Archive for the English Anime Category


Stardust Telepath Anime

October 20th, 2023

So today we’re finishing up ‘Reality in Anime’ week with a decidedly unreal anime. ^_^

Umika is a high school student with severe social anxiety -so severe that she feels completely alienated from her fellow humans. She’s unable to respond even when a classmate is kind to her and bids her a good morning. Umika avoids most of her classmates, and their banal concerns, spending her time wishing she could meet an alien, for surely she would be able to talk to one!

When classmate Akeuchi Yuu declares herself an alien – and announces that she can read Umika’s mind when their foreheads touch – Umika’s life begins to change. Last spring I found time to read the first volume of Hoshikuzu Telepath manga ahead of this season’s anime…and I found some things that surprised me.

So now that the anime has premiered, what do I think of Stardust Telepath, streaming on Crunchyroll?

Well, to begin with I should note that, as Sean Gaffney so cogently put it, I don’t Kirara as well as I used to. I have a harder time with extremely high-pitched voices, and while I have found value in watching cute girls doing things cutely, series centered around people with severe social anxiety make me very anxious. But I also knew that the story wasn’t going to stay centered on Umika’s anxiety. So I cleared my slate and began to watch. As I predicted, Episode 1 was a little rough going, but by the end of Episode 2, as the story shifted away from how crippled by social anxiety Umika was, to the ways people around were making her feel included… my own anxiety about her anxiety lessened.

Additionally, in conversation on the Okazu Discord, at least one person felt that Umika’s character read autism-coded to them, especially in her interactions with the teacher, who treats her like she’s lazy or unmotivated when that’s not the issue at all. I also resonated with Umika’s desire to find a solution to her loneliness outside human society, although my particular forms of escapism in adolescence never included me wanting to be in those worlds, they were nonetheless critical to my surviving my teens. ^_^

So, at first we are presented with Umika, who is having a very hard functioning in the society of school. When Yuu arrives and is everything that Umika is not, it could have been a devastating blow to Umika, but instead Yuu reaches past Umika’s inability to communicate and makes it easy for her to get her ideas across. This theme is an important one, as new personalities are introduced in future chapters. Whe class president Takagi Haruno uses friendship with Yuu to be able to create a friendship with Umika, we can see the power of making a place for people to be themselves. None of the three girls have to be something they are not, but all of them can still be friends.

It very much seems that the direction the anime is taking is “amateur rocketry is fun!” which is a terrific focus for this series. Since I have not yet read the rest of the manga, one hopes that her interest in rockets will actually one catapult Umika to the stars in the form of JAXA, the Japanese space agency. But even without that focus, this story is off to a good start, despite a very difficult premise for a launchpad.

The animation is utterly not to my taste, although the OP is quite lovely. Still I have hope that we’ll get some shots of rockets reaching new heights.

Ratings:

Art – 6
Story – Begins at a 5, hits 7 by Ep. 2 and has potential for more
Characters – I’m not even sure what I think of them yet, let’s say 7
Service –  3 Not as such, but skirt/legs/beutt shots and pan-ups do get on my nerves
Yuri – 1 as of now. This series is always on Yuri lists, so I’ll trust

Overall – 7 seems like a good place to start

I have hope that this story will be about making friends with neurodivergent classmates and building hope along with rockets.





I’m In Love With the Villainess and ‘The Talk’

October 17th, 2023

Welcome back to Reality in Anime Week. ^_^

We’ve already discussed The Power of Hope ~ Precure in Full Bloom~‘s honest look at adult life. Today we turn once again back to I’m In Love With the Villainess, for an episode that many people hope will change anime for the better. (And some people threw tantrums about, but that’s a different conversation.)

In Episode 3, Misha turns to Rae and says, “Are you what they call ‘gay’?” In Japanese, the word used is douseiai (同性愛), homosexual. Rae then answers this with honesty. At which Lene mentions that gender isn’t really the issue and Rae explains that gender does matter for her. The English dub is radiant here, with a line about “love is love” is not wrong, but gender does matter for those people for whom it matters. Ironically, we had had this very conversation the night before on the Okazu Discord. ^_^

I’m going to take a second to digress here and say that the English dub for this series is absolutely outstanding and I recommend watching either or both. Hannah Alyea as Rae is brilliant and Lindsay Shepphard is incandescent as Claire.

I spent most of yesterday reading the comments for the sub and dub (which turn out to be different! Why, Crunchyroll?) and people were positively glowing with praise for the frankness of the conversation. A few people were moved, many were surprised (I guess they haven’t been reading my reviews. ^_^;). Some folks inevitably mentioned that this has never been done before in anime – that is not 100% true, but this scene definitely broke some walls and of course anime fandom memory doesn’t go very far back as new fans never know what they missed.) I want to assure people that these walls were broken with intention – this series is not done providing realistic commentary about both queer lives and social and financial inequality. This is a show that I expected to knock people’s socks off and so far it has not disappointed.

Given that King Records thinks this series Blu-ray will sell well enough that they already have opened pre-orders, I think this may be a real moment of changing tides in an industry that has regularly utilized queer content, without accepting the people whose stories it tells. Media companies in general are conservative, and otaku are often, weirdly, also very conservative.

In a year where Kadokawa (a company that regularly profits from fannish pairings of same-sex characters and manga that portrays queer stories) backtracked on the relationship between Suletta and Miorine …a relationship witnessed by viewers worldwide, no less… this is a story that Ichijinsha is giving room to be exactly as queer as it wants and needs to be.

That’s worth celebrating.





Kibou no Chikara, Otona PreCure ’23 / Power of Hope ~Precure Full Bloom~

October 16th, 2023

8 adults representing two different series of PreCure stars stand around a city parks, while a giant butterfly hovers overhead.Welcome to Reality Anime Week. First, we’re taking a look at Kibou no Chikara ~ Otona PreCure ’23 ~ (キボウノチカラ～オトナプリキュア’23～ ), streaming on Crunchyroll as Power of Hope ~Precure Full Bloom~, a shockingly depressing look at post-magical girl life. I’m not kidding either, although we can see where this is likely to lead and the title is the Power of Hope, not the Power of Hopelessness, so I think we’ll be okay…eventually. ^_^

As we open, we see that Nozomi, the former Cure Dream from Yes! Pretty Cure 5 and Yes! Pretty Cure 5 GoGo!, (two seasons I have not watched for reasons I will discuss) is an adult and has become a teacher. These two season are among those that Crunchyroll does not (yet) have streaming, but I hope that if this season is popular, they might consider getting them. Nozomi and Rin (Cure Rouge) meet up to get drinks and bitch about work which, for both of them has been brutally depressing. By apparent chance they encounter the remaining team members, Urara, Komachi, Karen and Kurumi. Each of them is struggling in their “dream” career. It also comes to light that none of them can transform any more, as their devices have just disappeared.

Of course we need them more than ever and, when shadows attack townspeople, Nozomi struggles to protect students. In the nick of time, she transforms, but she finds time unwinding and she returns to the teenager she was in order to become Cure Dream to the disappointment of folks on the Okazu Discord.

So, let’s look at the reality of the adult world. In every case, the former Cure finds that they are expected to be able to do things without support, or with outright antagonism from the systems they work within. When they get together, they end up drinking as a form of anesthesia, a way to speak their minds and a way to blow off the frustration of their “dream” jobs being less a dream and more a nightmare. While surely this speaks directly to an audience of former PreCure fans now dealing with those same flawed systems, what does it say about us as adults? The only way we have to cope is excessive alcohol? Yikes, there’s a message I hope the kids aren’t hearing. ^_^;

But, given the setup, we’re definitely going to have to see the adults in the room become children once more in order to find their power…and in that I see possibility. Because it is not all that hopeful to imagine we must once again be young to have the power of hope. What I’m hoping (argh) to see is that in finding themselves once again, and their dreams, the Cures find power as their adult selves. Otherwise, ugh, that really would be depressing. “Adults are actually pretty useless and drown themselves in anesthesia so they don’t go mad over the banality of their lives!” … just doesn’t seem like a PreCure message. ^_^ Especially as folks are happy about the return of the Yes! and Splash Star team members who will populate this story.  And let’s not forget the fairies.

I mentioned that I had never watched Yes! Pretty Cure 5 and Yes! Pretty Cure 5 GoGo!, despite being assured that they were pretty Yuri as PreCure series went. This is not entirely true – I did try to watch them both, but found the fairies absolutely intolerable. Episode 2 of Kibou no Chikara reintroduced the fairies with their original voices and instantly, I felt they were absolutely intolerable. ^_^ So this series is going to be a trial for me no matter how it goes. I don’t think I disliked any other series’ fairies as much as I disliked this crop.  Oh PLEASE give me an adult version of Heartcatch, pretty please?

Ratings:

Art – 8
Story – 5, but it had to start somewhere
Characters  –  I’m punting on this, as I don’t know them well enough yet, I’m hoping Kurumi kicks the CEO’s ass
Service – I’m punting on this one too, for reasons
Yuri –  Other than Mint x Aqua doujinshi, I’m not holding my breath

Overall – 6 so far, we’ll see where it takes us.

“The Power of Hope” is a pretty big tease for a series that has begun knee-deep in powerless and hopelessness. I’m very much keeping my  Cure Mo ready for an adult power up to adult PreCure lives.





First Look at I’m In Love With The Villainess Anime

October 2nd, 2023

Today was the day we’ve been waiting for! I’m In Love With The Villainess anime has premiered on Crunchyroll. With an English dub, as well as the Japanese audio track.

As I said in a comment on the first episode, this is the Yuriest anime that has ever been made, since it is literally centered around the romantic relationship of two women right from the first moments. As those of us  who have read the novels know, it also becomes progressively queerer as it unfolds. We should find out next episode how much of that is retained. For these things alone, I would love this anime.

The narrative  – especially in these early scenes – are wholly character-driven, so it’s a pleasure to know that the voice cast really made it all work. I actually laughed out loud twice watching this first episode, even though I anticipated the gags. inori-sensei commented on her Pixiv Fanbox that at the live premier event in Japan, she was worried that people might not react to the jokes, but there was plenty of laughter. The funny bits were, genuinely, funny. I’m going to rewatch the episode later this week as a dub and see how the jokes land.

Serizawa Yuu as Rae and Nanami Karen as Claire have really dug deep on these characters and made them come to life. Of course the supporting cast is also terrific and it felt very comfortable to hear the three Princes, Pipi, Loretta and Misha all sound, well, like they sounded in my head, honestly.  Kenn’s Rod Bauer was so full of bonhomie, I kinda sympathized with Rae’s dislike of him. ^_^

The one real weak spot of this anime is the animation. I have a number of thoughts about that. First, let’s just acknowledge that there’s a good chance that it simply was given a limited budget. That happens and I would not hold it against them any more than usual. I’d rather the animators get more time and money every time, but no one asks me. That said, we can do some justification …and projection…without too many mental calisthenics.

To begin with, this story begins in the world of an otome game, so the animation might be reflective of that. Otome games are, like other sims, usually pretty flatly animated in a puppet show kind of way. The backgrounds here are often ignored for sound effects and other gimmicks, which are, yes, money savers, but also give this early phase a gag manga feel. It would be kind of cool if, as the story developed, so did the animation. I don’t think that’s going to happen, but I’d love to see it.

We can see a little bit of the initial arc of the story from the opening credits. At the very least we can see that the Commoner Movement arc will be included and, with the addition of Mizuki Nana to the cast as Manaria, it’s a good bet that it will go through the Scales of Love arc. That means we’re definitely getting into more serious territory before the season ends. And here, I am going to digress, but I will be back to conjecture further.

Today on Twitter, the official wataoshi account announced that Blu-Ray Box pre-orders are available at various Japanese anime outlets. (That link will take you direct to King Records to pre-order.) Different stores have different extras, as usual, and folks who pre-order will get a special copy of “Rae’s doujinshi” story that she wrote for Revolution, of course, written by inori.-sensei herself. The BD box is slated for a February 2024 release, so that’s an extremely early pre-order period. inori.-sensei commented on Twitter that expectations for success were very high so the BD Box was arranged even though the anime had not yet aired.

So, back to conjecture. I think that pre-orders for the box set may well be used to determine if a second season will bring it to the end of the Revolution arc. Sales for that could determine whether we ever see a Nur or DQ arc – highly unlikely, but not wholly impossible. Sure, the anime also may exist in part to bump up sales of the ongoing manga and the print volumes of the novel and I hope they do! There’s nothing wrong with that. Ichijinsha’s done a decent job extending the life of several series that way.

Definitely give the series a watch. It’s fun and goofy and deep and serious and very queer and we’ve never seen an anime like this before, really. As we discussed on the Okazu Discord as I typed, if you want to get someone into Yuri, this would be a good place to start! Like isekai? We have series for you! How about high fantasy?  We got you covered. Looking for LGBTQ+ anime – it’s here. Oh…you like Sci-fi….well, sit down and let me tell you….  Looking for something with social consciousness? This is what you’re looking for !

So grab your friends and get them aboard the Yuri train with I’m in Love With the Villainess, streaming now on Crunchyroll.

Ratings:

Art – 6
Story – 9
Characters – 100
Yuri – 8
Service  – This is a complicated question… Let’s take a look at it again later

Overall – 9

A fun start to what I hope will be a story that takes audiences to very gay places they have never been before. ^_^

Next up for us, would be to pressure Crunchyroll to provide us with premium BD box sets so we can get that doujinshi, too!  I mean, I can see myself pre-ordering the JP set just for that….please don’t make me do that, Crunchyroll.





Otherside Picnic, Volume 6, Guest Review by Sandy Ferguson

September 6th, 2023

The cover of Otherside Picnic, Volume 6, manga, makes it clear we are about to enjoy the common trope of the “beach episode.” At least from the cover it looks like Toriko is enjoying herself, whereas Sorawo has her usual look of, ‘how can I possibly be happy with the fact that this gorgeous blonde wants to hang out with me?’

In Volume 6 we have the conclusion of The Kisaragi Station Marines Rescue Operation, then the fun part of the ‘Resort Night at the Beach of the End’. Then another story from Kozakura’s perspective, ‘Ms. Yozakura’s Food Spam Livestream.’ 

First, there is thrilling climax to the rescue operation where the Sorawo and Toriko tag team bring this story to a satisfying conclusion, with some classic Otherside Picnic dialogue from the Marines in response to their success.

What struck me was how successful the manga is in conveying a moment of quiet after the Marines have gone, that provides an effective backdrop for a touching moment of intimacy between the accomplices Toriko and Sorawo as they deal with the emotional consequences of their actions, and what it reveals about their evolving relationship.

And then off to the beach, because girls just want to have fun, well at least Toriko does.

There are obligatory moments of accomplice panic from Sorawo as she wonders what is more terrifying:
a) discovering that they have somehow ended up on a beach in the Otherside, or
b) dressing for the beach in the presence of Toriko.

In this volume we are given some fleeting glimpses of the happier days of Sorawo and Toriko’s lives, a rarity in the usual narrative of loss that are their backstories. Indeed, these glimpses may be seen as a backdrop to the unusual aspect of this volume, we see the Otherside as a place where Sorawo and Toriko can chill and have fun, free from their fears of the social pressures of this world, in this case the fun consisting of drinking beer and shooting guns.

In this volume the Otherside becomes, for a moment, more nuanced. It is not just a place that provokes terror or triggers insanity, but a place that can bring for Sorawo and Toriko moments of connection based on simply enjoying being with one another. But this being the Otherside, things change, and Team Sorawo and Toriko once more must face the terrors of the Otherside, and the artwork rises to the challenge.

In the bonus story we discover more about Kozakura’s gig as a virtual YouTuber and the nature of her avatar, in what I found to be an interesting reflection of her past relationship with Satsuki Uruma. This YouTube session centres on food, with unexpected contributions from Sorawo and Toriko’s bender in Okinawa. There are also moments when Kozakura shares her pungent thoughts on her dealings with Sorawo and Toriko, as well as her thoughts on the nature of Sorawo and Toriko’s relationship.

Story – 9
Artwork -9
Character – 8, I enjoyed watching Sorawo and Toriko learning to have fun together.
Service – 9, it is a beach episode, though tastefully done. And Sorawo discovers how comfortable Toriko is in her presence…
Yuri – 7, this volume explores the various levels of initimacy growing between Sorawo and Toriko

Overall – 9

All in all, another great read.