Yuri Anime: Dear Brother Set 2, Disk 2 (English)

April 30th, 2015

DearBrother2With Disk 2 of  Dear Brother set 2, we finally encounter the full depths of madness that runs in between Miya-sama and Saint Just and, if we are completely honest, we find it pitiable.

Miya-sama who, we learn, was always an entitled jerk, was jilted by her first love at 12 years old, and has spent the last 6 years wallowing in her own bile and torturing her half-sister because she’s a sadistic jerk.

Now, on the brink of adulthood, her sadism and jerkishness are about to hit a wall…the common decency of a decent commoner.

Miya-sama takes the coincidence of Nanako’s relationship with Henmi personally, and in the twisted scales she uses to judge everyone but herself, finds Nanako to be a threat. She’s tried threatening her, controlling her through the sorority, and in the bottoming out of her sanity, even attempts to seduce her. Luckily for Miya-sama, Nanako is a kind and decent human being and is neither seducable or attracted by insanity. Unfortunately for Saint-Just, she is.

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Now we know everything there is to know about Miya-sama and not one iota of it is good.

Nanako is firming up as the drama deepens. Tears have been replaced by confidence and defiance and she’s such a good person that she’s successful in dragging Mariko back into the world. If Nanako were a real person, I would have no doubt at all that she would be the Sorority club president as a third-year and radically redefine both the school and the sisterhood as her legacy.

It’s not going to get any easier as we move forward, but at least we’ve lanced the wound fully and now we just have to let it drain.

Ratings;

Art – 8
Story – 9
Characters – 9
Yuri – 3
Service – 1

Overall – 9

Miya-sama is a terrible person. Hold onto that thought.

Now, remember, this anime ran on Japanese TV in 1991-1992. And 7 years later, Tenjou Utena ran into a haughty Student Council member who was cruel to her, who had a head of pre-Raphaelite curls and a name as upper-class as Ichinomiya. Imagine, then, what Arisugawa Juri was supposed to make us feel when we first saw her, as she is meant, quite specifically, to recall Miya-sama. When we first saw Juri, we felt…fear.

Posted in Dear Brother, English Anime, Riyoko Ikeda | 5 Comments »


Puella Magi Tart Magica Manga, Volume 2 (魔法少女たると☆マギカ The Legend of “Jeanne d’ Arc”)

April 29th, 2015

Jeanne2Last month, I took a look at the first volume of the new Puella Magica spin-off, which has now been released in English from Yen Press. I found it interesting for squeezing an almost unbelievable real story, the history of Jeanne d’Arc, into the Madoka framework of magical girls.

In Volume 2 of of Puella Magi Tart Magica, (魔法少女たると☆マギカ The Legend of “Jeanne d’ Arc”), the historical record is both more – and less – important to the story. Volume 2 is hip deep into the actual events of the war and Jeanne’s rise to fame., culminating in the climactic scene where she is brought before the Dauphin of France, only to proclaim him a fake, then to identify the true Dauphin from the surrounding courtiers.

A little inexplicably, Gilles de Rais is shoved into the plot  – we’re assured that he’s not into girls, only young boys, so the magical girls will be safe. Uh-huh, okay, thanks Bluebeard.

In the meanwhile, a third girl is added to their complement, Melissa, the inexplicable maid-costume-wearing daughter of a soldier. But Melissa seems like she’s a perfect magical girl candidate and Kyuubey agrees. Jeanne tries to keep her from making a contract, but she’s not to be stopped when it comes to saving her father, Lise and Jeanne.

Aside from these small additions, the story follows Jeanne’s triumphs and ends with her encountering  three girls who Jeanne believes are England’s magical girls. They are not.

The art is still strong and while there is no Yuri, there are strong emotional connections between the magical girls…and some real effort into turning Melissa into more of a person than either Lise or Jeanne. I’m looking forward to reading this in English.

This volume is most interesting when they leave the story free to run it’s own course without Bluebeards and evil witches.

Ratings:

Art – 7
Story – 8
Characters – 6
Yuri – 1
Service – 4 Vilence is still violence-y

Overall – 8

The book is still an interesting example of squeezing an actual existing legend into this series’ framework.

Posted in Miscellaneous | No Comments »


Yuri Manga: Golondrina, Volume 5 (ゴロンドリーナ)

April 27th, 2015

Golondrina5In Volume 5 of Golondrina, (now available on the Yuricon Store along with the rest of the series) Chika finds herself doing well enough as a matador. She’s regularly being awarded by the crowd, but she’s hit an emotional wall that seems insurmountable. She no longer wishes to seek death, but she’s not finding any joy in life, either.

Not able to find herself, Chika ends up in Madrid, at an anti-bullfighting rally, run by a famous singer, Jora. Jora is…Amazonian. Tall and physically dominant, Jora is a presence both on the musical and political stage. She invites Chika to a live show and to join her afterwards. Chika does, losing herself in this strong presence.

Her lack of drive is noticeable to those around her. Sechuu confronts her. If she doesn’t respect herself and the task she’s undertaken, he’s outta here. She pulls herself together, a little, but now she’s living a double life – matador by day, Jora’s paramour at night and neither role truly suits her.

It’s Vincenze, after all, who helps her find the will she’s been lacking. His right side is still paralyzed, but there he is in the ring, practicing. The sight galvanizes Chika, making her realize that there is something about this life that is worth living for. She returns to Jora, during a rally against bullfighting and confesses to the crowd who she is and what she’s learned. The crowd boos, Jora slaps her, admits she’s been sure that Chika was a bullfighter and they part. When Jora and Chika first slept together, Jora asks for Chika’s real name – Chika tells her that everyone calls her Chika. As they part for the last time, Jora asks her name once more, and Chika, smiling, says “La Golondrina”.

I’ve had a complicated reaction to this series. I love the art and the storytelling, but not so much the subject matter. It’s not the violence that bothers me, but the lack of consent. Two people fighting is one thing – they both know why they are here. But I feel as if I am a hypocrite if I dislike bullfighting as much as if I like it. I can see the art and the beauty in it, just as in any sport. I just wish the ball one kicked around weren’t alive. While I’m glad to watch two humans fight, you won’t catch me near a bullfighting ring ever.

On the minus side, Chika never got fangirls in the audience, but on the plus side, she had a lover who wasn’t a jerk to her and helped her discover something important in herself, so I consider that an overall win for Yuri readers and for this series.

Ratings:

Art – 9
Story – 8
Characters – 9
Yuri – 1
Service – 4 Nudity and sexual situations, subtly rendered

Overall – 9

I’m fully a est em fan now. I’ve even started picking up some of her BL series just to have the pleasure of looking at her art.

Posted in Est Em, Yuri Manga | 2 Comments »


Second Eureka “Yuri Culture” Article on the Yuricon Essays Page!

April 26th, 2015

eurekaTerribly exciting news today. The second translated article from Eureka magazine’s “The Current State of Yuri Culture” issue is live and public on the Yuricon Essays Page!

Thoughts on the Representation of Yuri Fandom in Kurata Uso’s Yuri danshi by James Welker, translated by him and published with his permission. I found his take on the subject fascinating (As you will see when you read the article, we had discussed the topic while walking around Girls Love Fest together.)

We have one more essay coming up and I promise you, it’s excellent. Get early access to the article and any other Yuri essays we’ll post  by becoming an Okazu Patron. Even a dollar a month gets you early access and special contests and other Patron perks. (We’re just a few dollars a month away from $400. Your support will go a long way to helping us get our work done!)

Eureka‘s “Current State of Yuri Culture” issue is available on the Yuricon Store on the Yuri Literature page , along with other Japanese and English fiction and nonfiction to help you along in your Yuri research.

Thanks again to Prof. Welker and enjoy his thoughts on Yuri fandom!

 

Posted in Yuricon | 2 Comments »


Yuri Network News – (百合ネットワークニュース) – April 25, 2015

April 25th, 2015

YNN_MariK

We’re starting off today with some time-critical news.

A new Yuri Anthology out of Europe is down to the last few days of crowdfunding and they can really use our support –  Freya Anthology is planning on being 300 pages as a physical book. I’ve already chipped in for a copy – they are shipping anywhere in the world. and they are getting very close to their goal, so if you can, this sounds like a great way to support Yuri globally!

Time is running down on registration for the upcoming Queer & Comics conference in NYC, May 7-8. I’m going to bang this drum every single chance I get for the next two weeks. If you are into LGBTQ comics and can make this ground-breaking event, do! Alison Bechdel and Howard Cruse are keynote speakers. Really…do not miss this opportunity!

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Roundup from the Field

YNN Correspondent Alex has this to say that – the creator of Kuttsukiboshi, Primastea before he worked under that name, also has made a very very short and simple animation Docchi mo Maid (どっちもメイド); “silly, stupid, with Yuri in it (a little bit, gags and fanservice).” It appears to be on YouTube at least in part.

From YNN Correspondent Day, “Triage X (トリアージX) isn’t a Yuri anime, but (and unsurprisingly), it does have some eau de Yuri in the mix. I’d describe the show as Weiss Kreuz but with medical professionals/assassins swapped for the florists/assassins of WK, and with a whole hell of a lot more boob/butt/crotches fanservice. In episode three, a rival, unassociated assassin, Chikage, is introduced, only for the lead female, Mikoto, to befriend her in school (without, of course, either cottoning on to their assassin identities). The two get a bit touchy-feely-gropey, there’s a brief fantasized shot of them embracing while naked, probably orgasming, and some blushing. Other Yuri-type content includes subtext between one of the female doctors and her assistant, as well as the same female doctor and a couple of minor character nurses. The show itself is garbage, although I’m enjoying it a horrific amount – tons of fanservice interspliced with stabbing, shooting, burning, etc. of sleazy bad guys (and its all men so far who’ve been slaughtered in various manners). I will add the caveat that there are some threats of sexual violence in it, although the would-be rapists all get the crap kicked out of them and are killed before they can follow through on those threats.”

Senior YNN Correspondent Grisznak has this exciting news to share; Polish company Kotori announced that they have the license for Iono The Fanatics. First volume will be published in August, the second in October in Polish.

YNN Correspondent Jin wanted to make sure we all knew that Hanamonogatari: Suruga, has some Yuri feelings and little to no fan-service.  Jin says, “There was indeed Yuri feeling and tension, also I saw the ending credits even featured a type of classic Yuri tribute as a mini story.  For some who were not aware they may find it interesting.” The series is currently available on Right Stuf as a Blu-ray set.

I want to recommend the not-Yuri, but exceedingly excellent read, The Evil Queen, by Jessi Sheron. I picked up a copy at MoCCA and found it so good, I asked my wife to read it. (You know I never do that.) She also thought it excellent. Luckily for all of us, you can read the whole thing as a webcomic on Jessi’s Tumbr.

We’ll end up with this analysis of  Yuri Kuma Arashi which was an excellent read and wholly at odds with my feelings. A fantastic and very positive perspective!

Next week we’ll be back with a pile of upcoming Yuri releases, so see you then!

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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 | 8 Comments »