Yuri Manga: Applause, Volume 3 (Japanese)

October 10th, 2007

For previously published summaries and reviews of Volume 1 and Volume 2, click the respective links. Now here we are, at Applause, Volume 3.

Applause began its life as a very shoujo manga, but once it hit New York grew up into something thoroughly josei. Both Shara and Shelle, aka Junaque, have left their childhood behind them and so has the artist. Art, story and sensibility have all moved on from the world of the ridiculously privileged atmosphere of a European girl’s school into a still somewhat enchanted, but more realistic look at show business in New York City. (Back to that “practicing ’til you puke” thing. I don’t mind watching people becoming the best of the best – as long as they work for it. No idiot savants with magically appearing mad skillz need apply.)

Shara, having decided to never again wait for Shelle, moves in with a gay couple, Jon and Chris, and their dog Oscar. She returns to the dance studio at which she previously studied and her life, which had been a storm of emotional upheaval, calms down again into something she can live with and in. To add to her happiness, she meets a man, Shalat, who is perfectly compatible with her as a dancer, as a friend and eventually, as a lover. Shalat is part Asian Indian, and he loves his heritage. His apartment is decorated to reflect this, and Shara loves how he is an amalgam of places, times and dreams. The two of them are extremely happy together.

When an open audition announcement goes out for brand new Broadway show, Shalat and Shara vow to train and audition together, which they do. And together they make the final round. As the final auditions begin, it is announced that, yes, the auditions are partly to fill background dancers, but one role will be a lead role. To judge who is most suitable for the role, the show’s other lead actress is brought in. As Shalat watches, Shara goes pale, and seems to become completely paralyzed. The lead actress, of course, is to be Shelle Bejart.

When Shara’s name is called, Shalat calls her name too, trying to keep her by his side. Shara completely breaks down, as Shalat tries to coax her into telling him what is wrong. With tears streaming down her face she apologizes and leaves him, to follow Shelle after all, hating her own weakness the whole time.

Shortly thereafter, it is announced that Shelle and Shara will be starring in the most anticipated new Broadway show, “Modern Dancer.”

The story of “Modern Dancer” is about a former dancer Maria, played by Shelle, who has become crippled (emotionally and physically). Another dancer, Tracy, tries to convince Maria that she can still dance. In the climactic scene, Tracy takes Maria into her arms and they dance, even though Maria cannot stand. It’s pretty great melodrama and the art for this scene is awesome and over-the-top every time we see it (and we’ll see this scene *a lot.*)

At first, it’s a terrible fit. Shara and Shelle aren’t speaking and they don’t gel well at all. The media starts to report how they think Shara is a bad choice for the role of Tracy. Whether to provoke Shelle or Shara or just to cover his ass, Georges brings in a young male dancer, Fred – who is instantly irritating – to potentially take over the part of Tracy, if Shara can’t get it together.

Shara takes some time to visit Alphie and Gerald and the gang and get her head on straight.

The media uncovers the fact that Shelle and Shara went to school together. Shelle says that Shara was just another underclassman, that they had no special relationship. Shara, on the other hand, when questioned about Shelle, comments on camera that she never knew anyone with the name “Shelle Bejart” at school.

The two of them continue to breakdown in pieces and the show starts to fall apart too. One day, just as in the last volume, Georges takes Shara out on his yacht. This time, she’s also accompanied by Oscar the dog and when he jumps into the water, so does she. Georges also dives in and again, kisses her, but this time, she doesn’t seem to be affected by it at all. When they arrive back at the marina, soaked to the skin, Shelle is there. She gives them both the cold shoulder.

Georges continues the losing battle of wooing an increasingly frigid Shelle. He holds a big birthday party for her, which Shara attends, but can’t stand to watch the circus that Shelle’s life has become. She leaves, but Shelle follows her in her car.

Shelle confronts Shara and they lose it completely at one another. Shara runs off in anger. Shelle, trying to catch up to her, gets into an accident, which Shara witnesses. Forgetting her anger at Shelle, she goes running over, screaming Junaque’s name, and drags a semi-conscious Junaque from the car. Junaque/Shelle and she cry together. That night they end up back in Shelle’s shore house and once again, they have a few days of bliss together.

Back at rehearsal, no one can figure out why, but suddenly, they work perfectly together. The climax of the play is climactic and breathtaking. Fred is defeated – Shara owns the role of Tracy – sadly, he sticks around anyway.

Meanwhile, back at home, Chris has collapsed. No one knows why, but he is in the hospital.

Then the media attacks again – this time with a call to Shelle. Is it true, she’s asked, that you are Shara were lovers in school? Poor, fragile, confused and weak Shelle, lies. Then tells Shara to stay away – she doesn’t want the media to know about them. Rejected for the third time, Shara falls apart. Again. (It’s true – she was the first to reject Junaque, but I think she’s paid the price, really…)

But the show must go on – and it does. In the last chapter we see the whole of “Modern Dancer,” but it’s almost a reflection of Junaque and Shara’s lives so far. And together they dance their feelings out in a beautiful final scene. “Modern Dancer” will obviously be a success.

End of Volume

So, yes, heaps of melodrama. I feel bad for Shalat, personally, because he was a nice guy and didn’t deserve the drama. Shelle and Shara clearly do deserve one another. Oh, and don’t feel *too* bad for Georges – there’s a sense I get that he and Fred were very close. ^_^

Technically, the artist clearly hit her peak here. There’s none of the crowded panels and confusion of the first volume here. The only thing – and this is me being picky – is that the dance moves look dorky a lot of the time. OTOH, modern dance looks dorky a lot of the time. So there you go.

Ratings:

Art – 8
Story – 7
Characters – 7
Yuri – 8
Service – 3
Overall – 7

Volume 4 – anyone want to place bets on the ending? I bet you’ll never guess what happens. Seriously – go ahead and guess in the comments. (No cheating if you know. Only if you’re guessing!)

Posted in Applause, Classic Yuri, Yuri Manga | 3 Comments »


Events and Okazu News: MangaNEXT 2007 Report and Okazu in Spanish

October 8th, 2007

MangaNEXT was fun. I managed to get a second to chat with Jason Thompson, editor of The Manga Encyclopedia to which I contributed a very small amount of writing. And I hung out with friends, got my RDA of hugs. I definitely need to offer special super thanks to Adam, who minioned like a champ and was lovely and socially functional the entire time. Thanks Adam. It was really wonderful having you there. :-)

Because of the nature of such things, I was scheduled for a 10AM Fanfic Panel, so basically Adam and I blathered about fanfic while I ate my breakfast and some people watched. (What do people hope to learn in FF panels? Questions always seem to come in two kinds: 1) Externally validate my method/format/concepts/self-worth and; 2) How can I learn to deal with negative stuff? Neither has anything to do with writing. Here’s my advice to young writers – pay attention in English class and read alot. Then learn to not take yourself or your work seriously. That’s all I got for you, really.)

We hung out the bulk of the day in the Artist’s Alley with the cool, hip kids. Wish I could draw too. I always think how useful it would be when I feel too tired to deal with people to be able to semi-ignore them by drawing, like everyone else does. Because I’m a writer I’d have to have my computer to do that, and then I’d look like the two creepy guys across the aisle who *never* looked up once. Instead I just have to pretend to like people and, in this case, kids. The audience for MangaNEXT is significantly younger than I will sell to, so I get a lot of kids who want to touch and I have to shoo them away. Also, we had a bowl full of candy and if you bought something you got a piece or two. It seems to appeal to people. Dear guy who stood there whining about how you wanted candy but had no money. That was absolutely *pathetic.* For the buck you scrounged up, you could have gone to the Krauzer’s across the road and bought a bag of mints. I mean, really.

Here was an interesting thing that occurred: I was in the DR talking to a dealer, who shall remain nameless for the moment. He was all over me to invite him to the next Yuricon, because the guys from Media Blasters had been going on and on about how much fun they had and how not annoying the attendees were. And then he asked how we managed to have such a not-irritating crowd, when another con, which also runs and 18+ event, has such screaming mimis everywhere. Okay, so we keep talking and etc, etc. At the end, I point out that if he did come to our event, he couldn’t bring Yaoi paddles. Which confused and annoyed him, since they are a popular item. I told him what I feel they represent, which I think insulted him, too. Oh well.

The point of this story is, I was thinking about it and it occurred to me that that was the answer to his question.

We don’t have paddles at Yuricon and we don’t have the kind of people who want paddles. The reason, I think, the Yuricon crowd is a good one is that sexual and emotional immaturity is not only not encouraged – it’s pretty much against the rules. Sure, we’ll always have a smaller group because of that – but a much, much higher quality one. I feel pretty happy with that policy. (And it pleased the vendors who were glad to have less of the usual crap that goes along with selling at an event.)

The Yuri Panel had a nice crowd, but doing stand up comedy for 90 minutes is HARD. Next time you come to a panel – come with questions! It’s bloody exhausting for me to entertain you for so long. :-)

Thanks to Mari, James and Amber, Cindy, Jeanne, Brian, Chet(!) and, as I mentioned, Adam. You made the day great fun. Also to Rene, Shelley and Tom for giving me a chance to descend like the harpy I am and fly away again. :-) See you next year at MangaNEXT.

Next up: Some of the posts here are being translated into Spanish. If you are interested in either reading them or helping with the translation, please visit the CoYuHi. Many, many thanks to Laura-sama and the others for this humoungous undertaking! Para Okazu en Espanol visite por favor CoYuHi.

Final note: You may notice a work slowdown at Okazu over the next few weeks. If you look at the right-hand sidebar, you’ll see that I have already posted more this year on Okazu than I have for any other year *total.* I have been very, very busy with Yurisai and Yuri Monogatari and Okazu, and I need a rest. I’ll still be reviewing and posting, but not 4-5 times a week. Not at least for a little while.

Feel free to read back posts from the last 5+ years and see how my irrational and inconsistent opinions have moved as the whimsy has taken me – and remember, it’s just cartoons and comics, don’t take it so damn seriously! LOL

Posted in Events, Now This Is Only My Opinion | 5 Comments »


Yuricon & ALC Publishing at MangaNEXT

October 5th, 2007

Yuricon & ALC Publishing, in the usual form of me and my minion(s), will be making an appearance tomorrow, Saturday October 6 at MangaNEXT in Secaucus, NJ.

I and brilliant fanfic writer Adam Jones will be discussing Fanfiction at the unholy hour of 10AM in the Fanfiction Panel.

After that, we will be relaxing in the Artist’s Alley, where will not only have Yuri Monogatari 5 for sale, but also a nice selection of original and parody doujinshi, including some very awesome work by UKOZ, Sakuraike and Office Mono, Tadeno Eriko’s circle. All five artists are featured in Yuri Monogatari 5 and all are genuinely exceptional. (Or I wouldn’t have their doujinshi for sale, would I? lol)

At 5PM, join us for the Yuri Panel, where we will be discussing some of the good, bad and ugly (but mostly the good) Yuri manga available in English and Japanese!

MangaNEXT is the only manga-focused event in the US and it’s run by a terrific group of folks, so drop by and support them (and us!) See you there!

Posted in ALC Publishing, Events, Yuricon | No Comments »


Best Student Council, Volume 4 (English)

October 4th, 2007

Best Student Council, Volume 4 is silly. I know that that will come as a shock to you. But it is. The volume is subtitled “The Secret Lives of Students,” which is pretty accurate for the first three episodes.

The first two episodes are a two-part look at two students with secrets – covert squad member Kutsugi Kotoha and Covert Squad VP Ginga Kuon. Because Kuon’s secret (which isn’t a secret to either Kanade or Nanaho) is shocking, Kotoha feels that Kuon is a huge threat – and that she will no longer take orders from Kuon. Of course, it all works out, because Kanade’s secret is also really obvious. (Sorry if that seems a bit obscure. I’m trying to not spoil too much.)

Episode three is both the funniest episode and the most painful of the entire series. Cyndi’s mother is due to arrive and we all learn that Cyndi has been telling her a pack of (not very intelligent) lies, which the entire Council spends a lot of time and money trying to make come true. The best scene of the episode has to be when several of the council members are forced to hula dance as Cyndi has dinner. The episode ends with a stunning confession by Cyndi about her true love, which happens to be the only male member of the cast. The only non-human, as well. I particularly liked Cyndi’s mother’s vile and crude Japanese language skills which frequently had her saying the exact opposite of what she meant – and usually very rudely, as well.

The final episode is an exploration of the fragility of women’s friendships. I’ve been a bit mean the last couple of weeks about Japanese men, so just assume the rant and let me explain a thing. In most cultures, when a woman got married, she was taken to her husband’s house and basically, never saw the light of day again. This relic still exists in anime/manga in the seemingly bizarre idea that after a women marries she will never again see friends or be able to work or anything. It seems bizarre to us that women would simply have to stop working, but lots of them do, still.

All of this is to explain why the fourth episode is supposed to be “funny.” In this episode, the two teachers deal with marriage meetings and their friendship. The moral of the story is the assumed “women’s friendships are weak, because as soon as a man comes into their lives, they stop being friends.” That this was mandated by culture and law never seems to sink into the superior male’s mind. (It’s not like they’d make a saying “Women’s friendships are weak, because after we’ve screwed ’em, we put them in a box and never let them out.”)

The bottom line – I hated this episode, and I hate all similar things, like Doki Doki School Hours‘s “Mika-sensei’s getting married we’ll never see her again,” episode. Welcome to the 12th century.

For the technicals, as usual, there’s no extras worth calling extras on the DVD and the case…well it has a case. ^_^

But aside from the irritating premise of the last episode this is another funny, silly disk of Best Student Council. With some serious Kuon time.

Ratings:

Art – 6
Story – 6
Characters – 7
Yuri – 2
Service – 4

Overall – 6

Not a lot of Yuri, but some good Kuon service, which has to be worth *something*. ^_^

Posted in English Anime, Gokujou Seitokai | No Comments »


Kyoshiro to Towa no Sora Manga, Volume 1 (Japanese)

October 3rd, 2007

Kyoshiro to Towa no Sora is Kaishaku’s version of CLAMP’s Tsubasa Chronicles. In this story, many popular elements from past Kaishaku stories are gathered togther under the umbrella of a new alternate universe plotline, so we can enjoy them all over again for the first time. (That Kaishaku and CLAMP are in no way similar is a given – they just happened to use a similar story construction technique.)

I’m not an expert on Kaishaku continuity but, as I see it, this story is most likely a continuation of the Koutetsu Tenshi Kurumi (aka Steel Angel Kurumi) story, in which the “Angel” technology that was awakened in the Meiji period has been refined over time into the “Zettai Tenshi” or “Absolute Angels” of some possible, post-apocalyptic future.

In KtTnS, we are first introduced to Shiratori Kuu, an insipid blonde with a dream of a Prince who saves her from the obscurity she so richly deserves. When mysterious, princely, Ayanokouji Kyoushirou approaches her, it’s like a dream come true. Or a nightmare, as Kyou immediate rips her shirt to (assumably) look for some kind of mark. But since he doesn’t explain himself, it’s just plain old tedious sexual molestation. And, when Kyou reaches out a hand to take Kuu with him, it makes perfect sense that she’d go because his being cool and princely makes up for his being a molester. (This is meant to be read as irony. It annoys and bothers me quite a bit that the standard male fantasy in Japan is non-consensual. I worry that the women haven’t killed all the men, too. But then, the marriage and child-bearing rate is dropping at an alarming pace, so maybe they are. But I digress)

As in the anime, Kuu is immediately thrust into a world of service and violence, as the poor, insipid girl is kidnapped and rescued repeatedly for reasons that no one quite explains – although they obviously all know what’s going on. You’d think that Kyou could take five minutes and give it a shot. But, no. It’s more important to see Kuu bathe.

Volume 1 of the manga is a little light on the Yuri. We do get a short hiatus with EPL Ayanokouji Mika, who does loves her some girl toys. And we get the briefest glimpse at Kaon and Himiko, this story’s reincarnation of Chikane and Himeko from Kannazuki no Miko. But the Yuri is painted with a light brush, because there’s a bunch of fetishes they have to cram into this series and Yuri’s just one on the list.

I quite liked the Kyoshiro to Towa no Sora anime. It made some sense, Kyoushirou’s brother was so far over the top that he came back around the bottom again, Kaon and Himiko were an obvious couple and had a nice ending to their story. I expect the manga will turn out to be much of a muchness. It’s not like I have high expectations for this, or anything. ^_^

If you like Kaishaku enough to enjoy the recycling of characters, then you should get your 600 yen’s worth. If you’re an OCD Yuri fan, you might want to wait ’til Volume 2, which ought to have more Kaon and Himiko.

Ratings:

Art – 7
Story – 3
Characters – 5
Yuri – 2
Service – 8

Overall – 6

ADV has licensed the anime for this series, so you’ll get to see the Kaon and Himiko-themed specials on the DVDs. Honestly, I think they managed more Yuri in the anime than in the manga, where Kuu’s roommate also managed to be tainted with the same brush as Mika, her love slaves, Kaon and Himiko. But we’ll see if the manga can achieve parity.

Posted in Kannazuki no Miko | 3 Comments »