Fujoshi O'Clock: July Edition

Fujoshi O'Clock is a monthly feature at Nagareboshi Reviews which focus on boys' love/yaoi news, reviews, and meta. The feature also puts a spotlight on trans/bisexual/genderqueer manga/anime news and articles. For yuri/shoujo ai, see fellow bloggers Yuricon and Yuri no Boke for a more thorough examination of the girls' love genre.

This month will be articles/news only.

Articles for July:

• Midwest yaoi convention Ahn Con is running a crowdfunding campaign to help pay off some of its convention debt and help ensure it will be up and running for another year.
• In further convention news, YaoiCon's 2015 guest of honor will be manga-ka Tateno Makoto. YaoiCon recently held events at Anime Expo 2015, including its infamous annual Bishounen Bingo. The industry guest for September 18-20 will be Martha Asahi, a JP cosplayer and BL manga-ka.
• Korean BL visual novel November Boy, being released by Sekai Project, now has a video trailer, as shared by Hardcore Gamer's website.
• Elementree has released an English version of Yaoi Ooku: Distorted Love to iOS and Android; the BL dating sim game takes place during the Edo era and features the voice of VA Tetsuya Kakihara.

Initial Thoughts On Higurashi No Naku Koro Ni Episode 1 VN

The village of Hinamizawa serial murder incident... Every year on the same day in June, someone died and there was a mysterious disappearance. This death is intertwined in the conflict surrounding a gigantic dam project. The resurrection of a mysterious case hidden during the Showa era. Conspiracy, chance, or a curse... (Source: MangaGamer)

Having watched the first season of the anime and read the first story arc of the manga, I didn't think that playing the Onikakushi-hen arc of the Higurashi No Naku Koro ni/When Cicadas Cry visual novel could surprise me. Although I haven't delved far enough into it to talk about the murders that will soon plague the claustrophobic village of Hinamizawa, what I've seen so far is an interesting deparature from how Higurashi is experience through its anime and manga adaptations.

For those of you wishing to join me in exploring the Higurashi VN, the first episode is currently available for free via the Kindle Fire and MangaGamer. It seems like the game is a bit of a battery drainer and it takes approximately one hour to download the game data even after you install the app. Luckily, once all that is done, you can jump directly into the game.

News Post!

It would only make sense that on occasion, Nagareboshi Reviews let its readers know about some of the more awesome things going on in anime and manga these days. Therefore, enjoy this Wednesday night news post!

Yen Press: Miss Alexia Tarabotti has come to call! Yen Press has announced the debut of the series Soulless in their monthly manga magazine YEN+; it is an adaptation of the same teapunk series of the same name by author Gail Carriger - a dazzling world of steampunk and vampires and werewolves combined with Victorian sensibilities and parasols galore. Even people burnt out on the supernatural genre should check out this latest manga and pick up the newest YEN+ as soon as possible.

Vertical: Vertical's First Summer Blockbuster. Talking about A Caring Man, the thriller debut novel by Akira Akai. Looks to be an exciting read! I'll make my library buy it for sure.

Funimation: Amazing Anime Sales! Up To 60% Off! The sale on Dragon Boxes (box sets of remastered uncut Dragon Ball Z) sounds amazing. Of course, any time there's a sale, that's good news! :)

MangaGamer: Kara no Shoujo. The visual novel KnJ is out! I'm playing the free demo at the moment, but I can't imagine me not buying the game eventually. MG's releases are so quality, they are definitely worth the money. Warning: the game can get pretty gory - plus, it is a visual novel, which usually means the main protag gets laid. Multiple times.

Share your favorite anime/manga related news in the comments!