Yuri Manga: Aoi Hana, Volume 3

A-chan, her older brother, Fumi, Kyouko and two school friends are headed out to the country for a vacation at Kyouko's family's summer house in Aoi Hana, Volume 3.

We meet Kyouko's cousin, who is also her fiancee', and her aunt who is very nice and her mother who is not. Kyouko's cousin and A-chan's brother have a chat over golf, where he admits to actually liking Kyouko, but knows that it's pretty useless. The girls all walk through the woods. When Akira slips, Fumi's *right there* to catch her - Pon-chan complains that when she slips, no one saves her. :-)

The girls all camp out for the night in a cabin after making curry. Fumi and A-chan find themselves up late at night looking at the stars, and suffering from summer colds the next morning. :-) When the rest of the girls go out for the day, Akira accidentally overhears a private argument between Kyouko's cousin and mother about Kyouko, with some serious bile on the mother's part. She is clearly not accepting at all of her daughter's sexuality. Mom's got some issues of her own.

The next day, all the girls except Fumi are attending Yasuko's sister's wedding. We switch points of view to Yasuko's family, where Yasuko, dressed in suit and tie, is in a foul mood. She's happy for her sister, but miserable because of her feelings for about to be brother-in-law. The wedding is beautiful, of course.

A-chan and Fumi decide to go to Enoshima after the wedding. When Yasuko overhears A-chan making plans, she wants to see Fumi, so she invites herself along. Fumi's not terribly happy about it. Yasuko says she wanted to see her, but Fumi tells her flat out it's no good. She walks off with Akira, leaving Akira's brother and Yasuko to follow behind.

Yasuko starts to think about how she became the butch she is now, by trying to become the man she admired so much.

While sightseeing in a cavern, Yasuko and Fumi have a moment, in which Fumi says that she gave up on Yasuko, and Yasuko apologizes.

Later that night, Fumi admits to Akira that her first love was A-chan, then apologizes for saying something strange. A-chan's a little surprised, but handles it with good grace.

Later, we hear that Yasuko's moved out - and is, in fact, living with the girl who played Catherine to her Heathcliff. Kyouko tells Yasuko that she really does love her, while Yasuko, who seems happy about shedding her former life like a shell, is not as concerned with it as she might have been previously.

A-chan begins dating Kyouko's cousin and Fumi finds herself jealous enough to feel pain.

To Be Continued.

There are also some side stories about other couples as omake. These are not people we know, just shorts of love and loss.

This volume was, like the previous volumes, emotional without being histrionic. More and more, I find myself liking Fumi, pulling for her, hoping that she'll find someone even better, even cooler. A-chan is Fumi's past and now, so is Yasuko, but we can't help but think that there's someone (possibly even Yasuko, once she's gotten past her own issues, but I almost hope not) out there for her who can treasure her and make her happy. Kyouko too - we *know* she can do better than to waste her love on Yasuko.

Yasuko in suit and tie was pretty nice, even if she had a face on for the entire scene. :-)

Ratings:

Art - 7
Characters - 8
Story - 8
Yuri - 5
Loser FanBoy - 1

Overall - 8

I can't wait to see where this series goes, and with every volume I pray that it doesn't get canceled before it finds some place of resolution. As we won't see the next volume until 2009 at least, that's a whole lotta prayin'. ;-)

Tags: Yuri, Yuri Manga, Aoi Hana, Sweet Blue Flowers

Kurau Phantom Memory Anime, Volume 4 (English)

In Volume 4 of Kurau Phantom Memory, we follow Kurau and Christmas as an unhappy accident allows them a little breathing space. The ship they are on (a freighter piloted by Jose, the man Kurau saved many episodes ago) is boarded by pirates, even as the GPO closes in. In the intervening tragedy, it appears as if Kurau and Christmas have been destroyed, although in truth, they have not.

They head for the Alps, where Kurau grew up with her aunt and uncle. In a flashback, her separation from her father for all those years is explained. And for a little while, the two girls are happy and safe.

The GPO, having captured all the rogue Rynasapiens that they know of, is bored. Ayaka wishes for something to do, when they are drawn into a scandal of a sort. In their infinite wisdom, The Powers That Be are doing experiements on humans, "infecting" them with Rynax energy. And you just *know* they're doing that for the good of all mankind, dontcha?

One of their experiments, Yvon, escapes after losing it when his pair is sent back to whereever they come from and he's left alone. Because he is looking for Rynax, he naturally tracks down Kurau and Christmas and just as naturally, drags the GPO after him.

Yvon, desperate to be paired, first challenges Kurau for Christmas, but when Christmas rejects him and says that she would die without Kurau, leaves and tries to commit suicide.

Only, he doesn't succeed. He's found by Jessica, a girl who lost her parents to a Rynax accident. While not a Rynax herself, she's got enough Rynax sign that Yvon feels paired at last. The two of them are happy for a little while, until the GPO arrives and isolates Yvon. Jessica overloads trying to save him and Yvon finds himself alone again, so he goes nuclear.

Kurau and Christmas, hiding in the deep woods, see the explosion.

The thing that makes this particular volume interesting is that it centers around the conundrum of relationship of Rynax to Rynax. Kurau's aunt sees Kurau and Christmas as sisters, perhaps coloring their relationship in light of the loss of her own sister. Yvon's desperation and Christmas' words clearly say that the Rynax relationship is more like that of the Jian bird, who *needs* its other half to survive or it will die. Obviously, the Rynax relationship goes deep, and we, as mere humans color it in the shades of our own understanding.

In terms of Yuri, there's the above - Christmas's insistence that she would die if Kurau did, and for me, there's Ayaka's uncomfortable memories of Kurau and the questions her apparent death left unanswered.

Kurau remains complex, fascinating and full of emotion. In a world of anime that devolved in the last few years to inane, superficial non-relationships, Kurau stands out as something well worth the time.

Ratings:

Art - 8
Story - 7
Characters - 7
Music - 7
Yuri - 1
Loser FanBoy - 1

Overall - 8

Once again, it is my sincere pleasure to thank Ted the Awesome for sponsoring today's review!

Tags: Phantom Memory Kurau

Yuri News this Week - May 17, 2008

Yuri Anime

Top story this week is the news ought of Right Stuf/Nozomi Entertainment that the DVD release of Maria-sama ga Miteru Season 1 will have have two subtitle tracks, one of which will include the honorifics. The original preview version has translated honorifics, so "Sachiko-sama" becomes "Lady Sachiko." I know that I'm not the only one who cringed at that.

Interestingly, after Erin gave us the good news, I received an email from RS/N, informing me of the new track, and offer me a preview of episode one. Of course I'll report back asap. In the meantime you can get a look at the Trailer on the Right Stuf page!

***

Snatches of Yuri

Of course, now that I have given this section a title, everyone is shooting suggestions at me - regardless of the validity. lol

Of course flashes of Yuri are always welcome, but it doesn't always make a series a Yuri series. :-)

Michelle suggests Koisuiren by Kakinouchi Narumi, creator of Vampire Princess Miyu. in her words "I would say that Shoubu x Suiren definintely smell of it more than Miyu x Himeko, Miyu x Yui, etc."

While in no way a Yuri manga, Amuria in Star Ocean running in Dengeki Daioh has had some Yuri-service. Enough to be mentioned, anyway.

***

Yuricon News

There's been a ton of updates at Yuricon.

In our continuing quest to translate most of the site into Japanese, we now have Japanese language versions of the Yuriko Page and Shop Index. To assist navigation, on pages with both English and Japanese versions, on the one, you have the option of the other now.

There's some new Links - including Rinu's terrific Czech-language website.

Thanks to Kimberly Johnson for her fantastic new Essay on Yuri Anime!

New Yuri manga and light novels available on the Yuricon Shop:

Last Uniform, Volume 3

S.S. Astro, Volume 1

Strawberry Panic Light Novel, Volume 3

WORKS preorder

And, as always, more to come!

Eternal Alice Rondo Manga, Volume 4 (English)

Having established that some of the characters are indeed gay-ish, and all of them broken, we arrive at the final volume of Key Princess Story: Eternal Alice Rondo, where everything that has been previously established will break down into complete chaos.

The sad truth is that Arisu is not real - she's a construct created by Aruto, who apparently isn't much for backstory. Suwa and Kirika find a something they can agree upon - that the other never be allowed to survive. And in the big climax Takion says a lot of things that mostly make no sense, and Aruto and Kiraha confess that they aren't really related so its okay if they are in love. (Which begs the question why they were fighting so hard for so long against it?) In the end, Aruto becomes a "real" author by putting aside his fanfic and writing original work with Kiraha at his side.

I don't know - ya think there's a moral in that story? It might have been too subtle, I think Kaishaku needed to make it more obvious. (This is me rolling my eyes.) Although I did like the little touch of making the original author of the Alice stories completely *crazy* and unreliable.

I've read this series now twice, in English and Japanese, and really, it's just not good. I don't plan on reading it ever again. Dan - I give it all to you in an effort to assist you in grooming your inner LFB. And good riddance. :-)

Ratings:

Art - 4
Story - 4
Characters - 4
Yuri - 1
Loser FanBoy - 7

Overall - 4

Again, this is one of those books that I have lost the receipt for, so I don't know who I am thanking. Please let me know, so I can credit the person who sponsored today's review!

Tags: Eternal Alice Rondo, Key Princess Eternal Alice Rondo, Eikyuu Alice, Kagihime Monogatari

Belated Contest Congratulations

I pretty much dropped the ball entirely in terms of promptly posting congratulations for the Millionth Visitor and 1000th post contests, simply because life got complicated. I apologize for that. However! I did not forget these fabulous people - their prizes have gone out and hopefully some have arrived and are being enjoyed even as I type. :-) (Kyle and Ariel, your prizes are going to go out shortly, with extra apologies for the delay.)

I've got a few seconds right now, so let me take a moment to congratulate all of our winners!

1000th Post Contest winners were: Kiarashi, Kyle, Yeo and Sheila!

There was no consensus on my best post. :-) It's still up for grabs. lol


Millionth Visitor Contest winners: Michelle and Ariel, with a special thanks to Morina for sending a picture way back when Okazu turned 5 years old! Here are the winning pictures! (Click on the picture for the full size.)

Thanks Michelle for this fabulous picture! I always get a thrill when talented people send me art, because I can't draw a straight line with a ruler. But especially so when it's a couple this attractive. ^_^







I just love these punky girls by Ariel, don't you? If one of them had those East Village uber-hip, thick-framed glasses, I think I might swoon. lol








Morina sent this to me back in August, when Okazu turned 5...only she left it to *me* to write something clever on it. Sorry morina, I never had a chance to do that. lol






I hope everyone enjoys the pictures - I know I did. And my genuine appreciation for everyone who entered one of the contests!

Yuri Anime: Noir, Volume 7 (English)

What a really fabulous series Noir is. It's been years - practically lifetimes in fandom years - since I first watched this series as it came out on Japanese TV. I enjoyed it just as much, maybe even a little more, this time as I did lo those many years ago when I first set eyes on Kirika and Mirielle.

In Volume 7 of Noir, everything comes to a head. Kirika has left Mirielle behind and given herself over to the dark side of the Force. She's entered the alternative universe of Altena's Manor and, to Chloe's genuine joy and delight, has dedicated herself to being Noir.

Chloe really blossoms in this volume and it still creeps me out. lol

When Mirielle arrives, the sense that she's come to free Kirika from a spell is not as strong as the sense that she's arrived to allow Kirika to free herself. And then the battle become two on one and there's no question, really, who the true Noir is. It's the "End of the Matter" as the volume title states.

In the final episodes, as Mirielle takes on the members of Altena's household, hearing Shinohara Emi as one of them was like a little easter egg for me.

There's a lot of wonderful moments in the final volume of Noir, most of which would be spoilers, so I don't want to point them out. If you have never watched Noir to completion, do - there's gold in them there hills. If you have and can't remember Altena's final scene, then watch it again. It confirms what I have been saying since the beginning - she was a refugee from a completely different anime series. lol

We were treated to a bump up in Yuri for the final episodes, with Chloe fawning over Kirika, but for me, not being a huge Chloe fan, it was Mirielle's decisions that spoke volumes about her feelings for Kirika.

The final production notes read more like a discussion guide than anything else. They propose questions for us, the audience, to answer, and end them all with "What was Noir to you?" I'll tell you what it was to me - a story of love and redemption, a story of action and violence, a story of growth and diminishing, a story of two women whose lives change are irrevocably changed when they meet after many years. And the beginning of a fantastic triptych of girls with guns on the run.

Ratings:

Art - 7
Character - 9
Story - 8
Yuri - 6
Loser FanBoy - 4 Hawt ritual bathing action

Overall - 9

Still want to do a Noir, Madlax, El Cazador marathon. If they are each good by themselves, how much better will they be when we run them together until our eyes bleed? Everythings better in excess! :-)

Tags: Anime, Yuri Anime, Noir

Yuri Manga: Strawberry Panic, Volume 2 (English)

Have you visited translator Anastasia Moreno's fabulously wonderful blog, Manga Gunkan yet? Go. It's not often you're going to get such a unique mix of fun tidbits about translating, manga, military adventures and cute dachsund pictures - all written up in both Japanese and English, for your reading pleasure. Check it every day.

And speaking of Ana's mad translation skills, today we're talking about Strawberry Panic, Volume 2, translated skillfully by mad Ana. (For a summation of both my frustration with the SP fandom and the plot, please check my review of the Japanese edition from December 2006.)

Today, I'm just talking about the reproduction into English. I'll never get tired of telling you that Seven Seas does a very, very good job. Ana's translation captures the soap opera-like, over the top-ness, and the adaptation, by Lorelei Laird, allows the dialogue to speak for itself. Considering how absurdly melodramatic everything is, I think it would make a pretty great J-drama. In fact, I'm already giggling at the idea. (And, OMG, since Marimite spawned a parody porn movie, why hasnt's anyone made a SP parody porn? It's just *begging* for one. LOL And with that thought, there goes the last shred of soul I had....)

The technical reproduction seems very clean, with some moire in the backgrounds that, to be honest, I had to go looking for, because it never seems like a problem to me. Some sound effects have been translated and replaced, others have had a English equivalent placed nearby and in at least one case, it was left untranslated. As I always say, it's not an issue for me. But, if you can't figure out that the crowd is saying "Waaahhh" at the apearance of the newly crowned Hikari and Amane, you need more help than a mere sound effect.

I only have one complaint. It's not totally Sevens Seas' fault, but I object strongly. On the back, another LFB, this time at the now-defunct Newtype, apparently decided that he was clever by describing this series as "Girl-Crushes Gone Wild!" which is not only insulting, but inaccurate. The characters - repteadedly - express feelings of love and devotion towards one another. These are not crushes. (Duh) The implication that this is a manga equivalent to straight girls with no pride who do lesbian-looking things for straight guys to get off on is actually pretty correct, but I found it annoying anyway. lol

On the last page of the story, as Nagisa and Shizuma kiss, there is a puzzling allusion to a third volume of the manga. Let me assure that there is no third volume to the manga in Japanese. The puzzling allusion to the third volume is there in the Japanese edition too. It never happened. Why? Well, my guess is that the Japanese companies all get together to kill the series you love best and make sure that your favorite couples never get together. But it's just a guess. ;-)

Ratings:

Art - 7
Story - 6
Characters - 6, +1 for Kaname
Yuri - 9
Loser FanBoy - 6

Overall - 7

You may notice that my scores are different this time than when I read it originally. That happens. :-)


Tags: Manga, Yuri Manga, Strawberry Panic

Battle Club Manga, Volume 2 (English)

I feel as if I've been flattened by a truck, so I'm going with a "brain need not apply" type manga today, courtesy of Dan P. Battle Club, by Shiozaki Yuji, has all the service of Shiozaki's other, more well-known series Ikkitousen, without any of the complicating factors, like a plot, character development or sanity.

In Volume 1, we met the cast of characters whose crotches we would be looking at. Welcome to Volume 2, in which several of the untranslated things in the story suddenly and quite unneccesarily, become translated. Why do I say it was unneccesary? Because NOTHING is going to make this story better - not translation, not touch up, nothing. It's Grade Q crap and I dare you to tell me that you're reading it for the plot. I know I'm not. I'm reading it for the absurdity, and the occasional flash of Yuri.

Let me just get this out of the way. Dear moron who wrote the front page copy; Lesbian is not the same as bi-curious, and Higuchi is not a lipstick lesbian, no matter how much you think your clever copy is alliteratively alluring.

I'm done. Thank you for your patience.

For the rest of the story, we're basically watching Tamako get molested as she trains and Mokichi being a loser. With service. In fact there's so much service here, I'm surprised the book doesn't get a 4-star AAA rating. (Probably that joke just fell really flat for most of you, but I don't care. It wasn't for you.)

Tamako gets her ass kicked by a rival school's Mukouda, and by Taki in a panda suit and then there's some service as the women (and Taki) take a bath, then some bits about Mokcihi, but no one cares. Whole hunks of the book are related while coach takes a piss, sometimes accompanied by Mokichi or Taki, because apparently that's funny.

Yuri is...well, not much. Higuchi remains gay in theory, but we're not seeing much practice. When she gets defeated by Mukouda, her lesbian cool points take a hit, too and the guys begin to harrass her - because lesbians are only cool when they are invincible. Thank heavens *I'm* still invincible! Shiba shows up primarily to be turned on by Taki and Tamako wrestling naked in the onsen. Well, duh.

Ratings:

Art - 7
Story - 1
Characters - 3
Yuri - 2
Loser FanBoy - Infinity

Overall - 5

How low can you make your expectations go? If you approach Battle Club with expectations like "the word balloons will have words" and "I will see ass shots" you ought to be okay.

Tags: Yuri Manga, Battle Club