Gatcha Gacha Manga (English)

September 4th, 2008

Erica is on vacation this week. Please excuse her as she sets aside the important task of reviewing anime and manga to enjoy time with friends and roadside dinosaurs. Today we have guest reviewer Sean Gaffney to entertain and beguile us and make yet another series sound much better than it probably is. ^_^

Yuri is a girl who is utterly unlucky at love. She’s had 13 boyfriends, and been dumped by all of them. What’s worse, it’s always for the same reason – she gets too ‘heavy’ for them, too deeply involved and makes them want to back off. What’s a girl desperate to show her love to do?

Sounds like a typical shoujo manga, right? You’re expecting a bad boy to come along? Yup, he’s there. What about the misunderstood straight-man student council president with a crush? Present and correct. Tragic pasts up the wazoo? You have NO idea.

But it’s OK. Because Gatcha Gacha also has Motoko. Motoko is long-haired, long-limbed, and gorgeous, and many people think she has ‘Western’ looks. She’s the perfect pretty girl… till you get to know her. She’s grumpy, foul-mouthed, gets into fights constantly, and her bag is filled with the sorts of things only boys would like. There was a poll in Melody, the magazine that ran this in Japan, and Motoko was easily the most popular character, defeating the supposed heroine.

In case you’re wondering why this is an Okazu review, Motoko also likes looking at pretty girls. And seems to have no interest in guys. Now, for several volumes, that’s all there was, and I didn’t particularly regard it as a yuri series mostly as Motoko herself insisted she wasn’t a lesbian.

In later volumes, thought, we get a bit more to it. One part is a major spoiler, so I can’t get into it in this review. However, the other is a character introduced towards the end who knew Motoko in middle school. She definitely is far more yuri, and obsesses about Motoko as she seees them as being similar. As time goes on, though, she realizes that she’s just a cynic, while Motoko is an optimist who’s merely been crushed by events.

There’s nothing particularly original about Gatcha Gacha. But there’s likeable, interesting characters, a nice fast pace, and lots of amusing comedy and gripping drama. And even though it’s not original, several of the plot twists are layered and keep you guessing. The 7th volume, out from Tokyopop, ends with Yuri wondering just how important is her ‘BFF’ Motoko to her, and whether her friendship might actually be verging on a crush. And the 8th volume is the last, wrapping everything up.

Unfortunately, Tokyopop is currently going through difficulties, and Gatcha Gacha was never a very big seller. It’s currently on hiatus, with the final volume unscheduled. Despite that, I still recommend the series to all fans of shoujo manga, especially ones that feature actual strong women, which this title does.

Ratings:

Art – 6. Can get overly busy at times, especially during the action sequences, but is still well done, and makes all 4 protagonists very distinct.

Story – 7. It’s shoujo, but works its twists in well, so that even though the twist is obvious in hindsight, it can still keep you guessing.

Characters – 9. The main reason to read the manga, really. Even the ‘villains’ are fun and have depth.

Yuri: 3. Not really all that much canonically, but there’s some tease, and Motoko certainly has an eye for cute girls.

Service – 2. Motoko peeking at girl’s butts is the closest you’ll get, and it’s nowhere near as blatant as, say, Chikaru in Strawberry Panic.

Overall – 7. An excellent underrated Tokyopop series, and I hope they can get the final volume out some day.

Posted in English Manga | No Comments »


Now This Is Only My Opinion, Volume 6

September 2nd, 2008

Erica is on vacation this week. She will have sporadic access to the internet, so has thoughtfully supplied reviews ahead of time for you to be entertained and/or outraged by. Comment approval and replies will undoubtedly be delayed while she eats lobster rolls and steals rocks from protected sites.

Thanks once again to everyone who sent in questions for this edition of “Now This is Only My Opinion,” in which I answer completely random questions for no reason other than we all find it amusing when I do. :-) Let’s get to it…

Have any of Yoshiya Nobuko’s works been translated into English?

Not that I am aware of. I know that chunks of Yaneura no Nishojo were translated by Hiromi Tsuchiya for her paper “Yoshiya Nobuko’s Yaneura no nishojo (Two Virgins in the Attic): Female-Female Desire and Feminism”, and I remember discussing some years ago a translation of her Hana Monogatari with Dr. Frederick, but haven’t heard anything since. I think that if someone *did* do a translation, you’d all be disappointed, because her writing is very early 20th century. Like when you read Lady Chatterly’s Lover in school because it had been banned and was scandalous, and then didn’t see what the big deal was. lol

Besides Seirei no Moribito (which, indeed, is very awesome), what other recent non-yuri anime series have you enjoyed?

I watch and read quite a bit of non-Yuri, I just don’t review it here. ;-) I think the two anime that I’m following right now that are not at all Yuri, but are very enjoyable are Black Lagoon (Balalaika is my role model) and Ni-mensou no Musume. Neither are Yuri, but both are action series that star strong, competent women.

Do you find there are different character types in yuri aimed at different audiences? What are they?

Different audiences in Japan are defined by gender and age, so the portrayal of Yuri characters fall along the lines of what that audience expects in *any* anime or manga targeted to them. Kids series will have a different kind of Yuri than shows for an older audience, series for girls, women, boys and men all have quite specific tropes that have been developed in the several decades each genre has been in existence. I wrote a bit about some of the typical tropes one sees in shoujo vs shounen in this post about Yuri.

Is there yuri series that even casual fans can identify that automatically synominous to the yuri genre?

Nope. See above. And remember, what you see as definitely positively Yuri, I might not see as having any at all. Because “Yuri” spans all ages and audiences, what some people see as definitively Yuri others don’t. In my experience, the series that Western fans have used as their gateway Yuri most often are these, in chronological order:

Sailor Moon
Revolutionary Girl Utena
Maria-sama ga Miteru
Kannazuki no Miko
Strawberry Panic

The last is about as close as we can come right now to a series that is synonymous with “Yuri” in most people’s minds. More’s the pity.

Can we ask the same question to the same casual fans about the one series they automatically think of that’s yuri?

Same answer as above. Everyone is going to interpret Yuri based on their own unique interests. Yaoi/BL is a specific genre designed to appeal to a homogenous audience of gender and age, so it has very specific tropes and conventions that appeal to that crowd. There’s a huge difference from a 15-year old straight boy’s idea of “Yuri” and a 42-year old lesbian woman’s.

Why are butchy characters (like Utena, Haruka, and Plica) usually the “uke” and femme characters (Anthy, Michiru, and Mari) usually the “seme” in yuri relationships? Is there a cultural reason, or some basis in an early influential yuri title?

I think it’s because in real lesbian relationships, the femme tends to be the one who calls the shots. As I once said to a group of Japanese lesbians in Tokyo – my wife is the Queen of the Universe and I live to serve.

What’s your favorite yuri manga of all time?

Always a tough question, because I don’t do favorites. I like what I am reading right now best. Right now, my favorite is Gunjou by Nakamura Chin.

What do you think are the chances of Strawberry Shake Sweet being made into, if not an anime series, at least an OVA (in light of the adaption of mangas like Blue Drop and Shoujo Sect)?

You’re comparing apples and oranges. The magazines that publish Blue Drop and Shoujo Sect appeal to and sell to a COMPLETELY different audience than Yuri Hime. Considering that we haven’t gotten an anime of Hayashiya’s infinitely more popular and better selling Hayate x Blade, not that good. So far Ichijinsha hasn’t attempted to make anime from any of the Yuri Hime titles.

If you could take one yuri anime to a deserted island with you, which title would you choose?

The Drama CDs for Kntonoha no Miko to Kotodama no Majyo to. These never fail to make me smile like a complete freak, because they are so wonderful.

What the hell am I supposed to use pencil boards for?

The usual use in the West is for decoration, but I use them as a thin, flat, smooth surface to write upon which is what they were intended for, I believe. I’ve got some friends who are professional editors who I’ve converted to the use of pencil boards during editing and proofreading. They work perfectly for that. The point being that when you are writing on top of a stack of paper, your writing utensil doesn’t push through to the pages below. The wife posits that they were probably developed for use with workbooks.

What is your opinion about the upcoming Magical Girl Lyrical Nanoha movie?

I won’t have an opinion until after I’ve seen it, but I do wish they were doing a StrikerS movie instead. :-)

And to my wife, who also asked me a question for this Q&A, my answer is, “Yes.” :-)

***

That’s it this time! As always that was loads of fun. Thanks to everyone who sent in questions! We’ll do it again – eventually!

Posted in Now This Is Only My Opinion | 3 Comments »


Yuri Anime: Koihime Musou

September 1st, 2008

Admit it. You’re watching Ikkitousen:GG, but feel as if it’s missing something. What you really want in your anime reinterpetations the warriors of the Chinese classic The Romance of the Three Kingdoms as cute girls with large breasts, is something more…whimsical. All that doom and gloom and mind control and dragons that must not be released is too depressing. It would be so much cooler if the warriors in question wore colorful fantasy-inspired outfits, fought with polearms and, oh yeah, had some Yuri.

Well lucky you, because the fine folks at BaseSon had the same thought and helpfully created a PC game upon which this finely crafted anime was based.

Koihime Musou takes the large-breasted female reincarnations of ancient Chinese warriors to a whole new level of insipidity.

This very moe version of the Three Kingdoms is set in a fantastical China, where the clothes are unreal, women are rulers and warriors and no one wears a bra.

In this version of the Three Kingdoms story, Kanu wanders the world and in the course of her wanderings, picks up a number of other female warriors as companions and allies, as well as encountering other female warriors with whom they fight. There is a vague (reaalllly vague) attempt to kind of sort of, if you squint, maintain some of the relationships of the original story, but if you’re trying to make that work, then clearly you are *not* the intended audience for this anime.
Because the intended audience for this anime is delighted by the fact that, although all the characters have their Chinese names, they also have much “cuter”-sounding names that they use to refer to each other. So while “Kanu Unchou” is our lead, her companions refer to her (as they scream loudly while she’s almost-dead or almost falling off a cliff or almost sleeping with Sousou) as Aisha. Chouhi is likewise hideously named “Rin-Rin” and Chouun is named Sei, of course, because she is the resident lesbian perv.

Yes, there is Yuri. The aforementioned Sei is blatantly lesbian, and Aisha appears to be the gay-magnet for the series, because Sousou hits on her, then fakes a threat to one of her companions so Aisha will have to sleep with her. Of course, she doesn’t. Aisha will never actually be made to “do lesbian” – to quote Rica’s father in “More Rica ‘tte Kanji!?” – she will just be the Yuri-service we can all enjoy.

Ratings:

Art – troublesome
Story – a shadow of its former self
Characters – they sure are
Yuri – some of that, too
Service – not as bad as Ikkitousen

Overall – It’s not as bad as Ikkitousen, but it’s not as good, either. 7

Posted in Yuri Anime | 7 Comments »


Yuri Anime: Ikkitousen GG

August 31st, 2008

Erica is away on vacation this week. She will have sporadic computer access at best and frankly, isn’t really worried too much about checking in. So please be prepared for comment approval to be delayed, and for your thoughtful comments to go unanswered for some days, as Erica focuses on more important things like fish-shaped churches and orgone cannons.

When Ikkitousen: Great Guardians was announced I was cautiously hopeful that this series would contain the same kind of absurdly service-y Yuri that made the first series so entertaining. As of the time I am writing this review, it has been nearly everything I had hoped.

One of the significant problems with the original Ikkitousen series was that it attempted to have a plot. It is with great relief that that has been set aside form much of GG. Instead, we’re treated to Kanu’s sexual fantasies about Ryuubi – and watching Kanu follow in the footsteps of Kuga Natsuki as all her coolness is turned into nothing more than a wall of stoicism to be cracked repeatedly by stupid sexual gags.

More importantly Ryoufu is brought back from the dead, and set up in a situation that is one death away from being the perfect Yuri couple for this series. I know for a fact that I am not the only one who would like Saji/Ouin to die painfully and release Ryomou to find her true partner. Of course, Ryoufu being Ryoufu, there’s plenty of nasty Yuri-service to amuse us as well.

There’s a pretty good chance that the series will be over by the time this review posts, but as of the time I am writing, I expect Ryomou to throw the feelings that fetter her to Saji aside to save Ryofu, who will die nobly, yet again. Hopefully with at least one kiss between them. But I’m not holding my breath.

If you like Ikkitousen for the fighting or, god help you, the plot, (or if you insist on being deranged about the series and comparing it to previous series and expecting continuity and consistency) you may not like GG. If you’re more sensible and are watching it for the large breasts and service, then you’re welcome to join Serge and myself as we pronounce it the best of the Ikkitousen series. Especially if Saji dies. ^_^

Ratings:

Art – 7
Story – 7
Characters – 8
Yuri – 5
Series – 10

Overall – 8

I find it highly amusing that Ryomou has somehow become the tragic heroine of the series.

Posted in Ikkitousen, Yuri Anime | 4 Comments »


Last Friends Manga, Malika Magazine

August 29th, 2008

Some months ago, we reported a new josei magazine called Malika. Malika has a lot of the same artists as Feel Young, Sakurazawa Erica, Yamaji Ebine, Ikaring, etc. And it seemed, in theory to be very Yuri-friendly, with the first issue including a story about Yoshiya Nobuko, and with picking up the manga adaptation of the live-action drama Last Friends and all. But somewhere between the concept and the execution, the Yuri kind of just…never showed up.

The story about Yoshiya Nobuko took a look at the piece of her life just after she left home and went off to the big city, when she met a female writer and was wowed at the idea of being an independent female writer. That pretty much covered it. She did indeed leave home, pissing her father off royally, btw, to become a famous writer – which she did. She also fell in love with her companion for the entirety of her life, Monma Chiyo, just a few years later. But the manga didn’t cover that, or her involvement with the “S” movement. Just the “wow, I can be a writer,” part.

Last Friends is equally thin. Each chapter of the manga covers some three episodes of the drama and pretty much everything other than Michiru’s abusive relationship is sort of watered down. Yes, we get about a panel dealing with Ruka’s possible gender dysphoria, and about the same for Takeru’s issues, but those are shoved to the back. We don’t actually see Sousuke beat Michiru, but we do see the ugly results. Ruka’s feelings for Michiru were compressed into “wanting to protect her,” while Takeru’s confession of like for Ruka remained. And Sousuke’s terror attack on Ruka’s family was likewise watered down from “she is trying to get surgery to become a man,” to “she’s a man in a woman’s body, a monster.” Sadly, we also don’t get the same ending for Sousuke at all that we got in the drama, which was immensely satisfying due to large quantities of Sousuke’s blood involved.

It was disappointing in a lot of ways. There were so many ways it could have been good, but they took the easy way out on all of them. I was truly amazed when I realized that the live-action drama was going to be the version that was realer, rawer and more daring – I mean how bizarro is that, when you consider it?

So, a big ole boo to Malika and it’s incredibly uninspired and uninspiring manga adaptations of things that *ought* to be of great interest to Yuri fans.

Ratings:

Art – 7
Story – 6
Characters – 6
Yuri – 2
Service – 0

Overall – 6

Next month a new Yamaji Ebine series is starting up, but based on recent past performance I have exactly no hope that it will contain anything that might even vaguely hint at Yuri.

Posted in Magazines, Miscellaneous | 5 Comments »