Amayo no Tsuki, Volume 5 (雨夜の月)

August 31st, 2023

In my fevered anticipation for The Moon on a Rainy Night, Volume 1 coming from Kodansha next week, I was thrilled to have the newest volume of the series in Japanese, Amayo no Tsuki, Volume 5 (雨夜の月) to read this week. This volume is full of wondrous scenes, amazing transformations and an uncomfortable lesson.

At the end of Volume 4, we left Kanon determined – for the first time in many years – to be an active participant in her class’s culture festival activities. Why she’s closed herself off has become more and more apparent as we get to know her and understand her circumstances.  But Saki, unwilling to accept those circumstances as the end to the story, has been instrumental in assisting Kanon to break down the walls she’s built. This is a key point because while Saki is convinced that the walls should come down, she is not doing any of that herself. She’s allowing Kanon to find ways to do it herself; Saki is there when Kanon needs support, holding the doors open, but never does Saki force Kanon to do anything. This is not an inspiration porn story, about “achievement despite the odds” – this is a story about finding ways to support one’s friends with an open heart and mind.

And, so… Kanon and Saki accompany their enthusiastic otaku classmate ‘Nabe to pick out maid costumes for the class cafe. ^_^ Kanon’s mother  takes on a new student – their teacher’s daughter, which gives Kanon’s mother and the teacher a chance to have an adult heart-to-heart about hardships of being a parent.

Artistically, I really enjoy Kuzushiro’s way of expressing people’s energy through expression and body language. ‘Nabe-chan and Haruka-chan are high-energy people and we can tell from the art, the text, the way they move and speak. It’s pretty great.

And then…we learn what happened to Tomita, the girl who apparently could not stand Kanon or Saki and who, with her friends, have been whispering about them in class. (I called them bullies in earlier reviews and I stand by that. Bullying can be passive as well as active. Anyone undermining someone else’s peaceful existence is, IMHO,  a bully. Whispering and staring is a form of othering meant to make the other person feel unwelcome.) Tomita had volunteered to conduct the choir then appeared to bail on Saki, leaving her to handle the whole thing herself. It turns out that there are a number of factors in her dislike of Kanon….and some complicating factors to her life now. As with Kanon’s middle-school issues, sometimes there are things you just cannot fix yourself, even if you were aware of them.  Life, Saki and Kanon are finding out, is more complicated that we’re aware of.

As the story winds down, Kanon gets a glimpse into the secret Saki has been hiding from her….and it throws them both for a loop.

Kanon, having been alone for so long, now finds herself surrounded by people with whom she would like to interact. But now, having broken down those walls…Kanon and Saki will have to address what they are to one another. Whatever the outcome – I can’t wait!

Ratings:

Art – 9
Story – 9
Characters – 9
Service – 2 Maid costumes and animal ears
Yuri – 4

Overall – 9

This was a great volume of a great series, running full stop with high energy. I am so, so happy that you’ll get to read it!

Posted in Kuzushiro, Yuri Manga | 2 Comments »


I Don’t Know Which Is Love Volume 1, Guest Review by Luce

August 30th, 2023
A woman with blonde hair looks excitedly at the women which we see reflected in her polished nails.Soraike Mei, on the day of her high school graduation, had her heart broken by the girl she’d had a crush on for three years. In college then, Mei swears, she WILL get a girlfriend! Absolutely! So… what happens when she suddenly has five candidates vying for her time and affections?!
 
Folks, we’ve seen this all before in het manga, now it’s our turn: the Yuri harem. I Don’t Know Which Is Love, Volume 1 does not hang around letting you know that, introducing all five love interests within less then fifty pages. Are you ready? Keep your hands and feet inside the carriage at all times, and hold onto the bars. We have:
 
Shirosawa Riri: first introduced as boobs (less skeevy than it sounds? Mei is just too gay to function) she is an idol of some sort… Potentially a more racy model than a singer, based on the pictures we see. Takes ‘first girl’ slot.
 
Todomeki Maria: Mei’s advisor, a professor in psychology, and the very opposite of a stuffy old man,  she’s ‘the older one’. She accurately guesses that Mei is ‘into girls’ (for some reason the word lesbian isn’t used), says that there are ‘lines you can’t cross’ with them being professor and student, turns on the professional talk about the advisor side of things… Then tells Mei to let her know if she wants to cross the line. At least Mei is also an adult here?
 
Minato: on the more butch side of things, Mei meets her when she goes to get a coffee, and again instantly falls in love with how cool she is. They meet again later and Minato persuades her to give her theatre troupe a try, as she really likes Mei’s voice. At a drinking meet up with the troupe, Mei then meets…
 
Ajima Karin: one of the actors in the troupe, designated by one of the boys as the ‘kiss-crazy’ senpai. And indeed, before she even knows Mei’s name, she asks to kiss her, Mei hesitates for 0.3 seconds (yes, it tells us this) and they kiss. Karin propositions going back to hers together, but Mei has to get back for her dorm curfew. Heading back to her dorm, her roommate isn’t in yet, but while she’s sleeping…
 
Kunimasa Kaoru: The roommate! Mei is asleep when she comes in, but she immediately stated that Mei ‘reeks of other girls’ and… strips her of her clothes and gets into bed with her. Then proceeds to call her a body pillow for the rest of the manga.
 
All introduced in 45 pages! A whistle stop tour of Mei’s college girlfriend candidates, but as she says at the end of chapter 1: she just doesn’t know which is love!
 
That said, I think with the explosiveness of this first chapter, I don’t think any are ‘love’ right now, definitely more lust driven. This is not a chaste harem by any stretch of the imagination: Kaoru (consensually, if slightly hesitant) sticks her face in Mei’s boobs to smell her, it’s implied that Minato gets off to Mei’s voice over a call, Mei looked up hot pics of Riri (seems to be a page 3 type model), and Karin is definitely going for more than kisses and cuddles.
 
I’ve not seen another manga go at such a breakneck pace. We get all the introductions, then a second encounter with each of the harem members, usually of a somewhat racy variety. The author stated that they differentiated the love interests by having them interested in different things about Mei, (like, uh, her scent… Her voice… I think it’s loosely ‘the five senses’ – Minato is sound, Kaoru is scent, Karin is taste, Riri is most likely sight, which makes Maria touch, I guess) which is a more novel take on it.
 
The concept does seem to get a little puzzling though – for someone who, in theory, expressedly came to college to get a girlfriend, Mei isn’t open about being a lesbian, which seems odd to me – I know we joke about gaydar, but surely you need to put yourself out there a bit. Wait, no, it’s basically a glass closet, because of how strongly she reacts to women: put it this way, no one questions whether she’s straight. What confuses me more is that towards the end, she states that beyond kissing is something you’d only do with a girlfriend – which feels somewhat in keeping with her as a sheltered lesbian, but also a little odd considering the rest of the book. I mean she’s been fine with girls’ faces in her boobs and being in bed naked with them, but now she objects? Although if she didn’t and decided to go with casual sex, the main conflict would go away, so.
 
Ultimately, this is a lesbian fantasy manga. It’s just not that deep. Who will Mei pick in the end, if just one? Who knows. Normally in a harem manga, it would be the ‘first girl’ that tends to win out. It’s certainly still possible here, but as Riri’s not a childhood girl or has any sort of long standing relationship with Mei, she is on a more equal footing to everyone else. Mei is not really pro-actively pursuing any of them and is kind of just going with the flow, so it’s more down to the love interests than her, at the moment. Have your cake for now, Mei, it’ll probably work out.
 
 
Story: 6
Art: 7
Yuri: 11
Service: 8, no detailed nakedness, but plenty of roaming hands and bra shots
Mei being too gay to function: over 9000!
Overall: 7
 

If you want a daft, fairly raunchy Yuri harem… Well, this is your only one, I think. But it is fun, and you never really know what’s going to happen next – honestly, I have no idea. Join the lesbian roller coaster, folks. Or as Yen Press themselves tweeted, watch Mei pick up girlfriends ‘like Pokémon’. Collect your picture as you exit the ride.

…
Posted in English Manga, Guest Review, Luce, Yuri Manga | 7 Comments »


Comic Yuri Hime, September 2023 (コミック百合姫2023年9月号)

August 28th, 2023

We look up from below as young woman cries large tears, in front of a cloudy, dark sky.When I read last month’s issue, I had the feeling that the cover story this month would shift away from smiles and color and…bingo!, so it has. This is the teenager-est cover writing I have ever read, nice work mebachi-sensei.  The tears here are from the unbearble heaviness of being, rather than any specific circumstance; the awareness of the passing of time, the feelings of joy and loss.

And so we arrive at Comic Yuri Hime, September 2023 (コミック百合姫2023年9月号) and I am, for the briefest of moments, caught up. ^_^

The long-awaited climax to the Battle of the Bands in Takeshima Eku’s “Sasayakuyouni Koi Wo Utau” was pretty much the satisfying, wholesome and sweet ending we were all hoping for.

And it looks like Sumika has come to the same conclusion I have about Kanako in Miman’s “Watashi no Yuri ha Oshigoto Desu!”. She can care for her, and be affectionate, but there will have to be limits. The two schwestern continue their honest discussion and I think (I hope) this is the best possible outcome for them.

“Shikabane Shoujo to Ai ga Omoi Seikishi” brings our zombie protagonist and her holy knight onee-sama back to the school where they embark on their first task…to save a bunch of chickens. Which they do. And the chickens are very grateful.

“Watashi no Oshi ha Akuyaku Reijou.” has stepped back into Rae’s past life…the painful first time Oohashi Rei fell in love. We will one day feel sympathy for Misaki, but she is not a likable character. This is followed by Lene and Rae solving the problem of how to get Claire to eat and enjoy carrots in “Watashi no Oshi ha Akuyaku Reijou. Maid Kitchen”

“Kiraware Majoreijo to Dansou Ouji no Konyaku”  by Chimmi Chiruha has a fine set up and some strong characters, but will this story of a young woman affianced to the princess who dresses like a prince go anywhere? Based on this chapter…no. They’ve already defanged the antagonist.

I am angrier about “Kimi to Shiranai Natsu ni Naru” than I have been about just about anything in ages. What the actual fuck was that? Oh hey, everyone, just give up your dreams, suck it up and go back and be part of the rat race? What a waste of fantastic premise and art. I hope this was not what Keyyang wanted because it sure wasn’t what I needed.

If you have ever wanted to read a story about a high schooler and a really big alien woman, “Choujin Uchyuu Yori Ai Wo Komete” has you covered. Overtones of Rose from Steven Universe all over it.

We pick up a third party member (who is inherently untrustworthy) in “Garan no Hime.” Future betrayal is imminent!

And it seems that most of the 18+ content has fallen to the end section of the magazine.

 

Ratings:

Overall – 8

Other than the fact that “Kimi to Shiranai Natsu ni Naru”‘s ending was so awful and angry-making, this was a solid issue. But that was a really awful and angry-making ending and I cannot let it go. Why? Who was that for? UGH.

The October issue hit shelves this month already in Japan!

Posted in Comic Yuri Hime, Magazines, Yuri Manga | 3 Comments »


Otherside Picnic, Volume 8

August 27th, 2023

Otherside Picnic, Volume 8 was a mind-blowing, fabulous “wow.”

In this horror/scifi Yuri series by Iori Miyazawa, there have been two key mysteries; The true nature of the UBL, aka, the Otherside….and Sorawo. Because Sorawo is our narrator and protagonist the story has allowed her the time and space to be unaware that she even is a mystery, or to have any real insight to the mystery that is her.

Volume 8 begins with the mystery of Sorawo. She is, as they say in the biz, an unreliable narrator. Or…is she? We – and Toriko – have assumed as much because surely a person with her past cannot have made it to adulthood without some unaddressed trauma.  One of the deep leitmotifs of this series is communication – or the lack of it. Sorawo doesn’t understand people and isn’t great at understanding herself. This has and will come back again and again in the series. She is as much a mystery to herself as she is to anyone else. And having confronted the inescapable fact that she is – probably for the first time in her life – loved unconditionally – Sorawo wanders around her own small, but growing, group of confidants order to find the answer in herself…as she has always done for answers about the Otherside. This allows the narrative to revisit some old characters, meet some new ones, to clear up old puzzles and create new ones.

 We meet one of Sorawo’s classmates – a representative of normality – and Sorawo finds some assistance in that quarter. Reality has never been Sorawo’s ally before and it opens up new possibilities.  She speaks to Natsume and they finally communicate past the huge gap in understanding between them. This is an amusing scene, but unlike my esteemed colleague Sean Gaffney who laughed at Natsume’s description of Sorawo as a “raging lesbian,” I found it far more amusing that Natsume’s response to Sorawo’s cluelessness (denial?) about Toriko was to flatly respond, “That pisses me off.” I mean… I feel ya Natsume. ^_^ Of course Sorawo darkens Kozakura’s doorstep once again and again, Kozakura spoke like the adult she is supposed to be. It feels like her character, having been abandoned a few volumes ago, is being reformed as the grown-up in the room. I like it.

Sorawo meets and has an experience with a new character, Tsuji, a woman who was clearly written for me, personally. ^_^ I look forward to whatever develops with this fascinating new character.

All of this peripatetic musing must come to an end and in this series, what precipitates that end is..terror. Sorawo at last comes face to that which she fears most – and finds the will to confront it. It’s time to talk to Toriko.

What we get, then, is one of the most extraordinary explorations of physical, emotional and psychic boundaries that I have ever read. Toriko and Sorawo do not find a satisfying physical relationship on our plane. It’s only when they accept that they are now of the Otherside and the Otherside is of them that they find one another.  This was an outstanding scene that was consistent with the characters as we know them, the series’ premise as it has been given to us, and the deeper themes of communication and the mystery of both the Otherside and Sorawo.

The arc that has been building since Volume 5 has come to an incredible climax (and yeah, put every possible spin on that word) but the journey is not over. What will this pair find in the Otherside or themselves next time? I have no idea, but I am absolutely tuning in and finding out, since the addition of a new character leads one to assume a next volume.  ^_^

Ratings:

Story – 10
Character – 10
Service – Amazingly, not very much. Let’s give it a 3. It’s less “service” and more “grown-up.”
Yuri – 10

Overall – 10

Another outstanding volume, building on the last outstanding volume. Miyazawa-sensei is on top of his form right now and I am perfectly willing to wait a little while to get volumes of this high quality writing.

 

Posted in Light Novel, Otherside Picnic | 3 Comments »


Yuri Network News – (百合ネットワークニュース) – August 26, 2023

August 26th, 2023

In blue silhouette, two women face each other. One wears a fedora and male-styled attire, one is in a dress and heels. Their body language is obscure - they may be dancing, or laughing or fighting. Logo by Mari Kurisato (@wordglass) for Okazu.

Yuri Manga

This year’s Do-Not-Miss release is hitting shelves in just a few weeks! Absolutely grab yourself a copy of The Moon on A Rainy Night, Volume 1 by Kuzushiro, coming out the first week in September. This is an outstanding manga. I just finished Volume 5 last night in Japanese and it’s just getting better and better. I’m going to pound the drum for this series a lot. Please get it. ^_^

Titan Manga has licensed the Burst Angel manga. This is the first time this will be in print since 2008. Alex Mateo has details over at ANN. As I point out in my review of Volume 1 of the Tokyopop release, the manga is somewhat Yurier than the anime. If nothing else, this gives me a chance to revive discussion of Sei-who-is-not-named-Beth. ^_^ I’m hoping for a better reproduction this time around, as the Tokyopop reproduction, lettering and translation were not particularly good. Not that Titan has a great reputation.

Comic Natalie reports that Shimura Takako’s Otona ni Nattemo (up to Volume 9 is out in Japan,) published in English as Even Though We’re Adults, (up to Volume 6 is available in English) will be ending in the October issue of KISS magazine.  I have always been expecting a heart-wrenching ending and, uh, Comic Natalie says that’s what to expect. ^_^;

The Wings magazine official Twitter account announced a new chapter of Kase-san to Yamada this issue and an upcoming new volume. No date or details as of yet. Kase-san’s roommate is going to have to deal with her feelings about Kase-san.

The [Boyish²] Butch×Butch Yuri Anthology[vol.2] Kickstarter has mere hours to go and is less than $2000 away from making the final 5 million yen stretch goal! I know we can do this. If you liked the first volume, you’re gonna love this one, Natsuo-sensei has an international lineup this time with creators from Japan, the USA and Canada.

Joanna Cayanan at ANN has the news that Days of Love at Seagull Villa and NTR creator Kodama Naoko as a new story starting up in Comic Yuri Hime. Kodama-sensei shared the promotional spread from the magazine on Twitter.

 

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Yuri Events

Yuriten is back! On Twitter, Yuriten announced that there will be a Yuriten 2023 exhibition. /flailing Kermit hands of excitement/ Creators are also announced on their thread, including Kuzushiro. I have terrible timing so, the chances of this being the one week I am in Japan is almost nil, but pray for me. ^_^ The main visual illustration this time is by Fly, whose art I love, and photo by Yōnikuruton.

The Yuriten main visual is in two parts. The top image is an illustration by artist Fly, of two young women in white dresses, embracing in front of a field of tall grasses. Below that is a photograph by Yōnikuruton of two women (presumably the same two from the illustration) in a garden, wearing day dresses, leaning in for a kiss.

They have a lovely little promotional video as well. “Tadaima,” it says., “We’re back.”(T_T)

 

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I’m doing a brand new talk on BL & Yuri – and how they have more in common than difference – for Citrus Con tomorrow, Sunday August 27, 2023 online at 2:30 EDT. Registration is free, so I hope you’ll join me.

I’ll also be in Tokyo for December Comitia and planning on scouting grand new Yuri doujinshi I can ask companies to license. ^_^

For those of you hitting Tokyo up in October, Girls Love Fest is taking place on October 29, 2023 back in Asakusa.

 

Yuri & Baihe Anime

Via YNN Correspondent Patricia B, we have a really exciting promotional video to share. This is a preview for the forthcoming Two Adamant Hearts baihe donghua project, based on the novel Clear & Muddy Loss of Love, (泾渭情殇) by Qǐng jūn mò xiào. The PV has English under the closed captioning option. A guardian whose family is killed by the royals, who vows revenge, but cares for the  princess who needs protection…yeah okay, I’m in . ^_^ Storyboards and drafts are on the JWWJ official Youtube channel.

Watashi no Oshi ha Akuyaku Reijou.  Questions and Answers for Rei and Claire ~ Asked in Another World~ ( 私の推しは悪役令嬢。】レイとクレアに一問一答 〜異世界で聞いてみた〜) is a cute animated Q&A about their likes and dislikes on Youtube. We’re getting close to the premiere! No subtitles as of yet, but I expect we’ll get them shortly.

 

By Your Side Birthday Special

There is a little over  a week left to get the By Your Side Birthday Special! As you may remember I was quite ill in s[ring and had to cancel all of my events this year except for those online. I also lost my job. So if you haven’t yet gotten a copy of By Your Side: The First 100 Years of Yuri Anime And Manga,  you have just over a week to order a copy for $20 plus a signed bookplate, with free shipping for those of you in the Lower 48 of the US. If you are outside that area, contact me and we will definitely work something out.

 

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Posted in Yuri Network News | No Comments »