Kaleido Star Anime, Volume 4 (English)

September 7th, 2008

It hasn’t taken me as long to review this series as it did, say, Noir, but I feel like it’s taken a darn long time. But, finally, we’re getting to the best bits of Kaleido Star, in Volume 4. And it’s all thanks to Ted the Awesome for his sponsorship of today’s review! Thanks Ted!

So, all of a sudden Yuri, who up until now has seemed to be pretty much a nobody and leading man to Layla’s leading lady, suddenly becomes a raging asshole. He joins Carlos in a head to head race to see who is more of an asshole. This race will remain tied until next volume.

Thankfully, the parts of the story that do not involve Yuri or Carlos are awesome. Sora and her friends band together to save their vision of the Kaleido Stage, but as usual we don’t really care because we’ve watched a lot of these anime things and are pretty used to the whole idea of our heroine overcoming great odds to do whatever it was she wanted. We’re not really worried.

No, what *we* care about is the website that Mia builds called “Mia’s Room” and how she mostly populates it with sexy pictures of Anna. LOL That was so awesome I watched it twice over. lol

So, as Yuri continues to be a jerk, and the storm before the calm brews, the gang gets together to put on a show (just like a Mickey Rooney movie!) and in a moment of wonderful, Layla Hamilton realizes that what is most important to her is having Sora as her partner. Yahoo!

Rating:

Art – 8
Story – 6
Characters – 7
Yuri – 2
Service – 1

Overall – 7

The best part of Volume 4 is that it sets up Volume 5 which is so utterly totally awesome that I will never be able to stop thanking Ted the Awesome for sponsoring today’s review!

Posted in English Anime, Kaleido Star | No Comments »


Yuri News For The Weeks of August 24 – September 5

September 6th, 2008

Hi all – I have returned from vacation, have seen many things, acquired the t-shirts as proof and am now once again home on my comfy sofa.

Thanks to every one who sent in news items – we have a lot of news, as you can imagine. :-)

Yuri Manga

Several people have wanted me to remind you that the Burst Angel manga is due out shortly. The manga, as you might remember from my reviews (click the Bakaretsu Tenshi Category on the righthand sidebar to find them) have more Yuri than the anime. Not scads of Yuri, but compared to the anime, a lot.

The good folks at Seven Seas have passed along a link to news about their Strawberry Line. http://www.gomanga.com/forum/viewtopic.php?t=6405&start=15. This link goes to their forums, where they run down all the titles on a book-by-book status. The Strawberry Line is not dead and as culpable as I am in the original report, I will now report that rumors of its demise were greatly exagerrated. In short – more Yuri is coming from Seven Seas – please stop *whining*. :-)

Sean wants you all to know that Kozue Amano, mangaka of Aria, is starting a new series as yet unnamed, in Comic Blade magazine. If it has as much Yuri as Aria it will have none, but that won’t stop fans from seeing it there anyway. lol

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Snatches of Yuri

bottle is very excited to mention Akiyama Haru’s Octave, ‏which is about a failed pop idol’s attempt to regain a normal life and how she falls in love with a female musician. I’ve heard nothing but good about it so far and of course will report back to you when I have it.

As good as Octave sounds, Pure Pure Lips sounds bad. lol A poor girl and the lesbian dorm owner…it might not be so bad if the cover wasn’t cringe making. The “little” girl looks like a harp seal waiting to be clubbed.

Hakodate Yuujin Buraijou Himegami 3 will be out soon, so we can see Himeka press Hyou against her extremely large breasts some more. Whee!

And lastly, Sasamekikoto, Volume 3, is also coming out soon, so we can watch two girls who are in love with one another not get together in extremely contrived, yet amusing ways.

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Live-Action Yuri

Erin reminds us all that the Live-Action movie, Love My Life based on the Yuri manga of the same name is now available from Wolfe Video. She also thought you might be interested to know that it was on the top sellers list at Wolfe, as well.

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Maria-sama ga Miteru News

Emilie wrote in to let us know that Konno Oyuki and Hibiki Reine attended the 9th Comic Exhibition 2008, in Taipei. dormcat provided a translation of an interview with them, in this thread on ANN. Johann adds a link to a Chinese translation of this interview at: http://blog.yam.com/dormcat/article/16765879.

Emilie also let us know that in the new Marimite Web Radio show, Inoue Marina and Nazuka Kaori have been announced to voice Naitou Shouko and Naitou Katsumi respectively for the radio drama of “Chocolate Portrait,” the story in which Tsutako first meets Shouko. Tsu and Shouko are an awesome pair and I recommend this highly. :-)

Last up for Marimite, here’s a press release from Right Stuf on the Second Season:

RIGHT STUF’S NOZOMI ENTERTAINMENT Announces the MARIA WATCHES OVER US – Season 2 DVD Collection: Printemps

Second TV season of Maria-sama ga Miteru scheduled for Nov. 25, 2008

GRIMES, IA, September 4, 2008 – Anime producer and distributor Right Stuf, Inc. and Nozomi Entertainment are pleased to announce the release of the MARIA WATCHES OVER US (Maria-sama ga Miteru) – Season 2 DVD Collection: Printemps on November 25, 2008.

The Season 2 DVD Collection is the second of several “season box sets” scheduled for the series’ North American DVD release.

· Each set features Japanese audio, along with English on-screen translations, and two English-language subtitle tracks: one with regular dialogue subtitles and a second, special subtitle track that retains the Japanese honorifics.

· Additionally, each set will include the “specials” – comedic shorts that depict the series’ characters in “chibi” form – for its respective season.

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“leaves you eagerly wanting more” – AnimeOnDVD at Mania.com

“Shelf Worthy” – Anime News Network’s Shelf Life
“a truly beautiful anime” – Future Anime
“A beautifully illustrated, surprisingly effective slice-of-life drama…” – Anime News Network
AnimeOnDVD.com Pick of the Week

The Maria Watches Over Us anime is based upon an ongoing series of novels – written by Oyuki Konno and illustrated by Reine Hibiki – that began in 1998 and currently spans 33 volumes. Short stories related to the series have been published in the shoujo (girls’) magazine Cobalt, and a manga adaptation is serialized in the anthology magazine Margaret. The series’ publisher, Shueisha, also produced 14 drama CDs (featuring radio-style plays).

The anime adaptation of Maria-sama ga Miteru – also referred to by fans as “MariMite” – encompasses two, 13-episode TV seasons, a 5-episode OVA (original video animation) as its third season, and a fourth season, currently in production in Japan.

The first three seasons of Maria Watches Over Us feature animation by Studio DEEN (Fruits Basket, Gravitation, Rurouni Kenshin), direction by Yukihiro Matsushita (Blue Dragon, Sugar Sugar Rune), and scripting by Reiko Yoshida (Aria, Boys Over Flowers, Story of Saiunkoku).

Visit mariasama.rightstuf.com for more information about Maria Watches Over Us (Maria-sama ga Miteru), detailed character profiles, trailers, downloads and more.

About MARIA WATCHES OVER US (Maria-sama ga Miteru) – Season 2

The spring term is beginning for the students at Lillian Girls’ Academy. Friends are reunited, but for the Yamayuri Council, it’s a bittersweet time. Yoko, Eriko and Sei are busy preparing to depart Lillian, while Sachiko, Rei and Shimako are doing their best to ensure their dear sisters receive a memorable commencement. Soon, Lillian will have new leaders in the Council offices of Rosa Chinensis, Foetida and Gigantea, along with many new faces and budding relationships. Contains the complete 13-episode second season, plus Season 2 “specials” 1-6.

MARIA WATCHES OVER US (Maria-sama ga Miteru) – Season 2 DVD Collection: Printemps (TV)
Pre-Book: 10/28/2008
Street Date: 11/25/2008
Runtime: Approximately 325 minutes, Dolby Digital Stereo, Color
Genre: Drama
Suggested Rating: 13+

Format: DVD (Japanese, 2 English Subtitle Tracks, English On-Screen Translations)
Catalog #: RSDVD0816
ISBN: 1-57032-791-2
UPC: 7-42617-0816-2-0
SRP: $49.99

Discs/Set: 4
Item Measurements: 5 3/8” X 1 7/32” X 7 5/8” (LxWxH)
Case Qty: 9

DVD Features:
Scene access; Dolby Digital 2.0 Stereo audio for Japanese dialogue; two English subtitle tracks (regular dialogue subtitles, plus a special subtitle track that includes Japanese honorifics); and English on-screen translations. PLUS: Season 2 “Specials” 1-6, liner notes and Nozomi Entertainment trailers.

* Cover Art: http://outgoing.rightstuf.com/sleeves/rsdvd0816.jpg
MARIA WATCHES OVER US (Maria-sama ga Miteru) PRINTEMPS © OYUKI KONNO / SHUEISHA • YAMAYURIKAI • TV TOKYO Licensed by d-rights Inc.

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Yuri Anime

In a maddeningly zero-information ad, I was reminded that the Ichigo Mashimaro Encore OVA is coming – but the ad had no date as of yet. Maybe we’ll have something out this fall, because the upcoming autumn TV season looks bereft of Yuri.

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That’s it for this week – thanks to everyone who sent in news items. I really couldn’t do it without you – keep ’em coming!

Posted in Bakuretsu Tenshi, Maria-sama ga Miteru, Yuri Network News | 7 Comments »


Yuri Manga: Gunjou, Chapters 8 and 9

September 5th, 2008

Erica is on vacation and is likely having way more fun than you are right this moment. Except for the bits when’s she’s feeling a bit socialist and irritated by the excess of early 20th-century landowners and captains of industry. Tacky bastards. In any case, expect delays…with…stuff…and stuff, until she gets home and caught up on sleep and reintegrated into life.

Squee! Two whole chapters of what is unconditionally my favorite manga of the year.

In Chapter 6 and Chapter 7, the blonde (called “Sensei” by the Japanese fandom, on account of her being a vet,) and the brunette (likewise referred to as “megane” for her glasses) have spent a tempestuous evening, full of heightened emotions, dark despair, sexual tension, passion and fury. We left them in the tub, as the blonde lets the brunette see the tearful face she makes – as she tries to kill her.

In Chapters 8 and 9, we take a step back to see the moments before the beginning. When BL and BN have met again for the first time in many years, and how their akashic ties slowly, surely and irrevocably become intertwined in a way that affects not only their own fates, but those around them.

We know what happened to BN’s husband – after all, his murder is the beginning of everything in this story. But, what happened to BL’s life when she picked up one day and walked out of it? We know that she has an ex-lover. What we learn here is that she and her lover had been together for almost ten years and that her lover had gone so far as to call her parents and invited them to visit, because she wanted them to meet the person she wanted to spend her life with. They do arrive, but never get to meet that woman….

We see the results of the violence, the cascade of emotions that catapult them eventually into a life on the lam. We see the friends, the coworkers, the normality that BL walks away from. In counterpoint to this, we see the misery, the drudgery, the physical and emotional agony, and the utter hopelessness that BN faces every day.

In fact, we gain such a clear picture of how we got here, that the only question that remains has *got* to be – where are we going?

In her blog, Nakamura-sensei has discussed the sadness with which she contemplates the end of this series. It makes me lonely to think of a life without Gunjou, so I can understand her feelings – and their aren’t even my characters! ^_^;

Here’s my thoughts on the end of this series. I think that the *best* we could hope for is that they die together. But that’s not the way this series has gone at all. So, my real guess is that when the police catch up to them – and they will – the blonde will confess to the murder and to having kidnapped and beaten the brunette, turning her into a helpless and sympathetic victim. The blonde will take the rap and by doing so, will free the brunette for the first time in her life of being beholden to anybody at all.

It’s not what I *want* to happen, of course. ^_^ That’s what I *think* will happen.

In the meantime, I wait with bated breath for my next monthly fix of the most amazing manga I’ve read in ages.

Ratings:

Art – 8
Story – 8
Characters – 9
Yuri – 8
Service – 3

Overall – 10

Posted in Gunjo, LGBTQ, Nakamura Ching, Yuri Manga | 5 Comments »


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.” :-)

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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 »