Yuri Network News – (百合ネットワークニュース) – July 22, 2017

July 22nd, 2017

LGBT Comics/Manga News

I’ve been all about Legend of Korra: Turf Wars this week, and this Tumblr post by creator Bryan Konietzko has stoked the flames considerably….we’re getting this beautiful Korrasami figurine! (Bryan, adorably, uses the fan term.) Keep your eyes peeled for pre-order links. (And check out the Nerdist article he links to. There is is again.. “as a couple.” /qvell/)

 

Via YNN Correspondent Richardson Kilis on Twitter, come news of Bokutachi LGBT (ぼくたちLGBT), a new manga essay collection created by self-identified bisexual creator, Tomimura Kota. You can read chapters here (in Japanese) for free.

Comic Natalie reports on a comic which I think of hitting as some kind of self-referential queerish manga event horizon, Yurizuki-kun to Yurizikizuki-kun, (百合好きくんと百合好き好きくん), about a boy who is a Yuri fanboy and the boy who falls for him. Okay, we’re done now, just give me more lesbian stories please. ^_^;

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Comics News

JK Parkin on Smashpages has news out of San Diego Comic-Con that IDW will be publishing a Jem & The Holograms comic anthology. Comics anthologies are a great way to become familiar with a series. It’s true one sacrifices continuity and story a lot of the time, but anthologies are a great way to get to know the characters’ inner lives (and often fanon tropes about them!)

Speaking of SDCC, Heidi MacDonald has a excellent piece on Comics Beat about how although comics sales are rising, this isn’t translating into comic store sales. In This week’s Bookscan chart is a wake-up call for the comics industry, she  reports the top five bestselling comics in bookstores are as follows:

Anyhow, here are the top five books on the chart for last week:

1. BITCH PLANET, VOLUME 2: PRESIDENT BITCH
2. MY LESBIAN EXPERIENCE WITH LONELINESS
3. WONDER WOMAN VOL. 1: THE LIES
4. WONDER WOMAN VOL. 2: YEAR ONE
5. MARCH: BOOK ONE

and she notes:

…for one thing, it means that Marvel–and DC too! – had better start paying attention to new readers instead of pandering to the dwindling ranks of AARP-card carrying pap-pap Bronze Agers. I mean, I know it’s hard to move beyond  your own viewpoint, but business is business.

So, wow for My Lesbian Experience With Loneliness, Kabi Nagata-sensei and Seven Seas…and look at that, stuff for and by adult women are ruling the sales chart.

 

Other People’s Opinions

Coupla interesting takes on “our” material these days:

Over at Crunchyroll, Paul Chapman take a slightly precious look at Sweet Blue Flowers, which is back on the Crunchyroll streaming catalog in Delicate Emotions Blossom in “Sweet Blue Flowers”.

And from Autostraddle, Mey offers up a completely different perspective to my own in Drawn to Comics: “My Lesbian Experience With Loneliness” Is an Incredible Examinations of Mental Illness, Sexuality and Shame.

Andy Lee Chaisiri is a Quora-friend of mine. I’ve been sharing around this fun essay all week: 3 timeless lessons from Pokémon on designing enduring worlds from Andy and his brother Richard’s excellent art and pop culture blog, Art-Eater. 

 

Other News

Crunchyroll is holding their own expo show and, I thought this a fun thing – very out, gay, ice skater Johnny Weir is going to be there, speaking about Yuri on Ice!

Ogata Megumi-san posted a squee-worthy series of tweets this week, in which she showed herself and Katsuki Masako (Michiru’s original voice actress) recording Moon Revenge for the Sailor Moon 25th anniversary. Moon Revenge is from the Sailor Moon R movie and the original recording was by the voice actresses of the 5 Inner Senshi. Having Ogata-san and Katsuki-san  as part of a new recording has me fangirling. It’s a great song, I can’t wait to hear this version!

 

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 | 6 Comments »


Marine Corps Yumi Manga, Volume 6 (まりんこゆみ)

July 21st, 2017

In Volume 6  of Marine Corps Yumi Manga,  (まりんこゆみ) jokes are made, and no one is made to look even a little worse for it. ^_^

Yumi has a successful time at a training exercise that includes the Marines and the Japanese Self-Defense Force. The JDSF guys are blown away at Yumi being 1) a woman and 2) a Marine and 3) fluent in Japanese. So impressed are they, they ask for her to being assigned to the JSDF as part of an exchange. So while her friends are elsewhere, Yumi  heads up to Hokkaido, in order to spend time with the JSDF. 

Jokes are gentle, and mostly designed to highlight the supreme awesomeness of the U.S. Marines. Yumi is so much less a doofus now, one finds themselves actually rooting for her to be President one day. ^_^

Both Rita and Linda are now dating seriously – Rita’s still with the JSDF’s  Satoru and Linda with…Rita’s brother. Jose is a hoot and, in a page designed to explain that American’s don’t do that whole “confession of like” thing that whole manga series center on, we just sort of hang out and it develops from there, Jose gives Linda a token of his affection, a bloodstained knife he’s used in battle. She’s thrilled. It’s clearly a match made in heaven. ^_^ Although her brother and father are less enthused. Speaking of father’s Rita’s dad’s reaction to hearing that she’s seeing someone is…to hop in a Zodiac, ride up to the coast to where Rita’s unit is, and visit her wearing a carnival head. Okay then.

When Yumi gets back to Tokyo at last, she and Sawa and the gang take in another Takarazuka show. Linda nudges Yumi to point out that both Rita and Donna are laughing at the spectacle. I had to grin at that. When we went to Takarazuka together, she and Nogami-sensei had plenty of chance to watch me suppress giggles. ^_^

The book ends with Yumi’s renewed dedication to her dream.

Ratings:

Art – 8
Story – 9 
Characters – 9
Yuri – 1 As Erica realizes she’ll never have a chance with Linda. 
Service – 3 

Overall – 9

This week marked the second anniversary of Anastasia Moreno’s death. It was a complete coincidence that I was reading this book this week. It was not coincidence, however, the seventh and final volume of the series was released on July 14th, that very day. One more volume to go, but I’ll still be thinking of Ana all the time.

I also want to thank Nogami-sensei very much once again for keeping this series going and finishing it up. It was really important to Ana. Also, thank you Satoru-san for your kind friendship for these years. 

 

Posted in Miscellaneous | No Comments »


Yuri Manga: 2DK, G Pen, Mezamashitokei, Volume 4 (2DK、Gペン、目覚まし時計。)

July 19th, 2017

In Volume 4 of 2DK, G Pen, Mezamashitokei (2DK、Gペン、目覚まし時計。) by Ohsawa Yayoi, we come to realize that Nanami is a chick magnet. ^_^

Kaede has made her manga debut at last, and Koyuki is helping her out. Both Kaede and Nanami are very focused on work, but Nanami is starting to get a better idea of her focus at home. She’s been imagining life without Kaede and it isn’t making her happy. When she and Kaede are going through the kitchen, they find a large cooking vessel and Kaede starts to wax eloquent about her former roommate. Mere days pass, when that roommate shows up to get her pot, and Nanami is face to face with a woman who had flirted with her outrageously in an earlier volume, Aoi.

Volume 4 becomes poke at Nanami’s feeling from this point on. As Aoi plays Nanami, half to get her in bed and half to tease, Nanami is finding it harder and harder to deny that her thoughts go to Kaede’s face when she starts thinking about home. Aoi leaves, but the change in Nanami does not. After Aoi is gone, a former underclassman from Fukuoka arrives and immediately asks if Nanmai’s seeing Kaede. Mahiru doesn’t ask innocently, although Nanami does not know that. She also doesn’t know that Koyuki is in the same cafe and overhears the conversation. As Volume 4 ends, Koyuki joins Nanami in being shocked at the idea.

The final chapter is Kaede having a bachelor night without her roomshare-wife. It’s all fun, until Nanami runs late and Kaede starts to realize she’s lonely.

Ratings:

Art – 8
Story – 8
Characters – 8
Yuri – 4
Service – 3 Some light bathing and Aoi hitting on Nanami (with all the subtlety of a bag of bricks.)

Overall – 8

So far in 4 Volumes, we’ve had Yuuko, Aoi, and now Mahiru macking on Nanami. She’s a chick magnet. And I can see that – she’s fashionable, smart, competent and, apparently completely together.  The biggest question I have at this point, is how shocked will Kaede be at the idea? We’re about to find out….

I’ve started noticing that among the pages are references to Ohsawa-sensei’s other works. Keep your eyes peeled for Black Yagi‘s show on “LIME.” ^_^

Posted in Ohsawa Yayoi, Yuri Manga | No Comments »


LGBTQ: Legend of Korra Turf Wars, Part One Preview on Amazon (English)

July 17th, 2017

Via Senior YNN Correspondent Eric P. we have some really exciting news today.  Legend of Korra: Turf Wars, Part One is due to hit shelves at the beginning of August and Amazon has a preview of the first chapter.

You know how I am with managing expectations, but for once, I have very high hopes that this book will break ground. And, from the glimpses I’ve had from the preview and the of-course leaked pages on the Internets, it look like our hopes will be realized. Korra and Asami will be balancing relationship and teamwork in this series. As the description reads, “In order to get through it all, Korra and Asami vow to look out for each other–but first, they’ve got to get better at being a team and a couple!”

There, they said it.

I don’t know if this is the first mainstream large publisher, commercial property to ever say that so plainly or not, but it sure is one of the biggest YA franchises to do so. And certainly the only one I can think of where the lead was the one in the same-sex relationship, not a supporting role. We still love you Willow, just you weren’t Buffy… and I see all my favorite female characters stretching back to my childhood, all the almosts and might have and should have beens starting with like Jaimie Summers in the Bionic Woman. My life is littered with crumbs of female leads that ought to have been gay… and here we are. Finally. 2017 and we finally have a lead character of major commercial franchise who is a lesbian and the relationship is with another major character, not just someone to kill off.

Enjoy the preview and wait patiently a few more weeks. ^_^

Many thanks to Eric for the heads up and for the sponsorship!

 

Posted in English Manga, Legend of Korra, LGBTQ, Western Comic/Comix | 4 Comments »


Yuri Drama CD: Grand Stage Romance Review #5 “Akabara no Kimi” Suoh Yui (グラン・ステージ ロマンスレビュー 第5幕「赤薔薇の君 蘇皇唯」)

July 16th, 2017

If you learn one thing from Grand Stage Romance Review #5 “Akabara no Kimi” Suoh Yui (グラン・ステージ ロマンスレビュー 第5幕「赤薔薇の君 蘇皇唯」), it’s that the sound of a nod and a head shaking back and forth as represented by the movement of material sound completely different. How fascinating.

It’s not the only thing we learn, obviously. We also learn that, under her cool, sophisticated exterior, the woman who goes by the name Suoh Yui, the senior otokoyaku of the Grand Stage Sora-gumi, has a very passionate and possessive heart.

She invites us over her apartment to discuss our partnership, but doesn’t hesitate to note she has a large bed. Classy, Yui, classy. But as we speak, she almost offhandedly points out that she lets us see part of her that no one else can ever see. She is, as one might expect, teasing and seductive, but, also as expected, it’s all a joke. After we leave for the night, Yui starts to fret.

The next day, Yui comes across Hiou Akito shopping at a home goods store. It turns out that Akito and her partner are talking about moving in together and she’s finding herself looking for furniture. As Akito shares her concerns and doubts with Yui, Yui tells Akito that she reminds her a lot of herself. As Akito talks, she finds her her own unease growing and leaves. Akito says that this is the first time she’s seen Akabara like this. Yui starts to call us over and over. When we finally call back, she sounds desperately lonely…and a little frightening. She comes over to bring us back to her place.

When we get there, Yui tells us that we’re her’s…but when she sees us asleep, she realizes how much she’s fallen for us, watching us on stage. We’re awake and we hear everything she’s said. We embrace, as she asks us to be her Shirayuri-hime. We agree. Holding each other, we go to sleep, but not before she kisses us on the neck.

The next morning it’s all love-love banter between us. Again, Yui points out that we are the only one to see her like this. It’s obvious to us that her true self has been a well-kept secret.

Yui meets Akito once more, who asks about her relationship with her previous partner. Yui is glad to talk about it. Akito’s worried about asking her partner to move in, and is looking for a good time to ask. Yui’s advice is applicable to many situations – no one is like anyone else, every relationship and situation is unique. They both come out of the conversation relieved. Yui admits to being nervous about the announcement of the new Top Stars for the new year.

Yui comes home to find us cooking. She tells us that she kind of nervous and kind of relieved at the announcement, and offers us a “partner ring,” then embraces us and asks us to stay with her forever, her beloved Shirayuri.

The final track is a Spanish guitar-inspired song called “You’re mine.” Which you can hear in this Youtube clip:

As everyone had predicted this is a pretty darn Yuri CD. ^_^; And Saiga Mitsuki fans must have been downright swooning as she really pulls out all the stops her in her 10000x Yuri power up. A fine way to end the character CDs for this series.

Technically the Grand Stage Daiundokai is the final CD of the series, but I listened to the group CDs out of order, so I still have one left.

Ratings:

Overall – 10

The only thing I *don’t* know is who was announced in the stage play as the new Top Star! I can’t find any reviews of the play or spoilers. How vexing. I’m also a little bummed that this series is over and I’m not getting any more sexy-voiced Grand Stage Drama CDs, but I’m really glad to have gotten these. ^_^ And seriously we got two series, so I can’t complain too much. 

Posted in Drama CDs & Audiobooks, Grand Stage | 4 Comments »