Yuri Light Novel: Wild Bouquet, Volume 2

January 22nd, 2009

When last we left former princess Deriana and former maid Josette in Wild Bouquet Volume 1, they were escaping from Deriana’s arranged marriage to the King of Akabansu, a kingdom of the Glorious Alliance in which romantic love of any kind is expressly forbidden.

In Wild Bouquet 2: The Name of the Flower That Dances (ワイルドブーケ想いを綴る花の名は,) they have ended up in a nearby independent country, earning money to continue the journey. That is, Josette is working to earn money, but she won’t let Deriana soil her royal hands. Deriana really *wants* to contribute, but Josette is having a hard time letting go of their difference in status. As part of Josette’s pay, the two have a pleasant little room above the pleasant little restaurant in which she works, in this pleasant little town.

Deriana spends her days at an archive, reading novels – including the illegal novels of romantic love written by the mysterious author “Lolipop.” At the archives, she meets a girl named Coriida, who is moved by Deriana’s beauty and grace. Despite wanting to be left alone to read, Deriana finds herself drawn into Coriida’s acquaintance.

In the meantime, Josette is befriended by the exceedingly eccentric woman who lives behind the restaurant. Bergamo researches the illegal topic of romantic love. When she pegs Josette for being “in love” with someone, she keeps asking for Josette to deliver her food, then asks her a ton of questions about this whole “in love” business.

However…Josette doesn’t know what being “in love” is – she’s not even sure that that’s what she and Deriana are! Having grown up in a world where any romantic love was forbidden – and same-sex love was completely unheard of – Josette hasn’t the vaguest clue what “love” is. At night, Josette still acts as a maid, brushing Deriana’s hair and washing her back in the bath. She refuses to share a bed with Deriana, until the former princess insists. For her part, Deriana is constantly trying to break down the walls between her and Josette. She insists on brushing Josette’s hair and washing her back, too and reminding Josette to just call her “Deriana.”

In town, there is a church. Separately, Josette and Deriana find themselves there; getting a tour of the building, meeting the occupants. They learn that Cyrano – the obviously bad guy from the first novel who turned out to actually be the psychopomp who saved them – is staying there, bound by some intense, undefined relationship with Miss Roush, the head of the church.

Josette is with Bergamo, and Deriana and Coriida are at the church, when Coriida – who has some past with Bergamo – suddenly wants to see the researcher. Deriana and Coriida walk in as Bergamo is about to show Josette what a kiss is (prompting me to ban all literature from my house that includes the line, “What is…kiss?”)

Not surprisingly, it turns out that Coriida’s actually in love with Bergamo and vice versa, so when Coriida runs out onto the street, Bergamo follows, leaving a flustered Josette to try and explain what was going on to a Deriana who is three steps ahead of her and not the jealous type. Deriana kisses Josette. Finally.

As she runs away from Bergamo, Coriida drops the manuscript she was clutching. Bergamo picks it up only to be immediately accosted by the police, who arrest her for being “Lolipop.” It’s no real surprise to learn that Corrida is the outlaw romance author; it was a marginal surprise to learn that the church was publishing the manuscripts and Cyrano was the one distributing the illegal novels to the world.

Coriida, Deriana, Josette, Cyrano and Miss Roush come up with an extremely overcomplex plan to spring Bergamo and get everyone safely back to the church, then get Josette and Deriana out of town two steps ahead of the law. Coriida and Bergamo make up; Cyrano is vaguely amused, Miss Roush seems vaguely annoyed by everything and Josette and Deriana run off together to continue their journey west and probably into a third novel. The book ends with a romantic kiss in the moonlight for our two heroines.

Why do I think there’ll be a third book? Because there’s a scene early on where Josette’s foster sister and commander of the Akabansu guard, Soliel, is organizing a search to find them. But nothing comes of it. So…book three. (Update: There was no book three.)

This novel was hardly great literature, but it had some good points. The best thing was Deriana. She spent the book trying to bridge the distance Josette kept putting between them – and when the kiss thing came up, she didn’t bat an eye. No histrionics, not even a twinge of irritating jealousy. She stepped right up and used the opportunity to kiss Josette. She was also totally game for helping out with the stupid plan to free Bergamo. It’s kind of expected that the hime-type character will be the haughty, annoying character, but I think I liked Deriana best.

The biggest downside was, that the night before I finished it, I read a Haruka x Michiru shousetsu, a fan novel. That story was equally as predictable as this one (Michiru loses her memory in an accident and has to fall in love with Haruka all over again, but gets her memory back when she transforms into Neptune…it was a totally “duh” plot,) but about 800 times better written – and pretty hot. So here I am reading Josette’s question to Bergamo, “what is…kiss?” and it made me want to stab something. ^_^; Because the whole “this is my first time – teach me” thing totally creeps me out. Thank goodness for Deriana not being equally as tedious.

In any case, unlike Volume 1, Volume 2 of this Yuri fairy tale met my minimum requirements for Princess and Maid love stories. ^_^ If you must read the whole series, fine, but if you want to pick one – pick this one.

Ratings:

Art – 6 (light novel, remember)
Story – 6
Characters – 6, Deriana – 8
Yuri – 7
Service – 1, unless you fetishize “pure, innocent” feelings, then 8

Overall – 7

I’m a little worried about the creepy factor of Volume 3, though. I shudder to think we’ll have to read through awkward discovery of heavy petting. Ugh. FanBoy heaven, Erica hell.

Posted in Light Novel | 11 Comments »


Yuri Manga: Stray Little Devil, Volume 5 (English)

January 20th, 2009

Up is down, good is evil, lions are lying with lambs and the whole world’s existence lies heavily on the shoulders of one young girl in Stray Little Devil, Volume 5.

The evil, manipulating angels and the good, innocent devils edge ever closer to war, as Pam struggles with her feelings for Lin-fa. Babylonian mythology is twisted into incomprehensible babble as the Tupismati’s power is unsurprisingly revealed to be the key to everything!

But, the one piece of “everything” that *we’re* all watching is Lin-fa, possessed by power too monstrous to control, coming >thisdeus ex machina she wears around her neck. As Babylonian mythology gives way to Qabala, we learn all the pieces of the story that, if we were to have thought about it for five seconds, would have been obvious anyway, but that’s okay – that’s what a climax is for. ^_^

So, Yuri? Yes. Pam and Lin-fa save all the worlds with their love for one another. Although we don’t see the *actual* kiss, we get enough of the lead-in that it’s kinda inevitable. lol The whole “I’ll give my life for you” and “Everything will be fine as long as I’m with you” is almost unneeded – but not unwanted. The epilogue offers another tears-of-joy embrace, just to put a period on it. So, yes, I’ll bow to the majority opinion on this one, and proclaim it “Yuri.” ^_^ And thanks to everyone who kept insisting I should make it all the way through this series.

Stray Little Devil broke no new ground; it was pretty predictable as these kind of series go, and it had questionable service, IMHO. But, I’ve definitely read worse, and wouldn’t hesitate to suggest it to readers who like their Yuri cute, sweet, slightly moe and with symbolic violence rather than real.

Ratings:

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

Overall – 6

We have a new Okazu hero today! Clearesta T. step up please, take your bow and receive my thanks for sponsoring today’s review!

Posted in English Manga | 11 Comments »


Yuri Anime: Haibane Renmei Anime (Polish/German)

January 19th, 2009

I am so very pleased to welcome a new guest reviewer today! Winterbraid has graciously agreed to review some of Yuri (and Yuri-ish) anime that has been released in Poland. Let’s not waste any time and get right to today’s review!

This is rather old “news” by now, but I`m still going to write about it – because… well, I think it’s worth it. Haibane Renmei (Haibane Renmei: Stowarzyszenie szaropiórych, 灰羽連盟) one of the few truly memorable series I have seen. Basically it has all the powers of Serial Experiments Lain *plus* a story that doesn’t require from viewers the ability to think in five dimensions. ^-^; Also, while Reki doesn’t ride a motorbike, she *does* ride a scooter – and though she and Rakka cannot be – in my opinion – considered a couple by any means, I would say the portrayed relationship of the two is deeper, and more genuine, than it is the case for many of the “couples” that are pretty much canon by now (or were intended as couples in the first place). ^-^

All 13 episodes fit on two DVDs, in two boxes. (Which together cost less than a single box of Murder Princess. lol) The first thing discerning this release from the rows of other boxes on a shelf is… the art. Every anime linked in any way to the name “Yoshitoshi ABe” is notable not only for the scarcity of heterosexual pairings, but also for character designs and artwork… that can`t be mistaken for anything else. …In fact, I’d place these among the most desktop-friendly anime.
^-^ Thus we’ve got the cover, which basically screamed familiar to me from kilometers’ distance to the shelf (that was actually my first contact with the series), and….

Yay, postcards!!! There is one in each box, and while the selection of artwork may not have been the absolute best from all available, the truth is that the average of ABe’s work would be a soaring high for many other artists. (At least I feel this way. Lack of sharp lines is something that appeals to my soul deeply.) ^-^ And the two postcards I received with Haibane Renmei will surely remain my treasure… well, also there is a booklet in the second box with some more excellent artwork and brief descriptions of the major characters, but… nothing beats a good postcard for me. ^-^

Haibane was published in Poland by a different company than the one that does Murder Princess and El Cazador de la Bruja; as far as I know, some of the crew have been “in business” ever since the now-ancient times of the Kawaii magazine, and then its spiritual successor, the late Mangazyn – for a long time probably some of the most important centres of Polish fandom. (Ah… the nostalgia…) And the experience does show, mostly in the translation, which is more consistent and perhaps better overall compared to the other releases mentioned above, although that’s a subjective matter. While there are some typos, slight timing issues and occasional missing lines, the language is… good – just normal, everyday language of normal, educated people, that might not make you go “ooh!”, but also doesn`t make you go “yuck” – so that’s a plus. And it does fit the story, which *is* about presumably educated, perfectly normal people… with wings and halos… uh. ^-^;

Well, anyway. I simply like the localization, and I like it even more for one additional reason. I think most people familiar with Yuri (and generally, romance in manga & anime) are also familiar with the “suki vs. Suki!”, or “like vs. love”, problem – the blessing of speculative fandom and the nightmare of translators everywhere. (I’m not a language expert and perhaps I`m exaggerating things, but it’s hard for me to think of any other linguistic nuance that has entire dialogue, plot arcs, and even entire *stories* written around it.) ^-^; I find it rather amusing that, of all people, many *scanlation groups* seem to be desperately clinging to the “I like” version, even when the context would logically leave “I love” as the only choice…. Haibane Renmei has, if I`m correct, one instance of “suki”, used by Rakka and directed towards Reki. The English word for “like” would clearly make no sense in that particular scene – and much less the Polish equivalent. Polish being a complex language, the translating person could easily have gone for some clever construction that would place itself somewhere inbetween; however, they used the Polish equivalent of “love” instead. I’d say that was a rather remarkable decision; with my limited knowledge (supported by a couple of dictionaries), I feel that the Polish word for “love” carries even more gravity than the English “love”…. There are basically two meanings of the word when referring to a person; the first meaning is reserved for God and one’s relatives – either by blood or by law, as through the act of adoption; while there used to be a concept of “sisterly love” and “brotherly love” between individuals unrelated by blood, such use of the word is pretty much obsolete today and replaced by the Polish equivalent of the term “friendship”, which is in fact a *very* strong word in modern Polish. Then there`s the other meaning, which may or may not imply physical intimacy and/or the two falling under a broad definition of a “couple”, but…

…Let’s just say it is not a word used when addressing a friend. Not even a close one. Yeah. ^-^;

Uh, I guess I got carried away “a bit”. ^-^; As for myself, I think “Haibane Renmei” being released on my local market was a most wonderful thing; and while Reki and Rakka may not be a couple, they certainly make a more than prospective pairing. ^-^

(An off-topic fact: for some reason, this anime always comes to mind when I’m listening to “Ministry Of Lost Souls” by Dream Theater. ^-^;)

Erica here again. Thank you Winterbraid for such a delightful, passionate – and erudite – review of the Polish release of Haibane Renmei! I couldn’t agree with you more about Reki and Rakka. And the art. Although, not about Dream Theater. But still, two out of three. lol

I’m particularly thankful for this review, because obviously my only experience with anime is with the Japanese or the American releases. If any of my readers in other countries want to review their versions of Yuri anime releases, please contact me. We *don’t* all get the same things. For instance…the US box set of Haibane came with pencil boards, not postcards. And speaking for myself, the issue of language simply fascinates me – so this was an exceptionally interesting review for me.

So thanks again to Winterbraid (and you’re welcome for the line about Percival) – we all look forward to many more reviews from you!

Posted in Yuri Anime | 5 Comments »


5 Things Niche Companies Do Wrong

January 18th, 2009

Here’s the newest essay in the series on Microniche Marketing.

5 Things Niche Companies Do Wrong

Don’t Plan

You have a great idea and it’s all going well. You’ve got your first product on the shelves, or a nice list of clients for your service. Everything’s working beautifully. But, in business there’s only two directions – growth or entropy. Most companies plain for neither.

If a small business is successful, then growth is decent, new challenges pop up faster than they are resolved and it takes more time to deal with than you have in a day, so things like planning for the future take a back seat to dealing with the now.

It’s important to stop and think about failure and success. What will you do if this next series is a huge hit – do you have resources to handle the fulfillment? What if your eBay store takes off – can you give it time, or is it always falling to the bottom of the list – how will you restock your shelves if the new store is a success?

Equally – what if it’s a failure? what will you do when the last three products don’t make their margins, or the service isn’t drawing clients? What if you have contracts, but not enough money to do the work?

I see this a lot in the anime/manga world – new companies, with great ideas…and not an ounce of contingency planning.

How to Fix This: With every decision you make, take a second to add a line or two of growth and entropy planning. When the idea gets started and is showing signs of either one or the other, you’ll at least have an inkling of what direction to take.

Fear Change

Your business came from your ideas, your blood, sweat and tears. And now it’s taken off and you’ve taken it to the limits of your abilities to succeed. You’re looking to take it to the next step, bring new ideas to fruition and add value to the things you already do.

But to do that – you will need to change your business. Perhaps add a new employee to take up the slack, or change a business practice, or vendor. Or completely rethink something you’re doing that could be done better differently. Change means loss of control, moving away from *your* vision. It’s hard to let go of your original model, even if a new one would be infinitely better. Niche companies get comfortable in their niche and without even realizing it, they start to fear change.

How to Fix This: If what you are doing is working, then don’t change it. But when you look to grow, you’ll need to get over the fear of change. Change is inevitable in any case, so it’s a good idea to build a little change into your plan at every step, so you get used to it in increments. Consider the things are likely change and what change you can tolerate. Remember how it felt to start your company? Take a risk and capture that feeling of endless possibilities once again.

Forget to Communicate

You’re busy. and your business is clear to you. But your clients and customers don’t always know what you’re thinking. It seems crass to send an email to everyone who has ever bought something from you, that you have a new item for sale – but, it’s not. If you don’t tell people about a new offering, they can’t possibly know about it.

How to Fix This: Talk to your customers and clients. Solicit information, provide feedback. Don’t be afraid to tell them what new things you can offer them. Even if you’ve told them before, you aren’t the center of their universe – tell them again. It’s not tacky.

Listen To People

When you launched your business, you had some hits – and some misses. One of the misses has got a lot of free time on his hands and is crisscrossing town, or your online space, expounding his dissatisfaction.

You can’t change that. Someone is always not going to like the way you make coffee, the color of the flowers, the logo design.

How to Fix This: Don’t listen to it. Don’t follow the forum, read the opinion letter in the newspaper or let your friend tell you the story of the rant. It won’t provide you constructive criticism and you’ll lose confidence in yourself and your business. Work to your strengths for a while and solicit positive – and loud – feedback from satisfied customers. After a while the good will drown out the bad.

Don’t Listen to Good Advice

You’ve decided to look for an advertising firm, or to get a new logo, or have your office walls painted. You’ve solicited a few bids and picked the company that you want to work with.

The first thing they tell you, you tell them why you can’t do that. Then you explain to them, very carefully and slowly, why what they do isn’t really what you want at all, you really want something else – only, you don’t want that, either.

If the marketing person says you *don’t* need Twitter, your audience isn’t *on* Twitter, why argue that you want Twitter?

How to Fix This: When you’re planning a project with a new company, think carefully about your goals for the project – then give your expert that information – not what you think you want, but what your goal for the project is. Then listen to their advice. Chances are they know what they are talking about. That’s what you’re paying them for, after all.

The business world is changing rapidly and it’s not always possible to be on the leading edge. Sometimes it’s not even desirable.

As a niche company, you need to decide what your limits are for change. Sometimes the absolutely best thing you can decide is to stick to your original plan. Sometimes you’ll need to look way past your own ideas for the solution. Either way, things are going to be different. Don’t fear change – embrace it.

Fix any one of these five things and you’ll find that your business runs smoother almost instantly.

Microniche Marketing, from Yurikon LLC. Intelligent Business Promotion

Posted in Microniche Marketing | 5 Comments »


This Week in Yuri – January 17, 2009

January 17th, 2009

And away we go!

Yuri Anime

jinstevens reports that the first DVD of the fourth season of Maria-sama ga Miteru lead anime DVD sales in Japan. More importantly, at the time that it was reported, it was at 216 in *overall* DVD sales. I think that’s staggering. (Here are links to the Japanese-language Collector’s edition and the DVD only. And for pity’s sake – don’t ask me if it’s licensed yet. Do you think I wouldn’t tell you if it was?)

Speaking of which – Right Stuf has announced that they have pushed the release date for the third season, the OAV box set for Maria Watches Over Us a month back, to March 24th. For quality purposes, they assure us. :-)

Kadokawa TV is making a foray into their own streaming anime channel – and including English subtitles. One of their initial offerings is the less than stellar Girls Bravo, which combines Yuri and wrestling artlessly. :-)

***

Yuri Manga

Sean gleefully informs us that Ah! Megami-sama/Oh My Goddess Volume 31 has some Yuri that, while not soul-satisfying, isn’t as entirely icky as it could be.

Some new Japanese Yuri Manga up on the Yuricon Shop for your purchasing pleasure:

The second and final volume of

Comic Yuri Hime 15<

Junsui Adolescence, the collection of Kazuma Kowo’s stories for Yuri Hime

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Other Yuri News

On the Yuricon Mailing List, Erin points towards good news for fans of webcomics Khaos Komix and Simply Sarah, because they are coming out in hard copy. She also offers this list of queer-themed comics from Lililicious for your webcomic enjoyment.

Several people have given the nod to Mendol – Ikemen Idol, a Japanese live-action, gender-bending comedy in which three pop idol wannbee girls are transformed into three male pop idols, wackiness ensues. This show is of the “broad comedy” style favored by Japanese TV so expect weird gestures and sound effects. There is some Yuri, I’m told.

Eugene Woodbury has written an essay which starts one place, ends another and touches upon Yuri in spots. It’s an interesting read.

Grace wants us to know that we are cordially invited to a launch party in Tokyo for the book Sparkling Rain, a recently released anthology of short stories and comics by lesbian and bisexual Japanese women. Fans of Plica-chan will want to note that Plica’s creator, Asamiya Sae, will be there.

Date/Time: Saturday, January 24th, 2009 7-9:30 PM

Location: PA/F (Performance Art/Feminism) Space
3F Phoenix Bldg, Babashita-cho, Shinjuku-ku
Tel.: 090-6717-9366

Given limited space at the venue, those wishing to attend are asked to
send a RSVP with the number of persons attending by January 23rd to
artqcaravan@ gmail.com.

(I have *just* received my review copy of Sparkling Rain! Thanks to James, the editors and New Victoria. I’ll be sure to let you all know how it is, asap.)

***

That’s exhausted my list for this week, but keep the news coming! It’s one exciting week of Yuri after another these days. :-)

 

Posted in Yuri Network News | 4 Comments »