Archive for the Series Category


Aria Manga, Volume 5 (English)

May 12th, 2010

Aria Volume 5 (Aria (Tokyopop))In Aria, Volume 5, we stop pretending that there is any Yuri and just look at this wonderful world of Neo-Venezia for the simple joys it represents.

For two chapters.

Then Athena shows up and all the Fanboys are at it again, pairing her and Alice because they can’t stop themselves.(On this topic but as an aside, I am watching an anime on Crunchyroll right now that has no romantic pairings at all, but you’d never know that from the comments which are singularly obsessive on that topic. It’s like a broken wire in the collective fandom. One I share, obviously ^_^)

So, Aika, who was our slight delusion of Yuri, has turned her gaze away from Alicia towards Al – and it is good. Except for Al’s bad puns, which are execrable in any language.

Akari has eyes for no one and nothing but the grandeur and artistry of the town she has adopted as her home. In Volume 5, the town officially adopts her in return. I am told, by the way, that Venice really does this – people either love it with all their love, or dislike it. My parents feel deeply and passionately in love with Venice at first sight. They, like Akari, have spent an afternoon on San Marco Square following the sun and drinking coffee and accounted it the best afternoon ever spent anywhere.

For me, the most interesting and best chapter is a chapter in which Alice learns that left hands and sempai may seem clumsy or awkward, but when left to do what they are best at, excel. This chapter has some personal resonance for me, as well as just being a fun, sweet chapter.

I’d like to comment on the translation, as well. I think it is actually very in keeping with Akari’s personality to have her say things like, “What’s shakin’ bacon?” or “Holy guacamole!” Nonetheless, I loathe the choice. It jars with the overall tone and pace of Neo-Venezia, which is old world elegant and sedate. Translators, adaptors and editors ought to keep the big picture in mind, as well as the specific scene or character. There is nothing wrong with these idioms, I just find them irking.

There is no Yuri, as I have said from the beginning, in Aria. There is only delusion and wishful thinking. But, with the winter sun shining on the canals of Neo-Venezia, what better is there to do but sit, drink coffee and engage in some wishful thinking.

Ratings:

Art – 8
Story – 8
Characters – 8
Yuri – 0
Service – 1

Overall – 8

It is my sincere pleasure to thank Okazu Superhero Amanda M for her sponsorship of today’s review! It’s always a good afternoon when spent in Neo-Venezia.





Yuri Anime: Heartcatch PreCure

May 3rd, 2010

Okay, okay, calling Heartcatch PreCure “Yuri” is just wishful thinking at this point, but 13 weeks into it, this classic magical girl anime leads the pack for this season.

First of all, I must give a shout out to Komatsu-san, who has been gently trying to get me to love PreCure as much as he does for some time now. I watched the original PreCure (free on Crunchyroll!) which was fine, and liked what I read of Splash Star, but Max Heart and GoGo 5! were unwatchable in my opinion, and Fresh PreCure was…okay. Nothing really hooked me. Because of Komatsu-san, I checked out the website for the new series, but wasn’t very impressed with the art. But when he gave me a few of the episodes to watch, I found myself humming the opening theme for about a week. That’s *usually* a good sign that I enjoy an anime series.

And then Yuri popped on the screen and I was officially hooked. I mean that literally and figuratively, by the way. One half of the Yuri couple is cleverly named Yuri. The naming sense in this series is a nailbat of obviousness, as you will see.

The stars of Heartcatch are Hanasaki Tsubomi, whose parents run a flower shop and who becomes Cure Blossom. (Ow!) Her next door neighbor, best friend and partner in Precure, is Kurumi Erika, whose mother designs clothes and whose father is a famous photographer and whose sister, Momoka, is a famous fashion model. Erika becomes Cure Marine.

They are opposed by monkey-like mooks, tools of the Desert something-somethings. No one watches PreCure for the bad guys. They are totally forgettable…until Dark Cure, with her gothy one tattered batwing and one laser-beam eye and angst enough for a gaggle o’preteens shows up.

By herself Dark Cure is moderately amusing. So end-of-the-world and all that. But the screen heats up when, while facing down Cure Blossom and Cure Marine, Dark catches sight of…a girl. This girl is slightly older than the current PreCure, totally untransformed – and the two of them stare fixedly over PreCure’s head for a long time. The girl is Tsukikage Yuri (Ow! Watch that name bat, will you?!) voiced by Hisakawa Aya, which I think is a knowing nod to the adult portion of the audience for this series. (Dark is voiced by Takayama Minami, who you might remember as the former Rosa Gigantea, Sei’s onee-sama, in Marimite.)

So, okay, I was watching this scene thinking, “yeah, I can get into this.” But it was really icing on the cake.

There were a number of things that set this series apart from other PreCure and from other magical girl series. Firstly, Tsubomi’s grandmother had formerly been a Cure, which I think is a great touch. It gives Tsubomi a mentor and a source of info that isn’t passing for a stuffed animal during school hours. And both Erika and Tsubomi have dreams of the epic battle between Dark and a previous guardian, Cure Moonlight. Because I am not 4, it was instantly obvious that Yuri is/was Moonlight and that there’s a whole arc in whatever lay between her and Dark. I am tempted to write a fanfic of what *I* think that story is, before the series goes and ruins it for all of us. lol

Did I mention that Dark carries around half of Moonlight’s gem that broke during their epic battle? Well she does. Yuri carries the other half, of course, which means we’ll get a double redemption at some point.

Oh, and I completely forgot, the Student Council President is a cross-dressing girl. This is covered early on and it was pretty obvious that she was a girl (well, obvious to me, but I am not 4).

Yuri is also, just to make sure the doujinshi artists have a multitude of choices, best friends with Momoka, Erika’s sister.

Taken as a whole, I’m still making up about 97% of the Yuri in my head, but for a kiddy show, there’s enough to keep me watching for the rest of the season.

Ratings:

Art – 7 It took me a while to get used to it, but when you get into the right headspace, Yuri is attractive enough.
Story – Monster of the Day, blah blah.
Characters – 8
Yuri – 5 as long as there’s ambiguity
Service – 1

Overall – 7

I’ll never love PreCure as much as I do Sailor Moon, but Heartcatch is at least in the same folder in my head now.





Magical Girl Lyrical Nanoha Force and Vivid Manga

May 2nd, 2010

Despite the failure of Magical Girl Lyrical Nanoha to be profitable here in the west, in Japan it’s a thriving franchise. With the first full-length feature film Magical Girl Lyrical Nanoha The First out this past winter and not one but two new manga series, Nanoha is starting to show some serious staying power as a franchise. And it’s generating some of the seriously hottest figurines I’ve ever seen. If you recall, I had a crisis of conscience over a Signum figurine at Hobby Japan in Akihabara last month.

In both manga series Fate and Nanoha have reached the venerable old age of 25 and have, therefore, moved completely out of the fandom’s interest. And right into mine. The fact that this *still* makes me a creepy old lady is not lost on me. ^_^

In Magical War Chronicle Lyrical Nanoha Force, Kidou Rouka has been disbanded and Fate, Nanoha and Hayate have moved on with their careers. As we saw in the epilogue to StrikerS, all of Hayate’s Knights still serve in the niches they have carved within Michilda’s forces, and Teana, Subaru, Erio and Caro have also moved up in their chosen fields. Everyone is a productive member of adult society. So, clearly, it’s time to introduce new characters. Therefore we meet Thomas, an independent soul on walkabout for his own reasons, the naked magical girl he rescues, Lili, and seamstress and comedic relief, Isis. The three are each searching for something and are already misunderstood by a trail of people. Alongside of their story, all the major players from StrikerS have been reintroduced in their new capacities. We can anticipate that they will all encounter one another as the story progresses.

Magical Girl Lyrical Nanoha Vivid follows Vivio, Fate and Nanoha’s adopted daughter, in her quest to become a powerful mage like her mothers. We are reacquainted with several of the Number clones from StrikerS (the ones that went “good” on us), as well as the rest of the cast in a series of unlikely cameos. Vivio has become rather good friends with Nove, Wendy, Duici and the others, and has a few school friends to drag along. The complicating factor (i.e., new character) in her story is an unwilling clone of the ancient Emperor Ingvald, a girl with the awkward name of Einhart Stratos. It doesn’t make any sense to me either – just go with it. Einhart’s existence gives Vivio a chance to transform into her more grown-up fightin’ form as often as possible. There’s no real “conflict” here yet, but there will be. And, no doubt, there’ll be a chance to watch Vivio take after Nanoha-mama and “befriend” more than just Einhart.

In Force, Fate and Nanoha are presented at top of their form. Experienced veterans, leaders, commanders. We have yet to see them having an quality time together, but to be fair the series has a lot of stuff going on and there really isn’t room for it.

In Vivid, we see Fate and Nanoha as devoted partners and mothers to Vivio, but again, the story doesn’t quite have room for Fate and Nanoha to have time together. So, in both cases, the Yuri is there only insofar as you feel like making it up in your head.

Sadly this is not true for other fetishes. But aside from the apparently unavoidable (and in Japan, at least, profitable) fetishes favored by Nanoha fandom, both manga have good stories and are festooned with good characters.

Force Ratings:

Art – 7
Story – 7
Characters – 8
Yuri – 0
Service – 6

Overall – 7

Vivid Ratings:

Art – 7
Story – 8
Characters – 8
Yuri – 0
Service – 7

Overall – 7

Like Ikkitousen, I know what I’m getting into with Nanoha, so I am not complaining, just a little wistful for what might have been if the stories were written more for me. ^_^





Yuri Network News – May 1, 2010

May 1st, 2010

Yuri Manga

Comic Lily is undergoing a name change to Comic Lily Plus. So, if you’ve been following this anthology, the next volume is not Comic Lily, Volume 4, but Comic Lily Plus, Volume 1.

Something Kaishaku this way comes! YNN Correspondent Katherine reports on their new work Zettai Shoujo Amnesium. It’s Chikane and Himeko all over again, and I mean that literally – the leads are Chikane and Himeko.

Saving our sanity in fifteen different ways, Hayate x Blade, Volume 12 is hitting the shelves in a few weeks. Thank heavens.

And for those of you sticking it out, Manga no Tsukurikata, Volume 3 is probably going to be about the same level of ambiguous as it has been so far, until it’s not.

***

Even More Maria-sama ga Miteru Movie News

The Mantan Website has a photo gallery of the actresses for the Maria-sama ga Miteru movie. Let the pointless criticism and conjecture begin!

By the way, if you missed the Maria-sama manga when it came out the first time, the first omnibus volume of the manga is coming out. Looks like there’ll be three volumes total.

***

Snatches of Yuri

I have to admit, this one made me laugh – Aika Zero is out and has Yuri, presumably. Yes – it’s that Aika. The whole panty shot-a-second Aika. This time it takes place in a girls’ school with rosaries and the whole schtick. It’s from Gum Comics, so you know it’s gonna be classy.

Bato-Supi is about two girls in the “Battle Spirits” card game club at school and the funny sexual harassment that happens there.

Okay, I’m in on Shitsuji Shoujo to Ojou-sama. (That’s “The Girl Butler and Her Mistress” to you.) I don’t really care that it will probably be about nothing. :-)

***

That’s a wrap for this week.

Become a Yuri Network Correspondent by sending me any Yuri-related news you find. Emails go to anilesbocon01 at hotmail dot com. Not to the comments here, please, or they might be forgotten or missed. There’s a reason for this madness. This way I know you are a real human, not Anonymous (which I do not encourage – stand by your words with your name!) and I can send you a YNN correspondent’s badge.

Thanks to all of you – you make this a great Yuri Network!





El Cazador Manga

April 30th, 2010

When this manga came out, I put two conditions upon myself – I would not buy it for full price and I would not read it with a chip on my shoulder.

These might seem strange to those of you who don’t pay attention to the Japanese imprints under which the original manga are published, but to those of you who do, the fact that this is a Champion Red manga says all you need to know. Champion Red, as I have mentioned many times, harbors a strong dislike for women which manifests itself through the constant demeaning of all female characters. This was the home of the appalling Mai HiME and Mai Zhime manga adaptations.

I confess that upon learning that the manga adaptation of El Cazador (エル・カザド) was to be a Champion Red comic, I was disappointed and a little sick to my stomach. Of the three “Girls with guns on the run” trilogy by Mashimo and Bee Train, El Cazador de la Bruja was the most light-hearted and the most easy-going. Knowing that this manga was going to pull Ellis’ underwear down and stare at her still makes me taste bile.

The manga is exactly what I feared. It has lost all the good-natured banter, the strong female characters, the sense of a dire fate that can be avoided and a journey at the end of which the destination never need be reached. Instead, it has traded this all for the obsessive and very nasty leering at the secondary sexual characteristics of all the female characters – even the nuns. It’s…sad.

It’s extra sad when you think that there was an audience for this. “Why yes, I would prefer this cheerful, happy anime rendered into a series of demeaning quasi-sexual positions, thanks!

So I knew going into it, this was not going to be good fun, unless demeaning women is your idea of good fun.

The only Yuri was Nadie and Ellis walking off into the sunset holding hands.

Ratings:

Overall – 1

Anyone want this manga? It’s yours. Tell me *why* you want it and the least honest person wins.