Torikaebaya Manga, Volume 9 (とりかえ・ばや)

October 13th, 2016

51xwd9km9el-_sx318_bo1204203200_The train wreck that is the plot of Saito Chiyo-sensei’s Torikaebaya, Volume 9 (とりかえ・ばや) just keeps getting wreckier and wreckier.

Sarasojuu who was born as a woman, but should have been a man, has been masquerading now for a while as a woman…as her sibling Suiren, in fact.  Suiren, who was born a man, but should have been a woman, has been playing the part of a male courtier as Sarasojuu.

Complicating things, Sara has fallen in love with the Emperor and Suiren with Toguu-sama, his female heir. In a botched attempt to meet Toguu-sama once more, Suiren and Sara protect Toguu-sama from being assassinated, but must be punished for violating protocols and endangering her in the first place.

I desperately want the Emperor to clue in on what’s going on, but as decent a person as he is, he’s showing no signs of that. And he’s being pressured to choose a male heir over Toguu-sama by enemy factions in the government.

This volume almost exclusively follows Sara as Suiren. And I’m feeling uneasy about it, because she’s starting to assimilate into her “switched role” as a woman. It doesn’t feel right to me at all.

BUT, in Volume 9 one really super important thing happens for which I am extremely grateful. Poor Shi-no-hime, Sara’s wife in name only, with two children by Tsuwabuki, lost, almost utterly alone, is redeemed. Her family petitions Sara’s family to dissolve the marriage, when they receive an offer from a much older man. The dissolution is approved, with genuine regrets on Sara’s part, but Shi-no-hime is not moving for love, but a sense of duty to her children. As she sets off on her trip to her new husband’s house, Tsuwabuki sweeps up and rides off with her. At his summer home, he promises to take care of his children if she’ll have him. They – finally – are allowed to be together.  Thank the gods. At least Shi-no-hime gets a happy ending. Of all the characters in the book, I felt worst for her.

As I read, it dawned on me that if either Suiren and Sarasojuu were gay – or, to be more precise, if they were allowed to be gay as the sex they best suited, this story would be very different. But instead, Sara is finding her life as Suiren less uncomfortable, while Suiren is still managing as Sarasojuu. If they are to find happiness in love, I fear it will have to be as their birth sex. There doesn’t seem a way through this in which they can both, be the sex they wish to be and have the love they wish to have. Even having the tenguu switch them now would only make things worse, as Suiren loves Toguu-sama as a man  and Sara loves the Emperor as a woman. Aughs. So many aughs.

Ratings:

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

Overall – 9

Volume 10 is already out. Get the antacids ready.

Posted in Miscellaneous, Saitou Chiho | 1 Comment »


Live Action: The Handmaiden (English)

October 10th, 2016

the_handmaiden_filmThe Handmaiden, from director Park Chan-wook is, in a word, spectacular.

Based on Sarah Water’s exceptional novel Fingersmith (which itself was given the live-action treatment as a BBC miniseries), The Handmaiden is a pretty fair retelling of the story, set in Japanese-occupied Korea.

Kim Tae-ri plays Sook-hee, the small-time thief and conwoman recruited to become a maid for a wealthy eccentric’s ward, Hideko, played by Kim Min-hee. Both actresses were fantastic and, had I not already known the story, would have blown me away at the plot twists.

The setting works. The characters switch back and forth between Japanese and Korean fluidly, each language functioning as it’s own symbol. The clothing and homes presented are a pretty wonderful period setting. But the thing that seemed strangest at the beginning of the movie, the main house being of western design, makes perfect sense in creating a space that is nowhere and nowhen, even as the story particulars place the story firmly in a particular place and time.

Like the book, the first part of the story is told twice, once from each woman’s perspective and, like the book, it’s eyebrow-raising to realize just how much seeing it from one perspective changes everything. The final part of the movie is where it deviates from the novel, but other than one scene that could have been cut out completely, the end is satisfying, if a bit pandering.

If you’re a long-time reader here, you know my biggest gripe about Japanese live-action is the pacing and lack of appropriate intimacy. Kisses are dry-mouthed and passionless. Korean live-action works do not suffer from either of these problems. I’m not a huge consumer of Korean dramas or movies, but every one that I’ve watched has been smartly paced and the romance or sex has been appropriate to the story.

Which brings me to the sex. There is some. And the camera gets way closer than I like, but otherwise is fine. Unlike other viewers, I prefer to imagine that I’m not in there with them, that I’m not part of the scene at all. Not as voyeur or participant. That said, the sex is only slightly cinematic and thankfully, not extended to the point of being boring. (Which was part of the problem with Blue is the Warmest Color, that the sex scenes went on and on and on and on… the actresses became exhausted and the comic creator was disgusted.)

There are some deviations from the book – several are consistent with the characters as they are presented. The penultimate scene and final scene could have been cut whole and nothing would have been lost. But the movie still was a pretty solid adaptation of an excellent book – and how often do I say that?

The movie will be coming out from Magnolia Pictures in English on October 21, 2016 and will be available on Amazon Instant Video. I recommend it highly. Check out the trailer for yourself.

Ratings:

Characters – 9
Story 9 (Except for the last bit)
Cinematography – 9
Lesbian – 10

Overall – 9

There is some graphic violence (and some implication of other icky things) but it’s not what you think.

Posted in LGBTQ, Live Action | 4 Comments »


Dangerous Women Kickstarter is Live!

October 9th, 2016

Dangerous Women: Tales of Queer Villainy, from Northwest Press “Yes, you burn with passion, yes, you desire vengeance and control, of course you have devastating plans and amazing powers, but there is so much more to supervillainy than that.”

Dangerous Women: Tales of Queer Villainy, from Northwest Press features 13 stories by queer, non binary and women of color authors about queer, non-binary and women of color supervillians. Get to know mad scientists, evil geniuses, master manipulators and superpowered sociopaths and their wives and girlfriends. ^_^

The Kickstarter for Dangerous Women is open and waiting for you to pitch in as a lackey or henchick.

If we hit our stretch goals on the kickstarter, the creators will get bonuses, so your support is very important to us. For as little as $5, you can get a DRM-free digital copy and as little as $10 gets you a print volume! Support Dangerous Women…and you might get to live. ^_^

 

 

Posted in LGBTQ, Yuri Network News | 2 Comments »


Yuri Network News – (百合ネットワークニュース) – October 8, 2016

October 8th, 2016

YNN_LissaYuri Manga and Comics

 Ana Valens takes a look at the changing nature of Yuri Manga over at The Mary Sue.

YNN Correspondent Shannon L wants us all to know that Batwoman has been given a second chance (or is this the third?) at an ongoing series, this time written by Marguerite Bennett. The new series is slated to debut in February 2017.

YNN Correspondent Elizabeth F is excited to let you all know about the upcoming Legend of Korra Graphic Novel series, which is coming in summer 2017. The GN series picks up after the cartoon ended and will, we’re told, explore Korra and Asami’s relationship, as well as a new threat.

Viz announced that they’ve picked up another Yuri manga title, After Hours by Nishio Yuta. I’m not at all familiar with this title, or HiBaNa magazine, in which it runs. It’s a Big Comics title, which means it’s seinen, for adult men, the art looks moe, and the story synopsis is difficult to parse. It’s about “a young lesbian finding herself after meeting an older woman at a club.” So…could be good, could be not. I guess we’ll see! Thanks YNN Correspondent Shannon L for the pointer!

And, from the folks who brought you Lily Love, the Three Musqueerteers, Volume 1 of Pulse, a new Yuri manga by Ratana Satis is available for pre-order on their website!

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Yuri Game

YNN Correspondent Elizabeth F shares the news of the 2016 Yuri Game Jam, which welcomes game developers  to complete a Yuri-themed game in one month. Here is a link to previously developed Yuri Games from the 2015 Yuri Game Jam!

 

Sailor Moon & Card Captor Sakura News

The Official Sailor Moon Fan Club has opened it’s door to overseas fans. You can become a member at Tokyo Otaku Mode, where membership will get you a card, a limited-release lip gloss accessory and access to the Japanese membership website where they will give you access to other exclusive shit you don’t need. ^_^

And while you’re at it, check out ANN”s report on the 20th anniversary official Sailor Moon Guidebook, with a retrospective of 20 (almost 25 now….) years of the Senshi.

Card Captor Sakura is getting new news in November. We’ve already got a new manga, and a new anime…what could be next? ANN has the report.

 

Other News

Back in the day, before there was LGBTQ YA literature, young lesbians like myself (or Satou Sei) would trawl the libraries looking for things to read in which we could find ourselves represented…often we found little enough. But some names floated to the to;, names like Radclyffe Hall, Una Troubridge and Romaine Brooks. Romaine Brooks was a painter and an exhibition of her paintings of her lesbian contemporaries is on display at the Smithsonian American Art Museum.

While this election is far more likely to elicit terms of disgust than joy, in an historic moment, Hillary Clinton has become the first Presidential candidate to write an op-ed for a LGBTQ newspaper! Here is her discussion of LGBT rights in the Philadeliphia Gay News.

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 | 5 Comments »


YNN Special Report – “Dangerous Women” is Coming

October 1st, 2016
nerdgirl_small

“Eden could tell that she made Grey nervous. She liked that.” – From “Eden’s Revenge, by Missouri Vaun

The gold rush in California beckons. They say a man can make his fortune there, but I intend to be a queen.

Dangerous Women is coming.

A killing spree hadn’t been a part of her plans but she rarely plans. Chaos is its own reward.

Dangerous Women: Tales of Queer Villiany, is a new anthology from our friends at Northwest Press, featuring 13 stories by Tristan Tarwater, Leia Weathington, JD Glass, Susan Smith, Erica Friedman, Jude McLaughlin, Barbara Ann Wright, Mari Kurisato, Claire Monserrat Jackson, Audrey Chase, Missouri Vaun, Merc Rustad, and Emily Singer.

“If I asked,” she murmurs, her voice like molten honey, “would you give me your heart?”

I swallow. “Literally or figuratively?”

The Kickstarter for this spectacular anthology, for which I was both editor and contributor will be launched next week at Geek Girl Con in Seattle.  Look for the Northwest Press booth and find out about more, meet some of the contributors and be part of this special book.

“Mom and Dad are such decent people.  I can’t imagine what they’d think of me if they knew about the… killing part.”

Evil. Was it born this way? Maybe these villains knew from the very beginning, maybe not, but by the time you get to meet them, they’ve come through the crucible and learned to accept themselves for who they are.

“What kind of villainess appears and disappears in a flurry of heart-shaped petals? Me, apparently.”

Please consider supporting this anthology. We’ve kicked butt writing it for you. ^_^

“Alex deepened her smile and did the thing where she squinted a bit to make it look as if she felt a deep camaraderie and affection for these people. She had gotten quite good at it.”

Dangerous Women is coming. Are you ready for it?

Posted in LGBTQ | 6 Comments »