Shinyaku Ribon no Kishi, Volume 1 (新約・リボンの騎士)

June 11th, 2020

Today’s review is in part thanks to the constant evangelizing of Raybon No Kishi on Twitter, who alerted me to some interesting plot complications in this recent reworking of the story of Sapphire, the Girl Prince. Shinyaku Ribon no Kishi, Volume 1 (新約・リボンの騎士) is…well…it’s kind of interesting.  Written and drawn by Bureido (the pen-name for a three-person team of Miyamoto Loba,  Hamamura Toshiki, and Muramasa Mikado (many thanks to Hamamura-sensei for the correction_ whose work otherwise seems to be pedestrian and pornish – it’s a not-terrible homage to the iconic character created by Tezuka Osamu.

The story follows the outline of Princess Knight‘s origin, with some interesting changes. In Silverland, the rule of the Kingdom is entailed and can only be passed on to male heirs, so Sapphire reluctantly pretends to be the dashing Prince. It does not make Sapphire happy at all to do so. Upon saving a young woman, Sapphire takes the girl’s beribboned hat as a reward and wears it, gaining the moniker “The Ribbon Knight.” Really, Sapphire just liked the pretty hat.

Duke Lester wishes to dethrone Sapphire and doesn’t really care how he does it. He hires Willema, an assassin, to either prove Sapphire is a girl or to kill the Prince if he is a boy. Instead…Willema and Sapphire find themselves attracted to one another.  After she and Willema sleep together, Sapphire rides to confront Lester, while Willema rides off to talk to her mother, with tragic consequences.

Lester immediately begins working on a new plan…a weapon to destroy Silverland! And there will be pirates, as once might expect, if one has read the original.

As you can see, while basic plot idea is the same, pretty much everything else is different. Sapphire definitely does not like pretending to be a boy…and in this story she is pretending, there is no dual heart or a fairy who gave it to her. It is still Sapphire’s nature to be princely and she certainly is dashing, but she’d really rather not have to lie about her sex or gender.

This iteration has a fair amount of nipple-less nudity and the principal women are busty, which seems to be the style Bureido prefers. But even with that, it doesn’t feel too skanky. Honestly, this volume held up pretty well for a more modern retelling. What it loses in Disneyfied innocence, it gains in Yuri. ^_^ I’m not gonna lie, I wouldn’t mind watch this Sapphire wreck Lester’s stupid face.

Ratings:

Art – 8
Story – 8
Characters – 8
Service – 6
Yuri – 8

I mean, I get it, Willema’s doomed, and no Sapphire isn’t going to be living happily ever after as a boyish girl, but I’m actually still interested to see what happens in Volume 2, so that’s good. ^_^

Posted in Ribon no Kishi / Princess Knight, Yuri Manga | 3 Comments »


Teiji ni Ageretara, Volume 3 (定時にあがれたら)

June 10th, 2020

Romance is hard, especially when  you aren’t really sure if she feels as intensely about you as you do about her. Or so Kayoko believes. To make things worse, when she’s thinking she’s lost her love, an old friend whom Kayoko really cares about offers to be her girlfriend. She has to refuse.

Relationships are difficult enough, but having to deal with all your old classmates talking about getting married when you don’t feel wholly comfortable sharing your life with them, is almost intolerable. Or so Kaori thinks.

In Inui Ayu’s Teiji ni Ageretara, Volume 3 (定時にあがれたら), Kayoko struggles with unwarranted jealousy, while Kaori trying to figure out what she really wants from her life. In the end, they find one another and are able to find comfort and joy in one another’s arms.

Generally speaking, I find jealousy arcs in media to be superficial and sadly, this particular arc was even thinner than usual. Kaori was being her usual nice self to coworkers, which throws Kayoko into a tizzy. I know that this exists in the real world, but come on, they have to talk to other people sometimes. Nonetheless, I liked that Kayoko is offered an alternative choice and has to think about it. In order to say no to her friend, Kayoko must come to grips with what – and whom – she wants.

Contrarily, I usually find “being annoyed at friends getting married” arcs wholly sympathetic, but Kayori’s reticence to tell them truth (which is entirely my issue, not hers) and her lack of awareness about Kayoko’s state of mind (which was entirely her issue, not mine, ^_^) was grating on me. I was very glad that they are given time to talk things through before a gentle reconciliation, if you can even call it that.

Ratings:

Art – 7 Still a little soppy
Story – 7 Nice, quite, mostly relatable
Characters – 7 Same
Service – 0
Yuri – 7 Take a step back, then forward

Overall – 7

People’s lives together are not always high drama and this series really highlights the internal conflicts, the smalls highs and lows of a couple in love.

Posted in Yuri Manga | 1 Comment »


She-Ra and the Princesses of Power, Final Season

June 8th, 2020

It seems a million years ago, when She-Ra and the Princesses of the Power began, but no. ^_^

Through 5 seasons on Netflix, we’ve watch Adora and her friends form an alliance with the other Princesses of Etheria to combat the evil Horde, which sounds exactly like what one might have expected of a series called She-Ra and the Princesses of Power…but there was so much more than that baked into the story.

Teamwork and Leadership. Obviously, we expect that from a kid’s cartoon, even now…maybe especially now, after decades of anime that focuses on the power of many over one. This cartoon delves into how hard it is to keep a team working, how a good team leader really needs to understand the skills their team members bring to the plate and find a way to utilize them. Hordak isn’t actually a bad leader…especially Hordak Prime, who fully understood that the way to build a team is to make people feel included.

Trauma. That Hordak’s rule was not so much a team as a cult made it pretty clear that there is a fine line for cults of personality/celebrity, and it takes some strength to break free. For my money, Wrong Hordak (along with Peridot and Lapis) is some of the best writing in the last few years – not everyone joins the resistance for the right reasons and even if they do, they sometimes need to work through a lot for a long time. Trauma is real and healing is ongoing. You just know Wrong Hordak will wake up screaming some nights and Catra will have a hard time every once in a while. Mara’s story is a story of trauma. Bereavement is a repeated theme which makes a lot of sense for a series centered around a war.

Betrayal. Scorpia’s whole story is one of betrayal. Her grandfather capitulated to the Horde, and betrayed their family. Catra treated Scorpia with contempt and left her behind. Entrapta was betrayed – she thought – by the Princesses, and she betrayed Wrong Hordak. Adora was betrayed by Lighthope, Glimmer felt jealousy and betrayed by Bow…. and Bow was unable to address his fear of betraying his fathers. And so on.

Representation. I commented on Twitter that, in the post She-Ra and Steven Universe world (for which I still owe you a wrap up review,) all children’s cartoons are going to have to just be amazing. Never again can a network argue with a straight face that representation “doesn’t sell.”Along with racial diversity in characters, there was age, and sexuality and gender diversity, varying body types and sizes. Which is not to say it was perfect. Upon reflection, we can’t think of a disabled character in She-Ra. (Yes, I know that other cartoons have some…I’m reviewing this cartoon right now. If I’ve forgotten someone in this cartoon, please do jump in. I’ll be glad to be wrong. ^_^)

In terms of queer representation, the creative team pulled out the stops. Netossa and Spinerella are already an established couple when we meet them and they are really cute about it. Bow’s dads are a dignified middl-aged couple, as well. Double Trouble is notably non-binary, voiced by non-binary voice actor Jacob Tobia. And of course, there’s Catra and Adora’s 5-season long gavotte around their feelings.

And in all this, characters deal with many other emotional states, both positive and negative. When I wrote my initial review, I found some of the Princesses annoying…as we were lead to. As their stories unfolded, their characters filled out and developed into some great characters.  Some of these story lines work well, others are occasionally  facile, but generally it had some remarkable scenes. Excellent characters who were complex and nuanced, rather than bad OR good. Overall a very good series.

My only – really only – complaint about the series is the shadows that were drawn across their faces. It often looked as if they were wearing a mask. It reminded me very much of the band of light in the characters’ hair in Vision of Escaflowne, which I also found horribly distracting. I shouldn’t be seeing one artistic quirk constantly in every scene to the point of not being able to not notice it.

Ratings:

Art – 7 That face thing is a point off
Story – 8 Twisty and good, avoiding childish morality
Characters – 9 Full developed, often funny
Service – 1 I mean, everyone looks good dressed up, but that dress on Scorpia and the untied tie on Catra were on point. ^_^
LGBTQ – “perfect world” 10, in which people just are and that’s not the issue ever

Overall – 9

I do wish, though, that there had been a post-series Princess Prom episode. ^_^

 

Posted in LGBTQ, Western Cartoons | 18 Comments »


Yuri Network News – (百合ネットワークニュース) – June 6, 2020

June 6th, 2020

Hello and welcome to this week’s Yuri Network News Report. I want to start with some news from within our community. Please take a look at this logo for YNN. The artist behind it is Mari Kurisato, a queer, indigenous artist, writer and activist…and Yuri lover. She’s one of the folks we support on Patreon.  She needs some help. Her computer is dying and lucky her, she’s here in the US where we don’t have a reasonable healthcare system. If you have even $5 to toss her way, you’ll help get her out of a hole of medical debt and computer problems. I know we’re all tapped out. I know we’re all being asked to give every second. But there are folks who really need help and Mari is one of us. I’m not asking you to give up money you need. But if you have the money for a couple of Ventis at Starbucks, maybe give one up for her. Thank you.

Yuri Manga

Have a bunch of stuff today that I’m not entirely sure will end up on the Yuricon Store or not, but you should know about!

Tadokoro-san (田所さん) is a school life story by TATSUBON, that looks nice. If you want to check out a few pages or take a look at the doujinshi that it sprang from, Lilyka has you covered. ^_^

Ichinjinsha has another adult drunk Yuri anthology, Alcohol Yuri Anthology Strong! (アルコール百合アンソロジー・ストロング! ) I have found this current series of Ichijinsha anthologies to be lackluster, YMMV of course.

Support Yuri News, Reviews and Interviews – Become an Okazu Patron!

Today on the Yuricon Store!

Goodbye , My Rose Garden Volume 2 is on the way in print and on Kindle next month from Seven Seas.

I’m in Love With the Villainess, Volume 1 will be available in in print in November and on Kindle in September.
 
Éclair Bleue: A Girls’ Love Anthology That Resonates in Your Heart has arrived on my doorstep and will arrive on yours in two weeks. ^_^ The Kindle edition of Éclair Rouge is already up on Amazon for a September release.

This seems a good time to remind you that most, if not every, Yuri book coming out in English, is also available digitally on Kindle and Bookwalker  – and often sooner than the print. So if you, like me, are neck deep in books, this is great way to keep supporting and reading Yuri manga that may not actually be something you want to keep.

I also want to note that, while I am promoting Kindle and Bookwalker, I am aware that many of these titles are also available on Nook. Barnes & Noble recently announced that they are stopping support for their Nook app, rendering the ecosystem for Nook readership back down to people who own a physical Nook. And, you might guess, I don’t have a referral account with B&N, since they have a history of resisting both manga and y’know, readers, being able to access their digital offerings. So if you have a Nook, do check for those titles, I’m just not linking to them.

 

Queer Media Reference Tools

So let’s say you’re listening to me at a panel and I say, “read queer comics, too, not just manga,” and you think, “But, where do I go to learn what queer comics there are and what they are about?” Start with the Queer Comic Database. Via YNN Correspondent, Victoria R, this was begun as a project out of University of Washington and has plenty of useful filters. You can find online comics, print, even free comics and yes, they take suggestions!

The Complete Yuri Movie Guide (「百合映画」完全ガイド) definitely looks like something…this Japanese-language book says it looks at 300 “Yuri” movies and asks questions like “How did this movie describe women?” Sadly, it is not shipping to my location, so if you get a copy hit me up and write a review for us.

 

Other News

A number of manga and manga studies books have been nominated for an Eisner Award this year, including Kabi Nagata’s My Solo Exchange Diary. Jennifer Sherman does the breakdown on ANN.

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 essential part of the team!

Posted in Yuri Network News | 9 Comments »


Yuri Shinjyu ~ Nekomedō Kokoro Tan (百合心中~猫目堂ココロ譚)

June 5th, 2020

Last month, as I dug through Bruce’s collection for books to pack into Lucky Boxes, I found a book that I remembered reading, but had never reviewed.

One of the early names among Yuri Hime contributors was Shinonome Mizuo. I’ve review a number of their titles here. Especially notable among them was the ongoing, media-hopping tale Hatsukoi Shimai, which finally wrapped up in one of the most satisfying Drama CDs I’d ever listened to. But shortly after, Shinonime-sensei left Yuri Hime (or was left ) and I haven’t heard the name in a while. In actual fact, Shinonome-sensei is still creating – their current work, Hakoniwa Salome (箱庭のサロメ) is being serialized on Amazon JP Kindle. Sadly it is not available on Global Bookwalker, so I haven’t read it. Nor is today’s manga available on Global Bookwalker, although Hatsukoi Shimai is. So why am I reviewing it? In part, because why not? ^_^

Yuri Shinjyu ~ Nekomedou Kokoro Tan (百合心中~猫目堂ココロ譚) is a collection of short stories that ran in Yuri Hime, Comic Yuri Hime‘s predecessor, each featuring a couple who has not managed to find happiness together for some reason. One of the couple follows a black cat to the Nekomedou Kokoro Tan, a building that houses a flamboyantly dressed girl and a black cat, Over tea, for no apparent reason, the girl will pour her heart out and having done so, will return to her lover and they will find happiness. Apparently we all need therapy with a stranger over tea.  Thinking about it, I guess that’s not that far off, sometimes. Having someone to listen to is pretty powerful.

When I read this book back in 2009, I was on the cusp of having utterly burnt out on moe art, characters of no age, no queer identity and no depth. This book flew under a line that has shifted multiple times in the 11 years since. And, upon re-read, I think I gave it a raw deal originally.

The characters here are a little facile, yes, but this is a collection of one-shots and at least a couple of pages of each have to be dedicated to following the black cat and learning that one has arrived at Nekomedou Kokoro Tan, which allows even fewer pages for the conflict to be explained and then resolved. The very first story in fact deals with bullying at school because the protagonist is perceived as gay, before she has a chance to come to grips with herself at all. Further stories address jealousy and  violence. Yes, every story has a happy ending, but for a 2000s Yuri collection, this one holds up pretty well.

Ratings:

Art – 8
Stories – 8
Characters – 8
Service – 5 There is a bit, some nipple-less nudity and implied violence, sometimes contemporaneously
Yuri – 8

Overall – 8

So, 11 years too late for print, but maybe Ichijinsha might make this book available digitally, if we ask nicely.

Posted in Yuri Manga | No Comments »