Archive for the English Anime Category


Monologue Woven For You Volume 2, Guest Review by Matt Marcus

June 22nd, 2022

Welcome to Guest Review Wednesday here on Okazu – we’re thrilled to have Matt Marcus back with terrific critique. Please give Matt your attention and offer him some kind words in the comments!

The role of Reviewer will be played tonight by Matt Marcus. He is a cohost of various projects on the Pitch Drop Podcast Network, such as the anime watchalong podcast Boku No Stop, which is currently covering the yuri anime Flip Flappers.

Ah, the theater: a sanctuary where we can escape our everyday life in order to live many others, filled with mirthful joys or aching tragedies. In Monologue Woven For You, Volume 1, two star-crossed lovers, Haruka and Nao, connected over their love for the stage. But, while they have had a very smooth Act 1 of their courtship, each carries a secret that they fear would break them apart should they let it out.

Monologue Woven For You, Volume 2 pushes towards rising action, albeit in fits and starts. The story only has a single source of conflict with both Haruka and Nao going through similar arcs in separate chapters: they brood about whether they should admit their secret, the other partner notices their down mood, and instead of talking about it they just brush it under the rug and snuggle for a bit. Sure, there are lower-stakes obstacles, such as Haruka’s insecurity about taking the initiative in physical affection, or Nao’s worry about Haruka’s unawareness of others’ attraction to her. But all of that is fluffy filler akin to cotton candy: sweet, but unsubstantial (however please still visit our concession stands during the intermission).

What is ultimately frustrating is that even at the end of this volume, we still have no further insight into the incident that drove Haruka to quit acting. When Haruka reaffirms her love of the theater in Volume 1 and changes her dream to supporting Nao’s acting career, it seems we are meant to feel the same relief that Haruka does. However, without knowing any more detail on what caused her to quit, we cannot say whether this turn is a wizened healing of an old emotional wound or simply casting aside a denial of self that was given undue import by the intensity of teenage emotions. When Haruka turns down an opportunity to return to acting, I believe we are supposed to trust her judgment, but I don’t feel it. When it comes to rising out of the ashes of a dashed dream, Aquatope on White Sand this is not.

The weakest part of this volume is the introduction of a new character, Rei–a sullen 2nd-year high school student who, in an incredulous twist, is intimately familiar with Haruka’s acting past despite the four year age gap between them (this city must really love their high school theater). She’s also the love interest of Nao’s friend Yuki, which is troubling to say the least.

Now, the first thing that made this series stand out is that it is in full color. It’s refreshing to see, however I would rather that more attention had been paid to the page layouts. There is a visual density to each page in both panel and word balloon count, yet often there is a poor sense of motion from one panel to the next. On the fashion side, the outfit designs are very plain, such as a hoodie and jeans or a dress over a t-shirt. Practical? Yep. Realistic for college students? Sure. Boring to look at? Absolutely. One of the benefits of a college setting over high school is having more opportunities to use fashion as a means of characterization or storytelling, and the designs here pale in comparison to other works in similar settings (see: How Do We Relationship). The real rub with the art is that if this manga were in black and white, there would be very little to visually latch on to.

So, should you line up to buy tickets to this show? As long as you don’t expect Shakespeare, there is some entertainment to be had. Maybe don’t spring for the box seats.

Ratings:

Art – 7 The full color is nice, but the panel compositions and sense of motion leave a bit to be desired
Story – 6 Domestic fluff aside, the only point of conflict in the story is starting to wear thin
Characters – 5 Cute, but one-note
Service – 2 Sex happens off panel, though there is a little canoodling
Yuri – 9 / LGBTQ – 1 The girls are clearly dating but that’s about it

Overall – 7 At best would be cast as an understudy

Erica here: Well said. Thanks so much for offering us your perspective of this series.

 
 




The Executioner and Her Way of Life Anime

April 29th, 2022

We’ve been following the Executioner and Her Way of Life Light Novels here on Okazu. (Volume 1 | Volume 2 | Volume 3) They are not bad, with a few features that make them worth continuing to read, despite the grotesquery that is sprinkled liberally throughout. Among these are the world-building, especially the magic, and a few of the characters.

And now we have an anime for the series. How does The Executioner and Her Way of Life anime hold up to the LNs?  I think they improve upon them. But let’s start from the beginning.

Menou is an “executioner,” a priestess tasked with eliminating “Lost Ones,” people who enter her world from Japan. She is assigned to kill Lost One Akari, who appears to wield the Pure Concept of Time, and thus cannot be killed. Menou is bringing her to the capital for the leader of the Faust, her religious order. Menou is assisted by her junior, Momo, who is passionately and possessively in love with Menou.

So let’s dig into the anime – what is working and what isn’t?

The animation is very decent. More so that I felt the story deserved, frankly. The art in the LNS is well beyond weak and the world itself is described so poorly that I imagined it all a washed shade of sepia, as I read. The bright colors and thriving town was a pleasant surprise. The train design in the anime was a nice fantasy Deco that lifted the whole of the world quite considerably. I was imagining medieval construction in dull one-note tones, not fantasy steampunk. I’m glad to be wrong. The art in the LNs is really bad, Part 2:  Bodies are strangely proportioned flesh bags in clothes that are sacks with no structural integrity. Here the animators seem to have grokked the concept of bras, which do not exist in the LNS.

Menou herself is intriguing, rather than likable; her relationship to Akari has been hinted at in a half dozen ways, including the spoileriest possible way in the opening sequence. Momo, while still annoying in the anime is surprisingly more tolerable and when she ends up fighting the Knight Mage Princess Asuna, become wholly tolerable. I like Asuna, and frankly, think she’s good for Momo. I approve of Asuna x Momo shipping. ^_^

I miss the expositions about the magic, but the lack of lectures makes the whole thing feel more natural, less tacked on. And I do like that Priestesses connect with their magic through the scriptures.

The plot is zippy, as it has to be, with somewhat greater focus on the action scenes than the guro, which is, IMO, a win for watchers.

What isn’t working? Sadly, with the faster pacing and decent animation, the plot has become less able to hold up it’s side of the bargain. By Episode 4 if you can’t guess what is going on in the main plot, you’re not paying attention. And the cool subplot that revealed itself in Volume 4 of the LNs is shoved pretty far up our nose here. The end result is that I don’t *want* to take time to develop the initial plot. I’d kind of like it out of the way, so we can get on with things. I’m a little skeptical of jaded executioners who can’t see the giant obvious thing right in front of them.

Ratings:

Art – 8, with flashes of 9
Story – 6 A tad weak, but not bad
Characters – 7
Service – Yes, of course, because women’s bodies are a mystery
Yuri – Hrm, Momo’s obsession with Menou isn’t as interesting as the rest of the possibilities

Overall – 7

Is this worth watching? I think so. The guro is toned way the heck down (at least by Ep. 4, that may be subject to change, I have yet to watch Ep. 5), the plot zips along, the scenery is pleasant,.  If you don’t want to read the first volume (or two, not sure how far the anime will go) this is not a bad place to begin and decide if the LNs are for you. If you think you like it, then you can pick up after the anime and let the plot run ahead.

The Executioner and Her Way of Life is streaming on HIDIVE.





Birdie Wing -Golf Girls’ Story-

April 24th, 2022

In the world of underground golf, one girl reigns supreme, Eve Aleon, known as the Rainbow Bullet, is alone at the top of Nafrece’s illicit golf betting world.

Eve is a girl with one skill – she can hit a golf ball so hard, so far, so powerfully, that she’s able to support herself and her makeshift family of orphans by making dangerous bets in underground golf games. When Eve meets Awashima Aoi, a Japanese pro, the sparks fly between them and Eve finds a way to compete against Aoi in a professional tournament.

Birdie Wing -Golf Girls’ Story- is a magnificent mix of action, sports and fantasy anime that immediately recalled the Bee Train series of the early 2000’s. When the setting turns out to be Nafrece, the exact same city that appears in Madlax, the second of Bee Train’s “girls with guns on the run” trilogy, I knew I was going to love this anime. As I said in 2004, “Nafrece might be France or England or Japan, but it’s not. This gives the story a lot of leeway to adding fictive elements, like a arms-dealing conspiracy driven by magic…” Nafrece in Birdie Wing is less European and much more late 80’s New York City, with the kind of income inequality we have come to expect from that setting. There is a scene in which Eve is sulking in a series of 1980’s “NYC New Wave album cover industrial,” settings – a moment of absolute perfection.

So the point of this anime is to deconstruct the game of golf, apply non-Euclidian physics to it, give it Saki-like animated magical unrealism, and attach it to a world populated by criminal underground golf bosses, adorable orphans, and golfers shopping for personas straight out of a Spirit Halloween catalog.

And, AND, because this series is written by Kuroda Yousuke, the same man who did indeed give us Madlax, there is a hot cigarette-smoking crime boss lady sponsor, a shady suit-wearing lady sponsor for Eve and an incredibly intense, practically telepathic, rivalry between Eve and Aoi.

Honestly, Birdie Wing may be the best anime I have ever watched in my entire life.

I joke all the time about how much I want a sports anime – the intense competition, the blood, sweat and tears of sports and Yuri, but Birdie Wing has made me realize that I also need a criminal underground organization running it all, and near-magical golf swings. Who knew?

This won’t be a Yuri anime the way we expect one in 2022 – sadly, sexy smoking crime boss lady has already opted out. But for that old 00’s flavor of pairing up the women and letting our imaginations run, this is guaranteed to be a good time. I’m frankly shocked that there isn’t Eve x Aoi fanart already. This is the Yuri I grew up with; subtextual, but somehow in your face.

If you looked at the plot and thought, well, meh, golf, let me assure you this is not golf. There’s almost nothing actually golf about it, except occasionally, by accident. ^_^

 

Ratings:

Art – Outstanding
Story – Absurdist brilliance
Characters – Perfection
Service –  Low-key
Yuri – Overtly subtextual

Overall – 9

If this even has the smallest smidge of actual Yuri -give me a predatory lesbian golfer, or a couple in the background – it goes straight to 10.

For a review written with prose that matches the anime itself, I hope you will Steve Jones’ review of Episodes 1-3 on ANN. It was almost as much a ride as the episodes themselves.

Oh, one last thing of note – every single bet Eve makes seems like it’s really shady and involves sexual favors from these underage players, but always turn out to be something completely silly, like betting a rare Gunpla. It’s a total fanwank, but ends up being funny.





5 Seconds Before A Witch Falls in Love, Guest Review by Luce

March 9th, 2022

Welcome to another Guest Review Wednesday on Okazu. We welcome back Luce who is taking a look at a collected volume of stories by Zeniko Sumiya that ran in Comic Yuri Hime. Take it away, Luce!

5 Seconds Before a Witch Falls in Love actually has three stories in it, although you wouldn’t know from the outset. The first and third are linked  in that they follow the same characters in stories set about a month apart: The ‘Untouchable Sorceress’ Meg, and the witch hunter Lilith. They fight frequently, although Meg has always managed to one-up Lilith, so never getting caught. When Meg turns Lilith into a cat and someone makes off with her, things change. A bit. In the second story, from Lilith’s point of view, a month afterwards, she is convinced that Meg has cursed her with a love spell. Why else would she be feeling so het up!

The third story is sandwiched between them, and isn’t at all related. In this, Kamiari Kanna is an otherwise normal school girl, who can see supernatural beings, and offers to help them. After finding the demon Belphegor wounded and the angel Samael apparently collapsed and offering to help them, they both fell madly in love with her and follow her around near constantly. A transfer student seems a bit suspicious though, and a supernatural entity is on the loose…

This book is a one shot and totally contained, which I do like. I’m not so fond of tsunderes, which Meg and Lilith emulate somewhat, but they were different enough that I could kind of get behind them. Being so short helped – you don’t actually have to endure the swathes of denial prior to the depicted story. I’m pretty happy about that. Meg was pretty fun, everyone calls her an old hag which pisses her off, and while she’s implied to be extremely talented with magic, she generally uses her magic to play ridiculous pranks on the townspeople. That said, when she does get serious, she goes all in. I personally would have liked Lilith to have a bit more… pizzazz(?) about her? She is cute, though. What I liked most was the ‘warlock pharmacist/drugstore owner’ Hachi. Well equipped with an armoury of snappy comebacks, he was great, and seemed to know more than he actually stated.

I’ll single out something that pleasantly surprised me – Meg apologises for kissing Lilith without her consent (to turn her back from being a cat). Seeing as consent is rarely even mentioned or asked for in manga, I greatly appreciate this. Meg also gives Lilith the opportunity to leave, by which she means to allow her to leave the situation altogether. I like this, and these small details made it far more enjoyable.

I think I enjoyed the second story a bit more though, which is funny because the only advertisement it gets on the cover is the three main characters on the back. The blurb doesn’t even mention a third story at all! The idea of a kind-hearted girl helping all sorts of supernatural spirits isn’t new, but Samael and Belphegor being obsessed by her was made infinitely better by a.) Kanna saying things how she meant and b.) them not getting too handsy about it. They fight over her, but it’s never serious. It’s clear that she is very dear to them, but they never force their affections on her – Bel is upset because the transfer student hugs Kanna… Because she wanted to. Kanna hugs her. It’s actually really cute.

Story: Meg and Lilith 5, Kanna’s story 7
Art: 7
Yuri: 8
Service: 3?
Overall: 7

Erica here: Thank you Luce! I’ll be sure to pay attention to that third story when I have a chance to read this collection. ^_^





Sailor Moon S Kaguyahime no Koibito is a Christmas Movie

December 26th, 2021

As the rest of the world deliberates whether Home Alone or Die Hard counts as a Christmas movie, I have always felt myself above such things. ^_^ But then, translator Jocelyne Allen pointed out that Sailor Moon S Movie is in actual fact a Christmas movie and I could not argue. When she reminded me that this week the Sailor Moon Musical Kaguya-hime no Koibito was available for streaming on Japan 2.5. Stage Play World, my wife and I put together an impromptu double play of a story neither of us much like. ^_^

Firstly, Sailor Moon S The Movie is streaming in dub for free on YouTube right now for US folks. We never bought the new Viz release, so I dragged out our old Pioneer (!) DVD.  You can rent it on Amazon Prime or buy it for only about $5 more on Amazon, which gives you a sense of how popular it is.

The basic plot of the movie is that Luna and Artemis are on the skids. Luna, feeling sick, is found by a handsome man who is himself ill. He nurses her back to health. She learns that he is a Oozora Kakeru, a researcher who is obsessed with a comet that is approaching earth, which he has named “Kaguya-hime” after the moon being from the Taketori Monogatari. Kakeru’s lover is Himeko, a woman chosen for a space mission to study the comet. There is a little tension between them as Kakeru had also wanted to be an astronaut. Luna falls in love with Kakeru, but can do nothing when he falls ill.

As Christmas approaches, so does the comet, and with it Snow Princess Kaguya is revealed to be an alien who wants to take over the earth, naturally. The Senshi fight, are defeated and band together to defeat the enemy. Usagi grants Luna’s wish to become human for one night. She takes Kakeru to space and kisses him. She returns to Earth, and Artemis.

When the Sailor S Movie came out originally I watched it for the then-precious moments with the Outer Senshi. It was originally released in Japan in 1994, my three-disk “uncut” movie box set is from 2001, so possibly older than some of you reading this. Having Haruka and Michiru on screen sharing tea or shopping together was a big deal still.

If you still need proof that this is a Christmas movie, check in at about 21 minutes in:

 

Note the incongruous use of L’Chaim when Tuxedo Kamen throws a top at a snow dancer. This is wildly inappropriate – he should have said “Chag Sameach.” ^_^

Immediately after this, we fired up the Sailor Moon Musical Kaguya-hime no Koibito, starring Nogizaka46 members.

It was…not bad? Also terrible, but in the exact way I love. ^_^ To begin with here is the opening song, which was shaky but solidified up. Mercury was the weakest singer throughout, but the rest of the cast was good to great.

 

The bad stuff was more than one song about how much girls need guys, and until they have them are permanently unfulfilled. And Tuxedo Kamen’s final solo, about which my wife said, “This is unnecessary.” A shame too, because Riku Sorahane had a great voice. From the moment she stepped on stage we could see that she had been trained as a Takarisienne. It was in every motion she made.

Other strange bits were the Luna ballets and Himeko making a comment about being pregnant, which would definitely have kept her out of space. Also the final thanks felt like there was stuff that was supposed to have been said, and instead we have “thank you very much” shouted a us an excessive number of times, even for one of these musicals.

Speaking of excessive, they say “Starry Heavens” 8 times.

So…the good bits. Overall pretty good music. Snow Kaguya had a operatic voice that worked well. The Outers were all great. I can’t embed this, but here is a clip of the Outer Senshi actresses watching the show digest. At 1:30 they watch the bit where they arrive on stage: https://youtu.be/KBHlvUVcDnw?t=90. ^_^

The very best bit, in my opinion was when the Senshi “transform” they each have some dance moves that were adapted from their henshin sequence. I though this extremely clever.

The second best thing was that Haruka and Michiru are glued at the hip throughout the whole performance – even to the point of a small perfomative hug as they leave the stage the first time and holding hands as they leave the second time. It’s more than we ever got in the animated movie and it was overt enough that I wondered idly, if we’ll ever see them stage kiss in an official property.

Overall, it wasn’t as Christmasy as the animated movie, but it was fun. Again, I can’t embed it, but here is the show digest video, so you can get an idea of the spectacle.

Next year as everyone is waggling their Scrooged at you, don’t forget – Sailor Moon S Movie is also a Christmas movie. ^_^