In Memoriam, Okazu Superhero Bruce P

November 7th, 2017

Hi folks. I have no idea what to say here. This is the second time I’ve lost someone important to me, someone who I met because of Yuri. Okazu Superhero, Guest Reviewer and my very dear friend Bruce Pregger has passed away.

If you’re a long time reader, you’ve read many of his hilarious reviews and his event reports (I’m putting them all, and this post, into a new category, so they can be found simply) here on Okazu. He’s traveled with me to several continents and I’m going to miss him so much, I can’t even express myself.

Ah, crap. I hate this. 

I had a guest review of his all scheduled to run on Wednesday, it will still run, but dammit, Bruce, you were supposed to go with us to Tokyo in 2 weeks. Dammit.

Goodbye Bruce, you will be missed.

Posted in Bruce P, Miscellaneous, Okazu News | 12 Comments »


Light Novel: Mikagura School Suite: Stride After School

November 6th, 2017

Last spring we had the pleasure here on Okazu of reading a Guest Review by Mariko S on Mikagura School Suite Anime. In that review the protagonist, Eruna, was described as “an unusual/interesting heroine …. She is that rare anime heroine who has absolutely no lack of self-confidence. She always thinks she can handle whatever happens, and when she loses or someone is nasty to her she fights back with jokes and smiles and energy. She doesn’t mope or cry once. …you can’t help but love Eruna.”

This got me feeling hopeful, so when One Peace Books sent m a copy of the first volume of the Light Novel series, Mikagura School Suite: Stride After School, I happily made space for it on my to-read pile. And now have I read it. 

What a strange Light Novel. ^_^; The author is credited as “Last Note” which seems fitting.

The book appears to be a prequel to to the anime. We begin by meeting Ichinomiya Eruna, the aforementioned confident protagonist. But what may appear to be confidence in the anime turns out to be something closer to delusions of grandeur with a side of unhinged in the LN. But never in a bad way. Eruna just has a selective memory, which rarely includes most rational deductions based on normal external stimulus. If Eruna were to be reaching for a hot coal, and you screamed “Don’t touch that!” she’s likely to assume that you mean, because she’ll have a magic power that will make her unable to feel their heat. That kind of “confidence.”

Eruna is a generally lazy, unmotivated person. Eruna is also interested in girls. She choses the school entirely because of the beauty of the girl in the catalog. But when she goes to take her exam (running extremely late) she is basically alone in a room. The exam, which she has been told is really hard, isn’t. And she still sucks at it. Nonetheless, she’s accepted. This quickly becomes a pattern…no one explains anything, Eruna, too delusional to realize she’s missing info asks nothing useful and fails to be even remotely competent…and still she gets into the school. She’s told only that she must join a club, that all the clubs are culture clubs and they battle. The battles determine the student’s status in the school. We and Eruna are told these things about half a dozen times and by the end of the book, we know nothing more than that. Thanks, Eruna.

Because Eruna is the protagonist, of course she’ll be fine, but I have to admit a couple of times I wanted to put her through a wall. In any case, it was a good exercise in being inside the mind of a character I couldn’t cope with at all. ^_^

The art by Akina is blocky and kind of appealing, in a way I’m finding it hard to describe. It’s sort of Pixiv-y or fanartish, maybe?

Ratings:

Story – 7 Silly, goofy, contentless wackiness
Art – 7
Character – 5 Everyone is in on the school except Eruna, so no one explains anything
Yuri – 4 Eruna is absolutely into girls
Service – 0 Not really

Overall – 7

So with all the wackiness and nonsense, would I read the next book? I think I might, if only to see if anything about the school is explained at all. It was an entertaining, if occasionally vexing, read. Thanks to the folks at One Peace for the review copy!

Posted in Light Novel | 1 Comment »


Yuri Manga: Bloom into You, Volume 2 (English)

November 5th, 2017

In Volume 1 of Nakatani Nio’s Yuri drama, we were introduced to Touko, the competent and driven Student Council President and the girl she falls for, Yuu, who responds not with love, but with loyalty.

In Volume 2 of  Bloom Into You, Yuu is “digging into her lack of response to Touko in an interesting way,” as I said in my review of Volume 2 in Japanese. She’s starting to understand what drives Touko (beyond just the example of a deceased older sister) and what Touko (thinks she) wants. But even as Yuu promises to be that for Touko, she actually wants something vastly different for herself.

Touko is playing unfair. Sshe’s insisting she wants Yuu to never change, but she will shortly begin to demand that Yuu change. 

And all of this is about to get wrapped up in the tension of an original play for the school festival, which will surface way more of what drives Touko than even she realizes, maybe.

In the meantime, I find myself obsessively watching Sayaka. Where Touko is hiding almost nothing of her feelings for Yuu, Sayaka is hiding everything about her feelings for Touko and she naturally resents Yuu for usurping her place by Touko’s side. There’s nothing dishonest about Sayaka’s position, although it might feel that way, but every gay girl knows that there is high risk in coming out just for that straight friend, However, it’s arguably dishonest to be taking her frustration out on Yuu.

I still – and always will – believe that Yuu really needs to learn about asexuality, even if she believes she wants to fall in love. At least having a word and a concept might giver her protection from the pressure she’s putting on herself. Again, to quote myself, “I’m still not sure if Yuu is supposed to be confused because she just hasn’t had an “a-ha!” moment or because she’s genuinely asexual. I don’t think the mangaka knows, either and I’m positive Yuu herself has no idea.”

The story here is tightly wound and Nakatani-sensei’s art is up to the challenge, but I’m often made uncomfortable while reading it. Not because it’s not good…but because I desperately want these kids to have some adult to talk to, even if it’s an Internet group or something. There’s just no reason to be so isolated now.

Ratings:

Art – 8
Story – 8
Characters – 9
Yuri – 6
Service – 1

Overall – 8 With scrunchy-face making moments, especially around Touko’s lack of gaining consent.

I think Bloom Into You is intriguing, rather than entertaining. What’s your take on it?

Volume 3 is available and has what I consider to be the best bits so far of the series.

Posted in Bloom Into You / Yagate Kimi ni Naru, English Manga, Nakatani Nio, Yuri Manga | 10 Comments »


Yuri Network News – (百合ネットワークニュース) – November 4, 2017

November 4th, 2017

Yuri Manga

We’re starting today with some excellent news out of Italy from YNN Correspondent Laura C! She has these items to share: 

A new edition of Sailor Moon is being published by Star Comics. They call it Pretty Guardian Sailor Moon New Edition, in 16 volumes which should include the short stories and Sailor V. They also announced the Eternal Edition (12 volumes ), but no date has been announced.

Star Comics will also be releasing the Harmony manga next March. 

Murcielago started in May for Panini Comics. 
 
Italian fans are getting a new edition of Versailles no Bara (Rose of Versailles) which should include the new volumes.

Il marito di mio fratello (Otouto no Otto) hit the shelves last week from Panini Comics. Laura believes it’s the first proper “gay” manga to be published by a major comics publisher. It will be released in omnibus in 2 softcover volumes. 

Thanks for the news, Laura, this is really terrific!

The editorial team behind Rakuen Le Paradis (楽園 Le Paradis) magazine announces two new Yuri series:  from creator Kazuma Kowo will be a reprint of her Yuri Hime story Junsui Adolescence (my review of which you can find here on Okazu) and Preparat by Shigisawa Kaya in Volume 25 and 26.

Whoa! Via Comic Natalie prolific manga creator Nakamura Asumiko is turning her sights on Yuri with a new series Mejirobana Saku (メジロバナの咲く)! Also starting in Rakuen Le Paradis, Volume 25. Guess I’m getting that volume. 

Let me editorialize here for a moment. I’d been reading Rakuen Le Paradis since it began publishing. I especially like the early volumes of this quarterly when they had a weird, uncomfortable mix of BL, Yuri and straight manga all for adult women. Since the beginning, it included comics by Nishi UKO, quite possibly, my favorite manga artist ever, and a number of other Yuri titles, including runs by Hirao Auri, Hayashiya Shizuru, Mizutani Fuuka and others. 

Once Nishi UKO’s stellar series Collectors wrapped up, I moved my reading over to Bookwalker, because I just am out of room for magazines and I won their giveaway of $100 gift certificate, so I filled my Bookwalker box up with light novels and magazines. But the next several issues had no Yuri, or BL and was basically wholly straight romance and sex. I don’t mind that, however the fetishes weren’t mine. It had sort of settled down and hadn’t settled into my niche. So I decided to drop the magazine without prejudice. The last issue I read was Volume 24. … …. And here we are 3 months later, and I’m going to have to keep reading the next volume. Seriously, what happened there? Did a metric ton of people kill their subscriptions or something? I’m not complaining, but it does seem like interesting timing. ^_^

 

Support Yuri News and Reviews! 

 

Yuri Anime

ANN has the dub trailer for Viz Media’s release of Sailor Moon Crystal 3rd season.

From Crunchyroll News, Funimation has announced the dub cast for Konohana Kitan. (As of time of publication, Crunchyroll is down, but I hope they will fix their problems quickly. Just be warned.)

 

LGBTQ News

Maiden, Mother, and Crone: Fantastical Trans Femmes is a Bedside Press anthology of new fantastical short fiction by trans women and trans feminine writers curated by celebrated poet and author Gwen Benaway. They are taking submissions until December 15th, so get those stories in!

The Yodogawa section of Osaka has passed a pro-LGBT ordinance. It confers no legal status, but indicates that the section of town will respect LGBT people.

 

Other News

If you like beautiful Yuri artbooks, take a look at Shilin’s newest offering FANTASIA.

Over on Oh No They Didn’t on Livejournal(!), Zyuranger takes a look at the 5 Best and Worst Animators on the original Sailor Moon anime.

Know some cool Yuri News you want people to know about? Become a Yuri Network Correspondent by sending me any Yuri-related news you find.Emails go to anilesbocon01 at hotmail dot com. Not to the comments here, please, or they might be forgotten or missed. There’s a reason for this madness. This way I know you are a real human, not Anonymous (which I do not encourage – stand by your words with your name!) and I can send you a YNN correspondent’s badge.

Thanks to all of you – you make this a great Yuri Network!

Posted in Yuri Network News | No Comments »


Mawaru Penguindrum Manga, Volume 1 (輪るピングドラム)

November 3rd, 2017

A few weeks ago, I posted a rather long, detailed retrospective of Revolutionary Girl Utena, which is celebrating it’s 20th anniversary this year, helped along by a new deluxe manga release from Viz and and Blu-Ray anime box set from Nozomi/RightStuf. It got me thinking about his other works, and their visual and thematic commonalities. I was considering re-watching Mawaru Penguindrum, released in English by Section 23 Films as Penguindrum (Set 1 and Set 2,) but a trip to Book-Off provided me with an alternate.

The Mawaru Penguindrum manga is drawn by Shibata Isuzu, a manga artist with whose work I was previously unfamiliar. With character designs by Hoshino Lily, the anime character designer, anyone familiar with the anime would find themselves instantly familiar with the manga. Volume 1 covers the introduction of the primary cast, sickly Himari, her brothers Kanba and Shoma and Ringo, the classmate with a little stalking problem. This first volume embraces, rather than rejects, the repeated footage of the Princess of the Crystal demanding the “Penguindrum” and dropping someone through the floor. 

The rest of the story is present almost completely intact from the anime. The penguins show up and are as awful as they are in the anime. We get Ringo’s back story, and Kan-chan’s own stalker, Natsuki is introduced at the end, but there is something missing….something important, Nothing is mentioned of Himari, Shoma and Kanba’s own backstory, except for a brief reference in the phone call from their uncle who plans on turning them out of their home. Their parents are a barely seen presence in no more than a single image and nothing is said of their non-appearance.

Where the manga in Utena and Yurikuma Arashi redistribute the basic elements of the plot and create something new, the manga for Mawaru Penguindrum seems more of a distillation of the story…with the use of repeated footage.

Ratings:

Art – 8
Story – 6 If I didn’t already know where it was going, I might not keep reading. Or I might.
Characters – 7 Ringo’s still unhinged, but there’s no obvious sign of anyone else being broken. Presumably, that will change.
Yuri – 0 in this volume. Fingers crossed it keeps that piece of the story intact.
Service – A little compulsory service with the Princess’ outfit

I look forward to future volumes to see if/when it diverges from the already multi-layered anime narrative.

Posted in Ikuhara Kunihiko, Miscellaneous | No Comments »