Top Ten Yuri of 2005

December 30th, 2005

Well here we are – on the cusp of a new year. Thank the heavens is all I have to say. ^_^

There were a lot of good thing Yuri-wise in 2005, and many mediocre things. Here are some of the series, things, events and people that I think made 2005 Yuri-riffic.

10. Mai Hime and Mai Otome. It’s not that often than an anime series gives the Yuri world a poster-child couple. Sailor Moon gave us Haruka and Michiru, Utena gave us Utena and Anthy, Maria-sama ga Miteru brought us Sei and Shiori (as well as Yoshino and Rei, Sachiko and Yumi, Shimako and Noriko and a host of alternate variations. ShizNat, as Shizuru and Natsuki have come to be known, have joined the popular consciousness as a couple…even when really, there’s no evidence that they are one. LOL For this and all the reasons stated in this year’s top ten anime list, and the fact that they both spawn much conversation, discussion and conjecture on the Yuricon mailing List, both Mai series make this year’s top ten.

9. What would my top ten list be without a monstrously unsubtle self-congratulatory plug for Yuricon and ALC Publishing?. ^_^ Let’s see – in 2005 Yuricon sponsored not one, but *two* events – including one in Tokyo. How amazing is that? ALC Publishing remains the only English-language publisher of Yuri in the world and continues to gather the finest Yuri artists and writers together for the Yuri Monogatari anthology. This year’s included Japanese veteran Yuri artists Akiko Morishima and Rica Takashima. This year also saw the distribution of Yuri manga for the first time to comic book stores – and now to chain bookstores in the US, Canada, Australia and the UK. I don’t feel one whit bad about saying that the staff, artists, writers and supporters of Yuricon and ALC have had an amazing year and deserve, 100%, to be on this list of top ten Yuri everything for 2005.

8. Kannazuki no Miko, ugh. Despite my feeling of hoplesseness every time I read a post by someone who uses the word “HAWT” in conjunction with this series, I have to get off my high horse for a second and admit that this god-awful farce of an anime and manga is what passes for Yuri to an awful lot of people. Not people I’d invite over for lunch or anything, you understand, but…. KnM put “Yuri” on the map for scads of fanboys who wouldn’t understand why “Strawberry Shake Sweet” is actually *good*, with a plot and characters etc., etc. For shoving the word “Yuri” up the noses and into the collective consciousness of the lowest common denominator, Kannazuki no Miko comes in at number 8.

7. Let’s talk dedication here for a second. Let’s talk shinyuu, friendship that goes above and beyond the bounds of sense and propriety. Let’s talk about two people you don’t know well enough, but you should – two people whose unending efforts in the cause of Yuri has made a real difference to us.

Rica Takashima has been a driving force behind a Yuricon presence in Japan. She was the organizer and host of Yuricon 2005 in Tokyo – and turned it into a history-making event quite single-handedly. She mans the Yuricon table at Comiket, creats cards and comics and art that make people happy – worldwide – and is an amazing person. And all this year, in *between* doing all this, she’s been handling a weekly cartooning job for a newspaper, and spending time, effort and energy on her own life. To say that all of Yuri-dom, owes Rica a debt of gratitude is not an understatement. Without her, Yuricon in Tokyo would not have been the success it was, and all the artists and writers who were there, who are now sitting in East Hall 5, Row Po at Winter Comiket, would not be talking about themselves as “Yuri” artists. Rica should probably come in at number one, really. But to her, I say, from the bottom of my heart, “Thank you.”

The other person I want to mention here has gone essentially unnoticed in the world of Yuri. She tends to hide behind me, but without her, there would be no, well…Yuri. Kelli Nicely has been the Yuricon staff illustrator for several years. She does the covers of our Yuri Monogatari anthologies and incidental art for them. She is the talent that brought Yuriko and her friends to life in the illustrated Shoujoai ni Bouken, and she’ll be illustrating a short for the next YM anthology. She created the wonderful “I Love Yuri” logo you see above. Posters, logos, whatever Yuricon needs, and whatever *I* need, Kelli has cranked it all out. And for all that work, she receives an unending stream of abuse and agita from yours truly. She also gets alot of lunches and snacky foods, but in the big picture she gives more than she gets. So for all her hard work as my whipping girl and right hand, Kelli Nicely makes the top ten this year.

6. While I’m talking about people who have influenced Yuri, I have to mention Hayashiya Shizuru. I’ve only mentioned her or her work about 10 times this year, but as the year moved on the frequency of her name popping up in my conversation has increased significantly. Her works, from the early ero-manga Ultra Sword to fanboy fave Onegai Teacher, from her doujinshi work as Jesus Drug to her Yuri serial Strawberry Shake Sweet, and of course, Hayate x Blade, Hayashiya Shizuru is making waves, setting trends and establishing a whole new wave of Yuri with humor – can you imagine? No more overwrought angst…no, the angst is now accompanied by ridiculous sight gags and egregious puns. And silly, silly situations. Yuri fans everywhere should say an Ave that she’s out there cranking out funny, happy, goofy Yuri.

5. I talk about them constantly, I can’t get enough of them. My drug of choice this and every year is Drama CDs. And at number 5 is the slowly but steadily growing collection of Maria-sama ga Miteru Drama CDs. One more moment in Rosa Chinensis’ Greatest Day, one more time for Yumi and Sei to interact, one more chance to hear Sachiko have a hysterical fit over something, one more chance to hear Shizuka sing. These CDs are the perfect way to get another infusion of the voices that make the characters come alive. Next year expect to hear about Hatsukoi Shimai and Hayate Cross Blade CDs, as well as more Marimite. But for now, the lovely ladies of Lillian make my best of without question.

4. Did I mention how utterly delightful Iono the Fanatics is? Yes? Oh well, let’s go over it again. Great storyline, charming characters, adorable art and sexy without cheesy fanservice. Can we get more of this please? :-)

3. I’m totally biased, I know. And I’m not above sucking up, either, so once again Japan’s quarterly Yuri manga magazine, Yuri Hime makes my list. Last year it made this list in its Yuri Shimai incarnation and now, reborn as Yuri Hime it’s even better than before. They’ve upped the grown-up-ness of the stories, added some significant artists and generally started putting out the Yuri manga magazine I’d like to see. If we can get their collected works over here through ALC, that would be icing on the cake.

2. I’m not *quite* sick of talking about Hayate Cross Blade yet, but I’m betting you’re all getting sick of hearing about it. :-) It’s funny, it’s deep. It’s got great, original characters and situations, and it has chicks with swords. In my personal opinion – a winning formula. The only reason I’d like to see an anime of it, is because then more people will see how wonderful it is. :-) Otherwise, I’d be happy with the monthly manga chapters that I read over and over in anticipation of the next collected volume. My most re-read manga of the year and greatly anticipated Drama CD…Hayate, Ayana, Jun, Momoka and Isuzu all make number two for the year.

Drum roll please……

1. In September 2004 I began reading these. I have read just about one a month since, and am steadily falling behind as Konno Oyuki cranks out more. LOL I’ve typed up notes, I’ve talked about them ad nauseum, and I’ve lived, eaten and breathed them for the last year. My number one diversion, and best Yuri anything of 2005 is, hands down, the Maria-sama ga Miteru novels by the magnificent Konno Oyuki-sensei. I am a notoriously picky reader – being a writer and editor has just about ruined reading as a pasttime for me. I constantly note inadequacies in the text, characters and situations. I just finished the thirteenth novel and all I have to say is – Konno is brilliant. The characters are delightful, the situations are fun and funny, and dramatic and worth every second it takes for me to translate, take notes and type the same up, so you all can spend another second with the Yamayurikai, too.

And so, please excuse me as I wish you all a very happy, healthy and prosperous New Year, Akemashite Omodetou, etc, etc, and end this, so I can begin the next novel. ^_^

See you in 2006!

Posted in ALC Publishing, Top Yuri Lists, Yuri Monogatari | 5 Comments »


Top Ten Yuri Manga of 2005

December 29th, 2005

This list was way easier to put together, let me tell you! Yuri Manga in 2005 had more variety and more energy than anime by far. Looking over the titles I’ve chosen, there ought to be at least *something* for everyone on this year’s top ten…

10. With a surprising amount of yuri considering the original manga series, we’ll start this list off with the ROD – Read or Dream manga. Yes, it had a severe lack of Nenene, but it’s jam packed with Anita x Hisami and not really in a yucky way, either. Ah, young love…. Anyway, as I went on and on during the year, this was an interesting fun and Yuri-filled spin on the ROD-verse.

9. The Maria-sama ga Miteru manga has not been as notable as I could have hoped, but it’s also coming out very slowly. At this point the individual issues are running once every other month in Margaret magazine. The manga adds in internal monolgue that is lost in the anime, and the additional dialogue and rewrites have not been painful. The art is different than that of the novels and, I think, better than the animation. The stories have been handled with care and most importantly, the incidental art strikes exactly the right note of goofy creativity. I only wish it was coming out faster.

8. Coming in at number eight is that old classic that I love so much, YajiKita Gakuen Douchuuki. The Yuri is, if anything, *more* pronounced than in the original 22 volumes. Not only does Kita-san have the usual gaggle of girls running after her, she now has Ruriko obsessively seeking to dress her up in a tux and make her her lover. I really can’t get enough of this series.

7. Ichigo Mashimaro. As I’ve said many times, I tried to loathe this, but just couldn’t. It’s just too funny. There are so many reason why I shouldn’t enjoy it, but Miu is too damn Yuri and funny to hate. That, and this series’ persistent life on all Yuri blogs, lists and sites brings it to number seven in my top ten.

6. It’s true that Transistor ni Venus is older than just this year, but I discovered it in 2005, so on this list it goes. This is more like the kind of thing I look for in yuri, especially when the main players are all adult women. The art is very pinup-y, the plots are bare wrapping around the many kissing scenes and frankly, the stories are stupid. But I really enjoy the heck out of this manga and I really wish there was more!

5. Bakuretsu Tenshi was, IMHO, a really bleah anime. What a surprise then, to find that the manga wasn’t half bad! The Jo x Meg thing that had completely been suppressed to the point of needing yuri goggles on high in the anime, was surfaced nicely in the manga. I only wish they had gone on with the story and rewrote the entire sequence of anime events, but you can’t have everything. ^_^ In any case, for Meg and Jo sharing soba and kisses, this makes number five for the year.

4. Shameless? Why *yes!* It may seem utterly absurd for me to say this, but I really do believe that Yuri Monogatari 3 is one of the best Yuri manga of the year. It’s got adult content, without it being icky, squicky or loli. There’s something for everyone in this year’s Yuri anthology – angst and violence and humor and even a sympathetic tentacle monster, lol. Every year our anthology gets stronger…I gotta tell you, YM4 is *already* on the way to being a really excellent book. Bigger and more chock-filled with excellent Yuri. And that’s what this list is all about, dammit! LOL If you haven’t gotten a copy of YM3, you’re missing, really.

3. Iono the Fanatics *had* to make this list. Original, funny, adorable, sexy, with one of the most charming eponymous protagonists I’ve come across in years, my copy of the first volume has already been re-read several times, and I eye the author’s site constantly waiting for the next volume. This manga makes my short list for “why can’t they make an anime of THIS????”

2. Who says money can’t buy you happiness? In fact, four times a year, it does, when the new issue of Yuri Hime comes out. This quarterly anthology has improved since Ichijinsha took it over. The stories and art are getting stronger with each volume and the number of popular yuri artists joining the collection grows every issue, as well. Soon we’ll be seeing collected volumes of stories from Yuri Hime, and we can buy copies and keep our fingers crossed that we’ll see more!

And finally, coming in at number one, my current raison d’etre and best Yuri manga of 2005…

1. Hayate Cross Blade

You can find my reviews of the collected volumes and Drama CDs of HxB in the category for the series.

No, this manga has no serious kisses, no sex, nothing of that kind. But it does have genuine emotional connection and conflict between women who love, love/hate and hate each other; it has Jun, an openly lesbian character; it has chicks with swords; and shinyuu; and it has partners who are in love, or in physical relationships with each other (yes, really…). Basically it has lots of girls, lots of fights, lots of comedy and a fair dollop of Yuri through all of the above.

Written and drawn by Hayashiya Shizuru, artist of so many other Yuri-riffic series, including the upcoming collected volume of Strawberry Shake Sweet, HxB wins hands down as my favorite Yuri manga of the year.

Posted in Top Yuri Lists | 1 Comment »


Top Ten Yuri Anime of 2005

December 28th, 2005

It’s the end of the year and since I has so much fun doing this last year, I thought I’d see about doing this once again. So today we’re doing the Top Ten Yuri Anime of 2005. And let me tell you how *hard* this was, since 2005 has been a particularly weak year for anime.

10. Coming in a number ten is the anime that, as my wife pointed out to me the other day, made “fluting” a verb, Kannazuki no Miko. I reviewed this anime in The Girl Got The Girl, But….. My opinion hasn’t changed, really. It was loud, it was silly. It made no sense. But a bazillion young’uns thought it was the most amazing Yuri they’d ever seen, so it makes the list.

9. At number nine is the reason I stuck in that late review earlier this week.- Loveless. It was one Yuri arc among many yaoi, but it was a good arc. It was happy. It was not loli and it had kisses and hugs and a pair of black furry ears. Yamato and Kouya are an angsty pair with a hopeful story – one good enough to make my top ten for the year.

Now it gets harder. Do we go with pointless obsession, lolicon, or service…to quote the brilliant choreographer Pina Bouche, “There are so *many*!

8. At number eight I’m calling on my ability to ignore that this series has actually been out for several years in favor of it only just having been released here in the US. So we’re going with Madlax, for number eight. I’ve reviewed the individual DVDs, so you’ll have to look around for them, rather than me listing every review, but suffice to say that I find the story compelling, the characters cracked and interesting, the holes in the plot full of possibility and ditto the Yuri. Eleanor x Margaret, Eleanor x Vanessa, Vanessa x Madlax, Madlax x Rimelda, whatever your flavor, there’s a couple that’s right for you! Bee Train’s finest work to date and a worthy purchase for your collection.

7. Mai Hime makes the list and really, despite everything bad about the series, belongs here. If you ignore Tate, Shiho and the craptastic ending, it was a truly excellent anime, and gave the world Shizuru and Natsuki, Haruka and Yukino, AND, through the determined efforts of Yuricon member Ashley, Aoi and Chie. :-) Shizuru was definitely the coolest psychotic lesbian of 2005, and I’m always partial to a woman with a polearm. Remember these faces and names, too, because they’ll be back…

6. Gokujou Seitokai is one of those series in which the Yuri is mostly Yuri-goggledom, with the occasional bit of service to remind us not to forget that this *is* an all-girl school, wink, wink, nudge, nudge. Nonetheless, it is worth watching and it has introduced a whole new onomatopoeia for snuggling – “paya paya.” Introducing a new word into two languages has got to be worth a space on this list. :-)

5. Number five is another funny series, Ichigo Mashimaro. Loli as it is, there’s just too much Yuri-ness to ignore. The good thing about Ichigo Mashimaro is that it’s snortingly funny, which makes it totally worth watching. The whole thing is really just adorable. Kills me, it does.

4. This anime is so new, I haven’t really had a chance to review it yet, but this year’s top four has absolutely got to include Kaleido Star: Legend of Phoenix (Layla Hamilton Monogatari). At *last* we have the Sora x Layla episode we’ve all been waiting for! This OVA is the Kaleido Star I personally had hoped to see from the very beginning. It’s all Layla realizing what Sora means to her – oddly, as she bicycles down Route 17 in New York State…a place I have fond and surreal memories of myself. :-) This OVA hasn’t been subbed yet, but it doesn’t matter. It’s totally worth watching in any form.

3. Mai Otome wasted no time in re-establishing Shizuru as lesbian supreme, and it upped Chie’s playgirl cool considerably. Shizuru and Natsuki are a not particularly ambiguous couple, Haruka and Yukino now have state authority to be a couple and there’s more than enough Yuri service for the average fan and some of the not-so-average ones.

Honorable Mention. For a series with no visible *Yuri*, but lots of akogare, and some invisible, but you have got to know it’s there Yuri-goggle type Yuri, Aria wins an honorable mention. If you can watch this anime and not see that Akira and Alicia are lovers, you are clearly not a true Yuri-goggle wearin’ Yuri fan.

And tied for first place for 2005:

1. Gakuen Alice and Stellvia.

Gakuen Alice is the best unreleased, partially unsubbed Yuri of 2005. Mikan’s love (and desire) appears to be mostly one-sided until the big romantic dance. Then Hotaru rules the Yuri world by taking Mikan as her “we’ll be in love forever” last dance partner. If you haven’t seen this series, you’ve actually missed a damn fine story.

And since I have ranted and raved about it so *many* times, here is the full-line-up of all the many reviews I’ve done on Stellvia.

Decent story, wonderful characters, fantastic dialogue and a really yummy Yuri storyline. One of the best releases of 2005, hands down.

As I said, 2005 was generally a mediocre year for Yuri anime, but we have some fun things to look forward to in 2006: Kashimasi Girl Meets Girl; Eikyuu Alice; Jyoshi Kousei and of course the third season of Maria-sama ga Miteru. Whether 2006 is as strong as 2003-4 for Yuri…we’ll all be waiting to find out, with bated breath.

Tune in tomorrow for the Top Ten Manga of 2005!

Posted in Top Yuri Lists | 14 Comments »


Yuri Anime: Loveless

December 26th, 2005

You may wonder why I’m reviewing Loveless so long after it aired on Japanese TV, and so long before it debuts as a DVD release here in America. Some of you may wonder why I’m reviewing it at all. The answer to the first is – I forgot about it. The answer to the second is – tune back in later this week.

Loveless is a mostly BL, mostly shota (the boy equivalent to lolicon, i.e., little boy suggestiveness and sexuality…something that squicks me even more than loli does, if that’s even possible) series that runs in Zero Sum magazine which is, incidentally, published by Ichijinsha, the same folks who put out Comic Yuri Hime. When I visited Ichijinsha’s office in April, they had gigantic Loveless cardboard cut-outs and posters. As they portrayed a shota catboy BL couple, I turned a blind eye and never paid it a bit of attention. Well hah on me! Because along with the BL catboys, there was a pair of Yuri girls…with cat ears, admittedly, but I can overlook that. (No, I do not think animal ears are cute. And I hate cats in any case. Bad lesbian! Bad!)

Animal ears notwithstanding, Kouya and Yamato make a strong arc for an otherwise okay series. The basic plot of Loveless as I understand it is that same-sex partners pair to engage in some kind of battle, in which one partner provides power and takes the hit and the other makes the attacks with the other’s power. Among one pair who were, I believe, lovers, the one who takes the hits died. His younger brother wants to know the truth about him, so he takes his dead brother’s place as the partner of an older bishounen who, needless to say, falls in love with his prepubescent catboy self. (The cat ears, btw, are an outward expression of virginity, as far as I can tell. They come off when the person loses the aforementioned. All very creepy and fetishy.)

Into this set-up comes a pair of women, Kouya and Yamato. They have been created(?) and trained to be each other’s partners. They are clearly in love, but terrified of the situation – and of their master. Their arc comprises about one volume’s worth of anime, about three or four episodes, but in those few episodes there’s plenty of soul-searching angst and yuri for any teen catgirl wannabee. And honestly, it’s a pretty decent coming-out/falling in love/starting a life together type story. Especially as their lesbian love is portrayed as what saves them from a miserable fate and sets them off on a free life of their own. A nice change from the more classic Yuri misery that we thought we’d never see the back of.

I’m not saying that this series is worth watching for this arc – but I do think this arc is worth watching for itself. Luckily I may be able to help with this. :-)

Ratings (for the Yuri arc only):

Art – 7
Story – 7
Characters – 7
Yuri – 9
Service – 7 (see above lingerie…and don’t forget the ears/virginity thing)

Overall – 7 and worth a look, at least.

For those interested in the manga version of this arc, the series has been licensed by Viz and is being put out in 2-in-1 volumes. Here’s a link to Volume 1.

Posted in Loveless, Yaoi Manga, Yuri Anime | 13 Comments »


Happy

December 24th, 2005

Here’s the *actual* text from a xmas card we just received:

The purpose of this mailing is to serve only as a warning. Those living at XX Alden Terrace no longer exist as the lifeforms you once knew. They have been elevated to greatness and now exist as part of our chilling collective. As the cold weather intensifies and the ice continues to spread, it will become easier for us to travel.

We WILL be coming for you.

Enjoy this holiday season…it will be your last.

I felt that I wanted share this sentiment with you all, as well. :-)

Happy Yule, Christmas, Kwanzaa, Chanukah, Festivus, Saturnalia, GERD Awareness Month, Boxing Day, the Emperor’s Birthday, (belatedly) Eid ul Fitr and any and every other seasonal festival and or observance you…erm, observe. A Happy Winter Solstice to you all.

Posted in Miscellaneous | 3 Comments »