Archive for the Series Category


Yuri Anime: Lyrical Nanoha A’s (English)

May 7th, 2009

There are many, many good things about Lyrical Nanoha A’s. There are also some bad things – things significant enough that they impact not only my own, but many other people’s enjoyment of this series.

We’ll suffice to say that the lolicon in this series strikes me as problematic. It’s not cute, or sweet; it’s pandering and it is troubling. I spoke at length about some of these issues in my original review of this anime, so I won’t beat it to death again.

Instead, I would like to focus on the positive aspects of this series. Primarily to convince Bruce that bearing with the first season is, really, I swear, worth it. ^_^

This season begins with Nanoha being trained by the Time-Space Administration Bureau, and Fate nearing the end of her punishment for her crimes from the previous season. In order to foster a positive environment for Fate, and to provide her with a functional family model, Admiral Lindy Harlown has adopted Fate and is going to live on Earth for a while, along with her daughter.

While on Earth, a powerful Lost Logia appears, and burns its way through the life energy of a girl the same age as Fate and Nanoha, Hayate. The Book of Darkness, a the Logia is called, manifests four guardians who, along with Hayate, form a surprisingly functional alternative family of their own.

For reasons that are very good on both sides, the TSAB, Nanoha and Fate are placed in direct confrontation with Hayate and her Guardians.

What makes this series good is, simply, that the characters are excellent. There is not one of the Guardians that isn’t likable, honorable and respectable. Vita’s a fun bundle of righteous anger, Shamal is cool and Mom-like, Signum is awesome embodied, and Zafira’s a good dog. There is no Prescia, no Jail Scaglietti here (okay, well, there is for like thirty seconds, but it’s a dumb plot complication that is made to go away practically as quickly as it appears) – just a tremendous, tragic conflict between opponents both equally matched and equally worthy. Of course we are never REALLY in doubt that Nanoha will befriend and “befriend” her opponents…and this time we’re so very, very glad she does. In fact, I kinda wished she had defeated them sooner, so we could spend more time just playing around together.

So, Bruce, I promise, if you can just manage to make it through the first half of the first season, it gets *so* much better. And this season is miles better than the first. Plot and character-wise, at least.

Yuri-wise, this is probably the least of the three seasons, mostly because just about as soon as Nanoha and Fate have even a second together, they are hard at work saving the universe. But, delusional as I am, I see it anyway. ^_^

I still think that the best characters are the Devices, something that has not changed no matter how many times I watch this series. I just love Graf Eisesn’s enthusiasm for smashing things, Raising Heart’s gung-ho supportiveness and Bardiche’s cool competence.

Technically, I have any number of issues with the Funimation translation, but meh, don’t feel like complaining. It’s a great series with great characters and some stuff that isn’t so great.

Ratings:

Art – 8
Character – 8
Story – 8
Yuri – 3
Service – 8

Overall – 8

My sincere and repeated thanks to newly promoted Okazu Superhero Amanda M! I just adore this series and cannot thank you enough for sponsoring this review of it. As much as watching it still makes me feel a little icky, I don’t care – I’m gonna keep watching it. lol Please email me at your earliest convenience to get your shiny new gold Superhero badge!

 





El Cazador Anime: Volume 4 (Polish/German)

May 6th, 2009

I’m very excited to once again offer a review from the Okazu Europe bureau. Everyone, please welcome back Winterbraid! Yayyy~!

El Cazador Volume 4 has episodes 15 through 18. Starting with the mandatory swimsuit (and in one case, no swimsuit) episode, followed by L.A. losing the last bits of sympathy we have for him, some random cosplay and buttock prodding by Nadie and Ellis, and – in my opinion – a rather Noir-like episode, closed with the trickster god part – which, on the second run, is probably one of my favourites. Otherwise, it seems that everyone stalks everyone, all with a generous spurt of fluff and cuddly on top – perfect after a tough week. ^-^

As far as the localization is concerned… well, I’m not really in the mood for nagging right now. ^-^ Fortunately, there is no more translating whole sentences as a single word, although some awkwardness (and a few blatant mistakes) awaits. Overall, I’d say that compared to the previous volume, the translation hasn’t gained enough of a soul to allow for creative criticism, but there is an improvement – or maybe it’s just that my tolerance is increasing. Apparently, there’s something
weird about the disc that prevented me from playing it on Linux… not that anyone cares. ^-^. Now that I think about it, the fonts could perhaps do with some tweaks, i.e. less jaggedness – oh well… anyway, every possible defect of this release is – for me at least – overshadowed by the postcards, which are quite cool this time. ^-^

By the way, I took a quick glimpse of the manga; and… uh… how should I put it… NO. ^-^;

Short, bittersweet and to the point. Thank you Winterbraid for another look at a series we cannot *wait* to get over here!





Ichigo Mashimaro Encore Anime

May 5th, 2009

Chika and her friends are back and even sillier things than ever before are happening in Ichigo Mashimaro Encore.

Much of what is animated in Encore is from the 6th volume of the manga. If you have read and enjoyed these chapters, you are likely to enjoy them again as animation.

If you don’t care that Miu’s antics can make demons in hell laugh, then you probably won’t care so much. And if you don’t care that Nobue is not their friend, but their gang boss, or that Miu and Chika’s friendship is almost alien in it’s intense weirdness, then, again, you probably don’t want to watch this anime.

But if you are a member of the Miu Fan Club, if you like the idea that Miu and Chika’s relationship surpasses words and has moved on to bizarre ASCII art, if you like the idea that Chika and Miu make a stellar comedy team then you too, will enjoy Encore.

Yuri is low, with one “are we lesbians” gag but despite that, yes, I still think the Miu is a EPL-in training. Call it a gaydar thing. :-)

Ratings:

Art – 7
Story – 8, sometimes 9
Characters – 8
Yuri – 2
Service – 3

Overall – 8

If the world is a good place, someone will license the OVAs and this Encore series and put them out in a box set.





Maria-sama ga Miteru Special CD, Volume 1

May 1st, 2009

Such voyeuristic joy, such pure pleasure, such girly, giggly, sweets and flower-filled minutes pass as we once again enter the second-floor meeting room of the Bara no Yakata and spend time with the women who bring the Rosa Chinensis family to life as they discuss important things like who gets the chocolate, the strawberry or the pumpkin flavored sweet.

No seriously, that’s the kind of thing we listen to when Itou Miki (Sachiko,) Kugamiya Rie (Touko) and Ueda Kana (Yumi) get together to chat about everything an nothing for the Maria-sama ga Miteru Special CD, Volume 1.

They discuss the 4th season, and Touko’s character development. They discuss the novels (Kana is clearly the group authority on this, having clearly read them all) and about the New Year’s Eve event.

The drama portion of the CD is “Chocolate Portrait,” the story of how Shouko and Tsutako met. The entire story was dramatized – if anything was cut, I was completely unaware of it, it was so small and inconsequential. To say that this story is wonderful is really an understatement. IF there was any couple in the whole of Lillian that I could ever call a “couple” in the romantic sense, it would have to be Tsutako and Shouko. They fit together beautifully. Shouko is sweet, polite and a little bent, while Tsutako is just about the most social, functional and fun sociopath I’ve ever read. ^_^ Together they make a pair so awesome that they can’t be beat.

The last track on the CD is “Oshiete, Oneesama,” in which the same series of questions are asked of each guest – which character would you want for a sister, a daughter, a friend, (if you were male, of course) a bride, a soeur. Everyone wants Yumi for a friend, and Shimako for a daughter. ^_^ And mostly, although not all the time, whichever guest it is wants their character’s soeur for a soeur. Kugamiya Rie did not deviate too much from the norm.

Up until this CD, the DJCDs have been anywhere from 25-35 minutes. This “Special” CD is about an hour long – the “Chocolate Portrait” drama is a good 30 minutes plus, so it’s good entertainment value for your money.

Ratings:

Overall – 9

When I listened to the Winter Special DJCD, I said it was the best I’d listened to so far, Well, this one was better. ^_^





Aria the Natural, Part 1 Anime Boxset (English)

April 26th, 2009

I need to say this first, because I am sick and tired of getting nasty emails, comments and blogposts from people who have no grip on reality. I do NOT think that Aria is Yuri. Many other people who are not me do. I review Aria as Yuri because the *other* fans  insist on seeing all sorts of couples in the mostly all-female cast, since so often they talk to each other, or are in the same frame. They even touch once in a while, so clearly there’s sex involved, in the eyes of this group.

I *do* enjoy imagining a relationship between Alicia and Akira. That is the only Yuri I have ever seen in this series and I am completely honest about the fact that I have wholly made it up in my head, encouraged only by Raku-Gun and Crush doujinshi. So please, stfu about me ruining Aria for you because I had the nerve to call it a Yuri series. If me calling a series Yuri pisses you off, then its probably a bad idea to read this blog since it is a *Yuri* blog and covers many things that other people who are not you think of as Yuri.

Moving on….

Unless you have your Yuri goggles on very, very high, you’re not going to see much Yuri in Aria the Natural, Part 1 boxset. What you will find is a story about a young woman who finds joy in the smallest things of everyday life. And by moving so slowly that she has time to see and enjoy these things, she brings the people around her into her world full of wonder and beauty – whether they want to or not. I believe that that is, in part, the reason why so many of the fans of this series are otherwise absurdly cynical people, with nothing specific to be angry at, so they rail at me, or The Man, or whatever, without actually doing anything about anything. Akari’s “my pace” attitude and appreciation for everything – bugs, bread, hats, weather – forces us to slow down and at least take a look at what she’s looking at, even if we don’t appreciate it as much as she does.

As with the previous Aria boxset, Right Stuf does a nice job on reproduction and translation, managing to communicate Al’s old man puns and Akari’s wide-eyed perspective uniquely. And although I did not order the set from them directly, I’m told that the extras for direct pre-order are way fun – in this case, an Aria-shachou squeeze toy. (Thanks to Sean for ruining it forever reporting on it with this line, “Hollowed out, it’s the most amusing condom ever!”) Unlike the first season box set, the extras for these disk live on a separate disk of their own and are entirely worth watching, if you care about such things as staff and VA interviews, trailer videos and the like – which I enjoy, no matter how insipid the comments. An Episode Guide Booklet is included as a physical extra for the set, as well.

Nevertheless, there are some scenes that will be imagined as Yuri. Alice’s shadow-hopping episode was very popular with Alice x Athena ‘shippers, for one. In my opinion, the hottest romance in the series is Aika and Al. ^_^

Of course, the number one reason I watch Aria is not Yuri, real or imagined, it’s the scenery porn; the love in our eyes with which we gaze at the shadow in St. Mark’s Plaza, a meteor shower, a street vendor making dolls dance or the evening sun shining on Venetian glass. It’s this that makes Aria worth watching and rewatching. And if your love of the series is affected by anyone’s opinion then you’ve missed the entire point of wearing Akari-colored glasses.

Ratings:

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

Overall – 8

Many many thanks to new Okazu Hero Tricolor Cavy for sponsoring today’s review! I have enjoyed not only the hours it has taken me to rewatch this anime, but also the renewed appreciation it gives me every time for the simple joys of my real life. Thank you.