Yuri Manga: Yuri Monogatari to Premiere at Winter Comiket

December 26th, 2006

Yuricon and ALC Publishing are once again proud to announce that they will have a table at the world’s largest comic market, Comiket. We will be premiering our newest 100% yuri title, Yuri Monogatari 4, and for the first time, two of the creators for this issue will be sitting at the Yuricon table. ;-)

You can find Rica Takashima, of Rica ‘tte Kanji!? fame, and myself (who with Kelli Nicely, contributed a story to this issue called “Playing House”) at our table in the West Hall, Row “Yo,” Table 37a. For a fuller list of Yuri Doujinshi circles that will be attending this Comiket, take a look at the Small Call List of Comiket 71 Yuri Doujinshi Circles. The site and the circle’s pages are, yes, in Japanese. Please do not bother being shocked – manga and doujinshi are, after, all Japanese art forms.

I am not sure what kind of computer access I will have while I am in Japan, but if I can, I will certainly post my experiences as I throw as much money as I can at the Japanese economy. Expect the usual mix of bizarre geekiness and extreme paganism. ^_^

I *will* be bringing some good doujinshi home with me to sell at Yuricon’s 2007 “Yurisai” Event, so you too can share in the pleasure of reading really decent Yuri doujinshi by really decent people.

In the meantime, if you can’t join us at Comiket, you can, at least, enjoy “More Rica ‘tte Kanji!?” by Rica Takashima, “Ichigo-hime” by Akiko Morishima and the other great stories in Yuri Monogatari 4 by getting it from the Yuricon Shop, or ordering it at your local comic book, book store or Amazon!.

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Top Ten Yuri Manga of 2006

December 22nd, 2006

Okay, I admit it, I didn’t think anyone ever really read these lists. ^_^ So, thanks to everyone who commented on yesterday’s Top Ten Yuri Anime of 2006 list! I’ll try not to let it go to my head. ;-)

Because this year we finally have a body of translated manga that falls under my loosest interpretation of Yuri, I’m going to split the manga list into two Top Five lists, one for translations into English and one for untranslated Japanese manga. It’s sort of restrictive, only having five and five, but I don’t want to add things that are merely okay, just because they happen to be translated. That having been said, let’s go!

Top Five English-language Yuri Manga of 2006

5. Strawberry Marshmallow/Ichigo Mashimaro – Okay, even I’m beginning to get sick of this series now. LOL But the manga, like the anime, makes me laugh, Miu is whack-tastic and clearly an EPL (Evil Psycho Lesbian) in training, and it’s just freaking cute. Okay? Let’s never mention it again. LOL

4. Kashimashi Girl Meets Girl – I haven’t had a chance to review the Seven Seas translation yet, but on first glance it seems a solid transition to English. The story still has that not-quite-Yuri feel about it for the first volume but, like the anime, by the end the gender issue isn’t, and the story remains about three girls in a love triangle. My opinion might change when the manga ends (something that really ought to be soon…) but for the moment, this remains one of the top five.

3. WORKS – Imagine this. A lesbian artist, drawing beautiful art, with stories about lesbians, for a lesbian audience. No almost yuri here – in fact, this is the only title on this year’s list that can claim that. That’s why we call it “100%” yuri. Tadeno Eriko has a classic manga style, her stories have humor, and pathos and angst and love and sex – between adult women who look and act adult. Exactly the kind of thing *I’m* looking for in yuri. While this was originally published in 2004, this year’s revised edition had mainstream book and comic store distribution, so here it is at number 3.

2. Blue – The story is not earth shaking, but for sheer excellence in transition to an English edition, Nananan Kiriko’s Blue has got to make this list. By far and away, the *best* reproduction of a manga I’ve ever seen. The English-language edition is exact to the original in every way…except that I can read it alot faster. :-)

And this year’s winner:

1. Read or Dream, Volume 1 – Not the most yuri story, not the best reproduction, but overall, one of the most *fun* things to come out this year. This alternate ROD-verse has a little something for everyone, and double that for fans of the ROD The TV anime. This will definitely be one of my “go to” books for a quick hit of chuckles time and time again. I’m thrilled to have it in English and I can’t recommend it enough. A total win for anyone who doesn’t require angst for a story to be “good.”

Top Five Japanese-language Yuri Manga of 2006

5. Kotonoha no Miko to Kotodama no Majyo to – In the beginning, I did not like Fujieda Miyabi’s art. Seriously. As my regular readers know, I am not a fan of “cute.” But over time, both story and characters really began to grow on me. By the time the story ended, I was hooked. Of course, the fact that Letty and Tsumugi’s story has continued in Drama CD form only serves to keep me hooked. :-) In the mean time, like Fujieda’s Iono-sama series, I’ve re-read MikoMajyo multiple time already and enjoyed it more every time.

4. Yokohama Kaidashi Kikou – This series is in serious contention for my “Best manga series ever ever ever” award. And, although it ended this year, it will remain in my heart forever. Sounds goopy, I know, but it’s true. Art, story, characters, were all well-crafted with subtle, delicate strokes…a veritable masterwork of manga. It ended as beautifully as ever, with exactly the right touch of Yuri. I, and other fans of Alpha and Kokone, couldn’t ask for more.

3. Kuchibiru no Tameiki Sakurairo – I’m not the only Yuri manga fan to be sad that Morinaga Milk has decided to stop drawing for Yuri Hime magazine. Like most of the stories that began in Yuri Shimai and were continued in Yuri Hime, this began as a series of semi-related one-shots that developed into an actual story somewhere along the line. I’m sorry that we’ll never get to see Nana and Hitomi grow up, move in together and live happily ever after, but we do get to see them go from friends to lovers, with beautiful art. A pleasure to read – and again, a volume I’ve already re-read several times.

2. Hayate x Blade – Hayashiya Shizuru is surely angling for “Yuri mangaka of the year” this year. Her Hayate x Blade gets a little gayer with each chapter, a little crazier, a little cooler and a little win-er. The HxB Drama CD kept the Yuri and upped the wacky. And when, every month I pick up my copy of Dengeki Daioh, its Hayate x Blade that I save for last so I can savor every moment. Hitsugi x Shizuku, Momoko x Isuzu, Hayate x Ayana x Jun, and every other pair of shinyuu at Tenchi Gakuen make this series pure gold. If only an anime…

And this year’s new champion….

1. It’s a one-two punch for Hayashiya Shizuru-sensei, with her winning combination of Julia and Ran in Strawberry Shake Sweet! (You can’t be too surprised to find three of the Yuri Hime manga volumes on this list, right?) A Yuri mangaka, who has been doing comedy Yuri manga and doujinshi for just about *ever*, all of Hayishiya’s physical humor and goofiness come together in this strangely touching and strangely hysterical and plain old strange girls’ love series. There’s about two straight female characters in the whole series. And one of them is doomed. ^_^

***

And that’s it for 2006’s Top Ten Yuri Manga. Sometime before I leave next week, I will sum the whole year up in a giant Top Ten of Yuri, but until then, don’t forget two things: scanlations do not pay artist’s bills, and comments don’t pay mine. Rent, borrow, buy – don’t download. If you love Yuri, support it in a way that pays the bills. On behalf of Yuri publishers everywhere, thanks to everyone who *has* supported Yuri by buying it from ALC and/or through the Yuricon Shop!

Posted in Now This Is Only My Opinion, Top Yuri Lists, Yuri Manga | 2 Comments »


Top Ten Yuri Anime of 2006

December 21st, 2006

It seems to be that time of year again, when “Top Ten” Lists of everything from manga to Bollywood Babes pop up and, as I am leaving next week right after Xmas for Tokyo and Comiket, I thought I’d better start working on this now. ^_^

As always, this list is going to be a mix of old and new, licensed series and as-yet unreleased in the west, because otherwise the list would be darn short. ;-) It’s also all in *my* opinion, so go ahead and comment that I’m wrong, but it’s not like you’re gonna change my mind.  In any case – here we go!

***

10. Aria the Natural – This anime is making this year’s top 10 list, not because of its brilliant overt yuriness, but because part of the fun of watching it was looking for every teeny weeny little thing that could be vaguely run through the Yuri goggles and pointed at with a successful “Aha!” I and many others, remain convinced that Akira and Alicia are an item.

9. My HiME – What might have been a HUGE release for this anime in the US seems to have fizzled, largely in part to the DVDs for Volume 1 having issues. But the love of ShizNat, and other smexy Yuri couples, with or without any basis for existence, made this series a Yuri fandom fave in 2006. I personally think a strong push as a “Yuri” series would have bumped sales considerably.

8. Ichigo Mashimaro/Strawberry Marshmallow – I know, we’ve been beating this series to death this week, but when I bought the first volume of the anime I remembered all over again just how snortingly funny it is. And how much Miu is all about getting a little sugar from Nobue. Because, despite myself – every freakin’ time – I watch this, I laugh, and because there’s more than enough Yuri in it to make a case for just about anyone and anyone, this series makes number eight this year.

7. Coyote Ragtime Show – Sometimes a show just gets it right. The women are cool and sexy without making you feel yucky for thinking that, they look voluptuous, but not absurd, and they make you laugh, even as they are capping some redshirt. When neither the men nor the women are weak or incompetent and there’s a sense of something, you know, between the women. Throw in some space opera and friendly ruffian-type action, and you got yourself a winner. To paraphrase a very bad movie, give me a bottle of redeye, a crazy straw and Coyote Ragtime Show, and I’ll be one happy Erica. ^_^

6. Tied for sixth place are Kannazuki no Miko and Ninja Nonsense – Kannazuki no Miko was undoubtedly one of the most popular yuri releases of 2006. I’ve talked alot about KnM and why it’s popular but not good and, every time, people prove my point by writing incoherent comments filled with righteous indignation at me. But re-watching it, I was able to divorce the anime from the fandumb and remember why I thought it fun in the first place. The same is true for what is being released here as Ninja Nonsense. It’s openly tacky and ridiculous and, unlike KnM, is not going to have armies of insane fans, but *like* KnM it has a really cute Yuri couple, and some fun moments. Fun train-wreck Yuri anime. Number 6.

5. Mai Otome – It ended in spring 2006 without the enormous thud that tarnished Mai Hime. It was not nearly as good a story, and the plot holes were, well large and plentiful. But it had about 1/100th the angst and the whole setup read like an alternate-universe fanfic for the original anyway, so anyone who expected “good” clearly lacked critical thinking skills in the first place. What it was, was a fun, stupid take on the characters of the HiME-verse and it remained, from beginning to end a coherent, consistent, fun stupid take on the HiME-verse. And once again in the minority, I liked the ending. ^_^

4. Kashimashi Girl Meets Girl -I haven’t reviewed the thirteenth episode yet, but it hasn’t changed my opinion overall of the anime. This is another series I was prepared to dislike, but never really needed to. Sure, it was light, fluffy, full of incredibly convenient plot complications….but hello, anime? This is not Ghibli. So, for the anime, at least, once Hazumu became a girl, she stayed that way and it became a Yuri story by sheer force of the fact that it was girls in love with a girl. When the end came, which I saw as “the right choice for the wrong reason” I wasn’t surprised. When the *real* end came, which I saw as “the wrong choice for the right reason” I still wasn’t surprised. I was surprised at the outrage among viewers at the fluffiness of the end. Did they not notice that the plot was about a boy who was turned into a girl because he was killed by an alien spaceship? In any case, although it will never be something I recommend as a representative “Yuri” anime, it was still fun to watch.

Now for the big three. ^_^

3. I am SO glad the Maria-sama ga Miteru OAV 1: Kyuuka no Hitsuji/Vacation of the Lambs made it in for this year’s list! I think the OAV did a great job of capturing Yumi’s feelings of akogare/admiration/desire for Sachiko, while significantly cutting down on the self-loathing. It’s romantic and sweet and win. Once again, my akogare for Konno Oyuki grows by leaps and bounds. ^_^

2. Strawberry Panic was undoubtedly, the hottest Yuri anime this year. What began as cheesy, blatant rip-offs of every other Yuri anime and manga ended as a cheesy blatant rip-offs with a decent story, characters that didn’t blow and a fun, if predictable, ending. The Yuri was as blatant as the rip-offs, and all the plots and characters were recognizable and therefore easy to comprehend. Fandumb rooted for all the wrong characters, for the wrong reasons, and delighted in the gouts of fanservice and pandering. This series will be a benchmark series for me going forward. If a person likes Strawberry Panic more than Marimite, they won’t be coming over my house for lunch, ever. And they probably won’t ever understand why. ^_^ But in the end, the characters proved us wrong and they all went ahead and became three-dimensional anyway, and it wasn’t nearly as bad as it could have been.

1. Simoun and Strawberry Panic were opposites in nearly every way, but they both undoubtedly shaped this year’s Yuri anime scene. Simoun was an eclectic mix of Yuri fanservice, war story, character story, gender issues, politics and religion. Not everyone who saw it liked it, but those who liked it, loved it. And rightfully so. This was not an anime for the lowest common denominator – it presupposed some genuine intelligence in the viewing audience. For that alone, it stands on top of the pile. No blatant rip-offs here – this series took actual work, because the world it was set in was original and unique…and they never filled in all the details. And yet, because the characters were strong, and the reactions real, the holes in the world weren’t a problem. After all- who knows everything about why people do what they do in this world, either? I wouldn’t recommend Simoun to a beginner, but if I were doing an academic course and wanted to use an anime to engender discussion, Simoun would be the one I would choose.

By far and away, the most outstanding Yuri anime of 2006, Simoun.

 

Posted in Now This Is Only My Opinion, Top Yuri Lists, Yuri Anime | 8 Comments »


Yuri Manga: Strawberry Marshmallow, Volume 2

December 20th, 2006

So, you see why I wanted Sean to get me that darn review already. ;-)

I’m an old Comparative Literature major (just like Satou Sei, lol) and I can’t help myself, so – for compare and contrast, here’s my review of the Japanese Ichigo Marshmallow Volume 2.

Because the content of Volume 2 remains the same, I don’t feel the need to go over the “what so much, but I do want to say a few things about the “how.”

The translation is…well, I’m not really sure what it is. There are moments of sheer brilliance, moments of complete incompetence, and in between I keep finding myself asking, “who is this translation for?” Let me attempt to explain:

None of the sound effects are translated, nor are there notes next to them. I don’t care personally – as I’ve said many times, I don’t see them, myself. And I can read them in Japanese, so it’s no loss to me. But I’ve been told that people *do* read them, and the standard these days is to either translate and replace them (which is a lot of work!) or to write translations next to or near them. Sometimes translated s/fx are put into a detailed glossary in the back. Doing none of the above assumes that *I* am the reading audience – people who can either read them, or who don’t care.

Second – Ana’s name. Her family name is the source of a large body of the gags in this volume. And nowhere is it explained *why* her name is such an issue. That seems really bizarre to me. (Ana Coppola in Japanese sounds really weird – something like ‘hole bone cave’. It’s not dirty, it’s just giggle-making strange.)

Third – about once a chapter Nobue turns British. Everytime it happens I do a double-take. “Dirty pool”? Who says that other than Gomez Adams?

And of course, nothing else is explained, either. Which, I like. Miu says Randolph instead of Rudolph, her Jinglish version of Randy Travis is transliterated, so it reads like Jinglish, and Ana, when she accidentally writes her name in Japanese on the blackboard reacts with a large Japanese hiragana “Da!”

But then, Sasazuka is told to stand in the corner, instead of the hall. Go figure.

In one sense, it’s maddeningly inconsistent. In another sense it fits right in with the sheer randomness of the story as a whole. I’d like to think they thought about it beforehand…but it seems unlikely.

As Sean said yesterday about Strawberry Marshmallow Volume 1, for us (that is, he and I) this series is really all about Miu and Nobue. I think the two scenes that encapsulate them – and their relationship are these: Miu, attempting to impress Nobue, does extreme stretching, then asks Nobue if that was amazing. Nobue responds, “Well, yeah…in a freak show kinda way.” Nobue hears how Miu told Ana’s class about her weird name. When questioned, Miu says, quite seriously that even *she* knows the difference between good and evil…and, she says happily, did it on purpose.

Ratings:

Art – Up from last volume – 6
Story – Crazed like a loon – 7
Characters – Ditto – 8
Yuri – Ditto – 4
Service – 6

Overall – 7

Ah, Evil Psychotic Lesbian-in-training Miu. You are the wind beneath my wings. ^_^

 

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Yuri Manga: Strawberry Marshmallow, Volume 1

December 19th, 2006

It’s my great pleasure to offer you a review of the English translation of Strawberry Marshmallow, Volume 1 today by guest reviewer Sean Gaffney. And it only took me two solid weeks of nagging to get it!

For comparison’s sake, here is a link to my original review of the Japanese-language version of Ichigo Mashimaro, Volume 1.

In any case, take it away Sean!

The problem with the first volume of Ichigo Mashimaro is obvious right from the start; it kept its pilot episodes.

Basically, the artist had no idea this would be a continuing series, and the first three or four chapters have different designs (except for Chika) and different personalities (except for Chika). They’re almost proto-IM, and very odd indeed.

However, once the series proper gets started, you’ll know. You’ll know because there’s Miu. She was technically in the first few chapters, but not really. That was someone else with Miu’s name. True Miu…EVIL, INSANE Miu… arrives about the same time that Nobue stops being a bottle blonde and becomes the chain-smoking grump we know and love.

There are, technically, other characters. There’s Chika, who is the normal one. There’s Matsuri, who is the doormat by which all other anime doormats are measured. In a contest between Matsuri and Shinji, Matsuri would win hands down as being the most spineless.

But I honestly don’t gush over them at all. They add to the manga, but you don’t say ‘wow, was that Chika fun in that part!’. And why? Because Miu is insane, and Nobue’s reactions are wonderful. That’s why you read IM. Miu and Nobue. By the end of the volume, things are fully formed, and you realize how much of Miu’s life is devoted to making Nobue NOTICE HER, DAMMIT.

Yuri? Not anything explicit (not yet), and the design tends to make everyone look 5 rather than 12, but I think Miu has a crush on Nobue even this early, and one that grows larger as the manga wears on.

This is a funny, cute manga, and if you’d been avoiding it as it looked too loli, then grab a copy. Just be prepared for a slow, rocky start before you hit the paydirt.

Did I mention Miu? Cause, Miu.

Erica here: I say, amen to that, brother! And my thanks once again to Sean Gaffney, “guest reviewer of the gods.”

My own quick comments – in order to do get this review up, I had to reformat two older reviews and, as a result, I had a good chance to look at the new English-edition vs the Japanese edition side by side. For once, I actually like the translated edition cover better. The stark white background of the original is too unfluffy and uncute for this bastion of cuteness. The light red-an-white-plaid background on the Tokyopop edition hits just the right note of cute.

The translation wanders in and out of good to meh to excellent. It gets better as it goes on. Of course, no honorifics which, in this series, really fails, since the younger girls all call Nobue “Nobue-nee-san,” “Nobu-‘nee” just “‘nee-san”, or any number of other manipulations, depending on the character and the mood, something that is lost entirely. Matsuri-chan becomes, inexplicably, “Mats.” I will forever disapprove.

Ratings:

Art – this is totally personal, but for me – 5
Story – starts out weak, then gets going, as Sean said – 6
Characters – same as above – 7
Yuri – “Haruka-san, look at me!” – 2
Service – sigh…6

Overall – 6

When the ball gets rolling, it gets “wtf” funny. I still laugh out loud at it, which annoys me no end. ^_^

 

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