Otherside Picnic Manga, Volume 7 Guest Review by Sandy F.

November 29th, 2023

In Otherside Picnic, Volume 7 of the manga we have the conclusion of ‘Resort Night at the Beach of the End’, ‘The Attack of the Ninja Cats’ and the latest edition of Kozakura’s ongoing rebuttal, ‘The Tanuki Guards the Night’. The final chapter of ‘Resort Night at the Beach of the End’ is an intense read as Sorawo and Toriko’s fun on the beach becomes a more traditional Otherside event as they are pursued by a cavalcade of Otherside entities determined to drive them mad. Though they escape, Sorawo receives a glimpse of something that has the potential to impact her relationship
with Toriko.

‘The Attack of the Ninja Cats’ begins with a conversation between Sorawo, Toriko and Kozakura. As well as being a debriefing covering the events of the Beach at the End and the follow-up party in Okinawa, Sorawo discusses a recent encounter with a fellow student, Akari Seto. Sorawo crankily discusses how Akari wants Sorawo to help her with a problem because she has latched on to the idea,

much to Sorawo’s annoyance, that Sorawo is an occult expert and so just the person to help her as she is being stalked by Ninja Cats. Yes, Ninja Cats! One thing I appreciate about Otherside Picnic is how Iori Miyazawa can work with what often seems to me a fairly ridiculous concept and convince the reader to take it seriously. I may have rolled my eyes when I first read about the Ninja Cats, but not for long as it doesn’t take long to realise they are a threat. For a variety of reasons Sorawo initially isn’t interested in helping Akari, including a surprising revelation, Sorawo likes cats and is fearful if she gets involved, she may have to do something that terrible that will change her perspective on cats.

Cranky Sorawo has a cute side! But the crankiness remains as we witness Sorawo trying to cope with the gosh-darned perkiness of Akari, with Toriko not helping. Sorawo and Toriko meet with Akari, and as a result of this meeting we are introduced into a new aspect of connection
between our world and the Otherside through the realm of the Ninja Cats. The Ninja Cats prove to be formidable foes, and the artwork rises to the challenge of depicting the resultant battle. It will be during this struggle that Sorawo will learn more about how her eye can influence people as well as the entities of the Otherside.

With the conclusion of the events of ‘The Attack of the Ninja Cats’ Toriko is confronted by a surprising revelation involving Satsuki Uruma, who continues to be a shadowy influence from the Otherside. Before I forget I should mention that in this volume we also have a Public Service Announcement on the dangers of online shopping while drunk because you never know how people will respond when an agricultural vehicle is delivered to their doorstep!

One of the ongoing themes of Otherside Picnic is how the characters struggle with trauma and its consequences. In ‘The Tanuki Guards the Night’ Kozakura reveals how she deals with the trauma of the consequences of being associated with Sorawo and Toriko. In her story, she shares her thoughts on how she is treated by Sorawo and Toriko. At the end of the story and the manga we discover that Kozakura might need a bigger Tanuki…

Ratings:
Story – 9
Artwork – 9, the usual excellent job of conveying the horrors
of the Otherside.
Character – 8, some different glimpses of Sorawo illustrating
how much she has changed through knowing Toriko
Service – 6
Yuri – 8, there is an important conversation with Sorawo making it clear to Toriko that she considers their accomplice relationship to be an exclusive one.

Overall – 9

Posted in English Manga, Guest Review, Otherside Picnic, Yuri Manga | No Comments »


The Two Of Them Are Pretty Much Like This, Volume 3

November 27th, 2023

Two woman in bikinis frolic down a beach happily together.To paraphrase myself from my review of this volume in Japanese, “One of the defining characteristics of an adult life is facing setbacks. You can work really hard, gambare with all you have and still not achieve the goal. Sometimes it’s hard and sometimes it’s just life. In The Two Of Them Are Pretty Much Like This, Volume 3, its both.”

“Wanko” is giving it her all, doing audition after audition. The one job she had gotten is canceled for reasons that are beyond her control. (And which resonate kind of hard this season, after the recent scandals of a major production group in Japan.) She’s working that treadmill hard, but she’s not getting anywhere.

Ellie is struggling with a wholly different problem. She’s been given an opportunity. One of the best in the business is mentoring her, with a tough love attitude and hard, cold facts. Now that she has an opening, she’s not at all confident that she’ll be able to move forward. 

Wanko really wants to be a full partner in their lives together, so despite her loss of her job, she contributes to the month’s rent. Ellie would be happy to let Wanko keep it, but she’s 100% supportive of her partner’s choice. Again, as I said, in my review of the JP edition, ” get yourself someone who looks at you the way Sakuma looks at Wako.”  Ikeda-sensei’s art is great in this volume, with expressions and body language really dragging you in to the emotional backdrop of every scene. But – and I will say this every time – his art hits new levels when he just does a panel of Ellie. He loves drawing her and it shows.

Solid work by the team at Seven Seas. Anh Kiet Ngo had a few challenging passages here and came through with a solid translation. (I was thinking about this just a moment ago, when I made an excruciating pun to my wife that was both in-joke and tortured English and I had a thought about how impossible that is to translate. This series is full of that kind of thing. Rina Mappa’s lettering is solid, but she is not given time to retouch which would have looked better. Give letterers time and money to retouch!

Overall a funny, poignant volume of this lovable series.

Ratings:

Art – 9
Characters – 9
Story – 8
Service – 5 Light nudity
Lesbian – 10

For a slightly goofy, slightly realistic story of two women (and their colleagues and friends) adulting together and being in love, this is a quietly outstanding story.  I hope you’ll pick it up and give it a read.

Posted in English Manga, Ikeda Takashi, Yuri Manga | No Comments »


If My Favorite Pop Idol Made It to the Budokan I Would Die, Volume 4

November 26th, 2023

Seven female pop idoss, dressed in slight different iterations of yellow chinese-dress style costumes face us. No one thinks that the life of a pop idol is a free and easy life, not any more. We all know that – even aside from abusive management companies – it’s a hard life. It’s a lot of work that is rewarded by the whims of fans. If the fans don’t show up for the idols, no matter how much they do, it’ll never be enough.

But what does that make the life of a fan? You show up to the shows, you buy the merch, you get a handshake and, maybe, a kind word. Does the idol remember you among the many fans they have? In If My Favorite Pop Idol Made It to the Budokan I Would Die, Volume 4 we see this overtly transactional relationship from many different angles.

Cham Jam’s participation in the Okayama Idol festival is finally announced, but the fans already knew…which takes away a bit of the energy. While the idols toil to be their best selves, we get a glimpse of their motivations. Yuka’s only real desire is to be liked, while Maki really wants Yumeri to surpass her. Maina is happy where she is, Aya is not happy where she is. Sorane looks to Reo who is having a small crisis. Cham Jam will be on the same stage as Maple Doll, a popular group from Hiroshima, which features another member of Reo’s former group. It’s hard for Reo to see Mei’s group and not feel as if she’s lost something.

From the other side, the fans are struggling with just how best to support Cham Jam. Kumasa and Eripyo visit a Maple Doll concert to see the competition where they are spotted by Yuka and Aya. This causes all kinds of miscommunication that they are “two-timing” Maina and Reo. I’m gonna admit that that this section made me rage. People can like more than one thing at once, folks. It is really not at all okay for companies or other fans to make that taboo. Like, really, fandoms, get a grip.

Eripyo invites a coworker over to watch a promotional clip for the Idol Festival, only to accidentally create a rabid fan in another fandom. Woops.  She also becomes incoherent whenever she’s near Maina and it annoys her as much as it does me.

Ratings:

Art – 8
Story – Painful, but poignant at times
Character – 8
Service – 1
Yuri – Argh

Overall – Argh

I know I struggle with the “comedy” aspect of this series. Maybe if you read it, you’ll think it’s hilarious. I hope you do and let me know in the comments!

Thank you very much to the folks at Tokyopop for their excellent work making this convoluted tale of business and love make sense and for the review copy!

Posted in English Manga, Hirao Auri | 2 Comments »


Yuri Network News – (百合ネットワークニュース) – November 25, 2023

November 25th, 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.

Yuri Manga in English

On the Yuricon Store, we have Otherside Picnic Manga, Volume 7 and If My Favorite Pop Idol Made It to the Budokan, I Would Die, Volume 4! Reviews for both are forthcoming. ^_^

Rafael Antonio Pineda has the news that Kuzushiro’s The Moon On A Rainy Night has made the New York Public Library’s “Best Book For Teens” list! I’m so very happy about that. It’s such a good series.

Christian reviewed Kiss the Scars of the Girls here on Okazu last month. This week ANN’s Rebecca Silverman took a look at the same title with a completely different perspective!

 

Yuri Manga In Japanese

On the Yuricon Store we have Kuwabara Tamotsu’s Zenbu Kowashite Jigoku de Aishite, Volume 1 (ぜんぶ壊して地獄で愛して) a story of manipulation and sex.

Ichijinsha has a bunch of releases this month… Kiraware Majyo Reijou to Dansou Ouji no Konyaku (嫌われ魔女令嬢と男装皇子の婚約)  follows a powerful young witch’s life after the crown prince asks her to marry him, only he turns out to be a she.

Shikabane Shoujo to Ai ga Omoi Seikishi no Toubatsu Gakuen Life (​しかばね少女と愛が重い聖騎士の討伐学園ライフ) follows a zombie girl at a magical academy who is partnered with the holy knight and star of the school.

FLOWERCHILD’s newest series, Utsushicha Damena Kao (映しちゃダメな顔) has reached a Volume 1. Two women meet at a “happening” place where women can have a one-night stand.

Sukina Onnanoko ga Watashi ni Dake Nazeka Kibishii (好きな女の子が私にだけなぜか厳しい) is a Champion Red (urk) story about a girl who tries to befriend the nicest girl in school, only to find that she’s treated harshly. Comic Natalie flat out tells us that this is a Yuri love comedy, in case we aren’t sure. ^_^; Also Champion Red magazine is not known for it’s excellent treatment of female characters, just sayin’.

 

Yuri Audiobook & Voice Drama

I’m in Love with the Villainess Audiobook, Volume 2 is on the Yuricon Store and available for pre-order! This will be hitting our devices on December 7.

The Lonely Witch & You, The Abandoned is an ASMR Yuri voice drama that has been translated into English for DL Site, by their Translators Unite guild.

 

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Yuri Event

While not a “Yuri” event, Comitia 103 is coming up soon, on December 3rd, 2023, at Big Sight in Tokyo…and I will be there. You can be sure I’ll be picking up stuff like Kyoto University Yuri Research Association’s doujinshi Lilyology, Volume 3…with cover art by Hibiki Reine!

Also at Comitia will be Tomboys and their Boyish² Butch x Butch anthologies.

This is my first time back since 2019 and I’m looking forward to it, wish me good health and good luck.

 

Interviews

LN News talks to inori-sensei about her newest light novel, Yuusha ni Naritai Shoujo To, Yuusha Narubeki Kanojo (勇者になりたい少女と、勇者になるべき彼女) with some insight to both the main characters and the setting.

Via Sr. YNN Correspondent Ashley, Indie Tsushin has an interview with Nekobungi Sumire, whose new game Neko Can Dream is available in English!

A Cutey Honey 50th anniversary event includes a discussion with Go Nagai-sensei about his work. This video is only available in Japan, so you’ll need a VPN. I use Nord, and think it’s pretty easy to set up and use. If you’re looking for a VPN, feel free to use my referral code. (This was an unsponsored ad, but obviously I get free months if you sign up with my code.)

 

Yuri Anime

At Anime NYC last week, Aniplex announced that Lycoris Recoil will begin on Cartoon Network’s Toonami slot on January 20th.

 

Yuri Light Novels

Via Sr. YNN Correspondent Sean G, two Yuri Light Novels made this year’s Kono Light Novel Ga Sugoi top ten lists!  ANN’s Crystalynn Hodgkins has the details. The titles are Shuu ni Ichido Classmate wo Kau Hanashi, the first of which we just added to the Yuricon Store last week, and Stella Step (ステラ・ステップ), about a world in which idols replace war, and two idols who fall in love.

 

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Yuri Research

Translator (and our good friend here on Okazu!) Verena Maser has written about her work translating Taguchi Shouichi’s Futari Escape into German in Flüchtiger Humor, for The Toledo Journal.

We have three new essays up on the Yuricon Essays Page!

Starting off under Articles on Yuri, Frank Hecker takes a chronological look at Yuri in Notes toward a unified theory of yuri.

We’ve added A Husband is Unnecessary: Yoshiya Nobuko & Japanese Girls’ Culture to the Yuri and Shoujo, Feminism, Gender and Lesbian Themes section. I and History is Gay podcast host Leigh Pfeffer get together to chat about Grandmothe of Yuri, Yoshiya Nobuko’s life and work.

Under Fan Studies and Perspectives, we have:

Witch From Mercury‘s Finale Made One of Gundam’s Most Fascinating Ideas Queer as Hell by James Whitbrook for Gizmodo.

Alex Henderson looks at queer lives, and coming of age in Queer time and the quarter-life crisis in contemporary yuri for Anime Feminist.

Please send us links to any any articles or recorded material you’ve created on Yuri or Yuri-adjacent work and we’ll add it to the Essays Page. We’re always looking for more Yuri research resources.

 

If you’d like to support Yuri journalism and research, Patreon and Ko-Fi are where we currently accept subscriptions and tips.  Our goal now, into 2024, is to raise our guest writers’ wages to above industry standard, which are too low!

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 us.

 

Posted in Yuri Network News | No Comments »


I’m in Love with the Villainess Audiobook, Volume 1

November 24th, 2023

Two girls in red jacket and blue skirt uniforms embrace as if to dance. The girl with medium-length brown hair smiles slightly, the girl with blonde hair looks put out.

If you’ve been reading Okazu for a while, you may know that I love(d) Drama CDs. The Drama C D category here on Okazu has nearly 100 Yuri Drama CD reviews. But the age of the Drama CD passed when the 2020s began. Instead, the genre shifted to digital…which makes a lot of sense, honestly. And, possibly more importantly, a lot of the Yuri manga that might previously have gone to Drama CD is now being made into anime, so skipping that voice-only medium altogether. I’m not complaining. But I do miss those days of popping a CD in on my way to drive to work or a con. ^_^

As a third driving factor in the shift from Dramas CDs, audiobooks – full readings of novel by a narrator – has become way more popular than it was some years ago. In the 1990s I did a LOT of driving and my wife and I constantly listened to Recorded Books on Tape, a company that kept me sane on many a long drive. But then I stopped driving and didn’t have nearly as much time to listen to things and audiobooks went from something hardly anyone did, to something Amazon could make money on. And now we’re sort of full circle as audiobooks have hit Light Novels. We may not have Drama CDs, but instead we have I’m in Love with the Villainess Audiobook, Volume 1 from Seven Seas Siren.

Narrator Courtney Shaw does a fantastic job. She captures each character well, to the point that by the end of the book, I knew who was speaking in most places, even if they weren’t immediately named. It was a pleasure to have her read the story to me, which gave me yet another perspective on words I have now experienced 4 or 5 times now.

I know you’ll care, so yes, the entire “Are you gay” conversation – including Rae talking about being impacted by Japanese media representation of gay people – is included. This is a reading of the whole novel, save for inori.-sensei’s author’s notes. Nothing was left out.

My only “complaint” (and it is not a complaint, just something that was impossible to not notice) is that a few of the pronunciations are at odds with both the written Japanese and the anime dub. The one that impacts us the most here is Lene, which is pronounced “lean.” We had a lively conversation on the Okazu discord about the various ways the Japanese レーネ could be adapted to English. My assumption was, since the Bauer kingdom is Frenchish (e.g., Claire François) was that it was meant to be Renée. The Japanese predilection for choosing ‘l’ over ‘r’ in transliteration gives us Lenée, which is pretty much how the anime dub handles it.  This and another choice makes me think that no one on the recording studio staff had thought to ask someone who could read Japanese. It was a very minor thing and didn’t really effect the overall presentation, it was just impossible to ignore – especially as we have the anime at the same time.

But do not let this very minor thing deter you from getting this audiobook. In every way, it’s an absolute delight.  While Shaw’s Rae is less over the top (or, as I like to think of it it, less “Pinky Pie”) than Hannah Alyea’s anime version, it works better for the more fully featured light novel narrative, in which we are given more of Rae’s motivation and backstory.

The first novel ends where the anime will be in a week or two, which means you can safely listen to this and not be spoiled for much.

Ratings (for the adaptation only)

Overall – 9

You should definitely get this audiobook to experience (or re-experience) the fun of the whole first novel. Then, once the anime is over (and after you have written Ichijinsha to let them know you want a second season, run out and pre-order Volume 2, so you get into the meat of the story!

Posted in Drama CDs & Audiobooks, I'm in Love With the Villainess, inori | 1 Comment »