Forum › Posts by lady_freyja

Girl%20friends-av
joined Jul 13, 2015

Lililicious is scanlating "Starting Over," it's in editing now so hopefully the release won't be too far off.

Cool!
And yes, I passed on you website, wondering if I should contact you. You seem to work on the magazine version of the one-shots, no? And thus you don't have "One and Only"?

Because putting aside my English, I think it's better to translate directly from the original Japanese version, while I'll work on the already translated French version. へへ'

Girl%20friends-av
joined Jul 13, 2015

I have the French version of the volume mentioned by candy76041820: http://dynasty-scans.com/anthologies/sweet_little_devil
And yes, there is another story with Sayo and Ritsuko, called "One and Only".
It's only 6 pages long.

I can try to scan them, with the other one-shot "Starting Over" (that one will be more complex, since it's far longer… but it also my favorite of the volume ^^').
And I'm not confident with my English, but since it's only 6 pages long, I could try to translate One and Only, at least.

lady_freyja
Citrus discussion 24 Feb 03:49
Girl%20friends-av
joined Jul 13, 2015

Well, allow me to tell you all that Citrus finally got translated in french and can be purchased >:D

And it is sad, because the future of the yuri in France depends on the selling of Citrus. :(
Luckily, the first volume seems popular.

Really? Yuri is having a hard time in France? :(
All of the French licensed yuri are titles I'd love to be able to purchase, if it was more available in Quebec :/

Yup, it seem that the "yuri collection" of Taifu Comic is in the red since its lunch.
They didn't publish any yuri in 2015, and for 2016 they only plan to publish the volumes of Citrus (and Inu & Neko, but it's not from the same editor…).
And depending of the selling of Citrus, they say that they'll see if they publish new yuri in 2017.

But that editor is very unstable, and bad with its communication department, so I hope to see a new yuri license in the second half of the year if the selling of Citrus is that good. I'm jealous since I learned that Bloom Into You will be published in English, I want it in French! :D

lady_freyja
Citrus discussion 20 Feb 03:20
Girl%20friends-av
joined Jul 13, 2015

Well, allow me to tell you all that Citrus finally got translated in french and can be purchased >:D

And it is sad, because the future of the yuri in France depends on the selling of Citrus. :(
Luckily, the first volume seems popular.

I bought it only in hope to see future other yuri manga published in French… >.>

I hope it will continue to be popular with the future volumes, because the main issue of that serie come from its length, for me, it's ultra-repetitive.
First volume, fine, second volume, somewhat fine, third volume, meh, fourth volume, boring…

Girl%20friends-av
joined Jul 13, 2015

I was going to say the title was a reference to MariMite

A totally indecent reference yes. Because Marimite and VD are the two polar opposites of the yuri world.
Sad they didn't try to push even more that reference to Marimite, it could have been fun. ^^

lady_freyja
Girl%20friends-av
joined Jul 13, 2015

Yuu has been very upfront about not having any romantic feelings for anyone, and not expecting to ever do so (i.e. aromantic). Yet Touko continues to push her feelings onto her, even going so far as to say "You keep forgiving me, so I keep wanting to do more." Which is decidedly Not Healthy and very, very selfish. Just because Touko was able to suddenly experience romantic feelings for someone, it does not mean that Yuu should or will be able to as well.

Yuu wants to fall in love, and she shows multiple signs of jealousy over Touko who finally fell in love.
And Touko push her feelings onto Yuu, because Yuu accepted it, in the chapter 3.

Yuu is some kind of tsundere, not the usual one, but still one.
She's torn between her curiosity, her jealousy, her friendship over Touko and the incomprehension of her feelings and of the concept of love, and I guess she's somewhat afraid.
So she both want and don't want to be courted by Touko, like any tsundere.

In the end, it's a yuri manga, not an ace/aro manga.

Girl%20friends-av
joined Jul 13, 2015

...was I the only one who actually rooted for Tomari? For some reason I could not stand Yasuna...

No, you're not.
She is definitely the best girl.

lady_freyja
Girl%20friends-av
joined Jul 13, 2015

They already forgotten Utena and Kannazuki no Miko for yuri with a male love interest ?

Anyway, that "Prince Prince" manga definitely picked my interest now, because otokonoko and otokoyaku are the best!

lady_freyja
Girl%20friends-av
joined Jul 13, 2015

It's a very straightforward and predictable plot. With some cute moments. Overall it's pretty enjoyable and simple watch.

The narrative structure is really similar to the movie Love my Life, but somehow I preferred Transit Girls over Love my Life.

And, I dunno what you have against the acting. I'm not an expert on the subject, especially concerning the Japanese acting, but compared to the other few Japanese movies/drama that I saw until now, the acting was consistent with it.
Well, in fact I like that kind of acting, I think.

lady_freyja
Girl%20friends-av
joined Jul 13, 2015

Until we get some sort of confirmation either way, every chapter I'm gonna be unable to do anything other than try to figure out if this is gonna wind up romantic or not (even though it probably won't).

It won't.
There, saved you some trouble.
Or rather, it could happen...on the very last chapter, that will come out sometime on the next five years, probably.

You people need to realize how 4koma works already.

There are counterexamples of what you say, like Poor Poor Lips.
Very good 4-koma manga mixing humor and romance.


Anyway, there is things that bugs me in that chapter, well I'm curious about that girl who saw through Ichinose. But what's really buging me is: who is the glass-girl at the beginning?
I mean, she has the eyes of Ichinose, but that's all.

It's not a random drawing, is it not?

lady_freyja
Girl%20friends-av
joined Jul 13, 2015

I picked that manga at random, out of boringness.

I really didn't expected something this good. Loved the chemistry between the two. It's something that I don't find often in manga alas: a really good chemistry.
And the troll-girl is just too too much. ♥

Curiously, I know that I have read the other works of that author, but I totally forgot about them. I have to re-read them now. へへ

lady_freyja
Prunus Girl discussion 29 Dec 11:25
Girl%20friends-av
joined Jul 13, 2015

I also forgot to ask, since you're the one providing the scans just say in the credits page that Dynasty Scans user lady_freyja got them or you prefer they use any other name you have?

"Lady Freyja" is fine.

lady_freyja
Prunus Girl discussion 29 Dec 11:12
Girl%20friends-av
joined Jul 13, 2015

But well, except for the two chapters misnamed, it's perhaps simply a difference of publication order between the magazine and the French manga; the Japanese manga may have a different order too.

I don't think we really have any chapter misplaced or misnamed, it seens they translated as the chapters were released so they probably just changed the order when they released as manga, it seens to be pretty normal, at least not first time I have seen that.

I agree for the placement of the chapters, and beside it's no big deal.
But that chapter and that one are really misnamed, the title were inversed between the two. It's obvious with the second one; the real title is written at the bottom of the page, and here too for the first one.

Anyway, I'm going to give the link for the translator, I suppose he's going to do by parts, each volume bonus separately instead of releasing all together since it's 66 pages, he already agreed to do it but in case he change his mind I make another post later, thanks for your hard work lady_freyja. o7

You're welcome. ^^
And good luck for the translator!

lady_freyja
Prunus Girl discussion 29 Dec 10:24
Girl%20friends-av
joined Jul 13, 2015

I have scanned every "bonus" material, for a total of 66 pages. Download on Mega here.

It's the first time that I scanned a manga, and I have a really old scanner (something like 15 years old), so I hope the quality is sufficient.

For each volume, you'll find:
* Number 00
** The color front cover
** The black and white front and back covers (where are the "little jokes")
* Number 01 (at the beginning of the manga)
** A color artwork
** The table of contents of the volume
* Number 02 (at the end of the manga)
** After-words from the author
** The "bible" (drafts and sketchs, with notes)
** Bonus manga pages (only for volume 2)

Everything is in French of course.
And at anyone: fell free to translate/edit/upload them, that's why I scanned them in the first place. If one or two pages really needs to be rescanned, I can redo it. And if the translator isn't native French and have some issues with sentences/expressions, like the "kékiya ?" in the 4-koma (it's a shortened and very childish way to say "qu'est-ce qu'il y a ?"), I can help him/her, I guess. ^^

does the manga version have any new chapters? Cause it seens for magazine they made only four extra chapters for volume 2 (11.5), 3 (16.5), 5 (31) and 6 (32.5), could you also see if chapters numbering is the same?

No new chapter from what I see.
But yeah, the ordering of the chapters aren't the same at all. That's why I have included the table of contents. For example in the manga the first volume contains only the 4th first chapters, and not the 5th like on Dynasty.
And globally the "special chapters" are totally misplaced. Notably:
* The 5th chapter is in volume 2
* The 11th chapter is in volume 3
* The 11.5th chapter is in fact the 17.5th (volume 3)
* The 16.5th chapter is in fact the 24.5th (volume 4)
* The 18th chapter is in volume 4
* The 25th chapter is in volume 5
* The 32th chapter is in volume 5
* "Midorinoka's Strange Students?" is the name of the 31th chapter
* "Extra Chapter: Trick or Treat?" is the name of what is currently the "32.5th chapter"
** That chapter isn't numbered in the manga, and is at the beginning of the 6th volume, between the 32th and 33th chapter.

But well, except for the two chapters misnamed, it's perhaps simply a difference of publication order between the magazine and the French manga; the Japanese manga may have a different order too.

last edited at Dec 29, 2015 10:29AM

lady_freyja
Prunus Girl discussion 29 Dec 03:36
Girl%20friends-av
joined Jul 13, 2015

Awesome, thanks lady_freyja, the bonus page would be nice but don't worry too much it if they don't have story like the back and front cover extra page, I also got a possible translator so we might have them translated in some days.

The volume 2 has at least 3 manga pages and one 4-koma in the bonus, that I don't think they are on Dynasty (I have to check if it's really the case before), so it's definitely worth the try for them. And I personally love reading the after-words after the manga, I don't think I'm the only one here. ^^

And yes, I won't translate them, so it's cool if there is a translator to work on them!

There is a French version ? I need it !! Where did you buy it ?

The French editor is Soleil Manga, and I bought them at the Fnac, but it's normally available at the usual vendors like Amazon and co.

lady_freyja
Prunus Girl discussion 28 Dec 17:32
Girl%20friends-av
joined Jul 13, 2015

I have an old scanner. So I can definitely scan the covers. I dunno for the bonus pages, but I could try for these too.

I'll come back in one day or two with them.

lady_freyja
Prunus Girl discussion 28 Dec 17:03
Girl%20friends-av
joined Jul 13, 2015

I wonder if someone will ever properly scan and translate those extra pages, it would be nice to read those epilogues and whatever else have in there...

Not only the missing bonus pages.
I was really surprised by the quality of the manga version; the drawings are better than in the magazine version (you don't have that blank backgrounds anymore), and well, you don't have unfinished pages like this one.

Each volume has a little joke on the front/back-cover (mostly Sato (the fudanshi girl) who have some yaoi/yuri fantasies), and the sixth one has that "what happened to the characters after the end?" that I posted above.
There is the usual after-words too, but also some concept arts, drafts and design sketchs, with notes explaining them.

Compared to the other manga in my library, Prunus Girl have a good amount of bonus contents. It's one of my favorite manga, so I'm really glad to have them.

last edited at Dec 28, 2015 5:04PM

Girl%20friends-av
joined Jul 13, 2015

True, but we know 100% sure in most cases that the guys are indeed straight without doubt, while in yuri they go in that maybe she's gay, maybe not, you never know, cause they act super gay but call themselves friends, never question their sexuality, and even thought they're obviously attracted to each other they'll never ever think of the possibility of being gay even if they see each other naked, touch each other, grope, kiss and so on, at the end they will go closest possible to crossing the line but we'll end with something like "I hope we can always be together/I love you, my best friend~~", you don't see that with guys, never...

Dunno. My interest in yaoi is fairly recent compared to yuri and I don't have a global vision of this genre yet, but Thomas no Shinzou, Princess Princess or Loveless (at least the anime, didn't read the manga yet), three classics of the yaoi sphere, seems to fit perfectly that description.

On Dynasty, we even have Trap days which have that kind of ending too. But it's a "yaoi seinen otokonoko" manga, it's far from being representative of the genre as a whole.

I don't say that the yaoi manga with subtext or "blurred ambiguity" constitute the majority of the genre, in contrary yaoi have that reputation of being more explicit than yuri in general (and I agree with that reputation). But that kind of works exists, and some of them are very popular.

Anyway, BL as a genre is basically exclusively read by females

While I agree that the yuri demographic is more diverse than the yaoi one, men readership of yaoi isn't negligible at all.

For example a quotation from an American editor (Yaoi Press):

At everythingyaoi.com I'm seeing 25% to 30% of the orders placed by men. At the conventions there's around the same percentage of men buying the books at the booth. I've heard people say that 90-95% of people who buy yaoi are women. My experience shows 25-30% are men.
GloBLisation and Hybridisation

While in Japan, I have a physical French revue (dated from 2008) saying that if the male readership of the yaoi magazines is negligible (around 1%), it's not the case concerning the volumes in libraries, with a male readership estimated around 25 and 30% (so, same numbers than in America).

Girl%20friends-av
joined Jul 13, 2015

moguTL posted:

Just that, since it wasn't really created for the purpose of being a yuri story, taking it as representative of yuri in general and discussing yuri as a genre based on it doesn't really make sense.

Does anybody here says it? We don't say "Look! It is the perfect example of Yuri! Every story should be like that!". We just say "Look! It is funny and they are deliciously gay to boot! It would be nice if main leads at least become a couple".

Absolutely. Swap ⇔ Swap was only a trigger, but in fact every comedic/subtext/service yuri without a proper romance could have triggered that discussion. I guess.

But to respond more specifically to what moguTL said, it's true that Swap ⇔ Swap wasn't published in a yuri magazine. But there is a tons of yuri that aren't published in yuri magazine either.
It would be better to see, if Swap ⇔ Swap was created with yuri in mind, with an afterword. Maybe latter.

I say this, because you can find very similar works in yuri magazines, for example Inugami-san and Nekoyama-san, which is also a comedic yuri without a proper romance, but is published in Yuri Hime. So I don't see the issue with Swap ⇔ Swap considered as a yuri (that, and also because Swap ⇔ Swap is very heavy on kissing and boobs-groping between girls :p)

And speaking of Inu & neko, and continuing about the different interpretations about the word "yuri" between Japan/West:
In France, we have a double-editor; Taifu who publish the yuri/yaoi manga. And Ototo who publish the "generalist manga" (shōjo, shōnen, seinen).

Inu & Neko was published by Ototo (as a "seinen", even if Yuri Hime is more female-oriented (and thus shōjo/josei) than male…), and when we questioned them about why it was published by Ototo and not Taifu, they responded that because it's not a romance/porn, and thus not a yuri.

I find it a little surrealist that a manga published in Yuri Hime isn't considered "yuri" by some, but whatever. :D

last edited at Dec 21, 2015 3:47PM

lady_freyja
Girl%20friends-av
joined Jul 13, 2015

"You can wonder", I'm not saying that's always the case.

And as I said before in the topic, my definition of "yuri" is pretty inclusive:

The best definition of the yuri genre that I found is "female same-sex intimacy". So it's everything that is more that "just friendship": including lesbianism, "spiritual connection" (that's the expression used by the director of Yuri Hime…), the Class S things, or even intimate friendship.

Maybe I express myself pretty bad, but what I mean is that there isn't one definition of what "yuri" is, and it depends of the individuals.
Nobody, even in Japan, seems to agree about what "yuri" is, so who am I to say what exactly is? That's why I prefer the more vague and inclusive definition possible. Hence "female same-sex intimacy".

lady_freyja
Girl%20friends-av
joined Jul 13, 2015

OriginalGengar posted:

Thanks guys. Got it. Yuri is dead. When we delete dynasty?

That's kind of a leap.

Not really. Since Yuri is about friendship, dynasty was wrong all along being site about Lesbianism, not Yuri. We need to delete it and make new one, so it will fit. Also we are not Yuri fans. We are Lesbians fans. How good someone enlightened us <3

Heeeeeee.

It's more complicated than that. The statements, –even, and mainly in Japan– about what is "yuri" are contradictory.
I find that sentence one day: Yuri's greatest characteristic may well be its lack of definable characteristic.
Sounds like fun to me.

But that why now, I tend to warn the newcomers that yuri isn't necessarily about lesbians, that they'll find lesbian stuffs, but they'll other things too.
I mean, like pretty anybody here, I got into yuri expecting lesbian stuffs, and I find what I wanted, thing that are lesbian or at least can pass for lesbian stuffs, but I find some other things, and I like it too.

lady_freyja
Girl%20friends-av
joined Jul 13, 2015

Nevertheless, here yuri is defined as “the overdone affection between two girls peculiar to girls in puberty,” adding that it is “a limited-time pseudo love”

"pseudo love" because you know, girls can't love girls, really, japanese should stop with this bullshit and make a magazine that is explicity for lesbian stories, sigh.

There were different attempts, the most notable one was Carmilla if I'm correct. But they don't sell well and are short-lived.

But I'd say that this definition by Yuri Shimai is a little surrealist. I mean Yuri Shimai was the ancestor of the actual Yuri Hime, and there is plenty of works in here that are lesbian, or at least lesbian-ish, the works of Amano Shuninta for example.
And even in Yuri Shimai, we had Spring, Summer, Fall, Winter.

But, Yuri Shimai was created by a guy inspired by Marimite, so this can explains that.

last edited at Dec 19, 2015 2:03PM

lady_freyja
Girl%20friends-av
joined Jul 13, 2015

Can any of them say "I'm lesbian" ? it shouldn't be such an outrageous thing to do because you're selling your work for yuri fans

Because you're not Japanese.
Japaneses tends to distinguish lesbian stuffs and yuri ones. Tends to, so not all Japaneses do that, but an important amount.

Try to read this, you'll see different reasons why actual Japaneses make (or make no) difference between the lesbian stuffs and the yuri ones. Either that these Japaneses are editors, journalists or fans.

And I suppose that the description of the yuri genre by the magazine Yuri Shimai will upset some of people here. :D

Nevertheless, here yuri is defined as “the overdone affection between two girls peculiar to girls in puberty,” adding that it is “a limited-time pseudo love”

You can finds other shorter studies who broach that question of the distinction between lesbian/yuri, like here or here, both from the Japanese revue Eureka.

So if you find the sentence "I'm a lesbian" in a "yuri manga", you can wonder if that manga is really a yuri, and not a lesbian manga considered as "yuri" by Westerners.

last edited at Dec 19, 2015 1:49PM

lady_freyja
Girl%20friends-av
joined Jul 13, 2015

I learned about it only recently, but from what I got the strong feelings between friends and female friendship thing would be that whole Class S?

Class S seems more about a context and an epoch. Strawberry Panic is a Class S yuri, and in it, the girls are more than sexually interested into each other.
Class S is more about all the "sister system" in all-girls schools, and affiliated/derivative stuffs. And all the Japanese pre-war "lesbian" stuffs.

But from what I read about what Japanese are thinking about yuri: even in Japan yuri is ill-defined, the boundaries of the yuri genre are vagues.

The best definition of the yuri genre that I found is "female same-sex intimacy". So it's everything that is more that "just friendship": including lesbianism, "spiritual connection" (that's the expression used by the director of Yuri Hime…), the Class S things, or even intimate friendship.

lady_freyja
Anime season 13 Dec 16:57
Girl%20friends-av
joined Jul 13, 2015

This idea of “immature” is linked to the “shōjo”. As you said, homosexuality between girls is mainly considered as a phase in Japan, a sign of “immaturity”.
The identity of “shōjo” has many characteristics, and “being homosexual” is one of these.

This is not supported by the actual story.

Because here, I wasn't speaking about the story, but what is a “shōjo” in the Japanese gender studies.
The shōjo were created by the patriarchy as “children” (“immature”) even if they were sexually mature. There is an idea of “purity” behind it. The shōjo quickly developed homosexuality, and thus it became a characteristics of shōjo. (And interestingly enough, in Japanese Buddhism during the pre-Meiji period, homosexual relationship were encouraged because it was considered as “pure”, unlike the heterosexual relationship.)

That's why “female homosexuality” and "immaturity” are linked in the Japanese view.

That's why I consider this story as a continuation of class S, as an evolution if you prefer. And that evolution was foreshadowed by Yaneura no Nishojo.

Hanjuku Joshi, if anything, is a denial of Class S. Not an evolution or continuation of it. It's blatantly stating that these two couples actually are lesbian. Lines like "Even if you are a girl. Even though you are a girl. Because you are a girl," are an outright denial that the love between them is despite them both being girls. It's flatly stating that they are both attracted to each other in the lesbian sense.

Yes, and what is the ideal partner of a shōjo? Another shōjo, and it's better if it's an “otokoyaku” BTW, a “tomboy”. That's also supported by the Japanese gender studies. It explains the success of Takarazuka among women BTW. With Takarazuka, women indulge themselves to escape the heterosexual life and rebecoming a shōjo the time of a play, and they idealize the otokoyaku actress (their ideal partner), which are still considered as “shōjo” even if they are 30 or more.

Yes, and it's heavily underlined that she's wrong! And in fact she says that because she's denying her own feelings for the woman she's really in love with by attempting to go out with guys instead which turns out to be futile. The whole point is that the feelings these two couples are experiencing are not transient or a result of youth, but the real, honest thing.

So yes, the ideal partner for a shōjo is another shōjo, men are futile for them. Isn't Yoshiya said “Husband are useless”?
Hey, in class S stories, the male characters were usually depicted as evil beings, not as the "ideal partner".

While full-fledged class S like Marimite (the grandma character), Yaneura no Nishojo, or any class S which end in a suicide say blatantly that the love between shōjo isn't transient or result of youth too, but is a true and ideal love (because you don't kill yourself if you're thinking that your feelings are “false”).
I think our point of disagreement is here, while you consider the class S sentiments are “transitory” or even “false”, I consider them are “true”, because of what I see in certain class S works.

So, in Hanjuku Joshi we find the idea of “immaturity” (it's in the title) and thus shōjo. We also find the futility of men and the fact that shōjo are the ideal partner for a shōjo, and in bonus we even find a takarazukian couple with Yae the “musumeyaku” (hyper-feminine girl) and Chitose the “otokoyaku” (the “Girl Prince”, or tomboy).
Nothing that contradict the class S works from the past.
It's just that you don't have the "sisters stuffs", and that you have a good ending.

I can totally place Hanjuku Joshi in the continuity of the rest of the “shōjo culture” and thus class S. I won't say that for the Morishima Akiko's other works BTW (at least the others I read, I didn't read the totality of her works).
But as I said, I can over-interpret this story.

And we're basically agreeing that Class S is rooted in antiquated views on sexuality, aren't we?

It's depends of what you call “class S”. The works of Yoshiya and co were dependent of the social context in Japan at that time. So yes, they are totally from an other age.
The issue is in works like Strawberry Panic, where in the anime we simply don't know what will happens of the girls after their graduation. We simply tend to assume that they will marry some random men because of what we find in the old class S works from a begone age. We tend to think as Nezchan, that those romances are limited to the adolescence and then poof, no more.

While some works, which you present as a "subversion of the class S" say that those feelings can still be here after the adolescence. And thus we arrive here:

I think rather than what you see as an evolution of Class S, I see more as an evolution of yuri away from Class S.

And while I can't disagree with you, I can't disagree with me too. Like it's the same thing, but view from two different (but valid) points of view.

Hey, maybe I'm reading too much of studies about yuri/shōjo/others. There is a tons of queer theories inside it, and maybe I can't see the boundaries because of that. Some says that queer theories tend to be irrelevant because they ignore boundaries a little too much.

Yeah, perhaps it's better like that: in fact, I'm lost. :D

last edited at Dec 13, 2015 4:58PM