Revolutionary Girl Utena Manga, Volume 1 (English)

May 10th, 2017

A few years ago, we had the 15th anniversary re-release of the Revolutionary Girl Utena anime from Nozomi/RightStuff, and this year we have the Revolutionary Girl Utena Manga Complete Deluxe Box Set from Viz Media! And what a deluxe set it is.

This two-volume set of all 6 volumes of the manga (5 for the TV series, one for the movie) drawn by Saito Chiho, in collaboration with Be-Papas, comes in a black box that provides a similar kind of gravitas that the anime packaging provided, with beautiful rose-themed design work in both black glossy on black matte and in color. 

Volume 1 has the pink color theme of the first of the anime arcs, a nice nod to an established color scheme.

Each volume comes with color page inserts from the magazine run and covers of the manga. The collection also includes a poster of Anthy and Utena, suitable for any Yuri fan and guaranteed to have you singing Rinbu Revolution as soon as you see it.

Unlike most manga series that come out at the same time as an anime, the Revolutionary Girl Utena manga is not a literal rendering of the anime at all, but a separate tale, using the same characters and elements that existed in the anime. The rose sigil, the dueling ground, Akio’s car, the planetarium projector all exist here, as they did in the anime. But they do not necessarily mean (or not mean) the same things. Where the anime went for visual effect, the manga relies on shoujo manga tropes of emotional relationships, complications and manipulation.

Compared to the anime, the manga is short, tight, and deeply complicated. When we meet her, Tenjou Utena is very apparently a very young, immature girl with a dream of a Prince that has extremely tenuous roots in reality. It becomes quickly apparent that everything around Utena has extremely tenuous roots in reality. And, when Utena arrives at Ohtori Academy, this does not change.

Where, in the anime, we spend a lot of time with the Student Council, here in the manga they swiftly take a second seat to Ohtori Akio. In the anime, Akio is insidious and horrible, here he is overtly manipulative and power hungry. His honesty about his desires for power and his use of Utena to that end doesn’t make him any less loathsome. What is significantly different is the character of Touga who appeared to be manipulated almost until the very end of the anime here defects to Utena’s side and acts in part as a Greek Chorus, explaining the whims of the gods, and part as a Virgil to Utena’s Dante.

Speaking of shoujo tropes, the relationships portrayed in the manga are almost all toxic. Non-consensual kisses and slapping are common. There is a lot of slapping in these 3 volumes. A lot. Even when it doesn’t really serve any function, or move the story forward. By the time Saionji hauls off on Anthy the last time, in the bonus curry explosion chapter, you can be forgiven for thinking Anthy wouldn’t mind seeing them all dead.

Ratings:

Art- 8 Good, solid, sensual, beautiful but compared to her current outstanding work in Torikaebaya it’s almost simplistic.
Story – 7 Uncomfortable making, weird, and still, strangely hopeful.
Characters – 7 Not as fully developed as in the anime. Everyone seems slightly more delusional.
Service – 5 Creepy non-con seductions and slapping so…mostly violence against women’s autonomy
Yuri- 1 Only if you’re reading anything into Anthy and Utena’s relationship which, as of yet, has not developed beyond lies.

Overall – 8 for content , 9 for presentation

It’s equally as uncomfortable as the anime, although in different ways. I like that Akio is more overtly horrible, but am sad that it’s at the loss of fully developed Student Council.

When I read this series the first time back in 1998 or so, when I remember that it was very difficult for me to read the word “hyou” (leopard) for the longest time. Yes, I know there is a leopard on the page. I wanted to find a official translation…and couldn’t. It moved me to buy my first Japanese dictionary. ^_^

Posted in English Manga, Revolutionary Girl Utena, Saitou Chiho | 7 Comments »


Yuri Animation: Asagao to Kase-san Clip on Youtube

May 8th, 2017

Via YNN Special Correspondent Verso S., the animation clip being developed for Takashima Hiromi’s Asagao to Kase-san series has gone up on Youtube. Check out this “Kimi ni Hikari” starring Yamada-san and Kase-san, accompanied by, “Kimi no Egao” sung by Oku Hanako.

If you like the clip, please consider giving it a “like” and a comment on Youtube.

And then we all sit back and wonder, is this a teaser for something more? Is this testing the waters? Whiat, we have to wonder, is this clip for?

Well…

We didn’t have to wonder long, though because on Sunday the Asagao_Anime official twitter account sent out a post asking people what they thought of the clip…and asked for feed back….And commented that maybe full series might be in the works if they got enough response.

 

The official account has shown themselves fluent in English so, if you’re on Twitter, feel free to let them know what you think there, as well.

In all honesty, I thought this to be a genuinely beautiful animation of Takashima-sensei’s art. I’ll admit to grinning through the whole clip. ^_^

Here’s hoping that we’ll get a Kase-san anime!

Posted in Kase-san Series, Yuri Anime, Yuri Network News | 6 Comments »


Live Action: Mystère à la Tour Eiffel (French)

May 7th, 2017

Back in March, The Mary Sue proclaimed Here It Is, the Victorian-Era Interracial Lesbian Murder Mystery Movie You’ve Always Wanted. I’m not gonna argue with a headline like that, so I threw Mystère à la Tour Eiffel onto my-to-watch list. I’m going to cut to the chase – it was good enough that I watched it twice. ^_^

Louise Massart is a (gasp!) divorced woman in Paris in 1889, just as the Eiffel Tower has been completed (and, loathed by most of Paris,) for the 1889 World’s Fair. (I cannot even begin to tell you how much I adored the Eiffel Tower in real life. It was a sugar confection of a building. And at night it sparkles, so cute.)

A friend of Louise’s is arrested for killing her husband; although she was found in a closed elevator, holding the weapon, she had no recollection of doing the deed. Louise is convinced that Charlotte has been set up and proceeds to investigate. When she is arrested for her father’s murder, she understands that this is much bigger than just her or Charlotte. 

The plot takes her to a lesbian bar in late 19th century Paris, in the company of a magician’s assistant Henriette who takes no shit about her race from Louise. The two later conspire to free Louise from a madhouse, where she has been sentenced for murder. The plot was complicated enough that it was worth watching the story a second time to catch what I had missed the first time around. And it made an awesome watch on the plane to Queers & Comics. Very appropriate, as the story is somewhere between comic booky- and Mystery! on PBS.  

The sexual tension between Henriette and Louise is handled better by the actresses than by the plot, which tries to shoehorn them into a relationship, when the one they were building on their own, was actually better. Both Marie Denarnaud and Aïssa Maïga did a lovely job of watching each other hungrily. I quite enjoyed that. ^_^

So, was Mystère à la Tour Eiffel the Victorian-Era interracial lesbian murder mystery movie I’ve always wanted? It certainly was damned close. If I could have a Henriette and Louise mystery series (and if Louise would just wear that one teal dress a lot, it was so fetching and Henriette that dark red dress which looked just brilliant on her,) I would be a very happy person. ^_^

Ratings:

Cinematography – 6 It looked like a TV costume drama mystery, you know the sort….
Character – 9 Even the bad guy was…good.
Story – 8 Absurd? yes. But exactly just the right kind of absurd
Service – 4 Yes, Victorian underwear is so exciting
Lesbian – 9 A lot of flirting, little making out, and a happy ending.

Overall – 9

It was a lot of fun and I highly recommend it when you need to think about nothing much except the pretty clothing on the pretty Victorian Parisian lesbians.

Posted in Live Action | No Comments »


Yuri Network News – (百合ネットワークニュース) – May 6, 2017

May 6th, 2017

In honor of the upcoming Toronto Comic Arts Festival in Toronto Ontario, which is always a very queer comics friendly event, I’m going to do a big ole queer content YNN Report this week:

Check out the books of Shira Glassman, a queer Jewish feminist author, who has a fab-looking YA series collectively known as the Mangoverse, which are “f/f fairytales focusing on LGBTQA+ Jewish characters getting happy endings” and “found family.” I squeed when I saw this. Gon’ have to get me some. This is creator-owned work that’s worth supporting.

Kabi Nagata’s My Lesbian Experience With Loneliness will hit bookshelves on June 6. This is the first lesbian comic essay out of Japan to make it to the west, but if it sells well, I bet it won’t be the last.

Gengoroh Tagame, creator of My Brother’s Husband, which is available now from Pantheon Books, will be a guest at TCAF. He is a genuinely lovely man and his book is fantastic. I hope you’ll support it.

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Small Favors, Collen Coover’s classic “girly porno” comic is getting the deluxe treatment with Small Favors: The Definitive Girly Porno Comic Collection, which collects volumes one and two of Small Favors, the never-before-collected color special, behind-the-scenes materials, and a brand-new introduction.

The Tate Britain is holding an exhibition called Queer British Art 1861-1967. It’s not LGBTQ art per se, but it gives you a whole new perspective of well-known pieces and their creators. Here is Cheryl Morgan’s review of the show that provides some specifics.

 

LGBTQ Events

Tokyo Rainbow Pride and Comitia were held this past week, and if Twitter was any indication, there was more Yuri than ever before at Comitia.

Girls Love Festival is back at the Pio building in the greater Tokyo Metropolitan area, on June 4th. Here is the list of participating circles ,so you can plan your purchases.

Toronto Comic Arts Festival – Guests include Tagame-sensei, the only out gay male mangaka working in mainstream comics in Japan right now, Colleen Coover, creator of Small Favors, Marjorie Liu and Sana Takeda, creators of Monstress, Skim‘s Jillian Tamaki and many others. Toronto, Ontario, Canada, May 13-14

My schedule at TCAF  is as follows: (Check the schedule for locations)

Friday I’ll be on a panel about Queer Comics in Libraries as part of TCAF’s Librarian and Educator Day. They know I’m not a public or K-12 librarian, but asked me anyway. ^_^; 

Saturday I’ll be moderating:
11:00 Teamwork: Comics and Collaboration

4:00 Spotlight: Svetlana Chmakova (Awkward, Brave) x Cecil Castellucci (Soupy Leaves Home)

 Sunday I’ll be moderating:

2:45 Sweaty Pages: Comics and Erotics

4:00 Challenged Books

I’ll otherwise be wandering around visiting with folks and eating almost incessantly. I am literally booked for meals all weekend long. ^_^ Better go out for a long walk now. I hope to see you there!

 

Okazu News

Patrons of the Okazu Patreon were treated to a sneak peek of an upcoming article for publication. There’s still time to see it, if you subscribe now!

 

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 »


ROD The TV Anime Rewatch (English)

May 5th, 2017

12 years have gone by since I last cracked open ROD The TV. Wow.

I had so much fun with the Girls with Guns Trilogy rewatch and wanted something else epic (but not tear jerking) to revisit, so the 7-volume box set of the Aniplex anime based in, around and on the READ OR DIE light novels and manga and READ OR DREAM manga series seemed like a perfect fit.  And it was. (For all the anime, manga and book reviews check out the R.O.D Category here.)

Three Chinese Paper Users are hired to protect Japanese author Sumiregawa Nenene. They save her from an attempt on her life, and come to Japan to stay with her. Nenene has been in a slump since her friend and inspiration, Paper Master Yomiko Readman, has disappeared.   Nenene, Maggie, Michelle and Anita are drawn into a plot that is meant to literally reshape the world, lead by Yomiko’s former boss at the British Library, Joker.  

The story turned out to be atrociously timed. As the United States is slipping more quickly than we could have imagined into a not-Democracy, with the assistance of Putin who would love to recreate the Soviet Union as the world leader, watching a story about Joker remaking the world in a former age’s image was hitting way too close to home. I was not series-angry with Joker’s stupid pretension of world peace, I was actually really angry. So that wasn’t so good.

But the story hangs together in ways that I could not have expected and the lessons I came out of the whole thing clutching at were these: In the penultimate episode Yomiko says of Joker “I have to make him give up or he’ll just keep trying again.” This is a lesson for the resistance to any repressive regime. We need to make them give up. And so we will.  It took 12 years and entire world to overthrow Hitler. My calendar is clear through 2028. We’ll get rid of these fascists, too.

Also, there is an important life lesson in the arc in which Joker “reveals” to the three Paper Sisters what the “truth” of their existence is. I use quotes because 1) ultimately it doesn’t matter, as they discover, that they were created and their memories seeded. Their feelings are real, even if the events are not and 2) why would anyone ever believe Joker in the first place? People who gaslight aren’t trustworthy. We’ll trust in our bonds, no matter what they say about us, that our marriages aren’t real, or our lives aren’t worthy. We’re going to tell our stories every day and not let the gaslighters get the final word. 

So plot and character wise, this series hold up really well. But animation-wise? Peee-yeeww. I remember vividly  when this ran on TV, fan complaints about the shitty animation and Aniplex promising that they’d do clean up for the DVD release. Well, they did, but not much and not really well. The first half is still really shitty, up to, including and past the linchpin moment when Nenene finds Yomiko in the stacks at the Diet. The animation is distractingly awful in many places. So awful that when it’s good, it’s distractingly good. “Oh! Look it’s not bad!” you exclaim and then “Oh, it’s bad again.” Over and over. This is not good for an anime series that is otherwise deep and complex and nuanced and needs your full attention to follow it all.

That said, the story is so good that, craptastic animation and all, it’s still worth watching for a definitive “history” of all the Read or Die timelines and a plot that ties them all up in a way that not only works, but provides satisfactory ends for everyone…even the bad guys, but especially the good guys.

Ratings:

Art – 3 Godfuckingawful
Story – 10
Characters – 10
Yuri – There’s a whole lot or none, depending on how you want to see it. I say 9
Service – 5 Boob mechanics are just the most pathetic thing ever,

Overall – 10, possibly 100

It’s still an amazing story. I just wish it had gotten the animation it deserved.

 

Posted in R.O.D., Read or Dream | 6 Comments »