Archive for the Series Category


Yuri News This Week – November 1, 2008

November 3rd, 2008

The title really should read “Yuri News Last Week.” lol

Yuri Anime

More free anime streaming directly from the land of Yuri to you.

Toei has announced a deal with Crunchyroll to stream, among other things, PreCure, (aka Futari ha PrettyCure.) This series is so reminiscent of Sailor Moon, you might be tempted to think the same people worked on it – and you’d be right. It’s never been my favorite show, but it’s not hard to see Honoka’s feelings for Nagisa, or Kaoru and Natsuki’s thing for each other in Splash Star. Just sayin’.

Not to be outdone, Funimation is offering the first episodes of some of their series for free online as well, including the reasonably Yuri-ish Burst Angel.

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Yuri Manga

Well, my top two pieces of news have to be:

Finally, at long last, Hayate x Blade is available in English. It’s unbelievable, really. Marimite and HxB in one year. I still can’t get over it.

And woot, Media Blasters has released both Volume 1 AND Volume 2 of Maka-Maka. It looks splendid in terms of reproduction. Maybe, even, slightly better than the Japanese version. Seriously.

Not that anyone cares at all, but the faux Yuri-filled Amuria in Star Ocean ends its run in the December Dengeki Daioh.

Fans of Aria and Aqua, will be pleased to know that Amano Kozue has a new series starting this month in Comic Blade called Amanchu!. The initial art features two girls near each other. You know the drill. ;-)

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I have a backlog of Snatches of Yuri to tell you about, but I’m wiped. I’ll do my best to add at least a few in next week. :-)

And no promises, but I’ll *try* to get a review in today.





Yuri Anime: Ikkitousen GG OAV 2

October 31st, 2008

Ikkitousen Great Guardians OAV 2 is five minutes of absolutely nothing. But in those five minutes, thousands of LFs of every gender get to watch Ryoufu Housen play doctor with Ryomou Shimei.

So, really, what do I have to complain about?

Nothing, except “doctor” doesn’t do it for me and I really, really want to see them beat the crap out of each other. Sadly, thousands of otaku prefer dress up to beat down. Oh well. ^_^

Ratings:

Art – 7
Story – 0
Yuri – 5
Service – 10

Overall – 5

It’s probably going to take you longer to read this review than to watch the whole OAV. It might make more sense, too. ^_^





Yuri Manga: Hayate Cross Blade, Volume 1 (English)

October 30th, 2008

It has been almost three and a half years since I first reviewed Hayate x Blade and in all that time, never once has my delight in this series lessened one iota. So you can imagine how thrilled I am to tell you now about the English-language edition of Hayate x Blade, Volume 1. (In case you somehow missed my raving about this manga, please feel free to check out my reviews of the volumes already out in Japanese.)

The story of Hayate x Blade is an entertaining mix of comedy, action, drama, chicks with weapons, and a a Yuri-ish setup that grows ever more Yuri as the plot develops. Pairs of girls, sword sisters, competing in battles for supremacy, power and money….and mostly for the amusement of the chairwoman of Tenchi Gakuen, the wholly whimsical Amachi Hitsugi. This is awesome stuff.

In terms of the reproduction there’s something I really need to tell you. It was my pleasure to be able to be the copy editor on this book. No, seriously. Remember way back last spring when I told you that I had gotten a side job? Well, that side job was to be able to edit manga for Tor. I love working on the Seven Seas manga, not just because it gives me the opportunity to see the books early (because, frankly, I don’t really feel any need to see Inukami ever, much less early) but because they do such good work. It’s very enjoyable to be part of the process.

So, before I tell you that the English edition is damn good, you need to understand that it’s pretty much a conflict of interest. ^_^; Nonetheless, I honestly think they did a pretty damn good job with this book!

The volume is not entirely without problems, but those that exist are so small – slightly too thin paper, slightly too dark print, I don’t really love the design for the logo – are so incredibly small and tedious that they bear mentioning only in the interest of fairness. The important stuff – the reproduction, the translation, the adaptation, the lettering, the sound f/x, etc. are all top-notch.

Yuri in Volume 1 is mostly confined to the existence of openly lesbian (i.e., shounen-style pervy girl) Kuga Jun, roomate to one of our leads, Mudou Ayana. But don’t be disheartened, the Yuri quotient rises as the series goes on. And I just finished reading the most recent chapter and can swear to you that the series has never let me down in any way. Yuri, comedy, drama, action – it’s all there in spades.

I am so very, very glad that Hayate x Blade made it out in 2008, so I can happily name it the best English-language Yuri manga of the year.

Ratings:

Art – 8
Story – 8
Characters – 8
Yuri – 6
Service – 2
Overall – 8

Run! Run! Buy this for yourself and two copies for friends. Yes, it’s that good.





This Week in Yuri – October 25, 2008

October 25th, 2008

It’s been very exciting this week – let’s get right to the good stuff!

Yuri Manga

Kodansha has announced that they are releasing three issues of their Morning 2 magazine online for free. You’ll need to download their online reader, but it is also free. You’ll see all sorts of news how this gets you Saint Oniisan and Peepo choo but, who cares about those absolutely brilliant, quirky, manga series when this means you can finally read the equally quirky, brilliant and Yuri Gunjou!!!! And you *need* to read it. Dark, brutal, dysfunctional Yuri that transcends anything else the genre has ever offered. (And for once, the lesbian character is actually a lesbian.) Issues 14, 15 and 16 of Morning 2 will each be released as the next print issue hits the shelves. Gunjou is a shoo-in for my number one spot at the end of this year. It’s absolutely breathtaking. (Morning 2 is a Japanese magazine, written in Japanese. “Gunjou” has not yet come out in a collection, nor is it licensed. Please, I beg you, do NOT ask me if it’s available in English or when the tankoubon is coming out. No, and I don’t know.)

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Yuri Games

Keep forgetting to mention this, there’s a new Yuri game for PS2 in Japan called ‘ppoi. Now, let me be honest here – I know nothing about this game, and am skeptical as to its actual Yuri content. It’s about a couple of high school girls and you and I both know that means that if two touch, or perhaps look into each others’ eyes, the hordes will call it Yuri. OTOH, who knows. It might actually have some snatches of Yuri. Guess someone’ll have to play it and tell us! ^_^

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Yuri Events

Kyouka wrote in to let us know that there will be a new Yuri event in Japan this coming February (so you have plenty of time to plan a trip!) The event is called the Girls Love Festival. The event is held in Tokyo on February 1, from 2:30PM – 4:30 in Itabashi-ku, Tokyo. 100 circles will participate. If you missed Maiden’s Garden, can’t make it to Comiket, and don’t want to wait and see if there’ll be another Yuriket, this is your big chance to score a pile of Yuri doujinshi!

And, while not specifically Yuri, I think it’s worth mentioning that tomorrow is “Wonder Woman Day III” – held in Portland, Oregon and Flemington, NJ, with proceeds going to benefit domestic violence shelters. I’d cut and paste the press release, but it’s like a mile long, so here’s the basics:

Wonder Woman Day III (Portland)
Sunday, October 26, 2008 – 12noon-6pm, FREE
Excalibur Comics, 2444 SE Hawthorne Blvd, Portland, Oregon

Wonder Woman Day III (New Jersey)
Sunday, October 26, 2007 – 12noon-5pm, FREE
Comic Fusion, 42 Main St., Flemington, New Jersey

Additionally, I’d like to point out that Comic Fusion is co-owned by Yuricon staffer and a very good friend of mine, Stacy. So, yes, I’m totally biased when I say you should absolutely go down there – it’ll be a blast!

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Yuri Anime

Eric blows the horn on the good news – Funimation has announced that fan request has trumped strategic business model and they *will* be releasing the final volumes of Red Garden, Welcome to the NHK and some other anime that I can’t remember off the top of my head and am too lazy to go look up. lol So if you, like me, have collected 5 of the 6 DVDs, you will not be forced to buy a 3-disk box just to complete the collection. Now it’s up to us to actually go *buy* those Volume 6s and make it worth their time, or next time they aren’t going to bother listening to us.

(This news item came in a few days later:) Eric promises that this is the last time he’ll mention it, but that Funimation has put up a limited pre-order for Red Garden 6. (Which, oddly, was what I suggested they do. I have no doubt that they came up with it on their own, it would be bizarre if they took my suggestion. lol) Anyway, he points out that if we don’t want to seem like a bunch of morons, NOW would be the right time to run out and pre-order that disk. lol Thanks for the heads up, Eric!

And thanks to everyone (whose numbers are too great to count) who wrote in with the the answer to the question – yes, Right Stuf is blessing us with more goo-gaws for pre-orders of the second season of Maria Watches Over Us. This time, we are being gifted with a White Rose phone strap. Naturally, we will now all expect and demand the Yellow Rose phone strap for the Third set, the OAV season. :-) I wonder if our phones will hold all these? Incidentally, I found a picture of the Japanese versions of the phone straps. I expect that they were more expensive and down’t ship flat and neatly as the ones we get. I’m not complaining, don’t get me wrong. I’m glad that we get anything!

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Yuri Novels

Thanks to Kasuga for letting me know that there is a Yokohama Kaidashi Kikou novel. I can’t wait to add it to the pile of Japanese novels I have sitting here, mocking me, taunting me, while I don’t read them.

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I think all that’s enough to hold us a week, don’t you? :-)





Yuri News This Week – October 18, 2008

October 18th, 2008

Yuri Anime

The new anime season has begun and, in response to a thread on the Yuricon Mailing List about new anime with no Yuri but that wouldn’t stop people from making up in their heads anyway, several people have jump up to recommend new anime Mouryou no Hako for possible Yuri. I haven’t ‏seen it yet, but will probably watch it as soon as I’m done here. :-) Too many people to name pointed this one out to me, so thanks to all of them!

For series that really aren’t Yuri in any way, but that won’t stop anyone, you might want to check out Hyakko, Shikabane Hime, and Michiko to Hatchin.

Speaking of anime with no Yuri, but that doesn’t stop fans (including myself) from seeing it anyway, Eric points out that Right Stuf has announced a January release date for the Aria The Natural season.

ADV has announced free samples of Azumanga Daioh on iPhone and iPod touch through some service or other. If it gets you Sakaki in gakuran, it’s a good thing. :)

anonymous writes in to share that RightStuf is running a competition for Canada and US residents with a sampler disk of the first season of Marimite for a prize. It closes on the 6th of November.

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Yuri Manga

Media Blasters emailed me to say that they have completed Maka-Maka, Volume 1 and Volume 2 in English and they look fabulous. With luck, I’ll be able to give you a sneak peek at MangaNEXT.

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Yuri Webcomics

In a fit of generosity, Ayane wrote in with a long list of Yuri webcomics for me. As I don’t really read them that much, I thought I’d pass them on to you (can one re-gift information?) I have not read any of these and am not endorsing them. You’re all grownups and can make up your own mind. :-)

Hold Me Tight – http://hmt.smackjeeves.com/

Paradox – http://paradox.smackjeeves.com/

Just the Circumstances – http://jijou.smackjeeves.com/

Juxtapose – http://juxtapose.smackjeeves.com/

Inamoratosister – http://inamoratosister.smackjeeves.com/

Milk – http://milk.smackjeeves.com/

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Other, not really Yuri News

Not really Yuri, but relevant to our interests: The master of “wtf,” Go Nagai, was interviewed briefly by FANTASY.fr and they kindly translated the interview into English for us. Among his many creations, Nagai talks about his classic Cutey Honey series.

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I want to take a moment to thank everyone who reads Okazu. I appreciate that you can identify satire when you see it, I appreciate all the comments you make in the comments fields, and I can’t thank you enough for all the great news items you send in for the New Reports! I couldn’t do it without you!