Archive for the Yuri Manga Category


Yuri Manga: Transistor ni Venus, Volume 1

July 19th, 2005


I have two gentlemen to thank for this review – Touko_no_doriru-san, for opening my eyes to this series in general and Mr. Brent Adkins, who has very genourously donated this particular volume to the cause. (The cause being, of course, my enjoyment of yuri. lol) Thank you, kind sirs!

So, in Volume 1 of Transistor ni Venus, we are introduced to April Enus, expert in espionage, theft, derring-do and cosplay. Apparently in the year 2269, these are all crucial skills. :-) Intrigue, adventure and sleeping with pretty girls is raison d’etre for the lovely Enus, so of course I approve.

The first volume also introduces us to Mariaana, Enus’ sometimes partner in work and frequent partner in bed. I had no *idea* Mariaana was another agent! In the next several volumes she goes soft. She’s way cooler as a tough agent who manages to resist Enus’ charms for several whole chapters.

Oh, and there’s a story where Enus has to be a maid to do something or other…I kind of lost the thread of the story while watching her seduce the other maids. :-)

Ratings:
Art – 6
Story – 7
Characters – 8
Yuri – 9

Overall – 8

Not as wonderful as Volume 2, or as funny as Volume 3, Volume 1 of Transistor ni Venus is a charming exploration of several random fetishes. There’s sure to be one you find appealing. :-)





Yuri Manga: Amazoness no Matsuei

July 18th, 2005

Time for another hugely obscure manga review! I found this series at Book-Off, where all bad manga series go to die. ^_^

The cover of Amazoness no Matsuei (Amazoness’ Descendants) states, in English, ” ‘I have the reason to fight for!’ This is the success story of Amazoness Akari searching for her own answer in the world of women’s professional wrestling.” And that’s just exactly what this short two-part manga series is about.

Akari is a kid who wants to be the women’s wrestling champion. She’s got the stuff, so we watch her work hard and practice and move up the ranks, facing ever tougher opponents, but always triumphing. Eventually she falls in love with a blind guy, and in the end, not only does she become a champion, the guy gets his sight back! Happy endings all around! ^_^

Seriously, its a gentle romance with action – no real high drama that lasts too long, some fun fights and, in the tradition of all fighting stories, Akari becomes friends with all her defeated opponents, including the hugely gay current world champion Kanzaki Yuu. (Pictured on the right-hand cover – the bishounen looking character. Yes, that’s meant to be a girl.)

In the beginning, Yuu is someone to admire and attain the level of. But early on, after seeing Akari seriously injure her opponent in a rough match, Yuu becomes mightily interested in Akari, and asks to room with the newcomer. Yuu does put the moves on Akari, but is soundly rejected. Yuu subsequently behaves, but starts to genuinely fall in love with Akari, even as Akari is falling in love with her blind boyfriend – and moving up the ranks as a wrestler.

In the second volume two things come to a head with Yuu. First, Yuu had made Akari promise not to get involved with any guy, because it would take away from her training. Yuu learns that Akari has reneged on this promise and is both upset for Akari and jealous about her. Akari and Yuu fight and Akari moves out.

Secondly, a reporter takes a picture of Akari with a male wrestler that, taken out of context, looks like they are intimate. (In fact, its a very innocent picture and I really don’t get the fuss, but, okay…) Yuu sleeps with the female reporter in order to suppress the picture. When Yuu rejects the reporter because she’s not Akari, the reporter not only releases the picture, but she tells Akari that she and Yuu slept together. She goes on to leak the obvious information that Yuu is in love with Akari, which Akari cannot believe.

And here’s where the series begins to suck because, of course, Yuu and Akari have to face one another in the ring for the championship. Obviously. In the end, Akari wins, obviously, and they finally have it out about the whole situation, obviously. Yuu forgives Akari for falling in love with a guy. And Akari, hugging Yuu in front of the audience, tells Yuu that she doesn’t believe Yuu is a lesbian and she’s not in love with her, right? Because they are like sisters to one another.

Yuu can only hold Akari and grunt noncommittally. I really felt for Yuu there. Not only can’t she admit she loves Akari, Akari won’t even see that Yuu is a lesbian. A decidedly unsatisfactory ending for Yuu all the way around. Yuu just happened to be written in the “bleak period” for lesbians in manga between the early shoujo of the 70’s and 80’s and the Sailor Moon renaissance of the 90’s. Poor Yuu.

One of the high points of the manga is that Akari’s opponents are drawn realistically – sometimes really masculine, sometimes crazy, sometimes in costume, etc. It’s obvious that the mangaka spent time researching actual women’s wrestling. One of the psycho crazy opponents, who turns out to be a real nice gal out of the ring and one of the butchiest women Akari fights (and who has a female companion all the time) ends up as a good friend. So there’s a nice real-feel to the characters and situations.

Ratings:

Art – 7
Story – 8
Characters – 8
Yuri – 7
Overall – 7

Disclaimer: Despite the fact that I reviewed this manga, and that Japanese women’s professional wrestling has appeared in both my fanfic and original fiction and that my cousin is a professional wrestler in Japan, that I actually have a favorite fighter in the GAEA league of Japanese professional female wrestling, I am not in any way obsessed with wrestling, professional, female or not. I have never even seen a bout and have no desire to do so. My research into Tiger Mask and Thunder Liger was purely professional and the fact that Ogata Megumi did a death metal version of Tiger Mask’s theme has affected me in no way whatsoever. :-D





Summer Sale on 100% Yuri from ALC Publishing!

July 1st, 2005

To celebrate the release of ALC’s original yuri novel, Shoujoai ni Bouken, we’re discounting all ALC Publications in stock. Now you can get 100% yuri from ALC for from 30% to more than 50% off!

Rica ‘tte Kanji – Curve magazine calls this light-hearted tale of love and life in Tokyo their “favorite new bedside read”. Get 30% of all copies of Rica and enjoy Rica Takashima’s original art and take on life.

Yuri Monogatari 2 – This original all-yuri anthology has stories from yuri artsits and writers around the world. Don’t forget to keep a place on your bookshelf for Yuri Monogatari 3, coming this fall from ALC!

Shoujoai ni Bouken: The Adventures of Yuriko, Volume 1 – Join Yuricon mascot, Yuriko as she tries to balance life as a pop idol, the pursuit of love and liberty from math tests. This brand-new ALC publication includes more than 2 dosez illustrations by Kelli Nicely; a great way to get to know Yuriko, or to spend more time with her!

You can get all ALC publications on the Yuricon Shop, along with yuri anime, manga and gifts. This offer is for a limited time only, so don;t miss your chance to get 30% to 50% off of 100% yuri from ALC Publishing!





Transistor Ni Venus, Volume 3

June 29th, 2005


Once again, my thanks to Touko_no_doriru-san, for giving me this volume of Transistor ni Venus, so I can share this fine manga with everyone. :-)

In Volume 3, we find April Enus starting off on another harrowing – yet somehow not really stressful or even moderately tense – adventure that involves her and another attractive female removing most of their clothes. LOL Enus is escorting a bag filled with some top secret materials on a plane when a botched theft not only leaves Enus and the thief handcuffed together, but stranded on a desert island. In the end they kiss and make up. :-)

The next story focuses on Winslow, Enus’ sentient cat, as he heads out on assignment – for the next few months, he is going into deep cover as…a cat. He pretends to be a stray to be picked up by a family who has something he needs to retrieve. While he lets them take care of him, we see Enus off on a variety of exciting and dangerous adventures. Winslow gets regular meals and is petted while Enus is bombed, shot at, crashes, etc. Of course, Winslow gets the goods and returns to HQ a hero.

The rest of the book takes place at the private all-girls school where “Miss April” has a position as teacher. The school is pleased as punch that the students sem to be doing *much* better at their studies, so they don’t inquire too deeply at Enus’ methods. In fact, she rewards the students with kisses for their academic excellence.

We are introduced to two creepy incestuous twin girls who are in love with their teacher – and who see Miss April as a rival. As Gyauza-sensei isn’t really interested in Enus or the twins, it’s kind of a pointless rivalry, but when Miss April fights off the girls in a fencing match, she claims a kiss as her reward anyway. :-) (Enus is most certainly interested in Gyauza…even if the feeling isn’t entirely returned.)

Eventually we learn that Enus is at the school to find a girl with important marks upon her back – we get a variety of bath, swimsuit and nude posing for art class scenes in order to do provide us the opportunity to “subtely” check the girls’ backs. Mixed in to this high-octane plot is a variety of kisses, from pecks for the young to “adult kisses” for the of-age.

Eventually, Enus accomplishes her objective and learns that the twins are actually years older than they look (and act!) and they all end up in bed together. The end.

Ratings:

Art – 8
Story – 6
Character – 8
Yuri – 9

Overall – 8

If this weren’t so funny and sweet a comic – it’d be pretty trashy, huh? But it never *feels* trashy. It’s all in good fun and it always puts a smile on my face to read a volume of Transistor ni Venus.





Transistor ni Venus, Volume 2

June 2nd, 2005

No, you didn’t miss a review Volume 1 of Transistor ni Venus. I just haven’t been able to find it yet.

First, once again, my deepest thanks go out to Touko_no_doriru-san for getting me started on this manga! I’d seen it on and off at the used manga store for years, but had never actually gotten it. Your gift of Volumes 3 and 6 were *just* the thing I needed to make me go out and get as much as I could find! (And extra thanks for the artbook – I’m a huge artbook fan.

This series is delightful. It follows the career of April Enus, aka Venus, a spy in the late 24th century. In classic James Bond-like fashion, she sleeps with nearly every woman she encounters, and has amazing adventures on land, in the water, in the sky and even out into space.

Enus’s world is populated by aliens, sentient animals and a wide variety of really adorable men and women, because the art style is very pin-up, rather than manga.

Enus definitely prefers women, but will certainly take a man at a pinch. Although we never actually see her stoop that low. She trades kisses with a few guys, but saves her real skills for the women.

In her off hours Enus is a teacher at an girl’s private school, where the students regularly ask her for “treats” of kisses when they do well in their schoolwork. She’s happy to oblige, but saves the “adult kisses” for the adult students, and again, sticks with taking the other female teachers to bed.

Volume 2 starts off in a blimp. Enus has hooked up with an attractive lounge singer who favors tuxedos…and jewels. Jara, the singer, has a unique jewelry box, and Enus spends most of the volume attempting to break into it. In between attempts, she sleeps with Jara, who develops a fetish for dressing her up in cosplay outfits. Enus likes Jara plenty, but wishes she could “take the lead” once in a while. Jara is pretty adamant that *she* wears the pants in this relationship, until circumstances force the crew to use the water in the singer’s bath to cool an overheating engine. Jara is livid, but Enus suggests that she use her bath – one one condition.

As the next scene begins, Jara enters the lounge wearing a fetching dress, while Enus is now clad in tux. Apparently you can only have one butch at a a time in this relationship. lol

Enus’ adventures are silly and frequently, downright funny. There’s rarely any sense of urgency, although there is action – and not just in bed. There’s also a nice selection of ray guns and bombs and counterespionage all drawn and written in a nicely fluffy, tension-free way.

The second scenario in the book involves Mariaanna, one of Enus’ lovers and Mariaanna’s brother Rashiko, who kisses his sister on the lips, which upsets Enus. (She gets hers though, the end of the story finds the Mariaanna in bed with Enus.)

The volume ends with a *very* goofy story about Enus being companion to an 8-year old girl, much to her distress. Forced to abandon several female lovers along the way, Enus and her charge switch from one space ship to another as they are attacked again and again. It’s all very silly and enjoyable.

I’m definitely on the hunt for the first volume now. I think I have all but 1 and 8 and every volume is sillier and more full of girl-girl kisses than the last. Although I don’t think we see Enus in bed with a lover nearly as much in the other volumes as we do in this one.

Ratings:
Art – 8
Story – 8 (great fluff – who needs substance)
Characters – 9
Yuri – 10

Overall – 9

Definitely keep an eye out for this one. It’s way out of print, but more fun than a barrel of lesbians.