Yuri no Boke 百合のボケ〜百合が好きだ〜

Manga Review: Ameiro Kouchakan Kandan volume 2

2012-01-28T20:35:00.001-05:00

This series has been running in Yuri Hime for so long that saying goodbye to it is like saying goodbye to to a friend...only it isn't quite goodbye, because of the Gold and Silver Tips continuation coming soon. Anyway...

With a push from her friend Sumire, Seriho finally realizes that she's in love with Sarasa. Sumire speeds things along by setting up a surprise date between Sarasa and Seriho.

Sarasa shows up two hours early to check out the shops and restaurants in the area so she can play it cool and show Seriho around. lol Seriho unwittingly floors Sarasa when she buys them a pair of matching rings, making it quite clear what she means by it. Sarasa defers answering because she feels awkward doing it in front of so many people. The entire date is awkward, in the adorable way that it would be between two introverts who like each other but aren't completely sure about where they stand.

Later at the Amber Teahouse, Sarasa prepares tea and scones and accepts Seriho's proposal...only to find a gaggle of people cheering them on from outside the shop. I'll admit that I teared when Sarasa accepted Seriho's proposal. And I love that the elderly lesbian couple who gave Seriho advice in volume 1 returned for this scene. We get an epilogue featuring some cute couple time with Sarasa and Seriho.

The three chapter Otome-iro Stay Tune series, about two seiyuu who become a couple, is in this book as well. It's cute (and a must-read if you want to see where Manabe-sensei, the yuri mangaka who patronizes the Amber Teahouse, first appeared), but not as good as Ameiro Kouchakan Kandan. (The afterword in Ameiro Kouchakan Kandan volume 1 shows that Fujieda Miyabi was pretty much pushed into adding Otome-iro Stay Tune to his list of projects when his heart was really in drawing AKK.)

My one complaint for the ending of AKK is that Sarasa and Seriho, while undeniably together forever and very snuggly, don't kiss. I anticipate seeing a kiss in Gold and Silver Tips. I'm looking forward to even more of Sarasa and Seriho's post-Happily-Ever-After.

Story: B for the Otome-iro Stay Tune chapters, A- for the Ameiro Kouchakan Kandan chapters.
Art: A- Fujieda's art has really grown on me.
Overall: A-

I can't review the Blue Christmas drama CD that comes with the special edition of Ameiro Kouchakan Kandan volume 2 because it's in my laptop, which I stupidly left at home in Florida.

My new rule for any drama CD packaged together with a tankoubon is that if it's an original story, I'll give it its own separate review. If it's a re-enactment of the manga it's based on, screw that, it'll just get a brief mention at the end of my review of whichever tankoubon it comes with. For now, at least, I can say that the Blue Christmas CD is great- perfectly cast seiyuu, sweet story, totally worth it if you want to spend more time with these characters and can understand (or plan to understand) Japanese well enough.

Manga Review: Ariyoshi Kyouko's Bruges (Updated)

2012-01-27T20:43:00.009-05:00

Ariyoshi Kyouko is best-known for her long-running ballet drama, Swan. She also wrote a six volume yuri series, Applause.

Applause is about Shunack and Shara, two girls who fall in love at a boarding school in Belgium before they become estranged and reconnect years later as actresses in New York City.

After ending Applause, Ariyoshi wrote a one-shot prequel called "Bruges," about how Shara and Shunack fell in love shortly after Shara transferred to Shunack's school. (Shara is Japanese. She lives in Belgium because her father works for the Japanese embassy there.)

While Shara, a tomboy, finds her elegant new school alien and overwhelming (think Noriko's reaction to Lillian in Marimite), Shunack practically embodies the school. She's feminine and refined- and at first seems unreachable. At the school's annual spring break get-together for its twenty top students, Shunack announces that they'll be playing a murder mystery game based on the unsolved murder of a student several years ago.

One of the teachers who was around during the murder gets jittery, playing the red herring quite perfectly.

A shadowy figure climbs into Shara's room at night and she screams, causing them to run away. When the other students rush in and find out what happened, Shunack tells Shara that the intruder isn't part of the game. I won't spoil how the characters find out the truth about the murder.

All the while, Shunack and Shara get closer and closer, angering the other girl who likes Shunack. Shunack also gets jealous when she sees Shara embrace a teacher she has a crush on. By the end, Shunack and Shara are obviously smitten with each other.

I liked this story a lot. It's an interesting blend of sweet and creepy, with some eye-poppingly gorgeous art. Here are a few examples.

This tankoubon has two more one-shots, including the yuri "San Francisco Monogatari" ("A San Francisco Story").

Yuuko is a Japanese writer visiting her out lesbian friend Megumu, who lives in San Francisco. Yuuko came to San Francisco thinking that she's straight, but nope, she has loved Megumu since they were high school classmates. Megumu already has a girlfriend, Chelle, who is fighting cancer in the hospital. While Megumu visits Chelle, her friend Tracy (who loves Megumu) and Yuuko attend the city's gay pride parade. Tracy tells Yuuko about her feelings for Megumu there, and Yuuko realizes that she has the same feelings. Before Yuuko can confess to Megumu, Megumu drops a bombshell- that she's breaking up with Chelle and entering a marriage of convenience. Yuuko mourns what might have been, and is shocked (but not comforted) when Chelle tries to comfort her.

So- the marriage of convenience plot device is "blah," but I really like the gay pride parade full of happily out gay people (it's neat to see the American gay community portrayed in a manga), and the way the story contrasts common Japanese and American attitudes about same sex attraction is interesting. I might be overly optimistic here, but I don't see the story as completely sad since Yuuko acknowledges the nature of her feelings for Megumu after having explained them away for years. Despite her initial heartbreak, it's a lot better for her in the long term. Update: Whoops. Uhh...I attributed the final lines to Yuuko, when they were really Megumu's reaction to Yuuko making plans to get married earlier. Man, I'm glad that was pointed out. (See the comments.) So it's a happier ending! Yuuko now knows that she loves Megumu and Megumu tells her that she loves her and only started dating Chelle because she thought Yuuko was getting married. She still has to decide what to do about Chelle...but Yuuko and Megumu both like each other! And Yuuko was never really into the idea of getting married, so that takes care of that. I'm changing the grade for "San Francisco Monogatari" from a B to a B+.

Story: B+ for "Bruges," B+ for "San Francisco Monogatari"

Art: A for "Bruges," A- for "San Francisco Monogatari" (The latter is just as well-drawn, but its setting doesn't give Ariyoshi as much of an opportunity to indulge in opulent character renderings.)

Overall: B+

First Impressions for Winter

2012-01-21T02:10:00.008-05:00

Thank goodness, the new anime season is better than it seemed like it would be.

Ano Natsu de Matteru (1 episode watched):
Boy meets alien girl, who ends up living with him. Ano Natsu actually isn't bad, which means that it's amazing for its subgenre. Ano Natsu's lead character isn't annoying, his love interest is kind of charming, and it just feels...like the writers are putting in a little more effort than they need to for an audience that would probably eat Ano Natsu up regardless. I don't see myself following this show- and I can't call it good- but it's a cute, non-obnoxious example of a story that could have easily been bad.
Streaming on Crunchyroll.

Another (2 episodes):
I really wanted to like this show. I liked the first episode for its atmosphere and the questions it raised. But two episodes in, Another still hasn't done anything to make me particularly care about its characters. The doll shop scene in episode 2 was creepy, but it isn't enough. I can get my horror fix elsewhere.
Streaming on Crunchyroll.

Kill Me Baby/Baby, Please Kill Me! (1 episode):
Boring. If you want a comedy, you're better off watching...

Daily Lives of High School Boys (2 episodes):
Funnier than the manga it's based on, probably because of its director (who helmed School Rumble) and its seiyuu's comic timing. (Especially Sugita Tomokazu- Kyon's voice- as one of the leads.) Each episode is made up of several stand-alone scenes. Most of the segments revolve around the same joke (someone tells a lie or makes up a fantasy scenario that spins out of control- like the three leads acting out how one of them would ask out a cute girl- say, one in their class- until they remember that they attend an all-boys' school), but there are some funny moments. I'm being picky again this season, so I don't see myself following this one either, but it would be a fine choice if you're looking for a comedy that doesn't suck.

Moretsu Pirates (2 episodes):
The best surprise of the season. I didn't expect anything good from a show based on a light novel series called Mini-Skirt Pirates, but Moretsu Pirates (as far as I'm concerned, there is no English title) is the most fun show airing this season. Marika isn't ditzy or bland as the lead, and it's refreshing that she really has a choice whether or not to become captain of the Bentenmaru (her deceased father's space pirate ship) instead of being forced into it or told that she kind of has a choice but HORRIBLE things will happen if she doesn't. Since Moretsu Pirates is striving to be a sci-fi adventure series with...a story and everything, I'm excited about seeing where it goes.
Streaming on Crunchyroll.

Natsume Yuujin-chou Shi (3 episodes):
Season 4 of Natsume is more of the same. In this case, that's a very good thing. This season kicks off with a dramatic two episode arc involving the exorcist Matoba, and then settles back into the familiar narrative of Natsume encountering a new youkai and resolving a problem involving it within a single episode. These episodes did a great job of highlighting how the characters have developed since the first season (especially how Natsume has become less isolated and how Nyanko-sensei's reasons for protecting Natsume have become increasingly less mercenary, even though he's still insisting that he's only in it for Natsume's book of youkai names), while promising more great development to come.
All four seasons of Natsume are streaming on Crunchyroll.

Poyopoyo Kansatsu Nikki (2 episodes):
The producers of this series wisely decided to make each episode only three minutes long. It's a simple story. An OL finds a cat and brings it home. The cat is hideously adorable as it interacts with the OL and her family. Unlike this past summer's similarly cat-themed Nyanpire, Poyopoyo succeeds at being cute- and doesn't feel like it's just trying to sell character merchandise.
Streaming on Crunchyroll.

Recorder and Randsell (1 episode):
Not even a three minute episode length (or a cameo by Morita-san's Mayu and Hana- seen running away from Atsushi's awful recorder-playing above) could save this show from being meh. Har har, Atsushi is a grade schooler who looks like an adult, and har har the irony, his seventeen year old sister Atsumi looks like a grade school kid. And OMG since he looks like an adult, he can't walk to school with one of his classmates without looking like a pedophile, resulting in a neighbor calling the police on him. It seems like that will be an ongoing gag in this show. Sigh.
Streaming on Crunchyroll.

Rinne no Langrange (2 episodes):
The first episode didn't do anything for me- it just seemed like Evangelion with a spunky girl instead of a depressed boy as the lead. The second episode wasn't any more original, but I liked it a lot more, somehow. A friend mentioned that she liked how the lead's family (well, her older cousin) really doesn't want her piloting a mech, instead of the usual "You pilot that giant robot, you teenager, you!" The lead, Madoka, is likeable, the plot has become unexpectedly entertaining, and Noto Mamiko is playing Madoka's cousin Youko, so I'm in.
Streaming on VizAnime.com.

Senhime Zesshou Symphogear (3 episodes):
The gayest thing airing this season. (Hence my extra-long write-up on it.) Miku invites her best friend Hibiki to a concert by her two favorite idols, red-haired Kanade and blue-haired Tsubasa, but isn't able to make it. Hibiki has a blast at the concert anyway, until...aliens attack! Kanade and Tsubasa transform into armored magical girl-like fighters who attack the aliens while singing dance music. Yup, the premise can't get any campier.

Kanade dies protecting Hibiki because Hibiki, for some reason, didn't run out of the concert stadium with everyone else. Before Kanade dies, the "relic" that she needs to transform shatters and a few pieces of it get lodged in Hibiki's chest. (Hmm, wonder where this will lead.) Two years pass and Tsubasa transfers into Hibiki and Miku's school. Hibiki runs into the aliens and tries to save a little girl from them. When the aliens corner them on a rooftop, Hibiki starts singing and transforms. Tsubasa rides up on a motorcycle and kills the aliens.

After being whisked away by the government, Hibiki learns that her singing triggered the relic fragments in her chest, allowing her to use the fighting armor that Kanade wore. Now she's Tsubasa's fighting partner. But Tsubasa hates Hibiki because the only partner she wants is Kanade. She really only wants Kanade. Like, she blushes and goes googly-eyed when Kanade hugs her from behind in episode 1 and obsesses over her in a way that has made me add her to my Characters Who Remind Me of Chikane (Dear God, I'm Seeing Her Everywhere) List. Hibiki keeps digging herself deeper by telling Tsubasa things like, "Tee hee, I just got in your way, but I'm looking forward to fighting with you more!" and "I'll work hard to replace Kanade!" The third episode focuses on Hibiki trying to adjust to her new life. I couldn't care less about Hibiki, so...yeah, blah. More Kanade, please. Poor Miku likes Hibiki, who obliviously shares a bed with her in the dorm room they live in. Symphogear is crap, but it's crap that I don't hate- the kind that I'm willing to stare at when I'm eating breakfast or something.

Manga Review: Nobara no Mori no Otome-tachi volume 2

2012-01-13T14:58:00.007-05:00

I was in the mood for reviewing something fluffy and fun today, and Nobara fit the bill.

To recap: Cheerful blonde Hatsumi and her best friend Sakura are new students at the elegant Otowa Girls' Academy. They are roommates. Sakura loves Hatsumi, who has a crush on the head of her dorm, popular butch upperclasswoman Izumi, who has a popular femme girlfriend named Mayuko, who surprises Izumi with the news of her fiancé.

The set-up for this series always cracks me up. Not just because it's...well, it's just funny...it reminds me of a pearl of wisdom that the upperclasswomen in my dorm house- at a women's college- impress on the new residents each year: "House booty is bad booty. You'll always think you're the exception, but you're not." And for the Head Resident, "First-year house booty is off-limits booty." Eh, Izumi?

Even though the other students fangirl over Izumi and Mayuko, they clearly don't take them seriously as a lesbian couple because they squeal over the news of Mayuko's fiancé and don't notice how pained Izumi is by it. (Of course, Hatsumi does. This plot point implicitly differentiates Hatsumi's and Izumi's feelings- and by extension, Sakura and Mayuko's- from the "not real," man-free-environment-induced lesbianism traditionally ascribed to the characters in girls' school yuri titles.) When Izumi confronts Mayuko about her engagement at the student ball, Mayuko (who isn't the least interested in her fiancé; her family arranged the whole thing) slaps her and runs away. Izumi leaves to be alone in the school garden, and Hatsumi follows her and confesses her feelings for the second time. Mayuko sees them, and...!

Sakura withdraws from Hatsumi because she can't stand seeing her swooning over Izumi, but she protests that she's just creeped out by the idea of two girls as a couple. The other girls start bullying Hatsumi in revenge for her trying to steal their precious Izumi-sama from Mayuko.

Mayuko, of all people, tells off the bullies, and she recruits Sakura to make Izumi hers for good in front of Hatsumi in a...very weird plan that ends with Izumi telling Mayuko off for expecting her to choose her over Hatsumi despite her recent behavior. Mayuko reacts by jumping out of a window, only breaking her ankle because she was on the first floor. Mayuko continues to be all "Give me back mah woman!" so she and Hatsumi have a fight. Hatsumi ends it by slapping Mayuko. (Wouldn't you love to see something like this in Marimite?)

The path to love never does run smooth, to paraphrase the Bard, and despite their attraction to each other, Hatsumi and Izumi realize that they really love Sakura and Mayuko, respectively. Izumi and Mayuko resolve their problems and become the school Prince and Princess again and Sakura achieves what Yaya and Tamao failed to do- be preferred by her best friend over her older, much more popular rival. We catch a glimpse of a new student who seems befuddled by how gay Otowa is. The end of the book also has an amusing series of 4-koma strips about Izumi and Mayuko's childhood together.

Volume 2 of Nobara is, like the first volume, a lively romp through girls' school yuri tropes, with a hearty helping of soapiness and a healthy amount of self-awareness. Izumi and Hatsumi seem most closely modeled on Amane and Hikari from Strawberry Panic! (with influence from a handful of other characters), but unlike Amane and Hikari (especially Amane), neither is dull, thankfully.

Nobara no Mori no Otome-tachi simply wants to give its readers a fun time, like the manga equivalent of a puppy that just wants to play, and in that aim it succeeds.

Story: B+
Art: B+
Overall: B+

BGM: 『蛍火』by ダウト

Mini-Reviews: A Smattering of Lesbian Movies I've Seen

2012-01-10T22:21:00.009-05:00

These aren't all of the lesbian movies I've watched, but I thought I'd write about some of them, for something a little different here.

But I'm A Cheerleader:
Saw this movie in high school, but the campy humor didn't do much for me. Re-watched it this past summer and thought it was hilarious. So YMMV, definitely. Megan is a perky, good girl cheerleader with a jock boyfriend, who doesn't know that she's gay even though everyone else does. They break the news to her in the worst way possible- by sending her to a "reparative therapy" camp, where she finds a girlfriend and lots of gay friends. :-) This movie satirizes the reparative therapy-pushers- and homophobes in general- and is chock full of gay stereotypes- but it delivers the gay stereotypes in an inoffensive wink-wink, nudge-nudge way that lets gay viewers in on the joke. Keep an eye out for RuPaul playing one of the reparative therapy camp counsellors.

D.E.B.S.:
Haven't seen this movie since high school. I thought Lucy (the villain and love interest for Amy, the main character) was hot, but was kind of bored otherwise. Too bad, because I liked the the concept- a spy falling for the crime syndicate boss she's supposed to thwart. Sadly, Amy was the least interesting character in this movie.

Drifting Flowers:
This is a great movie. The narrative intertwines the lives of three different generations of women. Little Meigo falls for her older sister (and guardian) Ging's new girlfriend Diego, and her jealousy causes her to do something that threatens to break up her family. Lily is an Alzheimer's patient who spends most of her time remembering her dead love "Ocean." She finds support in her friend Yen, the gay man she married years ago as a beard, who returns to live with her because his lover cheated on him. The last storyline is about Diego's first love (Lily) and her coming out to herself as a teenager. It might not sound like much, but it's...really well done. I'm kind of embarrassed that I still haven't seen Zero Chou's other highly-acclaimed lesbian movie, Spider Lilies.

Drool:
Awful title aside, I like this movie. Anora lives in a small town with an abusive husband and a teenaged son and daughter. She unexpectedly falls for her new neighbor Imogene. When Anora's husband comes home from work early, he catches Anora and Imogene in bed and tries to kill them. Anora panics and shoots him, killing him. Anora reports her husband missing and she, Imogene, and her kids go on the road to dispose of the body. The premise might sound off-putting, but if you like dark comedy (which I do), you'll like this movie. It's one of the more underrated lesbian movies.

Imagine Me & You:
After marrying the man who she has always loved like a brother, Rachel finds herself really falling for the woman who created the flower arrangements for her wedding, Luce. This is a cute movie. I like how similar the premise is to Moonlight Flowers. lol Even though I liked Rachel and Luce together- and Luce was a hottie- I felt bad for Heck. My favorite part was when Luce used the line "Lily means 'I dare you to love me,'" on Rachel. (Squee!) This movie also gets points for skewering men who knowingly hit on women who aren't interested in men and for casting Anthony Head (Buffy's Giles) as Rachel's dad. ...I have to share this stupid, wonderful parody of Imagine Me & You's trailer.

Itty Bitty Titty Committee:
Another comedy by Jamie Babbitt (director of But I'm A Cheerleader), this time a homage to riot grrrl feminism. Anna's college of choice rejected her and her girlfriend just broke up with her. She gets a secretary job at a plastic surgery clinic. She joins a feminist activist group and falls in love with its leader Sadie...who has a girlfriend but sleeps with any woman who she thinks is hot. I just...didn't like Sadie at all and couldn't understand what so many women saw in her. After Sadie broke up with her girlfriend, I wanted Anna to give her the same treatment that Elle gave Warner at the end of Legally Blonde, but alas. The rest of the movie was fun...but blegh, Sadie. She ruined it for me.

Saving Face:
I love Saving Face. Love love love. If you haven't seen it, you should watch it. Wil is a doctor. Her girlfriend Vivian (mmm, Vivian...) is a dancer. Wil's homophobic mom Gao willingly ignores her daughter's gayness and pressures her to date men- but when she turns out to be pregnant and she refuses to name the father (she's a single widow), her parents disown her and she moves in with Wil. It sounds sad, but it's actually a funny movie. And squee! Will and Vivian.

The Fish Child:
Lala is the daughter of a wealthy family in Buenos Aires. She and Ailín, her family's maid, are in love. Lala kills her father after she finds out that he has been raping Ailín, and goes on the run expecting to meet Ailín in her hometown in Paraguay. She finds out that Ailín has been arrested and convicted of the murder, so she returns to save her. I expected this movie to be a lot better than it was because of the review of it I read beforehand. The bits about the classism among the upper class in Latin America rang true (from my meager experience with it- my mom's side of the family is from Bogotá), but while I felt bad for the two main characters, I wasn't feeling them as couple.

The Watermelon Woman:
A mockumentary by director Cheryl Dunye about an indie filmmaker named...Cheryl who decides to make a film about a black actress from the 1930's who played the nameless "Mammy" role in whichever films she was cast in. When I watched this movie, I forgot that the actress Cheryl was researching wasn't real, so she certainly made it convincing. Some people might be put off by this movie's low budget (it shows), but I didn't mind it. (It didn't try to compensate by being overly experimental- and giving me a headache as a result- like the similarly super-low budget Sugar Sweet.) The meta concept (we learn more about "Cheryl"'s life as she learns more about the actress- who was a lesbian also) made it interesting.

So, yup. Just some movies I've seen.

Manga Review: Gunjo volume 1

2012-01-06T13:33:00.006-05:00

Nakamura Ching's Gunjo is one of the more difficult manga titles to review. It's utterly different from what most people usually look for in yuri (romance, sweetness, some measure of prettiness or cuteness) and most people would find the premise off-putting. But give this series a chance, and you'll find that it's a perfect example of the phrase, "It hurts so good."

In the opening scene, a blonde woman in a phone booth calls the brunette standing nearby to tell her that she has killed her husband.

The brunette only married her husband to repay her debt to the blonde, but he abused her, and she saw a way out by seducing the blonde and convincing her to kill him.

The blonde is a lesbian who fell in love with the brunette in high school. The brunette came from an abusive home and only got into the private school that the blonde attended because of a track scholarship. The blonde comes from a filthy rich family.

They struck up a tenuous friendship as classmates because they were different (the brunette for being poor and the blonde for being an out lesbian), and now they're bound together by their shared responsibility for the brunette's husband's death. The brunette offers to go on the run with the blonde, but tells her that their staying together will only cause problems for the brunette. The blonde decides to stay with her anyway.

Later when the brunette lies that she called the police and told them where they are, the blonde hits her with a beer bottle and trashes the house they are in. After she finds out that the brunette lied, she admits that she behaved that way so the brunette would look convincingly scared and the police would believe that she was held hostage by the blonde. The brunette later screws up her chance of using that excuse to avoid blame for the murder when she tackles a police officer to save the blonde from being arrested.

I'm making this story sound sweeter than it is. Even though the blonde is the only person the brunette can completely depend on and vice versa, they both would have been better off if they had never met. The brunette tells the blonde that she should have died also, but when the blonde douses herself with gasoline, the brunette sits next to her and they both hold their hands around a lighter. The blonde randomly attacks the brunette with a knife to make her see what she looked like when she killed the brunette's husband. Adding to the fun, we see that the blonde had a successful job and a wife who wanted to introduce the blonde to her parents. The brunette takes the injured blonde to her and her wife's apartment thinking that it's the blonde's cousin's place, and finally learns how much the blonde threw away for her.

We briefly see that the girl who loved the blonde in high school and subsequently hated the brunette is now a police chief with a girlfriend. She knows why the blonde did what she did for the brunette, but doesn't tell anyone about it.

As you can see, the protagonists' names haven't been revealed. They may be in the final tankoubon. One of the reasons Nakamura Ching provides for keeping her characters nameless is:

Also, BL[the blonde]'s feelings, BN[the brunette]'s feelings, are not only theirs.
Their feelings resemble the feelings of many people in the world.
BL's or BN's feelings might resemble the way you feel, Gunjo is not only a story for BL and BN, but it is a story for you.
Therefore, BL and BN (and also BL's former lover) in the manga don't really need to be called by a specific name.
You only have to read to think that you are them.
When BN calls "Hey" looking for a reply, it's not to BL, it's you.
If BN uses BL's name, then you won't be able to respond.
When BL calls out "Hey," the reply isn't from BN, it's from you.
If BL uses BN's name, then you won't be able to respond.

Nakamura's reason for not naming her characters reinforces Gunjo's theme of empathy. The story repeatedly makes us empathize with people who do things that make them (arguably) irredeemable, as in the second chapter when the blonde and the brunette meet a woman who wants to drown herself with her baby's ashes in the ocean because she accidentally let him drown. The blonde and the brunette try to talk her out of it, but they eventually let her go.

What denouement will the blonde and the brunette face at the end of Gunjo? We'll just have to wait and see.

Story: A
Art: A
Overall: A

Yuri Manga Highlights of 2011

2012-01-05T09:57:00.006-05:00

As with my anime list, I decided to list the titles in this post alphabetically (well, alphabetically within each category) rather than worry about ranking them.

Top 5 Finished Series:

Ameiro Kouchakan Kandan by Fujieda Miyabi (2 volumes + drama CDs):
A Happily-Ever-After ending to a very sweet, very gay series. (The Amber Teahouse is simply awash with women of the yuri persuasion.) May we continue to see Sarasa and Seriho cameo in many more Fujieda series.

Even though this isn't manga-relevant, I'd like to mention again that I really appreciate Fujieda for writing a new story for every single drama CD based on his works. Excluding the Marimite drama CDs, my face falls a little every time I find that a drama CD I've gotten re-enacts an already existing story.

Blue Friend season 1 by Eban Fumi (2 volumes):
This story incorporates some of the less positive tropes of yuri but, in a way, transcends them. Blue Friend's themes about overcoming the past and the fear of opening up about the bad experiences in one's life to someone whose opinion one deeply cares about were poignant and well-integrated with the yuri between its two leads.

Nobara no Mori no Otome-tachi season 1 by Shirasawa Marimo (2 volumes):
This story is a love letter to many of the fun tropes of yuri, made for a shoujo audience with nods to the older folks who know what series Nobara owes its heritage to. Even though I know that "yuri" isn't synonymous with "lesbian," etc, etc, I love that something like this (or Blue Friend, Sailor Moon, Cardcaptor Sakura, etc) can come out in Japan without the homophobes collectively getting their panties in a twist over "protecting" children from being exposed to the idea of same-sex relationships.

Octave by Akiyama Haru (6 volumes):
We loved it, we hated it, we loved to hate it. But really, we mostly loved it. I would have loved to see Yukino come out to her family (she seemed like she was just about to before this series ended), but the ending to this series was still great, and we know that Yukino and Setsuko will be happy. As not only a yuri series, but a series about growing up and sorting out one's life as a young adult, Octave was excellent.

Renai Joshika by Morishima Akiko (2 volumes):
Morishima Akiko knows how to hit all of the right buttons. She loves writing about cute, lovey-dovey adult couples, and I love her for it. Arisu was a hoot to follow, and I'm glad she got a Happily-Ever-After with the girl she wanted. (Among the other cute couples this series has covered.) I also love Renai Joshika for making same-sex marriage a prominent point of discussion.

Honorable Mention:

Sweet Little Devil by Nanzaki Iku (1 volume):
My most "subjective" inclusion in this post. This was a highlight for me because it's the first time I've bought a tankoubon by someone whose doujinshi I have liked for years. For a very particular niche of the yuri fandom, this book's publication was a huge "OMG!" moment.

Top 5 Series That Have Been Collected Into Tankoubon This Past Year But Are Still Ongoing:

Aoi Hana by Shimura Takako (6 volumes so far):
For Fumi coming out as a lesbian to her straight friends- showing how much she has grown since she first came out- and Orie and Hinako getting married and coming out to Orie's family. I still love this series to pieces.

Fu~fu by Minamoto Hisanari (1 volume so far):
For being an sweet look at domestic bliss, starring Suu and her wife Kina. (Plus Komugi and Hayase, the lesbian couple next door, and Kina's sister Kana, the lesbian Don Juan who finally meets her match.) Watching Kina and Suu just makes me happy, the other characters are fun, and I love Minamoto Hisanari for making a case for two women to be able to use the term "wife" for each other.

Gunjo by Nakamura Ching (2 volumes so far):
Speaking of transcending negative tropes...but in this case, tropes that are ascribed to queer women across different media rather than simply yuri. Gunjo is a challenging read (in more than one sense), and that's refreshing when- as in this case- it's done well. I cried for the character who died in volume 2, and I'm on pins and needles waiting to see how things end for Gunjo's nameless lesbian protagonist and the woman she threw everything away for.

Omoi no Kakera by Takemiya Jin (1 volume so far):
Out of all of the titles I've read for the first time this year, Omoi no Kakera easily has my favorite protagonist. Mika is a loveable, intelligent, refreshingly self-aware lesbian, and I'm looking forward to seeing more of her life.

Sasameki Koto by Ikeda Takashi (8 volumes so far):
Sasameki Koto occupies a gray space between this category and the first category because it has ended but its final tankoubon hasn't been published yet. For its loveable characters and depiction of what it's like to be a gay teen in a way that rings true again and again, Sasameki Koto always deserves a spot on this list. I'm really looking forward to getting that final volume.

Series That Haven't Been Published As Tankoubon Yet:

Collectors by Nishi UKO:
Collectors is about Shinobu and Takako, two women who are complete nerds for very different things. Shinobu loves books and Takako loves fashion. They love each other despite, and to some extent because of their different passions. (Someone who isn't passionate about anything wouldn't make someone who is happy, imho.) I love the premise and look forward to seeing it in tankoubon form.

Kuchibiru Tameiki Sakurairo by Morinaga Milk:
The return of Morinaga Milk's first (and arguably most) popular couple! And it addresses an issue that Girl Friends, realistic though it was, tiptoed around- coming out! (Four for you, Morinaga Milk! You go, Morinaga Milk!) The announcement of Nana and Hitomi's return was the best yuri news of 2011.

Must-Read Manga of Yuri Interest Published in English:

Cardcaptor Sakura omnibus 2 by CLAMP:
For continuing to re-introduce Tomoyo, one of yuri's most iconic classic characters.

Anime Review: Kyoukai Senjou no Horizon season 1

2012-01-03T14:37:00.008-05:00

The first season of Kyoukai Senjou no Horizon (Horizon in the Middle of Nowhere) is mostly based on the prologue of a long fantasy novel series by Kawakami Minoru. (From what I've heard, it moves beyond the prologue at the very end.) I'm going to be lazy and quote Wikipedia's description of Horizon's world:

In the far future, humans abandon a devastated Earth and traveled to outer space. However, due to unknown phenomenon that prevents them from traveling into space, humanity returns to Earth only to find it inhospitable except for Japan. To accommodate the entire human population, pocket dimensions are created around Japan to house in the populace. In order to find a way to return to outer space, the humans began reenacting human history according to the Holy Book Testament. But in the year 1413 of the Testament Era, the nations of the pocket dimensions invade and conquer Japan, dividing the territory into feudal fiefdoms and forcing the original inhabitants of Japan to leave. It is now the year 1648 of the Testament Era, the refugees of Japan now live in the city ship Musashi, where it constantly travels around Japan while being watched by the Testament Union, the authority that runs the re-enactment of history. However, rumors of an apocalypse and war begins to spread when the Testament stops revealing what happens next after 1648.

Yup. In the first episode, we meet a group of high school students from the upper class of Musashi, who all have random super-powers and abilities (including two witches, a half-dragon- although I couldn't tell he was a half-dragon until I looked at his Wikipedia description-, a cyborg, an incubus who doesn't act like an incubus at all, and a talking blob). The fantasy elements don't really gel with the sci-fi elements (see: To Aru Majutsu no Index for an example of how to integrate fantasy elements into a sci-fi setting in a way that makes sense), but I can make it work by imagining the world of Horizon as the futuristic version of an alternate fantasy world- kind of like what the world of Koihime Musou is to ancient China. That doesn't change the fact that Kawakami Minoru's method of writing seems to be "I'll just pull whatever I feel like out of my ass as I go along," but it makes the story's sloppiness easier to swallow. The basic concept for the setting is interesting, and the story throws out some fun fantasy ideas- like Musashi's inhabitants being able to do battle using spells provided by Musashi's central shrine in exchange for offerings- but put it all together in this series and it's a mess.

For the first four or five episodes, we see a single day play out from the perspectives of just about everyone in the show, culminating in the insane leader of Musashi setting off a nuclear reactor (or the Horizon equivalent, whatever), killing himself in the process. Before he dies, he broadcasts to everyone that the android P-01s has some WMD technology that nobody thought Musashi had inside of her, blah, blah, blah, she's now his successor, so she has to take the blame after he dies by committing suicide. Why does he want her to commit suicide? Who the hell knows? (Cue a pissed off Horizon fan commenting to tell me that it's OBVIOUSLY because blah blah blah. I don't care.) The doofusy protagonist Aoi Toori, He of the Habit of Groping Women Before Being Punched Away, doesn't want P-01s to commit suicide because she resembles Horizon, the girl he loves who died in an accident when they were kids- and it turns out that, somehow, P-01s has Horizon's soul and emotions, but not her memories.

Long story short, Musashi declares war on Italia, the country that has taken away Horizon to make her commit suicide. They invade to save her and bring her back to Musashi. This series becomes more entertaining from this point forward. Of course, the characters each get the chance to show off their fighting skills, including the show's established yuri couple, Margot Knight and Malga Naruze. Margot is cheerful and blonde and bubbly and Malga is quiet and dark-haired, and while we don't know much about them as people (aside from the fact that they jointly run a goods transporting business), they are cute together. And thankfully, Toori never hits on or or lays a finger on either of them. (Sad that I need to note that.) They're the only reason I'm watching this thing.

Of course they save Horizon and Toori confesses his love to her in a way that ends with him accidentally declaring that he'll literally conquer the world for her. The characters return to Musashi, we last see Malga and Margot snuggling in each other's arms, and all seems right with the world until Italia invades, dun dun dun.

With good execution, this series could have easily been quite fun. The setting is potentially interesting, the fights are slickly animated, and there are some moments of enjoyable chemistry among the cast as a group. But just about every time I find myself enjoying a scene (like Masazumi's debate with the Pope), this show reminds me that it was written by and for man-children (or, for those who get the reference, like it was written by Girls With Slingshots' Tyler- "Boooobies!"). The only thing that I can really laud Horizon for is its being the only anime of 2011 to have a happily-in-love yuri couple.

Story: Heeheehee

Art: Sunrise gave this show a good budget. The characters are well-rendered, but the actual character designs stink, especially for the large-breasted women.

Overall: D+

Winter 2012 Anime Season

2011-12-30T20:20:00.007-05:00

This winter doesn't look that exciting, but hey, there could be some nice surprises. (Madoka Magica and Fate/Zero, anyone?)

01/02

Natsume Yuujin-chou Shi:
The fourth season of a charming series (charming enough for me to get a Nyanko-sensei mug at Animate when I was in Tokyo this past summer) about a boy named Natsume who inherits the book in which his grandmother Reiko wrote down the names of youkai, binding them to her. Subsequently, the youkai whose names are in the book track down Natsume to have him return their names to them.

Still catching up on what has aired. I'm sure the fourth season will be good.

Seiyuu:
Kamiya Hiroshi (Zetsuboushita!)
Ishida Akira (Mai Hime's Nagi)
Itou Miki (Marimite's Sachiko)
Sawashiro Miyuki (Canaan, Blue Drop's Hagino)

01/04

Shin Tennis no Ouji-sama:
An adaptation of the Shin Tennis no Ouji-sama (New Prince of Tennis) manga that serves as a sequel to the original series, about a boy named Ryouma who wants to surpass his father who won four consecutive tennis championships as a pro. PV streaming here.

I'm not into Prince of Tennis, but I'm happy for the fans who are looking forward to more of it.

Seiyuu:
Minagawa Junko (Aria's Akira)
Ono Daisuke (Kuroshitsuji's Sebastian)

01/05

Amagami SS+:
The sequel to an adaptation of a dating sim. One high school boy, six girls, two episodes per girl. PVs here and here.

Pass.

Seiyuu:
Satou Rina (Marimite's Tsutako, Railgun's Mikoto)
Shintani Ryouko (Mai Hime/Otome's Aoi, Hidamari Sketch's Sae)
Itou Shizuka (Marimite's Rei, Saki's Hisa)
Yukana (Mai Hime/Otome's Mashiro, Futari ha Precure's Honoka)
Asumi Kana (Hidamari Sketch's Yuuno)

Kill Me, Baby/Baby Please Kill Me!:
Yasuna tries to make friends with an assassin named Sonya. Sonya mistakens Yasuna's aggressive attempts to befriend her with threatening behavior and keeps trying to kill her in response.

The trailer is really annoying. (Update: More trailers here and here! Thanks to Felix for mentioning them.) Doesn't look like something I'll follow.

Seiyuu:
Takabe Ai (Aoi Hana's Fumi)
Kugimiya Rie (a lot of tsunderes, Marimite's Touko)

Recorder to Randoseru:
An adaptation of a gag manga about a 17 year old girl who looks like a little kid and her 11 year old brother who looks like a grown man. PV here.

Pass.

Seiyuu:
Kugimiya Rie (a lot of tsunderes, Marimite's Touko)
Hirano Aya (Suzumiya Haruhi)
Nanjou Yoshino (CANAAN's Maria)

Tantei Opera Milky Holmes Dai-Ni-Maku:
The second season of Tantei Opera Milky Holmes, about four girls who are part of a detective agency that tracks down criminals who commit crimes using superhuman abilities.
In the first episode of the first season, the girls lost the "Toys" that granted them their super-detective abilities. I'm not sure what happened after that. Not watching this season.

Seiyuu:
Sawashiro Miyuki (Canaan, Blue Drop's Hagino)
Shintani Ryouko (Mai Hime/Otome's Aoi, Hidamari Sketch's Sae)

01/06

High School DxD:
Issei attends a mostly female private high school to fulfill his dream of creating a harem. On his first date with his first girlfriend, his girlfriend kills him. He wakes up next to his busty red-haired sempai Rias, who tells him that she is a devil and she revived him as her demonic servant. A few other girls want Issei also. Promos streaming here.

Pass.

Seiyuu:
Hikasa Youko (K-ON!'s Mio
Taketatsu Ayana (K-ON!'s Azusa)
Itou Shizuka (Marimite's Rei, Saki's Hisa)

Senki Zesshou Symphogear:
Two girls named Tsubasa and Kanade form a singing duo called Zweiwing. Using weapons called "Symphogear," they must protect the earth from a threat called "Noise." They have two fangirls named Hibiki and Miku (seen at the top of the picture above). PV streaming here. The picture quality sucks, but the official alternative is inaccessible outside of Japan.

This series could be stupid fun (think Cutey Honey), or just stupid. I'll try it. Update: Yuri alert for episode 1, thanks to caitlyn.

Seiyuu:
Yuuki Aoi (Madoka Magica's Madoka)
Mizuki Nana (Nanoha's Fate)
Takagaki Ayahi (Sasameki Koto's Sumi)
Sawashiro Miyuki (Canaan, Blue Drop's Hagino)

01/07

Area no Kishi:
Kakeru has no soccer talent, while his older brother Suguru is the captain of the Kamakura High School soccer team and a member of Japan's national under-15 team. Kakeru's life "changes after a tragic accident," which I'm assuming means that Suguru dies and Kakeru plays soccer again in honor of his brother's memory and discovers his hidden talent. PV streaming here.

Probable pass.

Seiyuu:
Fukuyama Jun (Lelouch)
Itou Shizuka (Marimite's Rei, Saki's Hisa)

Brave 10:
A year before the battle of Sekigahara, a ninja named Saizou saves a miko named Nami from being killed by assassins. Tokugawa Ieyasu destroyed Nami's shrine because she sided with Yukimura Sanada. Yukimura gathers super-powered warriors known as the Brave 10 to change history, and as more of the (all-bishounen) Brave 10 gather, Nami's "mysterious power" awakens. PV streaming here.

So...Fushigi Yuugi meets Sengoku Basara.

Seiyuu:
Ono Daisuke (Kuroshitsuji's Sebastian)
Kamiya Hiroshi (Zetsubou-sensei)
Nakai Kazuya (One Piece's Zoro)
Satou Rina (Marimite's Tsutako, Railgun's Mikoto)
Sakurai Takahiro (Code Geass' Suzaku)
Koyasu Takehito (Utena's Touga)
Asakawa Yuu (Azumanga Daioh's Sakaki)

Moretsu Uchuu Kaizoku:
A high school girl named Marika finds out that her father was a space pirate and she has inherited command of his ship and crew.

This show's title translates as Violent Space Pirates, but its official translation is Bodacious Space Pirates. Its trailer is as hilariously bad as its official English title. At least Bodacious Space Pirates isn't any worse than the title of the light novels this show is adapting: Mini-Skirt Space Pirates.

Seiyuu:
Hanazawa Kana (Black Rock Shooter's Matou, Morita-san's Mayu)
Kayano Ai (Last Exile: Fam no Ginkyoku's Millia)
Tomatsu Haruka (Morita-san's Miki)
Kanemoto Hisako (Sora no Woto's Kanata)
Satou Rina (Marimite's Tsutako, Railgun's Mikoto)
Satou Satomi (K-ON!'s Ritsu)
Hikasa Youko (K-ON!'s Mio)
Itou Shizuka (Marimite's Rei, Saki's Hisa)
Kaida Yuuko (Strawberry Panic!'s Amane)
Horie Yui (Aoi Hana's Kyouko, Hourou Musuko's Anna)
Nanjou Yoshino (CANAAN's Maria)

Zero no Tsukaima F:
The fourth and final season of the Zero no Tsukaima series, about a high school boy samed Saito who gets accidentally summoned to the magical Tristien Academy by a mage named Louise to be her familiar. He isn't what she wanted to summon, but she can't try again, so they're stuck together. Tsundere love blooms. PVs streaming here.

Tried the first season. Not my cup of tea.

Seiyuu:
Kugimiya Rie, playing the character type that made her mega-popular.
Kawasumi Ayako (KnM's Chikane, the Fate franchise's Saber)
Noto Mamiko (Marimite's Shimako)
Horie Yui (Aoi Hana's Kyouko, Hourou Musuko's Anna)

01/08

Aquarion Evol:
A sequel to the 2005 Aquarion series, taking place in Hong Kong 12,000 years in the future.
PV here.

Never saw Aquarion; not interested in its sequel.

Seiyuu:
Kayano Ai (Last Exile: Fam no Ginkyoku's Millia)
Hanazawa Kana (Black Rock Shooter's Matou, Morita-san's Mayu)
Nakajima Megumi (Macross Frontier's Ranka)
Nakamura Yuuichi (Macross Frontier's Alto)

Nisemonogatari:
A sequel to Bakemonogatari, starring Araragi's two younger sisters Tsukihi and Karen.
I didn't care for Bakemonogatari, so I don't see myself getting into this series.
Yuri fans might be interested in returning character Kanbaru Suruga, who identified as a lesbian in Bakemonogatari. She attacked the main character, Araragi, out of jealousy over his girlfriend Senjougahara, who she fell in love with before he ever met her. They resolved things and became friends. (Something similar happens later in Bakemonogatari with a girl who's jealous over Araragi. Same resolution.) Not something that would make me recommend Bakemonogatari in, say, my yuri panel, but she's there for anyone interested. I would be happier with her portrayal if she showed interest in other women (besides Senjougahara) and wasn't treated like another pair of boobs to expand Araragi's harem, but what can you do.
First PV here. The second one is too creepy for me to comfortably link to.

Seiyuu:
Kitamura Eri (Madoka Magica's Sayaka)
Kamiya Hiroshi (Zetsubou-sensei)
Saito Chiwa (Madoka Magica's Homura)
Katou Emiri (Sasameki Koto's Kiyori, Madoka Magica's Kyuubey)
Hanazawa Kana (Black Rock Shooter's Matou, Morita-san's Mayu)
Sakamoto Maaya (CANAAN's Alphard)
Sawashiro Miyuki (Canaan, Blue Drop's Hagino)
Shiraishi Ryouko (Saki's Mako)
Horie Yui (Aoi Hana's Kyouko, Hourou Musuko's Anna)

Poyopoyo Kansatsu Nikki:
An adaption of a 4-koma about a cat named Poyo and the people it encounters. Daichi Akitaro (director of Fruits Basket and Kodomo no Omocha) is directing.

*shrug*

No noteworthy seiyuu.

Rinne no Langrange:
An icy blue-haired girl named Lan recruits a girl named Madoka to pilot a robot to protect their city from space aliens. A busty ditz named Muginami joins them. PV here.

Eh.

Seiyuu:
Kayano Ai (Last Exile: Fam no Ginkyoku's Millia)
Seto Asami (Hourou Musuko's Takatsuki)
Noto Mamiko (Marimite's Shimako)
Tanaka Rie (Canaan's Liang)
Iguchi Yuuichi (Hourou Musuko's Mako-chan)
Nanri Yuuka (Hourou Musuko's Chiba)
The OP and ED will be sung by Nakajima Megumi (Macross Frontier's Ranka).

01/09

Ano Natsu de Matteru:
A romantic comedy about two girls and a boy by the people who created the story and original character designs for Onegai Teacher. PV here.

Ano Natsu's Onegai Teacher connection doesn't do anything for me (tried Onegai Teacher; didn't like it), but I might try an episode because of its director, Nagai Tatsuyuki (Honey and Clover II, Railgun, Ano Hana). Probably won't stick with it, though.

Seiyuu:
Tomatsu Haruka (Morita-san's Miki)
Asumi Kana (Hidamari Sketch's Yuuno)
Tamura Yukari (Nanoha)

Another:
A horror series about a boy who transfers into a class that's under a curse that leads to "a string of unavoidable deaths."

The premise isn't original, but since when is that a requisite for something being entertaining? I'm actually looking forward to this. Going by the trailers, it could be genuinely creepy in a Jigoku Shoujo or Vampire Princess Miyu way.
Trailers streaming here and here.

Seiyuu:
Nonaka Ai (Madoka Magica's Kyouko)
Yonezawa Madoka (K-ON!'s Ui)

Danshi Koukousei no Nichijou, or Daily Lives of High School Boys. Surpise, it's a slice-of-life comedy about a group of boys who are friends in high school. The most interesting thing about is that it's based on a manga that was serialized online. Extended (really extended) previews can be found here.

I think I'll pass.

Seiyuu:
Sugita Tomokazu (Suzumiya Haruhi's Kyon)
Ishida Akira (Mai Hime's Nagi)
Koshimizu Ami (Marimite's Kanako)
Yuuki Aoi (Madoka Magica's Madoka)
Saito Chiwa (Madoka Magica's Homura)
Takagaki Ayahi (Sasameki Koto's Sumi)
Hikasa Youko (K-ON!'s Mio)
Kobayashi Yuu (Saki's Yumi)
Yukana (Mai Hime/Otome's Mashiro, Futari ha Precure's Honoka)

01/10

Papa no Iu Koto wo Kikinasai!, or Listen to me girls, I'm your father! An adaptation of a light novel series about a university student who becomes responsible for raising his sister's three kids after the plane that his sister and her husband fly in goes missing.

My reaction to this series went from "Aww" to "... *hurl*" when I saw that this series' promotion uses the oldest of the three kids for service. F--- whoever enjoys that. Can we get an anime series about a man raising a child (or children) without any creepiness? (Including creepiness in the material following what's animated/the series' ultimate ending? Yeah, I'm still pissed about the Usagi Drop manga's ending.) Like, say, Yotsuba&?

Seiyuu:
Kitamura Eri (Madoka Magica's Sayaka)
Ono Daisuke (Kuroshitsuji's Sebastian)
Ohara Sayaka (Aria's Alicia)
Horie Yui (Aoi Hana's Kyouko, Hourou Musuko's Anna)

01/12

Inu x Boku SS:
In a high-class apartment building inhabited by the descendants of demons, who each receive a bodyguard, a girl gets a kitsune bodyguard who tells her "I want to be your dog." PVs streaming here.

???? o_o;

Seiyuu:
Hanazawa Kana (Black Rock Shooter's Matou, Morita-san's Mayu)
Miyano Mamoru (Ouran's Tamaki, Death Note's Light)
Sugita Tomokazu (Suzumiya Haruhi's Kyon)
Hikasa Youko (K-ON!'s Mio)
Nakamura Yuuichi (Macross Frontier's Alto)

Thermae Romae: A Noitamina series. An architect in ancient Rome named Lucius gets sucked into a drain while visiting a public bath. After freeing himself and emerging to the surface of the water, he finds himself in present day Japan. He gapes at the similarities and differences between Roman public bathing and Japanese public bathing.

This sounds...different. Doesn't sound like my cup of tea, though. Three flash-animated episodes will make up this series, based on a popular Comic Beam manga. A live action movie based on the same manga will premiere in April.

Seiyuu:
Ueda Kana (Marimite's Yumi)

02/02

Black Rock Shooter: Noitamina's 8 episode TV adaptation of the Black Rock Shooter universe.

Background for anyone who doesn't know:
Black Rock Shooter started as a character that an artist nicknamed huke drew and posted on his Pixiv account. Ryo, the composer and lyricist for Supercell, a doujin music group that specializes in making songs using Hatsune Miku's voice, created a song inspired by huke's illustration (downloadable here on Supercell's website) and a music video with illustrations huke made for it. (Click the little symbol that's farthest to the right in the bottom-right corner if you don't want to see viewers' comments scrolling across the screen.) huke created more characters, like Black Rock Shooter's horned, scythe-wielding nemesis Dead Master. Most Black Rock Shooter fans are familiar with this popular fan video by a Nico Nico user named Anomaro-P. Black Rock Shooter became a wildly popular homegrown otaku icon, with toys, games, and other merchandise produced based on her, along with two manga series (Black Rock Shooter: Innocent Soul and a 4-koma called Black Rock-chan) and an OVA. And now BRS fans are getting a TV series, which will retell/expand on the OVA storyline. The OVA was about two girls named Matou and Yomi, who are best friends but exist as enemies, Black Rock Shooter and Dead Master, in a parallel dimension. The TV series will include several characters who didn't appear in the OVA. PV here.

The OVA was just okay, but I'm open to being pleasantly surprised by the TV series. I'll give it a shot.

Seiyuu:
Hanazawa Kana (Morita-san's Mayu)
Sawashiro Miyuki (Canaan, Blue Drop's Hagino)
Asumi Kana (Hidamari Sketch's Yuuno)
Kitamura Eri (Madoka Magica's Sayaka)
Noto Mamiko (Marimite's Shimako)

02/05

Smile Precure!:
The ninth Precure series. The evil emperor Pierrot (har har) seals away the Queen of magical Marchenland. A mascot named Candy finds five girls and asks them to find the Cure Decor to unseal the Queen.

The neon-tastic promo art hurts my eyes. But I'll try an episode.

No seiyuu information released.

And that's it!

Anime Review: Morita-san ha Mukuchi seasons 1 and 2

2011-12-28T19:55:00.002-05:00

I didn't like the Morita-san ha Mukuchi ("Morita-san is Taciturn") OVA. The jokes felt overused, and the writers particularly seemed to think that the two boys who kept drooling over Mayu and her friends were a lot funnier than they actually were.

The Morita-san TV series remedied the OVA's problems by keeping each episode short and sweet at three minutes and focusing almost entirely on the girls' perspectives.

Morita-san ha Mukuchi is about a girl named Morita Mayu, who over-thinks what she says before she can say it- resulting in her never really saying anything. Her friends Miki (the extra-chatty one who is a little boy crazy), Hana (the soft-spoken one who has a bad home life), and Chihiro (the other chatty one who acts as a foil for Miki) don't really mind, since they know that that's just how Mayu is.

You also have the nameless glasses girl who crushes on Mayu from afar and Yamamoto, the cool Class President who has a lot of fangirls. In volumes three and four of the manga, we can see that Yamamoto herself likes girls. As I recently mentioned, I want to see more Morita-san animated just for that. Mayu's parents occasionally show up also. Where their interaction just made me feel bad for Mayu in the OVA, in the TV series, their relationship feels more sweet than bitter.

Each episode focuses on a slice-of-life scenario: the girls figuring out how to beat the summer heat at school, a festival, shopping, Mayu rewarding herself for a good score on a test, a sleepover, the girls taking a part-time job selling Christmas cakes, etc. If you like this type of series, you'll probably enjoy Morita-san since its characters are likeable and have good chemistry as friends. Thankfully, the service is basically nil.

For a light, yuri-friendly pick-me-up, Morita-san is a good bet.

Story: In three minute increments, B
Art: Simple and low budget, but it matches the manga's style. C+
Overall: B

Anime of Interest to Yuri Fans in 2011

2011-12-26T13:53:00.013-05:00

To make a decent-sized list possible, I had to use series that aren't really necessarily yuri, but are of interest to us- a problem that I will not have with my manga list. As Erica pointed out, the pickings this year are really freaking slim. But there's still some good stuff out there. I'm just listing everything I've tried that has come out this year alphabetically.

A Channel made me fall asleep. Not kidding. That's why I never made it past episode 2.

Fate/Zero wins the Most Delicious Subtext award for Saber's suit and her knightliness towards Irisviel, which some may have noticed I like.

Edit @ 9:23 pm: Whoops, accidentally didn't include the following title earlier.

Ga-Rei-Zero on DVD and Blu Ray: A solid pick for the action fan who likes yuri subtext, dubious though it may be. Just make sure to have tissues on hand at the end.

Horizon in the Middle of Nowhere: Malga and Margot win the Best (well, only) Canon Couple of the Year Award. The series that they're in is a piece of crap. Even with a yuri couple in it, I cannot fault anyone for skipping or dropping it. And Malga and Margot don't get very much screen time. (To be fair, Horizon is crammed with characters and most of them don't get any more screen time than Malga and Margot.) But after coolly taking down a flying battle mech in episode 10, Malga and Margot had the only yuri kiss of the year (in front of a sunset, to boot), and it was tender and had actual love behind it. (Fujieda Miyabi likes them too.)

Hourou Musuko is a brilliant coming-of-age series. No magic, no fights, just a cast of likeable people- lgbt (Nitori, Takatsuki, Yuki, Momo, Mako, etc) and not- interacting realistically. This series wins the Show Most Likely To Filter Out People Who Don't Actually Care About LGBT People award. Not to say that not getting into it means that you don't care about lgbt people. But if you meet a non-lgbt person who likes this show, chances are better that they would care about lgbt rights than, say, your average non-lgbt person enjoying the lgbt elements in Kashimashi.

K-ON! on DVD and Blu Ray: Mugi, and a lot of people like slashing the characters.

Koihime Musou seasons 1-3 on DVD: It has a lot of yuri characters. There's a cute canon couple, but they can't really compete for the Best Canon Yuri Couple award because the third (and probably last) Koihime Musou season aired in 2010. I'm not a Sousou fan, but I did like that she outright said that she "only takes women to bed" in that scene with the doctor. How often are yuri characters that plainspoken about being gay, without an "I hate men, icky men are brutes" qualifier, a la Sakura from Kämpfer? Sousou doesn't have anything against men, she just doesn't want to sleep with them. Whatever faults Koihime Musou has, it did that bit right.

Last Exile -Ginkyoku no Fam-: I tried an episode. Aside from the awful opening scene, it was fun, but I didn't stick with it because I was already content with what I was watching at the time.

Mawaru Penguindrum was gripping, intelligent, and frequently poignant to watch, but unlike its older sister Utena, I can't recommend it for its yuri.

Morita-san ha Mukuchi: A cute little show that had some non-obnoxius yuri. The way that Mayu's classmate Yamamoto handled being confessed to by a girl who had one-sided feelings her was nice. If there's one thing that I would be willing to watch another season of this series for, it would be Yamamoto herself admitting that she's gay, which happens later in the manga.

Puella Magi Madoka Magica is my Top Yuri Anime of the Year pick. The plot was driven by yuri (won't spoil how), and it was excellent. It doesn't hurt that [spoiler] was an incredible badass in her quest to [spoiler spoiler spoiler]. I expected this series to be kind of lame, but was surprised like almost everyone else by how gripping it became. (Side note: I've shown some anime over the years to my utterly non-otaku dad, like Miyazaki's films, Grave of the Fireflies, Fullmetal Alchemist, Kannazuki no Miko, and Utena- just to share titles that I like and de-mystify my hobby. I showed him Madoka Magica. He was initially intrigued by the crazy visuals, and thought that it was "a terrific show" after I showed him the last episode. Madoka's core base may be hardcore otaku, but it clearly can appeal to people who wouldn't know SHAFT from Gainax and don't know what it's deconstructing.) I was also amused by how similar you-know-who is to a certain character from KnM. I'm looking forward to seeing the alternate direction that the upcoming Madoka Magica movies take.

Revolutionary Girl Utena easily wins Best English-Language Release on DVD or Blu Ray. A yuri classic and one of the best shows ever ever ever, re-released with remastered visuals and audio.

Sengoku Otome had yuri in it.

Sound of the Sky (Sora no Woto) on DVD: As a yuri fan, I had to make soup from stones to see anything in this series. And episode 8 was awful. But as a slice-of-life/war story hybrid with pretty music, it's still enjoyable for me.

Yuruyuri: May it herald other, better Yuri Hime adaptations.

Agree, or have differing opinions? Feel free to share!

My favorite webcomic: Girls With Slingshots

2011-12-18T17:21:00.001-05:00

I've been following Danielle Corsetto's Girl With Slingshots webcomic for... wow, 2 years. I first heard about it from an Afterellen article that covered GWS's then-new relationship between one of its leads, Jamie, and a side character named Erin. I started reading it from the beginning and quickly plowed through all four years' worth of strips. It's that addictive. But I should describe what it's actually about, shouldn't I?

Hazel and Jamie are best friends who have just graduated from college. Jamie works in a flower shop while Hazel flails with what to do with her English major. Hazel starts working for a newspaper, but it eventually shuts down and she ends up sharing an apartment with her old boss Thea.

Along with the question of employment, Hazel deals with some bumps in her quest to get laid, but ends up with a really great guy named Zach. Jamie thinks that she's only interested in men until she wakes up naked in bed with the lesbian bartender Angel. She decides to visit a lesbian bar called the Lickety Split, where she sees Thea. This is from when Thea is still Hazel's boss at the paper.

The results of Jamie's experiment are... complicated. Anyway, now Thea's out, and it's still a surprise to Jamie when she falls for Erin.

Jamie and Erin are super-cute together, but since Hazel doesn't know about Erin, she just feels like she's losing Jamie when she keeps making vague plans with "someone else." Even though Hazel isn't homophobic, Jamie has a hard time coming out to her about Erin.

Jamie has to finally come out when Hazel invites her to bring "Aaron" on a double date with her and Zach. So now everything's fine and dandy and Hazel's a supportive friend,

but Jamie still has a hard time figuring out what to label herself for... more complicated reasons.

And Erin has to study abroad for a year in London. At the point where the strip is now, she's returned and she and Jamie are back together after a rocky patch. As adorable as Jamie and Erin are together- and as funny as Jamie's coming out is- because of the aspect of their relationship that makes their love what even Danielle Corsetto calls "quasi-lesbian" (they aren't so big on doing anything beyond kissing), I wouldn't recommend GWS to people looking for a webcomic with a lesbian storyline solely for them. Which leads me to...

Angel and Thea! They have some nice chemistry after they meet,

but alas, don't actually have much in common.

They do break up, but I won't give away how. (*cough*Screw you Angel.*cough*) Now Thea has a new, really sweet girlfriend named Mimi, who will probably be the person Thea winds up with.

And what a small world- Mimi's Angel's ex too.

Yup, two cute couples of lesbian interest. But I like all of the couples: Hazel and Zach, Jameson and Maureen (I have a soft spot for them because they're such a nerdy couple), and Chris and Melody are all great. I was a little afraid that Clarice (another favorite of mine) was going to be paired up with Tucker, the Nice Guy who hangs out at the library where she works, but GWS went the realistic route by quickly making it clear that it's not going to happen. Girls With Slingshots has been running for seven years, but it hasn't lost its steam. If you're looking for a funny webcomic with prominent lesbian characters, you should give Girls With Slingshots a try.

Overall: A

New strips come out every weekday; and wouldn't you know, the latest one features Thea and Mimi.

A batch o' Christmas-themed yuri fan art...

2011-12-17T13:40:00.001-05:00

...and some that's generally winter-themed. Here's the batch from two years ago.

Enjoy!

Yes...I'm still shipping these two. lol (Dat suit.)

Awwww.

I don't see any yuri in K-ON aside from Mugi, but here's something cute for the Mio x Ritsu shippers.

Not sure which of these I like more. The first one's more sweet, but the second one is incredibly pretty.

Some Christmas cheer from the series that became 2011's juggernaut for yuri fans (and everyone else).

A White Rose-heavy batch from Marimite. I especially like the last one.

Squee! Nanoha x Fate! The third one is my favorite.

Kyaaa! Haruka x Michiru! ^_^ Plus, the Inner Senshi.

Yumi and Momo = still my favorite pairing in Saki.

D'awww, Sumi and Ushio.

Last but not least, Yokohama Kaidashi Kikou's Kokone and Alpha.

Bet you can't tell what this is about: Girl x Girl x Boy

2011-12-12T18:05:00.005-05:00

Fuuka likes Riri, Riri likes Itta, and Itta likes Fuuka.

In grade school, Riri protected Fuuka from bullies, including Itta, and Fuuka's gratitude turned into a crush. Now in high school, Itta's a decent guy- decent enough to not be homophobic after he finds out about Fuuka's feelings for Riri. (Even if he is stupid enough to be like, "So will you give me a chance?" after he sees Riri break off her and Fuuka's more-than-friends-but-less-than-lovers relationship.) They all agree to spend time together as a group until two of them pair off. After Riri takes the three of them to a love hotel to scare Fuuka away, she admits to Itta that she always loved Fuuka, but is scared of what their future as a couple would be like. After seeing a special on TV showing a lesbian couple that gave up their families' support to be together, Riri pretended to like Itta because she thought it would make Fuuka give up on her, which she thought would be better for both of them.

After the love hotel incident, the three of them stop speaking to each other. Fuuka cuts her hair short and forces herself to date an obnoxious male sempai. Itta evolves from decent to awesome by trying to bring Fuuka and Riri together, so that Fuuka can be happy.

Fuuka breaks up with the obnoxious sempai, who overhears Fuuka and Itta talking about Fuuka's feelings for Riri. He barges into Fuuka, Riri, and Itta's classroom to out Fuuka and Riri, but Fuuka stops him and talks him out of it, proving that she isn't as weak as Riri thought. Fuuka, Riri, and Itta all make up, and Riri and Fuuka end up as a happy couple with Itta as a supportive friend. The author points out that Fuuka and Riri will always be together and friends with Itta, and Itta will get a cute girlfriend in college.

I like this story quite a bit. There's a certain sincerity...or something, that makes it a heart-squeezing read. I like how all of the characters grow (Riri's love winning over her fear, Fuuka's gratitude for protection changing into real love and a willingness to protect Riri herself, and Itta's selfishness changing to selflessness) and how believable they feel as high schoolers caught in a wonky love situation. And, of course, I think the ending's great. lol GirlxGirlxBoy isn't ambitious, but it's a sweet little romantic drama that treats all of its characters- even the losers- well.

Story: Fuuka likes Riri. Riri likes Fuuka. Itta evolves from a roadblock to a supportive friend. The end. B+
Art: Expressive, but kind of sketchy. B-
Overall: A-

A couple of yuri shorts by Shimura Takako: Dounika Naru Hibi volume 2

2011-12-10T20:13:00.000-05:00

Dounika Naru Hibi is a two volume collection of one-shots focusing on relationships. Most of the stories are het, but there's also some yaoi in volume 1 and, in two chapters of volume 2, yuri.

In chapter 5, a woman named "Ecchan" attends the wedding of Yuri, the woman she dated in high school. She slips out of the reception to cry and runs into Aya, who loved Yuri in college. They hook up and start dating, and realize that even though Yuri was a jerk to both of them, it's a good thing they met her because they wouldn't know each other otherwise.

Chapter 9 is about a woman named Shino who is in love with her roommate Tamiko. Tamiko catches Shino trying to kiss her when she's asleep, and sleeps with Shino. Shino thinks that it's too good to be true- a whim that Tamiko will regret or change her mind about- so she moves out. Tamiko shows up at Shino's new place and convinces Shino to let her move in.

Shimura Takako is at her best in her longer stories, but her Dounika Naru Hibi one-shots are still great. (Most of them, at least.) I like their general focus on adults and their refreshingly mature, matter-of-fact approach to sexuality. The yuri chapters also make some nods to yuri conventions that make them feel, like Moonlight Flowers and Morishima Akiko's one-shot "Princess of the Stars" in Ruri-iro no Yume, like sequels to the girls' school stories that yuri is most famous for. Ecchan, Shino, and Yuri all attended girls' schools and Yuri was the classic mega-popular girls' school "Prince."

The themes in Dounika Naru Hibi's yuri chapters provide an interesting compliment to some of the themes Shimura has been exploring in in Aoi Hana (besides the love-at-a-girls'-school motif, you have: what it's like to recover from a love that went down in flames, and not being sure if your feelings and the feelings of the person you're in love with are on the same level), but they're great on their own as glimpses of idealistic relationship drama between realistic adults.

Story: B+
Art: A-
Overall: A-

Yay, yuri Ladies Comics!: Works

2011-12-04T21:14:00.004-05:00

I love the stories from Mist, a yuri Ladies Comics magazine that's out of print. By virtue of being Ladies Comics, Mist's stories aren't high art, but I love their... classic josei-ness, if you will. In addition to that and Mist's focus on older women, I like how its couples are always in love, at least by the end of each story. Tangent: Someone I met in Tokyo this past summer raved about how a Ladies Comics magazine that's still being published, Comic Aurora, has some good lesbian content. She showed off the shelf of Comic Aurora issues she'd collected as proof that it's worth reading. When I bought and skimmed an issue, there was no yuri... just, like, rape and creepy old businessmen. The woman who raved about it seemed earnest, but I can only rationalize her recommendation as a bad practical joke. The point of this rambling is that I enjoyed Mist before that, but after the "What the hell was that?" of Comic Aurora, Mist feels like the warm, fuzzy hug of Ladies Comics. And that's what most of Tadeno Eriko's Works features- romantic stories from Mist- along with an excellent story from Phryne, a lesbian magazine that's also out of print.

"My Sister's Wedding" ("Imouto no Kekkonshiki"), the Phryne story, is about Emi, who attends her younger sister Yuka's wedding. Her girlfriend Takako isn't able to come along for obvious reasons, and her mom and other relatives are predictably bugging her about getting married herself, since she's 30. When she calls Takako after the ceremony, Takako proposes. Emi comes out to her mom, who...well, is coming around by the the end. Yuka already knows, and is cool with it. This is my favorite story in this collection.

"I Like You the Way You Are" ("Sugao no Mama de") is about Suzu, a university student whose kouhai in the drama club, Misato, fell in love with her in high school. Suzu dated another girl in high school, her sempai Yasuko, but Yasuko left her to get married after they graduated. Now Suzu has a ~~beard~~ boyfriend. Misato confesses her feelings to Suzu, but Suzu rejects her. Thankfully, Suzu realizes that she's being stupid, breaks up with her boyfriend, and admits that she likes Misato. Happily-Ever-After for them. ^_^

The next two chapters, "My Sweet One" ("Watashi no Kawaii Hito") and "Gentle Loving" ("Yasashiku Aishite"), focus on one couple. Mizuho is the business development section chief for her company. She divorced her husband after falling for a superior...who got married and left the company. Still, she doesn't regret it. ("I owe the freedom I live in today to it.") She falls for her new kouhai at the company, Yuka, but puts distance between them after gossip that Mizuho's a lesbian starts floating around. She and Yuka get together anyway. "Gentle Loving" is about Mizuho and Yuka working out their problems caused by the different priorities they put on work (Mizuho's priority) vs relationship time (Yuka's). As in all Mist stories, there is sex- but it's a bonus in this book's case, not the focus. (Not that there can't be good examples of PWP.) I love how this chapter shows that Mizuho has other queer friends, who she gets relationship advice from. Happily-Ever-After, of course. ^_^

There are also some 4-koma following the characters from "My Sweet One" and "Gentle Loving," a few pages of gag comics focusing on different characters, a nice commentary by Tadeno Eriko addressed to the people reading the American-published version of her work, including commentary on how the yuri genre has evolved since she started drawing yuri, and a "Note on the Cover Picture" that made me go "Awww." If you like happy yuri stories about adults, you should really check out Tadeno Eriko's work.

Story: "My Sister's Wedding" = A, "Gentle Loving" & "My Sweet One" = A-, "I Like You the Way You Are" = B+
Art: B+
Overall: A-

Tadeno Eriko now goes by the name Mizuki Monica (Twitter account here) and publishes manga as part of a circle online (link nsfw). Tadeno/Mizuki's circle also uploaded some manga onto YouTube. She used to make print doujinshi under the circle name "Office Mono."

Some good yuri-ish horror: Red Garden episodes 1-12

2011-12-03T12:33:00.002-05:00

This is my first time watching Red Garden.

So far, it's a fun mix of supernatural horror and mystery, with a little yuri thrown in.

It takes place in New York City, where the corpse of a girl named Lise is found one morning in a park. Was it a suicide? A murder? The police aren't sure.

Four girls who were friends with Lise- but not with each other, by virtue of being in different cliques- wake up not remembering what happened the night before. You have: Rose, the timid one who looks after her two younger siblings since her mom is in the hospital and her dad left them; Rachel, the party girl; Claire, the tomboyish one from a hardscrabble background who lives by herself; and soft-spoken Kate, the honor student who's on the All-Powerful Student Council called Grace and, by virtue of being the closest to Lise, is the closest thing to a main character that this story has. They sound like complete stereotypes, but this series does a very good job of humanizing them beyond that- largely through their reactions to Lise's death and what happens next.

That night, they each follow butterflies that only they can see to a place where two people in black suits, a woman named Lula and a man named JC, are waiting for them. Lula tells the girls that they died last night, like Lise, but they have new bodies. (Their original bodies are being stored elsewhere.) And that man with the blank eyes and fangs who's hurtling toward them on all fours? He needs to die if they want to live. Every night, they have to wait for Lula to call them if she needs them to kill more beast men.

Of course, Claire eventually has a crisis of conscience when one of their targets is someone she saw when he was normal. Kate's older sister's fiancee Emilio has a crisis of conscience because he's part of the family that caused the girls' deaths (as well as those of numerous other girls), and wants their new bodies as a...sort of solution to whatever causes members of his family to become insane and beast-like. But Kate, Claire, Rachel, and Rose don't know most of that yet. They spend most of this stretch of episodes adjusting to everything that changed after they died. Even with its Gantz-like premise and abundance of bad science, this series is grounded by its protagonists, who gel together surprisingly well as a group. And refreshingly, there's zero fan service.

Yuri? The Student Council President Paula is quietly but obviously in love with Kate. She repeatedly goes out of her way to keep Kate from being stripped of her student council position (and its incredible perks) when Kate starts slipping in her duties because of... you know, finding out she's dead and having to kill beast men at night. I'm looking forward to seeing Paula's confession to Kate later, which sounds like it's handled really well.

The first half of Red Garden is build-up, but it's entertaining so far. There are a lot of unanswered questions, but this series seems intelligent enough to resolve them well in the next half.

No ratings until my final review.

Hiatus this week

2011-11-25T17:08:00.001-05:00

I won't be posting anything this weekend, because I'm home for an all-too-brief vacation and don't want to cut into what time I have here more than necessary. (e.g. For school work.) I'm sorry about the abruptness. Thanks for your patience!

Unrelated, but here's some cute fan art.

Yes, I am looking forward to Seven Seas' release of Girl Friends. ^_^ I'm really happy to see something A) yuri-centric (Cardcaptor Sakura is excellent for what it's supposed to be- a magical girl series- but it will never satisfy me as a yuri fan) and B) really honest-to-goodness good (I really enjoy Strawberry Panic! for its fun, knowingly deep-as-a-teaspoon trashiness, but can't honestly call it good) being published in English. Definitely getting it when it comes out.

More Shimura Takako Goodness: the Hourou Musuko anime

2011-11-19T21:01:00.005-05:00

This series was a joy to watch... and re-watch. Even though I was initially surprised by its not opening with the beginning of the Hourou Musuko manga's storyline, I think that change was a good move. Like the Aoi Hana anime, the Hourou Musuko anime feels like it was made by people who really respect the source material they're adapting, and that's all that any fan could hope for.

Nitori Shuuichi and Takatsuki Yoshino (who became close friends after each found out that the other is transgender) are entering their first year of middle school with their friendship on the rocks because of a love triangle involving their friend Chiba Saori (the first person who recognized that Nitori prefers girls' clothing). Chiba likes Nitori who likes Takatsuki who doesn't like anyone.

Nitori and Takatsuki quickly repair their friendship, and Nitori gets over Takatsuki and starts dating a model named Anna. While Nitori's preference for girls' clothes doesn't bother Anna, it evokes hostility from Nitori's older sister Maho, the only member of Nitori's family who knows. Thankfully, Maho's bark is worse than her bite. She's much more supportive than she likes to think she is. Conversely, Anna breaks up with Nitori after Nitori shows that she really wants to live life as a girl (as opposed to being a boy who dresses in girls' clothes as a hobby he'll eventually tire of) by going to school one day in the girls' uniform.

Predictably, even though no one kicked up a fuss about Takatsuki and the flamboyantly eccentric Chizuru wearing the boys' uniform to school previously, Nitori couldn't reach the school gate without being sent to the principal's office- and then sent home. Nitori's mom doesn't freak out as badly as she might have (Yuki, the transsexual woman who acts as a friend and role model for Nitori and Takatsuki, got disowned by her family), but Nitori's dad deserves the Parent of the Year award for his reaction.

The biggest theme in this show is coming of age, as Nitori and Takatsuki have to deal with (and becoming more capable of dealing with) their bodies changing in ways that they really don't want for obvious reasons. Ironically, Chiba becomes closer to Takatsuki than Nitori because her still-unrequited feelings (compounding her general awkwardness in dealing with people) make it harder for her to comfortably interact with Nitori. By the end, Nitori, Takatsuki, and Chiba are friends as a group again, and the bullying reaction to Nitori wearing girls' clothes to school dies down. (I'm really glad that the bullying Nitori goes through isn't as bad as it would be in real life, although I'm also glad this series acknowledges that worse can happen via Yuki's school background.)

So yeah, great series. Great character interaction and development, freaking gorgeous art, and perfectly cast seiyuu. I thought it was a nice touch that Hatakeyama Kousuke, the seiyuu who plays Nitori, was more or less the same age as Nitori when the series was made. And regarding how yuri-relevant this series is...

This is the hardest part of writing this review- not helped by the fact that there's no way not to directly address it on this blog and my chronic over-thinking of things. Nitori = girl. Nitori likes girls, e.g. Anna. I would say that Nitori's bisexual, since the idea of liking Takatsuki as a boy didn't put a damper on her feelings for him at all. (Being rejected did.) Anna might be also. I will be shocked if she and Nitori don't wind up together in the manga, considering how long she has been set up as The Love Interest. At one point in the manga Nitori even brings Anna to Yuki and her boyfriend Shi-chan's apartment, which feels a lot like a Meet the Parents visit. (Despite my speculation above, whatever they are- bi, gay, straight, queer, pan, unlabeled, etc- doesn't affect my opinion that they're cute together.) She basically dumped Nitori at the end of the anime for being too much of a girl, but later in the manga, she seems to be gradually, gradually gravitating back towards the idea of them having a relationship. At this point, I don't feel like I can label Anna's feelings "yuri" (I don't think she would either), but I can confidently do so for Nitori, just as I wouldn't label Yuki's feelings for Shi-chan "yaoi." And to be completely honest, even though Nitori is a girl and her feelings for other girls are lesbian, I do agree with the idea that as long as she's in a male body, any relationship she has with, say, Anna, isn't straight, but isn't really lesbian either; the queer label makes the most sense to me. I'm convinced that Momo has a crush on Chi-chan also, although I'm much less confident that that will work out. (Or that Momo's even aware of it.) And there you have it. Like the rest of Shimura's work featuring GSM characters, Hourou Musuko has an unambivalent "There is nothing wrong with liking whoever you like" message, which we can all agree on.

Massive over-thinking on my part as a reviewer aside... this series is poignant and brilliant and lovely and you should at least try it.

Story: A
Art: A
Overall: A

This will be my only post this weekend.

Something much more obscure than most of what I've reviewed lately: Kyoumei Suru Echo

2011-11-14T00:36:00.006-05:00

Kigi Tatsumi's Kyoumei Suru Echo ("Resounding Echo") is another one-shot collection, from Tsubomi magazine. Half of this collection is pleasant but forgettable, while the other half is excellent.

In "Runner's High," Yuki stopped participating in track because she accidentally pushed Touko, the girl she likes, down a flight of stairs, causing Touko to injure her knee and drop out of track. Yuki runs into Touko, who tells her that she never blamed her and she's getting her knee fixed so she can compete again. Yuki decides to compete again also.

"Unbalance" is about the cool track team captain Asami, her secretly crushy friend Sato, who is the student council president, and Hibiki, the curmudgeonly student council member who unexpectedly melts at seeing Asami with long hair.

"Asymmetry," shows a typical evening at home for Hibiki, her twin sister, her mom, and her older sister Ritsuko.

The three part story titled "Lonesome Echo" is about Ritsuko. Ritsuko is a music teacher who has just started working at a new high school. She hems and haws when asked why she left the school she used to teach at, but no one pries too much. In the room that's meant to be her new office, she finds a student named Youko who's used to cutting class there. (Correction: Youko isn't exactly a student. See the comments for this post for more details.) Ritsuko and Youko become friends over their shared love of music. Ritsuko plays the piano and Youko plays the violin.

One day when they're chatting outside the school, a well put together but obviously sketchy woman appears and tells Ritsuko that she's "found" her, and to get into her car. Despite Youko's protests, Ritsuko leaves with the woman. Ritsuko doesn't show up at school for a few days, and returns saying that she was out sick, and oh, that creepy woman was just her former music teacher. The woman keeps picking Ritsuko up when she's done working. You can guess what's happening, right?

After finding out about Ritsuko's bruises, Youko confronts her and Ritsuko admits that she's in an abusive relationship with her former music teacher, who tracked her down after she tried to get away by switching schools. It's obvious that her fear of an "Ewww, lesbian! You shouldn't be a teacher!" reaction hasn't exactly helped her come forward to anyone about it. Because of her connection to the school chairman and general bad assery, Youko protects Ritsuko and helps her get her abusive lover arrested. The ending was kind of pat, but in this case, I really didn't mind.

First thing I liked about "Lonesome Echo": Youko. Great character, has more presence than anyone else in this book, and I quite like the interaction between her and Ritsuko. Second: I can count the stories I have consumed that deal with domestic violence well on one mangled hand. (Last Friends, you botched it. "Oh Michiru, I will selflessly kill myself, but my presence will continue to haunt this show because you can't stop romanticizing me even though I raped and beat you and terrorized your friends when they tried to protect you." Argh.) Not a whiff of exploitation or gratuitous lingering over the abuse, but no sugarcoating of what it does to the assaultee either. And Ritsuko's emotions felt real. Youko was a little superhuman, but likeable enough that it didn't bother me.

Like most people, I don't look for stories like "Lonesome Echo." (However well-done, I wouldn't want to read too many yuri stories focusing on "Lonesome Echo"'s theme.) But it was still good.

Story: B+ for "Lonesome Echo," B- for "Runner's High," C+ for "Unbalance" and "Asymmetry."

Art: B

Overall: B

Another 70s shoujo title? Why, yes.: The Ace wo Nerae! movie

2011-11-12T21:42:00.024-05:00

The Ace wo Nerae! ("Aim for the Ace!") movie is Dezaki Osamu's second adaptation of Yamamoto Sumika's popular Ace wo Nerae! manga, which ran in Margaret (same magazine that ran Futari Pocchi, Rose of Versailles, Oniisama E, Claudine...! and, much later, Marimite) from 1973 to 1980. Ace wo Nerae! has gotten a dizzying number of adaptations, including a drama. It has the least yuri out of the old titles that I've reviewed, but it's good and has some subtext, so why not check it out?

Ace wo Nerae! is about Oka Hiromi, a first-year who has just joined her high school's Tennis Club along with her best friend Maki. Hiromi's idol is the Oneesama-like star of the Tennis Club, Ryuuzaki Reika, nicknamed "Ochoufujin." (You can see her looming behind Hiromi in the picture above.)

Their school gets a new tennis coach, Munakata Jin, nicknamed "Oni coach" because of how tough he is on players. When he tests all of the players to choose the elite handful that will represent their school in future competitions, he chooses ~~Nanako~~ Hiromi, to the chagrin of ~~Misaki Aya~~ Kyouko, the girl who expected to be picked for the last spot.

Everyone, including Reika, makes it clear that they don't think Hiromi deserves to be chosen. Hiromi tries to quit, telling Munakata that even if she tries her best, she isn't good enough. Munakata challenges her to run 5km every morning before school. If she's willing to do that, he'll acknowledge that she is trying her best, and only then will she be able to back up her argument. Seriously, this man is such a scary bad ass that he could give Tsukikage Chigusa a run for her money.

So Hiromi trains and trains and decides that she does want to prove herself. In a game against another school, she finally convinces Reika and everyone else that she belongs with the elite players.

Reika and Hiromi compete for spots on the tennis team that's going to represent Japan in an international competition taking place in the U.S. Reika easily qualifies, but Hiromi's position is still dubious. Hiromi can represent Japan if she beats Reika in a game. They both give it their all in yet another wonderful display of competitive bad assery, but no surprise, Hiromi wins. Reika gracefully loses, looking forward to competing alongside Hiromi.

Here, Coach Munakata tells his half-sister Ranko why he went out of his way so much to help Hiromi. I might be a horrible person for doing so, but I giggled at his reason. But when I got over the soapiness of it, I thought that it was sweet. I will also admit that when Munakata died from his terminal illness after writing a letter for Hiromi to do her best in the international competition, I wasn't able to keep a dry eye- especially since he never told her about his illness before saying goodbye. Hiromi flies to New York with Reika, and the credits roll.

Yuri? "Flying to America" is code for Happily-Ever-After in Japanese lesbian fiction. I don't object to applying that interpretation here. lol The random suit Hiromi wears on the flight doesn't hurt either. The scene in which Hiromi gets roses for Reika, complete with an apology note (sealed with a red heart-shaped sticker, if I remember correctly) is also subtexty. My favorite bit o' subtext, however, is Ochoufujin shouting that giving her all in her final game against Hiromi is her way of expressing her love. (She uses the word "ai.") The subtext isn't a major ingredient in Ace wo Nerae, but it adds a nice garnish.

Since this movie was directed by Dezaki Osamu, who also helmed Rose of Versailles and Oniisama E, it has a lot of the same visual flourishes as those two titles. Ace wo Nerae!'s soundtrack also sounds an awful lot like Rose of Versailles and Oniisama E's. In Oniisama E, I saw the aural similarity as a nod to it being by the same creator as RoV, but here... maybe it's a homage to RoV as Dezaki's earlier work? Maybe Dezaki thought that he had found the ultimate dramatic shoujo soundtrack in RoV's? It works well for the drama in Ace, so it isn't a negative. Just a little surprising.

But. The point is that this is a great sports movie. A cast of likeable characters pouring themselves into the sport that they love while the strains of dramatic music highlight their GUTS and DRAMA = good times. I've seen a couple episodes of the original Ace wo Nerae! TV series, but decided to switch to the movie for the nicer visuals. While the movie is great, its story could use a little more room to breathe. But the movie, of course, doesn't have that luxury by virtue of being a movie adaptation of a hefty chunk of a long series.

In any case, if you like classic shoujo or competitition-themed series, you should try Ace wo Nerae!

Story: B+
Art: B+
Overall: B+

A realistic look at lesbian life in Japan: The Plica-chan movie

2011-11-06T19:57:00.005-05:00

The Plica-chan movie is a bit of strange beast- not for its story, but its storytelling format. It was produced by the folks at the Love Piece Club (a woman/GSM-friendly sex shop in Tokyo), who wanted to adapt a story by, about, and for the Japanese lesbian community.

The cover of the movie is as seen above because the DVD comes in a CD case instead of a DVD case. When you start playing it, the first thing you'll see is a menu with the option to watch the movie in 日本語 ("Japanese") or English (as in, with English subtitles). I wonder how many people outside of Japan have bought this movie.

The first part is titled "Blue Sky in the Window," featuring scenes of Plica and Mari after they've started dating. In the opening scene, Plica stops holding Mari's hand when they're outside because she's nervous about the stares they get for it. She berates herself and swears that she won't let go again. I don't think that this scene was in the original comic, not that that's a negative.

This movie isn't animated. It sequentially shows the panels from different comic strips sans text, with seiyuu voicing the characters and sound effects (people milling in the background, sipping, a knife chopping food on a wooden board, etc) and background music playing. It's like reading the comic while listening to a drama CD. (There is a little animation in one scene.)

At about 9 minutes in, the movie switches to a Q&A that over a dozen women participated in. The questions are: "When do you feel you are lucky being a lesbian?," "How did your parents react when you came out?," "What do you like most about women's bodies?," and "Do you want to 'marry' your girlfriend?" This part alone makes the movie worthwhile.

The next part is inexplicably titled "Useless "How to Sex" Tips for Lesbians." More cute scenes with Plica and Mari. ^_^

The next part is "Stop Multiplying Machiko, Please," starring, you guessed it. This part is mostly composed of new story material.

The voices in this movie all fit. Plica sounds perfect. Mari has a deeper voice than I'd expected, but it suits her. Machiko's seiyuu gets extra points for delivering her lines in a way that makes Machiko a little more amusing.

"One day next summer" returns to Plica and Mari, yay! The story in this part is unique to the movie also. Plica and Mari make a soumen dinner and Plica thinks about how she wants to still be with Mari when the next summer comes. ^_^

Next, the movie provides a description of Plica-chan's history. Then the credits roll, followed by an epilogue titled, "Let's Go to the Parade!" in which the characters attend a Pride parade. The entire movie, including the credits, is a little over 31 minutes long.

Like the manga it's based on, this movie is a realistic look at the day-to-day lives of a group of lesbians living in Tokyo. Plica and Mari are great characters, Machiko is "meh" but too realistic to dismiss entirely, and the other characters (the closeted teacher Saki, Machiko's butchy friend Roku, Plica's mom, various other acquaintances) serve their roles well. I'm glad that the people who produced this movie decided to make it a mix of the story that readers of the manga are familiar with and new material.

Like the Plica manga, this movie is highly recommended for anyone interested in what it's like to be a lesbian in Japan.

Story: A-
Art: B-
Overall: A-

The Plica-chan movie is still in stock at the Love Piece Club website. They ship internationally.

The First Yuri Manga: Shiroi Heya no Futari

2011-11-05T15:54:00.005-04:00

Yamagishi Ryouko's Shiroi Heya no Futari ("The Couple of the White Room") is the first manga that had the chutzpah to star a canon, no-bones-made-about-it yuri couple. It ran in Ribon in 1971, as part of a larger collection of one-shots. Naturally, it's a must-read for yuri fans.

The story is set in France. Resine de Poisson is an orphan moving out of her aunt's place to board at her mother's alma mater, a private girls' school. Petite, delicate, blonde Resine's roommate is tall, cool, dark-haired Simone D'Arc, who likes sneaking out at night to drink and perform with the theater troupe she belongs to. She gives Resine a poor first impression by teasing her for being a sheltered "princess," but it quickly becomes apparent that they like each other more than they- or really, Resine, is willing to let on.

Resine has a hard time figuring out Simone, but Simone's indifferent bad girl mask slips when she's called to translate a poem in class and, instead of reading it, she improvises: "Once I have known her, I must die. For that shining smile, that is so difficult to describe, I must die. For those light, delicate hands, I must die. For her sake, I must..." The teacher interrupts before she can finish, right when she starts looking at Resine.

In her school's production of Romeo and Juliet, Resine is cast as the Juliet to Simone's Romeo. They deliver a great performance (the audience thinks that gosh, they sure seem like real lovers), and Simone later confesses what Resine already knows- that she loves her. An observant classmate starts a rumor about them, causing Resine to panic. To calm Resine down, Simone takes her to the bar her acting troupe meets in to help her find a boyfriend- but Resine can only look at Simone. Resine tries to like Rounaud, the boy who likes her, but Simone jealously confronts her about her real feelings. (On a tangent, I can't be the only one who noticed that Simone's confrontation with Resine- "I won't entrust my heart to a stone statue as you have!!"- was referenced in Sei's confrontation with Shiori about her decision to become a nun in Marimite.)

Resine runs away to her aunt's, and Simone gets drunk and taunts the boy who loves her into stabbing her. She dies holding a rose while thinking of Resine, and Resine learns about Simone's death from Rounaud before receiving a final letter from Simone.

Another feel-good title from the 70s. ^_^ Because of its groundbreaking place in yuri history, it would be worth reading even if it weren't good, which thankfully isn't the case. It's definitely a product of its time, with its hyper-over-the-top melodrama and sparkly old school art, but that's what makes it kind of... fun. Even though Simone and Resine influenced later yuri couples like Chikane and Himeko, Sachiko and Yumi, Shizuma and Nagisa, etc, Simone isn't as refined as most of the later "onee-sama/Yamato Nadesico"-types in yuri, and Resine doesn't really idealize her- until she completely loses her. (Whose memory of a past love hasn't been exaggerated to some extent, for better or for worse?)

Unlike Ikeda Riyoko's also groundbreaking Rose of Versailles and Oniisama E, which will probably be reprinted until the end of time (RoV will, at the very least), Shiroi Heya no Futari is out of print and unlisted on Amazon JP, so it would be really hard to track down a hard copy of it if you want one. If you still really, really, really want one, your best bet is keeping an eye on the Yahoo Japan Auctions, by searching for the title or the author's name and hoping someone is willing to give up their copy at some point.

Anyway- if you read yuri, you've read something influenced by Shiroi Heya no Futari.

Story: 『彼人を叱ったからには死なねばならぬ。名状しがたいその微笑の輝きのために死なねばならぬ。その軽やかな双手のために死なねばならぬ。彼女のために。。。』

Art: B+

Overall: A

Fun fact: Hagio Moto's Thomas no Shinzou, the earliest well-known example of BL, takes place at an elite single-sex boarding school in Germany. I guess there was something about European boarding schools that screamed "Homosexuality!" to both Yamagishi and Hagio back then.

BGM: "Dear Future" - Coaltar of the Deepers

A poem

2011-10-31T15:21:00.002-04:00

The power went out.

The East Coast snow storm did it.

Next post next weekend.

*bows* And that is my crappy attempt at haiku.

More specifically, the power went off here between 6:00 and 7:00 pm on Saturday. It was on when I woke up this morning (and chose to fall asleep again because it was still much toastier inside the blankets than outside of them). I'll post again next weekend. Thanks for your patience!

Update at 4:44 p.m.: Also, Happy Halloween to anyone celebrating it!

Halloween silliness

2011-10-28T12:11:00.002-04:00

First fan art post in two years, w00t. I just felt like putting one together again for Halloween this year. (Here's the one from 2009.)

"Sakaki-san...kakkoii!!"

"Arigatou..."

No surprise for Azusa's costume.

This one might be harder to identify. Hint: Shizuru and Natsuki are on the broomstick.

Nanoha and Fate riding Raising Heart and Bardiche like broomsticks = my favorite pic in this post.

If you can't recognize these three, you are not a true card-carrying girls with guns fan.

Someone needs to make a Kyuubey jack o'lantern.

I didn't find anything yuri-relevant for Penguindrum, but... gah, penguins... cute!! Couldn't resist. XD

Yuri no Boke 百合のボケ 〜百合が好きだ〜