Archive for the Yuri Anime Category


Yuri Anime: Ikkitousen DVD, Vol. 1 (English)

September 9th, 2004

The most amazing thing about this DVD is that it was a birthday present from my parents. It marks the first time *ever* that I got exactly what I wanted for my birthday – and it only took 39 years. ^_^

Despite the original threat to title this series “Battle Vixens” (and after Tokyopop actually released the manga of said series with this name) the name seem to have survived semi-intact. A step forward for fans everywhere. ^_^ Amazon lists the titles as Ikki Tosen but the DVD itself appears to be spelled correctly, sans space and with “u” – i.e, Ikkitousen

In any case, the packaging is really quite decent. No changes from the Japanese packaging – same reversible cover, Hakufu on one side,  Ryomou on the other. Inserts included a 2-sided mini pencil board, again Hakufu on one side, Ryomou on the other, both artistically naked – *and* a mini-poster of Hakufu and Ryomou. So, honestly, can’t complain there…it was all pretty good get. Four episodes always seems like a bit of a rip-off to me, but given the price and the decent freebies, it’s not *that* bad a deal – I still remember the days when the same price would have netted me two dubbed episodes on a VHS tape, with nothing inside but a market-research card. ^_^

I felt that the translators were a little prudish for this series – after all, its a pretty pervy series and there’s a fair bit of semi-explicit or downright explicit language, cursing, etc. For instance, when we first see Ryomou fight, she shouts, “I’m climaxing!” which is a bit silly. No one says that… And once or twice they miss a really good line by translating it a bit conservatively. I was all ready to trash the use of honorifics again, but by the end of the DVD I realize that basically no one in the beginning really *uses* honorifics much, so they just dropped them altogether for the few uses here and there, which worked fine. It’s sort of a shame, IMHO, because the few uses of honorifics are really quite wonderful, especially Hakufu calling Ryomou, “Mou-chan.” That name alone is worth using the damn honorifics, but…whatever.

Story wise, Ikkitousen remains one of the lamest-ass anime series ever. ^_^ The basic plot is that ancient Chinese fighters from the famous Chinese epic The Romance of the Three Kingdoms have been reborn as Japanese high school students. Go figure. The episodes are filled with such excessive fanservice that only pervs would really enjoy that part. But at the end of every episode, they give you a crumb of a plot, that makes you actually *care* for a second, until the waves of tedious and awkward panty shots wears you down again.

The fights are brutal, but not well choreographed. It’s a lot of “ki” use – so we don’t see much technique, but lots of coughing up blood. Only Ryomou appears to have *any* technique of any kind. (She does what it called “submission fighting,” i.e., she relies on joint locks and choke holds. I’ve done a fair bit of that myself – although in a *completely* different style than hers! No maid outfits. ^_^ I can honestly say that I sympathize with Ryomou quite a bit. Take that as you will.)

There’s no Yuri in the first volume – but I know that we’ll get some later, from the most unlikely character in the series. mind you….

Ratings:
Art – 6
Story – 2, with flashes of 7
Character – 8. They are the only reason to watch this piece of crap. ^_^
Yuri – 0 here, but later volumes it’ll shoot up to 10
Service – 9
Overall – 5

This is a pervy shounen series with little to no redeeming value, but I like it anyway, mostly for Ryomou and later, Ryofu and Chinkyuu. ^_^





Yuri Anime: The Return of Kekko Kamen?

August 11th, 2004

In a report from Chibicon, ADV has said that they are planning a release of Kekko Kamen (aka Kekkou Kamen) on DVD, with a new dub. Finally, a modern audience will be able to experience the truly wonderful wackiness that is Kekkou Kamen! Let us all rejoice!

Of course, yuri fans know not to watch the dub, right? Because if you watch the dub, you’ll miss the dulcet tones of Shinohara Emi, seiyuu of reknown, who voiced yuri fave Sailor Jupiter/Kino Makoto in Sailor Moon, and is now captivating audiences as Mizuno Youko/Rosa Chinensis in Maria-sama ga Miteru. Shinohara Emi plays the heroine in Kekko Kamen with panache and even sings the fantastic theme, Kekkou Kamen no Uta.

I reviewed Kekko Kamen back on April 8. Please check out that review, then, when ADV releases it on DVD, you’ll be all primed and ready for the nude escapades of this particular fighter for love and justice. :-) And remember – buy your yuri anime legitimately and be a real human. Annoy Bill at Anime Castle by sending him messages that you want to pre-order a copy – he loves getting email from yuri fans begging him to sell them stuff. :-)

And speaking of Go Nagai, dubs and nude escapades, here’s a review of the dub of Go Nagai’s Devilman Lady. Again, yuri fans may want to skip the dub altogether and instead enjoy the voice talent of Iwao Junko, who also voiced Daidouji Tomoyo from Card Captor Sakura.

All this Go Nagai goodness has made me want to go listen to the Devilman Lady soundtrack. I’ll catch you tomorrow!





Yuri Anime: Maria-sama ga Miteru – Haru

July 20th, 2004

mgsmhA few things occured to me as I watched the first three episodes of Maria-sama ga Miteru – Haru. This series really deserves a careful rewatching of the first season. There are many things which make a lot more sense the second time around – and many more clues to the characters’ natures that weren’t immediately obvious upon the first viewing, when we were focused on getting the sense of the words.

But I’ll save all that for another day. Right now, I just want to linger lovingly over the beginning of the new Marimite season.

The first episode is a flashback to the previous New Year’s day, where we see Yumi and Sachiko still feeling each other out as soeur. The story line shows how much Sei has become part of Yumi’s life – in my opinion Sei is acting more as sempai to Yumi than anyone else, including either of her grand soeur. The underlying theme is that Yumi learns – from an outside, if not entirely unbiased source, Kashiwagi – that Sachiko really seems to enjoy being with her. If we recall, in the Rosa Canina arc, Yumi was still unsure *how* to be with Sachiko, so this is one more step in the development of their relationship. The Valentine’s day “date” was another – allowing Yumi to take control for a little while. The story is meant to set the tone for the season – that was then, now it’s spring, and we’re all ready to move on, but before we do…

The second episode gives us some insight into Eriko – a hitherto mysterious and aloof personality. We learn two key things about her – she’s impulsive and she likes things she perceives as unusual. We also learn, incidentally, that she’s the straightest girl in the cast. In the beginning, she muses that she doesn’t want to go to college, and when Yumi suggests she enter the workforce, she’s surprised by the idea because all she really wants is to be married. She then rejoices in being compared to a dinosaur, (but not for the obvious reasons, which was kind of funny.) My take-away from this episode is that Eriko is far more flaky than we could have possibly known. But her choice of Rei as soeur makes a bit more sense now. LOL

The third episode deals with the imminent departure of the current Rosas. This is a big step for the story and it’ll take up at least two episodes…but it’s inevitable and necessary for the characters, especially Shimako and Yumi, to develop. In the third episode, Sei takes advantage of Yumi’s earnest nature and tells her that it’s traditional for the petite souer to hold a talent show for the departing Rosas. (I am unconvinced, but the ploy works – Yumi is not as cynical as I am.) The key factor is that for once, Yumi – in public and everything – relaxes a little, and as a result, so does Sachiko. I think this is a HUGE factor in allowing Sei and Youko to leave with no regrets.

The next episode looks like it’s going to be a big emotion-fest as we say goodbye to the old Rosas. I’m looking forward to seeing Yumi step up to become Rosa Chinensis en bouton, and even more to watch Shimako meet Noriko. I am sad that we have spent so little time, relatively, with Youko, but this series is always forward-looking and I too, have no regrets about the departure of the Rosas. (Although I hope that the series continues and we do get as far as the trip to Italy and the reappearance of Rosa Canina and Sei.)

As for aesthetics, if anything I think the opening and closing credits are improved – the lyrics for “Pastel Pure,” the OP, are lovely and appropriately sung by our Yuri goggle favorite, the Ali Project. The closing credit images up the Yuri quotient considerably. I defy *anyone* to tell me that the image of Shimako and Noriko isn’t hot. ^_^

All in all, top scores for Maria-sama ga Miteru – Haru. Characters, story, music, Yuri and overall are still strong ‘9’s across the board.

This series is a definite keeper and a worthy poster child for Yuri fans everywhere.





Yuri Anime: Read or Dream The TV, Vol. 1

July 12th, 2004

Part 2

So, Upon rewatching the saga of the three paper sisters and erstwhile writing prodigy, I find that my initial reactions to the storyline and characters are little changed from my initial viewing.

The main thing about the first four episodes is the omnipresence of Yomiko Readman made plain through her absence. From the locket around Nenene’s neck, to the paper-using skills of Michelle, Maggie and Anita, the picture on Nenene’s desk, her search for information, etc., etc., Yomiko’s presence fills every second of this series. It almost seems as if she’s a kind of guardian spirit – which, of course, she isn’t. Future episodes will reveal how very human she is, but at this point, we don’t really know that yet.

I am also impressed with how much of a curmudgeon Nenene has become at 20. It’s taken me nearly twice that long to become so grumpy. My hat’s off to her.

As for the Paper Sisters…they are both more and less annoying that the first time. It strikes me much more this time how innocent and…unfinished…they all seem. It may be 20/20 hindsight, but they really aren’t quite human at this point. Like Maggie throwing out furniture to “clean” the apartment. No one would really do that, unless they had no experience of human interaction.

On the other hand, Anita, who I initially loathed, I find myself watching with more interest. Her annoying qualities seem less pronouced to me, this time around.

However, I still maintain that the second episode of this series is vile. Unfunny, irritating and in many ways pointless, it sets the characters on the board, true, but also annoyed the living daylights out of me. Both times.

For a first volume of an anime seires, however, it’s a pretty damn good beginning. A strong beginning, the weaknesses of the second episode pretty much made up for by good third and excellent fourth episodes. By the time you finish the first volume, there’s more than enough to work with in terms of character and the plot has, at least in part, appeared. Compare this with something like Bakuretsu Tenshi, which took something like 13 episodes to develop any kind of plot.

Fanservice comes in many flavors in ROD The TV. Whether you’re into Gainax bounces, loli, yuri, shota, androgyny, evil psychotics, it’s all pretty much in there, somewhere.

All in all, as anime series go, ROD The TV is still one of the best I’ve ever seen, and Volume 1 is a pretty strong start to an amazing series.

Overall – 9 out of 10 for character, plot, design, writing.





Yuri Anime: ROD The TV, Vol. 1

July 8th, 2004

Okay, so last month, I picked up the first DVD of ROD The TV.

While the story and characters remain excellent (and the subject of the next entry,) this DVD release does have some issues.

Let’s start from the beginning…the packaging. Geneon had this oh-so-clever idea about the packaging. They’ve made it look like a book with the “pages” being slots for actual disks. Let me be clear – not like usual box sets with room for DVD cases – this “book” only accepts the disk itself. For this neat look, one pays nearly ten dollars more than the regular price of the DVD alone. Here’s the problem though – what to do with the other DVD cases that one will have to buy when one gets the next volumes? Good question. Throw them out and lose the art? Cut them up? Stick them, empty, on your already overcrowded shelves? It’s up to you. And there is no, say, discount for future purchases of non-boxed DVDs, which is what *I* would have done – offered $5 off for every future volume you buy in a non-over packaged form.

For your extra money you get a $3 pencil baord with Michelle in semi-transparent clothing in a “sexy” pose and Anita looking appropriately loli on the other side. What will they think of next? Maggie in a lace teddy? I shudder to think.

Now, let’s move onto the DVD itself – the main menu is fantastic. Abolutely the best I’ve ever seen on a licensed DVD. It’s made up to look like the ToC of a book and makes sense, is easy to figure out and navigate. Kudos on that.

The English language track is okay. Personally, I can never stand to watch the dubs, because no matter how much better North American voice actors and actresses are getting, they never really sound natural. And they always cock up the pronunciation of the characters names. It’s about rhythm and phonics. For examples of the dub, check out that official site – you can watch clips with the dub track. It’s not painful, just not my cup of tea.

So, that brings us to the Japanese track and the….subtitles. *They* were painful. Once again, the DVD was made with the assumption that English-speaking viewers are morons who cannot, under any circumstances, understand the relationships expressed by honorifics. Here’s my rant from the Yuricon Mailing List:

“Maggie-chan” became “Maggie dear,” while “Anita-chan” just becomes “Anita” and all the ” -‘nee” endings Anita uses disappear, except when Nenene insists that Anita call her “Nenene-‘nee” (which is really awful in *any* language.) So then, the translators capitulate and use “big sister” as they do when Maggie calls Michelle “onee-san.”

You see the problem. Translating “-chan” as dear, regardless of the actual relationship is awkward and, in many case, incorrect. Drives me nuts. Inexplicably, they simply ignore the existence of “-kun.”

I think I may very well start attending Industry panels, just to ask them what the deal with the honorifics are. If we *all* do that, maybe they’ll get a clue. Send ’em a letter, because emails bounce and don’t look as real as a bag full of “Leave the honorifics alone, please” letters.

I would also have much preferred 5 episodes on the first volume. If it were me, 26 episodes would be on 6 volumes, with 5 episodes on the first and last volume. It seems fair-ish, even though we all know it could really be on 3 or 4 DVDs comfortably. But TPTB (The Powers That Be) are releasing it on *7* DVDs! What’s that 5 of 4 episodes and 2 of…3? That’s pretty cheesy, IMHO.

So, while ROD The TV remains an *excellent* series and chock-full o’yuri, the Volume 1 DVD is, at best, a 6.