Archive for the Series Category


Yuri Anime: Bee Train does it again

June 28th, 2004

Bee Train, best known for their work on Noir and the .hack universe, have once again brought us thinly veiled yuri subtext with many hints of a cool storyline, uber-competent female characters in a mysterious setting, none of which will be explained or resolved to anyone’s satisfaction in their newest series, Madlax. ^_^

Let’s just recap today, for those readers who do not remember, or have not yet discovered the Bee Train tendency towards Yuri.

In Noir we follow the violent experiences of amnesiac assassin Kirika and cool assassin Mirielle, as they track down their respective pasts and the occult/medieval/conspiracy/quasi-religious organization that binds them together. In the process thereof, we see Kirika and Mirielle open up to one another so far as to use whole sentences from time to time, never actually kill each other, with tantalizing bits of nudity, bed-sharing and affection shown in ways that only a fan could love. :-) A letter, written by Kirika to Mirielle towards the end of the series, beginning, “My beloved Mirielle” is marginally more overt. In a panel at Anime Expo 2002 (which I moderated, so I KNOW they said this, it’s not third-hand info) the Bee Train team discussed the potential relationship between Kirika and Mirielle stating simply that it was there if you wanted it to be, and if you didn’t, it wasn’t. So there you go. Whatever you want to see is the truth.

.hack/sign showed us the burgeoning affection of two young people in the virtual “The World” (the mainstay vitural universe/game that ties all the .hack stories together. Tsukasa, played by a female, but male in “The World,” has been trapped and is becoming, (or has always been) schizoid. Subaru, played by a wheelchair-bound woman, is powerful in “The World” by nature of her experience and skill, more than having any actual *power.* Subaru and Tsukasa bond, and perhaps, start to fall in love. In the final moments of the show, in fact, during the final credits, the two women who play the characters meet in the real, non-virtual world, in what is actually a touching scene. It’s certainly hopeful, at any rate.

Less satisfying was the ending of Avenger, Bee Train’s last series where nothing is resolved…nothing explained, either and the entire story really didn’t make any sense, since everyone was gonna die, anyway. The “yuri” in Avenger reads way more like a mother-daughter relationship, IMHO, but hey, remember, whatever you want to see, *is* the truth with the ole’ Bee Train crew.

Which brings me to the newest series, Madlax. Tomorrow I will review this series in irritating detail for your enjoyment. ^_^ In the meantime, run out and watch all of Noir and the last ten minutes of .hack/sign, so you get the feel for Bee Train Yuri. ^_^





Drama CD: Maria-sama ga Miteru 2

June 17th, 2004

Well, we’re still a few weeks away from the premiere of the second season of Maria-sama ga Miteru, but since I’m totally addicted to the continuing non-adventures of these girls, I keep feeding my habit with non-anime outlets.

This month, along with my regular dose of Margaret, for the chapter du mon, I splurged and purchased the second Drama CD for the series. This second CD completes the first arc of the anime, ending with Yumi becoming Sachiko’s petite soeur.

To be honest, nothing in this CD stands out as distinct from either the anime or the manga. On the whole, I liked the manga version of the end of this arc best, but the Drama CD was pretty much exactly like the anime – nothing taken away or added. If you’re audially fixated like I am, and want to be able to hear the voices anywhere you go, then definitely buy the CDs. If you’re happy with the anime, then the CDs will add nothing to your pleasure.

The manga still differs a little, and I think it’s a little closer to the novels in the fact that the characters more openly express their feelings, at least to themselves. You’ll never hear Rei say that she loves Yoshino in the anime, but you can read it in the manga or novel. I’m interested to get the Yellow Rose Revolution arc CDs and see if she says it there.

As for extras, there’s still no bonus track with the seiyuu, which disappointed me – I would have liked something similar to the Koi Shimai CD bonus tracks, but instead one gets fun stand-up plastic dolls of, this time, Yoshino and Shimako. I can only assume that if I purchase all of the upcoming CDs, then I’ll have the whole cast. (I suppose I can then make my own little scenarios…but I was never any good at playing with dolls that weren’t carrying guns. lol)

So, the ratings for the second CD are the same as the first, no change. Because I cannot bring my computer everywhere I go, it’s nice to have the option of hearing Yumi, Sachiko, Sei and the rest, whenever I want them. Like, now, at work. ^_^

In the meantime, I will wait with baited breath for the “Forest of Thorns” arc in the manga and Drama CD, so we can once again wallow in a young Sei’s lesbian angst. ^_^





Drama CD: Koi Shimai 2

June 15th, 2004

It seems only moments ago that I reviewed the first Koi Shimai Drama CD, but actually, it was already over a month ago.

The second CD picks up where the first left off. A new student teacher has come to school – Hiiragi Touko. As befits a good anime/manga lesbian, she arrives on a motorcycle and has an indescribably sexy voice actress. In fact, Hiiragi-sensei is voiced by Park Romi, the seiyuu that so brilliantly voices Aikawa Maki in Air Master.

Haruna and Chika are happy enough being together, but they have never really talked about their feelings. When Touko-sensei shows an obvious, and wildly inappropriate, interest in Chika, Haruna withdraws into herself and watches Chika pull farther and farther away from her.

Touko-sensei flirts with Chika, takes her for rides on her bike – she’s openly dating Chika and doesn’t hesitate to tell the girl that she finds her attractive. Chika can’t help herself; Touko is too sexy to ignore. She confides in her friend Akiho that she is concerned because Haruna isn’t fighting for her and seems to be creating distance between them.

Akiho confronts Touko-sensei about the situation. She accuses Touko of trying to break Chika and Haruna up, but Touko only responds with a counter-accusation, that Akiho is really jealous of Chika, of the attention she gets from Haruna, because she wants Chika for herself. Akiho is just projecting that jealousy onto her, Touko. Because this strikes close to home, Akiho is sobered, but she still feels that Touko-sensei should leave Chika alone.

Crisis looms when Chika spends a quiet moment with Touko-sensei. When Touko begins to seduce her, Chika can’t stand the pressure and runs away. She falls down a small cliff and twists her ankle, until Haruna comes running after her (egged on by Akiho) and slips down beside her. While waiting for help, the two girls have a honest talk – about how Haruna was feeling jealous, but powerless, and how Chika doesn’t want anyone else but Haruna. By the time Akiho and Touko-sensei find them, the two are reconciled.

After Chika politely rejects Touko-sensei, Akiho confronts Touko again and Touko tells her this story: When she, Touko, was in high school, she fell in love with another girl. They spent time together, but never really discussed their feelings, so she lost her lover when they graduated. As soon as Touko saw Haruna and Chika, she knew that they were exactly the same – and she didn’t want them to lose each other they way she had lost her lover. So she forced the issue. Akiho rightly thinks that Touko’s full of crap and lets her know it in no uncertain terms, at which point Touko asks Akiho out. ^_^ Akiho concedes so far as to “allow” Touko to hang out with her while she’s substituting at the school. I kind of like to think of the two of them as a couple – just because. ^_^ (My gut sense was spot on, as we learn in a third drama CD, Hatsukoi Shimai.)

Meanwhile, Chika is spending the night at Haruna’s and Akiho’s house, in Haruna’s room. Akiho very matter-of-factly enters and basically tells them to just sleep together already, but they argue about who will sleep where, eventually, awkwardly, deciding to share the bed. While laying in bed, holding hands, Chika asks Haruna directly what her feelings are. Haruna, in a stunning display of stupidity, says that she loves Chika like a sister, but more than that (from which the whole series draws it’s name – Koi Shimai, i.e., “love sisters.”) Chika seems happy with it, but I thought it was a copout. And no goodnight kiss. Bleah. I’ll just sit here and imagine Akiho sneaking out afterwards to go out riding with Touko and end up making out in a quiet spot somewhere. ^_^

On the whole, it was a well-done CD, and Park Romi is sexy as hell as Touko, but the ending was, IMHO, lame. A real kiss wouldn’t have killed them.

On a more amusing note, as a bonus track, all the seiyuu discuss their school years – about half went to all-girl schools and talked about same-sex crushes they saw or experienced, but the common thread was that they couldn’t think of anything to say – it was actually pretty funny. :-) The seiyuu for “Girl C” was excellent – telling all the girls who were listening who loved another girl to go for it and not give up! Yay “Girl C”! ^_^

The ratings are basically the same as the first CD – there were some sexy moments with Touko, but then end was a bit naff, so we’ll drop the overall down a point to a 7. But the Yuri definitely stays up at a 10 for this one.

In conclusion – a nice addition to a Yuri-focused Drama CD collection and very well voiced. ^_^





Maria-sama ga Miteru Manga Update

May 21st, 2004

It’s been about a month since the Marimite anime ended, and of course, we’re all waiting with baited breath to hear any news of a second season. In the meantime, however, I’m filling the void with the manga, running in Margaret monthly.

And since I have to kill about forty minutes here at work before the week ends, I figured an update of the manga story was in order. ^_^

As I’ve mentioned about a thousand times since this series exploded onto the Yuri scene, the manga is more detailed than the anime, and in some cases, more exact to the novels. Although for purists, any cut is a bad cut.

The first volume of the manga has been out since the end of February and we can probably expect a second volume pretty soon, even though the installments are coming monthly now and not biweekly. I’ve covered some of the differences between the anime and the manga of the first arc in my February 6th entry.

Well, now the manga is firmly into the second arc, aka “The Yellow Rose Revolution” and I wanted to share a few of the fun bits either changed in or left out of the anime with you, because I can. ^_^

Just to remind you (or introduce you to the story) the second arc deals with the repercussions when Yoshino (Rosa Foetida en Bouton Petite Soeur) returns her rosary to her oneesama, Rei (Rosa Foetida En Bouton.) This happens shortly after Yumi has become Sachiko’s soeur and she is still very new and uunsure of herself in her role. It absolutely shocks her when Yoshino returns Rei’s rosary, undoing their relationship…and poor Yumi is even more apalled when other girls do the same thing. In the meantime, Rei is training for a kendo match, at the same time that Yoshino is preparing to have heart surgery.

Here are a few of the more romantic/funny moments so far…

So, Yumi and Sei (Rosa Gigantea) are in the Rose mansion and Sei is coughing up the fact that Eriko (Rosa Foetida) is basically good at anything she tries to do, but is seriously unmotivated.

Sei throws her arms around Yumi, once again completely taken by Yumi’s cuteness. Yumi grimaces and says, “Why don’t you get yourself someone as a boyfriend?” and Sei laughs and says, “I couldn’t be faithful to some guy. Only Yumi-chan.” and kisses Yumi…just as Sachiko walks in.

The rest of that conversation is in the anime as well, with Sachiko telling Sei to play with her own petite soeur. Sei says, “Gee, I never thought of that…” and Sachiko yells at Yumi for not struggling to get away, and not to do anything that would make Rosa Gigantea happy. ^_^

While tying ribbons into Yumi’s hair, Sachiko calls Yumi Rei and Yoshino’s “carrier pigeon.”

Yumi is immediately distracted as Sachiko takes her hand, quite forcefully, and begins walking towards the bus stop. As they walk hand in hand, Yumi’s head explodes and her heart begins to pound and she desperately wonders if the other petite soeur have this problem of so wanting to be close to their onee-sama that they can’t quite cope. Her face becomes so red and distracted that, despite Yumi’s fervent wish that they stay connected a while longer, Sachiko lets go – she thinks she’s bothering Yumi. When they approach the bus stop holding hands – a few of the other girls see them and go all girly-squealy, but sotto voce, about how sweet it is that they Rosa Chinensis en bouton and her petite soeur are holding hands.

Later, at Rei’s shiai Sei wanders over with lots of snacks for Yumi, reassuring Yumi that she doesn’t need to be paid back, but Sachiko insists on paying for her. Yumi feels awfully contrite, because she didn’t think to bring her purse. Sachiko smiles gently at her and tells her that she, Yumi, should let her, Sachiko, act like an onee-sama every once in a while. Yumi sits, once again overwhelmed by Sachiko’s coolness. ^_^

One other difference is that Eriko’s absence is more notable – people at school have commented that she’s missing, and Yumi thinks she sees her, but each time, Eriko is gone when she looks again. At the hospital while visiting Yoshino, Yumi thinks she sees Eriko’s “ghost” because she looks so pale and is in all white – with further reflection Yumi might have realized that Eriko was wearing a hospital gown, but at the moment, she strikes her as ghost-like. It is from these things that the weird rumors will presumably begin about Eriko. ^_^

In any case, the manga is more satisfying than the anime, if what you crave is more interaction, more story, more personal details, etc. I imagine that I’ll write another update at the end of this arc and by then, we ought to have some news of the new anime season! ^_^





Yuri Manga: Blue

May 20th, 2004

Before I write today’s review, I just want to let you know that I’ve changed the “Comments” field below so anyone can comment – you no longer have to be registered.

Now, today’s review:

Blue, by Nananan Kiriko, was published by MAG Comics in 1997. Stuck as it was in the limbo space between the tough girl epics of the 1980’s and the new wave of yuri in the early twenty first century (that would be now…), this manga reads like a tentative probe into a sensitive spot.

Blue has a simple storyline – Kayako is a recent transfer student to a seaside school, still tentatively making friends. She becomes interested in the girl who sits in front of her and never really interacts with anyone. One day, on a whim, Kayako invites the girl, Masami, to join her and her classmates for lunch and a new friendship is born. Masami seems nice enough and she and Kayako start spending more and more time together.

One night, Kayako goes out with a few friends to an arranged drinking party with some guys. She ends up at a hotel with one of the guys, but afterwards, she realizes that it was pretty pathetic of her, because she’s fallen in love with Masami. Shortly therafter, she and Masami share their first kiss.

Their relationship becomes a little more exclusive, so when Kayako’s friend who had set up the drinking party comes in screaming at Kayako, she’s really taken aback. The friend is appalled at Kayako for sleeping with the guy *she* liked…for sleeping with him at all, really. In the following days, Kayako is quietly shunned by her circle of friends, but she and Masami become closer than ever – they decide to move to Tokyo together when they graduate, etc, etc.

But summer vacation comes and Masami disappears with no word to either her mother or Kayako. As Kayako’s happiness collapses around her, she’s forced to learn more about the Masami she didn’t know, and face her own fears and jealousies…and be more honest with her other friends.

In the end, Masami and Kayako do not stay together – there really is never any reason to believe they might, to be honest. If either one of them were male, this entire story would simply be a “first love” story and disappear into oblivion. The entire manga seems to be balanced on a pinhead of tension. There just isn’t much there, except the usual day-to-day stuff of adolescence. From my lofty perspective (adolescence was a *long* time ago now) it’s sweet, but not compelling, stuff.

In 2002, a live-action version of Blue was made. I haven’t managed to see it, yet, but I would like to, despite the fact that the movie seems like a slightly blander version of an already bland story. Despite the fact that I strongly believe that the movie-viewing audience is more than ready for a more robust story than this one. Nonetheless…Blue is not a hateful story, just sort of a nondescript, bittersweet “first love” story.

The one thing the does stand out about this manga is the art. To call it stark would be an understatement. There are no screentones, almost no shading and the characters are drawn realistically – not manga realistically, but actually realistically. This makes the story feel more real, but it makes it damn hard to tell some of the characters apart, if they have similar hair styles. Let’s face it, most mangaka can only draw one face and they stick different color hair and eyes on everyone, so we can see who is who. Take away weird hairstyles or distinct physical attributes, and all colors and most of the shading and all you have left is a bunch of nearly identical shapes. This makes Blue a little tougher than usual to follow, unless you can actually read the conversations. I was able to follow it alot better this time than I was the last time I attempted it. Assumably, one day I will actually be able to read every word with ease and it’ll all make sense. ;-)

So, Blue is only okay, but if you’re a completist and are trying to build a collection of all the Yuri manga ever, you’ll want this one too. ^_^