Archive for the Yuri Anthology Category


Yuri Anthology: Yuri + Kanojo (百合＋カノジョ)

May 24th, 2018

I’ve been thinking a lot recently about Yuri anthologies. They serve a unique purpose for a niche genre, as a gathering place for up-and-coming artists to have their original (or parody, in the case of series-focused anthologies) work highlighted. Yuri anthologies often end up being full of creators who are not yet famous enough to warrant their own series, but who have built a following at comic shows. Read a few contemporaneous anthologies in any niche and you’ll start to see the same names over time. 

Today we’re looking at Yuri + Kanojo (百合＋カノジョ), a fun Yuri anthology that lives on the intersection of Yuri manga, and Yuri Visual Novels.

The format of the book makes it clear that Yuri VNs are the inspiration for the story. It begins with “Now Loading….” and then moves on to a chapter labeled “Episode of high school students.” Each vignette is short, and we, the player character are not seen in full any of the vignettes, we are merely spoken to (although we do see peces of ourselves, like our hands or feet.) Credits for the stories are presented like game controls and after each short vignette ends, (they run about 6 pages each,) the final page shows us character design and bio for the “other” character, our love interest. 

This book is already kind of fun and unique, but it adds one more nice feature – only the first chapter happens in high school. “We” then move into college and the workplace and life. We go on dates, take jobs, go out with friends, have lovers, and continue, one chapter and one individual at a time, to live life vicariously through the PC point of view. 

Because the vignettes are short, there’s very little story-telling. “Two women on a date” is not a plot so much as a fleeting thought. But, as a series of scenes written around the prompts, this was a very enjoyable exercise and a very unique volume.

Ratings:

As an anthology, it’s all variable, but for the adult art and thinking about life, I give it a solid 8

This book sold out incredibly quickly on Amazon JP, so I was absolutely thrilled to find a copy on display at the Shosen Yuribu in Akihabara. Yay Yuribu!





Yuri Anthology: Anoko to Me ga Autabi Watashi ha Shakaiin Yuri Anthology (あの娘と目が合うたび私は 社会人百合アンソロジー)

May 14th, 2018

One of the most obvious trends in Yuri in Japan right now is the shift to office romance. This cannot come as a a huge surprise after decades of nearly nothing other than school children in love. Of course people who grew up with those stories of girls who found love in club and library, having graduated and moved into the workforce, would crave stories of adults who find each other among the cubicles. ^_^

Anoko to Me ga Autabi Watashi ha Shakaiin Yuri Anthology (あの娘と目が合うたび私は 社会人百合アンソロジー) is one of several titles out recently that fills this need. This anthology has contributions by some artists we’re familiar with here at Okazu – Tsukiko provides an illustration, Mikanshi and Esuesu, Satsumaage and irua have all done work in other anthologies and magazines we’ve reviewed. 

The volume starts off really strongly with a lovely cover image and opening story by Harukawa You. In the opening story, a graphic designer is hired to do a CD cover design for an indie singer whose schtick is wearing a horse head. What is hidden underneath the mask is a really lovely young lady who admires her work.

I really enjoyed irua’s “Minna Sonshiteruyo” in which a unloved boss turns out to have a secret supporter among the employees.

Seta Seta’s “Meter Stop” was a ridiculous story I liked about a female cab driver finding herself driving someone she knew a long time ago in another job. 

And Yuki Yukiko’s ”Chosou Love Letter,” about a woman who works at a shipping company and her charming and beautiful customer, was a terrific end story for the book. 

This collection has all the strengths and weaknesses of an anthology. Stories one likes are too short, and stories one doesn’t go on too long and you never quite get the development a character deserves, but it’s a good read and a pleasant change from high school.

Ratings:

Art – Variable but generally good
Story –  Surprising variety, considering
Characters- Realistically, I’m no more interested in falling in love with a coworker than a classmate, but at least they are all adults. ^_^
Service – Not really
Yuri – Yes

Overall – A solid read, let’s give it an 8

If office romance and romance between adult women is appealing to you and you don’t mind the short-story format of an anthology, another office romance doujinshi anthology has recently been published. Yuri Master Kawamoto-san would like you to know about Shakaiin Yuri Anthology Rouge, (社会人百合アンソロジールージュ), which includes more authors we know and love, like Ajichi, Canno, Kitao Taki, Takemiya Jin and others!





Yuri Manga: Éclair Bleue: Anata ni Hibiku Yuri Anthology (エクレア bleue あなたに響く百合アンソロジー)

April 23rd, 2018

Éclair Bleue: Ananta ni Hibiku Yuri Anthology (エクレア bleue あなたに響く百合アンソロジー) is the third of the Éclair anthology series.  The first two, Éclair  and Éclair blanche were firmly set in the world of schoolgirl romance. In this volume, the stories wander away towards hints of there being life beyond high school. 

To be sure, the protagonists are often themselves still in school with a variety of crushes on older women in their lives, but one or twice it slips and forgets that lesbian eventually graduate and yet, remain interested in romantic relationships with other women. Shocking, I know. 

The volume starts off with a color illustration by Hibiki Reine, which felt rather nostalgic, since we haven’t seen much of hers in Yuri anthologies for some time. You’ll recognize many of the names in this collection. Between Galette and Comic Yuri Hime, you’ll likely recognize many of them on sight. My favorite short this volume was “Sato to Namida to Onna to Onna” by Kita Taki which follows an office worker who can see that her coworker is struggling and helps, maybe, her find something to hang on to. I’ve always like Kitao-sensei’s grasp of adult concerns in her stories. Sato’s stability is refreshing, as Fujiwara says. 

The thing I actually like best about the Éclair series, is that it reminds me of the Yuri anthologies I used to obsessively consume before we had an established genre, with magazines and publishers putting out high-quality Yuri. These anthologies have always been important for Yuri creators, giving them a place to get their work to a larger audience (and, in many cases, use that to springboard to a professional level) and also provide the freedom of putting out the stories they wanted to see told. This series is nice for that, because it gives artists who are neck deep in their own series for one publisher a chance to play a bit in a looser-format anthology.

Ratings:

Overall – 8

I may not always like every story, but I will always love these kinds of Yuri anthologies. They are important piece of Yuri history for me. And, for the very first time, you too will be able to enjoy one of these Yuri anthologies in English when Yen Press publishes Éclair: A Girls’ Love Anthology That Resonates in Your Heart this summer!





Yuri Manga: Galette, Issue 3 (ガレット )

September 18th, 2017

…and we have a winner!

Galette, Issue 3 is the third volume of the quarterly Galette Yuri Anthology created by a bunch of folks whose love for Yuri equals or exceeds my own. It is the first Yuri anthology you can get on US Kindle (albeit still in Japanese language) as well as on JP Kindle and in print from Amazon and in print from another system, Booth, that will ship overseas. (People in Japan also have options of buying it at Comic Zin, Animate, Shosen Book Tower, Gamers, Melon Books and more.)  And you can support it on Patreon-like crowdfunding platform Enty and get – depending on what level you support the work at – early copies of the magazine digitally and various extras. In every way, other than in content, Galette is ground-breaking. So let’s talk about the content.

Galette still has a lot of school-girl stories, from Amano Shuninta’s emotional look at a one-sided love in “Fuma-kun” to Hiyori Otsu’s interesting take on the girl wearing earphones in “Nutmeg”. When you remember how much of Japanese kids’ life is tied up in school activities (teams and clubs, which in the USA can also be community-based are largely school-based in Japan) it makes sense that this is where one might also find friendship, love and lust.

But lesbians don’t die when they graduate and many of us end up in college or careers, still trying to find ourselves. Gotou’s “Takaramono” (which I dubbed “Dude, what do I have to do to get you to notice I want to kiss you” ) was a decent example of that. Ringo Hamano’s “Cotton Candy” took a bit of a twist to show us just how important having adult role models can be to a young woman. And Yatosaki Haru’s “Futari no Arcadia” took a tired trope and turned it into a tale of human frailty.

Fantasy gets played with a lot in Galette. Hakamada Mera takes the innate love of uniforms and Rose of Versailles so many of us have (^_^;) and turned it into a nice little story about two very likable young ladies in “Fuwafuwa Futashika Yumemitai.” Takemiya Jin gets to play around in the darker desires of some humans in the creepy-sexy “Marionette.” I like that Takemiya-sensei is looking at more manipulative characters. She’s established her lesbian cred with her audience, and gets to talk about how not all love is healthy. It’s one thing to be pathologized by straight artists, and another to have one of us note that some people are just not good people.

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Morinaga Milk tells a story that will resonate with a lot of adult lesbians who fall for the straight women in their lives…who then awkwardly begin to question their sexuality in “Watashi no Kawaii Neko-chan” (a story that I feared based on the title, but has turned out to be more about human mortification than cats.)

And Kita Izumi and Momono Moto’s “Liberty” has continued to be excellent, with a silly twist, but one that keeps the story firmly rooted in adult life. I look forward to this story with every issue, as it hits the right notes of setting, character design, and tension for me.

I love the guest art – Etsuko’s color spread is very nice – and I like the photography by Takahashi Minori. The cover design is just lovely.  Issue 3 came with a copy of Petit Galette, an omake volume with a few short comics and a prose story.

Issue 3 has a pretty all-star lineup, with a few notable omissions. Luckily for us, one of those obvious names – Morishima Akiko – will be joining the lineup next issue. Now all I need is for Nishi UKO and Hojou KOZ (UKOZ) and Hayashiya Shizuru to join them and I’ll have all my faves in one place. ^_^ Still, Galette is turning out to be the Yuri magazine I’d hoped it could be. I now hope to see a bit more lesbian identity and it’ll be perfect. ^_^

Ratings:

Art – 9
Story- 9
Characters – 8
Service – 6 Nudity 
Yuri – 10

Overall – 9

Way back in 2005 or 2007 or so, I joked that odd-numbered years are always really good for Yuri. That’s switched around here and there, but here we are in 2017 and I think this is the best year we have ever had for Yuri in the almost-20 years I’ve been doing this. May our tribe increase.

Issue 4 will be out at the end of November and available at Comitia (which I am planning on being at, if all goes well.)





Yuri Manga: Eclair blanche – Anata ni Hibiku Yuri Anthology (エクレア blanche あなたに響く百合アンソロジー)

July 31st, 2017

In April 2017, I reviewed a new Yuri anthology,  Eclair  – Anata ni Hibiku Yuri Anthology. It was, apparently, successful enough that a sequel was almost immediately planned, and so, today, I’m taking a look at Eclair blanche – Anata ni Hibiku Yuri Anthology (エクレア blanche あなたに響く百合アンソロジー).

There are many names in this anthology that will be familiar to Okazu readers, Amano Shuninta, Nakatani Nio, Kitao Taki, Canno and Hirao Auri among them.

Like all anthologies, your mileage may vary, as the authors play to their interests  and strengths, with still fairly heavy reliance on schoolgirl stories. This isn’t just a fetish, you understand, it’s a comfortable place to play, as no commitment, no social commentary and above all, no political position need be taken to present a heartfelt, sincere Yuri story. 

Of this anthology, the standout piece for me was Canno-sensei’s story which follows a fairly jaded lesbian, who finds a real connection with the girl next door. I also liked Kitao Taki-sensei’s story that takes the tired trope of a childhood promise and examines it in an adult light.

All in all, a collection of strong voices and variable art styles makes for a great place to pick and choose from a buffet of Yuri. You’re likely to find a piece or three that suit your tastes. ^_^

Ratings:

Overall – 7

While this collection is not available on the US Kindle, you can get it digitally on Bookwalker Global, which has the advantage of being both region and device agnostic. Both Eclair and Eclair blanche are available.