Assorted Entanglements, Volume 1

May 29th, 2023

A businesswoman and a young woman with tattoos hold hands as they lay next to one another, their shoes to the side, smiling gently at one another. In 2019, I first encountered Mikanuji’s Fuzoroi Renri. I followed the series, and have reviewed Volumes 1-5 here on Okazu. Now I’m pleased to take another look at this manga series now that it is out from Yen Press in English.

In Assorted Entanglements, Volume 1, Iori is a 28 year old career-woman in an unfulfilling job. She takes her frustrations out by drinking at a local izakaya, and talking to one of the servers, a cute girl with facial piercings and tattoos, Minami. When Iori wakes up naked next to Minami, both of their lives are about to change.

When I first read this volume, I was deeply gratified at Minami’s character. Pierced and tattooed, she was not a criminal or a gang member. She was still on the wrong side of the tracks in Japanese society, but she was a good person who had gone through some rough spots. 

As I re-read, I am less moved by Iori. Having just finished Sempai, Oishii desuka? Volume 2 (先輩、美味しいですか?) by Mikanuji-sensei, I’m done with sloppy drunks. But, since almost all of the volumes of this series will pair unlikely couples, I’ll roll with it. ^_^

After Minami and Iori are settled, we introduce their foils. First, we meet Minami’s foster sister, Natsuki who greets her with a beatdown. Then we get Saori, Iori’s creepily obsessed little sister. When they meet each other, sparks fly and quickly burn everything around them down. They are a terrible couple that kind of works anyway. ^_^

There will be no resolution with this series – as couples begin to  function with something approaching normality, a new differently dysfunctional couple will be introduced. Once again the team at Yen Press did a fine job for a goofy manga that requires no deep emotional investment.

Ratings:

Art – 8
Story – 8
Characters – 8
Service – 3 Some light nudity, nothing salacious
Yuri – 10

Overall – 8

This series of short gags about odd people forming odd couples is a fun read.

Posted in English Manga, Mikanuji, Yuri Manga | 3 Comments »


Sailor Moon Sparkling Water – Outer Senshi Edition, Part 2

May 28th, 2023

It wasn’t that many months ago that we encountered news of Ocean Bomb brand’s series of Sailor Moon sparkling waters. I have pursued with otaku single-mindedness getting all of these and drinking them. It’s been a bit of a challenge as nowhere seemed to have all of them. I found my first two at the Mitsuwa in Edgewater, NJ, then have used a variety of online shopping services for the remainders.

Back in November I did a full roundup of the Sailor Moon Sparkling Water Review – Inner Senshi Edition. Of them, Sailor Moon won fairly. And I learned an important lesson – what food you pair these with makes a difference. ^_^

In January, I found the Sailors Neptune and Uranus flavors. The Sailor Moon Sparkling Water – Outer Senshi Edition, Part 1 was a hit. Both Sailors Uranus and Neptune gave Sailor Moon a run for their money.

Now we have the final two flavors, Sailor Pluto and Saturn. Were the worth the wait? Keep reading our final chapter of

Chibi-Usa holds a gun on Usagi from Sailor Moon 'R'. The captaion reads 'Drink the Soda.'
Thanks to Christian for the image. ^_^ It makes me laugh every time.

 

These cans were purchased from Umamicart, which seems to primarily be a Taiwanese and Korean vendor, with a little Japanese. We got some amazing items from them, but they shipped everything unwrapped or protected in a huge box, so Saturn is a bit dented. Okay, are we ready?

 

Sailor Pluto – Watermelon Flavor

I approached this one with caution. I love watermelon and don’t mind artificial watermelon flavor ( from years of surviving on watermelon Jolly Rancher in high school.) But…clearly this is unlikely to be yummy with random food. ^_^ So I took my first sip with a clear palate.  It smelled very watermelony, sugary and not floral at all. Overall, it tasted like watermelon juice that has been carbonated.

After a while the flavor became a bit bitter, so I cleared my palate with almonds, so as to not affect the flavor. That allowed me to enjoy the rest of the can.

Gonna say, Pluto was a huge surprise and a great success!

8/10 Very refreshing, until it isn’t. Maybe share a can with a friend

 

Then it came time to have the final flavor and I had wildly unrealistic expectations. I love grapefruit soda (except Fresca, that shit’s nasty.) I like grapefruit in just about anything from a G&T to a salad, so Hotaru had a huge handicap. Was this going to be good? Or would it ruin grapefruit flavor forever for me?

 

Sailor Saturn – Grapefruit Flavor

Bing! Bing! We have a winner! Sailor Saturn wins with flying colors.

Okay, if you hate grapefruit, this will not be the sparkling water for you. But without a heavy floral perfume of the Inners flavors, the fruit is able to stand on it’s own. This is a crisp, pleasant, fruity sparkling water that I could drink without hesitation or pairing it carefully (like Uranus’ Pineapple flavor).

The Outers were clear winners here. No too sweet, not too floral, they felt less ornamental and more like an actual drink.

And now we have our final tally:

Sailor Chibi-Moon – 0/10
Sailor Venus – 4/10
Sailor Mars – 5/10
Sailor Mercury – 5/10
Sailor Jupiter – 6/10
Sailor Moon – 7/10
Sailor Pluto – 8/10
Sailor Neptune – 8/10
Sailor Uranus – 9/10
And our winner is…! Sailor Saturn 10/10

 

Epilogue

I ordered these last two cans and some other items, including Assam Oolong Milk Tea, which is now my favorite drink in the world. I liked it so much, I decided to go to an actual physical store to see if I could find (I couldn’t.)  I haven’t been well enough to do a physical store, so this was a huge outing. My wife and I walked into the store…and saw this:

Maddening, right? ^_^ Well, at least I’ll be able to get an undented Saturn and maybe a whole set as a prize for something. ^_^

Thank you all for joining me on this journey and let me know your favorite Sailor Moon sparkling water flavor!

Posted in Miscellaneous | No Comments »


Yuri Network News – (百合ネットワークニュース) – May 27, 2023

May 27th, 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. Now that I am making a concerted effort to catch up on the Yuricon Store, there are two things we must reckon with: 1) There will be a lot of additions in this week’s report and 2) There is SO MUCH Yuri coming out that, a week into the update, I have added as many items to my “to be added” list in my bookmarks as I have added things to the Store. ^_^; We are surrounded by an abundance of Yuri riches. So buckle in, we have a lot of cool stuff this week to get to!

Yuri Anime

The Lycoris Recoil Blu-Ray box set will be available in late August. It looks adorable. Save %30 with a pre-order on RightStuf.

 

Yuri Figurines

From the fine folks at Yuri Daily on Facebook, we have the news that Furyu is putting out two Yuri Is My Job! figurines. You can get our leads in their salon personas – Ayanokoji Mitsuki or Shirasagi Hime for about $130 USD each. These figurines are eerily life-like-to-the-anime.

 

Yuri Manga

Seven Seas announced the license of How Do I Get Together With My Childhood Friend?, by the creator of Monologue Woven For You, Syu Yasaka.

How Do We Relationship?, Volume  9 will be hitting shelves in late July. Miwa and Saeko’s relationship has gone through a lot, but they are still finding their best ways to be themselves.

Chasing After Aoi Koshiba, Volume 4 gave us an unexpected ending to the series. I reviewed it yesterday here on Okazu.

Superwomen in Love! Honey Trap and Rapid Rabbit, Volume 5 also completes this sentai Yuri series. Can a suited heroine and her arch-nemesis save the day?

From Blue Drop creator Akihito Yoshitomo My Future Starts Today ~Miku & Kyoko~, Volume 1 was picked up and translated into English by MediBang! as a digital license. Does anyone remember Blue Drop besides me, at this point? I liked it – especially the Drama CDs.

Qualia The Purple Manga Collection is now available on the Store, as well. Without question, the people who loved this story, love this story. I mean that in a kind way.

 

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Galette, No. 25  (ガレット) has been out since March and is available from a number of sellers. I am still positive about this creator-run quarterly Yuri manga magazine and would love to see it continue for 5 more years!

Akiyama Haru’s Iberis no Hanayome ( イベリスの花嫁) is about a wedding planner who finds herself falling for the bride.

Lily & Ivy – Ken-couple Yuri & Sex Anthology (リリー&アイビー ~ケンカップル百合×性愛アンソロジー~) is for fans of series like Black & White, with a little rough love in the mix.

Fukusuunin Kousai Yuri Anthology (複数人交際百合アンソロジー レモネード) is a poly anthology, with relationships of 3 or more people.

Yuri Short Story Collection wiz (百合小説コレクション wiz) is a collection of winning entries from the Yuri Literary Short Story Contest on Pixiv.

Nagata Kabi has more to say about her life in Suizou Ga Kowaretara, Sukoshi Ikiyasuku Narimashita. (膵臓がこわれたら、少し生きやすくなりました。) I’m reading it now and will get back to you shortly.

 

I’m In Love With The Villainess News

Crunchyroll has announced that they will be streaming the I’m In Love With The Villainess anime, which is headed our way in October. Rafael Antonio Pineda has the details over on ANN.

On her Pixiv Fanbox last week, inori.-sensei announced a new spin-off project I’m In Love With The Villainess. Maid’s Kitchen (私の推しは悪役令嬢。メイドキッチン) The art for this cooking comedy starring Rei, Claire and Lene, will be by Tsuke-sensei. It will also run in Comic Yuri Hime magazine. Take a look at the cover here on inori.-sensei’s twitter!

There are two more voiced comics for Wataoshi from Ichijinsha. You can find there here and here. That completes the series, I believe.

 

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Queer Comics

“Blood! Bounties!! & Badass Babes!!! reads the tagline for Blade Maidens, by Zoe Tunnel and Valentine M. Smith. Queer trans and NB protags and lot of action. It’s fun. ^_^

 

Yuri Visual Novels

Via Sr. YNN Correspondent Ashley, two classic Yuri VNs have been remastered and are available on Steam! Akai Ito HD Remaster and Aoi Shiro HD Remaster, are set in the same universe. Ashley reviewed the latter for Okazu 13 years ago!

ebi-hime has a new game, It gets so lonely here, “a yandere yuri visual novel with a fairytale theme. Can you escape from your mysterious pursuer?” CWs for violence and cannibalism. Available on Steam and itch.io.

 

Other News

Also Via Sr. YNN Correspondent Ashley, Takarazuka’s Casino Royale is coming to screens with a live online performance on June 11. The live version is 1:30PM JST on June 11, while the online “restreaming” is at 4AM JST (so 3PM EST) on June 26. There is no video on demand. You’re buying a ticket to a show. There will be EN subtitles on the restream.

Lilyka is running a 41% off Yuri doujinshi sale, with the code “41” right now. More importantly, the Lilyka website is being deprecated soon (no date has been given.) emanga.com has already rolled the Yuri works from Lilyka into their GL collection.

 

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 | 1 Comment »


Chasing After Aoi Koshiba, Volume 4

May 26th, 2023

I first encountered this series in 2020 when I found it at Gamers in Akihabara, with bonus clearfile by artist Fly. I reviewed volume 1 and 2 in English and Japanese here on Okazu…then I kind of forgot about it. Volume two had a “Waiting for Godot” feel and even though it was obvious that we were going to learn what happened to Sahoko and Aoi back in high school, I found it hard to care.

As soon as I began reading Chasing After Aoi Koshiba, Volume 4, I remembered why. The high school drama felt very high school, with like and dislikes and confessions and whatnot. It’s not compelling. The entire time I was reading this series, I was really hoping we’d spend more time with the characters ten years later at the reunion.

But this volume did two things that turned everything around and let me tell you how impressed I was!

Firstly, the high school portion of the story ended in a way I did not expect at all. It was the right ending, but I had been steeling myself against the inevitable wrong ending. I was so surprised and pleased. Then the reunion arc also ended in a way that I would not have expected. I don’t know if it was the right way or not – it was a powerful ending that ended the story, for sure. There was no moving forward after that. I wouldn’t call it brave,  but it took some small risk and I appreciate that. More series need to really think about whether relationships ought to work. Takeoka Hazuki put some thought into that. I appreciate it.

Ratings:

Art – 9
Story – 7
Characters – 7
Service – 1
Yuri – 6

Overall – 7

The team at Kodansha did good work with this volume, although I felt that $10.99 price point for a digital was a little much, given that they print price was $12.99.  The ending was better than I expected, but whether it makes the whole series worth a read will be up to you. For me, it was always about the art, which is slick as hell.

Posted in English Manga, Yuri Manga | 1 Comment »


Maitsuki Niwatsuki Ooyatsuki – Monthly With Ooya, Volume 3 (毎月庭つき大家つき)

May 25th, 2023

Two adult women crouch, playing with Japanese fireworks that make a golden pool of light at their feet, in a dark blue night.Bing! Bing! Bing! We have a winner of the first annual “Adults Having An Important Conversation Like Adults” Award here at Okazu.

Asako is living with her landlord, Miyako. Miyako, a retired extremely famous singer, is a bit of a layabout, but Asako, a manga editor, happily cooks and cleans, and their days pass pleasantly.

Until, in Maitsuki Niwatsuki Ooyatsuki – Monthly With Ooya, Volume 3 (毎月庭つき大家つき), Miyako comes to the conclusion that she has fallen in love with Asako. She tries, in horribly awkward and non-intuitive ways to get her interest across, but it doesn’t land. She imagines her birthday will give them an opportunity to get closer, but Asako seems lukewarm about it. Stressed, Miyako calls on her idol friend Ruri and Asako’s friend Hato-san. Sensibly they suggest, y’know, telling Asako how she feels. Hato also tells her that Asako is carrying trauma about birthdays, as it is.

So…Miyako tells Asako how she feels! It was the best adult having a conversation with another adult I have seen in years.

Then they celebrate the hell out of Miyako’s birthday. Now Asako has to figure out how she feels, so she talks to her sister-in-law Kodachi about it, who also offers perfectly sensible advice that helps Asako figure it out. Then she talks to Miyako about it.

This volume was so refreshing in every way. As silly as the initial premise is, we are rooting for Miyako and Asako to find happiness. And also for Ruri and Hato to start dating, because Hato is where all the overblown reactions live in the manga. ^_^

Ratings:

Art – 8 Yodokawa’s faces are on point
Story – 8
Character – 9
Service – 0
Yuri – 5 Yuri has arrived!

Overall – 8

I have said before that this kind of real-world slow life is my jam.  I don’t need high school drama right now (or maybe ever again,) I do need adults building relationships. Please just inject this into my veins

I’m glad you’ll be able to read this series, as Monthly in the Garden With My Landlord from Yen press in October. It’s a charming little story, with a slow-building relationship and people you wouldn’t mind knowing. ^_^

Posted in Yuri Manga | 3 Comments »