Click Manhwa, Volume 6 (English)

October 18th, 2010

Click: Volume 6 (Click (Netcomics)) (v. 6)In the first 5 volumes of Click, I was able to pretend there was some Yuri and have therefore reviewed it. In Volume 6, there is none; the one “Yuri” character has disappeared from the narrative – literally. A few times someone comments, “gee where is she?” and is met with the complete and total unconcern of any of the main characters. So much for Heewon. She got a panel or three eventually, but no one really cares that the “beeyotch” is missing.

So today I’m going to use my review to “beeyotch” about something apparently inconsequential. The icky-making bad translation of “gay sex” terms in manga and manhwa.

You know, there’s this whole Internet thing, which *ought* to be able to help manga companies (who somehow manage to employ not one single gay person among their staff) to get the right equivalents to things like Uke and Seme, Tachi or Neko. But. Apparently Not.

When ADV and Infinity translated Yuri as “girl-on-girl” I assumed that it was LoserFanBoy-itis and laziness combined to not give a fuck. What do I blame “catcher” on? Seriously? “Catcher?” Is it that no one at Netcomics knows the term “Bottom” or did they think this was funnier? Is this a literal translation for the term in Korean? I don’t know. All I know was that every single time someone threw “…and you’re the catcher, no less” at someone else as an insult, I squirmed in discomfort. First of all, I can’t think of a single thing bad about being a bottom. Or a top, or anything. It’s just sex, for pity’s sake! What *is* the big deal about who is on top?

Secondly, the fact that on the one hand, there’s a doctor admonishing Jinhoo (whom I loathe) on the one hand that being gay is rare, but not perverted and on the other, there’s every single character throwing accusations of gayness around like it’s a booger. Gah. And the rare line….? Gauchet’s Disease is rare. Gayness, not rare. Just not a majority. A minority is not the same thing as “rare.”

The only character I like in this series is Taehyun. He is so much better a man than Jinhoo that at this point I want him to find someone not in this series at all and live happily every after with someone who would never grace the pages of this story.

Oh, and Fake BL. Joonha is a a girl, as we mention like every other panel, so there is no Boy’s Love in this series and the whole fakey BL thing is absolutely gag-making.

So, so very done with being the “catcher” here. I think I’ll “pitch” this manhwa into the circular file.

Ratings:

Art – hasn’t gotten better, which you’d think it ought to
Story – same
Characters – same
Yuri – .1 (Since we have to assume Heewon is still pining for Joonha)
BL Service – This would be the only reason to read this

Overall – N/A I can’t even rate it. I’m striking it from my memory. (Hear that brain? Make it so!)

The one truly wonderful thing about this manhwa is that it provides me with a brand new Okazu Hero, Nadia C.! Nadia, email me at anilesbocon01 at hotmail dot com for your Okazu Hero badge, suitable for display on social media profiles and websites!



Yuri Manga: Yuri Hime Wildrose, Volume 6 (百合姫 Wildrose)

October 17th, 2010

I know, I know. I said I was done with this series. I say that sometimes. But then I need another item or two to make an order on Amazon JP worth it, so…

Anyway, here we are in Yuri Hime Wildrose, Volume 6 (百合姫 Wildrose) and while I am not dancing a joyful “this is it!” dance, I’m not gritting my teeth or anything, either. And perhaps the folks at Yuri Hime are getting comments that echo my own, because in it’s own PWP way, this volume of Wildrose steps up its game by a notch.

This is most apparent in the first story of the volume, “Yume no Hanashi,” in which Naho is moved to tears when she realizes that she is not alone in her school as a girl who loves other girls. Given that recently the US is dealing with reports of young gay, lesbian, bisexual and transgendered youth struggling against  prejudice and abuse from not just the people around them but from the leaders of their communities, who don’t seem to care that their casual homophobia is inciting acts of hate and intolerance…this message is an incredibly powerful one. And, given that Wildrose does tend to be rather more superficial than sensitive, and almost all Yuri avoids complications of awareness and identity, this simple acknowledgement of how alone a LGBTQ young person can feel and how important just knowing that you are not alone, is an amazingly powerful statement. It was a strong opening for the volume.

Again, in “Moment Like Fireworks,” the continuation of Nanzaki Iku’s ShizNat-esque couple, Sayo and Ritsuko’s story, Sayo first introduces Ri-chan as a friend to an old classmate , then corrects it to a “good friend,” and then backtracks, explaining that she and her girlfriend would like some alone time to engage in some love talk. Sayo later apologizes for not making the point right away, but Ritsuko expresses understanding and gratitude.

There were a few stories where younger women had to work a little harder at getting their point across to their older lover, and one story in which a Devil tries to ruin an Angel, only to be thwarted by her purity and love (a very cute story, I thought. It seems obvious to me that the real danger is that the Devil will start to feel “Love” and go good.)

There are a few stories which are not “good” in the big picture – one in which a not-very-veiled threat of suicide brings two lovers back together did not, to me, seem to be a good ending to a relationship that just needed to end. Relationships do that sometimes.  But then there’s something like “Houkago Berry Girl” which was just…silly. It made no statements, had nothing deep to impart, but was cute.

My major complaints about the Wildrose stories are that they have basically been retreads of “Story A” and left me feeling empty at best and quite often icky. This time I felt like they had actually stepped up their game, with more established couples and even some “lesbian identity” in a few of those stories.

Ratings:

Overall – 7

I’m back on the wagon for Wildrose 7.



Yuri Network News – October 16, 2010

October 16th, 2010

Yuri Manga

From YNN Correspondent Komatsu-san, French Yuri imprint Taifu Comics plans to release Morinaga Milk’s GIRL FRIENDS in 2011 (in French, obviously). France continues to be a very girl-friendly space for manga. The final volume of GIRL FRIENDS hits Japanese store shelves in November…just after I leave the country….

Fans of questions never answered and running around and angsting alot are sure to want to pick up the first volume of Zettai Shoujo Astoria by the artist that did First Love Sisters, Shinonome Mizuo.

FINALLY, the first volume of Nobara no Mori no Otome-tachi will be out in early November – unlike everything else I want, which comes out after I leave Japan. I really think you ought to buy this one and read it. Really. Just do it.

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Maria-sama ga Miteru News

YNN Correspondent Soul Assassin was kind enough to point us towards this Cobalt Shueisha special with photos from the filming of the Maria-sama ga Miteru movie. It made me all kvell-y and happy. ^_^

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Other News

A new Hayate x Blade Drama CD – the first since the shift to Ultra Jump – is listed on Amazon. It’s cleverly titled, Hayate x Blade Ultra Drama CD! Ichiban Hoshi! Zekkyoutsumeawase!.

Not Yuri, but classic sistercest, here’s a a Graphic Novel of Christina Rosetti’s juicy poem Goblin Market.

Also not quite Yuri, but very Yuri-friendly, I took a long, lingering look at women’s manga magazine Feel Young at Mangacast.

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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!



Yuri Manga: Octave, Volume 5

October 14th, 2010

Octave, Volume 5 (オクターヴ) is a deceptively subtle volume.

On the surface, it appears to be a similar formula to the previous 4 volumes – Yukino and Setsuko have a disagreement stemming from their disparate worldviews about their relationship and we watch Yukino assimilate, deal, integrate and grow.

Only…it’s not the same. Not this time.

In previous volumes the driver of the disagreements has always been Yukino’s lack of confidence in herself, in their relationship – even in her perception of what a future *ought* to be. And it is apparently Yukino who causes this disagreement again. But this time, it’s *not* because she lacks confidence, or trust, or anything like that. This time it’s less philosophical – she was completely blindsided.

In Volume 5, Setsuko suddenly asks Yukino to move in with her. Yukino asks for time to think about it – and Setsuko has the hissy fit. “You could have at least said, ‘Yay!’ or something.” But Setsuko has had time to think about it…and Yukino has not. I can’t tell you how I cringe when I see people propose publicly for this very reason. Dude, you’ve been thinking about this and planning it for ages…what if she says no? Ugh.

Anyway, in this case, in this volume, I am 100% behind Yukino on this. She’s *just* finally become truly independent. Give her a chance to think about it! And she still has some work to do, too. Yukino has been given yet another idol to manage – and therefore, yet another girl who wants to know more about her private life than she’s willing to share and more professional contacts who don’t know when to stop “teasing” and she has to deal with a best friend who wants to drag her back to being the person she was, instead of allowing her to be the person she’s become.

She does deal with all these things. We can see that she’s become more confident, that the little white lies don’t torture her anymore, because sheesh, it’s none of their business anyway!

The entertainment world is nice and incestuous for us, so when Setsuko gets a job writing for Yukino’s former idol groupmate, now relaunched idol, we can smile at the realization of just how much everyone knows everyone else.

At this point, I am completely, totally entranced by this series. It’s soap-opera-y in a Shoujoai ni Bouken way – totally real people doing totally real things in a just-more-than-slightly-unreal setting.

Volume 5 was *excellent.* I hope to get 5 more volumes of this, and a live-action series, and a pony named Ruffles.

Ratings:

Art – 8
Story – 9
Characters – 9
Yuri – 9
Service – 4

Overall – 9

My *only* complaint is Kamo-chan dropping the ball on being a good friend. That irks, but is not unrealistic. Here’s hoping Yukino finds a new, better, best friend. I’m going to re-read this volume tonight, because it was that good.



Yuri Manga: Renai Joshika, Volume 1 (レンアイ女子課)

October 13th, 2010

In her Afterword, Morishima Akiko-sensei tells us how Renai Joshika was born. “I want to read a Yuri story about Office Ladies!” she told her editor. Her editor replied, “That’s okay, but, don’t you mean you want to draw that story?” To which Morishima-sensei says, “I want to read it, but it doesn’t exist so I will have to draw it.”

I akogare her with all the crushy admiration I can muster. (*_*)

So, here we have Volume 1 of Renai Joshika, a series of Yuri pairings at a bridal planning company. It’s a perfect setup, because the women can all be utterly girly and we can obsess about things like hair and makeup and dresses all while being very, very lesbian. ^_^

Himeno Arisu starts off the story by being aggressive in the love-seeking department. She finds it, rather unexpectedly, when new employee Shireha Saki arrives. Saki’s already got a girlfriend, but Arisu is awakened to the idea of finding love with another woman.

Love is the best makeup for a woman, we learn, in a short about falling in love at first touch.

Our old friends Kaori and Mutsuki return, only to find that a..ahem, drunken kiss… rekindles old feelings between them.

Arisu and Saki are thrown together through silly circumstances, but when Saki finds herself ready to admit that her relationship with her former lover is dead, Arisu is ready and willing to pick up the pieces.

Everyone lives happily ever after in this Yuri soap opera of cute.

Ahhhh. It’s like a bubble bath for the harried Yuri soul. Relaxing, fun, girly, a little sexy.

Bartender, I’d like three more of these and a refill on the pretzels, thanks.

Ratings:

Art – Cute! 8
Stories- Fun and Cute! 9
Characters – Adult and Cute! 9
Yuri – Sexy and Cute! 8
Service – Cute Fanboys only! 2

Overall – So goddamn cute my cheeks hurt from smiling. 9

As you may have learned from the comments for yesterday’s post, Morishima-sensei got her start as Aoki-sensei’s assistant. I thought this would make a great match to yesterday’s review.