great this book is, really. And I am *not* just saying that because of the time and effort I put into it.

To begin, we have three artists returning for the fourth time, so you can expect great art and stories from Althea Keaton and Kristina Kolhi, and a really hysterical look at lesbian pulp novel tropes by Beth Malone in “Tales of Destruction.”.

 

 

 

Althea’s story “Cog” takes a look at a possible future, while Kristina’s “Happiness” (a page of which is is on the left) is another fantastic slice-of-life piece with a twist.

We’ve got a bunch of exciting stories by newcomers to our anthology as well. Lilyshield may be a first-time contributor, but after enjoying the art in “Model” I think you’ll agree that we’d like to see more of her work. And new for us, but a veteran in the Polish yuri community, Agatha Laguniak’s “Bittersweet Melody” is our very first gothic horror story in the collection.

 

We have three Japanese artists who have contributed to the collection – each one more fablous than the last. Tomomi Nakazora’s “Kissing the Petals” is a sharp look at modern life in Tokyo, while Akiko Morishima’s “Ichigo-Hime” (left) is a legend of old Edo – the contrast between the story and the art of these two talented women couldn’t be better, and we’re thrilled to have them both.

I’m thrilled to be able to have contributed a story myself, one that is near and dear to my heart – a story I wrote specifically to dedicate to Rica Takashima. “Playing House” is delightfully drawn by Kelli Nicely, who has also supplied cover art and some lovely incidental pieces throughout.

 

But most of all, beyond all of these great stories – and really, I’m not lying, they are great – I am pleased to announce the return of Rica Takashima’s Rica and Miho in “More Rica ‘tte Kanji!?” These four-panel comic strips were created by Rica for the Bilingual edition of Rica ‘tte Kanji!? (which is *still* one of our best selling books at ALC!) and we are absolutely thrilled to be able to include them in YM4. Get to spend some more time in the company of Rica and Miho after they move in together – and also et a glimpse of their life before they met. As always with Rica Takashima’s work, its fun and sweet and heartwarmingly realistic all at once.

 

I sincerely hope Yuri fans all over the world will get to read YM4. Get 176 pages of 100% Yuri by artists and writers from Japan, Europe and the US, support Yuri manga, (and Yuri manga artists!). It’s always a great time to give the Yuri fans in your life a copy of one of our 100% Yuri publications from ALC Publishing!