On Finding Trans Men in Old Manga

So a commenter left a comment on my review of Paros no Ken volume 1 rightly critiquing my initial written interpretation of the titular character of Ikeda Riyoko's Claudine...! for finding Claudine's gender identity somewhat ambiguous instead of "this character is a trans man." They also made a good argument for Paros no Ken's Erminia being read as a trans man. Because they brought up some great discussion points, I wound up practically writing an essay in response to it, and I think those discussion points are worth a blog post instead of being hidden in the comments of an old review.

The primary point of the comment was- why my interpretation of Claudine and Paros no Ken's protagonist Erminia as having some ambiguity to their gender identities?

In response to that, I wrote:

I am much more sure that Claudine is a trans man than I was when I first reviewed it years ago. As you read in my writing about Paros no Ken, it's harder to determine bona fide trans men in old manga because the folks writing older lgbtq stuff didn't have a lesbian lingo vocabulary (or couldn't use it) and somewhat clumsily described some characters (like Oniisama E's Rei and Sailor Moon's Haruka) as having "the aura of a man" (this being in the text of Oniisama E) or "the heart of a man" (which the creator of Sailor Moon said before clarifying that she did intend to write two girls who were a couple.)

I hesitate to definitively call Erminia a trans man (although there are definitely grounds for that interpretation) because of the broader context of the time, and the fact that whether Erminia is "both a man and a woman" or "neither a man nor a woman" is a major plot point in PnK. Regarding Claudine, when I first reviewed it, I was looking too much at historical context and not enough at how Ikeda Riyoko went the extra mile to make it more trans-specific than the other examples I mentioned in my discussion of trans straight male vs cis gay female identity in old manga. I will add a note to my review of Claudine...! about that.

In response to the points that "even in clearly trans stories like Hourou Musuko the mangaka have missed the importance of the chosen name. Since Nitori is a girl, the title should have been Wandering Girl and not 'Son'. (The same goes for Claudine and Paros no Ken's Erminia :/)", I wrote:

Re chosen names, yeah, Hourou Musume would better reflect Nitori's gender- ditto with Claudine...! being changed, although it's better there imo because Claudine himself didn't mention wanting a different/true name, like Nitori did. In the cases of Claudine and Erminia both not saying they wanted different names, I'm also pretty lenient because Claudine lived in the early 20th century and subsequently didn't seem to know what being "transsexual" is and how it applied to him until right before the end of the book, and Erminia (assuming the trans reading to be the right one) lived in some kind of Medieval kingdom. I'm reminded a little of how at the women's college I attended from 2008-2012, there were some trans men who didn't realize they were trans before they started school and were exposed to the queer awareness on campus, causing them to realize what they were and start publicly identifying as such- that's my reading of what went on for Claudine until the doctor told him what being transsexual is and what might be going on with Erminia. I realize that I am not the best judge and could be wrong about something, though. Anyway, that is the end of my long rambling!

Manga Review: Paros no Ken volume 3

We ended the previous volume of Paros no Ken on yet another cliffhanger- but this time the threat is real.

The contestants in the sword-fighting tournament are whittled down, and Yurias is one of the semi-finalists. Erminia hopes he'll win because they have sparred together since they were children and she has never lost to him. At this point, Yurias is competing not with the aim of marrying Erminia, but of freeing her to choose whoever she wants.

However, Yurias's next opponent not only defeats him, he slashes his right eye and exults over it. Technically, the man who blinded Yurias is still allowed to compete.

Enraged, Erminia rushes into the arena to challenge him, and the livid spectators cheer her on. Erminia holds her own to the point that the folks who had wanted her to be a delicate flower are really impressed. But then her opponent knocks her sword out of her hand, her uncle Alphonse throws her another sword, and Erminia finds, too late, that she has walked into a trap.

Long story short, Erminia's father dies, Kauros takes over Paros's capital, and Erminia wakes up imprisoned. The third prince of Kauros is there when she wakes up. He confirms what happened and tells her she will be his bride. The prince of Kauros is a sewer of a human being ("You may act like a man, but that does not change the fact that you are a woman! And women must submit to men." After being rejected by her: "Erminia... what a pity it is that such a beautiful woman holds men in such disdain. I shall cure you of that illness."), and tries to rape her, but thankfully, doesn't go through with it. He figures he'll have plenty of time to break her after she marries him in Kauros.

The procession escorting Erminia to Kauros stops at a town overnight, where Fiona and Erminia are reunited.

How did Fiona get there after what happened in volume 2? After being raped, Fiona threw herself into the river nearby and was rescued downstream by a nice older couple who live in the countryside. While living with them, she recovered somewhat.

After learning what happened to Paros's capital and Erminia, she organized the other youths in the area into a rebel group (in case you're wondering, Fiona is sixteen; Erminia is eighteen), helped Yurias leave his captivity (he was much less stringently guarded than Erminia; and somehow, knew what happened to Fiona), and hatched a plan to get Erminia to safety.

While the people who attended the sword-fighting tournament easily bought Alphonse's reason for indicting Erminia for her father's death, most of the citizens of Paros recognize that Alphonse's argument for Erminia's guilt is bullshit and are still willing to resist the Kauran military under her. Their loyalty to Erminia and Paros is so moving, in fact, that I felt pretty awful for them re-reading this volume, knowing how things would pan out.

In a nutshell, Fiona, Erminia, and Yurias all ultimately sacrifice everything else for love, and Fiona and Erminia get to be together.

The ending is pretty abrupt and leaves Paros's fate more ambiguous than I'd like. I suspect Kurimoto Kaoru wound up not having as much time to resolve things as she wanted, and had to do the best she could given the page count she had left. But, erm, despite the ending's problems- especially considering this series's context and the fact that Kurimoto could have easily written an unhappy ending for Erminia and Fiona for perfectly valid reasons- I'm glad Kurimoto was like "lol Nope" to ending things with Erminia accepting Fiona's sacrifice and sacrificing her own happiness with her, and made Erminia save Fiona anyway.

Despite its flaws, this is a very worthwhile series, both for its value to the yuri genre and simple entertainment value- especially if you're in the mood for a romance that is more plot-oriented than most.

Story: B+
Art: A
Overall: B+

Manga Review: Paros no Ken volume 2

Couldn't find a picture of this volume's cover online and my scanner's being funky, so I'm just posting a photo of my copy of it.

Volume 1 left us with a masked Yurias breaking into Erminia's room and covering her mouth before she could scream. He only snuck in because he wants to play fairy godmother and give Erminia the chance to go to Paros's capital city Paro's annual carnival with Fiona. Yurias made sure Fiona had the night off so she could go. Erminia gives Fiona a beautiful gown, dons a dapper outfit herself, and promises Yurias that she will return before midnight. If she doesn't fulfill her promise, Yurias will be found out and executed for helping her leave.

This series' artwork is always lush, but the carnival pages are especially vibrant and eye-popping.

The revelers admire how good Fiona and Erminia look together. (Granted, because Erminia is wearing a mask, they don't recognize her as their princess. They think she's some random guy.)

When Fiona and Erminia step away from the crowd, Fiona shares her fear that that night will be as good as it gets for them and she'll never see Erminia again. Not knowing how little Fiona has to look forward to in her day-to-day life (or how little hope Fiona had of seeing Erminia again after being demoted to an even more menial position than laundry maid because her co-workers are all assholes), Erminia has a more optimistic view of things. Erminia asks Fiona if there aren't any dreams she wants to fulfill, and shares her dream of traveling the world. Erminia is thrilled Fiona takes her dream seriously, because the only other person who has is Yurias. She is surprised when Fiona tells her that her only dream has been to meet the prince from her childhood, and that prince is her.

They kiss, but their moment is cut short when a tipsy masked man with a villain smirk shows up and hits on Fiona. He persists, so Erminia challenges him to a sword duel and kicks his ass. His reaction to losing makes Erminia think he might not be so bad after all. He reveals that he has been living the dream, traveling the world as a sailor. Erminia tells him that Fiona is an aristocrat who has seven days to choose a groom to marry, and Erminia cannot marry her because her status is too low. The stranger proposes a solution, which Erminia puts into effect when her time to choose a groom is up.

Erminia's suitors must compete in a sword-fighting tournament, and the last man standing must win a sword fight against her before he can marry her. Erminia, of course, expects to win- and then (although she doesn't mention it as a condition to her father), expects to be free to publicly make Fiona her bride as a result. Awww/nothing can possibly go wrong, right? ^^;

The part in which we see people in the various classes of Paros preparing for the tournament is cute- especially the cameo by Candy Candy's leads.

Erminia's uncle Alphonse, whose interests would be served by Paros being absorbed by Kauros, reminds Erminia of the very real possibility that she will lose and gives her a way to cheat. Erminia dismisses him, but can't bring herself to dismiss his plan completely. When she thinks that she would be willing to dirty her hands for Fiona's sake, you know the story isn't going to let that go.

Additionally, Erminia worries about an old legend saying that Paros will have its glory restored if it is ruled by one who is both a man and a woman, and will be destroyed if ruled by one who is neither a man nor a woman. The people of Paros are anxious to see if Erminia will turn out to be the former or the latter. Yurias freaks out about the legend after Erminia rejects him. You're more of an ally than an ass, Yurias, but please stfu about how if Erminia could just "regain a woman's heart" and like guys/you, you would be happy.

Btw, despite the context for this series, the effect I know its setting would have on how its characters conceptualize and discuss sexual orientation and gender (i.e. not how we do) and its awesome progressiveness and skewering of sexist and heterosexist social conventions, I'm annoyed by the weirdly conservative correlation drawn at points by the story between Erminia's lack of interest in men and her gender being possibly male/not-female. Claudine...!, which I compared to this series in my review of Paros no Ken volume 1 for having a protagonist who could be read as a butchy cis lesbian or a straight trans man, actually succeeded at pulling off that ambiguity without drawing that correlation. I remember a similar correlation coming up briefly at one point in Rose of Versailles also, and it annoyed me there, as much as I love RoV. (Like, to the point of having a PVC figurine of Oscar in uniform, brandishing her sword.) Ribon no Kishi plays with a similar idea (its protagonist Sapphire being cool and competent and actiony when she has her boy heart, but weak and damsel-in-distressy when she only has her girl heart), but takes it to the point that I dislike Ribon no Kishi.

Erminia cannot see Fiona until after the tournament. Unbeknownst to her, something horrible happens. Some knights from Kauros find Fiona and rape her, thinking she will be ashamed enough of it to never approach Erminia again.

On the last day of the tournament, Kauros's army crosses the border into Paros.

While volume 1 focused on setting up character relationships, this volume sets up the plot denouement that will take place in volume 3. What will become of Erminia and Fiona!? Tune in next time and see.

Story: B+
Art: A
Overall: B+

Speaking of portrayals of lgbtq folks in Medieval Europe-inspired fantasy stories, this two part blog post series, "Heteronormativity, fantasy, and Bitterblue", is really worth reading for its discussion of writing sexual minority characters in such settings.

Manga Review: Paros no Ken volume 1

Paros no Ken (The Sword of Paros) is a three volume fantasy series written by Kurimoto Kaoru (Guin Saga's author) and drawn by Igarashi Yumiko (Candy Candy's artist). It ran from 1986-1987 in Monthly Asuka. It is, as far as I know, the earliest example of a yuri romance that doesn't end with either half of its couple being killed off, committing suicide, or marrying a man. Incredible progressiveness for its time aside, it holds up today as a ripping good yarn.

Paros no Ken begins and ends described by an unnamed wandering minstrel to us as a legend based on events from long ago.

The kingdom of Paros was once in a dark period, in which it was threatened by a militant neighboring kingdom called Kauros.

Although Kauros could have gained control of Paros by invading, its leaders tried to save themselves the trouble by uniting the two kingdoms through marriage. Paros's King Aldius doesn't want his kingdom to lose its independence to Kauros by any means and tries to politely decline them. But he's running out of excuses, so he pressures his only heir, Erminia, to pick a Parosian man to wed. Unfortunately for him, Erminia isn't interested in men and makes no secret of it.

Erminia spends most of her free time riding horses with her best friend since childhood Yurias. One day Erminia saves one of the castle's laundry maids, Fiona, from being run over by a runaway horse. Neither can stop thinking about the other after that- Erminia because Fiona's her type, and Fiona because Erminia reminds her of the "prince" she met once as a child who she has always wanted to meet again. Of course, the person from Fiona's childhood is Erminia. I've mentioned before that I find the "I have been in love with you since we were kids, even though I haven't seen you at all since then!" trope stupid, but I actually don't mind it here. Fiona has had such a godawful life that it sadly makes sense that she would cling like a drowning person to a memory like that. 

But anyway, Erminia's sex doesn't make any difference to Fiona, and Fiona and Erminia spend more and more time together. Erminia becomes further smitten because Fiona is not only kind, she's the only person Erminia knows who isn't like "You're a woman, so you should do this and that and this! And be interested in these things!" Yurias, who is in love with Erminia, instantly pegs where things are heading between Erminia and Fiona. Some knights from Kauros attack Erminia when she is with Fiona. After Erminia and Yurias fend them off, Erminia notes that the Kaurian knights had several chances to kill her, but didn't. They were just testing her, for some reason.

Erminia's father finally gives her an ultimatum to chose a groom within ten days' time, and has her confined to her room until she chooses. This volume ends on a cliffhanger.

Erminia, who has justifiably been compared a lot to Rose of Versailles' Oscar, is a charismatic, ass-kicking lead- and, of course, groundbreaking for avoiding certain negative tropes and being happily outspoken about who she likes. In a high fantasy setting, but still. Erminia's out-ness is a big deal within the world she lives in because Paros no Ken's world is brimming with heterosexism, not to mention sexism. It can be incredibly, wonderfully refreshing to read something like Malinda Lo's Ash (one of my favorite novels), in which the characters live in a world where homophobia is nil and being openly interested in other women/other men need not come with any potentially negative consequences (because, you know, that's how things should be and will be someday)- but stories in which the characters work through (or have worked through) the less pretty aspects of coming out are, in a way, more... Well, let me put it this way. As a high schooler in the "What do these feelings mean!?" phase, I loved how utterly not a big deal the romances between Strawberry Panic!'s characters were. But for its much lower amount of out-and-out yuri, I found Maria-sama ga Miteru more comforting because the one canon lesbian among its leads, Sei, dealt with the less pretty aspects of coming out and ultimately came out happy even though she didn't get the girl she liked when she was questioning.

The point of that rambling tangent is that, even though Paros no Ken takes place in a high fantasy setting, it's written in such a way that Erminia's development parallels a lot of folks' real life experiences with coming out/being out as lgbtq, for better and worse, such as when Erminia tells Fiona (after mentioning that Yurias called her selfish for her time spent romancing Fiona), "If I express anything of a free will at the castle, I am accused of being selfish. One day, I simply realized that I needed to be true to myself, even if it caused others to curse my existence. I have just one chance... One chance to live a life that belongs to none but me."

One thing that does date this series is the ambiguity between trans male and lesbian identity in it. To quote what I wrote about that ambiguity in my essay on lesbian identity in yuri:

In some early works like Ikeda Riyoko’s Claudine…! and Kurimoto Kaoru and Igarashi Yumiko’s Paros no Ken, there is some ambiguity between lesbian identity and transgender identity. Oniisama E’s Rei is an example of a character whose description of being like a man—having the aura of a man, as Nanako [Oniisama's E's protagonist] describes her—was pretty obviously the closest thing that you were going to see to the word “butch” (or the Japanese equivalent) in a 70’s shoujo manga. That may have been the case with Claudine (the lead in Claudine…!) and Erminia (the lead in Paros no Ken) as well. Sailor Moon’s Haruka is described by creator Takeuchi Naoko, as having the “heart of a guy,” although when Takeuchi Naoko was asked if Haruka had been a man in her past life, she said no, and affirmed that she intended to create a relationship between two girls.  Just as the concept of akogare in Japan has a Western historical parallel in the idea of “smashings” between Victorian schoolgirls, the association between lesbian and transgender identity in older examples of Yuri has a parallel in the numerous historical examples of lesbians who passed themselves as men or adopted a masculine identity in order to enjoy the freedoms and opportunities men enjoyed, like La Maupin.  Some characters are clearly butch, but for some, like Claudine, one can’t be certain whether they are asserting themselves as transsexuals or as lesbians who want the privileges exclusive to men. Yuri fans have fondly dubbed cool, butchy yuri characters “Girl Princes,” partly because their earliest ancestor (who actually isn’t a Yuri character) is Ribon no Kishi’s Sapphire, who is literally a girl prince.

In short, like Claudine, you can read Erminia as a butchy lesbian or a straight trans man (or genderqueer, since the text leaves room for that), whatever suits you. That ambiguity is actually a plot point in this series, but it doesn't come into play majorly until later on.

I should also, finally, mention that Erminia and Fiona are sweet as a couple, but Fiona is more passive and damsel-in-distressy than I'd like for the first two volumes of this series. Thankfully, she moves away from that in volume three and (SPOILER!) saves Erminia from the biggest threat she faces- and Erminia likes Fiona's heightened competence, even if the risk Fiona takes because of it scares the shit out of her. But I'm getting ahead of myself. More romantic intrigue and political skulduggery coming in volume 2~

Story: B+

Art: A LOT of beautiful detail. A

Overall: B+

Sci-fi Yuri Anime and Manga

I decided to catalogue all of the titles I could think of that scratch the itch for science fiction as well as yuri. I came up with more than I expected. Maybe I'll do a fantasy-themed list later. If you have suggestions for additional titles, feel free to chime in with them!

In anime:

Battle Athletes OVA (6 episodes):
In the distant future, the most prestigious athletic event is the annual interplanetary Cosmo Beauty competition, which determines the strongest athlete. Akari's deceased mother Tomoe became the greatest Cosmo Beauty in history, and Akari strives to win the Cosmo Beauty title for herself. Akari and her teammate Kris fall in love. They are separated at the end- because of Kris' duties as a priestess and Akari's duties as the new Cosmo Beauty- but promise to reunite.

Battle Athletes Victory (26 episodes):
A goofier, more wtf-inducing version of the OVA story. The first half takes place when Akari competes on Earth to qualify to enter the Cosmo Beauty competition. BAV also goes beyond the OVA's timeline by revealing a very...unexpected reason for why the Cosmo Beauty competition was created. Thankfully, Kris is still present. Her attraction to Akari is more overt in the TV series than in the OVA, but the attraction on Akari's side is more toned down. A comedic love triangle dynamic forms after Ichino, Akari's childhood friend, meets Kris. In the end, Ichino and Kris are still competing for Akari.
Here are my two reviews of this series.

Blue Drop (13 episodes):
Girl meets alien. Unfortunately, the alien is from a much larger (all-female) race that plans to colonize the Earth. The star-crossed lovers in this series don't get a Happily-Ever-After, but it was nice to watch them while it lasted.
My review.

Fight! Iczer-One (3 episodes):
A crappy, ultra-violent 80's OVA. If you like that sort of thing and you like yuri, you'll love Fight! Iczer One. I only watched one episode in high school. An alien race known as the Cthulu (with members who have names like Big Gold and Sir Violet) invades Earth. A female android named Iczer-1, who the Cthulu created, saves a human girl named Nagisa after the Cthulu kill her classmates and parents. I think there was some yuri (or hinted yuri) between them? I remember that two alien women were making out in the first minute or so of the OVA. According to Wikipedia, Nagisa and Iczer-1 survive and the world is reset to how it was before the Cthulu invaded, with Nagisa not remembering Iczer-1.

Kashimashi (12 episodes + 1 OVA):
In the first episode, our protagonist Hazumu gets killed by an alien spaceship and regenerated as female instead of male. Cue love triangle involving the girl who rejected Hazumu pre-spaceship crash (for the stupidest reason possible) and Hazumu's childhood friend. Two of the aliens start living with Hazumu so they can observe human behavior and provide comic relief.

Kyoukai Senjou no Horizon (one 13 episode season + another on the way):
In a futuristic recreation of Japan's Sengoku era, a high school boy named Toori rallies his friends (including a cute lesbian couple, seen above) to help him save the girl he loves from...I don't want to explain it all again.
Here are my two early impressions and my write-up on it in my Anime of Interest to Yuri Fans in 2011 list- and here's my final review.

Mahou Shoujo Lyrical Nanoha (13 episode first season + 13 episode second season + 26 episode third season):
Starts out as a straight-up (and unfortunately, boring) magical girl fantasy, but between the cloning and the Time and Space Administration Bureau, it becomes more of a sci-fi/fantasy hybrid.  Once you get past...well, most of the first season, it really is worth watching.
Reviews here, here and here.

Mai-Otome (26 episodes + one 4 episode OVA + one 3 episode OVA):
Another title I haven't watched since high school. Mai-Otome, you are not, really, a very good series, but I had a lot of fun watching you, and you drove me to collect a million GB of slash fan art. This spin-off of Mai-Hime takes place in a future Earth, in which the military might of nations depends on women who gain super-abilities from nanomachines they choose to be implanted with. There are several yuri characters and multiple pairings.

Mouretsu Pirates (airing now):
Went a little overboard with the screencaps. ^_^; So, Marika is now captain of the the Bentenmaru. The story is still awesome and there was some nice Marika x Chiaki subtext in the most recent episode. (Still looking forward to seeing Lynn and Jenny as a canon couple later also.) If you aren't watching this series, you really should give it a shot.
Earlier impressions here and here.

Project ICE OVA (3 episodes):
Tried one terrible episode in high school. I remember the plot being something about a post-apocalyptic future in which all men have been wiped out.

Re: Cutey Honey OVA (3 episodes):
Android meets police chief in a cracktastic, Gainax-animated version of Tokyo. I love this OVA. It's my favorite part of the Cutey Honey franchise. Technically, just about every installment in the Cutey Honey franchise could go on this list, but I'll just list this OVA since it's the most yurilicious one. Here's my review of the original Cutey Honey manga, which is definitely worth reading.

Senhime Zesshou Symphogear (airing now):
Three of the four leads sing to transform into super-powered battle armor that they use to kill aliens called Noise. Two of the leads and one of the villains are confirmed yuri characters, but none of them are interested in each other. This show hasn't impressed me, but there's half a season left. We'll see what happens.
Earlier impressions here and here.

Simoun:
In the world of Simoun, everyone is born female. Some countries use surgery to allow people to become male if they choose, but in the country of Simulacrum, each person can choose their gender at a sacred spring. Simulacrum is at war with Argentum, a nation that want the technology Simulacrum uses to propel its flying vessels known as Simoun. The Simoun are piloted by priestesses called Sybillae, who can't choose a gender without being disqualified from being Sybillae. Of course, several couples form, and the lead couple is a yuri one through the end.
An excellent series.

Stellvia:
I still haven't watched this. I've hear that it's good, and have had it on my to watch list for a long time. It's a space opera with a likeable-sounding lesbian side couple. (Update: Hmm, doesn't sound like there's all that much yuri, even from that one couple. I shall adjust my expectations accordingly when I watch the series.)

The Third:
In the distant future, 80% of the Earth's population has been wiped out. A group of beings known as the Third (because of the red third eye on their forehead, which they use to communicate with each other) monitor the humans to "protect" them from using too much technology. (Any human caught using forbidden technology is killed.) Honoka is a human who was born with a blue third eye. It grants her special abilities, although not the same ones used by the Third. She travels around in a tank doing odd jobs for different people. A supporting female character has a crush on her. Thanks to P.S. for pointing this series out!

To Aru Kagaku no Railgun (26 episodes + 1 OVA episode):
In Academy City, which is technologically 30 years ahead of the rest of Japan, the government develops the abilities of children and teenagers who are psychic. A series with this concept could easily be A) trite or B) creepy and Orwellian, but it's mostly a fun romp with a group of friends who solve different incidents involving rogue pychics. One of the major characters is a yuri character, who has a crush on the lead.
Here's my final review.

Yokohama Kaidashi Kikou (two 2 episode OVAs):
In a post-apocalyptic world, as the human population dwindles down while peacefully living in the twilight of its era, an android named Alpha runs a cafe while waiting for the cafe's owner to return. In the second set of OVAs, Alpha goes on a trip to explore the world beyond what she's seen. Another android, Kokone, is in love with Alpha.
If you have the chance at all, try Yokohama Kaidashi Kikou. Here's my review.

In manga:

Battle Athletes Daiundokai (4 volumes):
I haven't read the Battle Athletes manga yet, but it sounds awesome. It only covers the Cosmo Beauty competition (what the OVA covers) and pairs Akari and Kris more overtly (and focuses on them more) than either the OVA or the TV series do. As in the TV series, Akari and Kris kiss after Akari wins the Cosmo Beauty title, but Kris doesn't say that she did it because of something or other having to do with her religion. (I call BS on that explanation anyway. Almost from the moment they met, Kris was all over Akari in the TV series. I like to think that she gave that excuse to calm the flustered spectators while secretly thinking, "Oh my god oh my god, I finally did iiiiit!") As in the OVA, Akari and Kris are separated after Akari wins the Cosmo Beauty title. Unlike in the OVA, Akari reunites with Kris, and then Happily-Ever-After. (It sounds like the manga pairs Lahrri and Mylandah more overtly too.) Additionally, Akari is less of a crybaby and more competent in the manga. AUGH, I want to read this series.
Update: Teaser scans from the manga!

Blue Drop (1 volume):
While the Blue Drop anime is a prequel to the invasion of the Arume, the Blue Drop manga shows the Earth after the Arume have colonized it. The Blue Drop manga is a collection of one-shots featuring a few different couples, all but one of them yuri. The anime has the luxury of more time to develop its characters and their relationships, but the manga is ultimately happier. (Overall, I like the anime more.) The closest thing the Blue Drop manga has to a lead is Yui, a half-Arume half-human lesbian who kicks ass. (I liked Mari plenty, but wish the anime had revealed what happened to her after the invasion.) I haven't read any of the other Blue Drop one-shot collections because they're supposedly horrible.

Chirality (4 volumes):
I'm embarrassed to admit that I haven't read this yet. It's one of the earliest English-language yuri manga releases. In a post-apocalyptic world in which the men have not been wiped out, a girl named Shiori and an android named Carol fall in love and save the world.

Girl's Only's "Endless Narcissus" (one-shot):
Part of a collection of one-shots that ran in Carmilla, a now-defunct lesbian magazine. "Endless Narcissus"'s lead is so...well, narcissistic, that she has a clone of herself created for sex. (She killed her former girlfriend for cheating.) The clone kills her after she sleeps with someone else. I know, wtf.

Himitsu's Shoujo's "Planet Aimer-Lis" (one-shot):
Chi-Ran's work really doesn't do it for some people, but I enjoy her yuri work. "Planet Aimer-Lis" is a cute one-shot about a girl named Yuma who meets an alien named Aimée from an all female planet called Femme. Aimée came to Terre (Earth) to find a bride (as women from Femme can only have children with women from Terre), and proposes to Yuma. Silly but fun.

Iono-sama Fanatics (two volumes):
Iono-sama doesn't have much sci-fi, but what it has at the end is noteworthy. Iono is the charismatic lesbian queen of a small country who comes to Japan to find sobame. (Sobame can mean "lady-in-waiting" or "concubine.") Iono's battle cloak counts as sci-fi, but what's really noteworthy to me (and most yuri fans) is the way two of Iono's sobame have a baby together at the end.
My review.

Kashimashi (5 volumes; 2 omnibi in print in the English release):
Same premise as the anime, but with a better ending.

Kaguyahime (27 volumes; re-printed as 14):
Before entering foster care, Akira lived in an orphanage on an island in which children were beheaded in sacrifice to Kaguyahime after turning sixteen. After Akira and some of the other orphans found out what was happening, they escaped the island. Years later, they learn that nobody who escaped the island has made it beyond their sixteenth birthday without dying violently. Akira, now fifteen, and some of the other orphans return to the island to figure out if there's anything they can do to escape that fate. Cloning plays a major role, and Akira's foster sister Mayu, who loves Akira, comes to the island as a stowaway. Pretty fascinating stuff so far.

Phryne magazine issue 1's "Salyune" (one-shot):
A cute but unremarkable one-shot about a woman who confesses her love to a woman who is on the same spaceship full of female refugees traveling from a devastated Earth to the planet they plan to settle in.

Pure Marionation (re-printed as 3 volumes; originally 2):
An android girl named Anon is allowed to attend high school. There, she falls in love with a girl named Aina. How will Aina react when Anon comes out as an android? This series starts off dull, but becomes a cute, surprisingly sincere love story by the end. I especially liked how Anon and Aina got together in the final chapter and thought it was charming that Anon's coming out is about her being an android instead of her being in love with a girl.

Rakuen le Paradis volume 3's "A Lifeform in Puberty - Vega" (one-shot):
A fun, slightly futuristic one-shot by Hayashiya Shizuru, about an alien who needs a kiss from the human girl she loves to get her full abilities back so she can fight alien monsters.

Renai Idenshii XX (1 volume so far, still running):
Another series about a post-apocalyptic world in which men have been wiped out. The twist is that the women have been divided into Adams (those who adopt a traditionally masculine role) and Eves (those who adopt a traditionally feminine role). It is forbidden for an Adam to have feelings for another Adam or for an Eve to have feelings for another Eve. Our lead, Aoi, is an Adam who falls for another Adam named Sakura. This series has some well-written characters, and I know that the point is how stupid the system that Sakura and Aoi live in is. (And by extension, how stupid patriarchy, gender discrimination and heteronormativity in general are.) But the "post-apocalyptic world composed entirely (or almost entirely) of women" scenario needs to be put to rest.
My review of volume 1.

Simoun (1 volume):
A Yuri Hime manga version of the Simoun anime (another, much worse manga version ran in Megami) that only ran long enough to promote the anime.

Stellvia (2 volumes):
It has more yuri than its anime counterpart. Thanks to A Day Without Me for letting me know about it!

To Aru Kagaku no Railgun (7 volumes, still running):
Covers the same territory as the first half of the anime, then continues beyond it. I still like the anime and plan on buying it when Funimation releases it (whenever they get around to it), but have lost interest in the manga.
Reviews here, here, here, and here.

Transistor ni Venus (7 volumes):
A female spy named Enus travels the galaxy to carry out missions, having flings and relationships with different women along the way. Basically Star Trek meets James Bond, but with a yuri spin. Strangely, what I read of this series didn't do much for me. Other people have really liked it, though.
My review of volume 1.

Twinkle Saber Nova (3 volumes so far; seems to be on hiatus):
In the distant future, a cheerful, spacey girl named Hayana attends a school that lets students form any club they want. Hayana uses super-powered battle armor to fight her school's World Domination Club. A girl who fights alongside Hayana has a crush on her.
Twinkle Saber Nova is Fujieda Miyabi's least interesting series, but it isn't bad.
Here's my review of volume 1.

Yokohama Kaidashi Kikou (re-printed as 10 volumes; originally 14):
Read this if you haven't. It's a masterpiece. The ending isn't explicitly yuri, but it is definitely yuri-friendly. As a yuri fan and a fan of good stories, I loved it. Won't spoil it, though.

Check out my guest review!

I wrote a guest review for Okazu that was posted today, about Yoshida Akimi's Sakura no Sono. It's a prime example of how "old" doesn't necessarily equal "good." (Although it isn't bad; just not something that I would reread.)

Back before I started this blog, I also wrote a guest review for Okazu on Hayashiya Shizuru's professional debut, V-Hunter. A prime example of how anything written by Hayashiya equals fun.

Manga Review: A Drunken Dream And Other Stories

Yes, this isn't yuri (or yuri-ish), but I'm a fan of good, classic shoujo stories, and there are hardly any "old school" shoujo titles officially available (and in print) for the English-speaking market. (Quick, think of as many as you can that were published in Japan before 1990- or even 2000.) I'd been looking forward to this collection ever since its release was announced.

Moto Hagio is a member of the "Magnificent 24-Year Group" (or the "Magnificent Forty-Niners", depending on which calendar you go by), a group of women who revolutionized the manga industry by pioneering the shoujo genre as we know it today. Before the Year 24 group, comics aimed at girls were, as described by translator Matt Thorn in his intro to this collection, "...a backwater in which most male artists, unable to find better work, drew either light humor strips that were cute-but-forgettable, or sappy, formulaic melodramas about some pretty, passive little girl tossed by fate from one abusive circumstance to another, until some handsome, kind young man shows up to rescue her and reunite her with her mother...."

Moto Hagio is especially well-known for her sci-fi stories like They Were 11, and she played a significant role in the early creation of yaoi. A Drunken Dream is a collection of one-shot stories by her, published from 1977 to 2008.

In the first story, "Bianca",  an elderly artist remembers the girl from her childhood who inspires her paintings.

"Girl On Porch With Puppy" is an allegorical tale about the consequences imposed on people to don't conform to society's expectations.

In "Autumn Journey", a boy visits his favorite novelist.

In "Marié, Ten Years Later", two men grieve over the woman they have both been in love with since the three of them were best friends in art college.

"A Drunken Dream" showcases Hagio's fondness for gender-bending sci-fi, with a story about two lovers who wish to escape the tragedy that they've been repeating over and over in their numerous incarnations. As a bonus, it's in full-color.

"Hanshin: Half-God" is one of the most interesting stories in this collection, about two twins conjoined at the hip, one of whom is intelligent but ugly and skeletal-looking, and the other who is incredibly pretty, but barely able to function. The intelligent one is offered the chance to be separated from her twin, although the pretty one won't survive on her own.

"Angel Mimic" is about a woman who wonders whether people could evolve to grow wings someday.

"Iguana Girl" is, arguably, the best story in this collection, about an iguana who obtains a human form after falling in love with a man, but is horrified to see that her firstborn daughter Rika looks like an iguana. (But only to the mother and Rika- other people see Rika as a pretty girl and don't understand why she deprecates her appearance.)

"The Child Who Comes Home" is about a family coming to terms with their grief for their youngest child who died in an accident.

In "The Willow Tree", one isn't really sure what the story is about until the last few pages- but it demands immediate re-reading after being finished.

This collection might sound sad and melancholic, but each story has a human core to it that prevents it from being schmaltzy or tragic for tragedy's sake. (And not all of the stories have sad endings.) These stories don't only entertain- they frequently invite reflection and at least some level of emotional recognition. The circumstances might often be strange, but Hagio's eye for human interaction keeps her characters (largely) grounded in believability- and that equals good storytelling.

The packaging is top-notch. Hardcover, extra-large, thick pages, with an introduction about the "Magnificent Forty-Niners" by Matt Thorn (which is worth getting this book for alone), and Thorn's introduction about and exentensive interview with Hagio-sensei herself. (I expected it to be good, but I was surprised at how incredibly thorough it was, and how straightforward Hagio is.)

Story: A (Must-read if you enjoy manga and want to appreciate the people who have been trailblazers its development.)
Art: Mostly B+, sometimes reaching A-
Overall: A