Yuri Manga: Salomelic (さろめりっく)

October 23rd, 2012

Like most transfer students, Salome is trailed by rumor, innuendo and scandal. In conjunction with her dark, gothic image and her lonely expression, this makes her a target. In  Salomelic, from Hirari Comics, Salome is indeed a melancholic character.

The rumors say that Salome is a witch, that she uses magic to cheat on her grades and that *something* – what exactly, no one is sure – caused her to move from her former school. As with most lives, the reality is a bit tamer…Salome moves around a lot because her mother is a fortune-teller who leaves town after her love affairs fall apart. Oh, but Salome is a witch.

Salome is befriended by the allegorically named Hikari, who brings light into her dark life. As they grow closer, Hikari is rejected by her old friends, but it all gets patched up after a bit. Salome is happy using her magic making chocolates for Hikari and her friends, but nothing stays the same for long. Salome’s feelings for Hikari are not just “friendship” and she appears to be losing her magic…and to add insult to injury, her mother wants to move again!

Even typing all this out, it is a tad exhausting. Hakamada Mera has squeezed in all of her pet plot complications, making Salomelic into a bit of a rushed mess. But of course, in the end, everyone lives happily ever after – and kind of nicely, even after happily ever after. ^_^

Ratings:

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

Overall – 7

I’m never honestly sure if I’m being extra hard on Hakamada-sensei or if I really think she has something special in her that we just haven’t seen. I’m going to presume its the latter and hold out for a story by her written with some real conviction and passion. ^_^

Posted in Hakamada Mera, Hirari, Yuri Manga | 2 Comments »


Dear Brother Anime (English)

October 22nd, 2012

It was 2004. Fansubs were already phasing out of the elegantly clunky VHS tape-exchanges by snail mail and were shifting towards the passionless and infinitely faster transmission of IP people had no right to share by digital means.

Oniisama E was already a relic of a former age even then. Fansubbed by a bastion of Victorian worldviews, each volume of the anime came with notes on culture, references and a full set of what we ought to be feeling and understanding. It wasn’t enough for us to know that the rain, the wind, the trains and the flocks of birds were symbolic, we were to be told exactly how to interpret them. ^_^ As the end of this series heralded the end of anime fandom as I had entered it, I finally wrote a review, if only to say goodbye to it.

Now we have a chance that I could never ever have expected – a free, legal, multi-language option for people to watch this oh-so-shoujo series, streaming on Viki.com. I hope every single one of you who loves Maria-sama ga Miteru will watch Oniisama E/Dear Brother based on the manga by Riyoko Ikeda.

This is a series fraught with fraughtness. In the poisonous hothouse of an elite girls’ school, a nice girl named Nanako will encounter insanity, obsession, emotional manipulation, friendship and love.

Kaoru-no-Kimi, the athletic masculine type, Miya-sama without whom we would never have had Juri in Utena and the beautifully tragic Sainte-Juste, who makes homicidal depression and drug use look…sexy. You cannot tell me that kids books today are too dark. ^_^

Ratings:

Art – 8
Story – 9
Character 9
Yuri – More than you expect (and more than Technogirls would admit)
Service – 4 for girls in suits, but nothing more salacious than that

Overall – 9

This stuff is made of awesome. Give me until Episode 7, and if you hate it, you can stop. But then, we can never be friends. ^_^

Posted in Dear Brother, English Anime, Riyoko Ikeda | 10 Comments »


Kick-Heart Anime Kickstarter Project: The Totally Not-At-All-Yuri Thing You *Need* to Know About

October 20th, 2012

I have wanted to write about this since it popped up on my radar, but life got in the way. Now I’m going to linger over it: Veteran anime maker Masaaki Yuasa has turned to Kickstarter to fund a wholly original anime called Kick-Heart.
THIS IS WHAT CROWD-SOURCED FUNDING IS ABOUT FOLKS.

We all know that anime is about sales, and about reaching the largest possible audience who will buy stuff. That means that in the last 10 years we’ve seen multiple levels of simplification, in art, story, character and design. The audience for anime has effectively been shrunk down with every simplification. And those of us who love animation for itself, love it for the sheer fantasy playland of possibilities, have been kind of shunted onto the sidelines while baby-faced girls showing their underwear to big brother figures have overrun this art form.

Here is our chance to regain some of our dignity  – and, I say this without irony – I cannot think of a better way than with an anime about S&M pro-wrestling romance. This story is crazy, but it’s adult crazy, not eternally suspended at 12-years-old crazy.

Kickstarter isn’t a perfect solution, but it does change the playing field significantly. Imagine if animators could actually be in charge of their animation once more. Imagine if creators did not need to bow to market pressure to make materials that only appeal to the Lowest Common Denominator.  Imagine if we – we, the fans that love animation – can be the force for creating Art.

I backed Kick-Heart this week because I believe in it.  I hope you will consider backing it, but more importantly, I hope you will spread the word. Facebook, Twitter, wherever you are, you can make a difference. In return, the team is showing that they “get” a global, digital market – downloads are DRM-free, the DVDs/HDs are region free and they are covering shipping for overseas customers!

Production IG is at over 80% of their funding goal, but could really use help making that last 20%. If you have ever wanted to be a part of an anime project, here you go – this is your chance. Make anime happen!

Posted in Miscellaneous | 3 Comments »


Yuri Network News – October 20, 2012

October 20th, 2012

Hi all. I want to start today’s report with some news. Not terribly great news, but I kind of feel like you deserve to hear it from me.

Last week, just before New York Comic Con, I ended up rushed to the hospital. The good news is that was not a stroke, which is what we originally thought. The bad news is that it is Multiple Sclerosis and, for the moment, both my motor coordination and speech are a little messed up. I was sure that after NYCC, my reviewing schedule would go back to normal here, but that seems unlikely now. I apologize in advance if reviews are sporadic for a while again. The very good news is that I’m improving every day, so just send me your kind thoughts (please, no offers of help or advice, or friends to talk to…all that will merely piss me off) and we’ll move on with our lives. ^_^ At this point, I do still plan on going to Japan for Maiden’s Garden and Comitia, but obviously, we’ll see.

For those of you already heard this news on Twitter and Facebook, thank you all for your kind thoughts and support. It means a lot to me.  That having been said, let’s get on to the news!

***

Yuri Manga

JManga made a number of big announcements last week at NYCC, not least of which was that they will be that they have added Aoi Hana, Sweet Blue Flowers, by Shimura Takako. They are also leading their new Jmanga7 service with a number of Yuri titles including Gokujyo Drops, Hanjuku Joshi, Kuchibiru ni Saketa Orange and Aoi Hana! I can assure you that JManga’s and ALC’s committment to getting you as much Yuri Manga as possible is as strong as ever. ^_^ (I won’t leak news, but let me assure you some great stuff is on the way!)

Once again, please allow me to flog that Tokyo Love ~ Rica ‘tte Kanji!? is available online for free.

If you decide you like it and want to buy Tokyo Love, all the digital editions are DRM-free and shareable. We’d love for you to use in your classwork, and please let your teachers know that they are welcome to use it, as well.

Rica and I would like nothing better than for every person who needs or wants to read this feel-good lesbian manga to have the chance to do so, so please feel free to share the link around!

***

Yuri Anime

Nozomi RightStuf also renewed their commitment to the Yuri audience this week, with their premiere of Rose of Versailles at NYCC. Episode 1 is up online on Nozomi’s Youtube Channel, so do go over and watch  what is arguably the most famous anime in the world. ^_^ (Yes, unfortunately, region-blocking is in effect. Do email RightStu and Viki to and let them know you want to be able to watch it, so they can effectively communicate that to the Japanese rights holder company who insists.)

You also have a chance to ask Rose of Versailles creator Riyoko Ikeda questions about her creation! Check out the official Rose of Versailles site and get your questions in by Nov, 1, 2012.

Yuru Yuri has won a prestigious animation award. Fun, I’ll give you – good animation? Come on.

***

Other News

Kodansha has announced a Sailor Moon Artbook. Interestingly, it appears they are putting together an aggregate of some of the original books, rather than just printing them in order. Sean Gaffney clarifies, “From what I gathered at the Kodansha panel, the Japanese are culling the SM artbooks into one new one that way for the anniversary. Kodansha USA is merely releasing it over here soon after, with Naoko’s NA-only content.” Thanks for clearing that up, Sean.

***

That’s a wrap 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.

Thanks to all of you – you make this a great Yuri Network!

Posted in Yuri Network News | 13 Comments »


Ask Rose of Versailles’ Riyoko Ikeda Questions on RightStuf.com

October 19th, 2012

Nozomi Entertainment Wants Fans’ Questions for The Rose of Versailles Creator Riyoko Ikeda

Submit questions at rov.rightstuf.com by 4 p.m. CDT on Nov. 1, 2012.

GRIMES, Iowa, Oct. 18, 2012 – Anime producer and distributor Right Stuf, Inc. and Nozomi Entertainment want fans’ questions for Riyoko Ikeda, the legendary creator of The Rose of Versailles . Please submit questions, via the form located at the official series site (rov.rightstuf.com), by 4 p.m. CDT on Thurs., Nov. 1, 2012.

Right Stuf’s Nozomi Entertainment division will be releasing the anime adaptation of The Rose of Versailles, also known as “Berusaiyu no BaraThe Rose of Versailles and “Lady Oscar,” both digitally, via Viki.com in December 2012 (U.S. and Canada), and as two limited-edition DVD box sets in 2013. This will be the first time the entire anime series will be available to English-speaking audiences in North America. Right Stuf, Inc. licensed the series from TMS Entertainment, Ltd.

Set during the years preceding the French Revolution, The Rose of Versailles is a tale of romance and political intrigue that centers around Oscar François de Jarjayes, a young woman whose father has raised her as a man – and trained her to be an elite and skilled soldier – so she can succeed him as the commander of the palace guards.

The Rose of Versailles is based upon the best-selling manga (comic) by Riyoko Ikeda (Dear Brother, a.k.a. Oniisama e…), which was originally serialized in Shueisha’s shoujo (girls’) anthology magazine Margaret, from 1972 through 1973, and later collected into 10 volumes. In addition to its anime adaptation, it inspired a short story collection (also written by Ikeda), a French-Japanese live-action film, and multiple musicals staged by Japan’s famed Takarazuka Revue.

This 40-episode anime adaptation of The Rose of Versailles originally aired on Japanese television from October 1979 through September 1980. It features animation by TMS Entertainment, Ltd., as well as direction by Tadao Nagahama (Romance Robot Trilogy) and Osamu Dezaki (Nobody’s Boy – Remi, Dear Brother, Aim for the Ace!).

For more information about the series and to submit questions for the Q&A with Ms. Ikeda, visit rov.rightstuf.com.

Posted in Miscellaneous, Riyoko Ikeda, Rose of Versailles | No Comments »