Fujyourina Atashi-tachi, Volume 2 ( 不条理なあたし達)

July 1st, 2020

Yamanaka is, for lack of a better term, a jerk. In Volume 1, we meet her teasing her colleague Taneda mercilessly. When Taneda invite Yamanaka to a lesbian bar, Yamanaka thinks “this’ll be fun.” Jok’es on her, because Taneda turns the tables on her and their relationship becomes an amusing tale of two people jerking each others’ chains.

Fujyourina Atashi-tachi, Volume 2 ( 不条理なあたし達) begins with the two of them as a fairly happy couple. Their friends at the lesbian bar still can’t quite get their heads around Taneda being gay, until her ex shows up and Yamanaka’s feathers get all puffed. More interestingly, Taneda’s do as well and they quickly assert their mutual property rights. ^_^

Work is getting heavy so Taneda steps up and asks to be relied upon and, unusually for her, Yamanaka lets herself lean on her lover. So when she gets news that her mother is in the hospital, she can just run off.  Yamanaka is forced to confront her complicated feelings about her family’s relationship to her and her own feelings about being out to them.

Yamanaka discovers a number of truths that many of us discover as we age – things that drove rifts between us and our families when we were younger become not less urgent, but less complicated, as we get older. Yamanaka’s mother signals acceptance and Yamanaka is left thinking that she might actually be able to introduce her lover to her family…something she had clearly given up on.

What began as two people who couldn;t be less suited to one another is now clearly a couple with their own vibe that suits them very well.

Ratings:

Art – 8
Characters – 9
Story – 8
Lesbian – 10

Overall – 9

I’m always a huge fan of Takemiya-sensei’s work and this story especially hits the spot for me  – adult women teasing each other and the people around them, those complicated expressions she draws so well, and real life concerns of being out and even being “lesbian enough” to be accepted in queer circles. Taneda and Yamanak may have an absurd relationship, but it’s one I enjoyed watching develop.

Posted in Yuri Manga | 4 Comments »


Always Human by Ari North

June 29th, 2020

Some years back, I received an email about a comic on Webtoons that I might find interesting. And indeed, when I had a chance to check out Always Human, by Ari North, I did indeed find it interesting. I originally reviewed the webcomic in 2017.

Always Human is about Sunati and Austen, two young women who meet, fall in love and have to make the kinds of decisions all young people developing their careers and lives have to make. In a future where people’s appearance can be changed with “mods,” Austen is unable to use mods, and is unwilling to be seen as special or have her condition seen as the sum of who she is. This is a story that folks with many kinds of conditions can relate to.

Both Austen and Sunati have obstacles to overcome in their own lives, and in their relationship, but we’re rooting for them all the way. Set in a future when society does not appear to be one of those obstacles, the story lets us settle in and just enjoy the human aspect.

What really captures the reader instantly is the vibrant color palette North uses, and how the color is more than just background or tone. Tied into Sunati’s look, the color scheme adds as much depth of meaning to scenes as the words and shapes used do….something we’re used to seeing in fine art, not comic art.

When I heard it was to be made into a book, I wondered how it was going to look, since Webtoons is so specifically designed for phone consumption, with vertical format. I’m ecstatic to tell you that here in 2020, Always Human has been made into an absolutely magnificent book. North has reworked the layout completely, so the reader can be transported wholly into the story without having to adjust for the vertical layout on the print page. I love the extra touch of the hardcover book being the cover design for the webcomic underneath the dust jacket. Every detail is so well thought out.

I can only imagine how arduous a process reworking the layout must have been, so my kudos to artist North, editor Rachel Gluckstern, Rob Wall on layout  and all the folks at Little Bee, who made this a beautiful, book, a seamless reading experience and a charming story.

I picked up the hardcover and will be very glad to have this visually rich book on my shelves.

Ratings:

Art – 10
Characters – 10
Story – 10
LGBTQ – 10
Service -1 on principle only

Overall – 10

Always Human is a radiant story of love, of life and of a hopeful future.

Posted in LGBTQ, Western Comic/Comix, Yuri Webcomics | 8 Comments »


Steven Universe the Movie and Steven Universe Future

June 28th, 2020

2013 seems a lifetime ago now, doesn’t it? Steven Universe was created in a whole different era, practically. The series’ message of hope and growth and love has resonated widely…possibly even more so, as our future turned less hopeful and more dystopic. I’ve reviewed all of the “seasons” as they came out on Amazon Prime, so the numbering is vastly different than the seasons on disk or by CN’s reckoning.

If you aren’t familiar with the show or why I think it’s worth watching, here are my previous reviews:
Season 1 | Season 2 | Season 3 | Season 4 | Season 5 | Season 6 | Season 7

Steven Universe is ultimately a story about personal growth, and it includes arcs about love and acceptance, about parenting, about working through dysfunctional family dynamic and toxic and abusive relationships. It includes a queer wedding and some very catchy music.

In a year, we went from a government that finally accepted our relationship, and was working towards broader inclusivity, to a nightmare dystopia. In 2016, my wife and I started to watch an episode or two every night before bed, as a kind of anti-anxiety medicine. Not gonna lie…it worked. We still do “take” two episodes most nights. We reach the end, then start over.

Mild spoilers and major links to music videos to follow. ^_^

In Steven Universe the Movie, Steven and the Gems have a similar experience. The future looks very bright for them and the possibilities are endless…until yet another relic from Pink Diamond’s past pops up and takes revenge for how she was treated. It is, maybe, a little too on the money for those of us in 2020, thinking back with nostalgia, but it’s not nostalgia that saves them, it’s acknowledging the sins of the past, and repairing the hurt, so everyone can grow. Still, way too close for comfort, but critically important to remember.

The music in this movie is both incredibly catchy, ridiculously sticky and in several cases, deeply painful. What made this movie worth watching is that once again, we are reminded that Steven Universe was never a story about a magical boy fighting monsters, it was always a story about personal growth. Watching the Gems recalling who they had been and how they became who they are, was masterfully done. With a musical bonus. The fusion Opal was voiced by Aimee Mann (whose hit song as ‘Til Tuesday, Voices Carry I remember playing – and watching on MTV – on a loop as a teen). I was delighted that she and her musical partner, Ted Leo, get a powerful song during a climactic scene here.

One of the overall themes of Steven Universe as a series has been that choices have consequences…and if you’re not dealing with the consequences of your choices…then someone else is.

The end of the movie is the most spectacular Takarazuka reference. We literally screamed our lungs out when we saw it the first time. Just…..wowowowow, holy crow wow.

 

Steven Universe Future is about what happens when you keep pushing off the consequences of your decisions.

The entire season is focused on Steven coming to grips with a future that he helped build, but which may not actually include him. Like every hero returning from their journey to the underworld, he’s paid a price and like all the heroes before him, that price is normality. Or…is it? Sure Frodo couldn’t stay in Hobbiton, but…he was oozing out of that place long before he left. We all do. I liked the community I grew up in, but I’ve never wanted to return. Part of growing up in the USA has traditionally been leaving your home behind. And just because you’ve returned from the heroes journey doesn’t have to mean you’re done.  Maybe journeying is what you’ll always be doing, and maybe a hero could make an amazing psychopomp because they’ve been there and done that.

Future has one last Utena reference for us and it’s a doozy, so get your roses out and get ready to duel. ^_^ (Also a side-eye to Sailor Moon.)

We cannot fix the past by ignoring it. We can only admit the truth, be the best possible people we are now and allow people to find their own way forward. It’s not an idealist vision of the future, it’s a realist’s vision. The future may or may not look bright, but we’ve still got to put the work in, no matter what.

Once more I want to thank Rebecca Sugar and all the folks on the SU team, with my eternal gratitude for the amazing writing, animation, music and voice acting. I am endlessly surprised by this series, no matter how many times I watch it. And I’ve watched it a lot of times.

Ratings:

Overall – 10

Steven Universe has given us a process by which we may move forward towards the future. It’s up to us to build the future we want.

Posted in Steven Universe, Western Cartoons | No Comments »


Yuri Network News – (百合ネットワークニュース) – June 27, 2020

June 27th, 2020

Yuri Manga

Kodansha added a new Yuri license this spring with Takeoka Hazuki’s Kyou, Koshiba Aoi ni Aetara (今日、小柴葵に会えたら), as Chasing After Aoi Koshiba. I’ve reviewed Volume 1, and have Volume 2 on tap.

We have a fine selection of new Yuri manga on the Yuricon Store!

The final volume of the series, Sailor Moon Eternal Edition, Volume 10, brings the Sailor Stars arc and the series to a conclusion.

Bloom Into You, Volume 8, out from Seven Seas is up for pre-order, headed for an August release in print.

Nettaigyo ha Yuki ni Kogareru, Volume 7 (熱帯魚は雪に焦がれる) just hit shelves in Japan. You can read this series in English as A Tropical Fish Yearns for Snow from Viz Media.

Mayu, Matou, Volume 3 ( 繭、纏う) is also out in Japan, The first two volumes are available in English as Cocoon, Entwined put out by Yen Press.

 

But the most exciting new item on the Store (IMHO, obvs.) is the addition of an anthology from Yuri Hime Comics, via YNN Senior correspondent, Sean G, Otome Game no Hametsu Flag Shikanai Akuyaku Tenseishite Shimmata…GIRLS PATCH (乙女ゲームの破滅フラグしかない悪役令嬢に転生してしまった… GIRLS PATCH). Yes, My Next Life As a Villainess has an official Yuri anthology collection. ^_^

Comic Yuri Hime, August 2020 hit shelves in Japan this month, with the manga serialization for the LN Seven Seas licensed as I Fell In Love With the Villainess.

Hana ni Arashi, Volume 4 is up on the Store. I’m a tad behind on this, but we’re getting there.

Ohsawa Yayoi’s Hello Melancholic, Volume 2 (ハロー、メランコリック!) hit shelves this month!

A new apocalyptic Yuri love comedy (because why not?) has begun online at GANMA!, Tatoe Sekai Owattemo, Watashi ha Kanojo wo Erabanai, (たとえ世界が終わっても、私は彼女を選ばない), sample chapter in Japanese is available for your reading pleasure.

Comic Natalie reports that Yoshida Makoto has a new sci-fi Yuri series beginning in Harta Magazine, called Laika no Hoshi (ライカの星).

 

Yuri Studio

After a successful Yuri Panel and input from Okazu Patrons and friends, I’m pleased to announce Yuri Studio is reborn once again.

Originally begun in 2003 as a place where we’d collect the Yuri AMVs from our events, then share those and other fun Yuri AMVs, Yuri Studios had become moribund as music rights holders started cracking down on AMVs. In the late 2010’s, I’d been using it to upload my Patreon annual drive videos, lectures and the like. Well, we’re about to relaunch with Yuri Studio 3.0! I’ll be making videos covering Yuri history, frequently asked questions and other topics. I’ve already had to learn three new skills to get the teaser done, so…tell me you are very impressed.  (I don’t care if you are, really, just tell me you are. ^_^)

 

 

Yuri Event

I’m not sure how they’ll handle this, but Girls Love Fest 30 is on for August 16, back at the Pio building in Kamata in the Tokyo Metropolitan area.

 

Other News

Carlos Vergara’s eternal festival of love and justice, starring Filipina transexual superheroine Zsa Zsa Zaturnnah was being pitched as an animation…and I’ve found the trailer for you to enjoy. ^_^ The Philippines Cultural Center shared a video of the stage production for Pride Month. No subtitles, but if you know the story, it’s easy to follow. Zsa Zsa Zaturnnal Ze Musikal.

To wrap up, here is a free illustration by Hayate x Blade creator Hayashiya Shizuru-sensei, on Melonbooks. If you have an account you can “buy” Lily Festival image for free. ^_^

 

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! Special thanks to Okazu Patrons for being an important part of the Okazu family. I couldn’t do it without you!

 

Posted in Yuri Network News | 6 Comments »


Adachi and Shimamura, Volume 1

June 25th, 2020

Adachi and Shimamura, Volume 1 is a brilliant example of excellent translation and adaptation. Molly Lee and Nibedita Sen deserve an award for giving the characters of this novel depth and voice. Everyone who worked on this book did a very excellent job.

And there is where my praise for this light novel ends. In 2013, I picked up the first book of this series and reviewed it here on Okazu. In actual fact, I had also gotten myself the second book of the series, which sat here for literal years while I debated reading it. I never did. This was just about the time the series was picking up popularity in Yuri circles in Japan. But, when I finished read it, I summed the whole thing up thusly, “The entire book had the feel of something written about an emotion by someone who was wholly, vastly unfamiliar with it. ”

My opinion of the author’s work did not change very much when I read several other books by them that were neither good nor bad, but just had that same sense of “a thing I read.” Then I encountered Shoujo Mousouchuu, which had some good features. Then came another book that was forgettable. So when Hitoma Iruma was named the writer for the Regarding Saeki Sayaka series, I was not overwhelmed at the choice. Their work, in my opinion, was inconsistent. In the end the Sayaka novels were very good, so I’m glad about that. The author has clearly leveled up significantly in the last decade.

But here we are, back at the beginning with Adachi and Shimamura and I am again puzzled by this novel. The art and words do not match at all. Shimamura, we are told repeatedly, has highlights in her hair which are wholly absent, but are just rendered as light brown hair. By the end of the book I can barely figure out which of the two blob-faced girls is which, since the hair and behaviors do not match. Neither wears the makeup that is mentioned. Both of them have personalities that make them hard to care about, although I imagine a lot of readers skip “care about” and go straight for “identify with.” As for them being “bad girls,” they are about as bad as an afternoon nap. Asamiya Saki or Kuraku Asuka wouldn’t give them the time of day.

And still, the alien, the cheongsam, the bowling all remain unexplained. I have in the past seven years been told that the series gets better as one reads and the alien is from another series, neither of which changes my opinion because that is not how books work. A writer tells a story that a reader reads. If the reader is required to know a thing, the writer must tell them because that is how stories work. I should not need Internet research to understand an entire plot point because she was a relic from some other series. Nor are books like a job, I shouldn’t need seniority to understand what I m reading. If a reader doesn’t find Book 1 entertaining, they are not going to keep reading because the series will eventually “get better.” I do wonder, though, if the story gets better.

This will not stop some of you from being very angry at my review from 7 years ago…or today’s review. Feel free. We don’t have to agree. That said, I stand by my original review. Neither Adachi nor Shimamura are particularly compelling characters by themselves and they clearly both have communication issues. The story, one hopes, will be them getting more comfortable over time with each other, with themselves and, presumably, with the alien. 

What I can be assured of, is that the team at Seven Seas will do an absolutely superlative job of bringing these two characters to life in English.

Ratings:

Story – 4
Characters – 4
Art – 4
Service – 3 More than I felt it needed
Yuri – 5
Adaptation – 10

Overall – 5

My original simile for this story was “Adachi to Shimamura is like a trifle made from chocolate, limes and mayonnaise, with a red bean filling. What might have otherwise been a pleasant, if sugary, Yuri narrative is made unpalatable by combining infinite inconsequentials with utterly meaningless distractions.”

You’re most welcome to disagree. ^_^

Thank you to Seven Seas for the review copy!

Posted in Light Novel | 7 Comments »