Yuri Network News (百合ネットワークニュース) – May 30, 2015

May 30th, 2015

YNN_Lissa

It’s a random news kinda day. ^_^

Manga and Comics News

A collection of Shimura Takako’s color paintings has been collected and is being released in June. This will include her watercolor cover images for Horou Musuko /Wandering Son and Aoi Hana /Sweet Blue Flowers. Fans of this talented and compelling writer might be interested. Shimura Takako Painting Collection (志村貴子画集) hits shelves in Japan in late June.

In 2013, I talked a bit about a “gentlewoman thief” series by Colleen Coover and Paul Tobin called Bandette. Volume 1 and Volume 2 have been collected for this terrific YA-friendly tale of a good gal rogue and her friends.

Kia Asamiya, best known for his Silent Mobius series has just wrapped up a new Silent Mobius series! I’m actually very interested to see where his art has gone, since it was always so clean and adult. But that’s not the trend anymore. Anyway, if you, like me, want to spend time with the women of AMP, check out Silent Mobius QD. (サイレントメビウスＱＤ)

Remember the reboot of Read or Die from 2013? It made it all the way to a collected volume before they killed it – R.O.D. Rehabilitation.

Tagame Gengoroh’s bara manga My Brother’s Husband (弟の夫) tells the story of a man whose twin brother is comming home to Japan to visit, bringing the man he married in Canada and their daughter. Bara like this is pushing on those sore points of gay identity and marrriage equality and I’m very glad. ^_^

Hoshino Lily has a new art collection that Comic Natalie reports as having both BL and Yuri gems. Hoshino Lily Precious Gem Gallery (宝石廻廊) hit streets yesterday. I love her art.

ANN reports that Japanese publisher Kadokawa has launched a Global version of their Comic Walker website. Targeted at Japanese readers, it’s bringing comics, manhua and manhwa into the digital platform from Singapore, China and Taiwan. I know I’ve mentioned it before, but their Japanese Comic Walker site is worth taking a look at, not least because they do have some Yuri and some English works (although not many that are both.)

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Non-Fiction Book News

For the folks out there doing research, scholar Casey Brienza is bring two critical works into the world in the near future. Global Manga: ‘Japanese’ Comics without Japan? will look at manga-influenced comics from countries outside Japan:

This book takes seriously the political economy and cultural production of this so-called ‘global manga’ produced throughout the Americas, Europe, and Asia and explores the conditions under which it arises and flourishes; what counts as ‘manga’ and who gets to decide; the implications of global manga for contemporary economies of cultural and creative labour; the ways in which it is shaped by or mixes with local cultural forms and contexts; and, ultimately, what it means for manga to be ‘authentically’ Japanese in the first place. 

Global Manga will be published in July 2015, edited by Casey with a host of expert authors.

Coming in the beginning of 2016, Casey has also written Manga in America: Transnational Book Publishing and the Domestication of Japanese Comics.

 

Other News

Well. It appears that Denpagumi inc.’s live-action series Shiroyuki Gakuen was so popular that they are making another crappy live-action series! Comic Natalie reports on Shiromajyo Gakuen: Kyoshitsu ni Omoide ga Nai! Like the first series it is most likely to be a thinly-plotted series of soft core cosplay with, I have no doubt, some Yuri.

And at least I will be happy to hear that Kanno’s Ano ko Kiss to Shiroyuri wo series is getting a Drama CD (again, via Comic Natalie)! Unexpected and pleasant. Volume 3 has a June street date, no link as of yet. I guess I never reviewed Volume 2.  Huh.

Crunchyroll News reports on the most obvious collaboration ever – Yuri Kuma Arashi and Gloomy Bear. ^_^

Onto a slightly different topic, Mary Review,  a magazine for women writers and for all readers, is getting it’s start after a successful Kickstarter. Just thought some of you might find that interesting.

 

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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 | 2 Comments »


How Does Japan Treat Gay People? on Slate.com

May 29th, 2015

LGBTQJOne of the most commonly asked questions I have gotten in panels and after lectures is some version of “What is it like to actually be gay in Japan?” It’s always been a hard question to field for any number of reasons.

This kind of question always sounds simple, but because human behavior is complex, the answer needs to be nuanced and complex as well. (As people might realize, if they ask themselves the question honestly about…anywhere, really. Even countries where gay marriage is legal, there are places are not 100% safe for gay people. And discrimination continues no matter what the law says. We see that to be true in every place, if we’re looking with open eyes.)

You know I answer a lot of questions like this on Quora and here, where I have the space, the time and the resources to give apparently simple, but actually complex questions, the time and nuance they require for a full answer.

Yesterday one of my Quora answers was published on Slate.com: How Does Japan Treat Gay People?

I’m confident that I was able to provide a balanced perspective on media and political representation. There are other areas I touched upon as well, including the difference in perception by straight people and gay people of straight people’s “reactions” and the gap between being a fan of same-sex content entertainment and actually supporting LGBTQ people.

Please read and share this article with fan groups you know of, because it’s a question that a lot of folks ask…and now there’s at least one shot at an answer you can point to. ^_^

Posted in Now This Is Only My Opinion | 2 Comments »


Yuri Manga: Chou Chou Nan Nan (喋喋喃喃)

May 27th, 2015

downloadThe girl/guy next door, the childhood friend who has always been there for you, who can always read your mood, and knows just what to say; it’s a well-worn trope in every subset of romance. It’s equally as common to show the protagonist unable to return the favor, unseeing when their friend has deeper feelings than friendship for them, as they moon over someone else – usually someone unobtainable. It’s so entirely universal in fact, that it almost boggles the mind.

In Chou Chou Nan Nan (喋喋喃喃), Takemiya Jin takes a(nother) swing at this trope.

Aoi is in love with Chihiro and her best friend Nao can see it from a mile away. Unfortunately, Nao is in love with Aoi and Aoi can’t see it at all. Chihiro can see what’s going on and, because she’s a cheerfuly manipulative jerk, she teases Nao by manipulating Aoi’s feelings. Shino, the fourth of the group is uncomplicated and doesn’t care who is love with whom, just as long as they are all having fun.

There is never any reason to think that Aoi and Nao won’t get together, so it’s more or less just a matter of watching them get there, enjoying the stolen kisses, “shock!” eyes and narrowed eyes/manipulative faces that Takemiya-sensei does so well.

It is also stereotypical that the story comes to a head during the school festival, as Nao plays the prince and Aoi plays Sleeping Beauty. Reading as much manga as I do set in school, I thank my lucky stars that I never once had to do a play in a school festival. (The only thing I can recall doing for a school festival was making a highly popular, heavily alcoholic Black Forest Cherry cake one year for German Club.)

They end up together (of course) and we never learn, really, whether Chihiro feels bad about her role in keeping them apart or finds it all a hilarious joke. I was very much hoping that the doujinshi follow-up “Chou Chou Nan Nan 2” would look at Chihiro’s real feelings (my bet is that Chihiro found it hilarious. People like her are never sorry. ^_^;), but instead it gives Aoi a chance at taking the lead in a kiss for once. Also okay. ^_^

Ratings:

Art – 8
Story – 7
Characters – 7
Yuri – 7
Service – 2

Overall – 7

A pleasant trip along a favorite path, decorated with beloved flowers. We all know it well, but it’s perfectly fine to enjoy it once again. ^_^

Many thanks to Jye N. for being kind enough to get “Chou Chou Nan Nan 2” and several other doujinshi for me! I’m savoring every page. Thank you for your kindness!

Posted in Takemiya Jin, Yuri Manga | 5 Comments »


Yuri Light Novel: Gakuen Yuri Stories (学園百合ストーリーズ)

May 25th, 2015

GYSsYesterday, I talked a little about the series Seonam Girls High School Investigators, and why it’s far more important in terms of same-sex representation that a mere lesbian kiss.

Today I want to look at a series that purports to do the same thing and fails in every possible way to be anything expect excruciatingly bad porn.

Gakuen Yuri Stories (学園百合ストーリーズ) is a light novel that is set up as three stories about female couples in a high school. Right from the first moment, the book indicates that it has no intention of taking anything seriously and is just a 14 billionth reiteration of “first time” porn starring unrealistic girls in trope-y and uninteresting situations, while the language dwells lovingly on the creepiest of details and not at all about anything that girls actually might think.

I got to the first kiss between the first couple (hyper doofus and monotonal glasses girl), realized that they were segueing immediately from a first kiss straight to sex and closed the book, thus missing my chance to enjoy the adventures of Sachiko/Yumi clones and teacher and student.

Ratings:

Art – Yuck
Story – Ick
Characters – Types
Yuri – Yes
Service – 100%

Overall – 1

No thank you.

Posted in Light Novel | 6 Comments »


Yuri Live Action: Seonam Girls’ High School Investigators, Episodes 11 & 12

May 24th, 2015

seonamEarlier this year, South Korean TV made a breakthrough in portrayals of same-sex relationships with a lesbian kiss. The show takes place in high school;  like North America’s Degrassi High, the series dealt with things that teens might actually have to deal with; bullying, pregnancy, relationships, people, etc.  Wrapped in a setup that all would-be Harriet the Spys or Velmas might feel comfortable with, we join several outsider girls in a relatively normal high school, where they uncover the dark secrets of their fellow students…then try to make things right.

Seonam Girls’ High School Investigators is available to watch in it’s entirety on Viki.com, free and legally. Today we’re going to discuss Episodes 11 and 12. They center on two female students, Eun Bin and Soo Yeon, who are photographed kissing. Soo Yeon is identified, but refuses to name the other girl. Predictably, she is teased and ostracized, but her will is too strong and eventually, the other students back off. In episode 11, she asks the Investigators to please find out who is photographing students in compromising positions and posting them to the school online board, not for herself, since it is already too late, but to save Eun Bin from being discovered.

You can watch the episodes for yourself, so I won’t bother with a summary, but I have to say, I was completely captivated by the Investigators, who are so utterly dorkariffic that I adored them. Way more important than the kiss itself  was the discussion the Investigators have between themselves about homosexuality in general, how it made them feel – and why – and what they believed they ought to do  – and why. When they conclude that they would never like a person less for being gay, I wanted to hug them all. The kiss was fine, but the conversation was magnificent! It’s stuff like that, that’s gonna change the world.

That having been said, I want to take a step back and talk about the kiss for a second. It’s supposed to be sweet, slightly awkward and it is. It was exactly what it should have been. And for all that, it’s a million times a better kiss than anything I have ever seen in any Japanese media of any kind. Major score for the Koreans, they know how to kiss. ^_^

If you have no patience, don’t like Viki or have some other reason to not watch, I will leave you with this supercut of some of the Soon Yeon / Eun Bin scenes:

But you should watch this and learn to love the Investigators…and the distinct possibility for a happy ending. The story appears to end with Soo Yeon transferring out of the school…but that doesn’t mean she and Eun Bin are separated.

Really, just watch these episodes and get back to me. ^_^

Ratings:

Overall – 8

Way better than I expected, but  par for the course on Korean dramas, so I’m told.

Posted in Live Action | 10 Comments »