Yuri Manga: Hayate x Blade, Volume 2 (English)

February 19th, 2009

I know you’re waiting for my review of Hayate x Blade Volume 2  in English, but look at it from my point of view. That’s like, ancient history for me. My heart is in the middle of the (as always) awesome soon-to-become Volume 10 and I just finished reading Volume 9 in Japanese. And here you are, asking me to step waaaayyyy back and review this volume. Okay, but only because I love you. ^_^

The first half of Volume 2 follows the trials, tribulations and duels of Hayate’s roommate Momoka, and her determination to save the woman she wants as her shinyuu from an abusive partner. While Momoka does, in fact, win her duel, Riona explains that she can’t partner with Momoka, because being beaten regularly sharpens her comedy skills as boke. (What you don’t quite get from the translation is that both Momoka and Riona are from Osaka. Japanese regional stereotypes for Osaka are an obsession with business, a love of food – especially takoyaki, a local specialty – and…manzai comedy.)

Momoka takes ultra-creepy Isuzu as her partner, a character I love with all my love – I’m so glad that you all can learn to love her too. For those of you who have not listened to the Drama CDs, Isuzu is voiced by Noto Mamiko, with full creepy BGM and echo effect. Isuzu is absolutely delightful.

This is followed by “serious drama” in which Mizuchi and Sou attempt to thwart Ayana and Hayate in their quest. With hilariously laugh-out-loud failure, of course.

Yuri in this volume is in dribs and drabs – Jun’s and Hayate’s attempts to be groped by Ayana, notably, and Momoka’s desire to partner with Riona can (and will be, no doubt) brushed with the fragrance of lilies by fans. But for my part, I’m standing behind Isuzu who, you will learn, is quite besotted with Momoka. And then there’s Hitsugi and Shizuku who are, by their very existence, Yuri and no one can tell me different.

Once again, I must disclaimer this next bit by admitting that I copy edited this book. Although I was not credited, I really did. (And I missed a typo that the one person on this continent who could have possibly noticed it, noticed and pointed out to me. I am contrite…and irked at myself.) So, it is with pride that I compliment Seven Seas/Tor once again on the reproduction of this fablous series. The quality of translation and adaptation were enhanced by top-notch copy editing (joke, joke!) and in every way but three this was a perfect volume. The main thing is the front pages are printed too lightly, and the ToC is a bit hard to read. It’s just a printer thing, probably no one’s fault. The second was my miss. See below for the third.

I think Sean Gaffney had the final word on this volume. He pointed out that intiially, you think that Hayate is the “idiot” mentioned in every chapter title but, by the time you’re done with Volume 2 you realize that *every character* is an idiot. He is 100% correct. On to Volume 3 and more action and idiotry!

Ratings:

Art – 8
Story – 8
Characters – 8
Yuri – 4
Series – 2

Overall – 8

The third thing that made this book less than perfect is not technical, it is organizational. Neither Seven Seas nor Tor bothered to send me a copy. So it is with much thanks that I bow with sincere gratitude to Okazu Hero Bruce McF. for this copy. As always, you are my Hero. ^_^

Posted in English Manga, Hayashiya Shizuru, Hayate x Blade | 19 Comments »


News Brief: Funimation licenses El Cazador

February 19th, 2009

I’m absolutely beside myself with joy. There’s only three anime I want to see licensed right now and this was number one on the list. (Blue Drop and Mnemosyne are two and three. I know you’re gonna ask.)

Fans of Bee Train’s girls-with-guns-on-the-run trilogy, completion is around the corner at last, with Funimation’s licensing of El Cazador de la Bruja!

Finally, we’ll get to see Ellis loving Nadie best when her eyes are shining.

Posted in Bee Train, El Cazador, Yuri Network News | 12 Comments »


Murder Princess Anime (Polish/German)

February 18th, 2009

I have been so crazy busy recently working on Yuri Monogatari 6 that, after hours of staring at the computer, the thought of reviewing something for you makes me want to cry. Which is why it is once again my absolute, sincere pleasure to welcome Winterbraid as a guest reviewer! Yay!

I`ve finally bled up enough coin to get the new (well, not really, ’cause it was some time ago) and shiny release of Murder Princess, which got, uh, released – by a company aptly calling themselves “Anime Video” – in Poland. And in Germany too, I guess, since it comes with both Polish and German subtitles; and even two different versions of the latter, according to my video player. I know this series has already been taken apart, like, three times on Okazu; but I`m still gonna write about it excessively.
^-^

I must say, while Murder Princess doesn`t seem to have magically gained more Yuri value (or more innovative value, when we`re at it ^-^;) on the second run, it is still – all the same – an enjoyable anime to watch. I think it`s because it is basically a handful of entirely unoriginal themes blended together in an entirely original manner, serviceliciously free of intellectual baggage, and amply seasoned with awesome (like in “Hey, she just thrashed a monster ten times her size!!!” awesome). ^-^ Yes, I just like this series, somehow – perhaps not the title, though. ^-^;

The release consists of two DVDs in a single box (the summary on the back cover has a rather serious mistake, by the way); the first thing I noticed (or should I say, didn`t notice) upon opening the box was lack of postcard. =_= On the other hand, there was a booklet with several pictures of Faris and Alita, and translated liner notes from Tomoyuki Kurokawa of Bee-Train; quite a nice touch, yeah, but still not a postcard… okay, okay. ^-^; Each DVD contains three episodes, and the remaining space is conveniently filled with trailers; nothing Yuri-esque there, so I skipped that part (the company has also released both seasons of Black Lagoon, by the way).

Now for the translation, which is… rather unusual, I`d say. The translators obviously went the creative way; that in itself is more than commendable, as long as it is a result of actual creativity rather than lack of knowledge. I`d like to believe the former is the case here, although this belief`s been put to trial a few times. In other words, there are moments when the text not only doesn`t make sense when compared with original speech, but it also doesn`t make any sense at all. ^-^; Oh well. Still, there is a number of actual “wow!” moments, and these – at least in my opinion – more than make up for the occasional not-so-wow moment, and the more blatant differences from the original are an extra source of fun. ^-^ The characters are, for once, literate (actually, even more literate sometimes than in the original; that`s okay, seeing that while short sentences might sound cool in Japanese, in Polish they just sound dumb ^-^;), use more than 2000 basic words, and – most of the time – use wording you`d expect from the genre. In fact, the result might be a bit too… theatrical at times, but this anime isn`t one to be taken seriously either, so it`s all right, I guess. ^-^; I believe in beautiful translations rather than strictly true translations, so I wholeheartedly support the turn towards creativity (as long as some improvement is on the way) and I can only wish the editors even more imagination in the future, to cover up any gaps in actual knowledge. And more postcards, perhaps. ^-^

And these were my thoughts on “Murder Princess.”

Erica here – thank you Winterbraid for that insightful and entirely laugh-out-loud review. Consider your thoughts and rambles welcome here any time.

Posted in Miscellaneous | 4 Comments »


Kitsune to Atori Manga

February 16th, 2009

Kitsune to Atori is a freaky little collection of three multi-part stories that have absolutely nothing in common except the creator, Takeda Hinata.

The first half of the book, “Kitsune and Atori,” follows the lives, deaths and lives (and deaths, etc, etc,) of sisters Kitsune and Atori. Atori loves her big sister, but hates the foxes that haunt the shrine they live in. It’s kind of sadly apparent that they *are* the foxes, but when Atori kills her sister, there’s nothing we can do about it. Nor can we do anything when we see them alive once again, only this time it’s Atori who has to die. The story is a little weird, a little depressing, a little violent and a little touching, with a measure of “Wait, wasn’t that…? But I thought she…? HUH?”

The second half of the book, “The Doll’s Girl,” follows an introverted and lonely girl, Minori, who has been hospitalized for a long time, following her father’s death. Minori assuages her loneliness by making clothes for her only companion, a doll. When Kanae, a girl slightly older than Minori and exactly opposite in personality, arrives to share her room for a little while, she throws Minori’s life into complete chaos. Kanae is clothes obsessed, extroverted and brand-conscious. But she’s good-hearted and when she sees Hana, Minori’s doll, she decides that she needs a little bling in her life, pulls out a pair of scissors and slices her camisole up for lace for Hana’s hat. Kanae moves to her own room, but she and Minori come to see each other over and over. Minori asks if she can use one of the shiny buttons Kanae wears on her purse, but is told that those, and those alone, she can’t have.

When Kanae’s surgery day comes close Minori makes her a protective charm. Minori cuts out ivy leaves which, in the language of flowers, means “eternal friendship.” Kanae wants to see what’s inside, but Minori won’t let her, embarrassed by her moment of emotionality. Minori thinks Kanae doesn’t appreciate her, so she demands the o-mamori back. As she’s wheeled to surgery, Kanae asks the nurse to give the charm back to Minori, after learning what was in it. Minori receives the charm and opens it to find the buttons that Kanae treasured inside. Minori goes running through the halls to tell Kanae not to die.

The story comes to an end with Minori, dressed quite nattily, visiting a recovering Kanae in the hospital, with an epilogue in which Kanae and Minori are reunited in the outside world, hopefully never to be parted again.

The third story, “Yaeka’s Airmail,” involves a nursing school and some characters that look like infants, a lot of animals, and cool adult characters who look all of mid-teens. It was very dramatic, with fun interiors that didn’t match the story at all.

So, not the Yuriest manga ever published, but for incesty crushes and hospital crushes and impossible age-difference and geographically separate crushes, it was a fun romp through the interesting variety of stuff in the creator’s brain. ^_^

Ratings:

Art – variable, but averaging at 7
Story – ditto
Characters – same here
Yuri – 1
Service – 1

Overall – 7

Today’s review was sponsored by the peerless Komatsu-san, whose blog makes me laugh, as well as educates me about my own industry from the Japanese perspective.

Posted in Miscellaneous | 4 Comments »


5 Things Niche Companies Do Right

February 15th, 2009

In January, I wrote a short article about 5 Things Niche Companies Do Wrong. Things like not planning to suceed, failing to listen to expert advice, etc.

Today, I want to present the other half of that equation, things that niche companies use as natural advantages over larger, clunkier companies. I’ll do my best to present you with some examples as we go along. Bear in mind that every company in anime and manga is a “niche” company. Even the big ones.

Disclaimer – none of these examples were solicited, nor do the companies have the vaguest clue I’m using them as examples. They are giving me nothing for this, so don’t even start.)

5 Things Niche Companies Do Right

Treat Consumers like Friends

One of the undeniable facts about fandoms over general consumer markets is that your consumers are the “fans” of the product. They will act as if they have a personal stake in the product – even if they never support it finanically. If you take a second to think about it, you will have no trouble thinking of an example of someone publicly trashing a movie they haven’t (and won’t) see or a book they have no intention of buying because they felt betrayed by the contents.

As a niche company, we have the right and the power to be friendly with our consumers – to talk to them when they come into the store or up to a table at an event, or get emails from them, and respond personally. If we truly engage with the fans, they will feel even *more* involved with the product and if they like it, they will spread the word.

My best of breed example of this is Comic Fusion, a comic store owned by my friend Stacy. She’s taught me everything I’ve ever needed to know about networking. She isn’t smarmy or market-y. She just talks to people. She’s friendly to her customers and to people she meets. (She’s from California, so she can’t help it, really.) As a result, her clients *LOVE* her store. They bring friends, they bring family, they bring anyone they can drag along with them. And every single person who walks through the door is another new friend.

There was a dreadful article I read recently about ways to capture the young female comic market (Pink and flowery comic boxes? Seriously?) and I thought – all they need to do is have someone like Stacy at the counter. Their store does not have overstuffed chairs (another idiotic suggestion, as if comic store owners want people to sit there and read, not buy) but they have the friendliest, most welcoming customer service EVER. Now that’s how you get and keep customers.

Be flexible

When the standard methods lead to a shrinking market, looking way outside your comfort zone is the best way to grow.

Recently, all the press has been on the young teen female readers, but you know, manga’s already done there. The girls who got into that when they were 12 are 15, 18, 20 now. There’s damn little for them. Stuff for young teen male readers has enough of a “universal” appeal that those titles are doing okay. But who is actually *buying* manga the most right now? Adults. Yes, those of us who are way too old to be reading comics are the ones holding the damn industry afloat.

So, when while every company is scrambling to be the next Twilight, which is already a bad idea, Viz announced a bunch of licences at NY Comic Con that appealed to a more mature readership. And, I am assured, are mostly off-beat and unusual.

This is the company that made the tween/teen manga world explode here with utterly banal, insansely popular Shounen Jump and Shoujo Beat magazines. And now, all of a sudden, they are looking to more mature manga? Why? They had a winning formula! Because young people grow up and if you have a 15 year old, in a few years, that kid is not gonna want to read about 15-year old ninjas anymore. Viz took the leap out of the typical, to the real *next* audience. Adults. I have no doubt at all that it will be successful.

Listen to feedback

Provide instant response to a market change, then let people know you heard them.

Nozomi/Right Stuf announced this crazy idea. They were going to license a completely, utterly, shoujo title. It had no ninjas, or robots, or magical girls or…well…anything really. It was about a bunch of girls who go to a private school, where nothing really happens. (OMG. Lillian is The Talking Heads’ “Heaven!”) You may have heard of the series. lol

But Right Stuf knew that this particular fandom was built by a few key entities who actually encouraged purchase, so they took the risk and licensed Maria-sama ga Miteru. Now here’s the thing. They did a subtitles-only release, because it seemed obvious that the majority of the consumers wanted that over a dub. But when word of the subtitling started to spread, fans expressed concerns about the specific handling of honorifics and titles used in the story. RS was deluged with requests and entreaties for a non-tranlslated handling of the titles. And, they listened. Think about that. They changed the way they did their releases because fans asked politely for a different option. And they let the fans know – immediately. They didn’t keep fans guessing, they jumped right on it and responded with “We heard you! We’ll do it!” I can think of a number of issues that have *not* been addressed after waves of fan mail, but this is the first time I’ve seen an almost instant response of this magnitude.

Reward engagement

Everyone wants to be a hero. I claim my own Okazu blog as best of breed in this. I love the fact that you, my readers, are so engaged. I started the Wish List as a result of *your* emails and comments, asking if you could help support Okazu. And I know that people want to be heros. Well – you are my heros. And so I created the “Okazu Hero” roll and sent you badges to let you and anyone who drops by this blog, that I consider you all my heros.

The result? I can’t keep items on my freaking wishlist! You all are so crazy generous, I have 4 piles of things to read and watch and review here, and 5th building. I didn’t give you a free car – but I let you know you are my heros. And honestly, that’s all anyone ever wants.

Go with your gut

Recently on LinkedIn, I answered a question. The person asked what he should do now that the result of a market feasibility study had proved that his concept wasn’t going to work. In short, I told him that consumers rarely know what they want until after it exists. (Quick, summarize your favorite series, and synopsize it. Now tell someone about it. Would you have wanted it with that description? Probably not.) So, he had two choices – to rethink everything based on a market feasbility study, or to go with his gut. Both would be equally as risky, but only one would make him happy.

ALC Publishing is a boutique publisher, which focuses on bringing doujinshi Yuri artists to the view of the reading audience. We’re not trying to license Strawberry Panic. My gut tells me that when other companies are long gone, we’ll still be around, because we don’t do alot – but we do what *I* love and many people have come to love it as well. That’s all we ever wanted, so…I’m going with my gut.

(And speaking of ALC Publishing – Yuri Monogatari 6 is on sale now on Amazon and the Yuricon Shop!)

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So, there you have it 5 ways that niche companies do the right thing, for the right reasons with the right results.

This essay is once again brought to you by Yurikon LLC – Intelligent Business Promotion.

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One last thing – this was just me having a little fun this AM. Looking for a little Social Marketing humor? Get the Social Marketing is…People! T-shirt from Yurikon. It’s the hottest, newest word in Social Marketing Fashion! :-)

Posted in Microniche Marketing | 9 Comments »