Archive for the Now This Is Only My Opinion Category


Looking back at New Year’s Day

May 2nd, 2007

This is a post that has nothing to do with Yuri. :-)

Back in January, on the first two days of the year, I, the wife, and our friend and YC staffer Bruce all undertook something called a “Shichifukujin-meguri,” while in Tokyo. That is, we walked around the section of Tokyo called Minato-ku and visited the shrines of all seven of the gods of fortune and the eighth, for their treasure ship. It’s considered good luck to do so. In return for that pilgrimage, I asked for one thing – not to get the usual jet-lag from hell during my trip. And, as I did not, I thought we all held up our ends of the bargain and went home satisfied. :-)

Well, in the last month, I’ve gotten married, got a new job, and been on “the cover” of Afterellen, so I kind of feel like they did a bit more on their side than I have on mine. lol So this is thanks to Ebisu, Daikokuten, Bishamonten, Fukurokuju, Jurojin, Hotei and my especially beloved Benten and their ship of treasure for everything. I promise to give them something nice in return. :-)





Even More Utter Nonsense

April 7th, 2007

I was going to review manga today, but got caught up in something entirely stupid that I feel like sharing just because.

Totally off-topic for this site, but it’s my site, and the news is about me…

After being together for almost 24 years, my wife and I are undergoing an official ceremony on Tuesday. NJ now allows civil unions that guarantee all the many legal things a marriage does, and despite our commitment to never commit to anything…here we are. No ceremony, no pomp and circumstance or anything, just signing papers. And dessert.

But after a long, rather bizarre day full of much good (thank you Ted!) and extremely bad (email from some desperate soul in Japan who is stranded, lost and alone) Serge, Sean and Adam convinced me to make a “wedding registry” thingball on Amazon for myself and the wife. (She’s busy adding $500 truffles even as I type.)

Anyway, I’m not saying you *have* to look at it, or even that you *ought* to. But, if you’re the kind of person who is either a voyeur and wants to see what stuff we want, or are the kind of person who just loves all this nonsense, here’s the link:

http://www.amazon.com/gp/registry/wedding/1U4MBCX0SQV12

Some of the stuff on there is, yes, a joke. I don’t actually expect anyone to buy us a 52″ inch flat screen HDTV. LOL But weddings and civil unions live in fantasy land, so there you go. :)





Top Ten Yuri Countdown of 2006

December 28th, 2006

As promised. And just under the gun, too, because I’m flying out tomorrow, and probably won’t be able to post again for the rest of the year.

Every year, when I post my Top Ten lists, I get comments like, “Why didn’t you include ‘xyz’? The answer is always the same – either 1) I simply haven’t read or watched it or, 2) I didn’t like it as much as you did. Pick the answer that seems the most likely to you.

This list is, as is everything here, *my opinion.* Other than the fact that I pretty much single-handedly spearheaded the genre “Yuri” as you know it here in America, I make no claim to being more expert than anyone else. :-) Not everything on the list is something I like – not everything I like is on the list. That having been said, here is my list for the year’s Top Ten Yuri-related things:

10. FanBoys/Girls – So awful, so wonderful. These, the large majority of the yuri fanbase, R us. From the bottom of the barrel, where they seriously *don’t* know why we think they are creepy, to the pick of the litter, those folks who turn their interest into great original art, videos and literature, Fanboys and Fangirls are the folks who, for better or worse (usually worse) support Yuri. I revile them/us, make fun of their/our propensity to eschew quality for service, to not be able to tell the difference between a good story and a bad one, but they/we are the folks who buy the videos, the manga, the t-shirts and postcards and other goods that keep Yuri (and Yuricon and ALC) going. For being our backbone (and our potbelly) and for inspiring me to write reviews, do lectures, publish books, run events and for giving me many a good laugh at our collective insanity, Yuri Fandom everywhere makes number 10 on this year’s list.

9. Mai HiME/Mai Otome – For the sheer volume of conversation, fanart, fanfic and the like, this franchise has to make this year’s list. The manga is foul, the anime is laughable and full of service, but you know, we had a good time picking it to pieces. And we’re still watching the OAVs, aren’t we? It’s shiny, it’s full of women who are easily slashed, if not obviously coupled, and it has lots of pretty colors. 9 out of 10.

8. Maria-sama ga Miteru – I’ll be sure to let you know when I get tired of this series. :-) In the meantime, I continue to read the novels (falling behind faster and faster as Konno Oyuki continues to pump them out), watch the OAVs, listen to the Drama CDs, and read the manga, because when it’s all said and done, these are some of the greatest, most three-dimensional characters I’ve ever encountered. Never dull, always human and frequently hysterical, I have every intention of raving about this series for years to come.

7. Ichijinsha – I’m sorry that I’m not going to be the one to bring the great, great manga put out by Ichijinsha to the US. I really am. (And I want you to know that I did try.) But despite that, I have nothing but admiration and desire (Can one akogare a publishing company? lol) for the fantastic manga being created by Ichijinsha and Comic Yuri Hime. Many of my favorite titles this year were Ichinjisha publications – Strawberry Shake Sweet, Voiceful, Kuchibiru Tameiki Sakurairo, Simoun – and I look forward to everything they do in the future. I hope more of it becomes anime, too. Strawberry Shake Sweet would be an awesome anime, wouldn’t it? So, consider all but one of the above books all tied for number 7….

6. While we’re congratulating publishers, let me mention Seven Seas. They are the “new kid” on the yuri block, but with a PR machine, staff and money that ALC Publishing does not have, they’re instantly bigger and better known than we are after 3 years of paving the way. I’d like to resent them, but I can’t. LOL I just finished reading their translation of Kashimashi Girl Meets Girl and it may well be the best translation/transition to English I’ve ever seen for the American mass market. (A glowing review will be forthcoming.) I just wish they were picking up decent yuri titles, instead of the crap stories they’re promoting as “Yuri.” Stories aside, if their “Strawberry” imprint is as well executed as Kashimashi was, they’ll be on Okazu alot next year.

5. R.O.D and Read or Dream – This multiverse has alot going for it. Great characters, good action and, in one or two of the versions, some excellent writing. The anime for both were enjoyable and this year we got to see both manga come to the western market in English. And it was good. It’s not Yomiko or Nenene’s fault that the R.O.D. manga wasn’t that great – and it does help fill in some of the holes inthe TV series for those as didn’t know. Read or Dream is just fluffy yuri-filling fun. Yay Viz for giving us more Paper Masters.

4. Aoi Hana – This was not the world’s most popular yuri manga this year, but it should definitely be in the top ten. The art is simple, realistic, and the story is both simple and realistic, as well. The emotions are genuine, sweet, raw, and the characters – for once – act and look the ages they are supposed to be. I’m looking forward with bated breath to Volume 2, and praying that Yasuko-sempai doesn’t turn out to be a jerk. :-)

Deep breath, everyone. Here’s the top three Yuri of 2006…and not one surprise, I’m sure. lol

3. Hayashiya Shizuru – This woman is seemingly tireless. For years and years, she cranked out funny Yuri doujinshi, and last year “suddenly” exploded onto the scene as a popular yuri artist. Her doujinshi work in Jesus Drug has had to slow down, since she’s now responsible for one monthly series and another quarterly series, both of which are in my top ten. For both Hayate x Blade and Strawberry Shake Sweet Hayashiya Shizuru-sensei and her two fabulous manga series make my number 3 for the year. Either series would be a great anime (hint, hint, freakin’ Dengeki/Mediaworks who have made anime of much weaker series!!!!) and both are popular with the yuri crowd and beyond. I know how hard it is to do anything under a deadline – to have the constant strain of two deadlines is beyond my wildest nightmare. Kudos to Hayashiya-sensei. May she draw us yuri love comedies forever.

2. Strawberry Panic – And a panic it was. I, and others like me, panicked that we would, yet again, be forced to educate and inform shrieking hordes of near-illiterate fandumb, and the hordes panicked that they wouldn’t get more great stuff just like StoPani. Well, educate and inform I do, but still the hordes shriek for more. We talked about it a lot on the Yuricon Mailing List, parsing many of the multitudinous stolen concepts and characters, but in the end, it wasn’t so bad. It just wasn’t good. It was, therefore, insanely popular. This year’s “zOMG HAWT!!!111” series, I give you Strawberry Panic at number 2.

1. You have to have seen this coming. :-) At number 1, for the scope and breadth of the story, is Simoun.

It wasn’t perfect. But it *was* fascinating. Characters, plot complications, subcreation – all worked together to create an endlessly fascinating and meaningful world in which we watched a group of fine individuals lose a battle that was untenable from the beginning. This was not Gundam – they could not save their universe, but they did manage to find a way to save themselves. I admit to being a snob – any anime that confuses the majority of fandumb as Simoun did, is something I’ll consider worth watching. The fantastic art, the cinematic music (another OST I listen to all the time) the ship design, the religion, the politics and the people made it worth watching. Call it elitism, call me a stone cold bitch, but I call Simoun the absolute best Yuri of the year.

***

There you have it. I hope you enjoyed this, and the other 193 posts on Okazu this year. That makes slightly more than a post every two days. Where *do* I find the time…?

It’s absolutely not too late to buy presents for me to thank me for my hard work or presents from me, to enjoy my hard work, although the latter will be a tad delayed while I have a vacation.

And with that, I will wish you all a wonderful New Year – I’ll see you in 2007!





Top Ten Yuri Manga of 2006

December 22nd, 2006

Okay, I admit it, I didn’t think anyone ever really read these lists. ^_^ So, thanks to everyone who commented on yesterday’s Top Ten Yuri Anime of 2006 list! I’ll try not to let it go to my head. ;-)

Because this year we finally have a body of translated manga that falls under my loosest interpretation of Yuri, I’m going to split the manga list into two Top Five lists, one for translations into English and one for untranslated Japanese manga. It’s sort of restrictive, only having five and five, but I don’t want to add things that are merely okay, just because they happen to be translated. That having been said, let’s go!

Top Five English-language Yuri Manga of 2006

5. Strawberry Marshmallow/Ichigo Mashimaro – Okay, even I’m beginning to get sick of this series now. LOL But the manga, like the anime, makes me laugh, Miu is whack-tastic and clearly an EPL (Evil Psycho Lesbian) in training, and it’s just freaking cute. Okay? Let’s never mention it again. LOL

4. Kashimashi Girl Meets Girl – I haven’t had a chance to review the Seven Seas translation yet, but on first glance it seems a solid transition to English. The story still has that not-quite-Yuri feel about it for the first volume but, like the anime, by the end the gender issue isn’t, and the story remains about three girls in a love triangle. My opinion might change when the manga ends (something that really ought to be soon…) but for the moment, this remains one of the top five.

3. WORKS – Imagine this. A lesbian artist, drawing beautiful art, with stories about lesbians, for a lesbian audience. No almost yuri here – in fact, this is the only title on this year’s list that can claim that. That’s why we call it “100%” yuri. Tadeno Eriko has a classic manga style, her stories have humor, and pathos and angst and love and sex – between adult women who look and act adult. Exactly the kind of thing *I’m* looking for in yuri. While this was originally published in 2004, this year’s revised edition had mainstream book and comic store distribution, so here it is at number 3.

2. Blue – The story is not earth shaking, but for sheer excellence in transition to an English edition, Nananan Kiriko’s Blue has got to make this list. By far and away, the *best* reproduction of a manga I’ve ever seen. The English-language edition is exact to the original in every way…except that I can read it alot faster. :-)

And this year’s winner:

1. Read or Dream, Volume 1 – Not the most yuri story, not the best reproduction, but overall, one of the most *fun* things to come out this year. This alternate ROD-verse has a little something for everyone, and double that for fans of the ROD The TV anime. This will definitely be one of my “go to” books for a quick hit of chuckles time and time again. I’m thrilled to have it in English and I can’t recommend it enough. A total win for anyone who doesn’t require angst for a story to be “good.”

Top Five Japanese-language Yuri Manga of 2006

5. Kotonoha no Miko to Kotodama no Majyo to – In the beginning, I did not like Fujieda Miyabi’s art. Seriously. As my regular readers know, I am not a fan of “cute.” But over time, both story and characters really began to grow on me. By the time the story ended, I was hooked. Of course, the fact that Letty and Tsumugi’s story has continued in Drama CD form only serves to keep me hooked. :-) In the mean time, like Fujieda’s Iono-sama series, I’ve re-read MikoMajyo multiple time already and enjoyed it more every time.

4. Yokohama Kaidashi Kikou – This series is in serious contention for my “Best manga series ever ever ever” award. And, although it ended this year, it will remain in my heart forever. Sounds goopy, I know, but it’s true. Art, story, characters, were all well-crafted with subtle, delicate strokes…a veritable masterwork of manga. It ended as beautifully as ever, with exactly the right touch of Yuri. I, and other fans of Alpha and Kokone, couldn’t ask for more.

3. Kuchibiru no Tameiki Sakurairo – I’m not the only Yuri manga fan to be sad that Morinaga Milk has decided to stop drawing for Yuri Hime magazine. Like most of the stories that began in Yuri Shimai and were continued in Yuri Hime, this began as a series of semi-related one-shots that developed into an actual story somewhere along the line. I’m sorry that we’ll never get to see Nana and Hitomi grow up, move in together and live happily ever after, but we do get to see them go from friends to lovers, with beautiful art. A pleasure to read – and again, a volume I’ve already re-read several times.

2. Hayate x Blade – Hayashiya Shizuru is surely angling for “Yuri mangaka of the year” this year. Her Hayate x Blade gets a little gayer with each chapter, a little crazier, a little cooler and a little win-er. The HxB Drama CD kept the Yuri and upped the wacky. And when, every month I pick up my copy of Dengeki Daioh, its Hayate x Blade that I save for last so I can savor every moment. Hitsugi x Shizuku, Momoko x Isuzu, Hayate x Ayana x Jun, and every other pair of shinyuu at Tenchi Gakuen make this series pure gold. If only an anime…

And this year’s new champion….

1. It’s a one-two punch for Hayashiya Shizuru-sensei, with her winning combination of Julia and Ran in Strawberry Shake Sweet! (You can’t be too surprised to find three of the Yuri Hime manga volumes on this list, right?) A Yuri mangaka, who has been doing comedy Yuri manga and doujinshi for just about *ever*, all of Hayishiya’s physical humor and goofiness come together in this strangely touching and strangely hysterical and plain old strange girls’ love series. There’s about two straight female characters in the whole series. And one of them is doomed. ^_^

***

And that’s it for 2006’s Top Ten Yuri Manga. Sometime before I leave next week, I will sum the whole year up in a giant Top Ten of Yuri, but until then, don’t forget two things: scanlations do not pay artist’s bills, and comments don’t pay mine. Rent, borrow, buy – don’t download. If you love Yuri, support it in a way that pays the bills. On behalf of Yuri publishers everywhere, thanks to everyone who *has* supported Yuri by buying it from ALC and/or through the Yuricon Shop!





Top Ten Yuri Anime of 2006

December 21st, 2006

It seems to be that time of year again, when “Top Ten” Lists of everything from manga to Bollywood Babes pop up and, as I am leaving next week right after Xmas for Tokyo and Comiket, I thought I’d better start working on this now. ^_^

As always, this list is going to be a mix of old and new, licensed series and as-yet unreleased in the west, because otherwise the list would be darn short. ;-) It’s also all in *my* opinion, so go ahead and comment that I’m wrong, but it’s not like you’re gonna change my mind.  In any case – here we go!

***

10. Aria the Natural – This anime is making this year’s top 10 list, not because of its brilliant overt yuriness, but because part of the fun of watching it was looking for every teeny weeny little thing that could be vaguely run through the Yuri goggles and pointed at with a successful “Aha!” I and many others, remain convinced that Akira and Alicia are an item.

9. My HiME – What might have been a HUGE release for this anime in the US seems to have fizzled, largely in part to the DVDs for Volume 1 having issues. But the love of ShizNat, and other smexy Yuri couples, with or without any basis for existence, made this series a Yuri fandom fave in 2006. I personally think a strong push as a “Yuri” series would have bumped sales considerably.

8. Ichigo Mashimaro/Strawberry Marshmallow – I know, we’ve been beating this series to death this week, but when I bought the first volume of the anime I remembered all over again just how snortingly funny it is. And how much Miu is all about getting a little sugar from Nobue. Because, despite myself – every freakin’ time – I watch this, I laugh, and because there’s more than enough Yuri in it to make a case for just about anyone and anyone, this series makes number eight this year.

7. Coyote Ragtime Show – Sometimes a show just gets it right. The women are cool and sexy without making you feel yucky for thinking that, they look voluptuous, but not absurd, and they make you laugh, even as they are capping some redshirt. When neither the men nor the women are weak or incompetent and there’s a sense of something, you know, between the women. Throw in some space opera and friendly ruffian-type action, and you got yourself a winner. To paraphrase a very bad movie, give me a bottle of redeye, a crazy straw and Coyote Ragtime Show, and I’ll be one happy Erica. ^_^

6. Tied for sixth place are Kannazuki no Miko and Ninja Nonsense – Kannazuki no Miko was undoubtedly one of the most popular yuri releases of 2006. I’ve talked alot about KnM and why it’s popular but not good and, every time, people prove my point by writing incoherent comments filled with righteous indignation at me. But re-watching it, I was able to divorce the anime from the fandumb and remember why I thought it fun in the first place. The same is true for what is being released here as Ninja Nonsense. It’s openly tacky and ridiculous and, unlike KnM, is not going to have armies of insane fans, but *like* KnM it has a really cute Yuri couple, and some fun moments. Fun train-wreck Yuri anime. Number 6.

5. Mai Otome – It ended in spring 2006 without the enormous thud that tarnished Mai Hime. It was not nearly as good a story, and the plot holes were, well large and plentiful. But it had about 1/100th the angst and the whole setup read like an alternate-universe fanfic for the original anyway, so anyone who expected “good” clearly lacked critical thinking skills in the first place. What it was, was a fun, stupid take on the characters of the HiME-verse and it remained, from beginning to end a coherent, consistent, fun stupid take on the HiME-verse. And once again in the minority, I liked the ending. ^_^

4. Kashimashi Girl Meets Girl -I haven’t reviewed the thirteenth episode yet, but it hasn’t changed my opinion overall of the anime. This is another series I was prepared to dislike, but never really needed to. Sure, it was light, fluffy, full of incredibly convenient plot complications….but hello, anime? This is not Ghibli. So, for the anime, at least, once Hazumu became a girl, she stayed that way and it became a Yuri story by sheer force of the fact that it was girls in love with a girl. When the end came, which I saw as “the right choice for the wrong reason” I wasn’t surprised. When the *real* end came, which I saw as “the wrong choice for the right reason” I still wasn’t surprised. I was surprised at the outrage among viewers at the fluffiness of the end. Did they not notice that the plot was about a boy who was turned into a girl because he was killed by an alien spaceship? In any case, although it will never be something I recommend as a representative “Yuri” anime, it was still fun to watch.

Now for the big three. ^_^

3. I am SO glad the Maria-sama ga Miteru OAV 1: Kyuuka no Hitsuji/Vacation of the Lambs made it in for this year’s list! I think the OAV did a great job of capturing Yumi’s feelings of akogare/admiration/desire for Sachiko, while significantly cutting down on the self-loathing. It’s romantic and sweet and win. Once again, my akogare for Konno Oyuki grows by leaps and bounds. ^_^

2. Strawberry Panic was undoubtedly, the hottest Yuri anime this year. What began as cheesy, blatant rip-offs of every other Yuri anime and manga ended as a cheesy blatant rip-offs with a decent story, characters that didn’t blow and a fun, if predictable, ending. The Yuri was as blatant as the rip-offs, and all the plots and characters were recognizable and therefore easy to comprehend. Fandumb rooted for all the wrong characters, for the wrong reasons, and delighted in the gouts of fanservice and pandering. This series will be a benchmark series for me going forward. If a person likes Strawberry Panic more than Marimite, they won’t be coming over my house for lunch, ever. And they probably won’t ever understand why. ^_^ But in the end, the characters proved us wrong and they all went ahead and became three-dimensional anyway, and it wasn’t nearly as bad as it could have been.

1. Simoun and Strawberry Panic were opposites in nearly every way, but they both undoubtedly shaped this year’s Yuri anime scene. Simoun was an eclectic mix of Yuri fanservice, war story, character story, gender issues, politics and religion. Not everyone who saw it liked it, but those who liked it, loved it. And rightfully so. This was not an anime for the lowest common denominator – it presupposed some genuine intelligence in the viewing audience. For that alone, it stands on top of the pile. No blatant rip-offs here – this series took actual work, because the world it was set in was original and unique…and they never filled in all the details. And yet, because the characters were strong, and the reactions real, the holes in the world weren’t a problem. After all- who knows everything about why people do what they do in this world, either? I wouldn’t recommend Simoun to a beginner, but if I were doing an academic course and wanted to use an anime to engender discussion, Simoun would be the one I would choose.

By far and away, the most outstanding Yuri anime of 2006, Simoun.