My copy of “My Date is a Total Ike Woman” has arrived! I don’t know when I’ll read it but the small comic that came with the book was a cute addition.
I already had plans to do a spotlight post for Natsuo Mutsumi’s previous project, Boyish x Boyish, but held off in case it made it to my mailbox before the month ended. In a fun twist of bookish fate, two new yuri projects hit my inbox. A wonderful note to end Pride on!
First! Mutsumi is planning the second installment of the butch x butch yuri manga anthology! This time, other artists outside of Japan will be contributing.
Last year on Tiktok, holyyurimother, known for their research and reporting on yuri media, brought attention to the first anthology with many other users expressing interest in Boyish². So, besides more LGBTQ+ manga, backers will be able to buy both of Mutsumi’s previous projects during the funding period that they missed out on.
The second is “Tsurugi,” a high fantasy wlw romance by indie manga artist Nerikomi Tokichiro, who was a past contributor in the first Boyish² Anthology.
Their story begins when one fateful day, Princess Reina and Isseh, her trusted royal retainer, who come into the possession of an assassin’s insignia and a list of names. To determine whether the list contains the names of future victims or conspirators, Isseh begins an investigation under the orders of her princess. But the clues she comes across turn up more questions than answers and strange incidents continue to occur around them as they try to figure out the threat before it’s too late.
I love that this story is taking place in a fantasy setting! I enjoy a nice work office or budding high school romance as much as the next person but sometimes it feels like yuri media doesn’t explore other genres as much as boys’ love does. And when it does, it’s mostly restricted to the creator’s home country and language. Some American publishers are acquiring titles but the process is slow and released a few times a year. Kickstarter and other crowdsourcing platforms give small publishers and creators themselves the chance to spread stories that wouldn’t gain immediate attention in the mainstream market.
Both projects are well on their way to being funded, further proving that an audience wants a wider range of queer stories and are willing to spend the money to make it a reality, myself included. With us being halfway through the year, I hope my reading list continues to grow with more great written works.
.chel
Reading Rites 