Yuri Network News – March 3, 2012

March 3rd, 2012

Happy Hinamatsuri!

Snatches of Yuri

The second Magical Girl Lyrical Nanoha movie trailer is streaming for your squeeing. I cannot express how much I am looking forward to Magical Girl Lyrical Nanoha A’s 2nd. On the topic of Nanoha, if I had $300 I could afford to throw away, I would so buy this.

Queen’s Blade is streaming special introductions to the new characters on their Queen’s Blade Rebellion website.

You probably all saw this while I was at MangaNEXT, but a completely new R.O.D. series, Read or Die Rehabilitation is in the works. This is not an alternate universe, it’s a completely different story, that promises to be darker than the original. As the original manga and novels were quite dark, I’m concerned that this may be “torture the characters instead of have a plot” territory. Of all the R.O.D. properties, the original manga was probably the weakest. On the other hand, Read or Dream turned out pretty decent, so I’ll keep expectations at a minimum and judge it when I see it. ^_^

Shinyuu to Watashi no Sukina Hito (心友と私のスキな人) sounds like a somewhat frustrating relationship between two girls who are super close until one falls for a guy. I’m told that the end is a happy one (for us.) It ran in Sho-Comi magazine, so anything is possible.

Centaur no Ayami (セントールの悩み) Volume 2, goes off the charts with Centaur Yuri. I just don’t know if I can bring myself to read this. I much prefer to to not ever think of centaurs in middle school, much less having sexual relations.

Hinata Cafe Youkoso (ひなたＣａｆｅへようこそ) is getting high Yuri scores from blogs I disagree with. I’m not seeing pandering dressing-undressing scenes as “Yuri” but perhaps it’s another girl leering or something. Whatever.

Continuing whatever Paperweight Ai 1 started, Paperweight Ai 2 (ペーパーウエイト　アイ 2) continues. At least one story is by Sakamoto Mono, a Comic Yuri Hime contributor.

Yuri Manga artist Tanaka Rin has another Yuri comic running in fashion magazine commons&sense ISSUE42 GENTLE

And good news for me at least, Kimi no Tamenara Shineru (姫のためなら死ねる), Volume 2 will be hitting the shelves in April. I’ll get you a link as soon as possible, so you can not miss the wacky adventures of slacker Sei Shonagon and Murasaki Shikibu.

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That wraps it up for this week.

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Posted in Yuri Network News | 11 Comments »


Black Rock Shooter Anime ( ブラック★ロックシューター )

March 3rd, 2012

You know what you probably shouldn’t do? Watch 3 episodes of the Black Rock Shooter ( ブラック★ロックシューター ) anime in a row. Phew, that was depressing!

The short description of the Black Rock Shooter anime is that it is an extended version of the Black Rock Shooter OVA, with extended cast, as well.

Middle schooler Mato befriends the slightly aloof and obviously alienated Yomi, only to learn that Yomi is bound by guilt and manipulation to another girl, Kagari. Mato refuses to take no for an answer, and is able to befriend Yomi, despite all attempts to keep them apart.

In the game world that reflects their inner lives, Black Rock Shooter (Mato’s avatar) is able to free Dead Master (Yomi) by defeating Chariot (Kagari.) But their happiness is short-lived. Saya, an adult who is meant to be counseling the students in their school, is not-at-all-subtly manipulating them….and causing a great deal of emotional damage as she does. We don’t yet know why, but we can see that she knows perfectly well what she is doing.

The game world reflects the real world in that Black Rock Shooter continues to attempt to free Dead Master from her chains and her misery. Now that Chariot is gone, although Kagari is not, it appears that Black Gold Saw (who is clearly going to be Kohata, Mato’s sempai on the basketball team) and Strength (Mato’s childhood friend Yu, because duh~) will continue to oppose Black Rock Shooter in the game world.

Update: March 4, after watching episode 5. Kohata was no more than a minion. So, I agree that Saya is BGS, but I’m still holding on to Yu for Strength.

If you liked Madoka‘s “real” world/alternate world concept, you’ll find Black Rock Shooter a comfortable fit. The game world is an almost Jungian shared consciousness, where the rules are known, but not inviolable. The problem here of course is Saya. She’s pulling the strings for maximum angst and, as of yet, we don’t know why.

If I were to find a single complaint, it’s that the animation of the both “real” world and game world are not as high quality as I hoped, but I’m inclined to think that that is Nico Nico Douga’s fault, not the anime and that in Blu-Ray, the game scenes would be nausea-inducingly crisp. The subtitles are fine enough that if there are issues, I can’t think of any right now, so I’m inclined to say they are fine.

In the fine tradition of Nadesico characters from Shiroi Heya no Futari‘s Simone on, Yomi/Dead Master desperately needs rescuing – from herself, mostly. I’m content to wait it out and see if Mato/Black Rock Shooter can do it…and how.

Ratings:

Art – 6, but I bet when I see it in high def, that bumps up
Story – 7 ARRRGGGGGHHHHHHH, so annoying……
Characters – 7
Yuri – 2, but all Yuri Goggles at the moment
Service – You know, it worries me that there’s someone out there who actually enjoys the idea of the emotional torture of 2-dimensional characters for itself

Overall – 7

Good, but oh god, Episode 4 was depressing…..

Posted in English Anime, Miscellaneous | 11 Comments »


Ohana Holoholo Manga, Volume 3 (オハナホロホロ)

February 29th, 2012

Everyone is having issues in Volume 3 of Ohana Holoholo.

Michiru has successfully been moved up to a supervisor position, but is finding it to be even longer hours and more stress. And, for reasons she really doesn’t know, the sight of Hidesuke’s sweater hanging up with their laundry, where Maya has put it, upsets her no end. When she overhears two employees trashing her managerial style, the stomach pains she’s begun to have become intolerable. To add to her misery, she’s seen and rescued by Mochizuki-sensei, Yuuta’s day care teacher. Mochi-sensei is incredibly kind to her, despite her snarling. When she asks him sarcastically, if he likes her or something, he admits that he might.

Mochizuki takes her to his apartment and has his landlady give Michiru medicine and a place to sleep. Belatedly, but feeling much better, Michiru returns home, only to realize that she and Mochizuki-sensei may now have something they’ll have to work out.

Yuuta is also having some problems. A girl in day care, Hiyori, is being absolutely foul to him. Kicking his sandcastles over, blaming him for things she’s done. The children around them tell the truth, but Yuuta’s being hurt and he has no idea why! We can see that Hiyori’s mother talks trash about Yuuta’s family all the time, but he doesn’t know that. Finally, he reaches breaking point, when she tells him that his family is strange, Yuuta pushes her away. Typical bully, she starts screaming bloody murder, but it quickly comes out that she’s the one to blame. Nonetheless Yuuta, little gentleman that he is, apologizes for pushing her. And he forgives her when she’s made to apologize to him. There is just no way to dislike this child.

In the meantime, Maya has abandoned any pretense and is clearly going out with Hidesuke. Only, we see her true feelings, when she comes across Michiru asleep at the kitchen table. She kisses the other woman gently on the neck and covers her with a blanket. It’s a short-lived victory, because Hidesuke steps up his courtship. He’s already proposed…now Maya accepts. And as the book comes to a close, he kisses her.

This book was excellent – in large part because I spent most of it annoyed. Annoyed that Michiru was jealous, when she herself had left Maya in the first place. Annoyed because Hiyori was being a bully – at least there we had resolution and justice – and annoyed because Hidesuke’s a really nice guy and I don’t want Maya to end up with him. Grrr. Oh, and then Michiru is so annoying and Maya really would be better off with Hidesuke and just to top it all off Mochizuki-sensei is a REALLY nice guy too and he’d be a great father to Yuuta. Shimano-sensei cut me a break here, will ya? Argh!

Okay, bottom line, Maya might like Hidesuke (and who could blame her?) but she still has feelings for Michiru. And now that Michiru is finally maturing, she’s starting to get touchy about losing Maya, not for Yuuta, but for herself.

Because this story is about an alternate family, (Nico is still a doofus and a great “uncle” to Yuuta) I’m almost hoping we make it work as an extended alternate family. I kind of am rooting for Maya and Michiru to get back together… and kind of not.

Ratings:

Art – 8
Story – 9
Characters – 9
Yuri – I’m bumping it up to 5 for this volume
Service – Still a resounding 0

Overall – 9

I read this manga as it comes out in Feel Young and I know what comes next, so my annoyance is slightly mitigated. But only slightly. I may have missed the last chapter, too, so I’m back to being annoyed. ^_^;

Posted in Miscellaneous | 3 Comments »


Yuri Titles on JManga Still Limited by Country

February 29th, 2012

It appears that  JManga “Going global” does not mean that every title is available to everyone. Apparently, publishers still have to approve their titles for global distribution.

Absolutely maddening.

I hope you will all continue to apply pressure through email, Twitter and Facebook. And I’m terribly sorry for those of you who continue to be frustrated with this. I am also frustrated. I did not expect that the site would go global, but the actual series themselves would not. That is insane thinking and needs to be corrected. Write them,  please. I will do so, as well.

Posted in Yuri Network News | 6 Comments »


JManga Goes Global

February 28th, 2012

From JManga: “Just got the confirmation!! Thanks to all of your support… www.jmanga.com IS NOW GLOBAL!!!!! WE DID IT!!!!!”

They sound kinda happy about it. ^_^

I’ll pass along more info as I get it, but the upshot is – now all you non-North American Yuri fans can get Yuri manga on JManga, too. ^_^

Here’s my “I told you so”: Every single day, we’re all faced with choices. We can choose to find something positive to think, to do, to feel, or we can find something negative to think, to do, to feel. I’ve talked a lot about how anime/manga fans are so angry all the time – angry well out of proportion to the fact that this is comics and cartoons we’re talking about here. They get angry at companies for not licensing titles and for licensing titles. They get angry when companies make them use one format…or give them options. Fans spend a ridiculous amount of time saying how “no one listens to them” when all the companies are listening – and many of them are responding – but may or may not be able to do a thing just at this moment.

As a wise men said about another topic completely: Not being able to have everything your way all the time is not an indication of being persecuted.

We should all pin this up on a wall we look at often. ^_^

So, we all expressed desire for a doable thing, all of us – you, me, people from around the globe – and look, it happened! You Made A Positive Change. Thank you all for helping.

This is the first step towards a totally new paradigm for anime and manga; a non-region-locked information world. This should be pretty exciting. ^_^

Posted in Yuri Network News | 11 Comments »