Martial arts. The perfect palette on which to blend skill, fortitude, perspicacity, teamwork and hideously adorable cuteness. Add a dash of Yuri and you have a really thin excuse for a review of Bamboo Blade!

Kendo takes a great deal of subtlety and skill. You can’t just hit a person with the shinai. Footwork, timing, strike location and force all must be precise. Like all martial arts, Kendo takes most of a lifetime to understand and master. (Where “master” is meant as “not come even close to mastering.” It’s a cliche’ in the martial arts – all of them – that the more you know, the more you know how little you know. And no, I am not talking out my ass in fortune cookies here. I taught MA for about 10 years. Trust me – the more you know, the less you know.) So, of course it stands to reason that a hideously adorable fifteen-year old would be practically a world-class kendoka. Wait, no it doesn’t.

And that’s the hand-wave in Bamboo Blade. Little Tamako is in truth, an anime-obsessed master of this difficult art, so of course her high school Kendo club wants, no, *needs,* to get her. And they do, which signals a major turn-around for the Muroe High Kendo club. They are able to recruit some new members, and in honor of Tama’s sentai leanings, assign a color to each of the members.

As Tama’s training seeps osmotically into the rest of the team, they become more focused and more skilled. Bubbly Kirino, the half-assed club president and flaky Saya find themselves winning matches more, beginner Miya-Miya is able to channel her tremdous hidden rage into Kendo and clumsy Azuma finds a group that will accept her for who she is and offer her support. In other words – it’s a “team” anime, where every character has backstory, but we all “gambatte” and win. There will be cliff-hangers here and there, but no real tension. Tama-chan is simply too cute to worry about. Everything will always be all right.

Our excuse for reviewing this series at all is a girl named Reimi who obsessively stalks and photographs Miya-Miya (Kendo “Black”.) Miya-Miya is already the craziest, most mentally unstable character in the show – Reimi’s stalking does not help. Miya-Miya assumes it to be some kind of rivalry, but in fact, Reimi’s in love with Miya-Miya. It’s not really a nice love. Reimi’s admiration does more damage than good. But it’s okay. It’s an excuse to review Bamboo Blade. :-) There’s a nice helping of “obvious” pairability between Kirino and Saya as well, so although they aren’t a couple, it’s easy enough for those so inclined to pretend they are.

Bamboo Blade is not cutting-edge or anything. (Ecch, no pun intended.) It’s a formulaic, yet-another-one-of-those-sports-series that fill Japanese manga and anime shelves. The lessons are “keep trying,” “be a team” and “guts=win.” Same as pretty much every other sports anime. The only difference is that the “win” part is really secondary to the story. Since Tama-chan is a priori way superior to everyone, that’s not an issue. It’s the journey and her experiences hanging out with other kids her age that’s the important bit. Sure, it’s nice that the team is getting better, but that’s just an added benefit. This takes a lot of pressure off the characters – and the viewers. They don’t have to succeed despite outrageous odds and tremendous hardship, and we don’t have to watch them suffer.

Here’s an example. Tama-chan is off to her first training camp. Her father is concerned because there will be boys there. That’s it. And Tama-chan’s biggest concern? That her father go nowhere near the TV and digital recorder, so she doesn’t miss an episode of her favorite shows. Feels nice and relaxed, doesn’t it? It is. ^_^

Ratings:

Art – 7 Moe cute
Story – 7
Characters – 8 Except the teachers who are impossible to respect
Yuri – 1
Service – 5 Individual episodes go as high as 7.

Overall – 7

I like the fact that we occasionally see real Kendo techniques. And I defy anyone to tell me that they don’t want to hug Tama-chan. A fun anime about five female Kendoka – does there really need to be anything else?

Still cleaning out the backlog of anime reviews. Today’s review was written by long-time “friend of Yuri” Eric P.!(And many thanks to Adam for his assist on this.) Yuricon 2003 was the American Premiere of the Alien 9 anime, which was very cool, so thanks again to CPM for that. :-) The reason I never reviewed this series is probably self-evident…I didn’t much care for it. lol Extra thanks to Eric and to Adam, and to you for reading!

Here’s my attempt in covering the basics of the Alien Nine saga, a title from back in 2003, including the anime, the three-volume manga, and the one-shot manga sequel Emulators, created by Hitoshi Tomizawa.

In the not-too-distant future, alien invasions are an everyday occurrence. The story of Alien Nine takes place in a school where three 6th-grade girls are elected as the school’s protectors, and have to defend the campus from these occasional intrusions.

One of the three is a girl named Yuri (kinda obvious name, isn’t it?), elected very much against her will. She is teamed with two other Alien Fighters, Kumi and Kasumi. Their fighting gear includes helmets that are in fact living, symbiotic aliens, which can unfurl wings and extend tentacles shaped like screws. The Alien Fighters’ uniforms and weapons make them look like rollerblading lacrosse-players. They face off against creatures of all shapes and sizes; it is amazing what Hitoshi Tomizawa’s imagination came up with at times.

During the course of the story, Kumi and Kasumi experience encounters which cause them to slowly become half-aliens, and in the end they try to protect the still-human Yuri so as to retain what’s left of their humanity.

The artwork of Alien Nine is decidedly paradoxical. If you were to judge this title based upon its cover (DVD or manga), you would be surprised and stunned if you actually looked inside. While the characters designs are cutesy, their situations and the monstrous aliens they face are anything but; some of the imagery can get downright brutal and grotesque. In my opinion it isn’t overdone, but it may not appeal to anyone who’s particularly squeamish or who doesn’t appreciate a little shock.

And now to the differences between the anime and the manga: While the animation is great, I personally hate the anime. As a standalone story from the manga version, Yuri, the appointed protagonist, remains whiny and pitiful from start to finish without any kind of development. She is far worse than Shinji from Evangelion, if you can believe that. She ends up making the viewers, like myself, depressed for having followed a heroine who never accomplishes anything. Also, the anime picks *the* most *awkward* spot in the manga as its conclusion. The very last shot, right before it blacks out to the closing credits, is a scene where Yuri just looks at the camera and then breaks down in tears. Honestly, I felt scarred and empty after having watched it.

At first I thought it was very unfortunate that I watched the anime before reading the manga version. On second thought, however, it turned out to be rather fortunate – because of it, I was better able to appreciate the superiority of the manga version, which continues the story where the anime left off. Although still pitiful, the Yuri of the manga is just slightly less annoying. At least in the manga’s conclusion (before Emulators) she makes choices which affect the outcome of the story. Whether or not you’d consider her heroic, it’s still a vast improvement in my book.

Now down to the Yuri itself. It is much clearer in the anime version, especially in Episode 3, where Kumi expresses her fondness toward Yuri. Yuri seems uncertain, but then later shows hints of being interested in Kumi as well. Then something weird happens in the fourth and final episode: they’re alone, wearing their helmets to block out some alien emanation that’s causing headaches. Then Kumi takes a look at Yuri, dons a wicked smile, and Yuri starts to panic. The camera cuts to the ceiling, we hear some whining, and Yuri’s clothes fly up. You tell me what happened there…

The Yuri is still there in the manga version, at least on Kumi’s part. Yuri (the character) is not remotely aware of Kumi’s feelings, even though it was said feelings which helped bring about the manga’s conclusion.

When the story continues in Emulators, a whole new alien invasion takes place. Of course. Kasumi, being far less human this time around, tries to set up everything for Kumi to be alone with Yuri, but in the end Kumi’s feelings turn out to be unreciprocated. You might well wonder why Kumi would be attracted to Yuri to begin with. Maybe Kumi’s attracted to the really vulnerable types, in contrast to her own independent nature? Anyway, the ending of Emulators is bittersweet, but everyone turns out more or less okay.

I should also mention that there’s a bonus chapter about a boy who had a crush on Kumi, but he becomes an alien villain targeting Yuri upon discovering the true object of Kumi’s affections.

Aside from the Yuri, Alien Nine is made up of very imaginative science-fiction. One of my favorite elements is from Emulators, where a new half-alien girl, Monami, is introduced, and her long strands of hair seem to have a mind of their own. The storytelling style of Alien Nine is vague; it doesn’t delve into the background to explain everything or everyone. Instead things mostly
just happen, and readers are simply along for the ride. Some people may differ, but I tend to find that sort of style appealing. It entails a lot of shocking revelations – certainly enough to make you want to know what happens next. You’re better off skipping the anime version, but if you feel like checking out something that is very weird and unique, but with a humorous tinge, definitely consider the Alien Nine and Alien Nine: Emulators manga.

Ratings:

Art – 8 (fluctuates between cute and grotesque)
Story – Anime, 4; Manga, 7
Characters – 7
Yuri – Anime, 6; Manga, 5
Service – Anime, 7; Manga, 5 (a couple of bath scenes, involving the alien helmets’ tentacle-like tongues)

Overall – Anime, 3; Manga,  7

Eric, you completely captured my feelings about the anime. ^_^ Thanks again for this review!

Seriously, do you think I ought to create categories for Anime or Manga “With Yuri In It?” Anyway, today’s review was written by guest reviewer Hafl about yet another anime I have never watched. Take it away Hafl!

Myself;Yourself is a quite unsurprising series about a highschooler, who returns to town where he spent his childhood, reunites with his old friends, makes new ones and begins traditional romance with misunderstandings and so on. Then the drama starts to happen. (There are some spoilers ahead, mostly concerning exact nature of the drama.)

The characters in Myself;Yourself are all quite normal human beings, with normal reactions to all that’s happening around them. Main character, Sana, is a kind guy, who suffers from hemophobia and that’s all. Then there are twins Shuusuke and Shuri who have their own storyline, showing that a romance series does not have to revolve only around the main character. Then there is Nanaka, who is Sana’s love interest and hides a trauma from the past. Hinako is the show’s obligatory loli, who provides filler for two episodes and later becomes unimportant. Aoi is a clumsy bookworm with glasses and big breasts, who is also mostly unimportant.

Then, finally, there is Asami, who is the character to provide all the Yuri in the series. Asami is a nice, sympathetic and nobody would ever suspect her of doing anything wrong. Which is the reason why she later does.

The Yuri in Myself;Yourself begins in episode nine with some meaningful looks and is fully revealed in episode eleven. Before the beginning of the series, quiet and reserved Asami became friends with lively Shuri. Later she fell in love with her, confessed and was rejected. They were still friends, but Asami started to hate Shuri and wanted her to suffer as much as possible. Her monologue where she explains all of this also reveals that she is not the mentally stablest member of the cast. After this, Asami disappears from the story except for a short glimpse during the end of the last episode, where she seems like a completely normal, well-adjusted person.

That’s all for the Yuri except for Hinako calling Aoi “Onee-sama” which is sure to be misinterpreted by someone. Also, in one of the episodes Aoi said that in love, gender doesn’t matter, but that almost doesn’t count. However, in the last episode Aoi and Asami are seen sitting next to each other, which can also be misinterpreted.

The story in Myself;Yourself is not much. For the first half it seems just like any other romance series, though without most of their annoyances. In the second half, there’s the aforementioned drama, which is more interesting, but also overblown. There is arson, childhood trauma, attempted murder, attempted suicide, domestic violence, animal sacrifice, psychotic old lady, evil stepmother, false accusation, plausibly deniable incest and dying violin teacher all in space of seven episodes. By the end, I was so weary of all the drama that I was laughing whenever the series heaped yet another trauma on its protagonists. I was actually surprised that there was a happy ending.

As a series Myself;Yourself is decent. Despite the drama, the story isn’t really deep and the characters aren’t all that interesting. It is not worth watching for the yuri, as there is too little. I liked the series because the characters were acting like normal people, but overally it isn’t anything special.

Art – 7
Story – 6
Characters – 7
Yuri – 3
Service – 2

Overall – 6

That was fabulous, Hafl- I almost want to watch it for the Psycho Lesbian and unlikely happy ending. ^_^ Thanks for such an amusing review!

I may not like everything I read or watch, and there are times were I am likely to be less satisified than others at the portrayal of Yuri in my chosen media, but that’s not because I don’t like Yuri. It’s because I *love* it. This is the classic disease of fans everywhere – we love a thing so much we become intolerant of its tropes and conventions, while we compare it unfavorably to the things we’ve retconned in our heads to be nearly perfect – usually the first thing we ever saw. ^_^

It’s part of my passion for Yuri that I gleefully watch and read loads of crap to comment on the Yuri in it. Folks, I’m here to remind you that we’re watching cartoons and reading comic books. A *lot* of it is crap.

Which brings me to the subject of today’s review, Touka Gettan. ^_^

When Touka Gettan was announced, the majority reaction was, “Ooh, this is by the same people involved with Yami to Boushi to Hon no Tabibito, so it ought to be good.” Cognitive dissonance is built right into the sentence. Here’s how cognitive dissonance works in this case – “This series has Yuri.” “I like Yuri.” “I like this series.” “I can’t possibly like something that isn’t good, because I have good taste, so… Yamibou is good.” Yamibou was certainly Yuri, but how *anyone* could say it was good, is beyond me. ^_^

Needless to say, when Touka Gettan was not good (there really was no reason to think it might be) people were disappointed. And it confused them, which made them angry. Personally, I thought it was howlingly funny. This was a series so bad that I couldn’t even watch it before Claymore to make that better, because Touka Gettan was so bad that it was funny, which didn’t help at all. ^_^

While Touka Gettan definitely had Yuri, I can’t call it a Yuri anime. It seemed like there was some kind of Yuri complication involving just about every female character, but the main relationship is heterosexual, if not “straight.”

The story, which was actually a little more complex than one might expect, involved the meeting of the lead characters in a magical world, in which a mythical past event and a magical current event are connected. Many of the characters are also shaped by a much more recent and “realistic” series of tragedies. The story is told in reverse chronological order (with some plots within specific episodes that couldn’t have been added without the reverse order.) In all honesty, I don’t think I would have been able to sit through this series if it hadn’t been in reverse order. It bothered many viewers, but I thought that it was this series’ one saving grace.

Touka, the anti-hero, is a male version of tsundere – by which I mean he’s a sulky, uncommunicative ass. Momoka, the heroine, is magical, and therefore does inexplicable things. Like fall in love with Touka.

But other than that relationship, the series wades around in a pool of Yuri of all kinds. There’s crushes that will go nowhere (Shouko’s feelings for Makoto) there’s akogare (Makoto’s feeling for Momoka), sisterly “affection,” (Nene and her cat-girl sister) and a threesome between Toukka, his mother and Momoka in which Momoka pretends that it is Touka touching her, not his mother. There’s even one or two relationships that aren’t eye-rollingly awful. I vaguely remember a kiss between two of the magical beings, Juna and Kikyou I think, that looked like it had actual affection behind it. But that was back at the beginning of the series (and therefore at the end of the story) where it is easily forgotten. Also, to ensure that Yamibou fans watched this series, Hatsumi, Hazuki and Lilith appear in one cross-over episode.

So, if you liked Yamibou and go into this open-minded about continuity and quality, it might offer some  entertainment. Given the lack of Yuri in this season, it will at least give you something to stare at until spring. ^_^

Ratings:

Art – 5 (The art would make CLAMP sad)
Characters – 5
Story – 2
Yuri – 6
Service – 8

Overall – 4, but I only gave it an extra point because it made me laugh until I hurt

The absolute best thing about Touka Gettan was the woman who did the voiceovers for the title, eyecatch and “to be continued” She spoke the words as if the few things she had to say for this utter tripe might infect her somehow and she wished she could spit it out. Every single episode, when she said “Tsuzuku,” like she wanted to die, I laughed.