Archive for the Series Category


Maria-sama ga Miteru Special CD, Vol. 3

July 31st, 2009

You know you’re really an otaku when you generalize “spending time with characters we like to spend time with” to “spending time listening to the people who play those characters talking about cake.”

Welcome to the second-floor council room at the Rose Mansion of Lillian Jogakuen and the quite meaningless, giggle-filled Maria-sama ga Miteru Special CD Volume 3, in which Ueda Kana (Yumi), Noto Mamiko (Shimako) and Shimizu Kaori (Noriko) discuss absolutely nothing of importance at all. And cake.

Let’s get the most important thing out of the way first – the fairy cakes were delicious. I know you were worried.

Shimizu-san calls Noto-san “Oneesama” which makes Ueda-san squeal with delight. They answer questions in a Newlywed Game-like game called “Soeur no Kizuna” – in which they are supposed to see if they know how each other will answer. Shimizu-san comments on how intimidating the script for this Drama was, since she’s never had that many lines in a row before….and how this is the first major piece of recording she did without much interaction with Noto-san.

And the radio drama is one of my favorite side stories, in which en Bouton Yumi and Noriko find themselves bonding over rain, teruterubozu and white ponchos. “Hitsuji ga Ippiki Saku Koete” is a great story, full of WTF moments, as seen through the eyes of public school girl Noriko as she enters the Wonderland of Lillian.

So, the big question is – how close are “Noriko” and “Shimako” in the sister’s bonds game? Pretty close, although the questions are really silly. I would have probably answered similarly, too. ^_^

Ratings:

Overall – 9

Not *quite* as amazing as the last one, but that’s no fault of the CD itself, it’s just that Noriko and Shimako come in second place for me to Tsutako and Shouko. In every other way, this Special CD is totally grin-worthy.





Aria the Natural, Part 2 Anime (English)

July 29th, 2009

Squeezing Yuri from Aria the Natural, Part 2 is like making an essential oil from a rose petal. It’s a lot of work, takes a lot of petals and, in the end, what you have is a beautiful, but ephemeral scent.

Which is not to say that it’s not worth your time.

Like a rose, Aria the Natural, has a timeless beauty. And like the rose, Aria provides a lovely atmosphere. And…if you are a fan of Aria or Okazu, you’ve seen this coming since the first simile…it is ironically the Crimson Rose of Aria herself, Akira, that provides one of those essential moments. The little bit of Yuri, should you wish to don my super high-powered UBER-YURI Goggles (go ahead, the world looks lovely in lavender) is provided by the early butchiness of Akira who, as you know, I think is totally gay for Alicia. Because I *want* her to be. :-) Her badass tomboyishness makes my day every time. I’m also sure that, at the very end, the akogare Akari has for Alicia is laid on thickly enough for folks who want to see them as a couple to see them as a couple.

But, as I repeatedly stress, watching Aria is not about watching Yuri. It’s about watching a delicate world, made of glass and soap bubbles that look so much like one another that it’s terribly hard to distinguish the one from the other. Is this a fantasy of myth and history or a fantasy of a womans’ world, constructed with 9 parts beauty and 1 part reality. That’s the question no one asks themselves when watching Aria, because who *cares*? It’s another beautiful, relaxed day full of wonder with Akari, as we travel down the canals of Neo-Venenzia. That’s what Aria is always really about.

In this second part of the second season, the three Undine-in-training make significant progress towards their goal. So much so, in fact, that their eventual graduation is mentioned right out in the open several times by the people who have the most influence in that regard – their mentors.

Train rides with the Caith Sidhe, the marriage of the sea, couples old and young, and a parallel universe – if this kind of thing is the reason you’re watching Aria then there’s enough in this season to make you more than happy.

Speaking only for myself, Aria makes me happy.

Ratings:

Art – 8
Story – 8
Characters – 8
Yuri – 2
Service – 1

Overall – 8

Once again, many thanks to Okazu Superhero Dan P for sponsoring today’s review! (And, btw, if you are considering sponsoring a review, by buying something off the Yuri Wishlist, consider getting a “used” copy – especially of the older, and more obscure items. And thanks!)

 





Yuri News This Week – July 11, 2009

July 11th, 2009

I was in NYC last night at “Passion Fruits,” the Lesbian art show that is running as part of the Fresh Fuits Festival this month. Rica Takashima has some pieces in the show. It was a really, honestly an amazing opening, and tomorrow I’ll be posting some pictures I took of people with her art.

In the meantime, here’s this week’s Yuri news!

Yuri Anime

It’s an anime kinda week this week!

First of all, as I announced yesterday, Afterellen.com will be streaming the Aoi Hana anime series, which is really amazing – and will get Yuri in front of a lot of people who never heard of it, but need to see it! There’s a lot of positive response for the first episode, so hopefully it’ll be a successful venture for all.

Anime Network has announced that Revolutionary Girl Utena will be shown on their online channel. Since ADV rescued some of the CPM properties, this make loads of sense – and it’s nice to know that this classic anime won’t disappear entirely from the world.

Katherine is pleased to shout out that the voice actresses for Sasamekikoto have been announced. Like Aoi Hana they seem to be favoring new voices.

Crunchyroll is really hotting up the Yuri pot with new anime Kanamemo, a series based on a Mangatime Kirara 4-panel comic. There are two characters that are said to be a “Yuri couple.” I will withhold a final decision until I actually see it. ;-)

And another new anime of interest, Canaan has just started in Japan – it has a Yuri-ish air about it, and is about two women with guns. Noir fans take note!

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Snatches of Yuri

Nekomimi Days is getting tons of press on the Japanese blogs. It is about moe school girls with cat ears, so it will appeal to people who are completely unlike me. I should warn you that it is from Gum Comics, which means it isn’t as innocent as you want to pretend it is.

Yuyu Shiki is exactly what it looks like – another “cho-kawai” 4-koma from Mangatime Kirara. The connecting theme this time is that all three have name that begin with “Yu.”

And Arisu no O-chakai takes featureless moe faces one step further into “circles with eyes” territory. It tells the story of 3 girls who are members of the “Chado” club – the tea ceremony club.

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And there you have it, guns, 4-koma, moe, schoolgirls and sword duels. Sounds like Yuri to me. :-)





Yuri News: Aoi Hana on Afterellen.com

July 10th, 2009

The largest online lesbian media source, Afterellen.com will be premiering this summer’s Yuri anime hit, Aoi Hana: Sweet Blue Flowers via Crunchyroll.

Afterellen covers lesbian media and entertainment of all forms, and they stream a number of live-action drama and news series on their site. This is their first anime stream.

Both the anime stream and an article I wrote about the series goes live tonight at 11PM EST. Check it out and don’t forget to rant about how much you love my articles in the comments! :-)





Yuri News this Week – July 4, 2009

July 4th, 2009

What a week for Yuri fans!

Yuri Anime

The top story this week is, of course, that the Aoi Hana anime is not only available on, but is “simulcasting” an hour after its Japan TV debut on, Crunchyroll.com. If your country is not blocked, you can watch it for free, but a small subscription fee will get you a better stream, higher definition and more options. The anime has received critical acclaim so far, from both fans and reviewers. Smart folks on the Yuricon Mailing List like Katherine, have identified preorders available for the DVDs on Amazon JP and like Sal, noticed that it looks to be running 11 episodes. Here’s hoping it does well enough to garner a second season.

I was chatting with @Funimation on Twitter and they let me know that the projected release date for El Cazador is autumn 2009 and Rin: Daughters of Mnemosyne is sometime in spring 2010.

Speaking of 2010, Right Stuf/Nozomi (@AnimeToday on Twitter) has announced that the 4th season of Maria Watches Over Us is slated for a 2010 release. They also announced the licenses for Aria the Origination and the Arietta OVA to be released together in one set. Also Right Stuf is planning a line of Aria lithographs, which Gia Manry of Anime Vice explained as coming out one at a time until there’s no money left in our pockets. :-)

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Yuri Manga

Erin S mentions on her LJ that Fujieda Miyabi has nothing in this month’s issue of Yuri Hime, but that he’ll be back in October’s issue. To me, this says that we’ll finally get that Ame-iro Kouchakan Kandan tankoubon. It’s pretty common for the mangaka to take a break the month of the collection release. I’m sure we all hope so! (This just in – Ichijinsha Mail Magazine has a release date for Ame-iro of July 25th, so there ya go.)

Bruce P wrote me to tell me about the summer Yuri-themed issue of a magazine called Kikan S (Esu). He says, “There are articles (principally author interviews and artwork examples) on a selection of Yuri manga: Aoi Hana, Sasame Kikoto, Manga no Tsukurikata, and Otome Keki. There is also an article about Anise magazine, in one sidebar of which I was pleased to see them show the cover and give publishing info on Rica’tte Kanji. Another sidebar describes the evolution of the word Yuri. The original illustrations in this issue are also mostly Yuri, though some of them are, in the unfortunate tradition of Kikan S, pretty skeevy. Artistic, but skeevy.”

Lastly, if you’ve been wondering where Gunjou went, since it hasn’t run in Morning 2 magazine in a while, I can assure that it is live and well! I haven’t reviewed it, because honestly, the climax chapter was so raw and beautiful that I haven’t been able to deal with it in words. I know that sounds melodramatic, but it’s totally true. It was 72 pages of some of the best manga I’ve ever read and when I was done, I was wiped. Then the series took a few months off, I assumed it was because of the Morning International Comic Contest. It turns out I was wrong about that, but Gunjou returned to the magazine for issue 23 – which is the important bit. If you do like Gunjou, I hope you’ll write Morning 2 and let them know. It’s important to communicate these things to the editors and publishers.

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Yuri Drama CD

And really quickly, links are now up for the 4th Special Maria-sama ga Miteru CD and the newest Drama CD (and the first in a long time) Tears of the Rosary!

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I was going to get caught up on “Snatches” this week, but with so much real news, I think I’ll leave it at that. It’s a really wallow-worthy week, don’t you think?

As always, if you’d like to share news with the world, please feel free to email me at anilesbocon01 at hotmail. dot com and share!