Archive for the Yuri Manga Category


Yuri Manga: Shoujo Sect, Volume 1

February 28th, 2006

I don’t have a lot of time today, so I thought I’d review something superficial. Shoujo Sect is about as superficial as they come.

The basic premise is…well, there really isn’t a premise. It’s a series of near-plotless sexual encounters between young women who attend a private school and in most cases, room together in a dorm. The common denominator is Naitou, a blond who moves through the other girls’ stories as a kind of ghost – and so is clearly the real protagonist.

In the first chapter Naitou bets Benio an iPod over which one can get the better kiss from Ayame. Benio gets full-blown sex but forgets to get a picture as proof. When, the next morning, Ayame gives her a big ole good morning kiss in front of Naitou, Benio wins.

Enjyoji Maya steals a kiss from Honda Shinobu – unbeknowst to Maya, Shinobu has a cult of personality at this school, a veritable Hugh Hefner. In not too much time, Shinobu has Maya naked and in thrall. Naitou interrupts.

Chizuru convinced her sempai Shigure that she really REALLY likes her. Naitou plays the voyeur

Tomoe runs into Suu-sempai one day as the older girl lays outside with another girl asleep in her lap. The next time they run into each other, Suu takes Tomoe into the art supply room for a little personal attention. Naitou and Shinobu have a little unrelated conversation about the school uniform and hamburgers.

Asafuki is crushing badly on housemate Naitou, who hasn’t noticed. Setsuka has, but she really has it bad for Asafuki. Setsuka takes things into her own hands and has her way with Asafuki, who screams Naitou’s name at the key moment. At dinner that night, Setsuka asks Naitou what her type is…a conversation which opens Asafuki’s eyes to the fact that Setsuka is a better option all around.

In what has to be the oddest chapter, we start with color pages of lovers Chikae and Utano. Utano does not speak, apparently. At school two of their classmates call them lesbians and insult them. They defend each other – but don’t deny they are lovers. One girl who was slapped runs off to get a teacher. Utano makes love to Chikae right there in the classroom, not stopping when students arrive. The girls leave, and after they finish, Utano thanks Chikae…and disappears because of a magic spell. When Naitou arrives, Chikae is on the floor huddled up, crying. Utano is gone. I pretty much liked these two the best, so it was a little depressing…

Naitou arrives at the clubroom, aka Shinobu’s personal playroom, with some copies. She finds a wide assortment of Shinobu’s girls, all dressed up in a variety of fetish outfits. (Naitou, on seeing Maya in low-cut leotard, stockings, heels and dog ears: “That’s some outfit, Enjyoji-san.”) In a small room on the side Kirin and Matsuri have sex, quietly, so Shinobu doesn’t hear them. Shinobu and Naitou go outside for a chat, and Shinobu confesses that she likes Naitou.

Omake chapter – a bunch of the girls have sex for spurious reasons.

Drawn by by Kurogane Kenn, the art is cute, but a little too moe/loli for me to really like. The sex is most definitely sex-like. Like Maka-Maka, this is pretty much Yuri porn by a guy. Decent porn. Not ugly, not gross, just “Plot, what plot?” porn.

Ratings:
Art – 7
Character – 4 (we don’t really get to know any of them)
Story – 2 (there isn’t any)
Yuri – 9
Service – 7
Overall – 6

Depending on your mood and tastes, this could be just the ticket. It’s definitely good, filthy Yuri fun.





Events: Yuri Manga Lecture at University of Illinois, Urbana-Champaign

February 23rd, 2006

I’m just using the press release on this, because I don’t have the energy to rewrite it. But the point is, it’ll be fun – you should join us!

Erica Friedman, president of Yuricon and ALC Publishing, will be speaking about Yuri Manga and Lesbian Japan on March 3 at 3PM as part of the Asia Pacific Queer Lecture Series sponsored by the East Asian and Pacific Studies at the University of Illinois, Urbana-Champaign. The lecture will take place at Lucy Ellis, 1st Floor, FLB Building and is open to the public.

Friedman founded Yuricon, a celebration of yuri in anime and manga in 2000, and ALC
Publishing, North America’s only of 100% yuri publisher in 2003. In 2005, she co-chaired Yuricon in Tokyo, and Onna! which took place in October in Newark, NJ. In 2004, ALC Publishing printed the fi st volume of “Shoujoai ni Bouken: The Adventures of Yuriko”, an illustrated novel, penned by Friedman and illustrated by Kelli Nicely. Friedman will be discussing geek culture with the UIUC Introduction to Japanese Culture class, and her novel with the CQS reading group, on March 2.

To learn more about Yuricon or ALC Publishing, please visit http://www.yuricon.org or
email [email protected]

For more information on East Asia Pacific Studies at UIUC, please visit http://eaps.uiuc.edu or contact EAPS at [email protected] or 217-333-7273





Yuri Manga: Transistor ni Venus, Volume 7

February 16th, 2006

This last volume of Transistor ni Venus is certainly full of kisses for our intrepid heroine Enus, but dammit!, I wanted to have a big Yuri bang for an ending. No go – and Takemoto Izumi knows it, so there’s a luv luv omake to make up for it.  ^_^ But I get ahead of myself.

Enus is contracted to accompany Princess Asatsuyu and her companion Pera – and their guardian Sena, across a snowy country to somewhere. Asatsuyu and Pera are maybe 12 and Sena is most definitely all grown up. All three greet Enus with, “Your reputation precedes you.” Enus is like, “what?”

The girls want very much to experience some of Enus’ goddess power, but Sena menaces Enus anytime she catches them in any even remotely suggestive position. Of course Enus has no interest in the girls, but they are definitely interested in her, and are constantly working out ways to be close to her in intimate situations.

Everytime the girls steal a kiss, Sena pops up and reminds Enus that she knows about the rumors (what rumors are those?, Enus always replies,) and Sena kisses her, as if she’s throwing herself as a sacrifice instead of the the princess.

After baths, and sharing beds, and falling into a snowy crevasse forcing us to huddle together semi-clothed, and after foiling an attempt by the enemy to something by Enus dressing up as a barmaid, she finally gets the girls to their destination, where she learns that they are not who they aid they are. The real Asayuki was masquerading as Pera and vice versa. Ahahahah.

Enus discovers, at last!, the markings on Asayuki’s back that she’s been undressing girls to find since the beginning of the series. I have no idea why, sorry. These are not easy books to translate. But I’m sure its important. :-D

In the end, Enus manages to get Sena back for all the kisses by REALLY kissing her, but good.

Enus’ last mission involves adorable little Miss Yabumusu, who has to go to a desert-type area to find some guy. Enus gets her kisses from Miss Y, but Miss Y ends up wandering off with Winslow, the cat. Enus goes to find the guy and find him she does, surrounded by two attractive women. Ririn finds herself unable to control herself and gives in to Enus’ charms, but Rinirinia finds it all a bit distasteful.

Meanwhile Miss Y finds the capsule we’re all looking for, still with Winslow. She returns, is kissed by Enus (much to her annoyance, because she’s hot and exhausted) and throws Ririn into a tizzy, because now she’s kinda embarrassed by it all. Miss Y leads them all to the capsule where tey are attacked by enemy lizards and Enus gets to be cool and spy-y. They all get to the capsule, find the aliens inside and help them get back to space. Yay us.

Enus and Ririn go to a dinner party – where “Miss Contro” (who had been mentioned by Ririn earlier in the story) approaches them, induces Enus to kiss her. You know – she stands in front of her. Miss C bites Enus on the lip in response. In the meantime, Miss Y snags Ririn and leads her off, leaving our poor overworked Enus alone. Boo hoo. End of story? Enus goes home and snags herself some Mariaana time.

This was not a bang-up ending, as I said, so to soothe us frazzled readers, the artists adds a “Omake Love Love Mariaana” picture, so our last image of Enus is of her and her honey kissing. Yay. :-)

I still would have preferred a big bad bed scene, and pages and pages of Yuri love, but without fail, Transistor ni Venus always makes me smile.

Ratings:

Art – 8
Story – 6
Characters – 7
Yuri – 8
Service – 5

Overall – 7

Not the strongest volume in the series, but good, clean, Yuri fun.





Yuricon News:: "Rica ‘tte Kanji!?" to be used in Brandeis University Anthropology curriculum.

February 14th, 2006

Professor Kerridwen Luis has chosen Rica ‘tte Kanji!? by Rica Takashima as a textbook for Anthropology 166B at Brandeis University, for the Spring 2006 semester.

Professor Luis describes the class: “This class will cover some (not all!) of the current ethnography dealing with non-heteronormative sexualities cross-culturally. Why “non-heteronormative” instead of “non-heterosexual?” Well, the divide between hetero- and homo- that Western culture tends to insist on may not exist in other cultures. Since sexuality is complex, it is difficult to apply our own assumptions and labels (such as “gay, lesbian, bisexual”) to the desires, loves, and sexual activity of other people– boundaries may be more fluid (or more rigid) and identities differently constructed. Sexuality may even impact gender and the body; the formation of identities in different cultural contexts may be a two-way street. This class will examine how those identities are created, some of the vast array of diverse human activity in this area, how the social sciences have handled this topic, and how different perspectives, race, class, culture, and ethnicity all influence how these matters are viewed.”

Keridwen N. Luis is a Ph.D. student in Anthropology at Brandeis University. Her study interests include folk conceptions of culture and culture theory, women’s studies, gender studies, nonheternormative sexualities, intentional communities, consciously created culture, ghost story narratives and belief, personhood, agency and identity.

For more information on ALC Publishing’s Yuri manga or on Yuricon, please visit our website.





Yuri Manga: Yuri Hime, Volume 3 (Part 2)

February 9th, 2006

Thanks to everyone who wished me well. I’m still sick, but the fever’s gone down and I can concentrate enough to type. Lucky you. :-) I’m also breaking in a new pair of glasses – bifocals. Feel free to snort. But damn, this feels weird. What you lose with bofocals is that middle distance – you know, the distance at which you stare at a computer, or, say, watch TV. Whee.

Anyway, we left off with the climax of Hatsukoi Shimai. From now on, I am just referring to it as Hatsukoi Shimai, unless I am specifically referring to the first two Drama CDs, so as to avoid insanity. Yours or mine.

Starting the second half of Yuri Hime 3 off strongly, we have the newest chapter of “Strawberry Shake Sweet.” This, as I mentioned in my review of the first collected volume of this series, is a New Year’s gag, so we still don’t know what happened to Ran on the eve of her debut. In this chapter, an exhausted Saeki comes home on New Year’s eve to find a drunken Kaoru on her doorstep. Saeki offers Kaoru a cup of something hot, but wants her to go home quickly. Kaoru gets maudlin, and tells Saeki that’s she’s lonely. Saeki wonders why she’s not with Haruna. Kaoru tells her that Haruna is on an extended job. Saeki immediatley berates herself for discussing a lesbian relationship as if it’s normal, at which a still pretty drunken Kaoru decides that it’s her job to “turn” Saeki. By the time Ran and Julia show up to toast the New Year with Saeki, they find their manager standing over a bound, half-undressed Kaoru and immediately misunderstand the situation in time-honored fashio. My description doesn’t do the gag justice – this chapter was damn funny.

Oh my god – I totally forgot. After the color pages of Hatuskoi Shimai there’s is an interview with the seiyuu for Haruna and Chika for the upcoming Drama CD. Haruna’s voice will be done by Chiba Saeko, the voice of Natsuki in Mai Hime and Mai Otome, and Chika will be voiced by Nakahara Mai, who did Mai in Mai Hime (and, assumably, in Mai Otome when she appears.) The point of all this is that during the interview, the seiyuu are asked, naturally, what they feel about playing girls in love for the Drama CD. And, quite naturally, they say, love is love and who cares if its a woman or a man? Well…it’s not like they are going to say. “It was gross. I was totally squicked the entire time.” I personally interpreted their comments to mean, “It was a paycheck.” LOL

The next essay, by Miura Shion, was about her early love for the characters of Bishoujo Senshi Sailor Moon – especially Sailor Saturn. And her ultimately futile search for a Silence Glaive (and a Princess to worship) of her own.

This is followed by Morishima Akiko’s “Yuri Life” comic. Unmotivated to draw over the cold winter, Akiko-san’s editor decides to stimulate her yuri skills by forcefeeding her yuri anime and games. It’s pretty funny. Her fanboy nosebleed at Kannazuki no Miko is pretty much everyone’s reaction. lol Her evil editor stops her from going out to enjoy the day, instead compelling her to draw. (As ALC may be the benefactor of that evil editor, I thank her from the botttom of my heart!)

Okay, now here’s the WTF bizarro coincidence of the season. When I have time and energy (a rare combo these days) I have been reading Maria-sama ga Miteru: Manatsu no Ichipeeji, the thirteenth novel of the Marimite series. During one scene, Yuuki is talking to his friend Kobayashi and he brings up a Japanese fairy tale called “Naita Akaoni” (The Red Demon Cried.) And not two weeks later, here is that exact same story in Yuri Hime. Two weeks earlier and I would have had no idea what this story was about. How weird is *that*? Anyway, the basic plot is that there was a nice red demon who wants to befriend the local humans, who are naturally wary of demons. So the red demon’s best friend, a blue demon, offers to terrorize the humans, so the red demon could drive the blue demon off, and be a hero to the humans. This all happens as planned, and the humans come by to eat the red demon’s sweets, but the blue demon tells the red one that he has to leave forever, because the humans won’t understand that they are friends. So the blue demon tells the red one that they’ll be friends forever, and leaves. And that is why the red demon cries. Okay – now, make the demons girls, add in a cute human girl and the “terrorize” part becomes sexuall harrassment, and you’ve got the yuri-fied version. The pictures are rather amusing. Of all the yuri fairy tales so far, I’ve liked this one best.

I admit to waiting with bated breath for the next installment of “Kotonoha no Miko to Kotodama no Majo to”. So much so that I have FINALLY translated the title. Let’s call it “The Literary Miko and the Soulful Witch” – the point being a contrast between the witch as going by feeling, and the miko working on learning from the book…sort of opposite of the way most people think of witches and shrine maidens. Anyway, it’s not a title that translated easily. SO anyway, Letty and Suzu argue over Tsumugi’s fate. Tsumugi wakes and tells the heart-rending story of how her mother left her at the shrine to save her life when she was a little girl. Now that she’s left the shrine, the disease she was suffering from is back – let’s call it tuberculosis, since it comes with a hacking cough. Letty decides to go back to the shrine to make the shrine spirit give Tsumugi up, to be Tsumugi’s prince. Letty conjures up her armor and horse (witch’s costume and broom) and rides off to confront the evil ogre of the shrine. She forces the spirit to become visible and finds herself face to face with…Tsumugi!?! End of chapter. Damn this magazine for being quarterly, is all I can say. I’ll look forward to any collection of this story the future might bring.

(I’m giving up on the bifocals for the moment. My eyes are, not surprisingly, fubared.)

For those of you who can read Japanese – or are trying to learn, I strongly suggest reading Mori Natsuko’s advice column, “Yuri Doujou.” This paerticular issue has a letter which made me gape and go, “Whoah!” as I was reading it. And Mori-san’s comment? “Whoah!” It’s the last letter – the really long one. This is high lesbian drama at its silliest.

“Nanami and Misuzu” remains impenetrable to me, but funny. In this set of gags, we learn that there is a series of tunnels under the school that leads to, apparently, Nanami’s kotatsu table. Inexplicable and bizarre, but funny.

Chi-Ran has reinvented the wheel once again with “Beginner’s Luck.” In this rehashing of the same old story, Saki is in love with Misono but doesn’t have the guts to tell her. Eventually Misono kisses Saki and they fall into bed. We live happily ever after.

Last up is the continuation of “Voiceful”. We learn Hina’s backstory – and why her songs feel so sad all the time. Kanae isn’t sure she has the right to be part of Hina’s life, until she returns to the computer and finds that Hina has emailed her a zillion times. The last lets her know that Hina is about to do a “live.” What will happen? Will Kanae gain enough confidence to face Hina again? Will Hina reach her with her voice? I look forward to the climax next issue.

And there you have it – the most recent Yuri Hime from beginning to end. A great read all the way around. Good art, for the most part and a nice mixture of the horribly trite and the amusing and the original I’ve come to expect.

You can get your copy of Yuri Hime 3 from Amazon Japan through the Yuricon Shop – and your support is greatly appreciated, believe me! Feel free to come over to the Yuricon Mailing List to chat about the series in Yuri Hime or other fun Yuri anime and manga!