Just in time for your holiday shopping, Yuricon brings you gifts, t-shirts, baseball caps and more that tell the world that you love yuri!

Also new for fans of yuri – we’re redoing the Manga page so that you can purchase yuri manga in English and Japanese from Amazon and Amazon Japan. Now, when you’ve heard about something as great as Yokohama Shopping Log on the Yuricon Mailing List, you’ll be able to get a copy for your very own, right from your home for yuri and shoujoai, Yuricon.

Keep you eyes on the Yuricon Shop as we update the pages, add new manga, gifts and a brand-new anime page. Buy your yuri anime, manga and gifts through Yuricon and show your support for yuri and shoujoai!

One of the stand-out anime that I am watching at the moment has got to be today’s entry, Phantom Memory Kurau. I really cannot recommend it enough. In a season full of mostly-predictable, fanservice-filled retreads, Kurau stands head and shoulders above the rest.

Technically Kurau isn’t really from this season – it began last season on Japanese TV and was licensed very quickly by ADV, who saw a winner in it. And I agree wholeheartedly. Even watching this series raw has been a pleasure. In fact, I’m amazed at how much (other than the police lingo and scientific jargon) I can follow. Which says alot about how basic the idea of this series is.

The setup is presented neatly at the beginning of the anime as Dr. Amami, a scientist, is exploring a new form of energy, called Rynax energy. His daughter, Kurau, is invaded/attacked/infested by the Rynax and begins to show signs of mysterious and completely para-human abilities. After an accident in which Dr. Amami loses an arm, in an effort to protect her father from her unpredictable nature, Kurau leaves her father. When we encounter her, she is an adult, working as an “agent,” a sort of free-range PI. Not surprisingly her powers make her very, very good at her job.

But life is not perfect for Kurau. She is awaiting the arrival of her “twin”,” her Rynax partner. Shortly after her twin manifests, the two are pursued by a para-military police force called the GPO. Kurau’s twin, Christmas, looks like a younger version of Kurau, but does not initially appear to be able to manifest Rynax powers.

The chase still goes on as the series approaches ep. 26, but the story has been consistently excellent. There has been the occasional threat of a predictable plot complication, but so far the writers have avoided any serious plot potholes.

As bad guys, the GPO seem pleasantly conspiracy-theory-ish, while the individual GPO members have developed really interesting personalities. Leading the pack is Ayaka Steiger, an angst-filled GPO career officer with many axes to grind. Her pursuit of Kurau and Christmas quickly becomes personal…but it’s to Kurau that Ayaka reaches out when she needs to be understood.

Even the sidekick all-knowing smart guy and ex-GPO dude, Dag, isn’t annoying. How is that possible? Ex-whatever guys are *always* annoying. Not Dag. He’s just a really, really nice guy.

Yuri-wise you’re not going to get anything blatant here. Kurau and Christmas are like sisters, but they definitely, genuinely love one another. Their connection is really deep and really touching. In fact, despite her age, Christmas is such a good character and so great with Kurau that even *I,* child-hater that I am, don’t dislike her. Plenty of people are seeing yuri there, but I’m not a big fan of yuricest and I don’t see anything physical between them, just sisters that share a major connection through the Rynax.

There is serious yuri potential between Ayaka and Kurau, however. As the recent episodes have played out, Ayaka has sought out Kurau, befriended her, opened up to her and, if you’re a typical yuri fan, you’re seeing sparks starting to build. I can totally see Ayaka x Kurau fanfic in the works. If the anime doesn’t provide the actual bread, it’s certainly handing us the grist. :-)

Even the science in Kurau is interesting. Some of it is quite plausible, which gives the more hypothetical stuff a firm base. And I love the way the terraformed moon is drawn. It’s too cool. :-)

Ratings:
Story – 9
Character – 9
Art – 8
Music – 8
Yuri – 5

Overall – 8.

Let’s see – cool, competent older lead. Cool, competent potential love interest. Gee, you *think* it’s my type of anime? LOL

And not a single school uniform to be seen. Happy sigh. :-)

The Yuricon Shop is celebrating its Grand Re-Opening with a sale on 100% yuri manga from ALC!

Get copies of Rica ‘tte Kanji!? by Rica Takashima, WORKS by Eriko Tadeno and Yuri Monogatari 2, ALC’s original yuri anthology, at up to 20% off the cover price!

We have *finally* have found a stable replacement for the evil online payment system which shall remain nameless, in Yow Cow. Yow Cow works exactly the same as that other online payment system, so it should be no trouble at all if you’re familiar with online payment – and it allows you to pay by credit card, and from any of almost 200 countries.

Pre-order now, and get the 2nd edition of Rica ‘tte Kanji!? – with bonus “freetalk” pages – for 20% off. Share Rica’s funny and heart warming adventures with a friend or two – or heck, *make* a friend or two, by introducing them to 100% yuri manga. :-)

Over the next few weeks, check out our new line of gifts, t-shirts and other items that we’ll be adding just in time for the holidays!

A series about an abusive Gothic Lolita doll and her loser human servant. Need I say more?

I had actually picked up a copy of the Rozen Maiden manga ages ago, flipped through it, then dropped it like the evil thing it is.  But when the anime came out, I found myself attracted to it in ways that make absolutely *no* sense to me whatsoever. For one thing, I hate dolls with a passion. They utterly creep me out. And the Goth-loli look is not a charm point for me. So, why then am I watching this with something approaching actual enjoyment?

Well, to be fair, the anime for Rozen Maiden is really well done, for one thing. The art is clean, the voice acting excellent and the opening and ending themes are done by Ali Project, those darlings of Bee Train anime and also the folks who gave life to Pastel Pure – the opening theme of Maria-sama ga Miteru.

The story is simple – creepy doll Shinku finds her way to the house of Jun, a boy who is a classic hikkikomori, in the sense that he is *so* socially retarded (and, we are led to believe, genuinely phobic) that he is terrified to leave the house. Jun’s sister Nori seems happy enough to take care of Jun even while she hopes that he will one day go back to school.

Shortly after Shinku’s arrival another doll (a clown…of course,) arrives to kill Jun. Shinku informs Jun that she can save him, but he must swear to be her servant. The word she uses has more of the implication of “slave” so, naturally, Jun is reluctant. However, he is more reluctant to die, so, he kisses her ring and now lives as indentured servant to a doll. A doll with impeccable manners, but still…

The next several episodes involves introducing many more dolls, some good, some bad, and one seriously annoying little girl doll who makes my teeth clench everytime she speaks. Each doll has her own issues and powers. At least one of the dolls is *evil* – you can tell, she’s all in black and leaves raven feathers everywhere she’s been…oh, and she says something about destroying Shinku somewhere in there too. See? Evil.

Okay, I admit it, I have no sense of tension, urgency or passion about this series – in fact, when questioned, I admit it’s stupid with a capital “stoo,” but I like it anyway. Where else but in anime can one see a creepy loser kid get the stuffing beaten out of him by a doll and still like the doll better than the human?

So, yeah, Yuri. Well…I don’t got my hopes up, but I’m willing to be wrong. I think the sister would make good crush fodder, but as has already been pointed out to me, she *does* have a serious brother complex, so maybe not. Yuri between the dolls somehow holds no appeal for me…but then, I hate dolls. If there is any, I’m betting we see akogare by at least one of the dolls for Shinku who is, honestly, quite cool if you like physically abusive goth-loli dolls. ^_^

Ratings:

Story – 7
Character – 8
Art – 8
Music – 8
Yuri – 0
Service – 7

Overall – A strong 6. I’m willing to give it time and see where it goes.

Watching Shinku beat the crap out of Jun makes me happy, what can I say? Apparently my admiration for women who aren’t above a little physical violence extends to dolls. Great.

There are so *many* things that are awful about Ryuusei Sentai Musumet, I’m at a loss where to begin. ^_^

I had high hopes for this anime, I really did. The logo is very Charlie’s Angels and I hoped for something that was self-consciously kitschy and satirical. Unfortunately, what I ended up with was something that was just dull. Oh, it *tries* to be kitschy and satirical…but fall short, and ends up being the kind of thing that teen boys make Beavis and Butthead noises about, while entirely missing that *they* are the ones being made fun of.

Musumet starts with three color-coded girls: Kurenai (red), Aoi (blue) and Midori (green). They live in a lab/HQ/complex along with an older guy who was Kurenai’s father’s best friend, a repulsive midget child, a requisite flaky, yet super genius inventor megane girl and a competent and probably homicidally frustrated blonde second-in-command. A random male classmate (who appears to be in a completely *different* anime most of the time,) finishes the lineup. The supporting cast are, apparently, three sisters, one who is half American and speaks highly amusing Jinglish/Engrish, one who is half Chinese, who is too cute to be as offensive as the normal Chinese stereotypes are usually, and one who is, inexplicably, half Brazilian (?) and seems to function in an expository manner most of the time.

In every episode, thus far, a random handsome guy has turned into a very stupid Monster of the Day, and been defeated by one or more of the Musumet girls – usually by the girl that liked him. Utterly yawn-making.

The satire portion of this series has been limited to henshin scenes in which only the helmet transforms and a few gags – mostly predictable, a few midly amusing. The self-conscious quality is completely missing…even the fanservice lacks irony.

And irony is what this series so desperately needs. Instead of being a funny parody of the sentai genre, it reads like one more of a zillion lame-ass fanservicey shounen attempts at magical girl. I anticipate tentacles any day now, in the same way that I anticipate a cavity at my next dental check up.

There is NO Yuri here. The first three episodes were virtually dedicated to proving how heterosexual these three girls are. I was *so* hoping for a Kate Jackson-like character, who was if not gay, at least cool and competent and slightly butchy…but no.

I can’t imagine a plot ever developing, either. What would they do? Why would anyone care? And yet, there was the vaguest hint at the end of the fourth episode, that a plot is forthcoming. I shudder to think.

Ratings:

Story – 3
Characters – 4
Art – 3
Music – 8, because it’s appropriately cheeseball
Yuri – 0

Overall – a lame, limping 4.

It’s series like this one that make me wonder *who* exactly are being targeted? I mean, if *I* thought this series was great, I’d be worried about me. On the whole, if I want crap, I’ll stick with the likes of Lingerie Soldier Papillon Rose – now *that’s* quality. ^_^