Cleaning Up After Sandy

October 31st, 2012

Sorry for the lack of updates here at Okazu. Some of you may be aware that we were hit by a massive hurricane here on the East coast of the US. This is not normal for us up here in NJ, so it was a bit nerve-wracking.

Here is a real picture of the storm, just to give you an idea of the size.

Here’s what it looked like from inside:

I’m kidding, of course. Jaws isn’t that big. ^_^ (Image from Jezebel)

I just want to take a moment and thank all of you and everyone on Twitter and Facebook, for your kindness, care and concern for me and my wife. Truly, you are all lovely people and I thank you from the bottom of my heart. We’re fine and dandy, damage is minor and we were without power for less than one full day. We staved off cannibals, zombies and aliens successfully. All things being equal, reviews will resume shortly. ^_^

Thank you again and, if you are moved to do, consider sending a few dollars to to Red Cross or other reputable relief organizations – there are a lot of people who genuinely need the relief both in the US and in other countries hit by Sandy. Thank you again.

Posted in Miscellaneous | 1 Comment »


Yuri Manga: Candy, Volume 2 (キャンディ)

October 28th, 2012

The course of young love rarely runs smoothly, as Kanan and Chiaki learn in Candy, Volume 2 (キャンデ).

It’s true that, after events of Volume 1, they are happy together and confident in each other’s feelings enough to not waver under pressure from schoolmates and jealous underclassmen, but it’s still not easy going for these two.

Kanan’s grades have slumped, necessitating extra hours at study, which in turn affects her club activities. Concerned that she will become a burden to Chiaki, Kanan’s self-confidence take a hit, which affects her performance in Kyuudo. Taken off the roster of regulars, Kanan starts to doubt herself in every possible way.

But…this is not all. Chiaki hears Kanan’s plaintive words, begging for reassurance of her feelings and she realizes something else is going on. What it is, she doesn’t know, so she head over to Kanan’s friend Ichinomiya to find out. Ichinomiya scoffs at any accusation that she’s the influence. But, she admits, she thinks she knows who the culprit is. Kanan’s been visiting the school doctor for advice….

…and it turns out that Chiaki and Eri-sensei have a history. And not a good one. Eri-sensei is planting all sorts of doubts in Kanan’s mind.

Chiaki and Kanan get up from under her thumb, but graduation looms. They say goodbye, only to immediately turn around and reunite. From there on, they and we leave high school behind them, and the final chapters are a pleasant portrait of “after happily-ever-after.”

With the exception of the Eri-senei arc, which I found to be forced and irritating, I really like this series. After the on-hiatus Prism by Higashiyama Show, Candy was closest to something like real life for two young women who are “together”, from Tsubomi magazine.

Ratings:

Art – 8
Story – 7
Characters – 8, with the exception of Eri-sensei who simply made no sense
Yuri – 10
Service – 1

Overall – 8

Frankly, I still can’t get enough of realistic women living happily ever after. ^_^

 

Posted in Yuri Manga | 6 Comments »


Yuri Network News – October 27, 2012

October 27th, 2012

Yuri Anime

Top story this week has to be Nozomi/RightStuf’s license of  the Princess Knight TV series. They are carefully working through that list of “holy grail” anime we’ve sent them. ^_^

***

Yuri Manga

AAAAAAHHHHHH!!!! Nishi UKO’s Collectors (コレクターズ) is coming out November 30! Everyone run out and buy this book immediately! This is it. THIS is the Yuri manga I have been waiting my whole life to read. I don’t care if you hate it, please, just buy it. ^_^;;

While you’re at it, get Rakuen Le Paradis magazine, Volume 10 (楽園 Le Paradis) to get the latest chapter.

Comic Yuri Hime, November issue (コミック百合姫) is on shelves now. The cover story begins on the actual cover itself, which is visually striking…and interesting. The story, by Yuru Yuri‘s namori-sensei, is likely to draw criticism, as it is a very serious departure from the happy-go-lucky moe romp fans know.

Pure Yuri Anthology Hirari, Volume 9 (ピュア百合アンソロジー ひらり) hits shelves in late November.

Lemonade (レモネード ) looks innocent, but I’m wary, I can’t pinpoint why, but I am.

***

Other News

Which Yuri manga artist would you like to see interviewed next on Okazu? Take the survey on our Facebook group. Write-ins welcome, of course I can’t promise anything… ^_^

Seen in the wilds of the Kyoto train system by none other than manga scholar Matt Thorn, an advertisement for Yuri manga anthology Tsubomi. How cool is that?

Bandai has announced that they are putting Sailor Moon figurines into production again, ahead of the possible 2013 anime series reboot.

Here’s a random empowering comic that is darn cool to keep an eye out for: The Society of unordinary Young Ladies

***

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 | No Comments »


Yuri Manga: Koi no Kaori (恋のカオリ)

October 26th, 2012

Koi no Kaori  is a short story collection of Yuri romances by Takemiya Jin from Comic Yuri Hime; all but the first tied together with the common thread of “scent.”

In “Tsuushin Omachishite Orimasu” Mayumi learns that her confidant on a Lesbian BBS and her rival at school are one and the same. Luckily for her, “Kuro-san” turns out to be a kind upperclassman…and a good friend, which becomes even more important when Mayumi realizes that she’s fallen for the girl in “Ki ni Nacchatte Gomen Nasai.”

In “Sweet Temptation,” the scent of vanilla may be sweet, but the smile on Chika’s face says she knows that her words of confession, like her scent, will fill Risa’s mind with extraordinary thoughts. In “Sweet Desire” – she turns out to be right about that. ^_^

“Love Aroma” is an experiment in aromatherapy and feelings for a teacher new to the school.

In “love * preparation,” Riko manages, eventually, to communicate to her next door neighbor, that she really means it when she say she likes her.

And finally, “Love Aroma 2” continues the double lesson of aromatherapy and love. I’m a big fan of ylang ylang myself. ^_^

This book exactly hits Takemiya-sensei’s sweet spot – stories just long enough to get to like and care about the characters, but not long enough to overblow the drama. I love when she draws “zOMG, what did I just do!?!” expressions. ^_^ And I still love that Takemiya-sensei is one of the few Yuri manga artists out there with characters who are actually lesbians.

Ratings:

Art – 8
Story – 8
Characters – 8
Yuri – 10
Service – 2

Overall – 8

For a perfect manga sampler of Yuri sweets, you couldn’t do better than Koi no Kaori.

Posted in Takemiya Jin, Yuri Manga | No Comments »


Nozomi/RightStuf Announces Princess Knight Anime

October 24th, 2012

The amazing news just keeps coming this year….

Anime producer and distributor Right Stuf, Inc. is pleased to announce its acquisition of the classic Princess Knight animated series.

Also known as“Choppy and the Princess,” Princess Knight television series will be released via Right Stuf’s Nozomi Entertainment as two limited-edition DVD sets. This will be the first time the series will be available to North American audiences on licensed DVD. The DVD sets will feature its original English-language dub, as well as a Spanish-language audio option.

Due to the availability of materials, these DVD releases will utilize the edited and cut, broadcast video footage from  Princess Knight’s television syndication during the 1960s and 1970s. (Japanese audio will not be included on these sets because it cannot be synched to the video.)

Princess Knight follows the heroic adventures of Sapphire, a young princess born with the hearts of both a boy and a girl and who is also being secretly raised as a prince so she can eventually succeed her father as king.

The 52-episode anime adaptation of Princess Knight is based upon the best-selling manga by legendary creator Osamu Tezuka ( Astro Boy, Kimba The White Lion) and features animation from Tezuka’s own Mushi Productions. It originally aired on Japanese television from 1967 through 1968, and its English-language adaptation was syndicated throughout the United States in the 1970s and 1980s.

In both anime and manga forms,  Princess Knight was among the first titles geared specifically toward a young female  audience. The original comic was serialized in Kodansha’s Shoujo Club anthology magazine, from 1953 through 1956, and its sequel series,  Twin Knight, was serialized in Kodansha’s Nakayoshi anthology in 1958. The two collected volumes of the  Princess Knight manga are currently available to North American readers from Vertical Inc., which also plans to publish the sequel series in 2013.

For more information about the series, visit princess-knight.rightstuf.com.

Posted in English Anime | 2 Comments »