New Yuri Anime from Comic Yuri Hime magazine

January 16th, 2014

Yesterday, Crunchyroll’s Scott Green posted a news report of interest. Kuzushiro-sensei’s Yuri gag manga from Comic Yuri Hime, Inukami-san to Nekoyama-san, is slated for a 2014 anime.

Here’s my review of the first volume of the manga. I stopped reviewing the manga after that, because other than adding additional characters, it was substantially unchanged from volume to volume. FWIW, I did actually buy and read Volume 2 and plan on getting Volume 3 when it comes out.

It’s still a school girl school life gag 4-koma manga. It still will have creepy service. Even more excruciatingly, it will be filled to the brim with atrocious name-puns.

The good news is that it’s by the creator of Kimi Tamenara Shineru. Secondly – and this is not meant to be read as sarcasm or snark, I am quite sincere when I say this – thank the gods it is not an anime of Yuri Danshi. The editorial staff of Comic Yuri Hime really seem to like Yuri Danshi and they keep putting a lot of money behind it. I was genuinely worried that their next anime might be an adaption of their slice-of-deranged-life of a Yuri fanboy manga.

So, yay for Kuzushiro-sensei.

Boo for adult female Yuri fans that are so, so, done with school life gag Yuri anime focused on dysfunctional adolescents. ^_^;

Posted in Yuri Network News | 4 Comments »


Fate/Zero Manga, Volume 1 (フェイト/ゼロ)

January 14th, 2014

Oh my goodness. The last few days have been filed with systems failures of all sorts, so I apologize for the lack of updates. Here we are, back with an unexpected addition to Okazu.

As I said, when I reviewed  the Fate/Zero anime, there are two Fate/Zeros – the one on the screen and the one in my head. ^_^ This remains true for the first volume of the Fate/Zero manga, as well.

We are first introduced to the Grail War through the talky-talkiness of Kotomine, eventually we listen while Kiritsugu talks at Irisviel and try to pretend that the  art for her is better than it is. Kiritsugu summons Saber and basically leaves her to take care of Irisviel while he talks some more.

We switch  to Velvet Waver as he invokes Alexander the Great and has no idea what to do with him. This is followed by some other nominally Grail War-ish plot stuff but we most follow Alexander making a man out of Velvet.

Kiritsugu heads off to talk at Maya and kisses her so we know he’s not “in love” with Irisviel, which is good, because by now we’re pretty much obsessing on Saber and Irisviel as a couple. Thankfully the manga is helpful in this regard.

We follow Irisviel and Saber, whom she has dressed up in that natty suit and they have a nice little together scene where Saber learns of Irisviel’s boring life. Saber swears to be the knight to Irisviel’s Queen and they head off to tour the town, until Saber runs into Lancer and the book comes to an end.

As one might expect, the manga is the Cliff notes version of the anime, without the same quality of visual input. But luckily for us, Irisviel and Saber are just as slashable as ever. Otherwise, this would be a really talky book.

Ratings:

Art – 7 at times, 5
Story – 5 Depending on if you care about the technical conversations behind the War
Characters – 7 Not bad, honestly. I don’t like them all, but they have some depth.
Yuri – Made up nearly out of whole cloth by us, but still a 4
Service – 1

Overall – 7 I’m reading the next one.

You may have noticed that the ads here on Okazu are gone. After I moved off Blogger last year, Google started a harassment campaign against Okazu. Pictures and content that had been perfectly fine for years on Blogger were suddenly unacceptable.

I’d love to run Okazu ad free, but I really can’t. It takes a lot of time and money to upkeep. We’re switching over to a new, more comics-friend network and I hope I can count on you all to click on ads that interest you from time to time and help support the comic artists and me. Thanks for your patience and support!

Posted in Type-Moon | 9 Comments »


Yuri Anime: Sakura Trick (English) Guest review by Jocilyn W.

January 12th, 2014

sakura trickAsk and you shall receive. Yesterday I admitted that I would not be reviewing the Sakura Trick anime, as I declined the role of excessively creepy thigh-starer the audience was cast in.  Luckily for all of us, there are many people who watched Sakura Trick who are not me! Today we welcome back Jocilyn W., to Okazu. I cannot thank you enough Jocilyn – take it away!

Following in the proud Yuricon tradition of “Story A, bordering on PWP,” the Sakura Trick anime delights in being cute, colorful and… feisty?

Originally published in the MangaTime Kirara Miracle! (Houbunsha) as 4-koma, Tachi’s Sakura Trick manga, having already achieved decent marks on Okazu a month or so ago, has been faithfully reproduced in a vibrant pastel 1080p animation by S.tudio DEEN for the Winter 2014 anime season. Thanks to a last minute addition by Crunchyroll, the anime has already legitimately been shown in the West, though it’s so far met with a mediocre regard on various anime blogs.

Our protagonist, Takayama Haruka is a lively and fun soda bottle of raging teenage hormones. Opening as it does on a tumultuous first day of high school, the oft-pined for object of Haruka’s craving (desire may not be strong enough of a word) is revealed to be none other than her bestfriend Sonoda Yu’s affections.  Yu, though seemingly somewhat more level-headed than Haruka (note the froggy shaped iPhone case and pantaloons), is presented to the audience as being either reticent and/or thickheaded in her affections toward her bestfriend, as well as possibly a little embarrassed at the prospect.  Eponymously, the would-be couple discovers a forgotten classroom strewn with cherry-blossom petals: perfectly setting the stage to allow Haruka’s affections to give flight and Yu’s akogare to tumble into a basket of giggles.

Given that “pairing off” seems to be one of the anime’s chief themes, and that the first episode lands squarely on the first day of high school, two other pairs of female friends are introduced.  Chief among them are Ikeno Kaede (of the “Shall we link arms?”) and Iizuka Yuzu (of the denyingly gay), as well as their classmate from middle school Noda Kotone (of the “Yoroshiku Harorin~”, no doubt her future pet name for Haruka) and a new girl bearing a name that conjures in everyone’s mind the image of a green young woman from a well-to-do family, Minami Shizuku (of the “I can’t live up to that image…”).

Ratings:

Art – 3 (*puts on sunglasses*)
Character – 7 (Definitely stronger than archetypes but they’ve really yet to emerge)
Story – 4 (Never before seen: a 4-koma based on the interpersonal lives of cute schoolgirls?!)
Yuri – 9 (Apart from Strawberry Panic!, I feel like this is a hard one to top in anime)
Service – 9 (Despite my best efforts, I can’t seem to unclench my jaw)

Overall – 7 (Giving it the benefit of the doubt and rounding up)

Erica here again: Thank you Jocilyn. So much.

Posted in English Anime, Guest Review, Yuri Anime | 14 Comments »


Yuri Network News (百合ネットワークニュース) – January 11, 2014

January 11th, 2014

YNN_MariKThis week’s report is going to be a dump of all the cool stuff I’ve found in the last few weeks – women and comics-related news. I keep bookmarking this stuff, then never getting to talk about it.

Birz Comics is planning a Yuri Anthology for the spring called Yuri Tokushuu (百合特集). Birz is known for kind of weird manga, so it should be interesting. ^_^ As soon as I get a link to it, I’ll give it to you.

In case you missed it, yesterday I wrote a quickie piece on the recent news about the upcoming Sailor Moon anime.

Speaking of anime, I tried and failed to watch episode 1 of Sakura Trick on Crunchyroll. The thigh-staring and breast-bouncing gagged me in what is supposed to be a sweet story. I am looking for volunteers to review the series as a first look, or end of season, since if I reviewed it, the review would read like this: “Thighs, thighs, thighs, breasts, breasts, squeaky voices, banal dialogue. I had to stop.” If you’re interested, please read the Guest Review Guidelines and email me. You don’t have to convince me the anime is worth reviewing, you have to convince me you are capable of writing the review. ^_^

Some concept art floating around suggests that someone had the idea of adding The Valkyrie to Thor 2. Shame it didn’t happen. I like the armor, but I love the wings.

Sayaka and Kyouko shippers rejoice! You have been validated.

New comic for you and/or a girl in your life, The Lumberjanes, which I keep jokingly describing as like My Little Pony ~ Friendship is Magic with people. There a few queer contributors to the project and we’re promised queer content, if that’s important to you.

Crunchyroll’s Scott Green reports on a Revolutionary Girl Utena tribute book sponsored by Pixiv, in conjunction with Be-Papas collaborator Ikuhara Kunihiko that was sold at Winter Comiket. With a cover by Hoshino Lily, this book looks amazing.

Put this on your must-read pile. Marvel’s new Ms. Marvel, Kamila Khan, is a Moslem teen from New Jersey. I love love love the art which forgoes sexualizing her and focuses on her personality and powers. Read the preview here, then call your Local Comic Shop and order it!

Samuel L. Jackson is an anime and manga fan and has already been involved with the Afro Samurai project. Now he’s involved in a live-action Kite movie.

From YNN Correspondent Erin S, a few webcomics of note:  A bittersweet tale of love and loss – Fairyfail by Maya Kern and the much more cheerful  The Dwarf Bride, by Sammy Montoya (which made me go “Awww….”).

Fake Geek Girls Invade the University of Chicago! Well, a panel about the fake geek girl phenomenon does, on January 30th. If you’re in the area see if you can manage this.

Here’s a comic that explains how not to be a dick when you talk about comics.

Comics Alliance Andrew Wheeler presents 10 Diversity Resolutions for Superhero Comics in 2014. And we all slow clap, knowing this would change everything, but it will not be happening. How do we know that? Because this Tumblr exists: Has DC Done Something Stupid Today?

For the Yuri gamers/VN fans out there, here’s a new circle to watch – Innocent Grey. Their newest work, Flowers, is slated for April 2014.

In Japan in January, it is customary for 20 year-olds to go to a Coming of Age celebration, the Seijinshiki. Well, let’s face it, if you’re LGBTQ, your coming of age presentation was probably heteronormative and not, really, *you*. Last year two groups independently decided it was time for Coming of Age to include people’s real selves. Re-bit in east Japan and the Kansai LGBT Seijinshiki are fixing this with ceremonies for any age, “dress code: like yourself.” Here’s a clip from last year’s ceremony, hosted by trans model Satou Kaya. The tears, they will not stop.

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That’s a wrap for this week! 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 | 6 Comments »


Sailor Moon Anime News – The Good, the Bad, the Amibiguous

January 10th, 2014

sm20Okay, we finally have some news about the Sailor Moon anime.

First, the bad news: Yesterday, Comic Natalie reported that the upcoming Sailor Moon anime would be delayed again, this time pushed back until July 2014. Originally announced in spring 2013, this will be the second delay. I’m nether surprised nor upset by this. It was obvious that they were trying to squeeze in the thing for the 20th anniversary year and it wasn’t working.

Then came the good news: Umezawa Atsutoshi, the producer for the new series, went on record with news that the anime will not be a remake, but a reboot. (Like, Full Metal Alchemist Brotherhood.)

Here’s the ambiguous: We still haven’t heard anything about voice actresses. It is absolutely possible that the delay is to accommodate the schedule of actresses we’d like to see return to their roles, it’s equally as possible that with a reboot, they’ll just choose new voice actresses…especially as some of them have retired or semi-retired, while others were always working.

More importantly, those of us around in the late 1990’s remember Takeuchi-sensei saying that she was never really happy with the anime. The staff was mostly male, they rewrote a lot, and just generally dragged her story out into an even more formulaic kiddy series than it was in the manga. The one thing that bothered her most and, admittedly, a lot of fans as well, was the treatment of the Starlights. (Of course, most western fans will have only seen them if they have watched fansubs.) She insisted they were women cross-dressing and the anime shifted that to them being gender switching. Either way they choose for the news series, someone is bound to be upset.

Our initial gut feeling is that the reboot will be more faithful to the manga – which is, in itself, a double-edged sword. We spend less time with the bad guys in the manga, and are subsequently less like to know about Lead Crow and Aluminum Siren (and that magical moment when they saw the rose petals swirl around Haruka and Michiru.) The manga has some serious problems, including a very messy ending. And the anime has some good elements, so a stricter manga adaptation might not be what we expect or desire.

It’s probably safe to say that Okazu readers are also concerned that Haruka and Michiru might not be at least as couple-y as they were, much less the more we’d like to see. (Although, in interviews, Takeuchi-sensei did say they were a couple and things have changed for the better in regards to LGBTQ representation in anime, so there’s always a slim possibility that we’ll see them more overtly a couple.)

Here’s what I think. If you are already a fan of Sailor Moon, right now, take all your expectations and dreams and desires for the series, carefully tuck them away in a little box in your heart where they cannot be destroyed. Then, watch whatever it is we get, with no expectation or desires and enjoy it or not for what it is, rather than what it isn’t. Manage your expectations and you won’t be disappointed. ^_^

At the moment we know they are still working on an anime that is going to be a clean reboot of the story. Right now they are focusing on the launch of the 美少女戦士セーラームーン THE 20TH ANNIVERSARY MEMORIAL TRIBUTE album, with a live event in February.

It’s good, it’s bad, it’s ambiguous and the rumor mill churns on. Here’s to July 2014.

 

Posted in Sailor Moon, Yuri Network News | 7 Comments »