Fate Zero Anime, First Season

January 29th, 2012

There’s Fate Zero, then there’s the Fate Zero in my mind.

Fate Zero is a prequel to the Fate/Stay Night Visual Novel about which I know and care nothing. I only care insofar as the Fate Zero anime was mostly introduction and exposition at this point, and I’m hoping it holds together as a series on its own.

The story is, relatively speaking, simple – 7 great heroes/evildoers of the past are reincarnated with even greater powers than they actually had when they were merely men who achieved notable things, and they each have a master who wishes to find the Holy Grail to achieve some goal, selfish or otherwise. Who the heroes are, is the most interesting part of the series to me, and how their myths are rewritten to determine their powers.

I was asked some weeks ago about my interest in the reincarnated heroes, as I’ve mentioned here in the past that myths are typically a good hook for me. Since these heroes aren’t really connected to their past incarnations in any meaningful way, these are clever and some good fun, but I don’t actually feel a connection between one and the other. Nonetheless, I enjoyed the heck out of this series – even when large chunks of episodes were merely expository conversation.

Let’s start from the top – the heroes themselves.

Lancer was a hoot for me, it’s not often I get to see Fionn mac Cumhaill in an anime. Or, ever. When people think of Irish heroes, they always default to Cuchulain. I liked how he was noble, but his master is a prick. A story from his perspective would be much different than the one from Saber’s.

Rider‘s really the hero here. I’m pretty sure that Alexander the Great didn’t look anything like that great huge mountain of a man, but I loved the interpretation of “Great” as meaning looming large in every way. Rider’s what you think of when you think “Age of Heroes;” great huge muscular men, laughing as they fight, drink and die. (Except for Cuchulain, I think he’d be a mope no matter what he was doing.) Rider’s master is weak, but not bad, and having Rider as a servant will man him up pretty fast, so if he survives, it’ll be good for him. Poor bastard needs it, with the name Waver Velvet.

Oh Saber. Who can’t love the idea of a conflicted, tortured King Arthur? Everyone tortures Arthur differently. Whether you force him to deal with a wife who is having an affair, or make him have an affair himself, or turn him into a woman who had to hide his gender, or even turn him into Sailor Moon, Arthur is a splendid tabula rasa on which to draw. He’s timeless. Even though Saber’s master is the utterly dull Kiritsugu, we’re supplied with a Guinevere for him to adore in the person of Irisviel. I have no doubt that most of you were writing little stories in your head about Saber and Irisviel, as I was.

Caster is half of the best comedy team I’ve ever seen. He and his master, voiced absolutely deliciously by Ishida Akira, were perfect. Gilles de Rais is the name of a man so loathed, so envenomed by the ages that I’m kind of inclined to think he probably didn’t do any of the things he was accused of doing. You all know Bluebeard, right? Well, you should. I have to tell you, I *loved* his speech about “What do I have to do to be punished by god?!?” That was almost as good as Saber on her bike for me.

Beserker is Lancelot? Well, that’s just dumb. Lancelot was no beserker, I can tell you. They should have picked someone Norse. It doesn’t make any sense to have a Berserker Lancelot. Gawd. Now I’m just depressed. ( I retract this. Berserk Lancelot does make sense. And it caused a fraught conversation in the second season between Saber and Berserker.)  But Berserker isn’t the interesting half of this story anyway. Kariya, his master, is the most pathetic of all the masters. (Pathetic in the sense of inviting pathos.) You really have to root for him, because if you don’t you are consigning at least one, possibly two little girls to a eternity of foulness, which means you’re a heartless wretch. Fooey on you.

Gilgamesh is Archer and a delightfully wtf interpretation of the myth. I have no idea how they got that trash-talking asshole from the legend of Gilgamesh, but I look forward to his destruction. Kotomine is a snooze – I was so happy Gilgamesh thought so too. What a BORE.

If you don’t grok Assassin the moment they mention them, you fail in your study of legends, myths and secret societies.

The animation is stunning – we expect no less from Type Moon. The characters are well drawn, well-acted and so far, at least, really well written. The only complaint I have is that the first season ends where the plot begins and if they don’t actually give me a story to hold on to, I’ll be peeved, since I have no intention of ever playing any game/reading any Visual Novel.

Since I don’t care about the Visual Novel, or the series as a whole, I’ve cheerfully rewritten the story in my head. Of course Irisviel and Saber get to be together, duh.

Ratings:

Art – 10
Story – 6 It’s been all character all the time, which has had moments, and also been a lot of blah blah blah.
Characters – 9
Yuri – 0, but in my head, it’s more like 7
Service – 1 on principle

Overall – 7

I await Season Two with the faint hope that Kiritsugu dies, Saber survives the war with Irisviel, and they live happily ever after, just like on this clock I got from Young Ace magazine.

Also, I wonder what the fallout of the absurdly priced Blu-Ray release will be. I can’t imagine too many American fans coughing up that usurious a price for what amounts to light entertainment.

Posted in Miscellaneous, Type-Moon | 21 Comments »


Yuri Network News – January 28, 2012

January 28th, 2012

Nothing makes me so aware of time flying as these weekly reports. End of January already? Wow.

Yuri Manga

Sasamekikoto, Volume 9 (ささめきこと)　is finally here! I haven’t paid the least attention to anyone discussing it, and the cover is lovely, so I’ll look forward to it. (Anyone who thinks to try and spoil it for me or anyone else in the comments, a pox upon you. It’s not clever or funny and I read fast, so it won’t work, either. I will see your linguistic clues and delete it before you can be an ass in public. You’re welcome.)

Another from Mangatime Kirara, Onegai Kami-sama (おお願い神サマ！) has, to Japanese fans’ relief, Yuri. Or at least one characters says she likes Yuri. Or something. Anyway, I’m not reading this myself, and if any of you lovely folks out there has purchased Volume 1 or Volume 2 and would like to do a guest review, this is a great opportunity!

Speaking of Magatime Kirara and all it’s little wizards, a couple of folks pointed out that Aoki Ume’s new series will begin in the newest addition to the Mangatime library, Mangatime Kirara Carino.

If you, unlike me, enjoyed Kiji Torajiro’s Otome Teikoku (オトメの帝国) you’ll probably be happy to know that a second volume is out.

The new edition of Morinaga Milk’s Kuchibiru Tameiki Sakurairo (くちびるためいきさくらいろ) is due to hit shelves in April.

Volume 7 of Pure Virual Anthology Hirari (ピュア百合アンソロジー ひらり) will be out in March, Tsubomi, Volume 16, in February and March issue of Comic Yuri Hime is currently gracing Japanese bookstore shelves.

***

Yuri Anime

You may have seen that Gokujyou anime airings are being cancelled, with really bizarre apologies for “excessive stupidity.” This is clearly a ploy to get people to buy the DVDs – but the apology is absolutely correct. This series was excessively stupid in every way. I realize that this is a lame, obvious ploy, but it’s so in keeping with the story itself, it kind of makes sense.

Let’s finish off with some positive news and a glimpse at a future I’d like to see. The Black Rock Shooter anime, in conjunction with Nico Nico Douga, will stream *worldwide* in 8 languages, and will be airing on the Noitamina time slot on Japanese TV.

I know it’s hard to imagine that things are changing for the positive sometimes, when all that affects you is the negative, but there is nothing absolute or fixed in the universe – only change.

Let me take this opportunity to hop back up on my sopabox, just for a sec. Recently, a fan asked about whether Fantagraphics is licensing Aoi Hana. I suggested she write them an ask. They said, “not at this time” and she wrote to me with “I guess we’ll never get it.”

This is not the right lesson to have learned at all.

What she and so many of you must understand is, publishing is about money – it’s a numbers game. Sure if five people say they’d like to buy Aoi Hana, Fantagraphics will reply “not at this time.” That is true – right now, they have their hands full with other projects. When that number increases to 500, 5000, 10,000…that might change. The lesson is – do not give up, do not got all weird and fatalistic, *organize!* When 5000 people write Fantagraphics a polite note suggesting that if they licensed Aoi Hana, we’d buy it, I guarantee they’ll think differently about the topic.

The only constant is change. learn to roll with it and you’ll generally be a happier, healthier person. In the meantime, get ready to enjoy Black Rock Shooter in 8 languages. ^_^

***

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 | 22 Comments »


Yuri Manga: Ame-iro Kouchakan Kandan, Volume 2 (あめ色紅茶館歓談)

January 27th, 2012

In Ame-iro Kouchakan Kandan, Volume 2 (あめ色紅茶館歓談) Sarasa and Seriho have been working together for a while now, and have settled into a routine. They kind of know that they really like one another and they are kinda sure the other feels the same way, but neither has actually broached the topic with the other.

When Seriho’s old friend Sumire arrives, this changes. Sumire likes to tease Seriho, and does not like women who are meant to be together to be kept apart by their own obtuseness, so she sets them up on a date. They have a wonderful date. Sarasa has shown up a little early (2 hours or so) and has scoped out the best places to eat and shop. But it’s Seriho that finally does what has never been done – she buys herself a ring and a matching ring for Sarasa and says, “I mean it ‘that way.'” (Sumire-san – good job!)

Having been asked – well as much as one can expect from this delicately-spoken series – Sarasa now has to decide if she will accept that ring. She asks Seriho to sit and be her customer as she prepares tea and scones, and, in as much as she’ll ever come right out and say anything, accepts. They embrace, only to find out that all their customers and friends are watching from the window, and cheering them both on.

Things that are this cute start to hurt.

The chapters of Otome-iro Stay Tuned are collected here, so we can be reminded where we first heard of the St. Lotecia novels.

This volume ends a with Sarasa and Seriho some time in their future, talking about the impermanence of things, and the permanence of their relationship. And, we are told on the final page, that we have a new series in that future to watch for – Ame-iro-Kouchakan Kandan ~ Golden and Silver Tips, which is a damnably clever name; if you’re a tea drinker, you know why.

Ratings:

Art – 8
Story – There still is no “story” per se, but as an evolution of a relationship, it’s great – 8
Characters – 9
Yuri – 9
Service – 2
Fujieda Fan – 9

Overall – 9

I’m sitting here, finishing up a cup of Darjeeling (Twinings, which used to be good, but has now become harsh and cheap and requires both milk and sugar to make it drinkable, bleah,) and thinking how there can never be enough of this series. If we chained Miyabi-sensei to his chair, he could never, ever write enough to satisfy me. This series had a light flavor, cheery body, and a satisfying mellow, ever-so-slightly bitter finish. A good afternoon read, with a good tea, (maybe a Keemun?) that calms and refreshes my spirit. Too bad we finished off the scones the wife made. Oh well, next time I want to revisit the Amber Teahouse, maybe she’ll make me more and I can brew some tea for us. ^_^

The picture above is for the deluxe edition that comes with the Drama CD Blue Christmas and one of the bonus CDs. For the non-deluxe edition, use this link.

Posted in Ame-iro Kouchakan Kandan, Fujieda Miyabi | 10 Comments »


A Completely Different Kind of Graphic Novel

January 26th, 2012

Many years ago in the Song Dynasty in China, there was a painter we know as Zhang Zeduan. He painted a massive scroll that depicted the life of a town, the Qingming Shanghe Tu, (清明上河图) “Along the River During the Qing Ming Festival.” For all intents and purposes, this scroll, painted during the 12th century, is a graphic novel, done in pantomime. There are no word balloons, no action lines, but it clearly shows the life of a town during a busy day. The original is the Palace Museum in Beijing.

Last year during the Singapore Expo, a massive transmedia program was designed to bring this painting to life. It’s…extraordinary. The water flows around rocks in the ground, people wander through town, meet, speak and part…a child runs after a pig, a woman rocks her infant. The very famous camel caravan wanders through town, passing under a gate. As a work of art, this has always been a striking piece – animated, I fell for it all over again.

For your entertainment – and some perspective on the concept of a Graphic Novel – please enjoy Zhang Zeduan’s Qingming Shanghe Tu.

Posted in Now This Is Only My Opinion | 6 Comments »


Yuri Manga: Yurikan Feuille (百合缶 Feuille)

January 25th, 2012

Every few years or so, someone comes up with the idea of creating a Yuri stand-alone anthology. [ES]~ Eternal Sisters, Shoujo Yuri, Yuri Monogatari, Yuri Tengoku and many others have graced my shelves.

Some of them have borne great fruit. The characters of Ame-iro Kouchakan Kandan, for instance, were first seen in [ES]. Some artists are more comfortable in these doujinshi anthologies than they are in the pages of a magazine. Morinaga Milk-sensei, for instance, spent many years drawing for exactly these kinds of anthologies, before she found a home at Comic High.

And now, a new Yuri Anthology series has arrived. The first of these, Yurikan Feuille (百合缶 Feuille) reads pretty much like any of these, with few stories that stand out and a lot of the same kind of Story A. Tears, a few kisses, a few gropes, more tears, protestations of like, sometimes love, the story ends with a sense of relief that both girls are on the same page, romantically speaking.

The first of this series features Morinaga-sensei with her Hitomi and Nana clones, who like each other, and just have never had a chance to actually say it. An accidental encounter gives them that opportunity. This pretty much sets the tone of the rest of the volume. This is fully embedded in Story A tropes – schoolgirls, confessions, confirmation. None of them really stand out as unique. They aren’t awful, just a set of the same story told by different artists. Not a single one breaks the mold, except one story which adds “funny” sexual harassment to the mix.

Ratings:

Variable, obviously, being an anthology.

Overall – 6

As a collection of the same one trope, Yurikan Feuille is not terrible, not great.

Posted in Yuri Manga | 6 Comments »