Archive for the Maria-sama ga Miteru Category


Yuri News This Week – September 20, 2008

September 20th, 2008

A happy birthday to two of the most important men in my life, Ed. Ed and Dad. You all owe my father, btw. It’s from him that I get many of the interests that make me the reviewer that I am. He fostered my love of comics, action flicks, sports and soft-core crap. lol Thanks Dad, and happy birthday!

Yuri Anime

By now many of you will have heard the big news…The 4th anime season of Maria-sama ga Miteru has been announced. Last Monday was the Autumn Lillian Festival where it was announced that the new season will begin in *January*. I have already been asked if I’m anticipating it – of course the answer is yes, but probably not as much as the rest of you. I now have to contend with the issue I feared all along – I’ve read the novels. I know what’s going to happen and have my own ideas about things. But, provided we get Shouko, and you get to see some of Touko’s true self, I’ll be happy.

Fans of Lucky Star will be want to view the online streamed “promotional video” (in the real world we call that a “commercial”) for the upcoming OVA. This OVA is rumored to be Konata x Kagami friendly – I note that the promotional art accompanying the above article has whichever one of them it is holding leeks, a popular Japanese Yuri meme. Before you write and express that you were right and I was wrong, let me remind you that I have never watched the series and have no opinion about it whatsoever. I do not see an overt K x K pairing in the OVA as validation of your interests, but as a catering to it in order to separate you from your money. Just wanted to be clear on that. Should it be true that they are paired in the OVA, my opinion will be that I am pleased that the collective whim of fandom has once again triumphed to put another Yuri couple on the map. :-)

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Yuri Events

Next Saturday, September 27, I will be at *two* events. In the early afternoon, I will be attending the Morris County Author’s Day at the Morris County Library, one of the best county libraries evar. I invite you all to come, get your books signed by the authors, ask us for advice, get advice which will not be of help to you, and check out the really excellent graphic novels section in the library (which is rather heavy in Yuri, due to yours truly. Whenever I review an English-language manga that I do not need to keep by my side, I donate it to the library. Everything but the crap. I encourage you to do the same. Libraries need and want your help.)

Immediately after the library event, I will wing my way over to Manhattan and the New York Anime Festival. I and Sean Gaffney will be running the Yuri Panel at 8PM on Saturday. It says in the program book that it is an 18+ event, but that is wrong. I’ve asked for and gotten permission to make it more open. The bottom line is, I don’t want to talk about sex – and especially not with you people. Anime and manga, yes, absolutely. We’ll talk about that till we’re hoarse. :-) Sex? No.

Also Maiden’s Garden, the Yuri doujinshi event, is coming up in Kyoto. As always, you can find all the latest Yuri Events on…the Yuri Events page on Yuricon!

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Yuri Manga

Friend of Yuri Eric P wrote in to let us know that he’s seen a preview of Hayate x Blade in his newest issue of Anime Insider magazine. He says it looks pretty funny. It is funny – and I can promise you that the second volume is even funnier. ^_^ (Off-topic, Eric also wrote an Evangelion review that has recently been posted on Anime News Network, so congrats, Eric!)

Yuri Hime S is once again out, this time accompanied by two collections, Hanjuku Onna by Akiko Morishima, and Gokujou Drops, by Mitsukuni Hachime. (Late breaking news. Erin tells us that these collections have been delayed and are now slated for *next month*. Thanks for the heads up!)

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Snatches of Yuri

Ririi no Kago (Basket of Lily,) looks to be a collection of stories about Girls’ Love. It is not a “lesbian” collection, a reviewer tells us, but it’s a good collection. This is a book, not a manga, fyi.

And one more book for the pile of novels that I will never get to, Yoshiya Nobuko’s Kuro Shoubi (thanks for the correction, Komatsu-san,) (Black Rose) tells the story of a young woman who goes to teach at an all-girl’s school and a student who falls in love with her. For what it’s worth, I am once again tackling Yaneura no Nishoujo, but Akiko is such a mopey girl. In the last scene she actually sat there for like 20 pages whining to herself. Ugh.

Hakamada Mera’s manga series Akatsuki-iro Senpuku Majyo (The Hidden Witch of the Dawn, I guess I’d translated it as) is much like the more well-known Last Uniform series, only this series takes place at a school of magic. Stories of friendship, love and Yuri, so pretty much the same old-same old in a different series.

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That’s it for this week. More already on the horizon, so come back next week for more Yuri News!





Maria Watches Us, Volume 3 (English)

September 15th, 2008

How ironic that the Valentine’s Day episodes of Maria Watches Us Season 1, are some of the *least* romantic in the series. Not that they lack romance mind you, it’s just that in comparison to the rest of this season, Yumi and Sachiko’s crisis and Sachiko being stalked, sort of pale.

Once again, I am looking back on this arc from the perspective of having read the many novels afterward. In fact, I’m currently reading the novel that follows the Valentine’s Day dates a year later. (And they are totally cracktastic, let me tell you…) So it fascinates me even more that in Volume 3 we get to see the beginning of what will obviously become a long tradition at Lillian. I can see it now, fifty years later, when the tradition is so long-established that everyone just assumes it’s always been done….

And yet…here we are, when crazy yellow journalist Newspaper club President Tsukiyama Minako sits down and sets the scene for the first ever Valentine’s Day treasure hunt. Kinda cool, huh? Kinda ironic too, that a woman without an ounce of romance in her is the source of this heart-pounding event. One of the best scenes in the arc is watching the Rosas defeat their soeurs and “encourage” them to participate. ^_^

In the middle of all this, Yumi and Sachiko have to deal with a significant crisis spawned by their differing styles of communication. This will continue to plague them for some time, ultimately complicating issues through “Rainy Blue” but, for now it’s no more than a few days of unhappiness for them to get through.

My biggest complaint with this arc is that the story of Yumi’s trick chocolates for Sei kind of suffer from neglect and confusion. Let me summarize – Yumi made two sets of chocolates, one with yummy centers and one with weird centers like tuna and wasabi. When she and Sachiko struggle with the box, the chocolates all get mixed up and its possible that the chocolate Sachiko ate and said was tasty is one of the weird ones. We’ll never know. ^_^

Sachiko’s stalker episode is notable for two things – when Mafuyu comes back into the story briefly a year later, Sachiko still has no clue who she is, and the fact that kindergarten Sachiko is hideously adorable.

In the end, Yumi proves that she is indeed suited to be Rosa Chinensis en bouton.

Ratings:

Art – 6
Story – 8
Characters – 9
Yuri – 4
Service – 0

Marimite Fan – 100

Overall – 8

Now I must run and finish the next year’s date stories, because really, *so* freakishly weird, I must know what happens!!!





Yuri News For The Weeks of August 24 – September 5

September 6th, 2008

Hi all – I have returned from vacation, have seen many things, acquired the t-shirts as proof and am now once again home on my comfy sofa.

Thanks to every one who sent in news items – we have a lot of news, as you can imagine. :-)

Yuri Manga

Several people have wanted me to remind you that the Burst Angel manga is due out shortly. The manga, as you might remember from my reviews (click the Bakaretsu Tenshi Category on the righthand sidebar to find them) have more Yuri than the anime. Not scads of Yuri, but compared to the anime, a lot.

The good folks at Seven Seas have passed along a link to news about their Strawberry Line. http://www.gomanga.com/forum/viewtopic.php?t=6405&start=15. This link goes to their forums, where they run down all the titles on a book-by-book status. The Strawberry Line is not dead and as culpable as I am in the original report, I will now report that rumors of its demise were greatly exagerrated. In short – more Yuri is coming from Seven Seas – please stop *whining*. :-)

Sean wants you all to know that Kozue Amano, mangaka of Aria, is starting a new series as yet unnamed, in Comic Blade magazine. If it has as much Yuri as Aria it will have none, but that won’t stop fans from seeing it there anyway. lol

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Snatches of Yuri

bottle is very excited to mention Akiyama Haru’s Octave, ‏which is about a failed pop idol’s attempt to regain a normal life and how she falls in love with a female musician. I’ve heard nothing but good about it so far and of course will report back to you when I have it.

As good as Octave sounds, Pure Pure Lips sounds bad. lol A poor girl and the lesbian dorm owner…it might not be so bad if the cover wasn’t cringe making. The “little” girl looks like a harp seal waiting to be clubbed.

Hakodate Yuujin Buraijou Himegami 3 will be out soon, so we can see Himeka press Hyou against her extremely large breasts some more. Whee!

And lastly, Sasamekikoto, Volume 3, is also coming out soon, so we can watch two girls who are in love with one another not get together in extremely contrived, yet amusing ways.

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Live-Action Yuri

Erin reminds us all that the Live-Action movie, Love My Life based on the Yuri manga of the same name is now available from Wolfe Video. She also thought you might be interested to know that it was on the top sellers list at Wolfe, as well.

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Maria-sama ga Miteru News

Emilie wrote in to let us know that Konno Oyuki and Hibiki Reine attended the 9th Comic Exhibition 2008, in Taipei. dormcat provided a translation of an interview with them, in this thread on ANN. Johann adds a link to a Chinese translation of this interview at: http://blog.yam.com/dormcat/article/16765879.

Emilie also let us know that in the new Marimite Web Radio show, Inoue Marina and Nazuka Kaori have been announced to voice Naitou Shouko and Naitou Katsumi respectively for the radio drama of “Chocolate Portrait,” the story in which Tsutako first meets Shouko. Tsu and Shouko are an awesome pair and I recommend this highly. :-)

Last up for Marimite, here’s a press release from Right Stuf on the Second Season:

RIGHT STUF’S NOZOMI ENTERTAINMENT Announces the MARIA WATCHES OVER US – Season 2 DVD Collection: Printemps

Second TV season of Maria-sama ga Miteru scheduled for Nov. 25, 2008

GRIMES, IA, September 4, 2008 – Anime producer and distributor Right Stuf, Inc. and Nozomi Entertainment are pleased to announce the release of the MARIA WATCHES OVER US (Maria-sama ga Miteru) – Season 2 DVD Collection: Printemps on November 25, 2008.

The Season 2 DVD Collection is the second of several “season box sets” scheduled for the series’ North American DVD release.

· Each set features Japanese audio, along with English on-screen translations, and two English-language subtitle tracks: one with regular dialogue subtitles and a second, special subtitle track that retains the Japanese honorifics.

· Additionally, each set will include the “specials” – comedic shorts that depict the series’ characters in “chibi” form – for its respective season.

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“leaves you eagerly wanting more” – AnimeOnDVD at Mania.com

“Shelf Worthy” – Anime News Network’s Shelf Life
“a truly beautiful anime” – Future Anime
“A beautifully illustrated, surprisingly effective slice-of-life drama…” – Anime News Network
AnimeOnDVD.com Pick of the Week

The Maria Watches Over Us anime is based upon an ongoing series of novels – written by Oyuki Konno and illustrated by Reine Hibiki – that began in 1998 and currently spans 33 volumes. Short stories related to the series have been published in the shoujo (girls’) magazine Cobalt, and a manga adaptation is serialized in the anthology magazine Margaret. The series’ publisher, Shueisha, also produced 14 drama CDs (featuring radio-style plays).

The anime adaptation of Maria-sama ga Miteru – also referred to by fans as “MariMite” – encompasses two, 13-episode TV seasons, a 5-episode OVA (original video animation) as its third season, and a fourth season, currently in production in Japan.

The first three seasons of Maria Watches Over Us feature animation by Studio DEEN (Fruits Basket, Gravitation, Rurouni Kenshin), direction by Yukihiro Matsushita (Blue Dragon, Sugar Sugar Rune), and scripting by Reiko Yoshida (Aria, Boys Over Flowers, Story of Saiunkoku).

Visit mariasama.rightstuf.com for more information about Maria Watches Over Us (Maria-sama ga Miteru), detailed character profiles, trailers, downloads and more.

About MARIA WATCHES OVER US (Maria-sama ga Miteru) – Season 2

The spring term is beginning for the students at Lillian Girls’ Academy. Friends are reunited, but for the Yamayuri Council, it’s a bittersweet time. Yoko, Eriko and Sei are busy preparing to depart Lillian, while Sachiko, Rei and Shimako are doing their best to ensure their dear sisters receive a memorable commencement. Soon, Lillian will have new leaders in the Council offices of Rosa Chinensis, Foetida and Gigantea, along with many new faces and budding relationships. Contains the complete 13-episode second season, plus Season 2 “specials” 1-6.

MARIA WATCHES OVER US (Maria-sama ga Miteru) – Season 2 DVD Collection: Printemps (TV)
Pre-Book: 10/28/2008
Street Date: 11/25/2008
Runtime: Approximately 325 minutes, Dolby Digital Stereo, Color
Genre: Drama
Suggested Rating: 13+

Format: DVD (Japanese, 2 English Subtitle Tracks, English On-Screen Translations)
Catalog #: RSDVD0816
ISBN: 1-57032-791-2
UPC: 7-42617-0816-2-0
SRP: $49.99

Discs/Set: 4
Item Measurements: 5 3/8” X 1 7/32” X 7 5/8” (LxWxH)
Case Qty: 9

DVD Features:
Scene access; Dolby Digital 2.0 Stereo audio for Japanese dialogue; two English subtitle tracks (regular dialogue subtitles, plus a special subtitle track that includes Japanese honorifics); and English on-screen translations. PLUS: Season 2 “Specials” 1-6, liner notes and Nozomi Entertainment trailers.

* Cover Art: http://outgoing.rightstuf.com/sleeves/rsdvd0816.jpg
MARIA WATCHES OVER US (Maria-sama ga Miteru) PRINTEMPS © OYUKI KONNO / SHUEISHA • YAMAYURIKAI • TV TOKYO Licensed by d-rights Inc.

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Yuri Anime

In a maddeningly zero-information ad, I was reminded that the Ichigo Mashimaro Encore OVA is coming – but the ad had no date as of yet. Maybe we’ll have something out this fall, because the upcoming autumn TV season looks bereft of Yuri.

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That’s it for this week – thanks to everyone who sent in news items. I really couldn’t do it without you – keep ’em coming!





Maria Watches Over Us Anime, Volume 2 (English)

August 14th, 2008

From the perspective of having read so far into the novels that I have already “met” Nana, Yoshino’s prospective soeur, it was a huge step back to watch Volume 2 of Maria Watches Over Us, “meet” Yoshino once again, and watch her transform in front of Yumi from an apparently meek, mild and submissive soeur into the banshee we know and love.

There were so many things that interested me about the “Yellow Rose Revolution” arc the first time around and twice as many this time. But the one thing I want to point out is that where later, in Rainy Blue, Rei complains that Yoshino wields herself as a weapon against her, in Kibara Kakumei, Yoshino calmly points out that Rei uses herself as a shield. I was once again blown away by the detail and continuity in Konno’s writing.

One of the big complaints western fans have about about Marimite as a series is that is starts off very Yuri, but never has payoff – i.e., there’s no melodramatic protestations of love and/or snogging. But for my dollar, the end of “Rosa Canina” is about as sexy as hell. More so, when you remember that in the novels, that arc came after Ibara no Mori and we know that Sei is potentially gay. I say “potentially”, because after reading Ibara no Mori I allowed for some wiggle room, but after Rosa Canina was convinced that Sei is gay and knows it.

The translation for these episodes was generally good, with one notable gaffe, in which the “Lillian Kawaraban” is translated as the “Lillian Ledger” in dialogue, but the “Lillian Gazette” in text. Woops. ^_^

The extra with the recap of Yoshino returning Rei’s rosary still makes both myself and the wife giggle until we hurt. ^_^

Ratings:

Art – 6
Story – 8
Characters – 9
Yuri – 4 (Rei and Yoshino love each other more than anyone else in the world, and Sei kisses Shizuka. Nice.)
Service – 0

Marimite Fan – 100

Overall – 9

I know Sean disagrees with me on this but for me Shizuka x Sei is the hottest pairing in the series. ^_^





Maria Watches Over Us Anime, Volume 1 (English)

August 5th, 2008

If you’ve been reading this blog since anytime after 2004, you’ll notice that I have completely, hopelessly, irrevocably fallen in love with the series Maria-sama ga Miteru. Like many fans, I had never heard of it prior to the anime being released, but almost immediately was captivated by the characters. Propelled by a desire to know more, I followed the manga, the Drama CDs and, eventually, the novels.

Like many hardcore Marimite fans, I never truly believed the anime would be licensed – and feared that it might be and then eviscerated by a company that didn’t understand shoujo, or who only saw it through fanboy eyes.

When RightStuf licensed it, I was ambiguous – hopeful, yet cautious. When they added in the subtitle track with honorifics, I let my guard down just a very little bit because, after all, they could still …well, we’ve all been burned before by changed names, rewritten scripts, etc.

Then RightStuf opened a dialogue up with me, and we had a nice conversation about Marimite fandom and our obsessive need to spend time in the company of these characters – and our love of *stuff* related to them. At that point, I was convinced that, even if their release was not perfect by my definition, they were trying harder than any other company I had ever seen. As a result I was inclined to be generous. ^_^

After some little delay, resolved by the RightStuf representative with humor and grace – thank you very much, Alison – I received my box set of Maria Watches Over Us Season 1, slapped the phone charm on my cel phone and a DVD into the player to sit back and see what Nozomi/RightStuf had wrought.

It is not perfect. Even if *I* thought it was, no doubt other people would have different nits to pick! ^_^ It is however, a very good, very enjoyable English-language edition of what I never expected we would ever see legally licensed.

I am glad that they have the honorifics track. There’s still a few things that jar, but overall, there are fewer moments than I expected where I went “Huh? Oh.” And I do really find it less intrusive to have the honorifics than the always slightly awkward attempts at translating them. When watching the extras, “Maria-sama ni ha Naisho” shorts, the versions are the original subtitle track and even knowing that, I still find it a little odd to read “Mother Maria” and “Lady Sachiko.”

The plot is still hours of the most delightful nothing I have ever enjoyed. The non-adventures of average girl Yumi, as she is drawn into the rarified air of the school student council, is still by turns touching, funny, sad, funny, snarky and funny.

I just finished reading the 24th novel, and taking this huge step back was a chance for me to see just how much both Sachiko and Yumi have matured into the women they have become a year later. It makes me want the fourth season of the anime so much more, so everyone can get to know Touko the way I now know her. (She’s not the same girl as in Rainy Blue, I can tell you that. Neither is Kashiwagi what he seems to be.)

The *only* thing I really want to complain about is this – attached to the box itself was a sheet of paper with a synopsis for Season One that, when I attemtped to remove it, got stuck and pulled a bit of the cover picture off, thus ruinng the look of the box. Now I have to keep the stupid paper on. I really was annoyed by this – there was no reason to glue it to the box cover! I don’t even like boxes, but come on – if you’re going to ship me a paper box, please don’t glue stuff to it.

In every other way, I was delighted beyond measure to step back and once again be introduced to and fall in love with the lovely ladies of Lillian.

Ratings:

Art – 6
Story – 8
Characters – 9
Yuri – 3 (with an extra point for Sei’s “birds of a feather” comment in regards to why she was sure that Kashiwagi wouldn’t make a pass at Sachiko.)
Service – 0

Obsessive Marimite Fan – 100

Overall – 8

I think this box set would make a really good gift idea for a young lady in your life that is just getting into anime. A nice change of pace from the Death Note kind of thing. ^_^