Archive for the Series Category


Yuri Manga: Obentou to Kase-san (おべんとうと加瀬さん)

September 23rd, 2014

bentouIn Asagao to Kase-san (あさがおと加瀬さん), we met Yamada, a pleasant, average and friendly young lady who is very dedicated to the school’s Environmental Committee. She finds herself interested in the track star of the school, Kase. And, almost unbelievably, Kase returns her feelings.

Volume 1 is a slow, gentle story, as the two of them start going out, growing closer as they struggle with just exactly what “going out” means.

In Volume 2, Obentou to Kase-san (おべんとうと加瀬さん), they gently, cutely and realistically figure out who they are and what they mean to each other. Yamada has the higher hurdles, as Kase-san is super popular and Yamada doesn’t have the confidence to stand by her side. But Kase’s feelings are sincere and together they work it all out.

The drama here is small, the resolutions are equally as small, and I find myself wanting desperately to hug both of them and invite them over for tea, so they can see that sometimes we do get a happily after, after all. ^_^

Ratings:

Art – 8 It grew on me
Story – 8
Character – 8
Yuri – 8
Service – 2

Overall – 8

As “first love” stories go, this is definitely one of my favorites. It’s a strong candidate for this year’s Top Ten. I hope we’ll see more of Takashima Hiromi’s art in the future.





Yuri Anime: Card Captor Sakura (English)

September 16th, 2014

ccsSo, the last month or so I have been mainlining all 70 episodes of Cardcaptor Sakura on Crunchyroll.  And y’know…I like it all over again. ^_^

You have to remember, we were coming off a Sailor Moon high the first time. All those amazing voice actresses, and there they were scooped up the immensely talented all-woman studio, CLAMP, no less. It was a perfect set up for Yuri fans.

And then…it started going all bent and alt-sexuality right away. The BL fans went gaga (rightfully so) over Touya and Yukito, fans of intergenerational relationships had Terada-sensei and Rika, and Kaho and Touya, and Fujitaka and Nadesico. Yuri fans had Sonomi’s feelings for her cousin Nadesico, mirrored by Tomoyo’s feelings for Sakura. So, basically everyone had something to be weird about. Boy with wings and long silver hair? Here’s Yue. Androgynous cute being? Have Ruby Moon. There was something for everyone, wrapped in a pretty CLAMP animation with ribbon and cake.

NIS did a really decent job with the translation, until they didn’t. And when they didn’t, it  became one of those moments that you just suck it up and do the best you can and hopefully realize that you can’t just ignore the honorifics and hope they go away. (Only companies keep making the same mistake over and over. How about we learn to translate names as they are presented, already and stop fighting it, huh?) So instead of Li-kun becoming Xialoang (a transliteration I 100% approve of, btw. It is correct), they struggle with Xiolang to…um, “bestie.” Yeah, no.

The film quality is great, and when/if I get this, I think getting Blu-Ray will be worth it. NIS has a Hybrid Blu-Ray (Amazon/ RightStuf) version available.

It actually felt more Yuri to me this time around – Tomoyo is well and truly besotted, much more so than her mother. (Bonus for us seiyuu otaku, Sonomi is is played by Itou Miki, who played Sachiko in Marimite.)

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Ratings:

Art – 8 One of CLAMP’s most colorful and swoopy
Story – 8 Weird, but fun
Characters – 10 Enduring in a lot of ways. There never would have been a Tamao in Strawberry Panic, if there hadn’t been a Tomoyo in CCS.
Yuri – A steady, underlaid 3
Service- 6 Not physical, but psychological hoo-whee!

Overall – 9

It’s been a long time since I watched this series and I think I enjoyed it more this time around. ^_^





Viz Presents the Sailor Moon Dub Moonlight Party Friday, September 5th, 2014

September 5th, 2014

Viz Moonlight PartyPress Release: VIZ Media Presents – MOONLIGHT PARTY! An Official Sailor Moon Streaming Event

Join your friends from the Sailor Moon team at VIZ Media for a celebration of the UNCUT English dub premiere of Sailor Moon! Starting at 8:00 PM Pacific time on September 5, 2014

Starting at 8:00 PM Pacific time (11:00PM Eastern) we’ll be hosting a special slumber party live from the VIZ office in San Francisco steaming on our YouTube channel. We’ll be watching the dub premiere on Hulu or Neon Alley as well as playing games, asking SAILOR MOON trivia questions and having lots of fun with fans all across the nation. You’ll get to meet the team working on SAILOR MOON and even have a chance to ask them questions about the upcoming releases!

Did we mention there will be prizes? Be sure to watch to find out how you can win some extra special Sailor Moon treats!

So, get your friends together, grab your favorite jammies, plushes & slumber party treats and snuggle up with us for a whole lot of Sailor Moon awesomeness.

(Hulu is only available in the USA at this time but this streaming event will be open to fans in the US, Canada and more)





Rose of Versailles Anime, Part 2, Disk 4 (English)

August 28th, 2014

Rose-of-Versailles2Rose of Versailles, Part 2 continues to be pointedly relevant and prescient right to the very last disk.

On the eve of the French Revolution, Oscar and Andre’ finally break past the barriers that have been keeping them apart. They “become husband and wife” as the series delicately puts it, while showing us an artistic rendering of them naked.

The events of the the storming of the Bastille and the subsequent days of bloodletting play out after our principles have all been taken off the board, to be relayed by the Greek chorus of Alain, Bernard and Rosalie.

In my ongoing research as I watched this final disk, I learned that the French Guards did indeed side with the people over the royal household and they were a key element at the storming of the Bastille. That was interesting.

The thing that will haunt me, however, is the scene when the Army faces an angry mob and fires into it, killing a child. The scene was chilling in the light of the recent events in Missouri, where a belligerent police department punished protesters and left me feeling quite hollow.

The story draws to a close, but I’m not going to lie, it’s a bitter ending to a story that was too realistic to ever have a happy end.

TRSI did a bangup job on this series, and this was really hammered home on this final volume when I ran into one bit of translation that could have been better. It was such a rare occurrence that it really highlighted the overall quality of the translation. And, the visuals looked damn good for an old anime. I’m impressed and after a rest to recharge my ability to handle emotionally wrecking anime, I’ll get started on Dear Brother! ^_^;

Ratings:

Art – 8
Story – 9
Characters 9
Yuri – 0
Service – 1 (on principle)

Overall – 8

There is no doubt in my mind that this series is a classic. There is also no doubt in my mind that it will be another 20 years before I watch it again….phew.





Yuri Manga: Whispered Words, Volume 1 (English)

August 27th, 2014

ww1It’s been an exciting summer for Yuri fans, with series new and old that we love. One of the most exciting titles of the year to be released in English is Ikeda Takashi’s epic dramedy of Yuri tropes, Whispered Words out from One Peace Books. Volume 1 is available on RightStuf or Amazon.

The story follows the life of a high school student, Sumika, who is in the unenviable position of being in love with her best friend and classmate, Ushio. Sumika has everything going for her – classic looks, she’s tall strong, athletic, smart and a competent leader. Unfortunately for Sumi, Ushio dreams, not of being swept away by someone princely, but sweeping away her own petite and cute princess. Although Sumika is always by her side, Ushio never even notices Sumika’s feelings. Complicating this one-sided love, are about a hundred things, all of which are silly tropes of Yuri.

A male classmate who likes Sumika, is a cross dresser and is, in fact, so cute, that Ushio falls for him as a girl.

Aoi, Yuri light novel fan, thinks she’s found a like mind in Sumika…but she hasn’t.

Sumi and Ushio discover that there are, in fact, two lesbians in their class, and through pretense and blackmail are made to join Tomoe’s “Girls Club” for girl-lovers.

An extremely cute foreign student transfers in. Ushio, predictably falls for her, but Lotte wants to be strong like Sumi.

Each plot complication piles on Sumi, who bears the weight of Ushio’s obliviousness. And it’s apparent – especially after the somewhat messy arc with Aoi – that Sumika is a really standup kind of person. Ushio’s cluelessness hurts, and in a vulnerable moment, Sumika lets her mask slip. But will it bring them closer together?

Volume 1 covers the first three volumes of the Japanese edition (here are my reviews of Volume 1, Volume 2 and Volume 3), which includes some emotionally charged reading in places. The story is comedic, but there are places where characters (and, possibly, readers) are found in tears. For a comedy, Volume 1 has a lot of drama. ^_^;

Technically, the book is much better than I expected.  It had only a very few typos in nearly 500 pages and nearly none of the other issues I noticed with the preview copy. The translation is absolutely excellent – I could really hear  the characters’ individual voices in the dialogue.   The story is by turns hilarious, heart-wrenching and lovely. Ikeda’s art is reproduced well and I like both the heft and paper quality of the translated edition. I feel like I’m getting something solid to hold, but not hideously bulky or heavy.

Volume 2 is already up for pre-order, with a release date in November 2014. I know that the typo issues are mostly resolved in the next Volume, and while these three volumes are the hardest to get through (Volume 4, Volume 5 and Volume 6), the finale of this series is well worth hanging in there for, I promise!

Ratings:

Art – 8
Characters – 8
Story – 8
Yuri – 4
Service – 1

Overall – 8

If you’re looking for excellent Yuri, definitely get Whispered Words – good sales will translate to more Yuri. ^_^

My sincere thanks to One Peace Books for a review copy of Volume 1! It was great to be able to see this excellent Yuri tale told in English. ^_^