Yuriten 2019 in Osaka, Guest Report by Zoey B.

April 12th, 2019

This week is a super-special week – we had a guest review from Christian LeBlanc earlier this week and today, we have a special Guest Event Report! Zoey B. has once more been able to visit the Yuriten Exhibit in Osaka and has returned bearing pictures and a report for us all! I hope you will all welcome Zoey back once more and make her feel welcome. Take it away, Zoey!

Yuriten is a small exhibition and shop of all things related to Yuri held yearly, hosted by Village Vanguard and Kadokawa. It focuses on Yuri in manga as well photographers and illustrators whose work is on the theme of Girls Love. It began in 2016 and this year is being held in over 5 different locations across Japan: Tokyo, Osaka, Sendai, Nagoya, and Fukuoka. The Osaka exhibit has just finished, and starting this weekend will move to Sendai.

This time of the year brings warmer weather and cherry blossoms across Japan, making for picturesque romantic scenes under the cherry blossoms trees – and also, all the Yuri you could ask for! This year’s event is bigger, and if I might say, better than last year’s – not only just in the number of locations, but the participating authors and material on display as well. I was fortunate to attend last year’s event in Osaka, and again this year.

The Osaka event was held in the same place as last year – in the event hall atop a huge shopping centre, Namba Parks, in the center of the city. People were free to come and go as they pleased, which made the amount of people there heartening. I went with my wife again this year – which I think is becoming a yearly tradition. We were fortunate to go on a weekday, at a quieter hour, as we were able to take our time with each one and not feel rushed. I say that, because we actually went again this past weekend to quickly purchase something and the amount of people there was quite significant!

As you walk in, the employees usher you towards the set route that’s laid out, going through the displayed artwork, sectioned off by author, photographer, or illustrator. I could tell immediately the difference from last year’s – there were a lot more on display than before! The route goes through the artworks and any messages from the authors, and also has some nice surprises, such as a poster for the event covered in the signatures of the participants.

 

 

 

 

At the end of artwork displays, it opens up into the shop. The amount of goods in the shop also helps to show how much bigger the event is this year. Like the exhibit, each participant or series had its own display and respective goods, and the area where you lined up to pay was full of all kinds of Yuri-related publications. Last year had a good range of the popular series, but we were happy to see some we’d had never come across, and other less-known works being collected and released by various publishers. From Comic Yuri Hime serializations and Galette Works, to probably some manga that I could argue weren’t Yuri, but maybe had some elements – there was a pretty vast range.
However, something special to note this year had to be the Yuriten Chronicle. It’s a nicely-printed A4 book, collecting of all the featured artists and artwork showcased at Yuriten from 2016-2018.

 

 

 

You can have the chance to get one of your manga signed by your favourite author, if you  attend and make a purchase on the weekend. This is done by lottery, as you can imagine the amount of people jumping at the chance. We did not partake in this, sadly, but it seemed like a relatively organized and calm affair.

Yuriten all finishes off as you exit the shop, with massive boards full of sticky notes – any visitor can write a message or draw an image, and these are really sweet to read through as you leave. My personal favourite had to be the person who wrote, “I want a 2DK, G-Pen anime”. On our second visit, my wife pointed out that the sticky notes began filling up the walls as well. Seeing all the little notes is a great reminder that there is an audience for this event! And that people are just as excited about Yuri as you are.

 

 

Yuriten may not have the craziness that Comiket or Comitia bring, but as an event, it has its own charm. Both my wife and I look forward to seeing how it grows from here. If you get a chance to attend one these events whether this year or in the future and are a fan of Yuri (or even just interested!), I would definitely recommend paying a visit.

 

Erica here: Thank you again Zoey! I’m very sorry I’m missing the event this year (I met Kawamoto-san from Kadoawa last February at Comitia and all we both could do is apologize to one another for poor timing,) but if anyone has a chance to see it in any of the other cities, please let us know. We’d love pictures of the setup! ^_^

Posted in Events, Guest Review | 8 Comments »


Yuri Manga: Cotton Candy

April 11th, 2019

Hamano Ringo’s Cotton Candy was the first of the Galette collected volumes to be printed. I feel a little bad that it’s taken me this long to get around to it because, like it’s name, it’s very sweet.

There’s nothing objectionable at all, about the collection but for me the stand out story is the first, the titular “Cotton Candy.” This three-part story follows two girls who share a commute to school. They don’t really talk much, but after one has a run-in with a male schoolmate, and is rescued by the other, they become friendly. Mii often goes to a local coffee shop to talk over her experiences and feelings with the owner, Bun-chan.The older woman is a good confidant and helps Mii figure out how she feels about Hinako, as those feeling amble past friendship into attraction. More importantly, Bun-chan tell Mii that she, too was in the same position, because she likes women. This opens Mii-chan’s eyes and she is able, after some initial hesitation, to make her feelings known. When it turns out that they are returned, Mii brings her new girlfriend to the coffee shop to meet Bun-chan.

For what I think are obvious reasons, I really like this story. ^_^ Adult role models show young people that they are not outliers, not weird, not alone. There is nothing I want to see more of in Yuri than this…not even a sports series. ^_^

Hamano-sensei’s art is old-school cute without being moe. Lots of cute kids and bright smiles, school settings and sweets. It’s all kind of innocent and…nice.

Ratings:

Art – 8 It’s definitely old-school and I like it
Story – 7 School life
Characters – 8 Likable and cute
Service – Not really. 1 but on principle only – the most service-y thing in the book is a filler image of two girls in their pjs.
Yuri – 7 First love, crushes, exactly what you’d expect

Overall – 8

Again, like the confection it’s named after, it’s not filling, but the memory of sweetness lingers.

Posted in Galette, Yuri Manga | No Comments »


Ms. Vampire Who Lives in my Neighborhood Anime (English) Guest Review by Christian Le Blanc

April 10th, 2019

Welcome back to Guest Review Wednesday! Today we have a special Guest Review by Christian Le Blanc of 3DComics! Christian has kindly watched an anime so I don’t have to, freeing me to finish up Princess Principal instead. ^_^ (About which I quite probably will do a review one day. ) So let’s please welcome Christian back and  give him our full attention. The floor is yours, Chris!

Sophie Twilight is, let me assure ya,
An anime fangirl vampira.
At the end of each night
In her coffin sleeps tight
With a bishoujo dakimakura.

Ms. Vampire Who Lives in my Neighbourhood (Tonari no Kyūketsuki-san), which is streaming on Crunchyroll, is a 12-episode comedic slice-of-life anime series based on the 4koma manga by Amatou serialized in Comic Cune magazine. Ms. Vampire herself, Sophie Twilight, is a centuries-old vampire who is practically the poster-girl for “Non-Threatening Vampires” magazine – she doesn’t drink blood straight from humans (she orders bottles of it online instead), and she enjoys manga, anime, and ordering anime statues and body pillows off the web. When she first meets our other main character, Amano Akari, she tells her “Don’t be afraid. I’m just your run-of-the-mill vampire passing by. Nobody suspicious.”

Akari is a normal…well, human, anyway…high school student obsessed with dolls, and becomes infatuated with the doll-like Sophie Twilight at their first meeting – so much so that, by the end of the first episode, she’s moved herself into Sophie’s house, much to her parents’ puzzling beatific indifference. Akari’s friend Hinata starts hanging out with them, as does Sophie’s vampire friend Ellie. Most of the humour comes from the culture clash of vampires and humans as they all spend time together – Ellie prescribes treatments for the human cold based on outdated concepts of the four humours, Sophie tries feeding nails to Akari because she doesn’t understand ‘food’, Akari makes a cold, bloody treat for Sophie which results in her penguin-shaped shaved ice maker looking like something removed from Silent Hill for being too disturbing, etc. Our cast enjoys each other’s company at Sophie’s house, the mall, high school, the beach, Akihabara, etc. Obscure bits of vampire lore come into play, but always in a cute manner, of course.

This being a moe comedy, almost everything about this show is light. The faux-baroque score is very whimsical and cute; nothing you’ll likely remember (aside from the opening and ending songs), everything just seems to fit the scene, and nothing really stands out as distracting. The color scheme is light as well – bright, pastel colors that suit the tone of the show and make it pleasant to watch. Any quarrels that *do* appear get resolved by the end of each segment; the first episode makes it look like Akari is going to become a constant harasser to a Sophie who just wants to be left alone (see: Ms. Koizumi Loves Ramen Noodles), but Sophie quickly realizes she misses Akari when she’s not around. Even the fact that it’s based on a 4koma means that the pacing is generally quick and light, jumping from beat to beat.

Naturally, any Yuri in this show is light, as well – the four main characters are all just friends, although Akari plainly crushes on / lusts after Sophie – just like in Ms. Koizumi Loves Ramen Noodles, our pursuer pictures herself and the pursued together in wedding dresses. Ellie, for her part, crushes on / lusts after almost any young girl she sees. Hinata also has a mild crush on Akari, just to round things out.

All in all, it’s mostly just a cute show to relax with if you want some light comedy and pleasant, fun character interactions without angst or drama, and just a smidgen of the supernatural with Yuri elements.

That said – when I first approached Erica about writing this review, there were only 3 or 4 episodes up. I could choose to review whatever episodes were already released, or, wait for the series to end and report back. While the chances were pretty slim, I decided to hold back and wait just in case any problematic issues came up that I should address. As you’ve probably guessed, I did find a little something.

Ellie (Sophie’s vampire friend), as I mentioned above, is the thirstiest character on the show. She’s also the youngest-looking character on the show – in fact, they spend time addressing the fact that she was turned into a vampire right around the onset of puberty, so she laments that she never got to grow more mature-looking. Akari’s human friend Hinata even mistakes her for a child at first, prompting Ellie to grope Hinata’s chest in anger before storming off, which makes poor Hinata depart in tears (wait, wasn’t this a comedy?). Ellie’s portrayed as a sex-positive 400-year-old vampire, who looks and acts like a child most of the time…which makes it ultra-gross when she gropes Akari’s butt at the hot springs, wears a revealing succubus costume for Halloween, suggests Sophie buy Akari a thong for Christmas, etc. It’s not that the characters are being flirty and suggestive from time to time that bugs me, it’s that they’re doing this while looking and acting like little kids who are drawn, and written, much younger than they are. It’s creepy enough seeing the camera pan slowly across Akari’s butt dimples at the beach, but watching her play with her dolls later in the same episode encreepens it that much more.

Ratings:

Art – 6
Story – 4 (not necessarily bad, just nothing really eventful happens)
Characters – 4
Yuri – 3
Service – yes, unfortunately.

Overall – 5

If you’ve read all this and it still mostly sounds like something you’d enjoy if it didn’t have the problematic bits, then give it a try and, depending on your tolerance, you may want to just skip past the first halves of episodes 5 & 7, the post-credits scene of episode 9, and episode 10 in general. You might even watch this and feel that I’m overreacting, and, that’s ok; I’m not out to spoil your fun, but I definitely want you to understand why this show might not be someone else’s idea of fun.

Erica here: Comic Cune is, of course, the home of moe, creepy characters, creepy not-quite Yuri and cake. If the service of the anime irks, but you like the premise, take a look at the magazine. The fan service tends more towards what cake are we eating today?

I also want to shoot a stern look at Disney for forcing this absurd title on the anime when clearly “My Neighbor the Vampire” should have been the translation. This translation absolutely ruins the flow.

Thanks Christian for taking a look at this for us!

Posted in Christian LeBlanc, English Anime, Guest Review | 11 Comments »


Yuri Manga: Itoshi Koishi, Volume 1 (いとしこいし)

April 8th, 2019

Let’s start the week off with an incredibly sweet Yuri manga that I adore, by a manga artist I admire. Today we’re talking Itoshi Koishi, Volume 1 (いとしこいし) by Takemiya Jin-sensei, from Yuri Hime Comics.

Hina is a high-school student who enjoys cooking and is very sweet and kind. Unbeknownst to any of her friends, she is going out with a neighbor – an older woman – named Yayoi. Yayoi works at home and it is Hina’s great joy to make Yayoi food and gently scold her about taking care of herself. Yayoi knows she wants to marry Hina one day, and make this arrangement formal. And when we get the flashback to how they met, we’re not at all surprised that Yayoi needs the help. ^_^

We begin with a summer festival which eases us into their relationship. Yayoi visits Hina at her school festival in order to tease her – gently. A  few chapters are arranged around a recipe that Hina is making for Yayoi.

The story is careful about the difference in their ages. Yayoi is well aware of the gap and takes care to keep them both at a level of emotional intimacy, rather than physical, with an emphasis on comfort and safety for Hina.  It is very clear that Yayoi has drawn some specific lines in her head and she will not cross them.

Hina’s more concerned with her place in Yayoi’s life. Yayoi’s got friends and adult responsibilities and she knows she’s still a kid. She’s worried that Yayoi will leave her behind. But as the story develops, we can also see that they are both very good to and very good for one another. (And, we’ll see Hina becoming more a part of Yayoi’s outside life in later chapters. I approve.)

Overall, I really like this manga. It’s shockingly wholesome and sweet and comes with a bunch of recipes. Food and Yuri – perfect together. ^_^

Ratings:

Art – 8 YMMV, but I think this is Takemiya-sensei’s best work so far
Story – Warm and cozy and cute, like Hina – 8
Characters – 9 Everyone is likable
Yuri  – 10
Service – 3 We are assured Hina’s chest is large several times.

Overall – 9

I can see myself coming back to this series over and over. It’s nice. I picked this copy up at one of the Yuribu, so I could get the insert paper, of Yayoi embracing Hina and both of them thinking super happy love-love thoughts. ^_^

Posted in Takemiya Jin, Yuri Manga | 5 Comments »


Yuri Manga: Prisontown e Youkoso!, Volume 2 ( 監獄街へようこそ！ )

April 7th, 2019

In Volume 1, we met Akari, a human who fell asleep on a late night train and found herself in Prisontown, an otherworld purgatory for demihumans. She is given a “wife”, frankengirl Mary and each of them are assigned work duties every day by notes tacked to their door. Akari is well liked, but inefficient at best, and often incompetent. The other denizens of Prisontown become accustomed to helping Akari out of a jam, and Mary often does her own work, then helps Akari.

In Prisontown e Youkoso!, Volume 2 ( 監獄街へようこそ！ ) Akari and Mary quietly, sweetly fall in love with one another, but Mary’s body being made of random pieces makes her quite self-conscious. Even more than her body, the crime she is here to expiate weighs on her heavily. As the main holiday of the year – the Lantern Festival on Halloween night – approaches, Mary tells Akari the story of her crime. Betrayed by the creator she loved so dearly, Mary killed her…and the little sister she adored. Akari, of course, forgives Mary and the two of them spend a magnificent night together…only Akari knows it will be their last. She will be returning to the human world when the festival ends.

In the final chapter from the serialization, Akari sees Mary once more on Halloween back in the real world. The epilogue of the collected volume changes the tenor of this ending slightly, by letting us know that this meeting becomes an annual affair, and both Mary and Akari have grown, and their love has stayed the course.

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

Overall – 7

If you like Neji’s demihuman stories, this is certainly another  story for you. ^_^ It’s still a pretty flimsy ending, but the second epilogue definitely make it all go down a little easier.

Posted in Yuri Manga | No Comments »