Sasayakuyouni Koi wo Utau, Volume 7 (ささやくように恋を唄う)

July 5th, 2023

We join Sasayakuyouni Koi wo Utau, Volume 7 (ささやくように恋を唄う), our resident adorable high school love story as Himari and Yori-sempai share their first real kiss.

This leads to them spending the night together after a sudden passing trope leaves them soaked. Yori stresses over the intimacy that sharing a bed brings, while Himari falls asleep.

Shiho decides to tell Himari the whole story about why she left SS Girls and it’s about what one might expect; a pile of mutually exclusive needs and desires that are compounded by strong emotional circumstances. Himari takes it all in so Shiho can get it all out, then politely asks Shiho to deal with the one things she hasn’t ever admitted – her feelings for Aki-sempai.

This series is moe in the most specific sense of the word – one wants very much to treasure these young ladies and protect them from harm. But also one wishes to celebrate them and that is what Kodansha did this weekend at Anime Expo! Head over to the Ichijinsha twitter account and take a look at the photos of their display. Revel in the Yuri-ness of it all. Yuri Is My Job!, I’m In Love With The Villainess and Whisper Me A Love Song all got space and time at the booth. Happy sigh.

Ratings:

Art – 8
Story – 7
Characters – 9
Service – .0001
Yuri – 10

Overall – 9

So darn cute.

Volume 6 of Whisper Me A Love Song is out now from Kodansha!

Posted in Yuri Manga | 3 Comments »


Birdie Wing, End of Season Review

July 3rd, 2023

“It was the best of times,

 

it was the worst of times,
 

 

it was the age of wisdom,

 

it was the age of foolishness,

Vipère - Birdie Wing: Golf Girls' Story | Episode 4 - YouTube

 

it was the epoch of belief,

 

it was the epoch of incredulity,

Golf Girls Swing Rainbows in BIRDIE WING, Episode 15 | J-List Blog

 

it was the season of light,

Golf Girls Get Their Wings in BIRDIE WING, Ep 19 | J-List Blog

 

it was the season of darkness,

 

it was the spring of hope,

 

it was the winter of despair.”

 

Did I just compare Birdie Wing: Golf Girl’s Story to A Tale of Two Cities? I guess I did. ^_^

After all that has been said about this particular masterpiece, I felt there was nothing left to say except that it was one episode short of perfect.

Ratings:

Overall – 9.9

Posted in English Anime, Yuri Anime | 2 Comments »


Super Cub, Volume 1

July 2nd, 2023

So this month and next are going to be a bit of a lot, and I was looking for something to fall into for relaxation, I popped over to Bookwalker JP and thought I had bought the Super Cub light novel series. Trying to make sense of technical manual talk for a scooter I don’t own sounded about right for taking my over-stimulated brain offline. Well, it turns out I bought Volume 1 of the Super Cub manga and you know…that worked for me very well. I’ve seen the anime, and this can just remind me of that, until I get to the end and then pop over to the novels. Since I read it, the differences between the manga and the anime are much on my mind.

To begin with there are two major changes. One, the manga is full of creeper gaze service, which never adds anything good to a story. So be warned.

The second thing that is different is pacing. I’ve talked about this a lot over the years on Okazu. I read quickly  and even my reading Japanese is going to take less time than an animated scene that takes its time. In the case of Super Cub anime, the first few episodes of the anime are handled with deliberation. We spend time watching Koguma’s daily schedule and really get to feel the emptiness of it. That emptiness becomes a burden for the viewer, each detail weighing us down more as a form of sympathetic depression. It’s rough going, but we *need* to feel that, so the change in her world that comes with her Super Cub will feel that much more uplifting. The manga takes pages to tell a story where the anime took episodes., so if you have not watched the anime, it will feel less like a miraculous change from the beginning of the volume to the end. 

Nonetheless, Koguma’s life does change  –  quite radically – with the purchase of a used Honda Super Cub. While she’s still on limited funds – more so now – her day is less filled with the drudgery of riding her bicycle along mountain roads to school. She has free time and mobility. And, as the volume closes, she finds herself making an acquaintance. Again, in the anime, this was extraordinarily difficult for Koguma and she held herself back from friendship for a long time, unwilling to be hurt.

I’ve been thinking a lot about the role of women’s friendship in my love of anime. Mainstream media, focused on stories of romance and  – oh, you know straight women doing straight women things with wine and man bashing and other things completely alien to me – rarely shows women just relying on each other, being there for each other. Which is why I so obsess over She Loves To Cook, She Loves To Eat.  Super Cub does tell just exactly this story, from the perspective of a girl who has been so cruelly treated by life, she literally describes herself as having nothing in every way. By the end of this volume, she has one thing – Koguma has a Super Cub –  and that one thing is going to lead her to many other things.

Ratings:

Art – barfing noises
Story – Not as hard one the emotions as the anime, but still rough
Characters – Can we give Koguma some props for existing at all? I’m not sure I would have.
Service – barfing noises and with Reiko, it ain’t gonna get better
Yuri – 0

Overall  – 8

Posted in Miscellaneous | 1 Comment »


Yuri Network News – (百合ネットワークニュース) – July 1, 2023

July 1st, 2023

In black block letters, YNN Yuri Network News. On the left, in black silhouette, a woman with a broad brim hat and dress stands, a woman in a tight outfit sits against the Y.Yuri Events At Anime Expo

Anime Expo kicks off today with a surprising number of Yuri events! I’m In Love With The Villianess manga artist Aonoshimo-sensei will be doing signings for the first 50 people who buy $50 of goods at her table today as the con opens!

And, Episodes 1 and 2 of the upcoming I’m In Love With The Villainess anime will be premiering on July 4. Liam Dempsey has key visuals and special AX art on Crunchyroll News.

Then Comic Yuri Hime editorial staff will be joining the Kodansha panel to talk about Kodansha releases Whisper Me A Love Song and Yuri Is My Job! (I’m hoping for some more licenses, but also news about the Whisper Me A Love Song anime…).

So if you’re at AX, we definitely want to hear your Yuri experiences!

Please help support Okazu’s Yuri News and Reviews –
Become an Okazu Patron today!

Yuri Anime

While we’re talking anime…

Mobile Suit Gundam The Witch From Mercury is teaming up with the European Space Agency to show support for its Mercury Planetary Orbiter.

We have The Executioner and Her Way of Life Complete Collection up on the Yuricon Store.  Chris Beveridge has a review of the set over at The Fandom Post.

Steve Jones gives us his final thoughts on Birdie Wing over at ANN. I am working on an end-of season eulogy myself.

Lycoris Recoil and Pizza Hut have teamed up. ^_^

Serial Experiments Lain turns 25 years old this year, and to celebrate, a new alternate reality game 3301: De-cipher has been announced. Crystalyn Hodgkins has the details at ANN.

Korean Yuri animation The Summer (그 여름) gets the full music video treatment from singer JUNGWOO (정우). Check it out in full on Youtube.

 

Yuri Manga in English

On Publisher’s Weekly, Shaenon Garrity noted that Rose of Versailles Episodes, Volume 1, the 40th anniversary stories, will be released in November. This was an amazing collection. Post the Revolution, there is still more to tell.

Battan’s Run Away With Me Girl, Volume 3, wraps up that messy story with a tidy ending.

Otherside Picnic manga, Volume 6 will be hitting shelves in August.

Seven Seas has released Ratana Satis’ Pulse, Volume 3. Mel has to face her feelings for Lynn.

Seven Seas is also releasing Failed Princesses 6.5 by Ajiichi. This is a collection of shorts that were not published with the volumes, and some extra original content, as a digital-only release.

Tokyopop has launched a new imprint called LoveLove, it will include all shoujo, josei, BL and Yuri titles. It seems like a relaunch of the Love Is Love imprint to me. I’m not thrilled with there being an imprint for “girls'” stuff while stuff for “boys” is just the regular non-imprint. But, hey, no one asks me. ^_^

 

Yuri Manga in Japanese

Natsuo Mutsumi is launching a kickstarter for a second [Boyish²] collection. This one includes artists from Japan, USA and Canada. [Boyish²] Butch×Butch Yuri Anthology, Volume 2 has already beaten its original goal in mere days, so let’s help them get to a couple of great stretch goals! The book will be available in digital and print and in English and Japanese, as was the previous volume. And do check out those adorable author profiles on the KS page!

Otona ni Nattemo, Volume 9 (おとなになっても) hit shelves this month in Japan! Volume 6 of Even Though We’re Adults hit English bookstores the same day. I just finished that last night, review to come soon.

Komatsu-san has the news that Yuzaki Sakaomi’s She Loves To Cook, She Loves To Eat manga is on hiatus due to the author’s health after the 40th chapter was published. He has details over at Crunchyroll News.

Vampeerz, Volume 3 (ヴァンピアーズ) is up on the Yuricon Store in Japanese and Volume 3 of Vampeerz: My Peer Vampires is headed our way from Denpa Books in August.

Koharu to Minato: Watashi no Partner ha Onna no Ko, Volume 1 (小春と湊 わたしのパートナーは女の子)  is a comic essay in Comic Yuri Hime about a long-distance relationship that began on social media and eventually they moved in together.

100 Nichi-Go Ni Saku Yuri (100日後に咲く百合) is a collection of 100 Yuri “situations” by Muromaki.

Gal to Nekula no Kyuuketsu Kankei (ギャルとネクラの吸血関係) is s story about a girl who “failed to make her gal debut” and the girl at the desk next to her, who is rumored to be a vampire.

 

Buy us a Sailor Senshi sparkling water
Support Yuri journalism on Ko-fi!

Light Novels in Japanese

 Shuu ni Ichido Classmate wo Kau Hanashi ~ Futari no Jikan, Iiwakeno Gosenen~ (週に一度クラスメイトを買う話 ~ふたりの時間、言い訳の五千円~) is about a girl who hires a classmate as a companion in order to have an excuse to hang with her.

Chou to Teikoku (蝶と帝国) looks fascinating. It’s a science fiction Yuri story about Russia at the end of the Imperial period.


Other News

Via YNN Correspondent Frank H., the cast and crew of live-action Thai Be Mine The Series, held a gender and sexuality seminar with pics on Twitter!

Via Yuri Daily on FB, real-life lovers and Vtubers Momijiri Koyu and Emu were married. They announced the marriage on their Twitter.

Vrai Kaiser wrote What Role Are You Playing? Communication, queerness, and neurodivergence in Yuri is My Job! for Anime Feminist. It’s definitely worth a read.

Bang, Bang, Pop!: Reviewing Girls With Guns Anime by Burkely Herman is a reprint of an older article, but has loads of fun nostalgia – and not just ’cause Okazu is cited a number of times. ^_^

Finishing up a Pride Month series, Brianna Lawrence takes a look at Anime Characters Who Made Us Realize We’re Queer on Crunchyroll News.

 

If you’d like to support Yuri journalism and research, Patreon and Ko-Fi are where we currently accept subscriptions and tips. Your support goes straight to paying for Guest Reviews, folks helping with videos, site maintenance, managing the Yuricon Store and directly supporting other Yuri creators. Just $5/month makes a huge impact! Become part of the Okazu family!

Become a part of the Yuri Network, by being a YNN Correspondent: Contact Us with any Yuri-related news you want to share with our readers.

Posted in Yuri Network News | 6 Comments »


The Princess and the Grilled Cheese Sandwich, Guest Review by Paul S. Enns

June 28th, 2023

A princess in pink and a dashing young courtier in purple pull a grilled cheese sandwich apart so the oozy cheese is visible.When the whole point is to be cheesy, of course you lean into it fully.

The Princess and the Grilled Cheese Sandwich is as cheesy as can be. It was inspired by the real-life courtship between the writer/artist Deya Muniz and their now wife, Emily.

With it being so cheesy, it’s no spoiler to say that the main characters end up together. As usual, it’s the journey that makes it interesting. The theme naming used reminds me of the old Asterix books: every name is a cheese or cheese related, including place names, with one exception, and even that name is a food.

Our first hero, Lady Camembert, disguises herself as a man, rather than be forced to marry a man to inherit her father’s estate. To distance herself from people who might recognize her in Gougère, she moves to Fondue, the capital of Fromage, with her most trusted servant, Feta.

Our second hero, Princess Brie, has long been an advocate for changing the antiquated laws of her kingdom. Her friends, Gorgonzola and Ricotta, figure out that Camembert and Brie are in love with each other, as well as recognize that neither Cam nor Brie realizes it of the other.

Thus, the comedy of errors proceeds along somewhat predictable grounds. Cam has to protect her secret or risk imprisonment, and Brie—still accepting the traditional role of the askee and not the asker—waits in vain for Cam to court her. Brie’s friends are having none of that, and do their best to help things along. Unlike a lot of stories where misunderstandings are a major part of the plot, I didn’t want to scream at the characters; Gorgonzola, Ricotta, and even Feta took care of that for me.

The story has a point, but it doesn’t feel like it’s using a club to say it. While important topics are discussed, they arise naturally from the premise and setting, rather than forcing you to read a long-winded diatribe. The point is, naturally enough, anti-patriarchy.

The art is wonderful. Every character, even minor ones, are easy to distinguish. The colors used are vibrant, and themed around the characters. So Cam is usually surrounded by blues and purples, while Brie is surrounded by pinks and reds. The depictions using deformation are not quite chibi, but look inspired by it to me. The cross-popping veins are the most obvious manga-inspired art convention.

Given the whole nature of the story, it would be absurd to knock it for the anachronisms. The story seems to take place in a pre-industrial world, yet has modern kitchens, advanced printing technology, and Nintendo Switches. These may be safely ignored. Do we really want to put up with real-world accuracy for this story? Absolutely not. While I don’t think being accurate would detract from the story, the juxtaposition provides additional humor. Be sure to note the t-shirts Cam wears.

Ratings:

Art — 9 A tad cartoony at times, but overall excellent.
Story — 10 I laughed through most of it, and when I didn’t, I teared up along with the characters.
Characters — 10 Gorgonzola and Feta are standouts as secondary characters.
Service — 2 Lots of plunging necklines.
LGBTQ+ — 10 We have lesbian, agender, and questioning covered.

Overall — I’m going to go ahead and give this a 10. I’ve read it three times already, and not just because I’m reviewing it.

Posted in Guest Review, Western Comic/Comix | 1 Comment »