Archive for the Yuri Anime Category


Yuri Anime: Maria-sama ga Miteru OAV 1, Vacation of the Lambs

December 17th, 2006

Buy the raw, untranslated collector’s (and therefore more expensive) edition of the Maria-sama ga Miteru OAV, Volume 1: Kohitsujitachi no Kyuuka (Vacation of the Lambs)? What are you, insane?

You betcha. ^_^

The outside has a lovely clear plastic cover with Yumi and Sachiko holding hands, over the actual cover that has a red rose and “La Vierge Marie vous Regarde”, as you can see in the picture above.

Inside is a faux-leather novel cover with the Lillian seal on one side and the text logo for “Maria-sama ga Miteru” on the other, with a very cute leaf bookmark.

There is also a Lillian folder with postcards – original art by Hibiki Reine of Yumi and Sachiko holding hands, of Yumi and Sachiko separately, of the DVD cover and the three rose families from the opening credits.

The DVD cover is, IMO not such a great picture, but it does show a happily embracing Yumi and Sachiko. And for once, the title of the story actually sounds *worse* in French. ^_^ The booklet that comes with the DVD has character designs for all the characters.

I thought it the anime was excellent. They kept “Pastel Pure” as the OP, which made me glad, and they managed to actually de-angst what is really the last of the angsty Yumi novels. Yes, they cut stuff out to fit it, and a very few changes were made – but nothing of consequence and nothing that radically altered the story. In general, a very decent adaptation.

My *only* complaint…we don’t get to see/hear Touko play the violin. I wonder why, since we get all the other performances. And I am thrilled no end that Kashiwagi exlpains that Great-Grandmother isn’t infirm, she’s just pissed. (Although, you don’t get the full explanation, just a truncated one. )

They definitely upped the touchy-feelyness of the story, leaving in pretty much every embrace and hand/arm holding. There was a moment when Sachiko and Yumi decide to go to the party that was animated exactly the way kiss scenes are done – close up, then the a view from far away, which cued up the “romantic moment” tag in my head. The image stands out in my mind, because the surroundings are animated with a lot of detail and color. It’ll make a nice screencap.

Last night I watched it for the third time (the first straight through, the second for a script check and the third with the seiyuu commentary. The seiyuu present are Ueda Kana (Yumi), Itou Miki (Sachiko) and Ikezawa Haruna (Yoshino) and it’s pretty much like sitting in the middle of them as they watch what’s going on (or don’t, when they get distracted.) They wander in an out of talking about the characters as if they were real, as if they actual are the characters, and as if they are just three women sitting around watching an anime. ^_^ They discuss Mount Fuji, gasp and squeal at key points (point out the service) and laugh about random events in the story. It’s a very relaxed, not at all profound, commentary – and the bits I was able to follow were thoroughly enjoyable.

As is usual for an OAV, it’s better quality animation than the TV series. And if you check out the credits a few familiar names scroll by – including Bee Train. The character designs are strong – stronger than I had feared. I was particularly concerned with Sachiko because of the DVD cover picture, but she looks great throughout. And when the Yamayurikai all show up in day clothes, they somehow managed to convey their personalities in what they are wearing. (I *will* be annoyed about one of the character designs for the next OAV, be warned. Oh…and what was with Yuuki’s hair??)

The characters all remain charming. Three times I’ve watched it, and three times, I’ve grinned like a loon at the end.

As I always say, this series will never be half as popular with the lowest common denominator as Strawberry Panic, which is yet another good sign that Marimite is really quality in every way. ^_^

Ratings:

Art – 8
Character – 10
Story – 8
Yuri – 4
Service – 1 for fetishism, 9 for gooping like a loon at the screen because you’re a total fan.

Overall – 8

Good story, wonderful characters, romantic without being slimy and generally fun. Total thumbs up for everything – the goods, the DVD, even the box.





Yuri Anime: Kaleido Star Good dayo! Gooood!

October 20th, 2006

They are few, brief and far between, but those moments of Sora x Layla love in Kaleido Star make watching this often indifferent, frequently irritating anime worthwhile.

This OVA…well, frankly I have no idea who this OVA was targeted to or what they were thinking when they made it. It’s done entirely in CG, with super-deformed art that makes all the characters look like DDR icons or something. It’s 2 parts disturbing to 1 part cute. (On second thought, what “they” were thinking was probably “How can we do a KS brand extension without spending too much money?”)

In any case, this OVA is split into three parts. The first is a “cooking lesson” by May with students Layla and Sora. The second part is Ken being a nebbish as he tries to learn the Diablo from Rosa and the third is an absolutely excruciating gag as Marion and Jonathan the Seal attemtpt to teach Sora to speak seal.

Only the first of these is of interest to Yuri fans.

To be more precise, only the first of these was of interest to *this* Yuri fan.

There are several cute moments as May teaches enthusiastic Sora and pampered Layla how to cook a particularly spicy tofu dish. I actually took a screencap of the lava-like end product, because it was a particularly amusing bit of animation.

But much more importantly, Sora and Layla have a brief moment of Yuri wooja-wooja which, if May hadn’t interrupted it…

Anyway, the OVA as a whole was okay, but the first segment was amusing. Not the logical sequel to the magnificent Legend of Phoenix: Layla Hamilton Monogatari OVA, but if you’re already a fan of the series, its not the worst waste of your time. Not like, say, episodes 27-40 were.

One thing I did very much like, the OP is the original theme from the first season of the TV series, sung by the voice actresses as their characters. And, although they have pretty much no lines in the OVA itself, that included Anna and Mia.

Ratings:

Art – CG/SD. Meh. 4
Characters – 6
Story – 6/4/2 for each section respectively
Yuri – for one brief flash, 7.
Service – surprisingly for this series, no Fool, and no noticeable service. 1, on principal.

Overall – The first segment 6, the second a 4, and the third a 2, for an average of 4.





Yuri Anime: Strawberry Panic

September 28th, 2006

Here are my final thoughts on Strawberry Panic as I expressed them on Zyl’s most excellent blog Hontou ni so omou?:

Considering the fact that this story is really no more than a collage of recognizable scenes, stereotypes and conventions taken openly from other series, I have to say, I thought it turned out pretty good.

There’s no denying that Strawberry Panic wasn’t brilliant, but considering that it was meant to be trashy, it pulled out a few moments of dignity and elegance out of the trash heap.

As stolen memes go, using the (admittedly obvious) one from The Graduate for the final episode made a satisfactory semi-resolution.

Yes Miyuki and Tamao are still doomed to lives of loneliness and alcoholism, but as clones of Youko and Tomoyo that was their fate from the very beginning. In other news, the Shizuma x Nagisa, Amane x Hikari, Kaname x Momomi and in a surpising late entry Yaya x Tsubomi pairs all live *happily ever after!* or some reasonable facsimile thereof, until bad fanfic writers kill one of the pair off in a heavy-handed attempt to create crisis and re-pair the other with someone else.

But I digress.

No, SP is not a diamond in the rough, but let us call it an attractive riverstone, washed suprisingly clean and shiny by the many, many, MANY tons of water that has flowed downstream from clearer and cleaner sources. ^_^

…

Considering that I began watching this anime with something akin to loathing, I might have to retract the “not brilliant” comment. It must be some kind of decent/funny/entertaining for me to have 180’ed so thoroughly. I’m not sure if it’s a case of the story becoming real and richer despite itself – as parodies are wont to do, just ask any fanfic writer – or the writers managed to find something unique to play with within the framework of the openly stolen memes. I’m inclined towards the former, as I’ve read many a story that started as a 2-dimensional parody/ripoff that suddenly morphed, without the author being really cognizant of the moment of change, into a decent-ish story.

There’s a great scene in Dorothy L. Sayers Strong Poison where mystery author Harriet Vane is bemoaning that very thing to a only-partially sympathetic Lord Peter Wimsey. He, quite rightly, insists that if a writer is going to write anything worth reading then, when the moment comes, s/he must shed the potboiler facade and *write* – conscience be damned. I’d like to think that that was happened here.

What began as thin, barely 2-dimensional trash developed a personality, while never losing that sense of “what can we steal this week?” So, let’s call Strawberry Panic the clever, fun-to-be-around street whore of a Yuri series that it is. ;-)





Yuri Anime: Strawberry Marshmallow, Volume 1

September 19th, 2006

Boy oh boy, had I forgotten how sticky the opening theme of this anime is…now I’ll have it in my head for a week.

So here we are, looking down the barrel of Strawberry Marshmallow, aka Ichigo Mashimaro. And it’s still cute.

I cannot tell you how *annoying* I find it, that’s it’s so damn cute. And girly cute, no less. And giggly. God, if anyone ever saw me giggling at this, I’d never be able to show my face in public again…

…and this isn’t even my favorite volume.

So, I realize that I never really covered any of the episodes specifically in any of my earlier reviews, but I did capture the essence of the series: cute girls doing things cutely.

The first volume is primarily an introduction to our five principals. Itou Nobue, 20 for the anime, so they can leave in all the smoking and drinking gags, her younger sister Chika, 12, annoying next-door neighbor Miu, who is undoubtedly the star of the series, adorable English girl Ana 11, who has forgotten how to speak English and Matsuri, 11, crybaby and everyone’s punching bag.

There is no plot in this series, just a series of goofy gags strung along through the mostly-normal lives of the five girls. School, work, playing games like “let’s pretend” that kind of thing. Or, it would all be normal, except Evil Psychotic Lesbian(TM)-in training Miu always seems to make everything turn out strangely.

And that’s why we watch. Because Miu is crazy. And we love it. ;-)

This US release includes some extras, but nothing exciting. 4 episodes on the first volume, a mini-poster, a reversible case cover and oh boy! a non-credit opening! But I’ve got all the Ichigo Mashimaro dollies I can stand from Dengeki Daioh (and a few I can’t stand,) and US releases never have anything really good anway, except the occasional pencil board (and even those are terrifying at times, like the ROD The TV pencil boards.) More importantly, Geneon has included the clever and rewarding $3 coupon for one of the next two volumes, which I heartily approve of. In fact, let me once again offer up for free, my advice on how to get us fans to buy more DVDs.

1) Include a pre-order form or URL for the next volume in the series. Offer a discount for pre-ordering.

2) Include the same coupon, which provides another discount, thus bringing the cost down to what appears to be a really reasonable price.

3) Offer deeper discounts to people who pre-order the whole series, box sets or thinpaks. Send us whole sets, not one disk in a box and make us buy each other disk separately.

In other words, give us *incentive* and we will buy. Otherwise, get used to selling lots of Volume 1s. This coupon is a baby step in the right direction.

Ratings:

Art – 5 Looks like the manga. Yup.
Story – 7 – If you get past the hump that there is none.
Characters – 7 -This is a completely character-driven series. More specifically Miu drives it.
Yuri – 2- If you can call Miu’s crush on Nobue, and Nobue’s thing for Ana and Matsuri “yuri.” Which is entirely in the eye of the beholder.
Service – 7 – Just because of the essential loli-ness of series and author.

Overall – 7

Don’t drink soda while you watch this series, though. You’re liable to suddenly spurt it out your nose.





Yuri Anime: Stellvia, Volume 8

August 17th, 2006

Twice, I thought over how I would approach reviewing this, the final volume of Stellvia. Twice I thought about the plot, the characters, the Yuri, and twice I had the same thought: Battle Atheletes.

These two series have quite a lot in common. Both are series that ran in Dengeki Daioh magazine, both have lead females whose extraordinary talents save the world, and both have a cast of supporting characters that are more interesting than the lead herself.

So let’s do a compare/contrast for fun. To start let’s compare the Yuri:

Battle Athletes clearly wins here. There are so many potential couples – many of whom make *sense* and are not just random pairings of two women who stand next to each other on the screen. And there are at minimum, two canon couples – especially if we count the manga. Mylandah and Lahrri and Kris and Akari are couples. No ifs, and or buts. In contrast Stellvia has only one Yuri couple, but a very decent one it is. I once again enjoyed the heck out of Yayoi’s and Ayaka’s public acknowledgment of their feelings. Not as good as Kris’ and Akari’s manga kiss, but just as public. ^_^

Comparing them as space stories:

Stellvia wins, no question. While both series have invading aliens, threats to the planet and the like, the Battle Athletes anime has so many other, incredibly stupid add-ons to the basic formula that even thinking about it makes me squirm. Stellvia sticks with bug-eyed monsters and a gigantic threatening alien energy menace.  I think, perhaps, the aliens in BA might have not been so bad if they hadn’t chosen the stupidest plot complication EVER as their means of attack.

But, as I thought it over, the real point of comparison has to be their lead characters. And this is why, both times, my mind connected the two. Because once again, Stellvia is vastly superior. Akari from Battle Athletes is the typical idiot savant character. She can do NOTHING right, ever, no matter how hard she tries. But she never really tries, until a crisis occurs and her innate skills mystically pop into overdrive. (This is far more prominent a theme in the anime than the manga, which was mostly free of this.) At every step up the ladder Akari starts back at the lowest level until a miracle catapults her to the top.

This happens to be something that generally bugs me about anime – one of the main themes of nearly every anime is “hard work” – and especially “teamwork” – will get us to the top. There’s a lot of cultural reasons why this is so that I won’t get into but what bugs me is that, in anime it is so rarely either that really gets anyone to the top. Sailor Moon never really works hard at anything, she just *is*. The same is true for most heroes and heroines of manga and anime. Of course fighting series are full of work, but the heroes follow a similar pattern – they are defeated, then come back and defeat the person who just beat them – usually by having miraculously, sometimes magically, sometimes just from sheer “guts”, powered up a gazillion orders of skill/power.

In stark contrast, Shima works her ass off through the whole series. Volume 8 of Stellvia has scene after scene of her working hard enough to make herself puke. There is the teeniest deus ex machina at the end of the series, at zero hour, when the clock has counted down to one second, etc, etc; but as Shima has spent the entire series actually striving to do this *one* thing, I can forgive it without prejudice.

And her moment of lucidity arrives just as infuriatingly cool – or is that, clueless – Kouta melts down completely. That was worth watching the volume for because that boy was annoying the living daylights out of me.

So, yes, Battle Atheletes has more Yuri, but I genuinely think that Stellvia is the better series. It makes sense. No cows. No transgender psychotic murderous twins, no resurrected dead parents. Just one teeny little handwave and a lot of good solid human moments.

Ratings:

Art – 7 Consistent, mostly, throughout, but never great. The CGI stuff is quite good.
Story – 9 I kept nodding over and over as key “space opera” points were handled, competentely
Characters – 9
Yuri – 7
Service – 3 The uniforms. Ugh.

Overall – 8.5

Stellvia was one of my best anime of 2004. Over here in 2006, it’s still in my top twenty of things I’ll reach for to rewatch. My only regret was that the sequel was never, and will never, be made.