Yuri Manga: Love Flicker

August 16th, 2010

Once upon a time, I found myself staring at my empty living room coffee table, wondering what I was going to review that day, as there was nothing really Yuri out. That was a while back and today, it occurred to me that I haven’t actually *seen* my table in a while. I’m not complaining. ^_^

You regulars here know that I very much like Takemiya Jin’s work. It’s not that the art is so incredible or the stories are amazing, it’s just that together, they are fun to read – which is my number one criteria for anything I read. I like fun things, because “fun” is better than a lot of the other options when I read.

The stories in this collection of Takemiya-sensei’s work, Love Flicker, (ラブフリッカー) is fun. And, much like Hiyori Otsu’s Clover, a chunk of it turns out to be an interconnected series and not just the one-shots we thought they were. Hah on us!

In the first story, Chika asks her sempai out because she likes her but, because of rumors, innuendos, a guy and other plot complications, sempai breaks up with her. Chika hits the guy on the head with an artist’s palette and they resolve the rest of the issues by ignoring them.

In the second story, a woman who works at her family’s bakery falls for a student who always buys one mini-croissant. After she tracks the girl, Sakura, down at the school festival, she learns that Sakura’s family is in the rice business. Rice bread is born and we all live happily ever after, except…

Ichi-sempai recruits tall, athletic Miharu to the volleyball team. Miharu finds her self attracted to Ichi, but Ichi breaks down and admits that the sempai (bakery woman above) she likes has a girlfriend. Double lez gross out, huh? Miharu says that she’s not grossed out by sempai’s sempai, or by Ichi’s feelings because she feels that way about Ichi!

At the new student ceremony, Kimura passed out. She’s caught by Kado, but it’s Rinko-sempai who carries her to the infirmary. Kado and Kimura decide to become love rivals for Rinko’s attention, but when Kado comes right out and asks Rinko, Kimura realizies that it wasn’t Rinko she was in love with. Luckily, Rinko realizes it too, and Kimura and Kado are able to get together.

Now that Rinko’s free, the Student Council President is able to realize her dream and capture Rinko for her own. When she and Rinko graduate they express their “close friendship” to Kado and Kimura in the form of a passionate kiss.

The book closes with Ichi-sempai realizing that her feelings for Miharu are…well..love. She and Miharu come out to her sempai and her mini-croissant girl. Ichi’s sempai responds to this with “You too?”

This wraps up what was an entertaining collection of “Story A” stories by one of my fave doujinshi to professional Yuri artists.

Ratings:

Art – 7
Story – 8
Characters – 8
Yuri – 8
Service – 1

Overall – 8

Want a fun collection of Yuri stories? Get this book.

Posted in Comic Yuri Hime, Takemiya Jin, Yuri Manga | 2 Comments »


Kuchibiru ni Saketa Orange Contest Results!

August 15th, 2010

First of all, I want to thank everyone for the really fun little stories you sent in for the Kuchibiru ni Saketa Orange contest. You exceeded my expectations (which were very high, because of course I think you are all creative geniuses. lol)

As I suspected, there were so many good ones, I’m going to give all 9 of you a prize. (This is not nearly as generous as it sounds. I have 9 books sitting here I want to get rid of.)

However, because tradition dictates I give the promised prize to the winner, I declare Angela …B+C=P the winner of the contest! Yay! Whooo!

Please send me you addresses to anilesbocon01 at hotmail dot com with the subject line “Orange Contest” and I will send you…something. You may even like it! ^_^

Posted in Contests | 1 Comment »


Yuri Network News – August 14, 2010

August 14th, 2010


Yuri Anime

Eagle-eyed Nick noticed that Funimation has started streaming the first two episodes of Ga-Rei-Zero, with it’s ambiguously Yuri relationship, on Funi’s YouTube channel.

***

Yuri Manga

The first combined Comic Yuri Hime is on sale, so don’t miss your chance to see the historical super-combined powers of Yuri Hime and Yuri Hime S! (Admit it, that’s a great image.)

Yuri Hime Wildrose, Volume 6, which hits shelves on the 18th of this month, is available for pre-order.

***

Snatches of Yuri

Monthly Alive Comic Magazine has announced a new Kämpfer project. No guarantees that it’ll be any better than the last one. ^_^ (Not that the audience wants it to be good. First comment on the ANN forums says it better than I can.)

***

Other News

You may not be aware of it, but there is an organization for women in the comics industry. Friends of Lulu was founded in 1994 to highlight the achievements and contributions of women in sequential art. It came very close to disappearing this year.

They have pulled back from the brink, and have now opened their 2010 awards nominations to the public. I hope you’ll take a moment to visit the site, consider the issues, nominate and vote for women in an industry which, no matter how many of us work in it, is still seen as a boy’s world for boys.

This is as yet unconfirmed, but a Japanese acquaintance of mine has told me that the Ichijinsha Iris Bunko will no longer be publishing Yuri Light Novels, as they have not been doing well in sales. (She is an author and inquired about submitting a story.) It’s a hard thing to parse, because they weren’t really very good novels, so would they have done better if they had been better? I can’t tell.

One last news item of note: The folks who worked hard to bring Ladies Comics to America under the imprint of Aurora Comics have started up a new venture. Manga Factory’s first project is a tour to Japan crafted especially for fujyoshi and their friends. The tour will include options for a Takarazuka show in Tokyo, a visit to a Butler Bar, and a drag show, so if you’re interested in cross-dressing/gender bending, this is probably the tour you’ve been waiting for. Of course there will be other otaku must-visits, including Otome Road in my beloved Ikebukuro, the Nakano Sunshine Arcade, Akihabara and a host club. Check out the link above for details.

***

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 | 3 Comments »


Issho ni Kaero Manga

August 14th, 2010

When they were 9 years old, Haru and Shio met during the summer. They spent happy days bug hunting and hanging out, swimming, all normal summer things. Haru fell for Shio, and considered him her first love. When they parted, they promised to write to one another, which they did. Years passed and Haru was preparing for high school, she gets a postcard from Shio saying that he’ll be going to the same school!

Imagine Haru’s surprise when she sees Shio again for the first time in 6 years. Shio’s short hair is now long, straight and black. And his chest is decidedly un-boyish. Surprised, Haru asks when Shio became a girl?!? Shio says she always was…….

At which point, the entire love interest issue is dropped, except when it’s brought up in the beginning of every chapter as a recap. In every other way, the story stops being about Haru and Shio and becomes about Shio and the rest of the class.

Shio, it turns out, is not good with people. It’s surprising even to her that she became friends with Haru, as she’s a crybaby and can’t remember people’s names. One of the girls in the class is snarky to Shio, which bothers her less than the boy who makes fun of her big chest.

Towards the end of the book, Haru and Shio have a fight, over something. A misunderstanding, a difference of human interaction styles, whatever. They make up, obviously. And the book ends. And, um…that’s it. This is Volume 1, so there’ll probably be a volume 2.

Ratings:

Art – 6, Haru and her father did this weird lip-pursing thing, which was supposed to be funny, but was really just weird
Story – 6
Characters – 7
Service – 1

Overall – 6

Issho ni Kaero  (一緒にかえろう) is a 4-koma manga with an amusing premise that is reintroduced every chapter, then set aside for other, less amusing things.

Posted in Miscellaneous | 1 Comment »


Takarazuka: Hays Code

August 12th, 2010

You may have at least *heard* of the Motion Picture Production Code, commonly known as the Hays Code. Although I know what the Hays Code is, and know the usual kinds of stories around its implementation, I really had never paid much attention to it.

Having watched the Takarazuka version of a production called The Hays Code, I still couldn’t really tell you what the relation the Code had to the story or, really, what the story of this production was at all, but damn I enjoyed watching it! ^_^

Like Singing in the Rain, you’ve got a Hollywood set-up, a good actress (the real love interest) and a bad actress (the wife/girlfriend?) and a bunch of “guys” striding back and forth and something to do with movie-making. And some mafia types…and an insane priest.

Let me be very clear – the plot is not complex or obscure, Bruce and I were just paying half attention to it as we watched. But what we did see was absolutely delightful. There was tap dancing and Hollywood musical-esque group singing and dancing scenes and everyone lived happily ever after, with a totally non-typical ending, which is to say a big group musical number, rather than the love-love couple rising to heaven on the rising contraption.

This was great. It was light-hearted (except where it wasn’t) and Toono Asuka was cast as a woman with a slightly annoying voice which worked perfectly and the other lead female had a very nice voice and a really bizarre scene where she was hypnotized by the priest…seriously bizarre scene…and did I mention tap dancing? Oh, and it has Aran Kei in a Tux. Approved.

I enjoyed every second of this DVD and as soon as I have a few hours, I’ll watch it again and try to make heads or tails of the story. No blame to the writers, I just need to actually pay attention. ^_^

Rating:

Overall – 8

This DVD totally left Bruce and I grinning, although we basically had no idea why. ^_^

Posted in Takarazuka | 3 Comments »