Archive for the Yuri Manga Category


Top Ten Yuri Countdown of 2007

December 24th, 2007

As I sit here and look over my top ten list for 2007, I have to laugh. I’m not sure I know what I was thinking when I wrote it. lol But that’s okay, I can’t imagine why anyone would care what I think, anyway. So here goes:

10) Cream Lemon Escalation Light Novel

Yes, this book is 20 years old. But I only managed to read it this year, so here it is. Not only is this Light Novel chock full o’Yuri hentai, it’s the ancestor of several other notable Yuri series. Like a pervy grandfather alongside our grandmothers Yoshiya Nobuko and Ikeda Riyoko, this story shaped what we know and love as “Yuri” today.

9) Cutie Honey/Cutey Honey

Speaking of pervy grandfathers. This year saw the release of the awesome Cutie Honey a-GoGo Perfect Volume *and* the new Cutie Honey the Live TV show. And once again, Yuri abounds in this heap of pandering, fetishes and pervtasticness. It’s almost a challenge at this point – how low and horrid can this series go and still be loads of fun? I don’t know – I guess we’ll find out, won’t we? :-)

8) Strawberry Panic Light Novels and Drama CDs

One more for the how low can you go file. These novels were full of tortured metaphors and ridiculous handwaves (can you say private helicopters? I knew you could) – and the occasional sexy and sometimes even lovely moment. I still await their English debut from Seven Seas with bated breath because they are so laughably awful and I await the response of fandom even more as they bend reality to justify how good they *must* be, since we can never admit to just liking something that’s junk. lol And the Drama CDs are even worse! This grandchild of Escalation makes this list for the combination of wtf-ness and Yuri.

7) Kashimashi Girl Meets Girl

This is the last time I mention this, seriously. Both anime and manga came out in English this year, marking Media Blasters’ entry into the Yuri market, and continuing Seven Seas foray into yuri-ish manga. I really don’t love this series half as much as it might seem from its presence on all of this year’s lists, but it was well-adapted in all cases and it’s just a fluke of timing, mostly. lol Although I still wished Tomari and Yasuna ended up together, Kashimashi makes this year’s top ten at 7th.

6) Magical Girl Lyrical Nanoha StrikerS

I’m going to allow my biases to show for one moment – this is on this list for being conglomeration of many things that I like, as much as because I saw it as Yuri. StrikerS had adult women, in military uniform, kicking ass in pretty colors, all of which made it one of the best shows I watched this year.

5) Blue Drop

And gee…Blue Drop has women in (admittedly ugly) military uniforms, etc, etc. I’m consistent. I like soup to have nice chunky pieces of meat and veggies and I like women in uniform. And spaceships and battles…and Yuri. Since the Yuri in Blue Drop is more overt that that in StrikerS, it makes it onto the list at fourth. I really wish this series was longer – I’d happily watch it for as long as they wanted to show it to me.

4) Simoun

The Megami magazine version didn’t do a thing for the mythos, but the Drama CD massively upped the “obvious” Yuri. And the anime, which I feared would not be adaptable and coherent, was extremely well handled by the folks at Media Blasters. And instead of downplaying the Yuri, they jumped right in and marketed it as Yuri, which makes them the first anime company to ever do that. Above all, the story remains brilliant, as does the art, the music and the characters. We can all look forward to more Simoun.

3) Maria-sama ga Miteru

The OAVs were fun, they were romantic, they were a very decent adaptation of the novels. The DJCDs and web radios massively pumped up the Yuri for fans’ enjoyment, and the novels…they are just full of love-love moments. I’m so far behind in reading them, that you’re going to have to hear about this series for a long time to come. :-) For Yumi and Sachiko, Rei and Yoshino, Tsutako and Shouko and Sei and everyone, lol, this series continues to make my top three for the year.

2) Yuri Hime and Yuri Hime S

Never before have so many artists, male and female, been gathered together to draw stories of girls (and women, sometimes) in love. Some of the best names in the industry, many who have been drawing Yuri/Girls Love/Onna x Onna manga for ages, are represented here. Yuri Hime, mostly by women who draw Yuri and Yuri Hime S, mostly men who draw Yuri, all drawing for us, the Yuri audience. Their collections are high quality and coming soon to western shores via Seven Seas, and I’m really looking forward to seeing them here. Because 8 times a year I get all excited to see what each new issue holds, Ichijinsha’s GL magazines are the second best Yuri of the year.

1) Iono-sama Fanatics

As I mentioned yesterday, I still find it incredible that Infinity is translating this. But even more so, how fantastic that second, final volume is, with its silly epilogue, fashionable clothing (Fujieda does brilliant costume design) and charming, appealing characters and all the Yuri a fan could want. Heck, for the cover of the second volume alone, this series could make number one. lol

The number one Yuri title of 2007 – Iono-sama Fanatics

***

Let me take this opportunity to thank all the folks who have sent me items to review and the companies that have provided review copies – I couldn’t do it without you.

Most importantly, I want to thank everyone who has read and commented here over the past year! I wish you all a happy, healthy New Year!

Next entry, my adventures throwing money at the Japanese economy! See you there. ^_^





Top Ten Yuri Manga of 2007

December 23rd, 2007

Arrrghhhhh! How on earth am I supposed to pick a Top Ten? There was so much with dribbles of Yuri and so little that was *good*. I could do a Top 4 easy, 3 anyway. lol Again, to ease my indecision crisis of conscience, I’m splitting the list into English and Japanese…and cheating by having a bunch of Honorable Mentions. It’s not like this is a science or I get extra points for precision or anything. lol

English Language Manga

Honorable Mentions: Because they made the Top Ten lists last year and because I’ve beat them to death here at Okazu, I would like to give Honorable Mentions to both Read or Dream and Strawberry Marshmallow. I can’t get enough of them, but I’m sick to death of singing their praises. :-)

5) Kedamono Damono

This series is a go nowhere dead-end shoujo romance story where the Yuri is meant to provide comedy and ballast for the straight romance. But as far as the volumes I read went, the *only* part of the romance that was even marginally functional was the Yuri part, so, despite my personal disinterest in the story, we’ll give it fifth place.

4) Yuri Monogatari 5

This year’s anthology from ALC is almost *exactly* the book I want to publish. With 6 stories by Japanese artists and 8 by artists from the rest of the world, this is an awesome book. Happy sad, realistic, fantastic, there’s something for everyone. I don’t personally love every story, but every story taught me something. As the only example of josei Yuri by women for women out there, I’d be remiss if I ignored it out of humility. If I hadn’t published it myself, it would have still made this list – and probably at a much higher rank.

3) The Last Uniform

How I wish I liked this series. But I don’t. I don’t care for the endless gavotte these girls dance around one another and I have never liked the art. But Seven Seas does an exceptional job of reproduction and it’s the only really Yuri manga they mangaged to get on to the shelves in 2007, so I could point to it and say, “this is Yuri.” For the sheer Yuriness of it, The Last Uniform comes in third.

2) Kashimashi Girl Meets Girl

I was so very, very sure when I first read this series, that Hazumu was going to end up the series as a boy. I’m very pleased to have been wrong about that – and about every other thing in regards to this series that I predicted. lol The story had some serious handwaves to overcome, but is fairly solid as a love story and a Yuri one at that. And extra points to Seven Seas for what continues to be the best adaptation of a manga into English that I’ve seen.

1) Iono-sama Fanatics

I can’t tell you how excited I was that this apparently obscure Yuri manga was translated. It’s whimsical, fun, action-filled and well…Yuri. Fujieda Miyabi’s art is moe to the max, and yet it really grew on me. He writes sweet, somewhat goofy stories that don’t adhere to most of the tropes of Yuri. No schoolgirls here, just a Queen and her handmaidens, ridiculous adventures and Yuri love. While Infinity definitely can improve in their adaptation of the book, the story and characters carry this series far above and beyond the rest of this year’s lot. The winner, without question for this year’s best Yuri manga in English – Iono-sama Fanatics.

Japanese Language Manga

Honorable Mentions: These go to Kools which I have yet to read, but am adding to this list solely on the basis of Erin’s glowing recommendation. :-) And Gunsmith Cats Burst for bringing back Evil Psycho Lesbian Goldie and notching up Misty’s campaign to stay near Rally in a way that will surely start a new round of fanfic somewhere. lol

5) Sakura no Kiwa

No one paid the least bit attention as I reviewed this ridiculous series by the same artist that created Transistor ni Venus. lol It has a passive-agressive lesbian couple – in all sorts of denial – and slacker family members, and way too many cats. In a sane universe I would have loathed and despised it, only, I didn’t. In fact, I’m really hoping against hope for a 4th volume I know will probably never come. No one’s gonna scanlate this. No one cares. No one but me, that is. Fifth, dammit.

4) Kawaii Anata

Like many of the Yuri Hime collections, these stories work better as an anthology than they did as separate stories in the magazine. Hiyori Otsu also eschews the typical tropes for older, sometimes randomly cracked characters, but even the typical characters seem to have some depth. The art is pleasing, the stories don’t make one want to bang one’s head against the wall, so it comes in at an easy fourth.

3) Hatsukoi Shimai

This series, with two volumes out now in Japanese with a third around the corner,and one out any day in English, is so stereotypically “Yuri” that it hurts. Like The Last Uniform it is about love among students at an all-girl’s school. Unlike The Last Uniform, the girls actually get together, with admissions of love and kissing (necking, even) and all the stuff that so frequently is missing from schoolgirl Yuri. And it has Touko-sensei, whose inappropriate and unethical relationsip with Akiho is my most favorite couple in the series. :-) When they get together, this series goes up a rank. Third place for this Yuri Hime serial where the girl actually *gets* the girl.

2) Hayate x Blade

In reality, there is only one lesbian character in this series. But there are dozens of couples. Hitsugi and Shizuku, Kiji and Michi, Akira and Sae, Momoka and Isuzu…the list goes on and on. But above all of them, Jun, with her openly proclaimed love and desire for women and Hayate with her openly proclaimed love and desire for Ayana, make this baka school/action/comedy win for Yuri fans everywhere. With Hayashiya Shizuru at the helm, you can be sure to get laughs and Yuri love aplenty.

Envelope please…this year’s winner for best Yuri Manga in the Japanese language is….

1) Aoi Hana

Technically, this book was published right at the end of 2006, but I bought, read and reviewed it in the beginning of 2007. Sweet Blue Flowers is yet another schoolgirl Yuri story. With a simple, quiet feel, an understated realism and touching, interesting characters, this story, like Hatsukoi Shimai is practically a poster child for the genre. I was honestly hoping to have Volume 3 by now to review, but I’ll be sure to pick it up asap in Tokyo. Fumi and Yasuko’s relationship has few fireworks, but the drama is solid. For taking the same old story and doing something *good* with it, Shimura Takako’s Aoi Hana takes top prize.

We have one winner from the boy’s side – Iono-sama Fanatics and one from the girls’ side – Aoi Hana. How balanced we are here at Okazu!

Tomorrow – the final countdown for the year! Bring popcorn!





Yuri Manga: Comic Yuri Hime Wildrose, Volume 1 (百合姫 Wildrose)

December 13th, 2007

Comic Yuri Hime: Wildrose, Volume 1 (百合姫 Wildrose) is an anthology from Ichijinsha, the folks who put out Yuri Hime magazine. Many of the artists are already contributors to YH, and some are known for outside series.

The stories in the collection are variations on the “two schoolgirls in love” theme, much like the ES ~ Eternal Sisters and Yuri Tengoku anthologies. Most of them involve sex, very few of them involve plot or characterization.

The entirety of the collection can be summed up by describing one story, drawn by Morishima Akiko, in which the two protagonists, having kissed, wonder out loud “What’s next?” And as they progress to “what’s next” we get a sort of shortened version of every lesbian’s internal coming out – without the lesbian identity, of course.

Which leads me to today’s digression. Recently, on the Yuricon Mailing List, we had a discussion about how few Yuri characters are “out and proud.” The majority of posters said that it was enough for a character to be “obvious” to be considered “out,” with me disagreeing, as usual. lol I feel that in order to be considered out, one has to actually be able to say, “I am a lesbian.” Otherwise, you’re just “obvious.” Not the same thing at all to me.

This all made me realize something I hadn’t ever put into words before, so here we go – “Yuri” is, almost by definition, a character with lesbian interest who is *not* lesbian-identified.

Even my beloved Queens of Yuri, Haruka and Michiru, never came out. They were obvious, but never once did they say “we’re a couple” or “we’re lesbian.” Yes, the creator later said that. And yes, they were characters in a shoujo manga in 1994. But the point is – they are not “out” in the context of the canon. In fact, when confronted directly in the anime, Haruka denies that they are a couple (I have a theory about that, but I’ll skip it for now) and in the manga asked in return if it really mattered whether she was a man or a woman? This was probably as close as Takeuchi could get to coming out at the time, but it was still ambiguous enough for many people to deny their “obvious” relationship.

If a character self-defines as a lesbian, then she’s out. But the LARGE majority of Yuri characters are not out – they are “just, in love” with this-person-who-happens-to-be-female. Much like the large proportion of BL characters who are amazingly not gay, although they only have sex and relationships with other men.

When pressed, obviously “lesbian” characters in manga will often say, “I like women” or “I don’t want to be labled” rather than say “I am a lesbian.”

I imagine that some of this can be chalked up to the Japanese preference for obfuscation and some to the fact that ambiguity sells better. And to add to this, the fact that long-term couples in real life don’t walk around saying “Hi, we’re lesbians,” so in actual *lesbian* manga (and real life,) you still don’t have overt “outness.” Rica and Miho going to Gay Pride, are rare indeed. There’s far more like Nene and Jun, who have sex, fall in love, and generally are a couple, without *ever* acknowledging that that is what they are. You know – “More than friends, less than lovers.” (A phrase that I later commented allows a person to have her cake and eat it too. Pun intended.)

So most of the stories in Wildrose are in this space – girls in love, having relationships – and sex – with other girls, but they’re not lesbians. Just, you know, in love.

Here is what I thought was the best story of the collection. It begins with Yumi and Sachiko clones. The Yumi clone, Mari, tells us – and all her classmates – that she and the Sachiko clone, Michika, are in love. And we see them sitting next to each other in class where Michika passes Mari an eraser, their eyes briefly meeting not particularly meaningfully. Then Mari tells us that they go out for a bite after school together, so we see them sitting next to one another at a snack counter – but apart as if there is no connection. In fact, it becomes apparent that the relationship is one-sided and our cheerful little Yumi clone is a stalker. Her friends freak out and try to stop her, but she gets away from them as she follows the subject of her desire. Her friends go one way, but we see behind the wall where the two girls are now together, embracing passionately. Mari and Michika make love, and Michika apologizes for not being more forthcoming recently. Of course she is forgiven. The next day at school, the classmates all demand to hear that they have a relationship directly from Michika’s mouth. “From my mouth” she says, and leans over to kiss Mari. The classmates all apologize for their doubt and we’re left smiling, because it was a stupid, but fun, almost-Marimite parody story. With no lesbians.

Ratings (variable, so everything is averaged):

Art – 6
Stories – 6
Characters – 6
Yuri – 9
Service – 7 (lots of undressing)

Overall – 6

If what you like best is young women finding love and sex with one another Wildrose is perfect. If you’re looking for something with more awareness of lesbian identity, go re-read Rica tte Kanji?! :-)

 





Yuri Manga: Reijin na Hito

December 6th, 2007

Today’s thanks go to Erin for the object of today’s review. It came from out of the blue and I absolutely love it, so thank you!!

Yumi is a woman with a gift. She loves women. Her gift is to bring women understanding about the people and things that are most important to them, to make them see what they really need to focus on, and to envision their own happiness and dreams, by sleeping with them. Because Yumi’s gift is so powerful, she sleeps with a lot of women, to help them all find the happiness they deserve. A dream job, really. :-)

Reijin na Hito (Beautiful Woman) is one of the few collections based on stories that ran in MIST Magazine, the classic adult-, and often lesbian-themed, “Ladies Comics” manga magazine that ran in the mid to late 90’s. It’s a testament to how many issues of MIST I am still missing that of all the chapters in this book, I had only read the first. I have a new purpose in life – I *must* find the other issues. (This is me making a determined face.)

So, in each chapter, a woman is in a relationship already, but is either unhappy – usually due to low self esteem or lack of faith in her lover – or doesn’t realize what she has. Yumi comes onto the scene and everyone goes gaga for her. She’s apparently unworldly in her beauty, something the art doesn’t *quite* live up to. The protagonist falls for Yumi’s beauty and that *something* which is her gift. By the end of the story, Yumi’s unconditional love and angelic magnificence has made the protagonist realize how important her real lover is. Protagonist and lover live happily ever after and Yumi moves on.

This was basically the plot for all but one chapter, which was my favorite.

In that one chapter, we meet supermodel Yamagata Hiroko. She’s incredibly famous and popular, and has recently done a nude photo collection. Now, to understand the significance of this, you kind of need to understand the bigger picture in the Japanese idol world. Doing a nude photo shoot is very much a two-edged sword for a Japanese model. On the one hand, it guarantees her insto-popularity, but on the other hand, those fans are probably all the “wrong” kind. In other words, she may increase her popularity, but she loses the respect of the industry. On the ever-present third hand, doing nudes is practically required by the industry, which then labels you as a slut and tosses you out the door because you’re not pure anymore and they’re looking at then newest 14 year old to walk in. And I wish I were kidding when I say all of this, but I’m not. The masterwork of a movie Perfect Blue is predicated around this same conundrum.

So, when Hiroko puts out her nude photo collection, people start saying that she’s washed up, that she did that to increase her waning popularity and because she’s old. (She’s probably 24.) Her ego takes a big hit and she practically has a breakdown. And then Yumi shows up. It turns out that she and Yumi are not only on-again, off-again lovers, but perfectly suited to one another. And, as they talk and make love, Yumi not only gives Hiroko back her self-esteem, she allows her to see herself and her dream clearly. Hiroko’s dream, it turns out, is to design clothes – not just any clothes, but to design the perfect outfit for Yumi. In the morning Yumi wakes up to find herself alone and reads a letter from Hiroko explaining this. Yumi begins to cry as she reads, and we learn that she deeply and truly loves this woman. It was bittersweet and, considering the book as a whole, kind of touching.

Reijin na Hito is not world shaking, nor is Kobayashi Takumi my favorite MIST artist. But the stories are basically sexy, empowering in a way and 100% lesbian. (I so desperately wanted to type “have no icky men to ruin the story” here ironically but didn’t, because you just know someone was going to quote that out of context…. ^_^) And for sheer rarity, it’s plain cool to have it.

Ratings:

Art – 7
Story – 7
Characters – 6
Yuri – 10
Service – 8

Overall – 7

Again, thank you Erin, it’s very cool and much appreciated addition to the world’s largest Yuri collection, which is taking over my house. ^_^





Yuri Manga: Red Garden, Volume 2

December 2nd, 2007

In every way but one, Red Garden, Volume 2 is the perfect (for me) Yuri manga. The one way it is less than perfect is that it doesn’t really have any Yuri. But aside from that, it’s pretty perfect! ^_^

Volume 2 picks up right after Volume 1, in the middle of a battle between our four protagonists and a beast man. It becomes immediately apparent that 1) Kate is the leader and linchpin of the four and that; 2) Rachel tastes the best, because she’s *always* the one with fangs dug into her shoulder.

Volume 2 follows Kate as she discovers that there are other girls who are also fighting the good fight, and that Lise was once one of them – even when she was innocently sharing an exchange diary with Kate. This of course means that she was already dead, which naturally upsets Kate a bit.

Clare and Kate bond in a way that would totally make them a couple if either of them had the slightest interest in the other. But it does open up the story for several people asking right out if Kate is Clare’s girfriend – in fact so many people ask, that that Kate begins to find it funny. So did I. They were totally gay together.

Rose cries a lot. And Lula gets a few moments of extra crazy Hellsing-esque faces in.

Kate meets Herve’s sister Anna, and he has to pretend to not want to kill Kate while they spend the day together.

And in the end, we see preserved bodies of the Animus’ past, with lots of worms going in and out, for extra creepy.

Oh, and yes, Paula has another chance to stroke Kate lovingly so that Jessica has another chance to have an apoplectic fit.

…and all’s right with the world. ^_^

I was glad to see that we do spend a bit of time in Kate and Clare’s lives, so we get a bit of depth about both of them. I hope that future volumes will cover Rose and Rachel, as well.

Red Garden remains extra violent, half about the clothes, half about the blood, creepy, disturbing and fabulous. If only Clare would just give it up and be the lesbian she obviously is – I mean, random guys on the street, her boss, me, we all think so. So duh already!

Ratings:

Art – 7
Story – 7
Characters – 8
Yuri – 5
Service – 3

Overall – 7 and I enjoyed the heck out of it.

Who can resist four cute girls brutally beating a slavering man-beast to death while wearing charming frocks? Not me, at any rate.