Yuri Anime: Kannazuki no Miko, or The Girl Got The Girl, But….

January 8th, 2005

Well, Kannazuki no Miko ended, and Chikane and Himeko ended up together, but, really, it made NO sense at all.

Do we care?

Not really.

It doesn’t matter that “eternity” seemed to last no more than about 3 minutes, and that raping a person so that they will kill you is a stupid idea, and that the whole mecha thing was a giant waste, and the bad guy was a complete nothing….it doesn’t matter because Chikane confessed her love and her physical desire for Himeko, who basically told her that she wouldn’t kick her out of bed and kisses Chikane in a nice visual parallel to the kiss at the end of the first episode (which, by the way, proved me wrong, because in my first review of Kannazuki no Miko, I was pretty sure they would *not* get together. Wrong again. ^_^)

Because pictures are sometimes actually worth a thousand words, I will eschew a description of the insensible ending and simply offer a picture which not only succinctly summarizes the end of the series, but is also highly amusing. This magnificently succinct picture was drawn by Juji and is now used here with permission of the artist, for which I am immensely grateful! This was meant to summarize the first episode, but it seems to work for the last – and many of the middle episodes, as well. ^_^ Thanks Juji!

And there you have it. The end of Kannazuki no Miko, as interpreted by a genius among fans. We await sequels with bated breath. ^_^

Posted in Kannazuki no Miko, Yuri Anime | 14 Comments »


Uta-Kata, Lyrical Nanoha Anime: Now You See Yuri, Now You Don’t

January 6th, 2005

A little fan enthusiasm goes a long way towards making a mediocre anime slightly less mediocre. Sadly, even implied yuri could not save Uta-Kata or Mahou Shoujo Lyrical Nanoha from endings that will ensure that they disappear into the oblivion they so richly deserve.

These two series were so unininspiring that for Uta-Kata I’m just quoting my comments from the Yuricon Mailing List, rather than even come up with new ones:

Uta-Kata ended with a soft thud. To no one’s surprise, the whole thing turned out to be a self-fulfilling prophecy that will perpetuate eternally. My biggest complaint was that the so-called “rules” of the engagement seemed to be violated completely by the last chapter. Saya goes on and on about “the rules” but Ichika has no options on absorbing and using her jin power. It was a set-up and an obvious one at that.

The faux-yuri kiss at the end was designed entirely for screencaps – it had no other meaning. I felt nothing about Manatsu’s departure… how sad is that?

Oh, and my last whinge about it, the big secret that Ichika was keeping, (which wasn’t that she was absorbing the powers of god-like beings, oh, no…)just…disappeared. All of a sudden, she wasn’t moving away, which sucked the little meaning there was out of the previous episode. Once again, it may have been explained in the
dialogue while my attention wandered, but as “system reset” endings go, it seemed exceptionally lame.

And Keiko and Satsuki’s relationship disappeared into the same chasm Ichika’s secret did, so there goes any canon yari.

***

As for Lyrical Nanoha, the ending was predictable, stereotypical and stock. Fate and Nanoha finally team up to fight Fate’s crazy evil Mom, who, predictably, loses. Fate ends up under arrest for her crimes against humanity – regardless of the fact that she was a construct created by crazy evil mom and was tortured on a regular basis. Nanoha feels guilty, wants to see Fate, etc. Tearful ending, lots of hugging and crying and “there, there” and sure, if you want to, you can easily see a proto-yuri relationship there. If you want to to.

Let’s say we do want to – where does that leave us? Nanoha growing up with her lover in space jail, getting rare conjugal visits, maybe a letter or two a year from Fate, asking for more money for the appeal…try explaining *that* to the rest of the gang at school.

No…I think we’re going to have to say that this series was a wash for yuri fans.

Ratings? Surely you jest. Well, 5’s all around, if you insist.

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Phantom Memory Kurau: Good Anime, Bad End

January 5th, 2005

Usually you can tell when an anime is going to suck, but in the case of Phantom Memory Kurau, they had me fooled right up to the very end.

Back in November when I first reviewed Kurau, I had two beliefs – that it was a brilliant series, and that it had very little Yuri. Well, I find my opinion now 100% reversed on both counts.

What was a finely crafted exploration of science and emotion, love and friendship and ethical ecological and humanitarian responsibility, in the end, became nothing more than a weak fairy tale. I maintain that the final episode was written by a 6 year-old who, when questioned about what should happen said, “They all got married and had babies and lived *happily* ever after! The End!”

In the beginning, there was alot of good material between tough-as-nails cop Ayaka and mystical-powered-agent Kurau, a lot of love and shared experience between Kurau and her Rynax “twin” Christmas…and in the end, there wasn’t anything. Just Ayaka going off with her child, and Kurau, having been stripped of her Rynax entities and the power they brought, has becomes stale, flat and unprofitable…and a mother although, apparently, not a wife. Only Christmas is left, alone with her Rynax energy, until, unexplained (and inexplicably) a new Kurau-Rynax clone appears to fulfill her dreams and bring her happiness. The end.

I spit nails for a long while after watching this last episode, I admit. I don’t understand why they chose such a shoddy, pat ending to what had been right up through the penultimate episode, so excellent.

However, in retrospect, my opinion of the Yuri potential of the series has changed. In the beginning, I stated that Kurau and Christmas seemed more like sisters to me than lovers – especially as Christmas had been formed from Kurau’s own Rynax energy. But it was a side story that changed my mind. In this side story, we encounter a young boy, also a Rynasapien, who is desperately looking for his “twin” (Rynax, apparently, function well only in pairs.) I had assumed that all Rynax pairs were like our idea of twins – two beings who are related, in this case, by the Rynax energy…in other words, a kind of sibling. So it was a bit incest-y for me to imagine Kurau and Christmas as lovers.

In the side arc, the boy (whose name is escaping me at the moment…) who is looking so intently for a twin finally finds one and finds some happiness for a short while. It’s a tragic arc, but there is no doubt that they have bonded deeply and permanantly by the end of the arc. So, clearly, Rynasapien do *not* have a pre-determined twin, but can find one as chance allows. Which means that they are not, a priori, related or bound to each other. Which means it can be a kind of love that brings them together, as opposed to a kind of energy-bond.

You see where I’m going with this? In short, Kurau *could* be in something that looks more like love with Christmas than, say, sisterly affection, and vice versa. Now…I’m going to hold on to the fact that the first Kurau and Christmas had that sisterly relationship. But the second Kurau, the one made up of only Rynax energy and Christmas’ hopes…*that* one could be, if we so desired, love. So, yeah, based on that, I’ll up the Yuri rating.

But the overall still goes down because the ending totally blew.

Ratings:
Story – 7
Character – 9
Art – 8
Music – 8
Yuri – 7

Overall it drops to a 7 because it was, *overall* a good series, but the final episode was a 1. Maybe a -1, because I felt like they owed me when it was all over.

Just watch the first 23 episodes, the go write your own ending – you’ll be a happier person for it.

2020 Update: I re-re-reviwed this series again in 2008 and had third (still not terribly positive) opinion about the ending.

Posted in Miscellaneous | 4 Comments »


Live Action: PGSM/ Beginnings and Endings

January 4th, 2005

A very Happy New Year to all you yuri and shoujoai fans!

I thought I’d start the new year off by posting some wrap-up comments on last years’s anime, mostly to kill some time while the new season takes shape. ;-) But also, there were very many good thing and bad from last year that deserve final wrap-up comments.

Let’s start with one of the most fun things that 2004 brought us, Pretty Guardian Sailor Moon, the live-action Sailor Moon television series.

As you may remember from my July entries on this fabulous show, there was tons of yuri potential and implicit yuri – enough to start a wave of fan-created works for another ten years.

But to wrap up I really wanted to focus on one relationship…the one that subsumed all others by the end. Rei and Minako. The screen started to curl at the edges when they starred into each other’s eyes, and by 2/3 of the way through the series, I was not the only one screaming “Get a room!” everytme they interacted. But it was in the ridiculously predictable, completely implausible and really silly finale of this series that drove home the Rei x Minako thing.

Because, you see…Minako died. Our beloved pop idol and hearthrob to everyone in my household, succumbs to whatever mysterious disease she had, and dies. They did an entire epsiode where the Senshi deal with nothing else but this single fact. And boy did Rei grieve, just exactly like a woman who has lost her lover grieves. Not like a good friend (Ami and Makoto did that), but definitely as a lover.

And in the end, Rei goes postal. And damn she did it well. But when she returns to herself, and fights one last time to save the earth (and dies…of course, because the Senshi dying comes as regularly as Old Faithful) when she calls her weapon into her hand…there in her other hand, is Minako’s weapon.

(A quick aside – all of the Senshi get weapons in PGSM. Sailor Jupiter gets the long-handled weapon, so that fits nicely with her planet really being an Outer planet, not one of the little wimpy Inner ones….)

So, in the end, there’s Rei, fighting not only with her own power, but with Minako’s too, and there we are, two 40 year old women crying like babies because we’re complete losers. LOL Waaaah!!!!

Oh, of course everyone comes back to life, but you knew that. And we’re all reunited and live happily ever after, because this is Sailor Moon and that’s what we do.

But let me tell you – Rei and Minako were SO the item. It really made alot of the stupider parts of the end worth it. And I was really glad to see that the folks who brought us PGSM didn’t leave the yuri fans out in the cold. :-)

So, if you’ve been putting off watching PGSM because it looks cheesy and predictable, well…it is, but it’s also yuri-riffic, which is always a good reason to get recommended daily supply of Senshi. :-)

Final Ratings for PGSM:

Story – 8
Character – 10
S/fx – Hahaha
Costumes – 8
Yuri – 8

Overall – 9

If you didn’t watch PGSM before, really….do. It’s quite wonderful. Then put your hands together and repeat after me, “Please gods, let us get to the Outers”.

Posted in Live Action, Sailor Moon | 2 Comments »


Okazu’s "Top 10" of Yuri 2004

December 31st, 2004

This year I have read, watched, bought, listened to, published and discussed more yuri than probably just about anyone else on this planet. LOL Today’s entry is simply a celebration of yuri-related anything that I read/watched/got/enjoyed/developed, etc over 2004. This is my “Best of 2004” list.

10) ALC (Anilesbocon) Publishing
We managed two books in 2004, one translation, WORKS (which is very nearly sold out!) and one anthology. We’re working on a 2nd edition of Rica ‘tte Kanji!?, a new anthology – Yuri Monogatari 3 – and an illustrated novel, Shoujoai ni Bouken, Vol. 1. It may be self-aggrandizement, but at the moment, we’re *still* the only yuri manga publisher in the western world. And you know, that makes me very, very proud. My thanks goes out to all the contributors to the Yuri Monogatari anthology, Ed. Ed, Kun, and especially to Rica Takashima and my wife – I quite literally could not do it without them. I think that, for all our hard work in spreading the yuri genre to the English-speaking world, we at least desrve 10th place on this “Best of” list. :-)

9) Lililicious
This scanlating and fansubbing group deserves recognition on my Top 10 of 2004 list, definitely. Not only are they a really fine group of women and men (although the women are finer – if you know what I mean… lol) and fun to hang with, they are also really dedicated to making decent, unlicensed yuri manga and anime accesible to online yuri fandom. I especially thank them for scanlating some of the truly obscure, but classic, yuri manga out there, like Claudine and the stories from Mist, because these are *so* out of print and so very worth knowing about.

8) ROD The TV on DVD
I’ve beaten this to death all year long, so suffice to say that, this series has been one of the best things I’ve gotten all year. The double sided pencil boards and covers have more to do with the fact that we get twice as many episodes per DVD than the Japanese do, than good marketing, but you know, you can see that Geneon is *trying*; trying to finds a happy medium with the translation, with the packaging, with the extras. I remember when an A.D.Vision VHS tape had one episode and nothing else – for the same price as a 4-episode DVD with double-sided cover, liner notes, mini-poster and a double-sided pencil board is now. Think about it. :-)

7) Pretty Guardian Sailor Moon (Live Action)
I wrote about this series alot too, but haven’t yet done a wrap-up entry. I’ll do that later. Let me just say that this was pretty much the perfect thing for this series’ 10th anniversary. It got me all jazzed up again about the Senshi and all their lovely yuri potential…and reminded me just why I consider Haruka and Michiru to be the eternal Queens of Yuri. We now have several new additions to our terrifyingly large wand/locket collection in the house and, yesterday, *just* in time to sneak onto this list, I received in the mail the original toy of Haruka’s communicator watch from Sailor Moon S! Yep – the thing is nearly 10 years old and looks perfect. Battery’s dead, though. LOL In any case, here’s hoping this series never dies. PGSM/BSSM and related toys make number 7 on the “best of the best” list.

6) Azumanga Daioh on DVD
Not only is this series gut-splittingly funny, the yuri is not at all subtle (even if it is ultimately just one more gag.) The DVDs have excellent episode count, REALLY good liner notes – best of the breed in fact – and fun toy surprises. This wins “best bang for your buck” award for licensed DVD releases this year from me. ADV deserves recognition for doing what almost approaches a perfect job. (Now, just leave the honorifics alone and you’d be golden!) ADV also deserves a real nod of gratitude for their continuing support of yuri-friendly anime in general and this series in specific, which is definitely one of the best of 2004.

5) Yuricon
I know, I know, another shameless plug moment…but no, not really. Four years ago, we had a goofy website, a tenuous premise and not much else. Now, entering our 5th year of existence, we have just announced an event *in Japan,* have almost 900 members on our Mailing Lists, have a line of “I love Yuri” gifts, and a presence at some of the largest and most influential anime cons in the country. Yuricon’s efforts have spawned like-minded efforts in Japan, and I have been informed by several Japanese yuri fans that Yuricon pretty much created the idea of a genre of yuri whose birth we are witnessing right now. Who *knows* what the next five years will bring – but I’m betting that you’ll see some pretty amazing changes in regards to yuri and shoujoai.

Let me take this opportunity to thank my staff at Yuricon, starting with Kun, my right hand and whipping girl, who does very nearly anything I ask of her, including neck rubs. Also Katie, May, Paulette, Trevor, Serge, Donna, Rica and everyone who has put time and money into Yuricon to help it further the cause of yuri and shoujoai in anime and manga. And of course, my wife. :-) But mostly, I want to thank all you fans of yuri and shoujoai who keep convincing me that there *is* a market out there, if only we can reach it. Yuricon will keep trying to do everything we can to increase our presence, and gain respect for the genre we love so much. So, for all that everyone has done, and all that we have accomplished – Yuricon makes the top 10 list for me this year.

4)Yuri Doujinshi Circles
At Comiket 67, which took place last weekend, nearly 80 circles were selling yuri doujinshi and novels. These groups, made up of individuals who put their own time and money into these self-publishing efforts, rarely make back the money they put into the projects. But every year, they keep on doing it – because they love yuri. Some of these circles do fan art, but more and more of them are doing original work, and every year another group of women who draw and write yuri seem to join this incognito army. It is because of these people that Maria-sama ga Miteru gained enough popularity to become an anime, and it is these people from whom ALC will draw publishing projects. Because of their dedication and hard work and because for many yuri fans, doujinshi make up the bulk of their yuri-related reading, the folks who write for various yuri doujinshi circles get my thumbs up for 2004.

3)Yuri Shimai
As I said yesterday, it may not be perfect, but this quarterly manga magazine has created ripples in the manga word, spawining me-too anthologies and generally changing the landscape of yuri manga completely. In a mere five issues, it has improved dramatically and we can hope that we’ll see even more improvements and growth for the next year. For having such a significant effect on the genre of “girls love” manga – Yuri Shimai makes third place in the Best of 2004.

2) Koi Shimai Drama CDs
For me, what makes a manga or anime come alive is the voices…hearing a character, even more than seeing him or her animated, makes a character real for me. It’s well-known that I started my otaku career because of Ogata Megumi’s voice, and I’m still captivated by excellent voice acting. Because of this – even more than the magazine from which it came, I feel that the Koi Shimai Drama CDs were the second best yuri-related thing I got this year. The story is simple, a little unsatisfying, but the idea that they managed to find women who were willing to put their voices into characters that specifically were in a “girls love” drama really makes them special. The second CD, which features Park Romi as hunky Touko-sensei is wearing thin as I listen to it over and over and over. It’s SO sexy that it’s inspired me to write a fanfic! LOL Again, kudos to Sun Publishing for the idea – and here’s hoping that we see more of these!

Which leaves me with my number one get for 2004. If you know me, if you’ve read these entries, or my posts on the Yuricon Mailing List, you will probably not be surprised at all. :-)

My number one best of everything yuri of 2004 is….

1) Maria-sama ga Miteru Drama CD, 1,2, 3 and 4
These were, bar none, the absolute *best* things I got this year. These four CDs contain voice dramas of the first three Marimite novels, as voiced by the actresses from the anime. With more detail than the anime, or even the manga, the Drama CDs contain not only the story, but also the emotions of the story, as interpreted by some of the finest voice actors extant. As I wrote in my review of the Ibara no Mori/Shiroi Hanabira CD, there were moments when I was left breathless by the virtuosity of the actresses’ work.

The packaging for the Drama CDs is lovely, with covers from the novels, extra art by novel artist Hibiki Reine, nice little inserts, and of course, those fantastic plastic dolls of the Yamayurikai which greet me every day on my desk at work. :-) The fourth Drama CD is now available and I’m just *dying* to see what extras they’ve put in it! LOL

To put it simply – these rock. If you can understand even a little Japanese, run out and get them for the best yuri-related experience you can have that doesn’t actualy involve another person. :-)

Overall, as it has made my Top 10 in anime, manga and general Best Of, I think we really have to say that Maria-sama ga Miteru wins overall award as “Best Yuri of 2004”.

When I first got into yuri, we had Haruka and Michiru as poster children. When I created Yuricon, we had Anthy, Utena and Juri…now, as a whole new era of yuri is being born, we welcome it in with Yumi and Sachiko, Sei and Youko (or Shiori or Kei!) Yoshino and Rei, Noriko and Shimako, and characters yet to come. :-) I think the future’s looking bright, myself.

You all know that the calendar is arbitrary, right? Today is no more “the last day” of the year than it is the “first day of the rest of your life.” Nonetheless, I wish you all a Happy New Year/Akemashite Omodetou. May 2005 be filled with yuri for us all!

Posted in Top Yuri Lists | 1 Comment »