Archive for the Series Category


Burst Angel Anime, Volume 1 (English)

June 23rd, 2007

Let’s all show our appreciation to Daniel today for his kindness and generosity and for sponsoring today’s review! Thanks Daniel!!

Watching Volume 1 of Burst Angel reminded me of a lot of things. It reminded me why I never reviewed the anime in the first place, primarily. ^_^;

Okay, so, after a really silly rap theme that does not benefit much from being translated we are introduced to a dystopian future Tokyo in which nearly everyone is allowed to carry a gun. This has only served to heighten the chaos and violence in an already chaotic and violent city. The government has created a paramilitary force, RAPT, to assist cleaning up, but they seem to be as much the problem as the cure.

In the middle of this we meet the schlub du jour, Kyouhei, who is trying to make enough money to go to Europe to train as a chef. He’s a nice kid and a good cook and through no fault of his own, he gets embroiled with four freelance agents; three of whom are mysteriously named after sisters from Little Women. Jo, the fighter of the group, clearly has superhuman powers, Meg, her caretaker and chief kidnapping target is mostly there to be saved. Emi (Amy) is a hardcore tech otaku and loli fodder. Sei, who is not named Beth for some reason, is the money and assumably, but not apparently, the brains behind the team.

It drives me crazy – why three of the four??? The wife says I need to let it go, but…

Thankfully for all Yuri fans, the focus of the series is not Kyouhei, as first seems. Rather quickly, the focus shifts to the place where it will stay through most of the series – Meg and Jo.

The four women take on jobs from Sei’s contacts which usually lead to several things: Meg being kidnapped, Jo having to blow lots of things up with and without her giant robot Django, and involvement with any number of stereotypical bad guys and shady conspiracy figures. By episode three hints of the larger plot have reared their ugly head (and yes, that’s a pun of sorts). Despite my lack of interest in the actual plot, I have to give them snaps for doing something with it, even if it’s all pretty predictable.

Here’s things I thought were bad: the opening theme is laughable, the plot is rather dull, the use of the giant robot is a hand wave we must simply accept, and for all that Jo’s dedication to Meg is *very* obvious, there’s not much reciprocity, at least in this first volume (Don’t write and tell me about later bits – I know about them, but I’m not reviewing those volumes yet.)

In fact, compared with the Bakuretsu Tenshi manga (click this link, the top three are the English manga reviews,) the Yuri in this series is seriously leveled down. (The manga came second, so really it leveled up the Yuri.) Meg comes off as being nothing more than a victim for Jo to save. More deadly, during an episode commentary in the extras section, the voice actors for Jo and Meg and the director are all going on and on about how they are so best friends, that Meg and Jo – best friends for-evar, etc, etc. I was like, “they aren’t best friends…”

Which brings me to the best thing about the DVD – the extras. Each disc will have commentary on one episode – of course this is commentary with the English staff and actors. It wasn’t very interesting, but it was kind of fun to listen to – and it made me listen to Monica Rial as Jo. She absolutely did a good job of sounding nothing like her speaking voice, I’ll give her that. She wasn’t as deep, or monotonal as Watanabe Akeno, but she definitely did a decent job. Also included in the extras are three radio dramas and two bonus tracks with the original voices actresses – subtitled. You just *know* I liked that. Opening and ending credits without text, and outtakes which I’m watching are right now and really aren’t very funny – mostly stumbling over lines – and trailers. The DVD box has a reversible cover and the liner notes include character sketches and info on characters, the art, comments from Watanabe and info on the opening and ending themes. All very cool indeed – too bad the actual anime isn’t that interesting. ^_^; Okay, The Japanese seiyuu commentary isn’t any better, either. (Bug bites, dreams about whales…pollen season…seriously….)

I do have to mention something Toyoguchi Megumi says during the first bonus track – that she wasn’t used to doing radio shows with other women, she’s usually with older men. Remember, this was pre-Marimite days for her. I bet she’s way used to it now. Also, ironically, just as Jo was the first butchy character Monica Rial ever played, the same was true for Watanabe Akeno. Ironic, huh.

Ratings:

Art – 7 with a strong favoritism paid to the CG over the conventional art
Characters – 5
Story – 5
Yuri – 1
Service – 6

Overall – 5

The extras are stellar. Best part of the series so far.





Strawberry Marshmallow, Volume 3 (English)

June 18th, 2007

Sorry to be away so long. Life exploded again.

In a desperate attempt to find some balm for my harried soul, I watched the third and final volume of the Strawberry Marshmallow series. For the time it lasted, it was just the thing. ^_^ (And somewhat belatedly, and sheepishly for forgetting initially, my deepest thanks to Ted for once again making a review possible. Thank you Ted!)

In this volume, we continue to watch Itou Nobue, her sister Chika, Chika’s sociopath friend Miu and two younger girls, Matsuri and Ana do basically nothing. But they do nothing very amusingly. They sit around watching a hypnotist, play soccer, go to a public bath and talk about Santa Claus. Amusingly.

Miu is, as always, the highlight of the show. Having decided to “hypnotize” Chika, Miu says that she will turn Chika into her dog, Satake. When Chika leaves the room, Miu runs off, and returns accompanied by the pup. Matsuri, always the perfect straight man, believes that Miu has succeeded until Chika shows up in person. Miu comments that she’s a little worried about Matsuri’s future to which Chika rebuts, “I’m worried about yours.”

There is less Yuri tension in this volume than in the others. Miu continues to vie for Nobue’s attention, but that’s about it. What this volume does have is Miu actively seeking out situations to screw the rest of them up, and even better, signs that despite her protests, Miu absolutely cracks Chika up. Chika is also not above some retaliation. I approve. ^_^

The extras with this volume are nice. There’s a reversible DVD case cover that has more than one picture.  (See my review of Shinobuden for context.) Also a pencil board of the girls, with Miu featured on the other side. There’s a really nice video feature, as well – music videos of the characters accompanied by their image songs sung, of course, by their voice actresses. That was awfully pleasant.

Ratings:

Art – 7
Story – 8
Characters – 9
Yuri – 2
Service – 4 (bath, cosplay….)

Overall – 8

In fact, for her efforts in this volume, I think I’ll bump Miu up from Evil Psycho Lesbian-in-training to full EPL status. ^_^ For the gag at the bathhouse as they all drink milk, she deserves the promotion.





Ninja Nonsense Anime, Volume 3

June 6th, 2007

Wacky hijinks continue at Ninja Academy, news at six. ^_^

Thanks to our sponsor for today’s review, the mighty Serge. (If you’d like to sponsor a review, please feel free to purchase something from my Yuri Wishlist and become the hero of the day! Don’t want to buy something for me? Buy something for yourself through the Yuricon Shop and still be able to claim that you support Yuri with some level of accuracy!)

In Ninja Nonsense, Volume 3, we get to spend a little bit more time exploring the nature of  fanboyishness and its affect on innocent ninja girls. The resulting case of fangirlishness isn’t that surprising.

The anime begins with something that any Yuri fan will recognize – a clear parody of Maria-sama ga Miteru, the explanation of which, by the way, the liner notes got correct. So yay, no letter campaign needed. ^_^ And from there, we’re treated to not only wacky hijinks that involve Onsokamaru pretty much ruining everything, we also get bits of Shinobu playing dress up, the female Ninja Academy’s hypercompetence and continued, but mercifully brief, appearances by Shinobu’s otaku tendencies.

Which leads me to this thought – there has been some discussion on why, exactly, Shinobu does not attend the female Ninja Academy. She’d received better training and not have to live with a bunch of nose-bleeding pervy boys. But I think this volume answers that question, in a way. I’m fairly certain after having watched this that Shinobu is a natural fangirl. Sure, she’s picked up extra bad habits from living with the fanboy ninjas, but her cosplay obsession isn’t something she got from them – not *that* level of obsession, anyway. As stupid as this idea is – I think she belongs with the fanboys, as much *because* she’s a lesbian fangirl as for any other reason. Also, her natural incompetence at ninja skills would make her stand out in a bad way in the girls’ school. ^_^

What else does this volume contain? Onsokomaru inexplicably gets stuck in/on Shinobu’s little sister, Miyabi. A wacky baseball game, a visit to a hot springs (didn’t we do this one already?) and a suggestive moment as Kaede gets one of those “colds” that involves a fever and everyone “helping” her to get better. Which leads us to another gag – the “Shinobu tries to seduce Kaede, but it a totally fail way” gag which is kind of funny and also immensely pathetic. ^_^ Clearly one of the offshoots of her living with all the boys is that she has developed zero skills at picking up girls. I can’t help but wonder if she might at least have mastered *that* at the Girl’s Academy. ^_^

The anime, in other words, is more of the amusing same.

This volume comes with some very decent translation/liner notes, which I enjoyed reading. It also had a terrific extra – a group interview with some of the seiyuu. I love those. So that was nice. But there’s one totally “huh?” thing: One of the “extras” with this volume is supposed to be a “reversible” DVD case cover. I took a look, and well, sure, it’s reversible…but it’s the same picture on both sides. I still can’t quite figure that one out. It’s like a reversible coat that looks the same either way. Sure it’s reversible, but short of a ketchup stain on one side, why would you ever turn it to the other?

But anyway, this volume is silly, random and has short bursts of all sorts of fetishes, among them, Yuri. Another great Sunday afternoon, god-my-hand-hurts-from-being-on-the-computer-for-a-week-straight-I-need-a break anime.

Ratings:

Art – 7
Story – 6
Characters – 7
Yuri – 4
Service – 6

Overall – 7

Hey look! This blank white sheet of paper is *reversible!*





Yuri Manga: New Hana no Asuka-gumi, Volume 5

June 4th, 2007

Today’s review is a total wank. I’m reviewing Hana no Asuka-gumi, Volume 5, not for its awesome relevance to our mutual interest, but as a way of gloating about something so stupid that you’ll all roll your eyes when I finally get there. Just be warned. ^_^

In the past I have mentioned Hana no Asuka-gumi as one of the three great gang girl manga series, along with Sukeban Deka and YajiKita Gakuen Douchuuki. The story was ridiculously complex, with a vast, multitiered organization that ran all the girl gangs of Tokyo, and included things like underground labyrinths and all-city gang wars. And the focus of it all was high school student Kuraku Asuka, with one of the most dysfunctional Yuri love stories to ever span the pages of a manga.

In 2003 the series, which had been out of print for 18 years, came back with a whole new manga. Asuka, having returned to Tokyo after a visit to the US, is immediately embroiled in more shenanigans with Hibari-sama’s lackeys. This time, mysterious marks signifying *something* to *someone* appeared on people and places and in the end they’re all out to kick Asuka’s ass…again. ^_^

This time, at least part of the war is clothed in the veneer of “whoever defeats Asuka gets to be the new ‘Minister of the Left'” – the cherished position of strategic advisor at the side of the apparently charismatic and obviously cracked Hibari-sama. The contenders for the title are Mari, one of Hibari’s own shadow warriors/lookalikes and Nene, the 11-year old Area Master for Chiyoda-ku and the keeper of the seal that commands the The Oni – the enforcers of the Hibari SS organization.

…I know…that cleared everything up, right? ^_^

The point I’m making is that once again, everyone who is not Asuka’s ally is Asuka’s enemy, and we spend a lot of the manga running around fighting…and talking about what’s going on. For a fighting manga series, there’s a LOT of talking.

And this is no easy read, mind you. Aside from the constant military and slang terms, there’s just a sense of “huh? what the heck are they talking about?” that I can’t quite ever put my finger on. I constantly feel like there’s an explanation for Hibari’s commands just out of my reach of comprehension.

The new series has been less Yuri in regards to Asuka, primarily because Asuka’s main love interest, Yohko, died in the original series. But hold on to this concept, because we’ll be back to it in a sec.

Although she is a lone wolf, Asuka *always* has at least one damsel in distress tagging along. In this new series, she has two: Serena, the more typical damsel who is being bullied by her peers and; Kiho, the completely atypical tough girl who is being groomed (e.g., she ends up fighting alot) to take over as an Area Master. Kiho is actually pretty cool, so when she ends up being given the Chiyoda-ku area and Nene and Sessho (Nene’s acting regent) step down, it’s kind of a shock, but in a good way.

In the meantime, I have developed an unshakeable belief that two of the tertiary charcters, Kiryuu and Fusako, are a couple. Kiryuu used to be an Area Master, but she retired long ago to be the head of an “outside group” – a group not within the Zenchuu Ura. Fusako, on the other hand, is also known by the name Bara no Miya, and she has been Hibari’s “Minister of the Right” – one of Hibari’s close advisors – and has headed up the Hibari SS (“SS” stands for something like advisory council, nothing to do with stormtroopers.) In other words, she’s as much Hibari’s girl as one can be in the organization. Fusako is also one of the few members of the Zenchuu Ura that could always kick Asuka’s ass. I can’t tell you why exactly, but I’m convinced that Fusako and Kiryuu are a couple. Well, I could, but it would be lots of teeny things that won’t mean anything to you unless you read the series. You’ll just have to trust me. ^_^

But none of this is why I am reviewing this manga today. I am reviewing it because of this: In Volume 5, something I wrote in a Hana no Asuka-gumi Fanfic actually happens. Now, that’s really no big deal. I make it a point to try and stay in character when I write fanfic…or at least write the characters in a way that’s plausible, unless it’s total crackfic. But in this case, I did something sort of odd, even though I thought it completely plausible. I had the dead Yohko talk to Asuka in her head. Imagine my complete surprise, nay, shock when I started reading the chapter in Feel Young magazine and dead Yohko started talking in Asuka’s head! I think my reaction was something like this:

“Oh. My. God.”

/still pause/

“Oh. My. &^$!ing good god.”

/Me holds the book up and suddenly breaks out into a spastic dance of hysterical fangirly joy./

P.S., I wrote the story years before the new series ever began.

To make it all better, Miko’s reaction to Asuka’s confession that dead Yohko is talking to her practically came out exactly the same as in my story too. So, hey, maybe Takeguchi-sensei plagiarized my story. (I’m not being serious – and, even if she did, FINE.)

Anyway. How’s that for a total wanker reason to review a manga, huh? ^_^

So here we are, Asuka’s still gaga over Yohko, dead as she is, and dragging around a bunch of girls who need rescuing from time to time. Fusako and Kiryuu are together a lot more than mere friendship can account for and Hibari…well, Hibari’s obsession with Asuka is legendary and Yuri-riffic. (Asuka last repudiates Hibari on Hibari’s bed, from underneath Hibari. You do the math.)

Ratings:
Art – 7
Story – 8
Characters – 8
Yuri – 3
Service for MiddleAgedFanWomen – 27

Overall – 8

God, I *love* this series! Cannot wait to see how the new Ranjuku Detention Center arc pans out….





Yuri Anime: Best Student Council, Volume 2 (English)

June 1st, 2007

I, for one, am very, very glad that there is anime in the world like Best Student Council, Volume 2. It’s not particularly well-drawn, or well-written. The main themes aren’t deep and the plot ranges from silly to ridiculous. But the characters are cute and it never once takes itself too seriously. Which makes it just the thing to watch when one wants to take one’s brain off-line for a while. Many thanks to Ted for providing me with this few hours of low-toxicity relaxation! Our hero, Ted!

In this volume we get to enjoy various crises:

As final exams draw near it becomes apparent that several members of the Gokujou Seitokai are complete dunces

Council treasurer Mayura gets a (gasp!) boyfriend

An accusation against Rino for being an evil ventriloquist becomes a tale of Pucchan’s revenge against members of the council that doubt his puppet power

Sayuri’s past as a young master of her family sword style comes back to kick her ass

And, of course, the inevitable bathing suit episode, as the Student Council tries to keep the lovely women of Miyagami out of camera range of the boys from the surrounding areas.

It’s all amusing, fun to watch and entertaining, as Rein might say.

Yuri in this volume is about as Yuri as this series gets. By which I mean, it’s mostly in the eye of the beholder. Early on, we have scenes of Rino and Kanade spending happy time together, when a spot of fortune telling reveals the word “love” to the pair. There’s also the usual Kaori scenes of admiration/desire for Kanade.

But the most Yurified episode is Sayuri’s backstory episode in which Rein touches her – embraces her even – so gosh they must be together. And the girl who comes to take her revenge against Sayuri has massive Yuri vibes coming off her in waves. Must be the motorcycle.

Ratings:

Art – 6
Story – 7
Characters – 7
Yuri – 4
Service – 3

Overall – 7

Nothing revolutionary here, but if you like girls, character pieces, absurdly rich school gags, self-willed puppets and some Yuri-ish sorts of things, take a look at Best Student Council, Volume 2.