Yuri Network News – August 15, 2009

August 15th, 2009

There’s just under a week left in the YNN logo contest, so if you have a logo you’d like to send in, get it in by August 20th! I’ll run entries next Saturday and you can pick the one you like best.

Now – on to the news!

Yuri Manga

Yuri Monogatari 6 has finally made it on to Amazon Japan, so if your Japanese penpals are looking for a copy, they can now order it locally!

Some titles that you ought to keep your heads up for are:

Octave 3 – We’ll finally get to see what happens after Yukino makes her decision at the concert.

Tsubomi 3 – There’s been some excitement about this volume, as artist Ohishi Masaru has been added to the lineup.

Choir 2 – No one really cares about this, but the first volume wasn’t that sucky and the girl got the girl, so Vol. 2. Let’s see if that develops at all.

And Girlfriends 3 – So, now we can wallow as Acchan tortures herself. ;-)

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Yuri Anime

Komatsu-san of Ultimo Spalpeen tells me that in the UK there is some noise about a reissue of Sailor Moon on DVD. He’s wondering if/when the US will follow suit – well, we’re wondering too! Funimation had thrown Sailor Moon onto a wish list poll and had an overwhelming response to it. They have said that they cannot get it yet, but are looking into the possibility. I say we keep up the pressure and remind them every other month on Twitter. ^_^

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Yuri Drama CD

Anonymous says that a “Rakka Ryuusui Variety CD is coming out this weekend for Comiket 76 (14-16 August). Details can be found here.

Those who can’t get it at C76 (most of us) can probably get it on 26 August from the Animate Shop.

From the little that I know, there is at least a new drama track as well as a duet between Akiho and Minatsu. My suspicion is that there’s going to be some light Yuri between Akiho and Minatsu, and Yuu and Akatsuki.

The voicing cast are the same as the previous Drama CDs:
Nakahara Mai as Hayama Akiho
Endou Aya as Hokaze Minatsu
Matsuoka Yuki as Kusaba Haruka
Kaneda Tomoko as Shimotsuki Mafuyu
Sawashiro Miyuki as Gojyou Yuu
Nabatame Hitomi as Ayase Akatsuki”

Thanks, Anonymous for the tip!

***

Become a Yuri Network Correspondent and let me know what Yuri-f’avored news you come across. Send emails to anilesbocon01 at hotmail dot com. If you send your news tip in as a comment, I might forget. Email is a better way to remind me to post your news. :-)

Thanks again to everyone who contributes and makes this a great Yuri Network!

 

Posted in Sailor Moon, Yuri Network News | 1 Comment »


Response to Requests for Recommendations

August 13th, 2009

I am now up to about 20 emails/posts/comments a week requesting recommendations for other Yuri titles that people would like me to guess that they would want to read (usually scanlations, because very very rarely do people ask what they can buy.)

I do not do recommendations.

I’m not really comfortable suggesting series for people, because I don’t really know if your taste and mine coincide. And even if they do, I’m still not comfortable making series suggestions.

I will suggest that you join the Yuricon Mailing List and ask there, since a lot of people do not have the same issues suggesting things to other people that I do.

Also, I suggest going to Lililicious, I believe they have their scanlations arranged in different ways and you may be able to find series you like there.

Of course the “Yuri Manga” category at Okazu has hundreds of Yuri manga reviews, but you’ll need to decide for yourself what you are looking for in a manga.

And if you are looking for something to buy, of course I recommend visiting the Yuricon Shop where you will find hundreds of Yuri Anime and Manga to choose from, with synopses and reviews to help you choose.

In any case, I wish you the very best of luck with your quest!

***

Posted in Miscellaneous | 9 Comments »


Lesbian Comic: Detective Comics

August 12th, 2009

What a week here at Okazu! Not only did we get to read that breathtaking interview with Nakamura Ching-sensei, but today I have a guest review written by none other than David Welsh of Precocious Curmudgeon. I’m all a-quiver with excitement at today’s review.

Some weeks ago on Twitter, David mentioned that he had gotten the Detective Comics series with the new Batwoman (zOMG a lipstick lesbian who never has a steady relationship! That’s NEVER been done!) and I asked if he’d like to review it for us here at Okazu. This may well be the first mainstream American comic ever reviewed here. History in the making. Anyway, not to delay a moment longer, David, they are all yours…)

When I consider comics, the binary that comes most readily to mind is what drives the book. Is it plot, or is it character? I tend to favor character-driven stories, where the events spring from who the characters are, and they couldn’t happen in quite the same way to anyone else. The binary is too limiting, obviously, but it generally suits my interests and priorities.

So if nothing else, Detective Comics 854 and 855 (DC) served as well-executed reminders of another category: the art-driven comic. Written by Greg Rucka, the comics serve as a proper introduction to DC’s much-ballyhooed lesbian Batwoman revamp. I think the character debuted in one of DC’s big weekly crossover series, but I haven’t picked up a DC comic since they set Sue Dibny on fire and all the heroes started crying and snapping at each other because they were all amoral failures.

Still, I’ve enjoyed many comics written by Rucka, and it’s rare that you have a GLBTQ character helming one of DC or Marvel’s flagship titles. (They generally tend to die in Marvel and DC’s flagship titles, actually.) For added interest, there’s the art of J.H. Williams III, with colors by Dave Stewart and lettering by Todd Klein. My first encounter with Williams’ art was DC’s short-lived, much-loved Chase, about an agent for the DC universe’s super-human monitoring agency. It was a neat series with a well-developed woman protagonist (look, a unicorn!), and Williams contributed a great deal to its appeal. He’s pretty much the whole show with the first two issues of Batwoman’s Detective run.

This brings me back to the concept of the art-driven comic, where the writer provides just enough of a framework to give the illustrator reign to go wild, metaphorically speaking. A fine example is Paris (SLG), barely written by Andi Watson and magnificently drawn by Simon Gane. (For added Ozaku interest, it’s about young women in love… with each other!) If a cartoonist is more illustrator than writer, he or she can give him or herself license to slack on story and character and concentrate efforts on images. That’s what I tell myself when I read manga by Arina Tanemura.

That’s what Rucka has done here, or at least that’s what it feels like he’s done. I knew very little about the character prior to picking up either issue of Detective; the New York Times told me she was a lesbian (pardon me… a “lipstick lesbian”) socialite named Kate Kane who fights crime. That’s still pretty much all I know about her, with the added details that she has difficulty maintaining relationships and some kind of troubled past that’s unfolding in drug-induced flashback.

Since everyone in Batman’s orbit has trouble maintaining relationships and a traumatic childhood experience or two, there’s nothing really left to distinguish Batwoman except for the visual iconography Williams brings to the book. Her sexual orientation is entirely equivalent in terms of relationship failure; the fact that she’s a lesbian has no more to do with it than the fact that Batman is ostensibly straight. After a rough night of beating up lowlifes in alleys, they’re too tired to commit.

It’s a gorgeous book, and instead of clumsily trying to explain why, I’ll just point you to Jog’s review of Detective 854. Unfortunately, I found it a strangely empty book as well. Nothing damaging or unpleasant happens to compromise Batwoman’s future as a character, but nothing really meaty happens either. The character is secondary to her rendering.

I had many of the same problems with the back-up strip featuring DC’s other high-profile lesbian heroine, The Question. I went in knowing a lot more about her, or at least her alter-ego, Renee Montoya. Renee did a long tour of duty as a detective with the Gotham City Police Department and played a central role in the generally excellent Gotham Central (DC). She even got a well-liked arc, written by Rucka, where she was outed to her hyper-masculine co-workers. I always found her an interesting, assertive character.

Something has happened since I last saw her, as she’s adopted the nom de guerre and most of the costume of an interesting c-list DC sleuth who wore a featureless mask and was obsessed with conspiracy theories. The featureless mask is still in place, updated with a crop top for no particularly good reason. (Crop tops seem so impractical for people who anger gun-toting thugs.) Renee seems to have left Gotham behind to wade through one of those TV-series premises where she finds people to help through a web site. At least I think that’s what’s happening, as Rucka doesn’t spend any more time on Renee’s back story or motivation than he does with Kate.

It’s competent enough, but artist Cully Hammer is no J.H. Williams. The back-up strip is welcome in the sense that it makes the comic’s $3.99 price tag seem slightly less like highway robbery.

Thank you David for what may well be the most cogent look at Batwoman ever written. And thank you for being our newest Okazu Guest Reviewer!

Posted in LGBTQ, Western Comic/Comix | 18 Comments »


Alice on Deadlines Manga, Volume 4 (English)

August 10th, 2009

After yesterday’s amazing interview this will immediately pale into the obscurity it deserves, but it has to be done. ^_^

We have, through much hardship and effort, made our way through to the final, climactic volume of Alice on Deadlines and still, the title remains the best part of the story.

The final showdown is less of a showdown than a melee and characters are being stabbed through the gut left and right (with scythes. Seriously? Who uses a scythe to *stab*?!? I mean, yes – you can do it, but what a miserable misuse of a lovely weapon. My long-handled, edged-weapons-loving self protests.)

But in no way is this really anything to do with the story. The story, such as it is, is really about Alice and Lapan, each stuck in a body that is not theirs and only one of them happy about it.

So the final showdown with Regina comes and, instead of it being Lapan vs Regina, it’s everyone vs everyone, with really hard to follow art, but we’re able to parse a few key concepts. The big takeaway – personal loyalty trumps silly plot complication.

As we always suspected – everyone in the Tsurukame family, the heads of the company for which Lapan works, is a cross-dresser. Unlike the sex-obsessed male members of the family, the President and eldest sister seems to actually have business in mind. The severely competent, cross-dressing female business leader stereotype strikes again. Thankfully, she puts an end to the nonsense of destroying lots of lives just to let Lapan and Regina destroy each other.

Somuria remains completely Yuri for Alice, even after she regains her body…in fact, I’m never really sure Somuria realized that it was Lapan in there for most of the series. Because she was competent and hunky, I will also insist that President Tsurukame is gay. ;-) That’s about it for Yuri.

Way, way, waaaaaayyyyy down in what teeny, weeny little soul this manga had, it was a love story. And although we have been told many times that Shinigami and humans cannot be together, Lapan somehow manages to live happily ever after with Alice. No explanations will be given, so just move along, thank you, nothing to see here.

Ratings:

Art – 6
Story – 3
Characters – 4
Yuri – 3
Service – 7

Overall – 4

Many, many sincere thanks to today’s Sponsor, Okazu Hero Ed S! All this needed was popcorn and it would have made a perfect rainy Sunday afternoon snark-a-thon. ^_^

Posted in English Manga | No Comments »


Interview with Gunjo’s Nakamura Ching

August 9th, 2009

You may or may not remember that my love affair with Gunjo began when I received a message on Mixi from a young manga artist, asking if I’d be interested in a non-moe Yuri manga.

Obviously, I was.

A few weeks ago I asked Nakamura-sensei if she didn’t mind, could she answer a few questions for us here at Okazu. Although she is very busy, she graciously took some time out to answer a few questions – I hope you will enjoy this interview as much as I did!

 

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Q1: Please Tell Us About Yourself
——————————————————-

I was born in June, 1985. I am 24 years old.
When I was 18 I drew my first manga, I made my debut at 20.
My favorite foods are Indian and Mexican. I like Japanese food, too.
My hobby is travel but, because I’m busy, I haven’t been able to go anywhere.
My favorite movies are The Namesake, KILL BILL, Roman Holiday, Bella Martha.
I love dogs, I have 2.
I have begun to study English, because it has become troublesome that I do not speak any English.
Recently, I have been corresponding with an older woman from America.
We discuss the joy of old age. And about things like dreams for the future, and living peacefully.

 

——————————————————-
Q2: How did you become a mangaka? Was it a childhood dream?
——————————————————-

I did not attend college, because I had no money to go to school.
When I was seventeen, I left school before graduation and took a part time job.
I wanted to obtain a job in a respectable company but, because I did not have the educational background (Japan is still a society where one’s educational record counts. I have had hardly any formal schooling) I thought I would look for a job where education didn’t matter, work that anyone might be able to get.
At first, I thought I might become an illustrator.
A friend said, “You should become a mangaka,” so I enrolled in a manga trade school for a year. (From the end of my 18th year into my 19th year.)
My childhood dream was to become a high school teacher, or be staff at a children’s home.

 

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Q3: Which artists are your role models?
——————————————————-

The artists who influence me most when I draw manga and write stories are neither mangaka, nor artists; they are those who write songs, are poets, novelists, and photographers.
Nakajima Miyuki, Yoshioka Osamu, Kumi (LOVE PSYCHEDELICO)…Song writers.
Mishima Yukio, Kajii Motojiro, Watanabe Junichi, Tendo Arata…Novelists.
Horiguchi Daigaku, Yoshiwara Sachiko, Taneda Santoka…Poets
Kuwabara Kineo, Hosoe Eiko…Photographers.

The artists that I think are really the most wonderful are my assistants who draw the backgrounds for Gunjo. I hold the pictures they draw in higher esteem than those by any painter. I am very proud to be working together with these ladies.

My favorite overseas artists are Eugene Delacroix, John William Waterhouse, Gustave Moreau.
My favorite Japanese artists are Utagawa Kuniyoshi, Nagaswa Rosetsu, Ito Jakuchu, Tsukioka Yoshitoshi.
My favorite manga artists are Ikeda Riyoko, Miuchi Suzue, Yamamoto Sumika, Yoshinaga Fumi.

 

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Q4: If you were not a mangaka, what kind of work would you be doing?
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Child welfare work or international welfare work.
Or, I wanted to become a teacher.
I think there’s nothing more important than raising a child with love (sooner or later, that child becomes an adult who bears the burden of society.)

 

——————————————————-
Q5: What were your motivations for creating Gunjo?
——————————————————-

I wanted to draw the keen loneliness of a lonely person.
I wanted to turn our kindness and cruelty (the kinds of emotions that we can’t control with our own wills) into a manga.
And also, because I am gay.
Living a life of hiding I was gay was unpleasant, so I wanted to give myself the chance to admit I was gay.

 

——————————————————-
Q6.1: Please tell us a little bit about your process.
How long does a chapter take to draw? What is the first step, what is the final step?
——————————————————-

The time it takes to draw a chapter depends on the content and the number of pages.

First of all, the script, story and any other ideas I have are written down on paper. (I use B4 size paper and a mechanical pencil to draw.)
I don’t write neatly. Whenever I think of something, I write single-mindedly.

After that, when the idea has been organized, it is called “Name” and the storyboard of the manga is drawn.
(The panel arrangement, script, people’s movements, 90% – 100% of these are decided at the “Name” step.)
Name is first drawn small on a big piece of paper, like a thumbnail.
This is revised many times and when I think “This can’t be fixed anymore,” Name is drawn neatly on a large piece of paper. (I draw on a piece of B4 copy paper folded into 2.
When Name is completely drawn on the large paper, it is sent to the Editor in charge of the Editorial department.
When this has been checked, I start work on the manuscript.
First, the paper is divided into the panels、and I draw the frames of the panels with a felt-tip pen.
From there I use a mechanical pencil to draw the rough sketch.
The rough sketch is inked, then screentone is applied and it’s done.
After that, the script is added, then it is passed to the editor. Afterwards it is printed and it becomes a book.

——————————————-

This ↑ Name
In the magazine becomes this ↓.

——————————————-

This ↑ Name
In the magazine becomes this ↓.

——————————————-

This ↑ Name
In the magazine becomes this ↓.

——————————————-

The last thing I do is check the work in the printed manga.
The kind of things that are checked are that the screentone was applied properly, or that the art is drawn well. Or any mistakes in the script.
Any inconvenient points or faults will be corrected when it is made into a tankoubon.

 

——————————————————-
Q6.2: (Please tell us a little bit about your process.)
How many assistants work with you?
——————————————————-

Currently, I have 3 main assistants.
(Up until now I had 5 people, but recently 2 retired.)
Nakayama Aya, Wakayama Yoshiko, Kumazawa Sayuri.
The Gunjo title page in the magazine will always list their names.
And from time to time, Nakazawa Tomoko comes to help.
Therefore, 3-4 people total.
They are women, ranging from 22～30 years old.
Without my main assistants (Regulars*), it would not be possible to finish up a manuscript.
When I’m very busy, I employ a number of freelance assistants to help out.

 

The number of assistants depends on the number of pages and the number of days until the deadline. A 32-page chapter and a 72-page chapter will need a different number of people to work on it.

* Assistants who always help out are called “Regulars” 「レギュラー」 in the Japanese Manga Industry. People you call only when you’re very busy are called “Help”「ヘルプ」.

 

by CHIEF ASSISTANT/ NAKAYAMA Aya (outline)

 

by WAKAYAMA Yoshiko (outline), NAKAZAWA Tomoko (screentone)

 

by KUMAZAWA Sayuri (outline and screentone)

 

I trust their skill and natures.
Therefore, I don’t give them much direction.
I rely on their sense.

That way, they can achieve the picture I want to see.

If reference material is needed, I do the research, take a picture with a camera, buy a book or search on the Internet.

This is a reference picture I took in Tokyo.
(東京浅草・吾妻橋／Asakusa, TOKYO, AZUMABASHI bridge)

This is the line drawing drawn by my assistant.

It’s completed with the addition of screentones.
(On this scene of a rainy day, after the tone was added, the rain was drawn in.)

 

——————————————————-
Q7: How has Gunjo been received by the Japanese audience? Is it popular? What kind of reactions have Japanese readers had to it?
——————————————————-

People who like Gunjo, love it, people who do not like Gunjo, hate it.

(Note from Erica: Ironically, the day before I received these responses from Nakamura-sensei, I had said the *exact* same thing to someone.)

 

——————————————————-
Q8: What was your reaction upon seeing the Gunjo cover of Morning 2 magazine? What did you feel when you saw it?
——————————————————-

Happy.
The readers thought there were pros and cons.
However, I also thought there were pros and cons.
When the cover went to print, the editorial office made a regrettable error in the spelling of the title.
When I saw that it had been spelled GUNJ”Y”O, I was surprised.
The correct version is GUNJO.

 

——————————————————-
Q9: Why don’t the protagonists have names?
——————————————————-

For the moment, the names of all the characters is a secret known only to me.
It will be revealed to the public in the final section of the tankoubon (probably.) However, this will be an omake.
Within the story of Gunjo, I didn’t feel that there was a necessity for the characters to have names; to the very end, they are not called by name.

When I am drawing the manuscript with the assistants, or meeting with the editors, them having no names is inconvenient so, we call BL “Les-san” and BN “Megane-san.” Because BL is a Lesbian and in chapters 1-7, BN wore glasses.

There are two reasons they don’t have names.
My Editor-in-chief said, “The characters names are an important element of manga.”
“If the character names stand out, or they aren’t good names, the manga will not become popular.”
I thought, how ridiculous, what a foolish idea. Therefore no names are used in this manga.

Also, BL’s feelings, BN’s feelings, are not only theirs.
Their feelings resemble the feelings of many people in the world.
BL’s or BN’s feelings might resemble the way you feel,
Gunjo is not only a story for BL and BN, but it is a story for you.
Therefore, BL and BN (and also BL’s former lover) in the manga don’t really need to be called by a specific name.
You only have to read to think that you are them.
When BN calls “Hey” looking for a reply, it’s not to BL, it’s you.
If BN uses BL’s name, then you won’t be able to respond.
When BL calls out “Hey,” the reply isn’t from BN, it’s from you.
If BL uses BN’s name, then you won’t be able to respond.

 

——————————————————-
Q10: What question do you have for overseas fans of Gunjo?
——————————————————-

When you read Japanese manga, how do you read it?
Can you read Japanese from the start? Or do you use a dictionary? Or do you just look at the pictures?

 

——————————————————-
Q11: What message do you have for overseas fans?
——————————————————-

If you have any impressions or opinions, absolutely please let me know.
Or, please tell me about yourself.
Where do you live, how old are you, where you work, what kind of person is reading my manga, I always want to know that kind of thing.
In Japanese, English, there is no problem with either.
If you want to use email, please send it using the mail form on my website. (http://ching.tv)
Handwritten letters are also welcome.
Kodansha Ltd. “MORNING 2”
(GUNJO Nakamura Ching)
2-12-21, Otowa, Bunkyo-ku,
Tokyo 112-8001 JAPAN
I will personally read the letters and emails you send myself.

 

***

Thank you so very, very much, Nakamura-sensei for taking time out of your tight schedule to answer these questions and share so much of yourself with us! We all look forward to the tankoubon of Gunjo. And thank you for all the wonderful pictures, that allow us a glimpse into your work.

I hope you, my dear readers, will all send letters to Nakamura-sensei and tell her about yourselves. :-)

(And some extra super sparkly thanks to Erin S who helped me out with a bit of the translation.)

 

Posted in Gunjo, Interview, LGBTQ, Nakamura Ching | 12 Comments »