Now This Is Only My Opinion, Volume 5

December 15th, 2007

I’m sorry that it took so long for me to get to this. The questions were really good this time and made me think, but it was just my crazy schedule that kept me from answering them, not the complexity. Thanks to everyone who asked questions for this round of “Now, This is Only My Opinion” and I’ll definitely look forward to the next round in spring!

***

Charles asks: Do you believe that Simoun might have been viewed by a larger audience if everyone in the series was Female?

After some serious thought on this, I have to say no. I think it would have been more popular if the bulk of the cast was female, but the lead was male and the plot was much, much simpler. There is a reason why harem anime is eternally popular and profitable. Complexity is not it. Dorky boys surrounded by beautiful girls who fawn over him, is. If the creators had gone for a Gundam-like franchise – which was not at all where they were going with Simoun – the lead would still have to be male for the average fanboy to care.

Haruchin asks: I was wondering if you might be able to identify some key characters in anime who speak in specifically accented Japanese? My favourite accent is the Kyoto dialect, so in the interests of narrowing the search, I’ll limit the question to Kyoto-ben in particular. We all know about Shizuru, but are there any others out there?

This did take some work, but thankfully not so much that I began to resent you. ^_^ Obviously, the Osaka-ben is instantly identifiable to many fans, and a lot of popular seiyuu use their Osakan roots to bring this across. Hisakawa Aya, one of my perennial favorites, is known for her Osaka-ben as Ichino in Battle Athletes and Kero-chan in Card Captor Sakura. And Ueda Kana, who also hails from Osaka, has used her native accent in several roles, including Mikan from Gakuen Alice. (Which really does explain the moment in the 17th Marimite novel when Yumi inexplicably speaks with an Osakan accent.) But as you say, Kyoto-ben is somewhat rarer. Interestingly, shortly after you asked this, I read a Mist magazine story in which one of the characters spoke with Kyoto-ben. It took me a moment to catch on because it looked so odd. ^_^

But, to answer your question, I found a nice little resource here which discusses “Kansai” accents and the qualities thereof: http://tvtropes.org/pmwiki/pmwiki.php/Main/KansaiRegionalAccent

They offer these characters as examples: Konoka in Mahou Sensei Negima, and Akesato in Peacemaker Kurogane.

I also found this surprisingly excellent answer on Yahoo Answers about the differences between the various regional accents and Standard Japanese that might be of interest to anyone who enjoys language in and of itself: http://answers.yahoo.com/question/index?qid=20071201204112AAzJM2u

Anonymous wonders: Are there any academically peer-reviewed articles on yuri? What’s the state of yuri scholarship?

The answer to the first is “no.” The state of “Yuri scholarship” is that it is just starting to be a thing in and of itself. James Welker writes articles about lesbian readings of early BL/Yaoi magazines, and I have begun to get inquiries from people interested in pursuing research about Yuri, but as of yet, I have not seen any peer-reviewed academic research about Yuri. I hope the folks that have sent me inquiries will be kind enough to send me references to their works when they are published, but there is a general sense of frustration that no one has already written this so they can quote it. (Primary research is a bitch. ^_^)

I look forward to seeing some decent research on Yuri in the coming years.

Anonymous mentions: So why do some European cities have this bizarre spelling in English? Firenze is Florence, Venezia is Venice, Köln is Cologne, München is Munich, etc. What’s up with all of that?

Language. It’s totally freakish. I blame the Germanic tribes who came to England and didn’t know they didn’t know Romance languages, and the Normans who came to England who didn’t care about the right way to pronounce Germanic words. And above all, I blame Latin for being dead, but not dying out properly.

Anonymous writes: About how many people usually show up at the Yyuricon events? and do you know how seven seas yuri title sales doing compared to their other titles? and! is venus virus really not a yuri title?

I don’t keep exact count, because I really don’t care how many people come to an event. I haven’t seen any sales figures for Seven Seas’ Strawberry Line at all, much less as compared with their other titles. And I believe that there is not a single iota of anything like real affection/interest/desire between Lucia and Sumire, so no, it has no Yuri. It has Yuri-service, which is to say that screencaps and splash art imply a relationship that does not exist, so people with no discrimination see a relationship.

Scareknee wants to know: Currently, one of things I am looking to do as a job is be a librarian. How would you describe the job and how does one become a librarian? As in, any necessary degrees or whatnot?

I can totally answer that one! lol The job will differ depending on the environment you choose: academic, K-12, special, corporate, public, etc. And if you specialize in the technical aspects, you’ll be dealing with anything from the computer network to cataloging books, depending on your specialty. I’m a researcher, which means I do exactly what I’m dong *right now* all day long – answering people’s questions about who all knows what. lol And I love my job. I work in a corporate library.

The absolute best way to get any idea of what a library job can be like is to volunteer or get a part time job at a local library. You’ll get to see what it all means and how it all works. In order to get a “para-professional” job – that is, a job that supports the librarians, like document delivery, or library assistant – you’ll need at least a 4-year degree. For a professional job, you’ll want a MLS or MLIS as they call it now – a Master of Library and Information Science degree. If you put “MLIS program” into Google, you’ll see some schools with programs pop up. But you can also look at the American Library Association or Special Libraries Association websites for more info on a program near you. I went to Rutgers – its as good as any of them. :-) Best of luck to you – let me know when you graduate!

Anonymous inquires: Firstly, which flavours of pizza do you think each member of the Yamayurikai prefer? (my guess is that Shimako’s is whatever Sei-sama’s is…. and that Sachiko, if she could be persuaded at all, would have something like foie gras.)

Secondly, how would they resolve the inevitable dispute when ordering the pizza as to how much of each kind to get?

Sachiko is simply fascinated by the process of purchasing pizza, and she’ll eat whatever Yumi orders. Shimako favors strong flavors like anchovies and olives and Sei always asks for weird things, like taramosalata or corn smut. Youko prefers mushrooms, Eriko always orders pineapple because it makes everything else taste weird. Rei and Yoshino both like ham (and don’t mind the pineapple with that,) Noriko prefers plain old pepperoni, and likes olives, too. Yumi likes pepperoni or plain or corn. Touko doesn’t really have a preference, but she argues anyway. She eats whatever Yumi eats, too.

They never dispute the pizza issue. Whoever orders is considerate enough to get something everyone can agree on. They don’t let Sei order, or Sachiko. Sei orders weirdly and Sachiko takes too long, inquiring about toppings they don’t have. (Although Yumi is starting to think that she’s doing it on purpose.)

Frea posits the following: If you can only use one utensil the rest of your life for both eating and cooking, what would it be?

Spoon, no question. The answer was unanimous here. We’d all happily be spoons.

Have you read any good (non-anime/manga related) books lately?

Hell yeah. I am 7 pages from the end of Thomas Pynchon’s 1100 page Against the Day. Fabulous book – awesome writer. I also recently read a bunch of trashy lesbian novels which I have been and will be reviewing here on Okazu.

Have you read any of the other books of the Dune series? If so, how were they?

I read the first 5. The first one was excellent, then they degraded from there. The best part of the series is the National Lampoon spoof Doon, the Dessert Planet which I quote constantly.

What’s your opinion about fansubs/scanlations? Do you think they affect the anime industry?

I think that they are not a bad thing in and of themselves. Assuming we’re talking non-licensed material. They bring anime and manga that is otherwise not available to a wider audience and create a fanbase. BUT. They also bring a false sense of entitlement and ownership to the fans. The problem is, simply, that fansubbers/scanlators and their consumers are killing the anime/manga they purport to love. Justin Sevakis wrote a really cogent “open letter” to the industry both here and in Japan and I thought he not only summed up the problem exceedingly well, he also suggested a sensible way to approach an answer.

What is the origin of the terms “neko/tachi”?

This one took some work! Japanese Wikipedia on Lesbian Terms says that Tachi” comes from “Tachiyaku” the leading role of Kabuki, i.e., the male lead. There is no etymology provided for “Neko” on Ja.wikipedia, but just now, looking around I see one site (no sources) that says that “neko” comes from “nemu” + “ko” – meaning, the girl you sleep with.

Anonymous requests: Is yuri a reinvention of esu and ome? What’s the relationship between “esu and ome” and yuri? What has persisted from esu and ome? What has vanished?

That’s not really a nutshell answer question – it’s more like the subject of a whole paper. ^_^

“Ome” and the term that superseded it, “Esu” were both related to early 20th century socio-political feminist (and associated lesbian) movements. Like the American feminists of the 1970s, there was both an assumption of purity in an all-female society – a power in “sisterhood” (Esu) – and a split over whether the next step, political lesbianism, should be embraced or rejected. I won’t attempt to make any conclusions about any of the above. I’m just summing up the situation. The term “Yurizoku” was coined at just about the time that the “Lavender menace” appeared and again, it’s well beyond my ability to make any direct connection, except to say that the the post-Stonewall 1970s were a time of socio-political upheaval everywhere and gays and lesbians all over the world were starting to speak up.

In as much as one can say that every generation reconstructs the one before them, the answer to your question is yes – and no.

No first. No, because “Yuri” was reinvented, not by lesbians seeking identity, but by men using the newly coined word to label lesbian sex for their own titillation. These doujinshi artists and porn makers were not looking backwards to the roots of Japanese lesbian identity.

But, yes. Because *I* was. Yuri was imported to the west with that meaning of “porn for men.” Then I got a hold of it and reinvented the word to include not only the explicit lesbian porn, but stories of romance, and even more importantly – stories written *by* women, by lesbians, for a female/lesbian, audience (something that in Japan is still not called “Yuri.”) So, yes, I purposefully reached back to the roots of Esu, to Yoshiya Nobuko’s works, and gathered in everything that reflects lesbian experience under the umbrella “Yuri.” The fact that Yuri is commonly seen as a genre for women here in the US (I base this on the emails I receive and the interviews I have done) means that I’ve been successful in my “reclaiming” of the term.

I hope that this is a coherent enough answer, ’cause it’s all you’re gonna get without me being paid by the word. ^_^

Diana asks: Whenever or wherever I read manga or watched anime someone will said something like this to me ‘What are you? 12?’. As I’m 20 years younger than you, so, why do you think they said that to me and what am I suppose to tell them back?

The reason they say that is that their only experience of anime is Pokemon and the like. Face it – most anime is marketed here to children. Not teens – children. And this is that three-second moment you get when someone who doesn’t give a shit asks you something in an aggressive manner forcing you to respond quickly because they really don’t care, they just wanted to pretend to. Depending on your mood, you could try “I’m young at heart.” Or if you were feeling sarcastic you could try, “Yes. ‘Survivor’s’ too complex for me.” But it’s probably not worth the effort. I’d smile, shrug and say, “There’s more than just Pokemon in the world of anime” and move on.

***

Well, that’s it for this round! That was a lot of work guys! LOL but it was fun. Great questions – I hope my answers don’t suck. Thanks to everyone who wrote in!

Posted in Now This Is Only My Opinion | 12 Comments »


Lesbian Novel: The Spanish Pearl

December 15th, 2007

In preparing for my trip to Mexico, I stockpiled a bunch of trashy lesbian novels to take with me. One of the first was The Spanish Pearl by Catherine Friend.

The premise was simple – modern lesbian is transported back in time to 11th century Spain where she falls in love with a man who has a secret. The “secret” was not only obvious – it was stated plainly on the back of the book and in the description on Amazon. The “man” Kate falls in love with is really…gasp! shock!…a woman.

Okay, so I bought the book knowing this and thinking, cool, that would be the first few chapters and then there’d be a story. It was apparent about fifteen seconds after they met that “he” was a she, so I kept waiting for the rest of the story. Only, no, that WAS the story. The whole story. That was it. There was some violence (not enough) and some rape (plenty, thanks) and some internal and external medieval politics (about the right amount) but the main point was Kate figuring out slowly, painfully and awkwardly what any reader knew going into the book.

But you know, that wasn’t really that bad – just sort of “buh?” What was bad was Kate’s insistence on relating to the people around her in 21st century American terms. For instance, in one scene, she berates Louis for killing two men – two men who would have raped Kate, mind you. I would have been kissing Louis and kicking the corpses, but not Kate. She was furious that Louis stooped to violence instead of what – talking their way out of it? If this was day one in the story, I might have accepted it, but it was well into the story. And the reason they were in that situation was also Kate’s fault in the first place after several really bad decisions.

What was also sort of strange was Kate’s obsession about a child she met for less than an hour and her use of that child as an excuse to return to the future. And last, what tanked the book utterly for me was that there’s a sequel. The miserable girlfriend from the future comes back to the past to “rescue” Kate. Thanks. I’ll pass.

For fun, I often read Amazon reviews after I finish a book. To my shock everyone loved this book – they thought it funny and lyrical and a love letter to Spain. No one wrote, “I thought Kate was an ass.” Perhaps I should write a review there, because I totally did think that. ^_^;

On the positive side, Catherine Friend writes well. I don’t think I flinched at any portion of the book (as I did several times during my attempt to read another lesbian novel recently – whole sentences had me cringing. I gave up after the first chapter.) So for that alone, The Spanish Pearl is above average.

Ratings:

Story – 5
Characters – 5
Yuri – 9
Service – not on a bet, but the rape would suffice I imagine – 2

Overall – 5

If you aren’t looking for plot so much as a series of crises set around a relationship, it’s not really that bad a book. And with a blue ocean eating white sand, while you drink a brightly colored drink, you could definitely do worse. But you can also do better.

Posted in LGBTQ, Novel, Queer Fiction | No Comments »


Yuri Manga: Comic Yuri Hime Wildrose, Volume 1 (百合姫 Wildrose)

December 13th, 2007

Comic Yuri Hime: Wildrose, Volume 1 (百合姫 Wildrose) is an anthology from Ichijinsha, the folks who put out Yuri Hime magazine. Many of the artists are already contributors to YH, and some are known for outside series.

The stories in the collection are variations on the “two schoolgirls in love” theme, much like the ES ~ Eternal Sisters and Yuri Tengoku anthologies. Most of them involve sex, very few of them involve plot or characterization.

The entirety of the collection can be summed up by describing one story, drawn by Morishima Akiko, in which the two protagonists, having kissed, wonder out loud “What’s next?” And as they progress to “what’s next” we get a sort of shortened version of every lesbian’s internal coming out – without the lesbian identity, of course.

Which leads me to today’s digression. Recently, on the Yuricon Mailing List, we had a discussion about how few Yuri characters are “out and proud.” The majority of posters said that it was enough for a character to be “obvious” to be considered “out,” with me disagreeing, as usual. lol I feel that in order to be considered out, one has to actually be able to say, “I am a lesbian.” Otherwise, you’re just “obvious.” Not the same thing at all to me.

This all made me realize something I hadn’t ever put into words before, so here we go – “Yuri” is, almost by definition, a character with lesbian interest who is *not* lesbian-identified.

Even my beloved Queens of Yuri, Haruka and Michiru, never came out. They were obvious, but never once did they say “we’re a couple” or “we’re lesbian.” Yes, the creator later said that. And yes, they were characters in a shoujo manga in 1994. But the point is – they are not “out” in the context of the canon. In fact, when confronted directly in the anime, Haruka denies that they are a couple (I have a theory about that, but I’ll skip it for now) and in the manga asked in return if it really mattered whether she was a man or a woman? This was probably as close as Takeuchi could get to coming out at the time, but it was still ambiguous enough for many people to deny their “obvious” relationship.

If a character self-defines as a lesbian, then she’s out. But the LARGE majority of Yuri characters are not out – they are “just, in love” with this-person-who-happens-to-be-female. Much like the large proportion of BL characters who are amazingly not gay, although they only have sex and relationships with other men.

When pressed, obviously “lesbian” characters in manga will often say, “I like women” or “I don’t want to be labled” rather than say “I am a lesbian.”

I imagine that some of this can be chalked up to the Japanese preference for obfuscation and some to the fact that ambiguity sells better. And to add to this, the fact that long-term couples in real life don’t walk around saying “Hi, we’re lesbians,” so in actual *lesbian* manga (and real life,) you still don’t have overt “outness.” Rica and Miho going to Gay Pride, are rare indeed. There’s far more like Nene and Jun, who have sex, fall in love, and generally are a couple, without *ever* acknowledging that that is what they are. You know – “More than friends, less than lovers.” (A phrase that I later commented allows a person to have her cake and eat it too. Pun intended.)

So most of the stories in Wildrose are in this space – girls in love, having relationships – and sex – with other girls, but they’re not lesbians. Just, you know, in love.

Here is what I thought was the best story of the collection. It begins with Yumi and Sachiko clones. The Yumi clone, Mari, tells us – and all her classmates – that she and the Sachiko clone, Michika, are in love. And we see them sitting next to each other in class where Michika passes Mari an eraser, their eyes briefly meeting not particularly meaningfully. Then Mari tells us that they go out for a bite after school together, so we see them sitting next to one another at a snack counter – but apart as if there is no connection. In fact, it becomes apparent that the relationship is one-sided and our cheerful little Yumi clone is a stalker. Her friends freak out and try to stop her, but she gets away from them as she follows the subject of her desire. Her friends go one way, but we see behind the wall where the two girls are now together, embracing passionately. Mari and Michika make love, and Michika apologizes for not being more forthcoming recently. Of course she is forgiven. The next day at school, the classmates all demand to hear that they have a relationship directly from Michika’s mouth. “From my mouth” she says, and leans over to kiss Mari. The classmates all apologize for their doubt and we’re left smiling, because it was a stupid, but fun, almost-Marimite parody story. With no lesbians.

Ratings (variable, so everything is averaged):

Art – 6
Stories – 6
Characters – 6
Yuri – 9
Service – 7 (lots of undressing)

Overall – 6

If what you like best is young women finding love and sex with one another Wildrose is perfect. If you’re looking for something with more awareness of lesbian identity, go re-read Rica tte Kanji?! :-)

 

Posted in Comic Yuri Hime, Yuri Anthology, Yuri Manga | 7 Comments »


Okazu News: We’re the Top!

December 12th, 2007

I’ve been getting a lot of email these days on how impossibly cool Okazu is. I can’t say this displeases me. LOL

This week we got two pieces of particularly ego-gratifying email.

Okazu is being included in an upcoming book, Top 500 Blogs by online dating blogger Vicky Zhou. The book is slated for release in Q4 2008; Okazu will be included in the “Animation & Media” section.

And this morning I learned that Okazu is coming in in the Top 3 blogs at Inside Manga. According to the website, Okazu is one of the hottest blogs on manga. Okay, I accept graciously. :-)

So thanks to Vicki, Inside Manga, Cole Porter and to all of you for making Okazu the top! I look forward to writing more reviews and hearing more from all of you. :-)

Posted in Okazu News, Yuri Network News | 4 Comments »


Kurau Phantom Memory Anime, Volume 1 (English)

December 11th, 2007

I first reviewed Kurau Phantom Memory (originally titled Phantom Memory Kurau) just over three years ago – it seems like ancient history now. I remembered two things about Kurau from my original viewing – I LOVED it right up until the very end and I HATED the very end. So once again, I was forced to manage my expectations in order to be able to view the much-delayed release of Volume 1, without too much bias. BTW, Volume 1 was supplied by the lovely Ted. Thanks Ted, for making it possible to write today’s review!

Immediately, as I watched the series, I began to like Kurau all over again. She’s my kind of gal – competent, powerful, fun, and a little butchy. As we watch current, adult Kurau in her job as an “agent” for an independent “agency” – i.e., she takes on bodyguard, protection, stealth and rescue missions – the story of young Kurau and how she obtained her powers runs parallel to the current plot.

Young Kurau was a typical child who accidentally got caught in the backlash of experiments run by her father on what appeared to be a new energy source. The energy turned out to be a sentient race, the Rynax. When a Rynax inhabits Kurau’s body, her father does everything he can to continue treating this alien as his daughter. In return, the Rynasapien grows to love him as her father.

But Rynasapiens live in pairs and function poorly by themselves. “Kurau” lives every day as half of a whole, loving her father, living as a gifted human girl, but not complete. When the experiments upon Kurau push her past her limit of tolerance, and her powers cause her father to lose an arm, her father distances Kurau not only from himself, but from the organization that has made her a guinea pig.

We meet Kurau ten years later, her Rynax powers fully formed and utilized and her life as an agent well-established. But those very powers which make her a brilliant agent have made her visable to the organization and she is being tracked.

And every day of her life, Kurau is alone.

One day, her pair appears, and for the first time in this Kurau’s life, she knows completeness. Her pair takes the name Christmas and they live happily masquerading as sisters. For a short time. Because the organization, the GPO, is on their tails. When Kurau realizes that she is being watched – and more importantly that Christmas, whose powers have not yet developed, is in danger, she leaves her life behind and they take off on the run.

Special Investigator Ayaka is assigned to their case and it’s immediately apparent that she is incredibly dedicated and willing to do whatever it takes to get a job done. Even if someone has to get hurt.

Right away all over again I was drawn into, not only the chase, but the whole future world, with it’s partially terra-formed cyborg-like moon. I wanted to know more about how we got there, about the science and economies and daily life of this Earth. And the people on it.

Kurau is likeable, but I realize now that I like her more for her Rynax power than her personality. (Competence is sexy, yes.) Christmas is also likeable and not at all whiny or irritating. As a pair they seem perfect for one another – one can easily see them living forever being happy about dinner together or a day in the park. The drama imposed upon them by external forces seems particularly cruel, since they are just so darn happy to be together.

Which brings me to the “Yuri.” The Rynax relationship is presented as extremely multi-faceted, almost to the point of being indecipherable in our human experience. In human society, the only relationship we have where another person completes you is love. So it’s understandable that many people see Kurau and Christmas as lovers. Kurau herself explains Christmas as her little sister, because they look so similar and again, in human experience we have a limited number of relationships in which that kind of closesess is considered appropriate. That Kurau would care about, be affectionate to, and want to protect Christmas is all acceptable if she is viewed as a sibling. The multi-faceted nature of the Rynax pair relationship is left ambiguous in Volume 1, although it will be explored in later volumes. For now, we are seeded with the idea of Kurau and Christmas as sisters. That Kurau chooses this human relationship colors my interpretation of them as a couple. Although later Rynax pairs might appear more as lovers, I choose to see Kurau and Christmas more as sisters – twins of a sort. I do not see them as lovers. There are plenty of people who do. I’m sure it’s left ambiguous on purpose. But I do weigh in on the side that says Kurau looks damn hot in a tux. ^_^

In terms of adaptation, ADV does a fine job. Nothing made me grit my teeth. I should try watching the dub, but I’m not going to. The only extra is a copy of the original cover art for the Japanese DVD, which is notable. The American DVD cover art is totally different from the original cover art – I think it’s a major improvement over the original. The original art is dark, fuzzy and hard to understand. The new art is brightly colored, dynamic and full of energy. I approve. I wish they included mini-posters or pencil boards or even a sticker with it.

As an anime, Yuri or not, I still think Kurau Phantom Memory comes out of the shoot at a fast pace, with engaging characters, a fascinating background and a great story. I watched this volume nodding like a drinky-bird, remembering all the many, many things I enjoyed about it the first time.

Ratings:

Story – 8
Character – 9
Art – 8
Music – 8
Yuri – 5
Service – 1

Overall – 8

Kurau Phantom Memory is a rare breed in anime – a strong, character-driven science fiction story with no mecha. A good watch.

Posted in English Anime | 2 Comments »