Okazu Letter to Santa

December 24th, 2011

Dear Santa,

I don’t believe in you as such, but I believe in other fictitious beings, so I thought I’d write a letter to you and see how it works out. I think I’ve been a pretty good girl all year long, and deserve a few special things.

You don’t have to give me these by tomorrow, I’d be happy enough with any of them announced in 2012. So, no pressure.

Here’s what I want for 2012:

Sailor Moon Anime Re-release – What I *want* is a full reboot of the series, with a rewrite that allows Haruka and Michiru to be more overtly together, but I’ll settle for a simple US re-release. One with proper sound, and the LD extras, including the interviews with the VAs and the Christmas special. Also, the movies and two specials.  You don’t need to give me physical extras, but if a company reallllly wanted to, I can tell you what the perfect extra would be. Each season box set should come with a piece of the Eternal Moon Rod. If you buy all 5 seasons, you have the most elusive of all the wands they sold for the series. Okay, okay, I just want that for the wife, since she has all the others. I want the Outers’ henshin wands. There, I said it.


Card Captor Sakura Anime Re-release – I’ll take just the anime, you can even keep the movies. Of course whoever picks it up will feel obliged to print another set of Clow Cards, but I already have 4 sets, so don’t worry too much about it.

It’s just that this was the best voice cast after Sailor Moon and it had great CLAMP visuals and a story that was fun, and totally bent and it looked pretty. Seriously, we need it back. Remastered.


Aoi Hana Anime Licensed – Please, Santa, please, please, please give us this series in 2012! We won’t fight with our siblings and we promise to do our homework! Pretty please?

I realize that this anime is never ever going to sell half as well as most of the crap that’s produced. In fact, it can’t sell as well as crap, just because of that pesky standard curve of deviation. But for the few of us who loved and adored it, it would be really swell if we could have it on DVD. I bet we’re all willing to shell out a few bucks more, to make up the loss. If I buy the Japanese DVDs, I’m looking at about $200, so let’s call it $100 for the set. Pricey, but worth it.

Aoi Hana Manga Licensed in English – Shimura is a great story teller. I’d really like to see this story in English. For about 70 reasons. Fantagraphics is in for a long haul on Wandering Son, and given that purchase rates drop off after Volume1, I hope we’re even alive long enough to see them consider Aoi Hana.

But, there are 15 year old girls out there who need Fumi. More than they need Santa. Europe always gets the nice things and we get Queen’s Blade. So, if you don’t mind terribly…

Rose of Versailles Anything – Speaking of Europe. Anime, manga, movie (I mean the movie actually being made, forget getting it licensed)…anything. It’s gotten to the point where this is the golden ring that no one can catch, the rarest and purest of all creatures. It isn’t really, I’d just like to see us finally get it and dispel all the myths.

While we’re at it, let’s get Oniisama E, anime too. I miss Sainte-Juste smoking and taking drugs. She made it look so sexy. Oh…yeah, I guess we’ll never be seeing that then, huh?

Yuri Anime from Ichijinsha That Doesn’t Suck – Santa, if they can make a lot of money with a series of a bunch of girls doing absolutely nothing at all, surely they can find a way to make money with a series in which nothing at all happens to adult woman.

I recommend the following series for consideration: Fu~Fu and Renai Joshika. Both are suitably moe, both have some sexiness, Fu~Fu is especially suited as it has the wacky humor and ridiculous gags so beloved by the last segment of Japan that buys overpriced DVDs.

A Pony – Just seeing if you’re paying attention. I’m glad to not get the pony if I can have the other things.

I will be happy with any one of these things (other than the pony, that’s really just a McGuffin) but if 2012 brings me more than one, Santa, I promise to believe in you.

Thanks sincerely,

Erica

13 Responses

  1. Jenny says:

    I’d love to have a dubbed version of Card Captor Sakura that isn’t completely remixed and recut, the way Cardcaptors was! I hated how much of the Yuri got left on the Cardcaptors cutting room floor!

    Also, I know some people see it as sacrilegious, but I am totally a dub girl… I like concentrating on art, not subtitles!

  2. @Jenny – That’s totally sensible. Back when Card Captors was made, the company was trying something completely different than doing a decent anime dub. Now they don’t do those kinds of things anymore. Cable, Hulu and online streaming have made that kind of thinking obsolete.

    The cost of a dub is still higher than subtitles but it’s possible to do good ones now. So, I wish for a decent dub too, just for you.

  3. I wonder if I’m the only one left who remembers the Sailor Moon LD extras, including the Christmas party where Hisakwa Aya quacks like a duck and they all sing Silent Night….

  4. I love that Cutie Mark!

  5. George R. says:

    I wonder if I’m the only one left who remembers the Sailor Moon LD extras, including the Christmas party where Hisakwa Aya quacks like a duck and they all sing Silent Night….

    Wow! There is someone else who remembers those extras. They certainly had fun at that party. “Keeki wa? quack, quack” Do you remember which disk it was on? You’re tempting me to dig out my old LDs.

    And thanks for the chuckle with the Fandelusion Pony.

    Here’s hoping that Santa brings us something from the list (well, I’m not much for the pony either, but…)

    George

  6. @George R. – OMG, really you remember those? I can’t remember which volume that was at all, and my VKLL fansubs are all packed away with my VCR (just in case!) so I can’t look for it.

  7. Cryssoberyl says:

    Nozomi already granted my wish for Utena, so moving right along…in addition to Nozomi also getting Sailor Moon and Rose of Versailles, I want them to rerelease Ace wo Nerae! I dearly love that show, even though I’ve never gotten to finish it…

  8. Sariel says:

    I want Rose Of Versailes too, ;__;

    I have some of the episodes that were released in Swedish, though, on a crappily-dubbed VHS. It is the only RoV merch I have, and it is one of my treasures. They called it “Lady Oscar” over here. Oscar was awesome.

    But hey, Princess Knight got a release over here, so let’s keep hoping! Also, The Heart Of Thomas is being released. Quite a few 49-gunsou manga has been released in the latest couple of years, so let’s not give up hope!

  9. George R. says:

    Yes, Erica, I really do remember those extras, though it has been quite a while. I dug out some of my LDs and find it’s not on the disks for “S” or the movies. Now that I think about it, I think it might have been on the ones for the first season. I don’t have those as I never really got into Sailor Moon until the Outer Senshi showed up. Like you, my copy is probably off in my VHS archives somewhere (and I’m similarly disinclined to go digging that far). That does mean that this memory is pushing a decade and a half old.

    The looking I did was a wonderful excursion down memory lane, and I recommend it as a fun winter activity for anyone. Thanks for the ticket for that trip. It was a great holiday present.

    George

  10. ZeroSD says:

    Aoi Hana manga is my hope too.

    I can’t remember what the last US Yuri manga to come out was!

  11. Jenny says:

    Just thought I’d mention that I linked this entry in a comment when I filled out my Funimation 2012 survey online. Maybe if enough of us mention Yuri a/o your blog, they’ll get the idea that more people will purchase Yuri. 8)

  12. @Jenny – Wow, thanks!

  13. Jenny says:

    You do a lot of hard work for the Yuri community, and when they asked, “what would you like to see this year,” I thought, “They should read what Erica had to say about that!”

    So there you go. 8)

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