Archive for the Yuri Manga Category


Yuri Manga: Bakuretsu Tenshi, Volume 2

May 18th, 2005

Sometimes, there *is* cosmic justice and a marginal anime series is actually a damn fine manga. Bakuretsu Tenshi is one of those series.

After the dissapointments of series like Kannazuki no Miko and Uta-Kata, its a pleasure to read a manga that is really just a decently written and enjoyable story.

Enjoyable, you might remember from my review of Volume 1, if you like guns, girls, mutating undead half-zombie, half-Boomer creatures, etc.

(In fact, if you like Bubblegum Crisis, you will probably like this manga – they’ve got alot in common, with an added dose of more overt Yuri in BT.)

In Volume 1, we meet Jo and Meg, who live in a world of nearly inexplicable violence. In Volume 2, the girls (and us readers) get a hint that it may not be as inexplicable as all that. Sei and Emi, who appeared in the first volume, are established as being specifically after Jo…although we don’t yet know why. We don’t know yet because there’s an actual plot and we have to wait to find out what it is…we hope.

From what I can tell, the anime begins after the manga story resolves and all four women are working together. I will say that, having seen the anime, I think the prequel-esque manga is working quite well.

And then there’s the Yuri.

As I mentioned in my original review, the anime did a bang-up job of pretending that Meg was not interested in Jo, while poor Jo was forced to go about saving Meg’s butt all over the place for little more than “thanks” and a hug.

Not so the manga. The first chapter of Volume 2 has Meg renting a suspiciously cheap house for the two of them. Her first thoughts upon taking up residency is a not at all subtle fantasy in which a naked Jo leans over a naked Meg and says, (in a sexy voice, assumably,) “I won’t let you sleep tonight.” Meg’s out loud response to this internal fantasy is to say, “Please be gentle with me.” ^_^

Later, Jo and Meg learn that the house is haunted, but instead of bailing like all the previous residents, they discover that the ghost is merely a hologram and they confront the rental agent with the fact. Turns out that he is divorced and his alimony is killing him, so he’s set up this scam to keep the rental fees coming in on this dilapidated house.

Later that night, Meg is saddened by the thought of falling out of love with the person you love. She asks Jo, a little desperately, if they might ever separate. Jo responds by feeding Meg soba noodles and, quite romantically saying that the noodles represent the length of time they would be together. At which we cut away to Emi and Sei watching this on a monitor. We see Meg jump Jo, all huggy and snuggly and then Emi turning to Sei and asking, “Sei-‘nee, why are we recording this?” To which Sei replies, red-faced and embarrassed, “Kids shouldn’t watch some things!” (Thanks to Zyl for correcting my translation there.)

Later Sei meets with Meg and offers her money to break up with Jo. Meg refuses, violently and swears that whatever the truth about Jo is, they’ll face it together.

So that settles that. It’s not a one-way Yuri thing in the manga. It’s lurv. And lust, for which I am eminently thankful. In fact, the preview notes to the third volume mention that Meg will be beginning an ero-ki battle for Jo’s attention. Hmmm…how do I explain that? Think naked, come-hither looks being thrown in Jo’s direction, with determination. ^_^

Not surprisingly, I am actually looking forward to the next volume in a way I never did to the next anime episode. I sincerely hope that the manga continues past this arc into the anime and completes the story, because frankly, I think it’ll do it with more style, better writing and a lot more Yuri. ^_^

Ratings:
Art – 7
Characters – 7
Story – 7
Yuri – 7

Overall – 7

Worth a read, if you like this kind of action-adventure shounen thing.





Yuri Manga: Ichigo Mashimaro, Volume 1

May 11th, 2005

Still playing “catch up”. Last month I tried, but failed horribly, to hate Ichigo Mashimaro. You can read about my shameful failure in the April 1, 2004 entry.

So, with tail tucked firmly between my legs, and lots of discretionary income to spend, I parked myself in front of the Dengeki Comics section of Mandarake in Nakano and proceeded to buy the first volume of this just too-cute-to-hate series.

My opinion has not substantially changed from the first review. I’ve got the hang of the story now, though. Basically, each chapter is about some totally normal and a little silly situation that, slowly and adorably, goes out of control until you’re giggling and feeling slightly foolish to be doing so at your age.

There is a definite, yet minor-key, rivalry for Nobue’s attention between Matsuri and Miu, but mostly on Miu’s part. Matsuri is too much of a baby to have a real crush on Nobue, while Miu’s desire to be noticed by her would be a teeny little pathological if it weren’t so damn cute!

The manga begins with Nobue at 16, as a blonde kogal with a nasty nicotine addiction, surrounded by her little sister’s friends who crawl in and out of the windows to their apartment like it was their own home. As the up-coming anime has Nobue at 20, I can only guess that Miu’s crush takes on a little complexity as time goes on. Future volumes of the manga will tell, assumably.

Even if there wasn’t Yuri in this (and I have to have the Yuri goggles turned up fairly high to see it, honesly) Ichigo Mashimaro is just too freakin’ cute to miss.

Ratings the same as the first time around.

If this manga can melt even my hardened little heart, the rest of the world will probably adore it.





Yuri Manga: Kashimashi Girl Meets Girl, Volume 1

May 9th, 2005

Back in March, I reviewed a random set of chapters of this manga. Well, I’ve backtracked and bought the first volume of the manga to fill in my missing knowledge. I’m not 100% sure I know what’s going on, even after having read it all. ^_^

Okay, so the first volume begins with a picture of Hazumu being kissed by Yasuna in the classroom, as Tomari walks in on them.

The story immediately backtracks to some weeks previously. Hazumu is your basic “nice guy” type boy. We, the audience, never see his face, but when he manages the usual full-body fall onto classmate Yasuna, she comments with a giggle that his face looks like a girl’s. He smiles and says he’s always looked a little girly. Shortly thereafter, he confesses his like to Yasuna, who responds by bursting into tears and running away, saying that she’s sorry.

Depressed, Hazumu wanders off on his own into the mountains.

Where he is taken up by an alien ship and transformed into a girl.

Seriously, after reading this bit three times, I’m still no clearer on the motivation here, except to say that, it’s a “hand wave” that we must accept.

Since the alien ship approaching was very public, everyone in the world hears the alien’s broadcast, and everyone knows that Hazumu has become a girl. For the first several chapters of the volume, the media are parked outside Hazumu’s house.

Back at home after waking up as a girl, Hazumu seems remarkably complacent about his change. His mother admits to always wanting a daughter, and his father becomes a tiresome pervert who is supposed to be funny. Reading Dad’s “funny” attempts to sexually molest his “daughter” has led me to decide that I will start to carry around a rolled-up newspaper to hit boys who think that kind of thing is funny over the nose until they are better trained.

The next few chapters are taken up with crucial stories like Hazumu’s first bra and which bathroom to use. Bizarrely, we are supposed to believe that Mom, while out buying fourteen million dresses, has somehow managed to forget to buy underwear for her newly-forged daughter. Only a man would write that, I swear.

Hazumu’s best friend Tomari protects her from the media, just as she protected Hazumu the boy from bullies when they were young. It is *this* that makes Tomari realize that she is in love with or, at least, is beginning to fall in love with, Hazumu.

In the meantime, Yasuna admits that she likes Hazumu – who is confused at the news because, as a girl, she feels obliged to not fall in love with other girls…although she’s kind of unclear how to do that. Tomari starts to realize that Hazumu still has feelings for Yasuna, just as she realizes that she herself has feelings for Hazumu.

Hazumu couldn’t get one girl as a boy, but as a girl, has two. What’s the irony level there? Snort.

Yasuna also admits that, ever since she was a child, she has a hard time *seeing* the faces of males, although Hazumu’s was beginning to become clearer to her over time, and she was, genuinely developing feelings for him. But now that Hazumu is a girl – she can see her clearly and is very in love with her!

Yasuna comes to the classroom where Hazumu waits for Tomari and kisses her, just as Tomari walks in, thus bringing us full circle in a story so full of hand waves and plot holes that, if it weren’t kind of sweet and cute and harmless, it would really, really suck. ^_^

But it does not suck. It’s just sort of silly and stupid and yeah. ;-)

Ratings:

Art – 8
Characters – 7
Story – 5
Yuri- 9

Overall – 7

Anyway, I guess I’ll *have* to get the next volume and see what happens, huh?





Yuri Manga: Kannazuki no Miko, Manga Vol. 1

May 2nd, 2005

I have read several comments about my earlier reviews of the Kannazuki no Miko anime stating that I was over-harsh, that it was a good story with lots of lovely yuri, etc, etc…. I remain unrepentant. I do not think it is harsh to require a story to make sense or at least to be internally consistent. The anime made no sense. The horrible eternal fates that Oogami, Chikane and Himeko fought against were, to be sure, horrible. But, and here’s the crux of my complaints, they lasted a few minutes, not millennia. The ridiculousness of the ending of the anime sucked whatever meaning the plot had managed to hold on to (which was damn little considering the bad guy in the series turned out to be not much more than a really loud voice.) No. I’m sorry – I was not harsh.

However…I am about to be harsh.

This manga is a piece of utter, plotless dreck, wrapped up in frisson of hormonal angst, senseless screaming and a rape scene that has no meaning or context, because the story simply stops. I imagine that a second volume was initially planned, but none has been printed, so there is pretty much no explanation at all of anything. Which is kind of a mercy, because if the explanations are anything like the ones from the anime, they will make no sense at all, and simply cease to have any meaning at some point.

Yes, I am perfectly aware of the meaning of the rape, and all the other stuff that goes on, and if a decent writer got a hold of it, it would all make a damn GOOD story. But no decent writer did, and the version we are forced to endure has SO many plot holes, assumptions and sections where common sense simply has to be abandoned, that I just can’t say that it all makes sense, and still look at myself in the mirror.  (I love you, so I will rape you so you hate me so you kill me, so I can protect you from a horrible fate. Only a schizoid personality can make that make sense.)

Kaishaku, the mangaka also known for Steel Angel Kurumi isn’t really known for strong plots. I sincerely hope that he didn’t write this as well, but was just hired to illustrate someone else’s story. It reads like a story idea that just sort of peters out mid-way, like a fanfic writer who burns out halfway through an epic Evangelion fic.

Okay – to be fair, the plot, such as it is, is pretty much the same as the anime, with a little more time for Miyako, the nun/1st Kubi. Also, Chikane is, IMHO, much more openly seductive and desirous (and not in the bizarro-world psychotic way of the anime, but in a genuine, gosh-I-want-you normal way) of Himeko. For her part, Himeko is less wishy-washy, but only because there’s less of the manga to be wishy-washy in.

The final score at the end of volume one is: Kisses from Himeko; Oogami 1, Chikane 1. Rape of Himeko; Chikane 1, Oogami 0. So depending on what kind of person you are, Chikane either has won or lost.

Doesn’t matter, though, because the story doesn’t end…heck, it barely even starts.





Yuri Manga: Uchyuu no Stellvia, Volume 2

April 30th, 2005

I spent *alot* of time and money buying new and used Dengeki Comics in Tokyo. I had a few older series to catch up on, and some new ones to pick up. I’d been looking for this one used for a while, and was able to finally get it in Nakano. Yay me.

The first volume of the manga is pretty much a straightfoward repeat of the anime. The art is even cuter-faced than the anime, but the story was pretty much exactly the same as the first two DVDs or so of the anime. Which means not so much Ayaka and Yayoi. Hence the lack of review.

Volume 2 starts with a very nice picture of our two Yuri poster girls, which I have scanned for your viewing pleasure:

You are welcome. ;-)

As Volume 2 is about as far as the manga seems to have gone, the story ends with the Great Mission, and the last few chapters speed through a lot of the plot complications. Sadly that means Jojo, Akira and the two teachers all get shafted of their lovely little love affairs. However, nearly a whole chapter is turned over to Yayoi and Ayaka, while Shima and Kouta get about three pages total…so I think it’s a good read all around. :-) And let’s face it – the Great Mission wasn’t that exciting anyway. Did we *really* think that the world was going to be destroyed when we have cherub-faced and pink cheeked heroes and heroines to save it? Nah.

We learn early on in the manga that Ayaka flies her Katie with a picture of Yayoi from before her accident…we are allowed to see that the picture was originally of the two of them arm embracing happily. Ayaka has cut herself out of the picture and taped Yayoi onto her dashboard.

In the manga while Yayoi’s accident (which was caused by Ayaka in both anime and manga) did stem from jealousy, it wasn’t the same level of homicidal pathology that characterized the anime Ayaka. And she didn’t repeat the murder attempt with Shima. In this case, as in the anime, Shima and Rina take stupid risks on the joust and happen to simulate a situation similar to Yayoi’s and Ayaka’s.

In an attempt to absolve herself of her sin, Ayaka had developed a program that she uploads to Shima, which allows her to save Rina. The event forces Ayaka and Yayoi to confront their past and their feelings for one another. While it wasn’t *quite* a cool as coming out in front of the whole world, their moment is very emotional, full of tears, and embraces and promises to never leave one another’s side.

But, at the end, when Ayaka unbends and joins the rest of the Big 4 for their ritual meal around a bubbling nabe, she looks *awfully* perky and happy all of a sudden. We have a name for that look around my house…”the freshly fucked look” is what we call it. ^_^

Ratings:

Art – 6
Story – 7
Character – 7
Yuri – 7

Overall – 7

The biggest problem with the manga? It ends too soon.