Onna Tomodachi to Kekkonshitemita, Volume 1 (女ともだちと結婚してみた。)

March 10th, 2022

If you are a regular reader here, you probably know how much I like Usui Shio’s recent work in Comic Yuri Hime. I’ve been really happy with Kaketa Tsuki to Donuts / Doughnuts Under a Crescent Moon. That series is not the only one Usui-sensei is working on for the magazine. Running concurrently has been another story, one that is quite different.

Onna Tomodachi to Kekkonshitemita, Volume 1 (女ともだちと結婚してみた。) is comedy drama about two best friends, Kurumi and Ruriko. Ruriko is a day person. She wakes up early, cooks breakfast and heads out to her day job. Kurumi, a journalist, is a night person. She heads to bed after Ruriko leaves, waking up later to work into the night. Kurumi is working on an assignment right now, and she and Ruriko are the test subjects – Kurumi is writing a series about being married to a woman.

Friends for years, Ruriko and Kurumi agree that they *will* go back to being friends when this experiment is over, but we know that unbeknownst to Kurumi, Ruriko is in love with her.  So…will they, really? I don’t know…and I don’t think they do either.

After the initial setup of their “marriage,” something begins to happen. Kurumi is depending on Ruriko a lot. And she’s starting to think about her all the time, which is new for her. On a solo overnight, she keeps thing about Ruriko, or even talking to her, without thinking about it.  Ruriko is already in that headspace. In a terrific scene, Ruriko takes a picture of a lone daikon laying in the street and thinks, “Kurumi will love this.” Kurumi loves it.

Ruriko starts to not feel well, but she doesn’t want to bother Kurumi. When Kurumi comes home and find Ruriko not there…and gets a message that she’s in the hospital, Kurumi runs over, asking for her wife at the front desk. Once assure Ruriko is okay, Kurumifinally gets a bit angry. They are married after all, Ruriko should have said something!

Will they make a real marriage out of this sham? I think they will…but I’m glad to give them as much time as they need. ^_^

This series is drawn with Usui-sensei’s gentle art style. Both Kurumi and Ruriko are likable, separately and together. While Kurumi occasionally comes off as thoughtless, that is because we’re likely to be on Ruriko’s side, gently hoping that she gets to express her true feelings. (Something that they are edging closer to in future volumes.)  This series is more goofy and light-hearted than Doughnuts, but at its heart has a similar core value – love takes many forms, but can not be returned if it’s not expressed clearly.

I’m hoping that if…when…Ruriko and Kurumi express their feelings clearly, it’ll be a good thing for them both.

Ratings:

Art – 8
Story – 8 then shifting to 9 by the end
Characters – same
Service – 0
Yuri – 6

Overall – 8, with loads of potential

My fingers crossed that we see this licensed soon, for the “She’s my wife!” moment at the very least. ^_^

 

Posted in Usui Shio, Yuri Manga | 1 Comment »


5 Seconds Before A Witch Falls in Love, Guest Review by Luce

March 9th, 2022

Welcome to another Guest Review Wednesday on Okazu. We welcome back Luce who is taking a look at a collected volume of stories by Zeniko Sumiya that ran in Comic Yuri Hime. Take it away, Luce!

5 Seconds Before a Witch Falls in Love actually has three stories in it, although you wouldn’t know from the outset. The first and third are linked  in that they follow the same characters in stories set about a month apart: The ‘Untouchable Sorceress’ Meg, and the witch hunter Lilith. They fight frequently, although Meg has always managed to one-up Lilith, so never getting caught. When Meg turns Lilith into a cat and someone makes off with her, things change. A bit. In the second story, from Lilith’s point of view, a month afterwards, she is convinced that Meg has cursed her with a love spell. Why else would she be feeling so het up!

The third story is sandwiched between them, and isn’t at all related. In this, Kamiari Kanna is an otherwise normal school girl, who can see supernatural beings, and offers to help them. After finding the demon Belphegor wounded and the angel Samael apparently collapsed and offering to help them, they both fell madly in love with her and follow her around near constantly. A transfer student seems a bit suspicious though, and a supernatural entity is on the loose…

This book is a one shot and totally contained, which I do like. I’m not so fond of tsunderes, which Meg and Lilith emulate somewhat, but they were different enough that I could kind of get behind them. Being so short helped – you don’t actually have to endure the swathes of denial prior to the depicted story. I’m pretty happy about that. Meg was pretty fun, everyone calls her an old hag which pisses her off, and while she’s implied to be extremely talented with magic, she generally uses her magic to play ridiculous pranks on the townspeople. That said, when she does get serious, she goes all in. I personally would have liked Lilith to have a bit more… pizzazz(?) about her? She is cute, though. What I liked most was the ‘warlock pharmacist/drugstore owner’ Hachi. Well equipped with an armoury of snappy comebacks, he was great, and seemed to know more than he actually stated.

I’ll single out something that pleasantly surprised me – Meg apologises for kissing Lilith without her consent (to turn her back from being a cat). Seeing as consent is rarely even mentioned or asked for in manga, I greatly appreciate this. Meg also gives Lilith the opportunity to leave, by which she means to allow her to leave the situation altogether. I like this, and these small details made it far more enjoyable.

I think I enjoyed the second story a bit more though, which is funny because the only advertisement it gets on the cover is the three main characters on the back. The blurb doesn’t even mention a third story at all! The idea of a kind-hearted girl helping all sorts of supernatural spirits isn’t new, but Samael and Belphegor being obsessed by her was made infinitely better by a.) Kanna saying things how she meant and b.) them not getting too handsy about it. They fight over her, but it’s never serious. It’s clear that she is very dear to them, but they never force their affections on her – Bel is upset because the transfer student hugs Kanna… Because she wanted to. Kanna hugs her. It’s actually really cute.

Story: Meg and Lilith 5, Kanna’s story 7
Art: 7
Yuri: 8
Service: 3?
Overall: 7

Erica here: Thank you Luce! I’ll be sure to pay attention to that third story when I have a chance to read this collection. ^_^

Posted in English Anime, Guest Review, Luce, Yuri Manga | No Comments »


Yuri Is My Job, Volume 8

March 7th, 2022

Hime is leaving Liebe. She has resolved that, to stop hurting Mitsuki, (and, as Mai is once again hale and hearty,) she will leave. Yuri Is My Job, Volume 8 begins with the tensest birthday celebration of all time.

No one wants Hime to leave, Hime does not want to leave, but she simply cannot think of a way to resolve this issue. The entire staff conspires to get Hime and Mitsuki to talk one last time….but will it be enough? Well…maybe. It’s enough for now, at least.

With their relationships patched up, but extremely fragile, the entire staff heads out for an overnight and photo shoot which causes cracks all over again. New cracks, though. Hime is, for the very first time, very aware of Mitsuki’s body, and has no idea how to handle what is going on in her head.

I sympathized so strongly with Mitsuki through this volume. She’s so vulnerable and honest about not being able to understand Hime’s intentions. About halfway through this volume I was ready to make an ultimatum…no more beating on Mitsuki. But, then the worm turns and it’s Hime struggling with who they are as schwestern. I’m fine with that, I just don’t want Mitsuki to be hurt any more.

By the end of this volume this arc is, finally, put to rest, thank Gott. Mitsuki and Hime carve out a tenable working relationship. Now we’re free to movie on for a bit.

I did genuinely love the photoshoot idea. I constantly think that Mai would be a very good manager of a cafe. The end notes are narrated by Mai, as she walks us through the school uniform policies. And again, in the author’s notes, we get insight into Miman-sensei’s process. At 8 volumes, and no sign of the story slowing down, it feels good to know that there is a plan.

Ratings:

Art – 8
Story – 8
Characters – 9
Service – 4
Yuri – 8

Overall – 8

Next volume we’ll turn our focus to Sumika and her left-over baggage and the new stuff she’s picked up since Kanako arrived. Trust me, she’s got a lot of stuff to deal with. ^_^

Nice work by the team at Kodansha, for an overall gripping volume!

Posted in English Manga, Yuri Manga | No Comments »


Batwoman, Season 3 on CW

March 6th, 2022

Wow.

Blah blah blah, I’m not a DC gal, Batman is boring, blah blah. We’ve been through that before. But. This season has convinced me otherwise.

I thought Kate Kane was a fine Batwoman in Season 1. I was glad she had her story told and the points were made. And I was super glad to get past the Alice arc, with its so many handwaves. It was good stuff. Season 2 capitalized on the strengths of the cast and weaknesses of the story. It was better stuff.  In my review  of Season 2 I said, “What had been an ensemble flapping around Kate, waiting for her to listen to any of them, has now coalesced into a solid team looking for Kate (whatevs) and fighting new and different baddies, something I can get behind, finally.” Which is pretty much what happens. And now we reach Season 3 of Batwoman and I have not stopped thinking about it since I began to watch. It was one of the best live-action shows I’ve watched in a long while. Mostly because the cast is killing it.

Javicia Leslie’s Ryan Wilder is likable, smart, strong and vulnerable. The story uses those vulnerabilities without hesitation, but the story is not about torturing Ryan. Nope, instead Season 3 is 1000000% about Mary Hamilton and Beth Kane. Not as a couple, but as a pair of mismatched, deeply broken and needy people. 

Nicole Kang’s Mary Hamilton is…amazing. She’s broken, and breaking, and healing, and permanently effed up and likable and redeemable. Even when she is at her lowest, you have to love her. Early on the season, she and Lucas have a little energy. I would not object, except I believe you should not fall for your coworkers. (More on that later.) 

Beth, nee Alice. Holy Shit. Rachel Skarsen is doing a lifetime’s worth of acting with this role. She takes up a lot of space on the screen and again, love her and hate her, you always love her. Mary and Beth trying to patch a family together between the two of them had me tied up in knots.

Where Kate and Sophie made my skin crawl, Ryan and Sophie as the main love affair of the series works just fine. See above about coworkers for a caveat. But it, too, is a side story. The main plot uses relics of the Bat-universe, but with new plotting and characters. Did we need a new Joker? Maybe? But what we got with a new Poison Ivy was an outstanding arc, that will have repercussions into next season. It gave us a brief moment with Renee Montoya and Pamela Isley, but it left us with Poison Mary…and Alice as a sidekick. That was a hell of a ride.

Lucas’ battle with his long-dead father added unpredictability to his story, and Ryan’s own journey into her own family’s past drives the larger arcs in a way that succeeds.

These character arcs -and others – are overlapped so that they have consequences. It’s not “character development of the week,” and kudos to the writers for that.

Season 3 is about family. For Batwoman and her team, that means a lot of everything: Good, bad, extremely bad, and pathologically apocalyptic. It means love and hate and despair and hope. And, for the first time in my watching experience, it means a majority non-white, majority female cast, full of queerness, which I absolutely love. 

This was a fantastic season. you should watch it.

Ratings:

Cinematography – 8
Characters – 10
Story – 9
Queer – 10
Service – 7 Kissing, sex implied

Overall – 9

This team convinced me to love Batwoman.

 

Posted in Live Action | 1 Comment »


Yuri Network News – (百合ネットワークニュース) – March 5, 2022

March 5th, 2022

Yuri Manga

ANN’s Adriana Hazra has news that Kodansha has licensed the newest from Kamatani Yuhki, Hiraeth ~The End of the Journey – . The first chapter is available for free in Japanese on moae.com and it’s just beautiful. Take a look!

Otona ni Nattemo, Volume 6 (おとなになっても) is up on the Yuricon Store. I am really enjoying this series and think it’s Shimura-sensei’s best work to date!

Exciting news from Wings magazine on Twitter, Fujio-sensei is returning to Yuri with a new series! Onna x a Onna Umakuikana Renai Essay parlor, Volume 1 (女×女のうまくいかない恋愛エッセイ parlor) is “an essay comic about her own woman x woman’s ‘unsuccessful love.'” I haven’t seen Fujio-sensei’s work since Pure Yuri Anthology Hirari. And yay for another autobiographical manga about/by queer Yuri manga artist

Volume 1 of 18+ comedy Android ha Keiken Ninzuu ni Jairimasuka??, (アンドロイドは経験人数に入りますか？？) from Comic Yuri Hime is now available as a collected volume.

Jitsugyounonihonsha publishing company is releasing Kanojo. Yuri Shousetsu Anthology (彼女。 百合小説アンソロジー) this month. It will also be available in Japanese as an audiobook! I don’t recognize a single name in the authors’ credits, but I chalk that up to me not keeping up with Yuri prose at all. If any of you have read any of these authors, let us know!

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Via Comic Natalie, the April issue of Comic Flapper has a new manga, about an older woman whose heart begins to pound as a woman at the store applies her makeup. Biyou ni Mezameru o Baachan no Yuri Manga, (美容にめざめるおばあちゃんの百合漫画) by schwinn will probably have me popping over to Bookwalker to grab this issue when it’s out. ^_^

Volume 1 of Hime to Onna Yuusha ga Musubareru Tame no 12 no Hijiri Koui (姫と女勇者が結ばれるための12の聖行為) is out in print, but before you commit to this pervy Yuri fantasy, check it out on Pixiv. A female hero asks for the princesses underwear as a reward.

Via Yuri Navi, DolYan! (ドルヤン) is a Idol x Yakuza Yuri oneshot webcomic available in Japanese on Sunday Webry.

Also via Yuri Navi, Yuri manga Wakuto Komako  (わくとこまこ) “depicting the frustrating love pattern of two girls” is being serialized in Japanese in Big Comic 4, on Yahoo JP.

 

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Yuri Events

Galette Works is celebrating the 5th anniversary of Galette magazine with a Galette 2nd Yuri Matsuri! March 20, Nihonbashi Hamacho Plaza Marm, From 11AM – 4PM. It’s basically a Galette Yuri pop-up shop event.  If anyone one can make it there, do let us know how it goes!

I’ll be a Featured Panelist at Anime Boston, May 27-29 in Boston, MA. I hope you’ll drop by and join one of my many panels. ^_^

My book, By Your Side – The first 100 years of Yuri anime and manga will be out in June! If you’d like me to come to speak at your event, school or organization, Contact Me! Pre-orders will be going up next month – stay tuned!

 

Other News

I wrote a review! I know, I know, that’s not that exciting in itself, but this review was not for a Yuri title, which is exciting and it’s on ANN, which is also exciting. I actually read a lot of manga that isn’t Yuri, so it’s nice to be able to share this one with a broad audience. Check out my review of Summertime Rendering, Volume 1 on ANN. It was really a great read.

Adriana Hazra has a manga-focused breadown at The Comics Beat report about the growth of graphic novels sales. It’s worth reading this breakdown. It has always seemed obvious to me, but this really makes the case that when a manga exists for a popular anime property, making a strong connection will really bump those numbers up. (I still feel like Yen and Funi blew it entirely on the Madoka franchise. If they had coordinated, it would have owned the world for a while, at least.

Speaking of Funimation, RIP their endlessly crappy streaming service. Ding, dong, the glitch is dead. You’ll be watching all of their anime, along with Verve and Wakanim on Crunchyroll now. Even NPR noticed that this is big news.

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Posted in Yuri Manga | 1 Comment »