Summer Sale on 100% Yuri from ALC Publishing!

July 1st, 2005

To celebrate the release of ALC’s original yuri novel, Shoujoai ni Bouken, we’re discounting all ALC Publications in stock. Now you can get 100% yuri from ALC for from 30% to more than 50% off!

Rica ‘tte Kanji – Curve magazine calls this light-hearted tale of love and life in Tokyo their “favorite new bedside read”. Get 30% of all copies of Rica and enjoy Rica Takashima’s original art and take on life.

Yuri Monogatari 2 – This original all-yuri anthology has stories from yuri artsits and writers around the world. Don’t forget to keep a place on your bookshelf for Yuri Monogatari 3, coming this fall from ALC!

Shoujoai ni Bouken: The Adventures of Yuriko, Volume 1 – Join Yuricon mascot, Yuriko as she tries to balance life as a pop idol, the pursuit of love and liberty from math tests. This brand-new ALC publication includes more than 2 dosez illustrations by Kelli Nicely; a great way to get to know Yuriko, or to spend more time with her!

You can get all ALC publications on the Yuricon Shop, along with yuri anime, manga and gifts. This offer is for a limited time only, so don;t miss your chance to get 30% to 50% off of 100% yuri from ALC Publishing!

Posted in ALC Publishing, Yuri Manga, Yuri Monogatari | No Comments »


Yuri Anime: Air Master, Volume 1

June 30th, 2005

I managed to get a copy of Volume 1 of Air Master at last. This series has become a “comfort” series for me – I stick it on the TV when there’s nothing else on and I don’t want to have to pay *too* much attention. But, then I end up watching it anyway and not doing whatever it was that I was slacking off doing in the first place.

I won’t beat the plot, character of yuri components of this volume to death – I have repeatedly ranted about how wonderful this anime is in several of my previous posts: From the first recommendation back in August 2003 to Feb. 26, 2004, May 21, 2005, and May 23, 2005. And that doesn’t include all the rants about the manga, either.

So, yeah, I like this anime – a lot.

And I’ve already discussed the problems with the DVD release, some of which have been addressed in the second half of the thrid volume.

What did shock me about this first volume was how utterly, horribly *BAD* the translation was. Again, I felt like I was watching a bootlegged copy. Whole sentences were completely, totally, changed from what the characters were saying, as if the translators kept assuming what they “really” meant was….I imagine that this was a dubtitle issue, but even so, there were entire sentences that were just plain *wrong.*

Oddly, the language in the first volume subtitles is much ruder than in the second, and in that way, fits the story better.

But I’ll admit, if I had bought this volume first, I’m pretty sure I wouldn’t have bought 2 or 3. So I’m a little glad I bought them first.

Story-wise, Volume 1 is not particularly strong, either – again, by going backwards I can see how much more three-dimensional the characters are only a few episodes later.

I think it really sucks that this release was so bad – there are plenty of folks that might enjoy Air Master, but who, if not already turned off by the ugly art, will just give up in frustration with the unbelievably poor quality of this DVD.

What makes even this volume worth watching is, of course, the characters and the fighting.

And Sakiyama Kaori.

Ratings:
Art – 5
Story – 7
Characters – 8
Yuri – 6
Technical Details – 3

Despite the crappiness of this particular Volume, I recommend the series. If you’re going to buy it from Amazon, look for a used copy or a cheaper copy on the Amazon marketplace. This way you won’t feel quite so ripped. Also – do not be afraid to write the distributor and express your dissatisfaction – if you don’t tell them, they can’t know.

Posted in Air Master, English Anime, Yuri Anime | 1 Comment »


Transistor Ni Venus, Volume 3

June 29th, 2005


Once again, my thanks to Touko_no_doriru-san, for giving me this volume of Transistor ni Venus, so I can share this fine manga with everyone. :-)

In Volume 3, we find April Enus starting off on another harrowing – yet somehow not really stressful or even moderately tense – adventure that involves her and another attractive female removing most of their clothes. LOL Enus is escorting a bag filled with some top secret materials on a plane when a botched theft not only leaves Enus and the thief handcuffed together, but stranded on a desert island. In the end they kiss and make up. :-)

The next story focuses on Winslow, Enus’ sentient cat, as he heads out on assignment – for the next few months, he is going into deep cover as…a cat. He pretends to be a stray to be picked up by a family who has something he needs to retrieve. While he lets them take care of him, we see Enus off on a variety of exciting and dangerous adventures. Winslow gets regular meals and is petted while Enus is bombed, shot at, crashes, etc. Of course, Winslow gets the goods and returns to HQ a hero.

The rest of the book takes place at the private all-girls school where “Miss April” has a position as teacher. The school is pleased as punch that the students sem to be doing *much* better at their studies, so they don’t inquire too deeply at Enus’ methods. In fact, she rewards the students with kisses for their academic excellence.

We are introduced to two creepy incestuous twin girls who are in love with their teacher – and who see Miss April as a rival. As Gyauza-sensei isn’t really interested in Enus or the twins, it’s kind of a pointless rivalry, but when Miss April fights off the girls in a fencing match, she claims a kiss as her reward anyway. :-) (Enus is most certainly interested in Gyauza…even if the feeling isn’t entirely returned.)

Eventually we learn that Enus is at the school to find a girl with important marks upon her back – we get a variety of bath, swimsuit and nude posing for art class scenes in order to do provide us the opportunity to “subtely” check the girls’ backs. Mixed in to this high-octane plot is a variety of kisses, from pecks for the young to “adult kisses” for the of-age.

Eventually, Enus accomplishes her objective and learns that the twins are actually years older than they look (and act!) and they all end up in bed together. The end.

Ratings:

Art – 8
Story – 6
Character – 8
Yuri – 9

Overall – 8

If this weren’t so funny and sweet a comic – it’d be pretty trashy, huh? But it never *feels* trashy. It’s all in good fun and it always puts a smile on my face to read a volume of Transistor ni Venus.

Posted in Transistor ni Venus, Yuri Manga | No Comments »


ROD The TV, Volume 6

June 28th, 2005

ROD The TV Volume 6 was a tough watch for me – the story is amazingly good, but it will, all too soon, draw to an end. So I actually put off watching this volume for several weeks after purchasing it. I know its a little infantile of me – after all, I can watch it as often as I want. But, still….

There are so many more positives than negatives with this volume, let’s start off with the good. First and foremost – the story, the plot, the dialogue, the characters are all “Wow.” This volume is an edge-of-your-seat type of anime. Not only do we get to see how everyone handles a crisis (with some serious surprises) but we get to see how a really decent set of writers bring a complex plot to fruition. Joker’s plan is no less insane than the I-jin’s in the ROD OVA, but the writers have handled it so much better that the “whoa, fuck” far outweighs the “for pity’s sake.”

In terms of characters in this volume, Nenene wins, hands down. If you didn’t love her before, in this volume she downright shines. More mature and aware, if somewhat less supernaturally powered than her companions, she is the physical embodiment of the adage “the pen is mightier than the sword.” (And it should not be lost on you, dear reader, that now that Yomiko is back in her life, Nenene is writing like a madwoman.)

But really, there’s no bad or weak characterization in Volume 6. Everyone really peaks as a character. And Nancy has some serious shiny moments which are totally kick-ass…even if they don’t really make sense in terms of the history we’ve given her. I mean, brain tissue doesn’t spontaneously regenerate when its been removed, does it? LOL Nonetheless, watching her kick into Miss Deep mode is another great “Whoah!” moment.

Animation-wise, this volume has had some obvious post-TV touchups done. It’s especially obvious in the hair. As with the previous volumes, it helps, so no complaints from me. I just wish the original art had been tighter.

Oh, and the question you all have is, I’m sure – what about the pencil board? Well, it’s not horrible! Whee! On the one side, the usual three paper sisters and Nenene (carrying her own book) and on the other – Wendy looking rather sexy, if we ignore that her body shape really says “feed me several steaks”. The usual double-sided cover (the inside significantly better than the outside) and liner notes.

Now for the not-so-positive. Three episodes. Please. This and the next volume should have been combined for one 6-ep disk and you bloody well know it, Geneon. And the incredibly lame gag of the American President peeing in his pants is done. Move on. It was only moderately amusing the first time, it seems slighhtly stupider every time thereafter and this time it was just boring. Let’s be real – if the guy had a problem, he’d wear diapers.

But to be fair, that’s about it for the less than positive. And the writing rocks in every other way, so we can afford to be magnanimous.

Ratings:

Art – 7
Story – 9
Character – 9
Music – 8
Yuri – 6

Overall – 9, because the story and characters are both developing together, which makes this show a total win.

Let me please remind you that if you want to support yuri anime, please don’t bittorent this, or any other licensed series – buy it, rent it, borrow it, share it, but don’t steal it.

Oh – and thanks to everyone who let me know they liked the new format!

Posted in R.O.D., Read or Dream, Yuri Anime | 3 Comments »


Yuri Anime: Noir, Volume 2

June 27th, 2005

I spent some time this weekend rewatching anime that I own, but haven’t yet reviewed here. It was edifying, let me tell you. There were some things that were great and some less so. I decided to start the week off with a reasonably strong entry. ^_^

Noir Volume 2, *feels* like a second volume. The art is significantly less good than the first volume, the plot sort of drops off a bit in favor of character development (sort of) and the use of repeated footage begins to grate. But otherwise it’s excellent. ^_^

On the positive side, the characters do become more than just ciphers. Despite myself, I was feeling a little for Mirielle and Kirika as they faced what, for them, were major life crises – Kirika’s lack of knowledge about herself and Mirielle’s past trauma coming back to haunt her.

We also get a glimpse of Mirielle in bed in the nude, which has carried Yuri fans for some time, as there is only one bed in the room. It would take a strong woman, so we rationalize, to sleep in the nude with someone with whom you are not sleeping. ;-) In fact, I think it’s a bit early for them, but hey, yuri goggles go a long way to building character development. ^_^

Geographically, we go from New York City to (the wildly improbable deep woods and high mountain passes) of New Jersey to sunny Sicily. For this alone, the “Intoccabile” arc is worth it. But this arc is worth watching, in general. I think Intoccabile would have made a much worthier opponent than Chloe and it was a damn shame we used her up so soon.

This volume also gives the viewer glimpses into a Kirika who is exactly as she appears – a young woman, apt to fall for a cute kitty or a good sob story. I liked that. It gives her more depth than most people assume she has. And Mirielle gets a chance to gently gloat about her superior knowledge of Russian literature. ^_^

So, yes, the second volume has problems – notably the art and repeated footage issue (and the no-wound thing, which plagues the whole production), but as far as giving the characters some three-dimensionality, this volume is fairly crucial – and actually not a bad watch.

Ratings:
Art – 5
Music – 7 (Salva Nos playing as they run through NJ’s bamboo forest is, to me, priceless)
Character – 8
Story – 7

Overall 7

Not as strong as the beginning, or the end, but a must for fanfic writers. ^_^

Posted in Bee Train, Noir, Yuri Anime | 5 Comments »