Putting Up Links On A Tuesday

I totally and completely meant to post last week but between getting ready to move into my dorm, said move into my dorm, and starting fall classes, updating the blog fell by the wayside. I hope y'all enjoy this round-up of links to pieces I've enjoyed lately as some sort of apology; this month's Fujoshi O'Clock update will come later this week!

• This Wondermark strip about computer support speaks to me on a molecular level as a former A/V assistant. Your dongle's totally rebooted.
• Zack Davisson wrote up a brief history of yokai for Hyakumonogatari Kaidankai back in 2013, but it is still a worthwhile read for yokai enthusiasts. Also, read Shigeru Mizuki!
• More yokai? Why not! I find this piece on the gendering of yokai across the shojo/shonen demographic divide a really fascinating look at how Japan's mythology is skewered based on the target audience.
• Naoki Urasawa and Hisashi Eguchi talk about manga in the 70s and 80s. I think that's all you need to know there.
• A lot of Patreon sponsored posts at Ogiue Maniax have been really worth reading, but with a title like 'Diners, Saiyans, and Drives', how can I not link to it?
• Contemporary Japanese Literature looked at one of my favorite sub-sets of manga - the shojo manga - as part of the 'cultural cross-pollination' which has inspired current women in English language comics. They talk about Bizenghast as well as Bee and Puppycat, which are both awesome. Also, look, a Smile cover!

Fujoshi O'Clock (4/17/15)

What time is it? It's Fujoshi O'Clock, a regular feature at Nagareboshi Review, when I bring to you the latest fujoshi-related news and reviews and various shiny BL-flavored things. There is also a focus on trans and bisexual anime/manga. Why? Because rotten girls need love too!

This week on Fujoshi O'Clock:

• The headline at Otaku Champloo says it all: Nakamura Asumiko’s Doukyuusei (Classmates) is getting an anime!
• Free! fans, get ready: the Free! Starting Days film has been announced, with a projected release date of December 2015 in Japan.
• YaoiCon's latest announcement is that manga-ka Makoto Tateno will be a guest at the convention this year. The California-based yaoi con is scheduled for September 18-20.
• Experiments in Manga looks at manga team Studio Kosen, a Spanish duo who has released BL titles in English and is now being published in Sparkler Monthly.
• The Beautiful World looks at same-sex desire and unions in Kaori Mori's A Bride's Story, currently being published by Yen Press.
• Smart Bitches, Trashy Books recently posted a very BL-friendly podcast in which they talked about male/male English language fiction, blogging on m/m fic, and recommendations for further reading.

Reviews:

• Slightly Biased Manga reviews volume 3 of Love Pistols by Tarako Kotobuki, that infamous BL manga about men and animals and, y'know, weird sex.
• Otaku Champloo reviews Yatamoto by Harada, in which there is "unforgiving eroticism" and a good guy falling hard for a bad boy.

Am I missing your blog? Got some awesome fujoshi-related news and reviews you think deserve a shout-out? Poke me with a link and a bit of description over at my Twitter: @theseventhl. I'm always on the look out for more BL love!

Fujoshi O'Clock (3/14/15)

What time is it? It's Fujoshi O'Clock, a regular feature at Nagareboshi Review, when I bring to you the latest fujoshi-related news and reviews and various shiny BL-flavored things. There is also a focus on trans and bisexual anime/manga. Why? Because rotten girls need love too!

This week on Fujoshi O'Clock:

• According to a Twitter report, manga-ka Gengoroh Tagame's latest work is an all-ages manga about a gay couple and their daughter.
• An Answerman article from early February talks about the Free! anime and the issue with the anime's licensing confusion.
• ANN looks at Sparkler Monthly, which publishes multiple BL and LGBT-friendly titles of original English language manga. And, yes, they talk about Off*Beat quite a bit!
• Hazukashii Kedo looks at the haitoku/'fall from virtue' themed anthology of BL that will be published by Charles Comics.

Reviews:

• Otaku USA reviews the Massive Anthology, which features shorts from major bara/gay manga authors like Tagame and Jiraiya.
• Slightly Biased Manga reviews volume 2 of Crimson Spell by Ayano Yamane from SuBLime and the single-volume One Is Enough by love from GEN Manga.
• Experiments in Manga reviews Hide and Seek volume 1 by Yaya Sakuragi, a romance between a doctor and a candy store owner.
• Rebecca Silverman at ANN reviews volumes 1-3 of Hide and Seek by Yaya Sakuragi, and gives it a B overall.
• ふう子 at Hazukashii Kedo reviews Twilight Underground by Akihira Shiro, a new story by the manga-ka that is running in Craft magazine.

Am I missing your blog? Got some awesome fujoshi-related news and reviews you think deserve a shout-out? Poke me with a link and a bit of description over at my Twitter: @theseventhl. I'm always on the look out for more BL love!

Graphic Novel Review: Off*Beat GN 2

Off*Beat volume 2
Author: Jen Lee Quick
Chromatic Press Inc.
176 pages

Christopher "Tory" Blake finally feels like he's gaining ground in his quest to learn more about the introverted Colin Stephens. But can he really discover what makes his new neighbor so fascinating through study dates and a few shared lunches? And when Tory's flatmate almost loses his computer to a virus protecting the secrets of something called "The Gaia Project," Tory gets a glimpse of just how deep Colin's mysteries go. What is the Gaia Project, and more importantly, is it what's causing Tory's heart to race whenever he sees Colin...? (Source: Chromatic Press)

Oh, Tory, baby. You have so much to learn about the human heart. Oh, and not stalking the boys you have secret crushes (that are so secret even you don't know it's there) on. In this volume of Off*Beat, the closer Tory gets to Colin in order to learn more about the Gaia Project, the more Tory gets to realizing that it's more about Colin that anything else. He also starts realizing that his actions have consequences - and those consequences hurt. It's yet another wonderful volume of Off*Beat that has me eagerly awaiting the publication of the third.

Signal Boost: Hana Doki Kira Kickstarter

I love shojo comics. I also love OEL manga and the great titles they have given us over the year - Bizenghast, Off*Beat, Dramacon, et cetera. So this Hana Doki Kira Kickstart campaign is the best of both worlds, a print/digital anthology featuring a variety of art styles that all celebrate shojo as a genre worth exploring. I'm not terribly familiar with the contributing artists, but I'd love to read and become acquainted with their works. Plus, any group that draws upon the legendary Year 24 Group is awesome by me.

As of today, they've reached their initial funding goal, but with 19 days to go and so many stretch goals yet to reach, why not help them out more? After all, more money means more cool additions to the finished product! After all, who doesn't like a book with a shimmery foil cover?

Graphic Novel Review: Off*Beat GN 1

Off*Beat volume 1
Author: Jen Lee Quick
Chromatic Press Inc.
173 pages

Christopher "Tory" Blake is a little too smart for his own good. His flights of fancy can whisk him away to odd places, but none so odd as those involving his mysterious new neighbor, Colin Stephens. Quiet and unassuming, it's obvious that Colin is up to something - but what? And when it turns out Tory's instincts may actually be on to something, he discovers he's got just as much to figure out about himself as he does about his new "friend." Is Colin just a curiosity or something more...? (Source: Chromatic Press)

Once upon a time, Tokyopop performed a great experiment in which prodigious manga-ka of American origin were courted for their manga-inspired works, an attempt to become the publisher of OEL (Original English Language) manga in North America. Much like the company itself, it eventually failed, but several stellar titles ended up rising from the group, redeeming OEL manga from the role of "lesser manga".

One of these titles, all thanks to the crowd sourced power of Kickstarter, is enjoying a reprint renaissance thanks to a brand new comic press - and that is Jen Lee Quick's Off*Beat, one of the best OEL manga you're not reading. And now you can, again!

Fujoshi O'Clock (6/13/13)

What time is it? It's . . . Fujoshi O'Clock, the biweekly feature at Nagareboshi Review, when I bring to you the latest fujoshi-related news and reviews and various shiny BL-flavored things. Why? Because rotten girls need love too!

This week on Fujoshi O'Clock:

• Bateszi Anime Blog, in response to the backlash against the KyoAni Free! anime, posts their treatise on fujoshi and the now infamous swimming anime.
• Contemporary Japanese Literature writes a great defense of fujoshi, with content warnings for discussion of rape and rape fantasies, that also tackles the bara/yaoi divide.
• I sense a trend here! Manga Therapy shares how thankful it is for fujoshi and links to several other pieces on BL culture.
• Alex Woolfson has yet another Kickstarter going, this time for his wonderful LGBT heroes webcomic The Young Protectors. Worth funding for the amazing stretch goals alone!
• An anime adaptation of the Love Stage!! manga has been announced in Asuka Ciel magazine. The manga, by Eiki Eiki and Taishi Zaou, started publication in 2010.
• The manga Wandering Son will be ending in the August issue of Monthly Comic Beam. The anime adaptation was simulcast on Crunchyroll; the manga is being published by Fantagraphics.
• Digital Manga has licensed two new manga titles: Hideyoshico's Apple & Honey and Natsuki Zippo's Wolf Magic. They also announced that Yaoi-Con would be happening in 2014.

Reviews:

• Naru at Organization Anti Social Geniuses reviews Silent Voice by Atsuki Kyoyama, a mixture of love and baseball and sketchy art.
• Boys' Luv.com reviews the OEL yaoi manga Punishment from Yaoi Press. Not surprisingly, it's underwhelming and has consent issues.
• Coffeeandink at Storytalk reviews The Heart of Thomas by Hagio Moto, BL manga classic, and really gets into the nitty-gritty of the book.
• Kate O'Neil at the Fandom Post reviews the fifth omnibus of Loveless by Yun Kouga, specially released by Viz Manga to cover the volumes previously published by Tokyopop.

Am I missing your blog? Got some awesome fujoshi-related news and reviews you think deserve a shout-out? Poke me with a link and a bit of description over at my Twitter: @theseventhl. I'm always on the look out for more BL love!

Signal Boost: Talking 'Bout OEL Manga

If you have any interest at all in original English-language manga (or OEL manga) and how to become an American manga-ka, you should definitely be reading the current series of posts by Deb Aoki at About.com Manga, starting with Making A Living In Manga: Part 1.

As usual, Deb Aoki examines the issue with lots of delightful insight and intelligence. In her first post, she gives a list of reasons as to why the American manga-making economy is broken, including the fact that many American readers see OEL manga as 'fake' manga, thus ignore it. Which is a shame, because there's a lot of quality OEL manga titles out there! Like Dramacon and Teahouse and The Dreaming and Off*Beat and so many more!

(Speaking of Off*Beat, I can't wait for volume three to come out! It would be great if someone reprinted the first two books but I ain't holding my breath.)

Interesting News Piece About OEL Manga Of The Day

Via Comics Worth Reading: Jen Lee Quick Still Plans To Continue Off*Beat

It will be finished and the last book will be more easily accessible then previous installments.This is slated to happen in 2012 regardless if my publishing plan follows through.I will of course keep people updated regularly on deviantart as soon as i am certain of anything. 

Since Tokoypop is gone, she says she’s “working with a new publisher”. In the meantime, she promises to post related “doodles” at her deviantart page.

I remember reading the first volume of Quick's Off*Beat series back in 2005 and finding it true to its title, as well as being a surprisingly sweet read about two awkward young boys and their secrets. I would love to be able to actually finish reading the series; this much mean that OEL manga as we knew it back in the days of Tokyopop isn't completely dead. Perhaps Quick is working with Yen Press, who has quite a few original English-language releases currently under their belt - and selling rather well against their manga/manwha counterparts.


What other OEL manga from the Tokyopop line do you wish would get a revival? I personally would love to see Bizenghast finish its run - in print, mind you! - and maybe have a re-release of its previous volumes since they are now all OOP.


Also, although it is a Del Rey Manga title, I want more Yokaiden! The second volume was released in 2009 and I haven't heard a peep out of the series yet - which is quite a shame, since I think the more it develops, the more it could become the OEL equivalent of Natsume Yuujinchou or Mushishi.