Very Belated 10th anniversary Contest Results

December 14th, 2012

Last August Okazu turned 10. I announced a contest to celebrate. And then life slapped me down with one of those “hand of god” moments and it just (!) occurred to me that I never announced the results of that contest! I sincerely apologize for the delay.

Here are the list of winners for that long ago (probably forgotten) contest. Please contact me at anilesbocon01 at hotmail dot com with the subject “Anniversary Contest” and your mailing address and age (so I can send age appropriate prizes.)
Ashi
LilyEyes 
Atarun
Brian Ruh
Ashrie
Arkadi
Rachel, aka Bunny
Bruce McF
Lynn A
George R
Katherine Hanson
Andreas Larsson
Alice Crook
Mara
Julia
Ana  
Chris d.
Takamina
Lynn A.
Suzuka

Ayana Mudou

Okay, yes – you all win. (If I missed anyone who write in, email me anyway…) I may or may not be able to do any of the things you suggested, but I loved your suggestions! 
Given how long it took me to announce winners, it’s a safe bet I’m gonna take for*ever* to get prizes out, but if you all bear with me…they will get out. ^_^;;
Thank you all again for reading Okazu and congrats!
Posted in Contests | 7 Comments »


Rock it GiRL!! Manga, Volume 1 (ロケットガール)

December 13th, 2012

Suzuhara Kaname is playing guitar in the park, being ignored by passers-by when a cute girl walks up to her and tells her she sucks.

Thus begins Rock it Girl!! (ロケットガール) by Tanaka Minoru.
Kaname, we learn, has a genuine talent for songwriting and playing the guitar, but that talent has not brought her joy. In fact, if anything, it’s been the tool others have used to use her.

When she’s approached by a talent agency, it terrifies her that they want her for these talents. When she’s paired with veteran drummer hippie Hanako and deadpan bassist Katsura, it gives even her less confidence. But when she learns that vocals will be performed by the very same girl who told her she sucked, Seira, it’s understandable that she’s at the end of her rope.

Even more confusing is Seira’s drunken confession that she desperately WANTS to sing one of Kaname’s songs.

It’s all too much, and the pressure of their first gig absolutely breaks Kaname. She runs away and hides in her home, until the rest of the band shows up. Seira breaks the walls figuratively and literally to confront Kaname, who tells her she’s written her a song, ロケットガール. “Rock it, girl”? Seira asks. “Um, no…it’s Rocket Girl,” mumbles Kaname.

Tanaka’s art is drippy and I’ll be honest, I don’t actually like it, but it’s so goofy and silly that it helps temper the serious scenes and keeps from them being too depressing.

Rock, it GiRL is a little about surpassing expectations, it’s a bit about pursuing your dreams, it’s a bit about how cold reality is and it’s a bit of “oddball ensemble gets together and makes it work.”

On the good side, this story is continuing, so maybe we’ll get a chance to see Kaname and Seira’s relationship develop past the tsundere tsukkomi and mopey boke that they currently are.

Ratings:

Art – 5
Story – 6, but rising
Characters – same
Yuri – 2 but there is potential
Service – 0 I cannot even imagine a single way to view this manga salaciously

Overall – 6, but I hope to see that score go up with the next chapters.

Posted in Yuri Manga | 4 Comments »


Yuri Manga: Pure Yuri Anthology Hirari, Vol. 8 (ピュア百合アンソロジー ひらり)

December 11th, 2012

Let’s say I have a bowl of vanilla ice cream (schoolgirl Yuri) and I think vanilla ice cream is okay, but it’s not as exciting as it could be.

When you’re confronted with a bowl of plain ice cream (a flavor you think is okay, but not wow) what do you do to make it tastier? You cover it with sauce and and blend in exciting things like gummy bears and toffee. Pure Yuri Anthology Hirari, Vol. 8 (ピュア百合アンソロジー ひらり) is a bowl of vanilla ice cream.

So here’s the cover story by Hakamada Mera, in which Kikuka and Tsubaki become friends and maybe Tsubaki has a few internal monologue moments where she thinks that Kikuka is “pretty” or “interesting.” Pretty vanilla, right?

So then we add a little soy powder to the top of the vanilla in the continuation of “Kitsune-hime.” It’s an interesting taste, but a little dry.

No, what we want is something crazy – something really extra super yummy. How about caramel sauce, colored sprinkles and a LOT of whipped cream? Well, lucky you, because Morishima Akiko has you covered, in “Seijun Shoujo Paradigm.” Aoi comes to a real rich-girls’ school, all ready to be blown away by the ojou-sama in her class, so she’s a little disappointed when they turn out to be normal, Did I say normal? As they head up to the roof to do an AKB48 dance, you realize that you’ve landed in the sundaest story you’re gonna find in this mostly vanilla collection. ^_^

Sated as you are, you can peruse the rest of the stories and enjoy their different flavors:

Ballet and Yuri tastes like a blend-in of salted peanuts. Teacher/student Yuri tastes like bitter, bitter dark chocolate. Auri Hirao writing a Yuri story with actual Yuri tastes like finding a real vanilla bean in your vanilla ice cream. Grown up Yuri tastes like coffee liqueur over your the top. Each variation brings a different flavor or texture, even though the base is still vanilla. ^_^

Ratings:

Overall – Jim Dandy

Age check – how many of you think “big bowl of vanilla ice cream” and think “Moby Dick” (If you get the reference don’t give it away.)

Posted in Hirari, Yuri Manga | No Comments »


Yuri Manga: Fujiyuu Sekai (不自由セカイ)

December 9th, 2012

No no no no no no no.

That is the bulk of my reaction to Kodama Naoko’s Fujiyuu Sekai (不自由セカイ).

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Reo befriended Meiko back in high school when Meiko was not treated well by her classmates. Popular and attractive, Reo drew Meiko into society. Meiko joined the tennis club in order to be closer to Reo and, as a result, hurt her ankle during practice. One day not long after, Reo offered to walk Meiko home, but she refused because she was getting better. Reo went off and unknown to her, Meiko was attacked and raped.

Now, years later, Meiko is still making Reo pay for it.

Meiko refers to Reo as her slave, emotionally manipulates Reo and forces the other woman to run when she calls, keeping her from completing her coursework or having a life.

Into this tightly wound relationship comes one of Reo’s classmates, Hayase, who Meiko sees as a rival. Reo and Hayase get enough time together for Reo to draw some courage and tell Meiko that she will no longer be at her beck and call. When Reo tries to get in touch with Meiko, she finds that she no longer can.

Up to this point I was okay with the story, then it just went horribly wrong. Instead of Reo moving on, realizing that Hayase was awesome and the two of them getting together, Reo goes running back to Meiko…who tells her she was not answering the phone, because she was trying to be independent. The two of them kiss and live …what? Happily ever after? I doubt it.

Ladies – particularly if you’re younger and have not yet found someone you think might be “the one” – under no circumstances should you follow the lesson of this manga. Do not choose a broken, controlling lover over the empowering one. This is the wrong lesson. You deserve better than that. Don’t be Reo.

Ratings:

Art – 8 (I had high hopes)
Story – Could have been an 8, instead 5
Characters – Hayase – 8, everyone else 5
Yuri – 7
Service – 4

Overall – 5

It really could have been good, but it wasn’t.

Posted in Kodama Naoko, Yuri Manga | 11 Comments »


Yuri Network News – December 7, 2012

December 8th, 2012

Yuri Manga

Fujima Shion wants you all to know that you can read Chapter 1 of her story about a lesbian couple having a child, Yurinin (Yuri Pregnancy), as a manga drawn by Edogawa Hiromi, for free (in Japanese) on Fujima-san’s Booklog.

 Yuri Anthology dolce has made it to a second volume.

Sakamoto Mano’s Numa, Yami, Yo no Mori (沼、暗闇、夜の森) hits shelves in mid-January.

Also from Yuri Hime Comics, Kuzushiro’s 4-panel strip Inugami-san to Nekoyama-san, will make it’s tankoubon debut. (犬神さんと猫山さん)

And YNN Correspondent Bruce P is very excited to let you know, that “Manga Erotics F, Volume 77, contains a 32 page report on this past summer’s Aoi Hana X Enoden Fair in Enoshima. It goes into great detail, with lots of  B&W pictures, and event-specific manga pages. The best thing about it, though, are the pages with color illustrations of all those wonderful special station posters. Included is information on where along the Enoden line each poster was located. We are talking details here. It serves as a nice lead-in to the latest chapter of Aoi Hana.”

YNN Correspondent Tomo K.  also has a head up for us about Destro246, the newest series from Vo Keitarou Takahashi’s , creator of Jormungand. Tomo tells us, “The story starts out with a Japanese businessman buying two 17-year-old female professional killers from a South American mafia to avenge his murdered wife and children. In Tokyo, the two bump into Imari, the professional killer from Ordinary, Takahashi’s debut series.

The Yuri part involves Ichigo, a senior-high girl who’s inherited her father’s yakuza business. She has two female bodyguards, Nanten and Renka (who’re her classmates as well). The three talk of having threesomes “as the usual thing”, and there are panels where Ichigo fondles one of the bodyguard’s huge boobs, and the bodyguards kiss Ichigo in public as well. When Ichigo destroys a rival, she keeps the girlfriend of the gang leader alive, and orders her to be their sex slave until she grows up and inherits her father business (then she’ll be forced to hand money over to Ichigo’s organization).”

Well, you didn’t need to sell me too hard on Takahashi’s newest and this seems to clinch the deal. ^_^　Sadly, it’s already unavailable on Amazon JP, so no link.

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 Yuri Anime

 A couple of folks have pointed out that RightStuf, in addition to the under-$20 deals I listed earlier this week, they also have a a complete Maria Watches Over Us Seasons 1-4 bundle, for $75. That’s all four seasons for half off retail. Nice!

Maiden Japan, in conjunction with their distributor Section 23 has announced the license for Vampire Princess Miyu TV. You all need to see, at the very minimum, the creepy lesbian doll episode. 

Ichijinsha says they’ll be selling Yuru Yuri goods again at Comiket 83, coming up on December 29-31 at Big Sight in Tokyo.

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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 | 1 Comment »