Various Yuri Anime

January 16th, 2004

Traces of Yuri

Part 2

Kaleido Star:
Another inoffensive (this time, really) anime, it seems to have been co-produced by and licensed by ADV. I can only imagine that they are targeting this towards a TV release, because there is *nothing* in this anime that would offend the mildest of viewers, with perhaps the exception only of the ecchi “Spirit of the Kaleido Stage,” who can’t be seen by anyone else but the lead. Since we (and he) do not actually get to see anything naughty, it would make a pretty good TV choice.

The plot is basically the same as  the old classic shoujo anime Aim for the Ace,Ace wo Nerae , (which I will review next week,) only this time instead of Tennis, the venue is something remotely Cirque de Soleil-ish. The lead, Naegino Sora, is a sweet, enthusiastic and energetic girl, without being too genki, too shy or too aggressive. She’s not afraid to speak her mind, but she’s not rude either – the perfect modern Japanese girl. Sora’s dream is to perform on the “Kaleido Stage” in America as an acrobat/performer. Of course, her dream comes true…with
many challenges that will force her to become a stronger and more mature person, etc., etc.

Is there yuri? There is, but, not much.

Mia & her roommate/partner in crime,
Anna are definitely and obviously a couple. They ping the gaydar from about Episode 3 onwards, and as the story (what little of it there is) develops, they seem more and more obvious. The only thing like confirmation we get is in Episode 19, where we actually see them sharing a bed, facing each other and close enough that they have to be touching. That’s about all. It’s not hot lesbo sex, kids, but would probably slide by a TV censor easily. The series is continuing on Japanese TV, so I’ll keep watching, but I do not expect Mia and Anna’s wedding episode anytime soon. :-)

If *you* know of a series that you think has yuri content, then by
all means, let me know at [email protected]
or join the Yuricon Mailing List and tell us all about it!

*In case you care, my fetishes are, in no particular order: psychotic and/or nasty women; competency, chicks with weapons, uniforms and classic literature or mythology used cleverly.

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Various Yuri Anime

January 15th, 2004

Traces of Yuri

Part 1

In reading around the web, I often come across mentions of series in which there is supposed to be yuri of some kind or other, subtextual or not. About half the time I agree. Here’s a quick overview of two such series, one on either side of the fence:


Popotan:
This is a reasonably inoffensive anime adaptation of a hentai game into about three sisters and their maid who take a lot of baths, show their underwear a lot and play dress up. As you can see, I find it simply fascinating. If any of these the above, breasts and/or lolicon are your particular fetish, then its probably a good choice. Since none of them are mine*, and since I saw only a bare trace of yuri (the youngest sister liking “squishy” things, including her older sister’s breasts
does not, IMHO, count as yuri) then I’ll have to call this one a “not really.”

It just dawned on me that I called a breast/loli/bathing/panty-shot filled anime “inoffensive.” How jaded am I? ^_^;

The plot of Popotan is initially silly, but becomes serious – sisters Ai, Mai and Mii, and their maid, Meah, travel from place to place (and ultimately, we learn, through time itself) to look for someone or thing. To find this someone or thing, they talk to the “Popotan,” their cutesy word for dandelions. (The Japanese word for dandelions is tanpopo and “-tan” as an honorific is a silly name ending, with extra cutesiness. Think Amy-wamie, or Billy-willy.)

In the course of their travels, the sisters run into and become close to several people in different places, but leaving those people becomes increasingly difficult and emotionally draining for them. They move through time and learn that their friendships had far-reaching consequences; some positive, but other outcomes are horribly tragic. Eventually, when they meet the person they were lookig for (a kind of princess of the popotan) they are given a choice – do they wish to continue to travel, or split up and stay in one time and place? Both will mean separation from those they love.

I won’t give away the ending, because while this isn’t high art, it’s not the worst thing in the world to watch, either, if a little manipulative. :-)

Is there yuri? Well, if you squint, or ar desperate to find it, then you can easily make Mai’s friendship with Konami into a yuri relationship. It’s portrayed as shinyuu;  – a very close friendship with bonds that last long after the girls part company. Between they way Mai and Konami connect so deeply, and a few moments of touching closeness (and close touching,) if you really wanted, you could see yuri there. I’m sure there’s a load of doujinshi out there somewhere with the two of them. On the whole, I think there are many series with more yuri than this one.

One last note: Beware – the opening music is horribly sticky. Once you get any of it in your head it won’t go away. It’s weeks later and I’m still singing it.

Ratings: Art – 7 out of 10; Character Designs – 8 out of 10, there’s something for everyone here. Story – 5 out of 10. It has moments, but that’s about it. Music – 5 out of 10. Yuri – 3 out of 10. Overall – 5 out of 10. Not bad for a H-game into anime, but not great, either.

As always, visit Yuricon, voted one of the Top 25 Anime-related sites on the web, for more shoujoai and yuri in anime and manga.

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Yuri Manga: The New Hana no Asuka-gumi

January 14th, 2004

Everything old is new again!

Part 2

Here’s another old series that’s been resurrected for a new audience…the original shaped an entire genration of girls in the mid-80’s…hopefully the new iteration willl do the same!

Atarashii Hana no Asuka-gumi (The new Hana no Asuka-gumi) is one of several excellent manga series running currently in
Feel Young Comics monthly magazine. I’ve raved about this series before, and the plotlines and character relationships are very complex, so I’ll attempt to keep this short, but will probably fail. :-)

Kuraku Asuka is an uber-cool 14-year old girl who hangs out on the streets of
Shinjuku in Tokyo. Her best friends are the members of the local gang; the Shinjuku Omoteban or Outside Group, while Asuka herself was once part of the Uraban or Inside Council that runs all the gangs of Tokyo. The leader of the Zenchuu Uraban, or Central Inside Group…i.e., the folks in charge, known as Hibari-sama, once upon a time, had fallen in love with Asuka and named her “Minister of the Left,” an important post in the organization. But Asuka was in love with, and being manipulated by an older girl, Yohko, who was an outsider to the organization and quite sociopathic. Asuka rejected Hibari, Yohko ultimately died and the series ended after 37 volumes of manga (Asuka Comics,) 2 anime OVAs, three-seasons of a TV show, and half a dozen drama CDs. Now, Hana no Asuka-gumi is back and I think it’s worth following. For one thing, there was quite alot of yuri subtext, which became overt text in the original. The fact that it’s running in Feel Young, which is a josei manga magazine (for older female readers) gives me hope that there will be more subtext than ever. Certainly the world of Asuka is primarily a girl’s world – there are a few guys with minor roles, but that’s about it.

In mostly every arc, you can expect:  lots of internecine rivalry between the area gangs and Asuka; Asuka rescuing a damsel in emotional and sometimes physical, distress; lots and lots of fighting; cool conspiracies as Hibari tries to either get Asuka back, or get revenge upon her.

The yuri subtext lies mainly in the two dysfunctional relationships Asuka has with Hibari and Yohko. Hibari (whose face we never see, and who carries a broken doll around) treats Asuka like a toy to be dressed up and, of course, undressed. In the original story, there was NO doubt that Hibari desired Asuka. In the end, it was on Hibari’s bed, as Hibari lay above her, that Asuka rejects Hibari and the Zenchuu Ura for the last time.

Yohko’s relationship with Asuka is a more complex. In some way, she does love Asuka, but her own twisted nature makes her unable to express it in any way, except by emotional manipulation. Yohko is *not* a nice person. Asuka openly tells Yohko twice that she loves her, but it only enrages Yohko. For the most part, the only way they can express their emotion is by fighting physically -at least this way they can touch each other. Yuuki (one of the few boys in the story) comments quite calmly to Yohko that its obvious that Asuka is really in love with her, so its not just me reading into it. :-)
And, for the record, he uses the word ai (love) not suki (like/love.)
Bear in mind that throughout this story. Asuka is 14 years old, with intimacy issues, while Yohko is 18 and a sociopath…there’s no way this relationship could work. :-)

Asuka is way too cool for her age, and her friends in the Omoteban are a blast: Miko (Yohko’s half sister) is whacked and funny;  Hime is composed and beautiful in a way that *no* 13-year old ever is. :-) The New Asuka has brought back all of the old characters, including alot of the smaller roles, the area gang leaders, the women of the Ranjuku Detention Center, and all of the Zenchuu Ura, including the incredibly hunky Kazuga (Hibari’s Aide-de-camp.). So there are plenty of uber-cool women to watch for.

The new series seems to be post-Yohko, but I live in hope that she will appear, if only because every other arc in the entire Asuka universe had Yohko at the center of it.

The author has her own website which has downloads, games and other Asuka-related stuff. You can find that all at
Takaguchi.net, along with info on the author’s other popular series, some of which are yaoi.

Ratings: Art: 8 out of 10, the old series was a little cleaner than the new (but the new characters look more their age). Character: 10 out of 10. You don’t get better than Asuka! Story – 8 out of 10 for now, since the arc is developing slowly…. Yuri: 2 out of 10 so far – no Hibari/Asuka, no Yohko/Asuka…only the hint that Hibari has a new favorite. Overall – 7 out of 10.

And, as always, you’ll always be kept up to date on any new yuri-ness on the Yuricon Mailing List!

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Yuri Manga: YajiKita Gakuen Douchuuki

January 13th, 2004

Everything old is new again!
Part 1

Yes, now that all the otaku of my generation have grown into curmudgeonly old farts who now edit the magazines they once read as kids, you’ll be seeing more and more “revivals” of series from the 70’s and 80’s. Face it, when they remade Beverly Hillbillies into a movie, you just *knew* we were doomed, right? Well, in the case of anime and manga, this isn’t such an evil trend. Here’s a title that you should keep on the lookout for, with great characters, Yuri sub- (and sometimes, overt-) text and action-filled plots:

YajiKita Gakuen Dochuuki, (Yaji and Kita’s School Diary) is a manga series from Bonita magazine from the early 80’s. This was one of Bonita Magazine’s most popular series ever, with Kita consistently topping the “most popular character” category in the annual poll.

I can believe it.

Yaji and Kita and their adventures parody two comedic figures from Japanese literature who wandered from town to town, encountering bad guys and generally making fools of themselves. In this iteration, they are two schoolgirls who wander from school to school, fighting the bad guys and generally saving the day. Shinokita Rei (Kita-san) is a butchy, serious blonde girl, with a penchant for rescuing (and becoming the object of affection for) lovely young ladies and Yajima Junko (Yaji-san) is a tall, lovely brunette girl with a impetuous nature and a habit of rescuing (and becoming the object of affection for) beautiful boys.

In practically every arc of YajiKita, you can be sure of a few things –  the Yakuza will be involved, there will be much fighting, Yaji and Kita will be inutterably cool, the girl will fall in love with Kita and the boy with Yaji. The girls are all doll-like and beautiful and the boys are all *so* pretty. And Kita looks incredibly hunky on her motorcycle….sigh. YajiKita is running once again in Mystery Bonita magazine, so keep your eyes peeled for the collected volumes! I promise to report as soon as I’ve managed to take a look.

Ratings:

Art – 8 out of 10. It’s very realistic and clean.
Story – 6 out 0f 10 for realism, but 10 out of 10 for fun.
Character design – 10 out of 10 for Kita alone. ;-)
Yuri – 6 out of 10 – lots of fun service, little substance.

Overall – 8 out of 10

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A First Look at Maria-sama ga Miteru Anime

January 12th, 2004

Yuricon makes the Animefringe.com Top 25!

Congratulations to the Yuricon website – we were named #22 in Animefringe.com’s annual Top 25 web poll. Yuricon is the *first* con-related web page to ever be so named. And considering the other ranked sites (Bittorrent, Anime on DVD, Anime News Network…) I think we have a lot to be proud of!

A First Look at Marimite

This past weekend, I screened the first episode of Maria-sama ga Miteru the anime. I’ve been following the manga, and there are some small differences – and again, these are different from the original novels, or so I’m told. That having been said, here’s my first impression:

Marimite is not an action-filled anime. It is quiet and deliberate. The tone is set at the very beginning when our heroine, Yumi, tells us that the girls of Liliian Girls Academy are expected to be neat, speak politely and move slowly. Set within this frame of contemplation and good manners, any extreme – not matter how trivial – seems out of synch. Sudden movements, a raised voice, a firm touch…all these things stand out as being not usual, out of tune with the rest of the school. Because of the focus on deliberate movement, there is a tension in each scene, that can’t really be accounted for by the apparent situation. (The tension feels similar to that of the sketching scene in the Utena movie, when Utena is sketching Anthy in the Tower…Anthy’s movements are *so* deliberate, that they feel symbolic. The eyecatches are also consciously reminiscent of Utena: the theme heavy with violin, and a flower-filled frame. Trust me – its *really* obvious.)

While I have no doubt that the plot will resolve happily, this anime is driven by character, not plot. The plot revolves around manipulation and emotional connection in a girl’s school… in other words, it’s about nothing. :-) The thing that will bring viewers back will be the interaction between the characters, the growth of their relationships, and that tension I mentioned above. Do not expect any great climaxes of action…but do expect a few emotional outbursts. ^_^ This is a truly shoujo series.

As an anime, this series as defintely the love-child of Oniisama E (Brother, Dear Brother) and Utena. Sitting somewhere between the strong flower imagery of Utena and the emotion of the Sorority storyline of Oniisama E, lies the outwardly sedate Marimite. Ultimately, like most classic shoujo, Marimite is about an average girl who, by circumstance or fate, becomes involved with the Great Ones of her school.

Whatever happens, I think it’ll be an interesting ride. ^_^

For more conversation, art scans and info about Marimite, and other Yuri anime and manga, join us at the Yuricon Mailing List.

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