Yuri News This Week – January 3, 2009 and Sage Marketing Advice for 2009

January 3rd, 2009

A couple of interesting items to start the year off!

Yuri Manga

Erin is excited to share the news that a *new* Yuri manga magazine is jumping on the bandwagon. I’m going to quote Erin from the Yuricon Mailing List because not plagiarizing would require work…lol;

“Tsubomi (Bud) is coming out from Houbunsha (the publisher that does Manga Time Kirara). It will be quarterly, and the first issue is due out February 12. The artists include:
Morinaga Milk
Yoshitomi Akihito
Ugawa Hiroki
Ootomo Megane
Oogawa Hidari
Kigi Tatsumi
Kizuki Akira (who did “Needles and Oranges”)
Kuon(?) Aki
Tsurimaki Nodoka
Nawoko
Hattori Mitsuru
Hoshiai Hiro (who did “Shining Mars” in Yuri Tengoku)
Mizutani(?) Fuuka
Miyauchi Yuka
Yoshinari Atsushi

So, some familiar names and some new ones. Yuri na Hibi speculates that Morinaga’s story will be a continuation of the NanaxHitomi series, but I guess we’ll see.”

I’d like to add that Kirara supplies a significant portion of “4-koma comics with Yuri” to the free world, so this isn’t a humongous leap into the unknown for them. :-) Thanks Erin for the great news!

Also an interesting catch from the back of Yuri Hime S, Ichijinsha is reprinting Pure Marionation by Takagi Noboyuki, who is doing Cassiopeia Dolce for YHS, and just finished Magie Paire for Gum. I think this is a wise move. You can take a look at my reviews for Volume 1 and Volume 2 some years ago. Clearly that series was printed before it’s time – now the audience that can appreciate it is a little more consolidated. If you like his service-filled, hyper-cute style, consider getting this title when it comes out again.

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Yuri Anime

The first episode of Maria-sama ga Miteru 4th season aired. If you haven’t watched it already, of course I recommed you do. Because it’s back to TV format, it’s very fast paced – much faster than the novel from which it comes. The OP embodies “whimsical” and the EP shoves the Yuri firmly up our noses. And…get used to Touko. She’s not going away any time soon. :-)

For something *entirely* different, the Queen’s Blade anime trailer can be watched on YouTube. Honestly, set your expectations on “low” then notch them down just a bit and you should be good to enjoy this series! :-) On the positive side, this series does that thing which I thought we’d lost forever – making women look like adults, with adult bodies, rather than infantilizing them. So that’s a bonus.

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Advice to Anime/Manga Companies for 2009

This last thing is someting I’ve been thinking about for a while. In a sense this is advice for companies seeking to enter the “Yuri” market here in the US. Japanese companies are now starting to really take some chances with their Yuri and trying to develop the market. But here, we’re seeing disppointment and retraction of company interest in the Yuri market. Obviously ALC Publishing has always been a boutique publisher. We’re publishing what we want, at our own pace, the way we want it. I can’t afford to – nor do I wish to – compete with companies like Tokyopop or Seven Seas. But where they are all pulling back from forays into Yuri, I have no intention of doing so. That having been said, I think a lot of this advice is relevant to any anime or manga publisher who is considering marketing a niche title to a western audience.

So, here’s my advice for any company seeking to enter a niche manga/anime market in 2009:

“Audience” does not have any relationship to “market.”

If you see 10,000 posts saying “I want series XYZ,” that does not in *any* way translate into sales of 10,000 copies.

I think most fans and probably a lot of the less business intelligence-focused companies have serious cognitive dissonance about this. Fans genuinely believe that the Yuri market is tens of thousands of people strong, when in fact, outside Japan it is tens of dozens strong. A good, strong book sales for a purely niche title is about 2000 copies. (This is based on business intelligence I have gathered from a number of sources.) I can think of several “highly anticipated” releases that did so poorly – less than 500 copies – that the company has killed the series. Which brings me to;

It’s no one’s fault. No matter what the “anti-guy” says.

You know the “anti-guy – s/he’s the person who posts and posts and posts all over forums and blogs about how s/he’d buy that book/series “if only” the company did something else/better/different. But in reality, for all the noise s/he makes, at best s/he only buys 1 copy of any given book, and most probably doesn’t buy *any.* Do NOT listen to the anti-guy. In fact, ban the anti-guy from your forums. S/he sows discord and misery and adds nothing at all helpful to the mix. Ignore the anti-guy. Don’t respond to his/her posts, do not follow his/her swath of fantastic claims and unreasonable demands around the Internet. Do not legitimize him/her. (Other bloggers, that goes for you, too. Stop giving people like this legitimacy as “press.”)

The reality is that the buying audience – the “market” – for niche anime and manga is infintesimally small. No, the market for anime and manga overall in the west is infintesimally small, and niche anime and manga is a microniche of that.

So, please, companies, do not expect to make grazillions in Yuri. If you want to grow the market, there’s a big audience out there. But it will take time – you need to work with them, communicate with them, get to understand where they live online and what they are willing to pay for – and how to gauge potential sales correctly. You also need to be willing to support a series that has potential to move outside the niche with some genuine advertising and promotion. (Thanks to Simon from Icarus Publishing for adding that it’s not enough to temper your own sales expectations, but those of the Japanese publisher as well. And that requires a *very* deft touch. which is absolutely crucial as well.)

Which brings me to my next piece of advice.

It’s time to stop thinking “word of mouth” is good enough.

There is a series I like. I’ve written about it a lot here. I write about it everywhere. But I’m only one person. Perhaps my going on and on sold a few more copies of this series. I’ll be absurdly generous and say that directly or indirectly, I may have been responsible for 100 copies sold.

That’s nowhere near enough.

The thing is, there is a reasonably cheap way to advertise this series at point-of-sale. It involves a radical change of thinking about advertising, and an incorporation of some Japanese-style promotion. Comparatively, it’s not expensive and would absolutely get more people to see this book on the shelf.

It won’t ever happen. (Although, Company X, if you want to know what it is, and how it can be done, feel free to contact me and I’ll tell you how. lol)

I’ve commented on this many times here – in Japan, the collected volume of manga or box set of anime is the *end* of a long stream of promotion and distribution. Here in the west, it’s the beginning and the end. Volume comes out, volume gets bought, volume goes away. There are a few magazines that have serialization, and few series get TV releases, but for most Yuri titles – most anime and manga titles – there is no Cartoon Network, no Anime Network, no Yen Plus, no Shoujo Beat. Book comes out, Company ABC relies on fans to talk about it, runs a few contests, sends out some press releases, review copies…and that’s it.

Stop. Please. You’re forcing me, a fan, a reviewer, a person of influence, into browbeating people for *you* so *you* can make a profit. Do your own business intelligence – find out *where* to make announcement, find out *who* to turn into advocates and for god’s sake – look outside the anime/manga world. I can think of half a dozen series off the top of my head that would easily be marketable to any “person who doesn’t read manga or watch anime.” (For example – why the hell doesn’t the Black Lagoon anime advertise on Spike TV? I mean, seriously. There’s a HUGE audience right there. I know, I know…money. But there’s an old business adage “To make money you have to spend money.” Nowhere is this more true than when you are trying to grow an audience into a market.) I market *my* manga to the GLBT audience. Why aren’t you out there markteing yours to children/teens/adults who like similar non-manga/anime stuff?

I don’t expect too many companies to come running, singing paeans of thanks for my advice, but if you happen to be a company and do want to understand what I am saying, I have 20+ years of marketing and business intelligence background I bring to this issue. I’m not blowing smoke – there are answers for all these issues. They just might take time – and possibly a complete rethinking of everything you’re doing right now. :) But, it’s not impossible. Call me.

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So that’s my thoughts for the first week of 2009. Here’s to a terrific, Yuri-ful New Year!

Posted in Microniche Marketing, Yuri Network News | 15 Comments »


Yuri Manga: Futari ha PreCure Splash Star, Volume 1

January 2nd, 2009

In Volume 1 of Futari ha PreCure Splash Star , Saki is a the pitcher of her middle school softball team, Mai is a member of the art club, and neither of them are particularly special in any way, we are told.

…Wait.

Saki is a star pitcher and Mai is a brilliant artist but neither of them are *special*? Nice.

So anyway, these two exceptionally talented, but in no way special, young ladies see each other for the first time and something happens – they feel instantly as if they know each other.

Saki seeks Mai out, finding her at this big ole tree Saki also likes to hang out at and, as they talk, two things happen to these unspecial girls. One – the tree attacks them, morphing into an evil being and two, happy glittery lights start surrounding them, eventually resolving into two hideously cute stuffed-animal like creatures named Floppy and Choppy, who give Saki and Mai the ability – nay, the charge – to transform into PreCure Bloom and PreCure Egret and save them (namely, Floppy and Choppy.)

Oh, *now* they’re special.

The rest of the story follows the traditional mahou shoujo pattern, with Monster of the Day attacking and PreCure defeating, but that is not at all the story. The story is the surprisingly intense relationship devoping between Saki and Mai. You can put your Yuri goggles on low for this round of manga, let me tell you. Where in the original PreCure, Nagisa wasn’t all that interested in Honoka, who has a massive crush on her (well, duh! It’s *obvious*! lol) in Splash Star both Saki and Mai, each in their own way, want to become closer – quickly.

Saki comes running in to school with a list of questions – what’s you birthday, your favorite/ least favorite food, your favorite band, your type (“Well, I like them to be on the softball team, energetic, and be a magical girl on the side,”) etc, etc. Mai is initially taken aback, but eventually they do take that step forward. On Mai’s side, she’s always drawing in a sketchbook, but won’t let Saki see the contents. When, because of a magical attack the contents are scattered, no one reading the book is surprised to find that ALL the pictures are of Saki. Every last one.

Oh, and the bad guys? They get POUNDED by one, when they hit the other. lol They are otherwise completely disposable until the evil twin sisters arrive. Actually – this was a really fun bit of the book. Kaoru and Michiru are better at everything Saki and Mai do. But because Saki and Mai are nice girls, they are impressed, rather than jealous, which drive the evil twins *crazy*. There’s a scene where the entire class gets together for a welcome party for them and they are looking at everyone like, “What is WRONG with you people? We’re arrogant, nasty and elitist – you are supposed to hate us!”

Of course they are saved by friendship and in return save PreCure Bloom and Egret, taking one on the chin for their new friends.

The art for this manga is interesting – chances are you will either like it, or hate it. It’s not Sailor Moon -esque, with long-limbed beauties, and it’s not Kami-chan Karin, with hyper cuteness. The pages are full of movement and energy, with great swirls of lines and bodies in slightly weird, but very action-filled positions. Whether it’s Saki throwing the winning pitch, or PreCure defeating the MotD, the theme is ‘action.” I quite liked it, myself.

On the downside, the naming sense that gives us cute little creatures in PreCure, Mipple and Mepple and now, in PreCure Splash Star, Floppy and Choppy, makes Erica Crabby and Stabby. But on the upside, Floppy and Choppy hardly speak comparatively to their predecessors and don’t get in the way of the story much.

Obviously, nothing explicit is going to be happening in a manga like this. But for all that, the Yuri is, really, quite “obvious.” Which means it’s totally open to interpretation as all things are. I choose to interprate this iteration as Yuri. ;-)

Ratings:

Art – 8
Story – 6
Characters – 7
Yuri – 4
Service – 1

Overall – 7

Many, many thanks to today’s sponsor, Okazu hero Komatsu-san for all he’s done for Okazu, for PreCure and for Yuri!

(A few people have noted that I do not link the picture or title above to the Amazon JP entry for this series. That is because there *is* no entry on Amazon JP for any of the manga for this series. Looks like PreCure 5 Go! Go! is all that’s available these days. So, if you really want this volume, you’ll need to find another source. Sorry.)

Posted in Yuri Manga | 7 Comments »


Top Ten Yuri of 2008

December 31st, 2008

Here we are, looking back at a tempestuous, and in many ways frustrating 2008. It’s been challenging for all of us, fans and companies alike. But – and there’s always a but… – in many ways it has been quite excellent. In celebration of the excellent, here are my choices for Top Ten Yuri (Anythings) of 2008. :-)

10) Candy Boy – This series made a *tremendous* splash in the world of Yuri. Frankly, I’m still not sure why, as there is so little Yuri in it that if you take out Saku-chan and the series subtitle, it is merely a slice of life story about three not terribly interesting sisters. But, you have to admit that my disinterest in it gave lots of people a chance to hate me all over again. lol In a nod to all of Yuri-dom that thinks this is the most fabulous Yuri of 2008, Candy Boy gets to be on the Top Ten.

9) Octave – A surprising story, an interesting story. A story by an artist we weren’t already following, in a magazine that we weren’t necessarily reading. Not about schoolgirls, not about immature crushes. Full of conventions we were familiar with, but not conventional and pleasantly realistic. Octave didn’t make a huge splash, but I think it will create ripples that will spread for some time.

8) – Media Blasters – for bringing us Simoun, Strawberry Panic, Kashimashi ~ Girl meets Girl and Maka-Maka, any one of which could make this list by itself. Media Blasters really outdid themselves, really stepping up the quality of everything they did, just because we asked them to. The folks at MB have fun with their Yuri, but treat it with the respect the end product deserves. Above all, they *enjoy* bringing Yuri to the fans. So, for their “Yuri Fans” line, Media Blasters and their series, make Number 8 this year.

7) Shoujo Yuri Manga…for Men – This year we have seen several popular Yuri series that were, in nearly every way, classic shoujo, run in magazines for men. Aoi Hana (Fx Erotics magazine) and Girlfriends (Comic Hi magazine,) immediately come to mind. They explore young love – not in an icky, service-y way, but in an honest and emotional way. They are written by women and just happen to run in magazines that are written for men. Years and year ago, I predicted that Yuri would start to blur that line between “for women” and “for men” in the Japanese manga market and I continue to think that Yuri, of all the genres, is the one genre that can successfully do that. In any case, for making this prediction come one step closer to true, these series and their magazines, make number 7 on the list.

6) Right Stuf – They entered the Yuri market with eyes and arms open. They *talked* to us. They asked what we wanted and paid attention to what we said. In a world where companies are giving less and less, they went ahead and offered more – and they didn’t shy away when Yuri fandom stood front and center to say that we are the most rabid fans. It was a great start to what I hope will be a fabulous relationship going forward. Thanks for 2008, Right Stuf – here’s looking forward to 2009 with you!

5) Yuri Hime and Yuri Hime S, and all the many collected volumes from their pages continue to put Ichijinsha on this list. They continue to lead the way in “Girls Love” publishing in Japan, proving that Yuri for both men and women can be profitable. Because of them, little by little, “Girls love” sections are popping up in bookstores all over Japan. It takes vision and conviction to change the world. I’m doing my best on this side of the ocean, and for all their efforts in Japan, Ichijinsha and their Yuri magazines make the midpoint mark on this list.

4) Mnemosyne – y’all didn’t like when you watched it, you didn’t like it when I put it on the Top Yuri Anime list, it disappointed you throughout for not being the anime you wanted it to be. What it was, was a wonderful occult/horror/BDSM/speculative fiction for adults about a woman who cannot stay dead, and the people in her life, battling a completely evil nutjob. It had lots of delicious Yuri-service, and even the occasional glimpse of Yuri romance. It totally worked for me. The fact that the voice cast was Marimite-ful and made for crazy cross-over gag comics, just added to the joy. lol

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You already know all these…

3) Hayate x Blade – I have been accused of obsessing over Maria-sama ga Miteru, but that is not entirely true. It’s just that there’s *a lot* of that to review. If you want to accuse me of obsessing, the true culprit is this series. There are no novels, no anime, only manga and Drama CDs, and yet I cannot stop talking about it. It’s the funniest damn thing I read every month. It’s got moments of “Yeah!” and “Wow.” and “Bwahahahah!” and this last chapter still has me snorting with laughter. I hope Seven Seas does well with it, because it is one of the best manga ever and certainly the pinnacle of Hayashiya Shizuru’s skills. Once again in my top three is Hayate x Blade.

2) Maria Watches Us/Maria-sama ga Miteru. As you read this, I am reading the final novel in the series, looking forward to listening to the new Special CD, and awaiting the 4th season of the anime. Everytime I look at the DVDs on my table here, I’m absolutely blown away that this series – in which *nothing* happens and Catholic schoolgirls do not get into trouble – has filled my life with so many hours of entertainment. This is not the last time you’ll see this series on the list, but it’s the last time you’ll see the novels mentioned, because…there are no more. In homage to 11 years of unbelievably good writing, great characters and some really special moments, thanks Konno Oyuki-sensei, for Maria-sama ga Miteru – and thank you Right Stuf for Maria Watches over Us. My second-favorite series of 2008.

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1) Gunjou – It’s still hard for me to believe. A simple message in my Mixi inbox opened a whole new world up to me, and soon Lililicious will open up that world for you. This is story of raw emotion, brutal tenderness and a love that has no name to speak. It is a story of two women on the lam from a terible crime they committed, and a story of two women running towards freedom from the crimes that were committed against them. It’s dysfunctional and beautiful. I have never read anything like it – creator Nakamura Ching is an exceptional talent. As I suspected all along from the moment I first read this, my number one Yuri of the year is…Gunjou.

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I want to take this opportunity thank all the many heros and superheros that have made Okazu so much fun over the years, all my staff at ALC and Yuricon, all the folks that have offered us support. Also, to all the folks who write in here, frothing at the mouth about something, anything you disagree with.

Above all, I want to thank those of you who are my friends and those of you who have become my friends because of Yuricon and Okazu.

And one last time, please allow me to remind you that the best way to “support” Yuri is to purchase Yuri. Whether you are picking up a copy of Hayate x Blade or Strawberry Panic, whether you’re looking for anime, manga, novels or t-shirts, whether you shop on the Yuricon Shop, or with one of our Yuri-related advertisers, please don’t forget that downloading Yuri doesn’t support it in any meaningful way. Support your favorite Yuri artists and the companies who are bringing it to you – buy Yuri.

I wish you all a very happy, healthy New Year.

Posted in Now This Is Only My Opinion, Top Yuri Lists | 9 Comments »


My-HiME Manga, Volume 1 (English)

December 30th, 2008

In Volume 1 of My Hime, strange things are afoot at Fuka Academy. Monsters are appearing, girls with magical powers are fighting…and all of it seems to surround one boy, a transfer student by the name of Yuuichro Tate.

Tate is trying to redeem himself after a series of unavoidable choices caused tragedy to both him and the girl who admired him most. Instead of redemption, Tate finds himself in the middle of a storm, in which exceptional girls with exceptional powers want him to provide them with the means to fight.

Unlike the My HiME anime, this story is not about Mai, or Natsuki, or Mikoto. And unlike the anime, the service here has a nasty edge. Welcome to Champion Red and it’s special brand of woman-hating seinen manga. Despite the fact that you can expect to see woman depantsed, and deshirted with steady frequency, and the occasional rape thrown in for good measure, there are still some things to like about My Hime. The story is similar enough to the anime, that you can at least follow it,and there’s no Duke Nagi putting women in chains and beating them, for one thing. But that’s not what I was referring to. What I was referring to, of course, is…the Yuri service.

Shizuru remains a decidely Yuri character, with fangirls falling over themselves to be close to her. She also remains eyes only for Natsuki, so if that’s a key feature of the My/Mai franchise for you, then rest assured. The implied frottage between Mikoto and Mai is of questionable value to me, but I think that for this manga’s audience it’s spot on for appeal.

And despite the fact that this manga series is not about any of the many interesting characters in My HiME, instead focusing on the least interesting character in the known universe, it’s really quite all right for a trashy fantasy about trashy fantasy. ^_^

Ratings:

Art – 6
Story – 6
Characters – 6
Yuri – 2
Service – 7

Overall – 6

Speaking of fangirls, I am a huge fangirl for today’s sponsor, Okazu superhero Ana M! She is the absolute bomb! And btw, please notice the spiffy new “Hero Roll” on the right sidebar. Become an Okazu superhero by sponsoring a review and you too can be enshrined there for our permanent admiration.

Posted in English Manga, Mai Hime | 5 Comments »


Top Ten Yuri Manga of 2008

December 29th, 2008

Unless you’re a brand new reader, I don’t think anything on this list will surprise you. Here’s my choices for Top Ten Yuri Manga of 2008:

English Manga

5) Strawberry Panic – The manga was stoopid and silly and the light novels were *hysterical.* The manga series was killed in Japan, and the light novels died an equally ignominious death here in the US, but they gave us all something to talk about – and were the start of my Yuri military force. lol For using more than one private helicopter in a single volume, and putting a helipad on the top of the tower in St. Spica *high school*, I graciously give the number five position to the literary portion of the Strawberry Panic franchise.

4) S.S. Astro – It was yet another 4-koma with yet another Yuri-fetishist character. But it was not about school kids and their names were not cleverly thematic and the Yuri character was a suit- and glasses-wearing adult woman. Score. All of that *and* we get to welcome a new publisher to the list! Thanks Yen Press – give us more S.S. Astro!

3) Kashimashi ~ Girl Meets Girl – As a story, it was flawed in any number of ways. As an adaptation, it was nearly perfect. For not turning Hazumu back into a guy and actually having a resolution, the final volumes of Seven Seas’ translation of Kashimashi makes the top five of the year handily.

2) Hayate x Blade – I want to apologize, because this series has made one of my top ten lists I think for every year since I started doing them. But this year is different! Hayate x Blade is making the English language portion of the list, so how about that? I love this series and you’re all just gonna have to deal with me telling you over and over and over how good it is, so there. Seven Seas comes in with their third book on the list at number 2 for 2008.

1) Maka-Maka – Maybe this does surprise you. In a way, it surprises me. The story is totally “PWP.” The characters are surprisingly real and therefore, kind of annoying. lol But Media Blasters did such a spectacular job of reproducing the book that after reading both volumes I still think I like the English editions slightly more than the originals. My number one English-language Yuri manga of 2008 is Maka-Maka.

Japanese Manga

5) Girl Friends and Rakuen Jouken – While these two manga are written for completely different audiences, they have quite a lot in common. Both of them deal with “coming out”s of a sort; Girl Friends in a high school setting, Rakuen no Jouken in adult life. In every case, the story is driven by a woman coming to understand her feelings for another woman. In every case, the emotions feel totally honest to this reader. Because of this, they both make my number five.

4) Clover – I know that no one is paying any attention to Otsu Hiyori’s work. And I know that my words will not suddenly catapult this book to superstar status, but by god, if you want to read Yuri that does not suck AND has a happy ending, buy this damn book!

3) Octave – Unlike Clover, Octave is getting a lot of press (probably because it’s at least partially scanlated already.) Another example of a story that is not about schoolgirls, it touches on some very reasonable issues about sexuality and sex, it’s surprisingly adult and extremely well written. It’s a genuine pleasure to add Octave to the top five this year and here’s hoping that I’ll be able to do the same next year.

2) Sasamekikoto – Yeah, it’s back to schoolgirls again, but you know, it’s funny. Laugh Out Loud funny. And sweet, in a really annoying way. And touching in a really touching way. Above all, Sasamekikoto is a conglomeration of just about every possible Yuri trope all at once and it works. Waiting for Ushio and Sumi to get it together and get together is such pleasant agony. It’s a clear shot at the number two slot for this series.

1) – No surprises here. I told you right from my very first glimpse that this would be my number one Yuri manga series of the year. And nothing I saw convinced me otherwise. The writing is stellar, the art is captivating, the story is compelling, raw, horrible and beautiful. I have never read anything like it and probably never will again. Absolutely, positively the numer one Yuri Manga of 2008 in any language is Nakamura Ching’s Gunjou.

As always, you can find all the English manga listed here and many other titles available on the Yuricon Shop, where your support nabs you great Yuri. ;-)

Check back in a few days for my Top Ten Yuri of the year!

Posted in English Manga, Now This Is Only My Opinion, Top Yuri Lists | 5 Comments »