Yuri Manga: Pure Marionation, Volume 2

March 30th, 2005

All’s well that ends well, in Pure Marionation, another too-cute-for-words Yuri from the folks at Dengeki/Mediaworks.

Back in December 2004 I wrote a review of the first volume, which was fairly lukewarm. This is certainly a Yuri story – with a happy ending and everything, and after reading it, I can now definitely suggest it to those who like the “cute and sweet” kind of Yuri.

If you remember, Pure Marionation is the story of Anon, a “marionette” or android cute girl. Ostensibly, she is enrolled in Waffle High (no, seriously, that’s the name) to test out her AI, codenamed ALIS. Immediately, Anon’s secret is discovered by classmate Miamo, who is sworn to secrecy and determines to protect Anon from…I’m not sure what.

Anon meets and befriends Aina, and the story, what there is of it, begins. The entire second volume is given over to their growing love for one another. The crises they face are small, and seem to involved an inordinate amount of undressing. But mostly, it’s all about Aina becoming more and more aware that she doesn’t just love Anon as a friend, but wants to do things with her which one doesn’t do with other girls.

I’m going to make two small comments before I get to the good part. One: the setup with Anon’s ALIS being tested sort of fall apart when it turns out that there are like a gazillion marionettes already at Waffle HS. So…what are we “testing” if the system already works so well that we’ve got half a dozen of these things walking around without being discovered? And the introduction of an even *cuter* next generation ALIS to be Anon’s little sister did not make me happy. It was Usagi and Chibi-Usa all over again. The new marionette falls for, of course Aina, and a war of affection ensues, which was at least resolved quickly.

My second comment…so often, when guys tell me that a story is a “cute” Yuri story I see a lolicon story…and I wonder why they don’t see that. It worries me, it really does. These characters are 15-16, but they are drawn to look way younger and it just really, honestly creeps me out. I think that 15-16 is way too freakin’ young as it is. Give me 25 and I’ll be a happy person.

Second and a half complaint, erm, comment – Dengeki also does quite a bit of “not quite real Yuri” with girls who are not human or not really girls. Yes, its still Yuri, because the character who falls in love with the protagonist is still in love with a girl…but for some bizarro reason, probably because I’m a lesbian, I’d really much rather see two girls (preferably women, thank you) who are both actual girls (or women) fall in love with each other. I appear to be in a minority in the manga world. Maybe real women just aren’t cute enough.

Okay, all that having been whined, Pure Marionation DOES have a really romantic and happy ending! :-)

Anon comes to realize that she is really in love with Aina. She decides to confess to Aina that she is a marionette and, that she is in love with her. At which point Aina pulls away from the object of her desire completely. The school festival is coming up – Aina is on the organizing committee, which affords her a gazillion excuses to avoid Anon. Anon’s little marionette heart breaks and she chalks it up to the heartbreak of first love, but she’s one unhappy little AI.

Meanwhile, every single other girl in the school is rooting for Anon and Aina to get together, which is kinda nice. They seem to be planning something, but have the good graces to not be obvious.

The school festival finally arrives – the highlight of the which is going to be a fashion show of wedding dresses (can you see where this is going?) and Anon and Aina are both supposed to be in the show.

Anon is all kitted out, but Aina is nowhere to be found. JUST as Anon is supposed to go out, Aina comes in late, is shoved into a tux(!) just in time to walk out on Anon’s arm.

From out of nowhere a girl dressed like a nun shows up and performs a marriage ceremony and tells the two to kiss…which they do. The entire school bursts into “Waaaah” and applause for them.

Okay, despite my earlier complaints, this was a *really* cute ending.

The epilogue tapers away in a small bout of painfully happy embarrassment and the promise of a future together.

So, yes this is Yuri – Aina is human and she definitely falls in love with a person she thinks is a girl – and she physically desires her, so there is no question about the nature of their love. And Anon is a female marionette, so it’s not like she was a guy or partly a guy or anything, even if she isn’t really human.

If either loli-ish, moe art or the not-entirely-human-girl thing bothers you, then this is probably not your cup of tea (and I would recommend avoiding Kashimashi Girl Meets Girl and most other current Dengeki Yuri, as well.)

I did enjoy Pure Marionation, but it doesn’t stop me from wishing that Dengeki went back to the old Battle Athletes model of high-school love, with girls who look older, rather than younger, than their ages.

Ratings:

Art – 7 well done, just not to my taste
Story – 7
Characters – 8
Service – 9
Yuri – 10

Overall – 8, but your mileage may vary.

Posted in Yuri Manga | 3 Comments »


Yuri Anime: ROD The TV, Volume 5

March 29th, 2005

I will never get tired of writing about ROD The TV – are you tired of hearing about it? Too bad! In fact, I may have to rewatch it in about 6 months, just to write about it again. lol

In a nutshell, ROD The TV is, by Volume 5, full on into the second “season” and neck deep in complicated plot. This is not an anime for people who like to do something else while watching TV. You really need to *pay attention.*

Amazing action, wonderful storytelling, the plot deepens without becoming mired in tediousness, even when it’s all backstory and confession. Wendy and Joker are consummate baddies, if only because they otherwise seem perfectly normal, and our gang of heroes turn out to be some of the coolest, most admirable and bitchin’est women in anime. All of them. While the backstory definitely fills in some blanks, it actually serves to make the plot more complicated – and the characters as well. Did I mention good storytelling? For once, I feel that the writers really did an excellent job in crafting a plot and carrying it through to the very end. Every episode ends on a damn decent cliffhanger – something that is not easy to do at all.

But what really stands out in this volume for me is the poignant and apparently unresolvable love triangle of Yomiko, Nancy and Nenene. And they make no bones about it – it’s shown for what it is, two women who want nothing more than to be the emotional prop for a third, who doesn’t have the fortitude to decide between them. And oh my *god* is it good! I’m not a big fan of unresolvable sexual tension, but…oh yeah baby, this volume rocks, for that one thing alone.

The art is pretty consistent, which was a nice change, but the translation was *terrible*. Very dubtitled. There were quite a few scenes I found myself correcting the subtitles mentally, which I think does a terrible disservice to the fans. “I didn’t want to get you involved” and “I didn’t want to get you in trouble” are NOT the same thing at all. They are the same syllable count for the dub – why didn’t you translate it the right way, Geneon? Lazy, lazy, lazy. Points off for that.

The packaging is, as always, good, with double-sided cover and mini-poster. The pencil board is, once again, highly distressing. Not criminal so much as awful, awful, awful art. What exactly is Nancy’s left breast doing? And why is Junior’s torso so horribly elongated? These are questions which will likely never be answered…

If you haven’t watched any of ROD The TV don’t start in the middle. You can do that with, say, Sailor Moon, but not this series. Wait for the final volume to come out and get the box set, then turn off the phone and computer, invite intelligent friends over and marathon as much as you can watch. (We’ve done all of the Sailor Moon S season in one day and all of Marmalade Boy in two, so a mere 26 episodes should be easy!)

Ratings? 10, 10, 10, 10, 10, 10.

Posted in R.O.D., Read or Dream, Yuri Anime | 2 Comments »


Yuri Manga: Passion Fruit, Vol. 1: Sweat and Honey

March 28th, 2005



From the only publisher who has really attempted to market josei manga, Tokyopop, comes the first volume of an intriguinging collection, Passion Fruit: Sweat and Honey. I say “intruiging” because while it had some definite merit, and I’m glad I read it, I’m not entirely sure I *enjoyed* it.

Special thanks to faithful reader and beloved sycophant Sean Gaffney for pointing me in the direction of this volume. :-)

Folks who read Cookie magazine will be familiar with the artist of this particular anthology, and if you’ve visited the Lililicious website and looked at the Shibuya series, again, you’ll see the familiar style of Okazaki Mari, who was also a contributor to Yuri Shimai magazine. Clearly a “friend of Yuri’s.”

(Wouldn’t that be a fun new code to use? Everyone knows the old “friend of Dorothy”. right? Yuri fans could say that we’re “friends of Yuriko”. LOL)

This collection had several stories that included some yuri-ish interaction, but none of the stories end with the girl getting the girl…in fact, in most cases that was a relief. As with most short story anthologies, the characters were rather more dysfunctional than usual and the endings tended towards pat. But that’s a fault with short stories in general and shouldn’t put you off this particular collection.

The first story, “After Sex A Boy’s Sweat Smells Like Honey,” is an ambiguous tale of two female cousins. One of them is initially repulsed by the other’s fragility, but in comparison to the men she is seeing, comes to find her more and more appealing.

“About Kusako” was, to me, a very disturbing story. Moeko finds a girl growing out of the ground, like grass, as she walks her dog. (Hence the name, “Kusako,” which would mean “grass girl”.) Kusako is incapable of moving, so Moeko waters her and shields her from the hot sun and generally grows fond of Kusako. Moeko returns to the field after a prolonged period of time to find Kusako withered and dying, but small Kusakos everywhere. If this kind of stuff lived in my head, I’d be creeped out.

“Sister” was my favorite story. A young woman’s older neighbor passes out nearly every night on her doorstep. Out of duty and kindness, she drags the woman in and tucks her into bed. Eventually, she confronts the neighbor about her miserable life, only to learn that she knows *nothing* about her…except that she loves this “old hag”. I won’t give away the ending, because I really liked it. :-) No, it isn’t yuri, but it was pretty great.

“The Land Where Rain Starts To fall” has a *very* similar feel to the “Shibuya” series Okazaki-sensei wrote for Cookie. It’s a vignette of an apparently dysfunctional couple – Kaya, who refuses to come to school and Kumi, who seems appallingly low self-esteemy-y. They engage in some sexual play, ostensibly to seduce or annoy Kaya’s older brother. The vibe off of Kaya is heavily incestuous, Kumi seems more like a plaything. But she’s actually completely aware of Kaya’s machinations, and goes along with them willingly. In the end, the girl does not get the girl, but this series has, perhaps, the happiest ending in the volume.

The last story was written by Hiratsuka Mari, and is a bittersweet nostalgic look at boys in school and their too-sexy-for-her-own-good teacher. It was cute and fluffy.

I’m still not sure I’m comfortable with her art or her storytelling. The art is too loose for me to find appealing, while the stories are too tense…but those are the very qualities that make her stories, even the short ones, work.

Ratings would be variable, so let’s call it an overall 7.

No, it isn’t the 100% yuri we all long for, nor is it happy, really, but I definitely think Passion Fruit Volume 1 is definitely worth getting. Support josei manga, support yuri themes in Tokyopop manga and cough up a few bucks for Sweat and Honey.

Posted in English Manga, Yuri Manga | 1 Comment »


Dengeki Daioh Monthly Magazine

March 27th, 2005

Why didn’t any of you *tell* me that Dengeki Daioh had so much yuri-riffic manga!?! Sheesh…crappy fans you are. ;-)

Anyway – quick review today of Dengeki Daioh, the monthly magazine that has brought fans of shounen yuri about a bazillion series.

I have said over and over that Dengeki is our friend. We should all run out and demand an anime of Hayate Cross Blade. Geneon appears to be making just about every freakin’ other series in the book into an anime…

Here’s the March and April rundown of yuri-flavored in Dengeki Daioh:

Hayate Cross Blade

NiNin ga Shinobuden – yes, *that* Shinobuden. And March’s chapter had Shinobu dressing like a boy and sweet talking Kaede half into bed. Until Shinobu gets jealous of herself and reveals the act. lol

Sokyuu no Fanfir – this is based on a novel series which I have read reviews that state that there is yuri. I have no first-hand information myself.

Yostubato – You know this one, right? By the author of Azumanga Daioh, it has a questionably yuri older sister and “friend.”

Uta-Kata – and bizarrely, I came in on the chapter that was dealing with Episode 9’s budding yuri relationship between keiko and Satsuki. Good timing, huh?

Kashimashi Girl meets Girl – no, I haven’t reviewed this yet. Be patient.

There’s a load of other decent series, like Starship Operators and some that other people find decent and have been made into anime, that I don’t care for so will simply pretend don’t exist. lol

Anyway – if you have disposable income, like to read raw manga and want something worth your time, grab a copy of Dengeki Daioh.

Posted in Magazines, Miscellaneous | 2 Comments »


Yuri Anime: Ikkitousen DVD Volume 3

March 24th, 2005

Gods help me, I *really* enjoyed Ikkitousen Vol. 3. In fact, I enjoyed it so much, I’m seriously thinking about going home and rewatching it again. Today.

In a nutshell, this volume of the anime version of Wani Comics’ offensively fanservicey, trashy, faux-historical/martial arts epic, details the transformations of Housen Ryofu from psychotic lackey into honorable uber-warrior and Shimei Ryomou from psychotic loner into super-vassal. And despite myself, I really enjoyed the hell out of it.

Ryofu wakes up with the realization that she is dying, and decides to go out with a bang. She’s determined to take Toutaku out before she goes – a fine goal, in my opinion. She heads off to a mountain hot spring to train with *the* master and gain an undefeatable technique and the strength to go with it. Before she leaves, she explains to Chinkyuu why she has to do this, and Chinkyuu responds by explaining why she will stay with Ryofu until the very end. In a single volume, Ryofu goes from being a superficial baddie, to a surprisingly deep heroine.

In the meantime, Goei has brought Hakufu and Koukin (who remains the most annoying character in the series) to the same hot spring, in order to train. Well – they are there to train, she’s there to “take the water” as they say in Jane Austen. Hakufu almost immediately runs into Ryomou who has been drawn there for reasons that remain obscure and convenient.

At the hot spring Ryomou has an epiphany. Well, one epiphany and the beginning of a second. Firstly, she meets and is wowed by Goei, whose casual sensuality simply blows her away enough to remove the stick from her ass for a second.

Then, when she and Hakufu meet Ryofu on a mountain path, Ryomou realizes that her true fate is, was and always will be to serve Hakufu and protect her. In a single defiant gesture, she stands before Ryofu to protect Hakufu with her life. Ryofu laughs, says she doesn’t have the time and runs off.

In the meantime, Chinkyuu makes a bad decision which ends up getting her raped and tortured at the command of Toutaku’s lackey, Kaku Bunwa. Bunwa is one of those second-in-commands that you enjoy watching being taken down, because she thinks she’s so clever, but she ain’t. I’m sure you know the type. When Bunwa tells Ryofu about Chinkyuu, Ryofu goes off to save her lover/vassal in a stunningly impressive display of coolness and ki. Ryofu notches up several ranks of wow as she blows the life out of Bunwa’s enforcers without hardly moving. Waaaahhhhh….coooollll…. I just love a woman who can blow a man’s heart out of his chest.

Ryomou, having determined to serve Hakufu to the death, runs off to see “her” again. Not Hakufu…Goei. Bing Bing! We got a winner here! Ryomou discovers Goei falling to her knees in the street, as she has just met the Fighter that, historically, killed Hakufu. Goei begs Ryomou to protect her daughter and, Ryomou, in her second epiphany, swears to make sure that Goei is never sad. From vassal of the daughter, to serving the mother in one smooth move. Yay Ryomou!

Some other stuff happens – we learn why Toutaku always has bandages on his body, but you know…who cares? And we’re supposed to care about the dragon that is awakening within Hakufu, too. But we don’t, do we? Because *we’re* watching the Yuri-fest going on in the background. ^_^ In any case, Koukin will do all our worrying for us, so we’re free to watch the cool chicks.

The Yuri goggles are getting dusty on the shelf while we watch this volume, I can tell you. The Yuri is so blatant, starting with Ryofu’s waking up naked next to Chinkyuu right down to Ryomou vowing to keep Goei from ever being sad.

Yes, there’s fanservice, but I simply tune it out now. And for once, there’s actual nipples instead of that wretched convention of clothes that have exploded but conveniently hang down *just* to cover the nipples and groin, which I find absolutely tedious. In some ways, the fanservice was *less* stupid because it was more overt. At least it was more honest and less coy.

One final rave about this particular volume – the pencil board did not actually suck! Can you believe it? On the one side is Ukitsu (the Fighter who is supposed to destroy Hakufu) looking seductive and sweet as opposed to kick-ass, which I always find to be a disservice. But! On the other side is *my* favorite character, Goei. Yes, Hakufu’s mother. ^_^ What can I say? I adore her. Anyway, there she is mostly dressed, while her kimono falls sexily around her. She looks just as sensual and aware as she does in the actual show – no frontal lobotomy here. So this pencil board wins. I may actually use it, instead of locking it away with the ROD The TV boards in the “please don’t think I like these” collection.

I’ll be honest, Ikkitousen is not a *good* anime. But given this series’ general suckiness, this DVD is a good volume. (And, for the record, the anime is significantly superior to the manga, which you’ll notice I have not reviewed. Be patient.)

The Yuri rating for Ikkitousen, Vol. 3 is an easy 9. All the other ratings remain as before.

Posted in English Anime, Ikkitousen, Yuri Anime | No Comments »