Yuri Anime: Shoujo Sect OAV 3

November 27th, 2008

Here we are, at the final OAV of the Shoujo sect anime. And compared with the last two volumes, it was way closer to the manga. But….

Okay, so, Ma-ya and Shinobu have their little moment, and Shinobu is molested by the evil sempai. That situation was changed around a bit, but the rewrite didn’t kill the scene particularly. Momoko’s reaction was modified, for the worse, I think. The fire extinguisher wasn’t just an expression of violence – it was an absolute expression of just how deeply Momoko felt about Sempai’s attack on Shinobu.

The end too was rewritten slightly. Instead of Momoko moving away, and Shinobu and she having a reunion after four months, we harken back to the their first meeting on the playground and their first kiss (which had also been changed from the manga.) This leads into the final sex scene for the series.

And that, I’m sorry to say is where this series is a complete turkey. Porn, unless I’m mistaken, is meant to be sexually titillating. Listening to the voice actresses suck and slurp and lick so absurdly in this volume was absolutely laughable, and a little nauseating. I get it, I do. Sounds have to be exaggerated for effect, but uh…no. A thousand times, no. When I turned the sound off, the sex scenes weren’t that bad, but when I offered an earphone to the wife for a moment she said, “Eww?!” and made the same scrunchy face I myself wore. Each to their own, and all, but for me, the best part of the sex in this anime was that each scene was short, due to time constraints.

What did you think of this series?

Ratings:

Art – 6
Story – 4
Characters – 6
Yuri – 9
Service – 8

When the sex in a piece of porn is the least good thing, you know you’re watching a real turkey.

And speaking of turkey – in the spirit of the Thanksgiving, I would like to express my thanks to all of you, my readers, fans, Okazu heroes and superheroes! I couldn’t do it without you!

Posted in Hentai, Shoujo Sect, Yuri Anime | 13 Comments »


Yuri Manga: Hanjuku Joshi, Volume 1

November 26th, 2008

Hanjuku Joshi (Half-baked Woman) is one of two collections of stories that were distributed by Yuri Hime magazine, as part of their cell phone service in Japan. Kinda neat, huh?

You know how it is. Whatever kind of body/hair/face you have, you want something else. And Yae is no different. She’s got a cute, curvaceous, feminine body, and soft, fluffy hair. She likes sewing. She’s as girly as a girl could be – and she hates it. Which is why its so vexing to be told how feminine she is all time. And even more so when tall, athletic, Chitose – who is everything Yae wishes she was, including not at all self-conscious about her body – tells her so.

Yae is still reeling from the difference from her previous co-ed schools in regards to relations between students, so she’s not really ready for the feelings she’s having for Chitose. And she’s totally not ready for Chitose to return them. And, just to make it all that much more awkward and painful, she’s not definitely not up to being teased by Hanashima Mari, the cool, beautiful upperclassman who mocks Yae and Chitose for “playing” at love, calling them “half-baked women”, right before she skips class to hit a hotel with her current beau. When, later that day, they stumble across Mari and their female homeroom teacher in a compromising position in the library, everything gets even more complicated than before.

In the end, the story is about not one, but two love relationships, about healing old wounds and finding one’s self.

On the Yuricon Mailing List, I stated that I thought that this book might well be the most perfect “Yuri” manga I’d ever seen. It’s not really a story of anyone coming out – there is some sense of identity, but not so much that it changes the story to a lesbian one. No, the focus here is on “Yuri,” in the sense of lesbian content, not lesbian identity, a classic school setting and first love…and all that “pure” and “innocent” love stuff that fanboys love so much. (Although, for people who like their Yuri “pure” and “innocent” no one ever seems to object when they end up sleeping together.)

Ratings:

Art – 8
Story – 7
Characters – 9
Yuri – 9
Service – 6

Overall – 9

Hanjuku Joshi was not my absolute favorite collection from this last batch of Yuri Hime manga, but it was very enjoyable. I always enjoy Morishima’s work, and always look forward to the next one.

Posted in Comic Yuri Hime, Morishima Akiko, Yuri Manga | 9 Comments »


Your and My Secret Manga, Volume 1 (English)

November 25th, 2008

Nanako is…a jerk. If she were a guy, no one would hesitate to tell her so. But she’s not. She’s a girl – and a cute one at that, if she keeps her mouth shut. Akira is…a wimp. He’s quiet to the point of being the creepy guy in the corner that you’re sure will be the one with bodies in the freezer.

The plot is…a handwave. For no reason at all, really, Nanako and Akira switch bodies. Nanako is relieved to be free of the stifling behavior code for girls and proceeds to be a jerk, but since now she’s a guy, everyone kinds of expects it. And since Akira’s face is a handsome one, she’s got the girls oohing and ahhing after her. Akira, too wimpy to say no, finds himself thrust in the role of caretaker to Nanako’s annoying grandfather. It’s no suprise that he makes a “better” (i.e., gentler and meeker) girl than Nanako.

Nanako in Akira’s body finds herself attracted to her best friend. Akira in Nanako’s body finds himself fighting off the advances of his best friend. It’s a big ole gender-bending comedy fest in Volume 1 of Your and My Secret.

Like mostly every other transgender manga that’s made it into English (indeed, like most of what’s been wrtitten for the mainstream market in any language) Your and My Secret is a comedy. The gender switch is played for laughs and shocked giggles of titillated outrage as each finds themselves dealing with a same-sex relationship via proxy body.

The down side to this plot is that the comedy resides in the most banal gender role issues, again. For instance, I learned that a girl’s greatest weapon is to look teary-eyed and weak. Call me a bitchy lesbian feminist, but, uh, NO. Unless, as a woman you bring nothing else to the table. If you are a woman who is dumber than toast, denser than a bag of doorknobs and have absolutely nothing else other than your looks, then yes, I’ll grant you that looking like a baby seal is probably your best bet. Good luck with that when you get old. Otherwise, as Akira’s supposed to be a brilliant student, you’d think he’d attempt to *think* his way out of a problem. Clearly his girl body has sucked all the brains right out of him.

The only other problem with this plot is that it goes on for volume after volume after volume. I really hope something happens to create a real plot in the next two or three volumes, because I’m not sure how much more of Akira not even looking at his own body, because it’s that of a girl, I can take. But given that this manga ran in Comic Blade, we have to allow all the “zOMG girl’s bodies have breasts!” thing. Both the wife (who liked it) and I are up for Volume 2, anyway. ^_^

As a short “ha-ha” funny take on unwanted body switching, Secret is a typical situation comedy set-up. I kept expecting Kate or Ally to walk in at any moment and explain in a sensitive voice why switching bodies is okay. ^_^; 

Ratings:

Art – 8
Characters – 6
Story – 6
Yuri – 2
Service- 6

Overall – 7

It just dawned on me that I saw the live-action version of this while I was in Tokyo. The acting was pretty damn good, actually.

Special thanks to Grace E. for sponsoring today’s review! Email me and get your “Okazu hero” badge to proudly display or shamefully hide. ^_^

Posted in English Manga | 6 Comments »


Akatsuki-iro no Senpuku Majyo Manga, Volume 1

November 24th, 2008

Akatsuki-iro no Senpuku Majyo by Hakamada Mera is, according to the obi on the book, a “Magical Youthful Love Yuri Heartful School Story.” I’d call it whimsical, certainly.

Once upon a time, a school for magic existed. Into that school transferred a new student, with the name Akira. To everyone’s surprise, Akira came into the schoolroom wearing a giant armored suit, and was unable to speak. The students were unkind to Akira, but the class president Tokiko rebuked the other students.

One day, a fire broke out in the school, but no one was able to break in to rescuse the student inside the room. Only Akira inside the iron shell stepped up to try. There was a loud bang and Akira’s magic burst past the seal on the door. When the girl inside had been saved, and the smoke cleared, everyone was amazed to see that the iron shell housed a young girl.

Thus begins the Akira’s adventures at the school of magic.

Tokiko and Akira become good friends, and Akira confides that she is looking for her older sister, who her grandmother told her might be at this school. When her grandmother died, Akira was sealed in the iron suit as part of a curse – but her release of magic to save Yoru-sempai had freed her.

Most of this volume is very typical Hakamada hijinks. There’s the usual school stuff, festivals and lunchtime and gym, and in the cracks are some service-y type situations. In fact, this could be Last Uniform all over again, except that it takes place at a co-ed school in a world where magic exists.

Tokiko and Akira look like they might become an item, but by the end of the book, Yoru-sempai has pulled into the lead position of substitute onee-chan, if not the real one. And Mochizuki-sempai likes to snuggle Tokiko because she’s soft and fluffy. The obi tells me the series is Yuri, but by the end of the first volume, we’re mostly working with Yuri goggles on high settings.

Who will turn out to be (or become) Akira’s onee-chan? tune in next time!

Ratings:

Art – 6
Characters – 7
Story – 7
Yuri – 3
Service – 0

Overall – 7

If you like The Last Uniform or any of Hakamada’s other works, you’ll enjoy this manga as well.

Posted in Hakamada Mera | 1 Comment »


Flamboyant Artbook (English)

November 23rd, 2008

Thanks to Okazu Superhero Eric for sponsoring today’s review of the Flamboyant art book by Hakua Ugetsu, translated by DMP!

This artbook contains a number of full-color artworks by Hakua for the Bakuretsu Tenshi, aka Burst Angel series. The art is colorful, servicey and full of action, scanty clothes and Jo. Sometimes a picture might also have Meg, Amy and Sei-who-is-not-named-Beth.

There are a number of pictures in which Jo and Meg are touching and/or are in close proximity to one another. There is even one where Jo’s scarf becomes a red string of fate that binds Meg to her. Sadly, the one picture I like best, of them sitting in each other’s laps in bed, was included only as a sketch.

The remainder of the book includes art from other series (including the intriguiging-looking Everybody’s Bounty Hunters, in which girls with guns stand near each other and sometimes touch) and some original sci-fi and fantasy art. the book also includes sketches and commentary by the artist, which I found to be both amusing and alarming. ^_^

Ratings:

Art – 9
Yuri – 2
Service – 8

Overall – 9

I’m quite pleased to be able to add this artbook to my collection, where it will live with some of my crazy out-of-print artbooks that one day I will get around to reviewing.  ^_^

Posted in Bakuretsu Tenshi, English Manga, Yuri Artbook | No Comments »