Yuri Network News – February 11, 2012

February 11th, 2012

Yuri Manga

YNN Correspondent Komatsu-san caught this: French Publisher Taifu Comics has licensed Morishima Akiko-sense’s Yuri Manga Hanjuku Joshi. More great news for French-reading Yuri fans!

JManga tells me that they are planning on launching Yamaji Ebine’s Love My Life manga next week. That’s absolutely stellar news for North American fans, and hopefully for English readers elsewhere, one day soon.

Forgot to tell you this, but YNN Correspondent Rachel wants you to know that Wandering Son was added to the American Library Association’s Rainbow List for 2012. The Rainbow List is a project that is run by a joint task force of the Social Responsibilities Round Table and the Gay, Lesbian, Transgender and Queer Round Table of the American Library Association. By the way, the ALA is and has been for *many* years, very LGBTQ-friendly, so don’t hesitate to ask your local library for LGBTQ books and let the ALA know if you get flack.

Sakamoto Ano’s Pie wo Agemasho, Anata ni Pie o ne (パイをあげましょ、あなたにパイをね) came out last month, and I forgot to tell you. Sorry.

There’s a manga with obvious Yuri called Sister Honey Biscuit, (シスターハニービスケット) that I will be avoiding like the plague. If you hate my taste, it looks like a good bet for you. ^_^

Morinaga Milk-sensei comments on her blog that the April issue of Comic High will include the final chapter of Kuchibiru Tameiki Sakurairo, and following that, she’ll be starting a new series. So I’m guessing that a continuation of that series is not likely.

Sabagebu, (さばげぶっ!) Volume 2 hit the shelves this month, in case you’re looking for some shoujo war games-style Yuri service. ^_^

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Yuri Anime

From Soulassassinn457, we learn that Mahou Shoujo Madoka Magica tops Amazon Italy’s pre-order list. Italian fans can watch Madoka on RAI4 starting this weekend. “Also,” he continues, “it is said that Italian fans with a fistful more of Euros could get the full VIP treatment… er, an envy-inducing Limited Edition (includes specially-designed box, soundtrack CD, some special books, and even a Nendoroid).”

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Other News

The happiest of all possible news, the March issue of Shueisha Cobalt has a supplementary Maria-sama ga Miteru story. Thank you gods. If I’m to believe Yuri Amagasa it’s called “Oppai Cake.” Indeed.

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That wraps it up 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.

Posted in Yuri Network News | 4 Comments »


Koihime Musou ~ Otome Tairan Anime, Disk 2 (English)

February 11th, 2012

It’s always disconcerting when something like Koihime Musou actually stops staring at girls tits and tells some bits of the Romance of the Three Kingdoms in an almost sensible way.

It’s also kind of wasted, as no one is watching Koihime Musou ~ Otome Tairan for a retelling of the Romance anyway.

Luckily for Yuri fans, Volume 2 starts off with one of the least sucky episodes overall, in which Koukin and Sonsaku have a spat, and Kogai locks them in a warehouse to make up…and so they do, in time-honored fashion. This episode also contains the only genuinely amusing line of the series, in which Shuri mentions that she needs the Kotou pill (for an utterly idiotic subplot) and she knew it was a Son family treasure – to which the reply is something like, “Nah, it’s not a treasure, so we have no idea where it is. It’s in there somewhere.”

After a few more episodes related to cat ears and boobs, the story suddenly notices that it’s fairly deep in towards the end of the story and, so, with a few weird turns and about a million handwaves, the allianced generals defeat Ukitsu, who wasn’t really nearly that important in the original (except he may have haunted Sonken after his death, but that’s probably apocryphal.)

Anyway, Disk 2 is why I remembered this series sucking less than the rest of the series. I’m glad I didn’t entirely make that up in my head. Phew.

Ratings:

Art – Colorful
Story – Schizophrenic
Characters – Breasts DO NOT DO THAT
Yuri -There is some
Service – Infinity

Overall – Once I scour the cat ears and boob stuff from my brain, I will only remember that it was the least sucky Koihime Musou series. And I will be happy with that.

Posted in English Anime | No Comments »


Yuri Manga: Yurikan Miel (百合缶 Miel)

February 9th, 2012

Yurikan Miel (百合缶 Miel) is the second in a trio of Yurikan ~something~ Yuri anthologies. The first was Yurikan Feuille,  with opening story by Morinaga Milk-sensei.  Yurikan Miel doesn’t bring that much star power to the floor, but it’s not entirely worthless, either.

The cover is pretty effective Erica-repellent. Two baby-faced female-shaped creatures with disproportionately sized breasts did not give me a good feeling about the contents. But the first story, “Rabu＊Buri” was a silly and over-long single paragraph about a Princess in love with her female knight, which made me feel more kindly, until the totally un-sexy sex scene. So, now I was in a 50/50 mood.

A story or two passed without much notice, but…then!

We reach “Hyoko Zumai” and all was right with the world once again. This tells the story of a couple who have moved to the big city together; one a first-year college student and the other a newbie in a company office. The story shows how they grow from ugly ducklings into beautiful swans, and lo and behold! I loved this collection. This short was absolutely worth reading. The stress of their situations didn’t threaten their relationship, per se, but the lack of communication between them did.

This story was a lovely little break into realism from an anthology that otherwise pretty much stayed firmly mired in “I like her but she doesn’t like me the same way,” territory, with some really un-sexy sex scenes.

Ratings:

Everything variable, but overall, probably a 6.

“Hyoko Zumai” was worth the price of admission, though. I’m glad I read that story and will keep an eye out for others by Fujimori Yuyukan.

Posted in Yuri Manga | 4 Comments »


Mouretsu Space Pirates Anime (English)

February 9th, 2012

Mouretsu, in Japanese means violent or vengeful, so of course when it was being translated, the word “Bodacious” immediately comes to mind.

That was sarcasm. It’s a terrible choice for translation. Insulting, even. I know I’m not the only one who hates the translation, official or not.

Despite the egregious service of the title, Bodacious Space Pirates is a great story. As a combination moe bildungsroman and a classic space opera, it really works.

Marika, our protagonist is, for once, not an average girl by any means. Cheerful and competent, she has friends and a job and is instantly likable. We’re not too surprised when we learn that she’s the daughter of a famous pirate and a potential heir to her father’s captaincy.

When a Nadesico beauty with a dour personality transfers into her school, we know instantly that the two of them belong together. When Chiaki makes her big reveal in Episode 5, we get to add in “beloved rival” to the set-up for chemistry between them.

What really sold me on the series was the whole of Episode 5. High school girls in space may not sound like the most riveting story ever, but Mouretsu Space Pirates beats the hell out of Stratos 4, even without the lesbian space virus. The cast is likable, their jokes believable and there is relatively little service. The strategies and tactics employed by the crew of the Odette were clever, and quite sophisticated for an anime series.

There may not be wopping loads of Yuri, yet, or even at all, but if you like a series with a good set-up and some out-of-the-box thinking and a dollop of space adventure, give Bodacious Space Pirates a try – avaiable legally and for free on Crunchyroll, for those countries that are allowed access.

Ratings:

Art – 8 Very reminiscent of Mai Otome
Story – 9 So far…great
Characters – 8 They aren’t quite checklist-types, and a few are extraordinary, even in the first handful of episodes.
Yuri – 1 but only in our imaginations as of yet
Service – 4 because we can’t *possibly* have a series about girls without seeing them in the bath or in their underwear

Overall – 8

I’m hoping for a good story. But some rival/friend Yuri would be nice too. ^_^

Posted in Bodacious Space Pirates, English Anime | 35 Comments »


POOR POOR LIPS, Volume 1 debuts on JManga!

February 7th, 2012

Okashi Nako is a young woman living in poverty. When she applies to work at a Gem store, she learns that store owner, Otsuka Ren, is a lesbian. Ren promises that Nako’s not her type, but she may be lying…. Nako takes the job and so begins a comedic tale of rich and poor, sickness and health, for better and for worse!

http://www.jmanga.com/poor-poor-lips/1

Yuri comedy 4-koma manga, POOR POOR LIPS, by Goto Hayako, now on JManga, in partnership with ALC Publishing.

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That’s the PR. Here’s the real message. I need your help.

Folks who are not in North America are blocked from this and I think it’s a BAD idea. I am trying to convince the folks at JManga that a globally accessible Yuri portal would be a GOOD idea. You can help simply by contacting JManga and letting them know what country you are from and that you would *love* to be able to access their Yuri manga.

You can contact JManga:

On Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/jmanga.official

On their website: http://www.jmanga.com/contact (Kathryn adds, “if people are trying to access the JManga site from outside North America, all they will get is a blue splash page essentially saying “You are not allowed in here.” For people who therefore can’t access the “Contact Information” section of the website, their email address is:

info at jmanga dot com”

Thanks Kathryn for the heads up!)

On Twitter: https://twitter.com/#!/JManga_official

Of course, please be polite. Express your interest in accessing Yuri manga. Even if you get a “we can’t do that at this time” email, please don’t get discouraged.

Also, fans in North America, you can help too. Send a message to JManga telling them how you support JManga’s efforts in getting Yuri to a global audience.

The goal here is to stop the gerrymandering policies that Japanese companies still work under. It’s time to let them know that the world is full of Yuri fans. ^_^

I think we can make this change, if we work together!

Posted in ALC Publishing, Yuri Manga | 27 Comments »