Comic Yuri Hime November 2019 (コミック百合姫2019年11月号) surprised the heck out of me – in a good way.

As you may notice, every issue I note the progress of some of the stories I follow, and and I usually note that there are many stories I don’t read. Over all the years here on Okazu I have had a belief that as long as a magazine had two stories I loved and at least a story or two I like then it’s worth the price.

The surprise comes from the fact that I am now reading more than half the stories in each volume of Comic Yuri Hime, and the number of stories I’m genuinely enjoying is about a half dozen and I’m only avoiding about a half dozen. Which makes this an unreasonably good value for my money. ^_^

Iwami Kyoko’s “Luminous=Blue” wraps up this issue, and IMHO, wraps up well with an ending that feels less like a cop out and more like a reasonable choice than I expected.

I always enjoy “Itoshi Koishi” by Takemiya Jin, but found this particular issue especially charming as I’m trying to cook this week for a woman who cooks brilliantly. I sympathize with Yayoi here.

“Umineko Bessou days” takes a slightly darker turn…one that presages an even darker one in days to come. It’s obvious that Kodama Naoko-sensei likes her tales with an edge. I’m not sure I do, so I’m always nervous reading her work. ^_^;

“Sasayakuyouni Koi wo Uta” remains delightful as Yori-sempai takes a leap into a whole new life by joining a band, just to make her cute girlfriend happy. ^_^

I really like the path “Tsurezure Biyori” is taking with some quality time on Iori and Nanami. Equally, I’m happy that “Ikemen-sugi Sugi-sempai” is addressing something slightly more realistically…although that series definitely sounds like it’s winding up. Yes they are dealing with a thing, but probably not any other things. I want to be wrong.  And “Scarlet” heads into its final, inevitable confrontation.

Ratings:

Overall – 8

Overall, an excellent volume setting up an even better one for December’s issue. This was a very good year for fans of Comic Yuri Hime. The December issue is available and it’s looking like one of the strongest year-end issues ever!

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And so, Shiramine Ayaka’s long quest is over. In Kiss and White Lily for My Dearest Girl, Volume 10, in and around the graduation festivities, surrounded by students leaving the school, Ayaka struggles to figure out her feelings, for her rival, her friend, her confidant, her support, Kurosawa Yurine.

To get herself to that conclusion, Ayaka revisits all the people, all the couples and all the relationships…all the Yuri tropes… we’ve seen in this series. giving us one last time to enjoy them before they and we move on.

As the curtain is drawn on this series for the last time here on Okazu, Ayaka finally figures out what we have seen for basically 10 volumes – that she is in love with Yurine. Yurine responds to this with white lilies and a kiss.

And so we say good bye to this series. It was always entertaining if rarely groundbreaking. Canno-sensei’s had a chance to spend the last six years on this series, working on her art, her characters, her comedic timing and it shows. Her lines, both drawn and spoken are more confident. After this breakout series, I’m looking forward to seeing where she heads with her work. I hope,of course that she’ll be working on something original, but we can see her current Starlight Revue project, Starlight no Ou on Pixiv.

Ratings:

Art – 9
Characters – 8 Ayaka was, in my opinion, the best characters of the series
Story – 7
Service – 0
Goofball grin-making Yuri – 10

It feels like the closing of a beloved picture book, to be set back on the shelf as we turn towards something more adult. It’s not that we love it less, it’s just that it has become less relevant to our lives as we matured.

It’s time to get dressed and ready for adult romance. ^_^

Many thanks to Yen Press for the review copy!

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Yuri Manga

Spring boarding off yesterday’s review of Kiss & White Lily Volume 10, we have news via Yuri Navi and CW about Canno-sensei’s next series, a story about 3 girls in a “triangle love story.” According to her Twitter announcement, details will be announced when the series premier approaches. Since I actually liked the three-person relationship best in Kiss and White Lily, I’m hopeful about this new series!

We’ve got some new items on the Yuricon Store!

Ohsawa Yayoi’s Hello, Melancholic, Volume 1 (ハロー、メランコリック!) is turning out to be delightful. I’m all for redemption stories when the person has been hurt and just needs to love life.  (Trombones are like the bass clarinet of the brass section. Everyone needs them, but no one gives them any attention. Trombones deserve love, too!)

Mudakun reminded me to remind you of Sore ha, Haru no Arashi no You ni, Volume 1 (それは、春の嵐のように), an opposites-attract story about an “ordinary” Office Lady and a writer who wants to be “free.” ^_^

Yoru to Umi, Volume 2 ( 夜と海) continues a school love story.

I was quoted in the Rose of Versailles, Volume 1 page on Udon Entertainment’s website, how fun. ^_^

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Yuri Anime

Via Yuri Navi, to celebrate the upcoming Fragtime anime, the staff is appearing at a free screening of Asagao to Kase-san on November 4th at The Tokyo International Forum, Hall A.

Welp, it looks like I’m going to have to watch Queen’s Blade Unlimited OVA, too, as the promotional video makes it clear that along with the usual tits and crotch fetishizing there will be Yuri. Sasuga Nanzaki-sensei. Sigh.

Yuri Live Action

ANN ‘s Crystalyn Hodgkin’s has the details on the upcoming Cutey Honey Live-Action Stage Play coming in February.

Yuri Novels

Sexiled creator Kaeruda Ameco announced on her twitter feed that she’s going to be participating a Yuri novel anthology for winter Comiket. Her story will be about a prostitute who does not want to be held by a man but also will do whatever she needs to survive.

LGBTQ News

YNN Correspondent Eric P notes that a My Brother’s Husband Omnibus is available for pre-order at RightStuf. Get all 704 pages of this heart-warming manga in one volume.

I picked up a copy of the Dead Beats anthology at FIT Diversity ComicCon and am loving this oddball collection of super-short horror comics, with a fair amout of queerness and a lot of blood – perfect reading for the Halloween season. ^_^ (Added bonus, for every copy sold a *.*gater loses his shit.)

Caly’s Breath of Flowers, Volume 2, will be seeing a release from Tokyopop in English this month.

I strongly recommend you read Dee’s delightful Nonconforming in the ‘90s: How Pokemon’s gender variance caught the hearts of generation on AnimeFeminist. It has made me desperately want to write about Haruka and Michiru in excruciating detail. Again.^_^

I found an LGBT Japanese series on Youtube called Day by Day. It’s low-budget, but definitely LGBTQ, not Yuri.

Other News

Via YNN Correspondent Jeyl, the Hazbin Hotel Pilot is available to watch on Youtube. Jeyl notes “This pilot follows the exploits of Charlie, the Demon Princess of Hell who is on a quest to rehabilitate other demons with a hotel. The Yuri comes from her relationship with Vaggie, her supportive and often overprotective girlfriend.”

Phaidon is putting out a new book Great Women Artists, featuring 400 women artists.  This is definitely going on my shelves.

The Yuri Times web page has launched! This group translates Japanese language Yuri tweets, news and other fun things of note.

In case you have nothing to do this post-Halloween weekend, here is a live-tweet of a Sailor Moon musical that took place in Transylvania and had vampires. ^_^

Become a YNN Correspondent by reporting any Yuri-related news with your name and an email I can reply to – thanks to all of you – you make this a great Yuri Network! Write me with any questions you have, and I’ll do my best to answer them on my YNN podcast, when I revive it this winter!

Special thanks to all of our Okazu Patrons on Patreon, who make this report possible!

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Last spring I had the absolute pleasure of meeting and talking with the creator of the delightful Kase-san series at Toronto Comic Arts Festival. At that time I asked her if she would do an interview for us here on Okazu. Graciously, she agreed. We both had a busy summer, so thank you for your patience. ^_^

In the meantime, the Kase-san and Morning Glories OVA was released in English by Sentai Filmworks, and the 6th volume of the manga, Kase-san and Yamada will be released in February 2020 from Seven Seas!

I apologize to my readers and to Takashima-sensei for the long delay. But today it is my very great pleasure to bring you a short interview with the creator of one of my favorite series of the 2010’s, Takashima Hiromi-sensei!

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Q1: Please tell us a little bit about yourself.
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I am Japanese manga artist, Takashima Hiromi. I love to draw.
 

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Q2: How did you become a manga artist? Was it something you wanted to do as a child?

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I was scouted at Tokyo Comic Market Comiket。
It has been my dream to become a manga artist since I was a child.
 

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Q3: Which artists are your role models?
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There are so many. Mainly manga artists, but there are too many to choose between.
 

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Q4: If you were not a manga artist, what kind of work would you be doing?
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I can’t imagine anything other than drawing manga, so maybe I’d be a manga artist’s assistant?
 

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Q5: Please tell us a little bit about your process. How long does it take you to draw a chapter?
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If one chapter is 24 pages, it would take me 10-14 days.
The “Nemu” (storyboard) takes about a week.
 

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Q5.2: How many assistants do you have? What is the first task you have to do and what is the last task?
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3-4 people.

As I sketch and ink the characters, I’ll have my assistants draw the background at the same time.

Then I ask the assistants to apply tone, after which I finish it.
 

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Q6: What does the success of Kase-san mean to you?

The [Kase-san] animation became a great learning experience, because I was able to learn about a completely different world. From now on I will keep working hard!
 

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Q7: What have you learned in the production of the Kase-san manga?

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Can [a scene] be drawn so that the character’s personality and actions are not disturbed?
 

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Q8: Do You read any Yuri Manga? If so, what series?

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I read a great deal of manga. The first Yuri manga I ever read was Morinaga Milk-sensei’s GIRL FRIENDS.
 

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Q9: Is there something you would like to say to overseas fans?
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There are cases where Japanese culture is depicted in the comics, but is there anything that you wonder about?
A rice ball bentou. Girls going together to the bathroom.

(Erica here: It seems to be universal that girls go to the bathroom together! It seems normal to me. ^_^)

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Q10: Do you have any advice for young people who would like to become a writer, artist or mangaka?
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When I was young, I think my mental perspective changed frequently.
Still, it is the most difficult thing to continue creating without lowering one’s motivation.
Don’t overdo it, don’t compromise, keep going for the long haul.
I will also do my best.
 

Thank you very much Takashima-sensei for your time and advice! We will continue to read and enjoy your work.

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It’s the tail end of the 2019 Samhain season, so, in order for you to understand Dead Beats, I want to tell you a story. ^_^

When I was 8 or so, I had a baby sitter. She was an adult woman who had a kid of her own who was about my age (but who went to a different school. We had 5 elementary schools in the area I grew up, we all went to the same one middle school, then were split back up into two high schools.) Melissa – I have no idea why I remember her name, was a goth-y kid at 11. She seemed very old to me, but she liked comic books so I’d hang with her when she was home and read her comics, which were all horror. I didn’t like horror comics – they weren’t scary, so much as kind of gross and all ironic. You know what I mean, right? The person who always stole lunch from the kids was tortured by being force-fed, that kind of morality play. Terrible people getting their comeuppance. They were so tiresome and full of allegory , l which I didn’t like even back in elementary school. When Tales of the Crypt got on HBO, I was like, “Hard pass – I already read that and thought it blecch.”

So me and horror have a rocky relationship. I hate “Boo!” type scare tactics, and morality plays and guro. What’s left you may wonder. And in response, I will sigh and reply “All the well-written, funny, intelligent, creepy horror of the universe, duh~~!”

Dead Beats horror comic anthology is funny, intelligent, creepy short horror comics that completely lack the morality that made horror comics so tiresome. It’s still has some irony, but that’s to be expected.*

The premise is a visit to a cursed music shop, where the proprietor points out random items, implies horrible fates and leads us to rooms where unspoken-of unspeakable horrors occur. We then get a short horror comic – something rather funny, occasionally touching and frequently gruesome – centered around something musical-ish; an instrument, the music itself, whatever.

It was terrific. A lot of fun to read. From the ridiculous “The Cursed Saxophone of Skasferatu” to “Apolcalypse Demo, which married a bit of the end of the world to a final jam.  There’s a lot of musical demonic invocation, which I always seem to like for some reason…

Overall, I haven’t had this much fun watching people die in a long time.  ^_^

There’s no way to comment on art or storytelling as a whole, most stories credit three to four people on a contribution, so you’re looking a variety of writing and art and letter and coloring, all so different, you can’t really compare. But if I had to pick one story as a favorite, it’d be the ghost story written by Vita Ayala, art and coloring by Raymond Salvador and lettering by Micah Myers, “Let’s Stay Together.” When you read it, you will understand why instantly. ^_^

Dead Beats is also pleasantly – which is to say,  very – diverse. It looks like the actual world I inhabit, with straight and queers folks and people of differing body types and colors and ability and yes, levels of demonic possession. This collection has a number of queer stories, from the self-affirming to the openly murderous.

No fooling,  this variety made the book a lot easier to read for me. I don’t encounter Japanese schoolgirls nearly as often as, oh, just about anything else, which is not – for obvious reasons – reflected in my comics reading.  It’s nice to see comic pages that look like the life I live, full of all sorts of people. People who are either killing or being killed, true, but I’m not going to lie and tell you that real life doesn’t have plenty of that, too.

Creators are likewise a magnificent palette of colors and identities. There are so many top-notch creators here, you should get this book just for the who’s who in the credits. ^_^ Which, it turns, out, you can’t just now, because the book has sold out. Hopefully they’ll get this back in stock sooner, rather than later, and you can get your fill of people being possessed, mangled, devoured, rendered and cursed!

Ratings:

Overall – 9

This was perfect Sahmain season reading.

*Use ironic endings the way you would a monkey’s paw. Sparingly and expect things to go badly.

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One of my purchases at Girls Love Fest in September (along with piles of doujinshi) was Galette meets, Issue 6 (ガレット meets). Galette meets functions as the doujinshi arm of the quarterly Galette magazine. It’s subtitle reads “All one-shot, slightly SEXY and more SWEET, galette meets.” I receive meets as a backer of Galette, but when I can get a copy in hardcover, I do, because my growing section of Galette publications makes me happy. ^_^I encourage you to become a backer and get a PDF download of magazine and meets as a perq!

This issue contains 6 stories for a hefty 84 pages. There are a number of cute and fun stories, but the one that I enjoyed the most was “Watashi no Roommate” by Morino, An ero-manga artist is not comfortable with her roommate at all. She’s relieved when her roommate leaves. As she works on her comic, she finds herself stimulated and moves to the bed to take care of the issue. Her roommate walks in on her, comments drily, “I forgot my phone” and leaves again. ^_^ The roommate’s complete lack of concern was pretty funny.

nui’s “Hibi no Katachi” also scratched my Yuri android itch. I really like Yuri android stories for some reason. ^_^

Overall – 8

Issue 7 of Galette meets was released at the end of September in print. You can also get Issue 1 through 3.5 on Bookwalker Global in digital format. Issue 4 and Issue 5 are available as Kindle only on Amazon JP. You can find other links to purchase them (Melonbooks, Comiz Zin) on the Galette meets website.

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White Lilies in Love Kaoru Toki, Anata ha. Shakijin Yuri Anthology (White Lilies in Love 花香るとき、貴方は。 社会人百合アンソロジー) is the next of the White Lilies in Love Anthology series from Kadokawa. The first one of this series that I reviewed, White Lilies in Love BRIDE’s 新婚百合アンソロジー, was centered around the theme of marriage. This volume is centered around springtime and sakura petals. And, as you might guess by that theme, I’m a little bit behind in reviewing this volume. ^_^

I did read this much earlier in the year, then forgot all about it. I read it again this summer, but was too busy to get to it and when it once again popped to the top of my to-review pile, I had, erm, forgotten the stories again. Not an auspicious beginning, but third time’s a charm and I can report that this was actually, a sweet anthology, my poor memory notwithstanding.

A managaka is tasked with drawing a love story centered around cherry blossoms. A young office worker finds relaxation and calm in the presence of an aquarium in the office lobby…and in the presence of the woman who designed it. An American who loves Japan, and who loves the sakura tree outside her Japanese friend’s room, is horrified to hear that her friend hates this time of year, because it means they’ll be parted. A woman who works at a match-making service makes a match for herself. And the initial color one-page story gets an adorable resolution at the end of the book.

Although the theme is spring, and the blossoming of the cherry trees, this is a very loose theme and those beautiful petals are often merely the background to a pleasant (or, in at least one case, unpleasant,) Yuri story.

Nothing here is ground-breaking, but it’s entertaining bedtime reading.

Ratings:

Art – Variable, some of it very good 8
Story – Same 8
Characters –  8
Service – 3 A bit
Yuri – 9

Overall – 8

This is exactly the kind of thing I enjoy reading before bed, when I want something light and fluffy. ^_^

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Just about the time J-Novel Club announced their license of Otherside Picnic, I picked up the first volume of the manga to get a look at the story. Now that I have read the novel, by Iori Miyazawa, I find that I much prefer the novel to the manga.

Otherside Picnic, Volume 1, follows a woman who researches Internet myths and urban legends, Sorawo. The novel begins as she is drowning and is saved by a beautiful woman named Toriko. They are both on the “Otherside,” a place that is definitely not the normal world, but is accessible from it. They are there for their own reasons; Sorawo is drawn to the Otherside the same way she is drawn to ruins and abandoned places, Toriko is looking for her friend, Satsuki, who disappeared.

As Sorawo and Toriko travel together, encountering the flora, fauna and phenomena of the Otherside – and other humans,  who are there for their own reasons – they find themselves changed, both physically and mentally. And, although they can see that there are changes in their bodies, they aren’t necessarily sure exactly what the changes in their minds mean. As they discuss at one point, are the being of the Otheriside using human fear against them, or is their way of communicating or trying to engage with people? They don’t know and neither do we by the end of this volume.

As with Miyazawa’s other translated novel, Side-by-Side Dreamers, the author works hard to meld understandable, researched phenomena with wholly unique concepts, in a way that makes for an interesting read about experiences we have never considered before. This alone makes this book worth reading. Above and beyond this, the writing uses the cultural vertigo of a world whose rules are wholly alien and unknown to create a unique set of plot twists. By the end of Volume 1, we know enough to not always believe what we see or hear, because Sorawo cannot do so, but we are also reliant upon her for narration, which puts us wholly in her unreliable hands. This makes the reader feel as ungrounded as the protagonists, which is a genuinely terrific trick.

There is Yuri, although I’m finding it hard to describe. Sorawo always notes Toriko’s physical beauty right from the beginning, but early on she begins to feel an attachment that kind of jumps past “friend” to something else. She hardly knows Toriko, but wants to be with her. In her incoherent, misanthropic (and slightly jealous) way, Sorawo almost immediately bonds with Toriko and by the end of the book, it seems perfectly natural that her feelings will at some point be recognized as attraction. Additionally, we also learn that Toriko’s relationship with her “friend” was more intimate, which shifts something in Sorawo.

None of the characters are really likable, but neither are they unlikable. As with the Otheriside, we don’t really understand their rules…possibly because they don’t understand themselves.

Translator Sean McCann did a fine job with the vast vocabulary of Japanese Internet urban legends and the alien Otherside and the inside of a not-particularly-social person’s thoughts. Kudos to him and editor Krys Loh.

All in all, this is a slightly creepy, action-filled, semi-mythic story full of many ups and downs, until we don’t know where the ground is. All we can do it hang on and wait for the ride to be over. I liked it a lot.

Ratings:

Story – 9
Character – 8
Service – 2
Yuri – 5

Overall – 9

Otherside Picnic, Volume 1 is available on Amazon or on the J-Novel Club site in several formats. A sample section of the book is also available to read on their site.  Volume 2 will be available on Kindle  or on J-Novel Club in January 2020.

Many thanks to J-Novel Club for the review copy! This the fifth of their initial Yuri line and of these first 5 only one has not been something that I’d read a second time and consider two of them to be brilliant. That’s a hell of a record to start with. I am just so impressed with these choices, I’m really looking forward to more from J-Novel Club. They’ve made a convert of me. ^_^

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Yuri Events

Next weekend, catch the 100 Years of Yuri presentation at Anime NYC, Friday, November 15, at 3PM at Javits Convention Center, Room 1E17. I’ll also participating in the Great Debate with Guest Zack Davisson at 6PM! Watch us argue passionately about things that do not matter. ^_^

It is not the last chance to hear about 100 Years of Yuri, though – you can still contact me with an invite to be on your podcast, at your school or convention!

Comiket is approaching in Japan and circles are announcing their participation. Twitter is a great place to track those announcements. You can use #コミケ97 as a link for all posts regarding the event or check out my Yuri Resources List on Twitter for folks to follow.

Sexiled author Ameco Kaeruda has announced on Twitter that she’ll be contributing to a ComiketYuri anthology called DSD Project. If anyone of you is going to be there and can get it for me, please let me know, as I won’t be able to make it myself.

LGBTQ Comics

You remember I was at FIT Diversity ComicCon a few weeks ago? It was *awesome* and while there I got to talk to the amazing Alison Wilgus about her comic Chronin (which I have, of course reviewed. Read my thoughts on Volume 1 and Volume 2 here on Okazu.) Our chat on her queer time-travel, crossdressing historical samurai epic has been published on the Comics Beat. I hope you enjoy reading it as much as I enjoyed doing it!

The emotional climax of Shimanami Tasogare is upon us. Volume 4 is available for pre-order.

Via Yuri Times on Twitter, Saburouta’s Citrus+, Volume 1 is going on sale digitally in 7 countries on the same day and Argentina just slightly early (because of distribution schedules.) However I feel about the content of that series, this is a groundbreaking moment. You can get this digital release on Kindle or Bookwalker Global. The print volume will be out in English in February 2020 from Seven Seas.

Rafael Antonio Pineda on ANN reports on Nagata Kabi’s newest manga about her worsening mental and physical health. Genjitsu Touhi Shitetara Boroboro ni Natta Hanashi (現実逃避してたらボロボロになった話) is available this week in Japan.

Kyra Kupetsky posted an adorable romance comic between a middle-aged woman and the woman telemarketer who calls her in “This is She” on her Twitter feed. Read and enjoy!

Yuri Anime

The Bloom Into You Premium Blu-Ray box set from Section 23 has been added to the Yuricon Store. You know this is the holiday present you want. ^_^

The Fragtime OVA will be premiering at Anime NYC on Saturday, November 16 at 1:30 to 3:00 PM in 1E13 with guest voice actress Miku Ito and producer Yusuke Terada.

ANN’s Egan Loo has the news that Revue Starlight will get two films in 2020, one is a compilation and the other will be new content.

Other News

Via Out magazine, actress Lucy Liu has been painting beautiful lesbian erotic and romantic paintings for years. Just one more thing to like about her.

Via Anime Herald‘s Seth Green on Twitter (one of my compatriots on the Comixology manga panel at NYCC October 2019) here is a fun Yuri-ish music video from Sheena Ringo and Hikaru Utada.

Become a YNN Correspondent by reporting any Yuri-related news with your name and an email I can reply to – thanks to all of you – you make this a great Yuri Network! Write me with any questions you have, and I’ll do my best to answer them on my YNN podcast, when I revive it this winter!

Special thanks to all of our Okazu Patrons on Patreon, who make this report possible!

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Queers & Comics is an event held once every two years alternately on the east and west coast of the United States. It has been my incredible honor to have been part of this event since its inception. In 2015, I moderated a panel about erotic comics, in 2017 I participated in a panel about queer manga history and moderated a panel about queer manga art. In 2019, I moderated a panel on queer manga history with artists and academics from Japan.

There is no artist’s alley or dealer’s room at Q&C in NYC but, since almost all the participants are artists, there is a room managed by LGBTQ Comics consortium Prism Comics, that features works by many of the creators participating. This past event I was able to pick up a book I had seen mentioned online, but had not yet had a chance to buy.

RESISTANCE: The LGBT Fight Against Fascism in WWII contains a series of short biographies of queer people who fought against fascism in dozens of ways. Each short biography, written by Avery Casell, edited by Diane Kanzler, is followed by a short bibliography , and an illustration by a well-known queer comic artist, suitable for coloring. Both subjects and artists are a diverse bunch, from the famous to the less-well known. Artists, writers, political activists, musicians, teachers, scientists, researchers all get their due.

Despite being a kind of augmented coloring book, there is nothing about this collection that is light reading. Many of these brave souls died in German concentration camps, others were exiled or ran from their homes. Although many of these people did survive the war, some were killed by their own government’s hatred of LGBTQ people. This is no fun to read, but it is a testament to their bravery, their persistence and their strength that faced with racism, homophobia, religious intolerance, sexism and every other conceivable form of prejudice, so many of these people made a concrete difference in a world that didn’t care if they lived, much less if they lived happily.

Read a chapter a night. It’s three or four short pages. Understand what was done by the people who laid down the road upon which you walk. Honor their memories by laying down road for the next generation and pass their stories along. You and the world will be better for it. 

Ratings:

Overall – 8

This book is both a eulogy and a celebration of people you should know. Read this book then share it with friends or your local library.

I will be glad to gift my copy (which is very slightly battered, I am hard on books) to a reader who wants it. Please share a short story of a LGBTQ person who inspired you, personally, in the comments. Please include an email you will check and I will choose one reader at random to send this book to.

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In a world where almost everything is a reference to H.P. Lovecraft’s Chthulu Mythos and all bad guys are deranged, and violence is, almost always the answer, “horror” becomes relative.

In MURCIÉLAGO, Volume 11, horror is indeed relative…and also relative. The Deep One arc, which began with a giant shark, ends up as it inevitably must, in a lab where human brains are stored. The arc allows us to get an unusual glimpse into Tsuru’s past. It will come as no surprise, I hope, that it is filled with horror, while the deeply broken priest and his mother decay into even more gibbering madness than ever.

(It suddenly dawns on me that I have lost a great number of opportunities to write reviews of this series in Lovecraftian patois. I am saddened by the loss. I can’t do anything about it now and the next few volumes aren’t conducive. Bleah. I’ll just have to wait for another opportunity.)

We all get an unexpected few days off, filled with sea slugs and bonding with murderous children and ugly lesbian sex before the new arc picks up. When it does, we probably could not have expected that it would be a young woman possessed by the spirit of a master swordsman. But, it is.

Ratings:

Art – As I said in my review of the Japanese Volume 11, you have got to know what you’re in for by now
Story – Same as above
Characters – 8 Cheerful psychopaths, ftw
Service – 9 Sea Slugs and ugly lesbian sex
Yuri – 9 Ugly lesbian sex ftw

Overall – 8

I know I keep telling you I love this series. I adore the bizarro deaths, the creepy complications, the hideous monsters, the ugly lesbian sex and the fact that a psychopathic lesbian and her pack of cheerfully amoral, exceptionally violent friends are the protagonists. As the author never hesitates to remind us – there are no good guys here. Only good bad guys.

Thanks very much to Yen Press for the review copy. It’s always such a pleasure to read this series. Except when it isn’t. ^_^

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Takeshima Eku’s Sasayakuyouni Koi wo Utau, Volume 1 (ささやくように恋を唄う) charmed me from the very first pages I read in Comic Yuri Hime magazine. 

Himari enters high school and as she and her friends watch performances during club recruitment, she falls head over heels for frontman Yori. Yori is shocked that this first-year just admits to having fallen for her. The rest of the story is not the kind of tortured “will they get together?” that we’re often required to sit through and, while Yori is an intense and tightly wound Nadesico beauty stereotype, she’s not self-loathing, tortured by her past or unnamed abuse. She’s just probably never had anyone want so badly to, you know, be around her. She’s had fans, but Himari isn’t just another fan.

There really aren’t plot complications here. I mean, yes, they can’t see each other for a few days after school and Himari is sad…so they decide to meet at lunch instead. Phew!

The big climax here is that Yori and Himari go out on a date. They share food, they have a lovely time, it’s delightful.

Artwise, everyone looks a bit drippy, but its otherwise very decent. As you can see on the cover there’s a lot of bright smiles and cutely reddened cheeks.

Mostly, the story is just a matter of two nice kids getting to know one another. It’s all very lovely and relaxing and I really like them and want them to be happy. Himari is very good for Yori, and Yori knows it. As a result, she’s really trying.

Ratings:

Art – 7
Story – 8 There is none. It’s very nice.
Characters – 9
Service – 10000 where the “service” is two girls who are having a great time as they learn to love one another
Yuri – 8

Overall – 8

I’m actually looking forward to the school festival just to see Himari watch Yori perform.

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This weekend may be light on reviews and there will be no YNN this week, but it won’t be light on content! I’m heading out to New York City, to be part of AnimeNYC which is sincerely everything NYCC wishes it were in regards to anime and manga.

I’ve written up a manga-focused pre-event report for The Comics Beat which I’ll link to when it goes live. In the meantime, here’s the queer highlights for you if you’re planning your schedule! The panels schedule is available in full on the event website.

Friday

I will be presenting 100 Years of the Yuri Genre at 3PM in Room 1E17. I don’t have a lot of room in my luggage, but I have some small prizes for good questions!

Con guest translator Zack Davisson and myself will be shouting into the void at The Great Debate at 6PM in Room 1E17.

Saturday:

The day begins with That’s Gay! Anime and Manga for the LGBTQ Audience at 10:30 in Room 1E17.

Yuri OVA Fragtime will get its US Premier at 1:30 in Room 1E13.

Companies that will be there, holding panels, sponsoring guests, and who have been licensing Yuri include Viz Media,who are celebrating the release of the Stars season of Sailor Moon, Sentai Filmworks, who just released a premium box set of Bloom Into You, Yen Press, which has with the Kadkoawa pipeline, J-Novel Club, who just launched a line of Yuri novels that were great), Funimation, Kodansha and Denpa. I’m also going to see if I can ask Square Enix for a book or two.

I’ll see you there!

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I have returned from AnimeNYC, which was fabulous. I am moving this event up to the No. 1 must-attend anime/manga event in North America, along with TCAF, which is my recommendation for  No. 1 must-attend comics event.  This event has it all. If Javits wasn’t the worst convention center in America it would be perfect. (The fact that it is the worst is because of its design, which was meant to host several smaller events, not one gigantic pop culture event that needs lots of space for free movement and spaces to stand in costumes with wings that don’t block stairs and escalators. Also, people, do NOT stand in front of or on stairs and escalators for photos. Take them to the side. Please.)

Because the event was so good, I’m going to break the event report up into two pieces. Today, we’ll talk about some of the licenses that were announced and a few other Yuri tidbits. To begin with, let me remind you that  every single major western manga (and light novel) publisher currently is now putting out Yuri. Seven Seas, Viz, Yen, Kodansha, Tokyopop and J-Novel Club have really embraced Yuri. Sentai Filmworks is on our side as well, snapping up all the Yuri anime.  Going to an event like AnimeNYC once upon a time, would have netted us a list of one or two things of interest, but this event, I could not go anywhere without seeing Yuri represented. It was…really nice.

Part 1 of the report is something I have *never* done before – a round up of just Yuri licenses announced at this event!

On Viz‘s plate this week saw the release of Makoto Hagino’s A Tropical Fish Yearns For Snow, a slow-burning romance in a seaside school’s aquarium club. You can read a preview of the English volume on their website!

The Yuri OVA Fragtime premiered at AnimeNYC and, at the beginning of the showing, Pony Canyon read a statement from Sentai announcing that they had licensed the anime. Seven Seas followed up with an online announcement that they have acquired the Fragtime manga for digital and print release. I will do a review of Fragtime later this week. I did not enjoy it.

Square Enix announced a manga adaptation of Wandering Witch. Yen Press will be localizing the light novels next year. I know absolutely nothing about this series, but trust Yurimother’s reporting.

Speaking of Yen Press, they announced Nikurashii Hodo, Aishiteru, as  which I genuinely enjoyed, as I Love You So Much, I Hate You.

J-Novel Club revealed that Sexiled will be getting a print release! I am genuinely thrilled about that. I spent all  weekend proselytizing it. This is an absolutely must-read book for any woman and all men. Someone called it a “power fantasy” novel for women and I absolutely wholeheartedly agreed. Fabulous, fabulous book. Second volume will be released digitally next month.

And this morning Kodansha rounded out the announcements with….I’m super excited for this, Sasayakuyouni Koi wo Utau, which I just reviewed, as Whisper Me a Love Song!

It was a really great event for me as a person, as a comics journalist, as an otaku and, most especially as a Yurinin, a Yuri fan!

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Have I mentioned that AnimeNYC 2019 was fabulous? It was, genuinely, fabulous. I’ve written a post about the event for The Comics Beat which sums up my feelings from a “professional” point of view: NYC’s Anime Con Wars Are Over & AnimeNYC Is The Clear Winner.

Today I want to tell you how much fun  *I* had. ^_^

My con began on Thursday with meeting my dear friend and periodic roommate, Sean Gaffney. Sean’s blog A Case Suitable for Treatment covers everything in English. I go there when I need to figure out if I need to read something that’s out in English and he loves to talk about what he’s reading. I trust him with recommendations, and this time he recommended that I read JK Haru is a Sex Worker in Another World. I read and loved the cold clinical approach to Edo-period sex work in Moyoco Anno’s Sakuran,so… but I get ahead of myself.

Sean and I went to the industry party where we chatted with folks from Yen and Kodansha, among others. We’re all sort of professionally awkward and goofy, so I’ve gotten better at faking social skills. ^_^ I caught up with translator Mari Morimoto just long enough to give her all the stuff I’d bought her in Japan over the last three trips. ^_^;  She was doing interpretation for the Guest of Honor, so had to hustle all weekend long.

Last year, you may remember, it snowed the Thursday befoere AnimeNYC. This year we were able to get the view from the rooftop garden.

Friday began late. The panels at AnimeNYC opened at 10:30, but the DR wasn’t open until 1PM. So Sean and I caught up with comics and manga writer Brigid Alverson. We bummed around until the DR opened then went our separate ways. I wasn’t paneling until 3, so I had some time to introduce myself to some of the folks at Sentai Filmworks. One of my complaints about Sentai has always been that they are good on license announcements and bad about letting people know when stuff is available. They’ve got a new marketing person, Hannah and she has been changing that. I picked up The Bloom Into You Premium Box set and was given a spiffy Revue Starlight lanyard which I’m keeping and plan on using at other events! They licensed Fragtime which was announced right before the anime premiered.

I dropped by the Yen booth, too for a quick hello. They were doing crafts – you could make a teruterubouzu. It was all very cute.

While walking around before panels, I ran into these lovely ladies cosplaying Bloom Into You‘s Yuu and Touko. This picture is being used with permission.

Eventually it was time for me to head to panels to present 100 Years of Yuri one last time this year. The crowd was amazing! Great questions. As usual, I gave out prizes for good questions. Masha gave me a couple of adorable pins (you can see her table with pins here) which I just love. Thanks Masha!

One of the questions asked about terms for fans of Yuri, the way fujoshi and fudanshi were used for BL fans. In response I went on a rant about why the women were “rotten” in that term. They were rotten for having a hobby that had to do with sex that didn’t involve their husbands or boyfriends. Effectively the reason the women are rotten is for having any space of their own that isn’t about the men they give all their time and energy to. Have I never explained how much I hate that? Well. I hate it.  The terms Himejoshi and Himedanshi are stupid. Just flat out idiotic. For one thing, why are fandoms gendered at all, I asked. Why we are not all just…people.

And then I decided that we need a new word. So, I have officially announced that “Yuri fans” are to be hereafter known as “Yurinin,” (百合人) – Yuri People.

Like the word “Yuri,” I did not coin that, but I am endorsing it. It is not gendered, includes no age, sexuality or any other limits. Yuri is for anyone who enjoys Yuri. Yurinin are anyone who enjoys Yuri.

I was off the clock after this, since all the things I wanted to do were against something else I had to do, so I wasn’t doing any coverage of panels.

Erik Ko of Udon Entertainment and a bunch of us went out to dinner where we had a lovely time until they closed the restaurant around us. Erik was so vexed…he was going to bring a copy of The Rose of Versailles, Volume 1, but they didn’t arrive at the office until he was in NYC. 

Saturday started early because people who are not me had panels to get to! I basically finished up my wandering the DR, where I saw really fun stuff. There’s a ton of VR games including, inexplicably, a Spice and Wolf VR game. It’s the anime, but you go through it as the lead character. (YMMV of course, but economics in first-person is no more interesting to me than in third person. ^_^;)

I played slot cars for the first time in decades at the 5-Hour Energy booth.

The folks at J-Novel Club and I had a great conversation about Sexiled (Volume 1 is currently available in digital and will be released in print. Volume 2 is coming in December!) and they light-heartedly bullied me into buying JK Haru after all. ^_^

And, at last, it was time to line up for Fragtime. The line was pretty long and I kind of felt bad about that, because its being sold as another Kase-san … when it is the pretty much the opposite.

It’s totally male gaze, creepy sexual assault behavior being passed off as “like.” So I watched. And tweeted. I will review it, but the bottom line is that it will not get my endorsement.

After Fragtime, I hung out with lovely cosplayer Abby Murphy and longtime fellow con grunt Hyo, two of the only people beside my wife I know who saw the Sailor Moon Super Live in NYC. So we had a brilliant time together, talking Sailor Moon, Utena, Sexiled and existential rage.

Finally, it was time to go shopping! The Sailor Uranus and Sailor Neptune Chouette figurines were sold out (phew, because how I would have gotten them home, I have no idea), so I headed over to Viz‘ booth, where I bought Sailor Moon Stars, Part 1 and Part 2. Everything old is new again – the premium set boxes are coming with space for part 2 in the box, just the way they used to do, back in the early days of DVDs. The bag they were giving away at Viz was, IMHO the best of the bunch with Eternal Sailor Moon’s locket on one side and her silhouette on the other, in a fetching purple.

As I was making my final rounds I hit up the artist alley. I picked up Afroseeds by Jojo at Mastermind Comics. Set in NYC, a boy named Amehotep meets a man named Maut and learns he has the power of the Afroseed in him. I’m looking forward to this so much. Jojo was a blast and we were hugging each other like we were long-lost friends when I left. Go read his book – you can download free comic samples at their site.

Before I left I found this lovely pair who have given their permission to use this photo.

From there, I headed to the Yen Press panel where I was just in time for their Yuri manga license. I caught up with Brigid again and then my boss at Comics Beat, Heidi MacDonald. All three of us when out for an amazing meal and some little light shopping at Uniqlo, because Brigid had lost her jacket

My time at AnimeNYC had come to an end, but as I said yesterday, I’m bumping this up to must-attend. I had more fun at this con than I had had at an anime con for years. I look forward to being a part of it next year if I can! 9 out of 10.

Next up…I’ll review Fragtime. Buckle up.

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The two most-hated posts here on Okazu are, to-date, my reviews for Candy Boy and Mariaholic. In both cases, my reviews say something like, “sexual harassment and assault against women is gross and if you find it entertaining, you are a terrible person.”

I am prepared for today’s review to join those ranks because sexual assault as entertainment is gross and if you enjoy it, you are a terrible person.

Fragtime, animated by Tear Studio, directed by Takuya Satō, produced by Terada Yusuke, is based on a manga by Sato that ran on Akita Shoten’s Manga Cross website from 2013-2014. The OVA premiered in North America by Pony Canyon at AnimeNYC 2019, with guest Producer Terada and voice actress Ito Miku, who played lead Moritani Mizusu.

The Fragtime OVA has been licensed by Sentai Filmworks and the manga has been licensed by Seven Seas.

Moritani Misuzu (played by Ito-san) is a high school student who has the ability to stop time for three minutes. She stops time in order to look at classmate Murakami Haruka’s (played by Miyamoto Yume) underwear, only to find that Murakami is not affected by the time stoppage. In response to learning that Moritani likes Murakami, Murakami agrees to go out with her…as long as Moritani does whatever she wants. By this, she means that Moritani will stop time only at her request.  As the film progresses, we learn that both girls have problems relating to people around them and, as they become closer, they work through those problems. Moritani gains confidence and stops running away from human contact, however, this causes her to lose her ability to stop time. But, as the end of the film approaches, it is clear that this is not a tragedy, and marks a new beginning for both Moritani and Murakami.

The overall plot of Fragtime is not bad, and both acting and animation are adequate. The overwhelming problem with Fragtime is the super-creepy male gaziness of it. (Learn about Male Gaze here and here.) Obsession with women’s underwear is centered above and beyond the girl’s narratives. Moritani commits sexual assault because she ” likes’ Murakami. Murakami is manipulative and exploitative, Moritani is manipulated and exploited. All of this – every last unhealthy, over-sexualized, underwear-obsessive thing in the story is presented to us as either an expression of “like” or as comedy. The sound of juicy male laughter as Moritani buys a pair of underwear just like Murakami’s made me so upset I stood and almost left.  And again, in response to Murakami threatening to break up after misunderstanding why Moritani stops time not by her command, (which Moritani had done to save a friend from mockery) Moritani does not tell her why she stopped time, but instead lifts up her skirt to show the matching underwear. As if that is, in any way, a meaningful act. Or something a woman might do. This time when there was laughter I came close to tears.

The behavior of the lead characters makes no sense. Yes, they both have emotional issues, but nothing they do is sensible. Their behaviors do not fit their pathologies. Their behavior does fit the desire of men to endlessly stare up women’s skirts in the most grotesque way.

When the anime began, the crowd was slightly less big than for the Kase-san premier, occupying just over half the room. No one left at the first upskirt, as we mostly knew that that was inevitable. Apparently I was not the only one who hoped it would improve, because with every subsequent underwear scene, people got up and left. The audience was hovering around half-way filling the room when it ended.

Questions were…not good. It was clear that most people lined up to ask questions without a question in mind. When they got to the mic, it was apparent no real question had come to them. The translators struggled to make sense of the unformed ideas to with they were being subjected.

Most damning was the relative silence of the audience as they left the room. After Kase-san, there was a buzz of conversation as people stood around and talked about how good it was. After Fragtime, there was…nothing. People just left. Fragtime was especially disappointing as Pony Canyon attempted to sell this as another sweet love story, a worthy successor to Kase-san, when it is the opposite. Where Kase-san is a lovely female-gaze story about two nice kids, this is a creepy male gaze story about two broken kids.

Let me be clear – women do not upskirt other women. Every woman understands that it is a violation of her privacy and is a form of sexual assault. Women upskirt may themselves as entertainment for men – that is a form of sex work. Moritani presumed Murakami could not consent and did it anyway. That is an assault. And it was not cute, not fun, not an expression of like. It is not what any woman might do, for any reason. Almost every scene that involves the time-stoppage is a scene in which someone is humiliated, mostly (although not completely) without any consent.

Because I feel so strongly about the fact that Fragtime is not just an unpleasant depiction of two young women in love, but is actually objectionable, I am going to do something I have never done: No dissent will be tolerated. Do not attempt to defend upskirting or endless humiliating underwear shots. Your input in that regard is not welcome. Should you feel that you can discuss Fragtime for other qualities (there were some brief decent moments) please feel free. Under no circumstances will I put up with any defense of upskirting. It is a repulsive act and ought to be subject to jail time.

To sum up, Fragtime is a really shitty premise wrapped around the dark kernel of a completely different story that the creator didn’t want to write.

Ratings:

Art – 7
Story – 2
Characters – 4 but had they been treated with any respect they could have been better
Service – 10 allcreepy service
Yuri – 6

Overall – 2 I was hoping it’d at least be a 5, but…nope.

I am very sorry for Sentai and Seven Seas, but I cannot and will not endorse Fragtime, it will not go up on the Yuricon Store. It won’t affect their sales, but it I won’t be assisting anyone to buy it. I won’t be linking to it, or reviewing it further upon release

Chika Anzai plays Kobayashi Yukari, the only other character with more than dialogue in passing and the Kase-san voice actresses have cameos. The best part of the entire premiere was the MC, whose name I missed, who was fabulous. When it came time for questions, she said of Ito-san, “No personal questions, please, I am her mother.” I think I’m the only one who laughed.

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We are edging ever closer to the event horizon where Yuri manga in English is coming out at the same time as in Japanese. It was only March of this year when I reviewed this book in Japanese. Here we are, a mere 7 months later and we’re looking at Akashi’s Still Sick, Volume 1 in English, from Tokyopop.

Shimizu Makoto is a hard-working team leader for an engineering group. She’s also an otaku, with a hobby of drawing Yuri fanzines for comic markets. When she’s discovered by her coworker, Shimizu is desperately afraid that Maekawa will use the knowledge against her. Instead, Maekawa turns out to have a secret of her own. The two of them grow closer almost against their will. It’s not a bad relationship, but it isn’t a good one either. Maekawa uses Shimizu’s emotions against her to protect herself, Shimizu is hiding from everything to protect herself. It’ll take some serious work for the two of them to move forward. In the meantime, they are becoming more of a team and closer as friends…it’s all very messy and human.

There are a number of translation choices that are worth noting. “Fan comics” and “fanzine” for doujinshi are spot on, and I laughed at the use of “headcannon” because…yes. ^_^ The definition of “onee-sama” as being used by bottoms to address tops is a bit dodgy. It’s not wholly incorrect, but not really correct, either. In any case, I probably wouldn’t have described it that way. ^_^; The discussion of Yuri in between chapters was solid, no complaints here. Overall, Katie Kimura did a decent job translating. Tokyopop’s technicals are solid, all the visuals and the font are comfortab;ly legible, even in digital format.

Of all the working society Yuri manga I have been reading, this is one of my favorites. The characters are slightly broken, in a very human way, and the outcomes of their exchanges are not at all predictable. Still Sick gives us a very otaku view of office relationships, and a very human perspective on Yuri.

Ratings:

Art – 7 Solid, not outstanding
Characters – 8
Story – 8
Yuri – 3, with a lot of potential
Service – 0 so far

Overall – 8

This is not girl meets girl, girl falls in love, the end. This is broken woman meets broken woman, they don’t fall in love, but they kind do, only not really, and there’s some other stuff they need to work on, not the end.

Thanks very much to Tokyopop for the review copy.

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In Volume 1, we met Nanoha and Chidori, two high school students who are keeping a secret from their friends – they are going out with each other.

In Hana ni Arashi, Volume 2 (はなにあらし) they keep that secret while their friends talk about their futures, about boys, about what they want for themselves. They share umbrellas in the rain and Chidori comforts Nanoha when thunder upsets her. And they tell each other how they feel.

There is little to no conflict. Shogakukan’s Shonen Sunday magazine isn’t ready for nuance in their Yuri, yet, apparently. Kobachi Ruka’s school life story is relaxing and gentle. Little to no conflict arises and most of the emotions are rooted in sentimentality for a simpler time of life. But, through all this Chidori and Nanoha are, and remain, a couple.

I have no idea yet if this story will evolve, but I can tell you that it continues. It’s already up to volume 6 in Japan!

Ratings:

Art – 6
Story – 6
Characters – 6
Yuri – 3
Service – 1, mostly on principle

Overall – 6

Volume 3 is in my cart and I’ll give it at least one more chance to do something. I have no objection to nice kids being nice, but this relationship not developing is not super riveting.

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Legend of Korra: Ruins of the Empire, Part Two was fantastic.

As Guan ramps up efforts to take over the Earth Kingdom, it becomes obvious that he’s outright brainwashing people. Korra heads in one direction looking for a solution and the rest of the gang heads in another trying to get a bead on what’s going on. In the process, they get captured. Now Korra has to face down her own friends and her lover as well as an implacable enemy. She needs an ally and the only one available is…Kuvira.

Kuvira was one of the best characters in the Korra anime. Nuanced, human and both sympathetic and unsympathetic simultaneously. Here in Ruins of the Empire, we’re getting another look at Kuvira, as a leader, as an enemy, as a resource and as a human.

I wasn’t sure in Part One if this story was going to grab my attention, but by about halfway through this book, I was well and truly grabbed.

Even aside from the strong (and timely, as persistent election interference is our current reality in the USA) plot, there’s something I want to note. As Korra is taking her leave, she and Asami kiss each other goodbye. Does that sound boring and every day? It is! Isn’t that exciting! Korra and Asami kiss goodbye just like couples do and it’s not a thing. It’s so absolutely delightful that they are just…together. Happy sigh.

Michelle Wong’s art is solid and Killian Ng’s color palette is excellent. The cover of this volume makes my heart pound a little faster. Kuvira, Toph, Su and Korra, wow. 4 generations of strong, interesting, three-dimensional women in a comic for tweens. And it’s #2 on Amazon in LGBTQ Graphic Novels, which makes me so happy.

I’m really looking forward to Part Three which hit shelves in February 2020, and here’s hoping for more time with the depth Kuvira brings to the story.

Ratings:

Art – 8
Story – 9
Characters – 9
Service – 0
Yuri – 10 Once again because Asami and Korra just are, together, not because of any grand coming out.

Overall – A very solid 9

Thanks to Okazu Patron and Superhero Eric P for today’s review copy!

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Yuri Manga

We’ve added a couple of new titles to the Yuricon Store!

Galette No. 12 (ガレット) is hitting shelves this week and the cover, illustrated by pen, is just lovely.

The fifth anthology in the Éclair series, Éclair orange – Anata ni Hibiku Yuri Anthology (エクレア orange あなたに響く百合アンソロジー) also makes it to Japanese bookstores this week.  This one features a new story by Bloom Into You creator Nakatani Nio.

Speaking of Nakatani Nio…the final volume of Yagate Kimi ni Naru is being released this week in Japan. Yagate Kimi ni Naru, Volume 8  (やがて君になる). Now I’m just killing time until that third Sayaka novel. ^_^

I’m currently reading Yuri to Koe to Kaze Matoi (百合と声と風纏い) about a girl who has no real idea what love means…until she falls for a mysterious woman with a motorcycle who helps her out on a rainy day.

Now that I’m done with events and traveling for a little while, I’ll play catch up on the Store and get some more stuff up!

I’ve just gotten a glimpse of the Udon edition of The Rose of Versailles, Volume 1 and …it’s breathtaking. I expect to have it in my hands this week and I will stop everything and review it immediately. In the meantime, pre-order it, you will not be disappointed.

Lilies Anthology Volume 8: Nodding Lily is now available in print and digital on a number of formats!

I know everyone asks this all the time, but we really do need your help to  continue to cover as much as we do here on Okazu. Please consider making an Okazu subscription part of your 2020 budget. $5/month and you’ll be eligible for all our perqs, including a personalized Yuri panel!

LGBTQ News

Via Cartoon Network’s Twitter account, Steven Universe Future has a premier date! I’ll keep saying this – this cartoon is the only thing standing between me and a complete breakdown since November 2016. Around my house every night we take two episodes before bed. ^_^

Be Gay, Do Comics is a queer comics anthology; 250 pages of queer history, memoir and satire from amazing political cartoon website, The Nib.

Avery Kaplan takes a look at Queerness in Naoko Kodama’s manga I Married My Best Friend To Shut My Parents Up.

Now You Know, an animated history of 200 years of LGBTQ history and rights is narrated by Wanda Sykes.

This Renault car ad is the best lesbian movie of 2019. ^_^

Yuri Podcast

I was a guest this week on Anime News Network’s ANNCast. Zac Bertschy and I talk Yuri and queer representation in Revolutionary Girl Erica (and the comments drop down to Queen’s Blade as a good Yuri in under two pages, so you can see exactly what Zac is talking about very clearly. I was trying to be kind, but guys..seriously…Queen’s Blade is not good representation. )

Yuri Events

Folks in the Shinjuku area on March 1, should plan on attending the 20OL Expo, a doujinshi market focusing on Yuri romances in the workplace.

I’m very pleased (and proud!) to announce that our panel: Transporting Yuri Across Borders has been accepted to the Mechademia conference in Kyoto in May 30-June 1, 2020. Myself, James Welker and Verena Maser will be presenting papers about “challenges and opportunities in the evolution and transformation of yuri as it has been transported across chronological, geographic and linguistic borders.” Sounds cool, right? Now we have to, y’know, write the papers! I’ve been using the Nanowrimo energy of the month to push myself and have gotten a third of the way through the thing.

Interestingly, a whole new section of my paper opened up with my desire to create a new word for Yuri fans. We’ve gotten first-hand testimony from Rica Takashima that Itoh Bungaku-sensei meant to specifically coin a phrase for lesbians when he chose Yurizoku and I’ve done some primary research this week of currently used terms. Yuri is a common genre term now, but there is no clear pre-eminent word for Yuri fan. Yurizuki has been suggested, but it’s no more common than anything else, having been primarily promoted on Twitter through the efforts of two bots who RTed it an average of 5 times a day in 2013-2015.  So a bunch of us are now working with 百合人-Yurijin…although predictably there’s already valid discussion about pronunciation and calling it Yuribito…but as I was typing this I realized why I don’t care for that. Yuribito describes a single person’s identity or role within a society. I’m thinking of us all as “the Yuri people,”so Yurijin it is for me.  (Leaving Yurizoku still for lesbians, as opposed to anyone who likes Yuri the genre.) I’ve been among those who shape how we talk about this genre for 20 years now and I love how we’ve pushed and prodded it towards a broader vision of inclusivity. ^_^ This conversation will evolve, undoubtedly. Who knows what we’ll call it in another 20 years! Isn’t language fascinating? 

Other News

Here’s a fun interview with Laurie Halse Anderson, creator of Wonder Woman: Tempest Tossed on rebooting Dian’s origin story through a real world lens.

Here’s a funny story to wrap up. Reed Pop, having whiffed twice at creating an anime festival at NYCC is trying again over at Emerald City Comic Con with Pop Asia. Why. Seriously.

Become a YNN Correspondent by reporting any Yuri-related news with your name and an email I can reply to – thanks to all of you – you make this a great Yuri Network! Write me with any questions you have, and I’ll do my best to answer them on my YNN podcast, when I revive it this winter!

Special thanks to all of our Okazu Patrons on Patreon, who make this report possible!

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