Jormungand Anime (English)

May 1st, 2012

Many thanks to Mara for pointing out at Sunday’s Live Online Yuri Panel that the Jormungand anime had begun streaming. It’s available for free (supported by commercials) with English subtitles on the Funimation channel.
The Funi channel requires registration before you can watch anything. As much as I don’t love commercials or registering, if this gives me a chance to watch Jormungand for free, legally I think it’s a fair deal. ^_^

If you’ve been reading the manga, you know what to expect and, pleasantly, that’s exactly what you get. The anime is an animated version of the manga, not some mangled other story with barely any relation to what we know. Koko Hekmatyar and her band of cheerful cutthroats are still unapologetically arms dealers; many guns will be shot, people will be knifed and blood will spurt. But it’s all in good fun.

Bizarrely, I actually mean that. What makes the manga series work for me is the sense of humor Koko and her group have, and how they don’t make excuses for what they do. They are a family of a sort, and they are resolved to be the best they can be. As I wrote in my review of Volume 2 of the manga:

There’s a certain amount of philosophical rambling I’m willing to put up with in stories of people with no ethical underpinnings. It’s interesting to watch authors struggle with the “why” someone would do something so awful and interesting to see that they often have to create a kind of cheerful nihilism to explain it, so that their characters remain likable while slaughtering people.

This is captured perfectly by the anime. Artistically, the series looks more like the manga than maybe I’d want, since the manga is frequently drawn pretty sketchily, but it means that we know what blacked-out eyes and crazy looks mean.

Voice acting is just exactly what I want from the series. Itou Shizuka is using her Nadie voice with an edge of crazy and Valmet is voiced by Ohara Sayaka, who has played many of our favorites, Layla Hamilton in Kaleido Star, Alicia Florence in Aria and is now also popular with the Yuri crowd as Irisviel from Fate/Zero. More importantly for us, the Yuri inherent in Valmet’s character is left firmly in place. Mildo is creepily interested in Valmet, I have no doubt Schokolade will be gay as a pride parade and Dr. Miami will also have a serious interest in Koko. It’s just that kind of series. ^_^

Ratings:

Art- C’mon, seriously? You are not watching this for the art.
Story – Guns shoot bullets, people die horribly. You smile.
Characters – They are all broken, but they smile an awful lot, too – mostly while shooting things.
Yuri – Valmet is in love/lust with Koko
Service – Depends. No moe here, so that’s a 0. Weapons fetishtry – 1000000000 Valmet has large breasts and is hot for Koko – 6

Overall – I like it 8, but I’m probably never suggesting it to someone other than my Dad. ^_^

Posted in English Anime | 6 Comments »


Yuri Manga: Hana to Hoshi / Flower and Star（花と星)

April 30th, 2012

One of the things we don’t quite yet have in Yuri manga is a full blown love-hate rivalry on the field of athletic competition. With Hana to Hoshi /Flower and Star (花と星), we’re a little closer than we were before.

Hanai Sawako was a prodigy in competitive table tennis as a child. Faced with her first major loss, it broke her and she fled the sport. Now, years have passed and she’s ready to enter high school as a normal girl. On her first day, however, she sees a spectre from her past, the one girl who destroyed her careeer, Hoshino Shiori. Completely freaked out, Hanai-san feels her ideal world crumbling when she finds herself sitting next to Hoshino in class.

To make matters inexpressibly worse, when Hanai-san attempts to wake a sleeping Hoshino up in class, Hoshino gives her a sleepy smile…and kisses her.

Hanai-san is so put out by this that she can’t reconcile her feelings of distaste for Hoshino with ever-increasing like for the girl. All she wants, she’s sure, is to just avoid her completely…until an upperclassman informs her that there is a table tennis club at school and she’s paralyzed with fear. Hoshino steps up and explains that they – neither of them – will be joining.

The story shifts at this point, away from Hanai-san’s internal struggle to reconcile her image of Hoshino past and present, to a surprising backstory between Hoshino and the upperclassman. As Hanai-san starts to understand that their relationship is far more intimate than she realized, she now has the deal with a third, competing, feeling. Jealousy.

For some reason, despite the fact that she’s pretty unrealistic, I really like Hoshino. Something about her un-real reactions to things appeals to me. Hanai-san was harder for me to like, but I came around after the first few chapters. Her incompetent bumbling is a little obnoxious, though.

What will become of the two of them? Will they manage to be friends or is it destined for more? We still don’t know, as the story continues in the pages of Tsubomi magazine. But of the stories in the magazine, this is one of my favorites.

Ratings:

Art – 6
Story – 7
Characters – 8
Yuri – 8
Service – 1

Overall – 8

It’s right on the edge of a sports story and I have the perfect ending in mind for it. We’ll see if the creator, Suzukin Kalio, has the same ending in mind. ^_^ I sure hope so.

Posted in Tsubomi, Yuri Manga | 2 Comments »


Yuri Anime: Bodacious Space Pirates (English)

April 29th, 2012

Back in February, I was persuaded by longtime Okazu reader, Cryssoberyl, to watch a new anime called Bodacious Space Pirates. Due to the salaciousness of the name I was a little hesitant, but was quickly absorbed in what I consider to be a very fun story. I did my preliminary review at that time.

Another reader, Helen, pointed out that Jenny and Lynn were a couple and another longtime reader, DezoPenguin, pointed out that they are a couple in the novels…and when they director said there’d be no romance in the series, fans were devastated that that meant Jenny and Lynn too….

(These two paragraphs are a perfect example of why I value my Yuri Network so highly! I didn’t know any of this, and was glad to learn it all from you.)

The upshot of all of this? Well…the director lied. And gosh I am so happy to say that. ^_^

In episode 17, Jenny and Lynn are reunited in front of the Hakuoh Yacht Club, acting as provisional Bentenmaru crew…with a kiss. Actually two kisses, just to make the point. ^_^

 
And, as service-y as it was, Jenny is dressed as a bride because she was supposed to have been married and Lynn is dressed like Lady Oscar because the director is not a moron. ^_^
 
I have been enjoying the heck out of this series as it streams (free! legally! on Crunchyroll) and I had every intention of buying it when Sentai Filmworks releases it on DVD. (Can I be cynical again? Who wants to bet that Sentai licensed it because of the title and will be disappointed….?) ^_^ Now, even moreso, for obvious reasons.
 
In any case, Bodacious Space Pirates is now a Yuri Anime and has pretty much entered the race for Top Yuri Anime of 2012.
 
Ratings:
 
Art – Generally meh, exceptionally bad for this episode, but whatever
Story – Fun, with a light coating of awesome
Characters – Fantastic and getting better
Yuri – There’s Yuri! Squee!
Service – 1 and that’s why I say…
 
Overall – 10
 
Two anime ratings at 10 in a row? I’m getting soft.  ^_^
Posted in Bodacious Space Pirates, English Anime, Yuri Anime | 12 Comments »


Yuri Network News – April 28, 2012

April 28th, 2012

Yuri Panel

Don’t forget, tomorrow, 5PM Eastern US time, log on to the Yuricon Live Stream Channel for the first ever Live Online Yuri panel! Bring questions, we’ll have time to take one or two questions by chat.

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Yuri Manga

Mahou to Houko to Kurobuchi (魔女とほうきと黒縁メガネ) seems a Hakamada Mera-esque story about a loli and the glasses-wearing girl she likes.

Tsubomi volume 18 (つぼみ) will be on sale in June. Joining the lineup is bb-sensei, who brought us A Channel. As you might imagine, I’m just thrilled. -_-;

I’ve mentioned this before here, but Eden of Xeno, a Yuri-themed online doujinshi magazine, also has a blog by the CEO, Nakayoshi Tomino, (who is a really swell person, btw!)

***

Yuri Anime

Squee! New trailer for Magical Girl Lyrical Nanoha As the 2nd movie.

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Other News

Well, it’s official. The audience of Yuri Danshi is the editor-in-chief of Comic Yuri Hime. They’ve launched a Yuri Danshi Character Song and Drama CD as a deluxe edition of Volume 2, with a web page for the series. That explains that.

Speaking of “that explains that” YuruYuri is doing a woman-only event on May26 (oh, sorry, “girl”-only…) But it’ll be streamed live online for male fans of the series. I know I’m cynical, but I’d put money down on this being mostly attended by the female staff of Ichijinsha publications, roped into going to this and being streamed for creepy guys to watch online. I mean, seriously.

ANN’s Zac Berstchy sat down with the CEO of Viki.com to get the full story on the crowdsourced legal fansub site. Read it here. For the record, I’d love to see them get Candy Candy too, but does he know about the legal baggage that comes with the series? Not sure. ^_^

In other news, NHK World Radio has an English-language segment on the Gold Ring manga, collaboration between Qais Sedki and Japanese manga artist team known as Himekawa Akira. The interviews were set up by my friend Komatsu-san and I hope you’ll all give this a listen. I really hope that the English-language edition of this becomes available soon, so you can all read this shounen fighting manga based around the sport of falconry.

In keeping with this week of Moribito-based reviews, I learned that Moribito, Guardian of the Spirit was also translated into Italian. And, Italian writer Massimo Soumaré includes Moribito in his discussion of Asian horror in a two-part article: Part 1 and Part 2. (I also learned that this is not, technically, the first volume of the series, it’s the second, but the first isn’t a Balsa story. And that there’s a Balsa cookbook!)

Big news from Japan yesterday. Manga artist, BL pioneer and one of the Hana no Showa 49 group, Moto Hagio, will receive Japan’s highest civil award, the Medal of Honor with Purple Ribbon this year. She is the 14th manga artist – and the first female manga artist – to receive this award.

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That wraps it up for this week.

Become a Yuri Network Correspondent by sending me any Yuri-related news you find. Emails go to anilesbocon01 at hotmail dot com. Not to the comments here, please, or they might be forgotten or missed. There’s a reason for this madness. This way I know you are a real human, not Anonymous (which I do not encourage – stand by your words with your name!) and I can send you a YNN correspondent’s badge.

Posted in Yuri Network News | 9 Comments »


Revolutionary Girl Utena Anime, Volume 3, Disk 1 (English)

April 27th, 2012

The difference in tone between the first disk of the third box set, the “Apocalypse Arc” and first disk of the “Student Council Arc” of Revolutionary Girl Utena is so profound, the gap so enormous, that I’m having trouble finding words to express my thoughts on it.

The Student Council themselves are different. They have faced their darkest thoughts and are no longer terrified by them. It almost comes as a surprise to them that still they have weak spots to be be exploited. And yet, there they are, on the dueling ground, for reasons that they themselves don’t really understand, fighting.

The End of the World shows himself to us, and in many ways, he is aptly named. Akio, the Morning Star, Lucifer, the fallen angel…the End of the World, in the sense of a border or a boundary outside which is…what?

There are significant changes in the dynamic between the characters. Everything is fraught with sexual energy, even relationships we desperately wish were not. (How many of us grit our teeth when Akio put his hand on Utena and pulls her closer?) Kozue and Shiori attempt to embrace their own sexuality, only to find themselves left as wreckage on the side of the road. Nanami is made fun of, brutally, blatantly, so we must see her as a buffoon, naive and soft. This will lead to one of the most mind blowingly profound moments in the series.

But of all the changes, the most fraught, the most profound is the change that has come over Anthy. In the beginning of the series she was (apparently) a passive player in the game. Now Utena and she share a room – to some extent, a bed – and in the transformation and subsequent duels, Anthy plays a more active role. It’s impossible to ignore her or write her off as a victim with a nasty sense of humor. There is something very important going on in regards to her, although we do not yet know the full story. Watching this disk, I am reminded of the concept of shakti and suddenly, Anthy’s physical appearance makes sense on a deeper level than it ever has before. Is she the divine feminine power, the agent of change that charges the male manifestation of divinity’s power and makes him “able to do”? I think so.

In the beginning, Utena was the Prince who longed to save Anthy, the Princess. Now Anthy appears more as a goddess, giving Utena the power to…what, revolutionize the world? Really? Does that mean anything? With each episode, the tension around that phrase and around the phrase “The End of the World” becomes thicker. To see what it all means, we must simply keep watching.

Ratings:

Art – 9
Story – 10
Character – 9
Yuri – 4
Service – 4

Overall – 10

I don’t want to look, but I can’t stop watching.

Posted in English Anime, Revolutionary Girl Utena | 2 Comments »