Events: Back from A-kon

June 8th, 2004

I’m just back from A-kon, in Dallas, where I had way too much fun.

No review today, except this: If you like the utterly tacky, I strongly recommend Petticoat Planet, which was undeniably one of the stupidest and funny sort-of-lesbian softcore movies I’ve ever seen. It’s live action (although using the word “action” in reference to this movie is pushing it a bit…) but the Sheriff and the Mayor are a great couple. And the Mayor actually says, “Gimme a bottle a redeye and a crazy straw.” That alone was worth watching this piece of crap. ^_^

While I probably won’t be returning to A-kon next year, we may just have a table there anyway, because many Yuri manga from ALC Publishing were sold over the weekend – and there was an impromptu Yuri panel at 1AM, as well.

I’ll post a new review once I am again coherent. In the meantime, mark down our next date – June 18-20, in Secaucus, NJ for Anime Next. I hope you’ll drop in at the Yuri panel on Saturday at 3PM, or say hi to us at the table and buy some great Yuri manga!

Posted in Events | No Comments »


Yuri Manga: Shiroi Heya no Futari (白い部屋のふたり)

June 3rd, 2004

The arguably oldest Yuri is Shiroi Heya no Futari (白い部屋のふたり) which means “Our White Room”. Published by Ribon Comics in 1973 (back far enough that even I was a child), written by Yamagishi Ryooko, this story is the mother of all Yuri that came after it.

And, oh, what melodrama it is!

Shiroi Heya no Futari introduces us to blonde, doll-like “good” girl Resine, as she’s dumped by a uncaring aunt at a boarding school. Because she’s a late transfer, the school puts her in a room with “bad” girl Simone – with the admonishment to not take notice of Simone and, if it gets too much, she can ask for another room.

Unfortunately for the school, Resine and Simone get along reasonably well, even going so far to actually like one another, then really like one another…then really, really like one another. When Simone plays the Prince to Resine’s Princess in the school play, their kiss is passionate – and real.

Their confession of love is overheard by a classmate and soon the entire school knows about them. In denial, Resine begins dating a young man with a vengeance, but her jealousy for Simone keeps pace with Simone’s own dark feelings. When the pressure becomes too much, Resine runs away, leaving Simone to find her own reconciliation, alone. Of course, Simone, high strung and emotional, finds her denouement in a tragic and pointless death.

Resine, having returned home, finds out about Simone’s death many months later and rushes back to the school. All she is able to do is learn the truth of Simone’s death and swear that she will continue living for the two of them, loveless and cold, forever.

It’s evil of me to say this, but it’s actually a pretty amusing ending, merely by being so hyper-melodramatic.

The story (as you might be able to guess from the names) is set is France, which fits well with the overblown melodrama of the story. The setting was current for it’s time – early 70’s – so the clothes are a scream and there’s underage drinking going on in very French-looking clubs.

Of course this has a tragic ending. Could we expect anything else? Not in the 70’s, no. But the love and physical attraction Resine and Simone had was real – not just akogare/admiration, but actual desire, which made it groundbreaking stuff.

I recommend reading this manga, if only to see one of the mama of Yuri manga and to appreciate our historical roots. Plus, the story’s soap-opera fun. You can still find copies in secondary markets like Amazon JP marketplace and used manga stores.

Ratings:

Art – very 70s. Give it a 8
Story – 8
Yuri – 10
Character – 10, just for Simone’s brooding Heathcliff-ness. ;-)

Overall – 9

Posted in Classic Yuri, Yuri Manga | 13 Comments »


Yuri Manga: Houkago or "After School, Part 2

June 1st, 2004

Well, last week I told you that I’d tell you if Houkago was worth your time – and now, after a fortuitous trip to the manga store, I can safely say that it is. ^_^

Houkago, if you remember back a few days, is running in Cookie monthly, and was the story of Itoi, a girl who was finding herself alientated from the people around her at school. When she is invited to go shopping in Shibuya by Ariyoshi, a cool, loner girl in her class, Itoi’s “friends” want to come along. When Ariyoshi denies them the right, they retaliate by bullying Itoi with increasing viciousness. To escape this, Itoi and Ariyoshi find themselves together more and more, until one day, they simply decide not to go back at all. That was the end of Chapter 1.

Chapter 2 finds them hanging out in Shibuya, closing the shops, then the cafes, and ultimately having to avoid police and unsavory types who stalk the night. They find short-term refuge with a girl gang in a bathroom, and after that, a late-night cafe. When morning comes and the trains start again, they can’t bring themselves to go home, so they rent a karaoke box. Ariyoshi starts to look bad, and get woozy, so Itoi uses the last of her money to get them a hotel room.

In the sex-charged atmosphere of the room, and given the tension between them, it’s natural that they should kiss and that the kiss might become something more…but one of them leans on a button which starts a stereo blaring and they’re both scared witless and collapse on the bed with exhaustion once they manage to turn the noise off.

Although their “moment” has passed, they admit that they do love one another and decide to be together as long as they can. In the first chapter, it was Itoi who broke down and admitted that she was unhappy – in this chapter Ariyoshi is the one who opens up and cries.

When they finally return to school, rumors abound, but both of them, buoyed by their love for one another, make light of the rumors…and show the bullies that they simply don’t care anymore. In the end, they will spend their days at school waiting until it’s over – then go out and have fun, together.

There are several notable qualities in Houkago…most important, the angst in this story is not about their love. Not one ounce of it. The girls’ attitude is very much “fuck ’em if they can’t take a joke.” Any angst resides completely with their dissatisfaction with school life and the people they are forced to endure. There is no sense of the ephemeral here, either – unlike Blue, we can actually believe that maybe Ariyoshi and Itoi have at least a while together, even thought that’s not important – this story is not about one single perfect moment, nor is it about forever. And it does not link lesbianism and mental disease.

There’s a very emancipated, modern feel about the love in Houkago. The girls aren’t shocked by it, they aren’t traumatized or terrified. They *are* relieved by it, and draw strength from it and ultimately, find immense happiness, not even in a sexual way, but in a close bonding way, in their relationship. So for that, Houkago is a kind of groundbreaking work. It’s a LOOOONG way away from Shiroi Heya no Futari and not just in years.

Maybe that should be the moral of today’s story: Houkago may not read like a groundbreaking piece of work, but the fact that none of the usual stereotypes apply is a sign that things have changed. Perhaps is is a quiet sign that things will never again be the way they were and from now on, we’ll see more and more of this “happy ending” thing in our Yuri.

I guess we’ll just have to stick around and see. ^_^

Posted in Yuri Manga | No Comments »


Yuri Anime: Devilman Lady

May 28th, 2004

Okay, yesterday I forgot to tell you about the one great big gay character in the Devilman Lady manga, but that’s okay because I’ll be covering her today, with great enthusiasm. ^_^

Let me start off by saying that the anime version of Devilman Lady is SO lesbian, that it’s a wonder it doesn’t get more spin in Yuri circles. I guess the majority of viewers just prefer cute over tough, but call me a happy minority. I’ll take cool, competent and tough any day over cute. ^_^

Where in the manga our heroine, Fudou Jun, was a uber-tough, butched up athlete, even had been in the Olympics as a swimmer, the anime Jun is a quiet, lovely top-notch fashion model. She’s immensely popular and we can see why, because when she gets in front of the camera, she becomes something alive and animal – her charisma is obvious, and so is her hunger.

Into this life comes the (still) completely psychotic Ran Asuka, who throws Jun into a room with a guy who becomes a ravening Devilbeast. The shock of being attacked forces Jun to transform (no demon bats here…) and Asuka calmly tells Jun that she’ll help Asuka hunt other Devilbeasts around the city. Jun, who has pretty low self-esteem, does.

Asuka is openly and obviously attracted to Jun, but pretty much only when she’s in her Devilbeast form.  In any case, Asuka definitely teases her unmercifully, as she forces Jun to travel the country slaughtering people as a Devilbeast; ironically in the name of preserving humanity.

Complicating Jun’s life is the addition of a young friend, Kazumi who, after her parents are killed by a Devilbeast (and she is saved by Jun in her transformed state) moves in with Jun. It is *equally* apparent that these two LONG for each other. You’ll be happy to know that about 3/4 through the series, they finally acknowledge their feelings and even spend a night together, but this series is not a comedy – it’s a tragedy. I’ll leave you to guess the rest.

Episodes 5 and 6 of the series ought really to come with a 100% Yuri label. Kazumi has moved in and now wants to buy a bigger bed to share with Jun. She all buts says, “Look, stupid, I really want to sleep with you” but she’s young and a little unsure of Jun’s feelings. Jun, is agonizing over this, exactly *because* she wants so desperately to sleep with Kazumi. Trust me – this is not subtext. From this point on, whenever anyone other than Jun mentions Kazumi, it’s to refer to her as Jun’s lover, even though they aren’t. Jun wimps out, btw, and buys bunk beds. Kazumi is quite shocked by this admission of Jun’s, because what it says is either “I want you so much I won’t be able to control myself” – which is the truth, or, “I loathe you so much I can’t stand the thought of sharing a bed with you,” in which case she ought to make Kazumi leave. It’s pretty apparent that Jun feels she wouldn’t be able to control herself.

In the meantime,we introduce Jun’s old high school classmate (and, in the manga, rival), Big Gay Aoi.

Let me backtrack. In the manga, Kurosaki Aoi is like 6 1/2 feet tall and HUGE. Muscles everywhere. She makes butchy Jun look like a little girl. She obviously wants Jun, but they have a nasty rivalry between them and Aoi has a abusive background and doesn’t do well when she’s not letting the Devilbeast in her body eat people she hates. The Devilbeast, of course, decides it wants to eat Jun. Aoi and the beast that is her body argue and the beast eats Aoi i.e., itself. Aoi does confess her feelings and in the end, Jun is forced to admit that she was also attracted to Aoi. Duh.

Okay, here in the anime, Jun is no athlete – in fact, she’s anemic, and had a problem with passing out when she got too excited as a youth. Flashback to high school at a swim meet. Aoi sees Jun pass out and carries her to the locker room. When Jun comes to, Aoi tries to kiss her. At first Jun gives in, but then, in a moment of weakness, pushes Aoi away and they never speak again. For years. Now, Asuka sets Jun on Aoi’s tracks, because she’s exhibiting signs of being a Devilbeast. In the manga, where Aoi became a Devilbeast to avenge herself on her sexually abusive stepfather, here in the anime Aoi basically has done it for Jun. Jun visits her at the pool and Aoi blatantly asks Jun to love her back, but Jun refuses, again. (Given Jun’s reacton to Kazumi and Asuka, it seems to me that the worst enemy Jun has is herself. She obviously is attracted to women, but it scares her silly, even after all this time.) They fight and ultimately, to save Jun, Aoi sacrifices herself. Let me just add that as Jun is played by Iwao Junko (Tomoyo in Card Captor Sakura and Aoi’s voice is done by Ogata Megumi who played Tenou Haruka in Sailor Moon, we’re talkin’ serious 6 degrees of Yuri-fest right here. ^_^

Episode 6 is the story of a rival model who also wants Jun and ends up getting her naked and tied up in bed before the Devilbeast transformation happens and Jun has to kill her.

From this point on, the story becomes a triangle between Asuka, Jun and Kazumi. Kazumi wins, in a way, because she and Jun admit that they love each other, but in a more concrete way, Asuka wins, because she makes Jun into what she wants her to become. Asuka also wins because she’s the only transgender lesbian from New Jersey that I know of in anime. We learn that she was born and raised in New Jersey (Montclair, from the looks of it,) and that she was born male, but is now female. So in my book, Asuka wins, hands down, because I can say that she is a transgender lesbian from NJ. In anime. It always makes me happy to be able to say that. It doesn’t bother me that she’s insane because I love psychotic lesbians. ^_^

This series is campy horror, not as violent as the manga, but still violent and has a really sort of ambiguously happy ending. I think it’s one of the most Yuri series out there now and it’s a damn shame more people don’t know how wonderfully weird and bizarre it is. Sure, the girl doesn’t get the girl, but it really doesn’t matter, because it’s a great story, with a strange, but less super-weirdo-bizarre ending than the manga, but still plenty weird.

Ratings:

Art – 10
Characters – 10
Music – 10
Yuri – 10
Service – 10

Overall – 10

Devilman Lady is one of my very favorite anime series in the whole of Yuri-land. ^_^

Posted in English Anime, Go Nagai, Yuri Anime | 14 Comments »


Devilman Lady Manga

May 27th, 2004

I previously reviewed Kekkou Kamen, and today I want to wax poetic about yet another wonderfully wacky series from the mind of Go Nagai.

The Devilman Lady (デビルマンレディー) manga and anime are two entirely different creatures, which really can’t be compared at all. They have nothing but the vaguest similarities, including the lead characters’ names. After that, they are just about as different as possible.

Today we’ll deal with the manga. Typical of a Go Nagai creation, the manga is full of strong women who get naked rather often, and sex, much of which is violent and non-consensual. Because this is a story that resides in his Devilman universe, there is demon-y stuff going on and half-human, half-monster hybrids…you know, the usual. Tons of violence.

In the manga version of Devilman Lady Fudou Jun is an extremely butch woman, who teaches in a high school. She coaches the girl’s tennis team, works out with weights and is in general as fit and muscular as any woman who clearly uses steroids can be. One night, while on summer camp trip with her tennis team, she and the students are attacked by demon bats. The boys are eaten or turned into ravening monsters, the girls are eaten and/or raped. Jun is bitten and becomes this super-strong bestial creature that defeats all the demons and saves a few of the girls.

After the incident, Jun is visited by a woman, Asuka, who can only be described as completely psychotic. Asuka tells Jun that is her destiny to become the Devilman Lady and defeat these evil devil-creatures, who eat men and rape women. Jun resists, until Asuka produces her father and mother, who calmly tell Jun that she was born with this propensity, but they gave her drugs as a child to supress it – but now it’s time to become the Devilman Lady! – so Jun does. From that point on the story consists of tremendous amounts of violence and sex and Yuri implications between Asuka and Jun which, sadly, do not go much further. They share one hot kiss early on, and from there it’s all downhill.

Jun opposes many humans-turned-beasts, without the angst expressed in the anime, and always wins in the end. As it progresses, the story gets very weird and complex and includes a love affair with Lucifer (really Akira, the Devilman) and ends with…

Spoiler Warning!!

…Jun and Asuka merging together to form St. Michael the Archangel and fighting alongside Lucifer to defeat the demon legions of hell.

I bet you saw *that* coming a mile away, eh? ^_^

This was *such* a weird ending to a manga that I could not stop staring a the last page, re-reading the text over and over, because I was sure I was getting it all wrong.

Anyway, to sum up. Violence and violent sex, blood and more violence. Many sexy naked women, not as much Yuri as one would hope. Volume 1 has the hot kiss – stick with that and you’re fine.

Next up, the anime – a Yuri lover’s dream. ^_^

Posted in Go Nagai | 8 Comments »