Another Serving of Yuri Christmas Fan Art

It being December again, I'm posting a batch of Christmas and winter-themed fan art based on yuri and yuri-ish series. ^_^ My previous Christmas fan art posts are here and here. Without further ado...

Saber and Irisviel still make me giddy. I have a ridiculous amount of fan art of them at this point. XD

Can't find the original source for this image. If you do know it, please let me know so I can link! (The X's in this post are all links.)

 X

For anyone wondering, I am fangirling over a certain pair in Urobuchi Gen's newest series. Bless his heart for writing another cool, hyper-competent suit-wearing woman and making it surprisingly obvious (more than once) that there's... some sort of relationship between her and one of her female co-workers. I'm dying to find out more about them.

A cute moment with one of our classic couples. D'aww, Himeko.

X

Squee, NanoFate! Speaking of subtext couples that I have a ridiculous amount of fan art of.

X

X

X

No yuri Christmas fan art post would be complete without MariMite's loveable characters. Coincidentally (in all honesty), most of what I found features the White Roses again.

 X

I don't ship Yumi with Touko, but I still thought this was cute.

X

X

Man, Sei, you player.

Seriously.

If, like me, you ship Sei with Kei, you should visit this Pixiv account.

The pic below is technically not a Christmas pic, but the star makes it feel Christmasy.

 

 X

The pic below was drawn to celebrate the New Year. The joke is that Yumi and Yoshino are giving Sei (whose birthday is on Christmas) a belated birthday present. In response, Sei's like "Woah, this is kind of late!! But thank you~"

Good times with the ladies from Noir.

X

And of course, some Madoka Magica.

X

X

Below the cut at the bottom of this post, you'll find a sweet but spoilery Madoka x Homura picture.

Yumi and Momo- definitely my favorite Saki couple.

 X

I also still like Saki and Nodoka as a couple.

X

X

Yay, Haruka and Michiru! ^__^ Wonderful, as always.

X

X

X

Last but not least, Alpha and Kokone, a pairing I like from another excellent classic series, Yokohama Kaidashi Kikou.

X

X

Legally Streaming Yuri and Yuri-ish Anime Series (Updated)

Color me shocked. (Really; I'm not being sarcastic.) Oniisama E has been licensed for streaming. It's viewable everywhere except Italy and Japan. Now you can watch this dark classic, which I consider the earliest yuri anime series, legally and with good video quality instead of the unfortunate graininess of the fansub.

This bit of news put me in the mood to list every series containing (what I consider) canon yuri that's streaming legally in English. "Canon yuri" runs the gamut from something focusing squarely on yuri, like Sasameki Koto, to a series in which the only canon yuri is a one-sided crush from a side character, as with Noir's Chloe or Gokujou Seitokai's Kaori. Thankfully, the one-sided crush shows tend to have some nice subtext also. I'm not looking up the region restrictions for all of these shows. I'm sorry if you're blocked from watching something and agree that region restrictions are stupid. If I've missed a show, feel free to let me know!

Enjoy!


2x2=Shinobuden (Ninja Nonsense) episodes 1 and 2 on YouTube

Air Master on Crunchyroll and Funimation 

Blue Drop on The Anime Network, YouTube, and Crunchyroll.

CANAAN on The Anime Network and YouTube 

El Cazador de la Bruja on Funimation

Gokujou Seitokai (Best Student Council) on Crunchyroll

Hidamari Sketch season 1, season 2 and season 3 <- The first two episodes of each season are available for free. The rest are only available to people who subscribe to The Anime Network.

Hourou Musuko (Wandering Son) on Crunchyroll

Ikkitousen seasons 1 and 2 on Crunchyroll

Jormungand on Funimation

Kanamemo on Crunchyroll

Kannazuki no Miko (Destiny of the Shrine Maiden) on The Anime Network

Kiddy Grade on Funimation <- Dubbed only. I still haven't watched this show, but I'm told there's some canon yuri. 

Koihime Musou, Shin Koihime Musou and Shin Koihime Musou: Otome Tairan on Crunchyroll

Kyoshiro to Towa no Sora (Shattered Angels) on Funimation <- Dubbed only.

Kyoukai Senjou no Horizon (Horizon in the Middle of Nowhere) seasons 1 & 2 on Crunchyroll

Noir on Funimation

Maria-sama ga Miteru (Maria Watches Over Us) season 1, episodes 1 through 9 on YouTube

Morita-san ha Mukuchi on Crunchyroll

Mouretsu Pirates (Bodacious Space Pirates) on Crunchyroll <- If this series is faithful enough to the novels it's adapting, there should eventually be a canon couple. Update: Couple confirmed!

Oniisama E (Dear Brother) on ViKi and Hulu

Psycho-Pass on Funimation and Hulu

Puella Magi Madoka Magica on Crunchyroll

Queen's Blade seasons 1 and 2 on Crunchyroll

Revolutionary Girl Utena episodes 1 and 2 on YouTube

Rose of Versailles on Viki (5 more episodes will be added each week.)

Saki on Crunchyroll

Saki Achiga-hen Episode of Side A on Crunchyroll

Sasameki Koto on Crunchyroll

Sengoku Otome: Momoiro Paradox (Battle Girls: Time Paradox) on Crunchyroll 

Senki Zesshou Symphogear on Funimation 

Taisho Yakyuu Musume (Taisho Baseball Girls) on The Anime Network <- The first two episodes are available for free. The rest are only available to subscribers. 

To Aru Kagaku no Railgun (A Certain Scientific Railgun) on YouTube and Hulu

YuruYuri seasons 1 & 2 on Crunchyroll


And here are some subtext-only shows that are popular now:

Removed Black Rock Shooter from this listing because Funimation removed its stream of it.

Last Exile: Fam no Ginkyoku (Last Exile: Fam the Silver Wing) on Funimation and Hulu

Rinne no Lagrange (Lagrange: The Flower of Rin-ne) on Viz and Hulu

Crack List: A Yuri Valentine's Day

Inspired by Manga Bookshelf's Valentine's Day and White Day posts from last year, I've made a list of how some of the most popular yuri characters would react to getting Valentine's Day chocolates. (Assuming that the gift giver is a teenaged girl. You'll notice that rather than write "the gift-giver" or something similarly clunky a million times, I've decided to just use "you.") Don't take it seriously- it's just for giggles.

Up first, we have...

Kannazuki no Miko's Chikane:
If it isn't from Himeko, it's going in the garbage. If it is, she will slowly savor each bite as if it had been sprinkled with angel dust and kissed by a goddess, and then keep the chocolate box as a memento.

Sailor Moon's Haruka:
Will accept it with a little tongue-in-cheek flirtiness but only really look forward to seeing what Michiru gives her (which will no doubt be perfect).

Revolutionary Girl Utena's Juri:
Will raise one eyebrow and be like, "Who are you? Why are you giving me this?" and suspect you of being insincere. If it's from Shiori, she will wonder what it's laced with and attempt to forget about her again by chucking it into a pond.

Maria-sama ga Miteru's Sachiko:
Hates Valentine's Day, mostly because she hates getting chocolate from fangirls. She will refuse anyone's chocolate. Almost. She will happily eat anything Yumi gives her, even if it's filled with rusty nails.

Oniisama e's Saint-Juste:
Will politely accept it among the gajillion other gifts and love letters she gets, but will later swallow a handful of pills, wash them down with some hard liquour, and walk in the rain while thinking about how Valentine's Day chocolates will never fill the void in her heart.

Maria-sama ga Miteru's Sei:
Will say "Mmmmmm, chocolate!" and give you a hearty thanks. If you're Yumi, expect her to be all over you. If you're Shimako, expect her to eat your gift without realizing it's yours.

Strawberrry Panic!'s Shizuma:
Pre-Nagisa, she would have been like "Of course I'll accept them, my little minx," and tried to remember if she'd already slept with you or not. Now that she's with Nagisa, she will be flattered, but won't reciprocate.

Mai-Hime's Shizuru:
Will smile and accept it with a faux-surprised "Ara!" ("Oh my!"), but probably forget your name in two seconds since she only wants chocolate from Natsuki. If she uses your Valentine's Day chocolate for anything, it will be to try to make Natsuki jealous.

Revolutionary Girl Utena's Utena:
She isn't completely aware of how popular she is, so she will accept whatever she gets with a genuine smile of thanks without thinking too much about what it could mean. Just watch out for Wakaba. (Anthy would actually be pretty chill about it.)

Have a Happy Valentine's Day!

Movie Review: Maria-sama ga Miteru

C-could it be? Could it really be? A live adaptation of a yuri property that respects the original? Like, it really, honest-to-god reminds me of why I love said property in the first place? Give me a moment....

The Marimite movie is a suitably (but not slavishly) faithful adaptation of the first arc, wherein Sachiko makes Yumi her petite soeur. A big smile came on my face as soon as the movie opened with Yumi narrating the "walking slowly is preferred" speech, and came again as Sachiko fixed Yumi's tie, the Yamayurikai was introduced, Yumi and Sachiko played the piano together and danced, every time "Maria-sama no Kokoro" was sung, etc, etc.

The people who worked on this movie did a wonderful job of recreating Lillian and its atmosphere. (Complete with the soundtrack Marimite fans are used to.) It was especially nice to see the Yamayurikai room in live-action. 

Every actress did a good job of bringing her character to life. (I was surprised by how much Sei's actress sounded like Toyoguchi Megumi. Big kudos to her for that.) The only noticeable crack in the acting was when Yumi cried while being questioned about the rumors about her and Sachiko. (I remembered that scene during a sweet part of the "Making of" extra, when Yumi's actress cried for real while talking about how much she liked working on the movie.) The actor who played Kashiwagi didn't successfully project Kashiwagi's presence, but his role was really minor- and how many people are watching this movie for him? Sachiko was the cool Oneesama with a petulant streak, Youko was deliciously crafty, Yumi was the Yumi we know, Shimako was lovely, Sei rocked (she was still all over Yumi, making Sachiko react with the Lillian equivalent of, "Step off, bitch. She's mine."), Eriko had a mischievous glint, Rei was the gentle school Prince (her hair is a little longer in the movie, but it looks nice), and Yoshino had a slightly larger role than in previous versions of this arc. (Her role- and really, the entire Yellow Rose family's role- in this arc is pretty tiny. Since this is the only Marimite movie we're getting- I would kill for Ibara no Mori/White Petals to be adapted to live-action- the writers did the Yoshino fans a favor by giving her a few more lines.) Even Tsutako was well-cast.

Overall: If you're a fan of Marimite, it's a must-see. If you've never read/watched anything Marimite, I would recommend the novels or anime first. This movie is accessible for newcomers, but like the Marimite drama CDs, it's really, clearly meant to be a gift for the established fans. I'll say A- ;-)

And...I decided to get the Blu Ray/DVD limited edition version. It comes with a lot of extras, as it ought to for what it costs (I virtually never buy DVDs or Blu Rays from Japan): a small poster with a picture of the cast on one side and messages from the cast on the other side; a really soft, small pink blanket with a smiling Yumi on it (my life is officially complete now that I have a Marimite blanket to keep myself warm on those cold winter nights); on the DVD, a commentary track for the movie, a video of the actresses and Kashiwagi's actor answering questions about the movie at a fan event, a segment in which the actresses are paired (or in the Yellow Roses' case, grouped in three) to talk about each other and their characters, and a "Making of" video. I can't watch the Blu Ray here at my dorm, but Amazon JP says that it comes with the cute-sounding flash animation that played before the movie when it was in theaters. 

Here's hoping this movie gets licensed in English!

More Thoughts on Blue Friend (and Marimite), and How Strike Witches Almost Ruined a Party

Have you ever had a series that you began reading or watching with ambivalent, or even antipathetic, feelings, but it eventually grew on you more than you expected?

When I first started watching Marimite, I had an irrational "Ahhh!!" reaction to it because I had just transferred out of a Catholic school I loathed. (Don't get me started on the mandatory praying at the beginning of every class and homeroom, lame attempts to get students to make purity pledges, the nutty religion teacher who told a student to kiss a Bible after he dropped it on the floor....) Seeing a bunch of characters being like, "Let us pray to Maria-sama; we take pride in our school's traditions" made me twitch, but they grew on me and by the time I finished the first season of Marimite, I thought that it was a beautiful story filled with loveable, relatable characters. (The Lillian student body's pervasive acceptance of very close bonds among themselves completely divorced it from my image of my old school.)

That's an extreme example, but it illustrates my point.

I have still only read (and re-visited) volume 1 of Eban Fumi's Blue Friend, and I'm dying to see what happens in volume 2. Will Ayumu and Misuzu's friendship be repaired quickly? Or has Ayumu's concern for Misuzu already mended, on her side, the alienation caused by Misuzu's panicked possessiveness? Will Misuzu's broken spirit completely heal? Why does Satsuki hate her when anyone with an iota of sense would realize that it isn't possible for an elementary schooler to seduce an adult? That there's this thing called rape, and that's what happened. (Or maybe she does know, and is using the doctor incident as a pretext for tormenting Misuzu for a different reason.) How will Ayumu and Misuzu construct a viable romantic relationship out of what they have? How will these characters develop?

It's tense, it's upsetting, it rings very true in some moments, it's sad and heart-tugging and sweet and dark and melodramatic (caveat: I have uneasy feelings about using the term "melodramatic" in some cases because what some people consider melodramatic is just life for other people) and I want to see what happens next. I must sound like I'm foaming at the mouth over this series now. I don't really care. Right now, I'm unwittingly hooked on Blue Friend and invested in following what happens, however I ultimately feel about the answers to my questions. We'll see how it goes.

Our two leads:

Satsuki cornering Ayumu and trying to turn her against Misuzu:

On a lighter note, this past Friday someone in my dorm threw a No Pants Party. (Which means that you can wear a skirt, dress, or shorts, pervs. Even though the title was obviously supposed to be titillating.) It was for residents of our dorm only, so there were no sketchy douche-characters who were like, "So you wanted no pants, ladies? Untz untz untz." (That's what I imagine might have happened if it were open to anyone.) Anyway- when partygoers were like, "No pants!! It's a no pants party!! Whoo-hoo no pants!!" it reminded me of the "war on pants" slogan that Funimation used to market Strike Witches, which made my brain implode a little. So thanks, Funimation. :P

I'll review volume 1 of Shirasawa Marimo's Nobara no Mori no Otome-tachi after I get a copy. It's been sold out for a while, but hopefully a re-print will be out soon.

...what was the point of this post?

Edit: Added pics.

As A Yuri Fan, I'm Thankful For...

Yay, it's Thanksgiving! ^_^ In honor of this holiday of being grateful for what one has, stuffing oneself with delicious food, and (in my case) getting a small vacation from school, I am listing what I'm thankful for as a yuri fan.

Every English-language manga and anime company that licenses good yuri- from the ones that have made a consistently strong showing to the ones that released something good once-upon-a-time. (E.g. Tokyopop with Sailor Moon.) An especially big thanks to RightStuf, Media Blasters, ALC Publishing, and Seven Seas. And on the flip side, massive thanks to the fans who buy the stuff they like instead of stealing it, making it possible to get more yuri licensed. (More Hayate x Blade, less Maria Holic!) Oh! And the fact that we haven't had anything like this (in English) in eons. And one more thing...I will love any company that licenses Aoi Hana forever and ever and ever (with money). Speculative thanks in advance.

Yoshiya Nobuko. I always introduce her towards the beginning of my yuri panels because yuri wouldn't be...what it is without her novels. And she was as out as one could be when she was alive.

The earliest yuri mangaka- particularly Yamagishi Ryoko for Shiroi Heya no Futari and Ikeda Riyoko for her repeated use of yuri/gender-bendy themes in her work (Rose of Versailles, Oniisama E, Claudine, and Futarippochi). So many tropes of yuri manga were solidified by these two.

 

Every writer/artist who has created yuri manga and/or novels that I enjoy since then, and every studio that has produced good yuri anime.

And definitely not least, other yuri fans. Whether on forums, at panels, on other blogs, or this humble little blog, it's great to be able to share my nerdy hobby with other people. ^__^ Thank you! (This is starting to sound like an award speech...)

Feel free to chime in with what you're thankful for. And to everyone celebrating, Happy Thanksgiving!