Yuri News this Week – May 9, 2009

May 9th, 2009

Yuricon & ALC News

Top story today is that I am the top story at Anime Today. :-) I was very pleased to spend some time with the utterly fabulous folks at Anime Today this week, and our resulting talk can be found at this week’s Anime Today podcast. We talk about lesbian comics, and the realities of marketing and publishing in a niche market. I hope you’ll tune in – it was a LOT of fun!

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Yuri Anime

That great Yuri classic Vandread will be rearing it’s head once again, like the undead, horrible rotting thing it is. This time, we’ll be treated to a feature-length synopsis of both seasons. Since the series is being shrunk for your viewing pleasure, there’ll probably be even less lesbians on that all-female ship than there was the first time around.

Comcast On Demand began airing the first episodes of Maria Watches Over us. Can you believe it? It’s like some weird dream, in which an American anime distributor actually listened to me. lol

In reality, Right Stuf needs no edumacation from me – they “get it.” I’ve said it before and I’ll keep saying it – Right Stuf is best of breed right now in anime distribution, and Funimation is hustling, too. There are smart people at these companies. Support them with money, not just with words, so they can be smart for you a little while longer.

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Yuri Manga

Katherine wants you to know that Hitohira is winding down in Japan, but that the artist will be starting a new series which also has more than one female character, so some Yuri may be manufacturable. :-)

Not Yuri, but most definitely lesbian, Ariel Schrag’s collection Likewise has been released. This autobiographical, raw and honest review of a young lesbian’s life is garnering some good reviews.

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Yuri Light Novel

Anonymous cheerfully informs us that there is a Rakka Ryuusui Light Novel. There is also a good chance of light Yuri. :-)

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Snatches of Yuri

Speaking of novels, they are not Light, or even light, but Yoshiya Nobuko’s generation-defining Hana Monogatari are out in a handsome new edition in two parts. Part One and Part Two look spiffy.

Harenochi Cinderella is a rich girl/poor girl like story at a (what else?) school for rich girls. There may be Yuri. :-)

Assistant Denki Keika is an “ecchi” (a word that frankly makes me shudder with lack of anticipation) manga about an assistant to a mangaka and her sexual adventures, which include, obviously, Yuri.

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Other Yuri News

hasekura_rei says “it seems like the group that was running the Marimite SIM on Second Life is back together and has a new SIM (complete with the Old Unpopular Greenhouse finally) and they’re accepting applications for their pine, cherry blossoms, mum, and camellia classes. The SIM Location is http://slurl.com/secondlife/Hakata/202/138/23. If [you’re] interested, grab a rules and group info notecard next to the entrance way. It’s in Japanese and decent enough English.”

So if you are a Second Lifer and want to hang out with a bunch of guys pretending to be Lillian students, check it out and let us know how it goes!

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That should be enough to keep you for a week. Become a part of the Yuri news team, and let me know of any Yuri News you hear!

Posted in Yuri Network News | 12 Comments »


Red Garden Anime, Volume 6 (English)

May 8th, 2009

As the curtain opens for Red Garden, Volume 6, the four girls finally find some equilibrium in their shattered lives. One at a time, we watch Clare, Rose, Rachel and Kate come to the belated realization that they have never truly been alone. Armed with the knowledge that their existence meant *something* to *someone,* they head off for what they know will be a final battle.

The battle is itself, inconsequential. The two sides that needlessly fought, now needlessly die at each others’ hands. While Edgar loses everything he thought he had, Lise is returned to the four, and together they all face their final rest…in peace.

Is it some years later, or in an alternate universe that we find the same four reborn into a future city that is completely different and exactly the same. Metempsychosis brings them into contact with people they have known well in their former lives – but there is no recognition of that acquaintance. They’ve lived so long, they’ve had to be seventeen so many times, that they have completely changed personalities, in the same way people change clothes. As the Dead Girls, they terrorize and titillate the city. For money, for thrills, for something to give their life meaning, they fight once again. And again. And again.

At the end of the disk we are left with one of two things – a vague sense of unease and loss, or a vague sense of “gawd, that was awesome’ and the Dead Girls’ theme song stuck in our head for a week. ^_^

This was a disk well worth waiting for and my sincere thanks to Funimation for caving to our fan whines and releasing it on it’s own. It was so very, very worth your time and effort for our enjoyment!

The Yuri in this series is, as it always has been, Paula. Unlike the Paula of the manga, this Paula is supportive and empathetic, loyal and in the end, honorable. Kate receives Paula’s emotions with thanks and a sense of appreciation rather than rejection. It is a one-sided love, but it is a real love that is accepted without question. For this one thing alone, I would adore this series. But the series is far more than just this one thing.

Red Garden is a series I go back to, from time to time, just to enjoy spending time with characters that, despite their outrageous situation, come off as completely real and approachable. And that, in the end, is why I watch anime.

Ratings:

Art – 7
Story – 8
Characters – 8
Yuri – 4
Service – 1

Overall – 8

Sadly, the cover copy wasn’t nearly as amusing this time as with previous volumes. “A suspenseful thriller with a keen sense of style.” I assume that’s a reference to clothing. They are teenage girls, after all.

Today my deep and abiding thanks goes to Eric P., one of my first Okazu superheroes, and a person whose support of Yuricon and Okazu goes way beyond mere financial. I want to take this opportunity to just say, thank you Eric, for everything. I absolutely can never thank you enough. (And I’m really only thanking you profusely because I know it will annoy you, ^_^) So, hey, thanks for sticking with this series and sponsoring today’s review!

Posted in Miscellaneous | No Comments »


Yuri Anime: Lyrical Nanoha A’s (English)

May 7th, 2009

There are many, many good things about Lyrical Nanoha A’s. There are also some bad things – things significant enough that they impact not only my own, but many other people’s enjoyment of this series.

We’ll suffice to say that the lolicon in this series strikes me as problematic. It’s not cute, or sweet; it’s pandering and it is troubling. I spoke at length about some of these issues in my original review of this anime, so I won’t beat it to death again.

Instead, I would like to focus on the positive aspects of this series. Primarily to convince Bruce that bearing with the first season is, really, I swear, worth it. ^_^

This season begins with Nanoha being trained by the Time-Space Administration Bureau, and Fate nearing the end of her punishment for her crimes from the previous season. In order to foster a positive environment for Fate, and to provide her with a functional family model, Admiral Lindy Harlown has adopted Fate and is going to live on Earth for a while, along with her daughter.

While on Earth, a powerful Lost Logia appears, and burns its way through the life energy of a girl the same age as Fate and Nanoha, Hayate. The Book of Darkness, a the Logia is called, manifests four guardians who, along with Hayate, form a surprisingly functional alternative family of their own.

For reasons that are very good on both sides, the TSAB, Nanoha and Fate are placed in direct confrontation with Hayate and her Guardians.

What makes this series good is, simply, that the characters are excellent. There is not one of the Guardians that isn’t likable, honorable and respectable. Vita’s a fun bundle of righteous anger, Shamal is cool and Mom-like, Signum is awesome embodied, and Zafira’s a good dog. There is no Prescia, no Jail Scaglietti here (okay, well, there is for like thirty seconds, but it’s a dumb plot complication that is made to go away practically as quickly as it appears) – just a tremendous, tragic conflict between opponents both equally matched and equally worthy. Of course we are never REALLY in doubt that Nanoha will befriend and “befriend” her opponents…and this time we’re so very, very glad she does. In fact, I kinda wished she had defeated them sooner, so we could spend more time just playing around together.

So, Bruce, I promise, if you can just manage to make it through the first half of the first season, it gets *so* much better. And this season is miles better than the first. Plot and character-wise, at least.

Yuri-wise, this is probably the least of the three seasons, mostly because just about as soon as Nanoha and Fate have even a second together, they are hard at work saving the universe. But, delusional as I am, I see it anyway. ^_^

I still think that the best characters are the Devices, something that has not changed no matter how many times I watch this series. I just love Graf Eisesn’s enthusiasm for smashing things, Raising Heart’s gung-ho supportiveness and Bardiche’s cool competence.

Technically, I have any number of issues with the Funimation translation, but meh, don’t feel like complaining. It’s a great series with great characters and some stuff that isn’t so great.

Ratings:

Art – 8
Character – 8
Story – 8
Yuri – 3
Service – 8

Overall – 8

My sincere and repeated thanks to newly promoted Okazu Superhero Amanda M! I just adore this series and cannot thank you enough for sponsoring this review of it. As much as watching it still makes me feel a little icky, I don’t care – I’m gonna keep watching it. lol Please email me at your earliest convenience to get your shiny new gold Superhero badge!

 

Posted in English Anime, Nanoha, Yuri Anime | 9 Comments »


El Cazador Anime: Volume 4 (Polish/German)

May 6th, 2009

I’m very excited to once again offer a review from the Okazu Europe bureau. Everyone, please welcome back Winterbraid! Yayyy~!

El Cazador Volume 4 has episodes 15 through 18. Starting with the mandatory swimsuit (and in one case, no swimsuit) episode, followed by L.A. losing the last bits of sympathy we have for him, some random cosplay and buttock prodding by Nadie and Ellis, and – in my opinion – a rather Noir-like episode, closed with the trickster god part – which, on the second run, is probably one of my favourites. Otherwise, it seems that everyone stalks everyone, all with a generous spurt of fluff and cuddly on top – perfect after a tough week. ^-^

As far as the localization is concerned… well, I’m not really in the mood for nagging right now. ^-^ Fortunately, there is no more translating whole sentences as a single word, although some awkwardness (and a few blatant mistakes) awaits. Overall, I’d say that compared to the previous volume, the translation hasn’t gained enough of a soul to allow for creative criticism, but there is an improvement – or maybe it’s just that my tolerance is increasing. Apparently, there’s something
weird about the disc that prevented me from playing it on Linux… not that anyone cares. ^-^. Now that I think about it, the fonts could perhaps do with some tweaks, i.e. less jaggedness – oh well… anyway, every possible defect of this release is – for me at least – overshadowed by the postcards, which are quite cool this time. ^-^

By the way, I took a quick glimpse of the manga; and… uh… how should I put it… NO. ^-^;

Short, bittersweet and to the point. Thank you Winterbraid for another look at a series we cannot *wait* to get over here!

Posted in Bee Train, El Cazador | No Comments »


Ichigo Mashimaro Encore Anime

May 5th, 2009

Chika and her friends are back and even sillier things than ever before are happening in Ichigo Mashimaro Encore.

Much of what is animated in Encore is from the 6th volume of the manga. If you have read and enjoyed these chapters, you are likely to enjoy them again as animation.

If you don’t care that Miu’s antics can make demons in hell laugh, then you probably won’t care so much. And if you don’t care that Nobue is not their friend, but their gang boss, or that Miu and Chika’s friendship is almost alien in it’s intense weirdness, then, again, you probably don’t want to watch this anime.

But if you are a member of the Miu Fan Club, if you like the idea that Miu and Chika’s relationship surpasses words and has moved on to bizarre ASCII art, if you like the idea that Chika and Miu make a stellar comedy team then you too, will enjoy Encore.

Yuri is low, with one “are we lesbians” gag but despite that, yes, I still think the Miu is a EPL-in training. Call it a gaydar thing. :-)

Ratings:

Art – 7
Story – 8, sometimes 9
Characters – 8
Yuri – 2
Service – 3

Overall – 8

If the world is a good place, someone will license the OVAs and this Encore series and put them out in a box set.

Posted in Ichigo Mashimaro | 5 Comments »