Hi all – I have returned from vacation, have seen many things, acquired the t-shirts as proof and am now once again home on my comfy sofa.

Thanks to every one who sent in news items – we have a lot of news, as you can imagine. :-)

Yuri Manga

Several people have wanted me to remind you that the Burst Angel manga is due out shortly. The manga, as you might remember from my reviews (click the Bakaretsu Tenshi Category on the righthand sidebar to find them) have more Yuri than the anime. Not scads of Yuri, but compared to the anime, a lot.

The good folks at Seven Seas have passed along a link to news about their Strawberry Line. http://www.gomanga.com/forum/viewtopic.php?t=6405&start=15. This link goes to their forums, where they run down all the titles on a book-by-book status. The Strawberry Line is not dead and as culpable as I am in the original report, I will now report that rumors of its demise were greatly exagerrated. In short – more Yuri is coming from Seven Seas – please stop *whining*. :-)

Sean wants you all to know that Kozue Amano, mangaka of Aria, is starting a new series as yet unnamed, in Comic Blade magazine. If it has as much Yuri as Aria it will have none, but that won’t stop fans from seeing it there anyway. lol

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Snatches of Yuri

bottle is very excited to mention Akiyama Haru’s Octave, ‏which is about a failed pop idol’s attempt to regain a normal life and how she falls in love with a female musician. I’ve heard nothing but good about it so far and of course will report back to you when I have it.

As good as Octave sounds, Pure Pure Lips sounds bad. lol A poor girl and the lesbian dorm owner…it might not be so bad if the cover wasn’t cringe making. The “little” girl looks like a harp seal waiting to be clubbed.

Hakodate Yuujin Buraijou Himegami 3 will be out soon, so we can see Himeka press Hyou against her extremely large breasts some more. Whee!

And lastly, Sasamekikoto, Volume 3, is also coming out soon, so we can watch two girls who are in love with one another not get together in extremely contrived, yet amusing ways.

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Live-Action Yuri

Erin reminds us all that the Live-Action movie, Love My Life based on the Yuri manga of the same name is now available from Wolfe Video. She also thought you might be interested to know that it was on the top sellers list at Wolfe, as well.

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Maria-sama ga Miteru News

Emilie wrote in to let us know that Konno Oyuki and Hibiki Reine attended the 9th Comic Exhibition 2008, in Taipei. dormcat provided a translation of an interview with them, in this thread on ANN. Johann adds a link to a Chinese translation of this interview at: http://blog.yam.com/dormcat/article/16765879.

Emilie also let us know that in the new Marimite Web Radio show, Inoue Marina and Nazuka Kaori have been announced to voice Naitou Shouko and Naitou Katsumi respectively for the radio drama of “Chocolate Portrait,” the story in which Tsutako first meets Shouko. Tsu and Shouko are an awesome pair and I recommend this highly. :-)

Last up for Marimite, here’s a press release from Right Stuf on the Second Season:

RIGHT STUF’S NOZOMI ENTERTAINMENT Announces the MARIA WATCHES OVER US – Season 2 DVD Collection: Printemps

Second TV season of Maria-sama ga Miteru scheduled for Nov. 25, 2008

GRIMES, IA, September 4, 2008 – Anime producer and distributor Right Stuf, Inc. and Nozomi Entertainment are pleased to announce the release of the MARIA WATCHES OVER US (Maria-sama ga Miteru) – Season 2 DVD Collection: Printemps on November 25, 2008.

The Season 2 DVD Collection is the second of several “season box sets” scheduled for the series’ North American DVD release.

· Each set features Japanese audio, along with English on-screen translations, and two English-language subtitle tracks: one with regular dialogue subtitles and a second, special subtitle track that retains the Japanese honorifics.

· Additionally, each set will include the “specials” – comedic shorts that depict the series’ characters in “chibi” form – for its respective season.

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“leaves you eagerly wanting more” – AnimeOnDVD at Mania.com

“Shelf Worthy” – Anime News Network’s Shelf Life
“a truly beautiful anime” – Future Anime
“A beautifully illustrated, surprisingly effective slice-of-life drama…” – Anime News Network
AnimeOnDVD.com Pick of the Week

The Maria Watches Over Us anime is based upon an ongoing series of novels – written by Oyuki Konno and illustrated by Reine Hibiki – that began in 1998 and currently spans 33 volumes. Short stories related to the series have been published in the shoujo (girls’) magazine Cobalt, and a manga adaptation is serialized in the anthology magazine Margaret. The series’ publisher, Shueisha, also produced 14 drama CDs (featuring radio-style plays).

The anime adaptation of Maria-sama ga Miteru – also referred to by fans as “MariMite” – encompasses two, 13-episode TV seasons, a 5-episode OVA (original video animation) as its third season, and a fourth season, currently in production in Japan.

The first three seasons of Maria Watches Over Us feature animation by Studio DEEN (Fruits Basket, Gravitation, Rurouni Kenshin), direction by Yukihiro Matsushita (Blue Dragon, Sugar Sugar Rune), and scripting by Reiko Yoshida (Aria, Boys Over Flowers, Story of Saiunkoku).

Visit mariasama.rightstuf.com for more information about Maria Watches Over Us (Maria-sama ga Miteru), detailed character profiles, trailers, downloads and more.

About MARIA WATCHES OVER US (Maria-sama ga Miteru) – Season 2

The spring term is beginning for the students at Lillian Girls’ Academy. Friends are reunited, but for the Yamayuri Council, it’s a bittersweet time. Yoko, Eriko and Sei are busy preparing to depart Lillian, while Sachiko, Rei and Shimako are doing their best to ensure their dear sisters receive a memorable commencement. Soon, Lillian will have new leaders in the Council offices of Rosa Chinensis, Foetida and Gigantea, along with many new faces and budding relationships. Contains the complete 13-episode second season, plus Season 2 “specials” 1-6.

MARIA WATCHES OVER US (Maria-sama ga Miteru) – Season 2 DVD Collection: Printemps (TV)
Pre-Book: 10/28/2008
Street Date: 11/25/2008
Runtime: Approximately 325 minutes, Dolby Digital Stereo, Color
Genre: Drama
Suggested Rating: 13+

Format: DVD (Japanese, 2 English Subtitle Tracks, English On-Screen Translations)
Catalog #: RSDVD0816
ISBN: 1-57032-791-2
UPC: 7-42617-0816-2-0
SRP: $49.99

Discs/Set: 4
Item Measurements: 5 3/8” X 1 7/32” X 7 5/8” (LxWxH)
Case Qty: 9

DVD Features:
Scene access; Dolby Digital 2.0 Stereo audio for Japanese dialogue; two English subtitle tracks (regular dialogue subtitles, plus a special subtitle track that includes Japanese honorifics); and English on-screen translations. PLUS: Season 2 “Specials” 1-6, liner notes and Nozomi Entertainment trailers.

* Cover Art: http://outgoing.rightstuf.com/sleeves/rsdvd0816.jpg
MARIA WATCHES OVER US (Maria-sama ga Miteru) PRINTEMPS © OYUKI KONNO / SHUEISHA • YAMAYURIKAI • TV TOKYO Licensed by d-rights Inc.

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Yuri Anime

In a maddeningly zero-information ad, I was reminded that the Ichigo Mashimaro Encore OVA is coming – but the ad had no date as of yet. Maybe we’ll have something out this fall, because the upcoming autumn TV season looks bereft of Yuri.

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That’s it for this week – thanks to everyone who sent in news items. I really couldn’t do it without you – keep ’em coming!