Archive for the Series Category


Yuri Network News – November 28, 2009

November 28th, 2009

Yuri Anime

It is holiday time, so a number of Yuri Anime releases are right around the corner!

Ikkitousen DD is due to be released next week, so we can get our fix of great heroes of China turned into buxom, strong, yet largely powerless pawns of loathesome guys. :-)

For those of us who can’t ever get enough of this, a *new* Ikkitousen series has been announced in Japan – Ikkitousen XX (Xtreme Xecutor). Ryomou and Kanu are in it, so we can all relax. ;-) In fact, the last issue of Gum magazine I bought had a fabulous Ryomou on the cover, so hopefully she’ll get even more screen time.

Also scheduled for release in the next few weeks is the first Volume of El Cazador. Who wouldn’t want this rollicking tale of witches and gunslingers and mad scientists and bunnymen and sexy assassins?

Don’t forget the complete collection of Blue Drop, which was officially released this month. I was listening to a Blue Drop Drama CD a few weeks ago and I was reminded how much I really liked this anime prequel. I’m very much looking forward to seeing it again “officially.”

And, just to give you something to *really* look forward to, just after the new year we’ll see Rin: Daughter of Mnemosyne the complete series. I may just have to have a party where we all drink everytime Rin dies. :-)

All that *ought* to be enough to tide you over until the 4th season of Marimite arrives in English in the Spring. :-)

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Yuri Manga

It’s a little too early for a link, but Yuri Hime Wildrose 4 is slated for a December 18th release, as is the next volume of Yuri Hime S.

Oh, and despite the apathy I’ve personally shown this series, Apple Day Dream is also getting a second volume. lol

Hakamada Mera’s Watashi no Taisetsuna Tomodachi is also getting a second volume in the next few weeks. I reviewed that first volume a little while ago and would like to see where it goes.

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Yuri Novels

I’ve been kind of disappointed that Ichijinsha’s Iris line hasn’t put out any more Yuri Light Novels recently. It’all been brooding boys lately. Bleah. lol Let’s write the editor and complain. But!

Mori Natsuko has a new novel out – Futari no Hitori Asobi. Her other novels have been such delicious lesbian crack that this has immediately gone into my Amazon JP shopping cart.

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Other Yuri News

Should you be heading to Winter Comiket this year, Media Factory is publishing an official Sasamekikoto fact file/magazine. Brave the long lines and get me a copy, will you? :-)

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Yuricon Contests

Just a reminder that the Yuri Studios AMV Contest is still on and still accepting submissions! The Contest Guidelines are on the Yuricon site. There’s been so much great (and not great) Yuri Anime this year, we’re really looking forward to seeing some wonderful AMVs celebrating them!

And…we’re getting geared up for a really *big* contest. We’re working on a redesign for the Yuricon website and we need a new image of our mascots Yuriko and Midori for the *Home Page*. We’ll be announcing the Cover Girl Image Contest in a few weeks, but start thinking about it now, because the winner not only gets their image on the front page (and maybe as the cover of Yuri Monogatari 7,) there’ll be a great Grand Prize! Check back soon for contest details! No “adult” images will be accepted for this contest, btw.

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Non-Yuri News

I think it’s worth noting this: Simon Jones of Icarus Publishing has announced that Comic AG, Icarus’ long-running adult manga comic magazine, is ending with issue 110. (Link may not be SFW) Jones is one of the most interesting and intelligent critical commentors on the economics of the manga industry, so his post on why this is happening and what the factors are that have changed the market should be required reading for anyone who has ever whined, “We never get anything good.”

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And, 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!





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.