LGBTQ: Catcher in the Rhyme, Volume 2 (キャッチャー・イン・ザ・ライム)

September 20th, 2018

In Volume 1 of Noboru Segawa’s series about a rap battle club at an all girl’s school, we focused solely on painfully shy Satsuki. In Catcher in the Rhyme, Volume 2 (キャッチャー・イン・ザ・ライム), we spend time with her fellow club members.  

Rich girl Anzu and the girl who got her into trouble, Ren were enemies, until they were friends We meet Ren’s childhood friends, and learn her troubled background  and the meaning rap brought into her life. 

We spend a lot of time with Utsuki, our transgender club member, and help her learn to be better at being herself, even as she meets a former schoolmate whom she had a crush on. He turns out to be a really nice guy and we are able to forgive the fact that he has what seems to be a lovely girlfriend. We get to see him be very encouraging of Utsuki.  Utsuki is allowed to be transgender and female freely in the context of the story, without either of those being awkward, although she has a couple of truly awkward scenes, In the end we watch her walk away with her pride intact.

And finally, we learn about Kaede and her history, and help her walk away from the family that is her club – and welcome her back when she’s free to do so.

Throughout the volume, we learn about bringing rap into normal everyday conversation – how the rhyme and rhythm of words exist with or without structure. Rap is poetry and poetry can be rap. From common phrases to Hyakunin Isshu verses – it’s all rap.

This was a lovely manga, much finer than I expected. Segawa-sensei does an exceptional job of uncovering the inner lives of young women without fetishizing them, always focused on the words; the feelings, the meter and sound and how rap allows them to express themselves when they have no idea what to say or how to say it.

Ratings:

Art – 6 
Story – 8  
Characters – 9 
Service – 2 
Yuri – 0
LGBTQ – 8

Overall – 8

 

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Yuri Manga: Model-chan to Jimi Mane-san, Volume 1 (モデルちゃんと地味マネさん)

September 19th, 2018

Model-chan to Jimi Mane-san, Volume 1(モデルちゃんと地味マネさん) by Taneko, is a collected volume from Comic Yuri Hime‘s Pixiv site. The story is a simple one – top fashion model Yuria has a reputation for being aloof. When young manager Okabe Ayumi is assigned to her due to the previous manager being injured, she can barely get the model to acknowledge her, much less anyone else.

But Okabe is kind and persistent and, without warning, one day find Yuria listening to her, asking her for compliments and even pats on the head!  A pat on the keppi is my family’s highest accolade, so I was able to empathize with Yuria even when she seemed extraordinarily flakey. ^_^ Yuria is flakey, too. Okabe has to remind her to greet people on the photo shoot when they arrive or leave. But under her guidance, Yuria is softening up.

When the agency president takes Okabe off of Yuria’s roster, returning her to the care of her former manager, Yuria reverts to her previous self. It’s only when the former manager has to take leave once more and Yuria gets reassigned Okabe that she realizes the change in her is directly due to her manager.

The final chapter is a surprising look at Yuria’s life. The half-Japanese daughter of a top-model and fashion designer, she was all but fated to be a top model herself. Life has been kind to her in terms of fame and finances, but her relationships with people are tenuous. Her parents mean a lot to her and, now, she finds that Okabe Ayumi does, too.

Taneko’s art is good, with one striking exception….Yuria is drawn rather more bland and slack-faced than I’d like to see for a character meant to be a stunning beauty. It’s supposed to be representative of her cold exterior, but she just looks kind of dull.

The story is continuing on Pixiv – you can read current chapters (in Japanese) I’m really glad about that! With the absence of gratuitous sex every chapter, it feels like an old MIST comic, where the aloof idol’s cool exterior is worn down by the enthusiastic genuineness of the young manager.  I am 100% okay with this. ^_^ Yuria’s not likable per se, but as we get to know her, she’s sympathetic. We want Okabe to warm the cockles of that cold heart. ^_^

Ratings: 

Art – 7
Story – 7
Characters – 7
Yuri – 3 No more then blushing and a little charming codependency as of yet
Service – 1 if you count “Yuria in pretty clothes” asservice

Overall- a solid 7

All that said, I’m actually rooting for Yuria to make Okabe notice her for real. ^_^

Posted in Yuri Manga | 2 Comments »


Erica’s Autumn Appearance Schedule

September 18th, 2018

New York Comic Con – October 4-7, 2018 New York, NY.
I’ll will be working as press, so no panels, but if you catch up, do say hi! 

Newark Museum Second Sundays — Manga Mania – October 14, 2018, Newark Museum, Newark, NJ
Join me on October 14th for Manga Mania at the Newark Museum, where I’ll be talking about the intersection of fashion and manga, as part of their “Refashioning Kimono” exhibit! Bring your manga-loving friends – and there’ll be activities for all ages.


Derpycon – November 9-11, Morristown, NJ
I’ll be presenting a panel or two on queer manga at this lovely local con! Details on time/date TBA. Prizes will be given out for good questions!

Hope to see you see you this autumn!

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Yuri Manga Anthology: Avalon ~bitter~

September 17th, 2018

There’s something to be said for judging a book by it’s cover, sometimes. ^_^ Avalon ~bitter~ is a Yuri anthology of troubling, distressing and bitter stories by extremely talented artists. It’s not that the stories are bad, it’s that this is not the collection for you, if you’re looking for happy endings. 

I found Mikanji’s “Sukininaru nante arienai” to be typical of this collection. A girl who had been a bully, is sexually harassed by the girl she bullied when they were younger. But it’s okay now because they can bully each other. … … …

But the story that encapsulated the whole anthology for me was Shoukabuki’s “Bara bara” about a lesbian and the woman she seduces. The lesbian’s kouhai is a little appalled at her sempai’s casual disinterest in the woman afterwards, but when she hears the woman dismissing the sex, because she’s not really queer, she understands a bit better that people use each other for their own ends.

This volume is pretty much a collection of stories in which people use each other, with some manipulation, sexual harassment and a bit of light betrayal, in a variety of settings, both realistic and fantastic. Overall, both writing and art is very good, which actually serves to increase the bitter flavor of the work. ^_^;

Ratings:

Overall – 8 Although I didn’t enjoy it, per se, it was very good.

The publisher is “girls x garden” which is a new imprint for me. I’ll be interested to get the other available Avalon collection, which seems to have a similar roster of contributors but perhaps a different focus.

Posted in Yuri Anthology, Yuri Manga | 1 Comment »


LGBTQ Comic: Legend of Korra: Turf Wars, Part 3

September 16th, 2018

The final volume of Legend of Korra: Turf Wars has dropped! 

In Part 1 and Part 2, Korra and Asami were rudely interrupted on their vacation in the spirit world by the intrusion of a greedy real estate developer on the spirits’ domain, a humanitarian aid crisis being mishandled  by the Republic City government and a violent gang turf war. All of which had it been written in 2014, might have seemed absurd happening all at once but, in 2018, feels a bit on the nose.

Because this is a 3-part American YA comic that was meant to be a sequel to a popular cartoon, the plots and any and all emotional complications were wrapped up relatively quickly and neatly. Any discomfort family and friends had with the idea of Korra and Asami as partners is wiped away in a panel or two per complication, long traditions of homophobia are declared “need to be changed.” The greedy real estate developer – after having been saved more than once by Korra – comes around to the only actual sensible idea. Asami asserts her corporate power, Zhu Li takes over the Republic City government (and I weep with joy at the idea of a world in which police, military, corporate and political power are all held by women with a sense of responsibility, wrested from the grasping hands of selfish and greedy men.)

Art is once again handled beautifully by Irene Koh, who has reported on her Tumblr that a sequel series is in the works, although she won’t be working on it.

It would all be perfect, except for one nagging thing. Several times this volume Korra and Asami agree that they “should talk.” I understand that thin page count means that neither plot nor development get the time they deserve in this comic, but the thing that annoys me most is that they never have that talk. A panel or two where they agree that they work better as a team isn’t really the talk they need, and while I deeply appreciate that the final pages are focused on their love for one another, I really wish we had seen them have that talk. ^_^; On the one hand, I think it’s that I’m just more used to manga, where longer page counts means that talk takes two chapters, and on the other, I’m old and that talk is really an important tool in terms of healthy relationships. ^_^

On a lot of levels, though, I’m not unhappy that we get the end we wanted from the cartoon here in the comic, with Sato Asami and Avatar Korra saying “I love you” to one another, as they celebrate the victory of peace and progress in the city they love. There’s a bunch of young readers out there, for whom this will be a life-changing comic.

Ratings: 

Art – 9
Story – 8
Characters – 9
Service – 0
Yuri – 10

Overall – A very solid 9

Thank you very, very much to Okazu Superhero Eric P. for his sponsorship of this series! 

If we do indeed get a sequel, I’ll be really interested to read it. (And I look forward to whatever Koh has planned, as well. She’s definitely someone to follow.)

What did you think? Let me know in the comments!

 

Posted in Legend of Korra, LGBTQ, Western Comic/Comix | 2 Comments »