#NAKATANI SENSEI THANK YOU FOR THIS

[empty-dream]

CRYPTERS AND SERVANTS - FORMAL

[derpderpi]

Ok

Im going insane

Bye

BABY TEAM A YOO AAAAA

Thank you nakatani-sensei ( From The Lostbelt mangaka)

i owe you so much *dies*

[yuri-caps]

2.18 // 4.4

[luttii]

SHE BOUGHT THE RINGS

[shacklesburst]

me: and ohmigod they were roommates

me, not five seconds later:

[nakanio]

ch.34 vs ch.40

[yurimother]

The Best Yuri of 2019

2019 was a challenging year for many, in and out of the anime community, which is still reeling from the horrific attack at Kyoto Animation’s first studio in July that killed 36 people. However, I want to take this moment, as we start a new decade, to reflect on some of the greatest achievements in Yuri.

2019 marked the genre’s 100th anniversary, 100 years since Nobuko Yoshiya released her landmark lesbian novel Yaneura no Nishojo that shaped and created Yuri as we know it. It was possible Yuri’s best years ever, as more incredible titles were released and localized, we experienced fantastic events and moments, and more. This article is part of my continuing celebration of all things Yuri!

Note that many of the works mentioned came out before 2019, but they either were first released in English during 2019 or hit particular high points during this year. Now then, here is the best of Yuri in 2019!

15: SukeraSparo

This Japanese Yuri visual novel developer is starting to reach new heights as they set their sights on releasing new and innovate Yuri titles. The English release of The Expression Amrilato, an educational Yuri visual novel that teaches the player Esperanto, was one of the most unique and creative works I have the pleasure of playing this year. But, they outdid themselves this year, releasing a sequel, Itsuka no Memorajxo, creating one of the most beautiful Yuri games in Folklore of Kudan, and founding a sister brand, SukeraSomero, “to fill the world with YURI!”

The Expression Amrilato is available in English for PC on Steam and Mangagamer

14: Mage & Demon Queen

This outrageous and vivacious webcomic hits its stride in Season 2. After setting a solid foundation, this masterpiece by Kuru “Color-LES” is finally able to explore some more interesting plot lines such as its characters’ pasts, conflicts between the demons and humans, and figuring out who’s gonna be the bottom (it’s Malori, it was always going to be Malori). It is chock full of modern humor and moments I can only describe as hilariously kinky, while rarely feeling gross of sleazy. I can only wait to see what is next for these star-crossed lovers.

Mage & Demon Queen: is available to read in English on Webtoon

13: Yuri Anthologies

In 2018, Yen Press gave us the first hint of some Yuri anthologies starting to squeak into the West with Éclair, but 2019 threw the floodgates open! New works are coming out in both Japan and the West, featuring multiple artists coming together to create works featuring workplace romance, isekai, first-time stories, and even MARRIAGE!! Additionally, creators released volumes collecting their various short stories, like Rouge Nagashiro’s Eve and Eve, and some series saw multiple artists contribute to an already established world such as in the Bloom Into You Anthologies.

12: SHWD

Sono’s science fiction Yuri doujinshi series, published in English by Lilyka, is everything I did not know I wanted in a Yuri series. It showcases pulse-pounding action as the women of the “Special Hazardous Waste Disposal” fight to take down the horrific Dynamis. It has musclebound beasts of women that exude strength, power, and femininity at all times. And it has a compelling story about overcoming personal conflicts and learning to rely on others.

SHWD is available digitally on Lilyka

11: If I Could Reach You

No other series this year delivered an emotional gut-punch like If I Could Reach You. This tragic and beautiful manga by tMnR follows a young girl as she attempts hopelessly to overcome her attraction to her brother’s wife. Everything from the artwork to the dialogue masterfully communicates the devastation and pain that the protagonist Uta feels. It is beautiful and devastating, and I carry every awesome moment on my mind continuously.

If I Could Reach You is available digitally and physically in English from Kodansha: https://amzn.to/36vsYPe

Honorable mention: SQ/Tamen de Gushi/Their Story 

2019 was a little bit of a slow year for Tan Jiu’s webtoon, thanks to an extended hiatus, especially when compared to 2018’s triumphant and spectacular storyline. However, small moments of genius like Sun Jing’s father’s phenomenal visual monologue keep this work in peak form top and my heart. I hope that its recent Japanese serialization on Comic Walker help even more people enjoy it.

10: Still Sick

In my recent review, I called this workplace romance a “Yuri manga for Yurijin,” and there is no way I could come up with a more apt description. Still Sick surprised me with its self-awareness, knowledge, and commentary on the genre. It has an incredibly deep story about two complex and layered characters that ignite each other’s passion, in more ways than one.

Still Sick is available digitally and physically in English from Tokyopop: https://amzn.to/2rVRH07

9: Going Beyond Girl Meets Girl

Yuri stories tend to repeat the same story, two girls meet, they fall for each other, they get together, THE END! The past decade or so has finally seen more stories adding sexual elements, in contrast to earlier S works, and some even explored the dating life of two schoolgirls. However, we have recently seen something remarkable: works featuring couples “graduating” (literally or metaphorically) and enter the real world. Series like Citrus, Kase-san, and, briefly, Bloom Into You explore the relationships as they exit the honeymoon phase and get into the meat of lesbian livelihood.

Kase-san and Yamada is available for English preorder: https://amzn.to/2MXnp4w

8: Nagata Kabi

Over the past few years, Nagata Kabi has redefined what the Yuri genre can be. Her powerful autobiographical manga essays My Lesbian Experience With Loneliness, My Solo Exchange Diary, and Genjitsu Touhi Shitetara Boroboro ni Natta Hanashi communicate her experiences with queer identity, mental illness, and alcoholism. No work of fiction could ever hope to reach Nagata’s strength and crushing honesty. Nagata’s manga has and will continue to change readers and the genre for years to come.

My Lesbian Experience with Loneliness is available digitally and physically in English from Seven Seas: https://amzn.to/2MZ7DWJ 

7: Bloom Into You

Nakatani Nio’s popular Yuri series Bloom Into You crushed it in 2019. It concluded serialization, ending on an incredibly high note, and dominating the market in both English and Japanese, selling over one million copies (well deserved). Additionally, Sentai Filmworks released an excellent collector’s edition of the 2018 television anime adaption that is now a must-have for Yuri collectors. But my favorite aspect of this series is the spin-off light novel series featuring one of its best characters, which have already begun English release.

Bloom Into You: Regarding Saeki Sayaka is available digitally and for physical preorder from Seven Seas: https://amzn.to/2SVPVHG

6: Heart of the Woods

When I heard that one of the co-creators of Highway Blossoms, one of the better English Yuri visual novels, was creating his own studio, I was pretty excited. But nothing could have prepared me for Studio Élan's first release, Heart of the Woods, which blew me away. The enchanting adventure full of exceptionally queer characters shattered every expectation I had. I am looking forward to its Switch port and voice acting patch, as well as more titles from Élan.

Heart of the Woods is available for PC on Steam. Switch edition coming later this year.

Honorable mention: Hayama-sensei to Terano-sensei wa Tsukiatte iru

Oui Pikachi’s manga about two teachers navigating a new relationship is one of my new favorites. Everyone is so supportive of the title characters as they stumble their way through an honest and mature love. However, I am only giving it an honorable mention this year, as I am sure it will be on this list next year after Seven Seas releases the first volume in English as The Gym Teacher and School Nurse are Dating!

The Gym Teacher and School Nurse are Dating! is available for preorder in English from Seven Seas: https://amzn.to/39JhXMs

5. Sexiled

Ameko Kaeruda’s spectacularly feminist and outrageously funny light novel series Sexiled is could ever ask for and more. I feel in love with its compelling female characters and their riveting battle against the sexist conventions of their society, all of which painfully mirror reality. This work is cathartic, empowering, and so very, very gay.

Sexiled is available digitally in English from J-Novel Club. Physical edition coming later this year: https://amzn.to/35u6NaW

4: Yuri Life

I adore domestic Yuri. Granted, I love a good romance and fantasy, but so many of these stories exist that it feels overwhelming, and sometimes it is just good to sit down and read about two women who love each other living their everyday adult lives in bliss. Kurukuruhime’s Yuri Life, which I have enjoyed ever since it was first uploaded to Pixiv and am so proud to own in print, is precisely that. Nine couples being cute and living together in a variety of humorous, scandalous, and adorable situations. Yuri cohabitation has never been so good! Now, if I could only get some Yuri titles about women raising kids together…

Yuri Life is available digitally and physically in English from Yen Press: https://amzn.to/35stSLg

3: Children’s Cartoons

For the past several years, children’s cartoons and media have slowly begun to allow bits of queer representation onto the screen. While we are still a long way from having Elsa kiss a girl, the small and large victories on children’s television give me hope. Some of my personal favorites include an episode of Nickelodeon’s The Loud House about a lesbian date, a lesbian couple and agender character (using they/them pronouns) in Craig of the Creek, the female protagonist of Twelve Forever developing a crush on another girl, and of course the unbelievable amount of queerness that She-Ra and Steven Universe shove into every moment. I wish I had more series like these when I was young, and I am thrilled that my students get to grow up with them.

2: Our Dreams at Dusk (Shimanami Tasogare)

Yuhki Kamatani’s Our Dreams at Dusk is easily 2019’s best manga. The incredible story explores many real aspects of LGBTQ identities, gay, lesbian, trans, non-binary, and asexual included, in an emotional and resonating masterpiece. The artwork is stunning and more expressive than words could ever be. I stand by what I said in my review, that Our Dreams at Dusk is the greatest manga I have ever read and wholeheartedly believes that it was deserving of the only 10/10 score I gave in 2019.

Our Dreams at Dusk is available digitally and physically in English from Seven Seas: https://amzn.to/2s282AE

Honorable mention: ‘The Conditions of Paradise’ Licensed

One of the best moments of this year came out of Anime Expo when Seven Seas announced that they had licensed Morishima Akiko’s Rakuen no Jouken and would be releasing it as The Conditions of Paradise in 2020. Not only is The Conditions of Paradise a fantastic and mature work of Yuri literature, but it is also over a decade old, having been published originally in 2007. This license, more than anything else, helped me realize how far Yuri came this year. Not only is the hottest new series being adapted, but a historic and profound classic of the genre.

The Conditions of Paradise is available for preorder in English: https://amzn.to/2FjTE9M

1: Yuri Publishers

Not too long ago, it was rare for us to see more than a few Yuri manga releases in a year if any, but now we are at the point where a publisher can do an event announcing five Yuri licenses in a single day! As of this year, all the major publishers, and plenty of smaller ones, are actively licensing, adapting, and publishing amazing Yuri works: Yen Press, Viz, Kodansha, Seven Seas, Tokyopop, Renta, J-Novel Club, and more keep giving us incredible Yuri. I also have to mention the incredible work Lilyka Manga is doing, working directly with mangaka to adapt Yuri doujinshi titles into English, something I would have never dreamed of a few years ago.

As Yuri enters its second century, we are staring down the rest of 2020, a year that will no doubt go down in current Yuri history. The year will see a record number of Yuri manga releases both in Japan and from licensed series in the West. We are getting several promising anime series like Adachi to Shimamura, Magia Record, Oshi ga Budoukan Ittekuretara Shinu, a Princess Principal movie, and more. I cannot wait to see what this year will hold for YuriMother and the Yuri genre. I hope you all stick with me through it as we navigate the waters of a newer, gayer, and greater world of Yuri.

[engekihaikyuu]

Haikyuu Finale

The members of Gekidan Haikyuu share their thoughts after reading the final chapter of Haikyuu!  They were also all given special commemorative shirts to congratulate the series!

Nakatani Yuushin (2nd Ennoshita) To me, Haikyuu is a treasure The matches are so realistic, they really convey the sense of speed, the enthusiasm, and I always end up turning the pages too quickly  This series was the first to give me goosebumps time after time Furudate-sensei, thank you for your hard work these past eight and a half years And thank you so much for all the emotions

Please do not repost my translations

(x)

[karenlimabr]

Ichikawa came and stab me, I got some memes to stop the blood but it didn't work. So Nakatani Nio came to heal me and give me strength. Thank you Nakatani sensei

[lethe626]

Hikaru no Go needs help

Mmmmmmmmokay! I think this is what the kids  would call being “back on my bullshit”... which is something I’ve always wanted to say, actually! Dreams really do come true!

I’m aware that this series was translated and released way way back in the day when people were just getting used to the idea of reading manga right-to-left instead of flipping it and not having dub names and all that. It kind of feeds into my overall point.

Hikaru no Go needs to be re-translated and re-released. 

It’s an amazing series and it deserves our best.

I won’t go into the way the anime and manga both decided to use every character’s first name instead of the names they were actually called by other characters. Or how confusing that is.

Or how the episodes that are on Hulu (and by extension the ViZ website) have some serious video quality issues that are always distracting and occasionally even make the subtitles hard to read. 

Or how godawful the dub is... 

What I want to talk about today is the official translation of the manga. 

[HIKARU NO GO SPOILERS, PLEASE DON’T SPOIL YOURSELVES ON THIS 20-SOMETHING YEAR OLD SERIES. I’M SERIOUS. YOU WILL FEEL ONLY REGRET.]

When I first read Hikaru no Go, I’d never seen a manga raw, let alone read one. All I had to go on were the official translations (and scanlations, but those were and still are kind of a crapshoot). But even then, I felt like there were some places where things were just off. Moments that came across weird. Conversations that felt really different from the rest of the series and from the pages surrounding them. And they mostly came towards the end of the series, after the point where the anime ended.

I... Hikaru no Go is kind of... I’m not sure how to put it. It’s not a series one can easily consume over and over again. I think I’d probably get stress ulcers and die if I tried it. So I’ll admit that I haven’t read most of the manga raw. I only read pieces of the last few volumes. So all of my examples come from pretty late in the series. Maybe the beginning was fine. It did seem like they changed translators somewhere near the end of the middle of the series, based on the style of translation. (I guess I should probably look that up and find out for sure... Confirmed: It was Andy Nakatani up to volume 12 and Naoko Amemiya after that) But there were definitely issues that could stand to be addressed, even just in the parts that I read.

Anyway! Let’s get started! 

First, they called Yashiro by the wrong name. Repeatedly. Which is an issue in itself. Please proofread your official-and-totally-for-profit scripts to make sure you’re using the right name, y’all. C’mon.

Secondly, there were conversations where they dropped entire chunks of people’s personalities or the emotions they were expressing. It was like they summarized the information that was shared, but had absolutely no regard for the way people said it or the emotion behind it.

Here’s one example. This conversation hurt in the original and was a dead-eyed nothing in the translation. 

Hikaru-kun heard that Ko Yong-Ha was saying how Shuusaku was garbage and he took serious offense. He tried to get himself put in the top slot on the Hokuto Cup Team just to face off against the guy. And he got shot down. 

So everybody goes to bed after that and he & Yashiro are sharing a room since they’re spending the night at Touya-kun’s house. And Yashiro, who is playing in the 3rd slot, starts asking Hikaru-kun questions about the Korean 3rd whom Hikaru-kun had beaten a while back when he was an insei. 

But Hikaru-kun had something else on his mind, ignored the question, and responded thus...

ROMANIZED ORIGINAL TEXT Hikaru: Honinbou Shuusaku ga... moshi ikitetara Ko Yong-Ha nanka yatsukechau no ni... zettai makenee no ni...

MY SUGGESTION Hikaru: Honibou Shuusaku... would beat the pants off a loser like Ko Yong-Ha, if he was alive... There’s no way he’d lose, if he was here...

OFFICIAL TRANSLATION Hikaru: Honibou Shuusaku. If he was alive, he'd whip Ko Yong-Ha's butt. No way he'd lose.

It’s a case of the information inside being correct, because that IS what he said, but those “no ni”s convey an emotion that we completely lose in the official translation. Because, YES, he’s saying that... uhh... Shuusaku... would kick Ko Yong-Ha’s butt 100%, but the main point of what Hikaru-kun is saying is that... he’s not here to do it. 

The thing that’s bothering him isn’t that Ko Yong-Ha said what he said so much as that Sai isn’t here to prove him wrong. Even though he could’ve beaten that jerk with his eyes closed. That’s what those “no ni”s were for. And we lost them. We lost all of that.

And there are a lot of examples just like that. Pieces of personality that we dropped. They basically took all the sympathetic traits out of Ko Yong-Ha with the way they translated his dialogue.  Messed up Kurata-sensei’s quirkiness. 

It’s important to translate the information correctly. That’s obvious. But you have to be careful not to lose the subtext or the idiosyncratic ways that people phrase things. Because those are very important, too. Equally important.

[Actually, now that I’m thinking about it, there was a part really early that could probably use an editor. Kaga stubbed out a cigarette on Tsutsui-san’s board. They changed it to him sticking gum on it in the anime and the manga... started by saying it was a cigarette and then said he “put his gum out” on the board. Which... I mean, it might have happened in the original. I didn’t read that part raw, but... somebody should do something about it.]

Thirdly, and this is the thing that actually prompted me to read it raw, there’s a conversation near the end that felt so weird and seemed so out of left field that I found myself wondering, “What the heck did they actually say? Is this for real?!”

Yang Hai and Touya-sensei were watching Hikaru-kun play a match against the aforementioned Ko Yong-Ha and were having a conversation about the stuff Yong-Ha had said about Honinbou Shuusaku and what it might’ve been like if Shuusaku’s ghost had somehow come around and learned the modern state of the game. 

And that them in mind of one player in particular. One online-only player, screenname: s a i. 

They tossed the idea around for a bit, all in hypotheticals. What if  s a i  really was the ghost of Shuusaku? Why might he have come back now? How awesome would it have been to see the best modern player in the world against one of the historical greats? 

And then Hikaru-kun’s game ended and so did the conversation. And Touya-sensei looked the game over and mused to himself about Hikaru-kun’s progress as a player.

ORIGINAL Touya-sensei:  進藤君と私は同じなのかもしれない   saiの強さを追っている

ROMANIZED ORIGINAL Touya-sensei: Shindou-kun to watashi wa onaji nano kamo shirenai. s a i  no tsuyosa wo otteiru.

MY SUGGESTION Touya-sensei: I can’t help but wonder if Shindou-kun and I are in the same boat…  …chasing  s a i’s strength.

A perfectly natural thing to wonder, given the way things happened and his experiences up to that point. He was on a personal journey to improve his game by playing people from all over the world so he could come back and have his promised rematch with  s a i  someday when he thought he was strong enough to win. And he knows that Hikaru-kun knows  s a i  because he set up the match between them in the first place. It feels like Hikaru no Go, right? 

Now brace yourselves. This is how the official release translated it.

OFFICIAL TRANSLATION Touya-sensei: All right, Sai... ...say what you have to say.

--That’s not what he said...! That’s not even close to what he said...!

Please. Someone. Tell me you see the story implications of WHATEVER the eff that was. Did they just rewrite the ending to the series? 

Touya-sensei played against some guy with the screenname “s a i” online. He never met Fujiwara-no-Sai. Never heard of him. He’s definitely not IN CONTACT WITH HIM right now. Which seems to be what they’re implying. 

What did I just read??

I understand that translating fiction is an art. And I’ll grant that this calls back to an earlier point in their translation of the conversation with Yang Hai where they wondered what Shuusaku’s Ghost might be trying to tell them by coming back. So the translation at least has that going for it.

But even so. What is this? 

I mean, the entire conversation was really weirdly translated with Yang Hai, who never talked like this before, saying things like, “Allow me to fancy a little further...” which was jarring enough. But like... ??????????????????

In conclusion, please re-translate and re-release the manga and update the subtitles on the anime so that they use the names people are actually saying when they talk to each other. Also fix the video quality. I will buy the entire thing again. Do not underestimate my passion.

Thanks for coming to my TED Talk.

[wheresmyhighwind]

I CAN’T BELIEVE MY BABIES ARE ENGAGED

LOOK AT THEM. THEYRE SO CUTE. YUU’S HAIR 💕💕💕💕

AHHH THIS PLACE. HOLDS SO MANY MEMORIES.

ALSO SAYAKA GOT A GIRLFRIEND THANK GOD THANK YOU NAKATANI NIO SENSEI

I’m sad that this beautiful manga series has come to an end, but I’m grateful of all the emotions that it conveyed and how touching it was. It was a rollercoaster ride, watching these two idiots fall in love and miss each other’s meanings while we the audience scream at a character for their dense senses or for their overthinking minds. I’m gonna miss these too DUMB LOVEY FUCKS.

Thank you.

And also thank you for this kind redditor for translating it! Link below.

[empty-dream]

the song of saving the world

[hoodlessmads]

Bloom Into You Chapter 40 Immediate Thoughts

It was exactly what was promised and exactly what I needed. What WE ALL needed. The only remote complaint I have is that Nakatani-sensei didn’t show the kiss at the end.

But alas, left to the imagination, it was still cute. I suppose. *deadpan look at camera*

Not only was it exactly as promised (or rather, as suggested by the last few pages of chapter 39), but it was exactly what I expected, in the best possible way. This somehow calls to mind that amazing Mr. Plinkett review of The Last Jedi. Can you imagine if Rian Johnson wrote chapter 40 of Bloom Into You? Subverting all of our expectations? (No shade, I jest, I like TLJ.)

Anyway, Nakatani-sensei is as in touch with her own characters as I feel I am in touch with them, thank the gods (or in this case the lesbian goddesses). Yuu and Touko bust ass to get to the student council room, both desperate to see each other. Yuu acknowledges to herself that she is still in love with Touko. Kokoro no ichi ga wakatta yo, as the song goes. But when she gets to that empty room, the adrenaline of the message and the run slips away and she’s left in darkness and solitude, and all of her doubts and apprehension come rushing back immediately. What does Nanami-senpai even want to talk about, anyway? Does Yuu dare to hope? What if what she has to say just breaks her heart all over again? Yuu finds herself waiting and thinking there’s no way Nanami-senpai would run as fast to get here as she did.

Except she totally does, of course. Touko arrives out of breath, sees Yuu’s mistrustful reaction and cuts straight to the chase with a returned love confession. Yuu’s reaction to Touko openly returning her feelings is just confusion at first. Maybe she’s desensitized to Touko saying, “I love you,” even now. Touko just goes on to calmly explain exactly what she means. And Yuu calmly listens. Asks clarifying questions. Works through her own hesitations, her lingering mistrust of the concept of “love.”

The implacable way that Yuu processes her own emotions is always one of the most interesting things to watch. Which is why when she finally, finally cries, it’s so god damn moving. Never in this entire series have we seen this girl cry. Ever. After all the shit she’s been through with Touko, where she’s had plenty of reason to cry, she never did. She locked it away inside. When she gets her heart broken by Touko, Yuu doesn’t cry because she can’t process the pain of it. She describes it as though her heart has gone off somewhere without her. It’s only at the end of the last chapter that she finally allows herself to feel. She’s always struck me as someone who’s quite similar to myself in this way; she refuses to let herself be vulnerable, she heavily dissociates herself from painful emotions and traumatic experiences, and on the flip side she hasn’t been able to find much passion in anything either. She strikes me as the type of person who has rarely cried, maybe in her whole life. So when she cries here, just like fucking lets go and sobs for the first time, finally, I’m dead.

And on the flip side, there’s Touko, who has managed to finally find some peace in her life after the play—but that’s not the instant end of her problems, and that is so important. She’s been living with this unbearably heavy burden for seven years. She’s been living with this pain for so long. It’s not just magically gone. When she holds Yuu’s hands and tells her that she wants to be loved, Yuu even notices this. Her hands are shaking because she’s still scared, in spite of everything. She’s terrified and yet she still pushes forward, because she knows that this is a good thing, and that this is what she wants in her heart. And that’s what I like about her. And when Yuu has her own do-over confession and starts crying, Touko wholeheartedly accepts her and her feelings, she’s there to hold her, not just because she knows how hard it’s been on Yuu bottling it in, but because she’s learning to embrace her own happiness at hearing those words. For herself. These characters are just such good people. So pure.

And don’t even get me started on how fucking cute the scene afterward is! Murder me!

This whole chapter is just one giant long…talk? Like? Characters? Talking to one another? Amazing.

Yuu HUGS her and CRIES and says, “Suki desu. Suki. Daisuki.” “I love you, I love you, I love you so much.” She said it THREE times!!! Not counting the first time!!! DAISUKI, dude!!! I’m dying!!!

Touko KISSES her TEARS. We got a “Geez” up in here!!! We got a “Senpai” and fucking FOREHEAD TOUCH up in here. We got a height difference Yuu-initiated OFF PANEL KISS UP IN HERE. I’m LITERAL MUSH.

What’s going to happen next?! Is the rest of the student council going to leap out of the bushes, yell “SURPRISE! CONGRATULATIONS!” and embarrass everyone? Are the two of them going to take things back to someone’s room and finally satisfy the UST? CUDDLING???

No, in all seriousness, I’m expecting some kind of brief timeskip to at least the next day after they’ve said goodbye for the night and then neither of them can even sleep because they’re so excited and cute, and then…I’m really not sure. Chapter 40 was purportedly the first chapter of Volume 8, which will be the last volume. Last volumes typically have bloated lengths to wrap up series, but not necessarily. So we could have anywhere from four to six chapters left before the end. What’s next for these lovely characters as we hurtle towards the resolution?

My heart really wants this series to remain as grounded as it has always been. Now that Yuu and Touko appear to have resolved their personal issues within their relationship, there is still…you know…the whole gay thing. Two girls in a romantic relationship in a Japanese high school setting is no small matter to gloss over, unfortunately. I want to see them slowly decide how they want to open up to others around them about it, or if they just decide to be up front from the get-go. I want to see Akari and Koyomi and Natsuki find out and see how they react, how inevitably supportive they will be, how fucking cute their friendship with Yuu is, how happy they will be for her. I want to see how Touko’s and Yuu’s families will react, the good reactions and the bad ones. I want to watch Rei physically turn into a pile of mush, just like I did, when she finds out that her hunch was correct and her baby sister has a girlfriend. I want to see the entire school somehow find out via word-of-mouth but ironically no one cares because everyone already thought Touko and Sayaka were lesbians anyway and the only unforeseen factor was Yuu. (And as reactions to the play proved, most people in their school are surprisingly accepting and non-judgmental and it’s precious.) None of this has to be that extensive or dramatic or take up that much time—just a bit of attention would be a nice touch and be incredibly satisfying.

I could watch Yuu and Touko being cute as fuck in a relationship literally all damn week. I’m so excited to watch Yuu finally be able to communicate what she wants from the relationship, to be allowed to show affection, to be as lovey-dovey as she wants. I’m excited to see Touko adjust to that and continue with her process of learning to accept that affection.

I could watch them learn and grow and encounter obstacles together for days, but we have limited time here unfortunately (this ain’t no 30 volume Kimi ni Todoke) and that means we have to trim the fat and focus on the real important stuff that needs to get resolved: HER NAME IS SAYAKA AND SHE DESERVES A GIRLFRIEND.

Sayaka is the UNSUNG HERO of this story. Would chapter 40 have EVEN happened if Sayaka hadn’t had the balls to confess to Touko the way she did and help Touko reach her own emotional catharsis? Sayaka is a selfless and kind soul who is OUT THERE doing the MOST for others. She is precious and her heart has been broken too many god damn times and she deserves better. She just does. This girl deserves a break and in the time the manga has left, my sincerest wish is that she gets one. I want to see her get a happy ending and a girlfriend who is head over heels for her and vice versa. More even than any Yuu/Touko stuff.

That’s my rant. I mostly wrote it the night of the chapter coming out at like 3 am so my feelings were a lot. I don’t even know. I feel like there’s so much more to be said, so much more you could analyze. Like the incredible, INCREDIBLE panel where Touko grabs Yuu’s hand and you can see their silhouettes in the glass, mirroring the exact position they were in last spring in the student council room when it all began. Can you even wait to see that shit adapted for the anime? The kinds of beautiful shit they can do with this scene? And the fucking godly Michiru Oshima soundtrack? I sure can’t. Nakatani’s art, her composition, her use of parallelism…it’s simply gorgeous on every level. But anyway, right now, I’m just gonna post this so I can get it off my chest.

My heart has been fulfilled and I can now survive until May 27th. But I also can’t wait still. :P

[iggytheperson]

Interview with Bloom Into You’s author Nakatani Nio

[translated from yurinavi.com]

「 I’ve gotten an interview with Nakatani Nio-sensei*, author of Bloom into You, the brilliant 2-year consecutive winner for our site’s annual competition for best yuri manga! 

Thank you very much to Sensei and to the editorial department of Dengeki Daioh for happily taking on our request. With that being said, let’s hurry and get started with the interview! 」

「 To begin, I’d like to ask questions about Bloom Into You. 」

How did Bloom Into You come to exist?

Nakatani Nio: 「 What I wanted most when first coming up with the story was something that focused around a main character, who, despite wanting to have romantic feelings, is unable to do so, making them feel almost as if they’re not being allowed to experience such things.

Such a thing is actually quite common, but a lot of people simply aren’t made aware of it... 」

What’s your favorite scene, sensei?

Nakatani Nio: 「 Of course, my favorite scenes tend to be the ones that the fans like the most. For example, the last scene at the river in Volume 2, the makeout session in the warehouse from Volume 3, or the sleepover with Sayaka in Volume 4.

But I secretly enjoy some of the more subtle moments, such as when Yuu and Sayaka are casually eating fries and chatting in Volume 3, or when Yuu gets mad at the aquarium because she’s confused by the name of the opisthoteuthis californiana in Volume 5. 」

Many Yuri manga are set in all girls schools, what was your intent in having your story take place in a co-ed school?

Nakatani Nio: 「 The way yuri often tends to portray things is that if a girl loves girls, then she’ll love only girls no matter what, but I don’t think a “girl that loves girls” necessarily excludes loving boys from the equation entirely. 

Touko absolutely loves girls, case in point, the only person she’s ever liked is a girl, and she’s individual from other girls in this regard. And of course, this story also has girls who don’t love girls. I though that differences between individuals such as these would be better illustrated in the co-ed environment.」

 Can you tell us a bit more about Yuu’s line “I can’t understand love.”, as well as Touko stating that she can’t be her “plain self” around anyone besides Yuu?

Nakatani Nio:「 To begin with, I wanted to explore this girl, Yuu, but then I remembered afterwards that that’s not how yuri is made...or something like that.

So what I originally wanted with Touko was to draw a cute, troublesome girl. By first creating the image of a heroine who’s “at first glance, a seemingly perfect girl, but incapable of being positive on her own”, I thought about what kind of protagonist would work best to help this girl along to her goals. 」

Every subtitle** of Yagakimi is excellent, and it’s a pleasure to think of what kind of meaning was put into them. So here’s a question, at what stage of production do you come up with the subtitle**? 

Nakatani Nio:「 In most cases, it’s when it comes time to submit the manuscript. In other words, I save it to the last minute. To cause myself panic.

For an unusual example of having actually thought it through, chapters 29 to 32 were a series of titles, and so it was decided before drawing. 」

「 Thank you very much. It’s clear that extremely detailed consideration has been done, from serif lines to subtitles. Next, I’d like to ask a few questions about you, Nakatani-sensei. 」

What’s your favorite yuri manga, sensei?

Nakatani Nio:「 Two from recent works. 

First, Kobachi Ruka-san’s Hana Ni Arashi. First of all, I find it amazing that two sets of people are secretly dating in a group of five people. And it doesn’t feel too light or too heavy, making it feel like it’s full of realistic high school girls.

It’s basically a collection of little moments in day to day life, the overall depiction of it is really good, and I’m increasingly touched by the romance of these girls.

Next is Hara Yuriko-san’s Mayu, Matou. While it’s a bit presumptuous of me to write a recommendation when the series is still on volume 1, it’s already a favorite manga for me in spite of this.

The art is really gorgeous and I think it adds beautifully to the story itself, which is an anthology of loosely connected stories, and the relationship at the centerfold of it is also exquisite. 」

Please tell me how you started drawing manga, sensei.

Nakatani Nio:「 By the time I was in elementary school, I remember drawing something almost akin to manga, though definitely ripping off already existing works.

My first finished product was sometime around when I graduated high school, and by the time of entering university my artwork came out looking professional and proper, acceptable to be put up at art shows and galleries.

I tried proper artwork for a long time, but it was really boring. Then I remembered being little and being told I could draw manga when I grew up. Thinking about it now, it’s really funny that it took 20 years for me to believe it enough to become a mangaka. 」

What is yuri to you, sensei?

Nakatani Nio:「 I like romance stories, but it seems like the story people want to tell nowadays is almost exclusively to depict love as something that makes you complete as a person, and I think that’s really unnecessary. For a long time, it made me feel like I was lagging behind in life or that something was wrong with me. In that respect, I feel much more drawn to romances between same sex couples, as they never really fall into the ‘other half’ gimmick.

Apart from that, since the ideas of heterosexual love stories don’t really make any sense to me, I have to think about it a lot more than when I’m writing for a same sex couple, and so the end product comes across as strange and foreign when I attempt it. However, it is unavoidable that I come across works about same sex couples that have the old ‘other half’ thing in them...

I also like BL*** and I’ve drawn it before, but now I simply want to draw cute girls hundreds of times. I love yuri because I love to draw girls! That’s reason enough to draw it. 」

Finally, your thoughts for volume 6 and the new anime adaptation, please.

Nakatani Nio: 「 Volume 6 will be covering the school play, and give us a result to all that has happened between Yuu and Touko thus far. I think it will be very enjoyed.

Anime adaptation is something made with care and attention to draw out the directing and tone of the original. I’m getting more and more excited to see what the staff is going to do to bring the expressiveness to life in this new medium.

And all the chatting between characters is cute! Please look forward to it! 」

*suffix, directly translates to teacher. otaku will often call mangaka “sensei”, as is common when someone is awesome enough to deem giving them mad respect but also too middle class to use a royalty suffix like -sama

**it literally says subtitle, but what they’re referring to is the chapter titles.

*** BL = Boy’s Love. a nice, non-fetishizing term for boy/boy shipping.

other note: This is my first time translating literally anything and I probably didn’t do too well so if anyone wants to go read the article and tell me what I got wrong I’d love you.

[cupofgreeneyes]

Thank you Nakatani-sensei

[recentanimenews]

Bookshelf Briefs 9/10/20

BL Metamorphosis, Vol. 2 | By Kaori Tsurutani | Seven Seas – The balance in this series is nearly perfect. You’d expect, given the premise, that there would be more focus on Ichinoi, and we do get a lot about her current life, her classes she teaches, meeting her daughter, etc. But Urara’s side of the equation is just as strong—she’s not simply there to introduce her elderly friend to the world of BL, as this isn’t that kind of series. The two enjoy discussing their passion for the work, but also find out more about each other, come see each other for other reasons, etc. Urara’s teenage friendships also permeate the volume, and the best exchange in it may be Eri hearing Urara call herself “nobody” and taking it personally, as she knows who her boyfriend really likes. Fantastic stuff. – Sean Gaffney

Bloom Into You, Vol. 8 | By Nakatani Nio | Seven Seas – With the emotional climax of the series coming at the end of the last volume, it’s tempting to simply call this an epilogue, but that isn’t quite right, as Touko and Yuu still have to negotiate the boundaries of their new relationship. To some (Sayaka), they’re really obvious, but not everyone knows about it. Moreover, how physical do the two of them want to get? (Turns out, they do want to get physical.) We then get a flash forward seeing them relatively happy, as well as the fate of some others. (Sayaka has a girlfriend, as you will find out if you read the third novel about her life.) Overall, this did not go quite in the directions I was expecting, but it improved with each volume, and I greatly enjoyed it by the end. – Sean Gaffney

I Love You So Much, I Hate You | By Yuni | Yen Press – As always, very happy to see a yuri manga that’s not about girls in high school with their touching first romance. Fujimura is an up-and-coming office worker. Asano is her hard-working, driven boss. They are secretly having an affair—Asano is married—and trying to keep things as “just a casual thing.” Unfortunately, events conspire against them, both externally (another office couple is caught and one of them resigns) and internal (their growing love for each other). The tension between the two leads is the main reason to read the book, and it feels quite real—though there’s not quite as much of the ‘I’m dating my boss’ power issues as I’d expected. If you’re looking for a solid portrayal of an adult couple, this is a good choice. – Sean Gaffney

Komi Can’t Communicate, Vol. 8 | By Tomohito Oda | Viz Media – This volume has the school trip, something Komi hasn’t done before (last time her class did it she didn’t go due to communication issues). Fortunately, she has Tadano with her this time. UNfortunately, the groups for the trip are segregated by sex, so she’s going to have to be on her own most of the trip, with two of the lesser-known cast members alongside her. We get to know those two, and their awkwardness but try-hard attitude around Komi, and as you’d expect the results are mostly heartwarming—a good time is had by all. She even gets a quiet moment with Tadano towards the end. This is a manga that knows exactly the mood it wants to set, a balance between funny and touching. – Sean Gaffney

The Man on the Other Side | By Poteto Ueno | Futekiya (digital only) – Takuma Sano is a rather boring salaryman who has trouble connecting with people. The only friend he has is “S,” a Twitter follower whom he hasn’t met in five years of chatting. Finally, S proposes a meetup and turns out to be Sayaka Narumi, a popular and handsome actor. They both want to become friends, but their relationship is hampered by Sano’s profound social awkwardness—I love how Ueno doesn’t depict him as shy or withdrawn, just oblivious to social cues—and Narumi’s paranoia, after having recently been in the tabloids, that Sano is going to blab. This is a very chaste title with only a couple of smooches, and the big payoff comes when they can both finally clearly communicate their feelings. I enjoyed it, and was particularly amused that a photograph of (presumably) roasted chicken served as a sort of bat signal for the couple. Recommended. – Michelle Smith

Our Wonderful Days, Vol. 3 | By Kei Hamuro | Seven Seas – I think I forgot to brief the second volume of this, and now it’s come to an end with the third. The series does a good job of showing us exactly what a series like K-On! or Lucky Star would be if it had genuine yuri in it instead of tease. Mafuyu and Koharu grow closer as a couple, thanks mostly to some nicely surreal dream imagery, but the series seems to be more dedicated to everyday life with friends than budding romances. Which is fine, as the friendships here are great, particularly the beta couple Nana and Minori—though the gag at the end shows off that those two aren’t actually a couple after all. (Honestly, given Nana’s brain, they may just not be aware of it.) This won’t be in a top-ten list, but it’s cute. – Sean Gaffney

Primitive Boyfriend, Vol. 2 | By Yoshineko Kitafuku | Seven Seas – After the first volume returned our heroine to the present, I wasn’t expecting to go back to the caveman era quite so soon. But most of this second volume has Mito once again bopping around the jungles and plains, sent back there to find Garhi. She runs into another primitive man, and manages to befriend him in much the same way, while also getting herself into peril, etc. Naturally, it turns out that she’s way in the future, and that this man may be Garhi’s descendant. She ends up back in the present at the end, and the implication is that she has to find Garhi’s soul in someone in modern times. Will it be one of her many potential boyfriends? We’ll know soon; this ends with the third book. – Sean Gaffney

Sacrificial Princess and the King of Beasts, Vol. 10 | By Yu Tomofuji | Yen Press – Well, we couldn’t go too far without another kidnapping, and that’s what we get here, with our favorite sacrificial heroine allowing herself to become a hostage to save the rest of the boat. That’s not something that can stand, and while the king is (for now) restrained, several are coming to her rescue, including the former villainous chancellor. There’s a lot in this series about vows of loyalty overriding most other reasons, and I really liked Sariphi showing her mettle against her captor, indicating that gifts and luxuries are nothing without the feeling behind it. This feels like it’s going to be wrapping up soon, but this is a typically strong volume, and an underrated series. – Sean Gaffney

Venus in the Blind Spot | By Junji Ito | Viz Media – I’m always glad for a new volume of Ito’s manga to be released, so it shouldn’t be surprising that I was looking forward to Venus in the Blind Spot, a “best of best” collection. The anthology brings together ten of Ito’s short manga as well as a small selection of illustrations, a few but not all of which have previously been released in English translation. It’s an interesting mix of stories ranging from original tales of horror to adaptations of work by other authors, including two which are based on stories by Edogawa Ranpo (“The Human Chair” and “An Unearthly Love”). As a fan of Ranpo, I was particularly excited to read these, but I was also especially delighted to discover the inclusion of one of Ito’s autobiographical pieces (“Master Umezz and Me”). Ito’s short masterpiece “The Enigma of Amigara Fault” is here, too, adding to an already great collection. – Ash Brown

Waiting for Spring, Vol. 13 | By Anashin | Kodansha Comics – Mitsuki and Asakura-kun officially became a couple in the previous volume, so now it’s time for Ryuji and Nanase to sort out their status. Although Waiting for Spring doesn’t do anything unexpected with its plotting, I do like how it focuses on communication issues for these couples, with Mitsuki somewhat troubled by Asakura’s perpetually calm exterior and Nanase worried about the age difference and the things that will be new for Ryuji that aren’t new for her. You never feel like either pairing is in actual jeopardy, but there will be things that they will have to talk through together. We also see Mitsuki successfully deliver a heartfelt speech to the incoming first-year students. The main story ends here, but there will be one more volume, featuring bonus stories and an epilogue. Anashin hasn’t started a new series yet, but I look forward to reading more by her someday. – Michelle Smith

With a Dog AND a Cat, Every Day Is Fun, Vol. 1 | By Hidekichi Matsumoto | Vertical Comics – This manga is mostly presented as a series of two-page strips. On the first page, Inu-kun, Matsumoto-sensei’s dog, will be full of innocence and energy on a given topic, and on the second page, Neko-sama, the cat, will be… a cat. Topics include things like laptime jealousy, bathroom visitors, the pets trying to cheer up Matsumoto-sensei, etc. I definitely snickered at a few different things, but wasn’t prepared to end up sniffling, too. The story about Matsumoto’s previous dog and how a friend’s comment revived happy memories that had long been obscured by sad ones really got to me, as did the part about lingering regrets affecting how a person interacts with pets who yet live. I know exactly how that feels. So, yes, it was the sad bits that really won me over in the end, but the cuteness is undeniably beguiling, as well. – Michelle Smith

By: Ash Brown