Happy Go Lucky Days

November 15th, 2020

“My first kiss was with a girl.

Her name was Yuri-chan. It sounds like a joke, but it’s not.”

These are the opening lines of Happy Go Lucky Days, the anime movie based on Shimura Takako’s manga Dounika Naru Hibi (どうにかなる日々). The movie was originally supposed to have had a spring 2020 release, but due to COVID-19 delays, it was pushed back to autumn. The Asian Pop-up Festival streamed it with English subtitles. The opening 8 minutes of the movie are still on Youtube on the Cinema Today channel for you to enjoy.

The story is a loose conglomeration of scenarios that revolve around love and sex and romance. The first scenario follows Ecchan, who dated the above-mentioned girl named Yuri in high school. Years later, she’s attending Yuri’s wedding and finding herself crying in the bathroom, where she encounters Aya, who also has dated Yuri, in college. Motivated by their common ground of annoyance with Yuri, they end up sleeping together, then just being together, in a way that feels comfortable and not forced at all. Yuri’s marriage has done something good for them, at least. ^_^

The second scenario follows Sawa-sensei, a man who feels very closeted to me, as he navigates a confession from a student and need for affection.

The third scenario is my least favorite. Sayoko was thrown out of her house for doing a porn video and is staying with neighbors. Her overtly sexualized behavior and speech fucks around with Shin-chan who is only in 5th grade. He and his best friend and ultimately girlfriend Mika, are made aware of sex because of Sayoko. We watch as they navigate puberty…something I’m not really all that interested in doing.

The team at Pony Canyon for this movie was the same as brought us Asagao to Kase-san, so the animation was very pretty, although the scenery and content was less well-served by the animation. Hotel bathrooms can only be lovingly animated to a very limited extent. ^_^; 

The content is in exactly the space that Takako-sensei really sits most comfortably, as characters become uncomfortably aware of their sexuality (or, in other of her works, gender.) It’s never a wholly pleasant journey, but it’s not unpleasant, either. It always feels a little like she’s trying to figure something out, or standing outside, looking in on people’s inner thoughts, trying to work out something in herself.

In this case, I found myself relieved that the initial scenario was not unpleasantly complicated and we’re left thinking that it could be a happily-at least for a normal course of time- after. ^_^

Ratings:

Art – 8
Story – 8,8,6
Characters – 8
Queer – 8 in the first vignette, and yes…but, for Sawa-sensei. He’s questioning more than queer. Let’s give him a 5.
Service – Yes. Sex and sex adjacent stuff. I’d give it a 6.

Overall – 8

Happy Go Lucky Days was pretty and the lesbians are okay. ^_^

Posted in English Anime, Shimura Takako, Yuri Anime | 2 Comments »


Yuri Network News – (百合ネットワークニュース) – November 14, 2020

November 14th, 2020

Yuri Light Novels

Manga Planet has announced an exciting new license for 7 “Super light” Yuri novels from Parsola, featuring art by popular Yuri creators Akiko Morishima, and Hiromi Takashima, as well as Kitao Taki and others. These all were serialized on the Yomuco platform. These super light novels are formatted for mobile reading, with a few lines of text on every page, and color illustrations. I recently reviewed – and enjoyed! – the first “volume” of Girls Love of the Dead, here on Okazu.

Nio Nakatani (Bloom Into You) and Hitoma Iruma (Adachi and Shimamura) are teaming up again for a new LN called End Blue (エンドブルー) about two former lovers who meet for a second time. It’s very cool to see them teaming up again. Their work on the Bloom Into You: Regarding Saeki Sayaka light novels was pretty terrific.

 

Join us for our Okazu Patron holiday party – support Okazu on Patreon!

Yuri Anime

Via YNN Correspondent Megan, Vlad Love creative team interviews are going up on Youtube.

We’ve got the Battle Athletes Complete Collection up on the Yuricon Store. This classic series is awkward and often servicey…and it contains some obnoxious stereotypes, but the primary Yuri love triangle is right out in the open and  Mylandah and Lahrri’s burning desire for one another might be worth it. YMMV.

Adventure Time : Distant Lands – Obsidian is absolutely the Marceline x Princess Bubblegum story we need! It’ll be running on HBO Max. Give the trailer a look – it actually tempts me to add yet another stupid streaming service just for that.

HIDIVE is streaming Yuri anime Fragtime.

Via Chris Beveridge at the Fandom Post, ARIA The CREPUSCOLO‘s first trailer is on Youtube.

 

Yuri Manga

New on the Yuricon Store is  Hana ni Arashi, Volume 7 (はなにあらし), the ongoing charming romance of Nanoha and Chidori may have finally hit a snag with a rival for Nanoha’s affection!

Via Comic Natalie, Yuri manga Yume no Hashibashi (夢の端々),  Volume 1 and Volume 2. YNN Correspondent Megan has this to say about this two-vol historical Yuri series: “…this one follows two young women in post-war Japan up to the Reiwa era. The story begins with one of the women, now an old lady, visiting the other at home, though she doesn’t seem to remember her. Back in the 70s as teens, the girls attempted a 心中 (lover’s suicide) together. Later, one of the girls is entered into an arranged marriage, while the other girl arranges one last trip for the two of them before the marriage.”

Via Yuri Navi, we have news of a Yuri android manga, Tengoku no Nakoniwa, by Hirono Tsukiko. You can read the chapter on Comiplex, in Japanese.

Reminder that you can still get a piece of Yuri manga history! Grab WORKS, by Eriko Tadeno and Yuri Monogatari Vols. 3,4 & 6 for $25 – with free US shipping, from our friends at Cheapmanga.com with the code ALC2020!

 

Yuri Visual Novel

Curse of Kudan, fully voiced, available in English, Chinese and Japanese, is up on the Yuricon Store. This occult-ish Yuri story from SukeraSparo looks interesting, I’m reading the manga as it runs in Comic Yuri Hime.

 

Yuri Event

Girls Love Fest looks like it’s going ahead in February.

 

Other News

Once again via Megan, we have the pretty spectacular news about Kodansha’s licensing Boys Run the Riot, a story about trans kids by trans creator Keito Gaku. Adriana Hazra has details of the story on ANN.

Translator Jocylene Allen talked to the folks at Manga Mavericks about her work on Shiminami Tasogare: Our Dreams at Dusk.

Via the Yuri/GL Phillippines group on Facebook, namori-sensei posted this delightful reaction to seeing Yuru Yuri characters plastered around Shinjuku, advocating for social distancing measures.

Seven Seas has teamed up with Bookwalker Global for this month’s licensing survey. Make suggestions and get a coupon for Seven Seas books on Global Bookwalker! Do Yuri, get a coupon! ^_^

 

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 | 14 Comments »


MURCIÉLAGO, Volume 14

November 13th, 2020

In Volume 14 of MURCIÉLAGO, we find ourselves revisiting a cast of characters that, perhaps, we had assumed we’d left far behind. Sensibly so, since the last time we saw Rose Marie was hanging from a basement ceiling with a meat hook through her chest. But when Narumi turns up and so do corpses with bites taken out of their necks, we get to see what became of the leader of the Virginal Rose and she’s not looking any better. Grafted literally onto her demonic sibling Rose Marie, they are reduced to haunting the sewers and finding victims to feed their lust for blood.

Of course Kuroko and Urara handle the problem with not much more than the usual difficulty. Narumi recognizes another Virginal Rose alumna, Carina, who is pivotal in the final battle. Narumi, formerly Teresa, is able to thank Gold Marie for having saved her, before she dies.

While this is happening, Hinako and Chiyo-chan are visiting the pool, beating up random folks and For our purposes, Chiyo spends a moment fantasizing about marrying  Kuroko, as unrealistic as that seems. ^_^

Ratings:

Art – 8 On repeat: In so far as it is conveying horrific violence, I think it’s getting better.
Story – 8 Creepier than usual, which is saying a lot
Characters – 8
Service – 5 less than usual, skimpy bathing costumes
Yuri – 4 Chiyo is the Yuri carrier drug here, and I’m okay with it

Overall – 8

There’s not much one can say about a series that is basically thin plots wrapped around creative ways to kill people.

 

Posted in MURCIÉLAGO, Yuri Manga | No Comments »


Haru to Midori, Volume 3 (春とみどり)

November 11th, 2020

Haru is a lonely woman. She’s never really moved on with her life, even as she has lived it. There was once a girl who had meant something to her, but Tsumugi left, and had a child and now, Tsumugi is dead. Tsumugi’s daughter, Midori is living with Haru, and they are both struggling a little find out who they are out of Tsumugi’s shadow. But to do that, they need to enter that shadow.

Haru to Midori, Volume 3 (春とみどり), by Fukami Kon, was lovely.

Midori discovers one of the teachers in school knew her mother, but an interview with her leaves the girl unsure of who Tsumugi really was. What does become clear is how much of a effect her mother had upon her guardian’s life. And, maybe, it’s a little more understandable that having a lookalike of the only person Haru ever really cared about in her care, would be awkward. When her aunt sends a letter saying that she has a room free now, Midori decides to go live with her. Not to repudiate anything Haru has done for her, but to avoid complications with legal matters and to give both her and Haru space.

Haru isn’t sure what she wants or needs. She finally admits to herself that she was, genuinely, in love with Tsumugi and that her loss has stopped her from moving on. She decides to be able to see Midori off when she heads off to to live with her relatives and, that she’ll wait for her to come back.

And Midori does come back, when she’s graduated. She’s taller. And she needs a place to stay for university. Haru assures her that she has the space and she’s always welcome. Where Midori had been a reminder of what Haru had never had, now she’s a reminder of what she’s gained.

There were a lot of admirable qualities in this manga. The art was gentle, the storytelling sympathetic. Both Haru and Midori are given plenty of room to make their own decisions about themselves and each other. In the end, best of all, they choose to grow as individuals and as a family. A very satisfying end to this series. It was an enjoyable read – I’m glad I read it. ^_^

Ratings:

Art – 8
Story – 9
Characters – 9
Yuri – 4 Haru finally confronting her emotions about Tsugumi was cathartic
Service – 0

Overall – 9

For a look at the series, you can read two sample chapters on Pixiv Comics, in Japanese.

Posted in Yuri Manga | 1 Comment »


Yuri is My Job, Volume 6

November 9th, 2020

Depending on who you feel is the actual protagonist of the story – or whomever you are personally rooting for – Yuri is My Job, Volume 6 by Miman can be hard on the heart.

Let us say, for instance, that you feel Hime is the protagonist, as we’ve been following her since the first page of the series. In that case, Volume 6 is largely her struggling trying to not hurt her former best friend again, while also not hurting her newer best friend and preserving the even newer relationship she’s built with that former best friend.

If you’re rooting for Mitsuki, you’re about to watch her spill her heart and soul out in front of Hime without any guarantee of it being recoverable.

If you, like me, actually sympathize most with Sumika and Kanako, you’re going to be watching as things break and you cannot even help to catch the pieces this time.

It seems like something is going to have to give and Hime decides that that thing…is her. Or, is she just running away again? We don’t know yet. (Frankly, we *still* don’t know in the ongoing serialized chapters in Comic Yuri Hime, either. ^_^;)

Despite Miman’s protestations to the opposite in the author’s note, it seems like the story is very much under control. We, the readers can’t yet predict the outcome….but we can conjecture on the possible courses to lead to the outcomes we want, which is a wholly different thing.I know what I want – it isn’t Hime and Mitsuki as a couple. I expect that is what we’ll get, and that’s jut fine. But it’s not that I want.

Miman’s art is stronger than ever before, backgrounds are really being filled out and characters have more definition. So, when we get the next volume, pay close attention to the background people. They are getting people-ier. ^_^

When the Yuri in this volume lands, it lands hard. ^_^

Kodansha is doing  clean job of the reproduction. And we’re getting people to credit now for that work. Translation by Diana Taylor captures the emotion beautifully, Jennifer Skarupa’s lettering helps keep the story moving along. Logo design and cover design by Phil Balsman and My Truong respectively are terrific and editing by Haruko Hashimoto pulls it all together.

 

Ratings:

Art – 8
Story – 8
Characters – 8
Service – 4 Mitsuki’s cleavage is its own character
Yuri – 7

Overall – 8

Yuri is My Job, Volume 6 is a pivotal – and emotional – volume of a a series that is more than the sum of it’s Yuri trope parts.

Posted in Miman, Miscellaneous, Yuri Manga | 4 Comments »