Hungry For You: Endo Yasuko Stalks the Night Manga, Volume 1 (English)

April 16th, 2018

Makioka Shizue needs food
Endo Yasuko is reasonably shrewd
“Be my back up meal plan
(Although I’ll do what I can)
And I’ll make sure you don’t have to brood”

When she’s given this offer that can’t be beat
Shizue’s mostly swept off her feet
Endo may be a ghoul
Killing girls from their school
But at least Shizue gets lots to eat

The English edition of Hungry For You: Endo Yasuko Stalks the Night, Volume 1 is as much fun as it was in Japanese. As always, Seven Seas has done a fine job of giving readers an authentic manga reading experience. Even when the manga is a really silly vampire at a girl’s school junk food of a story.

Or, as my wife puts it:

Vampires, breasts and Yuri
Now in English without any worry
Is crap for crap’s sake
with nothing at stake
to lose when it comes to the jury.

This was the story that spawned the promise that all probably-a-vampire Yuri stories would be reviewed by limerick from now on. ^_^

Ratings:

Art – 7
Story – An utterly absurd 8
Characters – 9
Service – 5 Vampire-at-a-girls’ school
Yuri – 2, maybe, but you can make it work if you want.

Overall – Entertaining, trashy fun 8

Thanks to the folk at Seven Seas for the review copy!
Volume 2 in English is slated for a release at the end of the year, so I’ll be keeping an eyes out for the Japanese volume. ^_^

Posted in English Manga | 12 Comments »


Hayate x Blade 2 (Nyan), Volume 6 Manga (はやて×ブレード2 6) Farewell Hayate x Blade!

April 15th, 2018

Today we are gathered to praise the the end of one of the greatest manga to ever be drawn, Hayate x Blade. It is with bittersweet tears that we say farewell to this series. I don’t want to be morose, though, this was an amazing series and I had fun every second I spent reading it.

I was introduced to Hayate x Blade by Touko_no_doriru-san in 2005, and have been reading ever since. Statistically speaking, one volume should have been less good than the others, but none ever were. 

Hayate x Blade taught me that physical comedy could actually be funny. 

Hayate x Blade gave me characters fighting in bloody, crazy, amazing action scenes, characters committing their hearts and minds to the act of beating the crap out of one another.  I loved every second of it.

Hayate x Blade gave us characters who would do anything to support and strengthen their partners.

Hayate x Blade shed blood, sweat and tears both figuratively and literally.

In the final volume of Hayate x Blade, Hayate and Nagi finally have the fight they needed to have. 

And most of all, Hayate x Blade 2 (Nyan), Volume 6, (はやて×ブレード2 6), ended on a joke that made me snort my drink through my nose.

Thank you Hayashiya-sensei for this amazing series. Thank you for 24 volumes of manga, 9 Drama CDs (!!!) an animated commercial and 13 years of great fun!  林家先生、ありがとうございました。お疲れ様でした~~!

Ratings:

Art – 10
Story – 10
Characters – 100
Service – I could hear the swords colliding and the screaming. That’s a kind of service, too.
Yuri – 3 hints, jokes, Jun is a lesbian, Yuri-ish pairs, it was always fun and never mattered that there were no relationships.

Overall – 10

I hate to be “that fan,” but I cannot wait to find out what Hayashiya-sensei’s next project is. Hopefully the Yuriforce will be with us. ^_^ (In the fantasy in my head, I’m kinda hoping she’ll have some time to do something for Galette.)

If you have thoughts about this series you want to share, hit me up in the comments. I just want to say that Amachi Hitsugi might be my favorite character in all of manga for all time. 

Posted in Hayashiya Shizuru, Hayate x Blade | 3 Comments »


Yuri Network News – (百合ネットワークニュース) – April 14, 2018

April 14th, 2018

Thanks to everyone who came to yesterday’s Hunter College lecture, it was a great crowd. Many thanks to co-lecturer Anne Ishii, whose work with gay comics has been pivotal (and who is a moving force behind My Brother’s Husband, Volume 1 and Volume 2 will be out this fall). And thanks to Professor Takeda for having us once again!

 

 

Yuri Manga

This is kind of cool. We’ve been watching the evolution of the Yuribu at Animate, Gamers and Shosen, and, via Comic Natalie, we now can welcome online bookstore Kadokawa’s Comic Walker to the party! The Comic Walker Yuri Club (百合倶楽部 ) has been launched, with access to serialized and collected Yuri titles online!

“Barikyari to Shinsou” (バリキャリと新卒) by Esuesu, an office romance between a careerwoman and newbie in the office is being serialized on Comic Walker as part of the Yuri Club. You can read new chapters (in Japanese) for free on the Comic Walker reader. There is a very real movement I’m seeing on Yuri Twitter (Yes, duh, of course there is a  community of Yuri fans and creators on Twitter, as there is a community for everything else  on Twitter…) for adult Yuri, especially office romance. Apparently, I am not alone in wanting a little less schoolgirl in my Yuri. ^_^

Yuri Anime

From April 14, tickets for the theatrical release of Asagao to Kase-san will be sold at Animate, Gamers and Shosen (all chains that have “Yuribu”).  Ticket purchases will include Yamada and Kase-san post cards by other former Hirari anthology artists, Morinaga Milk, Morishima Akiko, Hakamada Mera, Amagure Gido and Imura Youko. Check out the official Kase-san account for support messages from the artists for the upcoming anime!

ANN reports that Crunchyroll will be simulcasting Love to To Lie Angle. I feel the need to disclaim that while I do not personally care for this series, it at least is populated with happy people who smile and like each other, unlike previous Yuri anime from Comic Yuri Hime.

 

Sailor Moon News

I kind of think this mashup has been inevitable….members of idol group Nogizaka 46 will be starring in the next Sailor Moon musical, “Team Moon, via Comic Natalie. 

 

Yuri Events

The Yuriten Exhibition has opened up in Fukuoka! It will run from April 14-22 at the Tenjin Core. It’ll open on April 28th in Tokyo and if you’re planning on being at Comitia at Big Sight in Tokyo , check it out – Yuriten will be exhibiting there, via YNN Correspondent Zoey B. That’s very cool. Last year, Comitia had a number of small exhibitions and the corporate booths also displayed original art (and there were also some set up to do portfolio review, which thrilled me no end.). I like Comitia more and more these days.

 

Other News

Comic Natalie posted an interview with Kazuma Kowo and Mizutani Fuuka, two of my favorite Rakuen: Le Paradis magazine authors, on the nature of “love,” which includes discussion of harem stories and Yuri among other things.  (In Japanese.)

Become a YNN Correspondent by reporting any Yuri-related news to anilesbocon01 at hotmail dot com 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 | 7 Comments »


Events: Yuri Lectures and Public Appearance Schedule

April 13th, 2018

I’m headed out shortly to do a lecture at Hunter College, in NYC, and thought I’d share my upcoming appearance and Yuri Lecture Schedule:

April 13 – Hunter College, NYC, NY, USA – Doing a lecture on Queer comics this evening!
April 28 – Yuriten in Tokyo  Aoyama, tokyo, Japan- I am just attending, not participating, so if you’ll be there let me know, we should be able to chat.
May 8-10 Toronto Comic Arts Festival, Toronto ON, Canada – I’ll be moderating and doing some interviews and generally bumming around.
June 8-10 – AnimeNEXT, Atlantic City, NJ, USA – I’m a guest, so you’ll see me on way too many panels. ^_^ I’ll be giving loads of stuff away for good questions, cool Yuri cosplay and to get stuff out of my house. ^_^

Hope to see you at one of these!  If you are attending please do come up and introduce yourself. I love meet my readers.

Posted in Events | No Comments »


Rakuen Le Paradis, Volume 25 (楽園 Le Paradis 第25号)

April 12th, 2018

It’s been a while since we’ve had a review of the quarterly Rakuen Le Paradis manga magazine. When Nishi UKO-sensei’s brilliant Yuri series Collectors wrapped up, a few issues passed before there was any new Yuri content.

In Rakuen Le Paradis, Volume 25 (楽園 Le Paradis 第25号),  we have a surprising entry by Nakamura Asumiko-sensei, “Meijirobana no Saku.” Set in a private school for girls, a morose girl finds herself abandoned by paren s who are desperately attempting to save their failed marriage. Rubi faces the prospect of staying at her boarding school alone over the holidays. Only it turns out that she won’t be alone, at all. A strict upperclassman by the name of Steph will also be in the school. 

Steph has no interest in Rubi, and proceeds to freeze her out unless she’s scolding or insulting. Alone together in this big school, Rubi doesn’t have anyone to talk to. Until one day, she breaks down over her parents’ neglect and their ongoing battles with each other and finds herself begging Steph to please just…be there. Rubi finds herself worshipping at Steph’s feet. While they never become friends, Rubi’s anger has gone, and when the other girls return, she’s able to be more open and friendly and despite Steph’s uncaring, greet her cheerfully. 

This story is primarily interesting to see a prolific BL artist, known more for character insight than her art, take a look at typical Yuri tropes. This story is labeled “Chapter 1” so I’m hoping we get more vignettes from Nakamura-sensei. 

The rest of the magazine has shifted to strongly heterosexual, away from earlier days when it frequently had Yuri and BL stories, although Kashmir’s “paranorma” got as close to Yuri as their work ever gets, really. Well two girl hold hands, anyway.

Ratings:

Overall – 8

Starting with Volume 26, Kowo Kazuma-sensei is returning to her Yuri series Junsui Adolescence, so that ought to be worth taking a look at!

Posted in Magazines, Rakuen Le Paradis | 1 Comment »