Archive for the Yuri Manga Category


Yuri Manga: Sasamekikoto, Volume 1 (ささめきこと)

April 29th, 2008

What’s a girl to do when her best friend forever loves cute girls, and she’s just not cute at all? Suffer in silence, mostly, if we learn anything from Sasamekikoto, Volume 1. (ささめきこと)  ^_^

Murasame Sumika has a real problem. She’s in love with her BFF, Kazama Ushio. Ushio is always looking for a girlfriend but, unfortunately, she’s fond of the extra-cute girly type…and Sumi’s just not that. Not at all. Good in athletics, a little rough around the edges, Sumi would make the perfect Prince to Ushio’s Princess, but Ushio just can’t see the obvious.

When Sumi and Ushio spy a couple of girls kissing in their classroom, nothing gets any easier. Miyako and Tomoe see Ushio and Sumi “practicing” kissing, while Ushio wears a plastic mask…it’s a long story…and blackmails Sumi into joining their new “Girl Club” for women who love women. Brilliance, except Sumi explains it was all a misunderstanding, and…. But Ushio jumps at the chance to join and Sumi is dragged along, dragging along another member (because remember, you need five people to start a club) who is a cute boy who likes Sumi who dresses like a girl and does modeling work.

It’s all very convoluted, and amusing.

When the Girl Club starts hanging out, Sumi bumps right up against the thing she’d really like to say to Ushio, but somehow, just can’t bring herself to do it. In the end of the volume Sumi’s forced to watch Ushio hit on another girl, again, who isn’t her.

This manga is a comedy and, while it’s basically one or two jokes repeated endlessly, it is pretty amusing. Not “zOMG bwahahahah!” but more like “heheh” amusing. And, even though it *was* only one or two jokes endlessly rehashed, I didn’t hate it by the end, which has to count for something. ^_^

The art reminds me of something else, which I am so far unable to identify – someone help me out here and tell me what it makes me think of?

Cute kisses, haha funnies, and not-fanservice filled high school Yuri drama. Lesbian approved.

Ratings:

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

Overall – 8

Sasamekikoto is *perfect* for Yuri fans who like the “best friend who loves her friend in very loud silence” trope. If you were ever a Tomoyo fan, this is probably the book you’ve been looking for.





Yuri Manga: Kiseki Goten

April 20th, 2008

Imagine if there was a place for women to go, where there were beautiful women to cater to their needs, to help them relax, cast off their world-weariness and find themselves in an aura of refined luxury and sensuality.

Welcome to the Miracle Palace. ^_^

Kiseki Goten by Wako was, like Reijin na Hito, a collection made of stories by a Mist magazine artist, the lesbian-themed Ladies Comic magazine of the late 1990s.

Our first miracle involves Wakana, who is unable to face her unfulfilling relationship with her boyfriend. She meets Mari at the station and together they arrive by taxi at the Kiseki Goten. Once there, Mari throws herself into the pleasures that the Palace has waiting for them, but Wakana is uneasy with the open sexuality of the women there. It’s not until the Palace’s owner, Ryouko, assigns her top Servant Girl (SG for short), Shizuya, that Wakana will even talk to anyone. Shizuya takes Wakana to bed, shows her ecstasy for the night and gives her advice about her relationship. When Mari meets Wakana again on the way back to the town, she comments that Wakana seems like a new person. Wakana realizes that the world is a beautiful place as long as you can face it head on and, she heads home, looking forward to a bright future.

Miracle two begins with the appearance of an old man at the entrance to the Kiseki Goten. When he’s told that men are not allowed there, he takes off his hat, wig and whiskers to reveal that he’s really famous model Saikawa Mizuki, returning after a year to visit her old girlfriend Reika, an employee at the Kiseki Goten. Although Mizuki has been paired in the press with a popular male singer, she longs to be reuinted with Reika, who is now the Goten’s most popular performer. They reunite, but in the middle of making love, Reika starts to cry – she’s seen the news reports of Mizuki’s entanglement with the singer…and a year is a long time to be apart. Reika runs back to her room. Sitting by herself, Mizuki is visited by the owner, who explains that Reika’s heart is breaking at the reports of Mizuki’s success, even though she, Ryouko, knows that the male singer is gay. Mizuki apologizes to Reika and promises to never leave her again. They are seen off with flowers by the staff, as they head off to a life together, forever. The note in the flowers promises dire retribution from Ryouko, if Mizuki ever makes Reika sad again.

In Miracle three, we meet Haruka and Mutsumi, both single mothers, who take a night off together and end up at the club at Kiseki Goten, dancing. Mutsumi is outed by the recognition of owner Ryouko. Haruka can’t help but notice Mutsumi’s interest in her, and eventually admits that she’s interested too and has been since they first met. The two spend the night together and find love and caring for years to come in each other’s arms.

In the final Miracle, Kobato meets the owner of the Goten at an art exhibit. With no particular plans for the future, she joins the staff as an SG, but finds it hard on her emotions, when she comes to care for her clients more than they do for her. Ryouko takes Kobato to bed, and explains that love, and sex, come in many forms, and that she can find happiness in her own life. Kobato regains her balance and continues her career at the Kiseki Goten with enthusiasm.

The last page of the manga finds us being welcomed with open arms by the staff of Kiseki Goten.

This is followed by an art gallery of some of Wako’s splash art for her Mist stories, and finally by paper dolls of the Kiseki Goten staff.

All in all, a wonderful woman-loving-woman interlude, and sweet stories of lesbian sex saving the day. And really, isn’t that we all are looking for in Yuri manga? Well, I know *I* am, anyway. ^_^

Ratings:

Art – 9
Stories – 8
Characters – 7
Yuri – 10
Service – 5 (yes, lots of naked women, but all adult, all consenting and no peeping or other creeper qualities.)

Overall – 9

Why *isn’t* there a Kiseki Goten? It sounds like a great vacation to me. ^_^

Thanks to everyone for your congratulations, your support and your enthusiasm – this 1000th post is dedicated to everyone who makes Okazu a success; readers, reviewers and Yuri fans everywhere!

(And no, I haven’t forgotten the contests. I’ll be announcing winners this week!)





Yuri Manga: Hayate x Blade, Volume 8

April 19th, 2008

Lots of *amazing* stuff happens in Volume 8 of Hayate x Blade, so let’s deal with the most important thing first….the “Best Shinyuu Poll” that ran in Dengeki Daioh! ^_^

Number one by a hefty margin: Jun and Yuho. Yes, the lesbian tops the list. But of course.

Number two is: Akira and Sae. So, erm, the butchy boi comes in second…

Number three is, let’s see: Hitsugi and Shizuku…I think I see a pattern here.

Hayate and Ayana come in 4th, Michi and Kiji in 5th. In case you care.

Okay, so on to the story which, despite the fact that this volume mostly takes place over winter holiday, is chock full of action and surprise.

The big exhibition fight between Sid and Nancy and Akira and Sae ends in drama. Akira has won, but she’s taken a beating. When she challenges Hitsugi to a duel, the President declines, but Sae ends the conversation by poking Akira in her broken rib and bringing her to the ground in pain.

A bunch of the first-years are staying at the school over the holidays, so to have a little fun with them, Hitsugi decides that they will clean up in the catacombs below the school. (There are tunnels below the school? Just go with it.) They encounter all sorts of amusing obstacles – ghosts, skeletons, a rampaging bull…and someone who looks awfully like Hayate, only it’s not. Yes, Hayate’s twin sister Nagi has arrived, and she looks like trouble.

Meanwhile, Jun checks in with Yukari, Akira tries to recover from her broken rib and, Ayana learns the truth about what happened that fateful day when she went beserk against Ensuu and injured Yukari. And it’s not at all what she thought.

Both Ayana and Hayate find renewed energy and determination to be the best at Hoshitori and start training like lunatics. When Akira offers to one-on-one with Ayana, Hitsugi smells some fun and makes it a battle for a hot steamy sweet potato. (This is a LOT funnier than I’m making it sound. It was actually freaking hysterical.)

The final chapter is the “behind the scenes” look at the making of the second Hayate x Blade Drama CD, full of the usual chaos.

I think that the best thing about this book is Hitsugi cracking herself up. Every time she’s face down into a pillow trying to not laugh out loud, or seeing the sweet potato fire and telling Shizuku that “it’s a signal fire, calling for me'” it completely slays me. ^_^

With the English release of Hayate x Blade just around the corner this summer, it’s good to know that more silly violence than ever before awaits us.

Ratings:

Art – 8
Story – 9
Characters – 9
Yuri – 3
Service – 3

Overall – 9

As I said last volume – the art is really getting better and better, and the story is still going at full steam. Without a doubt, one of my favorite manga of all time.

So – tomorrow will be post 1000. I wonder what I’ll post about? ^_^

 





Yuri Manga: Mermaid Line

April 18th, 2008

In the face of the continuing moe-fication of the manga world in general, and the Yuri world in particular, it’s nice to know that there are a few men who can buck the trend. Like Kishi Torajirou’s Mars no Kiss, Kindaichi Renjurou’s Mermaid Line is a Josei-style book by a male author.

Mermaid Line is a collection of stories that ran in Yuri Hime magazine. They are collected together as short mini-series, done in an episodic, almost soap-opera-y way.

In “Megumi and Aoi ” Megumi confesses to her friend Aoi that, despite her ungainly swimming, she feels as if she is a mermaid. Aoi finds herself fantasizing about being the prince to Megumi’s mermaid, but Megumi runs to the arms of a boy, trying to put a beard on her feelings. Aoi is turned into the class target, but Megumi realizes that she’s made a bad decision and once more approaches Aoi. Eventually, they go out and, over cake, come to agreement that it’s not male or female that’s important, but that you like someone.

Ayumi, in “Ayumi and Aika,” wants to get married to her boyfriend so naturally, she’s shocked when he tells her that he wants to become a woman. She learns to cope with this and reconnect to him as a friend, but when he comes back into her life, as gay bar hostess Aika, friendless and homeless, Ayumi rethinks everything. It’s not marriage, but Ayumi’s pretty confident she can love Aika as a woman.

“Yukari and Mayuko” are both OLs. Mayuko’s between boyfriends and bored, so she asks Yukari to pretend to be her girlfriend. It works out well, until Yukari realizes that her feelings for Mayuko are more than just pretend. When Mayuko gets a new boyfriend, Yukari lets her go, but there’s no happy end for her.

And finally, in “Miura-san and Me” Okabe loves Miura’s beautiful hair. When Miura-san cuts it all off, Okabe learns to love her for herself.

Overall, the stories deal with feelings that are more complex than just “I like her.” There’s a sense of the characters being realer and deeper than the normal “Story A”types. There is angst and there’s bullying, and being outcast, but there’s also acceptance and growth and of course, love.

While none of these narratives are breath-taking, “Ayumi and Aika” stands out as the best of the bunch. By far and away, the strongest of the series in this book. I liked this series the first time around and it’s just as nice this time. Where something like Kashimashi plays the gender change card as a handwave you just need to go with, this miniseries looks at it with a light hand, a humorous touch and a sensitive heart.

Ratings:

Art – 8
Story – 7
Characters – 7
Yuri – 9
Service – 1

Overall – 7

The tagline on the obi says, “Love doesn’t come in only one form” which I think it a fitting, and pretty, summation for this book.





Interview with Yuri Translator Erin Subramanian

April 15th, 2008

Here’s the second entry in our industry interviews! This time, we’re talking to Erin Subramanian, a freelance translator and the much beloved Rosa Chinensis of Yuri scanlation group Lililicious. Erin also reviews Yuri manga, mostly stuff I don’t review here, at her Livejournal. I recommend it to you, if you don’t already have it bookmarked.

Anyway, welcome to Erin, and let’s get started with today’s interview!

1) So let’s start with the most obvious question – tell us a little bit about yourself.

I am a yuri manga fan who translates for a yuri publisher (ALC Publishing) and translates and copyreads for a BL publisher. I also translate for free in my spare time. I have a B.A. in Japanese from the University of Rochester, and have been translating manga for around seven years now, though most of that work has not been for pay. I am a bisexual woman in a long-term relationship with a woman, and though yuri has a special place in my heart, I also love (male) gay and straight romance stories.

2) Are you a manga reader yourself? How did you get into manga? Did that lead you into working in the manga industry? Or do you just do it for the fame, glory and chicks? ;-)

Yes. I got into anime first–Sailor Moon–and then into manga from that. It was my enjoyment of manga that lead me to seek a job in the industry. Fame and glory don’t sound particularly appealing, and I think my partner would disapprove of the chicks (and dudes). :-/ However, when people ask me what I do, I get to tell them that I translate gay porn. It’s hard to top that.

3) Are you a fan of Yuri manga? Did you know it existed before you started working on a title? What were your thoughts upon seeing your first Yuri job?

Yes, yes, and “Cool, a yuri manga in a historical setting” (this was Morishima Akiko’s short one-shot “Ichigo-Hime,” from Yuri Monogatari 4).

4) Not every Yuri series is equal. Some are better than others. What, if any, thoughts do you have about the series you’ve worked on. Silly? Serious? Quality? Not?

I particularly like the works I translated for Yuri Monogatari 5–they’re a mix of silly and serious stories, and I’m glad that there is some sort of market for works like that here too. Not that I think they’re the only sort of works that should come over here, of course–there are a lot of great yuri titles of all kinds that I would love to see do well here.

5) Which Yuri titles would you like to see make it over here? Anything you’d like to get to work on?

Yamaji Ebine’s works. More titles from Yuri Hime, particularly “Kisses, Sighs, and Cherry-Blossom Pink,” “Strawberry Shake Sweet,” “Rakuen no Jouken,” and “The Miko’s Words and the Witch’s Incantations.” “Kaguyahime,” “Love Vibes,” “Maria-sama ga Miteru,” “Pieta,” “Plica” (and I’d love to see the “Plica” movie on something like Logo’s “Alien Boot Camp” series), “Shibuya District, Maruyama Neighborhood,” and “Sweet Blue Flowers.” More works from artists like Tadeno Eriko and UKOZ. No surprises there, I’m sure. As for the second question: All of them, I suppose. However, as long as the English edition is done well, it doesn’t particularly matter to me whether I personally get to work on it. There are always plenty of other titles out there that are in need of attention, and plenty of other things that I would enjoy translating.

6) What’s your favorite and least favorite thing about your job?

My favorite thing is getting to share something I enjoy with others. Those moments when the perfect translation of a line just comes to you are right up there too, though. My least favorite thing is agonizing over the best way to convey a line, particularly when I need to convince someone else to agree with me on it. Also, translating rape scenes.

7) Anything else you want to tell our audience?

I’m pleased to see more yuri coming over here, and hope it sells well. We’re fortunate that so much good yuri manga is being created; I try not to take its existence–or that of the artists and publishers who are taking a chance on it–for granted. That’s not to say that we should have lower standards when it comes to yuri, or praise yuri works when we think they’re mediocre or worse–I just think we’re lucky that there are enough of us to constitute a fanbase and that there are so many talented people out there who are creating yuri works. Let’s hope that state of affairs continues.

Thanks again!

It was my pleasure.