Archive for the Strawberry Panic Category


Yuri Light Novel: Strawberry Panic, Volume 1 (Japanese)

March 21st, 2007

One of the many reasons I began teaching myself Japanese was because I resented having to rely on translators’ interpretations. I know that in translation one is always balancing “feel” and “sense” and I wanted to be able to read things in the original in order to be able to grasp both, without someone making my decisions for me.

So, since Seven Seas will be coming out with a translation of the Strawberry Panic light novels, I wanted to read them first in Japanese, so I could better appreciate how they were reproduced in English.

Let me give you this piece of background info, that should help you appreciate my feelings about this novel:

On average, it takes me three months to translate a 200 page Maria-sama ga Miteru light novel. If I am reading for myself, without translating, it takes me about a month to read, with the assistance of at least two dictionaries and a translation tool.

…It took me *4 days* to read this 300+ page novel.

With one dictionary.

If you can’t appreciate the significance of that, let me add this piece of information: the amount of furigana in this novel was astounding. There was so much furigana that I’m tempted to think that their target audience is 12 year olds. Tops. Comparatively, there is very little furigana on any given page of a Maria-sama ga Miteru novel. As Tsutako explains to Yumi in an interesting metaconversation in Ibara no Mori (translated here by Erin Subramanian,) the audience for the book is really adults, although it is ostensibly a book for teens.

Strawberry Panic, Volume 1 (and I am still linking to the Japanese edition here, as that is what I am reviewing. When I review the English edition, I’ll link to that) is about the happenings at Astoria, an old, tradition-laden campus that is composed of three distinct schools: St. Miator, St. Spica and St. LuLim.

Miator is the oldest and, in many ways, the most powerful. Spica is the second oldest, and sort of “mod” to Miator’s “traditional.” LuLim is the youngest of the three, and “eclectic” in comparison with both the other schools.

The events and characterizations in the novel follow the manga closely – this one novel pretty much covers the events in the two manga volumes (Here are the reviews for Volume 1 and Volume 2.) Much of the clunkiest, most derivative junk that mucked up the anime has been shed, which is good. So, no memory loss, no global warming, no angsty avoidance. And much less open rip-offs of memes from other Yuri series. (Just one, other than the whole “Catholic schoolgirls misbehaving” thing.)

The opening of anime, manga and novel are almost identical, as we meet playgirl extraordinaire Hanazono Shizuma as she breaks up with her most recent paramour, and proceeds from there to meet – and be enchanted by – incoming transfer student Aoi Nagisa.

Early on, Shizuma determines that she will run for the school’s star positon, the Etoile, with Nagisa. This is unheard of, since she is in her final year at school, and cannot possibly hold the position for more than a few months…and her chosen partner is a transfer student who barely knows anything at all.

Her only real competition for the position is the junior year Prince of Spica, Ootori Amane. Their battle for the position is just about identical to that in the manga.

In Spica, the way Amane and meets her partner for Etoile, Konohana Hikari, differs strongly from manga and anime – and it makes a lot mores sense. So does the fact that they fall in love just about instantly without much fuss.

The first third of the novel is almost identical to the manga, with the creepy, servicey almost-kisses between Shizuma and Nagisa. But from there, the author seems to shed a lot of the less good stuff the story had piled on it, and manages to do a halfway decent job with what is left.

Which is not to say that this is a good story, but more on that later.

Here are some of the main differences between the versions.

We learn a LOT more about the individual schools and how they work. St. Spica, particularly, has some weird rules – all new transfer students live by themselves for two weeks. When you enter the Spica side of the dorms (and there is no free movement allowed between the three sides, so sneaking around for those midnight tea parties is really awkward) you have to ring a bell and announce your name. Even if, especially if, you’re a Spica student.

Hikari and Nagisa are both transfer students. So the first usual test for the younger partner in the Etoile, which is an exam on Astoria history, is canceled completely, as neither has had time to be able to compete fairly.

Nagisa is, as long as she isn’t speaking out loud, pretty much okay. Once, she’s so distressed that she forgets to refer to herself as “Nagisa” and instantly jumps up a notch in my estimation. She’s not nearly as stupid or whiny as the anime Nagisa was.

The vow-taking ceremony for Etoile couples is not held in the church, but in front of a replica of the Roman “Mouth of Truth”.  They get points on style, as they did in the manga. Spica council President Shion still tries to sabotage Shizuma, and fails.

Tamao is in love with Nagisa, but all her pervastic behavior is disappeared, leaving a very intense girl with a crush on her roommate. It was such a relief, let me tell you.

Shizuma tells Nagisa early on about the Etoile position and how it works. After she tries to seduce Nagisa in the library and fails, Shizuma backs off until, on the way back from the grand tour, they meet Chiyo and Tamao. When Tamao claims Nagisa as her “vitamin Nagisa,” Shizuma goes cold and serious and vows to run for Etoile with Nagisa. From that point on, the playboy seduction ends, and she really opens up to Nagisa, and tries to be a reasonable partner. Her expressions of interest in and like for Nagisa certainly seem much more trustworthy.

Miyuki is much, much snarkier in the novel. I liked that.  ^_^

Amane is less hesitant, and completely able to fight off Kaname’s desire to run for Etoile with her. Kaname is the boyish, dark-skinned Kaname of the manga, not the Evil Psycho Lesbian of the anime, so she and Momomi do not appear to be a couple at all. Kaname is interested only in Amane, and Momomi just likes drama. ^_^ We get a fair amount of time in Amane’s head, too, and we really learn just how much she hates being the school star and being idolized by all these girls. It’s not that she hates herself, or that she hates them, she really just doesn’t understand why they think she’s attractive, since she’s so boyish, and feels burdened by their idolization of her and the resulting celebrity she has to deal with all the time.

Hikari isn’t a stuttering ass, Amane isn’t a non-verbal freak. They are so much more likeable here where they are just *together*. Hikari is very lonely in the beginning, mostly because of the isolation rule. She’s contemplating leaving the school when she meets and falls for Amane. She is not nearly as much of a pushover as she is in either manga or anime.

Here’s some things that were the same:

The horseback race/rescue from the tower is still one of the Etoile tests for the elder partner – Amane and Hikari win, and Amane is really pretty showy and fun about it. (Not the acutely embarrassed Amane of the anime, for sure. And phew for that!)

Nagisa still refers to herself in third person.

Chiyo is still an annoying crybaby.

The midnight tea party in the center grounds of the Ichigosha dorms at the end of the manga is the same as well. With a slight difference. The midnight tea party in Nagisa and Tamao’s room is the same – but because we follow Yaya and Hikari there, through the really strict halls of the Spica side of Ichigosha, we get to see what kind of risk they take getting there.

And here are some things that are significant, and help make the novel better than the manga and a whole different class than the anime:

Nagisa does, yes, receive a note that leads her to the library, and to information about Shizuma’s late Etoile partner, Kaori. In the novel we get Nagisa’s thoughts on all this, which are (quite sensibly) that she feels as if Shizuma is using her, Nagisa, as a replacement for her dead lover. This was completely left out of the anime, so that long, (quite tedious,) arc after Nagisa learns about Kaori, in which she and Shizuma avoid one another, is never explained. This reaction was simple, realistic, logical and not overly prolonged. Nagisa ends the book by asking straight out about Kaori, and Shizuma responds straight out by telling her.

Through Shizuma’s thoughts we learn about Kaori very early in the novel, so we *know* that there’s more to Shizuma than just being a playgirl. We also know why she feels that she can never commit to someone like that again…and we see that blown away early on when she meets Nagisa.

The two girls who follow Shizuma around in the anime? Remember them? They are always behind her in the greenhouse. The *appear* to be the other Miator Student Council members…well, they’re actually Shizuma’s closest childhood friends, Hitomi and Mizuho. I very much liked the fact that Shizuma had some close friends.

And lastly, here are some of the things that are either relics of the anime/manga and had to be done, or just didn’t work.

At Miator, the wind is blowing. Fuu— Fuuu—, and the flowers swirl around. Swirl…dance….. If they took out *half* the references to the wind (Fuu–) and the flowers (swirling, swirling!) the book would be 20 pages shorter.

At Spica, they wear miniskirts. Did you know they wear miniskirts at Spica? Yes, miniskirts. Really. By the fifth or sixth mention I was fairly well-informed on the miniskirt situation and really, really didn’t need to be told again. But that didn’t stop the point from being made a few more times.

The utterly pointless scene in the library, where Yaya (who otherwise in the book is perfectly normal and kind of funny/nasty as she refers to Amane’s fanclub as “Amane wannabees”) sexually harrasses Hikari seems incredibly out of place. Shizuma trying to get a kiss from Nagisa feels slightly less absurd, but the whole scene had a sense of “the editor thinks this is sexy, so keep it in or else”. The same was true for the bath scene with Shizuma and Miyuki. The conversation could have been anywhere…and the service felt very forced and incongruous as Shizuma had already abandoned her playgirl persona by then.

All of these things had the distinct feeling of things that the author was *told* to include. None of them make the least little difference to the story, and most of them are very tiresome. They are all in the first third of the book. Starting at about halfway, the book seriously decreases in service, increases in character development and gets a fair power up in the not sucking utterly department.

The last scene, at that “secret” midnight tea party in the central garden of Ichigosha, (to which the entire school comes, but it’s still, somehow, “secret”) where Nagisa confronts Shizuma about Kaori (and Shizuma admits that she wasn’t going to tell Nagisa, and hoped that she wouldn’t find out) was handled as well as one could expect in this series. Amane and Hikari are given the Petite Crown for winning the horseback race contest…and the Etoile-sen continues in the next volume.

I really feel bad for the person working on the novel translation because, although this novel is miles better than the anime, and yards better than the manga, it is whole continents away from being as good as even the worst of the Maria-sama ga Miteru novels. In short, it pretty much bites. The author did a brave job with the material, but you can only do so much with…well, crap.

Ratings:

Art – 7 (light novel, it has pictures, remember?)
Story – starts at 3 and manages to claw its way to a 6 by the end
Characters – 3, except for Amane, who comes in at a surprising 5
Yuri – 9
Service – 9

Overall – 5, but only because the author really, REALLY worked at it.

I’m just dying to see how the English language version does! Because really, anyone who get past that wind, and those flowers deserves an award. ^_^; I really don’t envy that translator and adapter… That all having been said, this is light years better than the Drama CDs, which were service for the sake of service and not much more.





Yuri Drama CD: Strawberry Panic Lu Lim Hen

March 14th, 2007

While I did not find the Strawberry Panic Drama CD Lu Lim Hen: Oneesama to Maid Soudou to be the same kind of aural assault that occurred when I listened to the Mai Otome Drama CD, I did feel that another little piece of my soul has been sucked away by it…especially as the second time I listened to it, it bothered me less than the first. ^_^

As a quick flashback, let me remind you that the first Strawberry Panic Drama CD covered the great underwear mystery at St. Miator and the second CD in the series, the physical examinations at St. Spica.

This, the third Drama CD based on the Strawberry Panic franchise, focuses on the doings in Lu Lim Academy, the youngest, and strangest, of the three schools that make up Astoria.

The one defining characteristic of Lu Lim (other than bad French) is that the students are encouraged to not only take part in club activities, but go ahead and make as many new clubs as they want. This fact I gleaned from the Strawberry Panic light novel, which I’m reading in Japanese.

So, the CD begins as Kizuna starts a brand new club, one that doesn’t include Lu Lim Student Council President Minamoto Chikaru. The “Renai” (romantic love) Club is going to talk about all *sorts* of things related to love. Only, neither Kizuna, nor fellow club members Lemon or Kagome, or even Kagome’s stuffed teddy bear Percival, has anything to say on the subject. The three wonder what kind of person Chikaru-oneesama would fall in love with.

Chikaru comes in and starts the meeting of the usual “Henshin Club”, which if you’ve seen the series, you know is Chikaru playing dress up with her three dolls, erm girls. The Henshin Club is running a “Charity Maid” event, where people will bid on the services of a maid to help clean up around the school. They decide to design a maid costume for the event, but no one has any good ideas so…and I’m sure you saw this coming a mile away…Chikaru flips a switch in the wall, which turns the classroom into an elevator that drops into a huge sub-basement full of maid outfits.

O_o

Kagome is outfitted in classic Victorian style, Lemon gets the standard maid cafe treatment and Kizuna gets an ultra-sexy miniskirted, thigh-high-stockinged outfit which sends Chikaru into absolute paroxysms of ecstasy.

It was this scene that led me to my conclusion that “good” Yuri can be differentiated from “bad” by simply substituting a guy for the girl in question. Should we have been subjected to a male character in the throes of sexual excitement while looking at Kizuna at that moment, we would have been disgusted. As, indeed, I was.

And things only get *better* as Chikaru then decides they need to prowl the school’s secret spots to determine what outfit would suit the event best. So, for the next few tracks, we are subjected to a series of incredibly service-y Yuri-ish scenes to wank to.

In the Library, Nagisa and Chiyo are doing *something* and it sounds horribly intimate, but in fact they are just trying to reshelve a book that’s high up. (Honestly, this scene made me bang my head against my steering wheel, it was so cringe-makingly awful.)

In the Greenhouse, Shizuma toys with Miyuki’s affections, which ends with her sucking Miyuki’s finger a lot more than a simple cut could account for.

In the Church, Yaya is about to confess her feelings to Hikari (and seriously, how stupid does Hikari have to be to not have figured it out…?) when a noise interrupts them. Lemon and Kagome run away, trying to not get caught.

Having used all other places in the entire school where service could have taken place, we retire to peep a little in the bath. In the end, just about every single member of the cast except for Amane ends up in that bath. Shizuma, Chiyo and Tamao squabble over who gets Nagisa, ostensibly to scrub her back. (Oh and by the way, in case you missed in in the anime, because that was a little subtle, Kagome *also* has a crush on Nagisa.)

When one of the nuns discover the Henshin Club members all hanging around the bath in maid costumes, she demands to know what’s up. They say that they’re there for a bath, duh, and jump in. But she thinks they are up to something, and since they are in maid outfits, she assigns them all to clean the church as punishment. Chikaru thinks it’s a great way to play maid and they are all happy about it, which utterly confuses the Sister.

At the next meeting of the Renai Club, a new member enters – it’s Chikaru! Surprise! They ask her to tell them a story of love and she responds with this unhappy tale of a girl, just like themselves, a second year middle school student:

Girl C, we’ll call her, although Chikaru gives no names at all, is lost in the woods somewhere between schools when she runs into what looks like a boy and a horse! She got the horse part right, but in fact, it’s another girl – a girl that is, like herself, a second-year, and who wants desperately to be a horseback rider. Girl A. as we’ll refer to her, is apprenticing with the horse riding club. It’s her job to exercise the horses.

Girl C and Girl A end up meeting every day at the creek where they first met and, as time goes on, they start to wonder why they want to see each other SO much. It’s obvious that love is flourishing between them. They share hopes and dreams as they meet in the woods every day, despite their duties – Girl A with the horseback riding club and Girl C with the many, *many* clubs she’s in. Girl C dubs Girl A a “prince” for wanting to ride on a white charger.

One day, Girl C comes running to their meeting place, only to be met by the President of the Riding Club. The President tells Girl C to stop seeing Girl A. She has great plans for Girl A, and plans on making her a champion rider. But to do that, she needs to be able to focus on her riding, and not be distracted. Girl C makes the President swear to make Girl A a rider if she goes away, which the President does. So, in order to fulfill Girl A’s dream, Girl C leaves and finds a place to cry her broken heart out. When Girl A arrives at their place, she’s met not by Girl C, but by the President, who tells her that Girl C said she can’t come anymore. The President tells Girl A that she’s being promoted to rider. Girl A is thrilled, but begins to cry anyway, as she realizes that she really won’t have time to see Girl C anymore.

Chikaru ends the story, as all the club members sob happily at this tale of unfulfilled love. As Kizuna, Lemon and Kagome go back to their room, Kizuna wonders why Chikaru looked so sad as she told the story. (Erica looked sad, too, but not for the same reason. I was just concerned that all three of the girls – even Lemon, for whom I had some hope in the beginning of the CD – were so dense.)

Once back in their room, they wonder who they might fall in love with. Lemon admits that she wants to fall in love with Kizuna, but Kizuna is already asleep and misses the big confession. Kagome falls asleep wondering what kind of person Percival would fall in love with.

The messages from the cast track had one or two good moments, my favorite being when Amane’s seiyuu, Kaida Yuko, apologizes to Hikari’s seiyuu. ^_^ (If you missed why, read Chikaru’s story again. Get it this time.)

The bonus track is a little story of life at St. Miator, as Nagisa slams into one of the nuns and knocks her down. After being scolded for running in the halls, Nagisa offers to deliver the mail the sister was carrying. As she visits all the principals at St. Miator (Tamao, Chiyo, Shizuma and Miyuki) she barges into their rooms to deliver the mail, only to find them each writing a letter. What she doesn’t know is that, in each case, the letter is being written to *Nagisa’s* parents, each from the uniquely insane perspective of that character. When Nagisa returns to the nun, she is scolded for never writing her own parents. The Sister muses that her parents are probably worried that they never hear about Nagisa at school. Ha ha.

The final bit is an advertisement for the first of the three SP Drama CDs, with Shizuma commenting cooly that she’s interested not in Nagisa’s underwear, but on what’s inside.

Ratings:

Art – N/A
Story – 4
Characters – 6
Yuri – 8 but largely service and double entendre
Service – 10

Overall – 5

I took a moment to read the reviews over at Amazon JP for this Drama CD and I have to admit, the level of moe was high. *Very* high. I really was surprised at how many people thought this Drama CD was the best of the three, and how many people just thought it so incredibly wonderful in general. One comment even said that it was worth buying just for Chikaru’s story. Really? Okay, whatever.





Yuri Drama CD; Strawberry Panic, Lyric 2 "Spica Volume"

January 12th, 2007

Much like the goings on from the first Strawberry Panic Drama CD, the second Strawberry Panic DCD, primarily follows the characters from one of the schools, in this case, the girls of St. Spica. Like the first volume, this takes place sometime during the first half of the series. You can tell because Kaname and Momomi are still evil, but not yet ridiculous. More or less.

(Please imagine me rolling my eyes throughout this entire review…it’ll save time in the long run.)

The annual physical exam is coming and quite inexplicably Hikari decides she’s gotten a little fat. Yaya determines to help her by enforcing an unrealistic exercise schedule, while Tsubomi insists on “helping” by creating meals with insufficient calories to sustain her. Of course, Hikari is doing this all because in some way that I don’t understand, it will make Amane happy. Or insane with lust, I really don’t know.

Evil Psycho Lesbians Kaname and Momomi show up as Hikari and Yaya jog, only to confuse everyone with their bizarre blather about the physical exams and Hikari’s body. When the others leave them, confused, Kaname and Momomi reassure one another that this plan will work to defeat Hikari, and therefore Amane, and that it’s going to be loads of fun for them both.

After training, Tsubomi and Yaya compete to massage a weary Hikari, complete with quasi-sexual moaning and near orgasmic paroxysms by Yaya and Tsubomi. This is followed by Hikari breathily discussing her body with Amane, under the guise of interest in Starbright’s, Amane’s horse’s, health.

We spend some moments establishing a running gag (and I mean that word in several ways) about Nagisa wolfing food down, not caring that the ominous exam is coming. While she stuffs her face, Shizuma’s only comment is that she’s darn cute when she does that – a comment met with confusion on the part of Miyuki.

Apparently at Astoria, the girls themselves take their own measurements and record their own health. There is excitement as various students apply to be able to do the exams – and especially for that ever-important and yet so pointlessly servicey “three size” position. (The “three size”s are of course, bust-waist-hips, and I remain steadfast in the belief that there is not one really decent reason why that has to be included in any school exam. I have no doubt that it’s a pervy guy thing and yes, it offends me.)

Yaya and Tsubomi apply to take the three sizes position in order to see Hikari naked.

(…okay, pervy girl thing too. But no less offensive.)

The winner is…!

On the day of the exam, we learn that Chikaru’s harem, Lemon, Kizuna and Kagome (who sounds even more on valium than ever before) got the prize positions. Kagome relies on her stuffed bear Percival to take down the details, to everyone’s distress.

At the thought that Amane is about to shed her clothes, an overworked, underfed Hikari faints. (Shocker, I know.) She wakes to find herself in the infirmary, with a very distressed Amane at her side. So Hikari gets what she wanted in the first place, Amane touching her.

The moral of the story is, of course, that behaving like a prat gets the girl. Or that starving yourself is the right thing to do. Or something.

Yaya and Tsubomi argue over whose fault it is, each trying to take responsibility over the other. Hikari rightfully blames herself, but for entirely the wrong reasons.

Meanwhile, Nagisa shrieks in a manner more irritating than ever before – why didn’t anyone *tell* her about the exam? Ah ha ha ha.

Amane swears to be there for Hikari – to help her, to carry her if need be. Cue romantic music and the endless repetition of the words “Amane-sempai” by Hikari.

Nagisa stuffs her face in anguish over the weight she’s gained. Shizuma, to Miyuki’s consternation, only comments, “cute!” “Cute?” Miyuki boggles.

Meanwhile Chikaru and her harem and Nagisa and some other folks are doing a midnight tea. Chikaru announces a Astoria “Sexy Queen” contest based on the three size results. Kagome mentions that Percival is going to get undressed, and Lemon wonders what the naked teddy bear could possibly remove? His skin? Tamao suggests, to which Lemon begs Kagome to not undress Percival, PLEASE. Chikaru pronounces herself the winner of the “Sexy Queen” contest. Everyone sweatdrops.

In the bathroom, Kaname and Momomi plot anew, but as Kaname talks about Hikari, Momomi grows worried and asks if Kaname isn’t maybe starting to like the girl. You only give your love to one person, right? Momomi asks. And truthfully, yet omniously to those of us who have seen the entire series, Kaname replies – I give my love to only one person.

Still arguing over whose fault it is, Yaya and Tsubomi tell Hikari to stay out of this, so Hikari says she’s off to take a shower. Shower? Yaya and Tsubomi join her and take great liberties with her body. More servicey means and groans. The end.

The cast credits sound like everyone HATED this script. ^_^ Everyone’s like, “So-and-so role, my name, this was fun, thank you.” The “get me the hell out of here” was understood.

The last track is a preview of the final volume, which in it’s horrible way seems kind of fun. Look forward to scrunchy-making embarrassing conversations with Chikaru and her harem. ^_^

Ratings:

Story – 3
Characters – 4
Yuri – 8
Service – 9

Overall – 5

It’s trite, it’s predictable and unfunny, but there are some genuinely amusing bits, Kaname and Momomi are hysterically freakish. It’s trash, no question, but it makes an entertaining and diverting way to practice your Japanese listening skills. ^_^





Yuri Manga: Strawberry Panic, Volume 2

December 5th, 2006

Welcome to “schoolgirls” week on Okazu.

Feel my excitement as I contemplate yet another half dozen manga with pretty much the exact same subject. I hope you’ll forgive my lack of enthusiasm – I have a cold and a cranky attitude.

Let’s start with the “omg, most AWESOME 4tw, this series roxors!!!!11111” series since Kannazuki no Miko, shall we? I am of course, speaking of Strawberry Panic which, by the sheer number of emails and comments that look like the above phrase, has an even less discriminating sophisticated fanbase than KnM.

And yet.

I read it. I enjoy it. I find it amusing. (For those of you tempted to write in that I am a moron because I cannot see how wonderfulness Strawberry Panic is, please read the first three sentences of this paragraph again. Then again, until you can understand that I *do* like it. I just don’t think it’s as amazing as some do.)

Let’s start with the cover. You can see that the main character and her stalker roommate are depicted realistically. For eight year olds. However, they are actually 15.

And let’s enjoy the causal wear they are modeling. Exactly *which* part of the school uniform is that? Because clearly it’s only part of it.

But, hey, I’m told by dozens of people that this series is GREAT! Well, usually they say something like “its grate” – and no, I am not kidding or being mean. This is completely representative of the comments I’ve seen on Strawberry Panic.

DESPITE the fact that the fanbase is appalling, the second volume of Strawberry Panic has deviated quite remarkably from the anime and even from the first volume of the manga, which was primarily dedicated to light sexual harrassment which, if it had been guys doing it, would have made most fans of the series upset. But it was two girls, so many enjoyed it anyway. Just, not me.

In Volume 2, the Etoilesen, the competition for the school’s star couple, is about to begin. Unlike the anime, in which each school put up one couple, in the manga version many, many couples from all the schools appear to be eligible to compete. Of course the only two we care about are the Shizuma/Nagisa and Amane/Hikari pairs.

The competition opens with the swearing of vows of love and loyalty, all very wedding like. A couple clearly gets points on style, hence Amane’s swinging Hikari into her arms romantically (something also used in the anime, rather inexplicably if you hadn’t already read the manga. Luckily, I am getting the monthly issues of Dengeki G’s that the manga runs in, to cover just such situations. lol)

In the manga, it is Shizuma and Nagisa who are standing for the Etoile, not Tamao and Nagisa. Shion, president of Spica, is not above using dirty tricks to get Amane and Hikari into the Etoile position, so she secretly sends Nagisa info on Shizuma’s former partner. During the vow portion of the event, Shion asks Shizuma to swear that her love wholly and completely be given to Nagisa. After a moment of hesitation, Shizuma falls to her knees and makes the vow.

Nagisa is totally confused about everything which, for once, I can’t really blame her too much.

The first test is obviously designed to place Amane/Hikari above the pack with an awesomely stupid contest in which all the “cadets,” the younger partners, are shoved onto a platform on a tower, while the “ane,” the older partners, ride a steeplechase, save their princess from the tower and ride back. Of course tragedy strikes as both Hikari and Nagisa manage to fall. Of course they are saved. I mean, puh-leeze. We could hardly hope that they would be allowed to die so soon, more’s the pity. LOL Instead we are treated to Prince Amane and Etoile Shizuma at their knight-on-charger coolest. (And, btw, they are *still* an allegory for Heaven vs Hell. Just want to make the point. Amane all in white on her gray [white horses, for those of you non-horse people, are all “gray”] and Shizuma, all in black on her big black horse. [There’s no real black horses either. FYI.])

After the first round is over, there’s a little party at which Nagisa expresses her self-doubt. Shizuma restates her vow and the two seal their promise with a kiss.

End of volume.

I was pleasantly surprised to see a plot starting to develop in this volume – Kaname’s desire to win the Etoilesen has now been augmented with her open desire to win it *with* Amane (which leads to a great scene where Amane complains that if the two of them run together they’ll look like a Boy’s Love couple, which is countered by Shion saying that as a couple of Takarazuka Top Stars, they’d be a winning pair.) Kaname remains an EPL (Evil Psycho Lesbian), but Momomi is, at the moment, at least, not part of the equation. One hopes that she and Kaname will end up together.

Shizuma and Nagisa’s relationship is not being dragged unnecessarily through the angst fields as with the anime, and the kiss was neither sleazy nor servicey. In fact, for this series it was quite sweet. …I’m all for false hopes.

Ratings:
Art – 6 (too loli for me)
Story – 6
Characters – 5-6 depending on my mood
Yuri – 8
Service – 7

Overall – 6

It’s written by guys, for a fanboy audience. But I’ve seen (and enjoyed) worse. Not bad enough to be funny, not good enough to be “good,” it will no doubt be immensely popular when Seven Seas translates it.





Yuri Drama CD: Strawberry Panic, Lyric 1 "Miator Volume"

November 3rd, 2006

I know that you too, daily wrestle with concerns like “whose purple underwear is this!?!” Therefore, I also know that you too, will find the story in Strawberry Panic Drama CD: Lyric 1, “Miator Hen” absolutely riveting. :-)

The Drama CDs for Strawberry Panic each focus on the characters from one of the three schools. The first DCD, “Lyric 1” deals with the girls of Miator, the second will focus on Spica and the third, Lu Lim. While the story for this CD is original, i.e., not from either manga or anime, it has no actual plot. An official fanfic, if you will. If you were going to build a timeline, this would be taking place somewhere during the first half of the anime.

The story opens with Nagisa and Shizuma in the greenhouse. Shizuma embraces Nagisa from behind, and, as rain begins to pour down, attempts to kiss Nagisa. When Miyuki interrupts, Nagisa breaks free and runs into the rain.

In the meantime, back in their room, Tamao is fretting while Chiyo-chan functions like a real maid – sort of there, spoken to, but not heard. When Nagisa comes back soaked to the skin Tamao forcibly undresses her and shoves her into the shower to warm up. Tamao, during this scene, is made to sound so extremely perverted that it’s either really scary, or really impressive. I’m still not entirely sure which.

This sets up the one major crisis of the story – the case of the strange underwear. Tamao offers to do Nagisa’s washing, which Nagisa refuses. They both go off to the laundry room. Somehow or other, Nagisa ends up bringing back someone else’s underwear. These are scandalously colorful (as oppsed to the white with little-girl patterns kind Nagisa wears…) apparently, which overwhelms Tamao with the need to find their owner. They watch for a bit, but after some exciting possibilities, they are shooed away by Miyuki. When we return to the room, we get a careful catalog of Nagisa’s real underwear. No gratutious service here, no way.

During all this time, Chiyo-chan is having paroxysms of ecstasy and doubt over the return of Nagisa’s handkerchief. It has become her important treasure. I’ll skip to the end of this excitement – Nagisa gives it to her.

The third plot driver is the titilating rumor that Shizuma, the Etoile of the school, skinny dips in the pool every night. Nagisa repeatedly fantasizes about seeing her, even joining her.

One day, quite randomly, Shizuma rides up on a horse (cue cameo by Amane) and takes Nagisa off to the ocean. Chikaru, who clearly has no schoolwork at all, decides to follow since, after all, they will BOTH probably swim naked. Woo-hoo! Everyone, except Amane decides to tag along.

Nagisa and Shizuma share a romantic moment, until a hullabaloo from behind the rocks alerts them to the presence of the others (i.e., Tamao, Chiyo, Yaya, Hikari, although what *she’s* doing there, I have no idea, Chikaru and her whole harem.) Shizuma admits that she swims naked. Not. And Yaya decides to take a swim in her underwear. She pulls off her clothes and SHOCK! She’s the one with the scandalously not infantile underwear! Yaya points out that white underwear is prohibited at Spica and starts to undress Hikari to prove it.

With the sound of all the others frolicking in the surf – assumably in their underwear – Nagisa and Shizuma have more asexually romantic time.

The next to last track is cast comments, all of which are short. Some are downright hysterical. Tamao’s voice actress, Shimizu Ai (Hatsuki in Yami to Boushi to Hon no Tabibito, Mikoto in Mai Hime/Otome) comments, quite acerbically, that she had to talk alot about underwear, didn’t she? Amane’s seiyuu, Kaida Yuko, (Minako from Marimite, Ryomou from Ikkiitousen) hopes that she’ll have more lines in the “Spica Volume” and Kagome’s seiyuu, Fukui Yukari, comments, finally, that Percival (Kagome’s teddybear) is interested in underwear. This last made me laugh out loud.

The final track is a preview of the “St. Spica Ben” the second volume of this Drama CD series. It includes such drama-filled excitement as “Yaya sexually harrasses Hikari in the shower” and “Kaname and Momomi bathe together.”

While I don’t think this DCD will win awards for plot, character or…well, anything…it wasn’t anything as awful as the Mai Otome Drama CD – and it wasn’t openly ripping off memes from other, better series, except in the most general way.

Ratings:

Story – 3
Characters – 3 (If you didn’t already know them, you’d have no idea who was who or why.)
Yuri – 7
Service – 9

Overall – 5

If this were an episode of the anime, people would trash it, but forget they hated it by the end. ^_^ Be that as it may, this, and many other Yuri Drama CDs are available from Amazon Japan through the Yuricon Shop!