Yuri Anime: Maria-sama ga Miteru OAV 3, Suzukaze Satsusatsu

April 12th, 2007

This time, the picture and the title link will link to the Collector’s Edition. For those who might want, here is a link to OAV 3 without extras.

But, before I spend a review gushing about the third Maria-sama ga Miteru OAV, Suzukaze Satsusatsu, I want to finish some business from the second OAV.

My copy of the collector’s edition for the second OAV only just arrived yesterday (a delay that had to do with another item in the order, not the OAV itself.) I thought you might like to know what came with it. ^_^

The box for the second OAV has a plastic thin cover of Yumi and Sachiko superimposed on a red rose (The third, pictured above, has Shimako and Noriko over a white rose.) The film picture can be placed inside the box, which gives you a cute scene of Sachiko fixing Yumi’s collar in front of the statue of Maria-sama. Goodies include original art postcards by Hibiki Reine, and some rather amusing screenshot postcards from the anime. There’s white paper coasters, with both the Lillian crest and the series title. Last, but in no way least, Yumi’s red hair ribbons. ^_^ The last is plain silly, I think. I did not feel any desire to wear them while watching, but I fear that many fans probably did.

I have not yet ordered the third OAV set, since I’m waiting for something else to be available to place my order, but you can be sure that I will be doing so shortly – and I’ll report back, promise.

In the meantime, I’ve had the chance to watch the third OAV twice now…let the gushing begin! Is there be a single person in the world who does not love Sachiko after this? If you are one, I don’t want to know, really. Because she is just *so* wonderful. (The wife says that we should be able to say now, after watching this OAV, that saying you like Sachiko is like saying the sky is blue. lol) Itou Miki and Ueda Kana have really built their characters up from typical stereotypes to just about flesh-and-blood people. But really, eEvery character in this series passes my “would I have them over for lunch?” test with room to spare.

This OAV introduces first-year admirer of Yumi, Hosokawa Kanako, and covers the adventures of the Yamayurikai members as they attend the Hanadera school festival.

There are honestly so many things to like about this OAV, I don’t even know where to begin…the story is absolutely fantastic and the ending just about as ridiculous and romantic at the same time as it can possibly be.

I really liked the voice actress for Kanako. People who follow spoilers, fan art, etc, tend to think the worst of Kanako, so it was a real pleasure for me to see her portrayed at the beginning as a pretty normal person, so that her apparent sudden descent into madness strikes one as really extreme. I liked her voice a lot, as well. It’s very pleasant – when she’s not hysterical, that is. ^_^

The whole Hanadera festival was brilliant. From the extra board tacked onto the festival name (which was in the novel and something I thought was very funny) to the utter randomness of the goings on, I think the feeling of general wackiness was captured well. The look on the girls’ faces as the boys all rushed the scaffolding for the contest was pretty much perfect. (And I couldn’t help but notice that Noriko was the only one who wasn’t completely freaked. As we’d expect from our resident public school girl…)

The lynchpin scene where Yumi is mistaken for Yuuki is short but pretty scary, I thought. And the end of the story, as Sachiko throws off all social propriety and personal fear to run across a field crowded with men and straight into Yumi’s arms…seriously. Do I need to even *say* how wonderful it was? Okay then. It was wonderful. And it’ll be wonderful every time I watch it, I’m sure. When we show it at Yuricon’s 2007 “Yurisai” event, it’ll be just as wonderful as it was the first time. ^_^ If you’re not grinning just then, check your pulse. You’re dead.

Oh, and the moment when Yuuki kneels in front of Sachiko, and the guy who’d just got to the top of the tower does too, as Sachiko looks, speaks and seems so queenly…I thought that was a great touch.

I haven’t watched this yet with the seiyuu commentary, but I enjoyed that track on the first two OAVs, as they get distracted, talk about other stuff, then find themselves watching the anime, captivated, because it’s just so *good.* ^_^

Lastly – the new ending credits. Let’s just say that they up the Yuri rating a few points on their own….

Ratings:

Art – 8
Story – 8
Characters – 9
Yuri – 6
Service – 1

Overall – 9

This one is the best of the bunch so far – but wait, because Ready, Go! is *bound* to be fantastic, with more Yumi x Sachiko moments. ^_^

7 Responses

  1. farr_5792 says:

    Damn..I really can’t wait for the sub to come out. I became more excited after read your novel translation.

  2. Anonymous says:

    I would like to buy the dvd, but since I don’t speak any japanese i would like with subtitles…Will they make that in future?
    Anyway, thanks for the novels and for your work at lililicious

  3. Shirohana says:

    My copy of the Collectors Edition for Suzukaze Satsusatsu arrived last week. The towel included is really cute, especially if you know why there’s a panda on it. :3

    The audio commentary this time is my favourite so far, obviously – Toyoguchi Megumi~!
    Only one thing to complain about – too bad they cut out Sei kisama-ing Suguru. That was about my favourite scene of the novel, followed closely by the end (of course).

  4. So jealous!!! I want a panda hand towel!!!

    Megu-sama. Lol (I assume you watched the OAV 2 commentary?)

    And yes, yes, yes – that scene was totally awesome. I was really impressed by how rude she was. :-)

  5. Anonymous says:

    Oooh, can’t wait for OAV 4! In one week I’ve watched the entire series twice and I’m about to start it a third time :). And thank you so much for the translations/notes you’ve put together. It’s marvelous to be able to see the bits the anime skipped/distorted/plain-misrepresented ;).

    Yes, Sachiko is unequivocally gorgeous and is definitely my favourite character–followed very closely by Sei whose constant and exuberant presence I miss greatly. I adored the scene in OAV 2 where Sachiko is introducing herself to the Hanadera students, the light all soft and over-exposed, like she’s just too damned brilliant for the “camera” lens to adjust to, and they do the pan up her body to her face as the music really ramps up … oh my god, my heart practically stopped :). How could you not fall to your knees and worship ;).

    I must admit, however, that I’m starting to find all her weaknesses a little too … stereotypically feminine? She’s prone to hysteria, she’s afraid of men, she’s afraid of heights, she gets motion sick, she wilts in the heat … seriously, I cheered when she faced down Kanako in the greenhouse, largely because it’s the first time in a while that I’ve seen her unassailably strong and confident.

    On that note, I do wish that OAV 3 had followed the novel, where it appears that Sachiko masters her fear enough to ascend the scaffold *with* Yumi, instead of having Yumi lead her to the top.

    Anyway, I’m really looking forward to OAV 4 and a whole lot more Sachiko and Yumi :).

    Btw, is OAV 5 the end? Please tell me it isn’t so.

    Also, I’m quite taken by Touko in the anime–she seems like a perfect foil for Yumi–but I’ve gotten the impression that she’s a lot more malicious in the novels. Is this correct?

    Thanks again for your time and efforts in bringing us these reviews :).

    Vee
    helleboros@gmail.com

  6. Anonymous says:

    Finally…my world stopped around Okazu…giving me my fix of the marimites that I love. Thank you Erika for the notes and translations….I lost lots of sleep trying to catch up with it all, and it was real fun!

    Domo arigato gozaimashita!
    ~Oyabun of Phils~

  7. Anonymous says:

    As Yumi was hurrying to Sachiko,there’s this hilarious shot of the panda’s expression that looks excited in approaching Sachiko.

Leave a Reply to Anonymous