Yuri Network News – (百合ネットワークニュース) – January 9, 2016

January 9th, 2016

YNN_MariKSailor Moon News

We start this week with a hat tip to YNN Correspondent Elizabeth F, for letting us know ANN has the scoop on the upcoming third season of Sailor Moon Crystal. There’s a lot to parse in this article. First and most important, the director of the series will be Kon Chiaki, one of the few female directors to make it big in anime. She’s known for Nodame Cantabile and Junjou Romantica, and I can’t help but think that’s amazing news all around!

Additionally, Comic Natalie reports that Nico Nico Douga will be streaming the casting announcement for the new cast on January 27th, which is Tenoh Haruka’s birthday. I watched the original casting announcement with absolute glee and can’t wait for this one. ^_^ The series is slated for a spring 2016 debut – and I want to talk about that, too. The cast will be announced in a few weeks, and the premier is in spring, so *that* is the actual timeline for the animation. If you wonder why the broadcast animation always looks rushed, this is why. This is how Toei does things. It creates absurd timelines so everything is rushed on the front end (no doubt still a relic of Tezuka’s nightmarish TV animation schedules) and then fixes it after the fact, for Blu-ray release.

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Yuri Manga

Comic Natalie reports that the first volume of Amano Kozue’s  Aria the Masterpiece Perfect Edition is hitting shelves this month.

ANN has the news that Viz is re-releasing the Kannazuki no Miko manga. The response this received, as compared to the news of the Outer Senshi was astounding. In 2006, KnM was the zOMG series, because there was otherwise so little Yuri. Now, as compared with all the Yuri we have the response was more like “Meh.” ^_^

On Mangablog a panel of experts talked about their Most Anticipated Manga of 2016, looking at translations that will be heading our way this year. Among them was Udon’s translation of Rose of Versailles! I look forward to seeing Oscar in bell bottoms in English. ^_^

The meta is strong in this one. Comic Natalie reports that Comic Flapper magazine has a new series, a “Trouble comedy”  –  “Ore ga Fujoshi de, Aitsu ga Yuri-ota de” (オレが腐女子でアイツが百合オタで). Whether it will be good remains to be seen, but it is definitely a product of it’s time, when meta stories for otaku about themselves are all the rage.

 

Other News

YNN Correspondent Ichigo69 on Twitter pointed out a Japanese survey of “lesbian sex” in Yuri manga, which quantifies the answer to the burning question, “Is Yuri really all just school girls?”

Let’s finish on a smile: A friend and long-time supporter of Yuricon, Gideon M. sent along this wonderful animated official music video for Studio Killers’ song Jenny. Do watch it, it’s great. ^_^

 

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 | 4 Comments »


Yuri Manga: Yagate Kimi ni Naru (やがて君になる )

January 6th, 2016

YKNN-275x390Nakatani Nio’s Yagate Kimi ni Naru (やがて君になる ) is a sweet little Yuri romance that I both enjoyed a lot and also have several real problems with.

Yuu begins high school with a major burden. A guy she went to middle school with has confessed his feelings and has been waiting patiently for her answer. Yuu really has just no idea at all whether she “likes” this guy. He’s nice, but her feelings for him are…nothing. She doesn’t find herself getting the kind of heart-pounding that the girls around her talk about.

Touko is a popular honor student and member of the Student Council who is well-known for rejecting all suitors. Thinking that she’s found someone like her, Yuu offers to help Touko in her duties for the Council.

But not too long after, Touko leans over and kisses Yuu, admitting that she’s fallen in like. Yuu feels conflicted – she likes Touko, and admires her, but she feels betrayed, as well. But after this, Yuu finds it in herself to give the guy who confessed an answer – she says a gentle sorry, and his response is a gentle thanks.

Yuu’s like and admiration win out over her confusion and she is by Touko’s side as the older girl runs for Student Council President in the coming year.

Touko and Yuu have a talk, in which Yuu explains her position and Touko hers, and they agree to continue as they are and see what happens. Which brings us to the end of the first volume.

Before I offer criticism, let me begin with praise. All the characters feel real. The school has boys in it and they are not disappeared and only one has been drawn faceless, a shortcut I find rather grotesque. This is a world with males and females and they aren’t all the same. There are admirable and decent guys, as well as admirable and decent girls. This, above all things, is a refreshing change in what has increasingly become a cloistered Yuri world.

The art is clean and typical for a shoujo manga – which this not. It is from Dengeki Comics and I think that’s notable. Yuri is not uncommon from Dengeki, but more often than not is of the highly service-y kind. So it is super encouraging to see them putting out a nice, rather than vaguely icky, Yuri series.

All this having been said, I need to bring up two important issues I have with this manga. The first is that it is presented as a romance. The story is apparently that we’ll side with Touko as her sincere feelings for Yuu are eventually returned. This is a problem. I’ve very active on Quora, a Q&A site on which one of the most common questions asked goes something like this: “How come this girl said no to me, when my like is so sincere?” I’m not making this up. The presumption many young men have is that their sincere feelings are a kind of contract, which must be returned by the object of their affection. If not, she is of course a bitch (or worse).

The thing that is obvious to many not-young women is that no guy is owed anything just because he has an idea in his head of what he’d like.  This is a very serious problem globally, apparently. These guys feel that their sincerity means they deserve the girl. And, to some extent, that is how this scenario is presented. Touko’s feeling are honest and sincere, so of course Yuu will come around to falling for her. But why? If Yuu doesn’t feel it, why do we assume she must eventually do so? This bugs me a lot. In real life, on Quora and in media.

Which leads me to the, I think, obvious conclusion abut Yuu. What if she’s asexual? If so, she’s never going to have those feelings for Touko or anyone. She might come to love Touko and continue to admire and like her, but never have sexual interest in her. So, then I can’t help but see Touko’s coming on (to be crude) to Yuu as another burden, rather than a blessing.

Both these things nag at me while I read this manga. And I worry that Yuu’s agency will be stripped from her as the narrative continues.

Ratings:

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

Overall – 8, with the above reservations

The upshot is, that while this manga has some good qualities and it definitely is making a splash in Yuri circles, I think the story also has some problems, which I hope Volume 2 address satisfactorily, rather than just throwing Yuu into the Yuri factory.

Posted in Bloom Into You / Yagate Kimi ni Naru, Nakatani Nio, Yuri Manga | 27 Comments »


Yuri Manga: Shortcake to Kase-san. ( ショートケーキと加瀬さん。)

January 4th, 2016

StKastH-275x389I’d like to give a copy of Takasaki Hiromi’s Shortcake to Kase-san. ( ショートケーキと加瀬さん。) to every Yuri fan in the world as an example of schoolgirl Yuri that presses all the buttons and almost completely manages to not be a skankfest of creepy.

Kase-san and Yamada-san, (who we met in Asagao to Kase-san and have followed through Obentou to Kase-san) enter their final summer of high school and together they enjoy the living fuck out of it. Pool, cake and a little heavy petting is pretty much the standard menu for every senior high school experience.

Of course, weighing on Yamada’s mind is their inevitable upcoming split as Kase-san will head off to Tokyo. Yamada has no particular plans, but was vaguely thinking about sticking around and going to the local university. In an emotional, yet strangely silly ending, they resolve this big problem and, we assume, live happily ever after.

There are a few panels that I, as an editor, would have redrawn, but it is apparent to me that there is no manga being published completely free of the burden of serving the imagination of the imagination-less. But with those few exceptions, this is a sweet, silly, and realistic look at young love.

Ratings:

Art – 8
Story – 8
Character – 8
Yuri – 8
Service – 3

Overall – 8
For my first review of 2016, I wanted something pretty damn good. This, as schoolgirl Yuri goes, is pretty damn good. ^_^

Posted in Kase-san Series, Yuri Manga | 3 Comments »


Yuri Network News – (百合ネットワークニュース) – January 2, 2016

January 2nd, 2016

YNN_Lissa

Happy New Year!

I hope you don’t mind that I’m not working hard at this New Year weekend edition of the YNN report. There’s still cake and wine left over from NYE celebrations and they are calling my name. ^_^

But it is because of New Year celebrations that we are even here today. I spent this year’s Eve watching the Kouhaku Uta Gassen –  the annual Japanese New Year’s eve singing contest television special – like Dick Clark’s special used to be, with a few contemporary singers and a bunch of Lawrence Welk-like fossils. The show has been adding in a lot of anime themes and popular VA singers, probably in a desperate attempt to get people under 40 to watch. ^_^

Well this year, they did a medley of anime songs, Pokemon, Yokai Watch, Sailor Moon, Love Live!, Neon Genesis Evangelion, Chibi Maruko-chan and Gundam  and probably some I’ve missed…still not why I’m mentioning this, although hearing Moonlight Desentsu on the TV was nice. ^_^ I’m mentioning it because they started to talk to someone in the audience and I became very excited – Uehashi Naoko, the creator of the Seiriei no Moribito series was on TV…. The new live-action Seiriei no Moribito series announced last summer is coming this spring on NHK! Waaah!

Balsa, Chagum, Tanda, Torogai, Shuga and the rest on TV. Squee. Ayase Haruka, (who was the Kouhaku’s Red Team host,)  is playing the role of Balsa.  No trailer yet, but as soon as there is one, you can be sure it’ll be on here. ^_^

Okazu News

The Okazu Patreon has been updated for 2016 with a new video and a new perq! Click the link to see the new video, and either the “Subscribe” button here to your right  —> or on the left of the Patreon page to become a supporter of Okazu. With your help we relaunched the Yuricon Store, we added a bunch of new Event reports on Okazu and Essays on the Yuricon page. We have a pile of thing we want to get done in 2016 and every little bit helps towards those goals!

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Yuri Game

ANN Reports the addition of Yuri VN Atom Grrrl! to Steam. According to the description it is a “yuri Tarantinoesque comedy about sex, drugs, and revenge.”  If Tarantino used 6 year olds as actors. ^_^;

Here’s wishing you all a wonderful holiday weekend and a great new year!

 

Know some cool Yuri News you want people to know about? Become a Yuri Network Correspondentby 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 | 2 Comments »


The End of the World, Technology, Fandom and You

January 1st, 2016

I started off 2015 with a thought piece on the ecosystem of comics and our place, as consumers and fans, in that ecosystem.

This year, I want to talk about the end of the world. ^_^ Not of the Earth, although that’s certainly something we could and should talk about, but about the end of the world as you know it. The end of your fandom as you know it.

The February 2016 issue of Smithsonian Magazine discusses when phonographs were new in the early 20th century. Pundits warned of “‘gramomania’, a growing obsession with buying and collecting records that would lead one to ignore one’s family.” Sound familiar?

The reality of human existence is that we crave and loathe technological advance in equal measure. We disparage any technology we do not ourselves use, art we do not ourselves like, political ideologies we do not ourselves agree with, for whatever reason.

This is true with representation in fandom. We fight, tooth and nail against changes to “our” series. Series that we didn’t write, produce and may never have supported in any way, but with which we identify. George Lucas rails against the changes in Star Wars, even as the changes make it more accessible to people who are not white men. (I, for one, loved the diversity, not just in the leads, but the background, where people on the planet and in the air were notably of many ethnic backgrounds. For me, that was the best part of The Force Awakens.)

So let’s go back to the pundits of the early 20th century for a moment, railing against this isolating new technology – the phonograph. Pundits rail against every new technology in this same way. It will isolate us, it will destroy society and families. Comics, games, science fiction….everything we as a culture of fans embrace and love – it’s all stuff pundits have and continue to tell us is bad for us, bad for society, bad, bad, bad. Which of course implies a moral superiority for eschewing this new stuff. Whatever it is.

In competition with this, we get the techno pundits, screaming “game changer!” with every new toy made. They imply a moral superiority for having the newest, the best, and staying on top, which is the only place possible, otherwise you are a sheeple.

The reality for most of us is that adoption of new technology is asymmetrical, sporadic and putters out as we either can’t afford or are not interested in whatever new thing just debuted.

So, what’s my point? My point is that fandom as you knew it is dead. It died a while ago and you didn’t notice. And it was reborn and died several times since then. Every generation of fans recreates all the slang, the in-crowdness, the exclusion, the inclusion. But now that fandom isn’t just an old school scifi convention, those waves come faster, and they look different. Remember, it was only a few decades ago when scifi fans hated anime and all those new weird people who came to *their* conventions. That’s a good thing. There wasn’t moral superiority in keeping women or people of color out of fandom, any more than there is in virulently hating Microsoft. Or anime. Or Twilight.

And as we start this new year, I am reminded that there is nothing *wrong* with any of us, things are not getting worse, and that pundits have basically been recycling the only article they have between the lot of them for hundreds of years.

Human society is complex. Anxiety is part of human nature. Fear of things changing is part of human society and so is fandom.

Embrace the stuff you like. Enjoy it to the fullest any way you can. Create derivative works, share them. Just remind yourself, the next time you offhandedly begin to dismiss the new wave of fans, or the most recent hot new thing that isn’t interesting to you personally, that it’s not the end of the world. Anime  didn’t destroy fandom, it expanded it. Twilight didn’t destroy fandom, it expanded it. Phonographs didn’t destroy the world, neither did comics, or computer games.

We’re fine.

You’re fine.

Fandom is fine.

As we head into a new year, remember to have fun the way you want to – and let other people have fun the way they want to. There’s room for all of us and by that I mean all of us.

Here’s looking forward to a fabulous 2016 for all of us.

Happy New Year!

 

Posted in Now This Is Only My Opinion | 4 Comments »