Archive for the Series Category


Maria Watches Over Us Anime: Season 3, Volume 1

April 2nd, 2009

The day my Season 3 Box Set of Maria Watches Over Us arrived I, like many of you, immediately opened box the looking for the third of the three phone straps. Once the Yellow Rose was safely attached to my phone, I was able to turn my attention to the DVDs themselves.

Volume 1 consists of “Vacation of the Lambs” and “Operation OK (Temp) For Short.”

Let me set the scene for you. “Rainy Blue” is over. Yumi has learned the truth of Sachiko’s distance from her, that she was in denial and grieving over her dying grandmother. Yumi has ceased her wide-eyed adoration of her Onee-sama as something perfect and “over there” and is starting to see her as a human being.

In this third season, Yumi’s begun to relate to Sachiko as an equal. The two of them are slowly rebuilding their relationship which had been strained to near-breaking. Yumi is beginning to assert herself, Sachiko is beginning to take herself less seriously, and to rely on Yumi more. It’s slow going for both of them.

In “Vacation” Sachiko invites Yumi to her summer house. It’s not the smoothest vacation ever. Yumi’s still bruised from “Rainy Blue,” and isn’t really sure of herself. She’s never really thought Sachiko’s life through – about the politics involved with her status, or the people around her. Sachiko has never really had a companion, she’s used to being the sole child in the company of adults. She’s also still a little idealistic about the nature of the soeur relationship and forgets, from time to time, that it comes with no magic powers of comprehension.

However. Yumi and Sachiko awkwardly get past all this and at the end of “Vacation” are indubitably closer that ever before. This story is the last one that will ever feature a low-self-esteem Yumi. This story is *the* turning point in the entire series. This story is the beginning of Yumi becoming Rosa Chinensis. “Vacation” is a beautiful story, with some lovely romantic moments.

“Operation OK” is the first time we really see the Yumi and Sachiko we’ve always wanted to see. Yumi is made responsible for the plan to acquaint Sachiko with their decidely male counterparts of Hanadera Academy. I found this particular story gut-bustingly funny, for any number of reasons. When Yumi caves and tells Sachiko what is planned, it is not weakness, as it appears to be, but Yumi’s unerring ability to manage Sachiko, that has finally borne fruit.

The scene where the Yamayurikai finally meets the Hanadera Student Council never fails to make me laugh out loud. The look on the Rosa’s faces as they gaze up…and up…at the Yakushiji twins, the memory of Noriko’s “ham” notation for Takada (left out of the anime, but it still makes me laugh when Takada flexes) and the Yumi/Yuuki comedy duo and Yoshino’s zinger.

This volume is quite possibly the most “important” in the series. If you are (and I am) watching this series to see how the characters mature and develop, then you really should take a second and just lovingly watch this volume. Take time to enjoy the details, the higher-quality art and the wonderfulness that is Fukuzawa Yumi.

Ratings:

Art – 8
Story – 8
Characters – 9
Yuri – 3
Service – 1

Overall – 8

Now, while I applaud Right Stuf in their efforts to fill my house with even more crap, this box set sadly fell very short of the good crap I got from the Collector’s edition from Japan for these two episodes. I wonder if it will ever *be* possible to throw $90 away just to get pressed leaf bookmarks, White Rose Family themed faux-leather book covers, Yumi’s hair ribbons, embossed paper coasters and limited edition postcards. I dream of that day.





My-Hime Manga, Volume 3 (English)

March 29th, 2009

Let’s talk positives and negatives, strengths and weaknesses.

The original Mai HiME anime was good. It has some clear areas of strength – shiny, colorful action and strong, likeable characters. The intense dramatic angst could be seen as either a positive or negative depending your particular interest, but for the moment I’ll reckon it as a positive, because it definitely worked. Significantly negative for me was the fact that the ending made all my (and the characters’) emotional strain irrelevant. And, again for me, the service got pretty tiring pretty fast. I’m sure there’s someone out there for whom the implication that Natsuki has no underwear on is utterly thrilling.

The plot of Mai HiME was not simple, but it was not hideously complex. in traditional battle manga style, when one enemy was neutralized, another, greater enemy was realized and, in typical fashion, the bad guys are always one step ahead of the good guys. The plot was a weakness, but not one I hold against it, since it’s typical of it’s kind.

In stark contrast, the My-HIME manga is full of an inexplicable, overcomplicated and insensible plot, unlikeable characters and overdrawn action. Above all, it’s greatest weakness is that the dialogue frequently makes no sense at all. Sure, with time and effort, you can kind of figure out what’s going on…but screw that. *You’re* the storyteller. You tell me what I need to know, don’t make me go hunting for key pieces of information hidden in the babble.

In fact, the impression I get from My-Hime, Volume 3 is this:

Person A: I will use my super power to do something amazing and stupid!

Person B: Yes, thanks, I will have the tuna salad for lunch.

Time after time, I stare at the pages and say, “Whah?”

And before you ask – no, it is not the translation. I read the original and it was just as bad. In fact, props to the translator and adaptor who probably were forced to drink heavily to get through the constipation that passes for dialogue in this series.

There is no Yuri in this volume. Shizuru appears on – maybe – two or three pages and Haruka and Yukino barely appear either. As they are the more Yuri couple in this series, a chapter without them is a sad and lonely chapter.

So. What exactly happens in this volume? Honestly…I’m not sure. A random hot springs nudity scene suddenly turns into a cave-in and everyone runs around screaming. This is folowed by the “Mai does too much” plot side-by-side with the “Tate’s birthday” plot. The end of the manga brings a shift of focus. Mai learns that if a Child is defeated, the Key is destroyed, so she tells Tate to leave. The Searrs Foundation (and thus Alyssa and Miyu) show up, as do Shiho, importuning Tate to leave with her. Natsuki’s mother mysteriously returns as a part cyborg HiME, from ten years long absence. The Searrs Foundation stop the Orphans, Nagi is beheaded (woo-hoo! best part of the volume.) All of this followed by a completey random bathing suit service page.

The End.

You wanna know what happened, really? You read it and tell me.

Ratings:

Art – 6
Story – 5
Characters – 5
Yuri – 0
Service – 5

Overall – 5

Completely accidentally, today we must again thank Okazu Hero Elaine B for her contribution to our collective confusion. Thanks Elaine for sponsoring today’s review!





Yuri News This Week – March 21, 2009

March 21st, 2009

Off we fly, into the wild Yuri yonder!

Yuri Anime

Sasamekikoto anime has been confirmed. I’m flabbergasted, gobsmacked and tickled. Hopefully, those of you who see Sumi and Ushio will be moved to buy the manga, which is absolutely delightful.

And speaking of delightful, there is a trailer up for Aoi Hana. No animation as of yet, but you can see the pretty watercolors from the manga and say “oooh.”

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Snatches of Yuri

Looks like a new web-based Mai HiME property is on the way: Mai HiME Rebundei Nekohime Blog. Based merely on a superficial glance at the web page, I already hate it. lol

George R points an enthusiastic finger at the novel Memories Off 2nd ~ Precious Hearts, which has unexpected and not entirely craptastic Yuri. He has provided a review which will surely be used at some time in the future. :-)

Otoshite Apri-gal is also something that, based just on first glance is nothing I want to read. But those of you who disagree with me on mostly everything will surely like it!

And last for today is yet another Mangatime Kirara (KR Comics) series called Manken which is in every single Yuri list, so I guess it has Yuri, huh? As it’s KR, I’m going to go out on a limb and say it’s probably a 4-koma, with a wacky girl, an average girl, a butchy-ish girl and the other girl. :-)

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That’ll give you something to chew on while I take a few days off and go do other, completely non-anime/manga things that involve people who don’t read any of this crap. See you when I get back!





Yuri Manga: Burst Angel, Volme 2 (English)

March 18th, 2009

Burst Angel, Volume 2 is a classic case of “be careful what you wish for.”

When I first read this volume in Japanese, I was touched by the tender and genuine relationship between Jo and Meg, and enjoyed Meg’s obvious desire for Jo – something the anime had set aside in favor of extended giant robot fight scenes.

And then Tokyopop licensed the series. I was very excited, because I knew who was working on it, and was reasonably assured it would not suck. Then reality hit. Take a look at the long list of people who worked on this book on the front page and you will see a story of lay-offs and process malfesance. And, in the end, the best volume of the Bakuretsu Tenshi manga has become the not-terribly great second volume of Burst Angel. It’s not crisis-level “OMG, this sucks massively!”, but I’m not singing paeans of joy accompanied by heavenly choir, either.

The good news is that the manga itself is nice. Sweet, a little funny, with a light-hearted beginning that darkens as the series goes on to a more ominous tone. Much like the anime. The Yuri-est bits are not handled well. The translation is a bit silly – in one key moment, completely utterly incorrect and it has the overall effect of diminishing the reason I am reading this otherwise merely okay series.

But what really pushes this particular volume into “fail” territory for me is the craptastic reproduction. Tokyopop is, hands down, the most inconsistent of the large manga publishers. One series will be handled beautifully, the next like they did it on their lunch break. I realize that a lot of that has to do with timing, staff and money resources, etc. What you see with this volume is what happens when a book is rushed through as the staff is being fired from underneath it. The lettering is unacceptably bad in several spots – clearly no one was left to check it. I am *very* tolerant of margin and lettering errors, because I know just how hard it is to get that kind of thing right. But this is really abysmal.

The reproduction of the art (which was terrible in Volume 1) is much improved here. And to be fair, the art is not clean, draftsman-quality lines. (This was the artist’s first professional manga.) If the translation and lettering were at least at the level of the reproduction, the book would be perfectly fine.

All that having been said, if you are a Burst Angel fan, a fan of Jo and Meg, or just like a little light-hearted Yuri and can look past the technical issues, this volume is still worth getting.

Ratings:

Art – 7
Story – 7
Characters – 7
Yuri – 6
Service – 5

Overall – 7

It is once again my pleasure to thank Okazu Superhero Eric P. for being the sponsor of today’s review!





Yuri News This Week – March 14, 2009

March 14th, 2009

Happy Π Day!

Yuri Events

You are invited to join Rica Takashima, J.D. Glass, Althea Keaton, Jessie B. and the cast and crew for a Yuri Mongatari 6 for a Launch Party on April 18th, 2009 at the Rare Flix store in Secaucus, NJ. This event is co-hosted by Yuricon and Media Blasters, and will include the premiere of our “Yuri Monogatari 6” video trailer, and plenty of Yuri anime on the TVs! We’ll be there from 7PM til will throw you out, so stop by! Bring friends! Buy Yuri!

Sakuracon announces Serial Experiments Lain‘s Yoshitoshi Abe as a guest. Ask him whether Lain and Alice were a couple – I’m sure he’s never been asked that, before. :-)

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Yuri Manga

y_y let me know that the doujinshi circle Sakuraike will be publishing a mass market collection of their adorable Yuri series, Tact. It’ll be available in July. This is honestly very, very cool news for them. As soon as there’s info for purchasing the book, you can be sure I’ll make it available to you.

You’ve probably heard of this already, and I think I even mentioned it before, but – Moonphase says that there may be Sasamekikoto anime, and 2chan is all over it, endlessly. Will it be reality? Who knows.

Comic Yell, the “Shoujo magazine for Boys” from Hobunsha (publisher of Tsubomi,) is ending, leaving no competetition is Comic Hai (home of Morinaga Milk’s Girl Friends.) I wonder if Tsubomi is meant to take up that slack….

Here’s some Yuri Manga you want to pick up this month!

Rakka Ryuusui 4

Sasamekikoto 4

Ichigo Mashimaro 6

Yuri Hime S, Volume 8

Of course all of these have been added to the Yuricon Shop, as well.

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Other News

I attended the KRAZY! exhibit at Japan Society a couple od days ago. The exhibit is very small and, because of the lack of context for it, it appeared to me to be the zOMG! moments of a person’s anime/manga interest. As it turns out, there was a huge western component to it that had to be cut out for space. The original exhibit was much larger and talked more about the evolution and convergence of visual culture and zeitgeist to make an explosion of concepts that defy cultural hegemony to create a kind of translocal modernism. (Words from Ueno-sensei one of the lecturers the night I attended.) It might seem a tad pretentious, but if you take a moment to parse it – so exactly right. :-) I want to thank translator Mari Morimoto for asking me to accompany her.

I got to meet Roland Kelts of Japanamerica, who did a very very good job of speaking to an audience that was half Japan Society members with no understanding of anime or manga and half anime and manga fans with no understanding of Japanese art.

Lastly for today, Riyoko Ikeda has been awarded the French Legion of Honor for her efforts promoting French history through Rose of Versailles. Hopefully that will inspire everyone involved to get that movie completed already!

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It’s also Einstein’s birthday today and White Day, so take a moment today to celebrate art and science, math and language and the power of the human mind.

See you next week. :-)