He is My Master Manga, Volume 1 (English)

February 12th, 2008

Do you remember the television series Three’s Company? Remember how funny it was when Jack had to pretend to be gay in order to be able to share an apartment with two women? And how hilarious it was when, in every single episode, Mr. Roper would overhear a conversation that sounded suggestive but couldn’t really be because, you know, Jack was gay? Or how hysterical it was when Larry came up with “clever” plans to get a girl which usually involved Jack, but failed because he had to pretend to be gay? And how immensely entertaining it was to see Suzanne Somers play a scantily clad blonde being a brainless bimbo saying all sorts of bubble-headed things every time? And let’s not forget how side-splitting Mrs. Roper’s constant witty comments on her lack of a sex life were.

He is My Master isn’t quite that funny.

Ratings:

Art – 6 Tsubaki Asu’s work isn’t bad. However baby faces on adult bodies squick me.
Characters – 2
Story – 3 Ah screwball comedy, a nice change of pace from quality.
Yuri – 4 Ana’s gay for Izumi, whee.
LoserFan Boy – 999

Overall – 3

This story is pretty much an 8-ball of otakudom’s saddest fetishes, repeated over and over again every chapter ad nauseum. The funniest thing about the volume was the author’s and artist’s notes at the end where Asu admits to never having even met the editor.

And thanks to Daniel for sponsoring today’s review. I’ve been dying to write it.  ^_^

Posted in English Manga | No Comments »


Maria-sama ga Miteru Drama CD 11: Cherry Blossom

February 11th, 2008

Is there any one among us hard-hearted enough not to swoon when Noriko relates her first sight of Shimako under the sakura tree, looking like Maria-sama come to life? Not me, certainly.

Maria-sama ga Miteru: Cherry Blossom Drama CD set was lovely. Simply lovely.

For the plot, please take a look back at my notes on Part 1 and Part 2 of the novel. (I had not yet begun translating the books at that point, so these are notes/synopses not full translations and therefore still available on Okazu.)

The first CD in the set recounts “The Sakura Among the Gingkos,” the portion of the novel in which we meet Nijou Noriko for the first time, and she meets Shimako. Incidentally, we also meet Matsudaira Touko, but I’ll get there in a bit.

“Sakura” follows Noriko as she meets Shimako and deals with some mild bullying because of their developing relationship. (The latter is only partially true, but she doesn’t know that.) The story climaxes during the Maria-sai, as Shimako is forced to out herself as the daughter of a Buddhist priest.

The Drama CD of this part was fantastic. Noriko, a transfer student from a co-ed school, has always seemed to me to be the most grounded of all the characters in the series. She comes off here as so *normal* it almost takes one’s breath away. Confronted in the beginning of the story by Touko and two other classmates and their positively Baroque formal Japanese, it’s really no wonder she feels disoriented and alien at Lillian.

Noriko’s meeting with Shimako is related very prettily. Noriko’s happy obsession with Shimako is instant and very much *right* on that line between friendship and love. It’s powerful – and mutual. The “outing” scene was horrific. From Noriko’s point of view, it can only be seen as heavy-handed…at best. When Shimako admits to being the owner of the juzu and Noriko bursts into tears for her – it was very moving. Once again, the Marimite cast is superlative.

The second disk of the set, “Background Noise,” covers the same circumstances from Yumi’s point of view. We see the concern Shimako’s friends in the Yamayurikai have for her, and how much they are, really, trying to help. However…to her credit, Yumi spends the entire story thinking that they are handling it really badly. They are, and I’m glad Yumi recognizes it. Itou Miki’s over-acting Sachiko is both hysterical and really cringe-making. As I listened to the scene in the church, I kept thanking the universe that I was no longer a teenager. ^_^

The other half of “BGN” is the introduction of Touko who, if you will please excuse the language, is a total twat. Kugimiya Rie is spectacular as the entitled, manipulative Touko. I’ve grown so used to her – and she has changed *so* much in the course of the novels, that I had completely forgotten what a slappable little creature she is when she first arrives en scene.

Listening to her snipe at Yumi, a thought suddenly hit me. Rainy Blue is coming up. I’m going to have to sit through those DCDs. Ugh. Ughughugh. I don’t know if I can do it. Oh well…I have Kohitsuji no Kyuuka to look forward to, after that whole thing is over. I’ll just grit my teeth and cope.

In happier news, we get a little Sei-service, when Yumi visits her, and after the Maria-sai.

For the first time, there is a bonus track where we get some very amusing comments and a lots of “natsukashii”s and “hisashiburi”s by the voice actresses. I was very glad for the bonus track. It’s about the only time we hear what the seiyuu have to say for themselves – it is immediately apparent that this group feels *very* comfortable with each other at this point. And that they’ve got a load of in-jokes. Also, I found it amusing to hear several of them refer to the series as “Marimite.” ^_^ I don’t know why, it just tickled my fancy.

The one physical extra is a postcard of Hibiki Reine’s art of Noriko. Pretty, as always.

Ratings:

Story – 7
Characters – 8 for Noriko and Shimako, 4 for Touko, 7 for everyone else
Yuri – 5 It worked a bit better visually, with those long, lingering “just kiss her” moments
Service – 8 who else buys these other than us obsessive fans? ^_^

Overall – 8

This is me, grasping at the Touko of Bara no Hana Kanmuri and trying to forget the Touko of Cherry Blossom, signing off.

Posted in Drama CD, Drama CDs & Audiobooks, Maria-sama ga Miteru | 6 Comments »


My Zhime (My Otome) Anime, Volume 3

February 10th, 2008

Sincere thanks to Ted for sponsoring today’s review! Be a hero and sponsor a review of your very own by purchasing something off my Yuri Wishlist. You’ll get my sincere thanks, and the adoration of everyone who reads and enjoys the review. :-)

My Otome, Volume 3 is a total gyroscope of a story. You know how a gyroscope spins so fast that it looks like it isn’t really moving? That’s pretty much the feeling you get watching this volume of My Otome. Nothing is happening, but it’s not happening so fast that there’s an illusion that the story isn’t moving. Only, it is.

The first big exam for Otomes-in-training has arrived, and as is usual, the protagonist has no clue what anyone is talking about. Every else in Garderobe knows that this cross-country trek and cooking competition is a major portion of their grade – how Arika manages to not have heard of it even a little approaches a kind of genius. Sabotage strikes Arika and poor Erstin, and although they both survive, lots of nothing-really-happenings happen as a result. Sergey and Arika have a tense encounter, Nina starts to move her dislike for Arika out of “rival” into “person I most want to see die horribly” and Tomoe turns out to be Evil, and Psychotic. We’ve already seen evidence that she is a Lesbian, so we can add her to the list of EPLs.

The other main “nothing really happens” arc, actually explains a lot to us, the viewers, although just about none of the characters have enough pieces to put anything together. In a thoroughly predictable twist of fate, it turns out that Queen Mashiro, Nina and Arika all share a birthday. Huh, how ’bout that.

Mashiro meets and is befriended by the Prince of Zipang, Takumi, but as both are incognito, they just think that the other is a commoner. Arika (because of course, with all the graceful, accomplished and beautiful Otomes-in-training at Garderobe, the only one who could possibly take Mashiro’s place is the one bumpkin in the place) pretends to be the Queen, while poor Akira, who is already pretending to be a boy, now has to pretend to be the Prince of Zipang as well.

Shizuru proves that her gaydar is good and sees right through Akira’s drag king act. Later, when Akira *has* to use her mouth to give Takumi medicine, Shizuru is completely unflappable as everyone else reacts to what appears to be a m/m kiss by pointing out that that’s another type of love. So the Graceful Amethyst comes through like a seasoned lesbian. Points to her.

Important stuff does really happen in the middle of all this silliness and chaos. Among them, the development of a definite triangle between Nina, Sergey and Arika is probably the most icky-making, but it is pretty significant.

On the good side, we get to see Chie and Akane materialize. ^_^

It’s episodes like this that pissed off a lot of viewers. Where My HiME was, about this point in the story growing very serious, My Otome simply refuses to. I see that as a positive – we’re not being fooled into taking this more seriously than it deserves. But I can see where the humor wears thin, too. I will give it this – until Mashiro used Marie Antionette’s line about “let them eat cake” I’d never really thought about it as an expression, not of disdain, but of complete cluelessness. (I’m not in the habit of thinking about Marie Antionette much, I’ll admit.)

The one extra is bizarro world side story as Shiho “maki-maki”s everyone, causing much of the havoc that fills the exam arc.

Ratings:

Art – 7
Characters – 7
Story – 6
Music – 7 (I like the various materialize themes)
Yuri – 1
Service – 7

Overall – 6

My *only* complaint about the anime remains the same as was the first time. What complete ass makes girls trek cross-country in the woods wearing bloomers and boots? That’s just absurd. I hate the writers for doing that, and every single person who found that cute, sexy or otherwise in any way not completely dumb.

I’d also like to register a complaint with Amazon. PICK A SPELLING, for pity’s sake. My Otome, My Hime-Z, My Zhime. Pick ONE. Stick with it. Thank you. It’s like Ikkitousen all over again.

Posted in English Anime, Mai Otome | 1 Comment »


Dragonaut:The Resonance Anime

February 9th, 2008

A special special guest today – Katie, who has been a our mistress of PR at Yuricon for several years now. This is her first review here on Okazu, and I’m thrilled to pieces to have it. Presenting for your reading pleasure, a review of Dragonaut by somebody who knows what they are talking about! Yaaay!

Dragonaut: The Resonance is a new anime by GONZO. The very barebones of the plot is that in the future, a dragon crash-landed on Earth, destroying a shuttle about to launch for a routine Moon-to-Earth flight. Different factions on Earth reacted in different ways, and several years later there are two major players in the game: ISDA and the Gillard army.

ISDA was formed to research and understand the dragons, and the Gillard army, based out of Mars, stockpiled most of the system’s resources. The ISDA is where we meet our protagonist, Jin, and where he meets his love interest, Toa. The fighters of ISDA, or Dragonauts, bond with dragons that have hatched from the original dragon’s eggs. The infighting in this organization, their uneasy treaty with the army, and the teen melodrama of the Dragonauts and their dragons, drive the series.

If you’ve seen Speed Grapher, a previous GONZO anime series, you’ll have a good idea of what to expect from Dragonaut. For the first seven or so episodes, you’ll wonder why you’re watching the show, laugh at the unintentional comedy, and marvel at just how unrealistic animators can make boobs. Then, some time in the eighth episode, the ball drops, and it suddenly and inexplicably becomes good. For Dragonaut, it’s more like the very end of the 10th episode, but the analogy is still sound.

As for Yuri, there’re three possibilities, one ambiguous couple and one ambiguous unrequited thing. Warning: Dragonaut is full of every Yuri cliche in the book.

Ambiguous relationship that is described officially as “sisterly”, but involves suggestive posing? Check. One half of the couple dies, and the other one goes psycho? Check. Unrequited, unacknowledged, possibly tragic love that is only revealed as the last breath of a traitor who dies redeeming herself? Check. (Yes, this is a cliche!) The lesbians die while supporting the main, heterosexual relationship? Check.

The ambiguous relationship is Akira and her dragon, Machina. Akira is a butch-ish tomboy with rough manners, and Machina is the exact opposite of her in almost every way. Machina is also, unfortunately, one of the giant boob characters of the anime. For all the cliches, they’re actually rather well-developed for this type of anime. They’re the most sane and balanced of the group, they act as support characters to Toa and Jin, and nobody thinks their relationship is strange. Akira is especially gung-ho about rescuing Jin’s dragon girlfriend–I wonder why? Sadly, though, someone has to die, and it turns out to be Akira. Machina goes crazy and blows everything up.

The unrequited thing is Nanami. For the first third or so of the season, Nanami makes very few appearances, and seems very innocuous. She’s just a cute assistant to Yuuri Kitajima, an ISDA scientist. All of her appearances are related to Yuuri, and she seems very interested in being close to her, and winning her approval. In episode 13 or 14, we find out that Nanami is a Gillard spy. She kidnaps Toa, knocks Yuuri out, and escapes to the Mars base. It’s clear that she’s a bit conflicted about having hurt Yuuri, and after speaking with Toa about her love interest, she decides to double-cross Gillard and set Toa free. Garnet, a Gillard bodyguard, kills her before she can. The Yuri part of this is that she says “Sempai” (sempai=Yuuri) when speaking of the one she loves, and dies with Yuuri’s name on her lips. Speaking of Garnet, she also is the one who kills Akira. This is one giant-boobed character who _seriously_ hates lesbians.

If you can get through the first third of the series, it definitely becomes something worth watching, but there’s no happy ending for any of the Yuri-ish characters.

Ratings:

Art: 7, would have been higher if not for the giant scary boobs
Story: 6, surprisingly good for what it is, with some twists. You’ll see most of them coming, but not from too far off.
Yuri: 4
Series: 5 Mostly the character design and the obligatory onsen episode. It’s also equal opportunity service, with as much cute naked guy as cute naked girl.

Overall: 7

Thank you Katie! Feel free to write for Okazu anytime. ^_^

Posted in Miscellaneous | 5 Comments »


This Week In Yuri

February 9th, 2008

Astute “Friend of Yuri” Erin has informed us that Yuri manga artist Morinaga Milk was interviewed on HiPa~ web radio, the web radio for the publishers of comic High. She says that the whole thing is about 50 minutes long, Morinaga’s segment starts at 13:30. For a nice little synopsis, check out Erin’s post on the Yuricon Mailing List. Thanks for the heads up Erin!

I’d forgotten to mention this earlier, but Comic Seed has been releasing current issues online. This includes Yuri-esque manga Girl x Girl x Boy about a love triangle between two girls and a boy. The boy likes one of the girls who likes the other girl who likes him.

To listen to the HiPa~ radio and read Comic Seed, you will probably need IE. No guarantees for Firefox or Opera, anyway.

Okazu has been named to the Top 5 of Anime Blogs on Blogged.Com. I’ve never heard of any of the other top 5, so I’m not sure how I should react. Yay? LOL

Let’s see, Yuri scan/sub group Lililicious has a new community on the Japanese social networking site Mixi. You can talk to Erin, Lili’s Rosa Chinensis, myself, and other Lili members – *and* practice you Japanese language skills all at once! Of course, you can always chat with the group on their irc channel, as well, but how much cooler is it when it takes you an hour to say something banal. LOL

Oh and for fun, since Valentine’s Day is coming soon, I thought that I’d help all of you with some suggestions – after all, not everyone has time, energy or skill to make home-made chocolates, here are a few ideas for Chocolates For The One You Love (TM). :-)

So I’ve scanned through Amazon and come up few thoughts for those of you at a loss for the perfect gift.

Classic Satin Box of Chocolates, for the tried and true approach:

Chocolate Dipped Oreos, for a contemporary fun feel:

Dark Chocolate Roses, to cover all the bases:

Nana’s Cookies for the Cookie hound in your life:

If your sweetie can’t have chocolate, here’s a fun Nostalgic Candy Box:

For the Vegans, a sweet little Valentine’s Gift Box:

And last, for those of you who want to roleplay Rei and Yoshino (or Sachiko and Yumi,) some decadent chocolate truffles!:

And don’t forget to remind your sweetie about White Day – I’ll be back
in a month with more suggestions. :-)

I can’t swear that I’ll do this *every* week, but I kind of like these Saturday Yuri News reports. What do you think of them? Let me know!

Posted in Yuri Network News | 5 Comments »