Author Archive


Penguindrum Anime Collection 1, Disk 3 (English)

March 3rd, 2013

The first volume of Penguindrum comes to a close in Disk 3, by introducing two major plot complications, several new visual symbols and a twist of fate. Or should I say…destiny?

We learn in a most roundabout way possible why Natsume Masako is after the diary. We see that Himari has a separate history of her own, a story about which she carries guilt, regret and unhappiness in great measure. And at last, we learn what really binds all the characters together…but not why. Not yet.

Visually, we’re noticing some new symbols, most especially Tokyo Tower, which now appears in many scenes. The storytelling to come is so powerful that merely seeing the Tower made me shiver (with what emotions, I can’t tell you – that would be spoiling it.)  The appearance of repeated, unexplained visual symbols laden with inexpressible meaning is the very essence of a Ikuhara Kunihiko production.

I’m watching the DVD of the series, as opposed to the Blu-ray, (and I’ve previously pointed out, I’ve got an ancient TV and that I’m not a great judge of video quality) but I still think the video is crisp.  I can imagine that on Blu-Ray, especially on a good screen, the video’s saturation of color and play of light and dark would be quite amazing.

I haven’t addressed the issue of translation. Sentai is generally adequate. They lack a translator with nuance, but for the bulk of the story, nuance is left out of the dialogue. The words Sanetoshi speaks are not where the nuance is, it’s they way he’s saying them and where he is and what he’s doing when he does. Luckily for us, since Sentai is generally adequate.

The thing I wanted very much to bring to your attention today is this – the song being blasted by the speakers that deafen Kanba is a Welsh folksong called Ar Hyd y Nos, also known by the English title, All Through The Night.  It’s a pretty famous hymn and lullaby and I wanted you to hear and enjoy it in a non-distorted version. Here is Aled Jones singing it in Welsh and English:

Which makes me wonder, why Ar Hyd y Nos? Doesn’t it strike you as odd that Ikuhara and his team would choose a Welsh folksong to blast at Kanba? But then, Ikuhara likes odd conjunctions of mismatched emotions. So, yeah. ^_^

Ratings:

Overall – 8

Once again, thanks so much to Okazu Superhero Eric P. for his generous sponsorship of today’s review!

And welcome to the new Okazu. Hope you like it! ^_^

 





Yuri Network News (百合ネットワーク・ニュース) – March 2, 2013

March 2nd, 2013

It’s a bibble and bob kind of week.

Namori-sensei, creator of Yuru Yuri, made the internet squee with a tweet of a cute napkin sketch.

I haven’t read Volume 1, but Volume 2 of Watashi ga Kanojo de Kanojo ga Watashi de (私が彼女で彼女が私で) hits shelves this month.

Yurina Hibi reports that Ichijinsha’s Palette magazine 4-koma series Oikaze Run Jump Throw! (追い風らんっ・じゃん・すろー!) is very high on the Yuri score. There’s at least one couple and some flesbian service.

Fashion magazine commons & sense, Issue 44 – CUBE, has Yuri manga by Tamaka Rin-sensei.

US-based Internet Service Providers have begun tracking file-sharing. Read up on the “6-warning system,”  know your rights and make your choices intelligently.

I was able to wax enthusiastic about the Grandmother of Yuri, Yoshiya Nobuko, in my answer on Quora to ‘Who is your gay hero?’  ^_^

Just the other day, I was whining to myself that there hasn’t been a Yuri-flavored Drama CD in a while, and lo and behold! I learned of the existence of a brand-spanking new one, Seijukuki Jinmei Vega, (思春期生命体ベガ) based on the action-adventure Yuri series by Hayate x Blade’s Hayashiya Shizuru-sensei, that runs in Rakuen Le Paradis magazine. Vega is an alien who fights off giant sea monsters that attack a small seaside town with power she gains from kissing her human sempai. (My wife comments, “Don’t we all?”) The series is one of the many that make that magazine my favorite of all the many manga magazines I read. A Drama CD with Yuri, aliens AND giant sea monsters? I’m totally there.^_^

***

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!





Hayate x Blade Manga, Volume 17 (はやてｘブレード)

February 28th, 2013

In Volume 17 of Hayate x Blade (はやてｘブレード), three things of major importance happen. All at once. Then a fourth important thing happens afterwards which isn’t important, but I want to remember to tell you about it. ^_^

Important Thing the First: Ayana and Hayate are now A-rank and their next battle will have to be against the single Special A-ranked team at Tenchi, Kamijou Maki and Soumeya Yukari. Yes, at last, Ayana will have to face her former friend and shinyuu and, as a result, her own past.

This is made slightly difficult by the…

Important Thing the Second: The ranks of the students at Tenchi have been swelled by the “Black Group,” an allied group of talented fighters who (we are told in the final pages of the volume) want to “steal the fighting students of Tenchi” from Hitsugi. What this means, really, or why, we don’t yet know. We do know that Hitsugi knows of the existence of the “Black Group” and appears to be supremely uninterested. In fact, she’s out haunting the B, C and D Hoshitori areas in a costume, masked, on a white horse.

The Black Group attempt to stop Ayana and Hayate from reaching the A area and commencing their battle, which lead us to…

Important Thing The Third: As Hayate and Ayana are surrounded by the Black Group, they find that their friends have come to rescue them…again. This leads to a pun on page 106 that is so excruciating, so egregious, that 1) I think Hayashiya-sensei has written 17 volumes of this manga solely for the purpose of creating the pun and; 2) I hope she laughed until she made herself sick. I really do.

(You know the famous Japanese folk tale of Momotarou? If not, go read it first or this will mean nothing to you. Also Momo=Peach, Inu=Dog, Saru=Monkey, Kiji=Pheasant.)

So The Black Group surrounds Hayate and Ayana, and in steps, Momoka, Isuzu, Kiji, Michi, Mizuki and Sou to let them go running off. As Hayate runs, she screams, “Thanks, Momo, Inu, Saru, Kiji!” and I groaned for an hour.

I believe that all 17 volumes of the series were created to lead up to that one joke.

Akira and Sae face down Hajime and Shingetsu (who appear to be the leaders of the Black Group, but are not) and learn their somewhat allegorical intention.

And the volume ends with the Hoshitori in full swing.

Which brings us to the final Important Thing: The cover, inside pages and slip cover all contain very cool cut-out-and-entertain-yourself things. As the Black Group points out in the omake, “Do It Yourself” is the theme for this volume. In other words, this is all so complicated, you do it. ^_^

Ratings:

Art – 9 I always know exactly who I am looking at and why. With this many characters, that’s genius
Story – 9
Characters – 9
Yuri – 0
Service – 0

Overall –  10

Momo, Inu, Saru, Kiji. Really?





Fearless Defenders Comic, Issue 1

February 27th, 2013

On the Yuricon & ALC Publishing page on Facebook, Shannon Luchies put me on to this title and offered up this picture to entice me:

 
Little known fact about Erica – she has the entire original run of the Defenders.  I was a comics collector for many years before stilted writing and tiresome art put me off and I stopped. When manga took my hand and led me down the rabbit hole I was well-primed for the kind of fanaticism it required.

So, vaguely intrigued by the new series, Fearless Defenders, I called my Local Comic shop to see if they had it. I was told by the owner, a friend, that it was “pretty good.” Right now I’m feeling like most people must feel when they visit their childhood homes and see everything has turned all shoddy and their parents are becoming feeble.

Reading this book inspired me. Not probably the way the creators intended, however. Fearless Defenders inspired me to create the:

The Friedman Addendum to the Bechdel-Wallace Test

Does female character have agency?
Does she have society?
Does she have personality?

Or is she merely a female-shaped male hero doing male hero things while being female?

I’ll be using this in reviews going forward. Just as a litmus test, Bodacious Space Pirates passes the FA. So does Sailor Moon. The original Ghost in the Shell movie does not. This is not meant to overtake the Bechdel-Wallace Test, just to add a level of depth to understanding why a series might have a “strong, female character” and still be disappointing for women.

So, let’s get the bad out of the way. The female’s bodies can only be described as AAAAAAAHHHHH!!!!! I knew American comic art was going all tits and ass (often at the same time) but if their spines curve like that all the time, poor things must be in terrible pain.

Let’s do a quick contrast in battle art. Exhibit 1, , Fearless Defenders, Issue 1:

Ow. I dare any man to stand on their toes, with weight on their back leg, and spine curved and call it good defensive posture. I’m sorry, but fuck this. My wife rightfully points out that they are not in heels, which is true, and yet I notice that their feet are posed as if they were.
 
Exhibit 2, Avare Senki by Nakamura Ching
 

Which cover looks like it has a “strong female” on it?  I’ll be honest, I’m biased, because things like weight distribution in stances actually has meaning to me, and I’m heartily sick of females drawn with exaggerated “sexy” spine curvatures.

Okay, but, you say, what about the script? It was pretty good, wasn’t it? Fearless Defenders reads just like Tantric Stripfighter Trina, only in 20 pages not 200. The fact that the issue is a mere 20 pages is part of the problem, but the writing also made me very aware of the fact that American comics are now written for a very specific audience, one that does not include me. I’ve been defending comics a long time, but if this an example of a good one, I’m done. Like a Hollywood movie, every line was trite and overplayed.

Is there any good news? Yes, yes there is. Despite art and story being woefully mis-matched, this comic does indeed pass the FA. Misty Knight and Annabelle Riggs are friends. And, Annabelle has chosen to be there, and to stay, even when undead Vikings rise up around her. Split between good and bad,  Annabelle randomly kisses Val when she appears (see above) because, as the text helpfully explains, she “likes girls,” and as we all know, lesbians walk around randomly kissing any girl they find attractive, regardless of circumstance, like undead Vikings rising from nearby graves.

What is my point in all this? My point is, this series passes the Bechel Test and the Friedman Addendum and has at least one character, maybe two, who is a lesbian…and it’s still a bit disappointing.

That kiss should have been further along in the plot, not right off. It makes no sense where it is. Art, dialogue and that kiss are off of my mark for “pretty good.”  If a 15-year old sent me this I’d think it was genius. but for adults creating for an adult audience…. sigh…..

Ratings:
 
Art – 6 It’s executed well, but poses like that need to stop already
Story – 7
Characters – 7 We don’t get much beyond a line or two
Yuri – 9
Service – 9
 
Overall – 7

I’m going to follow the story for a bit, see if it gets better, but here’s what I think. You know how anime has a low frame rate, so when you watch it you have to fill in a lot of detail? This comic was drawn at a low frame rate and fans have to do a lot of the work to make it “pretty good.”





Angelic Layer Manga, Volume 1 (English)

February 25th, 2013

Are you a CLAMP fan? Were you watching anime around 2001? Are you a reader of Shounen Ace magazine? If you answered “no” to any or all of these, you may never have seen or read CLAMP’s Angelic Layer when it first made its appearance in anime or manga.

Don’t despair, because Dark Horse is re-releasing this turn-of-the-century manga title in omnibus form. In Volume 1 of Angelic Layer, we are introduced to Misaki, a recent transfer to the big city to live with her aunt Shoko. Misaki discovers a popular virtual reality fighting game, ‘Angelic Layer’ and immediately displays an unusual talent for the thing.

Misaki’s talent, it is implied, is not accidental at all. Just where she gets her aptitude from is, by the end of Volume 1 unstated. Unstated, but if you’re older than 12, you should have no trouble seeing the giant foreshadowing bat as it is slammed down upon your head repeatedly as you read. ^_^

Anyone familiar with CLAMP’s better-known epic, Card Captor Sakura, might be forgiven for making a comparison between these two series, but they are less similar than they might appear. Angelic Layer is more of a boy’s battle game series than a magical girl series. Sadly, technology was not yet up to the vision of ‘Angelic Layer’ when it was first published. There’s no doubt in my mind that, had there been the ability to create a virtual fighting game like Angelic Layer, CLAMP would already be living on their castle on the Moon with the wealth they would have made from it. Because, as manga, go, the main attraction of Angelic Layer is not the characters, who are all pretty stock, even for CLAMP, but the game itself.  It’s a cool game idea and one I am still waiting for someone to manifest properly. ^_^

Okay, so, why am I reviewing this manga here on Okazu?

Misaki’s new best friend Tamayo (! – Okay, I take it back, go ahead, compare it to CCS) makes declarations of love and proposals to Misaki, but this is played for yucks and isn’t meant seriously. However, at the very end of the volume, Misaki will face the uber-cool, butchy Sai, after defeating the graceful but strong Kaede, Sai’s teammate. It is noted that “Sai-sama’s” fans are mostly girls. But even that isn’t why I’m reviewing Volume 1. I’m reviewing Volume 1, so you will read it and be ready for what happens in Volume 2. ^_^

Ratings:

Art – CLAMP in CCS mode – 8
Story – Not terribly innovative and there’s some tiresome stuff, so let’s say – 6
Characters – 7
Yuri – 1
Service – Emotional more than physical – 3

Overall – 7