Yuri Network News – November 28, 2009

November 28th, 2009

Yuri Anime

It is holiday time, so a number of Yuri Anime releases are right around the corner!

Ikkitousen DD is due to be released next week, so we can get our fix of great heroes of China turned into buxom, strong, yet largely powerless pawns of loathesome guys. :-)

For those of us who can’t ever get enough of this, a *new* Ikkitousen series has been announced in Japan – Ikkitousen XX (Xtreme Xecutor). Ryomou and Kanu are in it, so we can all relax. ;-) In fact, the last issue of Gum magazine I bought had a fabulous Ryomou on the cover, so hopefully she’ll get even more screen time.

Also scheduled for release in the next few weeks is the first Volume of El Cazador. Who wouldn’t want this rollicking tale of witches and gunslingers and mad scientists and bunnymen and sexy assassins?

Don’t forget the complete collection of Blue Drop, which was officially released this month. I was listening to a Blue Drop Drama CD a few weeks ago and I was reminded how much I really liked this anime prequel. I’m very much looking forward to seeing it again “officially.”

And, just to give you something to *really* look forward to, just after the new year we’ll see Rin: Daughter of Mnemosyne the complete series. I may just have to have a party where we all drink everytime Rin dies. :-)

All that *ought* to be enough to tide you over until the 4th season of Marimite arrives in English in the Spring. :-)

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Yuri Manga

It’s a little too early for a link, but Yuri Hime Wildrose 4 is slated for a December 18th release, as is the next volume of Yuri Hime S.

Oh, and despite the apathy I’ve personally shown this series, Apple Day Dream is also getting a second volume. lol

Hakamada Mera’s Watashi no Taisetsuna Tomodachi is also getting a second volume in the next few weeks. I reviewed that first volume a little while ago and would like to see where it goes.

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Yuri Novels

I’ve been kind of disappointed that Ichijinsha’s Iris line hasn’t put out any more Yuri Light Novels recently. It’all been brooding boys lately. Bleah. lol Let’s write the editor and complain. But!

Mori Natsuko has a new novel out – Futari no Hitori Asobi. Her other novels have been such delicious lesbian crack that this has immediately gone into my Amazon JP shopping cart.

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Other Yuri News

Should you be heading to Winter Comiket this year, Media Factory is publishing an official Sasamekikoto fact file/magazine. Brave the long lines and get me a copy, will you? :-)

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Yuricon Contests

Just a reminder that the Yuri Studios AMV Contest is still on and still accepting submissions! The Contest Guidelines are on the Yuricon site. There’s been so much great (and not great) Yuri Anime this year, we’re really looking forward to seeing some wonderful AMVs celebrating them!

And…we’re getting geared up for a really *big* contest. We’re working on a redesign for the Yuricon website and we need a new image of our mascots Yuriko and Midori for the *Home Page*. We’ll be announcing the Cover Girl Image Contest in a few weeks, but start thinking about it now, because the winner not only gets their image on the front page (and maybe as the cover of Yuri Monogatari 7,) there’ll be a great Grand Prize! Check back soon for contest details! No “adult” images will be accepted for this contest, btw.

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Non-Yuri News

I think it’s worth noting this: Simon Jones of Icarus Publishing has announced that Comic AG, Icarus’ long-running adult manga comic magazine, is ending with issue 110. (Link may not be SFW) Jones is one of the most interesting and intelligent critical commentors on the economics of the manga industry, so his post on why this is happening and what the factors are that have changed the market should be required reading for anyone who has ever whined, “We never get anything good.”

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And, 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 Ikkitousen, Yuri Network News | 3 Comments »


The Great Manga Gift Guide – Okazu Edition

November 26th, 2009

Here it is, my friends, the 2009 Okazu Edition of the Great Manga Gift Guide. These are my suggestions for manga that would make great gifts for the fan(s) in your life.

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Dogs, Bullets Carnage – This title is unbridled action. It’s a bunch of broken, violent people in a violent world. The art is *very* stark, which works totally for what little of the story exists. Mostly, the story is the frame for the fighting. There is a chick with a weapon, but don’t look for more than that.

Who Would Like It: Not for beginner manga fans, but if your gift recipient thinks they’ve seen it all – here’s something with all of it at once. :-)

Kimi ni Todoke – This is one of my wife’s favorite series right now. It’s got that thing that we westerners so often miss in manga – someone who just spits it out already. The protagonist is…nice. And the fun of the series is watching everyone else realize that, too. This female lead is no typical “he’s mean to me because he loves me” heroine.

Who Would Like It: Got a shoujo fan (or closet shoujo fan) in your family or friends? Give them this for something that is totally feel-good, without making you put your brain on hold.

Black Lagoon – Girls, Guns, Drugs, and loads of crazy. This is actually one of my favorite series overall right now. As there isn’t the vaguest hint of Yuri, I have no reason to review it here, but hot damn, this is awesome manga. It’s just chockful of loony women who are armed to the teeth and not afraid to pull the trigger. Yums.

Who Would Like It: Action fans, anyone who spends a lot of time watching Spike TV and anyone who likes women who kill first, then tell you to *^&# off! later will love this.

MW – There’s a reason why Tezuka is consistently held up as a master of the craft. In this volume, he deals with “Homosexuality” in nearly as insensitive a way as possible – and it totally works. In this fraught horror story in which a broken man seeks to punish everyone for his existence, the one stable, normal and happy person is a lesbian editor who appears on only a few pages. Hardcore angst and melodrama, a fistful of self-loathing and misanthropy.

Who Would Like It: This book is great for folks who like it dark, with an even darker background for contrast and horror fans.

Aria – Nothing happens in this series. But it happens beautifully, and with grace and humor and joie de vivre. And scenery porn.

Who Would Like It: Perfect for the jaded, the cynical and any fan that still wants to recapture a feeling of childlike joy at, well, everything.

Iono-sama Fanatics – this volume about a totally lesbian Queen of some small country who happens to love girls with black hair is a very pretty and very sweet fantasy. It’s not often we get to enjoy fantasy romance that’s almost entirely angst-free.

Who Would Like It: Readers who love their manga cute, sweet, harmless and did I mention cute, will love this. It’s charming, as in “Princess Charming.” :-) (I guess that would be Queen Charming, huh?)

WORKS – I haven’t given this book enough air time, really and I blame myself. Tadeno-san has been cranking out Yuri manga since long before you ever heard of it and, although these stories are early (and therefore a little dated,) they still stand the test of time as solid looks at lesbian life and love.

Who Would Like It: Self-serving, yes. Still, a great Yuri primer for an interested adult. A good choice for a lesbian who doesn’t know Yuri yet.

Kashimashi~ Girl Meets Girl Omnibus 1 and Omnibus 2 – This silly story of a boy who becomes a girl and suddenly find herself the center of a love triangle still stands as one of the best adaptations of a manga from Japanese to English I’ve ever seen.

Who Would Like It: Not for beginner Yuri fans, but for folks who can take a handwave or two in their lives.

Azumanga Daioh Omnibus 1 – This collection is a reworking of one of the funniest 4-panel comics to hit American bookshelves to date; there’s really no downside to this volume. It’s a nice chunky book, it’s got some gut-bustingly funny bits and a lot of “heh” parts and is overall a lot of fun. And hey, there’s Kaorin and her totally hopeless love for Sakaki.

Who Would Like It: If you missed this the first time around, now’s a *great* time to add it to your wish list, or get it for a friend, then “borrow” it. :-)

Hayate x Blade – Are you totally unsurprised that this is a Great Manga Gift in my opinion? First of all – funny. Crazy, stupid, funny. Snort-Laugh Out Loud funny. Then there is awesome action. And there are girls. Almost 100% girls, who are in romantic partnerships with darn little romance, honestly, but that doesn’t stop us from projecting.

Who Would Like It: I wouldn’t get this for a little kid, because there is a lot of violence, but for anyone who is getting jaded on service and lack of plot drivers in manga, anyone who longs for action and comedy and something intelligent, anyone who wants a story written by someone who can actually write – hand them this and step back if they are drinking something.

Volume 1 Volume 2 Volume 3 Volume 4 Volume 5

 

Ed Sizemore also suggested we all add a “piece of coal” book, one that was really not good and you’d give to someone you wanted to punish. Clearly, I’d pick Mariaholic for the role. In fact, I’d give you my copy, but I put it through the shredder.

Thanks to David Welsh for coming up with this fabulous idea – and thanks to all the bloggers and readers who participate!

Now, here’s where you come in! What I want to know is – what are your Great Manga Gift Suggestions – and what book is your piece of coal? Let’s have ’em in the comments!

Posted in Now This Is Only My Opinion, Top Yuri Lists, Yuri Manga | 13 Comments »


The Great Manga Gift Guide Project

November 25th, 2009

Last week, the New York Times posted their Graphic Novel Gift Guide and to no one’s surprise there wasn’t a single manga on the list. (Seriously, NYT, it’s totally cool that your GN guy doesn’t read manga – no one is saying that it’s not. Can you just PLEASE also hire someone who cares about manga to be the one to write about it? Thanks, we really appreciate it.)

In response, David Welsh of Precocious Curmudgeon came up with the idea of the Great Manga Gift Guide. Reviewers and readers will be posting their suggestions for great manga gifts on Thursday. (That’s Thanksgiving in America, for anyone who doesn’t get the timing. This day is traditionally followed by a day of crazy sales frenzy on consumer goods.) This will give us manga readers some things to be thankful for. :) David is even willing to devote space on his site to folks who would like to participate who don’t have blogs of their own.

Because one of the most amazing things about the Anime/Manga scene on Twitter is that is has allowed many of the bloggers to communicate easily, I and a number of other bloggers jumped on the Great Manga Gift Guide bandwagon. Here is a not-comprehensive list of some of the folks that are participating. Tomorrow and through the next week, drop by their blogs and see what they have to suggest! Also search Twitter for the hashtag #gmgg for others bloggers I’ve missed. I’ll add people as they let me know that they are going to be part of the guide.

David Welsh – Precocious Curmudgeon
Deb Aoki – Manga.about.com
Melinda Beasi – Manga Bookshelf
Lori Henderson – Manga Xanadu
Lissa Patillo – Kuriosity
Alexander Hoffman – Eye of the Vortex Onlin
D. Orihuela-Gruber – All About Comics
Sean Gaffney’s Live Journal
Ed Sizemore – Comics Worth Reading
Jason S. Yadao – Otaku Ohana
Mizzelle – Golden Age Girl
Ysabet McFarlane – Cat Named Segue
Brigid Alverson – Mangablog
Emily’s Random Shoujo Page
TangognaT
Linda-animemiz’s scribbling
Scott Green – Ain’t It Cool News Anime
Japanator
Robin Brenner – No Flying, No Tights
Katherine H – Yuri no Boke
Julie – Manga Maniac Cafe
Satoshi Miwa
Kate Dacey – Manga Critic
Lexi – Poisoned Rationality
Angela – FlowerStorm

Of course, I will be doing a Yuri list, because we should all run out and buy Yuri for at least one friend for the holidays. ;-)

If you’d like to join the Project, just add your link to the Comments and we’ll look forward to reading your guide!

Posted in Gift Guides | 9 Comments »


Yuri Manga: Assistant Denki Keika, Volume 2

November 23rd, 2009

Well, now. If you thought Assistant Denki Keika, (アシスタント伝奇ケイカ) Volume 1 was odd, you’d be right. Volume 2 is off the rails.

Tamae is in a match to see who is the best person for an assistant mangaka position. Her competition is a normal guy and some freaky alien who communicates by placard and says her name is Omugai Shoujo. After they all participate in a round of Kokurri-san (think Ouija board and you’ll get the point) they call up a vengeful spirit who chased them all out of the house. Relaying this to Keika, Tamae learns that Keika’s afraid of scary stories.

Tamae and Keika fight off an evil presence in their apartment, which turns out to be their boss…only it’s not really…wooooohhhhhh~~~

They hit up a sex club in order to “do research” and Tamae ends up with some good ideas for Keika, if not her manga.

And then the story gets weird.

Attacked by the forces of evil, Keika is saved by Omugai Shoujo, who Keika recognizes as her older brother (this is not a typo. Brother.) Omugai Shoujo says that they’ll never meet again as they part. Bets?

Tamae is attacked and saved by the motorcycle riding woman from the previous volume. The upshot – Tamae gets a new sex toy to try out on Keika.

After a chapter in which we follow the little cross-dressing guy from the first volume, and which ended rather happily ever after, the war really kicks in. The forces of evil gun after Keika hard, involving nearly every single character in the book so far, and they are saved by…Omugai Shoujo. Seriously…not even gone two whole chapters!

We get a break and follow Keika and Tamae to a hotel with the loudest people in the universe. They don’t get much work done because of the noise, and then they don’t get any work done as they become the source of the noise – if you get my meaning.

An apparent climax (herhn herhn) approaches as Keika is abducted by the evil baddies only to be brought face to face with their leader – her father. Oh yes. This war against assistant manga artists is a father’s disappointment in his daughter’s choice of occupation. All the characters from all previous chapters rolls out to save her from a fate worse than fate. The final pages finds Tamae, now an established mangaka, and her assistant, Keika, working harder than ever.

I really don’t even know what to say about this. It’s…strange. Strange in a totally strange way. Strange in a no-matter-how-hard-I-try-I-can’t-picture-an-editor-and-artist-having-this-conversation way.

Aside from strange, it’s kind of fun and kind of disturbing. Keika and Tamae are definitely, positively a couple. I like that. I’m having a hard time with the rest of it. ^_^;

Ratings:

Art – 6
Story – 5
Characters – 7
Yuri – 9
Service – 10
Strangeness – 154

Overall – 6

Today’s review marks a first! Today, we thank Okazu Superhero Ariel D. for being the first ever person to sponsor a review from the Amazon Japan Yuri Wish List! For that act of crazy generosity, Ariel, you go right on the Superhero list – I’ll email you your badge asap. Thank you, thank you!

Posted in Yuri Manga | 1 Comment »


Dragon Sister Manga, Volume 1 (English)

November 22nd, 2009

I don’t know about you, but I really can’t get enough of the atrocities perpetrated upon Romance of the Three Kingdoms in anime and manga. Unlike, say, Alice in Wonderland – which is already seriously WTF, Romance is staid and serious and political. So when anime/game/manga people rework it, it’s like dyeing Guan Gong’s beard hot pink.

In Dragon Sister, Volume 1 the story is pretty much left alone, except for one small thing…all the great heroes are turned into women. Unlike Koihime Musou or Ikkitousen however, we’re actually given a reason for this. To wit, the three Zhang brothers, leaders of Huang Jin rebels, are given magic that they decide they will use to save their land. In the course of their deep meditation upon this magic, one of the brothers decides that the best thing would be to turn all the heroes into women. Of course this backfires, turning them into women.

From there, the story remains surprisingly true to the original. Guan Yu and Zhang Fei, both of whom are female, meet an uncommon common guy named Liu Bei and the three swear brotherhood under the peach tree.

But, in order to gain status for Liu Bei, whose leadership of an irregular force is dissed by the loyalist army, Zhang Fei and Guan Yu sell themselves out to Dong Zhou, who plots to kill Liu Bei in the middle of the battle so that she can keep them.

The art is very person-focused. There’s little background art and the action is a bit hard to follow, but the approach is soap opera like, anyway – lots of people talking about things, and little happening. Everyone is cute as opposed to cool and there’s a lot of posing going on.

Yuri is mostly in Dong Zhou’s open, lustful, desire for Guan Yu and Zhang Fei. Lust for power, lust for women, 6 to one, half dozen to the other.

And yet again, Guan Yu is shown with a interest in Liu Bei that’s less like sibling and more like love. I am so going to have to re-read this epic, because the idea of making Guan Yu have a thing for Liu Bei makes me laugh. It’s almost enough to make me want to write a BL Romance fanfiction. Almost. Don’t get your hopes up. lol

Ratings:

Art – 7 The cover is worse than the interior art
Story – 8
Characters – 8, even if they are caricatures of themselves
Yuri – 4 Predatory lesbian could have been *way* more predatory.
Service – 4-ish The heroes all have breasts, yes, but it’s not like they are flashing them.

Overall – 7

It’s not like this is *good* really, but compared to other Romance versions where the heroes are large-breasted women, it at least keeps close to the original story!

Many, many thanks to Okazu Hero Martin S. for sponsoring today’s review. I’m always happy to see what nonsense can be done with the Romance.

Posted in English Manga | 9 Comments »