Manga Review: Aoi Hana volume 8

I haven't followed any series' run as long as I've followed Aoi Hana's and I never tired of it, so reviewing this final volume feels a little bittersweet. Some may remember that I hyperventilated on Twitter after I read the news that it would wrap up soon, because I wanted to follow Fumi longer and the situation between her and Akira was very unresolved at the time. I wanted to believe in Shimura Takako's writing, but feared the story might not resolve satisfactorily. I am happy with how this series ended, though.

All of the non-Fumi and Akira couples we know happily remain together. Akira's brother Shinobu and Mogii are still dating, Kyouko and Kou get married, and Orie and Hinako, already married (if not legally), get one of the best, most wonderful scenes in this book, continuing the uptick in yuri manga promoting marriage equality in recent years. Also, I will never complain about seeing a couple I like in wedding dresses.

Earlier in the book, Hinako deals with a student who spreads rumors about Hinako's sexual orientation after Hinako gently rejects her. Thankfully, the rumors ultimately don't do any harm to Hinako's career- perhaps because the rumor-monger is from the student newspaper, which has a bit of a trashy tabloid reputation.

We see Sugimoto again when Akira and Kyouko go on their senior class trip to London. Sugimoto has better realized how shitty her behavior was when she dated and broke up with Fumi, causing her to apologize to Akira. Akira uneasily wonders if her dating Fumi is similar to what Sugimoto did. I don't think so because she is more honest with Fumi than Sugimoto was and has Fumi's interests in mind.

Akira and Fumi's doubts culminate in their breaking up, which I kind of expected when I read volume 7 (reviewed here), although I wasn't sure whether it would last or be a catalyst for figuring things out (especially on Akira's side) and realizing they are both in love and getting together for good.

Since I said I would be happy with Fumi winding up with another girl given enough development of their relationship or her winding up with Akira and I am happy with this volume, it's pointless for me to try to be vague about how things end for Fumi and Akira. ^^;

My sweetie commented that she is glad Fumi and Akira broke up before getting back together because it was good for them to figure themselves out more (again, especially Akira) before trying to build a lasting relationship, and I agree. (Btw if you're looking for a story with a similar theme- two people who get together after it didn't work out because one of them needed to do some growing, you might like Torino Shino's Ohana Holoholo.)

We end this series with Fumi and Akira as young adults, happy together, looking forward to seeing where things go. Two pages in this book (a.k.a. the rose petal pages) indicate that their relationship will turn out to be lasting love.

I would gladly follow more of Fumi's life, but I am happy with where this final volume leaves her.

Story: A

Art: A

Overall: A

This volume doesn't contain any bonus stories, but there is an afterword in which Shimura Takako continues her penchant for interacting with her characters with an amusing take on Fumi and Akira. My copy, which I picked up at Kinokuniya, also came with the cute Aoi Hana x Hourou Musuko crossover you see below. I assume the final volume of Hourou Musuko has the other half.

BGM: "Sakura Nagashi" - Utada Hikaru

Manga Review: Aoi Hana volume 7

Ow, my heart. Ow ow ow, this volume.

A new school year begins, as Fumi, Akira, Kyouko, Mogii, Pon-chan and Yassan enter their senior year and Haruka and Ryouko become second-years.

Orie and Hinako get married, as Orie's little sister Haruka notes. ^_^ Orie comes out to her family, but her parents aren't exactly thrilled. Haruka is still ambivalent about her sister being gay, but towards the end of this volume, we get a lovely, subtle bit of development showing that, when it comes down to it, her big sister is the same big sister she has always loved and she knows it.

Kyouko and Kou fulfill the pattern for childhood friends in this series and become a couple, but not without obstacle- the baggage resulting from Kyouko's family situation. We get the full story on Kyouko's family here, after having only seen hints of it in previous volumes. Shimura handles the issues unique to Kyouko's back story as realistically and sensitively as she has handled everything else in this series- most poignantly, when Kyouko discusses her situation with her mother with Ryouko and admits she'd never spoken to anyone about her family before. 

I've said so elsewhere that I don't envy Shimura writing her characters from the point they've brought her to in this volume. Fumi and Akira both love each other deeply, but while the nature of Fumi's feelings is as clear as day for her, Akira isn't so sure about her own. Akira is being incredibly (arguably overly) accommodating in trying to make things work, while Fumi worries about how much Akira actually wants what she says she does. 

The best thing for Akira to do, imo, is be completely honest about how she feels and let things go from there- but I understand her hesitation up to this point. Responding to someone whose feelings you don't return can be hard, and the person in love with her- who she wants to make things as painless for as possible- is her best friend, so I very much sympathize with her actions, even though they aren't what's best for her or for Fumi.

Most people have their hearts broken. Most people experience unrequited love and failed relationships. Such experiences may make one feel like one's heart is slowly being fed through a meat grinder, but most people learn to pick themselves up and recover. (I know, easier said than done. See: Kyouko's mother.)

I like that this volume affirms that Fumi can and will recover if things don't work out with Akira, however much it may hurt. Fumi isn't who she was when she first met Akira, right after Chizu dumped her, or who she was after Sugimoto broke up with her.

The way Akira is being written so far, either outcome could be written believably. I would like to see things work out between them, because Fumi loves Akira so much and it would certainly take her longer to recover from her than from Sugimoto and Chizu. Not just because she loves Akira more than she loved Sugimoto or Chizu, but because Akira was her best friend before becoming her girlfriend. Hell, Akira was her pillar of support when she recovered from her experiences with Chizu and Sugimoto.

If I had to bet, I would wager that they will ultimately wind up together, although there may be a break-up and/or other rocky patches along the way. The "a girl-meets-girl love story that will set your heart aflutter" tagline that comes with each new chapter of this series certainly helps. But most of all, Fumi and Akira's relationship has been developed for so long that I would be surprised if Shimura had another girl in the cards for Fumi. 

If I'm wrong (I very well could be; there are astute people who disagree with me), Fumi winding up with another girl could work, if it's developed well enough. But right now, I'm rooting for Fumi to end up with Akira.

In short- I trust Shimura to continue to handle both Fumi and Akira's development with sensitivity and realism, and trust her to give Fumi an (organically) happy ending, whether it's Akira who winds up loving Fumi back as much as she deserves or not.

Story: A

Art: A-

Overall: A

This volume's bonus short, "Kawakubo-san's Loves", gives us insight into one of the Fujigaya students who has graduated- and her feelings for different girls and women, ever since her first crush on her pretty kindergarten teacher. It reinforces this volume's theme of learning to recover after heartbreak- multiple times, if need be- in order to find love.

Legally Streaming Yuri and Yuri-ish Anime Series (Updated)

Color me shocked. (Really; I'm not being sarcastic.) Oniisama E has been licensed for streaming. It's viewable everywhere except Italy and Japan. Now you can watch this dark classic, which I consider the earliest yuri anime series, legally and with good video quality instead of the unfortunate graininess of the fansub.

This bit of news put me in the mood to list every series containing (what I consider) canon yuri that's streaming legally in English. "Canon yuri" runs the gamut from something focusing squarely on yuri, like Sasameki Koto, to a series in which the only canon yuri is a one-sided crush from a side character, as with Noir's Chloe or Gokujou Seitokai's Kaori. Thankfully, the one-sided crush shows tend to have some nice subtext also. I'm not looking up the region restrictions for all of these shows. I'm sorry if you're blocked from watching something and agree that region restrictions are stupid. If I've missed a show, feel free to let me know!

Enjoy!


2x2=Shinobuden (Ninja Nonsense) episodes 1 and 2 on YouTube

Air Master on Crunchyroll and Funimation 

Blue Drop on The Anime Network, YouTube, and Crunchyroll.

CANAAN on The Anime Network and YouTube 

El Cazador de la Bruja on Funimation

Gokujou Seitokai (Best Student Council) on Crunchyroll

Hidamari Sketch season 1, season 2 and season 3 <- The first two episodes of each season are available for free. The rest are only available to people who subscribe to The Anime Network.

Hourou Musuko (Wandering Son) on Crunchyroll

Ikkitousen seasons 1 and 2 on Crunchyroll

Jormungand on Funimation

Kanamemo on Crunchyroll

Kannazuki no Miko (Destiny of the Shrine Maiden) on The Anime Network

Kiddy Grade on Funimation <- Dubbed only. I still haven't watched this show, but I'm told there's some canon yuri. 

Koihime Musou, Shin Koihime Musou and Shin Koihime Musou: Otome Tairan on Crunchyroll

Kyoshiro to Towa no Sora (Shattered Angels) on Funimation <- Dubbed only.

Kyoukai Senjou no Horizon (Horizon in the Middle of Nowhere) seasons 1 & 2 on Crunchyroll

Noir on Funimation

Maria-sama ga Miteru (Maria Watches Over Us) season 1, episodes 1 through 9 on YouTube

Morita-san ha Mukuchi on Crunchyroll

Mouretsu Pirates (Bodacious Space Pirates) on Crunchyroll <- If this series is faithful enough to the novels it's adapting, there should eventually be a canon couple. Update: Couple confirmed!

Oniisama E (Dear Brother) on ViKi and Hulu

Psycho-Pass on Funimation and Hulu

Puella Magi Madoka Magica on Crunchyroll

Queen's Blade seasons 1 and 2 on Crunchyroll

Revolutionary Girl Utena episodes 1 and 2 on YouTube

Rose of Versailles on Viki (5 more episodes will be added each week.)

Saki on Crunchyroll

Saki Achiga-hen Episode of Side A on Crunchyroll

Sasameki Koto on Crunchyroll

Sengoku Otome: Momoiro Paradox (Battle Girls: Time Paradox) on Crunchyroll 

Senki Zesshou Symphogear on Funimation 

Taisho Yakyuu Musume (Taisho Baseball Girls) on The Anime Network <- The first two episodes are available for free. The rest are only available to subscribers. 

To Aru Kagaku no Railgun (A Certain Scientific Railgun) on YouTube and Hulu

YuruYuri seasons 1 & 2 on Crunchyroll


And here are some subtext-only shows that are popular now:

Removed Black Rock Shooter from this listing because Funimation removed its stream of it.

Last Exile: Fam no Ginkyoku (Last Exile: Fam the Silver Wing) on Funimation and Hulu

Rinne no Lagrange (Lagrange: The Flower of Rin-ne) on Viz and Hulu

You know that you watch and read too much yuri if you...

• hear "anise" and think of the lesbian magazine, not the plant.

 

• try to recreate the teas blended at the Amber Teahouse. (Even black seaweed and strawberry cream.) Bonus points if you make scones and tea for you and your girlfriend right before accepting her marriage proposal.
•  compare you and your significant other to a teapot and tea cozy.

 

• read every single literary work you haven't read that Shimura Takako references.
• schedule a trip to a city or town around the sights referenced in a series you love. (Like, say, Aoi Hana and Kamakura.)

 

• try every music artist name-dropped by Yamaji Ebine.

 

• get beauty tips from Girl Friends.
• visit Mister Donut because Akko is obsessed with it.
• drink Kahlúa milk because it's Mari and Akko's alcoholic beverage of choice.

 

• order a grasshopper every time you get drinks with someone you like.

 

• seduce someone by inviting them to eat mapo tofu.

• convinced some older guy to let you treat him like a surrogate brother and send him letters about how much high school sucks before you entered your freshman year. Poor bastard.

• sing the Amigo Tacos song every time you have a taco.

 

• are enraged by the lack of lesbians in the Romance of the Three Kingdoms.
• are similarly disappointed by the Pillow Book. 

• take it as a challenge if someone offers to befriend you.
• name your daughter Vivio.

• decide that even though you're not a ten year old girl, no one will be creeped out if you convince the person you like to cosplay dresses you made while you gleefully film them with a video camera.

 

• watch Battle Athletes to get in the mood to exercise.

 

• are still willing to try whichever new title Kaishaku produces that's tenuously connected to Kannazuki no Miko. (Kaishaku have turned themselves into the herpes of the yuri genre. They won't ever quite go away.)

• are a man who acts fanboyish over real women- not fictional characters, but flesh and blood people in front of you- who you perceive as a couple. If this applies to you, know that no real lesbian will ever like you and you aren't as progressive as you think you are.

 

• refer to butchy women as "princes" or "princely."

 

• get all of the references in Strawberry Panic!

• substitute Lonely Planet (or your travel guide of choice) with Rica'tte Kanji!? and Honey & Honey when you visit Shinjuku Ni-Choume.

 

•  when listening to a completely unrelated band (say... The Chieftains) you begin imagining what an AMV of the music would look like, results naturally involve yuri anime. (Contributed by Steven.)

• say "Gokigenyo" when greeting someone, even if they don't understand you.
• buy an orange lipstick that reminds you of sunset.
• check almost every day if there are new yuri releases.
• have read "Wuthering Heights" right after Aoi Hana and not because of some boring vampire book.
• if a significant part of the music you've got is from yuri anime. (This one + the above four are contributed by Gata de los canales.)

 

• ....See white lillies as more than just a symbol of death. (Contributed by P.S.)

Have any more suggestions? Share them in the comments, and I shall add them. :-)

Yuri Manga Highlights of 2011

As with my anime list, I decided to list the titles in this post alphabetically (well, alphabetically within each category) rather than worry about ranking them.

Top 5 Finished Series: 

Ameiro Kouchakan Kandan by Fujieda Miyabi (2 volumes + drama CDs):
A Happily-Ever-After ending to a very sweet, very gay series. (The Amber Teahouse is simply awash with women of the yuri persuasion.) May we continue to see Sarasa and Seriho cameo in many more Fujieda series.

Even though this isn't manga-relevant, I'd like to mention again that I really appreciate Fujieda for writing a new story for every single drama CD based on his works. Excluding the Marimite drama CDs, my face falls a little every time I find that a drama CD I've gotten re-enacts an already existing story.

Blue Friend season 1 by Eban Fumi (2 volumes):
This story incorporates some of the less positive tropes of yuri but, in a way, transcends them. Blue Friend's themes about overcoming the past and the fear of opening up about the bad experiences in one's life to someone whose opinion one deeply cares about were poignant and well-integrated with the yuri between its two leads.

Nobara no Mori no Otome-tachi season 1 by Shirasawa Marimo (2 volumes):
This story is a love letter to many of the fun tropes of yuri, made for a shoujo audience with nods to the older folks who know what series Nobara owes its heritage to. Even though I know that "yuri" isn't synonymous with "lesbian," etc, etc, I love that something like this (or Blue Friend, Sailor Moon, Cardcaptor Sakura, etc) can come out in Japan without the homophobes collectively getting their panties in a twist over "protecting" children from being exposed to the idea of same-sex relationships.

Octave by Akiyama Haru (6 volumes):
We loved it, we hated it, we loved to hate it. But really, we mostly loved it. I would have loved to see Yukino come out to her family (she seemed like she was just about to before this series ended), but the ending to this series was still great, and we know that Yukino and Setsuko will be happy. As not only a yuri series, but a series about growing up and sorting out one's life as a young adult, Octave was excellent.

Renai Joshika by Morishima Akiko (2 volumes):
Morishima Akiko knows how to hit all of the right buttons. She loves writing about cute, lovey-dovey adult couples, and I love her for it. Arisu was a hoot to follow, and I'm glad she got a Happily-Ever-After with the girl she wanted. (Among the other cute couples this series has covered.) I also love Renai Joshika for making same-sex marriage a prominent point of discussion.

Honorable Mention: 

Sweet Little Devil by Nanzaki Iku (1 volume):
My most "subjective" inclusion in this post. This was a highlight for me because it's the first time I've bought a tankoubon by someone whose doujinshi I have liked for years. For a very particular niche of the yuri fandom, this book's publication was a huge "OMG!" moment.

Top 5 Series That Have Been Collected Into Tankoubon This Past Year But Are Still Ongoing:

Aoi Hana by Shimura Takako (6 volumes so far):
For Fumi coming out as a lesbian to her straight friends- showing how much she has grown since she first came out- and Orie and Hinako getting married and coming out to Orie's family. I still love this series to pieces.

Fu~fu by Minamoto Hisanari (1 volume so far):
For being an sweet look at domestic bliss, starring Suu and her wife Kina. (Plus Komugi and Hayase, the lesbian couple next door, and Kina's sister Kana, the lesbian Don Juan who finally meets her match.) Watching Kina and Suu just makes me happy, the other characters are fun, and I love Minamoto Hisanari for making a case for two women to be able to use the term "wife" for each other.

Gunjo by Nakamura Ching (2 volumes so far):
Speaking of transcending negative tropes...but in this case, tropes that are ascribed to queer women across different media rather than simply yuri. Gunjo is a challenging read (in more than one sense), and that's refreshing when- as in this case- it's done well. I cried for the character who died in volume 2, and I'm on pins and needles waiting to see how things end for Gunjo's nameless lesbian protagonist and the woman she threw everything away for.

Omoi no Kakera by Takemiya Jin (1 volume so far):
Out of all of the titles I've read for the first time this year, Omoi no Kakera easily has my favorite protagonist. Mika is a loveable, intelligent, refreshingly self-aware lesbian, and I'm looking forward to seeing more of her life. 

Sasameki Koto by Ikeda Takashi (8 volumes so far):
Sasameki Koto occupies a gray space between this category and the first category because it has ended but its final tankoubon hasn't been published yet. For its loveable characters and depiction of what it's like to be a gay teen in a way that rings true again and again, Sasameki Koto always deserves a spot on this list. I'm really looking forward to getting that final volume.

Series That Haven't Been Published As Tankoubon Yet:

Collectors by Nishi UKO:
Collectors is about Shinobu and Takako, two women who are complete nerds for very different things. Shinobu loves books and Takako loves fashion. They love each other despite, and to some extent because of their different passions. (Someone who isn't passionate about anything wouldn't make someone who is happy, imho.) I love the premise and look forward to seeing it in tankoubon form.

Kuchibiru Tameiki Sakurairo by Morinaga Milk:
The return of Morinaga Milk's first (and arguably most) popular couple! And it addresses an issue that Girl Friends, realistic though it was, tiptoed around- coming out! (Four for you, Morinaga Milk! You go, Morinaga Milk!) The announcement of Nana and Hitomi's return was the best yuri news of 2011.

Must-Read Manga of Yuri Interest Published in English:

Cardcaptor Sakura omnibus 2 by CLAMP:
For continuing to re-introduce Tomoyo, one of yuri's most iconic classic characters.

A couple of yuri shorts by Shimura Takako: Dounika Naru Hibi volume 2

Dounika Naru Hibi is a two volume collection of one-shots focusing on relationships. Most of the stories are het, but there's also some yaoi in volume 1 and, in two chapters of volume 2, yuri.

In chapter 5, a woman named "Ecchan" attends the wedding of Yuri, the woman she dated in high school. She slips out of the reception to cry and runs into Aya, who loved Yuri in college. They hook up and start dating, and realize that even though Yuri was a jerk to both of them, it's a good thing they met her because they wouldn't know each other otherwise.

Chapter 9 is about a woman named Shino who is in love with her roommate Tamiko. Tamiko catches Shino trying to kiss her when she's asleep, and sleeps with Shino. Shino thinks that it's too good to be true- a whim that Tamiko will regret or change her mind about- so she moves out. Tamiko shows up at Shino's new place and convinces Shino to let her move in.

Shimura Takako is at her best in her longer stories, but her Dounika Naru Hibi one-shots are still great. (Most of them, at least.) I like their general focus on adults and their refreshingly mature, matter-of-fact approach to sexuality. The yuri chapters also make some nods to yuri conventions that make them feel, like Moonlight Flowers and Morishima Akiko's one-shot "Princess of the Stars" in Ruri-iro no Yume, like sequels to the girls' school stories that yuri is most famous for. Ecchan, Shino, and Yuri all attended girls' schools and Yuri was the classic mega-popular girls' school "Prince."

The themes in Dounika Naru Hibi's yuri chapters provide an interesting compliment to some of the themes Shimura has been exploring in in Aoi Hana (besides the love-at-a-girls'-school motif, you have: what it's like to recover from a love that went down in flames, and not being sure if your feelings and the feelings of the person you're in love with are on the same level), but they're great on their own as glimpses of idealistic relationship drama between realistic adults.

Story: B+
Art: A-
Overall: A-

More Shimura Takako Goodness: the Hourou Musuko anime

This series was a joy to watch... and re-watch. Even though I was initially surprised by its not opening with the beginning of the Hourou Musuko manga's storyline, I think that change was a good move. Like the Aoi Hana anime, the Hourou Musuko anime feels like it was made by people who really respect the source material they're adapting, and that's all that any fan could hope for.

Nitori Shuuichi and Takatsuki Yoshino (who became close friends after each found out that the other is transgender) are entering their first year of middle school with their friendship on the rocks because of a love triangle involving their friend Chiba Saori (the first person who recognized that Nitori prefers girls' clothing). Chiba likes Nitori who likes Takatsuki who doesn't like anyone.

Nitori and Takatsuki quickly repair their friendship, and Nitori gets over Takatsuki and starts dating a model named Anna. While Nitori's preference for girls' clothes doesn't bother Anna, it evokes hostility from Nitori's older sister Maho, the only member of Nitori's family who knows. Thankfully, Maho's bark is worse than her bite. She's much more supportive than she likes to think she is. Conversely, Anna breaks up with Nitori after Nitori shows that she really wants to live life as a girl (as opposed to being a boy who dresses in girls' clothes as a hobby he'll eventually tire of) by going to school one day in the girls' uniform.

Predictably, even though no one kicked up a fuss about Takatsuki and the flamboyantly eccentric Chizuru wearing the boys' uniform to school previously, Nitori couldn't reach the school gate without being sent to the principal's office- and then sent home. Nitori's mom doesn't freak out as badly as she might have (Yuki, the transsexual woman who acts as a friend and role model for Nitori and Takatsuki, got disowned by her family), but Nitori's dad deserves the Parent of the Year award for his reaction.

The biggest theme in this show is coming of age, as Nitori and Takatsuki have to deal with (and becoming more capable of dealing with) their bodies changing in ways that they really don't want for obvious reasons. Ironically, Chiba becomes closer to Takatsuki than Nitori because her still-unrequited feelings (compounding her general awkwardness in dealing with people) make it harder for her to comfortably interact with Nitori. By the end, Nitori, Takatsuki, and Chiba are friends as a group again, and the bullying reaction to Nitori wearing girls' clothes to school dies down. (I'm really glad that the bullying Nitori goes through isn't as bad as it would be in real life, although I'm also glad this series acknowledges that worse can happen via Yuki's school background.)

So yeah, great series. Great character interaction and development, freaking gorgeous art, and perfectly cast seiyuu. I thought it was a nice touch that Hatakeyama Kousuke, the seiyuu who plays Nitori, was more or less the same age as Nitori when the series was made. And regarding how yuri-relevant this series is...

This is the hardest part of writing this review- not helped by the fact that there's no way not to directly address it on this blog and my chronic over-thinking of things. Nitori = girl. Nitori likes girls, e.g. Anna. I would say that Nitori's bisexual, since the idea of liking Takatsuki as a boy didn't put a damper on her feelings for him at all. (Being rejected did.) Anna might be also. I will be shocked if she and Nitori don't wind up together in the manga, considering how long she has been set up as The Love Interest. At one point in the manga Nitori even brings Anna to Yuki and her boyfriend Shi-chan's apartment, which feels a lot like a Meet the Parents visit. (Despite my speculation above, whatever they are- bi, gay, straight, queer, pan, unlabeled, etc- doesn't affect my opinion that they're cute together.) She basically dumped Nitori at the end of the anime for being too much of a girl, but later in the manga, she seems to be gradually, gradually gravitating back towards the idea of them having a relationship. At this point, I don't feel like I can label Anna's feelings "yuri" (I don't think she would either), but I can confidently do so for Nitori, just as I wouldn't label Yuki's feelings for Shi-chan "yaoi." And to be completely honest, even though Nitori is a girl and her feelings for other girls are lesbian, I do agree with the idea that as long as she's in a male body, any relationship she has with, say, Anna, isn't straight, but isn't really lesbian either; the queer label makes the most sense to me. I'm convinced that Momo has a crush on Chi-chan also, although I'm much less confident that that will work out. (Or that Momo's even aware of it.) And there you have it. Like the rest of Shimura's work featuring GSM characters, Hourou Musuko has an unambivalent "There is nothing wrong with liking whoever you like" message, which we can all agree on.

Massive over-thinking on my part as a reviewer aside... this series is poignant and brilliant and lovely and you should at least try it.

Story: A
Art: A
Overall: A

This will be my only post this weekend.

Happy National Coming Out Day!

Like last year, I've decided to make a list of 5 yuri titles that include excellent examples of coming out.

What are they this year?

Go, Fumi, go!: Aoi Hana volume 6

It's official. No protagonist can surpass Fumi in loveability.

In the aftermath of Fumi's confession to Ah-chan, Fumi, Ah-chan, Mogii, Pon-chan, and Yassan go on a trip with Haruka to her grandfather's ryoukan during summer vacation. Haruka's older sister Orie brings her girlfriend Hinako along on the trip. This works out beautifully when Fumi passes out in the ryoukan's hot spring and, after waking up with Orie and Hinako looking after her, asks Hinako for advice about her feelings for Ah-chan.

Fumi makes it clear yet again that she deeply loves Ah-chan, and Ah-chan responds as one would hope- by suggesting that she and Fumi start going out. Fumi is simultaneously happier than she's ever been and afraid because, unlike her relationship with Yasuko, she has a lot to lose if things don't work out between her and Ah-chan.

When Pon-chan, Yassan, and Fumi are in the school library one afternoon, Pon-chan asks Fumi if she's gay. Yassan can't believe she asked that and Pon-chan backtracks and apologizes, but Fumi steadily replies that yes, she is. (What a difference from when she first came out to Ah-chan.) Because Pon-chan and Yassan genuinely care for Fumi, it doesn't make a difference to them.

Fumi and Ah-chan spend Christmas together alone at Fumi's house, with Christmas cake and a bottle of champagne. In the best scene in the book, a drunk Fumi decides to lay all of her feelings bare to Ah-chan and tell her that she's afraid that Ah-chan doesn't love her in the same way she loves Ah-chan. Ah-chan clearly loves Fumi, although the nature of her love is less clear. I'm on pins and needles waiting to see how this plays out.

This volume's "Little Women" stories are especially strong. One follows a closeted teacher from Fujigaya. The other follows a student at Fujigaya who gets bullied by her school mates after they find out she's a lesbian, and comes out to the friend who gets outraged on her behalf. Like the homophobic gossip about Hinako-sensei in volume 4, these stories establish that, despite the Fujigaya student body's tittering fascination with Sugimoto and the Class S ideal of girl-girl romance, knowing women who unabashedly like women is a different story to most of them. This reinforces the fact that the people in this series live in the real world- not an Astraea Hill-like fantasy land.

Story: ❤

Art: A-

Overall: ❤❤❤A❤❤❤

While there are writers who "get it" as much as Shimura Takako, nobody surpasses her level. The people accusing her of homophobia because of the Kyouko arc that's being serialized right now can go jump off a cliff.

But yes- yay, Aoi Hana! ^____^

My opinion in this review will shock you. SHOCK YOU: Wandering Son volume 1

Shimura Takako's Wandering Son has been running for over one hundred chapters, since 2002. For people who have watched the anime first or read much farther ahead, it's going to be a little weird to read the beginning, when the core cast is smaller and still in grade school.

But whatever stage of its characters' lives it takes place at, Wandering Son is a quietly beautiful story with the makings of a modern classic.

Nitori Shuuichi, a quiet, introverted fifth-grader, is the new kid at school. Nitori makes friends with Takatsuki Yoshino, who sits in the next seat over, along with Takatsuki's cheery friend Sasa Kanako and the class loner Chiba Saori. Chiba quickly realizes that Nitori would rather wear girls' clothes than boys' clothes and acts supportive about it. She even suggests that the class play cast the boys in female roles and vice versa, to give Nitori a chance to dress in girls' clothes. Takatsuki, however, is the one who becomes closest to Nitori after they each find out that the other is transgender.

Nitori's class rehearses for their performance of Rose of Versailles (the choice suggested by their homeroom teacher, a Takarazuka fan), with Chiba playing Fersen and Takatsuki as Andre. Nitori initially gets cast as Oscar, but isn't butchy enough and switches to playing Rosalie. Nitori accidentally hurts Chiba's feelings by returning her birthday gift, an expensive dress. Chiba burns it in front of Nitori, then feels guilty about what she did and has a hard time facing Nitori for a while. Takatsuki sometimes rides the train far away to spend time in boys' clothes without being recognized, and starts to bring Nitori along. After bringing pads to school for the first time, Takatsuki also deals with the asinine "Neener, neener! So you are a girl!" reactions of a few boys. The performance of BeruBara goes off without a hitch (Shimura sure loves to have her characters participating in plays), and life seems pretty good.

I'm very happy with the treatment that Fantagraphics gave Wandering Son: a larger than normal page size, high quality paper, a hard cover, preserved color pages, an excellent translation, a pronunciation guide, and an essay on the translation. I'm interested in what else might be included in future volumes. Regardless of the extras (I'm not collecting this series for that), this is a beautifully-written, introspective coming-of-age story. None of the characters are types, and Shimura, thankfully, makes them easy to empathize with (who can't relate to having fights with friends at school and the crappiness that is early adolescence?) without feeling like she's trying too hard to make the audience like them. If I remember clearly, the next volume will prominently feature Nitori's (realistically) bratty older sister Maho, as well as Yuki, a transsexual woman who befriends Takatsuki and Nitori. (We only see Yuki briefly in this volume.)

Story: A can't-miss if you want to read a realistic coming-of-age story by an author who knows what she's doing when she writes GSM characters. A
Art: B+
Overall: A

BGM: "Oath Sign" - LiSA

Hourou Musuko / Wandering Son Episode 1

Episode 1 of Hourou Musuko surprised me. It was great, but it wasn't what I expected.

Episode 1 starts at the end of volume 4 of the manga, with our protagonists, Nitori (who was born male and wants to be a girl) and Takatsuki (born female and wants to be a boy), entering middle school. In flashbacks, we see how how their friendship fizzled out because Nitori fell in love with Takatsuki, their classmate Chiba (the first person to understand that Nitori prefers girls' clothes) fell in love with Nitori, and Takatsuki wasn't in love with anyone. (Their classmates didn't help by joking about how Nitori and Takatsuki would make a great couple.) The first episode drops us in the middle of the aftermath of these developments, and it does a good job of bringing the audience up to speed without being abstruse.

As the school year begins, we get a brief glimpse of Nitori and Takatsuki's old and new classmates. I especially hope that Chi-chan (the biggest eccentric in the class) will get a good amount of air time in future episodes. Like in the manga, she wears the boys' uniform to school when she introduces herself, sparking Takatsuki's admiration. (And a little sad irony since Takatsuki also wanted to wear the boys' uniform, but didn't do it because it means more for him.)

Since Takatsuki and Nitori aren't speaking, Takatsuki meets Yuki (a transgender woman who acts as a role model for Takatsuki and Nitori) at a restaurant and Yuki gives him a new boys' uniform, while Nitori goes shopping in a girls' uniform alone and buys a four leaf clover hair pin.

After going home, Nitori sees her older sister Maho and her friend Anna, who both model, looking at a magazine in which Anna is posing with the model Maho idolizes, Maiko-chan. After Maho and Anna leave the apartment (Anna snapping a picture of Nitori with her cell phone before exiting), Nitori tries on the dress that Maho plans to wear for her photo shoot the next day.

Of course, Maho walks in, and even though she isn't surprised, she gets pissed and forces Nitori to take the overblouse off before Nitori pushes her away and runs out of the apartment barefoot.

Nitori and Takatsuki run into each other outside and Takatuski gives Nitori his sweatshirt and finds a four leaf clover to put in Nitori's hair. This episode looks good throughout, but I still boggled a little at the cherry blossoms in this scene.

Later at dinner, Maho gives Nitori one of her fried shrimp, with the excuse that she doesn't want to gain weight before her photo shoot. Nitori's happy about finally making up with Takatsuki.

It was a great episode. The watercolor-textured art was lovely and, at times, dream-like, capturing Shimura Takako's gentle, low-key art style well, the music was suitably pleasant, and the voice acting was all very good. (Including the new talent playing Nitori and Takatsuki, Hatakeyama Kousuke and Seto Asami. Seiyuu geeks, of course, can enjoy listening to Horie Yui, Mizuki Nana, Toyosaki Aki, and Chiba Saeko in their side roles.)

While there were some surprises with this episode, I thought it was a good adaptation that captures the feel of the original story and characters. There were sweet moments and sad moments that evoked emotion without feeling manipulative, in keeping with Shimura Takako's usual brand of storytelling. Because of the changes from manga to anime (including some truncations), I'm really curious about how much ground this series will cover before it ends.

Overall: Watch it!

I'll give this series a letter grade after I finish it.

Crunchyroll is simulcasting this series each Thursday at 1:00 EST, for people in the U.S., Canada, the U.K., Ireland, the Netherlands, Sweden, Denmark, Norway, Finland, Iceland, Australia, New Zealand, Brazil, and Portugal. My condolences to anyone who the simulcast doesn't cover.