Girl’s Kingdom, Volume 3

June 14th, 2021

Girls Kingdom, Volume 3 is a remarkable book. I am not lying to you about this. You will absolutely agree with me when you read it that it was, indeed, remarkable.

We pick up Volume 3 after Misaki, our normal girl in an abnormal and absurd environment, has undergone a series of trials that has pushed her skills as a detective and diplomat to their limits and, in the end, increased her skill points as maid to the Vice-Chairman of the Amanotsuka Academy, Amanotsuka Himeko.

Please do not worry too much that her being a detective and diplomat making her a better maid makes basically no sense. The entire premise of this series and the school it exists within, makes no sense. It doesn’t matter, however, because this book is so remarkable that nothing, not even semi-ootsey-cutesy sexy bathing scenes, sexual harassment by girls on other girls that is just as absurd and offensive as one might expect, idiotic plot complications, and the entire premise of the school setting, will change the fact that this book is remarkable.

There is no question, either, that Misaki makes this book work. This despite her showing up to a school that has an endlessly long list of written rules and even longer list of unwritten ones, none of which with she’s bothered familiarizing herself, despite the fact that she is the highly visible maid to the Vice-Chairman of Amanotsuka Academy, Amanotsuka Himeko. Entirely unremarkable, the relationship between Misaki and Himeko is actually quite sweet and I find myself rooting for them as a couple, even though it’s a stupid idea given the setup of the story. The first scenario leapfrogs pleasantly through the absurdities of this set-up for a genuinely human moment.

Ratings:

Art – 8 I’m losing my mind, I think, because the Societal Arts uniform is starting to appeal
Story – 7 Blows Volume 1 and Volume 2 out of the water on “What did I just read?”
Characters – 8 Likeable and loopy
Service – 7 Underwear, baths, groping are endlessly exhausting
Yuri – 4.25 Misaki admits to finding Himeko’s body appealing

Overall – 7

Volume 4 is in process now, with an August release date and oh boy, I just can’t wait to find out which Salon the new girl joins! Yes, I am kidding. I couldn’t care less. ^_^

Amanotsuka Academy, you see,
is for young women both rich and lovely
With salons on the line
for those the most divine
Won’t you please join them for tea?

Thanks very much to J-Novel Club for the review copy. ^_^

Posted in Light Novel | 5 Comments »


Meisou Senshi – Nagata Kabi (迷走戦士・永田カビ)

June 13th, 2021

In my recent conversation on with the folks at Manga Mavericks about My Alcoholic Escape From Reality (a conversation that will go up on their Patreon later this month) we talked a little bit about this book as well. In the comments on Nagata Kabi’s TCAF spotlight, some lovely person expressed a wish that the author’s next book is about her hugging kittens. Well…it is definitely not that. 

Having given herself recognition that her comic essays are a valid form of artistic expression, Nagata-sensei has once again turned the spotlight on herself. In Meisou Senshi – Nagata Kabi (迷走戦士・永田カビ), she  tackles some of the things we might have been asking all along about her relationship with her gender and sexuality…and how that, and her physical and mental health,  affect and are affected by that relationship.

This is not an easy book to read. If anything, it open up whole new areas of discomfort. Content Warning: this book deals with sexual assault as a child. But, as we make our way through this in her wake, we can see (more clearly than we can with ourselves) how pieces of a life make up a whole. Her discussion of how  insurmountable was the effort of filling out the questions on a dating app, really struck home with me in regards to something wholly unrelated to dating.

Once again we see the power of a comic essay. This book contains increasingly intimate knowledge of her past, and tantalizing tidbits of her present, but we know we will never know the actual person through these.  These chapters are the comic equivalent of Van Gogh’s self-portraits….a visual record of her over time looking at a mirror and drawing what she sees. Some days the face that looks back at her is more haunted than others…sometimes it is almost happy. This records allows her to explore why that might be…and expose what the roots of that haunted look is.

I am curious, for reasons that will become immediately apparent when you read this book, what her parents thought of it. Nagata-sensei’s feelings about how she hurt her family in her initial volumes are made plain in later volumes and in her TCAF interview. This volume wasn’t going to make for light dinner table conversation and yet, I got the feeling that she and her family may have struck a bargain over this and while it may not be fun, they won’t be blindsided again.

Seven Seas has announced the license of this book as My Wandering Warrior Existence, which has a projected release date in English of March 2022. If you don’t want to wait, you can read this online in Japanese on Web Action. 

Yet again, I will not be rating this book, for reasons that will become apparent when you read it.

It is compelling.

Next up, we return to the beginning, with her plumbing the depth of her relationship with food, in Meisou Senshi・Nagata Kabi Gourmet De GO!  (迷走戦士・永田カビ グルメでGO！) the first chapter of which available on Web Action.

Posted in Comic Essay, LGBTQ, Nagata Kabi | 4 Comments »


Yuri Network News – (百合ネットワークニュース) – June 12, 2021

June 12th, 2021

Yuri Manga

Tamifull’s How Do We Relationship?, Volume 3 hit US shelves this week. Now we can talk.

Even Though We’re Adults, Volume 2 by Takako Shimura is hitting bookstores this week.

 

We have a few new items on the Yuricon Store!

Polarity Toumeiki (ポラリティ透明期) is a scifi story in which homosexuality is punishable by “re-education.” Good timing for Pride month, there Erica. /eyeroll/

Ienai Himitsu no Aishikata, Volume 1 (いえない秘密の愛し方) Kazuo, a teacher, learns that her favorite doujinshi artist is one of her students.

Doukyuusei no Oshi Sakka ni Yuri Mousou ga Bareta Kekka, Volume 1 (同級生の推し作家に百合妄想がバレた結果) is about a girl who finds her classmate is her favorite Yuri author.

The folks at Manga Mavericks have posted our chat about My Alcoholic Escape From Reality, by Nagata Kabi. It was a great conversation. I love talking to Lum and Colton about stuff.

A new collection of stories about Yuri couples by Akiyama Enma, Sayonara ja ne yo, Baka (さよならじゃねーよ、ばか).

Anemone wa Netsu wo Obiru (アネモネは熱を帯びる) about two girls whose lives are entwined, but in ways one of them does not remember.

And last from Comic Natalie this week, Onna-doushi to ka ariena idesho to Iiharu Onna no ko wo, Hyaku-kakan de Tetteiteki ni Otosu Yuri no Ohanashi, Volume 1 (女同士とかありえないでしょと言い張る女の子を、百日間で徹底的に落とす百合のお話) is a comedy about a girl who is so taken with a classmate that she wants to “buy” her for a day in order to see if relationships between girls can exist.

 

Help us give our writers a raise and to support Yuri creators –
become an Okazu Patron today!

 

Yuri Anime

Kathleeen Townsend has written The Pride and Power of Revolutionary Girl Utena for Funimation’s blog as part of their Pride month series.

RetroCrush has added Princess Knight to their line-up, so if you haven’t ever had the chance to see the original anime Girl Prince Sapphire, definitely give that a watch! ANN’s Rafael Antonia Pineda has the details on this.

YNN Correspondent David M wants you to know you can stream Princess Principal Crown Handler on HIDIVE.

 

Yuri Event

Flamecon is back in NYC, on August 21-22 as a virtual event.

Lilyka has a new manga event coming up – manga artist Mintaro is doing a live event on June 25. For $5, you can see a Yuri artist do a live drawing, ask them questions and be there for a special Yuri announcement!

 

Yuri Doujinshi

While we’re talking Lilyka, they’ve released Whisper, My Button by EMODELAS. 

 

Yuri Visual Novel

MangaGamer has licensed Distant Memoraĵo: The Expression Amrilato, the continuation of Sukerasparo’s Esperanto-teaching Yuri VN.

 

Other News

Michael Nava has started a lovely series, Creating a Literary Culture: A Short, Selective, and Incomplete History of LGBT Publishing, Part I for the LA Review of Books.

I missed this a while back. Manga Planet has licensed Kia Asamiya’s Silent Moebius.  While it’s not Yuri, there’s some very kick ass adult women.

Jennifer Sherman over at ANN has the details on the new Sailor Moon Musical, in which they are covering Luna’s love story, Kaguya-hime.

 

Become a YNN Correspondent:  Contact Us with any Yuri-related news you want to share and be part of the Yuri Network. ^_^

Thanks to our Okazu Patrons who make the YNN weekly report possible! Support us on Patreon to help us give Guest Reviewers a raise and to help us support Yuri creators!

 

 

 

Posted in Yuri Network News | 4 Comments »


Chasing After Aoi Koshiba, Volume 1

June 11th, 2021

Sahoko shows up at a reunion for her high school class. As she greets people she hasn’t seen in a while, she’s on the look out for someone else who is not there. and isn’t expected to attend. Adult Sahoko casts her mind back to her school days, when she was always looking out for the other girl…

In school, Sahoko is popular. She wants to be popular. It’s pretty much the most important thing to her. So her own uncomfortable obsession with Aoi Koshiba really annoys her. Koshiba’s athletic and popular, but doesn’t care at all about anything that passes for important in high school. She quits her clubs and team and heads home every day. Sahoko cannot put her finger on why it’s important to her, but suddenly becoming Aoi’s friend seems…critical. And when she learns Aoi’s secret, it’s suddenly become more important than anything, even her other friends.

Back in the present, Sahoko’s school friend Anna wistfully proposes that maybe it would be best if Aoi never comes.

So….there’s some very good things in this story and some not good things, and mostly I think the not-good things are stuff that was put in before the story kind of gelled. On the good side, I love Fly’s art generally and it was that art that got me to pick this book up in the first place, as you may remember from my review of Volume 1 in Japanese. Thumbs up to the Kodansha team for a good looking volume of manga, as well.

Sahoko awkwardly chasing after Aoi wasn’t bad, but their “accidental kiss” was inexcusably tropey. In Volume 1, it’s almost impossible for me to actually like Sahoko, or no, like isn’t the right word…sympathize, or empathize maybe is closer.  Nor are we given much to work with for Aoi, until her entire story is dumped on us in like 4 pages. So this whole volume left me a bit cold when I first read it, and I haven’t read past Volume 2 in Japanese,but…

…re-reading this made me think I want to pick up Volume 3 in Japanese now, when it comes out this summer. Seems like something to get on Bookwalker and keep in my pocket. (Although re-reading my V2 review, I know why it dropped down on my to-read list.) I keep foolishly wanting stories about high school reunions to be about the present…not the past. As Volume 2 is now out in English, you can read it for yourself, then get back to me and let me know what you think!

Ratings:

Art – 9
Story – 7
Characters – 7
Service – 2 some random underwear for no reason
Yuri – 6

Overall – 7

And now I’ll just wait get V3 and see if it goes where I hope it might, or it just circles the giant drain of lost high school loves. ^_^

Posted in English Manga, Yuri Manga | 1 Comment »


Nettaigyo ha Yuki ni Kogareru, Volume 8 (熱帯魚は雪に焦がれる)

June 10th, 2021

As we reach Nettaigyo ha Yuki ni Kogareru, Volume 8 (熱帯魚は雪に焦がれる), we’ve hit what I tend to call the “storm before the calm.” Summer is winding down and Koyuki and Konatsu haven’t really been able to get any time to be together. When Kaede shows up at Koyuki’s house as part of her job, a sudden opportunity appears! Konatsu’s been down, since her father left and with the prospect of losing Koyuki. Koyuki’s been breaking out of her shell, but still doesn’t quite have the confidence she needs.

After a bunch of hits and misses, Koyuki and Konatsu finally get to talk a little. They still don’t quite know what to think about each other, but it’s obvious, at last, that they understand that each of them thinks the other one is important to them. And when I say they are flailing –  the plot of the series finale is “What do I call you?”  I mean that it’s super obvious to me that they are more than mere friends, I don’t know what conclusion they plan on coming to.

As they flail a bit, we watch Fuyuki flailing himself. It’s pretty obvious to everyone that he likes Kaede, but he’s not quite there yet.

For a book in which very little happens, it seemed to all go by so quickly. It felt exactly like those final weeks of summer after camp or whatever, before school,  when you had a short time to just do kid things.

And just as suddenly as it was in real life, the world comes back, and we see Koyuki overwhelmed in the big city and at her limit. What will become of her and Konatsu, what are they to each other? Tune into Volume 9, the final volume of the series to find out when it hits Japanese bookshelves at the end of this month!

Ratings:

Art – 8
Story – 7
Characters – 8
Service – 0 not really
Yuri – 3

Overall – 7

Volume 7 of A Tropical Fish Yearns for Snow is out now and Volume 8 will head your way at the end of this year.

Posted in Yuri Manga | 1 Comment »