Otona ni Nattemo, Volume 3 (おとなになっても)

February 25th, 2021

Akari is ready to move on. She’s ready to reclaim her old career in the salon and stop running away from her life. She’s putting Ayano and her old ex behind her. She’s moving into a new place and ready to face a new day. Volume  1 and Volume 2 are old news.

So, in Otona ni Nattemo, Volume 3 (おとなになっても) when she walks outside for her first new morning and finds Ayano walking out of her own home at the same time, one can easily imagine some of the words that flit through Akari’s head. And when she gets off the train and finds she’s walking home with Ayano’s husband, she’s sure that a brand new level of hell has opened up just for her. Only, Ayano’s husband is, actually, kinda nice? And not in a creepy way, he just seems to be a decent sort. Even knowing this is the woman his wife is interested in, Wataru invites Akari to dinner. The story gets more complicated as Wataru’s NEET sister Eri now thinks something is up with Akari, but it appears she thinks it’s her brother having an affair.

Akari ends up being roped into a mini-marathon for the local town art festival. In doing so, she rediscovers her love of running. In fact, everything might be looking just great, if it weren’t for the fact that she just can’t seem to get away from Ayano, who she loves and Wataru who she’s come to like.

This was the first volume of this series that really focused our attention on Akari, as opposed to Ayano and like magic, I found myself way more engaged with the narrative. ^_^ I’m torn though, because I don’t want to care too much, either, because I don’t see this series having an ending I can live with. I just hope when the wreckage clears, Akari’s still standing.

Shimura-sensei’s artwork is confident and clean in this volume and to be very honest, this might be the best story I’ve read by her, narratively speaking. I don’t know what will happen and I am content to let it happen, which is exactly what I want from a drama about adults.

Ratings:

Art – 8
Story – 8
Characters – 8
Service – 0
Yuri – Hrm….Ayano and Akari are still interested in each other.

Overall – 8

I’m putting my money down on this being a candidate for a live-action series.

Volume 4 is already out in Japanese and Volume 1 is available in English as Even Thought We’re Adults, (I reviewed that here on Okazu earlier this month) so share your thoughts in the comments if you’ve read it!

Posted in Shimura Takako, Yuri Manga | No Comments »


Goukaku Tame no! Yasashi Sankaku Kakei Nyuumon ( 合格のための！ やさしい三角関係入門)

February 23rd, 2021

Mayuki is determined to get into the school of her choice to be close to the girl she likes, her old sempai on the basketball team, Akira. But her grades are just not that great. She gets a tutor who goes to that very school,  Ootomo Kouko. When Mayuki had toured the school she saw two girls kissing and then having a fight, because the one girl said her affections can’t be limited to one person. Lo and behold! when Rin, her new tutor arrives, it turns out to be the one of those two girls who cannot love only one person.  Back at Ootomo, Rin and Akira are becoming closer, too and Akira really likes Rin. Mayuki hasn’t been able to tell Akira how she feels, but she has confided in Rin, who find herself attracted to Mayuki. But she really likes Akira, too.

Canno’s Goukaku Tame no! Yasashi Sankaku Kakei Nyuumon ( 合格のための！ やさしい三角関係入門) is about a three-way relationship that will undoubtedly work. It’s designed to work. We already know Rin’s  and Mayumi’s feelings and Akira’s are right on the cusp of being right there with them both. And yet, I did not much like this story. I’ll do my best to articulate why.

In Kiss and White Lily for my Dearest Girl, Volume 6 Canno had created a three-way relationship that I felt worked, where our reviewer for the volume, did not. I have a nagging suspicion that our opinions would be reversed this time. ^_^ To begin with, Rin starting the series with the declaration that she cannot choose – while I completely understand would be a totally valid way of self-identifying as poly, (especially before having the word to do so) – felt hollow presented with no context surrounding it. We are then backed into the relationship she’s currently in because of Mayuki seeing it’s end. And later we learn how it began, and we are left feeling awkward about Rin starting this new relationship before really handling the old.  On an entirely personal note, I was also made uncomfortable by Rin and Mayuki’s kissing. It seemed an abuse of power and age, drawn to be acceptable because the younger girl asked for it, which is exactly the opposite lesson one should take here. No, Rin. You are the older person, in a position of some (admittedly small) power. It is up to you to say no and establish boundaries. The deep kiss closeups are uuugghhh, for me. It’s like…I get it.

I found myself more interested in Akira, but am concerned that she will feel coerced into this relationship by Mayuki and Rin. The cover even bothers me! ^_^ It’s not Mayuki at the center of this relationship. At the moment, it’s Rin. Which brings me to the point I want to make. These characters are just too young for me. I found it hard to like Mayuki or Rin. I just…don’t care about them, separately or together. They are not interesting outside the fact that they have a relationship. Mauyki and Akira have basketball in comm. Rin and Mayuki have…studying for an entrance exam and teenage libido in common. Snooze. Ultimately, the linchpin of the three-way relationship, Rin, has the least going for her.

If you enjoy Canno-sensei’s art, then you will absolutely like this volume. There might be slightly more emphasis on reactions and close-ups than in Kiss and White Lily, but it is the art you know and love.

 

Ratings:

Art – 8
Characters – 5
Story – 5
Service – Yep. Dressing/undressing, those kisses, some cleavage
Yuri – 8
Queer – 5 I don’t think this is the story I’d hand to someone to explain being “poly” to them, but if some folks read it and discover they are poly because of it, that’s all to the good.

Overall – 6

I hope they are all happy at the end of the next volume when it is released in the next few weeks after the series ends next month, but I am fairly convinced I don’t want to read the book to find out. ^_^; I might keep an eye out on Comic Walker to see how it goes.

Posted in Yuri Manga | 2 Comments »


Goodbye, My Rose Garden, Volume 3

February 22nd, 2021

Hanako is a young woman who has traveled from Japan to meet her favorite author. Volume 1 follows Hanako as she meets the beautiful, yet tragic Lady Alice and enters into her service. We watch their relationship deepen and their secrets come to light in Volume 2. Here we are, then, in the final volume and its hard to imagine that there is a light at the end of the tunnel. And yet.

One of the burdens of writing historical fiction is, quite obviously, history. As Dr. Pepperco writes a story explicitly set in a time and place where the society would, could and did place women in mental institutions for the crime of independent thinking or non-conforming behavior, it takes commitment to write a better end. Volume 3 of Goodbye, My Rose Garden has that commitment. Therefore, as we watch over them benevolently, we see Alice and Hanako meet women of like mind, find solace in each other and create both the tunnel and the light for one another.

I’ve been talking a lot recently about media that imagines a better way forward. I also feel there is room for stories that supplies us a better way to look backward. Not every story needs an unhappy ending….but more to the point, not every real story had an unhappy ending. Some 130 years previous to the setting of this book, and some 300 miles to the northwest in Wales, about 6 hours by car now, Sarah Ponsonby and Eleanor Butler lived together and built a joyful life for themselves. (I find all arguments that they didn’t have a sexual relationship because they didn’t leave proof to be absolutely idiotic. Who does that? They called each other wife, let’s not be dumbasses.) Let us look to the Ladies of Llangollen then, for Alice and Hanako’s new life, in which they choose to live somewhere quietly together, supporting themselves as writers and raising a lovely rose garden.

Ratings:

Art – 7
Story – 8
Characters – 8
Service – 3
Yuri – 8

Overall – 8

I appreciated some of the visual touches in this book, but once again, far more important were the literary references. Victor Franks may not have been real, but the other writers whose works are mentioned, are. While it’s not in Hastings, I recommend to you The Feminist Bookshop in Brighton, another UK beach town with a long, queer history, where you can find classics like Kate Chopin’s writing and newer works, maybe a biography of Ann Lister, as well as a really terrific comics section, with a fair bit of lesbian representation…and even a Yuri manga or two! So, when this pandemic is over, maybe you and your girl can just play at being Hanako and and Alice for a day in a nice little queer-friendly bookstore in a English beachside town. ^_^

My sincere thanks to Seven Seas for the review copy! It’s always a pleasure to see how the Seven Seas team handles work like this, which has the interesting challenge of both time period and English ideas being translated from Japanese back into English. Nice work by translator Amber Tamosaitis, adapter Cae Hawksmoor and letterer Kaitlyn Wiley and the whole Seven Seas crew!

Posted in English Manga, Yuri Manga | 6 Comments »


Coming Soon: Season 2 of Yuri Studio

February 21st, 2021

Please enjoy this teaser I made for the first video of Season 2 of Yuri Studio. It took much longer than it should have but the fade out was being a pain in the butt. ^_^;

 

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Yuri Network News – (百合ネットワークニュース) – February 20, 2021

February 20th, 2021

Yuri VN & Game News

Studio Élan is celebrating Heart of the Woods‘ second anniversary with a planned console release for Nintendo Switch and Playstation 4. And they are doing an anniversary giveaway of free Steam Keys, so get on that!

Via Yurimother, Sukerasparo, creative team behind Kudan Folklore, is planning an audio drama based on its Yuri comedy visual novel OshiRabu: Waifus Over Husbandos.” YuriMother says “The audio drama, titled Oshi no Rabu Yori Koi no Rabu Akuruto Koi no Koukan Nikki, will vocalize a diary of love notes between series protagonists Akuru and Ren.” The studio is crowdfunding the project on Japanese platform CAMPFIRE. The project is scheduled for release on March 26.”

YNN Correspondents Megan and Evie want you to know about Blue Reflection, a RPG from Gust that is getting an anime! The anime official page definitely seems to be leaning in on the Yuri. Crystalyn Hodgkins has details and a trailer for Blue Reflection Ray on ANN.

 

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Yuri Manga

YNN Correspondent CW writes in to let us know that “Seikyouiku 120% (性教育120%) ended with volume 3 released on the 10th. It’s a sex education series that values LGBT inclusivity, written by a bisexual woman, with a yuri framing narrative. Topics in the last volume were Pregnancy and Abortion, Transgenderism, LGBT History and Bisexuality.”

Megan then pointed out that “So that series is wrapping up just as the English release gets going – from Yen Press under the title Sex Education 120%, vol 1 is penciled in for March 23rd!”

CW also notes that Volume 2 of Ise-san to Shima-san 伊勢さんと志摩さん) , also the concluding volume, comes out on the 16th. CW says “I think it’s an interesting series for the way the flashback chapter that shows how they started living together recontextualizes what the series was doing.” I enjoyed Volume 1 and will now look extra forward to Volume 2!

I have no idea how I missed this but, Akili’s Vampeerz, My Peer Vampire, Volume 1 and Volume 2  are out from Denpa Books. For those of you who have been around a while, Akili is Show Higashiyama, whose work does favor Yurisploitation, but isn’t bad…with flashes of really good story writing in between the panties and bodily fluids. It’s not porn, just pornishly drawn. I’m still reading it, but not reviewing it. ^_^

My hopes for this are tempered, but Dekono Takahide (I’m sure I have this name wrong, please feel free to correct me) announces  “bloody Yuri action”  DamDam!! (ダムダム) manga in Young Jump Battle 2 (ヤングジャンプバトル2). The link here goes to Bookwalker, where you can get this issue in ebook form, since I think the print issue of the magazine may be harder to get out of Japan.

 

We have some new items on the Yuricon Store:

Our Teachers Are Dating, Volume 3, will be out next month. ANN’s Rafael Antonio Pineda reports that this series is ending in the April issue of Comic Yuri Hime.

Strawberry Fields Once Again, Volume 2 will be available next month. Buckle in. ^_^

We’ve got Nettaigyo ha Yuki Kogareru, Volume 8 (熱帯魚は雪に焦がれる), which came out in December in Japan.  Tropical Fish Yearns for Snow, Volume 7 gets here in May 2021.

Nagata Kabi’s recent release, Meisou Senshi – Nagata Kabi (迷走戦士・永田カビ)  hit shelves this week in Japan, and you can read her next work, Meisou Senshi- Nagata Kabi Gourmet de Go! (迷走戦士・永田カビ グルメでGO！) in Japanese on Web Action now. Chapters 0 and 1 are up.

 

Yuri Events

The Yuriten is back! With key visuals from Nakatani Nio and Takahashi Minori, we now get to see Bloom Into You‘s Touko and Yuu all grown up. ^_^ Check the Yuriten feed on Twitter as they announce participating artists for their virtual exhibition.

 

Yuri Light Novel

I’m in Love With the Villainess, Volume 3 is now available for pre-order and is on the Yuricon Store! The print book in English is slated for a July release, but as with the rest of Seven Seas’ Airship line, I’d assume the digital will be released earlier.

Annnnd, Watashi no Oshi ha Akuyaku Reijou, Volume 4 hits at the end of this month. You can get this on Amazon Kindle in Japanese. or if you are in Japan, on Amazon JP Kindle from GL Bunko. I’ve already pre-ordered and cleared my calendar. ^_^

The Executioner and Her Way of Life, Volume 1 is hitting shelves early next week. I’m willing to give it a try.

 

Yuri Anime

ANN’s Rafael Antonio Pineda has cast and premiere news for Battle Athletes Daiundoukai ReSTART! anime. News characters and old will “compete” for the title!

Alex Mateo has the news that Funimation will be streaming the Adachi and Shimamura dub. Read the details on ANN!

Joseph Luster on Crunchyroll News, has some good news for us. Crunchyroll will be streaming Stellvia, which I’m going to encourage you to watch despite the fact that it is 99% enraging, because that 1% was worth it back in 2006. ^_^ I have a whole category for this series on Okazu: Stellvia – and, interestingly, for the final review, I compare and contrast Battle Athletes and Stellvia. Overall I rated Stellvia a better anime.

 

Other News

Last year I treated myself to some art by Robin Eisenberg, because monster girls on a lesbian date with food appears to be my jam. Well, she got to work with singer Marzz on the music video for So Frequently.  You can see the “cyclops girls on a pizza date” print I have hanging here in the living room in the background. ^_^

A bunch of my favorite people are talking about manga in a new podcast called Mangasplaining. Christopher Butcher, Deb Aoki and David Brothers have taken on comic artist Chip Zdarsky to see if they can find manga a non-manga reader like Chip will enjoy. They come out of the box strong with Katsuhiro Otomo’s classic, Akira. It was great to work to this conversation this week!

 

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Posted in Yuri Network News | 1 Comment »