It is absolutely gobsmacking to think that we have been following these two young woman in real time almost as long as they have been alive in story time. The Kase-san series turns 15 years old this summer. Boggling.
And, finally, they seem to be growing up a bit. But they still have some hurdles to clear in Kase-san and Yamada, Volume 4, which is the ninth volume of this story!
Kase-san and Yamada are planning on moving out of the dorms and into an apartment together. Yamada finds the perfect place, but Kase-san cannot get herself together to sign the lease. Instead of leaving the dorms, she finds herself unable to cope with the unrequited emotional baggage of her roommate.Her teammates are no help at all, and encourage Kase-san to race Fukami, because they want a race, and Kase-san isn’t strong-willed enough to claim her own space.
Meanwhile Yamada finds that she has managed to build a little nest of friends on her side. Hana and Fukawachhi help her move in and she unloads the absurd story on them. And then Kase-san arrives and it’s just as wonderful as Yamada dreamed. Whene she casually reminds Kase-san that her plan is to study in England, we feel the future looming up ahead, but for now, Kase-san and Yamada are happy in their own place together. Yay.
This is a spot at which the series could, if it needs to, stop. And it will have served all the functions we can ask of it – we got to see Yamada meet and fall in love with Kase-san, Kase-san return her feelings, they graduated and moved to the big city, and now, are living together, at last with nothing between them. And yet! There they are in this issue of Wings magazine with a color page and a slight mismatch of schedules once again, causing mild chaos that will resolve with the two of them happily together. This series has traveled a long road, between magazines and online publishing and, like it’s titular characters has foun it’s home and is quite settled in, thank you.
Kase-san and Yamada are not flashy people, this manga is not a flashy title, but it has quietly been doing an amazing job of bringing us a lovely Yuri couple for 15 years now, and I think Takashima Hiromi-sensei deserves a lot of praise for her work.
The Rose of Versailles movie, streaming on Netflix, is an ambitious, entertaining and colorful condensation of Riyoko Ikeda’s masterwork manga series set in the days leading up to the French Revolution.
I was honored to be the editor for the English-language edition of The Rose of Versailles manga, published by Udon Entertainment. As a result, I am among a select few who can claim to have spent many intimate hours with the text of this magnum opus. I am no more intimate with the Dezaki anime than most other fans, having seen it two or three times (more on that later.) But the manga? I know that very well. ^_^
After opening credits that flash gilded splendor and brightly colored character designs in a dizzying display, we are flying above the carriage of Marie Antoinette as she, the new Dauphine, rides into Paris to the great acclaim of the French people. We are presented with a song of hope, that hunger and strife will be things of the past, now that their beautiful and beloved Antoinette arrives.
When then meet Oscar François de Jarjayes, the young scion of the noble de Jarjayes family. Born a girl, Oscar has been raised as a boy since her birth. She has been assigned the rank of Captain of the Queen’s Guard and is, likewise, acclaimed as beautiful and talented.
What follows is a tightly wound story, focusing on a mere four characters from this grand historical epic: Oscar, Marie Antoinette, Oscar’s servant Andre Grandier, and Hans Axel von Fersen, an envoy from Sweden. To quote from the very first panels of the manga itself, “1755… In this year, three individuals who would eventually have a fateful encounter at Versailles, France were born in three different European countries.”
The manga is a massive 1300+ page epic, spanning the years before and after the French Revolution, looking at this tumultuous time from the perspectives of noble and commoner alike, centering the experience of one person, Oscar, who moved between the classes through circumstance and choice and whose decisions come to rest on the side of the people.
The anime is a brilliant look at court life and the circumstances that turned the people against the Royal family.
This movie is about those three people mentioned in the first panels of the manga and the fourth, a loyal and loving servant carried in Oscar’s wake. To tell this more personal tale, much of the historical context is removed and some of the personal context is re-imagined as musical numbers. I really enjoyed these, noting that, of all four, only Oscar is ever seen “singing” any portion of the song. Animation during those musical numbers was grand in the way that Versailles is grand – over-produced and hard to watch, too much to take in. It was perfect.
While we’re on the topic of Versailles, this anime does the same thing the original anime does – it simplifies the visuals of Versailles. We see that it look fancy, but that is not how it looks at all. Versailles is entirely covered inside with marbles and porphyries and paintings so that there is nowhere for one’s eyes to rest. Every inch of floor and wall and ceiling is illustrated and gilded. This is important to understand, because as we see a young, presumably naive Marie Antoinette being besotted by clothes and watches and jewelry (and, in reality gambling), we must understand that Versailles is beyond normal people’s reckoning of how money is meant to spent. This is literally the kind of opulence the current US President aspires to, but as he is a short-fingered vulgarian, his vision is limited with no artistic aesthetic value, so his towers are classlessly gilded and tawdry. But I digress. My point is, that in the manga, we are meant to be exasperated with Marie Antoinette from the beginning, losing faith in her along with the French people and losing hope when when her own mother writes her to stop, already and remember her responsibility as well as her privilege. We are given leave to sympathize with her again at the very end of her life, as a mother who cares deeply for her children but, although she retains her dignity to the end, she also retains her unchanged belief in royalty’s claim of power granted by God, which makes her a hard person to like.
What this movie does well is frequently pay homage to both the manga from which it sprang and the original television anime series, directed by Dezaki Osamu, which led to his later masterwork direction on Dear Brother. We are frequently given moments from the anime, reimagined, and we once again meet old friends, who get a line or two: Rosalie, Bernard, Alain, Girodelle. Girodelle had 6 lines. I counted. I love Girodelle, in part for the fact that translation of his name is a key element in the presentations I was doing about translation and editing some years ago. Of the principle characters in the first half of the story, Girodelle is one of the few nobles who has no basis in history. So is ジェローデル Girodel or Girodelle? He only has one purple suit and I know how his story ends, which was a whole homage of it’s own. I won’t spoil the fun, though, in hopes that one day we finally do get the Rose of Versailles Episodes volume 1.
Homage to the manga comes in still screen shots (something Dezaki favors in his anime) that are rendered to look more like the manga, especially classic “shock eyes.” I know I mentioned this before, but while editing RoV, I collected a lovely assortment of Osca’rs expressions and eyes. So much of the story is told through the way she changes, from her youthful determination
to the moment she chooses her fate – her look of grief and despair cloaked in her desire to not waste her death.
Many of these looks are captured by this movie, something I really appreciated. The scene where Andre and Oscar spend the night together is also very reminiscent of the manga, to great effect.
Every time I watch this series to review it, it is so politically relevant I feel a bit nauseous. My first encounter with it was when Bush “nice-guyed” us into wars we did not belong in, and the second time, I finished the final disk just as police shot Michael Brown in Ferguson, Mississippi and again at the protests of that death, and this time I watched the movie as a petty and gobsmackingly incompetent man is funded by another petty and delusional man in order to destroy our Commons, so they can scrape more money out of our economy for their clothes, jewelry and gambling and the Mar-a-Petite Trianon. As prices rise and shelves start looking empty, I have to expect that we will be seeing scenes similar to those in this movie.
The voice acting was top-notch throughout, but I feel the need to praise Sawashiro Miyuki’s Oscar for a powerful performance throughout. She was outstanding in every scene, but the night before the storming of the Bastille, as she querulously ask if Andre would sleep with her, with a catch in her voice of fear and hope…breathtaking.
A number of people I respect felt that this movie was a superficial treatment of the story, I politely disagree. It chose a new path through this story, focusing not on events, or politics, or economics, but on the lives of four people who live through this history-changing event. And as that, I found it a fresh and approachable take on one of the greatest historical manga of all time.
Ratings:
Animation – 9 CGI was a little intrusive in some places, but the more over-the-top, the better it worked.
Characters – 9 We still get a sense of them
Story – 9 Of all the revolutions, the French Revolution never ceases to be relevant
Overall – 9
I understand why, when I stood on the spot formerly occupied by the Bastille, that there is no trace of the building. I wonder what our next revolution will pull down.
In happier thoughts, I am reminded of the time we visited the Margaret magazine 40th anniversary exhibition and were able to pose with Oscar and Andre, but the moment that really blew my head off, was coming around the corner to find myself facing the portrait of Oscar as Mars that, in the OG anime, she commissioned. There it was, lifesize in oils, and for a moment, reality bent and it was all real. ^_^
Our first in-person live Sailor Moon stage show was in 2002, when we stumbled into a performance hall quite accidentally, and found ourselves in a Sailor Moon gift shop for a show that was playing. It was a version of the third season, Super, so were were delighted to be able to see it. We went to Shining Moon Tokyo, the Sailor Moon restaurant as part of the 100 Years of Tokyo Tour, where the show had incredibly clever use of a very small space. One of the defining moments was Mars using some kind of LED light effect baton that, when swung, looked as if it was flames. (This is pertinent to this report, bear with me!)
And, finally, we were able to see the first iteration of Sailor Moon The Super Live when it came to Washington, DC and New York City in 2019. That was a lovely fully 2.5D experience, with panels from the manga in the background as the story played out. Beryl was joined by Kunzite alone of the Shittenou who appeared as baddies.
And on Friday, my wife and I attended the Sailor Moon The Super Live North American Tour 2025 event in Newark, NJ at NJPAC, as part of the 21-city North American Tour. We had sat on the idea of going for a week, so were unable to get VIP tickets, but when we got an email from NJPAC to RSVP to a “secret” pre-show event, obviously, we did immediately. And that, starting right off, was an indication of just how far NJPAC was leaning into this show. We used secret code “silvercrystal” to get an RSVP. It was adorable cringe. ^_^
Of course, we arrived too early! I walked up and down the line as people arrived taking pictures of all our cool Sailor Moon dress up, shirts and gear. At the bottom of this post is a gallery of photos I took of everyone. Two quick disclaimers: Everyone gave me explicit permission to use these photos, but if you want yours removed, please free to ask and I will! Conversely, if I took your picture and it’s not here, I apologize, just let me know and I’ll find it and add it. I had a lot of pictures to comb through. The entire (windy) time we waited, music from Sailor Moon anime and shows wafted around the plaza. You could see folks bopping and singing along to their faves.
Once inside, we headed up to the pre-show event. Again, NJPAC did a wonderful job. When we checked in, we got a bingo card. I did my best to fill out as many of the boxes as quickly as I could, because it was fun, and ran back to get a prize, which was a really large, cute Luna stuffed animal. She now sits proudly next to our Osaka-ben talking Kero-chan next to where I am typing. ^_^ We had “asian-inspired” food, which was a very generous interpretation of Chinese-ish pork, shrimp or mushroom buns, pasta with sesame oil and desserts choices of brownies, lemon bars, strawberries, and mochi donuts, with a choice of hibiscus or matcha boba drinks. We ate some food then had a few of everything dessert, while (again) ran around taking pictures…because everyone was SO cute. ^_^
Here are a few pictures I want to share specifically, just because the Outers looked amazing, as they always do. But do please check the entire gallery.
And this outstanding group of Outer Senshi princesses:
Then it was time for the show. The story hasn’t changed…but actually, it has. Every show I have seen has made small changes to the story. Here, they did some interesting things on a meta-level. While several songs insisted that all of the Senshi are still “normal girls” they likewise insisted that their powers are part of that “normal.” THIS is who they are and it’s perfectly okay.
They leaned deeply into their defining characteristics of Justice (Moon), Intelligence (Mercury), Passion (Mars), Courage (Jupiter) and Love (Venus.) This theme repeated, as did the song Starry Heavens and My Universe. And, while their introductory songs did briefly give their backstories, these were stripped of angst and centered on how Usagi changed their lives. If a lack of something can be considered a theme, then lack of angst was a key theme here. We get a number of pieces about Beryl, the war between the moon and earth and Endymion and Serenity in the second act, but the death of the senshi is – refreshingly – absent, and it is Sailor Moon who lifts herself up, then rejoins her friends. Likewise, Queen Metallia is presented as an annoyance to Beryl, a tool, that she had no choice but to use but she is uninterested in giving her the Legendary Silver Crystal if possible, as she plans to keep it for herself.
There were a number of moments played for jokes and a number of moments in which the audience just laughed, knowing what thing was being referenced.
The effects were presented in several ways – stage lighting and a large screen in the back that ran subtitles of dialogue and songs and also stood in for city scenes. Miasma and Queen Metallia were nicely presented on the screen. There was a metal framework in front of the screen implying the city of Azabu Juban and Tokyo tower, which I quite liked. It would light up as the miasma left and Sailor Moon saved the city..again. ^_^ But, once again my favorite effect was in the different LED light sticks that were used…and the LED spinners.
This show had LED lighting effect in short batons, long lances which I though were extra cool and rhythmic-gymnastic-like ribbons which lit up, then could be stiff, as well. They were incredible, but completely overwhelmingly the winner were the spinners. You know fire spinning, right? These were similar. Things that were spun, but because it is a programmable LED, the effects were amazing. They could imply a galaxy, or an attack…the Senshi’s attacks were met with crowd approval, but when the spinners kicked in to show the planetary symbols, the crowd went wild. ^_^ It looked amazing.
The cast was excellent. This was an exhausting show. Just the number of times Usagi had to collapse to her knees make me tired. ^_^ They had stairs which they ran up and down, singing (they were doing the singing live as the occasional imperfect note confirmed,) and of course dancing, “fighting” and generally running around. The harmonies were solid, and they were just…the Senshi. Riko Tanaka’s Usagi was cute, clumsy, and somehow stronger than you expected (wifey says, “with a pair of pipes”,) while Kanon Maekawa as Ami was slightly less vulnerable than she previously has been portrayed, Rei Kobayashi was a perfect Rei, focusing on her own strengths and desires, Kisara Matsumura as Makoto had a pleasant soprano, and left her heartbreak behind in one sentence, and Marin Makino’s Minako was confident and still, somehow, a little goofy. I find myself less and less tolerant of Tuxedo Mask, but have to give props to Riona Tatemichi’s performance and the script for somehow making him a bit sympathetic. But the winner and still champeen is, without a doubt, Sayaka Okamura as Queen Beryl. Holy crow could that woman sing.
Once Beryl kidnaps Mamoru and the Senshi have to travel to the Dark Kingdom, the tone of the music changes dramatically. A neon sign reads “Dark Kingdom,” and the world is not dark, but a brightly lit party-all-the-time-even-if-you-don’t-want-to honky-tonk. Beryl sings “Burn Up The Dance Floor,” a song of violent, yet catchy, retribution and she just nails every note. Her reprise in the revue portion was even more enthusiastically received. Absolutely outstanding performance.
Props to the extras, as well, who work really hard with little credit, playing characters like the Dark Kingdom creatures, Haruna-sensei, Naru’s Mom, and Usagi’s Mom, in scene after scene.
The revue portion included a version of La Soldier. I sat next to a family that included a dad who was not familiar with any of this, but clearly bopped to some of the catchier tunes, a mom who was a fan and a kid who was not, but was well-behaved and absolutely befuddled when the entire audience suddenly began to sing this song. ^_^ My wife howled at the appropriate point and was delighted that she wasn’t the only one.
After a few other songs, it concluded with Moonight Densetsu. I don’t know how long this will stay up even though the audience is given explicit permission to record and post this video with the hashtag #SailorMoonSuperLive, but here is Moonlight Densetsu from the finale!
I hope you will also take a look at these photos of the creativity and joy of the audience.
This was a fantastic show. There are a very few seats left for remaining NYC shows…it looks like Philly and Hartford are sold out. I highly recommend this experience, if only to be part of a dedicated, shockingly non-toxic fandom. ^_^
Now that this tour has been so successful, you know I’m hoping that they do Super with the Outers next time. ^_^ I understand that having 8 more people on the tour is a lot of logistics, but…I wanna see the Outers use those LED spinners for their attacks!
Otherside Picnic manga, Volume 12 concludes “The Whisper Is At-Your-Own-Risk” then launches into “About That Rush” concluding with Kozakura’s rebuttal, “Flashback To That Night”.
Another intense read, from gripping action, troubling revelations and a trip to the Otherside where Furth Kind idol Runa will discover the consequences of meeting your idol.
And then there is Toriko’s declaration of her feelings for Sorawo. The conclusion to “The Whisper Is At Your-Own-Risk” is exhausting and satisfying, there are a lot of moving parts and the artwork makes sure that you will be shocked. And then the “About That Rush” gives us a guided tour of The Mountain Ranch, the place created by Runa’s fan club to be a conduit to the Otherside.
So safe to say, there is a lot going on in this volume.
I have often explored Otherside Picnic as an exploration of trauma, of how victims try to navigate the legacy of their trauma. This volume is certainly in this case as Sorawo struggles with a critical question, can Sorawo deal with the fact that other people care for her? And that other people are even willing to risk their lives for her? This is a profound challenge for Sorawo as we are reminded that she was a victim of her own family who tried to destroy her.
So, as well as intense action, there are some intense emotions floating around.
And then to add to the pile, Sorawo also is forced to deal with the consequences of hiding stuff from people she is learning to care about, the stuff they desperately want to know. She fears the consequences of her actions, but eventually also takes ownership of them when the truth is revealed. This leads to Sorawo being confronted with a new situation, people will not abandon her.They may be mad at her but are willing to stick around to try and figure out what the hell is going on with Sorawo, because despite what Sorawo might think about herself, she is worth their care. Cue more angst from Sorawo, after all she is still figuring out what it means to care about other people and that sounds like too much work! Especially in the middle of a crisis.
And it is not just Sorawo who is going through an emotional wringer here. We see Toriko beginning to deal with her own trauma as she is confronted with a dose of reality about the gap between the Satsuki she yearns for, and what Satsuki has become.
And there are her feelings for Sorawo.
Sorawo and Torino’s relationship has mediated through the Otherside is one of a messy rebirth of 2 wounded people learning to care for themselves, one another and other people, something that is heavily illustrated in this volume.
After the intensity of the conclusion of “The Whisper Is At-Your-Own-Risk,” with an interlude where Kozakura hosts the Otherside after party we begin “About That Rush,” which focuses on the messy aftermath of the clean-up of the Farm created by Runa’s cult. There we meet a new group, Torchlight, a security group that participates in this operation. Then we are treated to an idyllic moment in the last chapter as Sorawo and Toriko explore the new possibilities of the Otherside and their growing relationship.
And then everything shifts, and we are given a heads-up that in future volumes Sorawo is going to be facing some unfinished business from her past.
In “Flashback To That Night” Kozakura provides her perspective on the events of “The Whisper Is At-Your-Own-Risk,” as she reflects on the actions of Sorawo and Toriko, and the encounter of what Satsuki has become. Kozakura gives us a glimpse of the gap between the Otherside Satsuki, and the Satsuki she knew.
Ratings:
Story– 9
Artwork– 9 The artwork is intense and vivid, something I learned while enjoying a coffee and a donut, as I followed the confrontation in the Otherside.
Character– 9, there is a lot going on with both Sorawo and Toriko in this volume.
Service– 9
Yuri – Toriko is a 10, Sorawo has some catching up to do, maybe a 8?
I’m not joking or saying that like “Tee hee, it was so good, I wish it kept going, I mean it more like, “Dude, this thing needed a denouement, a coda, an epilogue, something, sheesh.”
Aside from this one thing, this volume was excellent. ^_^
After Volume 8, it would be really hard for any author to build a compelling narrative. But, as I said in my review for the previous volume, “Because Sorawo is our narrator and protagonist the story has allowed her the time and space to be unaware that she even is a mystery, or to have any real insight to the mystery that is her.” and, later, “One of the deep leitmotifs of this series is communication – or the lack of it. Sorawo doesn’t understand people and isn’t great at understanding herself. ” This is the main thread here. Once again, under the cover of Sorawo’s disassociative cluelessness, we watch as the people around Sorawo flounder trying to understand and accommodate her needs, while she moves the goalposts as fast as she sees that a goalpost is needed.
All of this is happening as DS Research asks Sorawo and Toriko to train their mercenaries to be as prepared as possible to face the kind of horror the Otherside presents. Along with Runa and the enigmatic “magician,” Tsuji, they set up The Farm to be a kind of terror-generator. Stuck in a campsite whose only goal is to push people past their normal limits of reason and sense, Sorawo struggles most with the banalities of life and she – and we – must confront her worst fear as she is forced to understand who people give a shit about her and want her to reciprocate.
What really got to me is how relatable Sorawo’s confusion was, even as she’s being an annoying dipshit. ^_^ It was not at all surprising to learn that other people have a strong reaction to Sorawo, although she kind of sees everyone else as Toriko and not-Toriko.
What made this book work, from beginning to end, was the inclusion of former cult-leader, touched-by-the-Otherside Fourth Kind, Runa. We are reminded endlessly that she is a minor, but we’re never really given her age. I think this is an important distinction. She’s prone to sulking like a child, and having hissy fits, but is probably older than she acts…and, we think, has no real sense of the place of family and friends in a normal life. Runa’s skill in crafting deeply unsettling Otherside horror-inducing rooms makes for outstanding story-telling. But it is her relationship, such as it is, with Sorawo that will change the story.
I haven’t mentioned Kozakura, for a reason. When we meet her, we are told she is an adult…but until Volume 9, we really have only had the vaguest glimpses of it. Now that she (too) has someone to care for, her house is becoming a home, her maturity is suddenly apparent and it deeply affects Sorawo, who is not used to feeling…things… about people.
Everything is changing and despite herself, Sorawo may have built a family. If only she can see it.
Ratings:
Art – I really do not know, let’s talk about the art next volume
Story – Also don’t know, but wow it was compelling
Characters – 9, also compelling
Service – Either no or I am getting used to it
Yuri – 9
Overall – 9
An incredible book, but it still needed a denouement. ^_^;
Erica Friedman is the Founder of Yuricon, ALC Publishing Lesbian Icon. Speaker, Writer, Editor/Adapter, LGBTQ manga tastemaker, 百合人. Proud to be a MLS. Learn more >>
- - - - - - - - - - - - -
Please do not email or comment asking for or posting links to scanlations or fansubs. Okazu readers overwhelmingly support the artists, writers and publishers of Yuri by buying anime and manga series in English and Japanese.
It is absolutely gobsmacking to think that we have been following these two young woman in real time almost as long as they have been alive in story time. The Kase-san series turns 15 years old this summer. Boggling.
