K-ON! Anime, Volume 4 (English)

December 23rd, 2011

My day started a little rough, so I thought that I more than deserved a moment to wallow in the pure fun of the K-ON! anime. Volume 4 was the perfect thing to put me in a good mood (although I think I’m a little tired of “Fuwa Fuwa Time” now…)

In Volume 4, the girls perform for the second time at the school festival, and we learn that Yui’s flakey-ness is a lifetime achievement. And we get two bonus episodes in which they spend some random winter days and perform their first show outside school.

I’ve said it before, if you don’t like K-ON!, there’s nothing I can say to change you to suddenly liking it. If you do like it, there’s nothing I can say that you haven’t already thought for yourself. “Gosh, Yui’s a flake,” “Azusa’s cute when she’s all blushy,” “Why has no one killed Ritsu yet?” “Why is Mugi not the Governor of Tokyo?”  I have no doubt that you’ve thought these things as well. Well…okay, maybe not the last thing. If you’ve thought anything about Mio and the word “waifu” you are not welcome over for lunch. Sorry, I have to draw the line somewhere, even on delusions. ^_^

Entertainment ought to be entertaining and this volume put me in a better mood than I had been in before I watched it. That’s a win in my book.

Oh, Yuri? Yui asks for a kiss when she’s reunited with Azusa, does that count? I don’t think so.

Ratings:

Art – Still  5
Story – 7
Characters – 8
Yuri – 0
Service – 5

Overall – 8

Many, many thanks to Okazu Superhero Eric P. for sponsoring today’s review, and improving my mood significantly!

Posted in English Anime, K-ON | 2 Comments »


Yuri Manga: Rakuen Le Paradis (楽園 Le Paradis), Volume 7

December 21st, 2011

Hrm. So, if anyone asked me how to build a Josei magazine that men might also read, I’d say, get lots of top names to draw stories that are refreshingly different in that they are pretty much the same as everywhere else, except that the women are slightly more in control of their lives. Add in some Yuri, in the form of already-proven artists, and then mix in some stories about guys. I’m not saying that’s what Rakuen Le Paradis (楽園 Le Paradis) had in mind, but that’s what it’s doing.

Volume 7 hits the Yuri fandom hard right at the front of the magazine, with Nishi UKO’s “Collectors,” which begins with a backstory about Takako in high school. The bridge between these two chapters made me extremely happy, with frames of Shinobu and Takako playing with each other’s hair in a beautifully intimate scene as they talk. This is exactly the kind of thing I’m looking for – adult intimacy, without it being porn. This series is pretty much the series I keep talking about wanting to read – after the happily ever after. When this series comes out in a collected Volume, it’s instantly Number 1 for the year.

Then we get the backhand with something many manga readers have long wanted – another overtly Yuri story by Hayashiya Shizuru-sensei. In “Heart Cooker” popular actress Nasu Renge is invited to be on a cooking show. The hosts of the show are Barahara Ruriko, an older, very Dame Edna-ish character and Shiohara Satsuki, a young, attractive host. Right from the first moment Renge walks on stage, Ruriko notices a certain…tension…between Renge and Satsuki. And, as they introduce Renge, it turns out that Satsuki and she attended the same school. Satuski was a year younger, but had always admired Kawakami-sempai (Renge’s real name) as she practiced for track and field. At first Renge doesn’t remember Satsuki, but then she recalls a day when she passed the ball back to an energetic underclassman in the softball team, who she was instantly attracted to…. The entire time this is going on, the production staff is frantically looking to get the cooking part of the show moving along, but Renge and Satsuki start to fade off into their own little world, so Ruriko steps in to save the day and make the dish, and let’s the two women have their moment. As Ruriko finishes the dish, Renge asks Satsuki out for a drink and Ruriko smiles in satisfaction at the results of both cooking and matchmaking.

And last, but definitely not least, for Yuri readers, Takemiya Jin’s “Omoi no Kakera” continues, as Mayu struggles desperately to get her feelings for Mika in order and to deal with her best friend’s snarky, but accurate assessment of those feelings.

So, lets just turn around for a moment and survey the landscape. Three Yuri series, two about adults, all by women, two of which have actual lesbians.

Ratings:

Overall – 9

Le Paradis, indeed. I think I’ve died and gone to Yuri heaven.

Posted in Rakuen Le Paradis, Yuri Manga | 6 Comments »


Yuri Manga: Poor Poor Lips (プアプアLIPS), Volume 3

December 20th, 2011

At the end of Poor Poor Lips, Volume 2, we left Nako and Ren living in poverty.

At the beginning of Poor Poor Lips (プアプアLIPS), Volume 3, nothing has changed. Except that with summer being so terribly hot, and them not owning a refrigerator or even a fan, much less an air conditioner, life is becoming intolerable. When they get a bonus from Fukui-san, they are at least able to buy a second futon for Ren…but immediately realize that they’ve grown comfortable sleeping together. The year passes with small victories and small losses, but that’s not what’s bothering Ren.

Yes, Ren is physically uncomfortable, but what’s really gnawing at her is the debt Nako seems to be eternally paying off. What could possibly be the reason? When she can’t take it any more, she finally asks…and is told a truly terrible story.

When Nako was a teen, her parents died, leaving her with nothing. A man approached her after their funeral to let her know that he paid for the funeral. When she got older, he told her, she could pay the cost of the loan off. As Ren instantly suspects, this loan is at usurious rates and Nako can never pay it off. In desperation to free Nako from this burden, Ren goes back to her mother and offers to return home and marry whomever her parents chose for her, if Mom will end this horrible loan.

Which, she does. Otsuka Nei, Ren’s mother, brings a camera crew with her, to ensure that not only will this man never bother Nako again, but he will never attempt another scam like that. With her debt removed, Nako goes to sleep that night unable to imagine what her life will be like….

…until she wakes up and finds that Ren is gone. Nako, who has smiled through years of grinding poverty, breaks down completely, wailing Ren’s name.

Upon waking the next day, Nako is visited by Wakatsuki, Ren’s family’s retainer and is given a chance to see Ren again…as a maid for the Otsuka family. And so, Nako leaves her life behind. Being a maid is hard work, but she’s there for Ren. Ren wakes up in her bed at home and is shocked to her core to see Nako there.

Both Nako and Ren internally acknowledge their affection for one another and also acknowledge to themselves that Ren will have to marry someone. The books ends at that supremely unsatisfying spot, with me unclenching my teeth through sheer force of will.

I have only this to say, if Nei does not give in in Volume 4, I am likelier than I have ever been to write a displeased letter to a mangaka. I mean okay, Nako’s debt is gone and they are together, sort of, and okay, Volume 4, but ggrrrrrrrrrrrrrr.

Ratings:

Art – 6
Story – 8
Characters – 8
Yuri – 7
Service – 4

Overall – 8

I didn’t like the way this volume played out at all, but I’m deeply engaged with the story, so I have to still call it “good.” I can’t but help be disappointed, I was hoping for a volume ending on a positive note. Now I have to hope Volume 4 makes it up to me and have to wait 10 months until it’s out to even know. Grrrrrrrr.

Posted in Yuri Manga | 5 Comments »


K-ON! Manga, Volume 3 and 4 (English)

December 19th, 2011

Volume 3 and Volume 4 of K-ON! primarily deal with the girls’ second and final years in high school. They perform at the school festival, spend lazy days avoiding practicing and drinking tea, busting each other’s chops, and having fun together. They hug Azusa, they pick on Sawako-sensei, they sometimes even study a bit or practice a song.

I said of the Japanese volumes that they were, like Mugi’s tea and cakes, light afternoon refreshment, not meat and drink.

There is no substance here, no wisdom for the ages, except perhaps that high school days don’t really change much when you look back at them, no matter where you’re from. I mean, yes, I must have done a ton of homework – I remember having homework to do every day. I remember filling out college applications too. But when I think of high school, the things I remember are not homework, tests and papers, but things like memorizing Little Riding Hood’s dialogue with the Big Bad Wolf…in German. (“Aber Grossmutter, warum hast du so grosse Augen?”) I remember the smell of the pool at 6AM for Swim Team practice, and the junkie in homeroom asking me what I was “on” because I came in every day as a freshman late, with sleep deprivation and eyes red – and me, answering honestly, accurately and ironically, “I’m on Swim Team.”

I remember being locked out of the band room after returning home from a football game, so the Marching Band amused ourselves by playing our halftime show for no one but ourselves…and probably putting in the best performance we did all year. I remember making a Black Forest Cherry cake for the school festival. I remember that me and Shelly put a lot of schnapps in and it was the first cake to sell out. Also that we drank quite a bit of the schnapps as we made it.

I remember one of the club members being verbally attacked by some woman on 42nd street when I was president of the German club and we went to Yorkville for a field trip. I can still see the look on his face. Poor kid. I have no idea if he turned out gay or not, but that woman sure thought he was then.

Mostly I remember my time with the people, good, bad and indifferent in Marching Band. Most of my days and nights were filled with hanging and working and being with those people. Amazingly, I look back at that time and realize I still keep in touch with several of them. That’s kind of weird to me, really. I say this without irony – I lack nostalgia.

So, nothing deep or meaningful in K-ON!, no. Except a lot of memories and some good times with friends. Which, when you look back at it from 30 years later is really the most meaningful thing about your years in high school.

Yuri? Well no, but hey, I got together with my band sempai, so maybe your fantasy about Ui and Azusa can come true too. ^_^

Ratings:

Art – 6
Story – 8
Characters – 10
Yuri – 0
Loser FanBeing – Infinity. You are either besotted or you are wrong. ^_^

Overall – 9

Can I just say one thing before I wrap up here? Mugi is the greatest character ever. MugiMugiMugi!
Okay, I’m done now.

Wait, one more thing…I can’t wait to see the sequels.

Many, many thanks to the Okazu Heros Tricolor Cavy and an unknown sponsor. Thank you, your sponsorship of reviews here is very much appreciated by all of us!

Posted in English Manga, K-ON | 3 Comments »


Top (?) Ten Yuri Anime of 2011

December 18th, 2011

I hate doing this list. Have I ever mentioned that? Yuri and anime don’t mix well too often. The best Yuri manga will never, ever become anime and the anime that is popular that includes Yuri is so…blecch…most of the time.

This year I give up. This isn’t a top 10 list, it’s 10 series of interest – for one reason or another – to the Okazu audience list. I’m not even saying they are Yuri series. It’s just things that some Yuri fans might care about, or not.

As always, feel free to tell me how wrong I am in the comments, you always do. (^_^)b

10. Koi Hime Musou – This is on the list to round it out to 10 and because there is a smidgen of Yuri in it. It sucked in every other way.

9. Sound of the Sky Yeah, there’s pretty much no Yuri here that we didn’t make up in our heads. So sue me. Moe fans liked it, wrote and drew lots of pictures and stories that paired characters up and it made them happy. So shut up with your sensible objections.

8. K-ON! Same as with Sound of the Sky, the Yuri here is entirely in ours and Mugi’s head. But it’s a sincerely adorable story and if it makes people happy to see Ritsu and Mio as a couple, who am I to stop them?

7. Fate/Zero No Yuri here either, but I DO NOT CARE. Saber was made to look extra butchy cool and be all knightly at Irisviel. This is my kind of service. There is no other reason I even bothered watching this, so it works for me. The animation for this series is super swell, if that kind of thing is important to you.

6. Digimon Tamers – On Hulu! I was so inordinately happy to see Ruki again, I creeped myself out a bit. Seriously, if you haven’t seen this, watch it. It’s really quite excellent. Good story, great characters and Ruki’s got to be one of the best babydykes in all anime.

5. Wandering Son – This story isn’t Yuri, it isn’t lesbian, but of definite interest to anyone interested in LGBTQ stories which, I’m pretty sure I can say the Okazu audience is. This series probably wins on storytelling for the year, overall. It was overlooked by way too many anime fans both in Japan and the west, but it was a genuine masterpiece about gender and sex and sexuality.

4. Yuru Yuri – I can’t really like it, I don’t get why anyone likes it, but sales tell me I’m wrong, wrong, wrong. Yuru Yuri is the first “Yuri” anime made as such, and I’m very glad for Ichijinsha that it’s so popular. I just wish it was good.

As always, when we come to the top three, I don’t expect anyone to be surprised.

Here are what I consider to be the Top Three Yuri Anime of 2011.

3. Revolutionary Girl Utena – Juri was, for many Yuri fans, their first “Yuri” character. Her one-sided relationship with Shiori colored a whole generation of Yuri fans’ perceptions. And for so many people who watched the series, Utena and Anthy’s relationship, as complex as it was, was wonderful and remarkable. And then they drove off into a blue sky kissing, naked and seriously, it changed a lot of things in anime.  Thanks to Nozomi/RightStuf we can experience the whole thing again and it’s just as wonderful and remarkable this time around.  For a purely compelling narrative, I consider this series to be a masterwork.

2. Mawaru Penguindrum – While not technically *better* than Utena, Mawaru Penguindrum is new, is just as compelling and is wholly, uniquely Ikuhara. The fact that ten years after Utena changed everything, Ikuhara is back, doing it again and being just as compelling, means we really need to pay attention to this guy. he’s no fluke. He’s not afraid to consciously embrace Yuri tropes like predatory lesbians, Takarazuka, Rose of Versailles and then stand them on their heads in a way that actually makes the series more interesting, not less. I’m very much hoping that someone will license this, because everyone who likes anime should watch it – it’s really made for anime fans. Much like my number one choice for the year.

(This series has been licensed by Sentai Filmworks for 2012, so look for pre-order info in our Yuri Network News posts.)

And here we go….the number 1 Yuri Anime for 2011 is…

1. Mahou Shoujo Madoka Magica – This series also took well-known tropes and turned them inside out. We all know magical girls, but we don’t know anything about magical girls, this series says flat out to us. I’m very interested to see how it does in sales here in the west. If you haven’t already put this on your 2012 to-buy list, let me suggest you do.  With insanely popular moe design, with a return to really good storytelling (something way too many anime avoid) this series carried itself consistently all the way through a story that was visually interesting, well-written and made sense.

This series is licensed and released by Aniplex in English in 2012.

I don’t think there’s any question that the number one Yuri Anime of 2011 was Mahou Shoujo Madoka Magica.

Posted in Top Yuri Lists, Yuri Anime | 22 Comments »