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 »


Gokujou Manga, Volume 1

May 4th, 2009

Gokujou (ゴクジョッ。～極楽院女子高寮物語～) is exactly the kind of manga that I find it maddening to see included on Yuri lists because 1) it has no redeeming qualities at all and 2) it has no Yuri. What it does have is a lot of utterly pointless and emotionally stunted nudity, and “wacky” cluelessness about sexuality that forces situations that are vaguely sexual in nature. Because it takes place at a girls’ school, these vaguely sexual situations are fake-lesbian-ish, or Yuri if you are a spectacularly unaware fanboy.

What Gokujou *is* is a more nudity-filled, more pervtastic, even MORE stupid version of almost the same exact set of gags one finds in High School Girls…if Kouda was the lead character.

In the first chapter we meet Aya, a completely delusional sexual innocent who likes to show off her assets without the vaguest clue what she’s actually doing. Aya is plagued by hysterical situations like losing her underwear, so she steals the underwear from her friend Konatsu, and later the two of them tumble ass over teakettle, showing the whole school their nekkidness. This was the hilarious first chapter.

The rest of the book just goes downhill from there, in chapters where we discuss the wrinkles in pudenda, of course the inevitable breast-size chapter, and insane bathing suit at the pool – a chapter that also includes many close-up shots of strangely drawn female crotches. Guys – I know this may comes a shock to you, but we females do *not* have bulging crotches. It seems kind of obvious to me, but then – I’ve actually seen a woman naked and you probably haven’t. (I am seriously confused as to why, with ALL those pictures of naked women available for free on the Internet, mangaka can’t draw crotches that are anatomically correct.)

In any case, chapter after chapter involves Aya being curious, confused, bewildered and amazed at one exciting pubescent topic after another. The lack of anything like sweet innocent charm in this manga is really hammered home by the gaping mouths, bulging eyes, snot-running noses and sweaty faces of Aya in her various phases of non-thought.

To my mind, this series was created as a subtle punishment to those readers who like wacky sexual hijinks without any actual sex or sexuality involved. In fact, the whole thing makes women and their secondary sexual characteristics (and high school girls in particular) *so* physically and emotionally unappealing, I think every 12 year old boy should be forced to read it, so they’ll stay scared of women just a little longer.

Ratings:

Art – 8, it’s so good everyone looks awful
Story – 1, there is none
Characters – 1
Yuri – 5, if you equate a (clueless) sexual act between women as lesbian
Service – 841

Overall- 2

The artist, Miyazaki Maya, is known for “ecchi” comedy and has done some stories for Ichijinsha. Speaking only for myself, I have yet to find an “ecchi comedy” that is either marginally arousing or slightly amusing, much less both. Bulging eyes and running noses really don’t do it for me.

Posted in Miscellaneous | 8 Comments »


Yuri News this Week – May 2, 2009

May 2nd, 2009

Time to hit the boards in search of Yuri!

Yuri Drama CD

I was taken to task for not pointing this out eralier, but I haven’t been taking my omniscience pills so, belatedly, here is news of the Rakka Ryuusui Drama CD.

***

Yuri Manga

Gokujou Drops, Volume 2 is out from Ichijinsha on May 18. The next volume of Hanjuku Joshi is planned for an August release.

Erin S. wants to assure you that you orders have not been “canceled” (which is what the helpful folks at Amazon JP tell you, when they mean “delayed”) and the Ame-iro Kouchakan Kandan manga (with or without Drama CD) will also be out on May 18.

She’s also glad to be able to say Zaou Taishi and Eiki Eiki will have a new series in Yuri Hime magazine starting next issue (issue 17, due out July 18).

And she continues with more on the Yuri Himefront – another cell phone manga (set in the Heian period; could be interesting),Aishiwo tome: kimi ga kokoro ha by Takahashi Itsumi, are both due out that day, too. Several YH books are due out on June 18: Creo the Crimson Crises/ Volume 2 (which will also have a special extra in the next issue of Yuri Hime S, a Kurata Uso collection (yay! says Erica,) a Natsuneko collection (double yay!, says Erica), and a Yoshitomi Akihito collection.

***

Yuri Events

Saturday, July 11 from 3:00 to 5:00 pm Friend of Yuri Katherine will be be hosting a “Yuri 101” panel at the Yasumicon anime convention being hosted by Florida International University in Miami.

****

Yuri Anime

Anime Network (the TV cable network, not a typo of ANN) was thrilled to announce that both Maria-sama ga Miteru and Aria will be added to their schedule. I have no idea at all if this is the dawn of a subbed-anime cable station, but I have to admit, *I’m* far more likely to subscribe if they offer more subbed anime.

***

We’ll call it quits here, but be sure to drop back in next week for even more Yuri News!

Posted in Yuri Network News | 3 Comments »


Maria-sama ga Miteru Special CD, Volume 1

May 1st, 2009

Such voyeuristic joy, such pure pleasure, such girly, giggly, sweets and flower-filled minutes pass as we once again enter the second-floor meeting room of the Bara no Yakata and spend time with the women who bring the Rosa Chinensis family to life as they discuss important things like who gets the chocolate, the strawberry or the pumpkin flavored sweet.

No seriously, that’s the kind of thing we listen to when Itou Miki (Sachiko,) Kugamiya Rie (Touko) and Ueda Kana (Yumi) get together to chat about everything an nothing for the Maria-sama ga Miteru Special CD, Volume 1.

They discuss the 4th season, and Touko’s character development. They discuss the novels (Kana is clearly the group authority on this, having clearly read them all) and about the New Year’s Eve event.

The drama portion of the CD is “Chocolate Portrait,” the story of how Shouko and Tsutako met. The entire story was dramatized – if anything was cut, I was completely unaware of it, it was so small and inconsequential. To say that this story is wonderful is really an understatement. IF there was any couple in the whole of Lillian that I could ever call a “couple” in the romantic sense, it would have to be Tsutako and Shouko. They fit together beautifully. Shouko is sweet, polite and a little bent, while Tsutako is just about the most social, functional and fun sociopath I’ve ever read. ^_^ Together they make a pair so awesome that they can’t be beat.

The last track on the CD is “Oshiete, Oneesama,” in which the same series of questions are asked of each guest – which character would you want for a sister, a daughter, a friend, (if you were male, of course) a bride, a soeur. Everyone wants Yumi for a friend, and Shimako for a daughter. ^_^ And mostly, although not all the time, whichever guest it is wants their character’s soeur for a soeur. Kugamiya Rie did not deviate too much from the norm.

Up until this CD, the DJCDs have been anywhere from 25-35 minutes. This “Special” CD is about an hour long – the “Chocolate Portrait” drama is a good 30 minutes plus, so it’s good entertainment value for your money.

Ratings:

Overall – 9

When I listened to the Winter Special DJCD, I said it was the best I’d listened to so far, Well, this one was better. ^_^

Posted in Drama CD, Drama CDs & Audiobooks, Maria-sama ga Miteru | 3 Comments »