Archive for the Yuri Anime Category


Yuri Anime: ROD The TV

December 4th, 2003

By far and away, the standout anime on Japanese TV this season has got to be R.O.D. The TV.

R.O.D. (this time it stands for Read or Dream) is the television anime sequel to Read or Die, the three-episode OVA. Amazingly, R.O.D. the TV is a melding of the OVA, the Light Novels and original R.O.D. manga story-lines  -something that seems unlikely considering how unrelated they were, but is executed in the most astonishingly competent way.

ROD the TV begins four years after the OVA. Yomiko Readman, aka The Paper, has been missing for the past four years. Sumiregawa Nenene, the author that Yomiko so admired in the original R.O.D. manga, has fallen into a slump, at least in part because of Yomiko’s absence. Where in the original manga Nenene was a hyperactive, over-achieving and slightly callous young author, the 20-year old Nenene is far more mature, and more than a little melancholy.

The series begins as Nenene visits Hong Kong to be present for the opening of a movie based on one of her novels. Because there is some concern for her safety, she is assigned three rather scattered young women as her “bodyguards.” In an action-filled and very well-crafted episode, these three sisters turn out to be paper users, just like the missing Yomiko. The first episode looks and sounds like a James Bond movie (a feeling accentuated by the three sisters being named after three popular female HK action movie actresses.)

In the end, the three sisters, quiet, butchy Maggie, flighty Michelle and cynical Anita return to Japan with Nenene to be her bodyguards. At which point the truly most amazing transformation occurs – the entire anime shifts gears.

It took me a while to figure out what was going on. From high-powered, intense action in the first episode, the second appears to be written by a completely different group altogether. Then, bizarrely, so does the third…and the fourth episodes…at which point I realized just what was going on. The episodes switch back and forth between shounen and shoujo style writing. In the shounen episodes, we follow the efforts of the three sisters, as they battle vampires, adventurers and opportunists to retrieve rare books for the mysterious company “Dokusensha.” In the shoujo episodes, we follow the sisters and their relationship with Nenene,and Japan in general. Each of these episodes reads like a different kind of book – one a romance, one a suspense novel, etc…

Somewhere about episode eight I realized that this series is, by far and away, the most finely crafted anime I’d ever seen, in terms of writing. As we learn that Dokusensha isn’t what it seems, we are reintroduced to some old friends, Joker and Wendy, who may not be our friends this time, and introduced to new ones like Junior, a mysterious young boy who shares the phasing ability Nancy, aka Miss Deep, had in the OVA. And all through this, every episode is filled with the spirit of Yomiko who affects this series so strongly by her absence, that one is literally on the edge of one’s seat every time. Even the use of music is breathtaking in this series.

So, where’s the Yuri, you ask? Everywhere. Nenene claims she is not “in love” with Yomiko, but her behavior belies the fact. It’s obvious to anyone who has ever had an absent lover that she is, in fact, very in love with Yomiko. But that’s not all – the three sisters have very ambiguous sexuality, but their sensuality is obvious. Nenene picks on butchy Maggie constantly in ways that one could consider Yuri fan service.

But the real relationship in the series is left for Anita, the youngest of the sisters. In the beginning, Anita seems asif she’ll be no more than another annoying young girl character, but its not long before the viewer comes to realize that she is, in fact, the star of the series…R.O.D. is, quite literally, all about her. Anita is enrolled in a local school and almost immediately she and Shiishi Hisami
become friends. Their relationship is very real and very sweet and fills at least one entire episode with smiles and nods for us Yuri fans.

But here’s the kicker…the series is only half over.

So far, the first 13 episodes of ROD the TV have been *amazing*. So catch up, with the rest of us and sit down with your popcorn to find out just what this brilliant team of writers will do for the second half!

Ratingss:
Animation – uneven
Music – 9
Character – 10
Story – 10
Yuri – 7

Overall – 12 ;-)

Watch the best new series this season. Then join the Yuricon Mailing List and rant and rave about it with us. :-)





Yuri Anime: Stellvia of the Universe

November 4th, 2003

If you haven’t yet seen Stellvia of the Universe…you should. It’s a space opera, plain and simple, with some of the typical cliches of the genre: threat from outer space, humans bonding together to confront the universal foe, young boy and girl become heroes, etc., etc. However, this hardly describes the complexity, not only of the characters in Stellvia, but also the plot.

The initial plot is resolved by episode 10, leaving the viewer with the feeling that either something big is going to happen, or that the writers were even lazier than usual. Luckily, the former is true. A second plot structure develops which is completely *unlike* the first, and focuses on how humanity is as likely to be divisive as it is to unite at the advent of a threat.

Despite the decent plot of Stellvia, the show’s strength lies in its characters, most of whom are fleshed out enough to be genuinely satisfying. While the lead character is a bit weepy, she’s delightfully free of whining. Her friends are in many ways more realistic and three-dimensional than she is, and almost all of the characters are better than the lead male who is dopey and unrealistically gifted by turns. The *real* strength of the story is in the byplay between the secondary characters and the relationships that form between them. All of the dialogue is amazingly age-appropriate. The teenaged characters actually *sound* like teenagers…even their disagreements are rendered realistically.

At the heart of Stellvia is not one love story, but four. There’s little doubt that the lead male and female will get together, but an unlikely relationship between two of their friends is rendered exceptionally well. There’s a romance between an “older” (i.e., adult) couple, which I found goofy, but charming, and lastly, a lesbian romance which is painful and fascinating. From my perspective, it was obvious, but at the end, Stellvia offers us one of the most delightful “coming out” scenes ever, as it’s done on an open radio channel in front of the whole world – quite literally. It’ll have you grinning like a moron, trust me.

One last added benefit, Stellvia actually *ends*! With a resolution that makes sense and everything… and an epilogue that ties together all the threads. So on that note alone, this series stands out above others.

Ratings:

Art, Stellvia scores only a 6 – I found the main characters drawn to look much too young for their ages

Story, though, scores a 9.

Yuri- this is not a hot lesbo sex story, but the relationship between the two women is as present and accounted for as any other. I’ll give it an 8.

Overall – 8 out of 10 , mostly because of the great ending.

 

 





Yuri Anime: Autumn 2003 Season

August 15th, 2003

Watch for upcoming series Air Master and Steel Angel Kurumi Second. They couldn’t be more different, but they have one thing in common, they are as yuri as can be. Air Master is the story of a female street fighter who used to be a champion gymnast. Steel Angel Kurumi is one of what I call the “Paper Doll” anime, also known as bishoujo. The main plot is pretty much non-existent, but we see Kurumi dressed in a variety of cute girl outfits. There’s one legit lesbian character and everything, but no story to speak of.

So you think you know shoujo?

As I labored to assist Animerica with a Must-Read List” for shoujo manga fans, I noted that there are many mangaka who are incredibly popular and well-known in Japan, who have been shaping shoujo manga for a gazillion years there, but whose names are practically unknown here in America. I thought it would be fun to make this into a game.

Each time I update, I’ll put out the name of one of these well-known mangaka, and you have to email me at [email protected] with *three* titles that the mangaka has written. The first person to send me correct titles wins. But there’s a catch, of course. :-) I didn’t want this to be too easy so, one of those titles has to be something that has not been translated into English.

For example, let’s say that we start with one of the obvious choices: CLAMP

This all-female manga and anime production team is as popular here in the west as it is in Japan, with many manga series running in English. In order to win, you’d have to send me at least one title that has not been translated, is not being translated or and probably will not be translated anytime soon. So, no cheating and looking at Tokyo Pop company Press Releases. ;-)

A winning response might be: Chobits, Card Captor Sakura, Shirahimesho. The first two are already translated, but the third isn’t and probably won’t be anytime soon. However, it’s a beautifully drawn, very grown up ghost story collection and I highly recommend it. :-)

So, to start off, here’s the first mangaka of the “So you call yourself a shoujo fan” game – we’ll start with an easy one:

Saito Chiyo

Saito Chiyo is well-known for her beautiful and surrealistic settings. She draws heavily on earlier works by shoujo mangaka and has luscious characters, and stories that are filled with nobility of all kinds.

Remember…the first person to email me three titles, at least one not yet translated to [email protected] and you’ll get some kind of prize! :-)