I had *heard* of Xenosaga, and seen the above picture (and other Shion x KOS-MOS Yuri fan art) around for years. So I thought I’d give it a try.

If you haven’t guessed it already, let me make this plain – I am not a gamer. I do not enjoy games. Sorry folks, but doing something that feels very, very *good* for 80 hours doesn’t appeal, much less pushing a button for that long. ^_^ So, it was with little interest that I started to watch the new season of anime, since it’s almost all based on, or destined to become, games.

Xenosaga is only up to Episode 8 right now, but even without Yuri goggles you can see that KOS-MOS has a deep well of feeling, or something similar, for Shion…but overall the vibe has been a little disappointing.

With all those doujinshi out there I would have expected alot more Shion KOS-MOS together time. Instead, the anime has a real plot, with a fairly complex socio-political structure and warring factions that take all my time and concentration. Irritating, isn’t it? ^_^

Seriously though, for an anime based on a game, Xenosaga is quite decent. I like the overwrought opening theme, the underlying Qabalistic symbolism and the realism of the characters, even the annoying ones – and there are many of those. We don’t even really *have* bad guys yet, just sort of threatening agencies and political conspiracies and some hints of bigger baddies to come.

But back to the important bits – Shion and KOS-MOS. Someone on the Yuricon Mailing List commented that any woman who makes a robot that looks like an attractive woman, complete with sexy outfit and garters, is immediately suspect. But, from Shion’s reactions to the little-girl Realians and her relationship with KOS-MOS, I get more of a mother-daughter vibe off them. Nonetheless, when Shion meets the “real” KOS-MOS, maybe things will change.

In the meantime, turn up the Yuri goggles and enjoy uber-hunky Valyrie KOS-MOS blasting through walls to save her Shion, which goes a long way to making this anime good Yuri fun! ^_^