You Know That You Watch Too Much Anime...

...when you see the word "Arise" on a flyer for a Christian "Vision Camp" in your college's Campus Center and think that it says "Anime" from a short distance away. (Yes, that really did just happen a little while ago. -_-;) An alternative lesson could be, don't look at fliers late at night... *finally going to sleep*

Yay, Hidamari Sketch Licensed!!

Good news for Hiro x Sae/Hidamari fans!
Go, go Sentai!! XD

Fandom Origins: Thanks to Takeuchi

Wow. It's a little weird to think that the Sailor Moon manga is celebrating its 18th anniversary this year. ^^; (And with a seiyuu event anticipating the upcoming 20th anniversary, to boot!)

The old PocketMixx edition of Sailor Moon was the first manga I ever read (with the worn copies still sitting on my manga shelves at home), and the SM anime was my gateway to this weird and wonderful hobby. :)

I actually first found out about SM from a girl from Japan who was my best friend in kindergarten. She moved back to Japan after a year. By that point, I was irrevocably hooked on SM, and my proudly geeky obsession eventually snowballed into anime and manga in general- which provided a springboard for hitting it off with some of my later friends, including my current bf. So, thank you Takeuchi Naoko, for years of entertainment and nostalgia-bonding with friends over the campy goodness of Sailor Moon. (And just as many thanks to the girl I knew back then; we lost contact after a little while- being 6 and all- but I really hope that she's doing well.)

And yes, Haruka and Michiru were my first yuri couple. ^^ (Although not the first yuri couple that I consciously thought of as "yuri.")

How do you spell no-longer guilty pleasure? G-o-k-u-j-o-u D-r-o-p-s

I need to start a private list of series that I've started out disliking (sometimes intensely) and wound up enjoying (sometimes immensely)- because it's getting to be a pretty large amount. lol ^^; Hazime Mikuni's Gokujou Drops is one such title.

Gokujou Drops boasts one of the more profound manga romance plots. Maezono Komari is a transfer student who managed to enroll into a Prestigious All-Girls' Boarding School (TM), Ohtori Girl's Academy (spelled with a different kanji character than Utena's Ohtori). Once she arrives, she finds that there aren't any dorm rooms available, although the school can arrange for her to live in an apartment nearby. But wait-! There is an open double room in Dorm 3, known as the "Haraiso Yakata"- a dorm exclusively populated by the most cracked elite students at Ohtori. As long as Komari receives permission from one of the residents to live there, she's home-free. (The reason why she won't accept living in an apartment is that her father stipulated that in order to live away from home, she must live in a dorm.) The occupant of the open double, wealthy school idol/ojousama Himemiya Yukio (who I can definitely see being voiced by Kawasumi Ayako), gives Komari permission to share her room- provided that Komari is willing to become her personal servant. (Cue salacious giggling from the yuri fandom.) You know where this is going. (Lesson of the day: Don't say "I'll do anything!!" to anybody who you really need a favor from.)

The first time I read volume 1, I really didn't care for it. I sternly read it as another manga narrative about a f-cked up relationship glossed over with flowers and screentones and SD-expressions, a la Hot Gimmick. But as soon as I reached the end of volume 2, I thought "What happens next?" (And later, while rereading the series: "Haraiso Yakata is the best dorm ever.") The story in volume 2 has a little more focus than the scattershot approach of volume 1- with Komari meeting Sai-sempai, an eccentric, reclusive computer-otaku who resides in Haraiso Yakata, before she learns from one of the other residents, Erika-sempai, that Yukio is leaving for a visit home to attend an omiai. She visits Yukio's  home, they have their first major misunderstanding, and they kiss and make out up and go on their first date to cement their relationship by the end of volume 2. (And the "omiai" was one big practical joke played by Erika-sempai on Komari.) Future chapters will probably deal with Yukio's dysfunctional family (all cool, dark-haired manga and anime ojousamas seem to have that sort of background ^^;) and Komari's vague memory of a mysterious girl who she loved in her childhood. (Who doesn't want to bet that it's Yukio?) Plus, it looks like computer-otaku Sai-sempai has a newfound interest in Komari.


This manga is pure silly/stupid romance novel fodder...but taken for what it is, it's pretty enjoyable. ^^ It doesn't take itself too seriously, and by the end of volume 2, I was really rooting for Komari and Yukio's relationship. (Aided by the fact that Komari grew more of a spine- and proved to be refreshingly sraightforward- and Yukio softened up.)

Update on 12/07/2012: Yes, this is a scanlated page I used to illustrate a moment I liked when I first posted this review. This series has been licensed in English by JManga and ALC, so you should really buy it if you enjoyed the scanlation.

The art isn't bad, but not remarkable either. It works for the story. I still consider volume 1 pretty banal, even for what it is (every girl in Ohtori seems to have a thing for Komari or Yukio), but the only part in it that I really dislike is Mayaa and Miya's kitchen scene. -_-;

Otherwise, Gokujou Drops is recommended for mindless, silly yuri romance.

Story: Volume 1 gets a C-, volume 2 gets a B-
Art: C+
Overall: C- for volume 1, B- for volume 2 (and B for the final chapter of volume 2)

Pre-Halloween Giddiness

The final official Aoi Hana wallpaper is out now!! Akira and Fumi look soooo cute together in Halloween costumes! ^^ *squeals* Since Halloween's coming up next Saturday, I'm posting a batch of Halloween fan art here for yuri/yuri-subtext anime and manga.

From Maria-sama ga Miteru (the second pic's my fave :) ):

From Hayate x Blade (LOVE Ayana as Jason):

From Noir (Why is Kirika green in the third pic? o_o; I do technically know why, but it still looks weird...)

From K-ON!:

From Mahou Shoujo Lyrical Nanoha:

 

From Sailor Moon (for the gothic-lolita fans):

 

 From Lucky Star:

From CANAAN (I know I'm stretching it with this one; let's just consider it "Liang's Halloween Dream-Come-True" :P ):

 And for something completely out of left field, Hatsune Miku and another Vocaloid, named Luka:

To Aru Kagaku no Railgun Episode 3: A Pleasant Turn Around (Plus, Slivers of Yuri in Seitokai no Ichizon)

Wow. I liked episode 3 quite a bit.

It wasn't deep or anything (not that it tried to be), but it was fun, funny, and had an entertaining self-contained plot that still left a few lingering questions towards the end that probably foreshadow a much larger plot development in future episodes.

Plus, Kuroko came across as more likeable to me (as she always tends to when doing her work in Judgement), Uiharu grew from coming across as moe-moe to simply being a fairly soft-spoken girl with a penchant for dry humor who is very good at her job, and Saten became my favorite character, for no particular reason that I can pinpoint. Her personality reminds me a little of Satou Sei, if that makes sense. Maybe that's why she's my favorite. lol

An unexpected pairing- Saten x Miho ftw!

Or not. lol

But I like the idea of Saten and Uiharu (the Yumi to Saten's Sei) as a dark horse pair,

especially considering Uiharu's reaction to seeing Saten in the Tokiwadai uniform. lol

Mikoto x Kuroko could even work for me if Kuroko learns to express her oneesama-rabu feelings a little more maturely (and burn the stalker-album...not steal any more underwear...etc...am I reaching for the stars, here? Or am I just being churlish?). (One thing that puzzles me a little: Why does Kuroko's behavior towards Mikoto bug me so much, when I like obsessive yuri characters who have done worse things, like Liang Qi? o_o; Setting aside the fact that Tanaka Rie can voice act circles around Arai Satomi...and Kuroko hasn't yet figured out how to detonate a bomb using a Wii. ...I guess that once a character crosses a certain threshold of evil, I can't help liking her.)

The next episode preview looks pretty good. (Or pretty funny, at least.) The Railgun anime so far seems to going on a different path from that of the manga, based on what I've read of the manga- hopefully ultimately for the better. The anime so far seems to be focusing more on the four girls' lives, and less on Touma randomly popping up and being challenged to psychic battles by Mikoto.

Story:C+
Art: B+
Overall: B-

I won't write any more posts about individual episodes in Railgun until the final review (unless something mind-blowingly amazing pops up in an episode before the end of the series)- just wanted to mention that my opinion of this series doesn't range from "okay, with flashes of cool" to "annoying" any more.

Plus-

this season's otaku-parody series, Seitokai no Ichizon, has a little yuri. It has a few yuri jokes and service, mostly as a result of Chizuru's hyper-possesive crush on Aka-chan (see: the Marimite parody sequence in episode 2). Imo, Chizuru is meant to be a parody of the tall, cool possesive onee-sama type, like Sachiko, Chikane, Shizuma, etc.

Good news

for people who are fans of Kaishaku's massively enjoyable (well, massively enjoyable to me, at least :D) new Zettai Shoujo Seiiki Amnesian action-yuri manga,

but who don't want to (or can't) spend an arm and a leg to import it from Amazon JP each month. Akadot's carrying Young Ace issue 4 now (which contains ZSSA chapter 1), and, hopefully, they'll stock future issues. ^^ Akadot tends to take longer than Amazon JP in stocking new issues of Japanese magazines (like Newtype), so if you really, really want it (or need it) right after it comes out, Akadot isn't the best option, but if you're willing to wait a little longer (2-3 weeks) to get a copy, it's a good deal. It still isn't cheap, but it's about as good as it gets (in the country where I live, at least; I'm not sure what the international shipping rates are, although Akadot does ship internationally) for buying a Japanese magazine.