Yuri Network News – (百合ネットワークニュース) – December 5, 2020

December 5th, 2020

Yuri Manga

Seven Seas has announced the license for the Bloom Into You manga anthologies (both of which have been reviewed here on Okazu: Volume 1 and Volume 2). They were a fun way to spend more time with the characters.

Manga Planet has announced some Jousei Yuri licenses from Shodensha, including several of my favorites! Teiji ni Agaretara by Ayu Inui, Hitogoto Desu Kara! by Yuni and Tsuki to Suppin by Yu Akegata have all been reviewed here on Okazu and I am absolutely delighted that you will be able to read them in English.

Heading our way his month from Yen Press is Strawberry Fields Once Again, which is a three-volume school romance, that has a hell of a twist ending. I reviewed all three JP volumes here, but don’t read the reviews unless you want to be spoiled! Volume 1 | Volume 2 | Volume 3

 

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Yuri Anime

Sentai Filmworks will be releasing Happy-Go-Lucky Days, the anime based on Shimura Takako’s manga. I reviewed this anime very recently and found it to be worth a watch.

While I still am in no way convinced that a slapstick anime about vampires can at all be serious, Mamoru Oshii insists that he wanted VLADLOVE to do “Girl Meets Girl” in a serious way in this interview covered by Komatsu-san on Crunchyroll. I kind of liked the “Mai” version of the opening. I’m always partial to harder rock used in anime and characters animated to be performing the theme. So here I am mentioning it again, despite my insistence that I wouldn’t any more. ^_^
 
Crunchyroll has added Yamibo:  The Darkness, The Hat and the Travelers of the Books to their catalog. Jennifer Sherman has the report on ANN. I’ve reviewed it about a zillion times here and it’s not gotten any less annoying ^_^; The thing is…it had potential, then just squandered it. This is one of the earliest anime based on a Visual Novel I can think of off the top of my head.

Crystalynn Hodgkins has the news for the upcoming Otherside Picnic anime on Anime News Network.

 

Yuri Light Novel

J-Novel Club is putting out scifi Yuri LN Otherside Picnic in print ahead of the upcoming anime release!

The third volume of Bloom Into You Regarding Saeki Sayaka is headed our way in a few weeks!

 

Sailor Moon

The trailer for Sailor Moon Eternal is on Youtube and it looks amazing!  I vote Chiaki Kon for handling all things Sailor Moon forever.

Clearly I am not the only one, as Twitter fandom is celebrating with an “All Sailor Moon” hashtag (#全セーラームーン). I’m wearing my Sailor Moon Super S t-shirt today and Sailor Venus socks (which are probably legitimately antique now!) in solidarity. ^_^

 

Other News

Anime Feminist has this terrific look by Karleen: Art as Discovery, Art as Hope: Kamatani Yuhki, x-gender and asexual mangaka
This is very timely, as I’m pushing to get out a new video on Yuri Studio this month on queer creators who create queer manga.  ^_^

ANN’s Kim Morrissey has a write-up of the demographics among English translators and letterers in manga, from tweets by Phil S. Christie. There’s a small majority of women in the field (but it would be interesting and important to know how income falls along those lines, as well.

 

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 | 9 Comments »


MURCIÉLAGO, Volume 15

December 3rd, 2020

Today’s review is a mostly-word for word quote from my review of this volume in Japanese. The plot hasn’t changed. ^_^

In MURCIÉLAGO, Volume 15 , we wrap up the Gold Marie redux arc with a somewhat unexpected reward for Kuroko. Narumi asks for physical contact. Kuroko is glad to oblige. When Narumi backs off, we see that Kuroko requires consent, which makes her a better person than most love interests in romantic comedies. ^_^

Kuroko and the gang are then launched into a creepy Elder God-inspired circus, (like circuses need to be any creepier than they already are.) A criminal from the past known as the Comedy Writer is back, and with the cover of the Bugg Shash circus, is manipulating people’s consciousness. It seems like more of the same – almost-supernatural hijinks and murder, except…

…what it actually becomes is kind of a cold case police procedural, in which questioning suspects is more than just a motivation for expository commentary.  What are the nature of the drug Francis and its relationship to Ceasare? Are they how the Comedy Writer manipulates people into deeply creepy actions or is it something else? Tsuru and Chacha are on the case! And, compared, with some of the previous arcs, this case might actually take their specific skills to crack.

My thanks to the folks at Yen Press for making what is kind of mush of a plot with three too-many things that really aren’t all that sensible, into something coherent and still pleasantly creepy. I do not envy translator Christine Dashiell’s job here. ^_^ Alexis Eckerman’s lettering gets a little chance to shine, with GIANT VOICEOVER shots. ^_^

Ratings:

Art – 8 Horrific and freakish more than violent this time
Story – 8 Inexplicably weird
Characters – 8
Service – 4 Other than straight up nakedness, surprisingly not
Yuri – 4 In a different timeline Narumi and Kuroko would make a decent pair

Overall – 8

Many thanks to Yen Press for the review copy!

Posted in MURCIÉLAGO | 3 Comments »


Lonely Girl ni Sakaraenai, Volume 1 (ロンリーガールに逆らえない)

December 2nd, 2020

Sakuraii is a model student but has a fatal flaw – she absolutely sucks at tests. If it weren’t for tests, she’d have no trouble at all getting into her school of choice, but alas… . Her teacher makes her an offer she really cannot refuse. If Sakuraii convinces a fellow classmate who has not come to class all year to show up to school, the teacher will give Sakuraii a glowing recommendation.  So, there is Sakuraii, standing in front of Honda’s house, trying to find a convincing argument to get the girl back to school. Honda, it turns out is a pretty chill person. She agrees to help Sakuraii out, but only if she gets one “wish” a day from the other girl. Fearing the worst,  Sakuraii accept the terms and indeed, the first wish is a kiss. As days stretch on Honda’s wishes range from walking home together to going on a date and Sakuraii starts to find that she’s enjoying her time with Honda. Which is good, because the teacher has added a condition – not only does Honda have to come to school, she’s got to pass class.

Lonely Girl ni Sakaraenai, Volume 1 (ロンリーガールに逆らえない) is a Yuri rom-com. Like most romantic comedies, we have to allow for the abrupt destruction of personal boundaries as a condition for both the “rom” and the “com” portions…. But where the premise is absolutely suited to instantly becoming unappealing, it pulls back immediately and starts the whole thing over, letting the two girls get to learn to actually like one another. As the volume ends, it steps back into the “wrong lessons to teach” lane as Honda uses her leverage to push Sakuraii’s boundaries again.

I have no idea why I don’t dislike this story, honestly, but I don’t. I like it. Kashikaze’s art is pleasant enough. The characters are likeable, except when they are not. I’m not alone, either as this book sold out almost immediately when it was first printed and it has taken me months to get this volume (in part at least because of international shipping being messed up due to the pandemic for weeks over the spring.)

Ratings:

Art – 7
Characters – 7
Story – 7, sometimes slipping downward with faithless teachers and the like
Yuri – 7
Service – 2

Overall – 7

 I want Sakuraii to get into her school and have opened up Honda’s life and the two of them to be forever altered in a positive way by their interaction. I’m still reading this monthly as it comes out in Comic Yuri Hime and I still like it. I have no idea why! ^_^

Posted in Yuri Manga | 2 Comments »


A Witch’s Love At The End of The World, Volume 1 by Kujira

November 30th, 2020

There are a lot of “known” things about witches. They don’t float in water. They can’t cry. They can’t pass over water, and above all things, if a witch falls in love, they lose their powers. We all know these things.

In Kujira’s A Witch’s Love At The End of The World this last thing turns out to be true….and also, wholly false.

Mari Muruguma is an outsider among outsiders. Here at a prestigious school of witches, she is powerless, lacks basic knowledge and when questioned directly, has no real idea why she is here. Alice Keating is a model student, who is assigned to tutor Mari, which makes Mari even more of a target for bullying than previously. But together, Mari and Alice discover that they can transcend not only their personal limitations, but the strictures placed upon witches. Mari becomes a key and a lock, which Alice unlocks. In doing so, she finds herself changed.

But bullying in a school of magic isn’t just screwing with your desk or hiding shoes….jealous of Mari, several of the girls plot a nefarious and permanent way to rid the school of her. When it goes awry, both Alice and Mari are caught up in the spell.

For no particular reason, I had never before read this manga beyond a few chapters in webcomic form, so the English edition from Yen Press is my first encounter with it. It’s far more interesting than I expected, with a surprising (kind of, not really, but yeah, kind of) funky twist at the end that makes me want to keep reading it.

Translation by Eleanor Summers is full of good “voice” work and Sara Linsley’s touch on the lettering is always something to be enjoyed.  Thanks to everyone at Yen who worked on this book!

Kujira’s art is sparse and simple, allowing us – requiring us – to spend time with the characters’ emotional states, as there is little detail in he scenery to focus on. The story, while combining some well-known outsider x popular girl tropes from shoujo manga and riding on the bristles of the “magic school” broom from popular YA fantasy, combines for a unique, compelling story.

Ratings:

Art – 7
Story – 8
Characters – 8 they grew on me
Yuri – 6 but there’s potential
Service – Not really

Overall – 8

Thanks very much to the fine folks at Yen Press for this review copy. I’m very much looking forward to find out what happens in the conclusion in Volume 2!

Posted in Yuri Manga | 2 Comments »


Okazu 2020 Yuri Gift Guide

November 29th, 2020

2020 has been a decade of a year and, frankly, we all deserve a treat. I’ve picked a handful of series that I think will appeal to different kinds of Yuri fans. All of these items and moreYuri Manga, Light Novels, VNs and Anime and other stuff are on the Yuricon Store, so if you’re looking for something, drop by there. The Yuricon Store has most comprehensive selection of Yuri online.

Here are my suggestions for great Yuri gifts for the Yuri fan in your life!

 

 

The Rose of Versailles

This classic, historical manga has been a holy grail for ages and now that it is out in English, I am absolutely blown away by the work that went into it. I am proud to have been the editor, but that is not why I am recommending it. I’m recommending it because Udon did everything right in this edition. I could not have asked for better.

If you or your Yuri-loving friends want to enjoy one of the most iconic cross-dressing Girl Prince characters, and the melodrama of the French Revolution, you’ll want this series.

 

 

 

 

 

Kase-san Series

When this sweet Yuri school romance story began running in Pure Yuri Anthology Hirari almost a decade ago, I would have been surprised to think that it would persevere though multiple changes in publishing and the radical growth of the Yuri market – and stay one of my favorite series throughout!

Readers have had the rare chance to grow along with Yamada and Kase-san and watch them become young women, making their lives in the big wide world…together.

 

 

 

 

 

Bloom Into You / Regading Saeki Sayaka

The school series Bloom Into You surprised me over and over. What it was, what it wasn’t, what it became, all seemed so obvious, but in the end, everyone became something more than they were. As an added bonus, we have the Regarding Saeki Sayaka novels, which give us an intimate first-person look at a women learning to understand and accept herself.

This series will appeal to folks who like coming-of-age stories with characters who are relatable and fun, separately and together.

 

 

 

 

 

Kabi Nagata’s Comic Essays

Maybe you’ve had it with sweet, sappy romance. Maybe you or your giftee prefer non-fiction.

Kabi Nagata’s highly personal comic essays don’t shy away from in-depth looks at her life, her choices, her attempts to connect with others and her failures, while also documenting struggles with physical and mental health in a way that is very readable and easy to engage with.

 

 

 

 

 

 

Devilman Lady

This classic horror anime by Go Nagai is intense, dark, violent, and very, very gay. If you’re looking for something less cheerful, and want tortured sexual tension and a closeted, but sympathetic, protagonist and some grade-A music, and Go Nagai’s particular brand of art, this is right up there with Devilman Crybaby.

With a star voice cast and evocative writing and art, Devilman Lady will be sure to send chills down your back and make you think twice about humanity.

 

 

 

 

 

Eclair Series

What if the Yuri lover in your family has no idea where to begin? The Éclair anthology series is a terrific place to start! Get short stories by new artists and established ones, that cover a wide array of Yuri situations and characters. School, office, fantasy, life, and love all get touched upon and in this anthology format, it’ll give readers a chance to decide who and what they want to look for more of!

For folks looking for more of their favorite artists or folks who have no idea where to begin, this anthology provides a wide range of art and story so the get a feel for what “Yuri” in 2020 is like.

 

 

 

 

 

 

Otherside Picnic

Yuri science-fiction in Japans is still a new-ish sub-genre. This series combines netlore, a frisson of horror, a dash of science fiction and a light sprinkling of Yuri for a fun, fraught and deeply weird story!

Great for folks who are feeling jaded from Yuri romance and want some adventure and mystery in with their opposites meet and maybe fall for one another stories.

 

 

 

 


 

Sexiled: My Sexist Party Leader Kicked Me Out, So I Teamed Up With a Mythical Sorceress

Another light novel series, this one is purely fantasy. In a world of mages and knights, Sexiled contains relevant social commentary, and some of the best feminist revenge scenarios I’ve ever seen.

These novels are eminently quotable, very satisfying and have just enough Yuri to keep it sweet. But where these books excel are in creating spaces by and for women that are about women supporting each other and creating community that is both heart-warming and empowering as heck.

 

 

 

 

I’m in Love With the Villainess

A fantasy isekai light novel with lesbian identity? It seems impossible, but there is is. This book was outstanding. Isekai writing is so rife with already over-used tropes, but this book is highly self-aware, openly queer and surprisingly excellent.

The series is ongoing and looks like it will be very fun and possibly quite emotional!

 

 

 

 

 

Curse of Kudan

Kendoka Kudan finds herself drawn into a local occult mystery and the mystery of an older woman who seems to need a lot of saving!

This brand new Visual Novel by SukearSparo looks good, has a confident and fully-developed protagonist and an interesting bit of mystery/occult plot. I’m pretty impressed with what I’ve seen, both in the VN and in the manga.

 

 

 

 

 

 

Sailor Moon Stars

It’s finally out and it’s better than ever. And you know I have to have a Sailor Moon on every list. ^_^

Finally, the long-awaited, almost legendary, fifth season of the original Sailor Moon anime is out and it looks as good as it can possiblly look. Viz Media did a brilliant job with the past. Now I can settle in and wait for Sailor Moon Eternal and see what the future will bring.

 

 

 

 

 

 

ALC Publishing Manga

Get a piece of Yuri manga history with some of the earliest Yuri manga ever published in English. WORKS by Eriko Tadeno and the remaining volumes of Yuri Monogatari are being liquidated. Our friends at cheapmanga.com have a special sale and free shipping on ALC Publishing manga with the code ALC2020.

 

 

 

I hope this gives you a few good ideas for gifts to give and gifts to get in this pandemic holiday season! Enjoy. ^_^

Posted in Gift Guides | 5 Comments »