Archive for the Artists Category


Revolutionary Girl Utena Anime Box Set – Volume 1 Disk 3 (English)

June 25th, 2011

Revolutionary Girl Utena: Student Council Saga Limited Edition SetBy the time you reach the third disc of the Revolutionary Girl Utena Student Council box set, you’ve already developed your ideas about what you think is going on. My ideas and yours may not be the same, but they are all valid. The show is consciously constructed to allow all our ideas to be valid. Now we, as viewers, have to allow each other’s ideas to be valid, too.

I’m going to tell you some of the things I think are going on (bearing in mind that while I know what is going to happen, I wont be talking about that – just what is happening on this disc. What I would REALLY like is to hear what you think is going on in the story. What are your thoughts about The End of the World – no spoilers, remember, just based on this first arc! – or about Touga, or the duels, or Anthy, Utena, whatever.

Okay, so here I go.

The disk begins with Saionji doing something very stupid, and being expelled for it. I have this belief that, in some way, all the members of the Student Council, by becoming members of the Student Council, were essentially consenting to being manipulated by the End of the World.

Which is why I personally find it hardest to watch Nanami being screwed with. She did not give this consent. Miki is innocent, but not unbsubtle. Nanami is a child. She is driven by delusion and fear and has no place in the duels. That Touga offers her up to them was, in my opinion an unforgivable crime.

Up to this point, it would be natural to think that Touga is the master manipulator here. He seems, to Utena at least, to be in control. It’s only at the end of the arc that we and he see that he wasn’t in control at all.

The last two episodes were as amazing as I remembered them to be.

In episode 11, Utena find herself stripped of her confidence, her purpose, her very self by Touga, who uses his good looks, his masculinity and his position to turn her into a “normal” girl, who needs a prince to rescue her.

And most important IMHO, is that in response to losing the duel Utena says simply, “Please don’t take Anthy away from me.” She would give herself up…but not Anthy.

In episode 12, Wakaba slaps some sense into her, by making her realize that “normal” is not normal for Utena. Utena challenges Touga to a rematch to regain herself – the self that wants to be a Prince, not be rescued by one. She defeats Touga without help from Dios or an enchanted sword – she defeats him with nothing but her determination and will. To awesome music. To regain Anthy. NOT to regain the Rose Bride, but to get Anthy back.

Most importantly, at that moment, Anthy is *surprised.* That alone is worth watching the final episodes for.

When the episode (and the first arc) ended, I began spontaneously applauding. Again. As I have every time I have watched this series.

It’s gonna be a long, long, few weeks before the next set arrives!

Thanks again Nozomi/RightStuf for making it possible to watch this remastered version.

Ratings:

Art – 8
Story – 10
Character – 9
Yuri – 4
Service – 1

Overall – 9

The music video for “Revolution Rondo” blew my mind more than anything else in Utena ever has. It was filmed in New York City, which was just…entirely unexpected.

Here’s an interesting aside. On Twitter today I mentioned that what I would love to see is a ridiculously high budget live action version of the moment Utena draws the sword from Anthy. Just that scene. At which, a very good friend of mine from way back mentioned that there is a rumor of a pitch in Hollywood for an Utena movie…and that Variety is supposed to be doing an article about it next month. I guess we’ll see if that article ever happens…. Thanks for the heads up, Rob!

Now it is your turn – what are some of your thoughts on this arc?





Hourou Musuko/ Wandering Son Anime (English)

June 22nd, 2011

Many of you have, over the last few years, written in to tell me about Shimura Takako’s series Hourou Musuko, Wandering Son, to ask me when I would review it, to remind me to add it to the News Reports.

As many of you have noticed, I have not reviewed it as of yet. The reason for this is relatively simple – while Hourou Musuko is undoubtedly a masterpiece, it’s not really Yuri.

But, it *is* a masterpiece and a masterpiece dealing with gender transitioning, which is something that manga and anime typically play for laughs at best, rather than handling it with any seriousness or sensitivity. So, I guess it’s time to review this series, already. ^_^

My problem now is – I don’t know what to really say about it, other than it is one of the very finest, most beautiful anime series I have ever watched.

Hourou Musuko is not the first time Shimura has dealt with gender in a story. Her Boku ha Onna no Ko was the first time I ever encountered her work. I was not overwhelmed by any of the stories in that collection – certainly nothing in it impressed me the way Aoi Hana did. But Hourou Musuko is something amazing, even compared to that.

Somewhere after Boku ha Onna no Ko ( the cover of which has a cameo as a poster in the Hourou Musuko anime,) Shimura reached deep into herself and found a real story – a touching story – a painful and beautiful story – about two young people grappling with the fact that they are born into the wrong bodies. Hourou Musuko is emotionally gripping in a way that very, very few anime ever can hope to be. Shu-chan, the mtf heroine and Yoshino, the ftm hero, are people I would gladly spend more time with.

Art, music, voice acting was all sublime. I can say nothing but “wow” about it.

In this short anime, there were two scenes that really stood out to me – the scene where Yoshino gives Shu-chan her name and said that she’d take his, which was so touching I honestly couldn’t speak for an hour afterwards. And the scene during the school festival, when the kids all go into another class’s horror house, just to be able to gain catharsis by screaming.

As for Yuri. Well, the anime begins with the 33rd chapter of the story, as Shu-chan begins middle school, so I believe we skipped one potential Yuri relationship. I will, when the manga touches upon it, mention it. In the anime, however, I’d like to talk about Yoshino and Saori. They don’t really have a relationship, but by the end of the anime, there is some very tentative movement in that direction, IMHO. Of course, as Yoshino is a boy, temporarily in a girl’s body, this would not be a lesbian relationship, even if it were to exist. As Saori had some feelings for Shin-chan, who also feels he has been given the wrong body, it seems to me that any relationship that developed between Saori and Yoshino could legitimately be labeled Queer. Shu-chan has a relationship with a girl that, as Niki points out in the comments, isn’t being perceived as lesbian yet, but is clearly another Queer relationship.

Because this series is a masterpiece, it did terribly in the TV ratings for that slot. This cannot really be a surprise, precisely because everything really is on a standard curve of deviation. That means that the good will be appreciated by less people than the average – and the stunningly excellent will only ever be appreciated by a few. Nonetheless, this anime was stunningly excellent and, as I contemplate reading the manga, for the first time, I find myself frightened by it a bit. It might just be too good. I have always managed my expectations of manga and anime, and don’t want to see my ability to find balance compromised. On the other hand, I don’t want to be disappointed, either. So, I find myself in the position of convincing myself to not expect too much, but also not to let Shimura’s fully blossomed genius ruin anything else for me.

By the time I finish the manga, I fear that all that will be left for me to read and enjoy will be Aoi Hana and GUNJO.

Anyway…if you haven’t watch the anime yet, do. It’s a masterpiece.

And then buy the manga, which is being put out by Fantagraphics. Don’t forget to buy an extra copy for your library – they *need* this book.

Ratings:

Art – 9
Story – 9
Characters – 9
Yuri – 0
Service – 0

Overall – 9

This, more than any series I have ever reviewed here is a LGBTQ masterwork. In the future that I want to  inhabit, it will be considered a classic.





Yuri Manga: Saigo no Seifuku New Edition (新装版　最後の制服), Volume 2

June 20th, 2011

We left Volume 1 of the new edition of Saigo no Seifuku (新装版　最後の制服) with two unresolved relationships.

In Volume 2, the situation instantly becomes more complicated, rather than less, with the addition of…a boy!

Boys are causing no end of trouble in the dorm in fact. Kimiko’s boyfriend dumps her and, upon overhearing him and his friends being unkind about her dorrmmate, Tsumugi punches his lights out.

In the meantime, Aiko is vexed because Fuuko has decided to date some guy for whom she really has no feelings. This prompts a sudden confession from Aiko. Now that Fuuko knows the truth, what will she do?

In the meantime, Asagi is still planning on gaining Beniko’s affection, but completely fails to even gain her attention.

This brings us to the end of Volume 2 of the original 3-book series. For those of you who bought and read the Seven Seas translation, here is what you missed:

Upon graduation, Asagi calls Beniko out during her speech, for never having noticed or cared that she had feelings for her. Beniko is surprised, partly because she really hadn’t noticed or cared and partly because now *everyone* in the school is watching her.

Fuuko finally admits that she loves Aiko too, but they will not be able to be together, as her mother has taken ill and she is transferring schools. They have mere hours together before they must part. But they continue to write one another as time passes. Aiko is struck by momentary doubt about Fuuko’s feelings, but a visit in person from Fuuko sets her straight. They plan, upon graduation to attend the same school and live together.  For them, the book ends with a rose-colored future.

Meanwhile, Anzu does manage to convey her feelings to Tsumugi, although she knows her cause is hopeless. But she knows that Tsumugi loves her cooking, and she decides she’ll continue to work on it, so she can one day make something delicious for the one she loves.

Asagi remains a selfish ass right to the very end. Why Tama doesn’t punch her in the gut, I will never, ever understand.

And, finally, we get the epilogue we hoped we’d get for Beniko and Tsumugi, as they move in together and Beniko *finally* has her way with Tsumugi, once again proving my theory that in Yuri, the butches are the uke and the femmes the seme. It was quite nice to see them both grown up. This was, in fact, the ending I’d hope we’d get…and we got it, so yay us!

Ratings:

Art – 7
Story – 8
Characters – 7
Yuri – 9
Service – 2

Overall – 8

This series may well be the best example of my opinion changing over time. I started off really not enjoying Hakamada Mera’s art and now, as I read the end of this series at last, I find it was no longer a distraction. I was able to simply enjoy the story for what it was – a high school Yuri story with two happily-ever-after endings and a little sex and candy for good measure.





Yuri Manga: Saigo no Seifuku New Edition, (新装版　最後の制服) Volume 1

June 13th, 2011

 Reading Saigo no Seifuku, New Edition, Volume 1 (新装版　最後の制服) was an exercise of a sort for me. When I first read The Last Uniform in 2006, the art absolutely repulsed me. So much so that I struggled for years to give Hakamada Mera any respect. Her stories were always cute, slightly bland, but the oversize heads drove me batty. As time went on, the heads got a little smaller, moe became more common and far worse giant heads on little bodies were thrown at me and now, years later, I find I barely noticed the giant heads anymore. I think, honestly, some re-drawing was done here, because the heads weren’t nearly as huge I remember them being. In fact, there were one or two pages where I found myself staring at a weirdly drawn jaw, the way I used to, but only a few.

So, here we are, many years after Saigo no Seifuku originally detailed the love triangles at Tsubakigaoka Gakuin. But before we get into the original stories, we’re given a few new ones, establishing both Ai and Tsumugi as completely, goofily besotted with their respective objects of affection.

The first couple we “meet” are Ai and her roommate, Fuuko. Fu-chan is that kind of cheerful, apparently doofy girl that we’re never really sure means “like” the same way Ai does. Well, the new edition clears that up. And Beniko and Tsumugi are as close (and as far) as ever to some kind of an actual relationship.

The original tales are retold – how Anzu arrives at school and is assigned to Ai-chan and Fu-chan’s room, thus throwing Ai-chan into a tizzy. And how Tsumugi admires Beniko from afar (well, as afar as the next bed over) until Asagi tries to mack on her girl. Meanwhile Anzu has a crush on Tsumugi that she really doesn’t communicate properly to the upperclassman.

Without a doubt, my favorite part of the book is Asagi’s friend, who wears braids, so is referred to as “braids,” who writes slash fanfic about the dorm residents.  Asagi asks her to pair characters up for a little thrill. Included in this new edition are a few of those fanfics.

Ratings:

Art – 7
Story – 7
Characters – 7
Yuri – 7
Service – 2

Overall – 7

Add character pages with uniform and character discussion and you have a shiny new deluxe edition of an “old standard.”





Revolutionary Girl Utena Anime Box, Volume 1 set Dub Review by Eric P

June 10th, 2011

Revolutionary Girl Utena: Student Council Saga Limited Edition SetOnce again a Prince steps in to give me a night off! As you may know,  I don’t listen to anime dub tracks. ( And in the case of Revolutionary Girl Utena, with Mitsuishi Kotono, Kawakami Tomoko and Hisakawa Aya in the Japanese voice cast, there is nothing that can convince me to listen to it, sorry.) Luckily, Okazu Superhero and long-time Friend and Supporter of Yuricon, Eric P has gallantly kneeled before us and offered his services as a dub reviewer! Thank you so much Eric!  The floor is all yours…

Before we get started, and so everyone knows, this is a review of the English dub by itself, and not as it is compared to the original Japanese acting (which I have watched). Alright, now let’s get started:

After getting the whole Utena Central Park Media set through a special mailing order for just $100 back in the day, I didn’t know what to expect diving into this series. I watched the first episode subbed for about seven minutes or so, before I decided to start all over and switch to dub. It was not because I disliked the Japanese voice acting. Everything about Utena within those seven minutes—its opening theme song, its animation, artwork, tone, atmosphere, characters—charmed and enchanted me from the get-go. The problem was I felt reading the subtitles distracted me a little too much from taking in the full experience. So the English version was what I watched first, and at the time it worked for me—the mostly low-key acting fitted the story’s weird, surreal tone.

With RightStuf’s re-release I watch the dub again for nostalgia (and for this review), and by now I can acknowledge its flaws. It is a mixed bag, with few weak links sprinkled throughout that gives it a feeling of flucating. It hardly mattered for me the first time since I was so invested in the story and the magic. But for any viewer with high expectations, it could be those weak links that would turn them off and make even the stronger performances sound less strong. The best (worst?) example would be the English voice for Nanami. When talking plainly, she sounds like a spoiled rich girl probably would, but after a short while she comes across too flat in too many moments.

Thankfully the two lead characters, Utena and Anthy, get well-suited English voices. Rachael Lillis as Utena is sufficiently spot-on, and Anthy’s voice by Sharon Becker has a kind of charm to it for me; I always liked how she said “Miss Utena.” There are still points where it seems like the ADR director and the actors were looking at the imagery, interpreting it as vaguely low-key, and were directed accordingly. Unfortunately that does not always work. In the scene where Anthy calls out to Utena during her duel with Miki, the restrained tone just doesn’t fit well at all. Speaking of Miki, while he is not acted badly, his voice still an example of one of those dub voices sounding far older than he’s supposed to be (although , in my opinion, all the characters look like they are in their early 20’s, even though they’re supposed to be 13-15). Fortunately for some, fan-favorite Jury receives a cool-sounding voice. Saionji, the wife-beating creep, sounds suitably creepy, and the shadow-girls sound as mysterious and strange as they come across in the animation. But, without a doubt, the single strongest performance is Toga as voiced by Crispin Freeman, the future veteran of many stellar roles, among them including Alucard from Hellsing and Kyon from Haruhi Suzumiya.

In the end, the dub feels dated, which some may either find oddly charming or off-putting. But, no matter what, the series itself remains as multi-layered and wonderful as it always has been.

It was actually kind of hard determining the final ratings, so here goes…

Ratings:

Overall –  I dance between 6 and 7 on this, so I’ll give it a 6.5

Erica here: Thanks again Eric! Much obliged.