Top Ten Yuri Anime of 2012

December 26th, 2012

Before we get started, I remind you that this is my opinion and no more authoritative than anyone else’s. It’s also my interpretation of the words “Top” “Yuri” “Anime” and “2012”. ^_^ As always, you are most welcome to disagree with me in the comments. I also invite you to share *your* top Yuri Anime for the year in the comments.  Okay then, let’s go!

10) Magic Knight Rayearth, Second Season – Damn, it was good to see this newly reissued by Media Blasters. Yuri is minimal, but Nova’s interest in Hikaru is just obsessive and persistent enough to make this list. There are some great moments in this series and until someone re-issues Card Captor Sakura, it’s nice to have a DVD release of an early CLAMP series.

9) Koihime Musou Otome Tairan – This sucked, but compared to the other two seasons, it was a work of art. Sonsaku and Koukin are a couple, so there’s actual Yuri.

8) Hidamari Sketch x Honeycomb – While they are still in no way – other than in fans’ minds – a couple, the creators of Hidamari Sketch Honeycomb have at least realized that we like to imagine them that way and have added more Hiro x Sae service to the series. It even looks like they’ve got Hiro cluing in to her (oh-so-obvious-to-us) feelings, leaving only Sae as utterly unaware of how together they are.

7) Yuru Yuri – Not as record-shattering here as it is in Japan, this slice-of-no-life series is popular enough to have the second season streaming on Crunchyroll. Kyouko likes Chinatsu, Chinatsu like Yui, Ayano likes Kyouko and Chitose likes to fantasize about all of them.

6) Jormungand  – Yes, it’s about people who sell arms and kill people. It’s violent and nasty. But it’s also not at all coy about Valmet’s feelings for Koko and for that, it bumps up even further in my estimation. Plus its loads of fun. Streaming on Funimation.

5) Rose of Versailles – Currently streaming on Viki, you really should be watching this. Ground-breaking, award-winning, historical drama (something that rarely gets made into anime) this series set a lot of bars very high for…well, everything. Oscar cross-dresses beautifully and the girls go wild for her. There’s even a real bit of Yuri in there, small though it is. Honestly, go watch it.

4) Revolutionary Girl Utena – Rewatching the Apocalypse arc was, for me, a climactic moment. I still can’t believe we got the anniversary set. And the ring. Amazing series, amazing artboxes, amazing everything. Simply amazing. Once again, it says something that this is *not* my number one pick this year.

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3) Dear Brother – It was a  “holy crap!” moment for me was when Viki announced streaming this series. Dear Brother was a linchpin moment in my anime-watching life, a moment when everything else peeled away and I couldn’t catch my breath as Saint-Juste threw knives at the clocktower wall. I am beside myself with glee that you can all watch this series. Even if you don’t like it, if you care “about” Yuri, not just like Yuri pairings, you really need to watch this series. Like, Rose of Versailles, without this series there would have been no Utena.

 

2) Puella Magi Madoka Magica – I don’t have anything left to say about this series, except it is absolutely, positively worth watching.

In speaking to Bruce about it, I commented that the sign of a good series is that it holds up under repeated scrutiny. I have scrutinized the heck out of this series which streams on Crunchyroll (and still have a rewatch of the anime DVD release ahead of me) and the series holds up very well indeed. Above all, the thing that Madoka has that so few anime do, is that it tells a story from beginning to end. No unresolved issues, no threads left hanging. It ends and it ends well. In any other year it might be my number one pick, but not this year. ^_^

No, this year one series stood out for me above all others. It got me on one of my oldest hooks, and one of my newest, and a whole bunch in between. My number one top Yuri Anime of 2012 is…

 

1) Bodacious Space Pirates – Fun Space Opera – check. Great characters – check. Pirates in space – check.  Fabulous female characters. – check. Low fanservice – check. Great sweeping epic stories – check. Yuri – check!

Captain Marika and her crew are characters I loved spending time with and will be delighted to spend more time with. I can’t wait for the DVD/Blu-Ray release of this series. An amazing dark horse series all around. Jenny and Lyn for the win.

My number one anime of 2012 is Bodacious Space Pirates, available on Crunchyroll and in 2013 on DVD and Blu-Ray from Section 23.

For the first time ever in the history of this list, every single one of the entries is available in English. ^_^ Now that’s a good year for Yuri!

Posted in Top Yuri Lists, Yuri Anime | 13 Comments »


Sailor Moon Manga, Volume 8 (English)

December 25th, 2012

In Volume 8 of Sailor Moon, three things of importance happen and I don’t want to spoil any of them. Instead, let me randomly discuss the concept of “destruction”.

If you are reading this, the Mayan calendar clicked over to a new cycle and the world did not end. Some of you are celebrating the birth of what you consider to be the Messiah. Others are celebrating the shifting of a small cycle of time, in which the big glowing ball of hydrogen in the sky does not disappear completely, but actually comes back to warm the planet for a teeny bit longer than it did the day before in the Northern Hemisphere (or less than it did the day before, if you’re in the Southern.)

This planet, the chosen land as Sailor Saturn calls it, faces destruction every day. And yet – here we are. Still. Reading manga, enjoying the company of family and friends on the road or at home. Every day we face some kind of Pharaoh 90, some person or persons who want to take our lives or our way of life and change it to their idea of what it “should” be.

As we face the new ba’aktun, the new year, the winter, tomorrow, consider this – Sailor Moon and the Senshi are written as ordinary people, selfish and silly, just like us. And, just like us, they fight every single day to realize their dreams. As should we.

Krampuslauf is past, Pharaoh 90 has been defeated. It’s time to enjoy the light that comes from the dark – dark will come again soon enough.

Have a great day. ^_^

Posted in English Manga, Sailor Moon | No Comments »


Puella Magi Magica Madoka Manga, Volume 3 (English)

December 24th, 2012

Whoa.

Remember when I reviewed Volume 1 and Volume 2 of the manga, and I said it was not great? Well for Puella Magi Magica Madoka Volume 3, they took the blinders and fetters off the artist and the speed and tension of the story works. I mean..it *works.*

I’m basically re-experiencing this story for the third time. To be honest, I’m getting pretty done with it and I wasn’t looking forward all that much to re-living Homura’s transformation again. But hot damn if this volume didn’t totally take the reins in hand and run away with me. I was caught up all over again in Homura’s story and in what I still consider to be one of the best resolutions I’ve ever seen in an anime/manga.

The artist, freed of the constraints of the first two volumes (as stated in the artist’s note) did a really good job. It was a pleasure to look at the art this volume.

Ratings:

Art – 8
Story – 8
Characters – 8
Yuri – 3
Service – 1

Overall – 8

And for good measure, at the very end, we get Homura and Madoka walking off together hand in hand. ^_^

Posted in English Manga, Puella Magi Magica Madoka | 3 Comments »


Yuri doujinshi: Kisu ha Owari de Hajimari de (キスはおわりではじまりで)

December 23rd, 2012

Do you remember Comic Lily? Neither did I. As a prompt, here are my reviews of Volume 1, Volume 2 and Volume 3 of this short-lived Yuri anthology.

But at one of the events I attended last month in Japan, I picked up a self-published collection called Kisu ha Owaride Hajimari de (キスはおわりではじまりで) which included stories that had originally been published by Matsushita Mai and Rakutoki Tarahi in that anthology.

On the bad side, most of these stories fall right into that dysfunctional “She annoys me, unless she’s not here” plot that we just discussed. On the good side, each story includes an epilogue that shows a somewhat more composed and functional relationship.

The first story, “Akogare Macaron” is the strongest of the bunch, Although Matsuri wants to be friends, Sayo works hard at rebuffing her…until Matsuri announces that she’ll be moving to France. Sayo finally finds it in herself to admit her feelings to herself and to Matsuri. This is followed up by an epilogue in which Sayo visits Matsuri in France and they vow to be together forever, someday.

The stories here are sweet and typical, much like the macaroon of the above story’s title…they all taste nice but they also taste pretty much the same.

The art is very decent, I think Hirari or Comic Yuri Hime would be well-served to look at this circle’s work.

Ratings:

Art – 8
Story – 8 for the first one, but they are the same story over and over and the impact lessens as one reads
Characters – 7
Yuri – 8
Service – 3

Overall – 7

On their site, the circle offers a few lovely Yuri wallpapers for download. Check ’em out!

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Takarazuka: Casablanca

December 22nd, 2012

Imagine, if you will, a version of the classic movie Casablanca, executed by an all female cast, in Japanese, as a musical.

The Takarazuka Casablanca was pretty much exactly what you’d expect. ^_^

I’m not saying that Oozora Yuuhi was bad as Rick, or that Nono Sumihana was a bad Ilsa, just that if ever there was a story that really did not need to be turned into a Takarazuka musical, this was it. Okay, yes, I’m saying that Oozora and Nono had nothing at all on Bogart and Bergman. Sorry ladies, but you did not sell them as former lovers at all.

I picked this DVD up in 2010 or ’11 and have just had a chance to finish it. Interestingly, I had just recently re-watched the movie Casablanca, because it was on TV and I have crush on Claude Rains. Which is why I was most disappointed with Hokushou Kairi as Renault. She had none of his good-natured, resigned corruption and her body language was all wrong. I really wouldn’t mind, but Rains was genius in that role. Boo hoo…

So, yeah, this was not my fave Takarazuka musical ever. I did think the music was interestingly “western” sounding.

Ratings:

Overall – 5

Now I’m out of review material, I’ll have to get some new Takarazuka DVDs – any suggestions?

Posted in Takarazuka | 7 Comments »