Yuri Manga: Otome Ranbu (乙女×乱舞)

October 31st, 2011

Tsubomi has never been popular. In fact, she’s always been alone, slightly set apart from others. She really doesn’t know why, but no one seems to ever want to be her friend. Except for handsome Kurozawa, one of the class stars. He and Tsubomi are childhood friends and he doesn’t care that the girls who cling to him see Tsubomi as a nuisance.

Then one day, silver-haired aristocrat Yuuji transfers into class, kisses Tsubomi and pronounced her her servant.

And Tsubomi’s life changes forever.

How many times have we seen this story, huh? But here in Otome Ranbu (乙女×乱舞), by Imamura Youko, there’s a few sticks in the spokes.

Tsubomi, it turns out, is the head of a family that did indeed serve Yuuji’s family, and together they fought and sealed Shikigami, beings that possess things and people. Now that Tsubomi has had her power unsealed, she begins to remember her childhood, and why she feels such a closeness with Yuuji.

Kurozawa turns out to be a magical creature and a servant of Tsubomi’s. He lives in her garden in his beast form, and takes care of her, cooking and cleaning for her (until she insists he live in the house like a human.)

Now that her memory is unsealed, Tsubomi suddenly finds herself being treated more normally by the other kids in the class, but still, she has genuine feelings for Yuuji, which she wants to communicate.This is complicated by Chitose, Yuuji’s older brother – the rightful heir of the line and, presumably, Tsubomi’s real master. As he points out, when he kisses her to release the seal.

But, despite the fact that Tsubomi now remembers it was Chitose she met as a child, it’s Yuuji she loves, and she makes the point plainly and clearly.

At the end of the volume, the four, Chitose, Yuuji, Tsubomi and Kurozawa all are able to be happy and comfortable with each other…and the girl gets the girl.

The narrative here was a tad messy, but the art was very appealing. I had to read the volume through very carefully to follow the story, but in the end, I thought it was worth it. The art was somewhat typical, with flowing magical scenes that countered the semi-realistic line art of the everday well. The entire time I read this book, I kept thinking it would make a terrific anime – lots of action scenes, supernatural fights, girls transforming…ish, two pretty boys, a solid love quadrangle. All they’d have to do is imply a potential romance between Chitose and Kurozawa, and it has all the bells and whistles needed to make this a raging success.

Ratings:

Art- 8
Story – 7
Characters – 8
Yuri – 6
Service – 3

Overall – 8

If you like the supernatural/exorcist type tale, and would like it better with some Yuri, Otome Ranbu is definitely worth a read.

My sincere thanks to Okazu superhero Dan P. who sponsored today’s review from my Amazon JP Yuri wishlist!

To become a Hero, just sponsor an item from my Amazon or Amazon JP Wishlist and voila! You are my hero.

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Mawaru Penguindrum (輪るピングドラム) Anime

October 30th, 2011

Three young people – a sickly sister, Himari, and her two older bothers, Kanba and Shouma, who love and adore her, find themselves cast into a spiral of ever-weirdening events when Himari dies in the hospital.

A bizarre hat confers life and power to Himari, elaborately transforming her into…well, we’re still not sure who she is now…. Shouma and Kanba are required by this entity to find the “Penguindrum.” The story of what the Penguindrum is, and why it is important, is the entirety of the plot and I refuse to attempt to simplify it for this review. ^_^  The quest for the Penguindrum involves Shouma’s classmate Ringo, Ringo’s late older sister Momoka, a teacher in Shouma and Kanba’s school, and his wife, Takarisienne (or something awfully similar) Yuri.

If you are among those who find Mawaru Penguindrum (輪るピングドラム) confusing, please take a moment to read this post first. The Tl;dr version is – read more. You will learn allegory, symbolism and how to follow an non-linear plot. Reading helps us understand storytelling. In this case, the plot is a series of puzzle pieces that are shifting around and will, with time, resolve into a picture. Don’t be impatient, don’t try to second-guess. Just sit back and let the story be told.

For those viewers who have seen Revolutionary Girl Utena, many of the stylistic properties and several of  the memes illustrated in Mawaru Penguindrum, will be familiar. This is not surprising, as they share the creative impetus of Ikuhara Kunihiko (@ikuni_noise on Twitter.)

Of course I wouldn’t be reviewing this series here if there weren’t at least some Yuri. Yuri, voiced by Noto Mamiko – who really gets to stretch her range here – is not randomly named at all. That’s all I’ll say, to avoid spoilers that are impossible to talk around. These episodes were pretty much the turning point in the series.

There also a number of other elements I like in this series – no one will be surprised to learn I like murderous Natsume Masako, the Takarazuka parodies, the “best of” cast. Seriously, this voice cast has one of everything. Inoue Kikuko, Fukami Rica!!!! (Sailor Venus to all of you….) of course we’d expect Koyasu Takehito somewhere in this and he is, Paku Romi and Noto Mamiko, and Ishida Akira, and Horie Yui…… So clearly, he’s drawing from 6 degrees of Yuri, past, present and probably future.

So…what is Mawaru Penguindrum about? Well, like so much of Ikuhara’s work, it’s about the delusions in which we wrap ourselves, and the effects those delusions have on the people around us. And, it’s about the veil of those delusions being stripped from our eyes.

When I was in Japan just last month, this series was everywhere, so clearly a raging marketing success. I’m really hoping that someone brave will pick it up here for license. I favor TRSI, as they’ve already gotten us Utena, and I’d love to see them pick this up. I never say this, but, I’d cough up for the Blu-Ray even. The animation is good to awesome.

Ratings:

Art – 9
Story – 10
Characters – 9
Yuri – 7
Loser Ikuhara Fan – 8

Overall – 9

I’m so glad to Ikuhara is stretching his wings on this series. It feels un/comfortable in perfect proportion and I am looking forward to it with the same edge-of-my-seat anticipation I had for Utena. I wonder where it will go next?

Posted in Yuri Anime | 17 Comments »


Yuri Network News – October 29, 2011

October 29th, 2011

Yuri Manga

Morinaga Milk’s Kuchibiru no Tameiki Sakura Iro is being serialized in Comic High! magazine and, in celebration, you can read the *whole thing*online for free, until it is pulled.

Rakuen Le Paradis (楽園 Le Paradis), Volume 7 is heading for the stores. I can’t wait!

And, from that magazine comes a new collection by Takemiya Jin – Seasons. If you are not collecting her work, you really should be. Her protagonists are huggably grumpy and wonderful and they are welcome over for lunch anytime.

Tsubomi, Volume 14 is also on the way. There’s still a few series I like running, although I’ll miss “Lonely Wolf, Lonely Sheep.”

Um…there’s a “Yuri Boom”? Sure wish I saw some sign of it. Anyway, the folks at Megami magazine say so and so they are, in their infinite wisdom, marketing a new magazine called Megami Magazine Lily (メガミマガジンリリィ). According the marketing department there at Megami it’s “For Girls,” but we know that if it’s from Megami, it’s really for guys who want to think that it’s “for girls.”

Mikuni Hachime’s Houkago Kanon (放課後カノン) from Ichijinsha will hit shelves in November.

Fumi Ebon’s Blue Friend (ブルーフレンド), Volume 3 has been much different than the first volume, but follows a similar-ish formula – one popular girl and one outcast. But this time it’s the popular girl who seeks to change.

There’s a sequel to Joshi Kousei? Really? Yes, really! Set in the same school a whole new set of wacky girls will do things that make us cringe, in Joshi Kousei – Girls Live (女子高生Girls-Live)

Manga expert Helen McCarthy discusses the importance of Princess Knight on her own blog. This manga is a must-read for anyone interested in Shoujo and Yuri manga and this post is a must-read for anyone interested in manga, full stop.

ANN reports that a new R.O.D Project Planned for Super Dash & Go! Mag. Phew. We needed a new R.O.D.

Yuri magazine Xenocross Volume 1 has launched in English, Japanese, Spanish, Chinese and Indonesian (via @tominonakiyoshi on Twitter) This anthology includes an officially approved Sono Hanabira side story; the money goes to an anime project for the series, so if you are a fan, really, it’s all on you to make that happen. A portion of the proceeds also goes to charity.

Nanzaki Iku is beginning a Queen’s Blade sequel manga in Comp Ace magazine.

***

Yuri Novel

Download Fujima Shion’s Yuri novel “Fantastic Lolita” (in Japanese) or read it online: Registration required for download, but not to read it on the site. There are other items tagged Yuri on the site, I may investigate some of them. ^_^ This novel was lots of fun, and I’d love to see a sequel.

***

Yuri Anime

The Black Rock Shooter anime website is live. I really hope they go somewhere with this story.

***

Other News

Lecture & Reading from Dolltopia by International Manga Award Winner Abby Denson at Sophia University in Tokyo. I mentioned Dolltopia a while back, but I just picked up the GN and can’t wait to review it. Dolltopia wins for having non-creepy lesbian dolls.

***

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 | 9 Comments »


Yuri Manga: Comic Yuri Hime (コミック百合姫) September 2011

October 26th, 2011

The September 2011 issue of Comic Yuri Hime (コミック百合姫) is filled with many interesting things. And I’ve read about 5/6ths of them, so I’m going to punt on some of the stories, particularly the novels…it’s just been crazy and I really haven’t had time to read them.

In terms of the manga, I’m actally going to begin at the back of the book with a chapter of Uso Kurata’s Yuri Danshi. Hanadera-kun is in ecstasy – he’s going to a Yuri-only doujinshi event! Surely there he will see the Yuri behavior he so desires to see, the beautiful and pure love between girls that is Yuri!

(Quick digression: I have NO IDEA AT ALL what you guys mean when you write me and tell me you love the “pure love” between girls. I never have and frankly, I don’t delve into it too deeply. Love between girls is pretty much just as messy and complicated as love between a girl and a boy or two boys. No clue what you’re thinking it’s like…)

So, imagine his shock when Hanadera-kun realizes that the girls on the train are all headed to a Tiger & Bunny event on the other side of the space…and the only ones at the Yuri event are guys. He’s creeped out and falls into despair because…and then he’s spotted by a bunch of Yuri Danshi who invite him out to dinner, where they delve very deeply into why, despite Comic Yuri Hime‘s stated readership of 70% women, the only women at the Yuri event were artists. The conversation is one that I myself have had with so many, many people.This particular iteration of it is made more amusing by Kurata’s choices of names: Sakuragaoka-kun,  Musahino-kun, Kamakura-kun, Kagome-kun.

I had to laugh out loud at those at the confusion of these Yuri Danshi between that Yuri world of girls’ private schools and actual real women. And their analysis of whether Yuri is “for girls” or “for boys.”

Sorry guys. Yuri=fantasy, honestly. Nothing real about it. Poor Hanadera-kun has to come to that conclusion on his own…by himself…in the rain.  Really, I’m trying not to laugh at his/our pain.

Back at the front of the mag, Tanaka Minoru starts off what looks to be a off-beat story called “Rock it, girl!” in which a singer is told off for sucking, then invited to talk to an agent…about her guitar playing.

In Kowo Kazuma’s “ulacoi” (which I would have suggested transliterating “urakoi”) a girl quite literally falls for the back she stares at all day.

“Fu-fu” takes a step back to detail the everyday kisses and acts of affection in a “married” life. This series is so cute it makes me teeth ache. ^_^

Hiyori Otsu’s “Roundabout” had a pretty damn big handwave – Chiharu’s somehow forgotten the girl she went out with in high school, and now that they’ve been together for a few years…still hasn’t remembered. Asami’s angry enough that she feels it’s time to walk away from this otherwise perfect relationship.  Kids – this is how not to do it, okay? Just *talk* about things first. Hissy fits are never the answer.

Amano Syuninta’s “Otona no Onna ha Muri o Shinai” is also a pretty silly handwave-driven story, but the idea of challenging ones’ self in life by eating *really spicy ramen* and the ensuing swollen lips jokes were so goofy, that I enjoyed it anyway.

“Koigo Interactive” is a slightly too-intimate look at the affect of writing erotica on two members of a literature club. No sex, but, some overheating and blunt emotions.

In “Love Gene DNA” we once again deal with the ever-amusing mystery of “why do girls go to the bathroom together”…and we (and Matsuri) can see that there’s something to be worried about in Sakura and Aoi’s relationship. During a mixer of the Adam and Eve Top Stars, Aoi is confronted with what, in a more visceral way, Sakura being “engaged to” Erika means. She does not take it well at all…

Crisis looms in “Renai Joshikka.” Saki’s ex has inexplicably returned, just as she and Arisu were settling in together. What does that mean for them?!?

There’s other stories, very few of which I didn’t like and, of course, there’s “Girl’s Uprising,” the cover story, in which Tatsuki catches up with her lover Hyouko’s beloved sister, Chisato, and short stories “Aoi Yubisaki” and “Mahou ha Kotono o Kagesuteru: as short story chapters, none of which I have had a chance to read yet.

Overall, an excellent issue of Comic Yuri Hime, with more women in love with women (as opposed to school crushes, proto-Yuri or first loves)  per volume than ever before.

Overall – 9

Posted in Comic Yuri Hime | 12 Comments »


Yuri Manga: GUNJO (羣青), continued

October 24th, 2011

It’s been a while since I talked about GUNJO (羣青), hasn’t it? The first volume was brutal and awful and wonderful and the second volume was, as I keep saying, like eating the most delicious razor blades ever.

And now, as the story approaches an end, I want to talk about it once more. Now, while it’s still in that Schroedinger’s Cat phase of not being over, but already ended. (It has to be ended, or nearly so, just because of the publishing schedule of magazines.)

As I read each new chapter, I find myself scanning the faces of the woman who was abused and despised by everyone ever who was supposed to have loved and cared for her and the only person who ever actually did,  wondering how this series could end without them both dead, wondering if they will ever be free, wondering if they will ever smile again, wondering if I’m as or more pathetic than they to even think that they might.

Look at the scan above. (I left in all the ghost images from the pages in front and behind this tableau, because this is what the pages look like when I read the chapters in the magazine.)

“Hey!” says the brunette, who Japanese fans call Megane-san because she wore glasses.

“…Mm?” says the blonde, called “Sensei” by Japanese fans because she was a vet, before she became a criminal.

There they are, facing each other down, having survived so much together and yet not together at all. The brunette gets angriest when the blonde shows her any kindness, the blonde gets angriest when the brunette becomes self-deprecating. Neither can let each other go….neither wants to be left alone….neither wants to be with the other. They are suspended in a relationship so intimate that they loathe each other for it, but when they think about it a little, they don’t dislike each other at all.

Where can this series go? I have absolutely no idea. I sit around sometimes and try to predict the end. Will Megane-san give herself up, and let Sensei return to what’s left of her life? Or maybe they will die in a freak accident, solving the entire problem? Or maybe they will be free, after all, the police haven’t caught up to them yet….maybe they can escape…and then I slap myself for being a fool.

You don’t know what the brunette says next. I don’t know what will happen next. Like every chapter of GUNJO, this one keeps us suspended on a knife bridge, spikes on one side, swords on the other. This moment is not a breath of fresh air – it’s the moment before the breath is punched out of us.

GUNJO has been the hardest thing I have ever read in my life. I love it to the point of incoherence.  It’s long moved past being about a lesbian, and I don’t even know what it’s about anymore…other than life and death.

However it ends, no matter how much it hurts (and it will, of that I have no doubt,) I’ll still consider this one of the greatest stories I have ever read in any language. Thank you Nakamura-sensei. Thank you for GUNJO.

要約:これまで読んできたあらゆる言語の作品の中で、最も優れた物語のひとつ (要約/翻訳 |小松さん)

Posted in Gunjo, LGBTQ, Yuri Manga | 3 Comments »