Yuricon News: New Yuri Manga at Otakon!

July 29th, 2004

Well, it’s that time again, and a bunch of folks from Yuricon and ALC Publishing will be at Otakon in Baltimore this coming weekend.

And we have very exciting news for this Otakon, because we’re premiering our brand-new, all-yuri, all-original, English-language manga anthology, Yuri Monogatari!

You can get it at the Planet Anime booth in the Otakon Dealer’s Room exclusively for the con. Afterward, you can stop by the Yuricon Shop and get a copy through our good friends at Anime Castle.

Yuri Monogatari has over 140 pages of truly wonderful art and stories, and it’s all-Yuri, all the time. And if you’re at Otakon, bring your copy over to the Anime Next and Yuricon table, and Cover Artist Kelli Nicely will autograph it for you. :-) We’ll also have all our ALC yuri manga, and some random classic yuri and Yuricon goodies for sale. I hope you’ll make a point to come by (look for “Anime Next” on the DR map) and say hello and chat about yuri and shoujoai.

When I get back, I’ll give you a nice detailed review of Yuri Monogatari and lots of other yuri goodies.

I’ll see you at Otakon!

Posted in Yuri Monogatari, Yuricon | No Comments »


Yuri Manga – Yuri Anime: Cutey Honey

July 22nd, 2004

What’s that, you say? Cutey Honey has no Yuri? Well, you are both right…and wrong. This is, after all, Go Nagai’s baby, and hence, *will* have implicit, mild Yuri.

Let me back up. I was given a copy of the original Cutey Honey collection, circa 1985, from Rica Takashima, who was cleaning out her closets and thought, “A-ha! Here’s a desperate gaijin who loves crap! I’ll give it to her!” And she as right – I love crap…and I have a house in America, not a small apartment in Tokyo, so I can coexist with far more crap than she. She told me that Cutey Honey was her first favorite manga, because she was the first anime/manga superheroine not to need a man at all – that she’s totally independent and that throughout the series, she saves girls from various threats repeatedly. In effect, the perfect heroine for a young, Japanese babydyke.

And so I received the manga for Cutey Honey. Upon initial review, there is some mild akogare, as Cutey Honey is assigned to a private girls’ school to protect the innocent lambs from their troublesome, and occasionally lascivious, teachers (including the female ones.) Honey’s schtick is a full-frontal nude transformation, so there is alot of nudity, Honey’s and the other girls’, because, like I said, this is Go Nagai. The adoration the rescued girls have for Honey is sweet and really not terribly sexual, except as it’s frequently expressed while both parties are naked, it adds to the Yuri ambiance. ^_^

I also have a volume of the New Cutey Honey manga, which ran in 2002 or so, and that is quite a bit darker and more adult. The art has become more sophisticated, there’s a lot more blood, but less Yuri. I think as Go Nagai has aged, he’s decided that blood sells better than sex, because all his newer stuff is darker and violent. I keep meaning to look for more of this series to see whether there’s the usual implied Yuri, but it keeps slipping my mind.

BUT, last night I indulged in a spot of watching Cutey Honey Essential Collection, Episode 2 gave me *just* what I was hoping for – an evil S&M-type ojousama baddy, named the “Jewel Princess,” with too little clothes and a pretty girl fixation, who wanted to posses Honey’s body in a decidedly not nice way. :-) To my delight, when Honey transforms, she does so with these words, “You may call your self a Princess, but…” [insert nude henshin, while Erica grins like a moron, because she knows what’s coming next] “…but you can call me *Queen.*” At which I clap my hands in delight, because Honey has transformed into her “S&M Queen” form. And when the Jewel Princess *also* claps her hands and says, “Oh! Now I *really* want this one!” it just made my day. ^_^

So, of course, Honey defeats the evil princess – which is a terrible shame – and delivers a kiss to the peach-fuzzed cheek of the young lad who is the hero of the show, but I, and all other Yuri fans, know that there will be more than one evil Princess lurking out there who wants to possess Honey. ^_^

So, okay, this series is NOT a “yuri” show. It does have moments, and occasional whole episodes of big Yuri fun…and the manga has lots of naked girls hugging.

The “Yuri goggle” rating on Cutey Honey: Anime – 7; Manga – 6

And, before I go, let us not forget that a new live-action Cutey Honey movie has just been made. It looks not *quite* as awful as the live action Kekkou Kamen, but you know I’m going to have to see it one day.  It pairs Honey up with “seemingly cold policewoman Natsuko Aki” and you what *that* means, right? ^_^

Posted in Cutie Honey | 2 Comments »


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.

Posted in Anime, Maria-sama ga Miteru, Yuri Anime | No Comments »


Yuri Reviews: Strawberry Panic!

July 16th, 2004

gspanic(If you are looking for a review of the 2006 Strawberry Panic anime please take a look at my April 11, 2006 review!)

Not to be confused with Strawberry Shake, the amusing on-going manga running in Yuri Shimai Magazine, Strawberry Panic is a serialized set of short stories that run in Dengeki’s G’s Magazine.

The basic “plot” is that there are three all-girl schools at which “Yuri coupling” is a tradition. Each issue of Strawberry Panic, called Sto-Pani for short, includes short stories about each of the four “couplings,” all of which are detailed on the website. The short, one-page stories about each couple that manages to be sweet, without actually, say, developing them at all as a couple.

G’s Magazine is a gaming magazine that specializes in bishoujo games – so you know that there will be not great plots, no intense character development, not much more than superficial Yuri cuteness…much the sort of thing that bugs me about the stories in Yuri Shimai. The reader will get the occasional chu!-type, peck on the cheek or lips, kiss. But in general, the stories read like candy apples without the apples – all sugary and gooey and sweet, with not much of anything else to support it.

The thing I actually like *best* about Strawberry Panic (aside from the occasional good Yuri picture,) is the fan art at the bottom of every “coupling” serial. These are a little more daring, sometimes, than the actual stories. But the art in general, as with most bishoujo art, tends to make the characters looks considerably younger than I like. However, if you like your Yuri moe – then it will be well worth your time to take a look at Strawberry Panic.

Ratings:

Art – 8
Story – 5
Characters – 5
Yuri – 10

Overall – 7

Posted in Strawberry Panic | 2 Comments »


Live Action: Ace wo Nerae! (Aim for the Ace!)

July 13th, 2004

aon(Para toda la gente de habla hispana: http://coyuhi.foros.ws/viewtopic.php?t=533. Gracias Laura-sama!)

On January 20th, I reviewed Ace wo Nerae! (Aim for the Ace!). Well, let’s face it, this 30-year old manga hasn’t changed much in seven months, but there’s a few fun updates I wanted to share with you.

Firstly, Ace is now a live-action television show. It’s been on for a while, but I’ve only managed to see one episode of it. So far, it looks like the show is playing pretty close to the original manga. The akogare Hiromi has for Ochoufujin remains intact, as she goes all doe-eyed and gooey when the older girl comes close or, gasp!, touches her. What is funny to see is how sily the character design of Ochoufujin looks in real life. What played as uber-cool and mature lady-like in a 1970-something shoujo manga, looks kind of goofy when transferred to reality, now. But to her credit, the girl playing Ochoufujin, aka Ryuuzaki Reika, is doing a nice job being competent and focused. And Hiromi is being played pretty much as affable and charming as the original, with a touch more strength, so you can see right from the beginning what the coach sees in her. Speaking of the “Oni” Coach, the actor playing Coach Munakata is stellar. Brooding and dark, intense and nearly sadistic, he’s absolutely *perfect.*

On a different note, I was re-reading Ace! recently while watching Wimbledon. Because Ace! was written in the 70’s, many popular 70’s tennis stars appear in the story, especially later on, as Hiromi approaches world-class. We see cameos of Bjorn Borg, Martina Navritalova, Chris Evert and Hiromi even plays a singles match against Billie Jean King. It occurred to me that Billie Jean King probably did not know that she was in a 1970’s Japanese manga, so I emailed her and told her. I offered to send a copy of the volumes in which she appears. I received an email back, saying that she’d love to have a copy. So, I’m sending her Vol. 8 and 9 of the Akita Bunko reprint with a note that states, “In a climactic international match, Hiromi plays Billie Jean King…and loses. You might be amused to learn that you are gracious in victory and offer Hiromi a few encouraging words.” ^_^

I also took the liberty of throwing in a copy of ALC Publishing’s Rica ‘tte Kanji!?, just for fun. We’ll see if Ms. King responds. ^_^

One last note – I’ll be out of town for work for a few days, so don’t expect an update until I get back. If you’re starving for Yuri manga and anime talk, join the folks at the Yuricon Mailing List and talk away!

Posted in Aim for the Ace, Live Action | 2 Comments »