Everyone is into Kuroko's voice! I think I've read more positive comments about Arai Satomi's performance than the series in general. And I've read a lot of positive things about the series! It probably helps her character is entirely lovable as well.

Hehe, I'm going to have to go re-watch the first season I think!

And yeah, that's pretty much why I dropped the manga. I like Misaka plenty, but I understand the later arcs are focused almost disproportionately on her, and that just doesn't sound like it would totally hold my interest right now. Hopefully the second season does not disappoint.

Hmm. I'm totally new here so I assume I'll be passed on, but I'll toss my hat in the ring anyway.

I have experience moderating forums, am more than happy to dedicate some time to it, and er...a bit of distant IRC knowledge, but it's not what I'd call knowledge. That's about it for me.

Suddenly, a Railgun topic!? Awesome. Gotta love Kuroko! But actually, I think the anime handled Saten-Uiharu really well, and that's more than enough yuri for me, so Kuroko's kinda just bonus. The Railgun anime is by far my favorite part of the Index universe. As for how things like this go...I've seen some of Index but don't really love it, I don't think it adds much to the Railgun experience. I have the first two English volumes of the manga - didn't care for it much as it moves so quickly.

Disappointed that the second season didn't get simulcasted by Funimation though. I have also heard that the second season will still give a lot of focus to the group as a whole, so that's pretty exciting all-around.

Is it really absolutely certain that it was traced?

No way to know for sure.

If he wasn't technically laying paper over it and tracing it, is it still reprehensible?

Yes. Copyright laws, in general, are pretty clear about this. If you take another individual's work (a photo, a drawing, whatever) and use it for your own work, you are required to give them credit. A feasible comparison might be paraphrasing the words of an academic journal. It is good etiquette to cite them as a source - the fact you did not quote them directly has no effect on this.

I actually wanted to say something about referencing but didn't really have the time earlier. Using photos for reference is widespread in any artistic field. For whatever reason, this is sometimes heavily frowned upon by fans (though it is commonly noted that "beautiful backgrounds" for cartoons are drawn from research photos), but there is no way to know if an artist ever uses outside materials. Unless of course they really sloppily steal other people's photos...

But I don't think it's so clear-cut as "He traced it, none of his work is legitimate".

100% agreement there.

He was just too lazy to photograph his own people, and might have thought the quality of his drawings would be better when using professional photos.

Kinda just reinforces my feeling that it was something that just happened one or a few times, rather than something he consciously did/does in general.

Well… I guess … only those who can draw and love to do it would find tracing reprehensible.

Meh, if it's something you're actively pursuing, of course you'd be a bit miffed if someone already in your industry of choice was cheating. Plus, stealing?

That said, Shou's a pretty good artist, there's plenty of evidence to support that. I would guess, if it's something he does irregularly, he was probably just running on a tight deadline. I've heard of companies dealing with art generally doing that kind of thing.

Those curious about what he was accused of tracing:

http://www.animenewsnetwork.com/news/2012-06-01/prism-yuri-manga-put-on-hold-due-to-similiarities-to-photos

Is it possible he was tracing a lot more than that? Sure, but inconsistency isn't really all that uncommon, ya know?

last edited at Apr 12, 2013 2:25PM

Hmm. Didn't expect the discussion to take a turn this way...I appreciate The Future and You's "cover" with the tag Yaoi right above it. Creates an experience like nothing I've ever felt before.

so looking forward to it although i think my girlfriend will shut me out of my own room for ignoring her...

The dangers of too much yuri!

@esn, Hmm. Depends what you mean by online translations =) I read the scans way back, and those were excellent, but it's been a while since I've had any use for them. Seven Seas - minus some grammatical errors in volume 1 that were supposed to be fixed for the second shipment - did a solid job with it though, generally speaking.

@Sol, lovely. You said a lot of things I was actually going to. To hit on a few points:

-The level of detail about everyday things probably isn't really afforded the average author. So many series are just pressing to stick around for a second volume, talking about hair care and Mr. Donut seems a bit...you know. Still, I agree with you wholeheartedly. Makes the whole package 100x more girly too!

-Great point on the final misunderstanding, it's probably the one point that threw an otherwise well-written series into what-am-I-reading-land. I almost burned the 4th volume halfway through reading it, that part was totally unnecessary! (It's not really that bad though)

-I was disappointed with the afterwords too. Not sure why they weren't included.

-Yes! Everyone should buy this! Seven Seas said a short bit ago that it was doing "surprisingly well." Maybe (just maybe) if Morinaga's works keep selling, we'll get something more published over here.

a month and a half between 8 and 7, and 7 and web04 which i think was chapter 6. doesn't look good :(

Thanks for pointing that out. I was totally derping earlier - could've sworn chapters 7 and 8 were released within a month of each other! Oh well. Tsubomi's got some other decent stuff on their web comic, so I'll just have to make do...

While I appreciate the friendship focus, the drama lately has gotten away a bit from what I felt was the best part of the series, which was the dialogue and character interaction. I really want to see Fujiwara and Yuri interacting again soon.

Seriously now. The first three chapters promised me at least a volume's worth of priceless FujiYuri antics! There've still been some good moments, but we're a full two chapters away from any serious teasing.

And @whoever was asking, I've read the Shinobu extra. Pretty good stuff all around.

When I was younger, there was a kid in my class with eyes like that. He got made fun of for it early on, but by the time I left that school, everyone knew him as "the cool kid with different colored eyes," so I guess it worked out.

On a side note, Tokumi Yuiko is a God in my eyes. It's too bad I haven't seen anything original from her(?), but at the same time it's majorly cute when a doujin artist devotes themselves passionately to a series/pairing, so it's cool either way.

The anime is pretty slick too, if you're into subtext and/or ridiculously melodramatic board games.

Read the scanlation while it was available. Bought it in Japanese. Bought it in English when it came out. It was my first major discovery in the now beloved by me yuri genre. I guess that means I agree with burlingk.

Pretty much this, exactly.

Hopefully it did well for Seven Seas!

I know people like this too but I'm only 18 so I don't really talk to them. The people I talk to are around my age, and we tend to be a little too open about... everything. And I kinda thought that people who don't realize they're gay until later on were mostly products of their society, and it doesn't happen so much anymore? I don't know, I live in New York.

Who knows? Specifically, I can recall a story I read on a LGBT support site last year, written by a 40 year old woman who was describing, rather vividly, how she was feeling passionate about someone (a younger, lesbian girl who had been pursuing her) for the first time in her entire life. She had been married once, had two kids, and was engaged to be married again! Yet she never once entertained the idea that guys weren't right for her, that she was supposed to be passionately in love, etc. etc. She even said something like, "I love my fiance, and I don't want to hurt him. But I'm in love with her."

Could you say that was because during her younger years she was exposed to homophobic attitudes, or some other part of her environment? I...don't really know! My only point was, there are people like you know exactly what they are, and there others who don't. I don't believe that either is horribly uncommon.

Sorry for getting off-topic anyway...-_-'

I agree with you. I agree with you so much that it is SAD... I wish there were less archetypical stories out there. It stunts my creativity.

Agreed, but...I imagine it could be difficult to write a non-archetypal story in Yuri Hime. One-shots and short serialized stories that are almost required to start with a love interest and end with two girls getting together...I mean come on!

Please could you reveal just a little bit of chapter 3's plot? I don't understand Japanese at all so it really is killing me, especially when Dynasty tags this series as Het. I only desire to know if Mei already loves another someone or not, to prepare for the next release. If Yuzu has to get through the pain of one-sided love at the end I'll have to buy a reserve of tissues T-T Sorry if this piss anybody off, I definitely don't want to ruin the mood :(

Be patient! It runs in Yuri Hime, how could they not get together?

When they all of the sudden realize they're a lesbian? That doesn't happen much, at least to my experience.

Considering I've read personal stories where an individual doesn't realize their sexuality till in their 30's or beyond...I don't think I'd say it's totally uncommon. I guess some people are just really out of touch with their feelings!

Agreed on that last bit though.

last edited at Apr 8, 2013 3:24PM

I swear to God, Citrus is friggin' beautiful.

I know this sounds bad-- but honestly, I don't give for the storyline as long as the other good stuff are actually, well, you know, good.

Haha, s'okay, I find myself there sometimes. Unless the story is rage-inducing, which isn't horribly common.

Anyway, I read this a while ago and immediately thought, "That art looks really familiar." Not just the lines and design, but panel composition and expressions as well. I didn't have anywhere to ask at the time, but now that I do...I'm wondering if I was the only person who felt like this? In other words...does this art remind you of another manga? I've been killing myself over here trying to think of what it could be...

And to comment on the actual manga...I dig Yuzu's character just for how much of a girl she is. From the first page you can tell how just how hopelessly romantic she's going to act, and the fact that continues on is probably the second reason (behind the art) I've stayed interested in it.