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Okazu Reviews

Okazu Reviews
Yuri anime and manga reviews, information and events of interest to yuri and shoujoai fans by Erica Friedman, founder of Yuricon, a celebration of shoujoai and yuri in anime and manga.

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Earn a copy of "Yuri Monogatari 6" through "Project Engage!
2009-05-12 14:19:00
As you know, ALC Publishing recently launched Yuri Monogatari 6 and as we know there are a lot of you who would like a copy of the book but, for one reason or another, cannot get it. Maybe you're in school and can't afford it, or maybe you live somewhere where shipping from Amazon makes it outrageously expensive.So, we've developed this new Project special for you!Here's how it works:"Project Engage " is very simple. Use any and all social media you *already use* to promote YM6 and EARN a copy of YM6 for your efforts!- Mention Yuri Monogatari 6 in a relevant Forum, Mailing List, Blog post, Twitter about it, or talk about it on your Facebook, MySpace, LiveJournal page, or any other form of social media *that you already use* with a link to either the ALC Page on the Yuricon Shop or Amazon and get *5* points.- Embed the Yuri Monogatari 6 video trailer (see below) on the any of the social media *you already use,* and get *10* points.- When you have earned *50* points, email us link...
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Yuri Manga: Manga no Tsukurikata, Volume 1
2009-05-11 22:25:00
When Kawaguchi was 13, she debuted as a manga artist. But, due to many different things, she stopped drawing. Now she's 19 and has decided to get back into it only...she has no idea what to draw.After thinking about it, she decides to try her hand at Yuri , since BL and GL seem all the rage. Thus begins Manga no Tsukurikata.Only...now Kawaguchi *really* has no idea what to draw.Just then, she's visited by a workmate and classmate of her young brother's, Morishita. Morishita has a crush on Kawaguchi, so when the older girl asks her out, she gladly agrees. Kawaguchi thinks that going out with another girl will give her some inspiration, but finds pretty quickly that things are more complicated that they seem.For one thing, Morishita is not just her workmate and a classmate of her younger brother Masato - she is also Kawaguchi's favorite manga artist, Sacchi.For another, despite her desire to gain inspiration from Morishita, Kawaguchi's failure to take Morishita's emotions serious...
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Yuri Manga: Manga no Tsukurikata, Volume 1
2009-05-11 22:25:00
When Kawaguchi was 13, she debuted as a manga artist. But, due to many different things, she stopped drawing. Now she's 19 and has decided to get back into it only...she has no idea what to... [[ This is a content summary only. Visit http://okazu.blogspot.com for full links, other content, and more! ]]
More About: Manga , Volume , Yuri

Earn a copy of "Yuri Monogatari 6" through "Project Engage!
2009-05-10 20:29:00
As you know, ALC Publishing recently launched Yuri Monogatari 6 and as we know there are a lot of you who would like a copy of the book but, for one reason or another, cannot get it. Maybe you're in... [[ This is a content summary only. Visit http://okazu.blogspot.com for full links, other content, and more! ]]
More About: Project , Earn , Copy , Engage

Yuri News this Week - May 9, 2009
2009-05-09 17:24:00
Yuricon & ALC News Top story today is that I am the top story at Anime Today. :-) I was very pleased to spend some time with the utterly fabulous folks at Anime Today this week, and our resulting talk can be found at this week's Anime Today podcast. We talk about lesbian comics, and the realities of marketing and publishing in a niche market. I hope you'll tune in - it was a LOT of fun!***Yuri AnimeThat great Yuri classic Vandread will be rearing it's head once again, like the undead, horrible rotting thing it is. This time, we'll be treated to a feature-length synopsis of both seasons. Since the series is being shrunk for your viewing pleasure, there'll probably be even less lesbians on that all-female ship than there was the first time around.Comcast On Demand began airing the first episodes of Maria Watches Over us. Can you believe it? It's like some weird dream, in which an American anime distributor actually listened to me. lol In reality, Right Stuf needs no edumacation f...
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Yuri News this Week - May 9, 2009
2009-05-09 17:24:00
Yuricon & ALC News Top story today is that I am the top story at Anime Today. :-) I was very pleased to spend some time with the utterly fabulous folks at Anime Today this week, and our resulting... [[ This is a content summary only. Visit http://okazu.blogspot.com for full links, other content, and more! ]]
More About: Week , Yuri

Red Garden Anime, Volume 6 (English)
2009-05-09 01:45:00
As the curtain opens for Red Garden , Volume 6, the four girls finally find some equilibrium in their shattered lives. One at a time, we watch Clare, Rose, Rachel and Kate come to the belated... [[ This is a content summary only. Visit http://okazu.blogspot.com for full links, other content, and more! ]]
More About: Anime , English , Red Garden

Red Garden Anime, Volume 6 (English)
2009-05-09 01:45:00
As the curtain opens for Red Garden , Volume 6, the four girls finally find some equilibrium in their shattered lives. One at a time, we watch Clare, Rose, Rachel and Kate come to the belated realization that they have never truly been alone. Armed with the knowledge that their existence meant *something* to *someone,* they head off for what they know will be a final battle.The battle is itself, inconsequential. The two sides that needlessly fought, now needlessly die at each others' hands. While Edgar loses everything he thought he had, Lise is returned to the four, and together they all face their final rest...in peace.Is it some years later, or in an alternate universe that we find the same four reborn into a future city that is completely different and exactly the same. Metempsychosis brings them into contact with people they have known well in their former lives - but there is no recognition of that acquaintance. They've lived so long, they've had to be seventeen so many time...
More About: Anime , English , Red Garden

Yuri Anime: Lyrical Nanoha A's (English)
2009-05-08 01:51:00
There are many, many good things about Lyrical Nanoha A's. There are also some bad things - things significant enough that they impact not only my own, but many other people's enjoyment of this series.We'll suffice to say that the loli in this series strikes me as problematic. It's not cute, or sweet, it's pandering and it is troubling. I spoke at length about some of these issues in my original review of this anime, so I won't beat it to death again. Instead, I would like to focus on the positive aspects of this series. Primarily to convince Bruce that bearing with the first season is, really, I swear to heaven, worth it. :-)This season begins with Nanoha being trained by the Time-Space Administration Bureau, and Fate nearing the end of her punishment for her crimes from the previous season. In order to foster a positive environment for Fate, and to provide her with a functional family model, Admiral Lindy Harlown has adopted Fate and is going to live on Earth for a while, al...
More About: Anime , English , Yuri

El Cazador Anime: Volume 4 (Polish/German)
2009-05-07 01:18:00
I'm very excited to once again offer a review from the Okazu Europe bureau. Everyone, please welcome back Winterbraid! Yayyy~!El Cazador Volume 4 has episodes 15 through 18. Starting with the mandatory swimsuit (and in one case, no swimsuit) episode, followed by L.A. losing the last bits of sympathy we have for him, some random cosplay and buttock prodding by Nadie and Ellis, and - in my opinion - a rather Noir-like episode, closed with the trickster god part - which, on the second run, is probably one of my favourites. Otherwise, it seems that everyone stalks everyone, all with a generous spurt of fluff and cuddly on top - perfect after a tough week. ^-^ As far as the localization is concerned... well, I'm not really in the mood for nagging right now. ^-^ Fortunately, there is no more translating whole sentences as a single word, although some awkwardness (and a few blatant mistakes) awaits. Overall, I'd say that compared to the previous volume, the translation hasn't gained ...
More About: German , Anime , Polish

Yuri News this Week - May 2, 2009
2009-05-06 14:24:00
Time to hit the boards in search of Yuri !Yuri Drama CDI was taken to task for not pointing this out eralier, but I haven't been taking my omniscience pills so, belatedly, here is news of the Rakka Ryuusui Drama CD.***Yuri MangaGokujou Drops, Volume 2 is out from Ichijinsha on May 18. The next volume of Hanjuku Joshi is planned for an August release.Erin S. wants to assure you that you orders have not been "canceled" (which is what the helpful folks at Amazon JP tell you, when they mean "delayed") and the Ame-iro Kouchakan Kandan manga (with or without Drama CD) will also be out on May 18.She's also glad to be able to say Zaou Taishi and Eiki Eiki will have a new series in Yuri Hime magazine starting next issue (issue 17, due out July 18).And she continues with more on the Yuri Himefront - another cell phone manga (set in the Heian period; could be interesting),Aishiwo tome: kimi ga kokoro ha by Takahashi Itsumi, are both due out that day, too. Several YH books are due out on June...
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Ichigo Mashimaro Encore Anime
2009-05-06 00:24:00
Chika and her friends are back and even sillier things than ever before are happening in Ichigo Mashimaro Encore. Much of what is animated in Encore is from the 6th volume of the manga. If you have read and enjoyed these chapters, you are likely to enjoy them again as animation.If you don't care that Miu's antics can make demons in hell laugh, then you probably won't care so much. And if you don't care that Nobue is not their friend, but their gang boss, or that Miu and Chika's friendship is almost alien in it's intense weirdness, then, again, you probably don't want to watch this anime.But if you are a member of the Miu Fan Club, if you like the idea that Miu and Chika's relationship surpasses words and has moved on to bizarre ASCII art, if you like the idea that Chika and Miu make a stellar comedy team then you too, will enjoy Encore.Yuri is low, with one "are we lesbians" gag but despite that, yes, I still think the Miu is a EPL-in training. Call it a gaydar thing. :-)Rat...
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Ichigo Mashimaro Encore Anime
2009-05-06 00:24:00
Chika and her friends are back and even sillier things than ever before are happening in Ichigo Mashimaro Encore. Much of what is animated in Encore is from the 6th volume of the manga. If you have... [[ This is a content summary only. Visit http://okazu.blogspot.com for full links, other content, and more! ]]
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Gokujouu Manga, Volume 1
2009-05-04 23:11:00
Gokujouu is exactly the kind of manga that I find it maddening to see included on Yuri lists because 1) it has no redeeming qualities at all and 2) it has no Yuri. What it does have is a lot of... [[ This is a content summary only. Visit http://okazu.blogspot.com for full links, other content, and more! ]]
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Gokujouu Manga, Volume 1
2009-05-04 23:11:00
Gokujouu is exactly the kind of manga that I find it maddening to see included on Yuri lists because 1) it has no redeeming qualities at all and 2) it has no Yuri. What it does have is a lot of utterly pointless and retarded nudity, and "wacky" cluelessness about sexuality that forces situations that are vaguely sexual in nature. Because it takes place at a girls' school, these vaguely sexual situations are fake-lesbian-ish, or Yuri if you are a total LFB. What Gokujouu *is* is a more nudity-filled, more pervtastic, even MORE stupid version of almost the same exact set of gags one finds in High School Girls...if Kouda was the lead character.In the first chapter we meet Aya, a completely delusional sexual innocent who likes to show off her assets without the vaguest clue what she's actually doing. Aya is plagued by hysterical situations like losing her underwear, so she steals the underwear from her friend Konatsu, and later the two of them tumble ass over teakettle, showing the wh...
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Yuri News this Week - May 2, 2009
2009-05-02 18:41:00
Time to hit the boards in search of Yuri ! Yuri Drama CD I was taken to task for not pointing this out eralier, but I haven't been taking my omniscience pills so, belatedly, here is news of the... [[ This is a content summary only. Visit http://okazu.blogspot.com for full links, other content, and more! ]]
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Maria-sama ga Miteru Special CD, Volume 1
2009-05-01 18:30:00
Such voyeuristic joy, such pure pleasure, such girly, giggly, sweets and flower-filled minutes pass as we once again enter the second-floor meeting room of the Bara no Yakata and spend time with the women who bring the Rosa Chinensis family to life as they discuss important things like who gets the chocolate, the strawberry or the pumpkin flavored sweet.No seriously, that's the kind of thing we listen to when Itou Miki (Sachiko,) Kugamiya Rie (Touko) and Ueda Kana (Yumi) get together to chat about everything an nothing for the Maria -sama ga Miteru Special CD, Volume 1.They discuss the 4th season, and Touko's character development. They discuss the novels (Kana is clearly the group authority on this, having clearly read them all) and about the New Year's Eve event.The drama portion of the CD is "Chocolate Portrait," the story of how Shouko and Tsutako met. (You can read the text of it in my Notes on the Sixteenth Novel.) The entire story was dramatized - if anything was cut, I was...

Yuri Manga: Zombie Loan, Volume 2 (English)
2009-05-01 01:32:00
As the curtain rises on Zombie Loan , Volume 2, Michiru has had to face the worst crisis of her life - a life already filled with far too many crises. Left alone by the death of her parents, she is being raised by her Aunt and Uncle who, she is sure, love her more for her enormous inheritance than herself. At school she is a doormat and is walked over by even those she considers friends. Life is bleak enough that she considers dying....until she actually does.Michiru encounters two strange, unpleasant, but somehow admirable young men and slowly, she is introduced to a world in which zombies walk. Unfortunately, it is our world. Her ability to see the markings that indicate that a person is a zombie makes her - for the first time in her life - an important person. And in that small thing, she finds meaning. When she is killed, Michiru signs a "zombie loan" contract and is ressurected, to work off her debt by identifying zombies.On the good side, Michiru gains some strength and purpose...
More About: Manga , English

Out of Office
2009-04-28 03:30:00
I'm out of town for a few days on some family business. No updates 'til I get back. Enjoy re-reading a few of the past updates while I'm gone! Ta~ [[ This is a content summary only. Visit http://okazu.blogspot.com for full links, other content, and more! ]]
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Tetragrammaton Laybrinth Manga, Volume 4 (English)
2009-04-27 20:26:00
When it comes to Tetragrammaton Labyrinth, Volume 4, you may find the air redolent with the smell of lilies. But when you investgate further , this series remains mostly nioi-kei. Which is not to say that it's not fun and games in this intensely violent and blood-spattered volume.Angela and Meg are bound by a deep, irreversible magical and emotional bond. As long as Meg needs Angela to exist, she will. It is this and this alone that keeps Angela alive when she finally confronts the beast who robbed her of her humanity. And it is this that most readers will assign the value of "Yuri." The cute little girl torture continues and the the source for so much of it is revealed to be the much maligned Gilles de Rais, either a child torturer and rapist or a scapegoat for the politically motivated destruction of the Templars, depending on which side you are on. This de Rais is a child rapist and torturer sating some demonic need in the readers who like to read about stuff like that, then pro...
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Aria the Natural, Part 1 Anime Boxset (English)
2009-04-26 21:00:00
I need to say this first, because I am sick and tired of getting nasty emails, comments and blogposts from people who have no grip on reality. I DO NOT think that Aria is Yuri. Many other people who are not me do. I review Aria as Yuri because the *other* group of fans who have no grip on reality insist on seeing all sorts of couples in the mostly all-female cast, since so often they talk to each other, or are in the same frame. They even touch once in a while, so clearly there's sex involved, in the LFB eyes of this group.I *do* enjoy imagining a relationship between Alicia and Akira. That is the only Yuri I have ever seen in this series and I am completely honest about the fact that I have made it up in my head, encouraged only by Raku-Gun and Crush doujinshi. So please, stfu about me ruining Aria for you because I had the nerve to call it a Yuri series. Get a life, seriously. If me calling a series Yuri pisses you off, then its probably a bad idea to read this blog since it is a...
More About: Anime , Natural , English , Part

Yuri News Report - April 25, 2009
2009-04-25 17:40:00
Thanks for your patience while we had fun with (and without) you last week. We're back today with a pile o'Yuri news!Yuri MangaAoi Hana, Volume 4 is coming. Don't shudder with anticipation too much, it's bad for your joints. Jump up and down instead - your heart could use the exercise.Azumanga Daioh is poised to have a 10th anniversary and the author is celebrating a new manga edition by penning three new chapters to entice you to buy it.***Yuri AnimeApparently the first DVD of the 4th season of Maria-sama ga Miteru had massive sound and extra issues, which made all the fanboys mad. Strawberry Panic box sets are coming out in English. They are, of course!, on the Yuricon Shop for your convenience.This is kind of interesting - Sean points out that Gakuen Alice is playing on the Anime Network. That means there was a dub, I guess. I think it's interesting that that series got a dub, but did not make it onto network TV in the usual hacked up form shoujo usually has to go through to...
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Yuri News Report - April 25, 2009
2009-04-25 17:40:00
Thanks for your patience while we had fun with (and without) you last week. We're back today with a pile o'Yuri news! Yuri Manga Aoi Hana, Volume 4 is coming. Don't shudder with anticipation too... [[ This is a content summary only. Visit http://okazu.blogspot.com for full links, other content, and more! ]]
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