Queer Cartoons

Couple of important trailers dropped at San Diego Comic Con this week!

First up the Steven Universe Movie will be premiering on Cartoon Network on September 2, 2019. Catch the trailer on the Cartoon Network Twitter feed.

And the She-Ra and the Princesses of Power Season Three trailer can be seen on io9.

From Comic Natalie, we have the promotional video for upcoming Yuri comedy Oshi ga Budokan Ittekuretara Shinu (推しが武道館いってくれたら死ぬ).

25Years Later has done a retrospective on Sailor Moon: A Shōjo Super Power that was a very interesting read.

Yuri Manga

Udon Entertainment will be releasing the first volume of their five-volume The Rose of Versailles manga in December 2019. I posted about my role in this classic manga’s publication yesterday, if you’re interested in some excellent advice from my mother and a discussion of the gritty world of excel spreadsheets in manga publishing, take a look. ^_^

We have a pile of new manga up on the Yuricon Store!

Takemiya Jin’s delightful romance about a young woman and the older woman she likes to bake for, Itoshi Koishi, Volume 2 (いとしこいし) which just hit shelves this week.

Yoru to Umi, Volume 1 (夜と海) by  Goumoto. I haven’t read this at all, but it appears on all the Japanese Yuri lists. It looks like it starts with a mystery and develops into a romance.

FLOWERCHILD’s uncomfortable series for Comic Yuri Hime, Warikitta Kankei Desukara. Volume 1 (割り切った関係ですから。)

Avalon ~bloom~ Yuri Anthology is the next in this series of Yuri from the lesser known publisher [girls x garden comics].

Mermaid Line Complete Edition (マーメイドライン 完全版) is a reprint of an older Yuri Hime comics collection that includes what I remember as a very lovely transgender lesbian story. I reviewed the original collection in 2008.

tMnR’s popular girl falls for her sister-in-law manga Tatoeto Dokonu Itoda Toshitemo (たとえとどかぬ糸だとしても ) is coming to us in English from Kodansha in September as If I Could Reach You, Volume 1.

Via Yuri Navi, here is an odd-couple adult life romance, Nukumori Blanket (ぬくもりブランケット). You can read this short (in Japanese) on Sukima.

Yuri Visual Novel

Via Yuri Mother, Visual Novel Heart of the Woods by Studio Élan announced today via Twitter that they would be updating their Yuri visual Novel with full English voice acting. “The voice acting will be included in a free update for the PC, Mac, and Linux versions of the game and will be included on release for the game’s Nintendo Switch port, set to release in Early 2020.”

Studio Élan announced on their Twitter feed that they are specifically looking for a transgender voice actress for the lead role of Tara – and other roles – for this voiced version.  Don’t self-censor, if you think you’d like to do this…do this!

Other News

According to the Comics Beat article on why Ruby Rose is unable to attend, by the time you read this the Batwoman TV pilot episode will have already been screened at San Diego Comic Con. Keep an eye out for it! (Fun reading my Twitter feed on it – 900 posts saying how awesome it is, one woman declaring her nerd cred and how she’ll “give it a chance” and one lone dude saying “everyone says it sucks.” Poor little angry dude.

Do you have questions about Yuri? Write in and ask and I’ll do my best to address them on the Okazu YNN Podcast, Become a YNN Correspondent by reporting any Yuri-related news with your name and an email I can reply to!

Thanks to all of you – you make this a great Yuri Network!

Yuri Events

With regret, I have had to cancel my appearance at Crunchyoll Expo. There were some complicating factors. I very much hope to make a future west coast con, but the airlines sure don’t make it easy.

My updated schedule is as follows:

Yurithon, August 16-18, Montreal, QC, Canada

Girls Love Festival, as part of the 100 Years of Yuri Tour!

New York Comic Con – October, 3-6, New York, NY, USA Tentatively, I’ll be there, doing some press work.

Michigan State University – October 14-16,  I’ll be out there talking about Yuri and translation. More on this as it develops!

Diversity Comic Con – October 25, New York, NY, USA. I will be joining them as a panelist on SuperQueeroes: Representation in Comics. Okazu is a sponsor of this event, as well. ^_^

AnimeNYC – November 15-17, New York, NY, USA – I’m very much hoping to do a talk on Yuri here. Write them and let them know you want me to speak!

Tentatively, I’m planning on attending Mechademia in Kyoto in 2020. I’m telling you this, in order to push myself to apply for a panel. ^_^

As always, I would love to speak at your organization, school, institution or event. Please feel free to contact me!

Yuri Manga

A few new items up on the Yuricon Store!

Our Wonderful Days, Volume 1. Seven Seas has licensed Tsurezure Biyori, so we can all share in Mafuyu, Koharu, Nanaya and Minori’s pleasant days together.

Mira Ong Chua’s successfully kickstarted ROADQUEEN: Eternal Roadtrip to Love has also been picked up by Seven Seas.

The fifth volume of Nettaigyo ha Yuki ni Kogareru,  (熱帯魚は雪に焦がれる) hit shelves at the end of June. As we head into summer, Konatsu and Koharu face Christmas and a winter aquarium show together.

At Anime Expo, Yen Press announced the license of Breasts Are My Favorite Things in the World. This will be the last time I mention this title on Okazu. ^_^;

Speaking of things which will never be mentioned again ^_^… Syrup Shakaijin Yuri Anthology  (シロップ 社会人百合アンソロジー) is getting a sequel, Syrup secret Forbidden Yuri Anthology, (シロップ secret 禁断×百合アンソロジー). There is so much Yuri being published right now and I cannot keep up as it is, I’m opting out of things that are set up to be blecch up front.

Yuri Novels

Via YNN Correspondent Sean G, J-Novel Club has licensed Yuri Scifi novel Otherside Picnic.  I’m reading the manga for the story now, in fact. Also from J-Novel Club is the license of (supposedly) Yuri light novel,  Onna dakara, to Party wo Tsuihōsareta no de Densetsu no Majo to Saikyō Tag wo Kumimashita. This news via YNN Correspondent Mecasonic13 on Twitter who says, “Kinda interesting to see a yuri/fantasy narou work that was written in reaction to the scandals involving Japanese medical universities discriminating against women in their entrance exams…” I’ll definitely be interested to see how it turns out.

Via Nambu Kumako on Twitter, we learn that Nambu-sensei is writing a note.mu novel Yuri Nurse ~ Kawaii Anoko~ (百合ナース！ 〜かわいいあの子〜) with illustrations by Morinaga Milk.

Also by Nambu-sensei, Sasayaki no Kiss~ (囁きのキス～), illustrated by Morishima Akiko, which has always been available on JP Kindle is now available for folks outside Japan on Bookwalker Global!

Other News

I can’t remember (and can’t be arsed to look) if I told you about this yet. but the second Steven Universe soundtrack is out and as it has “The Working Dead” you all need to get it. ^_^

Deb Aoki has an article on Publisher’s Weekly on Light Novels: Mixing Prose with Manga, Light Novels Attract North American Fans

Brown University Is Archiving Gay Pulp Fiction To Preserve A Moment Of LGBTQ History. It’s gay, not lesbian pulp, but how fun! Also NYU has a gay and lesbian pulp archive.

Have I been banging on about queer horror a lot these days? GOOD. Here’s some more: Via Ricardo Serano Denis at Comics Beat, Monstrous sexualities and empowering terror: queer horror gets its own Shudder documentary.

Avery Kaplan at Comics MNT takes a look at Getting Queer Comics Into Libraries.

A Beginner’s Guide to LGBTQ+ Manga by Amanda Pagan on the New York Public Library site makes a terrific, if BL-heavy, resource.

Do you have questions about Yuri? Write in and ask and I’ll do my best to address them on the Okazu YNN Podcast, Become a YNN Correspondent by reporting any Yuri-related news with your name and an email I can reply to!

Thanks to all of you – you make this a great Yuri Network!

Anime Expo weekend is the weekend that a lot of the news I planned on reporting gets set aside for more urgent announcements. ^_^;

Yuri Anime

Top story already from Anime Expo, Sentai Filmworks has licensed the Morning Glories and Kase-san OVA! I’ve got requests in to them for a timeline on that release, although since the subtitles are already in existence, I hope for a 2019 premier. I’m also hoping that we can coordinate a release event, whether it be a streaming event or a contest, or…something. I’ll let you know if I hear back.

The 8-Bit panel announced that they’ll be handling the animation for Hirao Auri’s Oshi ga Budōkan Ittekuretara Shinu (If My Favorite Pop Idol Made it to the Budokan, I Would Die) anime, with a 2020 television debut. (See, Sentai, that’s how a timeline works..) I’ve reviewed Volume 1, Volume 2,  Volume 3, Volume 4, and  Volume 5 of the manga here on Okazu.

Funimation and Nozomi RightStuf have entered a streaming agreement, which means that  Revolutionary Girl Utena and Aoi Hana/ Sweet Blue Flowers will be available on Funimation.

Viz has released a follow-up statement about the Sailor Moon Stars (Season 5) booklet. Read it carefully and remember, the Japanese publisher gets the final say as to what we see. The relationship indicator probably came from them originally…and we could be asking for a change to something that was not there in Japanese. Could be interesting. ^_^

Yuri Light Novel

Also from Anime Expo, Seven Seas announced that they have licensed the Bloom Into You: Saeki Sayaka ni Tsuite light novels! Woot! I reviewed Volume 1 and Volume 2…and am awaiting Volume 3 with baited breath. ^_^

Yuri Manga

Big news for lovers of classic Yuri via Yuri Navi, Himitsu no Hanazono (秘密の花園) Fujii Mihona’s 1999 Cinderella fantasy is now available on JP Kindle and Bookwalker Global! I reviewed this book back in 2004 – it was one my foundational Yuri series, so I’m feeling positive about the news. ^_^

Last week, in conjunction with Tsukino Usagi’s birthday bash, Kodansha announced a world-wide digital release of the Sailor Moon Eternal Edition manga in 10 languages. I give you the details over at The Comics Beat.

Not quite Yuri, but in our wheelhouse, this May Seven Seas licensed the Penguindrum manga by Ikuhara Kunihiko, Shibata Isuzu and Hoshino Lily. tr Expo, they announced the license of Citrus+ for fans of that series. Super exciting news, they’ll also be publishing Morishima Akiko’s Rakuen no Jouken, as The Conditions of Paradise! This is a lovely little adult-life one-shot. Click the Japanese title link to read my 2008 review.

A few new items up on the Yuricon Store!

Canelé Souer Yuri Anthology (カヌレ スール百合アンソロジー)  – we haven’t had a “souer” collection in years. Fun, huh?

Watashi Igai Jinrui Zennin Yuri, Volume 1 (私以外人類全員百合) is a alternative world science-fiction Yuri manga in which a girl who loves ordinary things, finds herself in a world of women where love between women is ordinary.

Dekisokonai no Hime-tachi, Volume 2 (できそこないの姫君たち), Kaede and Nanaki find themselves being drawn together, despite not actually being friends.

Hentai publisher FAKKU has announced a “LGBTQ” imprint of manga, Kuma. I put quotes around “LGBTQ” for what I consider obvious reasons. Japanese porn is not ever intended as representation and I think they are stretching the truth quite a bit to consider what they publish “LGBTQ” in any meaningful sense. ^_^

Yuri Events

100 Years of Yuri Tour of Japan is happening in Sept, 2019 and there’s still room for you to join us! The dead-dog last day to sign up is July 9th, so please don’t miss this opportunity!

I’ll be making my only west coast appearance at Crunchyroll Expo. If you’re planning on being there, let me know in the comments. I’m looking for a roommate.

Our Lily is a Yuri event being held in Seoul, Korea in 2020. How cool!

Other News

Via YNN Correspondent Sean G. Yuri Made me Human, part 2, an interview with Iori Miyazawa and Gengen Kusano (Part 1 can be found here) has been translated and put online. This is connected to the publication of the Yuri issue of SF Magazine and the current Science Fiction Yuri boom in Japan.

For UK fans who love Japanese pop culture, summer 2019 is fairly awesome. The British Museum’s Manga Exhibit is wowing crowds and HYPER JAPAN event is coming your way, as well!

Do you have questions about Yuri? Write in and ask and I’ll do my best to address them on the Okazu YNN Podcast, Become a YNN Correspondent by reporting any Yuri-related news with your name and an email I can reply to!

Thanks to all of you – you make this a great Yuri Network!

Yuri Manga

We’ve added a few new things to the Yuricon Store:

Still Sick, Volume 1 by Akaishi, in English from Tokyopop has a November release date.

Tamifly’s super popular online hit Tsukiatte Agetemo Iikana, Volume 2 (付き合ってあげてもいいかな ) is out now, review coming soon.

The delightful school life romance from Takashima Eku, Sasayakuyouni Koi o Utau, Volume 1 (ささやくように恋を唄う) is also on shelves now.

Do I keep mentioning that Yamada to Kase-san (山田と加瀬さん) by Takashima Hiromi is hitting shelves at the end of next month? Good. I’m going to keep mentioning it.

BOOKWALKER is running a special coin-back Yuri sale until July 1st in celebration of “Yuri Day” which was apparently June 25th.(We’re not entirely sure why. I did find a flower calendar that said June 25th’s birth flower is the lily, so…?

With permission from the publisher, yesterday I announced the Special Project I’ve been working on is …I’m editing Rose of Versailles for Udon Press! I plan on writing about the project from my point of view because to say it is blind luck that I ended up doing that is an understatement.  ^_^ In the meantime, I can assure you that it is going to be *amazing.* Also, I am ready to defend the translation in a duel, so when people start whining and griping (and they will because if they can’t, they don’t know how to engage,) come at me, I will be ready with swords any time you want. ^_^ In related news, I may have collected dozens of screencaps of Oscar’s eyes over the 3000 pages I read.

Rafael Antonio Pineda over at ANN reports that Yagate Kimi ni Naru/Bloom Into You will end in three chapters (we knew from previous reporting that it was going to wrap up at 8 volumes.)

100 Years of Yuri

We’re running an Okazu Patreon special this month! If you subscribe to Okazu at the $5 month level between now and July 6th, you will receive a sticker with the Okazu 100 Years of Yuri logo!

July 9th is the last day to sign up for the 100 Years of Yuri Tour of Tokyo with Yuricon and Pac-Set Travel. We’re still a few people short of the number we need to make this happen. Please join us for this once-in-a-lifetime chance!

Yuri Anime

Via YNN Correspondent Super, ANN reports Tamayomi baseball manga from Mangatime Kirara is getting an anime. Whether it will in actual fact have Yuri, I don’t know, but all the JP Yuri news outlets keep mentioning it.

Super also wants you to know about Mamoru Oshii’s newest project, a “Girl-Meets-Girl” anime show, Vladlove Vampire.

LGBTQ News

There is so much this week to talk about.

This year as we approach World Pride weekend in this 50th anniversary of the Stonewall Uprising, let us remember that we have have so much left to do to protect ourselves and the generations to come. There are important elections in your local districts every year – know who is running and what they stand for! Everyday should be an uprising right now. If you’ve ever thought “I woulda done…” in regards to Stonewall, or civil rights or even World War 2, well, now is your time to do that thing.

Last night, on the 50th anniversary of Stonewall at Stonewall, a black trans woman was threatened with being removed forcibly and having the cops called on her because the partiers lacked any sense of historical perspective. This is unacceptable at any time, but this weekend it’s especially critical for us to do better. Black Trans Lives Matter. This must matter to all of us every day.

You may remember that this week, Viz Media had a chance to stand up and correct some past and present editorial decisions that combined to feel a bit like LGBTQ erasure…and they did it. I was very vociferous in noting that there was no malice intended, because fans do tend to become unhinged by this kind of thing and imagine all sorts of conspiracies….

…which brings me to the Netflix release of Neon Genesis Evangelion. As you probably know by now, the translation on the Netflix release is different than the 20-year old version and for a lot of reasons, people are not happy about it. The thing is… 1) the new translation does nothing to unqueer Kaworu’s and Shinji’s relationship and; 2) it does accurately translate what was said. The new translation actually adds nuance to a complicated relationship. As I noted on Facebook,

“The whole point of the Shinji/Kaworu thing is that Shinji had never experienced *affection* of any kind ever before. Kaworu’s affection is profound…and meant to be unsettling, even inappropriate. The ambiguity of “suki” makes much more sense in that context.

Kaworu’s emotive affection was never ever supposed to be “Look, Shinji has a boyfriend but they can’t *say* it.” It was always supposed to be what we think of as queerbaiting, just as every other relationship in the series is equally as disturbing.”

Nothing in this new, more accurate and layered, translation is telling you that you cannot slash the barely-functioning dissociative human boy with the alien attempt at a human. It is merely saying “We have no idea what is actually happening. Does Kaworu know what he is doing? Is it malicious or kind or affectionate or…what? We cannot tell. Neither, to some extent, can Shinji…or Kaworu.”

You are of course welcome to disagree with this or any interpretation, but the point I am making here is not that this interpretation is either right or another wrong, but that the anger, the doxing, the death threats and other completely irrational reactions to some words being changed are not okay. It is not normal or healthy for anyone to respond to a editorial choice by harassing the translator, creating a conspiracy theory or imagining some kind of malicious intent. It’s just not okay.

If Viz had indeed come back to me and said “we are sticking by our editorial decisions,” I guarantee I would not have tracked down the editors and sent threatening emails. I would have definitely positively simply not bought the thing I was unhappy with. I would have written another letter expressing my disappointment and hope that at some future date the decisions would be reviewed and a different conclusion reached. That is my right and responsibility as a consumer. Harassment is never a reasonable or, I dare say, normal response. If you know someone angry about the translation, feel free to point them here. Even better, if they are sliding into irrational anger, look ’em in the proverbial or literal eye and say, “This is not cool. Translation is an art and the creators approved this translation. You can still have your OTP. No one is taking them away from you.”

For a balanced look at the issue, I refer you to ANN’s discussion of the differences, with input from the translator…and some comments by Japanese fans confused at the negative reaction.

Last item, so we end on a positive note! The Japanese prefecture of Ibaraki will begin issuing same-sex partnership certificates. This is pretty closely an equivalent of Iowa recognizing same-sex marriage in 2009. Like Iowa, Ibaraki is a agricultural prefecture and represents a very “heartland” image. There’s a lot of politics behind this decision and the ruling party, the LDP, did as much as it could to stop this, so don’t think they are softening. But there you go. Progress. The first of 47 prefectures has taken the plunge.

However you choose to celebrate Pride this year, enjoy. And on Monday, get back to work, calling your legislators and making them work for you. Happy World Pride Week!

Do you have questions about Yuri? Write in and ask and I’ll do my best to address them on the Okazu YNN Podcast Become a YNN Correspondent by reporting any Yuri-related news with your name and an email I can reply to!

Thanks to all of you – you make this a great Yuri Network!

Yuri Manga

We’ve got a few new items up on the Yuricon Store:

Garasu no Kutsu o Nugisutete (ガラスの靴を脱ぎ捨てて) tells five short stories of working women finding love. ^_^

Goodbye Dystopia, Volume 3 (グッバイ・ディストピア) wraps up one of my favorite manga, boo.

Yuri Bear Storm Volume 2, the English-language edition of Yurikuma Arashi continues as Ginko and Kureha’s story unfolds.

We’ve got a veritable Miman festival going with Watashi no Yuri ha Oshigoto Desu! Volume ５ (私の百合はお仕事です!) and Yuri Is My Job, Volume 3 and Volume 4!

I was on Shodensha’s Manga Jam site looking up Akegata Yuu’s Tsuki to Suppin (月とすっぴん) Yuri web comic, when I learned that last year there was a new-new Hana no Asuka-gumi series called Hana No Asuka-gumi BS  Volume 1 and Volume 2. But even more importantly, there is a new-new-NEW Hana no Asuka-gumi series, Hana no Asuka-gumi Infinity (花のあすか組！∞インフィニティ), the first chapter of which is up on Shodensha’s Manga Jam. It begins with a “who’s who” of characters and the various pieces of the Zenchuu-Ura and upon seeing that, I yelled at it, “How can I be expected to read this if you EXPLAIN it to me!?!” 

It was a genuine pleasure to speak with Evan and David over at Ani-Gamers Podcast about Nagata Kabi’s autobiographical comic essays, My Lesbian Experience With Lonleliness and My Solo Exhange Diary Volume 1 and Volume 2!

Yuri Anime

Via ANN, Midnight Pulp anime streaming service has added Devil Lady and if you can, I recommend this anime so very highly. It’s the Go Nagai we need right now.

Yuri Drama CD

Via YuriNavi, we learn about original Yuri Drama CD Himitsu no Hanataba (秘密の花束) which is holding a Talk-show event in July at the Asgaya Loft.

Yuri Game

To celebrate the upcoming release of PS4 game Jinrui no Mina-sama e (じんるいのみなさまへ), this week also sees the release of a companion manga, Jinrui no Minasama e -Watashi-tachi no bassho- (じんるいのみなさまへ ―わたしたちの場所―).

Other News

The Yurikuzu Youtube Channel has posted an interview (in Japanese) with Tamilfly, creator of Tsukiatte Agetemo Iikana, ( 付き合ってあげてもいいかな). I’ve reviewed Volume 1 and Volume 2 is available now in Japan and waiting to be read by me. ^_^

I had the great pleasure of reviewing MangaClassics’ edition of Shakespeare’s Macbeth for School Library Journal.  I’m really enjoying the Manga Classics editions. Right now I’m working on Count of Monte Cristo (from which Eugénie Danglars has been cut, boo.)

I’m working on an updated piece on how to not comment on blog posts. If you as a writer have any pet peeves, drop them in the comments or on this thread on Twitter!

Do you have questions about Yuri? Write in and ask and I’ll do my best to address them on the Okazu YNN Podcast (I know I owe you all one!) Become a YNN Correspondent by reporting any Yuri-related news with your name and an email I can reply to!

Thanks to all of you – you make this a great Yuri Network!