Archive for the Series Category


Yuri Manga: Strawberry Panic, Volume 1

June 12th, 2006

I admit it. I’ve been stalling.

Strawberry Panic, Volume 1 is yet another Maria-sama ga Miteru derivative, only this time, (unlike, say, Himitsu no Anjerisu,) there’s an edge of FanBoy-ness that has set my teeth on edge. Hence my stalling.

Let’s start with the single redeeming value of the Strawberry Panic manga – it’s better than the anime, which is very little more than a series of stolen memes from other, significantly better, Yuri series. (At minimal count, folks on the Yuricon Mailing List have identified concepts ripped from Marimite, Utena, Himitsu no Kaidan and Hatsukoi Shimai. We have no doubt that there are many others we haven’t caught.) The memes from Marimite are handled particularly odiously, IMHO. But I digress.

The manga is more generally a tyical girl’s Catholic school hothouse setting. It can claim as much Cream Lemon as Marimite as an antecedent.

Our heroine, Aoi Nagisa, is a typical cute loli-ish Dengeki heroine with the “cute” habit of referring to herself in third person. (I know it’s perfectly normal in Japanese. It still irks me.) On her first day at the unecessarily complicated Astoria school, she meets playgirl Hanazono Shizuma, whose name basically screams “I’m a lesbian!”. Shizuma is, amazingly, the star of not only the school she and Nagisa attend, St. Miator, but also the titulary head of the neighboring Lulim and Spica schools, as well. (Transliterations taken from the manga itself. Don’t whine if you don’t like them.)

I’d like to say that nothing happens, but in fact, quite alot does – mostly small seductions and harmless swooning over upperclassman. The relationships are complex enough that I really don’t feel like explicating. But the over-arching plot is that the annual competition for Etoile – the schools’ “star” (figuratively and literally) is about to be held. Shizuma wants to compete with newly arrived, and therefor horribly uninformed and completely unsuitable, Nagisa. LuLim is holding off this year, leaving only the athletic star of Spica, Ootori Amane and her chosen partner, Konohana Hikari – ironcially the only completely harmless and sweet love story amongst the lot.

In other words, we have a sort of Heaven vs Hell battle going on. (Look at the names again…) Miator’s uniform is black – Spica’s is white. Seriously, it’s about as subtle as a pair of lesbian elephants.

I can’t really put my finger on what bugs me about this series, except that the “almost kisses” make me nuts. And Nagisa is vile and whiny, yet everyone hasn’t stabbed her to death yet. That’s probably what annoys me most. (Go Amane and Hikari!)

In any case, Strawberry Panic will undoubtedly appeal to the same group of people who think Kannazuki no Miko was good. For those Yuri fans who *can* tell the difference between good Yuri and bad, this series will remain, like KnM, a fun train wreck of a story. ^_^

Ratings:

Art – 6
Characters – 5
Story – 5
Yuri – 8
Service  – 7

Overall – 5

It’s not *awful*. It’s just not *good.*





Yuri Manga: Hayate x Blade, Volume 4

June 9th, 2006

I know, it’s been absolutely AGES since I reviewed Hayate x Blade, Volume 3. (If you haven’t read that review you should, because the contest I held for the volume was very funny.) Now, at last, I have the leisure to review Hayate x Blade, Volume 4. I hope it was worth the wait.

We left off in Volume 3 with a one-on-one battle between Ayana and Jun. On the final page of the last volume we were left with that moment just after the fateful blow, but before we learn who lost and who won. This volume opens up with that same same moment. And the winner is…!

Ayana, who takes Jun’s star with her mad Hoshitori Skillz.

Without missing a beat, Jun springs up to interfere in Hayate and Yuho’s battle. Ayana calls after her to stop, but Jun uses language quite unbecoming a young lady and runs off. Yuho, after a life of weakness and dependence, digs way deep and defeats Hayate, taking the “Heaven” star decisively – only to learn that because Jun, as the “Earth” part of the pair lost first, it renders her victory null. Mudou-Kurogane team gets the win.

Jun and Yuho have a wonderful moment, as Yuho awaits an ambulance to the hospital, which renders nearly every character in the book teary (and in some case nose-drippy and drooly as well.)

The next few chapters is taken up by us meeting and becoming familar with a whole host of new characters, mostly high school students, members of the student council, as they sharpen their skills for their own upcoming hoshitori fights. Only there’s clearly something else going on her…we’re not stupid. Not only are Kureha and Minori and the others practicing, they are working on special weapons. Why? You’ll have to wait until volume 5 to find out! (But trust me, it’s way cool…)

Isuzu and Momoko are still getting used to one another. Momoko is freaked by Isuzu’s reliance on a crystal ball, and the way she pronounces curses on their opponents during hoshitori. This awkwardness is exacerbated by the appearance of Otoha, a woman with that look that says “I have a clever plan”. And she does – she’s got a plan to separate Momoko and Isuzu and steal Isuzu for herself.

The rest of the volume follows Otoha as she widens the distance between Isuzu and Momoko, eventually challenging Momoko to a duel for Isuzu! (da-da-da-daahhh)

Momoko accepts the challenge – but not the terms. She has NO intention of giving Isuzu up and says so plainly. Isuzu is, in the meantime, overwhelmed that two women are dueling over her – and who wouldn’t be? – and deeply touched that Momoko cares about her that much.

In the end, Momoko (remember when she fought for her Rio-‘neeesan?) remains uber-cool, and wins. And Otoha is forced to deal with her own shinyuu, Michi. It turns out that there was a horrible misunderstanding between them and gee, they like each other after all and it was all a mistake, heh heh. ^_^

It was actually quite amusing, my snarky synopsis notwithstanding. The picture of Otoha and Michi running off hand in hand, looking slightly embarrassed and very relieved at the end of the chapter was priceless.

So let’s sum up:

Shizuku and Hitsugi + Momoko and Isuzu + Otoha and Michi = Good Yuri.

Ratings –

Art – 9 I’ve really come to love Hayashiya-sensei’s art
Story – 9
Characters – 9
Yuri – 7
Service – 2
Overall – 9

This is a GREAT series. Another must-have, IMHO. As far from Moonlight Flowers as you can get, but just as good (if not better) in its own, unique way.





Yuri Manga: Blue, (English)

June 1st, 2006

I have previously reviewed the manga Blue, by Kiriko Nananan and the live action movie based on it. But now the Blue manga is available in English translation and so, deserves a second look… (Note: As of 2015, this is available only from third-party sellers.)

…actually, no it doesn’t. (-_-) Upon re-reading my earlier review, I find that nothing has changed from my original reading of the manga itself. Which does bring me to this point – this translation, and the edition as a whole is remarkably good. Especially as the translation into English seems to have been done by a French company.  All I can say is that from the quality of the paper and the reproduction of the art, to the translation itself, this may well be the *best* translated version of a manga I’ve ever seen.

Ratings:

Art – 6 Very, very stark
Characters – 6
Story – 6
Yuri – 8
Service – 0

Overall – 6

As a Yuri manga, this is a typical bittersweet first love-type story; as a English language edition of a Japanese manga, it’s simply excellent. As I said originally – if you’re trying to put together a decent collection of Yuri manga, you’ll want to have Blue too.





Yuri Anime: Madlax, Volume 6

May 30th, 2006

So much happens in Madlax, Volume 6 that I’m not sure where to start. So, as usual, I’ll start with the absurd. ^_^

Imagine if you will, two women running through a hot war zone. One is a hardened warrior, her skills bolstered by magic, the other…a maid. We can tell, because she wears the  ubiquitous ruffled apron over a dark dress. Now, I know Eleanor is a dedicated servant, attached by more than just duty to her mistress Margaret, but come *on*! Give the girl a pair of boots and pants at least – her legs are going to be a mess out there in the jungle.

The other absurdity in this series remains the same – Friday Monday is such a nerdbanger, I can barely credit his getting this far at all, except by dumb luck. And then there’s his exhaustingly over-used dream of a “pure” humanity , driven by hatred. Oh yes, that would be different, because? Has he LOOKED at the world recently? Enfant is wasting their energy – they could have let this particular civil war die, because sure as there’s tomatoes in my salad, another would have popped up. And Rimelda becomes horribly boring, but don’t worry, she’ll be back, better, than ever

Now, for the good side – we get actual, semi-contextual info on what went on 12 years ago! Yay! Of course, it’s not entirely correct, but at least we have a clue – a bunch more clues, in fact. What happened to Vanessa Rene’s family that has driven her to look for information? Who, exactly, is Callosur Dawn and what was his role 12 years ago? What actually *happened* that night? We have most – but not all – of it now.

Good – Madlax accepts what she is, and as a result gets a power up.

Good – we lose a friend and it’s permanent and powerful. If you don’t want spoilers for this, DON’T look at the “Extras” menu until after you’ve watched the volume.

Good – Margaret losing it. Finally, she has a personality. Even if it’s an evil, stupid one.

Good – We know know the reasoning behind the obsessive reptition of the red shoes, the “it’s going to rain,” the doll…but not pasta.

Good – Naharu actually *does* something. Yay her.

In general, a complex and fascinating volume, and a bit maddening, as we still need a few more pieces to figure out what the flying %^$! is going on. ^_^ Nice job for the penultimate volume. Thumbs up from me on that.

Ratings:

Art – 7
Story – 8
Characters – 8
Music – 8
Yuri – 4
Service – 3

Overall – 8

It’s getting better and better, but I want to know what the deal is with pasta. (And if you know, don’t tell me – I mean within the context of the anime, duh.)





Yuri Anime: Stellvia, Volume 7

May 29th, 2006

Even though Stellvia, Volume 7 doesn’t actually have any specific Yuri scenes (despite Ayaka and Yayoi prominently displayed on the cover), I’m still classifiying as a Yuri anime, both because the series has strong Yuri content – and because Ayaka, having found herself once again, uses what she’s learned to assist Kouta and Shima, in a way that still let’s you see where her actual interest lies.

This volume strikes a really nice balance between the plot, the characters and the larger body of humanity behind our immediate vision. For once we’re given something to hold on to regarding the threat of the “Cosmic Fracture.” It’s not just a vague thing with BEM (Bug-Eyed Monsters for those of you too young to have read any old school sci-fi) attackers. Destruction is actually imminent and the time-line is short, like a good space opera ought to be. The tension builds between different military and governmental factions – differences that will come to affect the people on earth, as well.

And meanwhile, our heroes are still just children. They are learning to figure out who they are, and where they want to go (or need to go) to be the people they have to be; both for the current crisis and for the future. In the middle of all this is Ayaka, who suddenly arises to the position that she never felt comfortable in before – guide, mentor, sempai. She repeatedly tells Kouta, Shima and us that she’s not “good with things between guys and girls”, well duh, darlin’. But it’s equally as obvious that having found her own center and rebuilding her relationship with Yayoi has given her greater understanding of human relationships as a whole.

The vibe between Kouta and Shima in this volume really rings true. Kouta is still clueless and Shima is still irrational and, as the others point out repeatedly, that’s pretty much the way it is between men and women. Jojo and Akira get a little extra screen time so we can see how they are doing – they seem to be doing pretty well, despite occasional setbacks. And the commander and the doctor are still kind of cute – there’s a certain awkwardness about their courtship that makes one feel that some things never really change.

Rinna becomes a lynchpin character for a little while, as we get a glimpse of the larger politics behind the formation of a last ditch effort by humanity to survive. As much as I find whiny little sister types annoying in anime, I wasn’t bothered at all by her in this volume. Perhaps the soothing influence of being with her parents again…another thing that reads pretty real to me.

Overall, as I said in the beginning, there’s a very solid balance in this volume of story, character and peripherals. If you haven’t enjoyed Stellvia up to this point, there’s nothing here that’s going to make you like it – but if you like it, you might begin to love it. ^_^

Ratings:

Art – 7 the noses are back, whee!
Story – 7
Characters – 8
Music – 7
Yuri – 1
Service – 2

Overall – a strong 7

It’s easy to appreciate this volume knowing that we’re heading into the final stretch. But even on its own, it’s easy to enjoy this volume for all the classic signs of the “battle is nigh” in the grand tradition of Seven Samurai and all its Western, War and Sci-Fi relatives.