Yuri Manga: Comic Yuri Hime April 2019 (コミック百合姫2019年4月号)

March 26th, 2019

Comic Yuri Hime April 2019 (コミック百合姫2019年4月号) begins with a new story by Takeshima Eku, “Sasayakuyouni Koi wo Utau” about a girl falling for an aloof schoolmate who rocks out on the guitar. Whether or not I will like it  remains to be seen, but this is a strong opening chapter with great visuals.

“Citrus+” begins this issue and May did, actually, look moderately less miserable, so that’s an improvement!

Let me be really honest with you, I’m reading this magazine for two stories right now. I read them and then go back to the beginning and see if anything else was good. The first of these is “Hayama-sensei to Terano-sensei ha Tsukiatteiru,” which is like a balm to my soul. In this issue, we explore the positives and negatives of hickeys. This series is so charming and goofball lovey-dovey I can barely stand it. ^_^

Yuama’s “Ikemensugi Shiki-sempai” is not one of the two I rest my subscription upon, but it is lovely. Shiki’s earnestness is adorable.

“Uminekosou Days” had less breast jokes than typical and along with what seems to be an obvious adult romance brewing in the background, we are introduced to a school life romance in the foreground.

“Tsurezure Biyori” was, as always, sweet and kind of fluffy and life-y.

“Watashi no Yuri ha  Shigoto desu!” added a new complicating factor to Hime and Yano’s relationship. Because of course it did. ^_^;

The other series upon which my subscription rests, Hisona’s “Goodbye Dystopia,” did something I did not expect; it’s making Mizuki confront Asami’s past, which is poking her all over about her own. I always like the time-less/place-lessness of this story.

And, as always there are many other series I am reading, but not commenting upon or, simply not reading. Another solid issue and a perfect story-before-bedtime read. 

Ratings:

Overall – 8

The May issue is available and waiting for me at the bookstore. ^_^ Auugh, monthly I cannot cope with you!

Posted in Comic Yuri Hime, Magazines, Yuri Manga | 4 Comments »


Rakuen Le Paradis 29 (楽園 Le Paradis)

March 25th, 2019

Rakuen Le Paradis 29 (楽園 Le Paradis) officially launches Nakamura Asumiko’s “Mejirobana no Saku” as a regular series. Having made a name for herself fund raising for a festive  Christmas tree, formerly almost-outcast Ruby now finds herself in the confusing position of being popular. 

What is far worse is that any intimacy she and Steph shared over the winter break is gone and Steph appears to be comfortable with deflecting Ruby’s attempts at friendship. In a fit of pique after Steph is publicly unkind to her, Ruby tell the older girl to never come near her again. 

Until Ruby learns that she is being removed from this school, where she has finally carved out a place for herself. Her mother admits she simply doesn’t have the money to keep her there, now that she’s divorced Ruby’s wealthy father. The headmistress makes an offer – if Ruby can hit a certain mark on the entrance exam, she will be eligible for a scholarship. Ruby, whose grades are middling takes up the challenge and heads to Steph’s room. “Teach me Latin,” she tells the other girl, when the door opens.

So that was a chunky 32 pages of this fraught and emotional girl’s love at a private school story.

The only other Yuri in this issue is in, somewhat surprisingly, “14-sai no Koi” in which we once again turn to look at like from Kanata’s classmate Shiki Aoi’s persepctive and her unrequited love for Kanata. Aoi is able to confide in the school doctor and have a brief moment of satisfaction as Kanata cries in her arms. That Kanata is cryng about being in love with her boyfriend is beside the point.

Ratings:

Overall – 8

I’m pleased that there are still Yuri stories in this magazine, because I might never read it otherwise. And it’s always interesting. Nakamura Asumiko’s Maiden Railways is now available in English from Denpa Books, and it too, contains a Yuri story.

Posted in Magazines, Rakuen Le Paradis | 7 Comments »


LGBTQ Comic: Summit Volume 1, The Long Way Home (English)

March 24th, 2019

Lion Forge Comics came out of the gate in 2011 at full speed. With leadership that loved comics and embraced and supported diverse creators, stories and audience, and very talented folks working for them at every level, they have it all going on in the right direction.

I had been told to keep my eye out for this particular book, and now that it has been collected in a graphic novel, I thought it time to buckle down and give it a good look.

Summit, Vol.1: The Long Way Home follows the story of Valerie “Val” Resnick-Baker, the only surviving member of a space mission to deflect an asteroid hurtling towards Earth, a mission which failed horribly. Also killed in the subsequent impact was Val’s girlfriend Kay. A year after the event, Val is not okay, even if Earth is slowly recovering, thanks to Lorena Payan, visionary CEO of Foresight Industries.

The story is told in non-linear segments, tracking back and forth from before the “event” to the present in which Val learns the whole truth about what happened and explores the powers the event left her with. She rediscovers old allies, makes new friends and finds out who not trust.

Val is a woman who was pair-bonded with another woman. There’s no reason to expect that her next lover, should she take one, will not be a woman. Val is a lesbian lead character and then the story happens. This is a refreshing take on the whole issue. Her sexuality is not a “thing. It’s not a plot complication or a climactic reveal, it’s mere a fact of her existence.

That her lover is dead is such an overplayed plot point that I almost feel a little bad for writer Amy Chu. I guessed she was straight, or she might have not chosen this really threadbare backstory to begin with. But I’ll give her and the rest of the team the benefit of the doubt that the story will involve some character development. Even Kate Delafield eventually moved on and found herself in love with someone new. Took ten years and a couple of novels, but it did happen.

The characters here are strong, the world of Summit is set loosely based around Foresight Industries’ Mexico City Headquarters. Summit is a solid work. The art by Jan Duursema and lettering and coloring are all exactly what one wants from a western-style comic book. The plot is not complicated (if anything it’s a tad predictable,), which makes Volume 1 a good place to begin from, and sets up what I hope will be a solid superhero narrative going forward.

Ratings:

Art – 7
Story – 7
Characters – 7, except for Fiona, who deserves an extra point or two
Service – 0
LGBTQ – 4 There’s no squeamishness, it remains to be seen if it’s relevant to Val’s future as it is to her past

Overall – 7

The cast of and staff working on the series look like the world we live in, which gives me hope that there is someone at Lion Forge who is queer as well and can keep this series from falling into all the plotholes of lesbian literature. If Val starts drinking, I’m going to write a cautionary letter, that’s all I’m sayin’.

Posted in LGBTQ, Western Comic/Comix | No Comments »


Yuri Network News – (百合ネットワークニュース) – March 23, 2019

March 23rd, 2019

Yuri Manga

Viz announced the license for A Tropical Fish Yearns for Snow, with a projected Autumn 2019 release. I’ve reviewed the first four volumes in Japanese. This is good news as it is the first Yuri Viz has picked up since Sweet Blue Flowers and I’m glad to see them still in the game. 

From Comic Natalie, YuriSkebu (百合スケブ) is about a young woman who draws her fantasy Yuri pair-ups in a sketchbook, running in Comic Ryu magazine. You can read a sample here (in Japanese.) It looks cute.

Akili, who you may remember from Stretch, has a new manga called Vampires. Read a sample (in Japanese) on Sunday GX online.

Hannah Blumereich’s Full Court Crush, about “Gentle high school dingdongs find love” is available as a PDF for what you want to pay.

We have a couple of new items on the Yuricon Store:

Hero-san to Moto Onna Kanbu-san (ヒーローさんと元女幹部さん) about a superhero and the evil mastermind she loves.

Ikemen sugi desu Shiki-sempai! (イケメンすぎです紫葵先パイ!) which is a fun little school romance from Comic Yuri Hime, about a girl i  love with her too-cool-for-her-shirt sempai.

Hisakawa Haru’s Yurikon, Volume 2 (ゆりこん) was cute, but I wish it hadn’t had to end. ^_^

Maid Yuri and possibly creepy faux-historical Sayonara Rose Garden (さよならローズガーデン) which is on my to-read pile. 

And Ichayarafushikanai Yuri Anthology Comic (いちゃらぶしかない百合アンソロジーコミック) which centers on stories in which the characters talk things over. ^_^ I think they finally found *my* fetish.

Also from Comic Natalie, Yoshitomi Akihito is promoting his new book Lilystem (リリィシステム) at the Yuriten event.

 

Yuri Events

Speaking of the Yuriten, the Tokyo show is wrapping up on the 24th, and the exhibition will re-open on the 30th in Osaka!

I’ll be updating my speaking schedule shortly, but do not miss me at  Toronto Comic Arts Festival in Toronto, Ontario, Canada for May 11 &12 for a 100 years of Yuri celebration! TCAF is always an excellent event and this year will be Yuriful!

I once again invite you all to join us for the 100th anniversary of Yuri Tour of Tokyo. This will be a once-in-a-lifetime experience!

If you are in or near Michigan State University on Friday March 29, they are hosting two interesting talk events! Jennifer Robertson on Gendering Robots: Robo-Sexism & Retro-Tech in Japan  and  Roundtable on Pedagogical Approaches to Sexual Minorities in Curriculum Development.  If you do go, let us know how it was!

 

Yuri Anime

YNN has the news that bottom-feeder magazine Champion Trap manga Fragtime is gettting an anime and I am once again angry at the unfairness of the anime gods. Women don’t upskirt each other. It’s sexual assault, not sexy.

 

Other News

Check out the new 100th anniversary banner we have on the top of Okazu! Thanks to our endlessly talented webmistress Lissa! I’ve decided that they are named Natsuki and Kaoru, which will make perfect sense if you’ve been reading Okazu long enough. ^_^

Komatsu-san has the news that in celebration of Yuru Yuri‘s 10th anniversary, fans can get a special series art T-card from entertainment retail chain Tsutaya with other extras. 

HBO is going to show the BBC series about cross-dressing 18th century lesbian Anne Lister, Gentleman Jack. You will want to watch the trailer. ^_^

 

Do you have questions about Yuri? Write in and ask and I’ll do my best to address them on the Okazu YNN Podcast, 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!

Posted in Yuri Network News | No Comments »


Ise-san and Shima-san Volume 1 (伊勢さんと志摩さん)

March 22nd, 2019

Something about Tokuwotsumu’s art really appeals to me. I have no idea what it is. Something about the way Tokuwotsumu creates characters also appeals to me, but this time I know exactly what it is. 

Ise-san and Shima-san, Volume 1 (伊勢さんと志摩さん) is not a Yuri manga. It is, however a delightful manga about two close friends and roommates who are very comfortable together and who challenge each other to live their best lives. It’s honestly a delightful manga about absolutely nothing.

We meet Ise-san and Shima-san, coworkers and roommates as they are contemplating their “Challenge” sheet, on which they decide upon things with which to challenge themselves. These include things like giving each other a surprise, or staying up all night. It’s a fun life and one without too much emotional strain. Ise-san and Shima-san actually quite like each other, and have a lot of fun together.

We learn how they didn’t quite have a chance to become friends in school, because they ran in completely different circles but, when Ise-san was assigned to break in the newbie at work and it turned out to be Shima-san, they’d been friends ever since.

What appeals to me about the characters is the lack of drama and the open friendship they have for one another. They support one another, confide in each other and just generally are very good friends without complication. It’s really nice and very rare to see friendships between women portrayed without drama in manga. As a result, this manga about two best friends is a perfect palate cleanser after yesterday’s review. ^_^;

 

Posted in Miscellaneous | 6 Comments »