Yuri Network News – (百合ネットワークニュース) – December 19, 2020

December 19th, 2020

Yuri Manga

The first volume of the manga Watashi no Oshi ha Akujyaku Reijou. (私の推しは悪役令嬢。) is out now from Yuri Hime Comics! If you enjoyed the light novel, I’m in Love With the Villainess, you’ll enjoy the manga where we get the entire story illustrated ^_^ The manga has really been fun so far and, I honestly think the art suits the story better than the art in the LN.

 

Yuri Light Novel

If you haven’t yet gotten a chance to read I’m in Love With the Villainess, Volume 1, definitely do. The first volume is out in print now. I’ve just finished re-reading it and am impressed all over again.

Bloom Into You Regarding Saeki Sayaka, Volume 3 is imminent – it’s hitting some retailers early, in fact. Don’t miss this fabulous conclusion to the Bloom Into You franchise!

Manga Planet has added super light novel Yuri Will Not Blossom at Work! by Mai Yanagawa and Ruri Hazuki.

 

Yuri Studio

For our final episode of the 2020 “season,” on Yuri Studio, I take on one of the most complicated topics I am ever asked about: Are There Queer Creators Creating Yuri?

This year was an amazing year to address this, as while I was working on the video manga by queer creators were being licensed and a couple of folks spoke publicly about being queer to their Japanese fans. 2020 has been surreal, but it has also been amazing for queer manga.

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Yuri Anime

Okay, I give. ^_^  VLADLOVE debuted on Youtube this week and 1) I did not loathe it, something I was fully prepared to do (^_^) and 2) it’s Yuri.  We’ll have Megan reviewing it in the future, since she’s been the series advocate since it was announced.

Otherside Picnic anime will be debuting on Funimation on January 4th, don’t forget!

Senior YNN Correspondent Eric P. points out ANN’s Rafael Antonio Pineda’s article on Battle Athletes Daiundoukai ReSTART!  a new chapter for the Battle Athletes series.

 

Yuri Podcasts

Manga Mavericks has Sarah and Kit from Tomochoco Podcast and myself on to talk about the Kase-san series on Kase-san and a Podcast!

 

Other News

In 2019, SF Magazine did a blowout issue focused on Yuri, which was followed up by a Yuri science fiction story collection, Asterism ni Hanataba o Yuri SF Anthology (アステリズムに花束を 百合 SFアンソロジ, which I am about 3/4 through . The Yuri issue sold out and went into a second printing, which I reviewed on Okazu in February 2019.

Now Hayakawa Publishing is doing a second Special Issue focusing on Yuri, with a cover featuring the upcoming Otherside Picnic anime. The issue comes out on the 25th of December…and it’s already sold out on Amazon, and not available on Global Bookwalker as of yet. So, hold on to the link for SF Magazine, February 2021 Special Issue (SFマガジン 2021年 02 月号 特別増大号) and we’ll wait for it to be available!

Cartoon Network did this terrific PSA about pronouns featuring Stevonnie and I am going to say, having finally gotten over their fear of queer, they are really doing it right. Thank you Rebecca Sugar, you changed the world.

Cartoon Network also did this PSA about systemic racism in education in which Steven Universe‘s Pearl says what has to be said out loud.

Speaking of Rebecca Sugar, Via YNN Correspondent David M. we have a podcast that focuses on Studio Ghibli’s work, interviewing Ms. Sugar about her influences! Ghibliotheque – A Podcast About Studio Ghibli: Rebecca Sugar | Whispers From The Heart #4.

Also of interest was Andrew Tejada’s exploration of the de-humaning of characters of color for Tor.com in Representation Without Transformation: Can Hollywood Stop Changing Cartoon Characters of Color?

Captain Marvel 2 had a huge announcement with release date and cast – this movie will also feature Ms. Marvel and Monica Rambeau and I’m trying to not be too excited because I refuse to get Disney Plus. ^_^;

Friends in the Philippines can now get the ZsaZsa Zaturnnah comic collected in a hardbound edition. I’m jealous. ^_^

 

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 helping us reach our 2020 goal of giving guest writers a raise and helping us support queer creators!

Posted in Yuri Network News | 11 Comments »


Futari ha Daitai Konna Kanji, Volume 1 (ふたりはだいたいこんなかんじ)

December 18th, 2020

In the Yuri world Ikeda Takashi is best known for Sasamekikoto / Whispered Words in English, from One Peace Books. That series made fun of every Yuri trope, balled them all into one funny, poignant and, in the end, beautiful comedy-drama with the perfect ending. It’s been about five years since we got the ending of that in the west and, whike Takashi-sensei has done other series, few of them have wandered into our territory.  Until now.

Futari ha Daitai Konna Kanji (ふたりはだいたいこんなかんじ) is a slice of life manga about two adult women who are a couple, and who are happy and settled in their relationship. Sakuma Eri is a writer and Inuzuka Wako is an aspiring voice actress. Together they eat and sleep and do work and spend their days happily in one another’s company.  We meet some of their friends and colleagues and, ultimately family, which puts this story into one of the very few Yuri manga that provides the main characters with something that resembles an actual life.

The art is very chill and adult, even as Ikeda-sensei still uses wacky expressions and visuals. Since the scenes take place in their apartment or sometimes at the recording studio, there’s little detail or frivolous background. The story is very much centered on the relationship between Wako and Eri, and how they react to one another’s needs, both spoken and unspoken.

By the end of the volume, the story starts to take off, as Sakuma shows her understanding and appreciation of Wako’s hard work, and we finish the volume off with a visit from Wako’s mother to meet Eri that is only the normal amount of “mom is visiting” stressful and not angst from coming out or hiding. As we’ve seen mom earlier, all excited about meeting her daughter’s special person, we know it will go well. Overall, the story is comfy and not at all stressful, with added bonus heartwarming moments.

This is a story about the everyday life of two people in a functional relationship, with low drama and very comfortable affection and caring. Ikeda-sensei still knows exactly how to end a volume. Such a terrific way to end this week, honestly, and I look forward to Volume 2 when it comes out. ^_^ (Update: Volume 2 was even better.)

Ratings:

Art – 8
Story – 8
Characters – 9
Service – 5 a bit, it’s a story for adult readers
Yuri – 10

Overall – 9

This volume is available on Amazon JP, of course, and if you’d like to read it digitally outside Japan, it’s also available on Bookwalker Global, where you can also check out a few sample pages.

Posted in Ikeda Takashi, Yuri Manga | 8 Comments »


Night and Day by Akegata Yu on Manga Planet

December 17th, 2020

I’ve talked about Tsuki to Suppin by Akegata Yu a few times. Here on Okazu, I’ve reviewed Volume 1 and Volume 2, and I mentioned this series as a “someone oughta license this” in my Recommendations video. About fifteen seconds after I mentioned this title in the video, Manga Planet licensed the series and has now released it as Night and Day.

Akari is fashionable and trendy and Shiho isn’t…in fact, her collection of utterly meh t-shirts is a running gag in the series, in part because her day job brings her to concerts by small, less-well-known bands. In part, because she’s just like that. The two have been together for a while now and, they are very much a solid, comfortable couple. As you will see.  They get each other.

This is not a series with high drama, and workplace shenanigans, like Hitorigoto Desu Kara!, which Manga Planet also has licensed and cleverly titled It’s Personnel!. This is a quiet, simple story about two women who are as different as the moon and turtles, as different as chalk and cheese, who just…work…together.

Manga Planet offers a subscription service. For $6.99/month, you can read as much as you’d like on their platform, and they are investing quite heavily in Yuri right now. If that is too much, you can still read quite a lot for free. They are clearly running on a thin staff as multiple credits go to a few people. So props to Ian O’Connor and Amimaru and the whole MP team for their work on this.

Chapter 1 of Night and Day is free to read, and makes a great introduction to this super low-key, enjoyable and sweet Jousei Yuri series. Give it a try and tell me what you think!

Ratings:

Art – 8
Story – 8
Characters – 8
Yuri – 10
Service – . 5 A very little dress-up with Shiho

This is a series that gets better and better as one reads it.

I love this title, I love that Shodensha is still putting out Yuri and that Manga Planet has licensed it and the Yomuco “super light” novels. I’d been holding them all in my queue for future reading and now I’ll be able to blow through them in English instead of piecing together time and energy to read them in Japanese.  Excuse me, I have to go read Kitao Taki’s Two Guns Under The Sheet now!

Posted in English Manga, Yuri Manga | No Comments »


Yamada to Kase-san, Volume 2 (山田と加瀬さん)

December 16th, 2020

Happy anniversary to Takashima Hiromi-sensei for 10 years of Kase-san and Yamada.  Who could have imagined that, when the series debuted in 2010 in Pure Yuri Anthology Hirari, we’d be still  be following Yamada and Kase-san a decade later? It’s an absolute triumph of will that here we are at Yamada to Kase-san, Volume 2 (山田と加瀬さん).

College life has presented a number of challenges to Yui and Tomoka, both personally and relationship-wise. They are no longer able to see each other every day. Yui still has an unfortunate tendency to default to low self-esteem thinking, but a trip to the seashore with Mikawacchi and Hana seems just the thing to kick her out of her funk. Once there, she discovers that Tomoka is staying at the same inn! Only, of course, nothing is that simple. Tomoka and Yui eek out a few moments of time, and work on their own jealousy issues.

In the background a couple of interesting things are going on. Aikawa, Tomoka’s high school rival is hanging out with Fukami, Tomoka’s roommmate. And what on earth is going on with Fukami? Because something…definitely…is. 

We have watched over a decade as Takashima-sensei’s art has grown stronger and the characters become more who they are. And here we are, able to continue to enjoy that very thing Yamada and Kase-san in love. What a fantastic way to close out a brilliant (if slightly surreal) year for Yuri. ^_^

Ratings:

Art – 9
Story – 8
Characters – 9
Service – 5 a bit of skin
Yuri – 10

Overall – 9

Happy 10th anniversary to Yui and Tomoka, and to Takashima-sensei…and to us! We’ve all come a long way. ^_^

I couldn’t wait for this to arrive in print, so I picked it up on Global Bookwalker.  ^_^

Posted in Kase-san Series, Yuri Manga | 7 Comments »


“Own Voices – Are There Queer Creators Creating Yuri?” on Yuri Studio

December 14th, 2020

We’ve posted our final video of the first “season” of Yuri Studio and it’s a doozy. This time I take on one of the most complicated questions I get during Yuri panels and lectures. Own Voices – Are There Queer Creators Creating Yuri?

Amazingly, while I was working on this video several creators came out and/or were licensed! I started writing the script with a much smaller group of names than I ended up talking about, so that was pretty amazing. ^_^

I hope you’ll give this video a like and subscribe to my channel for more videos on Yuri.

Thanks very much to all the Okazu Patrons who made this possible. Become an Okazu Patron to have your question answered on the next season of Yuri Studio!

Posted in LGBTQ, Yuri Studio | 7 Comments »