Today’s review is dedicated to all the Okazu Patrons with especial thanks to our newest Okazu no Miko, Pauline! Your support makes this, and all our reviews, possible!
Kodama Naoko-sensei’s newest series, “Uminekosou Days” gets off to a bang in Comic Yuri Hime, March 2019 (コミック百合姫2019年3月号) and almost immediately settles into territory that makes me, personally, feel very uncomfortable. I have to just assume that Kodama-sensei’s and my areas of interest and ickiness are just not in sync. ^_^; Setting that aside, the plot follows a morose woman who is looking to start a new life after her best friend and boyfriend have had an affair and are now getting married. She’s escaped to a seaside town to become a teacher and immediately becomes involved with a female truck driver and her “family.” One the one hand I am glad to see a story about women and children. On the other hand, I really am not at all interested in children, so this one is going to alternately annoy and freak me out.
Hanimi’s story about love and cookies was adorable, Kanoko and Hime go on a “date” in “Yuri is My Job!” and despite Chibana’s concern, I think we’re still heading towards a crisis with Kanoko. I hope not, but…that girl is not stable.
“Luminous Blue” by Iwami Kiyoko is taking a turn into the unexpected, but Ohi Pikachi’s “Hayama-sensei to Terano-sensei ha Tsuiatteiru” stays just where we like it, in predictably grin-making cuteness.
Yuama’s “Ikemensugi desu, Shiki Semapai!” is developing a romance. Until now it’s not really been anything but admiration on Hana’s part.
“Scarlet” by Yuino Chiri turns uglier, as Iris may have just sacrificed her life for Feine.
Hisakawa Haru’s “Yurikon” wraps up all the married couple’s stories. I’m kind of sad that this particular fantasy didn’t get a third book.
And in Hisona’s “Goodbye Dystopia” Mizuki and Asami’s probably ex, Uzuki, have an awkward, but expository conversation, while Asami visits the ruins of her past.
Hime Cafe interviews Takemiya Jin-sensei, and new stories will begin next issue.
Ratings:
Overall – 8
I don’t want to become complacent or anything, but for now Comic Yuri Hime looks strong and has enough going on that I like, that I’m sort of relaxing as a I read. ^_^ The April 2019 issue is already out, so get ready to find out if annoyed and freaked out by Kodama-sensei is going to be the new standard, again. ^_^
Nanoha and Chidori are going out, and they are keeping their relationship secret from their friends. But, in Hana ni Arashi, Volume 1 (はなにあらし), their feelings are starting to leak into the open, just a teeny bit.
Nothing much happens here in Volume 1. Nanoha is cheerful and Chidori is taciturn, but they work out their differences in real time and their friends are friends. Nanoha and Chidori go out for food, they take care of each other when they are sick, they like being with each other more than with anyone else. They call themselves lovers, but with little time to be alone, a kiss or a touch is all their can manage.
The final “conflict” of the volume is Chidori feeling put out because she isn’t able to go to the new pancake place alone together, but ends up going with the gang. Nanoha and she promise to return together and the issue goes away. There’s only small crises here, with small resolutions.
More interesting than the plot to me is the fact that this series by Kobachi Ruka is a Shonen Sunday comic, from Shogakukan. What does that even mean, really? Well, it means that along with the Big Comic Special manga, like My Solo Exchange Diary, the stodgiest of the big four manga companies in Japan has bought into Yuri as a genre. This is not a minor thing. We’ve seen Yuri on and off from Kodansha (we’re speaking here of the Japanese company, not the American subsidiary that is publishing Comic Yuri Hime books) and Shueisha, but Shogakukan has been slower to join the race. Having decided to engage in Yuri, I’m now seeing a pretty solid investment from them. Expect to see more Yuri from them. in coming days.
Ratings:
Art – 6 Adequate to the need
Story – 6 Quiet and sweet
Characters – we barely know them by the end of the volume, but they seem nice enough
Yuri – 3
Service – 1, mostly on principle
Overall – A nice 6
Not outstanding, but definitely erring on the side of sweet and nice. There’s 4 volumes in print in Japan (Volume 2 | Volume 3 | Volume 4) so we’ll see where the story takes us.
Sidonie-Gabrielle Colette, known as Colette, was a noted French author of the first half of the 20th century, who went on to gain fame as an actor and journalist. Her most well-known works are the Claudine stories, and novella Gigi, upon which the movie and musical are based. She was nominated for a Nobel Prize in Literature in 1948. Her life and career were larger than life – as so many of the talents that inhabited pre-war Paris seem to have been.
The movie Colette, starring Keira Knightley and Dominic West was a surprisingly excellent retelling of her early career. Beginning with her marriage to Henry Gauthier-Villars, known as “Willy” and her writing under his name, it follows her through their turbulent years together, the popularity of the Claudine stories, their mutual affair with a visiting American woman, the break up of their marriage and ends with Colette touring Europe as an actress with her lover Mathilde de Morny, known as Missy, who was scandalous for wearing men’s clothes, portrayed by Denise Gough.
As you may know, I do not sleep on the plane very well so, with almost 30 hours to kill on the roundtrip to and from Japan, I take some time to watch movies, which I otherwise would not sit through. I watched 5 movies all the way through and 2 I started but did not finish. (The remainder of the movies mini-reviews will be in the postscript.)
Because I really don’t like movies, I’m predisposed to being disappointed when I watch them. Colette did not suck. Her bisexuality was neither erased nor fetishized, her passion for writing and creating centered. Paris was not portrayed as all-white, for which I am grateful. The writing was a bit predictable, but at this point, movies just are. Her life is well-known, this movie makes no pretense to insight. It’s just a retelling of the woman’s young life as highlights. IMHO, Knightley does a fine job of plucky young author, Dominic West did a fine job as Kenneth Brannagh as Willy, and while the beginning had a slow start, by the end, I found I had enjoyed it.
Ratings:
Cinematography – 7 Honestly, a bit conservative
Acting – 8 As one would expect
Story – 7
Queerness – 7
Overall-8
For a reasonably accurate and very pretty movie about one of the Belle Époque‘s most famous women of letters, Colette was a decent watch.
Here are mini reviews of the other movies I watched this time around:
Ant-Man and the Wasp: What a shocker to me that I enjoyed it. I cannot stand Paul Rudd or the type of character he plays, so I was amazed that I didn’t hate the movie, but I actually enjoyed it. I can’t remember any of it now. I thought they did a decent job of showing Hank as a narcissistic asshole, which is how I think of him.
Crazy Rich Asians: Not a fan of rom-coms, (this is a minimalist statement, they make me want to claw my eyes out) but the acting was *superb.*
The Four Heavenly Kings: The acting for this was the opposite of superb. But Detective Dee and Tsui Hark, so I forgave a lot. Like, really, the whole movie really needs to be forgiven.
Ocean’s 8: Thoroughly enjoyable nonsense. Between this and CRA, Awkafina may be my new favorite actress ever.
I started but did not finish Along with the Gods a Korean action flick and The Great Battle, a Korean historical action movie. Along with the Gods I just couldn’t follow, but turns out (thanks, Richmond!) that this is the second part of a two-parter. The Great Battle was fun, but we landed before the climactic scene. So, I looked it up to find out what happened historically and boy was I surprised to learn the ending. ^_^ I’d recommend this one.
The Yuriten returns! Yuriten 2019, with main illustration visual by Nakatani Nio, main photo visual by Takahashi Minori, is holding their Yuri exhibition and popup shop in 5 cities: Tokyo from March 16-24, Osaka from March 30- April 7, Sendai from April 13- April 21, Nagoya from April 27-May 6 and Fukuoka, details TBD. 31 creators have committed so far. I won’t be able to make it this time (unless the world conspires for me to be there,) so if you have a chance to attend, please do let me know. We’d love a report.
The first event on my calendar is Toronto Comic Arts Festival where, fingers crossed, I will be doing a talk on 100 years of Yuri! Details TBD for this, also.
Tamafuru’s Tsukiatte Agetemo Iikana, Volume 1 (付き合ってあげてもいいかな) was popular enough that it sold out on Amazon almost immediately and had to be reordered. I made sure to pick it up while in Japan and expect to see a licensing announcement for it soon, because it’s a dead center hit for the current zeitgeist of adult women Yuri romance.
Dekisokonai no Hime-tachi(できそこないの姫君たち) is Ajiichi’s not-typical school life romance story about two classmates who don’t like each other particularly.
The Lillium Yuri Anthology is in planning stages and has announced the first set of contributors on their Twitter account. The anthology will include a contribution by the Kase-san series creator Takahashi Hiromi.
LGBTQ Comics
Lion Forge’s Summit, Volume 1 stars Valentina “Val” Resnick-Baker, the sole survivor of The Event space mission, who is now haunted by the loss of her teammates and her girlfriend Kay. Advertisted as STEMinist book, it is on shelves now. (Dear writers, not all adult lesbians have lost their lovers before the book begins. Try to find a new plot. Tx. Sincerely, adult lesbians without a dead lover. ^_^)
Yuri Anime
YNN Corespondent Mudakun has written in with two items of note. Despite its problematic nature, Mudakun writes that in ENDRO, “what at first looked like random Yuri teasing (the un-named colleague repeatedly trying to get the diminutive demon lord – retired, now a teacher – drunk) becomes the core of a new arc in ep5 when the princess of the realm makes her appearance and decides that even if Hero is a pink-haired bubbleheaded girl, she is going to marry her Hero.”
And, as a second season has been announced, Mudakun is making a plea in support ofMiss Kobyashi’s Dragon Maid.
Yuri Game
Jinrui no Minasama is a survival game that Comic Natalie had filed under their Yuri category. One of the characters, Isana certainly seems to hang on another, Erina in many scenes. ANN has some specifics.
In every single store I visited with a Yuri section, was a Yuri photo collection called Yuri Sekai Hikareau Futari wo Kakutame no Pose Shuu (百合世界 惹かれ合うふたりを描くためのポーズ集 ), which is meant to be used as a reference guide for people drawing Yuri. People might use it for that, too. ^_^; The funny thing was that I learned about this because the models followed me on Twitter, then I followed them and found the link to this book. It was in every Yuribu and Yuri corner in Tokyo. The cover illustration is by Fly, who also has an artbook, Maguerite, in the stores that I decided could be shipped to me rather than lugging it home.
Other News
Via YNN Correspondent Christian LeBlanc, we have news of the Canno Avatar generator, on which you can render yourself as a student at Seiran Academy. I can never use these, since gray hair is never an option. ^_^ (That’s why my avatar on Twitter is through the Boulet image generator, Le Bouletmaton. He was thoughtful enough to include both gray hair and cyncism.)
YNN Correspondent Ben W writes in to let us know about ANN’s report of an upcoming Rose of Versailles-inspired game for Nintendo Switch, Shiritsu Verbara Gakuen. One of you with a Switch will have to report back, I’m not buying a Switch just to try this out. ^_^;
ANN reports that 50 top Japanese voice actors have worked on a compilation of advice for prospective seiyuu, The Way of the Voice Actor. It’s in Japanese, but I might pick it ups just to see what everyone has to say after decades in what is not a forgiving or kind industry.
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!
I’m back from Japan and catching up on sleep, slowly. Before I go back to reviewing, I wanted to share some photos from the end of this trip.
Sunday night we returned from Big Sight and decided to eat out like humans. We went to a restaurant near our hotel and had a delightful dinner of duck & soba and grilled duck (yes, we like duck). It was a nice way to end the day.
The next day we headed out to Shibuya. A few months ago, I had picked up an issue of RICE magazine, for a special Sandwich issue. I wrote down a few places to try to get to. On the top was a French bakery, Brasserie Viron. We tried to get to the one near Tokyo Station but it didn’t happen. As we were walking in Shibuya, we passed Village Vanguard, which handles the merchandising for Yuriten (the 2019 show was just announced, tune in tomorrow for details!) and…Brasserie Viron in Shibuya.
It was magnificent. I had a jambon and cornichon sandwich. The wife had a Pâté de Campagne and cornichon sandwich, and profiteroles for dessert. So good~~ Also, we are all about pickles right now. (Life advice here – eat more fermented and pickled foods.)
While in Mandarake, I picked up an issue of Margaret magazine with the original run of Rose of Versailles, because I could. ^_^
We came back to Ikebukuro and did one last pass at Tokyu Hands and Animate. Here’s pictures of the stash!
This was, undoubtedly, the most exciting thing I bought. I was beside myself with joy that I was able to get this. I’d seen an ad back at New Year’s and resigned myself to never having it. This is a brand new Sailor Moon Girl’s Day release and I was basically dancing as I bough it. ^_^
Here’s both sets, my wife and I got these for each other as Valentine’s Day gifts. ^_^ I love that Haruka and Michiru are being marketed this time around as an established couple, along with Usagi and Mamoru.
I thought this was hilarious, so I kept it. As we were walking along Takeshitadori in Harajuku some woman gave me this. I didn’t win. ^_^
Here’s a selection of our Harajuku and Nakano purchases. For years, major Japanese stores have had a policy of refunding tax for any purchases over $50 for foreigners who have their passports. I almost never think to do this, because I honestly believe in paying taxes (and I’m often buying things in small chunks at different stores.) I mean, if I bought a large single item, I might remember. But at Kiddyland, they do it automatically without making you got to a special Tax counter. When my wife pulled out her passport, she and the woman behind the counter laughed, because there was her receipt from the last time she had shoveled money at Kiddyland. ^_^
Here’s a bunch of gashopon we got, minus the other couple we had put in a different bag. One day I kept getting two balls out of one pull on the machine for some reason. I’m not complaining. ^_^
Here’s my stash. I was a little shocked to find I had bought 3 CDs(!) including something by Fujieda Miyabi, a voiced doujinshi and a Bloom Into You Radio CD. Manga, doujinshi (including Berry Strawberry Shake 4 which made me so happy!) and a bunch of ridiculous Sailor Moon garbage from the cafe last year and the concert goods. And a Eudial pin!
While we were in Seibu at the Loft, we passed a Nakahara Junichi popup shop as we were on the escalator, so I picked up some sticky notes for Lucky Boxes to be added to the Shimura Takako goods and other stuff like the postcards I got after I scan the images into my screen saver. So the next round of Lucky Boxes will be super excellent. ^_^
Thank you all for following along on my trip this time. It’s always a pleasure to have you along with me!
Erica Friedman is the Founder of Yuricon, ALC Publishing Lesbian Icon. Speaker, Writer, Editor/Adapter, LGBTQ manga tastemaker, 百合人. Proud to be a MLS. Learn more >>
- - - - - - - - - - - - -
Please do not email or comment asking for or posting links to scanlations or fansubs. Okazu readers overwhelmingly support the artists, writers and publishers of Yuri by buying anime and manga series in English and Japanese.
