Deep breath……. Waaaaaaaaaaaaaaahhhhhhhhhh!
Many thanks to YNN Senior Kase-san Correspondent Verso S for help in obtaining a copy of the Blu-ray, which is still being sold only at theaters in Japan where the OVA is showing. Once again, the Yuri Network is pure awesome. ^_^
Despite being titled Asagao to Kase-san (あさがおと加瀬さん), the story begins after the events of the first manga volume. The story begins with Obentou to Kase-san, as Yamada and Kase-san have been dating since spring…
…my eyes widened as I realized that the entire OVA takes place after “There is a girl, she likes another girl, they like each other, the end.” I cannot impress upon you all enough what a meaningful statement that is for a Yuri Anime. This is not the same girl-meets-girl story we have seen and read over and over. It’s true that this OVA follows a well-worn path, but this time, the path has been set with beautifully animated paving stones and lined with all the flowers we’ve come to love – hydrangeas, and pansies and, of course, morning glories. And lilies. ^_^
Yamada and Kase-san have been dating for a while, but that doesn’t mean there aren’t things that need to be dealt with. Jealousy and self-esteem, sexual attraction, and possessiveness all get a moment or two in the spotlight, but in 58 minutes, the one thing that really was sidelined was fanservice. Service that existed in the manga was stripped out for this anime, which suited me just fine. It was such a pleasure and a visceral relief that we could enjoy a Yuri romance with the all the truly sexy and appealing things about love and attraction, without any of the tiresome visual cues that sad people replace for love and attraction. There were kisses, and when Kase-san kisses Yamada’s wrist, I was like, now this was written by someone who has actually had a relationship.
Again, I ask you to consider the choices made here – this was a Yuri romance anime not made for the lowest common denominator. Not one scene, not one decision was a shrugging consideration that we have to rely on the creepy, the sexually immature, the dysfunctional or unimaginative viewer for success. While the Kase-san series is itself a nice, sweet and realistic young love story, this OVA is a masterwork of polite middle fingers to people who can’t watch Yuri without needing sloppy kisses, and unhappy faces.
Voice acting was, as it has been, top-notch. Takahashi Minami as Yamada and Sakura Ayane as Kase-san were excellent and their version of the ED was adorable.
It feels redundant, but let me also note that the animation was delightful and gorgeous and amusing in turn. This series has no grand sweeping epic moments, but every scene was lovingly handled by people who cared, and it shows.
The Kase-san series has done some amazing things – it didn’t die after the magazine it ran in folded, it got a theatrical release for the OVA, (making it a OTA, I guess,) it found a new magazine home, it’s *still* in some theaters in Japan and it has a JP Blu-Ray with English subtitles. The story has been cute since the first chapter, but the business acumen and hard work behind it on the part of Takashima Hiromi-sensei, the folks at Shinsokan Pubishing and Pony Canyon leave me breathless. This is case study quality. This is an outstanding work on every level, including all the ones we never see, like directing and editing.
When the DVD becomes available from Japan through regular sales routes, I will provide a link, I promise. And if you were one of the fortunate to see this at AnimeExpo last week, let us know what you think in the comments. In the meantime, 2018 has 5 months left in which to beat this for the number 1 slot on the top 10 list. I await the competition with baited breath.
Ratings:
Art – 10
Story – 10
Character – 10
Service – 1 on principal only (Although I could make a case for that wrist kiss being service for a different group)
Yuri – 10
Overall – 10
It was…perfect. Just perfect. Thank you to everyone who worked on it.
I’m told that the premier at AnimeExpo included a video of staff talking about their efforts in getting this OVA made. And I’ve seen all the videos of the voice cast talking about the series. And I really appreciate the efforts of Pony Canyon staff and the support and belief in this series showed by Shinsokan Publishing. But when I think of Kase-san, I think of Takshima-sensei and her assistants grinding away in her room, never giving up on this series and keeping it going no matter what. She deserves every success she receives.
I hope I can still see it in theater while I’m in Tokyo this September. But if not, I will be on a mission to find that BluRay.
I’m pretty sure it’ll be out of the theaters by end of this month. Hopefully it’ll be on sale by then, but realistically if it’s not out at the very moment you are there, it’ll be easier to order online.
I keep throwing bills at the screen, but nothing keeps happening.
Hee.
I thought this series was just ok at first, but Erica’s championing of it has made me enjoy it more and more to the point where I am now frigging *pumped* to see this! Decisions to excise the service and to start after volume 1 are both blowing my mind, also.
This pretty much echoes my belief as well. In 2012 or so, at MangaNEXT, I had th amazingly good fortune to speak with an editor from Shinsokan and proselytize their Pure Yuri Anthology Hirari magazine which had just folded, as well as explain why this series had, IMHO, great potential. I remember asking that they find a way to keep this series going. Clearly, I was not alone in this. I am so thankful to everyone who has not given up on the series. The story isn’t world-changing, but everything we’re seeing being done with the story is.
I was lucky enough to see the overseas premier screening at Anime Expo last week), and it was everything I hoped for. The room was full of people meeting Kase & Yamada for the first time, and the reaction was so positive. One uncomfortable thing though was that many people in the Q&A after kept bringing up that it was an “LGBT story” and asking the director about LGBT topics, not understanding that the overlap of yuri and content actually about queer women is a complicated issue. The staff and cast have said many times essentially that this is a universal story, not a lesbian story, and unfortunately a Q&A involving an interpreter is not the time for that conversation.
On a somewhat related note, in the DaVinci issue with the yuri spotlight from earlier this year, Takashima-sensei said (paraphrased), “Didn’t we all have a senpai who was so cool we had a crush on her even though she wasn’t a boy?” Hmm… did we *all*? 😂
The laughing face seems to have traveled from the end of my post to the middle of a sentence!
I see it at the end.
Thank you for letting us know! ^_^
Yeah, well, Anime Expo is traditionally the con where queer fandom confuse Japanese creators, from back in the 1990s, when fans obsessed about Haruka and Michiru and Takeuchi-sensei wasn’t really prepared for it. ^_^;