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Yuri Manga: Shuden Niwa Kaeshimasu (終電にはかえします)

February 14th, 2014

Amagakure Gido’s Shuden Niwa Kaeshimasu (終電にはかえします) is a collection of shorts from Pure Yuri Anthology Hirari magazine.

The first story is a lovely two-part ‘Story A.’ Asaki rides the train every day and everyday she sees a tough-looking first-year student. Boyish, with dyed hair and wearing a mask (allergies, she says, when asked) the first-year turns out to be a sincere, awkward girl with the old-fashioned name Tsune.

Tsune and Asaki become close and each comes to the unnerving conclusion that she likes the other. In the second chapter they go out on a date and find that they like each other a lot. The story takes on a bittersweet feel when they realize that Asaki will graduate soon, but they kiss anyway, trusting that the future will be bright enough for them.

“Shoujo Planetarium” is a slightly unsettling story of two girls who meet in a fantasy setting. The story kept edging towards the creepy, then veering away, leaving me with the idea that it originally was meant to be something else entirely.

A like triangle is impossibly resolved by all three people agreeing to keep their relationships as is in “Isshun no Asterism”. A ghost waits a lifetime to get the girl in “Eien no Shoujo”.

The final story is also a strong entry. A younger sister has to completely rethink her opinion of her older sister, when she falls for what turns out to be her older sister’s lover. In the end, she decides that she had it all wrong all along.

The collection has no unifying theme (with the exception of the two astronomically themed titles), but it made the book perfect for short reads before bed. Not every story is happy, but the collection as a whole left me feeling good…which is a nice feeling.

Shinsokan has moved to a smaller format than they were using previously, away from the A4 size to a more common A5 size, which makes the book smaller, lighter and more portable.  I like the tighter new look…and I note that the volumes cost a little less than they did previously (although not on the same scale as larger publishers.) Hopefully Hirari won’t be forced out of print by costs. (Readers who insist on print really have no idea how much money print costs and what pressure it puts the publisher under.)

Ratings are variable, but averages are:

Art – 8
Story –  7
Characters – 8
Yuri – 9
Service – 3

Overall – 8

An enjoyable little collection of Yuri manga shorts.





Puella Magi Madoka The Movie Anime – Parts 1 & 2 (English) Guest Review by Greg C.

February 12th, 2014

Modoka-Magica-DVD-V1Wahoo, it’s Guest Review Wednesday and today by a long-time commenter and friend of Okazu, but first-time Guest Reviewer, Greg  C.! Greg has graciously offered to review The first two Puella Magi Madoka Magica movies for us.  I would like you all to welcome Greg with your usual warm welcome. Take it away, Greg!

Puella Magi Madoka Magica The Movie – Part 1: Beginnings (also available on DVD or BD) / Part 2: Eternal (also available on DVD orBD) are the two disks in the Blu-Ray Collector’s Edition that I purchased.  Various vendors will give you different bonus materials with purchase, so shop around.  (Not bonus materials on the disks, but merchandise goodies with the movie.) Important safety tip:  the sub-titles default to “None” and the sound defaults to “Dolby Stereo” and you probably don’t want either of those choices.

“They’re dangerous at both ends and crafty in the middle.” – Sherlock Holmes.

Let’s start with picture quality.  I’m watching the Blu-Ray release on a big screen plasma TV. It gets the most amazing picture quality. If you’ve seen the series, then you know where I’m going with this. Supposedly they redid some of the animation for the movie releases. The backgrounds, especially the witch’s labyrinths, look amazing. The main character designs are STILL pencil quality moe-blobs.  *sigh*

Madoka-Magica-Vol2-Cover-DVDMadoka Magica is a Shaft production and it shows. It shows so very, very hard. The “Shaft neck-tilt” is ubiquitous throughout. It would make a great drinking game to take a shot every time a character looks over their shoulder. A great drinking game if you want to get totally blotto. The changing art style trick they love to do works because of the complexity of the story. It’s done at very appropriate times. My main gripe is that this show about magical girls is definitely a male gaze production. The over use of the “zettai ryouiki to face” pan when characters are speaking is incredibly annoying. (Not as egregious as in Rebellion, but that’s a story for another day.) Be sure to watch for the trademark “Easter eggs” as well, such as “SHAFT” written on the side of a crashing train. The movies are littered with them. At least that’s fun.

“Hush, now — spoilers!” – River Song.

Now, let me warn you THERE BE SPOILERS HERE. If you haven’t seen Madoka in any form: RUN AWAY! AVERT YOUR EYES! Abandon hope, all ye who enter here.

 

Okay, everyone still here doesn’t care about spoilers, right? Good. Here we go. My main nitpick with the movie release editing is right at the beginning: I gasped, “Wait… what happened to Madoka-chan’s opening dream sequence?” Gone. So immediately I’m upset because I know that all the foreshadowing that made re-watching the Madoka Magica TV series so awesome the second time is gone. Why is Madoka so upset in class when she sees Homura for the first time? WE DO NOT KNOW. It will have to be explained to us later, indirectly. The first episode is titled “I Met Her in a Dream… or Something” but that’s all out the window in the movie. Seriously, my favorite scene in the TV version is when Sayaka spoils the whole series in the first episode. However, after that, I’m okay with the choices they made to reduce 12 episodes into two movies. It’s mostly the school scenes that got cut. There is an overwrought Ryouko additional scene, but that is forgivable.

Plot-wise, I like to describe Puella Magi Madoka Magica as my favorite episode of Doctor Who. Homura is, of course, The Doctor. And Madoka… well… Madoka is River Song. Starting with “Silence in the Library” River and the Doctor were going different directions relative to each other. Homura and Madoka at the beginning of the movie are in different timelines. Of course, you don’t learn Homura’s secret until much later. How they ended up this way is unraveled beautifully over the two movies. And in the end Madoka has the will to do what The Doctor, and even Buffy, never did – give herself fully to the cause. And I do mean fully. Madoka went where only Lain has gone before. Gen Urobuchi, you magnificent writer!

Even with all the nit-picky things I mentioned, I still enjoyed these movies immensely. As many times as I’ve watched them, there are still tears. I’ve read the main manga, and some of the alternate story manga. I saw Rebellion twice. I haven’t bought any of the figures yet, but I’m sure I’ll crack when the Yukata Homura figure comes out. (So far I only have figures of my waifu, Saber.)

Be sure and watch until the very end after the credits. Nick Fury asks Homura to join the Avengers Initiative. I’m kidding, of course. But there is a tiny bit that is important to the next movie, Rebellion.

“That is enigmatic. That is textbook enigmatic.” – The Doctor.

Ratings:

Art – 3/9 The “moe-blob” characters are terrible but everything else is rendered beautifully.

Story – 10 It felt very well-crafted and it pushed all my buttons. I loved it.

Characters – 6 In the movies we get less depth because a lot of what is cut out are the little bits of character development that round out their personalities.

Yuri – 4 Homura loves Madoka but not that way. “Obsession” might be a better description than “love”. There is only the faintest whiff of Sayaka x Ryouko. Actually “4” is probably overstating it, but that can represent each couple getting a “2”.

Soundtrack – 10. Yuki Kajiura does her usual wonderful work. The Kalafina end themes, especially “Magia” are perfect. The ClariS opening “Luminous” is a typical bouncy anime title song.

Fanboy/otaku appeal – 1000. Seriously. At times enough to make me angry.

Erica here: Enigmatic indeed. Now I don’t know if I want to see these or not! Thanks Greg for compounding the question. And thanks for a great review!





Himawari-san Manga, Volume 4 (ひまわりさん)

February 11th, 2014

When you pick up a copy of Himawari-san, you can just…relax. There’ll be no high drama here. There’s no plot complications because there’s no plot. A volume of Himawari-san is time spent with an enjoyable book for no other reason than that it’s enjoyable. For comparison, check out the reviews of Volume 1, Volume 2 and Volume 3.

In Volume 4 of Himawari-san, we delve just slightly more into the current Himawari-san’s past, her relationship with her brother and with the previous Himawari-san. Unexpectedly, the previous owner of Himawari Shoubo, was a extroverted young lady who was singlehandedly responsible for bringing the current Himawari-san out of her shell. Even as I write that, I wonder why I supposed the previous owner would be as introverted as the current one…perhaps because when one thinks of “small book store owner” one immediately thinks of bookworms who care about books more than people.

Nonetheless, both Himawari-san’s brother and she were captivated by the previous owner, much as Matsuri is captivated by the current owner, as we are reminded several times. Matsuri’s friends are now comfortable with Matsuri’s crush and, as Christmas approaches at the end of the book, we find that both Matsui and Himawari-san are growing accustomed to it, as well.

Ratings:

Art – 9
Story – 7
Characters – 8
Yuri – 4
Service – 1

Overall  – 8

This is a series imbued with the sweet smell of old books, the sepia tones of nostalgia and bittersweet feelings of crushes long gone.  A heartwarming read for a cold winter’s day.





Shinryakumono De Manga (シンリャクモノデ)

February 9th, 2014

I discovered Takemoto Izumi first with his pin-up super spy series, Transistor Ni Venus. (For which I even wrote a fanfic, I was so charmed.) I then spent some time puzzling over his series Sakura no Kiwa, completely befuddled as to why I didn’t hate it. ^_^: Takemoto-sensei has been churning out ever so many series for a number of different publishers, but something about this series totally hit my funny bone. And so, here we are at Volume 1 of Shinryakumono De  (シンリャクモノデ).

The title can be translated as “Invaders” or “Aggressors,” but as is completely typical of Takemoto-sensei’s work, his idea of “aggression” is sillier, more random and fluffier than most people’s.

The story takes place on an Earth-like planet, we shall say, and every chapter begins with a reminder that we have been invaded throughout time. Each chapter follows an “invasion” that varies widely. In one case, a lizard detective and his human assistants track down ghosts in a haunted house, or a high school student watches as the sky rips open and giant seed appears on the school grounds. The seed opens to allow a sheep to wander out, and is replaced with another  seed that contains a giant hairy monster, which, when told to go away, does. A third seed appears and an alien girl comes out, not to invade, per se, but to apologize and lay a kiss on the heroine of the story.

This alien appears again later, in a story in which a high school girl, who is much admired by her female schoolmates, finds her bedroom invaded by cat-sized animal-eared girls. The alien appears once more to apologize for the inconvenience, retrieve the “invaders” and bestow a kiss.

Another “invader” is a species of ivy…a chapter with which I really sympathized. We have ivy on the house. It really does invade. A tentacle monster “invades” a beach party, but its only act of aggression is to repeatedly move the girls’ luggage to the beach across the bay. In the final story a girl awakens to her memories and powers of being a god, sorta, kinda.

Ratings:

Art – If you like his goofy art style, 9, if not, less
Story – Variable, I’d say it averages at 8. Perfect bedtime reading for me
Characters – Sadly, there’s not much chance to really get to know them, since the volume is all shorts
Yuri – Mild, the alien girl and the girls crushing on Yuki. Let’s say 3
Service – Some light “pretty girls are pretty” service, but his is not a truly service-y art style

Overall – 8

The entire thing is enjoyably wtf.





Yuri Network News (百合ネットワークニュース) – February 7, 2014

February 8th, 2014

YNN_MariK

Yuri Manga

Takahashi Mako’s recent one-shots for Comic Yuri Hime are being collected in a volume called Cokytos (コキュートス), which appears to named after be one of the rivers of the Greek underworld, along with Styx, Lethe, Phlegethon, and Acheron, so there’s today’s random Okazu fact for you. You’re welcome. ^_^

Volume 2 of Citrus, the title just licensed by Seven Seas, is looking at a March release.

Leia Weathington Tumblred about her upcoming second volume of The Legend of Bold Riley, with some cover art previews. Here’s my review of Volume 1, so you know why I’m looking forward to Volume 2 so much!

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Other news

Fantagraphics is looking for a Junior Design person. If you want to get into “the industry” and have design skills, hop to it!

K-Books in Akihabara has a series of Sakura Trick sweets. Why not? ^_^

Card Captor Sakura‘s Wand is being realized in diecast metal, for those of us who didn’t spend enough on the series back in the day. ^_^

Respect!Films and Sequart have teamed up to do a documentary on Women in Comics history. They’ve opened a Kickstarter for their She Makes Comics project.

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That’s a wrap for this week! Become a Yuri Network Correspondent by sending me any Yuri-related news you find. Emails go to anilesbocon01 at hotmail dot com. Not to the comments here, please, or they might be forgotten or missed. There’s a reason for this madness. This way I know you are a real human, not Anonymous (which I do not encourage – stand by your words with your name!) and I can send you a YNN correspondent’s badge. Thanks to all of you – you make this a great Yuri Network!