Archive for the Series Category


Yuri Manga: GIRL FRIENDS, Volume 3

November 18th, 2009

In Girl Friends, Volume 1 and Volume 2, we followed Mari as she struggles with her increasing interest in and desire for her best friend Akiko.

Mari’s conflict largely arises from the fact that she is fairly introverted, and has therefore not had the experience of close friendship with girls her age. She spends a lot of time sure that she’s not normal, and Akiko is. She’s doing her best to put her feelings aside, if not behind her, and at least recapture the friendship that she and Akiko shared.

In Volume 3, we turn our gaze towards Akiko. She’s been Mari’s object of desire, but we’ve never really gotten into her head – until now.

Akiko finds herself thinking way more about Mari than about anything. So much so, that she starts to see a pattern in her obsessing. After Mari’s confession and their kiss, it seems almost obvious for Akiko to realize that she has fallen for Mari. But it’s a long way from point A to Point B.

But…and this is a big “but”….Akiko still isn’t really considering how Mari must be feeling. Now that she’s come to realize that she wants to be with Mari, she’s not seeing the distance Mari is carefully putting between them. By pressing the issue, Akiko is now causing Mari as much, if not more, stress than before.

I’m not usually a big fan of the “obsessive internal monologue” style of romance writing, but the writing in Girl Friends has consistently rung true. Where introverted Mari is rolling in quiet misery, extroverted Akiko is doing her best to not explode in public, but can’t stop herself from leaking around the edges.

There are still about a gazillion hurdles for Mari and Akiko to leap before they can be together. The 100-yard dash to the finish line isn’t really even out of the starting blocks, yet. There’s no telling how this race will end! Here’s hoping that Mari and Akiko are the winning team. ^_^

Ratings:

Art – 8
Story – 7
Characters – 8
Yuri – 8
Service – 5

Overall – 8

This is the territory that Morinaga-sensei does best. Just after the confession, before the consummation. I’m very interested to see if we get more than just “happily ever after” – or not.





Gunsmith Cats Burst, Volume 4 (English)

November 14th, 2009

GSCB4What were you doing in 1996?

I was working in an ad agency, studying Martial Arts, and was just about a year away from diving head first over a cliff into the chasm of anime and manga that would ultimately take over my life.

Rally Vincent was already neck-deep in crazy cases as a bounty hunter with her partner May and their researcher Becky. And, in 1996 or so, she met the Evil, Psycho Lesbian mafia donna, Goldie Musso.

13 years later, in Gunsmith Cats Burst Volume 4, Rally is not older, although she is much wiser. And she is doing the same thing she was then – bounty hunting.

In the course of a case, even though she is certain that Goldie is dead, Rally sees her. And in a sense, Goldie’s henchman later assures her, Goldie is dead. She has no memory. Dennis begs Rally to help Goldie regain her memory and, after much shooting and many deaths, she does just that. In a close one-on-one fight, Rally breaks through the barriers Goldie’s own mind had erected, to awaken her memories.

In the chaos, Rally loses contact with Misty. Although Becky is really concerned about that, for some reason, Rally is less so, sure of the thief’s ability to land on her own two feet.

This will all set up the final, fabulous end to Gunsmith Cats Burst.

It was not quite two years ago that I first got my hands on this volume in Japanese. I’m even more thrilled to read it in English, if only because I long for excruciating details of guns and cars. (No, not really. It’s just easier than reading kanji, duh.)

And once again I’m thrilled to the point of squealing that you get to watch heads blown off all so Rally can be the most important person in Goldie’s life – again. Poor Misty. Hell, poor Dennis.

In any case, this penultimate volume is *exactly* what one looks for from Gunsmith Cats. And the end, when it comes, will be just right this time around. See you once more, in Volume 5. ^_^

Ratings:

Art – 8
Characters – 8
Story – 8
Yuri – 3
Service – 5

Overall – 8

These good times brought to you by Okazu Superhero Bruce McF! Thanks for sponsoring today’s review and letting us relive the madness all over again.





Drama CD: Maria-sama ga Miteru Rainy Blue

November 11th, 2009

In case you haven’t had a chance to read it yet, drop by Anime News Network’s “Chicks on Anime” for a segment with me on Yuri, and the following comments from people about how I don’t know anything about it. ^_^ Thanks to those of you who have weighed in with positive feedback! I’m kind of sad that no one thought my line describing the typical Yuri fan as being bipedal, with two front-facing eyes, was funny. ^_^

In any case, my thanks to Bamboo and Casey and ANN for hosting that chat!

Now, from fun to misery, as we turn our sights, hopefully for the very last time, to Maria-sama ga Miteru: Rainy Blue. Like the Drama CD before it, there was a little rewriting going on, but ultimately it remains the same uber-depressing story, as Yumi sees her love for Sachiko cast aside in favor of Touko’s.

This is not true, of course. Sachiko is dealing with issues of her own and is only barely aware of how badly Yumi is suffering. Not realizing just how bad Yumi is feeling, Minako and Yoshino fan the flames of her unhappiness. In the end, the only one Yumi feels she can turn to is Sei.

As with the every version of this story, for me the lowest point is when Yumi collpases in hysteria in the foyer of her house, railing at the symbolic loss of her umbrella and what feels like the loss of her beloved onee-sama. I was very careful to listen to this part of the Drama CD on the way home in the car, so I didn’t ruin my day.

Ueda Kana carries the bulk of this story, but the rest of the cast subtlely adds to the story. In fact, when the cast credits were listed, I was surprised that so many of the cast had had lines. In my mind, it had been Yumi and maybe a few others. In fact, almost everyone had a line or two.

The bonus track was a discussion about “rain.” There were a few interesting anecdotes, but nothing that withstood the test of a few really busy weeks. I remember that I wanted to remember them, but, uh, forgot. ^_^

The absolute best part of this Drama CD is, we’re done. That was it. We’ve gotten over the hump once more and can finally move into what are, IMHO, some of the best story arcs in the series.

Ratings:

Story – 8
Characters – 8
Yuri – 3
Service – 1

Overall – 8

Parasol wo Sashite is one of my favorite novels of the series. Can’t *wait* to hear it!





Yuri Anime: Sasamekikoto (English)

October 23rd, 2009

What an amazing year. Not only have we had a ton of Yuri in anime in general, we had the delightful and lovely Aoi Hana and now…unbelievably, in English, for free, legally streamed to our computers, the Yuri comedy-drama Sasamekikoto. It’s like a dream state. ^_^

In short, Sasamekikoto, the “thing that is whispered,” is a story about Murasame Sumika who is in love with her best friend, Kazama Ushio. It’s a hopeless love because, despite the fact that Ushio loudly proclaims that she likes girls, she only likes cute, petite girls. Tall, athletic, hypercompetent Sumi just isn’t cute and frilly, the way Ushio likes them. May I just editorialize for a moment and say Ushio’s an *idiot.* Sumi is perfect.

The first few episodes start off on a dour note, with Sumika pining away for an oblivious Ushio, who appears to fall for a new girl each week. The first few episodes follow the manga pretty closely, so I don’t expect too much change as the story goes on.

Sasamekikoto is surprisingly richly animated, well voiced by a mostly-new cast and is an interesting take on a variety of Yuri tropes. Best friend, one-sided love, cross-dressing, and more to come. (For all full breakdown of all the tropes, check out my review of Volume 2 of the manga.) Although the story is decidedly melodramatic, it has pretty steep ups and downs of comedy and drama to manage, which it does pretty well.

The only real negative I can muster for Sasamekikoto is that I suddenly realized – I don’t like Ushio. Yet. Sumi beating the crap out of the bag in karate made me realize that I really *like* Sumi and want to slap Ushio. It’s a sign of a good story that I’m feeling anything at all about any of the characters, so bravo for the anime producers.

And bravo for Crunchyroll, who continue to invest in Yuri! They’ve told me that they have a genuine interest in building up the Yaoi and Yuri audiences, and I’m very excited to see that they are putting their money where their mouth is. Now we, the Yuri-viewing audience, needs to do the same.

I know, I know, the licensing doesn’t cover huge swatches of the planet. Trust me – if they could get those covered, they would. But for those of us in the US and Oceania – here it is, Yuri. For Free. In English. One hour after it airs in Japan. Support this please, because the better their numbers are – the more they will get. It’s really *that* simple.

For the price of a sandwich a month, you get good Yuri like Sasamekikoto and Aoi Hana and really stupid Yuri like Koihime Musou and not Yuri, but really, like it needs to be any more weird than it is, like Book of Bantorra. (What? You’re not watching it? Oh, you should be…it’s absolutely dreadful. Laughably, hilariously so. And Paku Romi as Hamutz Meseta. There are no other reasons needed to watch this.)

Watch Sasamekikoto and collect the whole set of Yuri Tropes!

Ratings:

Art – 8, with a few obvious cost-saving measures
Story – 7
Characters – 7, but they will get better
Yuri – 8
Service – 2

Overall – 7.5

Teenaged girls with wildly roller-coastering emotions? Ridiculous.

Joshibu ahoy!

…

I like Tomoe and Miyako best, if anyone cares.





Yuri Manga: Hayate x Blade, Volume 4 (English)

October 22nd, 2009

If you follow *one* series it should be this one. There are no exceptions to this rule.

Hayate x Blade, Volume 4 is a non-stop, fast-paced, slam-dunk, action-filled crazy-fest from the very first page to the very last. And it’s funny as hell. As I’ve come to say on Twitter, it’s a 4 SLOL (Snort Laugh Out Loud) book.

The book begins with the end of Ayana and Jun’s match and OMG, I cannot believe you can read this in ENGLISH. I remember reviewing it in Japanese and wishing I could share it with you all, because it’s so excellent.

Because *so* much happens in this volume, I want to talk about the translation. Yes, Jun does curse. It seems uncharacteristic in this series, but that’s only ’cause you haven’t met Sid yet. :-D (Sid! How I want you to meet Sid and Nancy! OMG, they are so awesomely hysterical. /Fangirly squeal/) And no, Hayate’s comments about her and Ayana being Jon and Ponch and Cagney and Lacey are *not* weird attempts are localization – they are actually what she says.

Once again, I want to thank, worship, akogare the team of translator and adapter on this book for making it feel so right. I feel as if every voice has been kept intact. Adrienne, Ed, you make this series a real pleasure to work on as a professional, and to read as a fan.

Also, I really, really, want to thank Tor and Seven Seas for 1) giving me the opportunity to work on this series and; 2) fixing that one mistake I kept pointing out. You know the one. Thank you. :-)

Jun fights Ayana, Yuho fights Hayate, Jun and Yuho have a tender moment, Hitsugi and Shizuku prepare for their first fight in a while, Hayate gets close to Akira despite dire warnings, and Momoka and Isuzu (Isuzu! OMG, I just love her. I hope you do too.) have a *major* crisis that introduces Michi and Otoha, who are a pair of utter freaks. ^_^ There is action, comedy, blood, guts, affection, desire and banana peels.

Isuzu=Yuri, and if you are like me and most of the Japanese doujinshi artists, you see Michi and Otoha as a couple, too. Because…duh.

If you are not buying this manga, you are utterly fail. Don’t bother trying to explain yourself.

Ratings:

Art – 8
Story – 9
Characters – 9
Yuri – 3
Service – 2

Overall – 9

I want you to know that a contact (not my editor, but another editor) at Tor offered to send me copies, but I refused. I like it better that my Heroes get the credit. Today I thank once again, ever more fervently, Okazu Superhero Eric P. for sponsoring today’s review and giving me the chance to sings paeans of joy about the BEST MANGA EVER. IN ENGLISH!