Archive for the Yuri Anime Category


Yuri Anime: Noir, Volume 5

April 17th, 2007

Wow, there’s nothing like taking a step back a few years to really appreciate both what went before and what we have now. I recently sat and rewatched the volume with the most awesome episodes of Sailor Moon (106-109, in case you care) and on the train on the way to a professional conference, I rewatched Noir Volume 5 for the first time in many moons.

Volume 5 of Noir is not high art. It makes the art of Madlax look stunning by comparison, but story-wise, it’s pretty much the lynchpin moment, the moment at which the entire story alters.

It begins with one more foray into Mirielle’s past where she learns the horrible truth about herself – that she is a child of the organization who now hunts her. Turning away from her own past, she now decides to focus on Kirika’s. Kirika, in the meantime, when faced with a choice of knowledge about herself, Noir and Soldats, or saving Mirielle’s life doesn’t hesitate to chose her friend over herself. I say “friend” here, because it seems that that alone is enough of a revelation for both of them, that they might, perhaps, be becoming friends.

When Mirielle reminds Kirika of the promise that they made – that when they both understand who Kirika is and what, exactly Soldats wants, she will kill the younger woman, there is a edginess to it – we can see that that promise is now a lie, even if they can not.

Just as they start to deal with this change in their relationship, it all comes to a crashing halt. Chloe, who has been stalking Kirika from the beginning, shows Mirielle, in an impressive and incontrovertible display of skill, that she and Kirika are the True Noir. Her explanation of what Noir is, and why Noir is, only serves to highlight the gulf between Mirielle and her partner. When Kirika begins to respond to words that Chloe utters, it becomes obvious that Mirielle has lost the battle, if not the war.

This is a very “having loved and lost” kind of volume. We watch Mirielle gain knowledge of her past, but lose some of her understanding of what her childhood meant to her. She gains Kirika as a friend, but loses her as a partner. And she gains understanding of Soldats and Noir, but loses herself in the process.

I found the Noir/Soldats manuscript lines just as silly this time as the last, but somehow – and really, I don’t know how – it all sort of seemed to make perfect sense. Above all, the sense of loss that Mirielle was experiencing at the very end was very poignant and very powerful. And because El Cazador de la Bruja has already begun, I found myself hoping that I care half this much about Nadie and Ellis by the end, as I do about Kirika and Mirielle.

What makes the story here so interesting, is watching Chloe take everything that Mirielle has fought so hard to gain. What makes the rest of the series so interesting is watching Mirielle fight even harder to get it back.

Ratings:

Art – 4
Story – 7
Characters – 8
Yuri – 4
Service – 2

Overall – 7

I still think Chloe’s character design looks weird and out of place, but I guess that kind of works…





Yuri Anime: Maria-sama ga Miteru OAV 3, Suzukaze Satsusatsu

April 12th, 2007

This time, the picture and the title link will link to the Collector’s Edition. For those who might want, here is a link to OAV 3 without extras.

But, before I spend a review gushing about the third Maria-sama ga Miteru OAV, Suzukaze Satsusatsu, I want to finish some business from the second OAV.

My copy of the collector’s edition for the second OAV only just arrived yesterday (a delay that had to do with another item in the order, not the OAV itself.) I thought you might like to know what came with it. ^_^

The box for the second OAV has a plastic thin cover of Yumi and Sachiko superimposed on a red rose (The third, pictured above, has Shimako and Noriko over a white rose.) The film picture can be placed inside the box, which gives you a cute scene of Sachiko fixing Yumi’s collar in front of the statue of Maria-sama. Goodies include original art postcards by Hibiki Reine, and some rather amusing screenshot postcards from the anime. There’s white paper coasters, with both the Lillian crest and the series title. Last, but in no way least, Yumi’s red hair ribbons. ^_^ The last is plain silly, I think. I did not feel any desire to wear them while watching, but I fear that many fans probably did.

I have not yet ordered the third OAV set, since I’m waiting for something else to be available to place my order, but you can be sure that I will be doing so shortly – and I’ll report back, promise.

In the meantime, I’ve had the chance to watch the third OAV twice now…let the gushing begin! Is there be a single person in the world who does not love Sachiko after this? If you are one, I don’t want to know, really. Because she is just *so* wonderful. (The wife says that we should be able to say now, after watching this OAV, that saying you like Sachiko is like saying the sky is blue. lol) Itou Miki and Ueda Kana have really built their characters up from typical stereotypes to just about flesh-and-blood people. But really, eEvery character in this series passes my “would I have them over for lunch?” test with room to spare.

This OAV introduces first-year admirer of Yumi, Hosokawa Kanako, and covers the adventures of the Yamayurikai members as they attend the Hanadera school festival.

There are honestly so many things to like about this OAV, I don’t even know where to begin…the story is absolutely fantastic and the ending just about as ridiculous and romantic at the same time as it can possibly be.

I really liked the voice actress for Kanako. People who follow spoilers, fan art, etc, tend to think the worst of Kanako, so it was a real pleasure for me to see her portrayed at the beginning as a pretty normal person, so that her apparent sudden descent into madness strikes one as really extreme. I liked her voice a lot, as well. It’s very pleasant – when she’s not hysterical, that is. ^_^

The whole Hanadera festival was brilliant. From the extra board tacked onto the festival name (which was in the novel and something I thought was very funny) to the utter randomness of the goings on, I think the feeling of general wackiness was captured well. The look on the girls’ faces as the boys all rushed the scaffolding for the contest was pretty much perfect. (And I couldn’t help but notice that Noriko was the only one who wasn’t completely freaked. As we’d expect from our resident public school girl…)

The lynchpin scene where Yumi is mistaken for Yuuki is short but pretty scary, I thought. And the end of the story, as Sachiko throws off all social propriety and personal fear to run across a field crowded with men and straight into Yumi’s arms…seriously. Do I need to even *say* how wonderful it was? Okay then. It was wonderful. And it’ll be wonderful every time I watch it, I’m sure. When we show it at Yuricon’s 2007 “Yurisai” event, it’ll be just as wonderful as it was the first time. ^_^ If you’re not grinning just then, check your pulse. You’re dead.

Oh, and the moment when Yuuki kneels in front of Sachiko, and the guy who’d just got to the top of the tower does too, as Sachiko looks, speaks and seems so queenly…I thought that was a great touch.

I haven’t watched this yet with the seiyuu commentary, but I enjoyed that track on the first two OAVs, as they get distracted, talk about other stuff, then find themselves watching the anime, captivated, because it’s just so *good.* ^_^

Lastly – the new ending credits. Let’s just say that they up the Yuri rating a few points on their own….

Ratings:

Art – 8
Story – 8
Characters – 9
Yuri – 6
Service – 1

Overall – 9

This one is the best of the bunch so far – but wait, because Ready, Go! is *bound* to be fantastic, with more Yumi x Sachiko moments. ^_^





Yuri Anime: Strawberry Marshmallow, Volume 2

April 10th, 2007

Volume 2 of the Strawberry Marshmallow anime makes me regret that I was such a good kid. Now I wish I could go back and be eviller….

And because I was watching this with Serge, the Cult of Miu now commands three loyal followers. Bwahaha. Or something.

The first episode of the volume, “Sleepover,” is the one that non-Yuri folks argue is not Yuri, and those of us who count ourselves among Yuri fandom argue is Yuri. I say to you, verily it is Yuri. Not on Nobue’s side, but on Miu’s – which makes perfect sense to me as I see her as the very epitome of an Evil Psycho Lesbian-in-training.

But while “Sleepover” is amusing and watching Miu openly vie for Nobue’s attention and love is cute, it is the second episode of the volume that leaves me breathless from laughing. In this chapter we get to enjoy Miu’s brilliant story-telling skills and, incidentally, get to see Chika play along…which reminds us that they are actually friends. (I’m actually sitting here chuckling at Miu and Chika’s version of rock-scissors-paper. Snort, flypaper.) Most importantly, we get a scene which is so visual it’s actually rather difficult to convey in text: Nobue has fallen asleep. Miu challenges the others to stay in the room, but write instead of talk. The contrast of Ana’s obsession about ginger ale, and its relation to frogs, and Miu’s gag art which simply slays Chika (and most of the viewing audience) is simply hysterical.

Miu’s continued sociopathic behavior makes the inevitable trip to the beach and summer festival episodes just about as enjoyable as those old tropes can be made. It’s not that Miu is just a sociopath that makes her funny – it’s that she’s a funny sociopath.

This is probably my favorite volume of the whole series. If you want a giggle or two on a down day, slap this volume in the DVD player…and don’t drink anything unless you want it coming out your nose.

Ratings:

Art – 7
Story – 8
Characters – 9
Yuri – 5
Service – 5

Overall – 8

You ever notice how often the Yuri and Service ratings are the same???

Also, keep food and drink away from your computer keyboard as you watch this volume or disaster is likely to occur. ^_^

Forget to mention, too – this DVD comes with a mini-pencil board which is nice if you like mini pencil boards. (I have converted many people to the gospel of pencil boards. They are just so darn useful.)





Yuri Anime: Loveless, Volume 2

April 4th, 2007

I know, I know, I reviewed Volume 3 of this ages ago, and it’s practically ancient at this point. But I’m making a concerted effort to get through my too-tall “pile of anime I need to watch” and review everything.

First and foremost, today’s review is once again due to the kindness and generosity of the guys at Media Blasters. They gave me this about 7 months ago and I’m just getting to it…good lord.

Secondly, watching Loveless, Volume 2 today was a good reminder that stories make more sense if you watch them in *order*. ^_^

I originally reviewed the Yuri arc of Loveless at the end of 2005, but even then I hadn’t really watched any of the story previous to when Yamato and Kouya appeared. This time, I sat down and watched the episodes – I even paid attention and everything. ;-) And yes, I feel like I have a stronger grasp on the story now. I also can say that this volume is way stronger than Volume 3, Yamato and Kouya aside.

This volume includes a lot of angsting by the hero Ritsuka, a lot of masochistic enduring by his partner-although-they-won’t-admit-it-yet, Soubi, and some darn solid advice by Ritsuka’s therapist. Who lied about her age, IMHO. ^_^ But for our purposes, this volume also has the appearance of the second Zero pair – high school girls, and lovers, Yamato and Kouya.

When they appear, they instantly have a backstory, which is kind of interesting. We don’t get the backstory in this volume, but it’s very obvious that it is there. Unlike, say, the first Zero pair, who remain two-dimensional to the end. Kouya and Yamato also manifest actual intelligence as compared with the twits in the first Zero pair. So right off the bat, they come off looking like a formidable couple. We learn a bunch more in the next two episodes, but they are in Volume 3, so read that review for related gushing praise.

The one thing I wanted to note about this volume was entirely unrelated to anything Yuri at all. After he and Soubi defeat an earlier pair, Kin and Gin (Gold and Silver, for those that like stuff like that,) Ritsuka receives a “strange memo” that somehow relates to his brother’s death – the event that was the catalyst for everything in the series. I had to laugh, because I recognized what that “strange memo” was immediately as a result of my job. I don’t know what age the audience for Loveless is (I thought the magazine it ran in, Comic Rex was for adults, but I have no idea, really) but I guess the average manga/anime fan isn’t going to recognize a….well, I won’t spoil it. It’s not very exciting anyway. Beats me how it could help Ritsuka. I could look it up, if it were real. ^_^

One last note – I was amazed at the excellence of the voice acting cast. This anime got star treatment. And it shows. I’m almost tempted to take a look at the manga and find out what happens now.

Ratings:

Art – 7
Story – 8
Character – 8
Music – 5
Yuri – 8
Loser FanGirl – 20

Overall – 7

Either I’m in a significantly better mood today than when I reviewed Volume 3, or the quality drops off massively for the next volume. I have no clue which it is.





Yuri Anime: Ninja Nonsense, Volume 1

April 1st, 2007

First off, today’s review is brought to you by Sergio Aviles, who sent me this as part of my holiday beg-a-thon. (And, once again, should *you* desire to sponsor a review, feel free to pick something from my Amazon Wishlist. It will be greatly appreciated and you will be thanked!)

It’s standard operating wackiness (S.O.W.) in Ninja Nonsense, Volume 1. As I commented in my original review of Ninin ga Shinobuden, the entire plot of this series can be summed up as “wackiness ensues.”

It all begins when high school student Shiranui Kaede is sitting around not studying for her finale exam when female ninja-in-training Shinobu enters her room, and her life. Shinobu is on a quest for schoolgirls’ underwear in order to pass her ninja exam. And that’s about the way the whole series goes. ^_^ Something normal (flower viewing) is complicated by something silly (monsoon) and then something inexplicable happens (crocodile eats Onsokomaru.)

The whole series is a parody of just about everything you can imagine, from the expected ninja tropes to pervy otaku behavior. Shinobu’s master, Onsokomaru, is a yellow sphere with major “Id” control issues, and her partners in training are a pleasant pack of pathetic ninjas who are all called Sasuke, for ease of identification.

Despite the constant threat of severe pervification, there’s really only a little bit of nudity, butt jokes and related potty humor in the series. Onsokomaru and the ninjas are representative of a 15-year old’s worldview. So the humor is crude. Very.

In the Yuri department we have Shinobu, who early on develops a raging crush on Kaede. In her own incompetent way she pursues Kaede – on the one hand, it won’t come to much, on the other, she gets further than most boys do in non-hentai anime, so…take your pick. ^_^ This is typical one-sided “comedy” yuri.

What makes this series worth watching is how darn silly it is. I was re-watching this volume with the above-mentioned Serge and his lovely wife, and we were all giggling like crazy. It’s S.O.W. but it’s *funny* S.O.W. With some Yuri, too.

Ratings:

Art – 7, but irrelevant, as it’s a goofball series
Story – 7 – ditto
Characters – 7
Yuri – 6
Service – 6

Overall – 7

As a ninja story, it fails utterly. As a series to take your brain off-line with, fine and dandy.