Someday, This Blog Will Return

Wednesday Briefs: Torch Song for a Night Ride

What can I say? I was inspired, somehow, despite the fact that midterms were last week and I have a paper due tomorrow morning. I hope y'all enjoy this latest Wednesday Brief piece: it's another stand alone original, and appropriately creepy, given Saturday is a creepy holiday. Sorry, no yokai in this one (although I considered it as a possibility)!

Torch Song For A Night Ride. Prompts used: a train, it's good to have dreams.

The sound of the ten o’clock express hitting the tracks was enough to wake Peter from what had been a very deep nap. He opened one eye, slowly, to see the red blinking light display the time from across the darkened room. Moonlight from the semi-opened window created a grey path that connected the foot of the bed to the faraway dresser.

It had only been about an hour since Peter lay back onto the bedspread, fully clothed, and attempted a decent nap time twice as long as he actually slept for. Papers were spread out on his desk in fan shapes, a desperate method of concentration based on the placement of objects that only worked half the time. A red pen sat on top of the mess, awaiting further instructions.

Fujoshi O'Clock: The (Rather Late) September Edition

October already? Oh, dear...

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.

Articles for September: 

• Oguie Maniax, with news for Genshiken fans: a Hato Kenjirou fanzine is going to be a thing. Unfortunately, it looks like submissions are already closed.
• DMP will be adding 24 yaoi/BL manga titles to their digital collection --- authors include Ootsuki Miu, Lily Hoshino, Psyche Delico, and Ayan Sakuragi.
• Two interesting essays from s.e. smith that might be of relevance to those who read/watch anime/manga with trans characters: is objectifying trans women the only way cis people can relate? and what would an ordinary trans narrative look like?.
• The cast for the Hetalia stage musical has been posted; the musical is called Hetalia ~Singing' in the World.
• The anime film for the Dokyusei/Classmates series is now set for February of next year; it will be based on the Asumiko Nakamura manga by the same name.
• Foreign Policy writes about Japan's trans-friendly comic book revolution, citing Wandering Son's popularity as an example.
• Found on Twitter: the animated school system that every good fujoshi wants to enroll in. 

Reviews for September:

• Slightly Biased Manga looked at: the seventh volume of Ai No Kusabi's light novel series; the fourth volume of Earthian by Yun Kouga; the fifth volume of the Junjou Romantica manga. 
• Experiments In Manga read Dr. Makumakuran and Other Stories by Takeshi Matsu, which looks like gay manga in the genre of the Massive anthology.
• BookDragon reviewed volume eight of Wandering Son and volume nine of What Did You Eat Yesterday?, the foodie BL manga by Fumi Yoshinaga.
• Manga Xanadu also looked at the What Did You Eat Yesterday? manga, reviewing volumes six through nine in one post.
• Fandom Post reviewed book one of Our Kingdom by Naduki Koujima, a throwback title to early DMP years.

Spinning A New Story Within The 'Verses of Sword Art Online and Attack on Titan

I am, for whatever reason, utterly fascinated by the choices some authors make when they decide to write spin-offs for their main (and very popular series). In particular, I've been reading Reki Kawahara's SAO light novel spin-off along with the Attack on Titan spin-off from Hajime Isayama and Ryo Kawakami. It might be comparing apples to oranges in a way, since Isayama is actually not the primary author of this particular spin-off, but ultimately the franchise origin writer chooses what stories are told in the spin-offs. And that choice is what is worth examining, especially when one spin-off explicitly marks itself as 'progressive'.

Sword Art Online Progressive (books 1-2): Kirito and Asuna are two very different people, but they both desire to fight alone. Nonetheless, they find themselves drawn together to face challenges from both within and without. Given that the entire virtual world they now live in has been created as a deathtrap, the surviving players of Sword Art Online are starting to get desperate, and desperation makes them dangerous to loners like Kirito and Asuna. As it becomes clear that solitude equals suicide, will the two be able to overcome their differences to find the strength to believe in each other, and in so doing survive?

Attack on Titan - The Harsh Mistress of the City (book 1): With Wall Maria breeched, communities within the Quinta district have been cut off from each other creating famine and chaos. A young field commander named Rita is tasked with a mission to reconnect transit across the massive district while putting her troops and residence right in the vanguard as Titans descend on her town.

Wednesday Briefs: Woman Made Of Snow

It's been a while, but here's a new bit of writing for Wednesday Briefs. It's an original fiction stand alone, based on something I've been interested in recently and which I will probably get side-eyed at for writing about since I haven't studied it that intensely, and my take on the original story is fractured in places, but enjoy anyway, I guess!

Yuki-omba. The woman of snow wakes with the sun. I kinda fucked around a bit with tengu mythology, but whatevs. Prompt used: yokai.

As the sun rose and created a glaze of sharp, cold light across the ice-covered hills of the countryside, so Yuki-omba rose with the sun and prepared for the day ahead. For the thousandth time, she washed her face in the stream, weaved a new kimono out of the snow for her to wear—as stark white and crisp as the snow bank it was born from—and brushed a flower across her lips until the crushed petals turned them blue.

She climbed over the low-lying hills that covered the countryside, gliding over the crust of ice and frost as if her feet did not touch the ground at all. No arctic wind, no blast of chill could slow her descent through the rolling expanse of trees, all bare limbs and sparkling with frozen ornaments from the previous night.

The humans in the nearby village called her Yuki-onna, whispered her name with a mixture of reverence and fear, but she did not feel like a young woman anymore, not after one thousand years of winter. All she knew, from the moment she first opened her eyes and felt the ground with her hands and fell into the fresh snow with her newly born body, was the forever season of winter. In her head, she was Yuki-omba now—the grandmother of the snow. 

PR: Three New Pokemon Comics For The Fall From Viz Media

VIZ MEDIA ANNOUNCES EXCITING NEW POKÉMON MANGA BOX SET AND POCKET COMICS RELEASES

New Multi-Volume Manga Box Sets On The Way This Fall For POKÉMON ADVENTURES And POKÉMON BLACK AND WHITE Along With A New POKÉMON BLACK AND WHITE POCKET COMIC

San Francisco, CA, September 10, 2015 – VIZ Media, LLC (VIZ Media), the largest publisher, distributor and licensor of manga and anime in North America, expands its POKÉMON manga (graphic novel) catalog with several notable new releases forthcoming this Fall.

Set for publication under the company’s Perfect Square imprint, the POKÉMON BLACK AND WHITE Box Set Vol. 3 is now available, and will be quickly followed by the October publication of POKÉMON BLACK AND WHITE POCKET COMICs Vol. 2 along with the POKÉMON ADVENTURES MANGA BOX SET Vol. 4. These new POKÉMON manga and box set titles are each rated ‘A’ for All Ages.

Enjoy Everything, Yotsuba!

I've had a long, busy week so I'd like to treat y'all with a lighter subject for a blog post, one that's got some nice images in it and is about a manga I've never not laughed at or at least smiled at: Yotsuba&! by Kiyohiko Azuma, a slice-of-life series about a little girl named Yotsuba and her daily activities in her new town, learning how things work, making friends, and following around her single dad who is still navigating fatherhood.

If you haven't started reading Yotsuba&! yet, you are missing out on one of the most charming and aesthetically pleasing series currently being released in English. Yeah, it's that good.

Fujoshi O'Clock: August 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.

It was actually quite difficult to keep up with the reviews this month, so only articles again.

But do visit Slightly Biased Manga, as I think Connie has been the best at steadily posting yaoi/BL reviews at a good clip this past month. See also a review of the Betrayal Knows My Name series over at No Flying No Tights.

But other than those!

Here are the articles for August:

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!

You Need To Read Vinland Saga, Right Now

"From the distant north... beyond the frozen sea... they come, bringing with them the black clouds of war." - Chapter 1

Sometimes, the manga market favors the popular but untalented and ignores the talented but niche. Sometimes it skews towards quality titles in their favor. Unfortunately, due to the nature of manga in America, it often does not; titles with smaller demographics are often left by the wayside, destined for cancellation or to be published in total anonymity without any press coverage or fan love. 

Vinland Saga seems destined to join the ranks of outstanding manga who never found their audience and their sales margin, and if that comes true and Kodansha pulls the series from English publication, than we should all feel bad for not supporting this series. In 2014, Kodansha temporarily suspended the Vinland Saga's publication schedule and immediately fans worried for its future.

Later news from Kodansha confirmed that the future of Vinland Saga relies on sales; if volumes six and seven do well, volume eight and onward will be confirmed for release. If not, well... that's all, folks. Say goodbye to any more new Makoto Yukimura in English.

Asuna on a Starless Night: Sword Art Online Progressive 1

Sword Art Online: Progressive book 1
Author: Reki Kawahara
Artist: abec
Yen Press
358 pages

One month after Akihiko Kayaba’s game of death began, the death toll continues to rise, two thousand players having already lost their lives to the ultra-difficult VRMMO world of Sword Art Online. On the day of the strategy meeting to plan out the first-floor boss battle, Kirito, a solo player who vows to fight alone to get stronger, runs into a rare, high-level female player. She gracefully dispatches powerful monsters with a single rapier that flashes like a shooting star in the night… (Source: Yen Press)

Every time I think I don't have time to write, I remember that Reki Kawahara is writing not one, but two, but three different light novel series concurrently: Accel World, Sword Art Online, and Sword Art Online: Progressive. I can only imagine what his daily writing regimen looks like. While the Progressive arm of the SAO franchise retreads familiar ground as it takes readers through the Aincrad arc a second time, the 'remix' aspects of it make it more of an alternate universe take on SAO's first arc, especially when it comes to Asuna and her relationship with Kirito as well as the Aincrad world itself.

Manga Review: Ranma 1/2 2-in-1 Edition, GN 9

Ranma 1/2 (2-in-1 Edition) Volume 9
Author: Rumiko Takahashi
Viz Manga
360 pages

Meet Picolet Chardin II, master of the très terrifying La Belle France School of Martial Arts Dining. A style of martial arts based on eating doesn't seem like it would be hard to master…but if Ranma can't defeat Picolet in La Belle France, it'll be wedding bells! Then, the unfortunately named "Pantyhose Taro" makes trouble for Ranma and the others, but who's really the target—and cause—of all the vengeance? (Source: Viz.com)

The latest Ranma 1/2 omnibus collection contains volumes seventeen and eighteen from Rumiko Takahashi's infamous martial arts comedy series. It is a ridiculous, slapstick bundle of humorous hijinks and romance and at this point, if the idea of characters literally slamming into scenes at random while oddly placed bodies of water put other characters into gender-related peril don't tickle you pink, you will probably not care to pick up the newest installment in this modern classic. But Ranma 1/2 remains a classic for a reason, one of the biggest reasons being that Takahashi knows how to keep things interesting book after book, and arcs like Picolet and Pantyhose Taro show that when this series is at its best when it gets weird.

Manga Review: Soul Eater GN 25

Soul Eater volume 25
Author: Atsushi Ohkubo
Yen Press
248 pages

Kid’s sense of order stands in sharp contrast to the unpredictable madness of the Kishin. But order and madness are two sides of the same coin. When Asura challenges the “tyrannical” Shinigami and his laws that serve to control humans’ lives, Kid can feel the tendrils of madness within himself seeking purchase. The bonds of his friendships and his faith in order are tested to their limits as Asura makes his final stand against the forces of DWMA. When the moondust settles, who will emerge as lord of this world–Shinigami or Kishin? (Source: Yen Press)

Spoiler note: Post contains some spoilers for the Soul Eater final volume (although not explicitly).

I don't think that Atsushi Ohkubo knows how to end a series, and that is okay by me. I don't demand much of a series ending but I do ask that they resolve at least the biggest plot lines and create a satisfying end based on the story and the character development up to that point. It doesn't have to be happy go lucky, it doesn't have to be one I necessarily agree with (i.e. "ugh why didn't [x] happen!"). Ohkubo, in the Soul Eater manga finale, tries to wrap up the DWMA vs First Kishin battle royale but he has clearly written himself into a corner so ends things the best way he can.

Manga Review: Shigeru Mizuki's Kitaro

Kitaro
Author: Shigeru Mizuki
Drawn & Quarterly
432 pages

Meet Kitaro. He’s just like any other boy, except for a few small differences: he only has one eye, his hair is an antenna that senses paranormal activity, his geta sandals are jet-powered, and he can blend into his surroundings like a chameleon. Oh, and he’s a three-hundred-and-fifty-year-old yokai (spirit monster). With all the offbeat humor of an Addams Family story, Kitaro is a lighthearted romp in which the bad guys always get what’s coming to them. (Source: D&Q)

Reviewing a yokai book, especially a Shigeru Mizuki book, is a daunting task. Mizuki is considered Japan's resident expert on yokai tales in manga; according to the book's foreward, there's an entire segment of the Japanese population who owes their knowledge of the yokai world to GeGeGe no Kitaro. It makes sense: every chapter is a field study on a different variety of ayakashi as they wreck mischief on the human world.

And at the center of the story is the mysterious boy Kitaro, the human-looking yokai with one eye whose powers with the supernatural are a thing of legend. If something goes wrong, the world calls upon Kitaro for guidance, and he works his magic to the 'ge ge ge' chorus of the beasts all around him. He dutifully serves the realm of humans but his life is fully entrenched in the yokai world, and his ability to slide between these two spheres is a major reason why both sides look up to him. 

Initial Thoughts: Sword Art Online II

Sinon takes center stage, as she should.

Spoilers for the first two episodes of Sword Art Online II. All name spellings taken from Wikipedia.

One year after the SAO incident, Kirito is approached by Seijiro Kikuoka from Japan's Ministry of Internal Affairs and Communications Department "VR Division" with a rather peculiar request. That was an investigation on the "Death Gun" incident that occurred in the gun and steel filled VRMMO called Gun Gale Online (GGO)...Failing to turn down Kikuoka's bizarre request, Kirito logs in to GGO even though he is not completely convinced that the virtual world could physically affect the real world. (Source: Crunchyroll)

I know, I stubbornly blogged through the entirety of season one of Sword Art Online when it aired on Toonami. I should have done the same for SAO II, but time got away from me, so that by the time I was actually ready to watch it, over ten episodes had accumulated on my DVR. I am so bad at this, you guys! (I don't even want to think about all of the Kill La Kill episodes I never wrote about. Yikes. Sorry.)

The funny part is that I've been looking forward to watching the second season of SAO, based on online hype and what friends have told me. I've been promised a really great handful of arcs, including Asuna-centric storylines, which is always a plus for me. Unfortunately, two episodes into the Gun Gale Online arc that opens up season two, I haven't seen much to get excited about but I remain hopelessly optimistic.

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.

Breaking: Everything Is Legend of the Galactic Heroes

Hold onto your hats and ignore (at least for now) the cursed renaissance of Tokyopop, long may they flounder. Two license acquisitions at this weekend's AX 2015 are going to blow your dang socks off, especially if you're an old school otaku.

First: Viz Media licenses the Legend of the Galactic Heroes novel series, to be published via the Haikasoru imprint. The Haikasoru Twitter says the first three, but I imagine if sales are good enough, they will push out more to meet demand.

Second: Sentai Filmworks licenses the LOGH anime series.

This is the Moby Dick of licenses and having both of these announcements is no small miracle (although I'd like to think Viz and Sentai coordinated the affair so they would come out roughly one after the over). I've spent years thinking LOGH would never see the light of my bookshelves, but leave it to two of the top anime companies in America to prove me wrong.

After all, LOGH has a lot of strikes against it for being licensed. It's an older series, a lengthy space opera, and the art style is dated and may not appeal to newer viewers. And yet! We have it! So let us, during this holiday weekend, bask in the glow of victory at acquiring a legendary anime. I really cannot wait to acquire this series; I'll even stomach Sentai's usually high prices to get my hands on it. Hopefully, I find it worth the hype.

(Oh yeah, and Sentai rescued the license for the Higurashi anime, but we'll talk about that later. Give me a reason why not! --- okay, okay, I'll just let myself out now.)

Dear Julietta, I Have Thoughts On Your Manga

Spoiler alert: post contains spoilers for the Kamisama Hajimemashita manga up to volume 18/chapter 107.

Kamisama Kiss volume 18
Nanami’s journey to the past was a success! She found a way to break the curse and save Tomoe, and he even admitted that he has feelings for her. Now they’re both ready to enjoy life as a happy couple. Tomoe is hoping to spend some special alone time with Nanami, but instead they go on a school trip to Okinawa with the entire grade—and things go from tropical paradise to yokai nightmare in no time!

Dear Julietta Suzuki:

Julietta - do you mind if I call you Julietta? - I've been told that you will be attending Anime Expo 2015 this year, to take place July 2-5. Awesome! The company that publishes your manga in English, Viz Media, has been asking fans of your series for questions to ask you during the convention. It is no secret to anyone who reads Nagareboshi Reviews that I am a big big fan of Kamisama Kiss, especially Nanami and her relationship with Tomoe, the human kami and her protector/servant.

I would love to ask you a hundred questions on your creative process, how you draft every chapter, where the inspiration for each story arc came from . . . but after reading the most recent English graphic novel release of Kamisama Kiss, I'll have to make my questions a little more plot focused.

Fall Back Into The Spring: Nostalgia, Ranma, and Rumiko

Pictured above: a ridiculously small percentage of the Ranma 1/2 cast,
fulfilling the rule that a Takahashi manga has to have more characters than Game of Thrones.

There are few series that invoke a deep sense of fan-based nostalgia as Ranma ½, which could have easily gone down in history as Rumiko Takahashi's most popular and beloved series until Inuyasha came along and knocked it off its throne. It also helps that while Ranma and Inuyasha are both wacky fantasy-based romantic hijink programs, Inuyasha benefited from being more accessible to U.S. fans, airing on American TV, and appealing to young female viewers with its telenovela romance of Inuyasha and Kagome.

Ranma, however, is special and always will be to me. When I think Ranma, I think about renting the first VHS of Ranma 1/2's anime from the local Blockbuster, then watching it in my mom's room on her tiny television set and watching the martial arts madness fly across the screen. I never actually finished the anime – a lot of episodes plus films and movies made it a hard project to complete when the Blockbusters doesn't keep new tapes in stock – but I still have a great fondness for the animation and the opening/ending themes, which have become iconic in their own right.

Fujoshi O'Clock: The End, Except Not

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: I was ready to shut the whole thing down, until I realized that 1) I rather enjoy gathering yaoi/BL news for this feature and 2) I can't think of any other blog who does a semi-regular round-up of yaoi news and reviews. For yuri, there's Yuricon, For yaoi? I don't know. 

For now, Fujoshi O'Clock will be on break. When it returns, it will be a once-a-month feature that will hopefully be more encompassing and include more BL/yaoi news as well as news/reviews of manga that is friendly towards LGBT material aside from yuri (since I'd rather not step on Yuricon's turf and she's been doing it longer than I, natch).

FOC will probably return in August or July. Until then, for the boys' love thirsty among us, here's a quick and dirty list of blogs and websites to keep tabs on for the latest info/reviews/meta:

• Anime News Network
• Fandom Post
• Otaku Champloo
• the beautiful world
• MangaBlog
• Crunchyroll
• Hazukashii Kedo
• Slightly Biased Manga
• Ogiue Maniax

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 a description over at my Twitter: @theseventhl. I'm always on the look out for more BL love, even when the feature is on break.