Archive for the Hana no Asuka-gumi Category


Live Action: Hana no Asuka-gumi Movie

December 12th, 2005

Hana no Asuka-gumi is a very bad live-action movie based on manga I like.

When faced with an extremely complex story, with many characters and a multi-tiered socio-political set-up, some directors simplify and some rewrite. And some throw the whole story out and create something completely different from the original so that what’s left is something so awful that the original creator would probably not want to be associated it. The original Casino Royale springs immediately to mind…and so does the live-action Hana no Asuka-gumi. This movie is *so* bad, it’s good.

The manga of Hana no Asuka-gumi takes place in modern Tokyo, among the many and varied members of the Zenchuu Ura, the umbrella organization that runs all the female gangs of Tokyo (among other things) and the people who are involved with the principles of this organization. Kuraku Asuka was once a high-ranking member, but is no longer.

I’ve mentioned the original manga on and off across Okazu, reviewed the first OVA and second OVA, and done an overview of the new manga series. All of these are, in one way or another, excellent.

Not so this movie. ^_^

In the live-action version of this wonderful girl-gang story, we are transported to a dystopian future, in which all gangs look like stereotpyes of gangs, from big Happy Days 1950’s gang hair to double-breasted yakuza gang suits, to Mad Max ripoff faux-punk gang leather armor. All of the Omoteban look like Michael Jackson music video runaways, and they tend to yell alot and fight not nearly so much. Asuka’s (in the red jacket on the cover above – click the picture to get a bigger version) and Miko’s relationship is pretty much exactly the same as it is in the manga, and so is both of their relationships to Yohko (chick on the left side of the cover with big hair, which is a bloody shame). Other than that, nearly everything is different.

The worst change is what they did to Hibari-sama. Instead of being a proto-GothLoli freak with a doll and uniform fetish, she’s made into a middle-aged woman who cannot speak and needs misting periodically. This causes the movie to crawl to a stop every time she comes on screen – it sucks any energy the movie has away, just like the horrible mono-tonal Sister Jill did for the Cutey Honey Live-action movie.

But none of these is really enough to kill this movie completely – nor is the fact that the soundtrack consists entirely of the Rolling Stones’ Satisfaction repeated over and over endlessly until you want to rip your ears off.

Despite all this, there are *still* scenes worth watching.

Chief among these is the scene where Asuka manages to grab Yohko, ties her to a bed and yell at her for a while, with a little light kicking to the ribs. Asuka has what is a genuinely unresolved-sexual-tension filled scene with the woman she loves. This relationship isn’t going to go anywhere…and neither does this movie. It ends in an anticlimactic free-for-all that resolves exactly nothing.

Ratings:
Cinematography – 2
Characters – 6
Story – 4
Yuri – 1
Service – 0

Overall – 2

Like the live action movie based on Blue, one should only bother watching this if one is a total hardcore Hana no Asuka-gumi fan. I am a hardcore fan, and have *two* copies of it. ^_^





Yuri Anime: Hana no Asuka-gumi Lonely Cats Battle Royale

May 31st, 2005

When you think of great Yuri love affairs, you tend to think of Michiru following Haruka in hopes of a ride in her car, or Anthy and Utena breaking through the world’s shell to gain the outside world. Or maybe you think of Sei falling hard for Shiori as she prays in the church at Lillian.

You probably *don’t* think of Yohko snidely commenting to a wounded Asuka that she wouldn’t be able to fight effectively with a broken hand.

But you should.

The second Hana no Asuka-gumi OVA is really quiet remarkably sexy for an old series that has no sex, and really no affection, at all. Because in this case the sexual tension is all sublimated into physical beatings – consider it the ultimate in “love taps.”

The full title of this untranslated OVA is Hana no Asuka-gumi Lonely Cats Battle Royale and it is the animated version of one of the “extra” volumes of the manga. It’s a rather complex tale that weaves in threads of a current (well, current in the mid-80s) gambling ring that involves people without their consent and a damsel in distress with a serious food allergy, and the backstory between Asuka and Yohko.

Let me mostly ignore the plot in favor of the backstory. ^_^

So, way back Asuka was a badly bullied kid in school. She tried to kill herself, but was saved, both physically and emotionally. She learned to channel her rage at others rather than herself and determined to become stronger than anyone so she could kick their bully asses. When we see the current Asuka, she has done just that – she’s the strongest fighter in all of Tokyo, bar maybe one or two people. (And Yohko, but that’s a different thing).

But between here and there, there was a time when Asuka was getting into a lot of fights – and losing. This is where Yohko found her, huddled up on the street nursing that broken hand. Yohko was nasty to her, derisive, and Asuka followed her more to annoy Yohko as much as anything else. Yohko had saved her previously from a false charge of shoplifting, only to thrust her into a seriously dangerous situation. When Asuka follows Yohko, the older girl knows that she’s found the perfect dupe.

Asuka falls hard in love with her tor/mentor.

The rest of the story is taken up with Asuka’s tough love rescue of the damsel in distress and the break up of the Ichigo Milk gambling scheme, but it ends up, as all Asuka/ Yohko interactions do, with the two of them fighting. I mean, really beating the daylights out of each other. This is rough sex without the kissing, and its *really* obvious – even to Yohko, who knows perfectly well what Asuka feels for her. Ultimately (although not in this OVA and not for many years) Asuka realizes, as well.

Of the two Hana no Asuka-gumi OVAs, this one is the win, because you get so much of Asuka’s backstory and alot of Yohko-Asuka interaction. The animation is still pretty “bleah” and the music is excruciating, but as girl gang OVAs go, this has a Yuri quotient right up there with the Sukeban Deka OVA.

Ratings:

Art – 6
Characters – 8
Story – 8
Music – 5
Yuri – 7

Overall – 7

No lovey-dovey here – Asuka and Yohko’s love is a violent and dysfunctional love. But it is definitely love.





Hana no Asuka-gumi, Anime OVA

April 4th, 2005

How do you translate a 33-volume manga about girl gangs in Tokyo into a 48-minute OVA? Not that badly, actually. Hana no Asuka-gumi OVA is short, its silly, but it gets the point across in a way that quite true to the original.

Bad Points:

Right off the bat, the animation is *awful*. I mean, like, “what on earth is going on with her neck?” awful.

Good Points:

Everything else. Not only are we introduced to Asuka and her friends of the Omoteban; Hime, Miko, Mizu, et al.

But that’s not all – we meet Helolin, the local bully; The Kichuku Ladies, the local motorcycle gang and….

Hibari, leader of the Zenchuu Ura and her whipping girl Kazuga.

Along with about eight hundred other characters that are all lots of fun, but…I wonder if any of you watched this for the first time without assistance, would you be able to make heads or tails of the story? lol

The plot is simple – a girl is being bullied by Helolin and is saved by Asuka…only to find that her friends have abandoned her and are starting to bully her. She finds herself more and more involved with Asuka’s violent antics, ending up by joining Asuka as she confronts the Kichuku Ladies.

The moments of the OVA are classic – Asuka beats the crap out of the girl she’s saving; the Zenchuu Ura’s Punishment Group beats the crap out of the Omoteban; Asuka beats the crap out of Helolin’s group, and on and on and on… I love this series.

It’s a short OVA and feels like a bowl of mixed snacks – moments of interaction between Asuka and the zillion characters of the story, just enough to get the flavor of the thing.

If only the animation wasn’t so damn awful.

If you’re looking for a great but short retro moment, the Hana no Asuka-gumi OVA is perfect.

Ratings:
Art – 4
Character – 9
Story – 7
Yuri – 0

Overall – 7

Lots of nihilistic girl gang fun for the whole family.





Yuri Manga: The New Hana no Asuka-gumi

January 14th, 2004

Everything old is new again!

Part 2

Here’s another old series that’s been resurrected for a new audience…the original shaped an entire genration of girls in the mid-80’s…hopefully the new iteration willl do the same!

Atarashii Hana no Asuka-gumi (The new Hana no Asuka-gumi) is one of several excellent manga series running currently in
Feel Young Comics monthly magazine. I’ve raved about this series before, and the plotlines and character relationships are very complex, so I’ll attempt to keep this short, but will probably fail. :-)

Kuraku Asuka is an uber-cool 14-year old girl who hangs out on the streets of
Shinjuku in Tokyo. Her best friends are the members of the local gang; the Shinjuku Omoteban or Outside Group, while Asuka herself was once part of the Uraban or Inside Council that runs all the gangs of Tokyo. The leader of the Zenchuu Uraban, or Central Inside Group…i.e., the folks in charge, known as Hibari-sama, once upon a time, had fallen in love with Asuka and named her “Minister of the Left,” an important post in the organization. But Asuka was in love with, and being manipulated by an older girl, Yohko, who was an outsider to the organization and quite sociopathic. Asuka rejected Hibari, Yohko ultimately died and the series ended after 37 volumes of manga (Asuka Comics,) 2 anime OVAs, three-seasons of a TV show, and half a dozen drama CDs. Now, Hana no Asuka-gumi is back and I think it’s worth following. For one thing, there was quite alot of yuri subtext, which became overt text in the original. The fact that it’s running in Feel Young, which is a josei manga magazine (for older female readers) gives me hope that there will be more subtext than ever. Certainly the world of Asuka is primarily a girl’s world – there are a few guys with minor roles, but that’s about it.

In mostly every arc, you can expect:  lots of internecine rivalry between the area gangs and Asuka; Asuka rescuing a damsel in emotional and sometimes physical, distress; lots and lots of fighting; cool conspiracies as Hibari tries to either get Asuka back, or get revenge upon her.

The yuri subtext lies mainly in the two dysfunctional relationships Asuka has with Hibari and Yohko. Hibari (whose face we never see, and who carries a broken doll around) treats Asuka like a toy to be dressed up and, of course, undressed. In the original story, there was NO doubt that Hibari desired Asuka. In the end, it was on Hibari’s bed, as Hibari lay above her, that Asuka rejects Hibari and the Zenchuu Ura for the last time.

Yohko’s relationship with Asuka is a more complex. In some way, she does love Asuka, but her own twisted nature makes her unable to express it in any way, except by emotional manipulation. Yohko is *not* a nice person. Asuka openly tells Yohko twice that she loves her, but it only enrages Yohko. For the most part, the only way they can express their emotion is by fighting physically -at least this way they can touch each other. Yuuki (one of the few boys in the story) comments quite calmly to Yohko that its obvious that Asuka is really in love with her, so its not just me reading into it. :-)
And, for the record, he uses the word ai (love) not suki (like/love.)
Bear in mind that throughout this story. Asuka is 14 years old, with intimacy issues, while Yohko is 18 and a sociopath…there’s no way this relationship could work. :-)

Asuka is way too cool for her age, and her friends in the Omoteban are a blast: Miko (Yohko’s half sister) is whacked and funny;  Hime is composed and beautiful in a way that *no* 13-year old ever is. :-) The New Asuka has brought back all of the old characters, including alot of the smaller roles, the area gang leaders, the women of the Ranjuku Detention Center, and all of the Zenchuu Ura, including the incredibly hunky Kazuga (Hibari’s Aide-de-camp.). So there are plenty of uber-cool women to watch for.

The new series seems to be post-Yohko, but I live in hope that she will appear, if only because every other arc in the entire Asuka universe had Yohko at the center of it.

The author has her own website which has downloads, games and other Asuka-related stuff. You can find that all at
Takaguchi.net, along with info on the author’s other popular series, some of which are yaoi.

Ratings: Art: 8 out of 10, the old series was a little cleaner than the new (but the new characters look more their age). Character: 10 out of 10. You don’t get better than Asuka! Story – 8 out of 10 for now, since the arc is developing slowly…. Yuri: 2 out of 10 so far – no Hibari/Asuka, no Yohko/Asuka…only the hint that Hibari has a new favorite. Overall – 7 out of 10.

And, as always, you’ll always be kept up to date on any new yuri-ness on the Yuricon Mailing List!





Yuri Manga : The New Hana no Asuka-gumi

March 25th, 2003

Fabulous Manga Alert!

Okay, here’s the dish…an incredible manga series is being resurrected and I want you all to run out and look for it!

Hana no Asuka-gumi is an 18-year old manga series, about girl gangs and unresolved sexual tension and the yakuza and other ridiculous things that are true and it’s simply spectacular. I recommend it highly for many reasons: the clothes (Asuka…sigh), the story (Yohko…sigh), the uniforms (Kazuga…sigh), the characters (Hime…sigh), the conspiracy, the bizarro Hibari-sama organization….

But the cool news is – there’s a new version out! Yes, Hana no Asuka-gumi 2003 is here! It’s running in the seasonal specials of Asuka magazine. Check out the mangaka’s site for some of the character designs. The intro shows, in this order: Miko; Hime; Asuka and; Kaze.

Click Asuka 2003 with the numbers in our numbers, for an info page.That page has two cameras at the bottom – if you click those, you get sketches from the manga. The banner on the top leads you to a Flash Animation with more previews! (And note the domain of the Flash, I thought it was funny…)

This manga has something for everyone who is a shoujoai/yuri fan – Asuka is the center of more frustrated physical attraction than Bittany Spears. LOL

For some really creepy fun (that doesn’t work entirely on my browser, but may on yours) click the fourth link on the Asuka page (The page is actually called the Zenchuu Ura, after Hibari-sama’s organization,) the Hibari SS. This gives you another flash opening that stars “Shuu” one of the Hibari SS. (“SS” stands for something like “Planning Council” nothing to do with Nazi troops, so don’t get freaked.) Shuu is always creepy, even in the comic…this link appears to lead you to some kind of quiz, but I can’t get the characters to work for me. I’ll let you know if I can figure out what it says!

You can still sometimes find the original Asuka at used manga stores – and at least one lucky dog will be receiving the first few issues as a Yuricon 2003 Contest Prize! (Speaking of which – only 5 days left for submissions to 3 of the Contests…get your submissions in now!)

Last Asuka note for today – I have one fanfic up for this series. In Mourningtells the tale of Asuka’s experience with the Hibari-sama organization, from an outsider’s point of view. I think it works – you’ll have to tell me what *you* think.

Anyway, enjoy the previews and I hope I’ll be joined by all of you in one big happy Asuka fandom shortly. LOL

Next time, the Tokyo Journal continued….promise!