Maria Watches Us, Volume 3 (English)

September 15th, 2008

How ironic that the Valentine’s Day episodes of Maria Watches Us Season 1, are some of the *least* romantic in the series. Not that they lack romance mind you, it’s just that in comparison to the rest of this season, Yumi and Sachiko’s crisis and Sachiko being stalked, sort of pale.

Once again, I am looking back on this arc from the perspective of having read the many novels afterward. In fact, I’m currently reading the novel that follows the Valentine’s Day dates a year later. (And they are totally cracktastic, let me tell you…) So it fascinates me even more that in Volume 3 we get to see the beginning of what will obviously become a long tradition at Lillian. I can see it now, fifty years later, when the tradition is so long-established that everyone just assumes it’s always been done….

And yet…here we are, when crazy yellow journalist Newspaper club President Tsukiyama Minako sits down and sets the scene for the first ever Valentine’s Day treasure hunt. Kinda cool, huh? Kinda ironic too, that a woman without an ounce of romance in her is the source of this heart-pounding event. One of the best scenes in the arc is watching the Rosas defeat their soeurs and “encourage” them to participate. ^_^

In the middle of all this, Yumi and Sachiko have to deal with a significant crisis spawned by their differing styles of communication. This will continue to plague them for some time, ultimately complicating issues through “Rainy Blue” but, for now it’s no more than a few days of unhappiness for them to get through.

My biggest complaint with this arc is that the story of Yumi’s trick chocolates for Sei kind of suffer from neglect and confusion. Let me summarize – Yumi made two sets of chocolates, one with yummy centers and one with weird centers like tuna and wasabi. When she and Sachiko struggle with the box, the chocolates all get mixed up and its possible that the chocolate Sachiko ate and said was tasty is one of the weird ones. We’ll never know. ^_^

Sachiko’s stalker episode is notable for two things – when Mafuyu comes back into the story briefly a year later, Sachiko still has no clue who she is, and the fact that kindergarten Sachiko is hideously adorable.

In the end, Yumi proves that she is indeed suited to be Rosa Chinensis en bouton.

Ratings:

Art – 6
Story – 8
Characters – 9
Yuri – 4
Service – 0

Marimite Fan – 100

Overall – 8

Now I must run and finish the next year’s date stories, because really, *so* freakishly weird, I must know what happens!!!

Posted in English Anime, Maria-sama ga Miteru | 3 Comments »


Stray Little Devil Manga, Volume 3 (English)

September 14th, 2008

This is a true story:

Once upon a time there was a girl. She met another girl and *instantly* found her to be the most irritating creature in the whole of the universe.

For many reasons, they kept running into each other and for different reasons they had to work together on some things. But never once did the girl ever dislike the other girl less. In fact, proximity created complete contempt.

In this real story, the girl never ever could stand the sight of the other girl. Even though she still runs into her from time to time, the girl can barely tolerate her for even a moment.

In the manga version of this story, you’d all be reading this and thinking, “Yuri.” Take a moment to consider how freakish a conclusion that is. ^_^

Stray Little Devil, Volume 3 starts with Pam and her friends all looking for rare ingredients to bring back her familiar’s voice, during which Pam is knocked unconscious. She is (of course) revived, and proceeds to “save” a lost soul, which is to say that she makes him face up to his crimes and take responsibility, ruining his life. The idea of a devil taking the high moral road amuses me.

The end of the book finds Lin-Fa confronted with a direct request to investigate Pam, and the gem she wears. Lin-Fa waffles back and forth about her feelings about this, and decides to brazen it out, her heart beating the whole time, and find Pam at her job. The idea that devils need part-time jobs befuddles me.

The crisis comes when Pam says that she considers Lin-Fa a *friend!* Oh no! A high-handed Angel can’t tolerate niceness like this from a lowly devil intern. So of course the only appropriate reaction is to slap her silly and reject her utterly. An act that will be the “sad” part of the next volume, until Pam has to save her ass or they have to work together to escape or something.

Thus we come to the end of Stray Little Devil Volume 3. I fear for all of you that Love, love, love! this series, that I will simply not feel the love. It’s okay. If you’ve got a tendency toward moe it’s probably very good. For me, not so much.

Ratings:

Art – 6
Story – 6
Characters – 6
Yuri – 1
Service – 4

Overall – 6

In the true version of this story, there is no Yuri, and if the girl could have slapped the other girl, possibly repeatedly, it would have been a kindness.

Posted in English Manga | 1 Comment »


Yuri News This Week – September 13, 2008

September 13th, 2008

It’s a very, very light week, which is good, because I’m completely pie-eyed this AM. :-)

Yuri Anime

Right Stuff announces that you can preview the first episode of Aria on the DVD sampler included in the October 2008 issue of OTAKU USA magazine.

***

Yuri Manga

In this month’s issue of Chopsticks magazine, friend of Yuri and manga translator Mari Morimoto wrote an article about the translated manga scene for the Japanese-American audience. Included in her list of “Best (Translated) Manga You Ought to Read” is ALC’s own Rica ‘tte Kanji!?. Thanks for the props, Mari! It was a pretty great article all around, so read the article on the Chopsticks website for a slightly different perspective on everything.

***

I’ve got some Snatches of Yuri for you all, but I’m beat. Next week.

Send in any Yuri news you have to share and I’ll make sure it gets up here for the world to see.

Posted in Yuri Network News | No Comments »


Red Garden Anime, Volume 4 (English)

September 12th, 2008

I just finished reading a manga that I won’t be reviewing here, but found myself immediately composing a review in my head anyway. In that review, I was quibbling about a single phrase that really annoyed the heck out of me. It showed not only insensitivity but also complete lack of cultural knowledge by the company that translated the book. It’s not important, really, except for the fact that I find myself doing that quite a bit here – quibbling about a small thing that’s quite irrelevant to a series that I see as some kind of “wtf” committed by the American production company. And I will do it again today.

But, let’s set this quibble aside for a moment and discuss the meat, if you will allow me to be so crude, of Red Garden, Volume 4.

Kate, Clare, Rachel and Rose realize that there is no escape from their fate as members of one side of an ages-long battle. What that actually means to them is still unclear, but they are as determined – more so than before, even – to retain what little of their “real” lives they have left to them. Each reacts in a different way. Rachel sheds her superficial skin going so far as to shed even her genuinely concerned and caring boyfriend, someone she needs but understands will not be able to handle the truth. Rose embarks upon a quest to find her father and bring him back into the fold of her family. Kate tries to date, with tragic consequences, and Clare is forced to confront her (perhaps unfair) anger and feelings of betrayal she has for her father.

Paula remains the epitome of “Grace,” even in the face of Jessica’s flaring jealousy and accusations that her interest in Kate has changed her. In return, Paula forces Jessica to become a partner to Kate. From watching her so closely, Jessica begins to develop a kind of bond with Kate – and ultimately begins to sympathize with her, even if its for the wrong reasons. To Kate’s shock, Jessica confesses her sympathy and offers her help – again, even though it’s for the all the wrong reasons, Jessica is no longer an enemy. And Paula has once again protected Kate.

As the entire series edges closer to climax and everyone deals with betrayal – Rachel as the betrayer, Rose as the reconciler, Claire as the confronter and Kate as the betrayed, they all find some strength within themselves to fight the fight they must fight.

And in a surprising moment, the first instance of loss on our side is from an entirely unexpected source.

Yuri? Not very. Paula’s interest has not waned, but has not become a burden as it does in the manga. Fabulous? Definitely.

Ratings:

Art – 7
Story – 8
Characters – 8
Yuri – 1
Service – 1; Violence – 8

Overall – 8

So, here’s my quibble. On the DVD case for the last volume the reviewer’s quote said that this series was like Buffy the Vampire Slayer. This time the synopsis of the episode includes a line that describes this series as “sexy.” *Sexy*?? What part of this is sexy – the beast men ripping Rachel’s shoulder open or JC taking one for the team? Did they just add that in for spice or do they automatically describe anything with female leads as “sexy?” American companies – WTF?

Posted in English Anime | 1 Comment »


Shin Megami Tensei Kahn Manga, Volume 1 (English)

September 11th, 2008

Some weeks ago, my parents were visiting and my Dad, as he is wont to, was going through my piles of anime and manga looking for something crappy to read. (Me, with crappy manga? How utterly likely.) So, I pulled one of the manga off the pile and said, “Here, I’m told this one is dreadful. I haven’t read it yet. You can be my sacrificial reader.” And with that I handed him Shin Megami Tensei Kahn.

Twelve pages into it he looked up and said, “I feel my brain crinkling around the edges.” Halfway into it, he gave up. I said cheerfully, “But you didn’t get to the lesbian rape part – keep reading.”. Manfully, he churned away at it and when he was done, he handed it back and said, “I think the panel on the bottom of Page 59 sums it up nicely.” I took the book, opened up to page 59 and read the bottom panel in which Nobu, with a completely slappable expression says, “It stinks.”

So, here’s the first review on Okazu ever done by my father – Shin Megami Tensei Kahn stinks. ^_^

To be fair to Dad, it really does stink. This series takes place some time after a previous series. The synopsis of the previous series is written on the first two, almost completely unreadable, pages of the book. At first I thought it was just meant to be jumbled up letters that were artsy, but after a moment I realized that those word jumbles contained actual information that was kind of crucial to understanding what had happened previously. Assuming one wants to understand.

In short – terrible things happened in the past, leaving Nobu and Yumi the sole survivors of the demonic destruction of their former school. Nobu is instantly unlikable. His expression made me root for the punks who tried to beat his ass in the very first chapter but, sadly, he’s the hero and we’ll never be rid of him. Yumi was a typical two-dimensional, uninteresting shell of a female character who mostly spends her time obsessing about Nobu. Nobu spends his time complaining that things stink.

In the second half of the volume, Yumi is trying to forget what happened and move on with her life, but sadly her life doesn’t want to be moved on with. Her questionably lesbian roommate Saeko (the traditional name for the classmate with “issues”) is first “seduced” by the “sexy” demonic teacher who vomits worms into her mouth and then Saeko tries to turn her wormy seduction onto Yumi. Amazingly, Yumi does not succumb. The volume ends with lesbianism-inducing worms all over the place and Nobu on the run, suspected of killing his mother, which he didn’t, not that we care all that much.

Ratings:

Art – 3
Characters – 3
Story – 3
Yuri – 6, but…worms
Service – 4 for the guro set

Overall – 3

As bad as this manga is, there wasn’t anything bad enough to make me want to read more. I’m with Dad on this one. Nonetheless, my sincere thanks to Bruce M. for sponsoring today’s review and opening up a whole new world of bad for me to enjoy. ^_^

 

Posted in English Manga | 4 Comments »